Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
Description from Amazon:
"When Lady Johanna learned that she was a widow, she vowed she would never marry again. Only sixteen, already she possessed a strength of will that impressed all who looked past her golden-haired beauty. Yet when King John demanded that she remarry -- and selected a bridegroom for her -- it seemed she must acquiesce, until her beloved foster brother suggested she wed his friend, the handsome Scottish warrior Gabriel MacBain. At first Johanna was shy, but as Gabriel tenderly revealed the splendid pleasures they would share, she came to suspect that she was falling in love with her gruff new husband. And it was soon apparent to the entire Highlands clan that their brusque, gallant laird had surrendered his heart completely. But now a desperate royal intrigue threatened to tear her from his side -- and to destroy the man whose love meant more to her than she had ever dreamed!"
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
The Pallbearers
The Pallbearers by Stephen Cannell
This suspense novel is good, but not great. I liked the writing style, so I might try another by Cannell. Anyone have a recommendation?
I felt this one was missing something. I kept reading, but wasn’t intrigued by the characters, mystery or the overall plot.
This suspense novel is good, but not great. I liked the writing style, so I might try another by Cannell. Anyone have a recommendation?
I felt this one was missing something. I kept reading, but wasn’t intrigued by the characters, mystery or the overall plot.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Not Without Hope
Not Without Hope by Nick Schuyler
Description from Amazon: "On February 28, 2009, Nick Schuyler went on a deep-sea fishing trip with three friends: NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, former University of South Florida football player and Nick's best friend. What was supposed to be a day of fun and relaxation aboard Cooper's twenty-one-foot vessel turned nightmarish in the Gulf of Mexico, seventy miles west of Tampa, Florida, when a tragic mistake caused their boat to capsize. With no food or water, no emergency beacon to alert authorities, the four athletes clung to the overturned hull through the night—battling hypothermia, hallucinations, hunger, dehydration, and huge pounding waves, as they prayed, spoke of their loved ones, and shared what they would have done differently with their lives. In the end, only one would reach dry land alive. Much more than a riveting true account of survival, Not Without Hope is Nick Schuyler's inspiring story of courage, resolve, and friendship."
My thoughts: This is a moving memoir. I have recommended it to several friends, and have heard good reviews from them, as well. Schuyler tells a haunting story that has stuck with me. Three people died in this tragedy: Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and Will Bleakley. The depiction of their deaths is horrifying and sad. In fact, I read that Schuyler received a lot of complaints about this book from the families of the deceased. I can definitely see both sides to that. As the lone survivor, Schuyler absolutely had the right to tell his story. However, I can see how the families might be upset by the publication of their loved ones last moments. I felt a better job could have been done in leaving out some of those details, in honor of the deceased. The fact that Schuyler survived this ordeal is amazing.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Miss Wonderful
Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase
Any other Loretta Chase fans out there? I have read several of her novels. A few have been really good. This one was not one I enjoyed. I found the characters boring and was not pulled in by the plot.
Any other Loretta Chase fans out there? I have read several of her novels. A few have been really good. This one was not one I enjoyed. I found the characters boring and was not pulled in by the plot.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Fragile
Fragile by Lisa Unger
Description from Amazon.com:
"Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint, charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows’s insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients’ lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie’s intuitive gift proves useful to the case—and also dangerous.
Eerie parallels soon emerge between Charlene’s disappearance and the abduction of another local girl that shook the community years ago when Maggie was a teenager. The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely. Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn. In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.
“I know how a moment can spiral out of control,” Jones says to a shocked Maggie as he searches Rick’s room for incriminating evidence. “How the consequences of one careless action can cost you everything.”
As she tries to reassure him that Rick embodies his father in all of the important ways, Maggie realizes this might be exactly what Jones fears most. Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene’s disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret—one that could destroy everything she holds dear. This thrilling novel about one community’s intricate yet fragile bonds will leave readers asking, How well do I know the people I love? and How far would I go to protect them?
What I thought:
I found this to be a clever suspenseful read. The parallel between a past and present teenage disappearance uncovers emotional secrets and family dysfunction. It is a face-paced read and Unger leaves you wondering if you really know the people in your life.
Description from Amazon.com:
"Everybody knows everybody in The Hollows, a quaint, charming town outside of New York City. It’s a place where neighbors keep an eye on one another’s kids, where people say hello in the grocery store, and where high school cliques and antics are never quite forgotten. As a child, Maggie found living under the microscope of small-town life stifling. But as a wife and mother, she has happily returned to The Hollows’s insular embrace. As a psychologist, her knowledge of family histories provides powerful insights into her patients’ lives. So when the girlfriend of her teenage son, Rick, disappears, Maggie’s intuitive gift proves useful to the case—and also dangerous.
Eerie parallels soon emerge between Charlene’s disappearance and the abduction of another local girl that shook the community years ago when Maggie was a teenager. The investigation has her husband, Jones, the lead detective on the case, acting strangely. Rick, already a brooding teenager, becomes even more withdrawn. In a town where the past is always present, nobody is above suspicion, not even a son in the eyes of his father.
“I know how a moment can spiral out of control,” Jones says to a shocked Maggie as he searches Rick’s room for incriminating evidence. “How the consequences of one careless action can cost you everything.”
As she tries to reassure him that Rick embodies his father in all of the important ways, Maggie realizes this might be exactly what Jones fears most. Determined to uncover the truth, Maggie pursues her own leads into Charlene’s disappearance and exposes a long-buried town secret—one that could destroy everything she holds dear. This thrilling novel about one community’s intricate yet fragile bonds will leave readers asking, How well do I know the people I love? and How far would I go to protect them?
What I thought:
I found this to be a clever suspenseful read. The parallel between a past and present teenage disappearance uncovers emotional secrets and family dysfunction. It is a face-paced read and Unger leaves you wondering if you really know the people in your life.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
The Secret of Joy
The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
Rebecca's beloved Father is dying of cancer. Just before passing away he reveals a lifetime secret to his daughter. He had a brief affair that produced a daughter. This revelation puts everything Rebecca has believed into a spin. How could her Father cheat on her Mother when she felt they were so happy? How could he completely ignore his other daughter's existence for all these years?
Rebecca sets out to find her sister after her Father's death. She finds Joy, and in the process learns and grows within herself.
Joy has lived her life in the absence of a father. She is hesitant to engage with Rebecca. This is the character in the book that touched me. When you grow up with someone and love them (Rebecca), it's impossible to see them the same as the person they abandoned (Joy). Joy is not interested in reading the letters her Father left behind. Why would she be? The letters were trite and for him, more than her. Rebecca is unable to understand Joy's feelings about the man who fathered her.
You can't just BE sisters in an instant. That relationship is something that has to develop over time. I enjoyed taking that journey with Joy and Rebecca in this relationship based novel.
Rebecca's beloved Father is dying of cancer. Just before passing away he reveals a lifetime secret to his daughter. He had a brief affair that produced a daughter. This revelation puts everything Rebecca has believed into a spin. How could her Father cheat on her Mother when she felt they were so happy? How could he completely ignore his other daughter's existence for all these years?
Rebecca sets out to find her sister after her Father's death. She finds Joy, and in the process learns and grows within herself.
Joy has lived her life in the absence of a father. She is hesitant to engage with Rebecca. This is the character in the book that touched me. When you grow up with someone and love them (Rebecca), it's impossible to see them the same as the person they abandoned (Joy). Joy is not interested in reading the letters her Father left behind. Why would she be? The letters were trite and for him, more than her. Rebecca is unable to understand Joy's feelings about the man who fathered her.
You can't just BE sisters in an instant. That relationship is something that has to develop over time. I enjoyed taking that journey with Joy and Rebecca in this relationship based novel.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Intimacy
Intimacy by Hanif Kureishi
This is not an uplifting read, but rather a strongly emotional tale of man's quest for fulfillment. The narrator is middle-aged and bored with the life he leads of stability and domesticity. He makes the decision to leave his wife and two young sons for a younger woman. He is always searching for that desirous feeling of being wanted and treasured. A mid-life crisis? Perhaps. Kureishi pens the emotions felt in a long marriage and the desire for something new and different. I found this to be both sad and honest. Kureishi has a talent for true emotional depiction.
This is not an uplifting read, but rather a strongly emotional tale of man's quest for fulfillment. The narrator is middle-aged and bored with the life he leads of stability and domesticity. He makes the decision to leave his wife and two young sons for a younger woman. He is always searching for that desirous feeling of being wanted and treasured. A mid-life crisis? Perhaps. Kureishi pens the emotions felt in a long marriage and the desire for something new and different. I found this to be both sad and honest. Kureishi has a talent for true emotional depiction.
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