Wow, this book starts off with a hard question and doesn’t really get any easier. As a mother your first instinct is to protect your child from harm. What do you do if you are faced with the decision to save your child, or someone elses? What if the seconds it takes to help another child could mean your childs death? Are you responsible if someone else’s child is harmed while you are saving your own? How do you make these choices? This is what Rose McKenna faces the first day she volunteers as a lunch mom at her daughters … Continue reading →

As sisters Julia and Ellie could not be more different. Julia was shy, quiet, studious while Ellie was the typical small town home coming queen. As soon as Julia could she left their hometown to become one of the best child psychiatrists in the country while Ellie stayed home, married all the wrong men and became a cop. After the death of their parents the sisters didn’t have much of a relationship. Julia lives in her world and Ellie lives in hers, not seeing what is right under her nose. Then a patient shatters everything Julia thinks she knows about … Continue reading →

As a single mother who is always struggling to make ends meet I’m always looking for something to help. I read a lot, anyone who has ideas about stretching my money just a little farther has my attention. Financial Peace fits that bill. This book, written by Dave Ramsey, is told in a style that doesn’t condemn you for the choices you’ve made or the things you’ve done in the past that got you into the bind you are in. Dave simply tells you where to start. Starting is usually the most overwhelming so hearing someone say that it can … Continue reading →

If you enjoyed books like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, then be prepared to go old school with Terry Brooks and the Magic Kingdom of Landover series. If you haven’t yet discovered this series, you are in for a treat. Ben Holiday is your average successful lawyer, who invests everything he has in his work and drinks too much. A loner, he spends most of his time trying to forget the tragedy of losing his wife an unborn child. So when he spots an unusual ad in a holiday catalogue. One magic kingdom for sale, complete with knights, maidens, … Continue reading →

When you drown your sorrows in Absolut and Jane Austen novels, you shouldn’t be surprised when something strange happens. After catching her finance cheating on her with the wedding flower lady, Courtney Stone finds herself waking up in the body and the life of Jane, an Austen-era old woman, who single at the age of 30 is seen as long “on the shelf.” With a new demanding mother, a hero who may or may not be what he seems, a best friend and a mysterious gypsy, Courtney/Jane must navigate this new world in the hope of getting back to her … Continue reading →

Jolene Larsen learned from a young age that the only person she could count on was herself.Growing up in an alcoholic family with parents who were never there for her, made her independent. Watching her mother chase a man who didn’t love her, colored Jolene’s perception of love and marriage. When her parents were both killed in an accident Jolene was on her own at seventeen. With no family and nowhere to go Jolene joined the Army National Guard looking for a way to make a life for herself and find a sense of family. When she meets Michael Zarkades, … Continue reading →

Every once in a while a story comes along that strengthens your faith in love and people. In a time when divorce is so common it’s refreshing to read a story about a love story that continued because two people honored the vows they made. Kim and Krickitt Carpenter met over the phone. Kim was calling to place an order for a jacket and was intrigued by Krickett’s voice, he found reasons to call back and before they knew it they were having long phone calls and exchanging letters. When they finally met in person they discovered they had something … Continue reading →

The Kellerhers have a summer home in Maine. The children grew up spending every summer there, the grandchildren as well. When the patriarch of the family dies the summer home become something split between the three children, no one spending the summer together any longer. One summer finds four of the Kellerher women at the summer home at the same time. With nothing in common except the family bond and all four of them at different times and places in their lives, each of them coming to Maine for a different reason, they don’t make it easy on each other. … Continue reading →

I’m not usually a big fan of continuation novels where someone takes a expertly crafted classic and then jumps off of the story to one of their own, never quite reaching the level of the previous novel, a glaring comparison that tends to grate on one’s nerves or is just plain bad. Jane Austen seems to inspire many such sequels, prequels and alternate reality stories. There are a whole slew of Mr. Darcy’s daughters, sons and relations that get into all sorts of regional romance trouble. One of the most famous is the tongue-in-cheek zombie versions, which I confess that … Continue reading →

I’m not usually a fan of books with a strong religious thread, either they come across as preachy or I just can’t relate to them. That is not the case with this book. Although Finding Mercie has a strong religious bent you almost forget about it as you get caught up in the story. Finding Mercie is about Hector Lopez, and immigrant who has made the US and the LDS church is home. When Hector finds a small girl who has been shot and takes her to the hospital his life changes in ways that he never imagined. Initially he … Continue reading →