Language of Flowers

Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh adult fiction This book was disturbing, but I couldn't put it down. The main character is an 18 year old who has been shuffled from family to family her whole life. She finally is placed with a woman who is good to her and teaches her all about vineyards, grapes, vegetables, and flowers. By this time, however, Victoria has learned not to trust anyone and pus

hes everyone away. She ultimately leaves and becomes homeless. The one redeeming quality she has is her knowledge of flowers that her foster mother taught her. Is it enough to survive? Victoria is definitely "damaged goods". She makes some VERY poor decisions. Can she find redemption and make amends with those who have come to be fond of her? Intertwined in the plot is the Victorian Language of Flowers. For example, giving a person Calla lilies shows modesty. Fennel shows strength. A great appendix in the back serves as a reference. http://aboutflowers.com/images/stories/Florist/languageofflowers-flowerdictionary.pdf

Fairy Godmother

Fairy Godmother
by
Mercedes Lackey
adult fantasy fiction
http://www.mercedeslackey.com/biblio_series.html
Book 1 in the 500 Kingdoms Series

Everyone knows the Cinderella story, but what if Cinderella's Prince never came? I guess she had better find an apprenticeship for herself.

Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey adult fantasy/romance This is #5 in the 500 Kingdoms Series 1.The Fairy Godmother (2004) 2.One Good Knight (2006) 3.Fortune's Fool (2007) 4.The Snow Queen (2008) 5.The Sleeping Beauty (2010) 6.Beauty and the Werewolf (June[17] 2011)

The tale starts off with a princess whose mother has died. Then it moves into Sleeping Beauty and Snow White mode. The princess flees to the woods and finds 7 dwarves. Later, she falls asleep due to poison and has to be resurrected by magic. A number of homeless, penniless princes woo her, hoping to be next in line to the throne of her wealthy kingdom. Throw in some Norse mythology, a few heroic challenges, and there is big fun! I recommend this series to women and their teenage daughters looking for a lighthearted read. The romance is mild and gentle. Generally there are longing looks and that is about it - not even kissing until the end. Some men and teen boys may find the adventure and fantasy appealing as well. The publisher is Luna Books, a division of Harlequin.

Going Underground

Going Underground
by
Susan Vaught
young adult contemporary fiction

I might not be the most up to date on what teenagers are up to these days, but Susan Vaught is. I would not have even thought of the plot of this story. A 14 year old and his 13 year old girlfriend are understandably curious about sex. They engage in some petting and they take photographs of themselves naked. They then send the pictures over their cellular telephones to each other - sexting.
Because of a wrinkle in a state law, even though the children are close in age, the boy is charged with rape, and producing and distributing child pornography. He will also be labelled a sex offender for the rest of his life. He is not allowed to socialize with children and a number of other restrictions. Everything about his future seems to be restricted. The only adult that even gives him a chance is a drunken cemetery keeper!
The book certainly brings up a number of ethical questions about the way that well meaning representatives may pass laws that don't work out the way they intended.
I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to a 13 year old, but others might. I recommend that this book be on a college reading list for an ethics or law class. It also could be the subject of an adult book discussion or for a reading circle for parents of teenagers, especially if those parents, like I, have never given the idea of sexting a thought.

Wither: The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Wither: The Chemical Garden Trilogy
by
Lauren DeStefano
young adult/adult science fiction/romance

Sixteen year old Rhine lives in a society after a great catastrophe. Scientists had figured out how to engineer embryos to live long lives and be perfect human beings, but something went dreadfully wrong and now women only live to be 20 and men only live to be 25. In addition, the world's land has been wiped out except for the U.S.A.
Rhine is living a meager existence with her brother when she is kidnapped and forced to marry a rich architect. Will Rhine resign herself to a life of relative luxury, but with a lack of freedom or will she try to escape?
This story is well told and suspenseful, but the science behind it is definitely lacking. There is some kind of mention of a virus causing people to die, but this doesn't make sense. Is it genetic or a virus? Also, it doesn't make sense that the world except the U. S. A. would be underwater. Elevations of land vary greatly across the globe. As far as I know North America is not the highest continent above sea level.
If we suspend the science part, this is a good tragic romance, teen angst tale. I am waiting for the 2nd and 3rd books to come out since a lot of things are left unresolved at the end of book 1.
The cover and interior design are clever - alluding to genetic tables with the headers, footers, and chapter marks.
The title of the series isn't very appealing. Who came up with "Chemical Garden Trilogy"?

Military Daddy

Military Daddy
(Heartwarming Inspirational Romance: Love Inspired (by Steeple Hill))
by
Patricia Davids
adult Christian romance

A one night stand by a recovering (relapsing)alcoholic and a career military man leads to a pregnancy. Do Annie and Shane want to see if they can succeed as a couple or should he just leave for his next duty station in Germany and forget about Annie and the baby?
I found it interesting that Annie professes to be a Christian, but the author has not made Annie a stereotype. Annie is a struggling Christian and a struggling alcoholic/recovering alcoholic. Shane is an honorable man, but not a Christian. This book does not dwell in black and white situations, but in real to life morals. This is no Grace Livingston Hill type of romance, but a contemporary romance.
The setting is an unusual one. The author has the military man as part of a reenactment group out of Fort Riley, Kansas: The General's Mounted Color Guard. Another twist is that Annie's pregnancy has a rare complication that may lead to a miscarriage or birth defect. I would rate this book as better than the average pocket size Inspirational Romance.

Masquerade

Masquerade
by
Nancy Moser
adult Christian romance fiction

A young woman from a respectable Victorian family must leave England, as her father has lost the family's money and a suitor from New York has agreed to court her. Charlotte wants more out of life than a boring marriage, though. So she and her maid switch identities as they disembark in NYC. Can she and her maid be true to their own personalities even though they are in disguise? Will they find the love they desire? Does wealth buy happiness?
This is a pleasant but unoriginal plot. If you are looking for a quick, but forgettable read, then try this book.
P. S. I think this is an unfortunate title that can be confused with many other books with the same title. Three hundred three titles with the word "masquerade" show up in my library's catalog.

Silent Pursuit

Silent Pursuit
by
Lynette Eason
Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense Riveting Inspirational Romance, November 2009
Steeple Hill is a division of Harlequin
Amazon.com lists this as one in a trilogy, but it is a fine read-alone book.
(High Stakes Trilogy, Book 3) (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense #172)
1 Silent Terror
2 Silent Fury
3 Silent Pursuit

I guess this series title shows that there is a Harlequin romance for every reader. What do we have here?
1) Romance
2) Inspirational
3) Intrigue
4) Suspense

For more than 60 years Harlequin has had a strong presence in the book market.
I picked up this title for a quick read, not expecting much but to pass the time.
I was pleasantly surprised by the content. In this story, Gina is running from people who killed her fiance. She has to trust someone, so she leans on his ex-Army Ranger buddy, Ian. Obviously a romance is in the works for them, but I this title is very light on the romance and inspiration and heavy on the running-around-dodging-bullets part of the plot. Although intended for a female audience, this Harlequin can be shared with the male partners of readers or teenage daughters as well for light summer or airplane reading.
The references to God are limited to some desperate prayers and saying that a dead Christian is in Heaven. The romance is limited to hugging and a kiss or two.
Another surprise was finding a reading and discussion guide in the back as well as an author's note.
I will get on hold at my library for #1 and #2 in this series, but this book can stand alone. I did not realize it was part of a trilogy and it was not confusing that it was #3.

Bring on the Blessings

Bring on the Blessings
by
Beverly Jenkins
African American contemporary fiction

I don't generally read African American contemporary fiction, but I read that this book featured a historical town in Kansas founded by African Americans. I enjoy getting my history lessons in fiction rather than nonfiction books, so I figured this would be a more palatable way to find out about African Americans during Reconstruction.
I thought that this would also be Christian fiction and it is - sort of. Most of the people are churchgoers or at least believe in God, but this is not a right-leaning book. These are more realistic Christians. Christians with real problems and who are not so holier-than-thou -ones that might sleep around a little before a church wedding, but whose hearts are in the right place. God/Jesus/Holy Spirit are all referred to in vague ways. At one point the main character says a prayer to The Sister in the Sky. I am not so sure if this is referring to God as a male and female figure or the Blessed Virgin Mary. Two characters are descendants of Black Seminole, so maybe they are talking about a Native American spirituality. I would call this more inspirational or spiritual fiction than Christian fiction.
Here is the plot - Bernadine Brown, age 52, has come into money in a divorce. When we say money, this means a LOT of money. She prays about what do with her life and with the money. She sees an advertisement to purchase an entire historic town. The residents pray that she can bring back the sense of pride and community that this town has lost along with its population and its businesses.
Bernadine has a plan. This will be a town where the citizens welcome foster children. It will be a place of hope for everyone. Bernadine uses her contacts and her experience as a social worker to make big changes. She has some opposition, but most people are cheering for her.
It was a well written book, but I can tell that I was not the target audience. I am not sure what all of the street lingo, jargon, and contemporary African American phrases meant. One teenager nicknames a boy and I have no idea what the nickname was referring to.
Even though I did not catch all of the references, I recognize that Jenkins has created a rich world of multi-dimensional characters. In the epilogue she says that there are at least two other books of hers which incorporated her fictionalized town in Kansas. I can see that she would have fans that would like to continue to read about her world.
I would recommend that public libraries with medium to large populations of African American readers add this book, and the series, to their collections.

Restless Hearts

Restless Hearts
by Marta Perry

Love Inspired
Steeple Hill
a division of Harlequin Books

Adult Christian/inspirational romance

This is a pleasant book set in contemporary Amish country Pennsylvania. A woman whose mother was ex-Amish comes to Pennsylvania to take a job as a midwife. She encounters a policeman who is ex-Amish. A romance ensues. I found this book to be much better than the average Harlequin paperback.

Sixteen Brides

Sixteen Brides
by
Stephanie Grace Whitson
adult
Christian Romance Fiction

Sixteen young women, one mother, and one son go west with the hopes of homesteading in Nebraska. They figure that they are hard workers and together they can claim at least a few homesteads. Once they arrive they discover that the man who arranged this was not entirely honest. He had promised the male homesteaders already on the land that these were BRIDES for them! Half of the ladies figure, why not marry? and marry right away. The others try to stick with the original plan. Either way they will be instrumental in shaping the county development.
The story focuses on five of these women and their growth as homesteaders.
This is not the best nor the worst Christian western romance I have read. It is a fairly good light read. I was slightly disappointed in the end because there were a number of unanswered questions and untold stories. This might mean that this could be #1 in a trilogy or series with more than 3 books. There is plenty more that the author could say about Plum Grove, Nebraska.

Painted Dresses

Painted Dresses
by
Patricia Hickman
by
Waterbrook Press
adult fiction, romance, travel, Christian fiction

The wild sister and the tame sister take off on a road trip to visit relatives and find out the truth about their now deceased parents and their incarcerated half brother. They find out about themselves and the past. Can they get on with life once these questions are answered? This book starts in North Carolina, but tours through the Southern states.

Family in His Heart

Family in His Heart
by
Gail Gaymer Martin
Love Inspired
Inspirational Romance by Steeple Hill - the January 2008 selection
adult romance fiction

I understand that this is a mass produced paperback romance novel, so my hopes were not very high, but this book is LAME! I think the author took a formula, inserted some names and a setting and called it a book. The plot is reminiscent of the mass produced Grace Livingston Hill books of yesteryear. Here is a typical Hill plot: Man is a hard working Christian. Woman is also hard working but not saved. There is usually a little old lady (sometimes a Scottish immigrant) that can guide the unsaved soul to salvation. Some others help her along the way as well. By the end some bad guy has been vanquished and the unsaved member of the couple has come to salvation. They kiss and marry.
That is pretty much the plot of this one, too. In this case the little old lady is from Michigan. There the man has a troubled son. The bad guy is the woman's brother. The setting is the picturesque shores of Michigan.
If you want a good clean read this summer, look elsewhere.

Promise to Believe In

Promise to Believe In
by
Tracie Peterson
Adult Christian Fiction

The Gallatin girls (young women) are on their own in frontier Montana. Their mother died in childbirth when they were little. Their father, although not a participant, has been accidentally shot during the town's wild night of partying. A stranger rides into town one day causing trouble for the ladies - as if they don't have enough trouble trying to run a stagecoach stop/bed and breakfast without a man's protection. That is to say nothing of the saloon owner who has now brought prostitutes to the town!
Since the series is called "Brides of Gallatin County" we can guess that at least one of the three ladies will have a love interest and get married in the end. Since it is Christian fiction at least one character will come to Christ or come back to Christ. Yes. This is what happens.
The story is somewhat predictable but pleasant and clean. The author does not tie up all the loose ends - leaving room for two more books in the series (and two more weddings) - but the end is satisfactory.
I am not sure why the series is "Gallatin County". I suppose eventually the county will be named for the family, but it is not addressed in this book.
I would recommend this for gentle readers looking for a quick read.

Postmistress

Postmistress: A Novel
by
Sarah Blake
adult historical fiction

I was a bit reluctant to pick up yet another romance/chick lit book set during WWII or the Civil War. I think these stories are overdone and I would rather explore a different time period. How about the Korean War? Crimean War? Spanish Civil War? War of 1812? Texas Independence? Give me something original!
That being said, this was a perfectly fine novel that follows three ladies - a gung ho American reporter that goes to London to cover the news, a doctor's wife who is left wondering about her husband working in London, and the postmistress at home in Massachusetts. They are all looking for order and sense in this seemingly senseless war. The reporter is trying to figure out what the Nazis plans for the Jews are.
I recommend this for the wide audience of 18-100 year old lady readers, but I wish she had chosen a less-explored time period. Maybe her next book will be more original.
Kudos to the author for letting her postmistress be a postmistress instead of dumbing down our language to make all females exactly the same as males. I think postmistress and aviatrix and executrix and actress are perfectly fine words that do not need to be abandoned.
- A word from the Library MISTRESS

Come Morning

Come Morning
by
Pat Warren
Romantic Fiction

I read this book because I remember how much I enjoyed the "Welcome to Tyler" series of Harlequin Romances from the 1990's. Pat Warren wrote a number of those books.

Welcome to Tyler
#1 Nancy Martin - Whirlwind (Mar-1992)
#2 Pat Warren - Bright Hopes (Apr-1992)
#3 Carla Neggers - Wisconsin Wedding (May-1992)
#4 Nancy Martin - Monkey Wrench (Jun-1992)
#5 Suzanne Ellison - Blazing Star (Jul-1992)
#6 Pat Warren - Sunshine (Aug-1992)
#7 Suzanne Ellison - Arrowpoint (Sep-1992)
#8 Ginger Chambers - Bachelor's Puzzle (Oct-1992)
#9 Muriel Jensen - Milky Way (Nov-1992)
#10 Marisa Carroll - Crossroads (Dec-1992)
#11 Ginger Chambers - Courthouse Steps (Jan-1993)
#12 Marisa Carroll - Loveknot (Feb-1993)

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/61343-tyler-multiple-series-various-authors-complete

In this book, the two main characters are both getting over devastating losses in their lives. Jeremy is a firefighter who can not forgive himself for allowing a little girl to die. Briana can't get past the shooting death of her 6 year old son. It is set in Nantucket and you can tell that the author loves the slow island pace of this New England town. The plot comes to a dramatic finish as a hurricane threatens to destroy this idyllic place in the sun.
This paperback came out in 1998 and it is amazing to think of how quickly technology has changed things. No one had cell phones or internet service. Briana didn't even have caller ID. An important plot point was that film had not yet been developed. Go to a store to have film developed? How 1998!

Sheer Abandon

Sheer Abandon
by
Penny Vincenzi
Adult Fiction

Three 18 year old English girls are having a gap year. One of them gets pregnant, gives birth while flying home from Thailand, and abandons the baby at the airport. Sixteen years pass. A lovely young girl wonders about her mother. We, as the reading audience, are left in suspense as to the identify of the mother. The book follows the lives of the three successful, glamorous, rich 34 year old women and the 16 year old girl.

The author does a great job keeping the reader guessing until revealing the identity of the mother 2/3 of the way through the book. Even then, there is a major twist toward the end and we don't know how all the threads are going to tie together in the end. The suspense and glitter reminds me of V. C. Andrews, but with none of the creepiness of and Andrews book. I understand why this author is so popular in the U. K. and would recommend her to our U. S. audience.

I don't know why a book that is more than 600 pages is listed as summer reading. This would be too bulky to take to the beach, but it would be good reading for back at the house in the air conditioning.

Going Home: Brides of Webster County Number 1

Going Home: Brides of Webster County Number 1
by
Wanda E. Brunstetter
Adult Christian Fiction

A yodelling, joke-telling young lady runs away from her restrictive Amish home hoping to make it big as an entertainer. Years later her husband dies and she comes home to rural Webster County, Missouri. Can she be sober enough for the community? Will they lighten up?

This is a clean, gentle read appropriate for a conservative audience, especially teen girls and elderly ladies. If patrons have already read Grace Livingston Hill, Beverly Lewis, and Jan Karon you might recommend this author. It was a tad bland and predictable, but safe and pleasant. I thought that a few questions were unresolved in the end, so that was disappointing.

Here is a hint: Why is the series called "Brides of Webster County"? Do you think that she might get married in the end?

I might read another book by this author, but not in this series and not right away.