The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor -- I enjoyed this novel about the Titanic,
and a group of 14 from a village in Ireland who traveled together. It
explores some of their stories, especially Maggie Murphy, the 17 year
old orphan who was traveling to start a new life with her Aunt Kathleen.
A touching book.
Mist of the Midnight
by Sandra Byrd -- First book in the Daughters of Hampshire series; an
interesting story about Rebecca Ravenshaw's return to England after 20
years in India. After her parents are killed, Rebecca returns home with
hopes of reclaiming her ancestral house. Instead she finds a distant
cousin, Captain Luke Whitfield, is settling in, and a tale about another
Rebecca Ravenshaw who already showed up, claimed the house, and died
not too long ago - what?! I liked this book.
Jude
by Kate Morgenroth -- After Jude witnesses his father's murder (he was
selling drugs, and cutting the supply so...), he is introduced to his
mother, a local district attorney! His life changes drastically...and
this book was rather troubling.
The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
by Amy E. Reichert -- Lou runs a French-cuisine restaurant in
Milwaukee. Usually everything runs smoothly and she and her staff make
delicious food. But on one of the worst days of her life, the local
food critic drops by, is served terrible food, and writes a scathing
review. Meanwhile Al Waters meets Lou who gives him - an Englishman new
to the area - tours of famous Milwaukee things to do. A rather cute
book; an easy read.
Bride of a Distant Isle
by Sandra Byrd -- Second book in the Daughters of Hampshire series;
Throughout her life, Annabel Ashton has battled the rumor of her mother
giving birth to her out-of-wedlock (in an era where this really really
matters) and the fact that her mother died in an insane asylum. Is she
also going mad? Will she also end up dying young in an asylum? Her
cousin Edward inherited everything, but their expenses have increased so
much that he asks her to sweet talk (essentially) the Maltese captain
Marco Antonio Dell'Acqua in order to gain Dell'Acqua's business. And so
forth...
The Secret Keeper
by Sandra Byrd -- This is "a novel of Kateryn Parr," the last wife of
King Henry VIII. It follows the story of one of Kate's ladies, Juliana
St. John. It was a good way to learn more about the queen and king and
England at that time. It took me awhile to get into this book because
of all the names and titled people, and the fact that I wasn't fully
focused due to both Sophie and Florence (hurricane coming to my state)
visiting.
Alena
by Rachel Pastan -- I read this whole book hoping to find out the name
of the main character, but I did not! She's referred to as the curator
or "she" the non-Alena...ugh. So, she gets a curator job at an art
museum on Cape Cod. But she lives in the shadow of the late,
Russian-born Alena who disappeared one night two years ago, and was
thought to have drowned. This book was OK, but ultimately unfulfilling
since I never found out the Curator's name. Maybe it's in there, and I
just missed it. *shrug*
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
by Ruth Ware -- After her mother died in a hit-and-run accident 3 years
ago, Hal (short for Harriet) struggles to pay the bills and gets taken
by a loan shark. When a letter arrives from a lawyer saying that her
grandmother died and left her something, Hal is hopeful that some of her
money woes will be relieved. But the grandmother mentioned in the
letter is not the same lady mentioned as her grandmother on her birth
certificate. Can Harriet dupe this super-rich family out of a few
thousand pounds in order to pay off the people threatening her? I
enjoyed this book; suspenseful!
Miss Wilton's Waltz
by Josi S. Kilpack -- a decent, easy read; Lenora is rather a
wallflower compared to her younger sister, Cassie. When Lenora's fiancé
dumps her for her sister, Lenora finds she's not heartbroken (she didn't
really love him), but is embarrassed at local gossip about her. Her
aunt offers her a home in Bath, and Lenora shines as a music teacher at a
school for girls. When 12 year old Catherine comes to the school,
Lenora finds this troublesome girl brings more challenges into her life
than anticipated!
The Heretic's Daughter
by Kathleen Kent -- A story about Martha Carrier, who was hanged as a
witch during the Salem witch trials, as told through the eyes of her 10
year old daughter, Sarah. A pretty interesting way to learn more about
this time in history.
The World Made Straight
by Ron Rash -- A story out of Madison County, NC. While out fishing,
Travis stumbles upon some marijuana growing and takes it to a local
seller. I know, I know...what a book. Well, it gets some better, and was
actually somewhat interesting. Travis ends up living with this dope
seller, Leonard, a former teacher, who encourages Travis to get his
GED. I actually saw a book or two by this author in gift shops along
441 (between Cherokee and Gatlinburg). That's what prompted me to look
at what books the library offered (quite a few) so I may read more from
him at some point.
Thieving Forest
by Martha Conway -- I got this from my Amazon Wishlist, a birthday
gift, I believe, and I enjoyed this story about Susanna and her sisters
who live in west Ohio during the days of the settlers and Indians. This
story takes places just after Susanna and her sisters are orphaned, and a
tribe of Indians kidnap most of them. Susanna was feeding the pig -
Saul - so she saw it all happen. The story follows her search for them,
and the sisters' lives among the natives. Pretty interesting story!
Serena
by Ron Rash -- This book made me so very very thankful for those who
lobbied, purchased, donated to make national parks a reality! Because
Serena and Pemberton are just ruthless. And although this book is
fiction, I was never so glad someone was unable to have children. (THIS
is actually the book mentioned above that I saw in mountain area gift
shops.)
The Bird Sisters
by Rebecca Rasmussen -- Milly and Twiss (Theresa Wis, in case you were
wondering; Wis for Wisconsin because as a baby she put black Wisconsin
dirt in her mouth; her dad gave her dirt as a newborn) are 70-something,
never-married sisters who live together on the old family land. This
story flashes back to their growing-up years, the summer when their
cousin Bett came to stay, the year their father had the Accident which
lead to his loss of career and his living in the barn. It was a good
book with interesting characters.
The Life Intended
by Kristin Harmel -- I really enjoyed this book about Kate, a music
therapist who works with children. It was an interesting way to learn
more about music therapy, American Sign Language, and foster children.
Good book.
Everyone Is Beautiful by Katherine Center -- a cute book and very easy read about Lanie and
Peter's move from Houston to Massachusetts so Peter can do something
with his musical composition work. Lanie tries to wrestle their three
young boys while making friends and getting into shape.