I had not read an Anne Hillerman novel and this is a great novel. It is full of Navajo lore and language (plus a glossary). In this Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito novel are two separate crimes, each treated harmoniously, switching from one to the other. It is a terrific novel and I will certainly be reading past novels of hers.
Three women, all needing a home, have found it. They have various aged children and the house is beautifully owned by a lovely woman haunted by tragedy. Grace, Julie, Alice, and Charlotte form a family with love and care, each bringing their unique personalities into harmony as each also deals with personal problems.
An incredible story of family, relationships,new friendships, long time longing, and very iffy behavior set among the opulence and money of Block Island.
Captivating story with a mystery. Bree, a psychologist in Moonshine, is engaged by the law to help with a homicide and a cult in the local mountains. Mitch, GBI agent, is her partner in uncovering the crimes of the cult. There is a maybe love in the process and many secrets to uncover.
Underneath the romance is a man who has done his hardest to escape the small town’s view of him and be an honest and better person. His past continues to haunt him until an investigative accountant begins to dig through his and his friend’s business. It is believed that the business is engaged in a crime. She trusts him and can be the only person who can clear his name. Really good novel.
Funny. Quirky. Family closeness with problems. Misunderstandings. Two very sharp older women and a semi-clueless granddaughter. Pull them all together and there is a wonderful story plus a little mystery and a long awaited love. Delightful.
Laurie Beach writes lovely, heartwarming stories with touch of whimsy and common sense sayings. The Dogwood Days of Summer is a more than enjoyable novel. It has troubles, dilemmas, heartache, and second chances.
This is a novel that will put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there. The horror of an unbelievably horrifying murder intent on carrying out a sacred mission is blood curdling. The story of the crimes will make you have trouble sleeping if not for the love story that arises for Sargent Sloan Cooper and her neighbor Nash Littlefield. It provides a break from the crime story.
Super story from all angles.
Sweet book about a teen girl driven by a family tradition that love is determined by the Blessing: you will meet the one for you and will know they are the one.
It is a cute premise but I found myself bored by the repetition and slow speed.
A delightful romance of love blooming on a farm that two strangers offer to manage when the owner has to be on bed rest. Joe lives on the island where the farm is located. Skye traveled to the island to search for the father she never knew. Joe helps her with the search as he knows just about everyone. While they search and tend to the farm, they find the company more than enjoyable.
A chance meeting with an astrologer who maps out her star chart leads a struggling doctor to begin a search to debunk the astrologer’s reading. The reading throws her for a loop and she is determined to throw his predictions into the trash. On her journey to find her Twin Star, she is thrown by similarities and a door opens that upends everything she believes about herself.
A splendidly magical story of witches, wonder, and woven tales of myth and truth. Morganis a cute but a tad different guy who spends too much time staring at Zelda. Zelda had returned to her sisters’ Luna and Rumina as an author with no stories left in her. She has always been full of stories for as long as she can remember. She is also not a witch as her sisters are. She and Morgan find themselves working together to find paranimals and other magic tales of folklore.
A simply delightful novel.
Lyrically written, this novel covers love, loss, and deeply hidden family secrets. Things migrate from the past to the present when Kat moves to her family’s homeland, Greece. She and her deceased twin brother have inherited a home there willed to them by an uncle she never knew about. Each new secret revealed causes Kat to reevaluate herself and redefine her parents.
A touching and beautiful novel.
The very emotional story of a family bursting apart at the seams from hurts, grievances, resentment, and deep held secrets. The whole family comes together on holiday to celebrate their mother’s seventieth birthday but an incident early on brings all the angst of the sisters they harbor in insecurities and problems.
A vineyard in trouble, an enemy to the rescue, and walls torn down and rebuilt. An enemies to lovers story. Very enjoyable.
Ah! Love confusion, starting over, and a slew of general and personal problems join together beautifully to form this lovely and tender story.
A wonderful novel with family trials arising during a summer on Nantucket. A divorced mother of four hopes to spend a relaxing time with her family and sunshine. Her world is upended when her teen love returns to the island and a new man appears. As the days pass, she begins to see a new life may be awaiting her.
Such a more than magical novel. It will tug your heart on every page as you learn about Emery and her heart disease which causes her to die and resetate over and over through her life. In death, she has a guide, Nick, who becomes a friend to her as he is present every time she dies. In her life, she struggles to find her place away from an over caring parent. A do not miss novel.
A cute book, however, I found it hard to thoroughly enjoy. I felt no connection to the characters. I generally love books with inner thoughts but I felt it was all there was.
An emotional, character driven story of a Hollywood actress searching for her biological mother in Marietta and of the cowboy who chooses to be her protector from paparazzi and a revenge seeking stalker. Told in thoughts rather than solely dialog. A compelling story.
A whirlwind of family drama and an evil uprising await Fiona and Lorcan. Too many jolts to the heart by Fiona draw Lorcan back to the dark side and allow his demon side to flourish. He and his minions wreak havoc on LAMB headquarters causing death and destruction. Heartbroken Fiona is determined to reach Lorcan’s human side to rescue him from the evil he now embraces. Success is not guaranteed at all. An exciting tale of good vs. evil.
Tense and creative, Maine Characters is a story of love and loss, regrets and reconciliation. The strained relationship of half-sisters takes center stage as they come to terms with the death and trouble caused by their father. Lucy grew up with her single mother, knowing about her father’s other family and of her step sister. Vivian was in the dark about her sister’s existence, only guessing of the possibility. They grew up in completely opposite circumstances and come face to face when Vivian comes to her father’s Maine cabin and Lucy is there. Antagonism is everywhere as they face off and cannot come to terms about the cabin. Theirs is a shaky relationship fraught with difficulties. It is a difficult journey to trod.
Splendid story with a taste of love under the stars. University astronomy archivist, Charlotte, receives a paid summer job to archive the papers in an out of commission and falling to disrepair observatory. She lodges with a woman whose family owned the property. Along the way, she meets the woman’s grandson who is in control of the land development company that is tearing down the observatory. Falling for each other was written in the stars. When Charlotte discovers papers of value that bring shockwaves to the family. Slow reading at times. A very enjoyable novel.
The best friend of an in trouble campground owner, Delaney sends video of the campground to a business improvement TV show. This opens a kettle of fish when the producers decide to use them. Owner Wyatt is not completely on board. He trusts Delaney and during the upending of the lodge, feelings awaken between the friends.
Dilemmas over love and relationships abound in this spicy novel. Everything hinges on a pediatrician’s desire to get away from her small town and work short term contracts far away. New to town, cowboy and next door neighbor to her parents, attracts her attention and makes the choice to leave muddled with emotion. Can they compromise or will she leave? Spicy and full of surprises.
Love blooms in the creation of a lovely botanical garden and shop for Jessica and Storm. They have a mess of history that, along with Jessica’s deep desire to create a beautiful area, needs to be addressed. Storm has a wealth of knowledge about plants and how to create an attractive area. Then there is the magical cookbook of her family that might change the course of love for them. A captivating novel for all readers.
An absolutely absorbing novel. The topic is a harsh and abusive Catholic nun place for delinquent, court mandated, or abandoned girls in their teens and one group of girls that grow into a friendship in a situation rife with horrible punishment by the nuns.The tenacity of the girls is their outlet for continuing to survive. Not an easy read but an incredible relating the daily ordeal.
A funny and cute story. Misunderstandings are throughout the story causing confusion, hurt feelings, and revenge. Humorous and easy to read with quirky characters that draw each other out. Charlie is hiding from paparazzi; Jean brings him out to love and adventure.
Excellent novel. A story with two timelines-present and past-of the relationship and music career of two sisters. Zoe when a teen was driven to live in the music limelight of adoring fans and fame. She has no real talent. Cassis is her awkward older sister, music prodigy, talent laden, aggressively shy. The present story is of Zoe’s daughter's desire to have a music career and is very talented. The timelines reflect the events of the past and the consequences of the present struggles.
Probably a lovely novel. I simply found myself bored only 8% in. I will likely revisit the novel to try to complete it.
A love story? Yes but actually the story of a woman facing her fears and challenging herself to overcome them. All the challenges happen within a framework of a mini documentary creator and a Coast Guard water rescuer. A wonderful tale all around.
Wonderful cowboy romance with love tugging a reluctant cowboy to free his heart from its walls and let a cowgirl harpoon his heart.
Love takes center stage for a fly fishing guide and the receptionist/girl Friday of her family’s in danger of closing lodge. Warm, cute, and refreshing.
Interesting story, slow at times and filled with backstories and long ago teen relationships. The character at the center is in financial trouble and trying to retain ownership of the Maine cottage that has been in her family for hundreds of years. She reminds me of someone who has been blown through life like the Maine winds.
A story of the time in a teens life after her mother is killed in a freak accident and of a woman in self-imposed isolation and work in a home in the woods. I was close to not finishing the book because, to me, it rambled and there was no cohesion.
A gently moving story of true second chances and of a love finally unleashed and running free. Ryder and Rosie’s chemistry resulted in twins. The pregnancy was unknown to Ryder until his father conjoles him to return home from his rodeo career. Shock and awe for him along with a host of other emotional surprises.
Engaging second chance romance with problems with exes that create almost insurmountable odds of failure.
What a lovely story on a sad topic-grieving the loss of a loved one. For Like, Connie and Stacy, attending the Bereavement Cafe brings a touch of something different to them. Also, there is octogenarian Lucasta with whom spirits communicate. The events at the cafe and the relationships formed have a profound effect on them.
Sweet Southern romance develops between the town’s outcast and the adopted daughter of the founding family. A slice of cooking magic.
Cutie new sheriff Randy Slade meets even cuter Merilee Bell when he comes to town undercover for the FBI. Cute romance.
Allie Westley is shocked to find her new roommate, Sam Clare, is a man and not the anticipated woman. Sweet romance for Christmas romance lovers.
A terrific police drama with several ins and outs, relationship problems, a death to solve, and an expensive car theft ring that needs shutting down. It pulls together in an interesting and engaging manner. Great writing with some humorous thoughts of the main character. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
A wonderful novel about family, the drama it has, a funeral/not funeral. Show business snippets abound and lost connections might be fixed.
A fifty-four year old woman gets thrown back into her twenty year old life when she suffers from a family curse when she gets her wisdom teeth pulled. An engaging story of learning to appreciate a new life while struggling to let go of her old one.
Avery compelling story of when a What If becomes a reality for a tired of Hollywood actress. Meg is tired of the lifestyle and grueling days. She books a trip to Ireland a
where she was supposed to go for acting. An alternate reality becomes very real. The depth of the story is found in her failing to grieve her best friend’s death by creating a life as a star. She denies her friend’s very existence. Very moving story.
Captivating story mixing feeling, struggle, emotions, and love when a start up relationship based white water canoeing business brings polar opposites together as they fight to save the fledgling enterprise.
What an incredible story. A genuine love develops between a heart closed man and a widow clinging to her deceased husband. Their conversations and thoughts drive a tender story of hurting people who connect over their love of Texas history.
