Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins

Dark Pursuit - coming in December

by Brandilyn Collins

Zondervan, 283 pages

From the very first pages of this book, Brandilyn Collins takes the reader on a fast-paced adventure, ending at a place you would never expect.

22 year old Kaitlyn Sering has come a long way in a few short years.  From being a drug addict, Kaitlyn found God and started putting her life back together.  Now clean, and working as a beautician, Kaitlyn thinks she has a pretty good life.  She is dating gorgeous cop, Craig Barlow, and just realizes she is pregnant with his child when she finds a dead woman on her bed.  And all the signs are pointing to Craig as the killer.

Kaitlyn follows her first panicked instinct, and runs to her estranged grandfather for help.  This is the first contact she's had with him since he threw her out of his house for stealing from him when she was sixteen.

Darrell Brooke is known as the King of Suspense, having been a top author of suspense novels for the last forty years.  Left mentally unable to focus by a car wreck two years ago, he has not written in as long.  The last thing he wants or needs is Kaitlyn showing up at his door with this huge, and potentially life threatening, problem.

But Darrell agrees to help her, and tries to pull his mind together.  He send her off a crazy scheme to try and prove that Craig is the killer.  The twists in the plot at this point will have you shaking your head, but you will keep turning the page to see what crazy thing happens next.  The ending is totally unexpected.  I've read a lot of suspense, but I did NOT see it coming.  Ms. Collins has really delivered with this novel.  I liked it so much, I went and bought another one of her books to read!!

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

The Lucky One

by Nicholas Sparks

Grand Central Publishing

326 pages

This is the first Nicholas Sparks novel that I have read, and I am glad to say, it lived up to my expectations.  I expected a well-written, romantic read.  And while it wasn't quite as romantic as I expected, it was the right amount of romance for the story that was told..

This is mainly a story about Logan Thibault, an ex-Marine that walks across the country in search of an unknown woman from a picture he found while deployed in Iraq.  There are different flashbacks of his various deployments that tell the back story of how he gets this photograph.  Those parts also tell how he finally comes to believe his best friend Victor's claims that the picture is his fate, his good luck charm.

After a fishing trip with Victor, Logan decides to try and find the woman in the picture.  Using clues from the background of the photo, he figures out where it was taken and decides to start there.  He sets off on foot from Colorado, with his German Shepherd Zeus, and ends up in Hampton, North Carolina.

Once in Hampton, he starts asking around, showing the photo, and learns the woman's name is Elizabeth and she's a school teacher.  After getting her address, he shows up at the house she lives in with her grandmother, Nana, and her ten year old son, Ben.  Spotting a help wanted sign in the office window of the kennel that Nana runs on the property, he approaches Beth under the guise of wanting to apply for the job.

Beth is leery of him and his story that he walked from Colorado, and just decided to stay in tiny Hampton.  But after Nana talks to him, he starts working there.

He doesn't disclose to them his real reason for being there, but after a while, he and Beth become close and fall in love.  Logan is also accepted by Nana, and looked up to by Ben.

Enter Beth's ex, and Ben's father, deputy Keith Clayton.  Ever since he and Beth divorced, he's secretly been scaring off every guy she's dated, telling himself that he's just trying to protect her.  Also not very tolerant of his son not being the athlete Keith wants him to be, there is a lot of strain between them.  So when he sees Beth with Logan, he immediately sets to work trying to end it.  Also fueling his fire, he and Logan had a run-in just outside of town when Logan witnessed the deputy committing an abuse of power.

All the conflicts between the characters in this story, and the realness of their faults, made this a very believable novel.  I really enjoyed seeing what each character was going through, and seeing how Beth would react when she finally learned the whole truth about why Logan was there.  After reading this novel, I see why Nicholas Sparks is such a popular author, and I will definitely be checking out more of Mr. Sparks work.

Midwife of the Blue Ridge

Midwife of the Blue Ridge

by Christine Blevins

• Publisher: Berkley Trade
  
• 432 pages
  

First off, I want to say that this was a very engrossing novel.  I had a little trouble getting into it at first, mostly due to trying to get used to the heavy Scottish accents and language.  Once I got past the first couple of chapters, I had a really hard time putting the book down.  I just had to know what was going to happen next.

This book tells the story of Maggie Duncan, a Scottish woman, who leaves Scotland for America as an indentured servant.  The story starts with Maggie as a young girl, being the sole survivor of a violent raid on her village.  She escapes, and saves a wounded soldier in the process.  She gets him to his home before he dies, and his wife, Hannah, takes her in.  Hannah is a midwife, and teaches the craft to Maggie.

After Hannah's death, Maggie is left in a village that believes she is cursed by death, and scorns her.  In despair, she decides to take an offer to become an indentured servant in America, in exchange for passage on the ship, the Good Intent.  On board the ship, she befriends the captain and the crew and the other passengers, save one.  Julian Cavendish, the son of a Duke, decides he wants her for his slave, and she does all she can to avoid him during the passage.

Once the ship reaches the colonies, the captain does Maggie a favor and makes it where Cavendish is unable to purchase her contract.  She becomes the property of Seth Martin, who purchased her contract to have someone to help his pregnant wife with the chores and the other children.  They leave the coast of Virginia, and head to the Blue Ridge mountains.  Once at Seth's homestead, Maggie becomes more like a part of the family.  She is even looked upon as a valuable member of the community of Roundabout, for her medical knowledge.

Many different things happen to the Martin family and Maggie, as they live in a perilous time.  The Indians are on the warpath, and the Duke is dispossessing people from their homesteads that were mistakenly set up on his land.

The story goes on to detail many of the things that befall the little community and the people living in it.  It tells how Maggie goes from the Martins, to being bought by Julian Cavendish, to living among Indians, to getting rescued by the man she has fallen in love with.

I really like to read stories that are set in the time period of this story, the early years of the American settlers.  The trials of trying to stay alive in wild country, and trying not to get scalped by Indians really interest me.  Then when you add romance to the mix, it makes for one hell of a good read.  And that, to me, was what this book was.

NaNoWriMo 2008

Just wanted to put this out there.  I am once again going to try and do this.  I have tried 2 other times, and failed, but I'm more determined this time to finish this!!!  Even with a 4 year old and an infant here with me all day!!!  Wish me luck!

Dewey: The Small - Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

"Dewey:  The Small - Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron

In the tradition of "Marley & Me," "Dewey" is the touching story of a cat who not only had his life saved, but in a way saved the lives of thousand of people just by being himself.

"Dewey" starts out with the author's story, of where her parents came from, and the history of the area around Spencer, Iowa.  There is a lot of information given that shows why farming was so important to the people of Iowa, and how so many farmers lost their family farms in the 70's and 80's.  Vicki Myron shows us what her life was like growing up and what she went through as an adult.  Marriage, illness, divorce and then trying to raise her daughter alone.  She talks about going back to college to earn her master's degree in library science right after taking the job at Spencer Public Library.  The history of Spencer, Iowa, is also given.  It shows a small town that no matter what strikes it, always finds a way to bounce back and move forward.

All of this is told so that we can understand why Dewey had such an impact on the town of Spencer.  Found in the book drop on morning, after the coldest night of the year, he was christened Dewey.  Immediately he loved Vicki and the rest of the library staff, and quickly settled into life as the library cat.

After a contest was run to officially name the library cat, Dewey became Dewey Readmore Books.  An extraordinary name for an extraordinary cat!  There was no one specific thing that Dewey did that made him so special among cats.  It was the things he did every day, the things he considered his duty, that made him so very remarkable.

Every day, Dewey greeted library patrons at the front door as they came in, making them feel welcome.  He would allow the children to play with him, never once offering to bite or scratch.  He would seek out a person, just because he sensed that they were having some problem in their life, and he would plant himself on their lap and offer his comfort.  He would entertain anyone who would watch or play with him, by chasing catnip mice and red yarn.

Every year, the story of Dewey would spread further and further outside of that little town in Iowa, eventually ending up with a Japanese film crew coming to film him for a documentary.  And at the end of Dewey's life, email's and cards came from the world over, expressing their sadness at the loss of such a personal icon.

I think my favorite parts of the book were the additions interspersed through out.  Dewey's Daily Routine, Dewey's Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a Library to Run and Dewey's  Job Description were all unique additions that helped to really make this book for me.

I also really enjoyed the descriptions of Dewey's little idiosyncrasies.  So many things made up his personality, like being obsessed with eating rubber bands, being obscenely picky about what cat food he would eat and his self proclaimed 'king of the library' demeanor.  Even his rare condition that affected his digestive system contributed to Dewey's distinctiveness.  This is a cat I wish I could have had the chance to meet!

All in all, this is well written, appropriately descriptive book about a really heartwarming subject.  I think it is something almost anyone could read and enjoy, and I would definitely recommend reading it if you love animals or stories that tug at your heartstrings.

I gotta tell ya, I've been enjoying things a lot here lately.  I just finished reading "Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," so be watching for that review in a day or two.

I've been listening to some great music lately.  I'm mainly a country buff, but I do like some of everything.  If you're into country, Heidi Newfield's album "What Am I Waiting For?" is a really good solo debut.  Of course, I love, love, LOVE the first single "Johnny & June."  I could listen to it over and over.  But really the whole cd is pretty good.  I think the only song I could do without is the last track, "Knocked Up."  It's a bit trashy, but it does have a good point about what you get when you get knocked up.

I'm not a huge fan of Jessica Simpson's music, and cringed when I heard she was crossing over to country, but I gotta admit.  Her album isn't that bad.  She actually sounds better as a country singer than she ever did as a pop singer.  "Do You Know" is good album if you are in the mood for some lighter country.

Darius Rucker's country debut is also a really good album.  I wouldn't have thought of the frontman for Hootie and The Blowfish as country, but according to an interview I saw with him on GAC, the producers told him he was TOO country, and had to be a little less country with his music!  Anyways, "Learn to Live" is a great album if you like the older country sound.  It is a little reminiscent of Charlie Pride, but not too much.  Darius really has his own voice.

If you are into Christian music, Chris Sligh's album is really good.  He was a contestant a couple years ago on American Idol.  You'd remember the big bushy hair on a heavy set guy with glasses.  "Running Back to You" is the title of his album, and it is a great start for him.  There is not a song on there that I don't like, and he has a great voice, as well as a great talent for songwriting and helping to produce his album.  "Empty Me" is my favorite song on the album, it just really touches home that we need to allow God to empty us of all our worldly mess so He can fill us up with Himself.  

I'm starting the book "Midwife of the Blue Ridge" next, so be watching for that review soon, as well as a review of "The Green Beauty Guide," which I am also reading.

Until next time..........

The Secret Life of Bees

I just finished reading this book a few days ago, and while I'm sure everyone in the world has already read it, I'm going to review it anyways!  (I need the practice!!)

"The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd, starts out during the summer of 1964, in South Carolina at the height of the civil rights movement.  The main character, Lily Owens, is a fourteen year old white girl that lives with her father and her black nanny, Rosaleen.  Lily has spent the last ten years of her life wondering about her mother whom she accidentally killed when she was four.

Two years previous to this summer, Lily found a paper bag in her attic that contained several things that belonged to her mother.  Inside the bag was a picture of her mother in front of an old car, an old pair of white cotton gloves, and a picture of a black skinned Mary on a piece of wood with the words "Tiburon, S.C." written on the back.  For two years Lily keeps these things buried in the peach orchard her father owns, hidden from her father.  The picture of the black Mary turns out to be a life changing thing for Lily.

In July of Lily's fourteenth year, she accompanies Rosaleen to town.  The president had just recently signed a law that allowed black people the right to vote, and Rosaleen intended to go register.  En route to the registration, Rosaleen ends up getting arrested for "assualting" three white men, who happen to be the worst racists in the town of Sylvan, SC.  While in jail, one of the men brutally beats her and she is taken to the hospital.

Lily decides this is the chance she has waited for to escape her abusive father and go to Tiburon to learn about her mother, so she springs Rosaleen from the hospital and they hitch a ride to Tiburon.

In Tiburon, Lily spots a jar of honey with the same picture of the black Mary on it, and it leads her and Rosaleen to the house of the Boatwright sisters.  They are a local family of three black women who raise bees for honey.

Staying at this house, Lily goes through a lot of emotional changes and ends up finding out about her mother and what had lead up to her death.  She grows up in so many ways that summer, as she learns to be honest to herself and to others, and deals with racism and more death.

I was really happy with this story and the way that it ended.  I thought the use of the bees through out the story was really quite interesting, as it tied everything together in a very creative way.

My favorite part of the whole story is Lily's blooming relationship with Zack, the black boy that helps with the bees.  I loved that the author had that in there, as people where killed for that sort of thing at that time in history.  It struck a personal chord with me, as I am a white woman and my husband is black, so I know what racism feels like now.  And yes, racism is still alive, especially in the south.

I also thought the writing style was very candid and to the point, which I really appreciate in a novel.  I sometimes tire of a lot of drawn out fluffy writing, that just fills pages for the sake of filling pages.

This book is definitely a must read, and I am looking forward to seeing the movie when it comes out.  Hopefully it will follow the book.