Roots in the Air, New & Selected Poems --by Shirley Kaufmans

 Nonfiction / Poetry

225 pages

5 stars

 

These are not poems to devour as fast as possible. These are poems to savor, ponder, meditate over. Poems that will remain with you, if not the actual words, the emotions they evoked.

 

Many of Ms. Kaufman’s poems bring for not just images, but also smells—from salt water to burning feathers.

 

Roots in the Air was my introduction to Ms. Kaufman, and I am sorry she is no longer with us. What has been published is it. I will look for her other books, and the hours of enjoyment they shall surely bring me.

Reckless: Book 1 of the Mia Kazmaroff Mysteries —by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

 Fiction / Mystery / paranormal

291 pages / 1621 KB

3 Stars

 

 

I finished the book, so that’s an automatic 3 stars. I so wanted to like this, it just looked like great fun, but I had a really hard time believing any of the characters. I sort of liked them, but I couldn’t believe them. Mia is 28, and behaves more like she’s 13. Maybe she’s just naïve in the extreme, but…

 

Oh, maybe that was the whole bit? It’s not meant to be a book for adults, but was written for for those teens approaching adulthood and the 28 was a typo and should have been 18? I believe that genre is called New Adult? 

 

I will not be looking for more of this author’s books.

Penitent: a Scottish murder mystery…(Detective Inspector Munro murder Book 9)—by Pete Brassett

 Fiction

199 pages / 2218 KP

4 Stars

 

 

This is my first Detective Munro book, and I’m glad there are 9 others to enjoy. I enjoy all things I’ve come across that are Scot — yes, even haggis — perhaps because my family is from Scotland, and I enjoyed this story tremendously, especially the language used. Those words I was unfamiliar with were explained in context. All except one, and a quick search on my computer gave me the definition of what is the ubiquitous brown sauce ;-)

 

I loved that the characters were a tad competitive with each other, but they obviously like, and even love, each other and have each other’s back. It was fun to watch them work and play together and solve the murders together.

 

All pieces nicely tied up at the end. A wonderful escape and a great read!

Memories in the Drift: A Novel —by Melissa Payne

 Fiction

279 pages / 3329 KB

5 Stars

 

 

I loved this book. I was afraid it would turn into a Woe-is-me-I’m-a-victim, story. It didn't! Some may cry when they read it, I didn’t, but I came close. I laughed, and I cheered, and I feel better for having read it than for not.

 

Clair had a seizure ten years ago, she lost her baby, she lost her capability to form memories. She had the ones from ‘before’ but relied on notebooks and cards and her phone, to keep her current. Fortunately, she has always been very organized and she has retained that capability. 

 

In a way, she is stuck in Groundhog Day, but as she reads her daily journals, as the people in the town help her, the pain of death and loss diminishes, and she is able to form, or reform, old bonds. 

 

I think this is one of those books I’ll re-read, especially when my reality gets to be a tad more than I care to deal with.

 

The book was very well written, and it must have been difficult to write because of the memory loops, but Ms. Payne pulled it off with great style and beauty. It is a book of hope, of love, of friendships, of great beauty.

The Man She Married: A gripping psychological thriller with a heart-pounding twist —by Alison James

  

Fiction / thriller

312 pages / 1298 KB

5 Stars

 

My definition of a good novel is one that invites me in to play in its world, gives me an escape, and gives me a satisfactory ending. This met my definition.

 

Imagine meeting Mr. Right when you’re 31, after having been left at the altar by your first Mr. Right. Your biological clock is ticking, louder and louder. You ignore little things, after all, they sound plausible.

 

On Valentine’s Day, shortly before the third anniversary you discover you’re pregnant. Your husband is late getting home. Dinner is ruined. When you finally hear the car in the drive and open the door ready to read him the riot act, you’re met with two cops who inform you your husband is dead. Killed in an accident with a bus. And then, when you go to see the body you find his estranged brother who you’ve never met, is there, and he says it’s not his brother.

 

I like the way the author tells the story. She starts off with what I’ve just told you, only she did a much better job, then the next several chapters are all from Alice’s POV. Part II is from Dominic’s POV, and then, Part III is dessert. Uh, the finish.

 

I read it in one day. It was just what I needed to escape our national elections for a few hours. Not only was I transported to another country (England), but to a whole new set of adventures. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, and look forward to ready more by Alison James.