“Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz

“Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz
1986, HQN – Harlequin
ISBN: 978-0-373-7229-2

In the area of romance books I’ve noticed that back in the 1970’s and 1980’s the romantic relationship between a man and a woman was sometimes touched with a heavy brush of macho. It masqueraded as forcible love making which bordered on rape at times and I don’t find that I am entertained by reading stories like that now. However “Twist of Fate” by Jayne Ann Krentz was a lot different than the run of the mill romances of that time. I grimaced just a little bit when the first bit of macho loving showed itself, but was quickly diverted and found the story had redeemed itself when the subject turned more solidly toward the power of an individual woman. Now, that was not something I had seen very often in those decades.

Being as how I worship the ground Jayne Ann Krentz walks on and will read anything she’s written that I can get my hands on I was really pleased that even though there was a hint of stereotypical male macho strutting about, “Twist of Fate” did turn out to be a delightful story.

You will get caught up with Hannah and Gideon as they grow to love one another in the unlikeliest of love stories.

“Son of a Witch” by Gregory Maguire

“Son of a Witch” by Gregory Maguire
2005, Harper Collins
ISBN: 978-0-06-054893-3

One of the first books I remember reading was, “The Wizard of Oz”. The absolute very first movie I ever watched was, “The Wizard of Oz” with Judy Garland as Dorothy. I was six years old at the time. Many is the Thanksgiving that you can find me settled in front of the television watching that beloved old movie again.

When I caught wind of a different story that had been published about the Wicked Witch I just had to read it. The title of that story by Gregory Maguire is, “Wicked”. I read it and it was fabulous. I had to have more. The second in the series is called, “Son of a Witch” and centers in on Liir. He doesn’t know for a certainty that he is Elphaba’s son (Elphaba is the Wicked Witch, by the way) but we, the dear reader, do know. Or rather Gregory knows and he is the one telling the story.

These are the old characters you know but more of their stories and of their hearts is told than we first knew from Frank Baum. They are just as magical as they were then, but there is that bit of us in them too. It’s like we are all related and the DNA is the same once you get down to brass tacks.

This is just fabulous. You know what else it has? It has magic. While I was reading it there were times when I almost felt the psychic thing going on where I could remember or, at least, relate to the magic of the people and Animals in Oz. It was an odd feeling, one that I don’t often feel while reading. It’s almost as though a molecular shift is going on deep inside. It happened when I read, “A Course in Miracles” and danged if I couldn’t feel it happening with this book too. Then, of course, maybe it was just my imagination.

But, I’ve got the third book to read now. It’s called, “A Lion Among Men” and centers in on the Cowardly Lion. It’s like having lots and lots of dessert. As much as you could ever want.

My recommendation to get the fullest enjoyment from this trio of books is to read them in the order they were written. Sometimes you can read a series out of sequence, but this is not one of them. Enjoy. I did.

A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky

A Woman's Place by Barbara Delinsky
1997, Harper Collins
ISBN: 0-06-17506-0


One of the readers here at my blog recommended I read Barbara Delinsky. On one of my trips to the library I sought out her place on the shelves and picked, "A Woman's Place" to read.

It is a woman's story, it is a family's story, it is a story of change. Claire Raphael is a very busy woman. She is a wife, she is a mother and she owns her own company. Into this busy life her mother is dying. If you can imagine how distracted and upset you would be with these circumstances, can you imagine now what it would be like to be served with divorce papers by your husband? And, he not only wants custody of your children, but he wants your business as well.

This is a heart aching journey where even at the greatest despair we can still love and learn. I really liked this book and will look for others by Barbara Delinsky.

“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks

“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks
2007, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-44-57992-6


“The Choice” by Nicholas Sparks is about the choices we make that affect our lives forevermore. Travis Parker lives by himself. He is not a hermit because he enjoys spending time with friends who go back many years. They are all married and all have kids, but he is a bachelor.

Gabby moves in next door. When the two of them meet it is both embarrassing and a clash of natures that you would think would totally ensure they would never exchange a civil word to each other in this lifetime. However…..

This is a wonderful story about falling in love. I have enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve ever read by Nicholas Sparks. I was not surprised that this was such a good book. And, for those who can understand…I shed a few tears as I made my way through it.

“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood

“Raisins and Almonds” by Kerry Greenwood
2007, Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 978-1-59058-168-1

This was a first time reading anything by Kerry Greenwood. “Raisins and Almonds” is part of a detective series featuring a lady named Phryne Fisher (pronounced Fry-knee). She is Australian and this story was set in the land down under.

It takes place in the days before World War II and gives an interesting view of those times. Phryne is a sort of a high society lady who rose from rough beginnings and who has a heart big enough to love and care for a great many people from all walks of life.

Into a Jewish neighborhood walks murder. The owner of a bookstore is accused of the crime. A man who is influential in the Jewish community approaches Phryne and asks her to find the killer and free the book mistress.

At the end of the book is a terrific bibliography and a glossary of Yiddish words. All my life I have known the word megillah. I never knew how to spell it. I just knew if you said, “The whole megillah” you meant the whole thing. In the glossary it is defined as: the whole long tale. I never knew it was a Yiddish word.

I will read Kerry Greenwood again. She is a prolific writer with 16 (so far) books in the Phryne series and over 40 novels written in total.

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz
2007, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
ISBN: 0-399-15373-X

“White Lies” by Jayne Ann Krentz is an Arcane Society Novel. This story is centered around people who have natural psychic senses that are more developed than the rest of us.

Clare Lancaster is the heroine. Clare’s special psychic talent is that she can tell when people are telling lies. Jake Salter is the hero. His special psychic talent is that he is called a hunter. Together the two of them get involved when Clare goes to visit her father and his family.

The thing is, is that Clare’s mother and her father had a one night stand together and Clare was born as a result of that meeting. Her father did not even realize she was alive until Clare showed up. Right away Clare realized that her sister Elizabeth was in a world of trouble. From that moment on people dropped left and right.

This is a mystery trying to find out who is killing all these people.

If you read this one I wish you as much enjoyment as I experienced.