The Storm Sister. Lucinda Riley

Published: Atria Books
Date: 22nd March 2016
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 512
Genre: Contemporary/Historical fiction
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Rating:
              

Gathered at their childhood home to mourn their father’s death, Ally D’Aplièse and her five adoptive sisters receive tantalizing clues to their distinct heritages. Ally soon finds herself in Norway where she begins to make sense of her elusive past in the second part of an epic new series by #1 internationally bestselling author Lucinda Riley.

Olympic hopeful Ally is in the midst of preparations for one of the world’s most challenging yacht races when news of her beloved father’s death shocks the accomplished sailor. Saying goodbye to the love of her life, a man her family knows nothing about, she rushes back to her family home, an enchanting chateau where she and her five sisters—each adopted as infants—were raised on the shores of Lake Geneva.

When new tragedy strikes on the high seas, pummeling Ally yet again with a terrible and unexpected loss, she turns her back on the water and instead follows her own North Star—an intriguing clue left by her father which leads her to Norway and the promise of unmasking her origins. Surrounded by the majestic beauty of an unfamiliar homeland, Ally begins to unpack the century-old story of a remarkable young woman named Anna Landvik, a talented singer with an astonishing link to composer Edvard Grieg and his celebrated musical accompaniment to Henrik Ibsen’s iconic play “Peer Gynt."

The Storm Sister is the second book in the series by Lucinda Riley. While each is part of a series they can be read as "standalones".  I have actually not read the first book and in no way felt that I should have. However I will be reaching out to read Maia's story before too long.  There are six sisters, and the final book will hopefully be a rounding out of all the sisters and their families. Of course we wonder what about the seventh sister? What about Pa Salt? My question to myself is - did he die? We'll have to wait patiently and see! 

I soon fell in love with this story about Ally, the book sucks you in and spits you out at the end as I reluctantly accept I must wait until the next one comes along. I wanted to stay there and live a little longer within the pages. I know - 512 pages later, and  I still wanted to be there. 

There is so much to love in the book - the quest for Ally to find out her roots, the beautiful relationship she develops with Theo and then his parents. The sadness and drama of losing loved ones. The joys of finding new hopes and things to live for. Ally herself is a strong, talented woman, caring and compassionate. 

As well as the contemporary story we are taken back in time to lives connected in some way to Ally in her quest. I moan as I am taken there, and then hate it when I am whipped out of that time. Each story is so good. It is full of Norway, music, love, tragedy and hope.  There is mythology and history and the contemporary world. All combine in an intricately woven way that provides a riveting read.

If you would like to read more about this series then go to The Seven Sisters Series to find out more. Don't hesitate - go get stuck into this series.

Anything For You. Kristan Higgins. Review and Giveaway.

Anything For You

Kirstan Higgins
Published: HQN
Date: 29th December 2015
Format:
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley and Little Bird Publicity.

Anything For You by Kristan Higgins - #5 in the Blue Heron series. This time it is the turn of Connor O'Rourke - chef extraordinaire and twin of Colleen. Connor has been in love with Jessica since about seventh grade, but so far she just seems to push him away. The book opens with a wonderful scene and proposal that had me hating Jessica straight away. (But not for long, even though at times I still just wanted to say - wake up, this guy is perfect.)

Jessica grew up poor in a trailer park, with alcoholic parents and a brother who is affected by fetal alcoholic syndrome. Jessica has been responsible and the 'parent' from a very early age. She has done things that seemed to her necessary at the time, but of which she carries a shame that just won't go away. She has pulled herself up and now works at the Vineyard with her marketing degree skills. Her big goal is to own a house where she and her brother can be safe.

Jessica doesn't like others interfering with her role of caring for her brother Davey and when their Dad returns she keeps him untrustingly at arms length.  Up until now Davey has hated Connor but Connor has plans to deal to that, which Jessica just might not be ready for. Connor has an A+ from me for persistence and straight out adorableness. See how he deals with one old woman - I rest my case!

We also have a peep into the lives of others in the town, with updates on families and new arrivals. Oh one  adult new arrival that really rubbed me up the wrong way! What a b****. I kid you not! There is the fun and good humor that is a trademark of Kristan Higgins' books. In this book the characters and situations are complex, the romance is sizzling, and the whole deal is a very satisfying read. I love a book that is just not merely romance but something more. 

And by the way perfect last sentence to end by. No, can't give it away! Read the book.

I totally loved this book, it has certainly cemented Kristan H as one of my top favourite authors.

Where to find Kristan Higgins

Website               Twitter               Facebook.

Thanks to Little Bird Publicity there is a chance to win a copy of  the book for those living in the USA only. Please fill out the form below. Giveaway ends on 10th January

The Perfect Son. Barbara Claypole White. Review & Giveaway

The Perfect Son
Barbara Claypole White
Published: Lake Union Publishing
Date: July 1st 2015
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 398
Genre: Fiction
Source: Author and Publisher via NetGalley

From a distance, Felix Fitzwilliam, the son of an old English family, is a good husband and father. But, obsessed with order and routine, he’s a prisoner to perfection. Disengaged from the emotional life of his North Carolina family, Felix has let his wife, Ella, deal with their special-needs son by herself.
A talented jewelry designer turned full-time mother, Ella is the family rock…until her heart attack shatters their carefully structured existence. Now Harry, a gifted teen grappling with the chaos of Tourette’s, confronts a world outside his parents’ control, one that tests his desire for independence.
As Harry searches for his future, and Ella adapts to the limits of her failing health, Felix struggles with his past and present roles. To prevent the family from being ripped apart, they must each bend with the inevitability of change and reinforce the ties that bind.

The Perfect Son by Barbara Claypole White was a book I simply loved.  I thought starting out it was women's fiction, and I see some have classified it as that, but I think it falls more into general fiction. The book opens on a flight where Ella has a heart attack. This throws her husband Felix and son Harry into a deep dark hole.  Ella who has given up her jewelry designing to care for their son and home while Felix is the earner.  Now everything is turned about.

Harry has a number of conditions - ADHD, anxiety and Tourettes syndrome.  Wouldn't one be enough for anyone to cope with? Three is a lot. Just turning seventeen Harry is one of the characters I fell in love with.  What a warm heart, what a discerning mind he has. I loved what he finally chose to do in life.  Yet his mother has always been there for him, now Ella is distancing from him and Felix must be the parent he turns to.  His Dad doesn't have much idea and can't even cope with a hug.  I really liked seeing the person behind the syndromes, I have met many a person with ADHD and anxiety but not Tourettes. I think I felt a little nervous about even meeting anyone with this, yet now having read this book I feel I would look beyond to the person.  I love it when a book helps me to take a new viewpoint.

Felix the dad and husband is a flawed and dare I say beautiful character.  He loves Harry and his wife Ella, but in his very English controlled way.  I liked how his character developed the most in this book, the challenges he is thrust into would take anyone's breath away.  The way he renegotiated his work commitment, expressed his love for Ella and slowly built a relationship with his son was very satisfying. His back story is difficult and his love for his brother Tom redeeming. Had it not been for Tom where might Felix have ended up?

The minor characters of Katherine ( Ella's friend), Eudora - the little old lady next door who is no push over, and lastly but not least Max - the very good friend of Harry and Sammie - Harry's first girlfriend.  They all added flavour to this book, I  loved Max, what a guy.

I don't really want to give any of the plot away, although this is a very character driven story.  I smiled at times and felt deep emotion at other times. This read was so good I know it is a book that I will want to go back to. Perhaps it all tied up a little too cosily at the end, I'd have been satisfied without the epilogue but it was there so... - I vote for it!

This book is available on Audible (narrated by Justine Eyre) Amazon or the Book Depository. I am sure there are other places, they just happen to be my haunts.

Because it is mid year and mid summer in some parts and mid winter in others, I am going to do a giveaway for a paperback copy of this book.  Open internationally so long as the Book Depository ships to you free. Closes on 12th July. To enter just fill out form below.

Beach Girls Luanne Rice

Beach Girls
Luanne Rice
Published: Bantam Dell
Date: 2004
Format: Paperback
Pages: 428
Genre: Women's Fiction
Source: Own book

Twenty-five years ago three friends grew from girls to women on the sandy shores of Hubbard's Point, Connecticut, forging a bond they swore would last forever.  Then time and distance drew them apart - and one was lost forever.  Now her nine year old daughter has returned to the Point with her widowed father, longing to find the "beach girls" of her mother's stories.

I've had this book so long on my TBR shelf I no longer remember where I picked it up.  On looking through the reviews over on Book Journey I came across Sheila's review of Beach Girls by Luanne Rice. and immediately I could tell I would like it and decided to read it this year.  It was even better than I thought it would be and it is definitely relocating now to my Keeper shelf, once I have shared it with one of my sisters.  I lend her any book I've loved and think she will too.

Nell is the nine year old who has lost her mother and is yearning somehow to reach out and 'touch' her through her friends of long ago.  She is all of nine going on twenty.  I thought maybe she spoke and acted a little older than a nine year old, but then I thought of the wisdom I have come across from young people and decided to go with the flow.  She seeks out Stevie Moore a recluse, who paints and writes story books for children, always sharing the darker side of nature as well as the positive. While there is a notice up outside Stevie's house that says Go Away, Nell is determined to visit and so she does.  

Stevie is a complicated woman, at a young age she experienced the loss of her mother, so has an immediate 'feel' for Nell.  She has had a few unsuccessful marriages and now just lives by herself with her cat Tilly.  However she does have an aunt and cousin with whom she is close.  She longs for connection but is now careful with her heart.

Maddie Kilvert is one of the other women who was part of the 'beach girls', growing up she was secure in the knowledge of the love of her parents and older brother Jack, four years older than her. She always expected the best out of life.  Emma is the third 'beach girl' she's an extrovert, welcomes change and excitement and I sensed a little envious of Stevie.

Now so many years later life has very much changed for them.  One is dead, one does not know and the other is lost in grief, guilt and loss.  Can people recover from loss and go on to lead fulfilling lives? It's not easy and all the denial and avoidance will not help in the long run.  Is there hope?  The story Luanne Rice weaves says a resounding yes.

This book sucked me in, I loved the writing and the details of the coastline and the coastal habitat for all kinds of birds and other creatures, that was so well integrated into the story.  The theme of family and friendship was strong, as was the redeeming nature of love and faith and overcoming obstacles. One of those books I didn't want to end.

Seldom Come By. Sherryl Caulfield

Seldom Come By
Sherryl Caulfield
Publisher: Cedar Pocket Publishing
Date: December 2013
Format: Kindle ebook
Pages: 511
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Own ebook.

Two years after the sinking of the Titanic, Rebecca Crowe’s fascination with icebergs leads her to save a shipwrecked survivor, Samuel Dalton. Love sparks in the crystal cave of an iceberg but is thwarted by an unreasonable father and the Great War that drags Samuel and his brother, Matthew, to the Western Front as medical officers.

Knowing Rebecca is home safe in Newfoundland brings Samuel great comfort. But as the war moves towards its final harrowing days they both discover that tragedy and terror can strike anywhere. Only when Samuel and Rebecca can fully come to terms with such devastating loss and their impossible choices can their love soar.

Seldom Come By is written by Sherryl Caulfield, an Australian author.  It is the first book in her Iceberg trilogy.  I first heard of this book when I was reading a post by The Electic Reader reviewing the second one in the trilogy, Come What May.  Sheree was very convincing and I was hooked!

Seldom Come by was on special over at Amazon and I went straight across and bought it.  I was even more blessed when I won a copy for the second one - Come What May at The Eclectic Reader blog.  So of course with that excitement I needed to set myself down to read the first.  All I can say is - oh wow! Fabulous read. Loved it.

This book as it begins is set in Newfoundland, on an island where at times icebergs pass by.  It is a bleak place but fishermen eek out a living there.  Later on the book is set in Toronto and in Europe during the war of 1914 - 1918.  Living on Second Chance Island is Rebecca - the heroine of this story, and her sister Rachel and her parents Silas and Esther.  Rebecca is a strong young woman, she is like the son her parents never had.  One day Samuel - the hero arrives at the island.  At the time Rebecca is just about to be 15 years and Sam is about 19.

The characters are very real, I was hooked into their lives and all of them mattered to me.  Silas  was the one I found it hard to find compassion for - he is quite superstitious and uses religion and scripture in a way I am sure it was never intended.   The settings are very real, obviously Sherryl Caulfield has done her research and every part of the book was evocative of that time and place.  If I didn't ever want to go to Newfoundland before, I do now.

When I had finished this book I felt emotionally wrung out.  There are highs and lows that just demand of the reader that you experience some of what the characters are living through.  At times it was hard to read, at times I wondered whether characters would reach some kind of closure with integrity.  

I am not mentioning any details about the plot, it is best that you read it with no spoilers.  Just be prepared for an epic journey within and outside the characters' lives. 

Well written, beautiful, haunting.  I need just awhile to let this book settle before I reach for the next, Come What May, but I do know I am in for another treat.

If there is one book to take a risk on this year - make it this one.  I did, and I have been richly rewarded.

@Smashwords

@Amazon

@B&N

@Kobo

@iTunes

Waiting On You. Kristan Higgins.

Delighted today to be part of the publicity by Little Bird Publicity for:

Waiting On You
Kristan Higgins
Published: Harlequin
Date: March 25th 2014
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 464
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Colleen O'Rourke is in love with love... just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell, her first love, broke her heart... an experience Colleen doesn't want to have again, thanks. Since then, she's been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who's ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they've got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she's ever loved.

This is the third book in the Blue Heron series by Kristan Higgins.  It was one of those books that carried me away, right into the magical world of story.  I loved it.  It had a plot that always had something happening, I found no part that was ho hum.  Waiting on You has loads of humor, dangerous to have your mouth full of tea, and click over a page to read the laugh out loud moment! I really enjoyed those unexpected touches of fun.  

While this book may have tickled my funny bone, there is so much about it that touched my heart. Lucas, the dark gorgeous guy from the south side of Chicago, may seem to have everything, but he hankers after the one thing he doesn't have - that sense of truly belonging and home. If you have ever  been elbowed to the side, showing that you don't quite belong to this group, then you will have some understanding for him.  Even if you haven't, I believe you will feel some deep compassion for him.

Colleen is beautiful, kind, loving and compassionate.  She is the town matchmaker, notching up a number of successful romantic matches to her belt.  Yet while appearing ever wise, she actually has still to marry the love of her life.  She had one great love while in high school, and dated that love for four years until things went terribly wrong.  Lucas and Colleen, while everyone can see just how attracted they are to each other, just seem to be always out of sync.  Heartbreakingly so.  

While this book  has as its centre Lucas and Colleen, it is the cast of characters that surround them that made this book for me.  There is Bryce - Lucas' cousin, who is the doted upon son of Joe and Didi.  Bryce has never really grown up and he is now thirty something.  Joe wants Lucas to help him grow up!  I would have put my money on that being impossible - however forces worked together to provide some telling moments for Bryce.  The relationship between Joe and Lucas was another relationship that greatly held my interest.  Colleen has a twin Connor - surely he'll get his own story sometime, there is the twin's menopausal mother, and as well there is their Dad who is remarried to a woman only a few years older than the twins.  Mix in a ten year old half sister and life is never boring in Manningsport when the O'Rourkes and Campbells are around.

Waiting on You is a very apt title for this story - talk about waiting!  Just when I thought things were finally sorted out, oh no a little bomb is dropped and I wondered whether Colleen would ever hear those three little words she had been waiting on for so long.

Blue Heron Series

The Best Man   #1

The Perfect Match  #2

Waiting On You  #3

Author Kristan Higgins

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All For You. Jessica Scott

All For You
Jessica Scott
Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Date: February 14th 2014
Format: e-ARC
Pages: 307
Genre: Contemporary Military
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Stay sober. Get deployed. Lead his platoon. Those are the only things that matter to Sergeant First Class Reza Iaconelli. What he wants is for everyone to stay out of his way; what he gets is Captain Emily Lindberg telling him how to deal with his men. Fort Hood's newest shrink is smart as a whip and sexy as hell. She's also full of questions—about the army, its soldiers, and the agony etched on Reza's body and soul.

Emily has devoted her life to giving soldiers the care they need—and deserve. Little does she know that means facing down the fierce wall of muscle that is Sergeant Iaconelli like it's just another day at the office. When Reza agrees to help her understand what makes a soldier tick, she's thrilled. Too bad it doesn't help her unravel the sexy warrior in front of her who stokes her desire and touches a part of her she thought long dead. He's the man who thinks combat is the only escape from the demons that haunt him. The man who needs her most of all . . .

This is #4 in the Coming Home series of military romances by Jessica Scott.  It is an excellent series giving insight into military life for those involved in modern warfare.  All For You carries on in the vein of the previous three and to my mind even goes a step further.  Jessica Scott is a career army officer, she writes about what she knows.

In some ways I don't believe the cover really portrays the kind of book this is.  There is a bloody, dusty, sweaty reality to this book that the cover does not in any way indicate.  The models are too clean - they need to look like the amazing characters that Jessica Scott writes into her Coming Home books.

Reza is a complicated man, a man full of character - although he doesn't see it himself.  He shows integrity, raw loyalty and care in the dealings with his soldiers.  He has made some errors in judgement and he beats himself up about this.  Plus he battles an addiction that points to an underlying vulnerability in this tough soldier.

Emily is reasonably new to the army and doesn't have much background experience in terms of life in the face of enemy attack.  However as she deals with the soldiers and Reza inducts her into some aspects of army life she gains in knowledge and some real life experience.  She also knows when to break rules and stand by Reza.

The book itself explores a really difficult issue of suicide.  Men who have come back from the war, have served a number of deployments, and then they crack from the pressure of indelible memories and lost comrades.  How long does it take them to receive the help they need?  Do they even receive it?  What about those who haven't even been on deployment but show signs of pressure that are heading towards breaking point? How are they viewed?  

The army is an organisation and as such has its inspired leaders and great soldiers.  Unfortunately like all organisations it has its bullies, ineffectual leaders and struggling members.  I can only thank Jessica Scott for the realism that she brings to this book, the compassion it awakens in my heart for soldiers - and the way it calls me to look at those around me and as she says at the end of her book...

If you know anyone who is hurting, if you suspect someone is having a hard time, ask them.  Don't be afraid. Speak up.  Ask the question.  Because you never know what someone else is going through.

Coming Home series

1.    Because of You

1.5. Anything for You 

2     Until There Was You

2.5  I'll Be Home for Christmas

3     Back to You

4     All For You 

5.    Its Always Been You

Lost Lake. Sarah Addison Allen

Lost Lake
Sarah Addison Allen
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Date: January 2014
Format: e-ARC
Pages:304
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future.That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby’s past. Her husband George is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that’s left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires.

It’s a lot, but not enough to keep Eby from relinquishing Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand, and calling this her final summer at the lake. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door.  Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve, before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she’s all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer… and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago.

As I finish this book, I put my Kindle down and sit quietly.  I just feel the sadness and the joy, the wonder of just having read a book that was all I could ask of from a story.  Sarah Addison Allen has a gift for writing stories that are mysterious, magical, imaginative and beautiful.  I loved this book and just know it is one I will want to reread - a definite keeper.  I know at the end of 2014 I will define it as one of the best, if not the best.

The main characters felt so real to me - I wanted each character to have a book of their own - I fell so much in love with so many of them!  Throughout the book the reader is gradually given the back story of Eby, Kate, Lisette, Bulahdeen, Selina and Wes.  Then there is Devin - Kate's daughter, Cricket Kate's mother-in-law, Jack who loves Lisette - even Luc the lover who committed suicide when Lisette turned him down, Billy and the alligator.  All of them have fascinating stories.  All are searching for life, love and fulfillment.  Many are unsure of the path, or what their next step needs to be, but gathered at Lost Lake gradually relationships are healed and revitalised.  What seems like what may be the ending, doesn't need to be.  As Maudie tells Bulahdeen so many years ago "You can't change where you came from but you can change from where you go from here".

Lost Lake - the setting - is a place where "anything is possible".  It is a place where many of the characters are deeply contented and at peace.  It is a place that some of them lost (Kate) and where there is the threat that it will be lost now to all of them permanently.  It is run down and almost forgotten, but yet still a place of importance.  Will it be bought up by a developer and turned into something soulless, or can it be restored and rejuvenated, taking its proper place in the lives of the people who truly value it.

While this story is contemporary and mostly realistic, there are those touches of magic and fantasy, and moments of history that explain the past and bring it into the present.  Sarah Addison Allen has the ability to meld all these parts into a seamless story,  magic and fantasy is a facet of her books that gives them a particular uniqueness and takes the reader away into the magical realm of storytelling.  

Do or Die. Suzanne Brockmann

Do or Die
Suzanne Brockmann
Published: Random House - Ballantine
Date: 4th February 2014
Format:e-ARC
Pages: 576
Genre: Romantic suspense
Source:Publisher via NetGalley 

Navy SEAL Ian Dunn went rogue in a big way when he turned his talents to a lawless life of jewel heists and con jobs. Or so the world has been led to believe. In reality, the former Special Ops warrior is still fighting for good, leading a small band of freelance covert operatives who take care of high-stakes business in highly unofficial ways. That makes Ian the hands-down choice when the U.S. government must breach a heavily guarded embassy and rescue a pair of children kidnapped by their own father, a sinister foreign national willing to turn his kids into casualties. Shockingly, Ian passes on the mission for reasons he will not—or cannot—reveal.

But saying no is not an option. Especially not for Phoebe Kruger, Ian’s beautiful and unexpectedly brash new attorney. Determined to see the abducted children set free, she not only gets Ian on board but insists on riding shotgun on his Mission: Impossible style operation, whether he likes it or not.

Though Phoebe has a valuable knack for getting out of tight spots, there’s no denying the intensely intimate feelings growing between Ian and Phoebe as the team gears up for combat. But these are feelings they both must fight to control as they face an array of cold-blooded adversaries, including a vindictive mob boss who’s got Ian at the top of his hit list and a wealthy psychopath who loves murder as much as money. As they dodge death squads and play lethal games of deception, Ian and Phoebe will do whatever it takes to save the innocent and vanquish the guilty—or die trying.

Firstly I am a big fan of Suzanne Brockmann's books, and this book did nothing to change that! Fast paced action, engaging characters, surprises, chuckles and nail biting were all part of my reading this book.

I liked the way this book opened - with Ian in jail. Although we did see Ian in operation first, in the prologue,  he is not in jail for that little outing!  For awhile I was unsure whose side people were working for.  However that's part of the fun in this book, the characters too at times are unsure. It doesn't take long for the reader to sort it out though.  Phoebe, a lawyer Ian meets in jail when she comes to help spring him, is a great character.  While a very good lawyer, and one who can think on her feet, she is not always the one to have with you 'in the field'.  More than one character becomes annoyed with her because of her unthinking moves!  Watch her step up when its needed, she is gutsy and excellent at improvising.

Ian has been used to taking care of certain people, he will go to great lengths to protect them.  Does this make them grateful? Each person has slightly different reactions, but by the end of this book Ian has changed how he operates, he has been forced to re- evaluate, and treat others differently. However he loses none of his extensive leadership abilities.

There is a small cast of other characters who take part in the operation that Ian and Phoebe are involved in.  We meet  a few characters that are familiar from the Troubleshooter series, although it doesn't matter if you haven't read these books.  I'll let the book introduce them, keep your wits about you, I got tripped up, I should have been ready for it but wasn't.  So it was with a chuckle of delight when I was finally was enlightened as the reader.  I'd fallen into a little unnoticed trap.

The bad men in this book are bad!  Expect  some shootouts, wild car chases, people tied up, bombs and so on!  If you are like me, you kind of know its all going to turn out okay, but how okay is what I wanted to know!

Suzanne Brockmann often employs flashbacks in her writing, and she does in this book.  They are brief and work really well.  They give the reader background knowledge just as you need it.  She also writes a few times like a script.  This makes the action stand out and helps to build momentum and tension.

I hope Suzanne has started the next one in this series, because I want it now!

Reluctant Heroes

Do or Die.  #1

                                                             

The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion
Published: Penguin Books 2013
Format: Audio
Narrator: Dan O'Grady
Length:7 hours 30 minutes
Genre: Romantic comedy
Source: Own audiobook

Meet Don. Don is a genetics professor who just might be somewhere on the autistic spectrum. He looks a little like Gregory Peck and is getting married. He just doesn’t know who to yet. But he has designed a very detailed questionnaire to help him find the perfect woman. And it’s definitely not Rosie. Absolutely, completely, definitely not. Rosie, meanwhile, isn’t looking for love; she’s looking for her biological father. Sometimes, though, you don’t find love: love finds you...

My thoughts
This book was every bit as good as many readers before me have said.  I really enjoyed it.  I listened to the audio, often while I was out walking.  I caught myself either laughing out loud with surprise or just grinning.  It was so entertaining.  New Zealand born, Australian raised author Graeme Simsion has done a fabulous job.

Don thinks differently to most people - he lives a very ordered life, he struggles to understand emotions and is a very factual thinker.  Whenever he describes a person he meets, its very factual and always carries certain statistics.  Because he is like he is, he has often been teased and ridiculed in his life.  Yet his way of thinking and the skills he has, makes him a very marketable person on a variety of fronts.

As a genetics expert, he sets out to help Rosie find her actual father, her mother is dead and she regards her dad as her step-dad.  The extreme lengths that they go to provides much of the humour. Don also believes in telling it like it is, and his social relationships are few.  However he is capable of them as evidenced especially by Daphne, a fellow professor and his wife.

Rosie is everything Don is not looking for in a wife, but as their relationship develops, so too does Don.  I truly wasn't sure how this book was going to end, I loved the way it did, but could have accepted a different one if I had to.

It is (for me) difficult to understand people who are different, and so I welcome any book that helps me to see 'inside' a difference, so that I become more comfortable, understanding and accepting of the person who is an embodiment of that difference.  This book is superb.

Dan O"Grady  narrated The Rosie Project really well.  He spoke as I would imagine Don would speak.  It was so believable it was as if Don was speaking.  At first I was a little annoyed at his speaking of the women parts, a slight variation and that was all.  However after awhile I  settled down.  The fact that it was in the 1st person and Don was telling the story sort of suited the narration.  I don't often listen to men narrating because of the way they narrate women's voices.  I have to say it was okay in this book.  If you haven't read this book I highly recommend you listen to the audio version.

If You Could See What I See.

if you could see what I see
Cathy Lamb
Published: Kensington Books
Date: 2013
Genre: Women's fiction
Format: Paperback
Source: Own book

Summary from Goodreads

For decades, the women in Meggie O’Rourke’s family have run Lace, Satin, and Baubles, a lingerie business that specializes in creations as exquisitely pretty as they are practical. The dynamic in Meggie’s family, however, is perpetually dysfunctional. In fact, if Meggie weren’t being summoned back to Portland, Oregon, by her grandmother, she’d be inclined to stay away all together.

Since her husband’s death a year ago, Meggie’s emotions have been in constant flux, and so has her career as a documentary film maker. Finding ways to keep the family business afloat—and dealing with her squabbling sister and cousin—will at least give her a temporary focus. To draw customers to their website, Meggie decides to interview relatives and employees about their first bras and favorite lingerie. She envisions something flip and funny, but the confessions that emerge are unexpectedly poignant. There are stories of first loves and aching regrets, passionate mistakes and surprising rendezvous. And as the revelations illuminate her family’s past, Meggie begins to find her own way forward.

My thoughts
Some time ago I was hooked by Shelleyrae over on Book'd Out  when she wrote this review for If You Could See What I See by Cathy Lamb.  After reading her review I sent away for the book and just now got around to reading it.  I loved it.  Thanks to Shelleyrae I now have a new-to-me author; I want to read all the other books Cathy Lamb has written.

This book had an amazing cast of characters all centred around the family business.  Meggie who tells the story, has just recently returned, to become the CEO of the business - which is struggling. Meggie is struggling too, because of her recent past. This past is revealed piece by piece in the book - a mystery that is slowly revealed, through the flashbacks which work really well.  Little pieces of information are given and the reader wonders - why?

Meggie's sisters, grandmother and mother are all strong, feisty women.  They love, they fight for what they believe, they are there for each other.  They are all interesting, each has their own challenges to meet.  Lacey, one of Meggie's sisters has this amazing family of teenagers - and each have their own issues.  I liked every character, as I laughed and at other times felt my heart touched by their stories.

There are many issues explored in this book, each explored in a thoughtful and compassionate way by the author.  As a reader you are presented with the opportunity to think about these issues. As in life, there are no clear cut answers, however the reader is given insight into each character's point of view.  In every issue there are many stakeholders, Cathy Lamb shows this very well.

This book is a keeper, one to pick up and reread again.

Miracle Road. Emily March

Miracle Road
Emily March
Published: Random House - Ballantine
Date: 5th November 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Pages: 354
Format: eARC - Kindle.
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Summary from Goodreads.

After tragedy strikes his team, college basketball coach Lucca Romano arrives in the haven of Eternity Springs to reassess his life. Even a winning record and big offers can’t dent the wall of guilt that Lucca has built around himself. Nothing can - except maybe a vibrant new neighbour who won't give up on him.

Schoolteacher Hope Montgomery believes in miracles.  She has to believe—because giving up would mean crumbling under the greatest loss a parent can endure. Hope understands Lucca’s suffering; she lives it herself every day. However, the high school team needs his coaching expertise, so she sets out to draw him from his cold, solitary shell and into the warmth of life in their small Rocky Mountain town. But when a weak moment leads to consequences that shake Hope’s faith, it’s up to Lucca to put aside his heartache and show the teacher that here in Eternity Springs broken hearts can heal—just in time for Christmas.

My thoughts:
This is the 7th book in the Eternity Springs novels by Emily March.  This series is probably one of my top favorite set-in-a-small-town series.  It is right up there for me, Robyn Carr writes great small town books and so does Emily March.  I have relished every one of the Eternity Springs novels, Miracle Road being one of the best.   Mind you, I always love the one I am with!

In an Eternity Springs novel, at least one and probably two characters are going to face themselves and the greatest threats to their peace and happiness, tangle with personal demons and come out on the side of healing - because Eternity Springs has their own healing angel - Celeste Blessing.

Both Hope and Lucca carry heavy burdens, burdens that have knocked them down and affected them deeply.  Both have had different experiences - and ones that could happen to anyone, you only have to listen to the News on night television to hear sad stories similar to the ones Hope and Lucca have experienced.

There is great chemistry between Hope and Lucca from the beginning with some laugh out loud moments.  At various times one is stronger than the other, and as the story unfolds so does their growth and eventual happiness and healing.

The story is well written, there is no part in the story where it lags.  I was not tempted to skip any parts and I loved the interplay between the Romano family (Lucca's family). Especially there horror over their mother's love life.  Its obvious there are a few more tales to be told about his sister and brothers. Can't wait.  I also liked that we met briefly some of the characters from previous books and it was delightful to briefly meet up with the twin girls who belong to Nic and Gabe, from the very first book. The twins  are growing up, and are looking forward to soon being in Hope's kindergarten class.

While this book is number seven in the series, this book could easily stand alone for any reader, and is also a very fitting holiday seasonal read.

There are some books that I just have to read as soon as they are published - Eternity Springs novels by Emily March belong in that category for me.  Do you have books you just have to read straight away - they get no chance to linger on your TBR shelf?

Reflection Point  #6

Dreamweaver Trail  #8

The Perfect Match

The Perfect Match
Kristin Higgins
Published by: Harlequin
Publish Date: 29th October 2013
Genre: Contemporary romance
Pages: 448
Format: e-Arc
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Summary from Goodreads.

What if the perfect match is a perfect surprise?  Honor Holland has just been rejected by her life long crush.  And now - a mere three weeks later - Mr Perfect is engaged to her best friend.  But resilient, reliable Honor is going to pick herself up, dust herself off and get back out there, or she would if dating in Manningsport, New York, population 715, wasn't easier said than done.

Charming, handsome British professor Tom just wants to do right by his unofficial stepson Charlie, but his visa is about to expire. Now Tom must either get a green card or leave the States - and leave Charlie behind.

In a moment of impulsiveness, Honor agrees to help Tom with a marriage of convenience - and make her ex jealous in the process.  But juggling a fiance, hiding out from her former best friend and managing her job at the family vineyard isn't easy. And as sparks begin to fly between Honor and Tom, they might discover that their pretend relationship is far too perfect to be anything but true love.

My thoughts:
This is the second book in Kristin Higgins Blue Heron series - the first being The Best Man ( a book I really enjoyed).   I enjoyed The Perfect Match as well. It has all the previous characters from the first book, including Pop and Goggy - Honor's grandparents.  While the book is mostly about Honor there are some great updates for the family. However this book could easily be read as a stand alone.

 What I really liked was there were times when I was surprised by something so humorous that all I could do was chuckle aloud.  Kristin Higgins has a talent for writing the scene that will tickle your funny bone!  While this book has a tone of comedy to it, there are some serious events and issues that make this book more than a light contemporary comedy romance.  A good book will have the reader questioning their own values and thoughts about how they might handle certain situations. This book did that for me.

Both Honor and Tom, have issues around abandonment and trust.  Honor's mother died in a car accident when she was about sixteen, and now her long time friend and a man she loved has turned her down, and her best friend has really 'done the dirty' on her.  Tom had his mother walk out on him when he was about six years old, his previous fiance went off for a weekend with her ex partner (and the father of Charlie - Tom's almost stepson).  Watching them work out all this was very engaging, and I was up late one night to finish it and find out how it all worked out.

I liked Honor the main female character, although there were times I wished she would be really mean to Brogan - the man she told she loved and Dana her best friend. (Probably this says more about me than Honor!).  While she did stand up for herself, at times I was frustrated when she was more forgiving than I wished.  As a normal human being she had her points of weakness, however she did also have guts and the strength to be loving, caring and forgiving where it counted.

The relationship between Tom and his almost stepson Charlie was a part of the book I also was interested in.  A boy who has lost his mother and whose father only breezes in and out of his life occasionally and then deserts him.  He lives with grandparents who at best were far from ideal to raise Charlie - a young teen.  Charlie's growth and change is a part of what made this book heart warming for me.

The Perfect Match is a warm, wonderful book about love and the importance of belonging and family.  A delightfully funny story that will both entertain and provoke thought and may lead you to  stop and question some of your own values.