"Truth Be Told," by Carol Cox

"Truth Be Told," by Carol Cox

When Amelia Wagner takes over her father's newspaper in 1893 Granite Springs, Arizona, she vows to carry on the paper's commitment to reporting only the truth. But Amelia soon learns that even the truth can have serious consequences. Her father's revealing articles about the Great Western Investment Company have caught the attention of the wrong people, and pressure mounts for Amelia to retract her father's statements.

Determined to find out the real story, Amelia begins her own investigation. She's joined by Benjamin Stone, a Great Western employee who's been assigned to keep tabs on her for the good of the company, a man Amelia finds both perplexing and intriguing.

What they uncover stuns them both--and has far-reaching implications for not only Ben and Amelia but all of Granite Springs. Can they reveal the truth before the enemy finds a way to silence them for good?

This book is a light hearted read that doesn't take much out of you.  Amelia is a go getter and not your usual demure woman of the late 1800's.  Ben is a match for her and between them they make a perfect pair.  There is a little mystery involved in this book, but it's pretty straight forward working out who is who, and what is what.  

Will I remember this book in a month or two; probably not, but it was an enjoyable book to read.  It was one of my books I can read and carry on thinking about other things, type of books!

Stars out of 5 : 4 A good book to while away a few hours and you get to learn a little something about early newspaper publishing.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"A Complicated Kindness," by Miriam Toews

"A Complicated Kindness," by Miriam Toews

Sixteen-year-old Nomi Nickel longs to hang out with Lou Reed and Marianne Faithfull in New York City’s East Village. Instead she’s trapped in East Village, Manitoba, a small town whose population is Mennonite: “the most embarrassing sub-sect of people to belong to if you’re a teenager.” East Village is a town with no train and no bar whose job prospects consist of slaughtering chickens at the Happy Family Farms abattoir or churning butter for tourists at the pioneer village. Ministered with an iron fist by Nomi’s uncle Hans, a.k.a. The Mouth of Darkness, East Village is a town that’s tall on rules and short on fun: no dancing, drinking, rock ’n’ roll, recreational sex, swimming, make-up, jewellery, playing pool, going to cities or staying up past nine o’clock.

As the novel begins, Nomi struggles to cope with the back-to-back departures three years earlier of Tash, her beautiful and mouthy sister, and Trudie, her warm and spirited mother. She lives with her father, Ray, a sweet yet hapless schoolteacher whose love is unconditional but whose parenting skills amount to benign neglect. Father and daughter deal with their losses in very different ways. Ray, a committed elder of the church, seeks to create an artificial sense of order by reorganizing the city dump late at night. Nomi, on the other hand, favours chaos as she tries to blunt her pain through “drugs and imagination.” Together they live in a limbo of unanswered questions.

Nomi’s first person narrative shifts effortlessly between the present and the past. Within the present, Nomi goes through the motions of finishing high school while flagrantly rebelling against Mennonite tradition. She hangs out on Suicide Hill, hooks up with a boy named Travis, goes on the Pill, wanders around town, skips class and cranks Led Zeppelin. But the past is never far from her mind as she remembers happy times with her mother and sister — as well as the painful events that led them to flee town. Throughout, in a voice both defiant and vulnerable, she offers hilarious and heartbreaking reflections on life, death, family, faith and love.

Eventually Nomi’s grief — and a growing sense of hypocrisy — cause her to spiral ever downward to a climax that seems at once startling and inevitable. But even when one more loss is heaped on her piles of losses, Nomi maintains hope and finds the imagination and willingness to envision what lies beyond.

I read this book as it is August's choice for our book club.  If I love a book I normally read it in a day or so, this one took me a week.  That's not to say I hated it, I just found it a tad drawn out.  There were moments where I laughed out loud, but overall it was pretty depressing.

By the last few chapters you begin to wonder if Nomi will actually live.  You don't know right away why her mother and her sister left, but as the book progresses it becomes obvious why.  Nomi's one more loss comes as a surprise and not something I would have guessed.  

I found the ending strange and felt there was more to tell of this story.

Stars out of 5 : 3 Nomi talks to fast......I know I can read the book as slow as I want...LOL  You do get caught up with the narrative and you can imagine Nomi's character no problem at all.  If you like books about teenage angst, this is the one for you.  Me.....not so much.

"Full Steam Ahead," by Karen Witemeyer

"Full Steam Ahead," by Karen Witemeyer

When love simmers between a reclusive scientist and a wealthy debutante, will they abandon ship or is it full steam ahead?

Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston, Texas, to find her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, Nicole's father has always focused on what she's not. Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping.

Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father's rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole's plans.

After a boiler explosion aboard the Louisiana nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world.

Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How can she acquire an heir for her father when her heart belongs to another? And when her father's rivals discover her hiding place, will she have to choose between that love and her family's legacy?

If you are looking for a book to read that is as light hearted as the cover picture, this book is for you.  From the sparks that fly between Nicole and Darius right from the beginning, you know it's not going to be a straight forward attraction/courtship. The ups and downs that they go through make the story all that more interesting.

I am a big fan of Karen Witemeyer and this book doesn't disappoint.  Make sure you do read the Note to the Reader at the end, as that confirms a few interesting points that were brought up in the book about steamships.  Again I am a fan of all things history so this appealed to me.

Stars out of 5 : 4.5 A good book to pick up when you want a light hearted read.  You may not be a fan of mechanical things but this book was interesting without getting overly technical and boring you all.  I thought the cover portrayed the characters to a tee and the way that Karen writes her books she brings them to life.  If I had to explain the character Nicole in a couple of words I would say "Fire Cracker," and Darius, "Dark & Moody!!"

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Love Comes Home," by Ann H. Gabhart

"Love Comes Home," by Ann H. Gabhart

When the flush of victory fades, there remains a winding road to an uncertain future.
World War II is finally over and the people of Rosey Corner are joyfully welcoming the boys home. The Merritt sisters in particular are looking toward the future. Kate is eager to start a family and live out her dream of happily ever after with Jay. Evangeline craves a beautiful house and encourages Mike to pastor a big-town church. Victoria wants what can never be. And Lorena is growing up and wondering more and more about her birth family.

Each sister must learn to hold her plans with a loose hand, trusting that God will guide and strengthen them as they share the joys and sorrows of life in their little corner of the world.

I have this love/hate relationship with Ann Gabhart's novels.  I always find them so difficult to sink my teeth into, but as long as I persevere I am usually rewarded with a fulfilling book to read.  This one was no different from the rest, took a while to get hooked, but once hooked didn't want to put it down.

It is a book where you will need a tissue to wipe away a tear or two as you are sucked into the Merritt sister's lives.  I don't feel it is necessary to read Ann's prior books about Rosey Corner as you will be able to figure out what is going on.  I think of all the sister's it was Victoria's story that interested and captured me the most.

Stars out of 5 : 4 I just wish Ann's stories were easier to get involved with from the get go.  I find it hard work when I start reading a book by her and I'm not sure why.  I would be interested to see if anyone else has this issue?  I don't think the story of the Merritt sister's has ended I hope Ann will continue on with their lives in another book?

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Captured By Love," by Jody Hedlund

"Captured By Love," by Jody Hedlund

The British Army has taken control of Michilimackinac Island and its fort, forcing the Americans to swear an oath of loyalty to the crown in order to retain their land. Pierre Durant is a fur trader who returns after being away from the island for years, only to find the family farm a shambles and those he cares about starving and at the mercy of British invaders.

Torn between the adventurous life of fur trading and guilt over neglecting his defenseless mother, Pierre is drawn deeper into the fight against the British--and into a relationship with Angelique MacKenzie, a childhood friend who's grown into a beautiful woman. She now finds herself trapped by the circumstances of war and poverty, and the cruelty of her guardian, Ebenezer Whiley.

As tensions mount and the violence rages on, Pierre and Angelique must decide where their loyalties rest and how much they'll risk for love.

This book was a bit of a slow start for me; it took a few chapters for me to get engrossed in the story.  When I did I thought it was a good book.  The tension between the main character's Pierre and Angelique was well written and you could envision the sparks flying between them.

I personally don't know much of the history between the British and the Americans in the early 1800's so that too was interesting to me.  One part of the book did confuse me and that was the character Lavinia.  She seemed a pointless part to the story and her taking Angelique under her wing didn't fit in with the story I thought.

Stars out of 5 : 3.5 It was an okay book, but a bit of a slow start.  I will say you must read the author's note at the end as that is very interesting.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"The Chalk Girl," by Carol O'Connell

"The Chalk Girl," by Carol O'Connell

The eight-year-old girl appeared in New York’s Central Park one day: red-haired, blue-eyed, dirty-faced, smiling widely. She looked perfect, like a porcelain fairy—except for the blood on her shoulders. It fell from the sky, she told the police. It happened while she was looking for her Uncle Red, who had turned into a tree. Right, they thought, poor child. And then they found the body in the tree.

For Mallory, newly returned to the Special Crimes Unit after three months’ lost time, spent she will not say where, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, dangerously unstable, but she can tell a kindred spirit when she sees one. And this one will ultimately lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes, to murders stretching back fifteen years, to blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that perhaps only someone with Mallory’s history could fully recognize. In the next few weeks, she will deal with them all…in her own way.

This is the July pick for the new book club I have joined and what book.  It is one of those books you don't want to put down as you HAVE to know what is going to happen next.  I would describe this book like an onion as there are so many layers to it, and you have to peel one layer away to discover what is going to happen next.

Now as this is the first time I have read a book by this author I am not sure if I should have read her other books which include the Mallory character first to get a better understanding of her?  I am thinking not, but do feel I will read her other books as I like the way she writes.

It isn't a hard to figure out "who done it," type of book, but it is hard to narrow down the exact "why?"  I do hope I never come across this delightful cast of characters in real life though!!  I did learn something new, as prior to this book I had never heard of "Williams Syndrome."

Stars out of 5 : 4.5  You really need to concentrate when reading this book, especially at the start when the author starts introducing new "players" into the story.  Also at the beginning of each chapter there is a paragraph in italics by Ernest Nadler, pay attention to that, as that plays into the story.  It took me a while to click what that was all about and had went back to re-read those.  I would really recommend you all reading this book.

"A Woman of Fortune," by Kellie Coates Gilbert

"A Woman of Fortune," by Kellie Coates Gilbert

You never know what you're really made of until you lose everything.
Texas socialite Claire Massey is living the dream--designer clothes, luxury cars, stunning homes. But everything comes crashing down when her charming cattle broker husband is arrested for fraud. Suddenly she finds herself facing attorneys, a media frenzy, and a trail of broken hearts. Betrayed and humiliated, Claire must face incredible odds to save her family--and discover a life worth living.

I really enjoyed this book, it was one of those books where you had to see what happens next.  It was also a book where one minute life is going along at a great pace then all of a sudden it all comes to a stop and everything is taken away from you and you have to re-group and start afresh.

I loved the author's take on this "crisis" that affects all the family and we see it from the family of the fraudster's point of view.  We also see how fickle and devious people who surround them are and who their true friends are.

One of the things I found really interesting was the emotions that Claire went through regarding her marriage.  It made you think I wonder what I would do if that happened to me.  I would like to think I would make the same choice as Claire did.  It also questions how strong they were as a family unit;  as they say blood is thicker than water.

Stars out of 5 : 5 and a solid 5 at that.  This book is not only entertaining to read it also brings up the questions as to what would you do in the same situation.  It also brings up the point, never believe everything you read in the media.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".