FINISHED -

1. "LIGHT THE STARS" by RaeAnne Thayne (Cowboys of Cold Creek #1) (A+++++) Wade Dalton is having a bad day,. His five-year-old has accidentally set the kitchen on fire. His daughter is surly, as usual. The baby hasn't been fed yet. And his mother - aka "the childminder" - has eloped with a scam artist. Could it get any worse? Turns out it can, when the annoyingly beautiful daughter of said scam artist shows up at the door, batting her doe eyes at Wade and offering to be his temporary nanny until the newlyweds' return. Could he trust her to be under his roof? Could he trust himself with her under his roof?
2. "WRAPPED IN YOU" by Jules Bennett (Monroes #1) (A+++++) The Monroe brothers found a home in Haven, Georgia, thanks to the big-hearted couple who adopted them all. Now, grieving their late sister, these three very different men will come together to honor her memory. And with the help of some unforgettable women, each will find the chance to build a whole new future. Zach Monroe has made mistakes - big ones. The worst left the girl he love injured and his own brother barely speaking to him. It was a night Zach won't let himself forget, even when the girl in question - perfect, polished Sophie Allen - walks back into his life. A realtor, Sophie's brought an offer for their sister's dilapidated Civil War era property. But Zach's determined to renovate the rambling old place himself - thought he longs to rebuild Sophie's trust in him. A business deal isn't how Sophie wanted to approach Zach after all this time, but he won't let anyone get personal. She can't deny that the accident changed her life in irreparable ways. But watching gruff, quiet Zach beat himself up year after year hurts too. The wounded boy she once adored needed love, and the man is no different. Now Sophie will need every bit of her resolve to convince Zach to let love heal them both.
3. "ONE NIGHT CHARMER" by Maisey Yates (Copper Ridge:The Wests #1) (Copper Ridge, Oklahoma #4) (A++++++) Copper Ridge, Oregon's favorite bachelor is about to meet his match. If the devil wore flannel, he'd look like Ace Thompson. He's gruff. Opinionated. Infernally hot. The last person that Sierra West wants to ask for a bartending job - not that she has a choice. Ever since discovering that her "perfect" family is built on a lie, Sierra has been determined to make it on her own. Resisting her new boss should be easy when they're always bickering. Until one night, the squabbling stops...and something far more dangerous takes over. Ace has a personal policy against messing around with staff - or with spoiled rich girls. But there's a steel backbone beneath Sierra's silver-spoon upbringing. She's tougher than he thought, and so much more tempting. Enough to make him want to break all his rules, even if it means risking his heart. "HOMETOWN HEARTBREAKER" by Maisey Yates (Copper Ridge, Oklahoma #3.5) (A+++++) Aiden Crawford knows all about responsibilities. He’s already shouldering more than his share when beautiful drifter Casey James cruises into town with a broken car, a chip on her shoulder, and enough secrets to have her ready to leave Copper Ridge the second she can afford the auto mechanic’s bill. Aiden has no time for long-legged, sultry-eyed complications, especially when he catches her joyriding in his father’s car, but when he realizes that she’s hungry and homeless, he grits his teeth and does what he does best: take on another person’s problems as his own. Casey is no man’s charity project - she takes care of herself and that’s all she needs to survive. But in the gruff and ruggedly gorgeous Aiden, she finds a man whose demons match her own - and who tempts her to stop running once and for all. Yet even if she finds the courage to stay, can she convince him that a future together is possible before time runs out?
4. "HEALING JACOB" by Nicole Stewart (A+++++) (read on a Kindle app on my computer) Jacob Maddox - I’ve always wanted a fairytale love, and the night we meet is like something lifted out of a fever dream. With no place to go on a dark and stormy night, a luckless wanderer finds shelter with the man of his dreams. Except Lucas Deveraux is no Prince Charming. He’s a bakery owner with an attitude problem. I’m a homeless guitar player with damage. We’re a bad ending waiting to happen. But his wicked mouth promises to cure everything that hurts me. And I want to believe in him. Lucas Deveraux - The night Jacob Maddox stumbles into my life, his vulnerability ignites a passion I can’t control. We bump heads, but our throbbing bodies connect. He’s always on the defense. I can’t bridle my tongue. He gets under my skin and into my system, and I can’t get enough. I’m practical. This isn’t exactly a love story. Jacob comes with baggage, but so do I after being left at the altar by my high school sweetheart. Oh, did I mention my ex chose right now to make a comeback?
5. "DECEIVED" by Kate SeRine (Dark Alliance #1) (advanced uncorrected proof that I won from a Giveaway on Goodreads) (A+++++) Luke Rogan's assignment is simple: secure young Elijah Scoffield and his mother and bring them back to headquarters - just an ordinary mission for an operative of the Dark Alliance. But Elijah is no ordinary kid. He's the grandson of one of the country's most influential politicians - a man privy to the Alliance's most valuable secrets, including its centuries-long connection to the Knights Templar. And someone else is attempting to capture the boy - someone who's proven he doesn't give a damn about collateral damage. Heartbroken at the lies that tore her world apart, Sarah Scoffield will do anything to protect her son - even if that means teaming up with a deadly stranger. But Sarah soon finds herself falling in love with her dark hero. And as danger stalks ever closer, the fiery desire that claims them awakens in Sarah passions she'd thought dead and buried long ago.
6. "BEAUTIFUL DISASTER" by Jamie McGuire (Beautiful #1) (New Author for Me) (A+++++) (unabridged audio CD) The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn't drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her fest friend, her path to a new beginning is challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. Travis Maddox, lean, cut and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants - and needs - to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby's resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis's apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.
7. "LONE HEART PASS" by Jodi Thomas (Ransom Canyon #3) (A+++++) Where family bonds are made and broken and where young love sparks as old flames grow dim, Ransom Canyon is ready to welcome - and shelter - those who need it. With a career and a relationship in ruins, Jubilee Hamilton is left reeling from a fast fall to the bottom. The run-down Texas farm she's inherited is a far cry from the second chance she hoped for, but it and the abrasive foreman she's forced to hire are all she's got. Every time Charley Collins has let a woman get close, he's been burned. So Lone Heart ranch and the contrary woman who owns it are merely a means to an end, until Jubilee tempts him to take another risk - to stop resisting the attraction drawing them together despite all his hard-learned logic. Desperation is all young Thatcher Jones knows. And when he finds himself mixed up in a murder investigation, his only protection is the shelter of a man and woman who - just like him - need to trust someone.
8. "A LAST GOODBYE" by J.A. Jance (Alison Reynolds #9.5) (A+++++) (read on a Kindle app on my computer) Ali Reynolds is finally getting married to her longtime love B. Simpson. They wanted a simple Christmas Eve wedding, but nothing is ever simple with Ali. Even as a motley crew of her friends - Leland Brooks, Sister Anselm, and others - descend on Vegas, the bride-to-be finds herself juggling last-minute wedding plans and a mystery in the form of a stray miniature dachshund. Ali’s grandson rescues the little dog, but Ali’s not in the market for a new pet right before her honeymoon, and leaves no stone unturned in hunting for the dog’s owner. But what she finds is more than just a shaggy dog story…Bella’s elderly owner has vanished, and her son seems to be behind it. So it’s Ali and B. to the rescue - and still making it to the church on time!
9. "HOT COWBOY NIGHTS" by Carolyn Brown (Lucky Penny Ranch #2)(A+++++) Let's give 'em something to talk about...If gossip is the lifeblood of a small town, then Lizzy Logan has been its beating heart. After being dumped by her fiance for another woman, she could have decided to crawl under a rock. But no, she'd rather really set tongues wagging by "moving on" with one of the hottest cowboys in Texas, who happens to live next door at the Lucky Penny Ranch. Those busybodies don't have to know it's actually all pretend. And just because Lizzy has no aim to tame her wild, blue-eyed neighbor doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride of her life. Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling down type. but what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy's pretend boyfriend? They'll put on a show for a few weeks and be done. Yet the more he gets to know Lizzy - really know her - the harder it is for him to keep his hands off of her in private. Soon this rough-and-ready cowboy is hoping to heal Lizzy's bruised heart and turn their fake affair into a true romance.
10. "THE LAST VIKING" by Sandra Hill (Viking II #1) (A+++++) He was six feet, four inches of pure, unadulterated male. He wore nothing but a leather tunic, spoke in an ancient tongue, and he was standing in Professor Meredith Foster's living room. The medieval historian told herself he was part of a practical joke, but with his wide gold belt, callused hands and the rabbit roasting in her fireplace, the brawny stranger seemed so...authentic. Suddenly meredith was mesmerized by his bronzed, muscular form and her body surrended to the fantasy that Geirolf Ericsson really was a Viking from a thousand years ago, sent only to pleasure her. But as she tried to teach him to eat spaghetti and use a computer, she realized he knew an awful lot about the tenth century - and so little about the twentieth. And as he helped her fulfill her grandfather's dream of recreating a Viking ship, he awakened her to dreams of her own. Until she wondered if the hand of fate had thrust her into the loving arms of the last Viking.
11. "SPIDER GAME" by Christine Feeham (GhostWalkers #12) (A+++++) The Cajun dive in the middle of the godforsaken swamps wasn't exactly Trap Dawkins' idea of fun. But the GhostWalker wasn't there for a good time. He was looking for her. Cayenne. It's where she found her victims. Poor suckers. Then again, who wouldn't want to leave a plae like this with a woman like her? It's not Cayenne's fault. Locked up, experimented on and never knowing kindness, she was bred this way - with a heart of pure enom. Trap understands her. He survived his own dark past, and he share her desire for getting even. But now Trap's greatest danger is Cayenne herself. Because what's inside her is hard to control  especially when it's aroused by a lover as reckless as Trap.
12. "THE CHRISTMAS TRAIN" by David Baldacci (New Author For Me) (unabridged audio CD) (A++++) Disillusioned journalist Tom Langdon must get from Washington to L.A. in time for Christmas. Forced to take the train across the country because of a slight "misunderstanding" at airport security, he begins a journey of self-discovery and rude awakenings, mysterious goings-on and thrilling adventures, screwball escapades and holiday magic. He has no idea that the locomotives pulling him across America will actually take him into the rugged terrain of his own heart, as he rediscovers people's essential goodness and someone very special he believed he lost.
13. "WARRIOR" by Elizabeth Lowell (MacKenzie-Blackthorn #5) (A++++) Wild at heart...As a biologist, Eden Summers had confronted all kinds of wild creatures, but never had she encountered any as gloriously untamed as Nevada Blackthorn. Life had taught this defiant warrior some painful lessons, Now he believed in vurival - and nothing else. Yet Eden saw a gentleness behind the man's steely selfcontrol and she longed to tame his wild heart...and soothe his restless soul.
14. "ONE TEXAS CCOWBOY TOO MANY" by Carolyn Brown (Burnt Boot, Texas #3) (A+++++) She's got too man cowboys on her hands, and the whole town's taking sides.. Leah Brennan has always been the good girl of the Brennan family, groomed to become the matriarch of the lan. When a dark-eyed, tattooed, ponytailed bad boy saunters into her life, Leah knows he's off-limits - but his mesmerizing gaze makes her forget everything she used to think was important. As town-wide tension rises, Leah wonders if love really an onquer all. When Rhett O'Donnell roars into Burnt Boot on a hot July evening, the first thing he sees is a beautiful blonde. She puts a little extra giddy-up in his heartbeat, but when Rhett's desire throws him into the middle of a love triangle and a hundred-year-old feud, he realizes that winning his cowgirl's heart will be a lot more complicated than he thought.
15. "14TH DEADLY SIN" by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro (Women's Murder Club #14) (A+++++) When San Francisco goes under siege and every cop becomes a suspect, The Women's Murder Club risk their lives to save the city - and each other. With a beautiful baby daughter and a devoted husband, Detective Lindsay Boxer can safely say that her life has never been better. In fact, things seem to be going well for all the members of the Women's Murder Club (for a change). But a birthay celebration for medical examiner Claire Washburn gets cut short when Lindsay is called to a gruesome crime scene, where a woman has been murdered in broad daylight. Then video footage of another crime surfaces, so horrific that it shakes the city to its core. Wearing SFPD jackets, their faces obscured by masks, the cold-blooded criminals on tape could be anyone - and all of Lindsay's coworkers are suspects. As public fear and anger grow, Lindsay and her friends must risk their lives in the name of justice - before it's too late.
16. "A KNIGHTS BRIDGE CHRISTMAS" by Carla Neggers (Swift River Valley #5) (A+++++) Clare Morgan is ready for a fresh start when she moves to the small Massachusetts town of Knights Bridge with her young son, Owen. Widowed for six years, Clare settles into her job as the town's new librarian. She appreciates the warm welcome she and Owen receive and truly enjoys getting the library ready for its role in the annual holiday open house. Clare expects to take it slow with her new life. Then she meets Logan Farrell, a Boston ER doctor in town to help his elderly grandmother settle into assisted living. Slow isn't a word Logan seems to understand. Accustomed to his fast-paced city life, he doesn't plan to stay in Knights Bridge for long. But Daisy Farrell has other ideas and enlists her grandson to decorate her house on the village green one last time. Logan looks to Clare for help. She an go through Daisy's book collection and help him decorate while she's at it. As Clare and Logan get his grandmother's house ready for the holidays, what neither of them expects to find is an attraction to each other. Better than most, they know all the crazy things that can happen in life, but everything about Knights Bridge and this magical season invites them to open themselves to new possibilities...and new love.
17. "HOW SWEET IT IS" by Janelle Denison (A+++++) (a book I received from an the author on Facebook in return for my honest review) Practical, sensible Rebecca Moore doesn't do playboys, especially ones like sexy, wealthy Spencer Bassett, even if he makes her want to do very naughty things with him. But when a weekend away at her sister's wedding puts them in close proximity, Spencer doesn't hesitate to take advantage of the undeniable attraction between them. Seducing Rebecca is his goal—with hot, steamy kisses, decadent chocolates, and sensual nights in his bed. Rebecca is certain this is only a weekend fling, but Spencer is determined to win her over for good by showing her just how sweet it is.

CURRENTLY READING -

1. "Gastien: From Dream to Destiny" by Caddy Rowland (Gastien #2) (Reading on a Kindle app on my computer)  
2. "Cold Betrayal" by J.A. Jance (Alison Reynolds #10)
3. "Our First Christmas" "A Ranger for Christmas" by Mary Burton "A Southern Christmas" by Mary Carter "Christmas in Montana" by Cathy Lamb "Under the Mistletoe" by Lisa Jackson
4. "The Marriage Prescription" by Christy Jeffries (Sugar Falls Idaho #5) (a book I won in a giveaway on Goodreads)  

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO -

1. "Pursuit" by Karen Robards (Jessica Ford #1) abridged audio CD

Perfectly Miserable---Guilt, God and Real Estate in a Small Town   Sarah Payne Stewart

Miracle on Mohegan Island   Elizabeth Kelly

Notes fron a Small Island Bill Bryson

The Nix    Nathan Hill

Finished in December:  Paint It Black  by:  Janet Fitch

                                  Spilt Milk  by:  Amanda Hodgkinson

                                  Under the Wide and Starry Sky  by:  Nancy Horan

                                  Come Rain or Come Shine by:  Jan Karon  for book club

Currently Reading:  Knitlandia - A Knitter Sees the World  by:  Clara Parkes

Hope to get to:  A Fine Balance  by:  Rohinton Misrtry  for book club

                       Fortune's Children - The Fall of the house of Vanderbilt  by:  Arthur T. Vanderbilt II

                       Living Right  by:  Laila Ibrahim

Jeanne W.,  For some reason that title cracked me up!

I have three books going:  The Redeemers by Ace Atkins which is part of a series.  Off the Grid by C. J. Box another series booik.  And Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker, yet another series book.  All are good reads but Off the Grid is so far my favorite.  Audio in the car is an old Spenser book titled Cold Service.

Currently Reading:

The Wolves by Alex Berenson, next in his John Wells series.

Evel, The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel by Leigh Montville. 

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, just getting started.

Wish You Well by David Baldacci.  Needed a small paperback could put in coat pocket & this one fit the bill, just getting started with it.

Finished:

The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas Cook.  A history professor that escaped a poor life in the south, meets a woman very much connected to his past.  The conversation and memories brought up are basically the book.  A few twists & turns throughout, not an exciting book but still a good read.  Basically just one long conversation with his memories brought in here & there too.  A different style, not sure I would like to read a lot of books like this but was a change from the more normal.

Long For This World:  The Strange Science of Immortality by Jonathan Weiner.  Interesting read about scientists that are looking to achieve immortality for people.  I liked how he looked at it from through time and also some of the different theories about if it is possible or not.  Didn't really get into the whole question of should we do this more of just how to do this.  Most scientists though are working on a small parts of it to extend life.  

Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith.  Next in Arkady Renko series.  I really like this series and this was a good addition to it.

World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler.  The world has fallen apart and people in small town New York state start trying to do some rebuilding.  This is first book in series, good start.  Interesting characters and whole development of what has happened, will have to track down the rest of the series.

Male of the Species, stories by Alex Mindt.  Lot of good short stories in here with men as the focus.  All types and situations.  I really enjoyed this book, a good reminder of why I enjoy a short story book every once in a while.

The Bone Labyrinth by James Rollins.  Interesting stuff with a bunch of action shoved in.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben.  A lot of bad things suddenly happen to a group of families.  Just too much to buy into all of it though.  Book seemed slow to start but did turn into page turner.  

Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past A Ballad Novella  by Sharyn McCrumb

I love the Ballad books, but this was seriously lacking.  Predictable, and I thought it should have Disney music in the background.  Cute and quick if cute is your thing.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal narrated by Amy Ryan and Michael Stumbarg.  Really enjoyed this one!

Becoming Nicole The Transformation of an American Family by  Amy Ellis Nutt.  Eye-opening heartbreaker.

A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon.  Just lost interest and quit less than halfway through.

Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan.  Short book that is kind of draggy.

The Homesman by Glendon Swarthout .  Wonderful wonderful book.  Loved the movie, too!

Nancy, I've read Louise Erdrich for years, read a couple of duds, then got back to her with The Roundhouse which I got in a game.  I liked it a lot!  Recommend her latest, LaRose.  And her very early books.

Tina, I put Knitlandia on my WL.  Looking forward to your review.  Jeanne, same with your book.  As one who spent almost her entire life in New England, and often pine for it, I think I can relate.

Holy Moly, what a time I had formatting my above list.  5 tries!

Bonnie,

I liked Knitlandia alot.  I have almost all of Clara Parkes books.  It was a Christmas gift, so I will not be posting it, as it is a keeper.  Ms. Parkes writes with such humor, and her descriptions of the festivals almost make you feel like you are there.  I read at night in bed most of the time, and it made me want to pick up my knitting right there at almost midnight. It is a small book, only 160 pages, and not as large as a trade size.  I believe it is under $20.00 new.

I have also read The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich, and liked it. My book club read it for discussion.

Thanks for posting back, Tina.  I think I just might order it rather than wait if it has the potential of being a keeper.

Bonnie, I read Kitchens of the Great Midwest and enjoyed it a lot.  Lots of midwestern cooking and restaurants in the framework of a young chef's life. Chef-ess? Whatever the feminine version of chef is.  I grew up in Omaha, and though it is virtually gone now, Bohemian cooking was prevalent in the south end of town.

Hippie Chick : Joe Monninger        This is a Teen/YA book that I was really surprised by.  If you like survival stories, nature, animals (manatees), you will definitely like this one.

The Last Mile : David Baldacci       I really liked this one.

The Wonder  : Emma Donoghue          It was ok.  I definitely liked "Room" better.

Luckiest Girl Alive: : Jessica Knoll    This was the first book I read by this author and was pleasantly surprised.  The main character was unlikeable.

One Mile Under  : Andrew Gross          I really enjoyed this one.

Tides  : Betsy Cornwell                       A Teen/YA book.  I liked it.

Sorry everyone.  I have no idea what happened with the above posts.

Finished this month:

Starlight by Nora Roberts --- 2 books in 1: Hidden Star -- Bailey James has amnesia and can't remember who she is or anything that's happened and why does she have half a million dollars in cash and a huge blue diamond? She hires private eye, Cade Parris, to help her figure things out.  Captive Star -- M.J. O'Leary has a bogus bounty on her head, but bounty hunter, Jack Dakota doesn't know it's bogus and tracks her down, handcuffs her and then they both end up on the run because somebody wants the huge blue diamond M.J. has in her purse.  Does anyone know if there is a third book that ties up the loose ends with Gracie and the third diamond?  I've tried to find a book like this with no luck.

Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt by Carole Nelson Douglas --- The first several books of this series were pretty much "cozies" but the last couple and this one have gotten deeper into the lives of the main characters, Temple Barr, Matt Devine and Max Kinsella.  Temple has to make up her mind which guy she wants and then there's a dead body that Midnight Louie sees being brought up from a casino lagoon.

Sticks and Scones by Diane Mott Davidson --- I seem to be reading older series, but they're on my shelf and I want to get them cleared out. Caterer, Goldie Schulz has two catering jobs at the Hyde Castle, a real English castle that's been brought to Aspen Meadows and the owner wants to turn it into a convention center.  Somebody shoots out Goldie's front window, she finds a dead body in a creek, her ex-husband has been paroled from prison and that's just one day....then things get worse.  Always a fun read.

There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of by Marcia Muller --- Private eye, Sharon McCone has been hired to find out who's been frightening the Vietnamese refugees living in a hotel in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. There's lots of suspects, a porn theater owner, a street preacher, the landlord... When one of the residents is found dead and then another body turns up, Sharon has her work cut out for her.   A well-written series.

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris --- Never having read the Sookie Stackhouse series I didn't know what to expect with this book, but I loved it!! Harper Connelly finds dead people. Having been stuck by lightening she's left with the ability to locate dead people and tell how they died. She and her step-brother, Tolliver Lang, are hired by a group of people in the Ozarks to find a missing girl, probably dead. But there are lots of secrets in the town and somebody doesn't want Harper to discover them. I liked this book so much I read the next in the series and have started on the third.

Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris --- Harper and Tolliver are in Memphis at the invitation of college professor, Clyde Nunley.  He thinks he can debunk Harper and show her to be a fraud, but when she proves him wrong by telling how people in a cemetery died and then discovering a body buried there that shouldn't be, even skeptics begin to believe.

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris --- 3rd in this series---love it!! Harper and Tolliver are called to Doraville, NC when a grandmother hires them to find her grandson, one of 6 young men missing from that town in 5 years.  I've got the 4th book ordered, hope Harris writes more!!

Death of a Butterfly by Margaret Maron-  Sigrid Harald, a detective in the NYPD, is thought to have ice water in her veins by the cops under her, but she doesn't let that stop her from solving cases. A young woman is found dead in her kitchen and there are plenty of suspects as she wasn't a very nice person.  This is an earlier series by Margaret Maron, before her Judge Deborah Knott series, different but still good.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith --- Number 6 in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, Precious Ramotswe has been asked to help find an embezzler, her husband's apprentice mechanic has quit to take up with a rich older lady and Precious' first husband shows up demanding money. And that's just the beginning, things are busy at the detective agency!

Mayhem in Minature by Margaret Grace --- Geraldine Porter is a crafter who constructs minature rooms. When one of her elderly students is suspected of murder, she begins to investigate. Lots of information about how to do minatures.

Wild Designs by Kathy Fforde --- Althea Farraday is a divorced woman with three teen-age kids who has just lost her job as a school secretary.  Her love of gardening has made her decide to try to become a garden designer, but with no formal training, she has to rely on word of mouth and a lot of luck.  And that comes when she meets a new neighbor whose greenhouse she has been secretly using. A fun read with likable characters [for the most part].

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris --- the 4th [and final?] in the Harper Connelly series. Harper and Tolliver have been called to Texas by the rich Joyce family to find out what killed their grandfather.  What she discovers opens up a whole other mysterious death, which leads to people being shot, two deaths and, finally what happened to Cameron. I sure hate to see this series end, but according to Charlaine Harris' web site, she doesn't plan to write any more, at least for now. 

The Summer Hideaway by Susan Wiggs --- 7th in the Lakeshore Chronicles series, George Bellamy has one final wish, to go back to Willow Lake and reconcile with his brother. He takes his private duty nurse with him, hoping his grandson, Ross, will join them. One of the better books in this series, in my opinion.

Currently reading: Funeral Food by Kathleen Taylor

Murder with Peacocks (Meg Langslow, Bk 1): Donna Andrews           

This was the first book I read by this author.  She definitely has a sense of humor.  I will read more of this series.

Not Without Hope: Nick Schuyler, Jere Longman                       

A biography about being lost at sea.  Very good.

Unsinkable: Dan James                   

  A mystery/thriller based on the facts on the sinking of The Titanic.  Very good.

Secrets and Shadows (Secret Zoo, Bk 2): Bryan Chick         

  I will be waiting on book 3 of this Children/YA book.

Finished:

Incarnations: A Novel by Susan Barker. I enjoyed the reading experience. She is such a good writer, she kept me reading to the end. However, the book is a little dark for my taste. A cab driver in China begins to receive anonymous letters from someone claiming to have known him past lives. Each letter tells a story from their past.

Almost Famous Women: Stories by Megan Mayhew. A book of short stories about women. Some I liked and some not so much. She did an interview on "Reading Lives" podcast and in that interview, she mentioned one of her most favorite books was West with the Night by Beryl Markham. So, I connected with her on that account. If you haven't read Markham's book, I would highly recommend that you check it out.

Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism by Scott and Kimberly Hahn. I like that this book is told from both his and her perspectives about their journey. The two met in college, both majoring in Theology, both wanting to go into ministry in their Church. Both very active in their Church after graduation. But, the more they studied the Bible, the closer they came to believe the teaching of the Catholic Church. They even met with their closest friends and college professors from their theology classes to ask them to help them find the flaw in their thinking, because the last thing they wanted to do was to be in agreement with the teaching of the Catholic Church. It was a compelling read, really.

Currently reading:

The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart. The story is about a man and his wife who live at the Tower of London, in modern times. Residence at the Tower is required by his job. She works in the London Underground at the Lost Property Office. It is very funny, very British, story.

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

Learning To Breathe by Karen White,  I usually enjoy her books but this one is surely not my favorite.

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid,  I'm a big fan of hers, although I prefer her stand alone books to the series.

Skeleton Lake by Bryan Gruley, a good mystery I read for book club. I'm not a hockey fan so it had way too much on that. I thought I had it all figured out but that was only part of it, there was still more.

The Trespasser by Tana French,  I like her books, this was a good one also.

I'm scared of Val Mc Dermid.