“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts

“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts
1997, A Jove Book
ISBN: 0-515-12000-6

“Holding the Dream” by Nora Roberts is a quick read. The reason I say this is that you’re probably not going to be able to put it down until you finish it. It’s a love story and it’s a mystery.

This story is about dreams and how those dreams can change even when you don’t want them to. Kate Powell is a fantastic CPA. She feels more comfortable with numbers than she does with human beings. But, she has a big place in her heart for her adopted family and for 2 women, Laura and Margo, who are her sisters. Not blood sisters, but the sisters of her heart.

Kate’s dream is to be a partner in the firm she works in, but one day the rug is pulled out from under her. She doesn’t understand what has happened and in her bewildered state she continues sliding towards illness and a collapse. There to catch her is a man she can’t stand, Bryan.

I loved this story with its wild and convoluted ways; it was just like real life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

“Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb

“Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb
2003, A Berkeley Book
ISBN:0-425-18903-1

When somebody writes as well as Nora Roberts does when she shifts into her persona as J.D. Robb I think a shopping list would keep me glued to my seat. “Portrait in Death” by J.D. Robb is suspenseful, it is riveting, it moves like greased lightening and is an absolutely terrific story. The characters relate to each other well. And, was it any surprise to me to discover that Lieutenant Eve Dallas is featured in a boatload of other stories already written?

This is the first time I’ve read J.D. Robb and I’m really looking forward to reading more.

Lieutenant Dallas is out to solve a murder, that becomes another murder and then another. The victims are posed with wires supporting their limbs and then photographed by the killer. It is a rush to find the killer before he or she strikes again and many people are involved in this orchestrated search.

I really enjoyed how Eve is portrayed. I almost felt as though I had something in common with her as she snapped people’s heads off left and right. See, I’m going through menopause and get rather snippy myself at times. It was refreshing to see how somebody else does it. It was interesting to me to see how she placed herself in the killer’s head to see what made him or her tick.

If you’re up for a mystery look no farther than J.D. Robb.

A postscript: This was my 111th post on 2/22. I'm a psychic and those are my special numbers. Also, this day when I tested my blood glucose it was 111. And, I started channeling on 2/22. Altogether a special day for numbers.

“Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert

“Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert
1999, A Berkley Prime Crime Book
ISBN: 0-425-17032-2

Another favorite author, here I come! “Lavender Lies” by Susan Wittig Albert features mystery solving sleuth China Bayles who, during the day, runs an herbal shop. She is an ex-lawyer turned herbalist.

China and her fiancé, Mike McQuaid, are in the process of planning their wedding which is taking place on Sunday. Mike is the interim police chief in Pecan Springs, Texas. Things have been relatively quiet for weeks, but now a dead man turns up. A nasty man too, by the looks of things. China gets involved and finds there are all sorts of people who might have a really good motive to kill the developer Edgar Coleman.

In between trying to take care of the myriad details of planning a wedding and trying to solve this mystery before the wedding happens, you, dear reader, get to learn a bunch of facts about lavender. What is really cool too is at the end of the book there are all sorts of references and recipes that you can use.

This is my kind of book. What’s delightful is to learn the Susan Albert has written a bunch of the China Bayles books and with her husband Bill have written more along the lines of Victorian mysteries.

I love the way Susan writes. The story had my attention from the beginning and went right through to the end. I’m a writer and I can tell when a writer either gets bored or starts floundering with their story. I know because I’ve done it myself. None of that happened with “Lavender Lies”. It was rip-snorting good from one end to the other. I highly recommend this book and anything else Susan Wittig Albert has written.

“Charmed and Enchanted” by Nora Roberts

“Charmed and Enchanted” by Nora Roberts
Charmed, 1992
Enchanted, 1999
Silhouette Books
ISBN: 0-373-28502-7

Nora Roberts always does a good job and I consistently enjoy her books. This will be a 2 for 1 book review because this is actually 2 books.

The first book, “Charmed” centers on Ana, Jessie and Boone. Ana is a witch, but not an evil one. She comes from a long bloodline of them and each and every one of them has their own special talent. Ana is a healer. But, she’s a recluse by choice and gentle by nature. She lives in a small house by the ocean in Monterey, California.

Enter into the story Boone, a writer of children’s fairy tales and his 6 year old daughter Jessie. His wife had passed on 4 years prior and they felt the need to make a move away to build a new life. They move next door to Ana. The exuberant Jessie quickly makes herself known to Ana and as such brings her father into the picture.

What happens next is where the magic happens.

~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~ * ~ * ~ *~

A+. That’s what I give Nora Roberts for her book, “Enchanted” This is the 2nd novel in, “Charmed and Enchanted” that I picked up at the library the other day. It’s a two fer sort of a deal. Rowan is a young woman in search of something. You’d think she has everything the world could offer. At least, that’s what her parents and her fiancé think. But, there’s something deep inside that just doesn't feel right to her. She’s always sort of gone with the flow and especially doesn’t like to disappoint people, but this ache in her heart will not be ignored.

Her cousin has a cabin in a secluded area on the Oregon coast. She decides to move there for a few weeks to try to sort out her mind. What she finds, though, is astonishing. A wolf, a wild ferocious thing comes to her and befriends her. Then, she discovers a mysterious man who lives nearby.

It’s love all right. But, it’s witches and faeries and magic. And, I guarantee that you really won’t be able to put it down until you’ve finished the story.

“A Tale out of Luck” by Willie Nelson

“A Tale out of Luck” by Willie Nelson and Mike Blakely
2008, Center Street
ISBN: 978-1-59995-732-6

I am a fan of Willie Nelson’s music and when I saw this book at the library there was no choice but that I was going to be reading it. “A Tale out of Luck” is rough. It’s told with that usual Western swaggering stroll. It’s told from the heart of Willie Nelson, the same heart all those songs comes from.

Jay Blue and his father Hank Tomlinson are ranchers in Luck, Texas. They run into bad luck from every direction, but in the end come out as the good guys always should as winners. But, it’s the story that grabs you; Commanches who become allies and yet are still enemies and enemies who disguise themselves as the good guys.

I was enthralled. I hope you will be too.