Mary Balogh

I stumbled onto a new romance author while looking for a quick read.  In Mary Balogh’s Bedwyn family series, each book tells the story of one of the Bedwyn silblings.  All fiercely independent and dynamic, they find love and happiness in their own unique way.  Their oldest brother, the Duke of Bewcastle, rules the family with an iron fist, but also with a protective love.  He doesn’t always agree with his brothers and sisters in their choice of mate, but he stands by them all.  Although there is nothing new here as far as storyline or happy endings, something about Balogh’s writing style and characters make these a “can’t put down” read.

A Summer to Remember – prequel

Slightly Married – Book 1

Stlightly Wicked – Book 2

Slightly Scandalous – Book 3

Slightly Tempted – Book 4

Slightly Sinful – Book 5

Slightly Dangerous – Book 6

Laura W – Fort Mill

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series) by Ann Brashares

If you liked the movie “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” then you must read the books by Ann Brashares.  I say books because you will get sucked into the lives of Bee, Carmen, Lena, and Tibby.  The whole point is these girls are best friends since before birth and are spending their first summer apart.  They find a pair of pants that fit all of them exactly and look good on each of them.  They decide to share the pants and let the pants put magic in their summer and keep them together.  In  The Second Summer you’ll find out how happily ever after isn’t always what you expect.  In Girls in Pants, our girls finish high school,  grow up and make some tough decisions.  The final one written so far is Forever in Blue, their first summer in college.  Okay not my favorite but unfortunately by college our babies are grown up and make mistakes we’d rather not know about but it is part of the growing process.  Sniff, sniff.  At the end the pants are lost, I won’t tell you how but even that seems like a good thing because of the lessons our girls learn.  I’m thinking there should be at least one more to see if they do all stay together.

Ramona – Fort Mill

Bidding for Love by Katie Fforde

Katie Fforde writes chick lit.  Her books are filled with quirky characters who usually find themselves in a new situation and have to find a way to cope.  Usually they find love along the way but it’s never the mission of the main character.  Humor is always a part of her books and the read is easy to enjoy.

In her latest book, Flora Stanza has inherited half of an auction business – Stanza & Stanza from an elderly uncle.  Well not half, really 51%.  Flora is a party girl from London who knows nothing about antiques and auctions,  but she seizes this new opportunity that presents itself and heads out to the country to meet her new “partner”,  her very distant cousin Charles who has been running the business for many years.    Charles is less than thrilled to see her, hoping she’ll go away immediately but Flora stays, makes friends and learns enough to make some much needed changes to the failing business.    Love of course finds her along the way and everything ends happily ever after.  This the kind of book you should take on vacation, nothing is required of you but to relax and read.

Karen – Fort Mill                                                               ISBN 9780312359638

Sister Mine by Tawni O’Dell

Shea-Lynn grew up in Pennsyvannia’s mining country.  Her mother died when she was six and she raised her newborn baby sister, Shannon because her father was either working or drunk and always abusive.  She had a baby at seventeen, continued on to college and left home at 22 to pursue a career in  law enforcement.   Soon after her sister disappears and Shea-Lynn has always been sure that she is dead.  When we join her story, Shea-Lynn is 40 and driving the only cab in her hometown of Jolly Mount.   She’s a fighter and scrapper, devoted to her son and doesn’t need anything from anyone.  

You’d like the main character even if nothing interesting happened in the book, she’s tough and funny and a little tender-hearted way underneath, but lots of things do happen in this book.   Shea-Lynn’s sister reappears suddenly, nine months pregnant and hiding from a lawyer, a desperate adopting mother and a Russian thug.  Shea-Lynn must figure out how to help her sister and figure out where she’s going in her own life, all in 400 pages.  That’s just enough time to make a lovely start.

Karen – Fort Mill                                                                 ISBN 9780307351265

A Rather Lovely Inheritance by C.A. Belmond

Death, intrigue, double-crossing, family secrets and almost unrequited love all play a part in this charming book by a first time author.   Penny Nichols is a historical researcher, working with academics and documentaries.   Working in France, she gets a call that her Aunt Penelope has died and she’s needed at the reading of the will in London.  Penny goes to the reading of the will and that’s when all the action starts.  While her cousin Jeremy and she are inspecting one of the properties left in the will, another cousin is planning to contest the will and if that doesn’t work, he’ll just steal the property before they arrive.  This is a fun book with lots of interesting twists and turns, a few bad guys, a family secret and a little romance.  There’ s not a lot of suspense or even a great deal of action but I really liked the characters and would love to know what happens after this book ends.  This is the first book by this author and I hope she will keep writing.

Karen – Fort Mill                                                      ISBN  9780451220523

The Crossroads Cafe by Deborah Smith

Thomas Mitternich is a former architect, former Yankee, former husband and father.  His only occupation is drinking enough vodka to forget the deaths of his wife and son in New York on 9/11.  He heads out of the city and lands in the North Carolina mountains that begin to heal him just a little, against his will.

Cathy Deen is beautiful, rich, talented and used to being the center of attention.  When she rolls her car off the freeway in California and winds up in the burn unit with 2nd and 3rd degree burns over half of her body, she knows that the life she is living now is over.  She goes into seclusion until a cousin in the mountains of North Carolina talks her into coming “home” to her grandmother’s empty house. 

Cathy and Thomas meet and together discover a way to make their way past all the pain and heartache that they have endured.   This book will not surprise you but it will make you think about how your definition of beautiful and it will make you thankful for what you have.  Deborah Smith’s books are full of people who are  just like your neighbors, people that you hope will live happily ever after.

Karen – Fort Mill                                                         ISBN 0976876051

The Watchman by Robert Crais

Joe Pike has long been an integral part of the Elvis Cole books.    A lot like the partnership of Spenser and Hawk in the Robert Parker books, Elvis is the wisecracking detective and Joe is the “silent” partner who is always there to back up Elvis.  A little scary but someone who always does the right thing.  Now in The Watchman, Joe Pike is the lead character.  Joe is hired to protect Larkin Barkley who is a material witness in a federal investigation.  Two attempts are made on her life before Joe is hired and two more attempts follow quickly.   Cutting off all contact with her family and the government, Joe and Larkin hide out while Joe tries to reduce the risk of his client’s death.   It will come as no surprise to fans of Robert Crais that Joe and Elvis don’t stop until the matter is resolved.  Some of Joe’s past is revealed in this book but he is still the enigmatic character we have all come to love.

Karen – Fort Mill                                              ISBN 0743281632