Briar Rose by Robert Coover

This re-telling of Sleeping Beauty was odd to say the least. I was not sure what to expect with this story, I was hoping for some kind of ending and I was sorely disappointed. I liked how there was a lot of re-telling of other sleeping maidens but at the same time that was the only thing that kept the story moving. The prince in this story never reached his destination that I ever saw.

Mr. Coover is a different author. He tells really well but I felt things were a little jumpy for such a short book. Page numbers normally don’t matter to me but this one I felt like something was missing.

I just am not sure what to think. This was an odd story and has me not wanting to read this author anymore. I was just unimpressed with him because there were times when I was not sure what was the fairy’s stories or what was really happening. It all blended together for me. I hate to write bad reviews but this book was just odd!

Robert Coover/ New Author/ 86 pages/ Adult Fiction/ Fairy Tale/ 2 out of 5

Onto Danielle Steele's Coming Out and then another review book. :)

Motif for Murder by Laura Childs

Carmela is still struggling to put her marriage back together. But then her husband is kidnapped and she finds his uncle Henry shot in the head in his library. She has no idea who is behind it all but she does not like it. Keeping herself occupied, she works on an altered book to memorialize Uncle Henry. Things only seem to be going awful for her. She never suspects the altered book she does may have clues to who is behind it all and that they just might come after her.

Ms. Childs does it again! How she is able to incorporate mystery while adding in such wonderful scrap booking ideas just boggles my mind. Her characters are truly stubborn but that is why I love them so much! There is such life in Louisiana and the adventures that are created are fantastic!

Carmela, poor gal, really wants her marriage to work. But every time she turns around the man is gone. This time he is kidnapped and his sister Grace surely is a sour puss. So Carmela is always so creative and comes up with ways to use ideas she comes across whether online or at a convention. I am truly inspired by her and it makes me want to pick up my scrap book and work on it. I just don’t need all the drama she deals with. Her best friend Ava is there to help her out. Ava is a class act and a true blue best friend. She loves to party and keep Camilla happy. These two get into some crazy situations and that is what I like the best about them. They know how to help each other out.

This series keeps getting better! Not just with scrap booking ides but also with how strong Carmela is in every single book. She could just crawl under a rock and hide, but she wants to find out the truth even if it gets her in trouble with Detective Babcock. This is one series that I cannot get enough of and the next one cannot come into my hands soon enough!

Laura Childs/ Scrap booking/ Cozy Mystery/ 275 pages/ 5 out of 5

Well onto a review book and then it will be Briar Rose by Robert Coover after that Coming Out by Danielle Steele. :)

The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold

Clair and Helen Knightly have a complex mother/daughter relationship. Frustrated with looking after her mother, she ends up crossing a line she never thought possible. She kills her mother. She didn’t plan it but it takes care of an unconscious desire to be free of her. Over the next twenty-four hours, she must confront the freedom she never thought possible.

Ms. Sebold can write such haunting fiction. Her characters want freedom and do whatever it takes to obtain it. There is such power and emotion in each character. Ms. Sebold brings it out in a way that compels you to read on.

Helen had a rough life. She was doing her best to stay afloat. Reaching her limit, she didn’t know what to expect but she wanted change. Clair Knightly hated going outside. Worst of all was losing her husband. She did things to comfort herself while slowly losing her mind.

This book while well written had me questioning the character’s motives. I didn’t agree with all that Helen did but then I’ve never been in her situation. She just stopped thinking and reacted. This book did upset me but then life is never as simple as I would like it to be. This book does make you think. I found the ending too abrupt.


Alice Sebold/Adult Fiction/ Relationships/ 291 pages/ 3 out of 5

Back to a couple of review books and then hopefully get a few of my own. :)

A Troubadour's Testament by James Cowan

This is a journey of an anonymous author trying to find the truth about a death roll that was written by a poet named Marcebeau and others. The author had to travel all over to figure out what the meaning lay behind the poems and what made the romance happen between Marcebeau and his lover as well as how it ended. It ends up taking him through many places. But will he be able to find the answers he is looking for.

Mr. Cowan is an intense author who truly gets you to ask questions. I really enjoyed all the poetry involved in this work. This was a book that looked for the true meaning in the ordinary.

The anonymous author has to come to grips with not being able to get the answers he wanted.

This is a difficult book to write about. So much is an inner journey and one that is certainly well done. I have to say I enjoyed the book and I would like to read more by this author.

James Cowan/New Author/ Adult Fiction/ 198 pages/ 4 out of 5

Two more review books and then one of my own again. :)

Points: Women Have Them, Men Need them

I normally like non-fiction books but this one was just odd. Men often do stupid things intentionally or not. Women do stupid things too. But coming up with a points system just rubs me the wrong way.

It also was not horribly written but I think this author went too far in bashing men honestly. I was impressed that it never gave a timeline to see an improvement.

I was looking forward to reading this book and just could not get into it. This was an author that just sounded funny. While some of it was funny, some of it seemed idiotic. I had hoped to like it a lot better and am surprised that this person wrote this stuff. I know he is not a professional but still I expected a lot more from it than what I got.

I. Glebe/ Non-fiction/ Relationships/ 3 out of 5/ 190 pages

I finished this a couple of days ago just never got around to posting it. Right now I am almost done with another non fiction. :)

Candles on Bay Street by K.C. McKinnon

Dee Dee Michaud leaves her home to go out in the world. Leaving behind a broken heart belonging to her best friend Sam Thibodeau. Now fifteen years later, Dee Dee is back and questions arise as to why she is here etc. Sam just is happy to have his friend back even though he is married now. He feels like his life is being turned upside now. While Dee Dee opens up a candle making shop where she makes her own candles. Dee Dee seems to be as enchanting as she was back when they were growing up. She is hiding something but what could it be?

Ms. McKinnon is an amazing author. I was swept up in this heartfelt story. I knew a lot about this story ahead of time but it certainly did not hurt reading it. The story is so emotional and wonderful!

Dee Dee is certainly a woman who has a strong soul. She wants to go back home where she can do her best work. Her son Martin is her life and she wants to raise her where she found comfort. Sam is home with his wife Lydia and they work together side by side. He loves his wife but dealing with the past will be very sentimental.

This book is beautiful and heart wrenching. Though I kind of knew the ending, it was still surprising in how it all played out. This is not just trying to figure how to put things right but as well as how to bring worlds together. Sam did not want his wife to be threatened by his feelings for Dee Dee. He was a total sweetheart and I could not get enough of his character. Definitely want to read more by this author.

K.C. McKinnon/272 pages/ New Author/ Adult Fiction/ Homecoming/ 4 out of 5

Well off to two review books and then a book from my own pile. lol

Sweethearts of the Twilight Lanes

Tess Redding does her best to provide Southern hospitality. She also manages a magazine called Simply Southern. But when bad boy Flynn Garvey shows up in town again, all her plans seem to be going up in smoke! Someone is sending blackmail notes to Tess and her three best friends and she is determined to figure out who it is. But she may just have to the one thing she never wanted, which is ask for help.

Ms. Jones is a fabulous author. I was completely blown away by her realistic portrayals of small town life. Even the little things had me flipping pages! Her characters just want to be loved and accepted no matter what mistakes they made in their past. That is so awesome! I would love to see more stories with these characters. They were just so much fun to read about!

Tess is one headstrong girl and when she felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders no wonder she wanted to be in control! It seemed to make her feel better since she never really had that control before. Flynn is something else! That man had some rough issues but he always tried to do what he thought best even if it meant hurting the one person he loved. Wylene, Reni, and Jerrianne were three women who I would love to have for my friends. They are truly wonderful people who believe in themselves most of the time. When all four women get together, nothing else matters at all! I loved learning about their friendships and the secrets that they wanted to keep hidden.

This is one author that I would love to read more about. It was a pretty light book but these women had some pretty weird stuff to deal with in my opinion. Yet it was one of the best books I have read so far this year.

Luanne Jones/ New Author/ Romance/ 384 pages/ 4 out of 5

Just started another romance for review French Kissing by Nancy Warren, which comes out this month sometime. After that another reivew book called Seven Nights of Sin by Lacey Alexander.

March Stuff!

Books I read:
White Out by Vicki Delany A
Pushing Up Bluebonnets by Leann Sweeney A+
Winter and Sommers by Lydia Grace A+
The Rich Die Young by Carolyn G. Hart A
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig A+
Deadly Enchantments by Kathryn R. Blake A
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald A+
A Notorious Proposition by Adele Ashworth A
Irish Dreams by Nora Roberts A+
Tango’s Edge by Carole Bellacera A
Last Warrior by Karen Kay A
Redemption by Jacquelin Thomas A
Jezebel by Jacquelin Thomas A
Mistress of the Revolution by Cathrine Delors A+
More Than Words: Stories of Courage by Susan Wiggs, Sharon Sala, and Emilie Richards A
Naughty Neighbor by Janet Evanovich A
Choice Makers by Eleanor Cocreham B
Nailed by Amie Stuart A
Race Against Time by Justine Davis A
Palindrome by Stuart Woods A+
Prelude to Morning by Katrina Farabough A
Lust in Translation by Pamela Druckerman A
An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear A+
The Healer by Sharon Sala A

My Stats:
Total Books Read: 24
New Authors: 18
Fiction: 23Non-Fiction: 1
TBR: 0
Chunksters: 4
Books I reviewed: 16
Romances: 14
Mysteries: 4
From The Stacks: 17
Books I Bought: 1
PBS Sent: 0
PBS Received: 0
Total Pages Read: 7, 434 pages

Already on book 2 for this month. :)