Book Review: A Christmas Garland

Author: Anne Perry
Title: A Christmas Garland
Publisher: Ballentine Books
Publish Date: Oct 30, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: The year is 1857, soon after the violent Siege of Cawnpore, with India in the midst of rebellion. In the British garrison, a guard is killed and an Indian prisoner escapes, which leads to yet more British deaths. Cries for revenge are overwhelming. Despite no witnesses and no evidence against him, a luckless British medical orderly named John Tallis is arrested as an accomplice simply because he was the only soldier unaccounted for when these baffling crimes were committed.

Though chosen to defend Tallis, young Lieutenant Victor Narraway is not encouraged to try very hard. Narraway’s superiors merely want a show trial. But inspired by a soldier’s widow and her children, and by his own stubborn faith in justice, Narraway searches for the truth. In an alien world haunted by memories of massacre, he is the accused man’s only hope.

The trial of John Tallis equals the white-knuckle best of Anne Perry’s breathtaking courtroom dramas. And thanks to a simple Christmas garland and some brilliant detective work, Narraway perseveres against appalling odds, learning how to find hope within himself—and turn the darkest hour into one full of joy and light.

Review: Don't read this book if you are expecting a light fluffy Christmas tale. This isn't anything like that. It is a mystery set in 1857 India.

Narraway is given the task of trying to defend Tallis, an orderly accused of killing a man and setting a prisoner free. Things don't look good for him as his is the only person that doesn't have an alibi.

Narraway is a character you can really come to admire. He is determined to give Tallis a fair trial, even though no one else seems to want to. And he only has a limited amount of time to get ready for the trial.

He really has a thirst for justice. I really loved how he kept looking for answers because Tallis insisted on his innocence.

This story wasn't really about Christmas, but the spirit is in the story. The soldiers felt that they needed to remember what Christmas was about, back at home, so that the bad things that happened didn't ruin everything for them.

There is also a small touch of romance brewing between Narraway and widow. I have to admit I teared up a bit when he was playing hide and seek with one of her children.

When all is said and done I was a bit surprised at what likely happened to the inmate and the guard. I look forward to reading more by Anne Perry in the future.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: One Day In Apple Grove

Author: C.H. Admirand
Title: One Day In Apple Grove
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Publish Date: June 4, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Welcome to Apple Grove, Ohio (pop. 597), a small town with a big heart.

Caitlin Mulcahy loves her family. She really does. But sometimes they can drive her to her last shred of sanity—from her dad ("I'm not meddling, I just want what's best for you") to her eight-months-pregnant older sister to her younger sister, who will do just about anything to avoid real work. Cait just needs to get away, even if for only an hour.

When she sees someone in need of help on the side of the road, of course she's going to pull over. She might even be able to fix his engine—after all, the Mulcahy family is a handy bunch. She's not expecting that former Navy medic Jack Gannon and a little black puppy named Jameson will be the ones who end up rescuing in her.

Review: I wanted to read this book from the moment I laid eyes on the cover. One Day In Apple Grove is book 2 in the Small Town USA series. That alone had me excited. I love novels that are based in small town America, like Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove. I love the local color and the quirky residents that these towns have.

But everything about this book is too good to be true. From Caitlin, the sweet small town girl, working in her parent's business to Jack the wounded soldier who has come home to take over his father's family practice.

The only thing that really made this story fun was the little black dog, Jamie, who was a holy terror, much like Marley! I love how their relationship grew out of caring for this stray animal while they waited to see if he had an owner, however the plot twist that involved his owner didn't sit well with me at all.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a bad book, it just felt like something that has been written a hundred million times over. Well that and maybe how Caitlin comes across as very childlike at the beginning of the book.

Truth be told, I almost thought she was a teenager and not a woman in her twenties.

Her relationship with Jack grows out of taking care of the dog. That was cute. I loved the things that Jamie got into. He was such a typical puppy.

Which brings me to the romance element. There's definitely chemistry between Cait and Jack, but the sex scenes just didn't work for me. Maybe it is me, but I prefer sweet romance with illusions of love making in these small town books.

And then there's Jack's PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for those not in the know). I wish something else could have been the root of the very small amount of conflict in this book.

If you are looking for a book to pass the time, this is as good as any, but don't expect a stellar read.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: Secrets Over Sweet Tea

Author: Denise Hildreth Jones
Title: Secrets Over Sweet Tea
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Publish Date: Feb 26, 2013
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: Secrets can be funny things. We think they keep us safe, but more often than not, they spill out when we least expect and make a mess out of everything. It's a truth Scarlett Jo Newberry knows all too well—a truth Grace Shepherd and Zach Craig are about to learn the hard way. As the lives of this boisterous pastor's wife, polished news anchor, and beleaguered divorce attorney intersect in the tree-lined streets of Franklin, Tennessee, scandal threatens to topple their carefully constructed worlds. Grasping at survival, they embark on a journey of friendship and courage, desperate to find a way back to laughter, love, and life.

Review: As most of you know, I read a good bit of Christian fiction. Secrets Over Sweet Tea is probably the best book from this genre I've read all year. It falls in that grey area known as women's fiction. (Yeah, its a girlie book, as if you couldn't tell that from the title)

The book chronicles the lives of three couples the first are Jackson and Scarlett Jo Newberry (His is the pastor of a rather unusual church) and Grace Shepherd and her husband Tyler and Zach and Caroline Craig.

Even if you don't usually read Christian fiction, there's much to love about this book. It isn't preachy but it does have universal message that is Christian and that's about healing the heart. Grace and Zach both have hearts in need of healing for different reasons. Both are in marriages that are failing.

Truth be told I wanted both of them to toss their spouses very early on. Both spouses were terrible, though I felt bad for Tyler, because he had a real problem. Caroline on the other hand needed help and it was sadly almost understandable why Zach chose to stray.

There's a lot of strife ahead for these two, but they are pulled together by the driving force that is Scarlett Jo Newberry. If you don't like Scarlett, well I feel sorry for you. I fell in love with her instantly. She's big, boisterous and funny. She's the kind of character you wish were real, because you want her for your best friend. She's just fantastic, and she's not without her secrets too. And she's not the typical holier than thou pastor's wife, but that's easy to tell. (The holier than thou types usually aren't very Christian in their actions)

Some of the best parts of this book involve Scarlett and Grace's friend Rachel. These two are polar opposites and yet they become friends by the end of the book.

I loved how everyone learned lessons about themselves as the book went on. Everyone including Scarlett grew a little.

It is also surprising which marriage really failed and which one managed to be mended.

I absolutely adored this book and I really wish it would become a series, because I'd love to revisit all of these characters again to see how things were going in their lives.

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: A Night Of No Return

Author: Sarah Morgan
Title: A Night Of No Return
Publisher: Harlequin Presents
Publish Date: Oct 2012
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Money, charm and sensual skills don't make up for a heart colder than ice…. Wild parties, wanton women, relentless work—nothing helps tycoon Lucas Jackson escape his dark and haunting past. Arriving at his rural castle in a snarling snowstorm, he craves only complete isolation.… But it seems oblivion can take an unexpected and highly intoxicating form!

Personally delivering the vital file left on her boss's desk, secretary Emma Gray starts to seriously regret her dutiful overtime mission. She never expected the dark side of the usually controlled Lucas could generate such a primitive, powerful—and entirely inappropriate—reaction.

Review: Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite writers for the Presents line. She always has heroes that are lovably alphas. (You know the kind you don't want to knock in the head because they are super arrogant).

In A Night Of No Return, Emma is Lucas' PA. He leaves and important file at the office and Emma, like the good PA she is braves a snowstorm to take it to him, not knowing that he wants to be away from everyone for a personal reason.

Lucas is a damaged hero and Emma is a heroine with some issues of her own. Without giving too many spoilers. Lucas lost his daughter to a pretty nasty illness and he beats himself up over it. Emma does her best along with her sister, who feel rather put upon, to take care of their young brother.

Emma's brother Jamie was one of the things in this story that threw me off a bit. When I first read about him, I thought he was her boyfriend. I was immediately ready to hate Emma, because I don't like romances with cheating. I was very relieved to learn otherwise. I think Lucas was too.

I liked Emma's spunk, especially when she was reading Lucas the riot act about how only a person with money could think of just quitting a job without having one lined up. However that was the only thing I liked about Emma, she wasn't my favorite of Sarah's heroines.

She acted like she was put upon when her sister was upset because she wasn't coming home for the weekend. (That's her time with her brother and gave the bad guy shoes to her sister Angie). Yes, Angie's actions came across as bitchy then, but as a caregiver for elderly parents, I know how Angie probably felt. She had the primary caregiving responsibility while Emma had the primary financial responsibility. I wanted to knock some heads together on that one, mostly because of my personal experiences.

The chemistry between Emma and Lucas was great, but the romance happened a little to fast in the story, especially with the issues Lucas was dealing with. They resolved quicker than they probably should have.

I do like how Lucas displays his softer side with Jamie...at the holiday. I always love a good dad.

This was a sweet story with some steamy scenes, great for a cold winter afternoon.


Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: What The Paparazzi Didn't See

Author: Nicola Marsh
Title: What The Paparazzi Didn't See
Publisher: Harlequin Kiss
Publish Date: June 2013
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: The secrets behind Australia's most famous smile

Liza Lithgow has her reasons for living life in the spotlight, and they're all to do with protecting her little sister. Now she's finally saved enough money to leave the red carpet behind, what better way to celebrate than with a martini and a man?

The only problem is, the man in question turns out to be a publisher wanting her kiss-and-tell autobiography! Wade Urquart's company wants a story? Fine. If scandal will sell more copies, she'll give them exactly what they want! But what will Wade see—the glossy facade or maybe, at last, the real Liza?

Review: I usually love Nicola Marsh's books for the Harlequin Romance line, so I was excited to see how she'd do on the new Kiss imprint. I probably would have liked this book better if I hadn't read Rosalind James' books that deal with the WAG topic (Wife and Girlfriend).

I have to admit I've never heard of any celebrity other referred to that way...maybe its an Aussie thing. I actually found it drove me nuts in the book after awhile, especially since her WAG status was phony. I wanted more of her back story and there wasn't much of that given.

Liza's character lacked depth and too much focus was put on her sister Cindy that had cerebral palsy. Her sister had more spunk than she did. There was so much emphasis placed on how she had to care for her sister and not enough on why she was attracted to Wade. Their relationship started out as a one night stand, for heaven's sake.

The best part of the book was the Wag tips Liza gives you at the beginning of each chapter. I can't remember the last romance I read that had beauty tips/Martha Stewart living type tips in them. That was kind of cool, until the whole WAG thing started wearing on me and then it bugged me to no end.

My biggest problem with the book was Liza. I couldn't get attached to her. I could understand why she did some of the things she did, but other things not so much. Felt like a secondary character throughout most of the book.

It was a decent enough read, but it just didn't have the right Oomph for me.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: The Paris Wife

Author: Paula McLain
Title: The Paris Wife
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publish Date: Feb 22, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: 
Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking, fast-living, and free-loving life of Jazz Age Paris. As Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history and pours himself into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises, Hadley strives to hold on to her sense of self as her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Eventually they find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

Review: There has been so much buzz about this novel about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley. I'm always intrigued by stories such as this one. You know that there is no happy ending for Ernest and Hadley, but you can't help but want to find out how the author got in their heads.

Paula McLain wrote the story primarily from Hadley's point of view, though there are a few snapshot sections told from Ernest's point of view as well.

They seemed like such a perfect couple although there were a lot of things working against them. Hadley was several years older. Both had parents with mental illness that committed suicide. She wanted children, he didn't. The list goes on and on.

If this were a modern day fairy tale gone wrong, it would have been a novel about Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

It is easy to see when everything starts to fall apart for Ernest and Hadley. When she gets pregnant their world changes and not for the better. Plus as they travel they encounter all the rich and wonderful people of their time, Gertrude Stein, The Fitzgerald's, Ezra Pound. Free love was really never freer than in the 1920s.

I didn't know much about Hemingway going in...I'm not one for classic literature, but having read Freud's Mistress and enjoying it. I thought I'd try this one. I found Hemingway to be a similar to Freud in some ways. Mostly because he really had no real regards to the feelings of his wife or many of his friends. (The Torrents Of Spring was a parody of Sherwood Anderson's Dark Laughter). Sherwood helped Ernest get published.

I was really frustrated with Hadley. She fought to win Ernest which wasn't easy, but when it came down to the final year or so of her marriage, she did nothing to keep him, even when she knew his eye was wandering and so were other parts of him.

This wasn't an easy book for me to get into, because of the type of woman Hadley was. She was much to smart to be treated the way Hemingway treated her. What made it worse was ....it was her real life.

Rating: 3 flowers

Book Review: Glad Tidings

Author: Debbie Macomber
Title: Glad Tidings
Publisher: Mira
Publish Date: Nov 20, 2012
Buy:Amazon
Book Blurb: Christmas is a time for...fruitcake. Rookie reporter Emma Collins hates fruitcake; for that matter, she hates Christmas, too. When three Washington State women are finalists in a national fruitcake contest, the story is assigned to her. That's bad enough. It gets worse when she has to fly in a small plane (scary!) with a smart-aleck pilot named Oliver Hamilton (sexy!) and his scruffy dog (cute!). In the end she meets three wise women, falls in love and learns There's Something About Christmas.

This is also a time for families, for togetherness, for memories. On Christmas Eve, Maryanne and Nolan Adams tell their kids the story they most want to hear--how Mom and Dad met and fell in love. It all started when they were reporters on rival Seattle papers...and next thing you know, Here Comes Trouble!

Review: I absolutely love Debbie Macomber's holiday books, they are something that I look forward to every year. This is a collection of two of her previous holiday novellas, There's Something About Christmas and Here Comes Trouble.

I'm glad the opening novella was There's Something About Christmas. It was the better of the two stories. Emma Collins is assigned to do a series of articles on the 3 women from Washington State that are finalists in a fruitcake competition.

Emma and Oliver's relationship grows as he flies her to each destination in his small Cessna (which scares the crap out of her). But there is more than just romance to these stories, there are the fruitcake ladies and there stories and there very different fruitcakes. (recipes are included! Yay!)

I like the differences between Emma and Oliver. Emma is a more a Scrooge in her own way, choosing to be anti-Christmas because of the loss of her mother and Oliver, who is much more carefree. Emma finds herself changing a bit as she finishes each interview and she becomes a more festive person.

This was such a fun story. I can see Hallmark turning it into a Christmas movie.

The next story is Here Comes Trouble. This one was written in the early 90s and from the start is feels more dated. Maryanne is the rich girl trying to make in on her own, and Nolan is the guy that gives her a hard time on the way.

This was probably the first Debbie Macomber story I struggled through. It was too cheesy and too unrealistic and it really didn't have a Christmas theme, so it didn't feel like a fit for this compilation.

I liked the idea of Maryanne and Nolan telling their children how they met and then married, but their story just didn't click for me.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: The Fiddler

Author: Beverly Lewis
Title: The Fiddler
Publisher: Bethany House
Publish Date: April 12, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 

Amelia "Amy" DeVries, a 24-year-old violinist, is disillusioned with life and love after the collapse of her long-running romance. Weary of endless rehearsals and performances, Amy sets out on a road trip through the Pennsylvania mountains. She leaves her cell phone behind so life's demands can't intrude on her solitude. She doesn't know, nor care, where she will end up.

When her car breaks down deep in the mountains, Amy realizes the flaw in her "no cell phone" plan. She abandons her car and walks the winding roads, searching for help. Following the smell of woodsmoke and the sound of music, she finds a rustic log cabin. There she meets a young Amishman--and through him a community--that will change her life forever.

Review: If you haven't read a Beverly Lewis book in awhile, this might be a good one to pick up.

Why?

Its one of the few stories written by Beverly Lewis that isn't part of a continuing series, where you are left with a cliff hanger ending until the next book is published.

Rather it is a stand alone book that is part of the Home to Hickory Hollow series.

The book blurb, however is deceiving. Amelia is performing under a stage name so she can separate her two careers, one as a concert violinist and the other as a country music fiddler, both of which she does remarkably well

However the pressure to please her ailing father is what causes her to try other things. Her life isn't her own and in trying to return to her OH home after a country performance she gets lost and ends up killing her phone in a puddle and meeting Amish Michael, who is having his own set of troubles.

I love how each is drawn to each other by the things that are pulling them away from their own lives. Amelia is attracted to the peaceful life of the Amish, and Michael is struggling with his Amish faith.

I loved meeting Amelia and Michael as well as the characters that will appear in the next books, like Joanna.

In this book, Beverly Lewis finally creates a romance that is meant to be, even if it has many hurdles to overcome, but those hurdles are overcome in one book.

One of the things I especially liked about this book was Michael and his struggle with his faith. He's not unlike many of us, but even though you know he isn't going to choose to stay Amish, you know that his faith and his values will stay with him always.

Another thing that I liked with this story, is how the religious aspect of the book is more toned down. The book focuses more on family then faith, so it didn't sound as preachy as some of Lewis' other books.

This was one of the best Beverly Lewis books I've read in a long time.

Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 flowers

Book Review: Cream Puff Murder

Author: Joanne Fluke
Title: Cream Puff Murder
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publish Date: March 1, 2009
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: Bakery owner Hannah Swensen has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden's new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering the body of man-eating bombshell Ronni Ward floating in the gym's jacuzzi? Okay, that's worse. Nor does it help that there's a plate of The Cookie Jar's very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. Trying to narrow the list of Ronni's enemies down to fewer than half the town's female population, Hannah has her plate full. Trouble is, when it comes to cookies - and to murder - there's always room for one more...

Review: I have to admit, I love this series. It is a very light on the mystery and heavy on the small town comings and goings and on the recipes.

Oh yeah, I will admit I read these for the recipes. Joanna Fluke delivers great cookie recipes. Move over Mrs Fields, cos Joanna's cookies are 100 times better.

And I know because I've made quite a few.

This book deals with the murder of fitness instructor and sexpot, Ronni Ward. She's one character you're happy to see dead. She's just not nice to other women and she's trying to steal everyone else's men, including part of Hannah's love triangle, Mike.

Thanks to Ronni's sluttish nature, Hannah has a free hand at trying to solve this murder, because every detective is off the case.

WTF! Including Andrea's husband Bill!

Yikes!

To make things interesting Hannah needs to lose weight to fit in the regency dress her mother ordered for her for her book launch party.

I'm not sure how she lost all the weight in 2 weeks, but kudos to her, for staying away from all her yummy cookies.

Why I love about this series is how homey they feel. I don't read a Hannah Swensen novel looking to be wowed but a great mystery. I read them because I love the characters in Lake Eden. I love Hannah's family and friends.

I look at this series as something like Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street series, only with a murder in each book (and some awesome cookie recipes)

I really enjoyed the mystery in Cream Puff Murder, because the victim was so nasty. I also liked the switcheroo Joanne pulled when it came to whodunit. Just when you thought you knew who it was, you find out your wrong.

Some might complain that things are predictable and not so realistic, but I don't care. These books are fun and I love them!

Now onto a recipe.

Blueberry Crunch Cookies


Ingredients 
1 C melted butter
2 C sugar
2 t vanilla
½ t salt
1½ baking soda
2 large beaten eggs
2½ C flour 1 C dried sweetened blueberries
2 C ground dry oatmeal (measure before grinding)

Directions 

350 oven
Melt butter.
Add sugar and mix.
Add vanilla, salt, baking soda—mix well.
When cooled to room temp., add eggs.
Add flour slowly.
Mix in dried fruit.
Place oatmeal in food processor and process till it is the consistency of course sand. Add oatmeal to bowl. Dough will be quite thick.
Roll into walnut size balls.
Put on greased cookie sheet.
If too sticky, refrigerate for 1/2 hour.
Squish balls down a bit with spatula.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. These freeze well.

I made a half a batch and I made one change to the recipe. Dried blueberries are super expensive and I'm on a budget, so I bought a bag of mixed berries. The bag had dried cranberries, blueberries and cherries  but at a reduced cost.

The cookies are delicious and the ground oatmeal gives them the perfect crunch. The other thing I've noticed about Joanna's recipes is the use of melted butter. I think this really adds something to the cookie

I can't wait to try another recipe from the book.

Rating: 4 flowers

Book Review: The Time Keeper

Author:Mitch Albom
Title:The Time Keeper
Publisher: Hyperion
Publish Date: Sept 4 2012
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: From the author who's inspired millions worldwide with books like Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes his most imaginative novel yet, The Time Keeper--a compelling fable about the first man on earth to count the hours. The man who became Father Time.

In Mitch Albom's newest work of fiction, the inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.

He returns to our world--now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began--and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

Told in Albom's signature spare, evocative prose, this remarkably original tale will inspire readers everywhere to reconsider their own notions of time, how they spend it and how precious it truly is

Review: I heard so much about this book last year. I remember seeing a segment on it on Good Morning America.

That had me intrigued, but as my TBR pile is so massive, I didn't grab a copy, partially because of its short length and the other part being so many other commitments.

Well the book showed up in our library's ebook page so I decided to give it a go.

Mitch's writing style reminded me a bit of Richard Paul Evans. Very sentimental and very heart wrenching.

The story is told from 3 points of view, Sarah, a teenage girl, Victor, a wealth businessman dying of cancer and Dor, Father Time himself.

This is a very quick read. I found it very engaging, though the story was a bit choppy, switching between so many points of view, as a result it was a little harder to connect with some of the characters. I think Sarah was the character that suffered the most. You could feel all her teenaged angst but there was something missing from her. Whereas with Victor and Dor, you had a more rounded character. You knew what made them tick, so to speak.

Dor's story is the most fascinating, as it should be, him being the inventor of time and Father Time. You see his life at home and how he became fascinated with measuring things. He was an ancient geek! Pun intended.

Becoming Father Time is his punishment. Perhaps it is a good one too. The story's moral is to appreciate the time that you have because it is precious, and you don't know how long you have.

This may be a short read, but it really packed a punch.

Rating: 5 flowers

Library Books Reading Challenge 2013

hosted by Gina at Book Dragon's Lair

Our love of reading can be expensive! Not only are we purchasing books but we also need space to keep them. I've started using the library (again) but couldn't find a challenge to help me. Here it is. There are a number of levels, for those who don't have a library card yet to those that live there. Enjoy!

Requirements:

choose a level - you may move up as needed, just not down.

check books out of the library

books may overlap with other challenges

any format allowed (print, ebook, audio)

reviews are not necessary but a list of books read is.

a blog is not necessary, just comment that you want to join in

Levels:

board book - 3

picture book - 6

early reader - 9

chapter book - 12

middle grades - 18

Young adult - 24

adult - 36  ~ This is the level I'm going for

just insert IV - 50 

1. Mitch Albom - The Time Keeper
2. Joanne Fluke - Cream Puff Murder
3. Beverly Lewis - The Fiddler
4. Debbie Macomber - Glad Tidings
5. Paula McClain - The Paris Wife
6. Nicola Marsh - What The Paparazzi Didn't See
7. Sarah Morgan - A Night Of No Return 
8. Denise Hildreth Jones - Secrets Over Sweet Tea
9. C.H. Admirand - One Day In Apple Grove
10. Anne Perry - A Christmas Garland

I totally failed at this challenge :(