Adult Fiction

Linda Reads: Some Like It Hot by Susan Andersen

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New York Times, USAToday and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author Susan Andersen’s newest book, Some Like It Hot, is a heart- warming romance and the second title in her Razor Bay series.

Harper Summerville has taken over for her beloved late father as the investigator of needy non-profit organizations to see if they meet the guidelines of her family’s philanthropic foundation.  Like her father, she loves the vagabond lifestyle, but her mother wants her to settle somewhere permanent.  Her latest job leads her to Razor Bay, Washington where she works undercover at the local resort so she can evaluate the Cedar Village home for troubled boys.  She is an energetic, fun loving, and independent woman.  Even though Harper is uncharacteristically attracted to the town of Razor Bay, she has every intention of leaving as soon as her evaluation of Cedar Village is done.

Max Bradshaw recently returned to Razor Bay after serving as a Marine and works for the local sheriff’s office.  He’s a pretty reserved and quiet guy who is trying to overcome some demons from his childhood.  His emotional baggage from his childhood makes him the perfect volunteer at Cedar Village.  He’s determined to make a new, permanent life in Razor Bay.

There are sparks when Max and Harper first meet, but they are both determined not to give in to any attraction they have because they have entirely different goals in life.  But sometimes, the heart just doesn’t want to listen to the brain!  Their relationship bounces from highs to lows and bottoms out when Max finds out why Harper is really in Razor Bay.

This is a wonderful story, with relatable characters and sensual romance.  It blends family, friends and romance into an intriguing and believable story that takes place in a beautiful setting.

In Memorium, Ann C. Crispin 1950-2013

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

Just barely a month ago, I was sitting on a panel next to writer Ann Crispin hashing out issues with the film, Star Trek: Into Darkness. I’d known she’d been battling cancer for some time, but I was surprised how well she seemed.  I guess she was very good at hiding it, for she passed away on September 6, 2013, just 3 days after posting to her fans that she was not doing well after all. She was 63 years old.

Ann was a gifted science fiction and fantasy writer.  She wrote Star Wars novels, V novels, the StarBridge series, and created novels and backstory for Pirates of the Caribbean, but her Star Trek novels, Yesterday’s Son, and later, Sarek, are often regarded as among the best Star Trek novels ever written; they are certainly in my top ten, and I’ve read hundreds. Ann knew and truly loved her material, and it showed in her clever and conscientious works.  Earlier this year, she was named the 2013 Grandmaster by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.

A native of Connecticut, Ann served as Regional Director and later Vice-President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She cofounded Writer Beware, a subgroup of the SFWA, to help writers avoid the myriad con artists and scams aimed at them, and prosecute the people running them. At her workshops she would drill into her students, “Money flows to the writer, never away. If someone is asking you for money up front to publish your work, run. It is a scam.”

Ann was a frequent guest at science-fiction conventions, often running workshops for writers, one of which I attended perhaps 15 years ago. Ann was a tough teacher and a tough editor, which was not unreasonable. Like Hollywood, the writing industry is a tough business, and it’s best to get the stars out of your eyes at the start. While I felt gifted for not getting her “You need to go back and take a class in basic grammar and sentence structure” speech, my hands shook for the next year with every word I put to paper. She helped greatly, but at the time it felt like getting pushed off a cliff.

Ann’s books will survive, but they are a shadow to such a brilliant and talented writer.   

           [Cover]           [Cover]

On Our Shelves: New Paperbacks

/ Linda / Leave a comment

New paperbacks to suit a variety of tastes.

Big Sky Wedding (Parable, Montana) by Linda Lael Miller – Wedding bells are ringing in Parable, Montana, but Brylee Parrish hasn’t enjoyed the sound since being jilted at the altar by Hutch Carmody. She’s over Hutch now, and running a multimillion-dollar business is challenging enough for this country gal. So she should avoid falling head over boot heels for A-list actor Zane Sutton.

Gentle On My Mind (Caribou Crossings Series) by Susan Fox – Brooke Kincaid knows second chances don’t come cheap. She’s spent five years repairing past mistakes and making her life in Caribou Crossing steady and predictable. But now a stranger’s Harley has shattered her fence and her peace of mind in one swoop.

Against The Mark (The Against Series) by Kat Martin – A young woman’s quest to find the murderer of her estranged father and the private investigator who helps her.

Love Overdue by Pamela Morsi – Buttoned-up book lover DJ is all sensible shoes, drab skirts and studious glasses. After an ill-advised spring-break-fueled fling left her mortified, she’s committed to her prim and proper look. When she’s hired by a rural library in middle-of-nowhere Kansas, she finally has the lifestyle to match—and she can’t wait to get her admin on.

The Hero (A Thunder Point Novel) by Robyn Carr – In a moment of desperation, Devon McAllister took her daughter and fled a place where they should have been safe and secure. She has no idea what is around the next bend, but she is pretty certain it can’t be worse than what they’ve left behind. Her plan is to escape to somewhere she can be invisible. Instead, an unexpected offer of assistance leads her to Thunder Point, a tiny Oregon town with a willingness to help someone in need.

For The Love of Magic (Spellbound Falls Series) by Janet Chapman – After forty years of marriage, Rana Oceanus has done the unthinkable and run away from her mighty, magical husband. Not that she ran very far, having purchased a house in Spellbound Falls right on the shore of the Bottomless Sea, where she intends to prepare for the scariest battle of her life. The only flaw in her plan, however, is that she is still very much in love with Titus…

The Knight’s Temptress by Amanda Scott – Sir Ian Colquhoun has never feared danger. So when Lady Lachina MacFarlan is captured by a ruthless enemy, mounting a daring rescue seems only natural for the courageous knight.

Realm of Shadows (The Alliance Vampires) by Heather Graham – Tara Mason wants more than tourist sights out of her trip to the city of dreams, something strange and off the beaten path. But is it her own curiosity that draws her to an ancient cemetery on the outskirts of Paris? Or is she lured by a dark, immortal force she is powerless to resist?

 Clammed Up (A Maine Clambake Mystery) by Barbara Ross – Summer has come to Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and tourists are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood, courtesy of the Snowden Family Clambake Company. But there’s something sinister on the boil this season.

Love Inspired selections:  The Boss’s Bride by Brenda Minton, The Doctor’s Family Reunion by Mindy Obesnhaus, A Father’s Promise by Carolyne Aarsen.

Jenn Reads: Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe

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You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Wow! This is an oldie!” And yes, I suppose

Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

at this point, Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg could be considered a modern classic. This was a July pick for the girlfriend’s book club I run outside of the library.

Fried Green Tomatoes At the Whistle Stop Cafe tells the joint stories of Mrs. Threadgood and Evelyn in the 1980’s and Idgie and her friend Ruth starting in the 1920’s. There is a good deal of time jumping in this book, so pay close attention to who is telling what, when.

Evelyn is a middle-aged housewife who raised two grown children and waits on her working husband hand and foot. Every Sunday they take a visit to the nursing home to visit her husband’s mother. One Sunday she is sitting eating a candy bar (a common occurrence in this book) and an elderly lady sits down and starts talking to her. Mrs. Threadgood, a former resident of Whistle Stop, Alabama, tells Evelyn the story of her family and friends.

Idgie and Ruth open a diner called Fried Green Tomatoes, the only restaurant in the entire train town (population is less than 250) and are the care-takers of the homeless, the refugees, the workers, the despondent, and the African-American population. The “n” word does appear a lot in this book, just as a warning, but it is important to remember the time and place this storyline is set in. Ruth and Idgie are women ahead of their time, colorblind, independent, and accepting.

There are too many stories for me to list here, but you can expect murders, spousal abuse, racial issues, sexuality issues, the KKK, and much more. There were a couple of things that stood out to me however. First, it is never too late to change your life. Evelyn is deeply unhappy with her current state- she is unfulfilled in every aspect of her life. Through Mrs. Threadgood’s stories, companionship, and friendship, Evelyn learns she is not just a housewife, she’s a woman.

Second, the power of friendship. If you want to believe that Ruth and Idgie are just good friends (which they are not), you can see how important it is to have someone to have your back, stand up for you, support you, and be there when the going gets rough. Oftentimes family disappoints and abandons you, and friends become family.

If you read my posts, you know I listen to many books on audio. This book I actually read! I enjoyed it and thought it was an appropriate book not only for the time of year, but for our book club as well. Books that celebrate friendship and women are perfect picks for book clubs made up of girlfriends! I recommend reading this book and then watching the movie, which is pretty close to the book.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

See you in the stacks,

Jenn 🙂

Sharon Reads: Weather Witch by Shannon Delany

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

[Cover]

Weather Witch

Weather Witch by Shannon Delany is a young to new adult novel with a bit of a steam punk feel. In the New World rank is everything, and being deemed to carry some sort of magic is the worst curse of all. Jordan is from one of the highest ranked families in society, and she is celebrating her seventeenth birthday, a moment when she should have been clear of any suspicion of magic and ready to start planning marriage and her future. However, a back alley dealing leads to Jordan testing positive as a witch. She, and her family, lose rank and all respect in the society as Jordan is whisked away to be tested further and ‘made’ into a usable source of power. But the Maker is having trouble doing changing Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordan’s friend and romantic interest Rowen seems to be the only one of rank that has not given up on her and does everything he can to save her, while an escaped witch works to bring down the man and culture that made him an outcast.

Weather Witch is a more complicated story than I expected when I picked up the book, in a good way. I expected the standard fare of young adult finds out they are ‘special’ and both good and bad happen because of it. While there is a certain aspect of this here – Jordan is considered special –  there is also deep world building and several related story lines running through the book as well. We get to see into the heart and personal life of the Maker, who without that insight would have simply been the bad guy. We get to see into the psyche of a good number of side characters as well. At times it felt like it would soon become overwhelming, for me it never crossed that line, rather it made me curious to see how everything would come together. I was not disappointed, well maybe in a couple twists but only because I liked the characters that I knew would no longer appear after certain moments. I could understand others getting confused by the voice changes and the incremental world building, but it really worked for me. I really enjoyed getting inside the head of Rowen, Jordan, the Maker, and even some servants to see the whole picture, rather than the limited perspective a single character might offer. I do not want to talk about the plot more, or give away any good stuff, because I found the book to be a surprising journey and would hate to ruin that for anyone.

I would recommend Weather Witch to readers that enjoy steam punk, coming of age tales, historical fiction, science fiction or fantasy, and simply reading something that feels fresh and new.l I think that young adults and adults would both enjoy the book, while the majority of main characters are of the teen set, the setting and political factions will keep everyone interested and turning the pages. Frankly, the only thing that really bothered me about the book was an ending that was obviously a set up for a sequel, and the knowledge that Stormbringer will not be released until January of 2014. I would give Weather Witch 4 stars.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.