BOOK REVIEW: Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

April 26, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / Leave a comment

I have mixed feelings about this latest book from Nora Roberts. It was very good – entertaining, intriguing, enjoyable – but it just didn’t flow as well as some of her other books.

Eli Landon is a Boston lawyer who endured an intense year being accused of murdering his soon-to-be ex-wife. There wasn’t enough evidence and the case was dismissed, but his reputation, life and career are ruined. He needs to get away and he chooses to go to his family’s home in Whiskey Beach, Mass. Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach for more than 300 years and not only is it stunning in its appearance, it holds the key to a long ago mystery of death, treasure, and betrayal. Eli not only needs to heal from his ordeal, but he has promised his grandmother, who lives at Bluff House, but is currently recuperating in Boston from a fall, that he would look after the house.

Abra Walsh has been caring for Bluff House and Gran for a few years now. She was once a mover and shaker in Washington, D.C., but has escaped to Whiskey Beach to become a jill-of-all-trades: maid, cook, massage therapist, yoga instructor, jewelry maker. She, too, is escaping a terrible ordeal and chose Whiskey Beach to do her healing.

It takes awhile for Ms. Roberts to give the reader some insight to Abra’s past and Eli’s troubles. The story moves a bit sluggishly. But the characters have vintage Roberts’ charm and likeability. You are still drawn into the story (there is danger, murder, mystery, pirate treasure and romance) and are anxious to read the book to its conclusion. The characters are multi-faceted and likeable, although Abra Walsh seems just a little too good to be true. I was quite disappointed in the ending. It took a long time to get there, then was hurried and stingy in details. But the theme of love, trust, and friendship ring true.

Nora Roberts fans will enjoy this book, she truly has never written a bad book. It just doesn’t have the “zing” some of her other books have.

Nancy Pearl’s First Children’s Audio Book

April 25, 2013April 17, 2013 / Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

Nancy Pearl just might be America’s most well known librarian. She even has her own action figure! So it is little wonder that I was thrilled to read in USA Today that she has recorded her first children’s audiobook. She has recorded the audiobook version of Isabella: Star of the Story, which was written by Jennifer Fosberry and illustrated by Mike Litwin.

Isabella: Star of the Show

Isabella: Star of the Story is a fun story which highlights an early love of reading and the use of imagination. When Isabella and her parents head to the library Isabella is transformed into characters from some of the most popular children’s books. Isabella is briefly Alice, Dorothy, Peter Pan, and a number of other well known personas. When it is time to check out and head home, Isabella decides that it is best just to be herself, at least until it is reading time again.

If you are eager to hear Nancy Pearl at work, here is a book trailer for Isabella: Star of the Story that will give you a taste of what the audiobook will sound like.

Myth, Maggots, Minie Balls, Gangrene, and Glory

April 24, 2013April 23, 2013 / Jenn / Leave a comment

The first program in our spring Civil War 150th Celebration is Civil War Medicine: Myth, Maggots, Minie Balls, Gangrene, and Glory Monday April 29th at 7PM in the Mary Baldwin room. Carolyn Ivanhoff, housemaster of Shelton Intermediate School returns to present this program.

Medicine in the Civil War was primitive compared to today’s standards. Doctors knew little about infection, blood transfusions, and sterilization. You were more likely to die from wounds sustained on the battlefield than to actually die on the battlefield. Men who knew they would need amputations would sometimes try to amputate the limb themselves, rather than have the doctor do it, knowing their chances of survival were about the same.

Hygiene in camps was almost nonexistent, and therefore disease could run rampant throughout the soldiers. Dysentery, smallpox, measles, and pneumonia were a soldier’s worst enemy, not the men whom they faced on the battlefield. Rations were insufficient and poor, water was not clean or filtered, clothing was tattered and ratty, and sanitation of waste did not exist.

Join us next week as Ivanoff educates us on what exactly it was like to be a soldier during the Civil War and how fortunate we are today to have the medical care we have. Registration is required for this event.

BOOK REVIEW: The Trouble With Love by Beth Ciotta

April 23, 2013August 27, 2014 / Linda / 1 Comment

This is book two of the trilogy Cupcake Lovers. Rocky Monroe is the owner of a bed and breakfast in Sugar Creek, Vermont. She’s also president of the Cupcake Lover’s club, a group of women (and one hunky man) that bakes cupcakes to raise money for charities. Ten years ago, when she was only 17, she lost her virginity to her brothers’ best friend and family friend, Jayce Bello. He was 22 at the time and overwhelmed with the love he felt for Rocky and the fear of being found out by her brothers. He felt at the time that the best thing he could do was leave town, so he begins a new life in New York City. Rocky was hurt and confused and claims to hate Jayce, but in reality, she can’t get him out of her head. It would be helpful to read book one first – Fool For Love – as it sets up the background story of Rocky and Jayce. But if you don’t get to read it, you can still understand the dynamics between them.

Rocky needs to go to New York City to help negotiate a publishing deal for the Cupcake Lover’s Club’s first cookbook. Of course the very first day she is there, she gets mugged and hit by a car. Having no money and reluctantly needing help, she calls Jayce, who is more than happy to help. He’s been doing a lot of thinking and has just made the decision to move back to Sugar Creek and try to come to terms with his demons about his family and to try to reconcile with Rocky. The timing of Rocky’s call couldn’t have come at a better time. He begins his plan to woo her while she’s in New York and continues it when they return to Sugar Creek.

There are many twists and turns in Rocky and Jayce’s journey. With true love, you have to fight hard for that someone special and that’s what this story is about. The whole Town is behind them and the cast of characters provides comic relief as well as emotional support. It was also nice to see the continuation of Dev and Chloe’s story from book one, and Luke’s story is nicely set up for book three – Anything But Love coming out in September.

Listen Up! with an Audiobook

April 22, 2013April 17, 2013 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Don’t have time to read? Driving a long commute, or perhaps an out-of-state trip? Do you have trouble focusing on printed words? Try an audio book! Cheshire Library has a large collection of books on cd, from mysteries to romance, to fiction, non-fiction, science-fiction, and foreign languages, and we add at least one new selection a day. Here’s a list of just some of our newest additions in the past month:

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts