Death Beside the Seaside by T.E. Kinsey ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Last year, I listened to the first book in the Lady Hardcastle Mysteries series, A Quiet Life in the Country, and I really enjoyed the characters. I have not continued with the series, but when I saw book 6 Death Beside the Seaside at NetGalley, I had to request it.

A Distance Too Grand by Regina Scott ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

"Yet it was already August. They had at best two months, barely enough time for the survey, before snow began to fall along the North Rim. The Grand Canyon they called it and everything he'd read said searching for a way to ford it, by wagon, would be an adventure." (p 18)

4 Books of Folklore and Fairy Tales

by MK French

Fairy tales and folklore are short stories involving fantastic creatures that don't exist in nature, often teaching lessons to readers/listeners as the story progresses. Many of these stories are told and retold in different ways; many of the core themes in these stories actually date back thousands of years. Most of the time, fairy tales are considered stories we tell children, and that grown-ups don't need to listen to the stories themselves. They dismiss the warnings within the stories as silly things that only children would believe and feel that they don't apply to adults anymore. The wonder has gone out of those adults, which is a sad thing. There are still so many lessons that adults can learn from these stories, especially when they're reinterpreted for modern times.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert: A Review

by Alison DeLuca

cover of City of Girls and its author, Elizabeth Gilbert

Over the past weekend, I took my nephew to comic con, walked several miles of city sidewalk, ate in a few Irish pubs, and read City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution by Kate Quinn, et al. ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A breathtaking, epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—seven unforgettable women whose paths cross during one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history: the French Revolution.

Christmas in Vermont by Anita Hughes ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Emma strolled through the East Village and admired the lamposts wrapped in red bows and the shop windows littered with fake snow and tinsel. Most of her friends fled New York City during Christmas, but Emma adored Manhattan during the holidays. Fifth Avenue flooded in lights was so romantic, and she could stare at the cashmere sweaters in the windows of Barney's for hours. (pg 1)

Potency by Aubrey Hadley ~ a Review

by MK French

Harper is a seventeen-year-old girl living in Reno, Nevada. She is homeschooled and feels that her mother is overly strict, so they frequently butt heads when she sneaks out to play soccer with friends. She doesn't pay much attention to news about the Maasai Mara Sleeping Sickness, an illness that induces euphoria and then lethargy before killing its victims. At least, not until it comes to her neighborhood.

Christmas Angels by Nancy Naigle ~ a Review

by MK French

Liz Westmoreland worked in Charlotte on big real estate properties and happened to find her grandparents' old bed and breakfast up for auction. She had always dreamed of owning it and had fond memories of summers there, and bought it on a whim. There was a lot of work that had to be done, some of which was already outlined by Mike Hardy, whom she had narrowly outbid. She didn't remember him from summers past, but he remembered her as well as the crush he used to have on her. It was a lot of work to refurbish the property, especially over the winter as the weather grew worse.