Prayers for Sale

Prayers for Sale

Sandra Dallas

4 out of 5

As I kept reading this book, that old saying about an onion having many layers was repeated over and over in my mind.

An elderly widow named Hennie Comfort has a sign on her front fence that says "Prayers for Sale" and one day a very young newly married girl asks Hennie to prayer for her and thus begins a very unlikely friendship.

Set in small minding town called Middle Swan, Colorado during the 1930's, the friendship and mentorship of 80 year old Hennie and and 17 year old Nit Spindle begins. Between ranch living, and quilting, and life dramas, the lives of these two women and the community they live in slowly come together.

Hennie sees a lot of herself in Nit, and Nit in turn, sees in Hennie the strong woman that she one day would like to be. They have each had their hardships and each will come out a better person for what they have had to endure and because of the gamblers, and moonshiners and soiled doves and corrupt business practices, they will each in turn be a stronger person for it.

Sandra Dallas does a wonderful job in setting the historical feel, with enough lore and truth to keep you turning the page.

The French Gardener

The French Gardener

Santa Montefiore

5 out of 5

Seldom does a book come a long that you can just feel your body relax and you just melt away into the story. For me, this summer, The French Gardener did just that.

This book spins two tales that are brought together by a single French gardener and his story of love that could not be and a garden that hold the secret that is slowly told through a scrapbook read by a woman that has a similar story but is not the intended recipient. That may sound confusing but this gentle paced story unfolds in a way that you see the beauty but don’t want the love story to come to an end.

Stuck in an isolated country house Miranda has the life that she though she would like; that is until she realizes that her high fashion life and mud don’t always come together. Her husband is away at work if he‘s not with his mistress, her son is in constant trouble at school, she has no friends, no life, nothing but this rotten garden that was once a showplace.

So what’s a girl to do, she hires a French gardener to put the garden to rights and with it a story that will bind them all together in a way that they never thought possible.

Montefiore creates wonderfully likeable characters each with a voice and a story of their own. You can feel the garden, the town, the people and the heartache that must be endured for there to even possibly be a happily ever after.

The Chosen One

The Chosen One

Carol Lynch Williams

5 out of 5

This is not a book that will be easy to forget. Told in the voice of 13-year old Kyra who has lived her life in an isolated polygamous community called The Chosen. This is the way her life has always been and being rather happy she has never questioned her life. So you have to put up with too many moms and the lack of privacy, that is a small price to pay for happiness. That is until she has been chosen to be the next wife of her sixty year old uncle.

This is no longer the life she wants, she wants to be able to choose her own future. A future that includes books and music and love. But the God Squad has different plans and now Kyra must find a way out. After what they have done to others that have disobeyed Kyra is terrified not only for herself but for her family. Her choices will affect them all. Is this a risk she is willing to take? With the help of those that love and care for her, is she willing and able to start a new life.

Told in an astonishing voice, you feel Kyra's fears and trepidation. When all you know is about to change, can you change with it and not lose the person that you are? Wonderful story of heartbreak and longing.

Poison Pen

Poison Pen

Sheila Lowe

3 out of 5

For some reason heading into this book I was under the belief that it was a cozy mystery. Don't know where I get that initial impression, but I was wrong. Nothing real cozy about this book. Even Miss Marple would blush at a couple scenes.

Lindsey Alexander is not a very nice person, so when her body is found floating in her hot tub there are not many tears shed. She had made a name for herself as a publicist to the rich and famous, had few friends, and had no problem bedding and blackmailing anyone that could advance her career. But when her body is found next to a supposed suicide note, her friend Claudia, who just happens to be a forensic handwriting expert decided to do some investigating on her own.

Overall the plot is quiet lacking, no characters that are likable and stand out above the others, but the handwriting analysis is fascinating. Lowe, who is a handwriting analyst herself explains the different loops and swirls and what they says about the person who is doing the writing. If only I didn't have to read this whole book to get the insight into handwriting analysis.

The Unit

The Unit

Ninni Holmqvist

4 out of 5

Very reminiscent in my mind of the Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.

I have always been very leery of translated books, feeling that something was going to get lost. But this book was all too real and all to relevant in a world that has gone slightly mad.

Dorrit Weger has hit the age, when women are over fifty and men are over sixty and childless, and are working in non progressive jobs, when they are taken to the Second Reserve Bank Unit. There their life starts over. They are given lovely apartments, medical care, delicious food, exercise and entertainment. The only problem is that they must subject themselves to drug and psychological testing, donating their organs, and then one day they are expected to make the final donation.

But what happens in this unit is beyond the psychological testing, beyond the separation from the outside world that has ignored them and separated them from productive people. Who consider them dispensable. Bonds are made and when the truly unthinkable, the highly improbable happens, Dorrit must make a choice that would be beyond the ability of most women.

This truly remarkable book hold you from beginning to end and is highly recommended for both the thought provoking read and for book group discussions.