1083 - 1087 (2022 #8 - 12). April 2022

This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson

This is another book I read because it was banned from school library shelves in my racist, radical right-wing rural Republican town, for "sexually explicit content and illustrations."  It was not available in my local library, either, but I was able to borrow the e-book from another library.

This book is an introductory guide to LGBT life and issues for high school age and up.  I'm no expert on these topics, and this senior adult learned some things from this book.  Author Juno Dawson, who also writes fiction, originally identified as a gay man (James Dawson), but a year after the publication of this book in 2014, came out as a transgender woman.  This updated second edition was published under her new name.

As for "sexually explicit illustrations"?  They are black-and-white line drawings in a cartoon style by Spike Gerrell, funny and appropriate for the intended audience.

Books like this are needed in our school and public libraries, especially for questioning young people who may lack the loving support to learn about these issues elsewhere.

Sugar and Salt by Susan Wiggs

Sugar and Salt is mostly the story of Margot Salton (aka Margie Salinas), a barbeque master from Texas who is finding success with her own restaurant - called Salt - in San Francisco, until her past comes back to haunt her.  It's also the story of Jerome Sugar, who operates the bakery Sugar next door to Salt, and sharing a kitchen, and Jerome's mother Ida, who came of age during the Vietnam War era.

Besides being not just one love story, but two, this book also pulls in so many relevant issues, especially pertaining to the harrowing Texas judicial and penal system (and before you ask - I grew up and live in Texas, although I was born in Chicago and I've also lived in Washington state).  

I haven't read any of Susan Wiggs' books before, but now I am a fan.  She doesn't hesitate to cover such topics as war protests, avoiding the draft, interracial romance and marriage, and adoption by nontraditional couples, as well as rape and abortion.

All of these topics, coupled with the recipes at the end of the book, would make this a great choice for book clubs.

My only gripes with the book are two minor ones.  First, the blurb on the back of the advance reader edition (courtesy LibraryThing Early Reviewers), states that Jerome's last name is Barnes (not Sugar), and Ida is his grandmother (not mother).  Either the blurb needs to be corrected, or the text does.  Secondly, I don't like the cover.  It's very pretty, but really doesn't reflect the content of the book, and between it and the current blurb, seems to imply this is a light, beach-read romance, when it (thankfully) is not.

Hawai'i Calls by Marjorie Nelson Matthews

In 1935, Sadira "Sadie" Schaeffer Doyle is the social columnist for little Carlisle, New York's newspaper.  When her alcoholic husband loses yet another job, this time with the local mortuary his parents helped him establish, his partner finds him another job in Hawai'i - a place Sadira has longed to see thanks to the radio show "Hawaii Calls" - and they and their two sons move there for a fresh start.

Sadira writes about their early-1936 voyage (by ship from New York City) to Hawai'i for her upstate hometown paper.  Not long after her arrival in Hawaii, she secures a similar position with the Honolulu paper.  She hobnobs with celebrities and politicians, but her life isn't ideal.

The story is told in the alternating voices of Sadira and her oldest son, Lionel, who provides a different (and sometimes conflicting) view of life in Hawai'i for the family.

Author Marjorie Nelson Matthews based Sadira on her grandmother Zaida, who was a social/gossip columnist for a newspaper in Sodus, New York, as well as The Honolulu Star-Bulletin.   In a blog post a year ago, she said that in a scrapbook of her grandmother's columns, "I recognized the wealth of descriptive information in them, especially about Hawai‘i during its 1930s heyday as playground to the rich and famous."

In this aspect, the novel really shines.  The descriptions of people, places, parties, and events, both on the voyage and in Hawai'i, are vivid.  I found the long voyage, with stops in Havana and Los Angeles, especially intriguing.  Matthews also points out the difficulties the Japanese-Americans in Hawai'i had after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

I had more trouble with the characters of Sadira and Lionel.  The boy clearly has some unexplained eccentricities (he seems somewhat OCD), but the lack of empathy from his mother at times is rather appalling.  Matthews stated that she also drew from her father's memories, but I believe he is reflected in the younger son, Kenny, who is also artistic. (Matthews' father, Dick Nelson, provided the cover artwork.) 

I understand that children like Lionel can be trying, but Sadira comes across as especially selfish and self-centered.  Perhaps that is the author's intent, to show that her grandmother and her grandmother's life were not perfect, despite living in a seeming paradise.  I did admire Sadira for her ability to remake herself as needed in order to survive.  When World War II ends celebrity visits to the island and dries up material for her column, she finds another way to earn a living.

I'd still recommend this novel for its historical aspects and descriptions of life in Hawaii from 1936 through 1946.  It was a good complement to Michener's Hawaii, which I finished the previous month.

Ribbons of Scarlet - by Kate Quinn, Laura Kamoie, Heather Webb, Stephanie Dray, Sophie Perinot, and E. Knight

Six female historical fiction authors - Kate Quinn, Laura Kamoie, Heather Webb, Stephanie Dray, Sophie Perinot, and E. (Eliza) Knight - collaborated on this novel of the French Revolution, with a forward by Allison Pataki (who was unavailable to collaborate). The book focuses on seven lesser-known women:  Manon Roland, Princess Élisabeth (sister of King Louis XVI), Louise Audu, Charlotte Corday, Sophie de Grouchy Condorcet, Pauline Leon, and Emilie de Sainte-Amaranthe.

The women represent various classes (royalty, aristocrats, commoners, peasants), so there are multiple views of the revolution.  Each part (chapter) of the book was written by a different author, and is mainly in the voice of one of the characters (Pauline and Charlotte share one chapter).  Characters appear in other chapters, however, which helps the book flow smoothly.  The reader can follow the evolution of the revolution, through to and beyond its end.

Bonus materials for the book are available, and there's a great interview with the authors here.  The Library of Congress has a great research guide about women of the French Revolution.  Many of these authors have worked together and with other authors on similar collaborative historical novels in the "History 360 Presents" or "H-Team" series (of which this is the fifth), on topics like Pompeii, Troy, Odysseus, and Boudicca .  I'm eager to read them all.

Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters by Jennifer Chiaverini - historical fiction

I won this book from Library Thing's Early Reviewer program back in April 2020, but never received a copy from the publisher (William Morrow).  It still appeared on my Not Reviewed list (I've been an Early Reviewer since November 2007), so I checked my libraries and borrowed the e-book from one of my libraries.

Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters is another of Jennifer Chiaverini's books about Mary Todd Lincoln and people associated with her (Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker, Mrs. Lincoln's Rival).  Mary Todd Lincoln had sixteen siblings in all (twelve of whom survived to adulthood), but this book focuses on her three full sisters (elders Elizabeth Todd Edwards and Frances Todd Wallace, and younger Ann Todd Smith) as well as one of her five younger half-sisters (Emilie Todd Helm).  

The book starts in 1875, when Elizabeth learns that Mary's oldest and only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, has had her committed to a(n expensive) mental hospital.  Mary convinces people visiting her to reach out to her sisters (from whom she's been estranged) to "rescue" her.   

The book then alternates between the four sisters' viewpoints, as well as various times in the past and present, to depict Mary's childhood in Kentucky; her years with married sister Elizabeth in Springfield, Illinois, searching for a husband; her marriage to Lincoln and his rise to the presidency; and the years in the White House during the Civil War and the aftermath of his assassination.

The Civil War sharply divided Mary's Kentucky-based family. Elizabeth, Frances, Ann, and their husbands, long based in Springfield, supported the Union.  Their three half-brothers fought for the Confederacy, as did Emilie's husband (he was a general killed in the 1863 Battle of Chickamauga).  One full brother died in 1864 in Kentucky under mysterious circumstances; the other was a surgeon who served in a Confederate hospital in South Carolina.  Her other four half-sisters were married to men who either fought for the Confederacy or sympathized with it.

Through her sisters, the reader learns how Mary - generally through her own actions - has become estranged.  The sisters have different opinions about Mary's mental state, with Emilie perhaps the most sympathetic, having also lost her husband due to the war, and being a favorite of Lincoln - he called her "Little Sister."  Elizabeth continues the motherly role she had as a child, being the oldest, taking Mary in when she manages to convince the hospital to release her.  Frances and Ann wonder if Mary is acting out for the attention she's always craved.

Although Chiaverini provides some of her sources in her author's note, she doesn't clarify where she has deviated from fact to create her fiction, as so many other authors of historical fiction do.  This book can stand alone from the other Mrs. Lincoln's books, but it would be helpful to read Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker before this book.  There are references in Mrs. Lincoln's Sisters to said dressmaker, Elizabeth Keckley, as well as more examples of Mary Todd Lincoln's erratic behavior during and after her White House years.

© Amanda Pape - 2022

892-898 (2019 #19 - 25). March 2019

Victoria and Albert, by Evelyn Anthony - This 1958 biographical novel was one of the earliest books by the British author Evelyn Anthony.  It fictionalizes the life of Queen Victoria of Great Britain, from her accession to the throne in 1837, to the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert in 1861, focusing on their marriage.  It reads like it could have been the screenplay for the recent PBS Masterpiece series about the queen.  As the book progresses, Albert comes off better than Victoria.

The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert - After reading Eat, Pray, Love (which I hated), I wasn't expecting much from Elizabeth Gilbert, so I was rather surprised by The Signature of All Things.  Yes, it was long (501 pages), and often tedious, but Henry and Alma Whittaker were interesting characters.  Although it reads like historical fiction (mostly because Alma is born in 1800, and the book flashes back to her father Henry's youth), it really isn't (this review expresses why well).  Not sure how this book ended up on my TBR shelves, but I finally decided to read it because it was the fattest book there and I needed the space for something else.

The Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See - historical fiction set on the Korean island of Jeju from the 1930s through the Korean War and its aftermath, alternating with the present day, e-book - depressing

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee, read by Emily Woo Zeller - audio - Western YA romance - Unrealistic Western young adult romance, set in 1849 on the Oregon Trail during the California Gold Rush.  Emily Woo Zeller puts a lot of heart in her voicing of narrator Samantha, a 15-year-old Chinese immigrant orphan who disguises herself as a man along with 16-year-old runaway slave Annamae.

Circle by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen - early reviewers, picture book.  I didn't get this book.  Perhaps one needs to have read the other two books in Mac Barnett's and Jon Klassen's trilogy, Triangle and Square, for this one to make sense.  I thought the book was going to be something that might teach a little about shapes and their characteristics.   Klassen's illustrations were created digitally and with watercolor (the lovely waterfall) and graphite. The covers are thick board, with high quality paper pages stitched together rather than glued.

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman, read by Fiona Hardingham (Ruth Webber), Justine Eyre (Charlotte Sinclair Dryer), and Steve West (George Bowden) - historical fiction, audiobook.  Much better than I thought it would be, particularly since I don't care for boxing.  The audiobook readers really made the story, and sustained my interest through its length.

Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy - early reviewers, historical fiction - Author Sarah McCoy took a passage from Anne of Green Gables (chapter 37), where Marilla Cuthbert speaks about John Blythe and says, "People called him my beau," and used that as the basis for this prequel, if you will, to the Anne series.  Having never read nor watched the latter (I was - and am - a huge Little Women fanatic), I can't tell you if her portrait of Marilla (the woman who adopts Anne Shirley) is accurate or not.  However, the book stands alone and is a wonderful depiction of life on Prince Edward Island in the period from 1837 (when Marilla is 13) to 1876 (just before Anne's arrival).  The author's note at the end makes it clear this book is well-researched, and the story includes aspects of Canadian history and the Underground Railroad that are enlightening.  Marilla of Green Gables, along with Maud by Melanie Fishbane (a biographical novel about Anne author L. M. Montgomery), have inspired me to finally read the Anne series.

© Amanda Pape - 2019

866 (2018 #79). Cowboy It's Cold Outside

Cowboy, It's Cold Outside is the 2017 addition to Lori Wilde's romance series set in Twilight, Texas (aka Granbury, my current home town), at Christmastime once again.

Romance tropes in the story are italicized: billionaire playboy cowboy performer [country musician] Cash Colton, jilted nearly a year ago and losing his inspiration, comes to Twilight to perform in a benefit for longtime friend Emma (subject of an earlier novel), who runs the local playhouse where ugly duckling tortured heroine Paige MacGregor deals with her psychological scars and works as an usher, one of the three jobs she holds down to make ends meet after her previous boyfriend stole her identity and spent all her savings. There's immediate sparks and they decide to have a fling.  But of course there's more than that.

Musical terms and their definitions begin each chapter, and provide a clue as to what will happen next.  However, musical similes and metaphors describe the sex, and get to be a little over the top.  I do like the cover of this book, though.  Snowy Christmas scenes aren't realistic for this part of Texas, but I've seen a lot of wreaths in this area similar to the one pictured.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

795 (2018 #18). The Queen of Babble Gets Hitched

by Meg Cabot

I got an advance reader edition (ARE) of this book when I went to the Texas Library Association annual conference - back in April 2008!  Since I didn't get the book with an obligation to review it, it sat in my TBR stash for almost ten years, until I was looking for some fluff to read before tackling the next ARE on my TBR shelf, which is much longer and looks way more intimidating.  After finishing it, I guess there was a good reason this book sat on my shelf for so long.

Another reviewer called this book "bubble gum chick lit" and "bubble bath for your brain," and I think those are perfect descriptions.  A silly romance.  It's the third (and thankfully last) book in a series, but you don't have to have read the other two first (although perhaps some of the characters and their behaviors would make more sense if I had).  At this point I would not want to go back and read those books, as reading this one first creates spoilers for those.  The characters are not particularly likable (some are downright annoying), so I don't feel like I've missed anything.  I found Lizzie's babbling to be annoying, frankly.

Not for me, but then, this really isn't my genre, and it is not well-written enough to compensate.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This advance reader edition will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]

705 (2017 #3). A Wedding for Christmas

by Lori Wilde

A little over a year ago, I read I'll Be Home for Christmas, Lori Wilde's previous book in her romance series set in mythical Twilight, Texas (aka Granbury, my current home town).  I predicted that Lori's next Twilight novel would be about a character in that book, Katie Cheek - and I was right!

This novel starts with a flashback to the time of the previous one.  Katie has traded her home in Twilight for that of Gabi Preston in Los Angeles for the Christmas season (like in the movie The Holiday - which I have not seen).  Both women are looking for a change in pace.  In Katie's case, she is ready to move on after the death of her fiance over a year earlier.

While attending a charity event in L.A. in a hot red dress borrowed from Gabi's closet, Katie is bowled over - literally - by her old crush from Twilight - Ryder Southerland, her brother Joe's best friend.  Hot sex ensues.  But Katie sneaks out without saying goodbye and goes back home, with the courage now to change her life.

Flash-forward one year, and Gabi and Joe are getting married.  Yup, you guessed it - Katie is the maid of honor, and Ryder is the best man.  The story from then on is pretty predictable, except for one interesting twist.  Katie's OCD tendencies have led to her operating an organizing business.  She's called in to clean up the home of a recently deceased hoarder so the widower owner will be allowed to return there after hospitalization.  That owner turns out to be Ryder's father.  More interesting to me, though, was a hypothesis Wilde shared about reasons for hoarding and compulsive buying, including attempts to fill emotional voids in life.

It was fun to see references to couples from other books in the series besides Gabi and Joe:  Emma and Sam, Sesty and Josh, Meredith and Hutch, Sarah and Travis, and Caitlyn and Gideon.   This was an easy, light read, perfect for the holiday season.

 © Amanda Pape - 2017

[This e-book was borrowed from and returned to a public library.]

671 (2016 #26). Curses and Smoke

by Vicky Alvear Shecter
read by Marisol Ramirez and Zach Villa

Subtitled "A Novel of Pompeii," this book is set in A.D. 79, the year the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city.

The book's chapters alternate between the two main characters, Lucia and Tages (Tag).  Tag is a young male slave trained in medicine, to help his aging father treat the valuable gladiators owned and trained by Lucius Titurius.  He toys with the thought of becoming a gladiator himself and possibly fighting his way to freedom.

Lucia is Titurius' only surviving child.  Her older brother, baby sisters, and mother all died.  She is well educated and interested in the world around her, particularly in the writings of Pliny.  She longs to discuss with him her observations of strange happenings around Pompeii - such springs drying up, tremors, animals behaving strangely, and a sulfur smell in the air.  As the book opens, she is being betrothed to a man old enough to be her grandfather, all for the money he promises her father to support his school.

Tag and Lucia are childhood friends who haven't seen each other in three years, while Tag was in Rome for more medical training.  Naturally they fall in love.  They plan to run away together.  Naturally the eruption of Vesuvius intervenes.

Author Vicky Alvear Shecter does a masterful job with the setting, weaving in all sorts of historical details of the location and life in that era.  Freedom is a major theme in the book, along with class distinctions, forbidden love, and family and master/slave relationships.  Given that this is a young adult novel aimed at ages 12-17, I felt the romance was age-appropriate.  The book's (surprising) ending, though, might be difficult for a younger reader to handle.

On the audiobook, actors Marisol Ramirez and Zach Villa read the third-person sections written from the viewpoints of Lucia and Tag respectively in the book.  I liked having two readers, male and female, but I found Villa's delivery to be a little flat and monotone at times.

Unfortunately, the e-audiobook I listened to did not include the detailed author's note that is apparently at the end of the print book, which gives the history of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, including different theories about when it actually happened; facts about Roman culture and practices; information about gladiators; and discussion of the inspiration for certain characters.  I have to wonder, for example, if Lucia's pregnant friend Cornelia was inspired by some of the remains found at Pompeii.  I'm going to have to borrow a print copy of the book just to find out. (ETA:  I did borrow a print copy, and the answer to that question is yes.  Lucia's dog was also so inspired.)  And like all good historical fiction, this one has inspired me to learn more about Pompeii, Pliny, and Vesuvius.


© Amanda Pape - 2016

[This electronic audiobook was borrowed from and returned to my university library consortium collection.]

667 (2016 #22). Love of the Game

by Lori Wilde, read by C. J. Critt

This is the third book in Lori Wilde's Stardust, Texas series, which features daughters from the Carlyle family of the mythical East Texas town of Stardust, and baseball players from the mythical Dallas Gunslingers team.  I read the first two books in the series, Back in the Game and Rules of the Game, about six months ago and about 11 months ago respectively.  You don't need to have read the other books to understand or appreciate this one, however.

Wilde has meshed far fewer romance tropes (which I've italicized) into this story than some of her others I've read. Our tortured heroine is physical therapist Kasha Carlyle, an orphan adopted at age seven after a terrible incident in her family of origin that leaves her with physical and psychological scars that make her anxious about losing control and feeling passion.  The athlete is injured pitcher Axel Richmond, who becomes Kasha's patient (office romance).  He too has scars, having lost his son at age ten to cancer.

This story has an interesting twist:  Kasha discovers she has a biological half-sister with Down syndrome, and is seeking guardianship of her.  This could be a bit of a complication to the budding romance.

There's further evidence in this book that Stardust might be modeled on Gladewater, the "Antique Capital of East Texas."  On page 3, concerning Kasha's commute to her job with the Gunslingers, Wilde writes,  "Every day, she made the one hundred and thirty-five mile, one-way trek to the stadium from her hometown of Stardust."  Gladewater is 135 miles from Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers baseball team.  Kasha's adoptive parents own an antique store in Stardust.

I've met Lori Wilde and I know she is a yoga devotee, just like Kasha.  She also has some interesting rituals that help her with her writing, which she speaks about in a recent interview.  "For each book I write, I make a musical playlist, a visual collage, and pick a scented candle that represents that book."  I think these help her writing be so descriptive.  Not only does she detail sights, but also sounds, smells, tastes, and textures.

I listened to the audio version performed by actress C. J. Critt.  Her reading had some unusual pauses and emphases, but I enjoyed her giving characters appropriate voices and Texas accents.


© Amanda Pape - 2016

[This audiobook was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

532 (2015 #89). Back in the Game

by Lori Wilde,
read by C. J. Critt

This is the first book in Lori Wilde's Stardust, Texas series, which features daughters from the Carlyle family of the mythical East Texas town of Stardust, and baseball players from the mythical Dallas Gunslingers team.  I read the second book in the series, Rules of the Game, about six months ago.

Wilde has woven fewer romance tropes (which I've italicized) into this story than some of her others I've read.  Billionaire athlete playboy Rowdy Blanton is a tortured hero, essentially having an office romance with Breeanne (who he hires to ghostwrite his autobiography), a virgin with physical scars from numerous operations for a heart condition.

Perhaps for that reason, I liked this story a little better.  Oh sure, I knew everything would work out in the end, but it was a little less predictable.  Some of the events in the story were a bit unrealistic, but it was a fun, light read.

This time I stuck with the audio version performed by actress C. J. Critt.  Her reading was fine although a bit slow, and I enjoyed her giving characters appropriate Texas accents.


© Amanda Pape - 2015

[This audiobook was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

529 (2015 #86). I'll Be Home for Christmas

by Lori Wilde

The latest in Lori Wilde's romance series set in Twilight, Texas (aka Granbury, my current home town), at Christmastime once again.  The hero in this story is Joe Cheek, younger brother to Sam Cheek of The True Love Quilting Club.

Restless former troublemaker Joe (he has ADHD) is running his grandfather's Christmas tree farm while the latter recuperates from a stroke.  Although Granbury doesn't have such a farm, there is one just north of the next town north of here, although  it doesn't look anything like the one on the book's cover (especially with all that snow we don't usually have here in Twilight).

The plot set-up seemed a little far-fetched to me - but hey, it's Christmas, the season of magic!  Joe's sister Katie meets law school dropout Gabrielle "Gabi" Preston on a snow globe board on Pinterest (love the way Lori incorporated this social media sensation into the story).  They become friends and share their needs for a change of pace.  Then, as fans of the movie The Holiday (which I haven't seen), they decide to swap houses sight unseen just as the main characters do in that movie.  For the three weeks just before Christmas, Katie heads to Gabi's condo near the beach in Los Angeles, while Gabi gets Katie's yurt (yes!) just outside Twilight and across from the Christmas tree farm.

Of course Joe and Gabi meet, and sparks fly, and romance ensues.  It's a sweet story and I love how characters from other novels in the series pop up in minor roles in this one.  However, it's not necessary to have read those other books before reading this one.  Katie's backstory is interesting, and I would bet the next Twilight, Texas novel will be about her!


© Amanda Pape - 2015

[This book was borrowed from and returned to a library e-book collection.]

492 (2015 #49). Rules of the Game

by Lori Wilde,
read by C. J. Critt

This book is the second in romance writer Lori Wilde's Stardust, Texas, series.  Stardust is of course a fictional town, located "two and a half hours" east of Dallas (page 4) and "thirty miles" southwest of Jefferson (page 111).  Although the distances aren't quite right, I like to think it's modeled on Gladewater, the "Antique Capital of East Texas."  Heroine Jodi Carlyle's adoptive parents own an antique store, and she runs Boxcars and Breakfast (a B&B made out of train cars), which sounds like the kind of place you might find in Gladewater.

Once again, Wilde has woven a number of romance tropes (which I've italicized) into this story.  Jodi is a New Years Day jilted bride, and her therapist recommends crashing a wedding one year later, which is also a couple days after she turns 30. (Thus the epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter that start out "Jodi Carlyle's Wedding Crasher Rules.")  At the high-profile wedding in Dallas, she nearly gets kicked out, but is saved by widower athlete Jake Coronado.  Jodi uses a bit of disguise or mistaken identity by not telling him her real name, but decides a one-night fling with him would be good therapy too.  Hot sex ensues.

Naturally they run into each other again in Stardust - turns out Jake is the last-minute best man for Jodi's sister's intended! (The romance of Jodi's sister Breeanne Carlyle and Jake's Dallas Gunslingers baseball team manager Rowdy Blanton is the subject of the first book in the series, Back in the Game.  Jodi and Breeanne have two more sisters, also adoptees, and Wilde typically has four books as the core of each of her small-town Texas series.  It's not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one, though.)

Jake and Jodi will be seeing a lot of each other since Jodi is the maid of honor for the Valentine's Day wedding.  Of course, they both have scars to deal with before they can live happily ever after.

I enjoyed this somewhat-predictable story because Lori Wilde is a master of setting and description.  I started out listening to the audio version performed by actress C. J. Critt.  Her reading was fine, and I enjoyed her giving characters appropriate Texas accents.  However, it was a bit slow, and given that I need to read 24 books in the same period of time where I've only been able to read just 10-14 in the past, I switched to the e-book when it became available at one of my libraries.

© Amanda Pape - 2015

[The audiobook and e-book were borrowed from and returned to local public libraries.]

450 (2015 #7). Fortune's Rocks

by Anita Shreve 

After reading Anita Shreve's Sea Glass a few months back, I was interested in reading another of her books set in a certain old New Hampshire beach house (modeled after a real one).  While the house is in New Hampshire, the setting for this book is an area called Fortune's Rocks, in an unspecified New England state.  There really is a Fortune's Rocks Beach, which is near the town of Biddeford, Maine.  Interestingly, the main character in this book is named Olympia Biddeford.  This book is more historical romance than historical fiction, though.

Olympia is 15 when the book begins in 1899.  Her wealthy family has a summer home at Fortune's Rocks.  John Haskell is a 40-year-old married doctor visiting the nearby mill town of Ely Falls for the summer, volunteering his services providing medical care for the mill workers.  Olympia and John meet when he visits Olympia's father, and begin a passionate affair.

Not surprisingly, Olympia gets pregnant, has the child in her parents' home in Boston, and her father spirits the baby away while Olympia is under the effects of painkillers from the childbirth.  Her father then sends her away to school in western Massachusetts.  In the next three years, she doesn't forget about John or her baby boy, though.




She ultimately finds her way back to Fortune's Rocks, living in her family's summer home which they have abandoned.  She finds out where her child is from an old friend there.  Ultimately she goes to court to get her son back.  In her acknowledgments, Shreve says, "The court opinions cited in italics in this work of fiction are, in fact, true ones, and portions of the final judgment are taken from the court transcript of the Pennsylvania case of d'Hauteville v. Sears, Sears, and d'Hauteville, although the circumstances of that 1840 custody trial were quite different.

The trial is quite interesting and goes somewhat as one would expect a historical romance to go.  There's a bit of a surprise, though, and even more of one in the final chapter, which occurs eight years after the trial.

Olympia is a compelling character, not typical of her time, given that she feels no shame for her affair, only remorse that John's wife and children were hurt by it.

I read this as an e-book, the cover of which is pictured above and is rather nondescript.  The cover of the hardbound edition, pictured at left, features detail of 12-year-old Ruby (likely meant to represent Olympia) from the 1902 painting  by John Singer Sargent of Essie, Ruby and Ferdinand, Children of Asher Wertheimer.

© Amanda Pape - 2015

[The e-book, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to public libraries.]

447 (2015 #4). Love with a Perfect Cowboy

by Lori Wilde

I've been reading a lot of Lori Wilde's romance novels lately, particularly the series set in the mythical Twilight, Texas, which is based on my town of Granbury.

At a local event honoring Lori last month, I received a free copy of this book.  It's part of a different series, set in another make-believe town, Cupid, Texas, which is based on Fort Davis, the seat of the real Jeff Davis County, in the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas.  Marfa, which is mentioned in the story, is thirty miles away (page 206); Alpine, Marathon, and the McDonald Observatory are nearby.

As one might guess from the cover art, this book has a lot more sex than the Twilight series (only one book of eleven in that series - the novella - has a sexy man on the cover, and he's wearing a tux).  Melody Spencer and Luke Nielsen are from feuding families, who were in love as teens.  Torn apart, he stays in their hometown, running the family ranch and becoming Cupid's mayor, while she moves to New York City to follow her dreams.  When the story opens, she's fired from her advertising job for being too honest, and finds her boyfriend has dumped her from both his life and his apartment.

Enter Luke, in town to offer her a job attempting to boost tourism in Cupid, which is suffering from a drought (shades of Granbury!).  He takes her back to his hotel as she has no place else to sleep, but of course they have hot sex.  They continue to have lots of hot sex as the story continues back in Cupid, and Melody tries various events (including a hilarious bachelor auction) in an attempt to bring in visitors.

Romance tropes in the story include forbidden love, cowboy, fling, return to hometown, and maybe reunion and politics.  This is the last book in the Cupid, Texas, series, but it stands alone just fine.

I thought it amusing that the cover art does not match the text - at least, if the man on the cover is supposed to be hero Luke.  Some examples:

• page 66:  "The top button on his shirt had come unbuttoned, revealing a tuft of soft brown chest hair."
• page 208:  "The sun was up enough now for her to make out the sprinkling of hairs on his chest."
• page 277:  "He was so damn beautiful.  Hard, lean, a fine spray of dark hair between his nipples."

No matter - I prefer guys with some hair on their chests.  I read this at the end of my cruise vacation, and it was perfect for that.

© Amanda Pape - 2015

[I received a free copy of this book - it will be passed on to someone else to enjoy.]

443 (2014 #71). Christmas in Twilight

by Lori Wilde

This is the tenth and latest story in Lori Wilde's Twilight, Texas series, and I thought it was really good - both romantic and suspenseful.

This isn't a reunited lovers story, like most of the others in the series, but that's OK.  Characters from the earlier novels appear in this one, but you don't have to read any of those books to understand this one.

Brian "Hutch" Hutchinson has returned to his hometown of Twilight, suffering from PTSD, released from Army Delta Force after losing a finger and his voice as the only survivor of a failed military operation.  He comes to his Brazos River house only to find his mentally-ill sister Ashley gone and a strange woman and her son taking care of his niece.  Jane Brown immediately pepper-sprays him.

Jane turns out to be Meredith Sommers, on the run from her abusive ex-cop husband.  Hutch of course falls for her immediately, but he also needs her to stay and continue to care for his niece.  This gives time for their relationship to develop through the holiday season (thanks to both wanting to be sure the two kids have a great Christmas) and for the suspense about what has happened to Ashley as well as to the ex-husband.

I don't want to give away any more of the story.  It was not entirely predictable.  Hutch and Meredith were very likable characters, even though their actions were not always realistic. (For example - Meredith demanding to make the rules for the two of them living in the house Hutch owns.)  I enjoyed the way Lori Wilde wove in characters (major and minor) from previous stories in the series, and even some plot points like the kismet cookie legend from The First Love Cookie Club.  Lori even worked some of her personality into Meredith - they both practice yoga.


© Amanda Pape - 2014

[I received this autographed paperback as a gift from Lori Wilde - I'll be hanging on to it.]

438 (2014 #66). The Sweethearts' Knitting Club

by Lori Wilde

This is the first book in the Twilight Texas series - and I read it after numbers 3, 4, and 2.  Didn't like it quite as much as the others, I think because the heroine did not seem to be committed enough to her supposed true love.  If I were Jesse, I'm not sure I would have given Flynn so many chances.

Flynn McGregor is the oldest of the four children of recovering alcoholic Floyd and her late mother Lynn (Flynn is an amalgamation of her parents' names).  Since her mother's death, Flynn has cared for her family and worked in their business, a local restaurant.  She hasn't had any time for herself, which may be part of the reason she's turned down the marriage proposal of the local sheriff, Beau Trainer, four times.  But when her crush from high school, Jesse Calloway, is released from prison early and comes home to Twilight, it's pretty clear why Flynn has hesitated.  Jesse was framed by Beau, and he's out for retribution.  Jesse is your typical bad boy with a heart of gold, and I can understand some of Flynn's hesitance to trust him, but I think if someone is your soul-mate, you'd stand up for him a little more.

This story is set in the summer (completing the seasons - the other books in the first four in the series are set in fall, Christmastime, and spring respectively).  It doesn't seem quite as linked to my town of Granbury, Texas, on which Twilight is based.  I lived just a few blocks from the square, and it's hard for me to think about the building that used to be a movie theater there burning down, as I have wonderful memories of the restaurant that used to be in its loft.  The Brazos River itself plays a bigger part in this book - Flynn's family lives on it, their restaurant is at the marina, she and Jesse used to meet at a secret spot, and an old bridge over the river plays a big part in the story.

Some of the backstory is provided for (future sheriff) Hondo Crouch and Patsy Calloway Cross, one of the older ladies in the book who is a member of every club in town.  There's also a hint about the next book, as the club ladies refer to the scandal about Trixie Lyn[n] Parks, aka Emerson Parks, which is the basis for novel #2 in the series, The True Love Quilting Club.  In the latter, Emerson becomes Emma.  There are some truly funny incidents and conversations in this book, and despite the weak heroine, it was a fun read.


© Amanda Pape - 2014

[This paperback was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

436 (2014 #64). The True Love Quilting Club

by Lori Wilde

This is the second book in the Twilight, Texas, series, set in a mythical small town modeled on my home of Granbury.  In this reunion tale, Sam Cheek and Emma Parks, friends when they were 14, are the lovers.  Emma, then known as Trixie Lynn, lived in Twilight only one year with the man she thought was her distant father, only to learn he is her stepfather.  Her mother left the family long ago to pursue her dreams of stardom.  Trixie has stars in her eyes, too, and at 18 changes her name to Emma and moves to New York City to take up acting.

Twelve years later, down to her last penny and in trouble, she receives an invitation to do a play in Twilight.  Sam has become the town's veterinarian, and he is also a widower with an adopted son from his late wife's first marriage (that man also died).  Sam and Emma are still attracted to each other, but they hesitate to get involved, as they are very different (opposites attract) and Emma is not ready to give up her acting.

Emma is invited to join the local quilting club and help make quilts that will be the backdrops for the play she is performing in.  There are some heartfelt moments in this book as Emma unintentionally helps Charlie come out of his grief-induced silence, in part simply because of her resemblance to his late mother. Emma comes to terms with her own past too as she and Sam learn they complement each other.

I didn't like this book quite as much as the other two I've read in the series, partly because I think very few people meet their one true love at age 14 (so I couldn't relate), and partly because I found Emma to be a bit self-centered and not as likable as other heroines in this series.  However, I LOVED the hero, Steady Sam!  And of course the setting - this time, most of the events occur in the fall in Twilight, instead of spring or Christmastime.  The book even incorporates my employer, Tarleton State University, referring to students from its drama department participating in the play.

On to the first book in the series...as you can see, you don't have to read the first four in order.

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[The e-book was borrowed from and returned to the public library.]

435 (2014 #63). The Welcome Home Garden Club

by Lori Wilde

I got to meet Lori Wilde at a meet-and-greet two weeks ago in my town of Granbury, the inspiration for the fictional town of Twilight, Texas, the setting for this book.  Lori wrote about her visit in USA Today.  I was at the opening reception, and was invited to attend the writer's workshop the next day, where Lori and her editor, Lucia Macro, spoke about "Creating a Sense of Place: Or How to Write a Community-Based Series," and writing (and getting published) romance (and other) novels in general.

One of the things they talked about in the workshop was romance tropes.  A trope is "a common literary or thematic device used in storytelling."  I think the reason I like the Twilight, Texas, series  - besides the fact that I can see bits of Granbury in the setttings - and sometimes the minor characters - is because the trope they have in common is that of  "reunion – our lovers knew each other in the past and generally had some romantic relationship back then."   That's my personal romance story, too, so I can especially relate to these.

The Welcome Home Garden Club is the fourth book in the series, but you don't have to read them in order.  Lori Wilde creatively weaves multiple tropes (which I've italicized) into this reunited lovers story.  Caitlyn Blackthorne Marsh is the daughter of the local judge, who is rather overprotective since his wife died young.  Her high school sweetheart is Gideon Garza, the illegitimate son of the richest man in town and a Hispanic maid (class warfare/wrong side of the tracks).  Gideon burns down his father's barn after his mother's death (when he learned the truth about his parentage), and the judge - Caitlyn's dad - gives him a choice: join the military or go to jail.  So Gideon heads for Iraq and is later reported to be dead (which turns out to be machinations of the judge - forbidden love).

Unbeknownst to Gideon, Caitlyn is pregnant with his child, Danny (secret baby).  She marries another man, but is a widow when the story opens eight years later.  Caitlyn owns the local flower shop and is a member of the garden club.  She's asked to design a romantic victory garden for a state competition.

Gideon's father dies and he returns to his hometown to try to find some closure.  He has scars from the war, both physical (an artificial hand) and emotional.  This tortured hero learns he is his father's secret heir, much to the displeasure of his two half-brothers, one of whom is courting Caitlyn (love triangle).

Caitlyn becomes a woman in peril/damsel in distress when a buried bear trap badly injures her arm while she works on the victory garden, and Gideon moves in to take care of her and be her protector - and get to know his son. He's also hired to restore the historic family heirloom carousel belonging to Caitlyn that is the centerpiece of the garden (and the source of much of the angst with her father), which has been named the Welcome Home Garden to honor returning members of the military.  The romance progresses from there.

I particularly enjoyed the ladies of the garden club (who are also members of the cookie, quilting, knitting, and book clubs - although there's no book about the latter--yet).  Raylene, Christine, and some of the others are starting to feel like old friends, and younger main characters from the first three books in the series, Flynn, Emma, and Sarah, are now members of the club(s) too.

I also LOVED Lori Wilde opening each chapter with the traditional meaning of a particular flower, from the Victorian language of flowers, and then working that particular flower into the chapter in a way often relevant to its meaning.  In an early chapter, she also associates different kinds of teas with the members of the garden club, having Caitlyn observe "how people's choice of tea seemed to reflect their personalities" (page 12).

At the meet-and-greet, Lori gave me a signed copy of her latest Twilight book, so now I have three more to read.  Great series for this time of year, when I'm so busy with holiday preparations and could use some light reading.

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[The e-book, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to the public library.]

433 (2014 #61). The Valentine's Day Disaster

by Lori Wilde

This novella is actually a good length--192 pages in paperback, although I read the e-book, so I'm not sure if that page total includes the four excerpts and one sneak peak of other books that are in the Kindle edition.  Like the others in the series, it is set in my town of Twilight (Granbury), Texas, with events and settings that actually exist (or happened).

Sesty Snow is an event planner who is running a date-with-a-bachelor fundraising auction, an event "designed to bring additional tourism dollars into Hood County and justify the new lakeside conference center that some gung-ho politico had convinced voters they needed."  (So true!)

"Hunks-in-the-Hood" (known here as Handsome Hunks of Hood County) will benefit Holly's House (known here as Ruth's Place), which provides medical care to needy families in the area.  Sesty has twelve bachelors lined up, but one is no longer available due to an injury.

Who walks in to take his place (as community service for damaging the local judge's half-sister's garish Valentine's Day house decorations)?  None other than injured NASCAR driver Josh Langtree, Sesty's high school sweetheart.

You can figure out where things go from there.  Lori Wilde also incorporated a tornado into the storyline:  "The previous year, a tornado had hit Twilight and lives were lost, and now everyone was edgy when it came to thunderstorms."  Very true for me since Granbury's May 2013 tornado!

This novella seems to stand alone - it's not crucial to have read any other books in the Twilight, Texas series, although doing so probably makes some of the characters and settings feel more familiar.  Thankfully Sheriff Hondo Crouch only has a single brief mention in this book.

Overall - a fun, quick read for Valentine's Day or any other time you want a little romance.

Less than two hours until the meet-and-greet with Lori Wilde - now I feel prepared!

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[This e-book was borrowed from and returned to the library.]

432 (2014 #60). The Christmas Cookie Collection

by Lori Wilde

The Christmas Cookie Collection is an anthology of four brief novellas featuring characters from the Twilight, Texas series.  Each novella is a "Christmas Cookie Chronicle" with the name of the featured character in the title.  All of the stories are occurring in the holiday season a year after the events in The First Love Cookie Club.

The stories, in order, are titled Carrie, Raylene, Christine, and Grace, and that was also the order in which I liked them.  For me, Carrie was a new character, introduced in the first book in the Twilight Texas series, The Sweethearts' Knitting Club, which I have not read.  Carrie owns the town's yarn shop, and her ex-husband Mark (they married when she was 17 and he 19; it was quickly annulled) is back in town.  He's the host of a reality show trying to disprove Twilight's legend about high school sweethearts.  While the story is somewhat predictable, the ending still brought tears to my eyes.  At 101 pages, the story is long enough to feel complete.

Raylene's story is really more about her long-lost daughter, Shannon, and Nate, a regular at Raylene's bar.  This story, the longest of the four at 135 pages, and also rather predictable, does answer some questions raised in The First Love Cookie Club, which I have read. On the other hand, had I NOT read that book first, I don't think I would have appreciated this story as much.

Christine's story, at only 89 pages, needed to be fleshed out more.  Christine, the owner of the Twilight Bakery, was a minor character in The First Love Cookie Club (and apparently barely mentioned in the first two books in the series), and while I appreciated learning more about her, I felt her romance with Eli moved WAY too fast, especially as he was a widower with four children and concerned about how they'd accept a new woman in his life.  The story was also rather straightforward (no real interesting plot twists), and therefore somewhat boring.

With only 46 pages, the last story, Grace, felt very abbreviated.  The two main characters in this story, Flynn and her husband Jesse, are also the main characters in The Sweethearts' Knitting Club, which I haven't read.  If I had read it first, perhaps I would have liked this sweet little tale more.  As it was:  too predictable, and way too thin.

In the case of this book, I think it would be helpful to have read at least the first and third books in the regular series (The Sweethearts' Knitting Club, and The First Love Cookie Club) before reading this book.  I did enjoy the references to places in and near the "real" Twilight (Granbury), Texas, such as the (now defunct) Rinky-Tink's Ice Cream Parlor, Rio Brazos Music Hall (Brazos River Music Review in the book, although it's near Glen Rose and not Jubilee/Weatherford), and the Highway 51 bridge.  Still annoyed that the sheriff is named Hondo Crouch, though.  

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[This e-book was borrowed from and returned to the library.]

431 (2014 #59). The First Love Cookie Club

by Lori Wilde

Normally I don't read romance novels.  However, the author of this book is coming to town this weekend, and my local book club is a (nominal, because we meet at the site) host for a meet and greet for the author and publisher on Friday night.  I thought I should read at least one of Lori Wilde's books before she gets here.

I was pleasantly surprised.

The First Love Cookie Club is the third book in the Twilight, Texas series.  They don't need to be read in order.  What makes this series interesting for me is that Twilight is loosely based on my town of Granbury, Texas.  I wanted to read some of the books to see if I could recognize any of the people, places, or events described.

Lori Wilde did a good job of giving a feel for the town without necessarily being too specific about locations.  We have lots of bed-and-breakfasts similar to the Merry Cherub, we do have a downtown courthouse square (just four blocks west from my home), and the lake is nearby as well (two blocks south).  She specifically mentions Hood County (where we are located) and Highway 377 here; but otherwise, this could be any other small North Texas town on a lake.  That is a plus in my opinion, as many readers can identify with the setting.  Yet the descriptions of places still made me feel this was definitely set in Granbury.  I even think I've seen a house here like the one pictured on the cover of this edition:

The story is set in December, beginning with Twilight's annual Christmas festival with a Dickens theme.  Well, Granbury has its annual Candlelight Tour of (mostly historic) Homes the first weekend of the month, many of the homes are Victorian, and some of the tour guides and carolers dress in Dickens style.  There's a parade (albeit the weekend before) and lots of other holiday events that, once again, are typical of many small Texas towns.

Then there are the people.  I swear the members of the First Love Cookie Club must be modeled on some of the well-known female personalities around town, past and present.

Our lead characters, the main couple, are Sarah Collier (aka Sadie Cool) one-hit-wonder author of a children's book, The Magic Christmas Cookie, and Travis Walker, local bad boy turned game warden and model single dad.  Travis' daughter Jasmine (aka Jazzy) suffers from a life-threatening illness and writes a letter to her favorite author - Sadie - wanting to meet her before she dies.

Sarah doesn't know Jazzy is Travis' daughter, and Travis doesn't know Sadie is really Sarah - who, nine years ago at age 15, interrupted his Christmas Day wedding to Jazzy's mother to tell him the magic "kismet" cookies she and her grandmother bake every Christmas make her dream of her destiny - him.

Despite the corny set-up, I found Sarah and Travis to be well-developed characters.  Sarah, the only child of two successful heart surgeons who have little time for her, now lives in New York City and is rather anti-social.  Travis is an amazingly understanding heartthrob who reminds me a lot of MY husband.  Travis has had a tough life too, losing both of his parents at a young age, and his shotgun wedding wife Crystal leaves him due to her immaturity and inability to deal with Jazzy's illness.

Both Sarah and Crystal have secrets that help explain some of their behavior - Sarah's is hinted at early on.  Another character with a secret is Travis' aunt Raylene.  Her subsequent behavior, however, comes totally out of the blue and isn't really explained in this book.  Supposedly it's explained in a novella, but I felt it was disruptive here.

The only other gripe I have is the name of another minor character - the sheriff, Hondo Crouch. He was a real person (the man who invented Luckenbach, Texas, and a swim coach at various children's camps in Texas until his death in 1976 - I actually met him).  For those of us old enough to remember him, having a character with his name is a bit disconcerting.  I can understand Hondo as a first name for a Texas sheriff character, but I wish Lori Wilde had come up with a different last name.

All in all though, this was a fun, easy, Christmas romance.  I'm off to read The Christmas Cookie Collection (four novellas about members of the First Love Cookie Club, including Raylene) next.

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

424 (2014 #52). The Matchmaker

by Elin Hilderbrand,
read by Erin Bennett

Chick-lit beach-read romance about a married woman who meets up with the love of her life (and the father of her daughter) 27 years after he leaves Nantucket Island to pursue a career in journalism.  Dabney Kimball Beech is now married to a Harvard economist, John Boxmiller "Box" Beech, who commutes to the island for weekends because Dabney won't leave it.  Her mother abandoned her in a New York City hotel when she was 10, and, except for her years at Harvard and necessary medical appointments, she stays put in Nantucket. Not surprisingly, she becomes the island's biggest cheerleader as executive director of the chamber of commerce.

Then Pulitzer prizewinner Clendenin "Clen" Hughes returns to Nantucket, after losing one arm while pursuing a story.  He immediately pursues Dabney, and it doesn't take her long to succumb.

I found both Dabney and Clen to be unlikable characters.  Box, who marries her and adopts and raises her daughter Agnes, is indirectly blamed for Dabney's affair with Clen because he isn't attentive enough.  Oh please.  The man is forced by Dabney's reluctance to leave the island to be a commuter husband, yet he resists the temptation of an attractive co-worker and (I assume) numerous Harvard co-eds.  Agnes is the most interesting character, as she finds she's better off without her control-freak fiance and becomes friends with someone far more appropriate.

Actress Erin Bennett is a good audiobook reader, but this story moved very slowly.  Dabney also has a reputation as a successful matchmaker, with 40-something couples to her credit.  The stories of a few of those intersperse chapters told from the viewpoints of the four main characters, which slows the narrative down.

Author Elin Hilderbrand writes romances set on Nantucket, where she lives.  This book doesn't particularly inspire me to read any more of them.

© Amanda Pape - 2014

[The audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]