“Sweet Little Lies” is the first in the Heartbreaker Bay series by Jill Shalvis. Humor, friendship, family angst, and love fight it out for top billing. Pru and Finn, the main characters, share a troubled background as both lost their parents and are striking out on their own. Prudence works on a tour boat in San Francisco Bay and Finn is trying, with the “help” of his irresponsible brother, to keep O’Riley’s pub afloat. If you like contemporary romance, it is well worth your time.
Into every life, a little rain must fall. This is the first in a new Christina Dodd series called Cape Charade. The storyline was a little convoluted; however, it did deliver in the suspense department. Unfortunately, it lacked the chemistry and humor usually found in Dodd’s books.
The rain continued to fall in this book. A teen girl becomes extraordinarily ill at camp and becomes hospitalized. While she is undergoing procedures galore and a life-changing illness, she meets Conner and his dog Verlaine. The first part of the story is well written and an eloquent portrayal of the anger, depression, and fear of the protagonist; however, halfway through it loses its way and becomes overly sentimental and schmaltzy.
| After a somewhat lackluster week of reading, I wasn’t looking forward to reading a book about Fairies. I was wrong! This was magic! Haven is the home of Fairies including wish granters like Ophelia. This is a parallel world fantasy and there isn’t much in the way of world building because most of the novel takes place in “our” world. The characters are simple but fantastic and the plot and the story line are good. This was much more fun and adventurous than I had anticipated. A great moral lies at its heart without the story ever feeling “lecture” like. Add a little bit of magic to your life, read this one. |
“The Big Umbrella” by Amy June Bates does more with a few words and illustrations to portray community, kindness, and inclusion than many adult books I have read on the subject. This little gem is definitely worth sharing with your child. Like the big umbrella, you too will end the book with a smile.
I listened to “The Feather Thief” by Kirk Wallace Johnson on audiobook through Overdrive. Who could guess the story of a flutist and fly-tier who steals a bunch of rare bird carcasses from a natural history museum in England could be so interesting? This is a story of opposing values and needs. The author needed something to give him respite following a harrowing ordeal and a nerve-wracking, stress-inducing program to bring Iraqi refugees to the United States. A police officer had to prioritize solving more violent crimes over this one. The thief wanted to make some cash to provide him with the things he thought he deserved. The collection he stole had been obtained for the museum by someone who was self-taught and wanted to provide not only financial security for himself but also knowledge to his nation. This was one of the most buzzed nonfiction books of 2018.