#12 Rules

#12
Rules
Cynthia Lord
2006
208
YA
4
TBR
Catherine is your typical 12 year old. All she wants is a normal life with normal friends, not people who look at her funny or make fun of her autistic brother David. She loves him, but that’s quite hard at times when she is embarrassed by so much of what he does. The only way to bring normality to her life is to make up rules, which she keeps with her in the back of her sketch book. Rules such as “No Toys in the Fish Tank”, “Pantless Brothers are Not my Problem” are part of her everyday life. A new girl moves into the neighborhood and Catherine finally feels that she will have a chance at a new life. But will David ruin this too? Just when Catherine is overly wrapped up in David and Kristi, she meets a young boy at her brother’s therapy clinic and the two hit it off in quite a unique way; opening Catherine’s eyes to a life outside of the rules. I enjoyed this book and its overall message of acceptance. Amazon Review: http://tinyurl.com/254khr

#11 Innkeeping with Murder

#11
Innkeeping with Murder
Tim Myers
2001
197
Cozy Mystery
4 out of 5
TBR
Alex Winston is desperately trying to hold on to the family lighthouse named Hatteras West which is interestingly located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Not your typical location for a lighthouse, but one that attracts a wide variety of people. That is until one guest is found dead at the top of the lighthouse with an ice pick in the back and another looks to have been pushed off of Bear Rocks. It is now up to Alex to find the killer, keep the boiler running on the old Inn and have the beds made before the next guest checks in. Just your typical day as an Innkeeper.Fun start to the lighthouse series by Tim Meyers. Look forward to seeing the unique characters again that make up the background in this book. Amazon Review: http://tinyurl.com/2s2533

#10 Bloodlines

#10
Bloodlines
Dinah McCall
2005
376
Mystery - Romance
3 out of 5
TBR


At the age of 2, Olivia was kidnapped and her parents murdered. Ransom was demanded, paid, and she was found wandering a mall. Flash forward 25 years, a suitcase is found behind a wall with a tiny skeleton and a tell tale sign that this might be Olivia. Confused yet? Well, a Sealy family trait of an extra thumb was visible on both Olivia and the skeleton that was found. But if Olivia was returned, then who was this baby. Has Olivia’s whole life been a lie? In comes Det. Trey Bonney of the Dallas Police Department. He also happened to be Olivia’s high school love. The story gets very twisty with side stories that don’t really make sense or have a point and are never fully explained. Abortion clinic bombing, neighbors house broken into, wayward cousins, etc. In the end, this compilation of characters each reveals a small part of the story which leads to a very unlikely conclusion. This is my first McCall book and I can’t say that I didn’t like it, just wish she would have left parts out and tightened up other storylines. She has talent, just lacked direction on this one.

Amazon Review:
http://tinyurl.com/yns4wj

#9 Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin

#9
Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin
Nancy Atherton
2005
227
Cozy Mystery
4 out of 5
TBR

Needing a break from heavier books, I always return to Aunt Dimity for a bit of R&R. During Lori’s volunteer work at Radcliffe Infirmary, she is saddened to learn that Elizabeth Beacham, a legal secretary, has had no visitors during her stay. Well, that just can’t be, so Lori packs off with her book cart and approaches Elizabeth with books and conversation. Soon a kindred friendship develops, but it ends way too soon. Finding out that Elizabeth did have a relative, one who could have visited, she sets off to find this wayward brother and of course this is where the mystery begins. Being left with a letter and two keys, Lori finds out about Lizzie’s life; and of course it wasn’t what it appeared to be. Elizabeth was a much more extraordinary woman than even Lori could have imagined and because of Lori’s kindness, the loved ones in Lori’s life will benefit from a woman that they didn’t even know.I enjoyed this book, may of the previous characters are mentioned and their storylines are moved forward. I had been disappointed in the previous book (Aunt Dimity Snowbound) but this one has made up for that.

#8 The Resort

#8
The Resort
Bently Little
2004
390
Thriller
1 out of 5
Library

In this very slow drawn out book, Little introduces us to his main characters, the Lowell Thurman family, mom, dad and three boys. Deciding they could afford the winter rates at the high end Reata Resort of Arizona, they pack the family off for a week of fun in the sun. Strange encounters and less then family atmosphere makes the Thurman’s and other guest’s question what is truly going on here. The hotel has a strange mind mend on those staying there, they forget, they hallucinate, they become highly sexual, they become barbaric. But leave it to a 13 year old boy to find the answer and save the day. By the end of this really horrible book I was repulsed. For a thriller it was even further out there than most. Too many barbaric scenes that had no point; and in turn made this book a joke. No need to read this author again.

#7 Chosen by a Horse

#7
Chosen by a Horse
Susan Richards
248
Memoir
5 out of 5
Library

Life is short, do what matters. In this noteworthy memoir, Susan Richardson tells of her life with Lay Me Down, a remarkable Bay who has been abused by her previous owner and who comes to Susan's ranch as a rescued animal. Susan who had been neglected and abandoned as a child and Lay Me Down who had been abused in her racing and broodmare years teach eachother to trust and to live again, and in turn gaining hope and faith in the other. As each venture out into their new worlds, Lay Me Down into a new herd and Susan into the dating world, they each get banged up a bit, but learn that maybe there is a future for each of them. Maybe you do get a second chance, maybe somebody does want you. Combining both laughter and tears, Susan Richards brings a memoir that will be remembered for years.

Amazon Review:
http://tinyurl.com/yt58go

#6 311 Pelican Court

#6
311 Pelican Court
Debbie Macomber
2005
377
Fiction
4 out of 5
TBR

Lack of Communication. That is the running theme in this 3rd installment of the Cedar Cove series. Rosie and Zack are the main characters this time. They have decided to divorce and the ordeal is quickly coming to a head with their children. Maryellen and Jon have decided what is in the best interest of their new born daughter; and Olivia and Jack have finally come to an agreement. More is revealed in the mysterious death at the Beldon’s bed and breakfast with the divulging of an incident that Bob witnessed during his Vietnam years. Will this lead to the identification of the mysterious stranger? Are others still in danger? What is the full story? I enjoy this series, revisiting storylines and characters, just wish I hadn't waited so long in between books, forgot who a couple of people were, but Macomber is good at refreshing your memory.

Amazon Review:

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0778322610/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?%5Fencoding=UTF8&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R2DE8R75MOEZMP

#5 Murder Over Easy

#5
Murder Over Easy
Marshall Cook
2003
170
Mystery
4 out of 5
Library

Small Town Secrets. In this very short, quick read book, Charlie the owner of a small town Wisconsin diner and town leader is found dead at the bottom of his basement stairs. The ruling of accidental death doesn’t sit well the Monona Quinn, the new editor of the local newspaper. Deciding to do the Nancy Drew thing, she sets out to tie up the loose ends that the sheriff appears to not want to handle. Turns out that it’s not that he doesn’t want to, he just knows some of the town’s secrets. Is it worth destroying the man’s good name with the truth? Interesting start to Cook’s series.

Amazon Review:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0970409869/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

#4 The Heroines

#4
The Heroines
Eileen Favorite
2008
231
Fiction
3 out of 5
Library

The whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking that I was missing something. There is something here that I'm not seeing. Well, there was, but it wasn’t what I was expecting, which is what kept me reading even though it was a little too late.13 year old Penny Entwhistle is growing up in a Illinois prairie bed and breakfast with her mother Anne-Marie and housekeeper Gretta This isn’t your usually retreat, this is the place that literary heroines such as Emma Bovary, Scarlett O’Hara and Catherine Earnshaw go to regroup when their lives are in distress. They come to Anne-Marie who strengthens them and encourages them back to their lives without interfering with the eventual plots of each story. Anne-Marie is very strict in her belief that the heroines are not to be told the truth about the outcome of their fates in the book. But then one night a hero appears and thus changes the whole routine. What will have to be sacrificed to make the dangerous man return to his world? What truths will have to be told about the past?What started out as an interesting plot turned me off when it branched into a sudden trek into Girl, Interrupted. That part which takes up a good portion of the book, just was lost on me. If Favorite had just stuck with the sudden arrivals of the Heroines and their stories it would have been, in my opinion, a much better book.

Amazon Review:

http://www.amazon.com/Heroines-Novel-Eileen-Favorite/dp/1416548106/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200497576&sr=1-1

#3 A Bicycle Built for Murder

#3
A Bicycle Built for Murder
Kate Kingsbury
2001
216
Cozy Mystery
4 out of 5
Library
Cozies are character driven and this book definitely has its share of characters. Not only is Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton the Lady of Sitting Marsh Manor House, but she is also responsible for helping her tenants muddle through during World War II England. Little did she know that when Winnie stopped her to ask if she had seen her daughter Beryl - who has quite a reputation for hanging out at the pub and flirting with the Yanks; Lady Elizabeth would find herself in the middle of a murder mystery. Not only that, but she has to prepare for an American invasion all her own.A great cast of characters including Violet the housekeeper and the irrepressible Martin the butler. First in the Manor House Series. Amazon Review:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425178560/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

#2 How to Be Lost

#2
How to Be Lost
Amanda Eyre Ward
2004
290
Fiction
5 out of 5
TBR
Not all the reviews are favorable, but I really enjoyed this mesmerizing book. Not all the questions are answered, but that's the way it should be; it opens up more possibilities. 15 years ago, on the day that the three Winter sisters decide to run away from their drunken father and their less than perfect mother, five year old Ellie disappears. After the discovery of a photo in a magazine, their mother is determined to find this person in hopes that it is Ellie. Unfortunately she doesn’t get the chance and Caroline, the one who has run off to New Orleans in hopes of finding a life, takes up the challenge. What Caroline finds instead is herself, the person who has been running and trying to be lost. Sometimes what you find isn’t exactly what you were looking for. A great cast of characters with storylines that twist upon themselves and in the end you are left with questions, wondering and hope.
Amazon Review:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345483170/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

#1 The Gourdmother

#1
The Gourdmother
Maggie Bruce
2005
258
Cozy Mystery
2.5 out of 5
TBR
This one didn't capture me. My mind kept wandering and I had to force myself to finish.Tom Ford couldn’t make his payment to Lili Marino for a writing job she had done for him so she agreed to take his cottage in Walden Corners, N.Y. as payment. What does Lili know about country living? Very little, but she knows even less about solving the murder of Coach Johnson who she finds floating in a pond during the first day of hunting season. Coach’s family, wife Nora and son Scooter, were the first family to accept Lili into their small town so she feels that she owes them. Unprepared for the rivalries and animosity in a small town Lili is quickly in over her head in trying to solve this murder, but thankfully she has her gourd art to keep her centered.In this debut novel Bruce tries too hard to add too much to the plot; it would have been much better if she simplified and reduced the number of characters. I don’t think I will continue with the author.
Amazon Review:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425206610/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img