Not All That Light

In Malice, Quite Close: A Novel by Brandi Lynn Ryder


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was darker than I expected, but I should have expected that from the title, I guess. It was a quick pick off the Playaway shelf at DCPL, so I hadn't studied the "back cover" all that carefully. I enjoyed it. It's an intriguing story about the relationship between a 30-something French ex-pat and a 15-year-old that is part-obsession, part-rescue, and parts-other set against a backdrop of the art world and an eclectic collection of adults.




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Believe It Or Not! Another Book With An Astronomy Motif

The Color of Light by Karen White


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jillian is pregnant with her second child and newly divorced. She moves to the South Carolina beach house where she spent glorious summers with her grandmother and best friends, Lauren and Linc. She didn't stay in touch with Lauren and Linc because Lauren mysteriously disappeared one summer, and Linc was a key suspect immediately following her disappearance. As Jillian tries to untangle her future, she finds she also has to unravel the past.




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Gotta Love a Free, Fun Read!

The Music of the Spheres by Elizabeth Redfern


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Set in 18th c. London, this novel is a nice blend of history, mystery, astronomy, and the English-French struggle. Jonathan Absey works for the Home Office monitoring foreign correspondence when a rash of murders distracts him from his duties...or gets tangled amidst his duties! Why is he so obsessed with the murders of red-headed prostitutes in the dark alleys of London? Because his own daughter was the first victim!

I was lucky enough to pull this book out of the freebie bin at school. That's pretty cheap entertainment.



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Remember High School, Anyone?

Don't You Forget About Me by Jancee Dunn


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


High school reunion, divorce, and moving back home with the parents cause Lillian to revisit her high school confidence issues. It's interesting how we like to think we leave the high-school drama behind us,but it rears its ugly head when we feel slighted, regardless of our age!




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A Steam Punk Virgin

The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've read a little steam punk in the past. I just didn't know it! This is the first book in the genre that I've purposely picked because of the genre. With that said, I enjoyed it for good escape reading (listening--audio version) and will probably continue with the series. I must say that I DO like my pirates (close eyes and picture Johnny Depp!).




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And More Summer Reading!

The Little Lady Agency and the Prince by Hester Browne


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Very light and fluffy--perfect for July!




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Summer Reading is Underway!

I've got lots of things on my to-do list now that school is out, but there's always time to read, right? Here's a run-down of books I've just finished:

1. Velva Jean Learns to Drive, Jennifer Niven (Plume-Penguine, 2009)--5 Stars--Velva Jean struggles to fit everything she loves--singing, her brother Johnny Clay, bad-boy-turned-preacher Harley Bright, her wandering father, and her Appalachian Mountain home--into her life. Niven's novel feels similar to David Baldacci's Wish You Well.

2.Loving Frank, Nancy Horan (Ballantine-Random, 2007)--5 Stars!--Wow! I only knew the minimum about Frank Lloyd Wright before reading this fictionalized account of his affair with one of his clients, Mamah Borthwick Cheney. Even if you disagree with the choices they made, you certainly have to admire the passion they each possessed for life, their respective arts, and their relationship. Horan does a nice job of helping readers see what might have been between Frank and Mamah and explaining Wright's almost obsessive philosophy regarding the organic relationship between architecture and nature.

3. The Postmistress, Sarah Blake (Berkley-Penguin, 2010)--4 Stars!--In the months before the U.S. becomes involved in World War II, Frankie Bard's voice carries the stories of bombed-out London to anxious U.S. ears via the radio. In a strange twist of fate, Frankie's life becomes entangled with the quiet folks of Franklin, Massachusetts, and the wandering refugees in Europe. Blake's story is powerful and reminds me of another of my favorites, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

4. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead-Penguin, 2003)--5 Stars!--This is one of those books I should have read a LONG time ago. I don't know why I didn't because I loved A Thousand Splendid Suns. If you haven't already, just read it!