The Monkey's Raincoat

The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

This is a recommend for the classic detective reader. It is book one in the Elvis Cole series. I liked this book, but decided I am into an excessive amount of crime series right now. I might come back to this set later.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“When quiet Ellen Lang enters Elvis's office, she's lost her husband and her son. Their search down the seamy side of Hollywood's studio lots and sculptured lawns soon leads them deep into a nasty netherworld of drugs and sex—and murder.”

The Bride

The Bride by Julie Garwood

My rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My thoughts:

I recommend this for the classical historical romance reader. I have a soft spot for these stories!
Description from Goodreads.com:

“By the king's edict, Alec Kincaid, mightiest of the Scottish lairds, must take an English bride. And Jamie the youngest daughter of Baron Jamison, is his choice. From his first glimpse of the proud and beautiful English lady, Alec felt a burning hunger stir within him. This was a woman worthy of his fearless warrior's spirit. And he aches to touch her, tame her, possess her...forever.

But with the wedding vows, Jamie pledges her own secret oath: She will never surrender her love to this Highland barbarian. He was everything her heart warned her against -- an arrogant, brooding scoundrel whose rough good looks and seductive embrace fire her blood. But when strange accidents begin to threaten Jamie's life and an old rumor that Alec killed his first wife spreads anew, something far more dangerous than desire threatens to conquer her senses.”

What We Keep

What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg

My Rating:

3 stars—I liked it.

My Thoughts:

Berg urges the reader to think about the perspective of a child and how those perceptions change over the years. I enjoyed the plot and Ginny's growth through the story.
Description from Goodreads.com:

“Do you ever really know your mother, your daughter, the people in your family? In this rich and rewarding new novel by the beloved bestselling author of Talk Before Sleep and The Pull of the Moon, a reunion between two sisters and their mother reveals how the secrets and complexities of the past have shaped the lives of the women in a family.

Ginny Young is on a plane, en route to see her mother, whom she hasn't seen or spoken to for thirty-five years. She thinks back to the summer of 1958, when she and her sister, Sharla, were young girls. At that time, a series of dramatic events--beginning with the arrival of a mysterious and sensual next-door neighbor--divided the family, separating the sisters from their mother. Moving back and forth in time between the girl she once was and the woman she's become, Ginny at last confronts painful choices that occur in almost any woman's life, and learns surprising truths about the people she thought she knew best.”

The Greatest Stories Never Told

The Greatest Stories Never Told by Rick Beyer

My rating:

3—I liked it.

My thoughts:

A good read for the history enthusiast or the random information reader. Beyer includes an assortment of interesting historical bits.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“History isn't always made by great armies colliding or by great civilizations rising or falling. Sometimes it's made when a chauffeur takes a wrong turn, a scientist forgets to clean up his lab, or a drunken soldier gets a bit rowdy. That's the kind of history you'll find in The Greatest Stories Never Told.

This is history candy -- the good stuff. Here are 100 tales to astonish, bewilder, and stupefy: more than two thousand years of history filled with courage, cowardice, hope, triumph, sex, intrigue, folly, humor, and ambition. It's a historical delight and a visual feast with hundreds of photographs, drawings, and maps that bring each story to life. A new discovery waits on every page: stories that changed the course of history and stories that affected what you had for breakfast this morning.

Consider:


The Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock because they ran out of beer
Some Roman officials were so corrupt that they actually stole time itself
Three cigars changed the course of the Civil War
The Scottish kilt was invented by an Englishman
Based on the popular Timelab 2000® history minutes hosted by Sam Waterston on The History Channel®, this collection of fascinating historical tidbits will have you shaking your head in wonder and disbelief. But they're all true. And you'll soon find yourself telling them to your friends.”

Music of the Heart

Music of the Heart by Katie Ashley

My rating—

1 star—I didn’t like it.

My thoughts—

Not a recommend. Major yuck factor for me. The “good Christian” girl who constantly lectures everyone around her…not my style!

Not a recommend.

Description from Goodreads.com:

“For Abby Renard, the plan was supposed to be simple—join her brothers’ band on the last leg of their
summer tour and decide if she’s finally ready for the limelight by becoming its fourth member. Of course, she never imagined stumbling onto the wrong tour bus at Rock Nation would accidentally land her in the bed of Jake Slater, the notorious womanizing lead singer of Runaway Train. When he mistakes her for one of his groupie’s, Abby quickly lets him know she sure as hell isn't in his bed on purpose.

Jake Slater never imagined the angel who fell into his bed would resist his charms by promptly kneeing him in the balls. Of course, the fact she seems like a prissy choir girl makes her anything but his type. So he is more than surprised when after betting Abby she wouldn’t last a week on their tour bus, she is more than willing to prove him wrong. But as Jake’s personal life begins to implode around him, he finds an unlikely ally in Abby. He’s never met a woman he can talk to, joke with, or most importantly make music with.

As the week starts comes to a close, neither Abby nor Jake is ready to let go. Can a sweetheart Country songstress and a bad boy of Rock N Roll actually have a future together?”

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
2. Candide by Voltaire
3. The Autobiography of Malcolm X  by Alex Haley
4. Talking to Heaven by James Van Praagh
5. Raising Freethinkers by Dale McGowan
6. Life Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
7. Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
8. Laird of the Mist by Paula Quinn
9. Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas
10. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver