Tag Archive: romance



Touching the Clouds (Alaskan Skies, #1)Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After my cruise to Alaska way back in June 2001, I love reading about Alaska. I also love books about women who are pilots of bush planes. I am impressed with their courage and stamina. So when I saw this book about a young female pilot in the early 1930s I had to get it. I expected adventure plus!

As for adventure, that was there. And I did like the main character. She was strong. And in those days a female not tending the home-front was an oddity at best. The author did a fine job showing that part of our history.

Anyone who knows me, has read my reviews, knows I don’t much like romantic books. But if it is part of the story and not the whole arc of the story I can bear with it. My favorite parts of this story were the main character flying, oh, and her dog. But be warned, there is romance. :-/

Another thing I don’t like is reading along enjoying the abilities of human endeavor and have the book suddenly become christian propaganda. Warning, that happens here. But I have to admit that it wasn’t all that annoying. Even atheists tend to foxhole prayers. Yes, there were the occasional scripture. Those were not as convincing as maybe the author thought they might be. Sorry. And in that case it got a little annoying. Instead of dropping the book in favor of others sitting and waiting for me to read, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to know what would happen next. I don’t mind that the main character is a Christian and seems quite strong in her beliefs. I mind that the one who doesn’t believe is being worked at to break him down, belief being the goal, even more than the romantic notions. He had good reasons to believe the way he did. So did she. What they had in common was tragedy. No one’s fault, accept we can’t control everything. That alone is a great storyline. But…

Now I have to admit that midway through the book I went back to the GoodReads page and saw that it was tagged as Christian Fiction. Then I didn’t feel so taken in. Had I not seen that I would have given up the story. But knowing it wasn’t just proselytizing — it was stated pure and plain. So I continued and finished the book. It was okay. I’m not going to pursue the next books. Sorry. It’s beginning to look like too much romance.

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Pages for YouPages for You by Sylvia Brownrigg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some reviews say that this book didn’t have enough character depth. I want to agree with this, yet it feels rather like a real meeting between real people. When you meet someone that has had a few year of experiences and you only know them a short time, you don’t get to know the person as well as you might like. As House used to say, “Everyone lies.” Everyone keeps secrets, too.

My kids used to tell me that I shared too much. That soon became “TMI, Mom!” Even with someone like me, there are secrets. Sometimes you just don’t want to relive certain situations, or risk hurting someone else, or live through yet another lecture, or other personal reasons. That is what happens in this book. We have a short time with these two people and they both have their own secrets. We only get to know what the characters want to share.

And though I couldn’t relate, age-wise with either of the characters, I’ve never had those experiences, and as ‘old’ as the older one was supposed to be, to me, she was just a child, too. But I think everyone could relate to new romance and the complications of that first love. And that is what makes the story come alive. Watching this young girl come to terms with her first crush and her own sexuality. It is fun to travel within the university and then around the US with these two women.

I believe that many high school or college age, female students, might like this book. They could relate much better than this old lady. Just enjoy the ride.

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Eleanor & ParkEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, how, sweet! One of my GoodReads friends, Lovely Primrose, recommended this to me. That was a long time ago. I couldn’t afford it so I put it on hold from my library. It seemed forever before it came my turn to read. Of course, I ordered the large-print version. I was glad. It was quite comfortable for my eyes to read. Even more, it was a joy for my heart.

Romance. Yuck! That’s what I usually think. But this book grabs you right from the beginning. You get the story from Eleanor and Park’s points of view. The angst of the story wasn’t ‘does he/she love me?’ but rather the angst of not fitting in. And it shows the inner beauty of these two people.

You get to see how their lives work at home and it all becomes clear why they act the way they do. Even though it was a hefty one, because of being large-print, book, I found I didn’t want to stop reading. I thought about it when I wasn’t reading. And… I am sad it came to an end. I would love to see a book two. It isn’t needed except for the fact that I miss the characters. It ends with a satisfactory feeling. But… please, please, please??

I recommend this one for anyone young at heart.

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The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3)The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series was so much fun that I wish I could go back and read it again, right now! I miss the characters and the wonderful voice of Jennifer Ikeda. This series is best read with the narration. The experience is over the top!

Anyone who knows me knows I am not into vampires. Okay, I watched Vampire Diary for a while but it was because of the witch more than anything else. So had this not started with A Discovery of Witches, and had my cousin not recommended it, I might not have gotten into this series. And the witches sure do kick b*** in this series, so I wasn’t let down.

Even writing this is giving me a sense of remorse that it is over. Gosh, what a sentimental mush brain, huh? But how else can I tell you how good this series is?

I do have a complaint about the whispersync of this book. For some reason, it would skip over the bottom of each paragraph. But that didn’t stop me. I just signed onto my Audible and played the story from there and read it on my tablet. Yeah, I had to turn pages, but I hardly noticed as the story moved me forward.

I noticed that there were the slightest threads left undone. Nothing drastic, but it had me hoping there would be more to this series. Oh, and the last couple chapters felt rather anticlimactic, but I wasn’t complaining. It just gave me more time with the family. This was the perfect read for the Halloween season, but it would hold its own over any other set of days too.

Do read it! I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

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Light, Coming BackLight, Coming Back by Ann Wadsworth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For once, I was glad that the font was too small for me. It meant that I had to savor my moments with the story. This was like the fine wine, dark chocolate, aged cheese kind of book. I cherished every moment with it. It wasn’t the kind of book that left you tense or anxious in any way. In fact, I felt very little tension in the book. That goes against what I have been taught about writing.

The main character, Mrs. Mercedes Medina, is in her sixties. Her husband is 20 years her senior. I love the depth of relationship they have. The author, Ann Wadsworth, did a wonderful job creating the couple and each individual. They were wonderfully human characters with faults and follies of their own and a comfortable chemistry between them. But as life is changing and Patrick, the husband, starts failing in health, Mercedes, is trying to figure out her own life.

Since I am in my sixties, I found her life to be interesting. It is far from my own life. I felt like I moved in with this couple and lived a different life for a while. Isn’t that the best part about books? You can step into someone else’s life, their cities, their adventures, their music. Mrs. Medina’s life is rich while she is searching.

I have been thinking about what I would write about this book since I started it. There are no words I can come up with to do it justice. I wish everyone could read it. I don’t want to let it go. That’s how much I loved it. I registered the book on BookCrossing. BCID: 71813027955  Please read it if you get the chance.

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Sing You HomeSing You Home by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was special!

I was lucky enough to get both the audio CDs and the large print hardback from the library. I highly recommend reading it like that. As a music major, who thought seriously about moving into music therapy, I found myself relating to the main character, Zoe.

Not only was this well written, there were songs sung in the narration! The narrators’ voices were well done. And the a capella singing voice is angelic!

It was depressing to me to give the book back to the library. I loved it so much I know I will be buying the Kindle/Audible combo to enjoy again in the future.

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Where the Deer DwellWhere the Deer Dwell by Dorothy Gravelle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Where is book two? I want more!

This has been the most satisfying read I’ve had in a long time. Unrequited office romance, abduction, then Clan of the Cavebears. Let go of disbelief. Enjoy the ride. There is action and adventure but also Walden contemplation and zen yoga.

I must admit that I am too ADD to sit still for the meditation bits, but I put on the fast text-to-speech and felt more in touch with the main character.

Dorothy Gravelle, I can hardly wait to read more of your work!

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Divine InterventionDivine Intervention by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is going to be one of my shorter reviews. I think.

Though I love Cheryl Kaye Tartif’s writing style and enjoyed her other books thoroughly, I don’t like murder mysteries. The saving grace was I liked the main characters.

There is an added feature of parapsychological talents involved in solving the crimes. But mostly is was a murder mystery.

Still, I will read the rest of the series, Gotta know what happens next, ya know?

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Prodigal AngelProdigal Angel by N.R. Champagne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I was gifted this Kindle version of the book for an honest review.

As for star rating I would have given the story 3 1/2 stars. Not that the story was bad. It could just be me. I am a little over angel and or demon books. That isn’t the author’s fault. It is just what I have spent a lot of time reading for other authors. Luckily, the book doesn’t label the people as angels and demons per se. They are just other beings.

There is a lot of death and destruction that would have had me leaving the book behind, but the main character, Miranda, had won me over. I thought she was well developed. She felt real to me. And I liked her.

Many times the story gets a bit preachy on ecology and global warming. But since I believe we need to wake up and start being stewards of this planet, I didn’t mind. Others might find that off putting.

One of the fun parts of the book is getting to go along for the ride, be it bicycle or trailer truck. Miranda has quite the adventure while staying healthy.

There is a bit of romance, not too much. There are a few triggers for some people. But the bad people get their due.

Give it a try. You may like it. I might like it better if I read it again later.

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Review: Fingersmith


Fingersmith
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If only I could stay awake after finishing reading a book so as to write the review right then. Now I almost gave the book four stars because the excitement had abated. But I asked myself how was the writing? It was very well done. Such a blessing against all the newer authors’ works. Then I asked, How was the plot, did it hold together, make me want more? As if in answer I remembered not being able to stop reading. I thought it about it during my non-reading times. And how about the characters? Did I care about them? You bet! I even cared about the support teams at home and elsewhere. All were well-developed and fleshed out. And the question I ask that would make a difference in whether a book gets four or five stars: Will I remember it fondly much later. I could answer that with a resounding, YES!

So there you have it a five star book! And that rating works for the hardback that I had to reference to on ocassions and the Kindle version I used the most. I even rate the narrator, Juanita McMahon, as she was able to add to the stories depth and enjoyment, for me. She acted out the characters with such strength that I missed her voice when I read without the Audible version. In fact, because there is something glitchy with the Audible/Kindle sych, where it didn’t quite meet up and so I couldn’t read in the same place as the narrator, I ended up listening more and crocheted on my WIP only glancing at the hardback from time to time.

For those afraid to read something labeled lesbian or LGBT, this book is mild and the erotic scene plays into the full story. The story is what pulls you, what is going to happen, keeps you reading. It is not erotica for erotica’s sake. Not that that is a bad thing in my book. However, when teachers are assigning classics to their classes, Fingersmith should be there right alongside of A Tale of Two Cities or Oliver.

By the way, another thing that brings this book up to its five-star rating is the satisfying ending. And the feeling that I would love to read this again someday, and other works by Sarah Waters. I do have the Fingersmith DVD and can hardly wait to watch it!

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