"Christmas Roses," by Amanda Cabot

"Christmas Roses," by Amanda Cabot

Celia Anderson doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a traveling carpenter finds lodging at her boardinghouse, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle, though, to find roses during a harsh Wyoming winter.

But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .

First let me say the link above is too an e-book, I read the hardcover book.  This is a book you should be able to read in an afternoon or two.  It's a feel good Christmas book, with no real surprises; well there was one.  It's a book that will make you feel good about life and it wants you to know that things do happen for a reason.  Also good things do happen to good people.

Stars out of 5: 4.5  The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because of the price of the book.  It is $14.99, granted it is a hard cover book, but I think it was a little expensive.  However I would recommend that you do order it from the library, as it is well worth the read, or if money isn't a worry buy it, as it is a good 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".

"The Christmas Pearl," by Dorothea Benton Frank

"The Christmas Pearl," by Dorothea Benton Frank

"Theodora is the matriarch of a family that has grown into a bunch of truculent knuckleheads. While she's finally gotten them all together in South Carolina to celebrate, this Christmas looks nothing like the extravagant, homey holidays of her childhood.

What happened to the days when Christmas meant tables groaning with home-cooked goodies, over-the-top decorations, and long chats in front of the fire with Pearl, her grandmother's beloved housekeeper and closest confidante?

Luckily for Theodora, a special someone who heard her plea for help arrives, with pockets full of enough Gullah magic and common sense to make Theodora's Christmas the love-filled miracle it's meant to be."

I am a huge fan of this author, mainly because her books are set in South Carolina, and I love South Carolina as much as Tennessee.  

This is one of those feel good books where it starts out with troubles and people disliking one another and ending with everyone being every one's best friend.  It's an easy book to read with honestly no real surprises, but because it's set at Christmas and because you cannot help but fall in love with Theodora it's really an enjoyable book.

Add to the mix that there a lot of recipes at the back of the book what more could you ask for.

Stars out of 5 : 3.5  At only 154 pages long an ideal book to read when you are sitting in a waiting room in a doctors office.

"Busy Body," by M. C. Beaton

"Busy Body," by M. C. Beaton

Agatha Raisin has never been one for enforced holiday cheer, but her friendly little village of Carsely has always prided itself on its traditional Christmas festivities. But this year the bells will not be ringing out Silent Night as Mr John Sunday, an officer with the Cotswold Health and Safety Board, has chosen Christmas as the time to crack down what he sees as gross misconduct by every man, woman, and child in the vicinity.

The village shop is told it can no longer have wooden shelves which have been there since the time of Queen Victoria 'in case someone is inflicted with a splinter.' The village school is ordered to leave lights on at night 'to prevent unauthorized intruders from tripping in the dark.' And children are warned to not play with 'counterfeit banknotes' after passing around toy money in the playground.

But finally Mr Sunday goes too far when he rules that there cannot be a Christmas tree atop the church tower this year. Soon after the decree and just before Christmas, Agatha is sipping a cup of tea and trying to stay awake as minute by minute of the Carsely Ladies Society meeting at the vicarage drones on when a sudden scream wakes her from her stupor. The ladies rush out of the building and into the garden to find Sunday lying face down in the petunias, very much dead. Agatha is instantly on the case, but with so many people having threatened the life of the victim, it's almost impossible to know where to start!

I actually read this book before "The Potted Gardener," and as this is the 21st book in the series, things had gone forward from the 3rd book.  I enjoyed this book as it was one of those books where you say "it could only happen in a country village."  The characters are so true to life and if you live in a small village you probably know one or two of them first hand.

The story keeps up a good pace and you are left guessing as to who did what and when.  It also proves what a small world it is.......you have to read the book to see what I mean by that.

Stars out of 5 : 4 fun book, easy read and it will keep you entertained....oh and Agatha still seems to be a grumpy old thing!!!

"The Potted Gardener," by M. C. Beaton

"The Potted Gardener," by M. C. Beaton

Agatha goes digging where she shouldn't...

Agatha is taken aback when she finds a new woman ensconced in the affections of her attractive bachelor neighbour, James Lacey. The beautiful Mary Fortune is superior in every way, especially when it comes to gardening - and with Carsely Garden Open Day looming, Agatha feels this deficiency acutely.

So when Mary is discovered murdered, buried upside down in a pot, Agatha seizes the moment and immediately starts yanking up village secrets by their roots and digging the dirt on the hapless victim. But Agatha has an awkward secret too . . .

This is the third in the Agatha Raisin series, which I have only discovered now!!  I think it would be a help if you read them in order, but not totally necessary.  Wasn't sure if I was keen on old Agatha, as she seems to be a grumpy old thing, despite only being in her 50's.  For those of you who enjoy the television series "Murder She Wrote," this is an English version.

Agatha's awkward secret is amusing to say the least and there is plenty of village action and trying to figure who did it will keep you guessing.  I never did guess. 

Stars out of 5 : 3.5 and easy read, nothing to taxing on the brain, very British.

"Empty Cradles," by Margaret Humphreys

"Empty Cradles," by Margaret Humphreys

Also published as Oranges and Sunshine.

In 1986 Margaret Humphreys, a Nottingham social worker, investigated a woman's claim that, aged four, she had been put on a boat to Australia by the British government. At first incredulous, Margaret discovered that this was just the tip of an enormous iceberg. Up to 150,000 children, some as young as three years old, had been deported from children's homes in Britain and shipped off to a 'new life' in distant parts of the Empire, right up until as recently as 1970.

Many were told that their parents were dead, and parents were told that their children had been adopted. In fact, for many children it was to be a life of horrendous physical and sexual abuse far away from everything they knew. Margaret and her team reunited thousands of families before it was too late, brought authorities to account, and worldwide attention to an outrageous miscarriage of justice.

I found out about this book via another blogger John D.  I read this book in a day as I couldn't put it down.  I not sure who I am most mad at the British Government, the Australian Government, or the various charities that were involved in this tragedy.  I was shocked at the attitude of all those in authority and how they tried to  sweep all of this under the carpet.

The BBC does not come out favourably in this book.  I still can't fathom how no one blew the whistle earlier on this. I cannot imagine how these poor children coped or survived the horrible living conditions and the abuse and even being told that they had no one left in the world that cared about them.  It just beggars belief.

I haven't seen either the movie "Oranges and Sunshine" or the television series "The Leaving of Liverpool."  Though I think it would be hard to watch I will see if I can borrow the movie from the library.

This is a book everyone should read as it heartbreaking to think this happened within our life time.

"A Home in Drayton Valley," by Kim Vogel Sawyer

"A Home in Drayton Valley," by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Hoping to escape the poor conditions of 1880 New York, Tarsie Raines and her friends Joss and Mary Brubacher and their two children set off for Kansas aboard an unusual wagon train. But when tragedy strikes on the trip across the prairie, Tarsie is thrown into a partnership with Joss that leaves them both questioning God and their plans for the future.

As their funds dwindle and nothing goes as planned, will they give up and go their separate ways? Or will God use their time in Drayton Valley in a way they never expected?
Loved this book.  It was a lovely book of courage, resilience and how love will win out in the end.  The main characters Tarsie and Joss were portrayed just how you would think they would be.  It again shows how despite being segregated  both coloured and white folks could get on with one another.  It also shows you if you truly believe in God he will look after you.

It also showed you resourceful people were in that day and age; and how they made do with very, very little.  Even how the children could entertain themselves for hours with only the basic of things, like sticks and stone.

Stars out of 5 : 4.5 really worth reading in my opinion.  Will make you grateful for what you have.

"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". 

"All Things New," by Lynn Austin

"All Things New," by Lynn Austin

The war is over. The South has lost.

Josephine Weatherly struggles to pick up the pieces of her life when her family returns to their Virginia plantation. But the realities of life after the war cannot be denied: her home and land are but a shell of their previous grandeur; death has claimed her father and brother; and her remaining brother, Daniel, has returned home bitter and broken.

Her life of privilege, a long-ago dream.

Josephine soon realizes that life is now a matter of daily survival--and recognizes that Lizzie, as one of the few remaining servants, is the one she must rely on to teach her all she needs to know. Josephine's mother, too, vows to rebuild White Oak--but a bitter hatred fuels her.

Can hope--and a battered faith in God--survive amid the devastation?

 

I love this time period in history and all things Southern.  This book brings home the fact that most people would prefer things to stay the same throughout their lives, but due to unforeseen circumstances things change and people have to change with them.  This book tells of the struggles of changes to lives and how some people adapt easily and others not.

 

It also shows how if you were brought up a certain way to think certain things that it can take longer to change the way you feel and see things.  It is a sad book but has the odd ray of hope in it.  It also shows that if you have faith in God anything is possible.

 

Stars out of 5: 3.5 I found it a bit depressing this book, but very interesting also in the way certain people thought in that area of the country.  It's not a bad read, but not very jovial.

 

"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".