The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

          I listened to the audio book version of this one, and thoroughly enjoyed it.   The premise would have seemed a bit farfetched, except that I know someone it happened to.  Gaby gets a marriage proposal, not so unreal. It happens all the time.  But, two other men decide they cannot let her get away without a fight.  They both propose as well.  Now she is juggling three proposals.

          She also has grown children that she hasn’t seen as a group since their father died several years earlier. She decides to use the wedding as a way to get the family together for Christmas.  She plans the wedding for Christmas Day, but throws in a twist.  She will not reveal the identity of the groom until the ceremony is about to begin!

          There is a lot of fun and excitement, and several small twists to keep the action moving. Gaby keeps her kids in the loop via video messages that she records, copies and sends to them all. At the moment of truth, Gaby announces the name of the groom and they are duly wed. The part that amazes me is that the author leads us to believe that Gaby’s relationship with the pair of suitors she refused will not change.

          That point aside, I recommend this book to those who enjoy love stories and family dramas. It’s a quick, fun read and thoroughly enjoyable.

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

               This is a looooong book – it took me ten or eleven days to read it. Even so, I’m not sure I’d have cut out more than a few sentences, if I’d had the opportunity. The story is complex and tightly woven with few extraneous loose threads hanging out. I was very impressed.

               I started with a certain level of concern that I would have trouble reading such a long work based in another culture. Sometimes translations of foreign works leave me struggling with cultural ignorance issues – my cultural ignorance, not the author’s.  I often find names of people and places hard to deal with as well. Not so much with 1Q84. Fortunately, translating Japanese into English is very much a spell-like-it-sounds proposition.

               I recommend this story. It is absolutely not a quick, fun read. But it kept me interested and entertained for over a week!

Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs

               Temperance Brennan #14

               Flash and Bones is the fourteenth in the Temperance Brennan series. I have not read them all, but have taken in and enjoyed several of them. This one is set to the backdrop of the Charlotte Motor Speedway during race week of the Coca-Cola 600.  Since we are a NASCAR family, I am quite familiar with Charlotte, North Carolina, the history of NASCAR, and many of its most famous names, past and present.  Reichs captured the less than sane fanaticism of NASCAR aficionados very well, and gave some excellent background on the sport for those readers less familiar than I.

               I was, however, a little disappointed with the rest of the story. It almost seemed as though Reichs used the excitement and drama of race week as a crutch for a weak story line.

               Overall, it’s a pretty good book, but if I had failed to appreciate the NASCAR angle, it would not have fared so well with me.

Lethal by Sandra Brown

               I liked this one. It sucked me in early and kept me interested. And I was sure I had it all figured out until the very end when I was forced to admit I am not always as smart as I think I am.

               I especially liked the kid in this one – Emily.  She’s four. Brown must have kids of her own because she nailed this one. The child is bright and inquisitive and utterly forthright as only a four-year-old can be.

               I listened to this book, which is the only reason I didn’t finish it all in one day. It’s a good who-done-it with plenty of twists, turns, fun and fear along the way.

77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz

               I’m not a regular reader of Dean Koontz or any other horror writer for that matter.  Regular readers of this site will know by now that I read to be entertained and being scared and/or grossed out is not my idea of entertainment. However, this book made the best seller list and I put it on my to-read schedule. 

               I was fairly impressed 77 Shadow Street. It is as much a science fiction story as a horror story. One of my favorite sci-fi concepts is time travel, and while time travel is not really the point of this book, time shifts within the setting are ongoing throughout the story which piqued my interest. Another ongoing concept in the book is the idea of nanotechnology being able to transform human beings, in this case pretty horribly. A third sci-fi thread running through the story is the “rise of the machines”, artificially intelligent creations eventually taking over the earth and destroying the humans that created them in the first place. This concept is not one of my favorites, but it is a very intriguing and frightening idea.

               And, of course, in the time and place of this story, the humans do prevail. Those who will unwittingly unleash the machines in the future are rendered harmless in the present. But as with any good horror story, the villain remains, biding his time and doing his best to bring about the correct series of events in the past that will allow it to prevail in the future.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer

               I nearly gave up on this one several times, it’s been turned into a movie, and I figured it had to develop a better story line soon. I disliked this book so much the movie will probably be nominated for an Oscar.  [9 out of 10 Oscar nominated films are ones I feel I paid too much for…]

               My biggest problem with this book is that I did not find it entertaining – heartbreaking, horrifying, inscrutable, yes, but no fun.

               I can remember being utterly horrified as a child by a description of the bombing of Dresden, Germany. The description here made me feel a bit ill. And though it has been more than a decade, mentally reliving 9/11 is still upsetting.

               On a lighter note, though, it s been a very long time since I read a work of fiction with this many illustrations.

               I don’t recommend reading this book.  Maybe the movie is less depressing.

The Sweetest Thing by Barbara Freethy

               When an old man stops into Faith’s Fancies, a pastry shop,  and weaves a tale of love and loss and ancient curses, the very practical Faith doesn’t really believe him. But she is charmed by Julien and agrees to assist him in tracking down the love of his life that he hasn’t seen in fifty years.

               Faith soon meets Julien’s grandson, Alex, a successful business owner and a man afraid to open his heart to anyone.

               As the search for Julien’s lost love moves forward, Faith and Alex find themselves drawn to each other, but both have a lot of baggage to unload – and a curse to lift – before they can fall in love and create the family they both want so much.

               This was a quick, fun read. It took me a while to connect that the title is The Sweetest Thing because Faith is a pastry chef. I enjoyed this book, but maybe I would have liked it better if I were more awake when I read it. Go ahead and give it a taste, it’s quite entertaining!

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

            Wow! That’s my initial reaction upon finishing this book. Wow! If I had to pick three words that best describe this book, they would be wow, wow and wow! This one really blew me away.

               I had to wonder at my intense reaction, though. If I hadn’t read it at this point in my life, would it have touched me so deeply? I don’t know the answer for sure, but I suspect it is “no”. I do know that in this book, Sparks describes the sweetest love story I ever remember hearing.  He also describes a person in such a way that it rocked me to my core. I know that person.  I’ve met her.  I agree with everything he said about her. If I’d never lived through my own love stories and never met the people Sparks’ descriptions evoked in me, I’m sure I would have reacted differently to the story.

               The Best of Me also resonated with because I believe that doing the right thing ultimately benefits me even if I don’t see the immediate cause and effect. I believe everything we do affects those around us. I think we all have a purpose in our lives, even if we cannot determine it ourselves. And, I really do believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, even when I find myself to be a member of the few. All of this theme appear in this book.

               I think this is a great book for adults.  I don’t know that a young person would necessarily have the experiences to relate well to this tale. And I also think it will be a book that will speak to me differently every time I read it.

               Wow!

Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr

Virgin River #17              

              Connor’s life is falling apart. His one-year marriage has just ended and he’s putting in ever longer hours at the hardware store he inherited form his father. Taking out the trash one night after closing the store, he witnesses a murder. After coming forward, his business is burned down and his life is threatened. The local DA decides to stash him in the little mountain town of Virgin River to keep him safe till the trial.

               Leslie’s life is falling apart. Her eight-year marriage has just ended. Her husband left her for his pregnant mistress and now expects Leslie to be good friends with the two of them. Leslie heads to Virgin River to get away from them and escape her humiliation for a few months.

               Connor and Leslie meet, sparks fly and love blooms along with the wildflowers in the mountains.

               I enjoyed this edition of the Virgin River saga, perhaps because I’ve read others and am familiar with the town and its characters. Or maybe just because the books are will written and the characters are memorable, and Virgin River is the kind of community we’d all love to be a part of.

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

               Wow! I really liked this one.

               Ann Rice has managed to turn a werewolf into a sort of superhero. Her Morphenkinder can scent evil and are driven to annihilate it. But they are intrinsically unable to harm the innocent. They have control over when and where the “change” happens. (The phase of the moon is irrelevant.) And they retain their human intellect while in animal form.

               There is a good bit of philosophy intertwined with the action and suspense.  And they are balance nicely.  I highly recommend this book, and won’t mind in the least if Rice chooses to revisit these characters.

Bonnie by Iris Johanson

               I started listening to this book with a bit of a ho-hum attitude, “Just another visit with Eve and the gang.” And the book started out meeting my expectations. It picked up where Eve had left off, with everyone hunting for Bonnie’s killer.  I assumed they’d find him; Eve would try to kill him and be unable to bring herself to do it, blah blah blah.

               Guess what? I was wrong. This turned out to be a really good story – better than Johanson’s last few, in my opinion.  Right and wrong, fair and just are not black and white, and she does an excellent job of displaying shades of gray.

               Johanson also managed to engage me emotionally in Bonnie which hasn’t happened for a while.  I finished one chapter only to discover the front of my shirt soaked with tears I hadn’t realized I was shedding.

               The slow, predictable start of this book is well worth wading through to get to the end.  I only hope in her next book, Johanson goes back to having Eve and the gang solving murders of the more mundane kind and focuses less on their individual lives.

              

The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon

               This book is part of a larger series called the Lord John novels. The series and its novels are outlined in the Preface to the book – and I gotta tell ya, I was totally confused by the time I’d finished reading it. So, with great trepidation, I opened Section I.

               And, was pleasantly surprised at how easily I followed the story line. I must admit, it did help that I am somewhat familiar with the historical time period and the customs of the British upper class. Without that background, some of the activities would be pretty inexplicable.

               I enjoyed the characters and the plot line.  The action moved along at a good pace.  I have not yet decided If I want to read the whole series, but I have added the first one, Outlander (if I interpreted the Preface correctly), to my book list.

The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods

Chesapeake Shores #9

               How is a chick supposed to resist a double wedding? I don’t think it’s possible. This is without question a “chick” book – and a fine example of one it is.

               Woods has written a number of Chesapeake Shore books featuring the O’Brien family.  This installment adds some more Irish flair as a young woman and her grandfather come to the Shores for a visit and decide to stay a lifetime.

               Between pub openings and gallery showings and trips to the hospital, a young couple learn valuable lessons in communication and compromise. And an older couple rekindle the fires of the youths. It all ends up with a double wedding in the family matriarch’s summer garden – a wedding cut short by the impending arrival of the newest member of the clan!

Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich

               You would think that in a book entitled Explosive Eighteen Stephanie Plum’s car would blow up repeatedly.  It does not blow up at all. As a matter of fact there are no explosions at all till the very end when Lula sets one off when she accidentally discharges her rocket launcher and hits a propane tank.

               Yes, this is another wild romp through New Jersey. And while it is not exactly intellectually stimulating, I did spend a large amount of time laughing out loud.

               Unfortunately, for those of you who have not yet met Stephanie, Lula and the guys, this book does not work as a standalone. But, I highly recommend the whole series for a rollicking good time.

Death Comes To Pemberley by PD James

               I’ll start off by admitting I am not a Jane Austin fan. She is the author that created Pemberley. I only managed to listen to the entirety of Pride and Prejudice last summer while refinishing a houseful of woodwork. I’m not sure which part was more tedious – refinishing or listening.

               So it was with some trepidation that I approached Death Comes to Pemberley. I was pleasantly surprised. While I wouldn’t want to spend my whole life reading books like this one, the tale was quite engaging. Every time I had to put it down, I wished I didn’t have to. I was pleased with the character development and the plot twists. And, I liked that all the loose ends got tied up at the end.

               I think this would work as a standalone book, but am certain I found the characters and their relationships easier to follow having listened to Pride and Prejudice first.

               I’ll give this book a good recommendation. I am so glad PD James surprised and engaged me with her story.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

               The marriage plot was a common literary device in Victorian literature. It is exactly what it sounds like-a story line revolving around making a proper marriage. In these more modern times when marriages are more emotional compacts than social contracts, the marriage plot as such is no longer a valid device. However, as the title implies, Eugenides is making an attempt to give new life to an outmoded plot frame.

               As I’m writing I’m still trying to decide if I like the story or not – never a good sign. It seems to be a story about the main character, Madeline, making a good marriage. There are two men involved, Leonard and Mitchell. And, I’ve got to tell you, if I’d been Madeline, I’d have chosen none of the above.  

               Mitchell, on the day he meets Madeline, determines to marry her, but does little to achieve this despite early encouragement from her.  Deciding to marry Madeline is a longer, slower process for Leonard. A large portion of the book is spent analyzing the agonies endured by Leonard due to ill-controlled manic-depression. Another large portion is devoted to Mitchell’s travels abroad, his work volunteering for Mother Teresa, and his spiritual development.

               I would have liked to have seen more about Madeline and her relationship with Mitchell, and less about the details of coping with the day to day trauma of Leonard’s illness.  This story felt very unbalanced to me. I know a lot more about the men than I need to, and not enough about Madeline and her motivations.

              

The Litigators by John Grisham

               I’ll start by saying I’ve never been a huge Grisham fan. I do not generally find lawyer stories amusing, and they are kind of his specialty. His stories tend to be a bit dark and sad. Since I read primarily to be entertained, his style and mine do not mesh well.

               That said, I really enjoyed The Litigators. I was highly entertained. It starts with a young lawyer, David Zinc, working for an enormous firm in Chicago. As he goes to work the first day of the story, the usual dread of another day in the salt mine is just too much. As he steps out of the elevator on his floor he suddenly knows he just can’t do it anymore. He turns around and dives through the closing doors behind him, sits on the elevator car floor giggling, rides ninety-odd floors down and runs for freedom.

               Now there is a scene millions of us would love to be a part of. During his insane run, he stumbles into the struggling firm of Finley and Figg.

               The escapades of the Finley and Figg gang are quite entertaining, and David’s maturation process is as well. This is one Grisham novel where everybody lives happily ever after.

               Grisham fans may be less than keen on this book. But, I recommend it – probably for the same reasons his usual readers won’t.

              

Quicksilver by Amanda Quick

               The Looking Glass Trilogy Book 2

               This is without question my favorite of the Looking Glass stories, although I’ve really liked them all.

               Quicksilver is set in the past as opposed to the other books which are set in the present. I think I enjoy the dichotomy of a Victorian lady being smart, talented and self-sufficient.

               The lady in question is Victoria.  She has the psychical talent of being able to see after images in mirrors. She makes her living doing mirror readings.

               Owen, the male lead, is a member of a family whose psychical talent allows them to see the trail of evil. And, they make their livings tracking it down and eradicating it.

               Victoria runs afoul of an evil doer who wants to kill her. Owen is following the trial of evil left behind, discovers Virginia, and saves her. Together they solve the mystery of the glass talent murders, evil destroys itself, and everybody apparently lives happily ever after.

               I must say that while this is billed as part of a trilogy, all three books leave enough questions, loose ends and fascinating characters to create a much longer series. Maybe Ms. Quick will indulge us with more of these stories. 

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston

               Micro is the book Michael Crichton was writing when he died.  It was completed by Richard Preston. That probably explains why this book is not as tightly written as some of Crichton’s others.

               This one had several main characters – none of whom were as vivid as most of Crichton’s usual characters. And, the story started out being told from Peter’s point of view and ended up being told from Rick’s.  This abrupt shift of gears felt clumsy and irritated me a bit.

               Apparently, Crichton wanted this story to be fun, and early on it triggered memories of the trailers for Honey I Shrunk the Kids. Another, later scene caused a similar memory of a scene from The Fly to flash through my head.  So he succeeded there. It was also very informative, in a non-tutorial way, about the flora and fauna in Hawaii.

               I found this book to be a bit disappointing. There is really nothing too major wrong with it. It is simply not quite what I was expecting.  The good guys were a little bland and the bad guy, while really, really bad was almost a caricature. I just didn’t “feel” the evil, you know. I tend to have a hard time with books by multiple authors. It is difficult to smooth the edges where one person’s work butts up against another’s. 

Shock Wave by John Sanford

               Virgil Flowers #5

               Virgil Flowers, a very relaxed sort of detective, finds himself on the trail of a bomber.

               Pyemart, a large discount store (think Wal-Mart), has decided to build its next giant facility in a small town in Minnesota.  Before long someone sets off a bomb in its corporate headquarters followed quickly by an explosion at the construction site.

               Virgil Flowers is assigned the case. He hooks his fishing boat to the back of his pickup and heads into town.

               As with all good who-done-its, Flowers follows a myriad of leads, gathering facts and evidence, and at some point puts it all together to nail the bad guy. He manages this all between beers and fishing and naps.

                I really enjoyed this book. I laughed and gasped and had a couple of ah-hah moments right along with the characters. I look forward the Sanford’s next Virgil Flowers adventure.

In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz

               The Looking Glass Trilogy book 1

               I decided to read this book after reading book three in the series, Canyons of the Night. I liked that one so well, I just had to hear the rest of the story.  After reading In Too Deep, I cannot wait to get to Quicksilver, book 2!

               This is a story set in modern times, but with a paranormal twist. Many of the characters have psychical abilities and certain objects are also imbued with power. It is against this background that Fallon Jones and Isabella Valdez meet in the tiny town of Scar Cove.

               Isabella was raised in a family of conspiracy theory believers. She was born off the grid and has lived off it most of her life, moving often and changing names like most women change shoes.  She has psychical talent, but often hides her light under a bushel.

               Fallon is the scion of an old and powerful family of psychical investigators. They have traditionally chaired the Arcane Society, a group who polices the psychic population. 

               Isabella shows up in Scar Cove one dark night and realizes quickly she has found her place in the world.  Not long after, she gets a job as an office manager/investigator at Fallon’s firm.  While investigating a cache of weapons grade psychical artifacts, Fallon and Isabella also discover their love for one another.

               This was a fun who-done-it/love story, with enough twists to keep me interested. And, while this is billed as part of a trilogy, there could very well be lots of stories to tell both before and after the events in these three.

The Race by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott

               Isaac Bell #4

               This is book 4 of the Isaac Bell series, but the first one I’ve read. It did fairly well as a standalone. Overall, I was a little disappointed. I’m accustomed to Cussler plots being tauter and the characters being more memorable.

               The Race is set during the early days of flying – later than the Wright brothers, but before Lindbergh and Earhart. A newspaper has set up a cross country flying race. Its entry is Josephine Frost, “America’s Sweetheart of the Air”.  She is not only attempting the dangerous feat of flying cross country (expected to take about 80 days), but her insane husband is trying to kill her. So the newspaper hires Isaac Bell’s firm of detectives to protect her on the journey.

               As the race progresses, Josephine overcomes various hazards that leave her competitors literally dropping out of the race, while Isaac Bell foils her husband’s ever more violent  attempts to murder her.

                This is a fairly fun read that manages to sneak in a good portion of the early history of aviation.

              

Only Us, by Susan Mallory

        Fools Gold series book 6.1

               Only Us is was a quick read – I finished it in one afternoon- but a fairly fun one. It tells the story of Rina, a dog groomer in the small town of Fool’s Gold.  She is in love with the local vet, Cameron and his daughter Kaitlin.

               Rina’s best friend talks her into revealing her feelings to Cameron.  Cameron does not react well at first.  He has been badly hurt by his ex-wife who left he and Kaitlin shortly after the child’s birth.

               Rina’s heart is broken, and she feels her only recourse is to separate herself completely from Cameron and Kaitlin. Once she begins this process, Cameron realizes that not only is Rina an integral part of their lives, but that he loves her as well. 

               The ending implies that everyone lives happily ever after. 

               I was not as thrilled with this book, as I was with Only His, the sixth book in the series.  The characters were not as well fleshed out and the plot line was very simple, without any side stories or depth.  But this was not intended to be a full-fledged novel, more of a novella or short story.  And as such it works very well.

Dark Predator (Carpathian) by Christine Feehan

          Book #22 of the Dark Series

          I knew Dark Predator was part of a series when I started the book, but didn’t realize it was number twenty-two.  The book does an excellent job of standing alone. At no point did I feel lost or left out of the story.  And, it’s a good one.

          The main character , Zacarias De La Cruz, is over one thousand years old.  For centuries he has fought evil and it has taken its toll on his spirit. Carpathians, like the more commonly known vampires, cannot abide sunlight. And, Zacarias decides to go into that great good night by giving himself to the sun.

          Zacarias heads to one of his family’s many ranchos in the Amazon rainforest, this one in Peru. As he lays down in preparation for sunrise and death, he is spotted by a young woman, Marguarita.  Marguarita and her entire family have served the De La Cruz family for generations.  She understands instantly what he means to do. And she cannot bear it.  She saves him despite his orders to let him die.

          Zacarias pays her back for her disobedience by marrying her in the ancient Carpathian tradition. But, as is usual in these cases, he is the one suffering within the confines of the relationship. 

          As the story unfolds, Marguarita and Zacarias learn to be with each other while ridding the world of great evil.

          As I mentioned earlier, this is a good book.  I now intend to try reading some of the earlier ones.  If they are as satisfying as this one, I may have just added another twenty-one items to my reading list.

              

Bring Me Home for Christmas by Robyn Carr

          This is a sweet story of finding your love and your place.

          It starts with Becca (love the name, by the way) crashing a hunting/fishing trip taken by her brother and a group of his friends.  One of the guys in the group is Denny, a boy she fell in love with long ago, and with whom she could not build a relationship at the time.

          Becca’s intent was to see Denny again, clear up the lingering feelings she still had for him and move on to an engagement with her current boyfriend. Things do not work out according to plan.

          When Becca breaks her ankle and cannot travel home for several weeks she has the time to realize she still loves Denny. During the same period of time, she also comes to love the people of Virgin River, and she and Denny decide to make their lives there.

          I really felt these characters.  Everyone in Denny’s circle of friends has stuck in my mind.  I remember their names.  That’s one of the signs of a well written story in my book.

          Take a trip to Virgin River with Becca. You may just find you love it as much as she does.

Envy by J R Ward

                    Fallen Angels series #3

          J R Ward writes “erotic, paranormal, romance”. That’s not only a mouthful, but quite an amalgamation of genres as well.  And, I must say, she delivered on all three in Envy.

          The Fallen Angels series, of which this is book three, is the tale of a contest between good and evil.  The premise is the very common concept of whichever side collects the most souls, wins.

          We have angels, demons, and humans who interact with them which covers the paranormal aspect of Ward’s writing description. We have some folks finding “the one”, and others working on their long term relationships, which covers the romance aspect. And, we have some well written soft-porn which covers the erotica.  This book has it all, apparently.

          I liked this book and now plan to read both the previous stories in the series as well as the subsequent ones.

Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steel

          Hotel Vendome is the story of a girl, Heloise, who grows up in a hotel. Her father buys the place when she is two years old, renovates it and makes it into one of the premiere places to stay in New York.

          Heloise’s mother leaves them for another man shortly after the hotel opens for business.  Heloise and her father live happily on the premises until she graduates high school and goes to Switzerland to study hotel management.

          While Heloise is away at school, her father falls in love with a woman named Natalie. It has always been just Hugues and Heloise, and Daddy fears his daughter’s reaction when she finds out he has broadened their little circle. He hems and haws and fails to tell his child about Natalie for an entire year.  When Heloise returns from college and is finally informed, we see exactly why her father hesitated. The girl is snarky and rude to her father and totally ignores Natalie. This goes on for months.

          Finally, on the eve of Natalie and Hugues’ wedding, Heloise begins to behave more like an adult and less like a spoiled brat. This happy state of affairs lasts until she is told of Natalie’s pregnancy. Heloise goes through another, albeit shorter and less nasty, rampage. It comes to an abrupt end as she rushed Natalie to the hospital during a miscarriage scare.

          Heloise eventually grows up both mentally and emotionally.  She takes over the management of the hotel when her father retires.

          There was a large section in the middle of this story where Hugues is being a total coward and refusing to tell his college-age daughter he has a girlfriend. By not including her in the development of the relationship, the information was doubly shocking to Heloise. Not only had her father been involved with “another woman”, but they had been deceiving her the whole time. If Daddy had casually mentioned he was dating someone, Heloise would have dealt with the changes a bite at a time instead of trying to swallow the whole elephant at once.

          Then again, I kept thinking Heloise was behaving like an impossibly spoiled princess, and I was appalled that her father let her get away with it. It is inconceivable to me that a nineteen-year-old seriously thinks her single father should not date. Give me a break!

          However, late as it may have been, Heloise does grow up to be a gracious, self-sufficient woman in the end.  I only hope, for the sake of Heloise’s younger siblings, Hugues learned from his mistakes.