Romance

Linda reads : Wind Chime Point and Sea Glass Island by Sherryl Woods

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Wind Chime Point is book two of the Ocean Breeze Trilogy.  It would be helpful to read the first book, Sand Castle Bay, although the author does a wonderful job of tying in book one’s story.

Hardworking, ambitious, and independent Gabriella Castle is facing personal and professional challenges that prove too daunting for her to handle alone.  She retreats to her grandmother’s home in Sand Castle Bay, NC. and the welcoming arms of her family.

Wade Johnson is a cabinet-maker and wood-carver with a tragic and secret past.  He’s been intrigued by Gabriella whenever she’s visited and is happy when she returns to town.  He’s also a friend of Emily’s finance, Boone.

Gabi is having a lot of trouble deciding what to do about her future.  For the first time in her life, she is plagued with doubts and uncertainty.  She finds a friend in Wade and his easy-going style and good listening skills are both helpful and comforting.  She didn’t expect or plan for her feelings for Wade to blossom into love.  Wade knew he had strong feelings for Gabi, but he is unsure if he’s ready to take the next step.

Although this book focuses mainly on Gabi and Wade, the secondary characters play an important part in the story.  Gabi’s sister Emily is busy planning her wedding and her other sister, Samantha is facing her own crisis about her           career.  Grandmother Cora Jane is still playing matchmaker and the sister’s  father, Sam, has an expanded role in this book.

Sea Glass Island is the third and final book of the trilogy.  Samantha has been living in New York City pursuing her dream of being an actress.  But lately, the parts she auditions for are all going to younger actresses.  She goes home to North Carolina for her sister’s wedding and to reflect on what to do with her life.

Ethan Cole is a doctor at the local clinic in town.  He lost a leg while serving in Afghanistan, and his fiance dumped him shortly thereafter.  He’s having a hard time overcoming the hurt caused by his finance.  He doesn’t know that Samantha has had a crush on him since high school, or that her family is relentless on their determination to get them together.

There are several interesting subplots in this book and plot lines from the previous two books are tied up quite nicely.

These are  captivating, realistic, heartwarming romances.   The setting is a place you want to visit and the characters are people you want to know.  This is a character-driven trilogy with witty dialogue, beautifully descriptive scenes, warm and loving family interactions, and sweet love stories.  This trilogy is Ms. Woods best work yet.

Anticipated Erotic Literature – My Education by Susan Choi

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Susan Choi

One of the most anticipated books of 2013 is My Education by Susan Choi.  Susan is the author of three previous novels.  Her first novel, The Foreign Student, won the Asian-American Literary Award.   American Woman was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and A Person of Interest was a finalist for the PEN/Faulker Award.

My Education is a steamy, but very well-written book.  It’s about Regina, a graduate student, who is warned about a notorious professor who sleeps with students.  She becomes his teaching assistant and, in a surprising twist, has an affair with the professor’s wife.  The story spans fifteen years of Regina’s misadventures that are both erotic and catastrophic.

This novel is Amazon’s best book of the month – July 2013.  It has received rave reviews from many sources, including Publishers Weekly, Kirkus,  the Boston Globe, Vanity Fair, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post.

Available at the Cheshire Library.

Note:  For sensitive readers, this book contains profanity, sexual references and overt sexual scenes.

Sharon Reads: Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

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Grave Mercy

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers is the first book in a new young adult series, His Fair Assassin. The main character is seventeen-year-old Ismea, who has been feared and shamed her entire life because of scars she bears from her mothers attempt to abort her. She escapes an arranged marriage and dedicates her life to the god, or saint, Mortain who rules death. The convent that takes her in and trains her requires complete obedience, but her skills and safety of the convent help Ismae grow and thrive. During her third assignment, she discovers that the outside world is much more complicated than she had ever imagined. She finds herself under prepared as she tries to protect the duchess, and the country, amid traitors and plots that seem to become even more tangled as she loses her heart to her partner, and potential target for death.

Let’s start with the obviously fantastic reason everyone is interested by this book, assassin nuns. It could not be anything other than awesome. Ismea is saved from being further beaten, and most likely killed, by the man her father sold her to as a wife by a local priests and hedge witch that follow the old ways. She is taught to kill, to serve a dark god or saint and to protect her country. She learns to obey, and in turn to question the orders and plots that are driving her hands in death. Ismea becomes a strong, smart woman. Her partnership with Duval is far from insta-love, and develops slowly and will the appropriate amount of doubt and mistrust. However, I will say that I was occasionally annoyed with her jumping and being startled every time he touched her or looked at her a certain way. The court intrigue was well done, and held some surprises for me. I fully expected some of the players to be exactly who they turned out to be, but I was glad to find a couple unexpected twists and turns.

I recommend Grave Mercy to fans of historical fiction, court intrigue, and heroines that take charge of their destiny. There are some mystical elements and significant romance, but neither overwhelms the historical mystery that carries throughout the story. Some might be worried about the mystic elements or take on religion. I think most interested in the book, especially by the thought of assassin nuns, will be just fine. Those that are offended by the very idea of old gods and the way pagan religions were transformed to be part of Christianity through force, and the idea that the pagan community could have had (or still have) some things right, might want to skip it.  It is a four star book in my opinion.

Dark Triumph

The sequel, Dark Triumph follows fellow assassin nun Sybella on her own heart wrenching journey.

This review was originally published on Sharon the Librarian.

Linda reads: Barefoot In The Sun by Roxanne St Clair

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This is book 3 of the Barefoot Bay series.  You do not have to read them in order, however if you would like to, the first book is Barefoot in the Sand, the second book is Barefoot in the Rain.

Zoe Tamarin has been on the run since she was a child when her neighbor, Pasha, rescued her from a nightmare foster home.  They’ve lived in the shadows, never staying in one place too long, not being able to live any sort of normal life.  Zoe did manage to fall in love along the way, however, with Dr. Oliver Bradbury and decides to confess that she’s really not who he thinks she is.  The confession and Oliver’s reaction go very badly and Zoe, once again, disappears.

Oliver marries another woman, has a child, divorces the woman, and moves to Florida with his son to start a new life in a new medical practice that helps cancer patients with new, experimental techniques.  It is a coincidence that both Zoe and Oliver end up in the same Florida town.

When Zoe discovers that Pasha has terminal cancer, she seeks out Oliver to see if he will help (albeit, under the radar as Pasha cannot reveal her true identity).  This proves to be a difficult task, as Pasha is too frightened her past will be discovered, and Oliver and Zoe do not trust each other.

The chemistry between Zoe and Oliver is explosive, but their resentment and outside influences interfere with their quest to reconcile.  Both have heart-wrenching secrets that each needs to help the other overcome.   Will Zoe run again or stay and fight for the life and love she yearns for?

This is a heartwarming, emotional story of love, loss and the quest for happily ever after.

Author Johanna Lindsey

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johanna lindsey

Johanna Lindsey

June marks a big milestone for New York Times bestselling historical romance author Johanna Lindsey.  Her 50th novel, One Heart To Win, a western set tale, will be released on June 11.

When she was younger, she was such an avid reader, she found she couldn’t get enough historical romances to read.  She decided to write a book for her own enjoyment – Captive Bride.  It wound up being published in 1977 and was an immediate success.

Johanna’s books span various eras of history – Middle Ages, Regency England, American Old West and the Viking era.  Her stories portray vivid adventures to foreign lands and time periods.

One Heart To Win is on order at the Cheshire Library.  You may place a hold on it if you wish.