Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


4.5 stars-"It Was the Summer From Hell"

Little Bitty Lies by Mary Kay Andrews

This sometimes confusing, sort of depressing, yet at the same time, funny and poignant novel is written by the mystery writer Kathy Trocheck.  Moreover, it sure looks like the transition to a slightly different style of mystery combined with female literature seems to have been made successfully!  I have not read any of the mystery series but if they are half as good as the writing in this novel, I should be pleased.

Yes, the writing was wonderful; the characters are fully fleshed out and believable.  You will sometimes love and sympathize with Mary Bliss and Katherine and sometimes you want to smack them silly and hope that they end up in jail.  Fortunately, while we only know of Parker, Mary Bliss’s sort of dearly departed husband, via her memories and his actions as told to us by the women and what they learn while snooping ---he is a cad, a rake a scoundrel and a major thief.  He really isn’t a nice guy and death would be to easy for the likes of him. 

Then again, Mary Bliss and Katharine are perpetuating a fraud…or are they?

There are so many characters that we could really hate, but Ms Andrews writes in such a talented way that even the most hateful of people are written  so well that at times we can feel empathy for them.  Well maybe except for Parker!
This is an excellent little novel about what is most important to us.  And what another person can do to us to bring us to our knees if we let them.  This story shows that even someone who thinks they can’t do something-really can with the right motivations and the love of good friends behind us.

This is small southern community at its best and it is a very satisfying read with a Happily-Ever-After, that I wasn’t sure was ever going to happen.  I love books that keep you guessing!
Be aware there is a recipe for her fabulous chicken salad at the end of the Kindle edition!





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Gone Missing by Linda Castillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best mystery/suspense series  with a female lead around.  It's fresh, the characters are beleivable, well drawn and fleshed and likable,  the series teaches about a different culture without being preachy and each new book in the series leaves me breathless.  Ms. Castillo is an amazing author to have created something so finely written and something that you can rely on to keep you not only entertained, but something that will engage your brain.  This is no light fluff reading.  This is cold hard murder set within a group of people that the rest of the world looks at as if they may be beyond this sort of thing.  Of course we all know better.  Even the most naive of people are capable of the most heinous of murders and   Ms Castillo puts it out there.

With Rumpspinga a young adult/teen is trying to find a way in their life.  They are trying to see how the other half (the Englishers)live, what with our electricity, cars, drinking, naughty behavior between the sexes etc.

And someone has taken it into their own two hands to teach these kids a lesson.

As Kate and her sort of boyfriend John, try to help out at another crime scene - things start escalating with someone close to Kate  coming up missing.

This book, nor any of the others are really for the faint of heart.  Descriptive passages and vivid detail can bring you to your knees.  But occasionally you can see the tender sides of both Kate and John emerge and that somehow makes it all worth while.  This is not a 'romance' book, but there is romance in the air and that makes for a wonderful side story.  Something to take the tension down a notch occasionally.

Clever plotting will leave you almost wondering just how the heck it ended like it did---be sure to read to the very last page.  Ms Castillo is sure to surprise you, like she did me.





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The Next Best Thing: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner
*ARC Supplied by Publisher*

This is the story of Ruth Saunders.  She lost her parents in a horrible accident that left her scarred and somewhat deformed.   Throughout most of her childhood, Ruth has suffered with her multiple reconstructive surgeries, which could only do so much for her looks. Ruth of course has a major problem (as well as most people who see her) to see beyond her scars.  She has now grown up and is living her dream of   writing a screenplay and having it picked up by a network.  Now she is the “showrunner” which is as far as I’m concerned a wonderfully thankless position!

How her script is adapted for TV, how the script is basterdized, the actors being petty, what goes on in a studio; all the problems that go on behind the scenes, is what takes up the bulk of this book.   The book has been divided into thirds and I really found the first third to be a fascinating look into the personal life of Ruth as she grows from a pained and broken child into a wonderful, caring woman. The second third of this book is just excessively technical--- lacking personal interactions and concentrating on business and business relationships.  In this section as, well as part of the third. Ruth can come off as a spineless woman almost afraid to say boo.  And I can understand this somewhat---after all she is afraid to rock the boat – but this is her dream and I feel that people shouldn’t compromise for their dreams’.

The third section of the book starts Ruths redemption, as the screenplay has finally made it to the screen, to audiences etc and Ruth is forced to  acknowledge that this is not her project anymore. In this section, we will also find Ruth making a very huge relationship mistake.

But never fear, this is a Jennifer Weiner novel and all will be made clear in the final pages asthis book finally all comes together and a ‘happily ever-after’ both for her show and for her love, is achieved.


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Stay Tuned by Lauren Clark

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


3.5 stars

This is a lazy, comfortable, slow read with may story-lines that finally mesh at the end. Some readers may not like having so much to concentrate on - Melissa's producing job,trouble with her husband, her mothers dementia, anchoring the news,tons of inner angst, nearly falling for her new anchors pass and being stalked by someone. Even I thought that there was simply too much going on in this book to sustain all of the energy Ms Clark was using, but once I got to the ending, I found that Ms Clark had cleverly made all of the seemingly disparate lines blend seamlessly into one important conclusion.

This is a very good book for a debut novel, but I do feel that Ms Clarks second book [[ASIN:0984725040 Dancing Naked in Dixie]] is more polished.  Of course that can be expected from a second novel and I will hope for even more with her 3rd (at least I hoipe there will be a third novel!) I love watching authors with so much potential grow into their craft.

At any rate-rant aside - reading this book was a wonderful way to pass a lazy day.  It was entertaining and thought provoked and filled with good Southern wisdom.



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Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot

Wow, I have been following this series since the beginning and I am finding that it only gets better! I was worried that it would only be appropriate for the younger readers, but I’m over 50 and I very much can appreciate what the author has to say in these mysteries.

While I don’t think it is imperative to read the previous books to get up to speed, (the author does a fantastic job with back-story in this book) I suggest you do, only because they are really worth it.

While most women know that size 12 is not ‘large’, actually, it’s more like average) it still is nice to read something written for women that may not be stick thin. Something we may be able to identify with as far as the heroine goes. In addition, if the ‘average’ sized fictional heroine can get the uber sexy Alpha male hunk---then there is a basis to our fantasies and an author that can feed them for us.
This entry in the Heather Welles Mystery Series, is taking place during school break. Poor Heather is now watching out for her ex’s wife’s latest idea. A camp for “diva’s in training” called Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp (quite a mouthful). Filled with the backstabbing of what we have come to expect from ‘reality’ shows. Oh yes did I forget to mention that this camp was being filmed for TV?
Now someone seems to be after Tania and Cooper is brought in to do body guard/PI duty. Murder happens, things heat up and lead to a very clever denouement.

I am so happy that Cooper and Heather have hooked up and are going to make it legal. I had fun reading this and trying to keep one step ahead of the fictional protagonists.

Written with Meg’s usual flair - strong believable characters, interesting dialogue, and fantastic descriptions, a good mystery – this will be a welcome addition to anyone who has read the previous novels.
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How to Pick Out a Book

While it may be obvious to readers that the way to pick out a book is by reading the synopsis and then some of the reviews ---in this day and age of e-books and independent authors (in the past known as vanity authors since they couldn't get a 'real' house to publish their works -and generally there was a good  reason for that!)  paid reviews and trade off reviews from one author to another --how can you trust what you are hearing about an e-book anymore?

This new independent author era has made it easier for book lovers to get more free and very low priced books...true; but is it always worth our time to wade through some of them?  Some aren't edited very well if at all, they can be filled with inconsistencies, grammatical errors and just plain lousy writing and story telling. Unfortunately you will never know by reading the reviews that this is what you may be in for.

I really never knew just how badly some authors try to manipulate things to get their books out in the public and if you have the time to wade through this thread you may find yourself fascinated as I was just to see what is really going on in the background of the indie author business ---Badly Behaving Authors .

And just in case you think it is only independent authors with no ties to the larger publishing houses, I'm here to tell you that that is untrue.  Diane Mott Davidson pulled a little exhibition of bad behavior just last year when her less than stellar book "Crunch" came out.  And this is just but one example of established, trusted authors condemning the reviewers for their less than perfect books.She encouraged all her Facebook fans to mark as unhelpful any critical reviews and to post glowing reviews to take up the slack.  At the very least this was tacky behavior especially since it was done in such a public  venue.  Diane Mott Davidson/Facebook  You really must read the comments from her loyal fans also!  Just find your way to the January posts of Diane's.

"Again, I would ask readers who loved CRUNCH TIME (which my editor, agent and pre-pub readers all loved) to go over to Amazon and give it five stars. When I read the inordinately cruel comments people have posted there, I'm stunned, and reminded of the line from THE SOCIAL NETWORK (cuss word ahead): "You write your snide bullshit from a dark room, because that's what the angry do." THANKS, GOLDY READERS!"

So how do you separate the shall we say, wheat from the chaff?  Here are some examples and I hope you all can come up with other ways to keep our reading experience from being tarnished by less than ethical writers.

1. Check to see if a reviewer who is going gaga over a book has done more than one review and that you like some of the other books they are going crazy over. Remember that many reviews you will see may be a reviewers ONLY review.  Now I know that everybody has to start somewhere but people with only one review tend  make me wonder --- especially if all they say is that they loved the book and you must buy it.
2. Look for the AVP or Amazon Verified Purchase  banner--- or look to see if  the reviewer has explained that they received the book from the publisher or author for an unbiased review. If anyone has received a book for review and has not disclosed that fact, then they are, at the very least, in violation of Amazon's rules/Terms of Service 
3. Look for reviews that give good and bad points ofa book. Something more than a glowing "you must read this fantastic book" type of review.
4. Be aware that there are things called schill reviews, and reviews that are made by what is known as "sock-puppet accounts" These are a series of false accounts that are opened for the express purpose of padding an authors ranking.                             
5. When in doubt get the free sample.
6. When seriously in doubt save your cash for a book written by an author you already love and know.

Otherwise----GOOD LUCK!

Happy Reading!  Dianne.

Wife for a Day by Patti Berg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This may seem like one of those books that takes a snobby millionaire and puts him in an almost impossible situation with a blue-collar (or lower)woman. But of course the situation is of his own doing. And you would expect that what would drive the story would be his inability to understand the woman's way of life or the woman's inability to meld with the snobs friends and such.  But as far as this book goes you would be wonderfully wrong!

What this is, is a story in which the man Jack, needs a woman to impersonate his fiance for one night, since his real one just broke up with him. Of course some feelings come of that one night but go no farther.  Yet Jack can't seem to get Samantha out of his mind.  Even more so when his sister meets up with Samantha, forcing Sam to keep up pretenses much to Jacks chagrin.

A side story is one of Jack's son whom he gave up 16 years ago hitchhiking his way across the country to see if Jack is the SOB he thinks his Dad is.

This is a truly sweet love story, low (not non-existent!)on the explicit sexual escapades and high on a relationship driven plot.  The characters a fairly well drawn and might be ones that I would count as my friends were they real.  Well except for Jacks sister Lauren, but I think she is  drawn this way to give more of a contrast to Jack. the setting is brought to life by Ms Bergs  fun style of writing.


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Gotcha! by Christie Craig

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is the very first book by Ms Craig that I've had problems with. While the story line is quite interesting, the execution is a little tedious. This is by no means the fast paced novel with witty dialogue and humorous situations that we are used to. This novel has some darker themes than Ms Craig usually writes about and she tries just a little too hard to get us to beleive how unhappy Macy (our heroine) is. Ms Craig also is using the same plot ideas to make the men look bad to the heroines. One of the most shocking and unrealistic things happening in this novel is the fact that Macy is in Law school, yet we never once see her crack open a law book or go to class---granted the author opts to have Macy skip classes while the murderer is after her, but to not have Macy study is a little far-fetched.

This was a fairly long but attractively priced read and I found myself skimming a good part of this novel.



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Something Really Odd...

Something truly odd happened over the last two days.  I was reading a book yesterday, and a passage in it made me think of another book I had read years ago.  The problem was is that I could not remember the author or the name of the book.  I was going to post some threads in various places today asking for help in finding out what the title was.  Believe me, I had only the vaguest idea of the plot.  I did remember that the heroine was a seamstress and was posing as a wife or girlfriend of the hero for a day or so.

Today I log onto my Goodreads account and look at what is being recommended to me based on what I own etc.  and the freakiest thing ever---the book I was going to ask about was being recommended to me!  This book is out of print, but thank the Gods and Goddesses that I own a Kindle for it is still being offered in e-book.  This book was first published in 1999 and not that much time has gone by, but I wonder if I will still like it as much now as I did then.  I so often find with re-reads that my tastes have changed too much and now the books I used to love just don't do it for me anymore.

Patti Berg is the author and the name of the book is "Wife for a Day".  I really hope it has the ability to still ring my chimes!

Buy: $4.99

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Dancing Naked in Dixie by Lauren Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars


I am amazed that I liked this book as much as I did.  I did not find this a light read, something to be finished with in one night.  I found this book something that I had to put a little effort into and I really liked that.  This book is not fluffy drivel---it is several stories in one and has an ending that I think I should have seen coming, but still didn't expect.

We open with our heroine Julia needing to meet with  the new owner of the travel magazine that she works for, who also happens to be her estranged father.  She is threatened with unemployment by her father David unless she does a good job on a new feature David wants to introduce in the magazine.  

So off Julia goes to either redeem herself or to totally screw up.  But really, instead of this being a book that concentrates on traveling and the best sights to see in Eufaula Alabama - it turns into more of a mystery, not a murder mystery...but almost!  It is about a small town and the man who loves the town and all it represents, the man who would save a town no matter what.  It is a story about adult children learning that their  parents aren't always what or who they thought they are.

And most importantly it is a story of love.  Love of a culture, of place and of a man and a woman.

This was an emotion filled book with many funny moments.  The author uses vivid but never trite descriptions of the old South.  The characters are written as to be both likable,yet with flaws.  some of these flaws you may not think you can get past, but you can't help yourself. You may just find yourself doing as I did and falling in love with them all.

If I have any complaint it is that I wish that the love between Shug and Julia had been explored a bit more.  Actually I am hoping that we will revisit Eufaula and find out how everyone is doing --this is a story that needs more telling!


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The Search by Shelley Shepard Gray

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



*ARC Supplied by Publisher*
This was quite an unusual book and the second of what appears to be a trilogy.  I would suggest that you read the first book in this grouping first so you do not find yourself a bit at sea, as I found myself.  Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One

I do like to read about other cultures and religions and I naively thought I knew all I needed to know about the Amish  .  Unfortunately, I have not learned of the different orders of the Amish and I really liked this book for letting me understand that I did not know as much as I thought I had.

Death, murder, drugs; all seems to be touching a community where you may perhaps not expect something this nasty to touch.  Yet, touch this community it does and in this second novel we see Detective Luke Reynolds helping the local ‘officer’ to investigate. And Luke is helping himself to something else…Frannie,  the owner of the Amish B&B and Amish herself. 

The solving of this murder seems to be rather unimportant to the grander scheme of things that this author intends.  This book seems to be more in the way of a romance than murder mystery, although the elements of the mysterious are here.  The author has a way of seemingly flitting from one unconnected element to another without a reason, but perhaps it will all come clear in the 3rd novel.

This novel is filled with interesting characters and what could have been a very interesting story line if we didn’t move so restlessly between several plot twists and story lines.




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On Ice by J.D. Faver
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

 With its overly melodramatic and stiffly formal dialogue to its improbable plot line-this was one of the  most difficult books I have tried to finish in a long time.

I really like a touch of reality with my fiction, and this book was pushing the envelope with its unbelievable, poor;y fleshed characters, rocky transitions in the story, difficult to relate to heroine and her just patently absurd and nearly laughable husband and dialogue from Hades.

The author chooses to give us no back-story (or at least such a tiny amount that we are forced to make up our own) and this defect makes it an up-hill battle to 'get into' the rest of the book. The author also chooses to give us a relationship for the heroine so soon after she leaves her abusive husband.  I'm not so sure I can really beleive something like this even if it is fiction.


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Somebody Like You by Candis Terry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the last book in the Sugar Shack Trilogy and it saves the straightest laced sibling for last.  I suggest that you try to read the first two books to understand a little better, what you will encounter in this one.  It is not imperative, but it will make things a little easier on you.

When Kelly Silverthorne comes back to Deer Lick for her brother’s wedding, and to recover from her first loss ever in the Prosecutors office -  the first thing she encounters is the reminder that she went a little  nuts on the champagne at her sisters wedding and bedded one of this towns many bad-boys.  And liked it. A lot!
Naturally, Deputy James Harley is a good but flawed and hurt man who is learning from his past mistakes.    As the story unfolds, we learn how much the good Deputy is sacrificing for his family and how much Kelly is fretting over the case that she lost.  We learn just how much they need to rest, relax and connect with someone who will be able to understand what their lives are all about.

This story has fully fleshed characters, interesting narrative and excellent dialogue plus the added bonus of the Silverthorne’s deceased mama coming back from the dead to help them get their lives straight is an interesting twist.


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Weddings Can be Murder - Christie Craig

This book may be called a typical romance by some---but I wouldn't call it that.  There are 2 reasons for this, first if  this is the authors second published novel like I have heard it was, then it reads like it was from someone who has been publishing for decades.  Secondly, there is a rather fresh element to this book.  The secondary story gets almost as much book-play as the main story.  Two stories for the price of one and nothing is taken away from the main story like some authors tend to do with this type of thing.

If you are found puking your guts up and then   'accidentally' flushing your 8 thousand dollar engagement ring into the same toilet that you've just flushed your lunch,then I think the Goddess of Good Marriages is trying to tell you something.

But I think when you see your wedding planner being murdered and then being locked into a barricaded room with a very sexy PI  you may just have to really rethink your wedding plans.

In typical Christie Craig fashion, we have a very sexy Alpha male fighting his way tooth and nail to not be shackled with a wife, and a very cute and sexy female fighting tooth and nail to NOT fall in love with the big Alpha know-it-all lug!  But as they say "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" and you can see the paving trucks from miles a way in this novel!

In the secondary story we have Katie's nearly ex-fiance falling for Katie's Best Friend who is still getting over her love for Katies late brother.  (yes it is a wee tad confusing but it won't be when you read it!)

This is a satisfying, if a little predictable novel.  But then isn't that why we read Romance novels?

Don't Mess with Texas by Christie Craig
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

While this book may seem to make the heroine into a ditz, I think that it is so much more to it than that. Nikki has been treated horribly pretty much all her life, and in my mind that allows her to be a tad flaky and needy.

Nikki's day gores from bad to worst to hell in a hand-basket, when her ex-husband is found dead in the trunk of her car and she finds out she has been poisoned. Now the police and the PI agency guys are taking bets on whether or not she has killed her ex.
to make this book follow the rules of a romance novel, the PI who is looking into her problem slowly finds himself falling in lust with her, and she with him. But, as in all good romances the lust soon turns to something more. Something that they may not be ready for, but each may want desperately.

This book is an interesting mix or murder mystery, romance and even has some interesting comedic elements. To add the cherry on the cupcake a lot of this book, although written in third person, comes from the men's point of view and the men's voices are heard a lot. I really liked this. I often wondered why romances seem to never be told from the male perspective. This book gives us a chance to see what it is like.

The secondary story involving Dallas's brother who is a "real" cop, is interesting and both fun and sad in turns. I'm so glad things are woprking.

the other guys in the PI firm aaaaaare going to be getting their own stories and since I enjoyed this bookj so much I already have the next one on pre-order Blame It On Texas (The McCabes: Next Generation) coming out on Aug. 28th.

With quirky and wonderful secondary and tertiary character that are as well fleshed out as the main characters, excellent dialogue, a mystery that took me a long long, time to figure out -this book was a wonderful way to pas a lazy summer day. The fact that this is a set up novel for the ones soon to be published, the author does not make the mistake so many others authors do and try to introduce too much too soon. Ms Craig allows us to see mere glimpses into the others lives and keeps her concentration on Nikki and Dallas.


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Any Given Christmas by Candis Terry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this novel we learn what happens to the second Silverthorne sibling, Dean and how he finds his happily-ever-after.

This was a different look into the Silverthorne family and just slightly less perfect than Second Chance at the Sugar Shack: A Sugar Shack Novel. While Dean has to overcome his worst nightmare and the author does that quite well, the romance just didn't seem to have the same heat as in the first novel nor did the relationship seem to have that same sense of urgency as in the first novel. There was much less conflict between Dean and Emma,and what conflict there was made Emma look a bit like a *itch. Thankfully the author does pull it all together in the last 25% of this novel.

Dean comes home for Christmas and to recover from an injury sustained while playing his beloved football. While home, Dean finds that he is attracted to an unlikely female - Emma Hart, a very private person, a Kindergarten teacher who has a soft spot for a child with Autism.

With Dean's ghostly Mom still in the picture, giving her somewhat cryptic advice and adding some comic relief, this was a charming novel that will give you several hours of fun with perhaps a half hour of tears!

Somebody Like You: A Sugar Shack Novel will be the story of Kelly and will be released on the 19th of June.


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Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Kiss the Dead – by Laurell K. Hamilton

This was not the most horrible book Ms Hamilton has ever written nor was it the best…but it does seem as if she has taken some of her fans feelings to heart.  This book is not filled with the usual “porn” that we have come to expect from her past novels.  In fact there is only 2 scenes that stand out in my mind. Two of the scenes are quite specific and somewhat disturbing.

It still has the usual over writing the Ms Hamilton has been famous for, with a lot of repetition going on and the over-usage of descriptive passages meant to have us imagine what the men look like.  The incessant descriptions of curly hair on everyone, (which is amazing since only about 30% of the people in the US have such and they must all be with Anita!), clothing et cetera, are still being used.

  However, for about the first 60% of the book we actually see Anita using some of her talent.   She is not raising Zombies; she is tracking bad little Vampires, and helping a new to the area Marshal. Oddly, she is helping him more with his personal love life, than being a Marshal but so be it.  This is what our Anita has come to.  Anita is now fighting, slaughtering and giving advice to the lovelorn.  Yes, it is a stretch from the old Anita of yore.  But at least she has come to terms with what is going on in her life and not over-thinking everything.  Well almost everything.

Anita has fully embraced her liking for BDSM and pain.  And it really shows in the two sex scenes.
As we are told in the synopsis, Anita will be called out for a group (Kiss) of Vampires that all look like little kids, tweens and your Grandparents, who are un-bound to any Master.  They do have a Master, but they just won’t admit they do.  In addition, we never get to see him only his daytime servant. These Vampires are meant to evoke our sympathy and to make us understand that they are ‘just people too’ and that they should not be forced to blood-oath to Jean Claude, but things really fall apart after these Vamps kill two policemen.  Slowly we learn that these vamps want to take out Anita and Jean Claude.

Oh, we do get to meet up with Dolph again and he has undergone a sea change for the somewhat better.

There is less overt sex, but more covert discussions and angst about it ( as per normal).  Not as gross as some of the past sexual escapades—just borderline in one scene.

Asher is going to do something rather stupid, which may force him from JC and Anita’s side for a month?  an eternity? Who knows!

Richard does not make an appearance and I wonder if we will ever see some of the original cast again.

No not a horrible read, but sadly not something I’m going to have on my mind or even remember in a couple of days or so.


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Rescue Me by Rachel Gibson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars




This was an EXTREMELY slow moving slow starting book.  Actually it moved so slowly without much point to anything that I nearly didn't finish it.  I needed to prod myself into finishing.  And for one of Ms Gibson's book's, that is nearly unheard of.  The synopsis makes this sound like a fun light read, when in fact this had a lot to do with post traumatic stress disorder on Vince's part and unresolved daddy issues on Sadie's part. 

As for this being romantic---I don't think that this book was.  They considered them selves to be "friends with benefits" but all I could think of is that they never talked or connected, they ONLY had sex.  Granted it was mind blowing, but not conducive to being friends.

Sadie meets Vince when she comes up upon him with his car broken down and offers to give him a ride.  This was actually a fairly funny scene.  Sadie, not wanting to be in her cousin's wedding without having a date asks Vince if he would go with her and he says "no".  Yet he show up anyway and they nearly bump boots in the brides room. Things finally progress from there and then they are like  two bunnies in the spring clover.

Tragedy befalls Sadie and Vince sort of steps up to the plate, but leaves her in the lurch when deeper things finally come out.  Now non of the things that actually make up what little plot there is doesn't happen until the book is at 75% (Kindle edition)  so it doesn't leave much room to finish fleshing out the story. 

There is a bit of a cliff hanger that should be leading us to the next  in what I can only assume is a series.  I have read the first two and they were way different.  Although I do see that Ms Gibson is taking her books into new waters, and she tends to be writing about some serious issues now. This fact needs to be taken into consideration when choosing this novel. Do you want to be entertained and read something light, or do you want something with a heavier back-story like this novel?



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Charmed by His Love - Janet Chapman

This book may be read as a stand-alone, but I really do advice that for your own enjoyment read Spellbound Falls (A Spellbound Falls Romance) , it will explain a few things that happen in this book.

 Ms Chapman is one of the few authors I can really rely on.  I find this amazing as she has more than  17 books in print and I’ve read them all!  I have never thought of any of her books as less than 4 stars and almost all of her books are 5 stars in my mind.  They always contain just the right amount of conflict, mystery and passion to make for a lovely read.  The fact that I’m still reading AND enjoying these books after all these years is a testament to how much I enjoy the charm these books have.   With a touch of the mystical in nearly every book (if not down-right magic!) these books will appeal to a wide audience.

 We had met the young widow Peg in the last Spellbound Falls book called, well “ Spellbound Falls (A Spellbound Falls Romance)”  We knew that she has 4 children and now we know that she seems to be cursed.  A curse that appears to kill off the Thompson  husband’s and perhaps even lovers.   But meeting Duncan MacKeage will shake her to her very core.  From the violent and very funny first meeting right up to the prologue you will love this large gruff charming Scot ads he takes Pegs heart and makes it whole again.

This book was quite exciting and combines magic with the real-life, mystery with romance and suspense with humor.

Ms Chapman loves to weave into most of her books, a bit of realism.  It maybe the plight of sea creatures in one book, the next book may take joblessness into consideration, and then some will take conservation of land and weave it into the plot.  Never preachy is our Ms Chapman, but you always come away from one of her books thinking about deeper issues   as well as happy from her happily- ever -afters!