Category: Book Review (Page 2 of 3)

Review of New Book “The Obsession” by Nora Roberts

July 10, 2016 / / 0 Comments

I love Nora Roberts!

 This is an outstanding author. She writes so many different story lines, it is impossible to put her into a category. I fell in love with her latest book. If someone asked me to rate it on a scale of one to five, it would have to be at least an eight. Nora Roberts writes an outstanding mystery!

Nora Roberts - The ObsessionThe Obsession grabs your interest from the first page!

  Naomi sees something no young girl should ever see. It is a hot night in rural America, in a time when a lot of people had never heard of air conditioning. The coming storm and the heat woke Naomi and she sees her father leaving the house in the wee hours of the night. Was he going to the creek for a swim? Naomi sneaks out to follow him, never suspecting she is walking into a nightmare. Thomas David Bowes kidnaps young girls to rape and torture and that night, Naomi saves a young woman’s life and sees her father for the monster he is. 

Naomi is a beautiful shy young woman, afraid to trust.

All her life Naomi has been afraid to stay in one place. Her uncle has rescued her and her younger brother, changing their last names to try to protect them, but each time someone finds out who her father is and the trouble starts. Naomi never settles in one place for long, but all that changes when she finds herself in a small town with a run down house that calls to her. Next, she finds a man that understands her. Without wanting to, Naomi finds herself opening up to him as well as a half starved dog she picks up on the side of the road. There, is a darkness is waiting. Someone who wants to be like her father finds himself obsessed by Naomi. If you like a mystery don’t miss The Obsession! It is outstanding writing by my favorite author, Nora Roberts.

Happy reading, Linda   

Review of “The Wedding Trap” by Adrienne Bell

June 30, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Something for us less than perfect people!

This book is fast paced and written for less than perfect people like me. Adrienne Bell captured the perfect heroine, a little overweight and insecure, with a mother she loves but doesn’t get along with. This is a fun read!

A fun read!

The Wedding Trap - Adrienne Bell  In “The Wedding Trap”, Beth Bradley is backed into a corner, or so she thinks. Her best friend is getting married and she is to be her Maid of Honor. Beth couldn’t be happier for Isobel, except her ex-boyfriend is the best man. Who wants to show up at the wedding without a date when their ex is involved? So, she brings out her make believe boy friend, Charlie. No one believes Charlie really exists, so she has to find a man to play Charlie and the trouble and fun begins. 

Is he using her or is she using him?

She suspects he is a car thief, but oh what a car thief, with the perfect body wrapped in an expensive Italian suit. He is CIA, sent to investigate a mobster who just happens to be related to the bride. What better cover than to be the boyfriend of the Maid of Honor? 

There is one mishap after another and you will laugh as you fall in love with Beth and Charlie (aka Alex). The nice thing is that Alex, in spite of Beth’s ability to stumble into trouble, has fallen madly in love with her. 

  A great love story with a little mystery thrown in! I highly recommend this book. Happy Reading, Linda 

 

 

Review of “Timber Rose” by J.L. Oakley

June 6, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Take a step back in time!

This author takes you on a trip back in time. J.L. Oakley’s book was a pleasant surprise. This book tells of a time when a woman wasn’t allowed to vote, and was limited on written information about their own bodies. A book on marriage told how to give a party, but skipped the chapter on sex and childbirth. In “Timber Rose”, Caroline eloped and then found herself estranged from her family, so there was no one to explain the personal side of married life. She finds herself blessed with an enlighten friend that is willing to explained what her mother should have told her.

Hiking in a skirt?

Timber Rose - J. L. OakleyThe book, Timber Rose tells the story of a woman from the privileged class who, against her parents wishes, belongs to a mountaineering club. The book is set in the American Northwest in the 1840’s where a woman hiking and mountain climbing was not considered a proper activity. Timber Rose gives you a look into the first women climbers who dressed in long skirts, loggers’ boots, and if you were really brave, knickerbockers (A loose man’s pants with full legs.) to see the world from a mountain peak. 

She considered herself a new woman.

Caroline tried to be the proper daughter. but parties did not interest her. She liked nothing better then hiking into the wilderness, and that is how she found herself on a boat crossing a lake where she and a friend were scheduled to climb Mount Rainier. How was she to know she would meet a man who would change her life? 

Not the proper man!

Bob Alford’s family was not a pillar of society and did not have money, but he was the one who caught Caroline’s attention. At first they met casually, then with the help of Caroline’s cousin they would sneak off to spend time together. Alford had been a logger but he wanted more, he learned about the plant life in the Northwest and he had been accepted as one of the first members of the newly formed Forest Service. The job came with a house, so the next thing to do was propose to Caroline and write her father for permission to marry his daughter. They belonged together and no one could separate them. .

Love, family, marriage and friendship.

His family is loving and excepting while hers disowns her. They begin their life with her family sending thugs to bring her home and they leave Bob bruised and beaten. They are married and no one can keep them apart. In this book you learn about small town life, friendships and a love that continues to grow stronger in spite of the hardships that come their way. 

Very entertaining! I highly recommend this book!

Happy Reading, Linda

 

 

    

 

    

Review of the book “The Charm Bracelet” by Viola Shipman

May 25, 2016 / / 0 Comments

A grandmother’s treasure. 

Once long ago all little girls had charm bracelets. Someone would give them a charm for all the monumental occasions in their life. By the time that little girl became a grandmother, she had a bracelet so full you wondered how she could possibly find the space for another charm. 

She is a guy!

Viola Shipman is a pen name for Wade Rouse, who writes regularly for People and Coastal Living. Mr. Rouse decided to take the name of his Ozark grandmother, the woman whose charm bracelet and family stories inspired him to write the book, “The Charm Bracelet”.

The Charm Bracelet - Viola ShipmanThree generations of family tied together by a bracelet!

   Arden Lindsey has run away from life in small town America. A life where everyone knows and remembers your every mistake! She married and had a beautiful daughter, Lauren. Lauren’s father leaves and refuses to play a part in her life, offering little help, even financially. 

This is the story of three generations of women. Lauren a talented artist who sees her mother give up her dream as a novelist, to work as a magazine editor in order to support them.  Arden who is working so hard to give her daughter a stable life that she has no life of her own. Lolly with her positive outlook and her inability to find a way to convince Arden that she needs to stop and smell the roses, or in this case the peony. 

Three generations of women tied together by love and three charm bracelets. Charms that have a story to tell about each of them, of Lolly at a time of her life when she needs family more then ever. Can each of them help the other find the path to happiness? 

  This is a charming story filled with love and family. I highly recommend it.

Happy reading, Linda  

Book Review of “Dream Eyes” by Jayne Ann Krentz

May 14, 2016 / / 0 Comments

About the Author: 

This is a Dark Legacy Novel by Jayne Ann Krentz. Miss Krentz is a  master of the suspense novel, throw in a little romance and you have a fun read. Whether you are reading her as Jayne Ann Krentz or Jane Castle you are in for a treat! 

About the book:

In “Dream Eyes” Gwen Frazier has a unique gift, she see ghosts. They appear in pools of water, mirrors, any reflective surface. She gets a message from her friend Evelyn Ballinger, but when she tries to return her call there is no answer. Gwen isn’t happy to be going back to the small town of Wilby, Oregon.The last time she was there two people died and one commuted suicide, but she must find out what happened to Evelyn. She arrives to find her friend dead and her ghost a little on the testy side, after all she is having a bad day, getting killed will do that to you! 

Enter Judson Coppersmith – he and Gwen had met at the engagement party of her best friend Abby and Judson’s brother, Sam. To say that sparks flew would be an understatement, but Gwen had ruined it all by offering to help Judson with his desturbing dreams. Judson has trust issues and you have to trust a person to let her into your dreams.  Bad dreams or not Judson can’t refuse to help Gwen when she contacts his family. 

“Dream Eyes” draws you into the world of a psychic counselor and a family that not only believes in the paranormal but have family members with psychic talent. Watch as Judson learns to trust his special “Dream Eyes” and see them pool their abilities to catch a killer. 

You may not believe in the paranormal but you can believe that Miss Krentz writes a sizzling story full of mystery and romance.

Happy reading, Linda 

Book Review: The Summerhouse and Return to Summerhouse by Jude Deveraux

May 4, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The Author

  I went to a used book sale and found a fantastic read. I have read Jude Deveraux over the years and have always enjoyed her books, but this book seemed to call to a special place in my soul. When I found that there was a second book, I immediately ordered a copy from Amazon. These books were published in 2001 and 2008 so you will probably not find them in your local bookstore. I consider it well worth the effort to secure a copy.

The Summerhouse

  Jude Deveraux - The Summerhouse  In The Summerhouse three lost souls are offer the use of a summer house in Maine. All three had met in New York City at the Department of Motor Vehicles 19 years earlier. They were drawn together that long ago day because of mistakes on their driver’s licenses that had to be corrected. While they waited, they discovered that they all shared a birthday. Now, three broken women meet in a charming cottage on the Maine coast. 

  Leslie, married to her high school sweetheart, suspects he is having an affair and decides to get away where she can think things through. Madison had been in New York to try for a modeling career and went home to nurse her high school boyfriend after a car accident. Ellie had become a famous novelist and in trying to boost her husbands sense of self esteem had lost her own. None of their lives had turned out like they had envisioned on that distant twenty first birthday. 

When Leslie, Madison and Ellie reunite at Summerhouse, they come across a business card. Madame Zoya has an unusual gift, she can send them back in time to relive any three weeks of the past. Will each woman take a different path and follow her dream?  

Return To Summerhouse

Jude Deveraux - Return to Summerhouse In Return To Summerhouse therapist Jeanne Hightower has purchased the summerhouse in Maine and offers it to three of her patients. Amy thought she had the perfect life, until she suffered a miscarriage. Yes, she was having a hard time getting over the loss of her child, but did Stephen have to send her away to some strange place? Zoe is an artist who, after a car accident, found herself unable to remember why her hometown hates her.  Faith, a widow, lost her husband and after the funeral attacked her mother-in-law in front of the entire town. Amy is wondering why she ended up as a member of Jeanne’s crazies. If she isn’t like them, why is she the only one to receive  Madame Zoya’s card? Amy finds the house and is invited in for tea by Primrose, sister to Madame Zoya. Together, they decide that while Amy has the perfect life, maybe she is meant to help her husband Stephen. Stephen’s father owns a trucking company and because his brothers refuse to take any responsibility, Stephen is forced to run a business he has little love for. Amy begs Madame Zoya to allow her to take Zoe and Faith with her to eighteenth-century England to change Stephen’s future. Will stepping back in time show each woman how to achieve the happy ending they all seek? 

Together, these are two outstanding books!

Happy reading, Linda

 

Book Review of The Liar by Nora Roberts

April 17, 2016 / / 0 Comments

  The author!

  I can’t get enough of Nora Roberts books. With a lot of authors you can tell what type of book it will be, but not so with Nora Roberts. Miss Roberts writes a series set in Ireland and then turns around and gives you a series set in a charming Inn on the east coast of the United States. You simply can not put Miss Roberts in a category because she is in a category by herself. Then she completely sweeps you away to another era writing her futuristic series as J.D. Robb. There is no one else like her. 

The Liar - Nora RobertsThe book!

 The Liar is aptly named. Shelby Foxworth lost her husband in a tragic accident. She finds herself left alone with her three year old daughter. The first shock is finding out her wealthy husband is in debt and nothing is as it seems. Shelby is so ashamed to have been deceived, why did she not see what was in front of her eyes? She puts her already mortgaged house on the market and sets about trying to clear some of the debt. The fur coat that he bought her and she has never worn goes back, and all the fancy clothing she acquired to support the lifestyle they led goes to a high end consignment shop. Her diamond wedding rings, which were insured for thousands of dollars, turn out to be worth next to nothing. She sells the furniture, it was ugly anyway, and takes her daughter home to Tennessee, but the shocks keep coming. Her husband wasn’t Richard Foxworth and they weren’t really married. Follow Shelby as she tries to clear a debt she doesn’t actually owe, try to make a life for herself and her little girl and find deep inside herself the strong woman she once was. A truly fascinating book of home, love, family and second chances. 

Happy reading, Linda

Book review of Clawback by J.A. Jance

April 10, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The author!

 J.A. Jance writes several series as well as stand alone books. This book is an Ali Reynolds Novel that is set in the southwest. She also does a series, the Joanna Brady Mysteries set in the same area of the country. There is also a series that is based in Washington State about a detective called the J.P. Beaumont Mysteries. Miss Jance is an outstanding mystery writer and I think you will enjoy her books. 

   Clawback - J.A. JanceThe book!

Clawback, the title of this book, is a term I was not familiar with. Apparently it is a term that came out of the Ponzi scheme era. When the SEC closed down a company guilty of operating a Ponzi scheme if certain investors had drawn money out of their accounts within a certain period of time they were made to pay the money back. If the SEC did not recover all of everyone’s money then what money they did recover, including what the investors had to return, was divided between all the investors. I am still not sure why “Clawback”

In this book Ali’s parents lose all of their money in a Ponzi scheme. Ali and her husband B own a security firm and they are pulled in when Ali’s father is accused of murder. This is an exceptional book full of mystery and suspense. It tells of a high tech world and the many things you can do if you know how. Ali clears her father of the murder charges and then with her parents’ help they set out to follow the paper trail back to the money. 

If you like a good mystery you don’t want to miss Clawback. 

Happy reading, Linda

Book review of Winners by Danielle Steel

April 3, 2016 / / 0 Comments

The author

Danielle Steel has a long list of best selling books to her credit. When you pick up one of her books you are guaranteed a good read. 

Winners - Danielle SteelThe book

Winners is a wonderful book filled with a fantastic cast of characters. The story centers around Lily Thomas, who lost her mother at a very early age. Lily loves to ski and won a Bronze metal in the Junior Olympics the year before at age 14. She is training for the Winter Olympics and this time she hopes to win the gold. Lily and her father always spend the Christmas Holidays in Squaw Valley so they can get in some skiing. A winter storm is moving in, so Lily hurries out to the slopes where she and her favorite ski instructor, Jason Yee, hope to make a few runs down the mountain before they close the lifts. The unthinkable happens, Lily and Jason are on the lift headed to the top when a cable snaps dropping them onto the mountain below.  Jason doesn’t make it and they bring Lily off the mountain almost frozen and with a spinal cord injury. 

Jessie Matthews is the neurosurgeon operating on Lily that night. She has spent most of the night repairing the damage to Lily’s spine, only to learn that while she was in the operating room her husband and youngest son were in a car accident. Her son came away with cuts and bruises but her husband died instantly. 

At first, Lily’s father is unable to accept that his daughter will never walk again. He is convinced that another doctor will be able to help Lily. It takes a long list of specialists in Zurich, London, New York and Boston before he will admit that his daughter is paralyzed. Once Bill Thomas excepts that his daughter will live her life in a wheel chair, then he starts looking at the possibilities. Lily is one of the lucky ones, her injury is low enough to allow her to live a normal life. A little higher and her breathing could have been effected. Winners, centers around Lily’s rehab and the people that help her.  The rehab hospital where Lily spends the first 4 months takes children fourteen and up. There is a need for someplace to take younger children and Bill Thomas decides to build such a place for them. Bill gets the help of an old friend while trying to get Jessie to agree to head the project for him. Out of a tragic accident you see the lives of six people change for the better. 

Winners is a story of hope and friendship, a story of possibilities and of never giving up. Winners is a story that will steal your heart. Winners is definitely a winner. 

Happy reading, Linda

 

Book Review: Trust No One by Jayne Ann Krentz

March 7, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Jayne Ann Krentz

  Jayne Ann Krentz writes an outstanding story filled with strong characters, and with her books you are guaranteed a complicated plot that will keep you entertained. From page one until you close the book, you will not want to put it down. 

Trust No One

  Trust No One - Jayne Ann KrentzRule one: Trust no one. Rule two: Everyone has a hidden agenda. Those are the rules extremely successful, wealthy businessman, Julius Arkwright lives by until he meets Grace Elland. Grace is like no one he has ever met. She worked as an assistant to motivational speaker Sprague Witherspoon until she finds him murdered. This isn’t the first dead body Grace has found, she found a boy locked in the basement of a deserted mental hospital with a dead woman’s body when she was only sixteen. That time, she had rescued the boy and stabbed the killer with a broken vodka bottle while escaping the crime scene. The death was ruled self defense and she was a hero for rescuing the boy and helping to solve a murder. 

   After finding her boss murdered in his home, Grace moves into her parents’ house in her home town of Cloud Lake. Grace’s parents have retired to Florida and her child hood home is the perfect place for her to stay until she can find a new job. Two things happen, her best friend hooks her up with a blind date with Julius Arkwright just as she starts getting threatening emails. Her best friend, Irene, is married to the town’s chief of police, Devlin Nakamura. Devlin and Julius served together in the Marines and had remained best friends. Now, all they have to do is keep Grace safe until they can figure out who killed Sprague Witherspoon, and is his death somehow connected to the first body Grace found when she was just sixteen?  The story is filled with intrigue and it keeps you guessing with murder, blackmail and missing money. 

   A great read! I hope you enjoy Trust No One as much as I did.

    Happy reading, Linda

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