The Doctor's Lady

The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and was tickled to read this book was loosely based on the travels of the the Whitman's, a married missionary couple heading west in 1836. The route they took would later become the Oregon Trail. The historical portrayal was very interesting but the authors fictional spin was great!

My first Jody Hedlund book...but not the last.

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The Secret Keeper

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesome.

How can I describe this book?? There was so much to it. I was gripped by every word from start to finish. I took my time reading it so I wouldn't miss anything, no skimming whatsoever! I had to flit around in the book and reread parts as the story, the history, the characters, as all the puzzle pieces started to come together. There were a lot of oooohhh! and ah-ha! moments.

Kate Morton is a master story-teller. It's a maze of events spanning from 1928 Australia to 2011 England. It's how friends, children, lovers, and acquaintances lives are affected from the horror of the World War II blitz on England. There is tragedy, there is love, there is confusion, betrayal, and mystery. And of course, secrets that were never meant to be told.

I had the puzzle pieces more or less put together before the big revelation but still, it was in no less of a great and pleasing surprise. It was funny, as I realized what might have happened, I had to put the book down...I had goosebumps! Soooo good!



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The Inn at Angel Island

The Inn at Angel Island by Thomas Kinkade
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

By the ratings, I thought this would be a nice, pleasant, easy read. It was easy all right, but not pleasant. It was so incredibly boring. So simple, so mindless and was written at what felt like a second grade level. The dialogue was shallow and lacked effort or meaning, utterly uninspiring.

I am in no way dissing this because it's Christian, I read a fair amount of Christian fiction, but never anything this dull. And that's the thing, Christian fiction doesn't have to be a wet blanket, just read any MaryLu Tyndall book!

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The Reliance

The Reliance by M.L. Tyndall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, just another fantastic MaryLu Tyndall read! Her books are so exciting and deal with Christ in such a realistic way. This book points out that even as Christians, we can fall from our ways but we can always be forgiven when we repent and truly mean it. God is wonderful and will forgive us our transgressions. Amazing.

Captain Edmund Merrick and his wife, Charlisse are quickly separated in this book when the town they are visiting is raided by pirates. Edmund thinks his wife has died in an explosion and is completely devastated. He blames God and turns from Him and starts to turn to his old sinful ways from before he accepted Christ. But God isn't so easily willing to let Edmund turn Him away.

Meanwhile, Charlisse must face that fact that her husband may never find her since he believes her dead. She is in fact imprisoned on a pirate ship along with Lady Isabel Ashton. The two become quick friends in their struggles and make a plan to escape the evil clutches of Captain Carlton. Captain Carlton is infatuated with Isabel and provides her many comforts but he cannot seem to win her affections.

When Charlisse and Isabel are able to escape, they face a reality that life may not be the same as when they were first kidnapped. Charlisse dresses up as a pirate to head into town where she thinks her husband may be. She see's what she thinks is her husband’s deviant new ways and tells herself she no longer needs him. While she is witnessing this in town and bears the heart break, Isabel is once again kidnapped by Captain Carlton. After discovering her friend is missing, Charlisse takes command of her husband’s ship with the help of some of her husband’s loyal friends, who are disappointed to see him turn away from his good ways, and embarks on a mission to rescue her new friend again.

Once Edmund discovers his ship missing, he is determined to find his so-called loyal friends and try to figure out how and why a tiny new pirate could take over his ship. It isn't until he comes upon the ship that he discovers who this new pirate is and why this pirate gives him such a steely look of hatred that makes his stomach do flips. Could it be.......

I'll leave it at that. Very good book!!

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Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It positively just may be the best historical romance I have ever read. It was such a charming and captivating romance. The book only took place over a week so it was very intimate and delved into lovely conversations and passionate gazes.

The scene with the lesson of a love letter, wow , my cheeks were burning reading that portion. I think it may have been the most romantic thing I have ever read. The whole book is proper and virtuous, so sweet, THE SWEETEST, book I have ever read.

It contained your usual historical romance characters, the dashing hero, the modest and beautiful heroine, a villain, and several other great supporting roles. But this book was better than your average historical romance, it just was, can't really put into enough words why. All I can say is that if you like historical romance, this one is sure to grab your attention from start to finish!



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(This is definitely going to be a contender for a top pick for 2012!)

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes

The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another amazing book by Diane Chamberlain. This was a deep, thought provoking, emotional story about a horrible choice of a teenager that led to a death and a series of lies and secrets so horrible they could never be told. But when a body is discovered, the secrets start to unravel, along with the guilty conscience of CeeCee Wilkes. She must make the choice to keep her horrendous past a secret forever or speak out risking the good and upstanding life she has created since that horrendous day over two decades ago. Is she willing to tear her family to shreds by telling what she knows? Can she throw away all the good she has done in her adult life to atone for the life changing mistake she made at 16?

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The Night Circus

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm pretty conflicted on how much I liked this book (Three or four stars?). It was beautifully written, no question about it. A very talented author with an incredible imagination! However I think it just comes down to the fact that it wasn't as thrilling as I felt it could be. I think perhaps the ending didn't quite sit right with me either. It seemed like we were taken through so many years and got to know so many characters so well, that I felt a bit let down how it came to an end.

This was a slow read for me. I found I could easily set the book aside when the chapter changed time periods. In a way I appreciated that because I could think on it a little bit, but also a wee bit annoying.

I do like the concept of the book, I liked the magic and use of alchemy, I just wasn't as impressed by the story itself as it appears others were.

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