5 Books to Read This Fall

by Susan Roberts

The kids are back in school and the hot muggy days are a thing of the past so it must be FALL - my favorite time of the year.  I have reviews of an eclectic group of new books - from non-fiction to suspense with some women's fiction in the mix.  I enjoyed all of them and want to share them with you.

A Hero Born by Jin Yong, translated by Anna Holmwood ~ a Review

by MK French

Guo Jing and his mother had to flee China for the northern steppes of Mongolia when his father was killed. He grew up there and eventually was under the tutelage of the Khan Temujin, the man that would become Genghis Khan, as well as the fabled Seven Heroes of the South. The plan is to get stronger and more skilled so that he could return to China and avenge his father's death.

The Widow of Pale Harbor by Hester Fox ~ a Review

by MK French

In 1846, Gabriel Stone leaves Massachusetts after the death of his wife and moves to Maine. He becomes the minister for the town of Pale Harbor, and there are a number of odd occurrences within the sleepy little town. The townsfolk claim they're all caused by Sophronia Carver, who lives in the eerie Castle Carver with her maid. They claim she's a witch and had killed her husband, but it's soon clear that the incidents are inspired by Edgar Allan Poe tales. If Gabriel doesn't discover the truth, Pale Harbor might become one of Poe's stories.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

by Alison DeLuca

I went on a month-long Young Adult book binge in August. Prompted by Time's 100 Best Young Adult Books list, I worked my way through some amazing fiction.

The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I was intrigued about the premise of the book and since I love cozy mysteries, I had to give it a try. The Brontë siblings are amateur sleuths in The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis, the first book in the Brontë Sisters Mystery series. Ellis is the pen name of Rowan Coleman.

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Stout flakes softened the view out the train window: a snow-covered castle on a snow-covered hill ghosting up through the snowy air, the conductor calling, "Bad Bentheim; this is Bad Bentheim, Germany. Passengers continuing to the Netherlands must provide documents." Geertruida Wijsmuller - a Dutchwoman with a strong chin and nose and brow, a wide mouth, cashmere-gray eyes - kissed the baby on her lap. She kissed him a second time, her lips lingering on this smooth forehead. She handed him to his sister then, and pulled the skullcap off their toddler brother. "Es ist in Ordnung. Es wird nicht lange dauern. Dein Gott wird dir dieses eine Mal vergeben," Truus responded to the children's objections, in their own language. It's all right. It will be only for a few moments. Your God will forgive us this once. (p. 3)

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth Macneal ~ a Review

by MK French

As the Great Exhibition is built in 1850's London, Iris hopes to escape working in a doll shop and become a painter as she had always dreamed. Becoming the model for Louis Frost opens her world to all kinds of opportunities. The chance encounter with Silas, a curiosity collector that articulated skeletons or butterflies for the morbid tastes of artists and the gentry, is a forgotten moment for Iris. For Silas, it was a moment that sparked an obsession that would never relent.

3 Gritty Stories of Survival

by Susan Roberts