Susan Meissner

Dear Readers,

The Golden Age of Hollywood.  The filming of Gone with the Wind.  Goodness what else would a book need?  Stars over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner has that and more.

A beautifully written story about Violet Mayfield.  She sets out for Hollywood to reinvent herself.  She has always dreamed of being a wife and mother, but that dream was shattered by a cruel twist of fate.  She believes that dream is dead and why not go to work on a movie set in glamorous Hollywood?  That it turns out to be Gone with the Wind makes it all the better.

Along the way she makes friends with Audrey who is an aspiring actress.  Audrey was on the cusp of stardom until talkies came along.  They share the little cottage that Audrey owns and the adventures and fun begins.  Hitting the clubs, watching movies and dating are just some of the fun and of course there is that incident with the hat...

Susan does include a bit of a contemporary tale alongside the historical setting.  It just enhances the other story and even adds a bit of mystery to it.

I am always excited to learn that Susan has a new book releasing and the past few years she seems to be able to time to with my vacation.  This year was no different and there is something very special about reading about those glamorous days while sitting in the sunshine poolside.  I really think that this book was made for that, but if you can't get poolside, I recommend that put this book on the top of that pile of books to read.  Maybe once you are done with reading it, get a copy of the movie,Gone with the Wind and enjoy a bowl of popcorn and a classic.

Happy Reading,

C,S, Lewis

This is the reason I so love C.S.'s books.  He only wrote them because of a person he loved, not for the masses.  We are blessed and fortunate because he shared them with the rest of us.  

New Release - The Feathered Bone - Julie Cantrell

Dear Readers,

The Feathered Bone by Julie Cantrell is a book I have waited a couple years for.  I fell in love with Julie's writing with Into the Free.  Her voice during the storytelling was so genuine that I knew I had found an author I wanted to write more and more books.

Amanda Salassi is worried about chaperoning her daughter's class field trip to New Orleans.  Her worst fears come true when one of her daughter's friends disappears.  Filled with guilt, Amanda and her family slowly fall apart.  Her daughter to depression and her husband to anger.

If I know anything about Julie's writing, this will not be an easy read.  She does not leave you comfortable with her characters or their actions, but they are very real.  She makes you face issues that you may never have thought of and wander your way through them alongside the characters.  

I look forward to a chance to start reading Feathered Bone soon.

Happy Reading,

New Release - Step by Step - Candace Calvert

Dear Readers,

Step by Step by Candace Calvert is her newest book of her series of Crisis Team.  She is a favorite of those who not only like romantic suspense book, but anyone that like books with a medical theme to them.  She mixes the two genres very well.

3 years after an accident left her a widow, Taylor Cabot is ready to move on with her Survival list.  She has been checking items off the list, but never thinks she will be able to check off, fall in love again.  That is until she meets a handsome doctor and then she begins to think she might be able start a relationship with someone again.

Seth Donovan is a crisis chaplain.  He has known Taylor since for years and when she starts to back away from the crisis team, Seth wants to find out why.  What he finds instead is his friend is now dating and he is surprised  at the emotions that awaken in him.

There is more to the storyline by you get the idea of who is in the story and where the story is going.  If you haven't meet Candace before, this is great book to start with, but she has a very strong backlist that will keep you busy for at least a couple of weeks.

Happy Reading,

P.S.  I think Tyndale did a great job on the cover of this book.

New Releases - January 18 -23

Dear Readers,

When this releases it is the last Monday of January already.  Very hard to believe, but I am ready for spring now.  Ready for outdoor reading.

Happy Reading,

Death Comes for the Deconstructionist - Daniel Taylor - Jon Mote is hired to find his mentor's killer.  He does not feel up to the task, but he move forward.  Helped by his sister, Jon moves through the streets of Minneapolis/St. Paul.  Working through evidence and witnesses all in an effort to find the killer.

Step by Step - Candace Calvert - Crisis Team #1 - Taylor Cabot is moving on from the lose of her husband.  She is ready to start checking things off her "survival list."  One she wasn't planning on was to find love again until she meets a handsome surgeon.

You're the One That I Want - Susan May Warren - 6th of the Christiansen Family novels - Owen needs a fresh start.  After an injury sidelines him from his NHL career his life has gotten out of control.  He takes a job on a crab boat with hopes of starting over.  But when his past follows him to Alaska it might even cost him his new love interest.

Hannah's Choice - Jan Drexler - #1 Journey to Pleasant Prairie - 1842 - Hannah Yoder loves her life in Consetoga Creek.  She has a peaceful life in-spite of under currents of trouble, her father's worries, her mother's depression and her sister's rebellion.  Now to young men have proposed and she needs to decide between staying near home or having an adventure west.

Quotes

Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?

–Henry Ward Beecher

Oh my goodness, how true is this quote?  I finally just got a job at the bookstore it was so much easier. 

Irma Joubert

Dear Readers,

The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert was actually an international bestseller before it came to the US.  After watching it jump off the shelves at the bookstore faster than I could get a chance to read it, that is not a surprise to me at all.   

If you are reading only one book this year, let me make a case for this book.  Everything about this book goes against it being a good book.  It is written in a very simple fashion.  It is kind of jumpy in its breaks.  Sometimes the breaks mean a different character voice and other times it means a jump in time.  Because of this it doesn't flow.  Yet despite all of these "problems"  this book will not leave you alone and you will need to finish it once you get started.  

The main character is little Gretl.  You will fall in love with this quiet little girl as soon as you meet her.  She is busy trying to do exactly what she was told to do by her Mutti and Oma when they squeeze her out a small opening in the cattle car bound for Auschwitz.  She is later taken in by Jakob, a Polish resistance fighter.  

The story goes from there, but I could not do it justice in a short time.  Just know that this book should be on your reading list and it should be on the top.  I read it over a weekend.  I kept putting the book down to do other things I was suppose to be doing, but could hardly wait to get back to the book.  I read it late into the night even when I had to get up early the next morning.  It didn't matter, I wanted to know what happens to little Gretl and Jakob.  

I am hoping to hear more from the author.  She has a very unique writing style which makes for a very good read. 

Happy Reading,