I am loving audiobooks! They let me read even when I'm busying doing mudane things like chores, and keep me company while I cook. My lastest audiobook was Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio and it was a wonderful read. Or listen.

My Rating: 4 ❀'s
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

I really liked this novel. It shifts back and forth between the present day and the 1930s and the two stories are connected by a late season snowstorm. Our main character, Claire is writing about a late season snowstorm in the 1930s in which a little boy, Daniel Ray, went missing.

Claire is hurting inside due to the loss of her own child, and her character latches on the need to know what happened to Daniel. Her research leads her a little girl Daniel grew up with, and she begins to piece together the story of Vera Ray, Daniel's mother, who is a lower class working woman and her romance with Daniel's father.

Vera's romance seems doomed from the start since Charles comes from money and Vera has to work to support herself. Charles clearly isn't concerned with the difference in their social positions, but it worries Vera, and she is influenced by his family to leave Charles. When she decides to reach out to Charles in order to help find their lost child, the story turns tragic.

Here is where Claire starts to make some surprising connections, and where the story took me by surprise. I loved the connection to the present day characters and how the story played out. It also Claire to heal and an old mystery to be solved. It also brings Claire back together with her husband Ethan, and being a sucker for romance, I liked that this story had two happily ever afters.

A well told story full of fleshed out characters and rich with emotion, I couldn't put this book down.

Happy Listening,

Jewels

I'm continuing with my read of Kristen Ashley's Colorado Mountain series and Jagged was certainly a winner for me. I think this is my favourite book in the series so far. What makes it so great? Well, I loved the hero, Ham and I thought the romance was well developed and the story compelling.

Series: Colorado Mountain, # 5
My Rating: 5 ❀'s
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Ham walked away from a woman he deeply cared for years ago, so that she could have all the things he thought he couldn't give her. A marriage, family. But Zara knows that her choice to build a life with Greg is a mistake, knows that it's really Ham she loves, just as Ham knows he shouldn't be walking away. Why do they make these choices? You'll have to read the book to find out, but our story starts out when Zara's marriage falls apart (as well as her life in many respects) and Ham walks back into Gnaw Bone to settle down.

Ham wasn't the sort to settle down. He was always walking away from towns, jobs, people. Sometimes he'd go back, but he always drifted away again. So it was huge that he was finally settling down. And because he cares so much about Zara, he decides to help her sort out her life. Really, he is getting her back in his life, and after a while, these two can't keep their hands off of each other. Zara then suffers another blow but it reveals something unexpected and spirals into her discovering a couple of great things and mending some fences with her family. It also all results in a happily ever after.

I liked this book so much. It was hard to put down. I think that was because the plot moved along quickly, unhindered by long descriptions of clothing and rooms that encumber the story. I liked that the author chose to tell this story concisely, it gave it a more polished feel and made it far more enjoyable reading as well. I also liked that Ham isn't a jerk. Some of the heroes in this series are as far as I'm concerned. Not bad men, but kinda jerky. Ham was an alpha male just all the rest of the heroes in this great series, but he wasn't crass like some or ridiculously controlling. He was protective and sweet.

So this novel was definitely a winner for me. A great story, tightly woven, wonderful characters that I loved (and I think the setting back to Gnaw Bone gave it a refreshing feel too) and a hero I could adore. What more could a fan of romance want?

Happy Reading,

Jewels

I read this novel because I needed something light and fun, and because a friend lent me her copy of the book. I really had no idea what to expect, but I had heard some good things about this novel and thought, what the heck, let's give it a go. It was certainly well worth the read.

My Rating:  3 ❀'s
Genre: M/M Romance

This wasn't the usual type of m/m romance that I've read in the past. It was lighter, and focused more on the fact that Perry finds a dead body in his bathtub and some other happenings that start to happen after this discovery. So don't let the cover fool you. The romance doesn't even start until nearly the end of the novel, and before that it's obvious that Nick isn't even really willing to entertain the idea of becoming involved with Perry. I actually thought he was kind of a homophobic, or at least, someone who wasn't comfortable around homosexuals. Hence, I actually assumed he was straight. I was wrong. Never assume right?

Anyway, it was more fun to read about the mystery in this novel as dead bodies appear in bathtubs and disappear and there are secret passages in the old house as well as possibly ghosts dating back to the Prohibition days and hidden jewels. The cast of wacky characters also helps and I was entertained the novel and really liked both Perry and Nick (who was mostly just a tough guy with his head firmly planted in reality, not a jerk by any means) who I found to be both compelling characters.

I did like how these two came together. I usually hate it when novels have other things going on that don't allow for a good development of the romance, but Perry and Nick became involved organically and it felt very natural and fit the story and their characters. I was impressed by how they handled everything in the novel, and surprised by certain actions and glad for them to have an happily ever after.

A fun story, and if you need something lighter, one I would recommend.

Happy Reading,

Jewels

I decided, on a whim more than anything else, to pick up a novel by Kate Morton. I've read one of her books before, several years ago now and I remember liking it so I thought I might as well try her newest novel, The Lake House on audio. It was quite a long listen, with different times periods and interesting characters, most notably Alice.

My Rating: 3❀'s
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

This novel is something of a mystery in that it opens with Alice hiding something, something that we are led to believe has to do with the disappearance of her little brother. So of course, my mind raced with questions. What is Alice hiding, what does she know about what happened to Theo? Is she hiding Theo's body? It seems a possibility, and it makes you why a young girl would hide the body of her baby brother. Did she murder him? It takes a while before any of these questions are answered. The novel shifts to the present day where Sadie Sparrow, a police detective is visiting her grandfather in Cornwall. Here, she becomes aware of the story of Theo and his disappearance and begins investigating what might have happened to the young boy.

The novel is interesting in that we hear from a full cast of characters that include Alice, Sadie, Alice's parents Eleanor and Anthony, as well as her assistant Peter, and even on two occasions, from baby Theo himself. Their knowledge contributes to layering the plot and nudging the reader along in detecting what might have happened to young Theo. At first, it seems as though Alice might hold all of the answers, but it quickly becomes apparent that she does not. Because Sadie has been trying to contact her, Alice decides to enlist Sadie's help in unearthing the truth. Family secrets are revealed builiding up new theories and discounting others until finally, the truth outs.

I like happily ever afters, and it's good to know that little Theo did not meet an unhappy ending. However, I figured out exactly what had happened to Theo before it happened, and who Theo really was before it was revealed. Either the author intended me to come to these conclusions, or the mystery wasn't all that well shrouded. In this respect, the novel wasn't all that gripping. There were no surprises for me really, everything was neatly drawn for the reader, and the parts that were hidden I figured out before the author got around to depicting. For a novel so carefully plotted and written with so much attention to detail, it fell a little short.

This was enjoyable in many respects however, and the writing certainly does draw you in as do the characters and their stories, which are all building to uncovering the mystery of what happened to baby Theo. I was certainly never bored, though at times I felt as though certain parts were dragging a bit. A well crafted novel, and perfect for those who enjoy fleshed out plots and characters with a bit of mystery.

Happy Listening,

Jewels

I have been making my way through an entertaining Kristen Ashley series, and I just polished off book five, Breathe. This one was definately a great one. I really enjoyed the first novel in this series, and I really enjoyed this novel as well.

Series: Colorado Mountain, #5
My Rating:  4.5 ❀'s
Genre: Contemporary Romance

What I liked best about this novel was that the hero, Chace, was one I could really fall in love with. I suppose he's an alpha male in that he's really is protective of Faye, and he takes a lot upon himself. The weight of the world in a lot of ways. But he's more, in my opinion, a traditional alpha male because he's not super bossy and the way he interacts with Faye was more respectful than some of the other heroes from this series, He was more likable and I enjoyed the romance a lot more because it felt more realistic than some alpha romances. Chace wasn't the sort of man to put with anything he saw and knew to be wrong, he'd spent a lot of time correcting the part he played in the corruption of the local police unit, and paid some heavy prices as a result, But I liked that he didn't let that bled into what he had with Faye.

Faye was a fun character. She was a sci fi/fantasy geek and I loved all the references she had throughout the novel to some really great and fringey TV series. Hats off to Kristen Ashley for knowing cool TV. It made Faye an endearing character, and I liked that even though she was shy, maybe even sheltered that she was also fierce. She wasn't afraid to try and take on Chace's "dark" and she wasn't afraid to stand up to him and let him know that a real relationship wasn't one in which one person calls all the shots and hides their thoughts. She was a romantic, but she was fierce.

I have no idea what to expect from the next book, but I'm thinking it'll be entertaining, just as every other book in this series has been.

Happy Reading,

Jewels