Tuesday's Book Review

"Death at Glamis Castle" is another Victorian mystery by Robin Paige. The premise is that the heir to King Edward of England is alive and well and stowed away at this castle BUT the German's have found out. It is just before WWI and they are trying to destroy England and the monarchy. As always I enjoyed reading this series.

The whole time I read this book I thought of Chad Cox, one of our daughters' friends from High School and his 'Mama' jokes. This book was a purchase on my Kindle and well worth it. I laughed and rolled my eyes at the prim 'Mama' and her 3 daughters who run the gamut from prissy, to bossy, to tomboy but all are grown up and in established in their careers. The premise of the story is Mama found a dead body in her trunk at the Dairy Queen. She has no idea who it is or where it came from. Everyone knows she is innocent because she has taught Sunday School to the whole town - and they tell the new police detective that very thing.

This was free download on my Kindle and a bit of a surprise. The protagonist was a twin but a twin that had died in childbirth. She was connected to her living twin, so she had an omniscient point of view of her life and that of her siblings and mothers. Very unusual slant. There was some descriptive language I could have done without but other than that I really enjoyed the book. Oh and the title - the mother LOVED Elvis Presley and sent flowers to his house every afternoon.

This was a free download on my Kindle. It was very predictable. This was a free download on my Kindle. It is a young adult book about high school angst and the drama that goes with High School girls - put them in a situation where they are living together because they have been thrown together and you get quite a drama filled book. It was a quick read and just the perfect length. Much longer and I would have lost interest and quit.

I love Lisa Wingate but for some reason this is my least favorite series she has done. However of the books in this series so far - this is my favorite.

Tuesday Book Review

"Death at Dartmoor Place" is a Victorian mystery with Kate and Charles Sherridan. This one stars Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as the historical figure. It was fun as always. I haven't been reading as much this week - at least fiction and 'pleasure' reading. I have been boning up on LDS Church history and reading the Doctrine and Covenants getting ready to teach early morning seminary for our teenaged youth this fall. I will probably have more books next week but maybe not.

This is another Victorian mystery starring Kate and Charles Sherridan. As always it was delightful. The subject matter is doping horses at the turn of the 20th century. Very interesting.

This is the latest Meg Langlsow mystery. Meg is pregnant with twins. Her house is filled with college students because the heating system at the college is down and it is one of the coldest winters that Virginia has experienced in years. Of course the murder happens right in her home just days before her delivery. I love these mysteries because they are light, fun and laugh out loud adventures. We will have to wait for the next book to see what is delivered though.

Tuesday's Book Review

"The Man Who Loved Jane Austen" was by far my favorite read of the week. Imagine if Fitzwilliam Darcy was really a love of Jane Austen's? To make a more dramatic twist to it, imagine that he was an American from Virginia and that is why they have never found him in England. But it gets better. You have to read the book to find the letter that started it all. This was a free download on my Kindle but I would happily have the hard cover of this in my library. I highly recommend this book. The ending was a bit of a surprise but then it dawned on me - if I had been holding a book - I would have known a the end was coming. On my Kindle, unless I am watching the percentage bar, I never know where I am. So when the book suddenly ended I was shocked. That was my fault though for being so engrossed.

"Lucy's Perfect Summer" was a free download that I actually downloaded before I went to Texas. Carlye loves these books (as well she should, Lucy is only a couple of years older than Carlye). Lucy lives and breathes soccer but her father thinks she needs more in her life. So he has her school teacher tutoring her and their Hispanic maid giving her Bible instruction. This books Bible story was Esther and from this inspiring story, Lucy learned how to overcome a bully and make a soccer camp fun again. It was an inspiring story and though it is aimed at pre-teen girls, I highly recommend that we all take a peek at Lucy. We will learn a lot about tolerance and family devotion.

"Death at Whitechapel" by Robin Paige is the another Victorian Novel of Kate and Charles Sherridan. This time the historical figures were Winston Churchill and his mother. It was a mystery of the Jack the Ripper puzzle and for such a grizzly subject matter a very fascinating book. I ended up doing a bit of research on it and found their insights very plausible. As always I recommend this book (and the other Robin Paige books).

"Beachcombers" a sweet story of 4 women in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Three of the women are sisters and one is a tenant that ends up dating their widower father. I really enjoyed the book. The review said that it was hard to keep track in the book because each chapter was written about one of the women (it kind of rotated through and told their individual point of view and story). I enjoyed that little twist and did not find it hard to keep track of the four stories. I really enjoyed this story, especially since it takes place not far from where I live.

I have decided Orson Scott Card and I are just not a good fit. My son-in-law and my husband love his "Ender's Game" series. I have read many of his books and I end up reading them through because of book group but I would never pick them up for my enjoyment. Other people consider him their favorite author so don't go by me on this.

"Gone to Green" was a free download on my Kindle. Am I glad I read it. It was a delightful book about a woman that inherited a small town Louisiana newspaper from a friend and had to keep it a year. It was a wonderful story about as she stretched and found out what she could do and who she really was. I highly recommend it and look forward to reading the sequel.

An Update On My Life

This has been an interesting week. Last Sunday, I was minding my business after Church, fixing the meal for the military, when Al Magelby, the Second Counselor in the bishopric asked to speak to me. He called me to be the Seminary teacher. It blew me out of the water. I usually have an inkling of my Church callings - at least that I am getting one! This one really blindsided me. I have stewed all week about it, fretting I am not up for the calling. Today I was sustained and set apart. As Clyde set me apart, I was told that I have been prepared to teach these youth. The way it was worded made me realize that the Lord wants me here - now - for these young people. It is not a call of despearation as I have been teasing about it being but truly a call of inspiration. So this year I will be doing something that I do truly love. I will be teaching our youth about Church History. I must admit that I have some amazing young people - so in that respect, I am truly blessed. Plus I have a husband whose support is amazing. He has as strong a testimony of seminary as I do.

Another interesting thing happened this weekend. My right rotator cuff in my right shoulder is messed up. I know! Don't ask me how I do these things to myself - they just happen! Anyway I was in agony as I was doing my shift at the temple Friday night because between my knee and my shoulder, I hurt plenty. When we got home, Clyde prayed that I would sleep well and feel better the next day. Our stake had a big Relief Society Temple day the next day and he and I were a very necessary part of it. The next morning he again prayed that I would have the stamina I needed and be pain free. The temple was fun because it was so full of sisters that Clyde and I got to sit beside each other through the session (we held hands the whole time!). We helped in the baptistry and helped some of the sisters in our ward that had never been before. We had a great day. As I was leaving, I said good by to one of the assistand recorders. He looked at me and was surprised. He said, "You are not grimacing or limping. In fact you look like your old happy self." As he said that I realized I had been pain free all day. I was truly blessed. It had been a wonderful day in the temple.

Tuesday's Book Review

"The Peacegiver" is a book that explains the Atonement in a very simple and straight forward way. It is beautifully written and easy to read. I highly recommend it. It is available on the Kindle as well as audio book and hard copy. This is an LDS author that makes a complicated topic something each of us can comprehend. I loved it because he used Abigail from the Bible as one of the examples. We have a very special Abigail in our life. I hope she grows up as gracious and as much an example of the Atonement and pure love of Christ as the original. She seems to be starting out that way.

This was a book that I could not even finish. It was a free download on my Kindle but it was so full of teenage angst, I just didn't have the patience to read it. It might just be a perfect book for someone else but for me right now, it was not what I wanted to read.

"Forevermore" is a book that I can highly recommend. This was my favorite book of the week. It is about a woman named Hope that travels around in the late 1800's and helps during the harvests to feed the workers. It was a beautifully written story. This was free download on my Kindle but I look forward to reading more from Cathy Marie Hake.

"Death at Devil's Bridge" is another in the series by Robin Paige. It is a wonderful read and just what I expected from these authors (This is Susan Albert Wittig and her husband). I thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it and the series. This book stands alone or you can start from the the beginning with the first one of the series.

"The Goddess of Fried Okra" was a free download onto my Kindle. It was an interesting book about a young woman looking for her sister, but her sister is dead. She is looking for her reincarnated sister. It is an interesting journey to finding a home. I recommend this book, it is slow sometimes but for the most part it is a great book.

I borrowed this from the library and found a few recipes. I can't recommend buying it. After I had it a few days, I realized I was RENTING it from the library at 25 cents a day. It cost me $2 to read this book!

Tuesday's Book Review

"Falling Out of Fashion" was a free download on my Kindle. There was some language but it was a delightful read. Some people compared it to "The Devil Wears Prada" but I like this one better. It was about a woman that started a magazine for young women that was edgy and really not for everyone. A big company bought her out and wanted to make her into Vogue. This is not Jill's intent but she doesn't have a choice - or does she? I recommend this book.

"Girl at Sea" was good but irritating to me. It was about a 17 year old girl, Clio, that did nothing but complain and push against the rules. It occurred to me at the end of the book that reason it irritated me is because in many ways she reminded me of me at that age and I am not proud of who I was at 17. In many ways I was a royal brat. This young girl was an only child and I was not, and I did not drink and was not promiscuous but as far as being mouthy and rebellious, it pretty much was me. Not a pretty reminder. I do recommend the book. It was a great read.

I hate it when this happens but I had already read this book. Oh well, it was fun to read it again. I like Julie Garwood and I needed a diversion.

"A Love to Last Forever" is the second in the "Brides of Gallatin County Series. It was a fun book but it was a good thing I had the third book because I literally laid this book down and picked up the next one. I highly recommend this series

The third book in series of the "Brides of Gallatin County" books "A Dream to Call My Own" finishes up the series nicely. Carianne, thank you for loaning me these books. Now they are the making rounds here. I will return them when I come back.