Saturday, April 28, 2007

"No Man's Mistress" by Mary Balogh

"No Man's Mistress" by Mary Balogh
2001 Delacorte Press
ISBN 0-385-33529-6

“No Man's Mistress” by Mary Balogh. A Regency romance, I was captivated right from the beginning. Viola who had secrets and burdens no person should have, but who in spite of circumstances allows none of it to interfere with her enjoyment of her friends finds herself suddenly having to defend her right to live in her home. With determination she sets out to do whatever must be done to protect her family when she is threatened with having to go back to a reprehensible way of life, but do it she will if this is what will keep them safe.

This is a love story between Viola and with Ferdinand who would have made her leave her home.

It is a page turner with surprises throuout the book and one I would recommend highly. And, the true test for me was that I cried at the end.
at No comments:
Labels: ,

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

"The Secret Hour" by Luanne Rice

" The Secret Hour" by Luanne Rice.
February, 2003, Bantam Dell
ISBN: 0553-8022-0

“The Secret Hour” by Luanne Rice. This is a mystery, a thriller and a romance all rolled into one. What else could you possibly want? This is real and yet it is horrible too. You can all too well imagine yourself or somebody you know in this situation.

But, past the superficial facts of the story lie the bones and these bones are wonderful. It’s like Luanne can walk through this forest of story and take exactly what describes her characters, what makes them real and what makes them human and show you, the reader, a wonderful time.

John the attorney, his kids Maggie and Teddy, and Kate the lady looking for her sister Willa who has disappeared. These folks come together like bees looking for a home. The end is a real nail biter. I won’t give it away.

This book didn’t even last 3 days for me. I read it every chance I could. It’s a real page turner. I enjoyed it and figure someone among you will enjoy it too. Visit Luanne's website at www.luannerice.com
at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Sunday, April 22, 2007

"Forgiving" by LaVyrle Spencer

Forgiving by LaVyrle Spencer
1991 GP Putnam's Sons
ISBN: 0-399-13599-5

This was a two-fer. Two romances in one. "Forgiving" by LaVyrle Spencer takes place in Deadwood in the Dakota Territory in 1876. A young woman, Sarah Merritt, arrives to tell her sister, Addie of their father’s death. Well, Addie is there, but she’s not a maid like she’d told Sarah. She works in a brothel in the Badlands part of town.

This is their story. It is the love of the sisters for each other. It is the love of the two men they find. It is a story that could be played out in our own time. LaVyrle Spencer is a fine writer. This story gripped me the entire way through. And, the final accolade? I cried. Not only did I cry at the end of the story, but there were many times throughout the story I found I had to wipe my eyes. Definitely, “Forgiving” is a really good story.
at No comments:
Labels: ,

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

"The Squire's Tale" by Margaret Frazer


The Squire's Tale by Margaret Frazer. Berkley; Reissue edition (December 1, 2001) ISBN-13: 978-0425182710

The Squire's Tale by Margaret Frazer is an absolutely delightful medieval who-done-it with the starring investigator of Dame Frevisse. She's a nun and like other people in fiction serials who are good at solving crimes also appears to find herself in the midst of them time after time. As my husband says occasionally when we watch other who-done-it shows on television, "They ought to lock her up."
This is the second of Margaret Frazer's tales I've read and, as with the first, I was captivated. This is not just your everyday who-done-it. This shows into the heart of times medieval, of the 1400's. It looks at spirituality that never gets old. It looks at the place of women in the society of medieval times.

At the end I cried. It was also a love story and, for me, the mark of a "good" book is that I cry at the end.

As time goes by I expect to see more reviews for this author. You can read more about Margaret Frazer on Wikipedia.
An interesting side note to my reading of this book relates to the first one I read. I'd spotted her books some time before in the library, however, at the time I had a full load to read and there wasn't room right then to select one of her books. But, I remembered some time later that I wanted to read one of Margaret's books. Except, I couldn't find them in the library. I knew they were located in the mystery section. So, I passed back and forth looking. The problem was I also couldn't remember the name of the author. A lady joined me in the stacks looking for her own mystery and I asked her if she knew of a writer of medieval mysterys with a nun as the lead character. No, she was sorry, but she didn't know and right at that very instant my eyes looked down to the lower shelf right in front of us and I spied the books in question. I thanked her for her help. She protested that she hadn't helped me at all and I said, "No, but you did. If I hadn't stopped to speak with you I would never have found them today."
at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Friday, April 6, 2007

"Making Beautiful Beads" by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott

Making Beautiful Beads by Suzanne J.E. Tourtillott, editor
2002, Lark Books
ISBN 1-57990-288-x

Making Beautiful Beads is a fabulously pictured book for those who are interested in making the beads they use in pieces of art and in jewelry.

There are directions you can actually use for making beads out of felt, paper, metal, polymer clay and glass. I had these vague concepts dancing around in my head on the how-to’s involved with several of these types of beads until I saw this book.

Making Beautiful Beads is illustrated with detailed how-to pictures, but also with finished beads done by a variety of artists. They aren’t your hum-drum designs. These are flashy, imaginative and clearly cutting edge beads. For a person new to making beads this is an ideal book to use for beads to aspire to.


at No comments:
Labels: , ,

"Slightly Dangerous" by Mary Balogh

Slightly Dangerous by Mary Balogh.
Published by Bantan Dell - 2005.
ISBN: 978-0440241126 (paperback)

This was a first for me of books by Mary Balogh. I did one of my blind reaches for a good book to read moves in the library and I’m glad I did. I will certainly look for other books by this author.

Slightly Dangerous is a romance set in Victorian England. It’s the story of Christine Derrick who cannot help but to be genuine and real in the midst of an era that wants to dictate the proper way to sneeze and a very proper Duke. The combination of her and the rest of high society she moves in is hilarious.

The romantic angle comes in when Christine, who appears to have no sense of decorum, and Wulfgar, the Duke of Bewcastle butt heads. It’s a story that translates perfectly to our own day and age even though most of us no longer live by the particular rules of the Victorian Age. We do, however, live by our own and love will always endure.

Slightly Dangerous is part of a series. The book is certainly read on its own merit and needs no other to help it stand, but you can just tell that the author felt one book was just not big enough to fit in all the stories she had to tell about these people.

You can read more about Mary Balogh at her website: http://www.marybalogh.com/
at No comments:
Labels: ,

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

List of Books I've Read

Here's a Simple List of the Books on this Site. More than 150 books reviewed since April, 2007. Indulging myself in reading books.



at No comments:
Labels:

Where I Read Books

It struck me suddenly this morning as I began reading a new library book that I read a lot of books. I also like to talk about them. Having a blog to do that might be interesting. So, voila. It is done.
at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Caught Dead in Wyoming - Sign Off by Patricia McLinn  It has been a long time, looks like five years, since I've written anything fo...