Author Profile: Robyn Carr

April 9, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Robyn Carr published her first book in 1978, but it took her 30 years to make the New York Times Best Seller List. She is a pioneer of the small-town romance genre.

She married her high school sweetheart during the peak of the Vietnam War. She studied nursing in college, but couldn’t practice because of their constant moving between military bases. To occupy her time, she took up reading and fell in love with romances. She feels romances are important because people need a safe place to deal with emotions they’re stuck with, and a book is a safe place to do that. After much trial and error, she settled upon writing contemporary romances. Her novels deal with real issues in a realistic manner. She is strongly drawn to issues and causes that honor men and women who serve our country. Her stories are about strong, capable women who have issues that every woman faces at some point in her life.

She is the author of the very popular Virgin River series. It is a blend of romance and women’s fiction that entertains as well as addresses sensitive issues, such as domestic violence, health issues, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It takes place in a fictional town in the Redwood forests of California. The series centers around men of honor and the women they love. The first book of the series, Virgin River, was published in 2007. There are 20 books in the series. They are:

Virgin River
Shelter Mountain
Whispering Rock
A Virgin River Christmas
Second Chance Pass
Temptation Ridge
Paradise Valley
Under the Christmas Tree (novella)(not available)
Forbidden Falls
Angel’s Peak
Moonlight Road
Midnight Confessions (novella)(not available)
Promise Canyon
Wild Man Creek
Harvest Moon
Bring Me Home for Christmas
Hidden Summit
Redwood Bend
Sunrise Point
My Kind of Christmas

Ms. Carr has spent most of 2012 writing a brand new series, Thunder Point. It is set in a picturesque coastal community on the Oregon coast. Like her Virgin River series, this series will make you laugh, sigh, and fall in love with a small town filled with people you’ll never forget. Book one – The Wanderer – is out now. It will be followed by The Newcomer in July and The Hero in September.

BOOK REVIEW: Sand Castle Bay by Sherryl Woods

April 6, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Sherryl Woods is a master storyteller when it comes to bringing small town living alive with warmth, emotions, and character-driven stories.

Sand Castle Bay is the first book in her new trilogy Ocean Breeze. Emily Castle, the youngest of three sisters, is a very successful interior designer on the West Coast. She left her life in North Carolina to follow her dreams. She also left behind the man she loved, Boone Dorsett, a successful restaurateur. A hurricane barreling straight towards her grandmother’s home has Emily heading back to North Carolina.

Neither Emily nor Boone were looking forward to seeing each other, but it was inevitable. There is still a lot of built-up emotion between the two. The hurt, betrayal, and misunderstandings of ten years ago still lingers. The author weaves a captivating story of these two characters working out their differences to get a second chance at love. There are complications thrown in – Boone’s young son and his ex in-laws – and trust issues, and it is all told with such attention to detail you feel you are part of the story. The supporting characters draw you in and make you feel like part of the community. The author beautifully sets the background for Emily’s two sisters and their stories, and I can’t wait to read the next two books in the trilogy.

Book Review: March by E. L. Doctorow

April 3, 2013April 3, 2013 / Jenn / Leave a comment

March by E. L. Doctorow

This month’s selection for “When Johnny Comes Marching Home: A Civil War Book Discussion” was March by E. L. Doctorow, not to be confused with Geraldine Brooks’ March.

I selected this book because of the accolades it has received: Pen/Faulkner Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. It was also a New York Times Bestseller. I had given the audiobook version to my husband to listen to, and he could not get past the first three discs. This did not bode well for my own listening of this book.

March tells the story of Sherman’s imfamous march through Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina during 1864 and into 1865. There is a rather large, colorful, and diverse cast of characters, led by William Tecumsah Sherman himself. Doctorow does an excellent job incorporating people from all “walks of life” into this story: freed slaves, Southern women, Confederate and Union soldiers, and even a British journalist. However, there were almost too many characters. At some point I lost track of who was where when and what happened to them. Some people stayed behind on different parts of the march and we never heard from them again. After a time, you wondered, “Hey, what happened to…?” and you never found out.

This book is not for the queasy or faint at heart, as there are graphic war scenes, including mass rape, killing of prisoners of war, drowning of freed slaves, and the burning of entire cities. If you’re expecting a nice, wholesome story, you won’t find it here. This is a realistic account of what actually happened during Sherman’s march to the sea. You’ll learn a lot and gain insight into a much maligned man.

Whether you love or hate Sherman and can or can’t justify his actions during the Civil War, one has to admit that he greatly helped end the Civil War and saved thousands of lives who would have been lost if the war had continued. March shows a softer side of Sherman, a man who, while following orders, often found himself at the mercy of his men, who got carried away with the spoils of war.

While I found this book to be interesting and the reader, Joe Morton, engaging, I did not love it. The language and style were easy to read and understand. I’m not sure what Doctorow could have done to take my rating from an “ok” to “great”.

Rating: 3 stars

Author Profile – Sherryl Woods

April 2, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

Sherryl Woods is one of this library’s most popular romance authors. Her stories center around enduring friendships and family life in a small town setting

She is a graduate of Ohio State University School of Journalism. She spent many years as a television critic for newspapers in Ohio and Florida. She’s been writing novels since 1982 and is the author of over 100 books. When not reading or writing she enjoys gardening, tennis, theater, ballet and baseball. She currently lives and divides her time between Key Biscayne, FL and Colonial Beach, VA.

Sherryl has a new series coming out this spring called Ocean Breeze. It takes place in a small community on the North Carolina Coast and features the tight-knit Castle family.

The first book in the series is Sand Castle Bay and is available now. It features the story of Emily Castle who’s torn between a successful career in Los Angeles and her old boyfriend in North Carolina.

That book is followed by Wind Chime Point, coming out in April. It centers around Emily’s sister, Gabriella, and her struggle to fulfill her life-long dream. The third book in the series is Sea Glass Island and is coming out in May. It features the third sister, Samantha, who is trying to win the heart of her old crush.

Her books are published in both hardcover, located in our Fiction section, and mass market paperback, located in the Romance section.

Sherryl recently published an article in the Huffington Post called “Trash or Treasure – Why More Woman Should Read Romance Novels”. You can read it here.

BOOK REVIEW: Free Fall by Catherine Mann

March 31, 2013May 1, 2015 / Linda / Leave a comment

This book is my all time favorite book by this author. It is part of the Elite Forces series. It works well as a stand alone book.

Pararescueman Jose Cuervo James is 100% committed to his job and leaves no room for anything else. He is also a recovering alcoholic who can’t seem to come to terms with his past. Stella Carson is an undercover Interpol agent hoping for the “white picket fence” some day. She became an agent in hopes of finding out what really happened to her missionary mother who died in Africa. They are brought together on a high-risk rescue deep in the African jungle.

The author focuses on the mission of rescuing Stella and her fellow hostages and preventing an attack on the US Embassy and First Lady of the United States. Stella and Jose’s romance develops slowly as we learn about each of their pasts with all their flaws and imperfections.

The author writes an intriguing, captivating story with very likable characters. The story is fast-paced and filled with edge of your seat suspense with a few surprises thrown in. You feel like you are in the middle of all the action. There are subplots that keep the story moving and your interest piqued. It’s a book you just can’t put down!