Under a Summer Skye (Skye Sisters, Book One)

 

SUE MOORCROFT

Stats: Kindle Edition, expected pub date 5/23/24

How acquired: Via NetGalley

First line: Thea’s heart tried to claw itself out of her chest as she stooped over the motionless figure sprawled in the road.

(Goodreads synopsis below.)

My thoughts: This is my first time reading Ms. Moorcroft, and I didn’t really know what to expect. I love stories set in small communities, and the setting of the Isle of Skye in Scotland definitely interested me. And just 2% into the story, when Thea witnesses a handsome stranger rescuing a drowning dog, I was hooked.

Often when I read I’ll pause to look up the pronunciation of a word, because even reading silently to myself I like to pronounce things correctly. I didn’t have to worry about that here, thought, thanks to the author who skillfully and helpfully inserted pronunciations, such as Thea remarking to Dev that when she moved to the Island from Suffolk she thought “Sleat” was pronounced “sleet” rather than “slate” (so did I). And most surprising to me was learning that “Loch” is pronounced with a “chh” sound at the end rather than as “lock”! Who knew?! There are also lot of great descriptions of the countryside, the village, the ocean, the sky. And the author is obviously very knowledgeable about gardening, or did some thorough research on the subject.

Thea and her sister both work at a manor home that is partially open to the public, Thea as head gardener, and Ezzie in administration. In her previous life Thea had starred on a reality TV show, until a collision between her car and a bicyclist spun her world into chaos. But she, along with Ezzie, has made a new life for herself in this remote area. When Dev shows up just in time to rescue that dog, Thea mistakes him for a job applicant, and Dev seizes on the idea and runs with it. He’s actually there to try and secure an interview with Thea for a trashy celebrity website, a job he hates but has taken out of financial need. The thought of spending the summer on Skye, working with his hands in the gardens instead, seems like heaven and an opportunity too good to pass up. But the purpose of his original mission has already set wheels in motion, and he spends much of the book trying to do damage control and agonizing over whether or not to confess the truth to Thea. I loved Dev, but at times I wanted to knock him on the head and tell him he needed to come clean. I often had a feeling a dread, for of course the day of reckoning would come eventually.

This was a truly delightful read, that touched on some deep issues, as Thea, who was adopted, also deals with learning who her birth mother is. The secondary characters are not necessarily fleshed out well, but I was so caught up in Thea and Dev, and Ezzie, and eventually Thea’s birth mother, that I didn’t care. And the little dog, Daisy, who is a joyful character in her own right. I gather that the second book in the series will be Ezzie’s story, and I am eagerly looking forward to it.

*Received via NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed*

Synopsis from Goodreads:

A chance encounter is about to change everything for Thea Wynter.

The moment she arrived on the Isle of Skye, life changed for Thea. Running from a succession of wrong turns, she comes to the island in search of blue sea, endless skies, and mountains that make the heart soar. Here, she feels at peace.

Just for You

Cute cover!

DOREEN RAINEY

Stats for my copy: Paperback, Arabesque Books, 2002.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Alexis Shaw waved to the dealer as she drove off the lot into the late afternoon sun.

(For the Goodreads synopsis, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

My thoughts: As I started this book I expected fairly standard category romance fare. Alexis has been voted Businesswoman of the Year by a prestigious magazine, and is out celebrating with a friend. Malcolm and his friend happen to be at the same restaurant, and a chance meeting occurs when Malcolm's friend makes a fool of himself over Alexis and her friend rejecting a bottle of champagne he has sent to their table, and then rejecting him to his face when he approaches their table. (“What are you ladies...gay?”) Thank god Rick isn't the hero of the story! Neither Alexis nor Malcolm expect to see each other again, but as fate would have it, Malcolm is the journalist interviewing Alexis for the magazine. Insults fly and they are promptly at each others throats. I'll tell ya, I love a good enemies to lovers story!

I really liked Alexis, despite her almost maniacal hatred of weddings and marriage. She runs a very successful event planning business, but refuses to plan weddings. Other than that small flaw, she's a wonderful spitfire character, and of course Malcolm is drawn to her. And I loved Malcolm. He's reached a point in his life where he wants to settle down, put down roots, have a family. He accepts his feelings for her much quicker than she does, and I loved how he met her prickliness with kindness and compassion, not to mention humorous admiration.

There are several supporting characters, such as Alexis' sister Melanie, who shows up unexpectedly to hide out while reevaluating her life. Their lives were shaped by their mother, who used her money and influence to buy success for her daughters. Alexis broke away while in college and never speaks to her mother, while Melanie always gave in and did what was expected of her. But now she's realized that she's very unhappy with her life, and I loved watching her grow and rediscover what's important to her. Malcolm, like Alexis, has never gone in for long term relationships, and his brother and cousin tease him mercilessly once they realize a woman is behind his sudden inability to concentrate on their weekly basketball games. He also has a nosy secretary who is eager to figure out who the mystery woman is, and an ex who seems to be stalking him – and Alexis.

This is a romance, but there's a bit of suspense thrown in, and a surprise twist towards the end, and when it was all said and done I got emotional and cried as I read. When you pluck a random book off the shelves, by an author you know nothing about, you never know what you'll get. In this case I got a wonderful love story and a new favorite author whose backlist I need to hunt down now.

Goodreads synopsis: Event planner Alexis Shaw's booming company, Just For You, plans everything – except weddings. As far as Alexis is concerned, marriage is a waste of time, heart, and money. The policy hasn't hurt her any – she's even named Businesswoman of the Year by Image Magazine. To celebrate, Alexis goes out to dinner with her best friend. All's well, until an admirer sends over a bottle of champagne – and won't take no for an answer, even when his handsome colleague, Malcolm Singleton, tries to convince him to back off. Fortunately, Alexis can take care of herself.

Magazine writer Malcolm Singleton knows his chances of seeing the spunky, sexy woman from the restaurant again are nearly impossible – until he learns that his next subject is the Businesswoman of the Year herself. Soon, he and Alexis discover they have a few things in common, including a mutual attraction. But as Malcolm resolves to warm Alexis's cynical heart, he discovers a devastating secret about her award nomination that could destroy their blossoming love. Will telling Alexis the truth mean the end of their relationship – or the beginning of the love of a lifetime?  

Versions of Her

ANDREA LOCHEN

Stats for my copy: ebook, Red Adept Publishing, LLC, 7/23/19.

How acquired: Gifted to me from the author.

First line: Kelsey was running late, of course.

My thoughts: What a lovely story! You know how you start reading a book, and it's enjoyable, and you're thinking it'll be at least three stars, probably four. And then somewhere, you're not sure exactly where, it becomes a five star book, and you're not even half finished. The writing started out solid and flowing rather effortlessly and then became enveloping as time passed unnoticed.

Sometimes she wanted to physically shake the hope out of him until he was as empty and barren as she was.

It's a wonderful character study. Two sisters, complete opposites, with distance, both physical and metaphorical, between them, who seem to have little in common yet are united in grief as they both still mourn the loss of their mother four years earlier. They have fond memories of summers spent at the family lake house, which their mother bequeathed to them. But the recent tenants have moved out and the house stands empty, and Melanie has decided it's time to sell, and while Kelsey doesn't really agree, she grudgingly goes along with the plan.

Their discovery of the hidden closet, and how it leads them to glimpses from their mother's past, came a little bit out of left field, and I absolutely loved it. While I realize other reviewers may have already given it away (I did not read any reviews before I picked up the book), I don't want to say anything more about that aspect of the story, as I'd like other readers to have that plot twist take them unawares the way it did me. Believe me, it's worth it.

And of course I have to mention Sprocket, Kelsey's dog, who is a supporting character in his own right. What would life be without a dog?

She watched Sprocket rolling in the grass on his back with joyful abandon. That was why people loved dogs. Dogs embraced life and savored every second of it, no matter if it meant looking like a total dork.

I cried a couple of times on this journey with Melanie and Kelsey, and when I finished the last page I sighed with happiness and contentment. I'm planning a trip to Barnes & Noble this weekend, and I'll be looking for Ms. Lochen's other books while I'm there.


Goodreads synopsis: On the surface, Melanie Kingstad-Keyes’s life is the picture of success. She’s a tenure track professor at a prestigious university and has a perfect husband. But a recent miscarriage has left her reeling and her marriage tenuous. Selling her family’s Lake Indigo summer home, which she hasn’t visited in fifteen years, feels like the perfect distraction from her problems. Now, she only needs to persuade her younger sister, Kelsey, to go along with her plan.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Kelsey Kingstad bounces from one doomed relationship to the next as she struggles to jumpstart her adult life. Carrying the guilt of her mother’s untimely death, Kelsey is reluctant to let go of the Victorian house filled with memories of her mom and their childhood.

When the sisters find a mysterious hidden door, Melanie and Kelsey discover that they can directly view their mother’s younger years and learn all the secrets she never shared with them. Delving into her memories is fun at first, but Melanie and Kelsey quickly uncover difficult truths, throwing their own life choices into question and making them wonder if they ever truly knew their mother. Visiting the past may help them find closure, but the cost could be steeper than they realize. 

The Taste of Air

GAIL CLEARE

Synopsis from Goodreads: A simple phone call disrupts Nell Williams’s well-ordered life. Her mother, Mary, is in a hospital in Vermont. But her mother is supposed to be safely tucked away in an assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, so Nell can’t fathom why she would be so far from home.

After notifying her sister, Bridget, Nell hops on a plane and rushes to her mother’s side. There, she discovers that her mother has been living a second life. Mary has another home and a set of complex relationships with people her daughters have never met.

When Nell and Bridget delve deeper into their mother’s lakeside hideaway, they uncover a vault of family secrets and the gateway to change for all three women.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Red Adept Publishing, LLC, 2016

How acquired: Received from the author

My thoughts:  When the author contacted me and offered this book to me, I was a little leery, as two of the last three books sent to me by authors I'd ended up DNFing because I just did not enjoy them and couldn't get into them. But I crossed my fingers and accepted, and I am so glad I did.

The narrative, all in third person POV, bounces around between adult sisters Nell and Bridget in the present, and their mother, Mary, at different times in her life. Nell receives a phone call that her mother is ill and is hospitalized in a small town in Vermont. But her mother lives in Massachusetts, in a senior community where staff are supposed to check on her from time to time. So why was she in Vermont?

When Nell arrives in Vermont, she learns that her mother owned a lakeside cottage, still has her car but with Vermont tags on it now, has a dog, and has neighbors who appear to be very close friends. While Nell is visiting her mother's hospital bedside and meeting her mom's friends, her older sister Bridget is making plans to divorce her husband while trying to get a flight to Vermont.

The story has a very coming-of-age feel to it, despite the fact that Nell and Bridget are in their 40's. As the sisters begin unraveling their mother's secrets, they also begin coming to some realizations about their own lives. Meanwhile, the chapters that focus on Mary give us, the reader, some insight into her character, and we learn things about her past that the sisters don't know or have not yet discovered. It was an interesting balance, as it sometimes put us a step ahead of Nell and Bridget.

The only sour spot for me was in Bridget's quest to find the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager. 

“Many years later,” Bridget said quietly, “I found out I would probably never have any more children. It was the punishment I earned for giving her up.”

I work in the adoption field, and seeing adoption portrayed negatively, well, when I read lines like that I just cringe. I have to remind myself that it was different times than now. I'm still not sure if I like the way that subplot played out in the end or not. It isn't feasible that an adoption could happen that way today, at least not with the agency I'm with, but I guess thirty years ago it could have.

When Nell and Bridget finally figure out the biggest secret, which the reader will have already learned from reading Mary's chapters (and when I was pretty sure I had it figured out I got kind of an icky feeling which I can't explain here without giving away too much plot) it seemed to suddenly come to them a little quickly, but I was sure glad they finally knew the complete truth. You grow up thinking you know your mother, and sometimes you forget that she had a childhood and a life before you came along. It made me wonder not only about my own mother, but also wonder what my daughters would think about my life if, for instance, they came across my old diaries and learned things about me that I've never told them. Things I probably won't ever tell them, not necessarily because they're bad things, but just because they're in my past.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the book and was happy with the way everything wrapped up. A quite engaging story. 

Wild (Amber Eyes, Book 1 and Book 2)

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS WHAT SOME MAY CONSIDER SPOILERS

MAYA BANKS

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Golden Eyes
When Duncan finds an injured cheetah, questions about how she wound up in his mountains—and going after the poachers pursuing her—can wait. First he brings her home. Then he checks in on his patient, and finds not a cat, but a gorgeous, very naked woman.

Aliyah Carter spent the past six months trapped in cheetah form, a prisoner of the poachers who took her to use in an illegal exotic-game hunt. Finally she’s escaped, but now she faces another problem. A devastatingly sexy sheriff who knows her secret.

Amber Eyes
The beautiful, timid cougar that appears at Hunter and Jericho’s remote cabin breaks their quiet routine, warms their hearts—and rouses their curiosity. Why would this wild creature want to form a friendship with humans?

Kaya has survived a lifetime of isolation in her shifted form. Yet there’s something about these two men that draws her to embrace her human side. In the shelter of their love, she blooms. Then they are called away on a mission that goes terribly wrong. Now pregnant and alone, Kaya’s only hope is that the men who love her will find their way home.

Warning: This title contains explicit sex, adult language, sweet lovin’, multiple partners and ménage a trois.

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Samhain Publishing, Ltd., 2010.

How acquired: Borrowed from a friend.

My thoughts:  Maya Banks is one of those authors I see all the time, but have never actually read until WILD. I really enjoyed her take on shapeshifters, which has always been one of my least favorite tropes in the paranormal genre.

The first story, “Golden Eyes”, is about Aliyah, who is a cheetah when she's not a woman. While in cheetah form in Africa, Aliyah is captured by poachers, who are bringing wild animals to the Rockies and then releasing them to be hunted. Duncan, the local sheriff, is out investigating sightings of a tiger and a lion when he comes across the injured cheetah, and rescues her from the poachers. I enjoyed the story, and the characters, especially Duncan. Their relationship built up pretty fast, and almost bordered on the fated mates trope, which I'm not crazy about. As per the warning on the synopsis, there was quite a bit of explicit sex, and I loved seeing how Duncan reacted to Aliyah, surprising himself with his own fierceness. In between the beddings, they track down and shut down the poaching ring and it all ends on a nice HEA.

“Amber Eyes” was very different. The heroine is Kaya, who is a cougar. She was mentioned in “Golden Eyes”, as she's Aliyah's sister, who disappeared when they were young children. Unknown to her family, she'd been captured, and eventually managed to escape, but by the time she found her way home her family had moved away, and she thought she'd been abandoned and was unwanted. She's been living on her own in the mountains, spending most of her time in animal form, since then. Hunter and Jericho live in a remote cabin, and are a bit of a mystery. They've loved and lost a woman together, but to honor her memory they carry on with their work, which they don't ever talk about, and all we know is they could be called away for an assignment at a moment's notice.

“Amber Eyes” had so much more actual story to it – there is no sex until at least the halfway point if I remember correctly. While Aliyah was cautious and wary lest her secret get out, Kaya is much more so. Having not lived among humans since she was a child, she's much more terrified of being discovered and put in a cage. She's drawn to the cabin, drawn to the two men, and has been watching them from a safe distance for a long time, unbeknownst to them. It isn't until she has an injured paw that she finally becomes brave enough to actually approach them.

With Kaya we get a lot of internal dialogue as she worries about being discovered, worries about surviving, worries about Hunter and Jericho knowing her secret, worries about whether or not they want her, especially Hunter who is more standoffish. In the beginning the two men were almost interchangeable for me, in that I had trouble keeping up with which one was which. I liked them both well enough, but not as much as I liked Duncan.

My heart broke for Kaya over and over, as her tragic past and angtsy feelings were revealed. I became much more vested in her story than I had with Aliyah. The pacing of the relationship between Kaya and the men was much slower than the one between Aliyah and Duncan. Hunter and Jericho have loved the same woman before, and while they shared her, it was never a smooth and comfortable relationship because she never truly trusted the relationship. They both want Kaya, but they're reluctant to go through that heartbreak again.

Lots of feels here. Eventually the men must leave for an assignment, and are gone much longer than anticipated. When they are all finally reunited, I teared up. Then Kaya and Aliyah are reunited, and I cried a bit. And then Kaya is finally reunited with her parents, and I blubbered like a baby. So much emotion packed into the last thirty pages or so!

“Golden Eyes” is an enjoyable, sexy story. “Amber Eyes” is a wonderful and touching and sweet character study. And Maya Banks has a new fan. 

Hot Cowboy Nights (Lucky Penny Ranch, Book 2)

CAROLYN BROWN

Synopsis from Goodreads: If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiancé for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by "moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her life.

Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy's pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy-really know her-the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her in private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to heal Lizzy's bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a true romance . . .

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, 2016.

How acquired: Fresh Fiction Box Not to Miss subscription.

First line: Lizzy's plan was to sneak inside the house, up the stairs, and into her room.

My thoughts: I loved WILD COWBOY WAYS, the first book in this series. I loved the characters of Blake and Allie. I wasn't crazy about Allie's good-girl sister, Lizzy, who was engaged to a minister, but she began to grow on me toward the end of the book, which I believe was the intended effect. And after her fiance called off the engagement I was looking forward to her book. So I was very excited to open my most recent Fresh Fiction Box Not to Miss and find this book inside.

HOT COWBOY NIGHTS picks up about six weeks after WILD COWBOY WAYS ended. During that interim, Lizzy and Blake's brother, Toby, have been having a secret hot and wild, no strings, sex only affair. Unfortunately that all happened off page, and I was sad to have missed all that action, especially when Lizzy kept thinking about it and bringing it up in her thoughts. They want different things out of life – Lizzy wants a stable man and a family and a home of her own, and Toby wants to keep his man-whore freedom. So Lizzy decides it's time to call it off. And then she learns that Mitch and the woman he dumped her for will be back in town, and while hanging out with Blake, Allie, and their friend Deke, a plan is hatched whereby Toby will pretend to be Lizzy's boyfriend. This will have the dual purpose of keeping Sharlene, the town ho, from trying to get her claws into Toby, who wants nothing to do with her, and convince the townspeople that Lizzy is over Mitch.

I liked Lizzy, but for some reason I never connected with her the way I did with Allie in the first book. I did however, love Toby, almost as much as I loved Blake. I enjoyed watching Lizzy become more confident in herself and become more sassy and outspoken. And even more so, I enjoyed watching Toby come to grips with his feelings for Lizzy and grow from a shallow club hopper out for a good time to a man ready to settle down but terrified to admit it.

The pious church crowd were pretty harsh in their condemnation of those upstart cowboys, and the way they turned on Lizzy and Allie for associating with them was downright cold. I want to say I can't imagine people acting that way in real life, yet I know there are people out there who probably do. Some of the confrontations were pretty funny.

My only real issue with the book was the lack of contractions, which made a lot of conversations feel stiff. Especially in a town where people use the word y'all in their everyday language and the men often call the women Miz (Insert Name Here). But as expected, this was a fun read, and that's my word to describe Ms. Brown – she is just flat out fun.

Lizzy's other sister, Fiona, shows up briefly, revealing a secret to Lizzy – and to us – and I can't wait for her and Toby's cousin, Jud, to meet in the next book. 

Bet Me

JENNIFER CRUSIE  

Synopsis from Goodreads: Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes and keeps him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.

But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all—true love.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback; St. Martin’s Press, 2004

How acquired: Received through Title Trader, of which I used to be a member some eight years ago

First line: Once upon a time, Minerva Dobbs thought as she stood in the middle of the loud yuppie bar, the world was full of good men.

My thoughts: When you pick up a Jennifer Crusie book you know you’re going to get:

- a relatable and realistically flawed heroine

- a charming hero

- a cast of quirky and eccentric supporting characters

- usually a dog but this time it was a cat

- fast paced slapstick humor right out of a Cary Grant/Rosalind Russell era movie

Min has just been dumped by her boyfriend, David, in the middle of a theme bar. They haven’t had sex yet, and he’s tired of waiting for her to put out. Her biggest concern? Now she doesn't have a date to her sister’s wedding in three weeks, and her mother will go ballistic.

David then runs into Cal Morrissey and tries to bet him ten thousand dollars that Cal can’t get Min into bed within one month. Cal isn’t interested, in Min or in a sleazy bet and tries to ignore David’s goading, but when David bets him ten dollars he can’t even get Min to leave with him, he takes that bet just to get away.

Min overhears part of the conversation about the bet-to-get-her-in-bed but not the bet-to-get-her-to-leave-with-Cal, and when Cal hits on her shortly after, she thinks he’s just bet David ten dollars to get her into bed. She’s pissed, but decides to string him along, go out with him, take him to her sister’s wedding, and then dump him and make him lose the bet.

However, when they part company that night, they are both agreed that not seeing the other person ever again is a sound plan. But of course their paths will cross and recross, especially since Min’s two best friends get mixed up with Cal’s two best friends. Min is not a thin girl, and her mother is constantly nagging her about not eating sweets and losing weight. Mom has crushed her self-esteem, and since she thinks Cal is out to win a bet, Min certainly doesn’t think he’s really attracted to her. Some of the sweetest moments in the book were Cal addressing her weight, which he doesn't see as a problem in any way, shape or form. And my favorite passage was Cal defending Min to her family at dinner:

"Look, I don't mind you grilling me about what I do for a living," Cal said. "Your daughter's brought me home and that has some significance. And I don't mind your wife asking about my personal life for the same reason. But Min is an amazing woman, and so far during this meal, you've either ignored her or hassled her about some dumb dress. For the record, she is not too big for the dress. The dress is too small for her. She's perfect." Cal buttered a roll and passed it over to Min. "Eat."

Cal’s family are just as bad as Min’s, albeit in a different way, and later Min gets her chance to sit at their dinner table and watch them belittle him and then tell them off.

As with all of her books, BET ME was a fun, fast, slightly manic, entertaining read. Fluffy chick lit (Min’s passion for silly high heeled shoes was a little ridiculous, but then I'm more into purses than shoes) with a feel great resolution.

All Night Long

JAYNE ANN KRENTZ

Synopsis from Goodreads: Shy, studious Irene Stenson and wild, privileged Pamela Webb had been the best of friends for one short high school summer. Their friendship ended the night Pamela dropped Irene off at home-and Irene walked in to discover her parents' bodies on the kitchen floor. It was ruled a murder-suicide, and Irene fled the northern California town of Dunsley. But seventeen years later, when Pamela sends a cryptic e-mail asking for help, Irene returns to her hometown to find her old friend has died suddenly, leaving behind a lot of ugly, unanswered questions.

Caught up in a firestorm of desperate deceit and long-buried secrets, Irene knows it would probably be smarter to just pack up and leave Dunsley behind again, but her reporter's instinct-and her own hunger to know the truth-compel her to extend her stay at the local lodge. Even more compelling is the man who runs the place-a hazel-eyed ex-Marine who's as used to giving orders as Irene is to ignoring them. Luke Danner can see the terror beneath Irene Stenson's confident exterior-and he is intent on protecting her. But he is also driven by passions of his own, and together they will risk far more than local gossip to sort out what happened to Pamela Webb, and what really happened on that long-ago summer night.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Jove Books, 2007.

How acquired: Through BookCrossing.  

My thoughts: I've never read anything by Jayne Ann Krentz before, which is surprising considering how popular and prolific she is, and that my mom has been talking her up to me for ages. Or maybe that's why. I have read one of her Amanda Quick books, WITH THIS RING, back in 2002, which at the time I simply noted was “pretty good”, though I don't remember anything about it now.

Anyway, moving along. I was quite engaged with the story and the heroine from the very beginning. The prologue opens with teenage Irene coming home late one night to find her parents both dead. Now, seventeen years later, Irene has received a cryptic email from the girl who was her best friend that fateful summer, asking her to come back to Dunsley and meet with her. She checks into Sunrise on the Lake Lodge to await her meeting with Pamela.

Luke is the new owner of the lodge. If you went through a list of the traits I love in a hero, you'd definitely tick off boxes for Luke. He's an ex-Marine. He's closed off. He's emotionally wounded. He's intimidating. He's witty. He's a little arrogant, barking out instructions to his guests as if they were attending drill camp rather than patronizing his business. He gets annoyed whenever a new guest shows up. I loved his interactions with the guests, and with Irene, who looks askance at him quite often.

“You know, I'm starting to think that's the biggest problem with the innkeeping business.”

“What?”

“The clientele. They're undisciplined, untrained and unpredictable.” He watched the Addisons climb into an aging Ford pickup and drive off toward Cabin Number Ten. “Yeah, gotta say, if it weren't for the paying guests, this wouldn't be a bad line of work.”

When Irene can't get ahold of Pamela, she drives to her old friend's home, only to find her dead. She quickly becomes caught up in investigating her friend's death, partly due to her reporter's instincts, but also because she almost desperately wants to know what her friend had planned to tell her, suspecting it might have been something about her parents' deaths. While their deaths were ruled a murder-suicide, she's never believed that, and she becomes determined to find out the truth – about their deaths, and about Pamela's.

The dialogue between Luke and Irene flows naturally and realistically, not to mention humorously.

“Something wrong?” she asked politely.

“Where are you headed?”

She reached up and removed the glasses with a slow, thoughtful air.

“You know, I've stayed in a wide variety of lodging establishments in my life, but this is the first time I've had to account for my comings and goings to the proprietor.”

“We do things a little differently here at the Sunrise on the Lake Lodge.”

Luke feels protective of Irene even before he gets to know her, sticking his nose in her business, following her unobtrusively, and fortunately showing up just in time to be there when she needs him. Irene is very independent. She's a journalist for a small paper, and has no family left. She's used to being on her own and taking care of herself. But when Luke steps up and offers a shoulder, she leans on it gratefully, and I liked that she didn't go overboard with butt-out-I-don’t-need-your-manly-help protestations.

I loved the characters of both Luke and Irene. She has nightmares and many other PTSD symptoms, such as fear of the dark. Luke also has PTSD symptoms, from his time in combat, and relatives who are pressuring him to come back to the family's wine making business, which he has no interest in, and to see a therapist, which he also has no interest in. While it felt like their relationship was set up slowly, when you look at the time frame of the story it was actually fairly quick, but it felt right and not rushed, which is a testament to the author's writing and character building. There are lots of supporting players, some quirky, some not, but all with their own distinct personalities.

As Irene and Luke become more and more embroiled in the mystery surrounding the deaths, it's clear there is a huge story – and scoop for Irene -- involved. It's also clear to the reader that Irene's own life is in danger, though she doesn't always seem to realize that, despite her constant fear. The plot is fairly twisty and turny, and I was kept guessing about what direction it would take next.

A good mystery/suspense with some gentle romance thrown in. I’m glad now to know that I have several other Krentz books in my TBR pile as I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

If There Be Thorns (Dollanganger, Book 3)

V.C. ANDREWS

Synopsis from back cover: Fourteen-year-old Jory was so handsome, so gentle. And Bart had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.

Then the lights came on in the abandoned house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching their home with prying eyes, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon the shrouded woman had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her "Grandmother."

And soon Bart's transformation began...

A transformation that sprang from "the book of secrets" the gaunt old butler had given him... a transformation fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father... a transformation that led him into shocking acts of violence, self-destruction and perversity.

And now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents, his helpless brother, an obsessed old woman and the vengeful, powerful butler await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire....

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Pocket Book, 1981.

How acquired: I've had this book in my personal collection for about twenty years. No idea how I acquired it.

First line: In the late evening when the shadows were long, I sat quiet and unmoving near one of Paul's marble statues.

My thoughts: My only real complaints about PETALS ON THE WIND were:

...the dialogue is clunky and unrealistic, and I can't imagine a world where people cry out the (sometimes lengthy) speeches these characters are saddled with. And there is much overuse of exclamation points...

So I'm pleased to report that neither of those problems assailed me while reading IF THERE BE THORNS. The one page prologue is narrated by Cathy, wherein she tells us this is her sons' stories. After that the chapters alternate between fourteen year old Jory, Cathy's sensitive ballet loving son with first husband Julian, and ten year old Bart, her clumsy awkward son with her mother's second husband, also called Bart. Cathy and Chris are now living together as husband and wife, and the boys believe their step-father is the younger brother of Cathy's second husband, Paul.

When an old lady, always shrouded head to toe in black, moves into the mansion next door with her elderly butler, Jory and Bart are disappointed to lose their playground, especially since no children move in. But she and her butler soon weave a spell over Bart – the old lady encourages him to call her Grandma and plies him with sweets and toys and a dog and much love and attention, while the butler tells him stories about his real father and his great-grandfather. At first Bart thinks the stories are just that, made up lies, but as he reads Malcolm Foxworth's journal, he seems turn into an old man himself, convinced that his mother is a sinner and must be saved from hell fire.

After the first two chapters, which are titled “Jory” and “Bart”, you can tell almost immediately which brother is narrating as the author gives them distinctive voices.

As Cathy and Chris helplessly watch their secret life start to unravel and the repercussions visited on their sons, the tension amps up and up, so that during the last third of the book I was almost holding my breath at times. With the focus on the boys rather than Chris and Cathy, this entry in the series feels less like a “guilty pleasure”, and not quite as trashy as the first two books. A mesmerizing read that I raced through.

Here's my review of Book 1 in the series, FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC.

Petals On The Wind (Dollanganger, Book 2)

V.C. ANDREWS

Synopsis from inside jacket flap: Chris, Cathy and Carrie have escaped the attic prison and set off with money scavenged from the Grandmother's mansion. Two teenagers and an eight-year-old who haven't seen the outdoors for over three years, determined to stay together, determined to survive.

And they are fortunate. They are taken in by a lonely, kindly doctor, who readily shares with them his home, his love, his fortune. But even as the three children build bright new lives, the dark horrors of the attic haunt them. Cathy is reminded daily by the way her brother watches her, by the way Carrie's tiny, tiny body does not grow. And Cathy is also reminded of the other child, who didn't survive the long years in the attic. Then she thinks of her mother, of her mother's brutal betrayal of those who loved and needed her most. And she vows vengeance.

While Chris pursues his dream of becoming a doctor, even while Cathy becomes a successful ballerina, she dedicates herself to her plans for revenge. And as her plans become obsession, Cathy risks everything to pay her mother back, and to show her what it's like to suffer at the hands of the one you love most.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by Simon and Schuster, 1980.

How acquired: Through Book Mooch.

First line: How young we were the day we escaped.

My thoughts: I reread FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC a couple of years ago, and enjoyed it more than I anticipated, so I don't know why I waited so long to continue the series, other than that I just have so many series to catch up on and so many books to read.

PETALS ON THE WIND picks up immediately after Cathy, Chris and Carrie escape from the Grandmother's mansion, where they board a bus headed to Florida. But Carrie is unwell, complaining of a stomach ache and throwing up. They meet Henny on the bus, who takes them home with her and introduces them to the doctor who she keeps house for. Paul takes the siblings into his home and into his heart, giving them a stable place to live and the semblance of a normal life.

But Cathy aches for revenge. Chris goes off to medical school, and Carrie is enrolled at a private school nearby. Cathy is accepted as a student at a ballet studio while also attending high school. And while Julian, the son of the instructors, falls madly in love with her, as does Paul, despite the many years that separate them in age, she makes plans to move near her mother and seduce her husband.

Despite the melodrama, some (but not all) of the narration is beautifully written, descriptive and evocative, yet the dialogue is clunky and unrealistic, and I can't imagine a world where people cry out the (sometimes lengthy) speeches these characters are saddled with. And there is much overuse of exclamation points, as in this paragraph:

“Right! You bet I'll take you home!” he spat at me as I crouched near the passenger door he had locked. He shot me a fierce, distraught look then bore down hard on the gas pedal! We sped down all those rain-slick streets, and every so often he'd glance my way to see how I was enjoying the terrifying ride! He laughed, wild and crazy, then braked so fast I was flung forward so my forehead struck the windshield! Blood trickled from the cut. Next he snatched the purse from my lap, leaned to unlock my door, then he shoved me out into the pouring rain!

Seriously! Way too many!

Cathy is not a particularly likable character, despite the fact that all the males of the species seem to fall all over themselves around her. And the love Chris harbors for her should've been mega creepy, but I just felt sorry for him and half the time was rooting for him over Paul (a kind and compassionate man) and Julian (a selfish arrogant prick).

In the end, while it's not great literature, it is very compelling, and as soon as I'd read the last page I immediately started the next book, IF THERE BE THORNS.  

Big Brother

LIONEL SHRIVER

Goodreads synopsis: For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. Alas, her husband, Fletcher, a self-employed high-end cabinetmaker, now spurns the “toxic” dishes that he’d savored through their courtship, and devotes hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened? After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me.
Rich with Shriver’s distinctive wit and ferocious energy, Big Brother is about fat: an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much sacrifice we'll make to save single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves

First line: I have to wonder whether any of the true highlights of my fortysome years have had to do with food.

Stats for my copy: Hardback, published by HarperCollins Publications, 2013; 373 pages; borrowed from my local library.

My thoughts: I joined Weight Watchers about eight months ago. I quickly dropped ten pounds, and then my weight just hung in one spot, fluctuating a pound or so up and down each week. Tracking points is hard, cutting out unhealthy food and only shopping healthy is hard when you're on a budget (my daughters both also began trying to eat healthier and I swear our grocery bill tripled), and when you cook something from a recipe you've used for years, such as turkey and rice or chicken and dumplings, trying to figure out how many points your recipe breaks down to is sometimes a logistical nightmare. So when Pandora and her brother Edwin began their diet plan, I had a lot of sympathy for how hard it must have been. One thing I liked about Weight Watchers is you can still eat any kind of food you want. You might use all your daily points on one meal and then go hungry the rest of the day, but it's your decision whether to do that or not. With the diet Pandora and Edwin go on, envelopes of a drink mix, well I don't think I could do it.

Pandora is forty (if I remember correctly), has been married to Fletcher for seven years, has helped raise his two children, and has her own business. She's put on a little weight, like so many of us do as we get older, but she isn't necessarily what you'd call fat.

She hasn't seen her brother in a few years, and when he comes to visit and she picks him up from the airport she is shocked by how large he is. 386 pounds. For awhile his weight is the elephant in the room. She's afraid to address it, so she doesn't say anything to him, though she says plenty to us, the reader.

The book is broken into three sections. The first is about Edwin's extended visit which causes a huge strain on Pandora's marriage. The second section is about Pandora deciding that she is going to make Edwin lose weight, a decision which puts even more strain on her marriage. The third section is much shorter, more of an epilogue, and it left me feeling a little betrayed, a little angry, and after some time passed a little confused as to how I should actually feel.

I don't have any personal experience with someone who is obese the way Edwin is, so I certainly can't speak to how realistic the book is. I often worried that the diet Pandora and Edwin used was not actually healthy. How can a liquid diet be healthy for weeks on end? So I had mixed emotions throughout the entire book.

I did hit, for me, one especially sour note. Edwin admitted that he'd done heroin for awhile, and when Pandora expressed dismay at this he brushed it off, telling her it takes years and years to become addicted to heroin. The conversation ended there, with me holding the book in disbelief, because it only took my daughter three months to become addicted. I know it's just a book and it's one character's opinion, but it threw me completely out of the story for awhile.

I love Lionel Shriver's writing, her voice. The only other book of hers I'd read previously was WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, which was harrowing. At first I thought BIG BROTHER, compared to WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, was a much lighter and easygoing read, but in the end it wasn't by much. That other book had some elements in the ending that took me by surprise also, so now I wonder if she throws that curve at you in all her books.

The narrative is in first person from Pandora's point of view, and it's a wonderful character study as she fills us in on her past, her marriage, her relationship with her brother and father and her non-relationship with her younger sister. Having Edwin living in her home and seeing the mess he's made of his life causes her to reflect and examine her own life. She loves her husband, and he adores her. But eventually she's backed into a corner of whether to put her brother or her husband first. She often felt Fletcher wasn't as supportive as he could have been. I felt Fletcher was pushed to his limit, and when he finally delivered that ultimatum to Pandora I couldn't blame him one bit. Pandora was so caught up in trying to fix her brother she didn't maintain her marriage so of course it began to break as well.

Overall, a very affecting book. I think I'll look at obesity through clearer eyes now. But I'm not actually sure if that's true.