As sisters Julia and Ellie could not be more different. Julia was shy, quiet, studious while Ellie was the typical small town home coming queen. As soon as Julia could she left their hometown to become one of the best child psychiatrists in the country while Ellie stayed home, married all the wrong men and became a cop. After the death of their parents the sisters didn’t have much of a relationship. Julia lives in her world and Ellie lives in hers, not seeing what is right under her nose. Then a patient shatters everything Julia thinks she knows about … Continue reading →

As a single mother who is always struggling to make ends meet I’m always looking for something to help. I read a lot, anyone who has ideas about stretching my money just a little farther has my attention. Financial Peace fits that bill. This book, written by Dave Ramsey, is told in a style that doesn’t condemn you for the choices you’ve made or the things you’ve done in the past that got you into the bind you are in. Dave simply tells you where to start. Starting is usually the most overwhelming so hearing someone say that it can … Continue reading →

If you enjoyed books like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, then be prepared to go old school with Terry Brooks and the Magic Kingdom of Landover series. If you haven’t yet discovered this series, you are in for a treat. Ben Holiday is your average successful lawyer, who invests everything he has in his work and drinks too much. A loner, he spends most of his time trying to forget the tragedy of losing his wife an unborn child. So when he spots an unusual ad in a holiday catalogue. One magic kingdom for sale, complete with knights, maidens, … Continue reading →

When you drown your sorrows in Absolut and Jane Austen novels, you shouldn’t be surprised when something strange happens. After catching her finance cheating on her with the wedding flower lady, Courtney Stone finds herself waking up in the body and the life of Jane, an Austen-era old woman, who single at the age of 30 is seen as long “on the shelf.” With a new demanding mother, a hero who may or may not be what he seems, a best friend and a mysterious gypsy, Courtney/Jane must navigate this new world in the hope of getting back to her … Continue reading →

Jolene Larsen learned from a young age that the only person she could count on was herself.Growing up in an alcoholic family with parents who were never there for her, made her independent. Watching her mother chase a man who didn’t love her, colored Jolene’s perception of love and marriage. When her parents were both killed in an accident Jolene was on her own at seventeen. With no family and nowhere to go Jolene joined the Army National Guard looking for a way to make a life for herself and find a sense of family. When she meets Michael Zarkades, … Continue reading →

Every once in a while a story comes along that strengthens your faith in love and people. In a time when divorce is so common it’s refreshing to read a story about a love story that continued because two people honored the vows they made. Kim and Krickitt Carpenter met over the phone. Kim was calling to place an order for a jacket and was intrigued by Krickett’s voice, he found reasons to call back and before they knew it they were having long phone calls and exchanging letters. When they finally met in person they discovered they had something … Continue reading →

When we last lest Katniss Everdeen, she has just completed the Hunger Games, a twisted ritual in the land of Panem, where the Capitol controls all and the 12 outlying districts are reminded of this every day. Having fought and survived, and Katniss and Peeta are prepared get back to regular life, that is if they can get past the ghosts and haunts of their experiences. Of course, the Capitol won’t let them. Katniss made them look bad in the Hunger Games, after all when she forced them to save not only here but Peeta as well. General Snow, president … Continue reading →

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book. There has been so much hype and now it’s been made into a movie, plus it is listed as a young adult novel. I was pleasantly surprised. The Hunger Games is set in North America in the future, it is now the nation of Panem. This nation is ruled by the cruel Capital which keeps the twelve outlying districts strictly in line. Most everyone is hungry, they have very little, what they do have is controlled by the Capital. Even worse than being hungry and doing without is that the … Continue reading →

This was a very hard book to read. First, the woman who narrates the story, Eva, is highly intelligent, well traveled, and not particularly likable. Second, the subject is difficult, a high school rampage is hard to read about, especially from someone who knows the killer. Eva’s son Kevin kills seven of his classmates, a cafeteria worker and a teacher a few days before his sixteenth birthday. It is a well thought out and executed act. Not because Kevin was picked on or ostracized, if anything he did that to other children. The book is a series of letters that … Continue reading →

The Kellerhers have a summer home in Maine. The children grew up spending every summer there, the grandchildren as well. When the patriarch of the family dies the summer home become something split between the three children, no one spending the summer together any longer. One summer finds four of the Kellerher women at the summer home at the same time. With nothing in common except the family bond and all four of them at different times and places in their lives, each of them coming to Maine for a different reason, they don’t make it easy on each other. … Continue reading →