A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer

 Charlotte Atherton escapes from her post as teacher at a boarding school for gifted children in the middle of the night with three children in tow, including her own adopted dauther, Lily. Charlotte has legal custody of Lily, but she knows Lily's grandfather wants the girl to come and live with him. Lily's grandfather, in fact, has hired a "retriever" a past Texas Ranger, Stone Hammon, to find and bring the girl to him.  Stone believes Charlotte is a kidnapper, but when he finally finds her, he sees that the children in her care genuinely love her.  When an accident necessitates Stone staying with Charlotte and the children during his recovery, he begins to believe that she is not what he was led to believe, but is, in fact, much much more. 

Ok, I am kind of embarrased that I read another Karen Witemeyer. I know, I know, I should feel free to read whatever I like, but still.  I fully understand that her books are formulaic and sickenly sweet, but sometimes I just need something reliable, clean, and positive to read.  Which this is. I always used to tell my patrons, "if you are reading for fun, read what you want."  I guess I take my own advice. (2015, 344 p.)

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

 Emmett Watson returns home from Juvenile Detention to find that his father has died and their farm is lost to creditors.  All Emmett wants to do is take his 8-year old brother, Billy, away from Nebraska and make a new start in Texas. Billy has other ideas.  He wants to take the Lincoln Highway to California and search for their mother who abandonded the family when Billy was a baby. Before they can firm up their plans, two of Emmett's friends from the detention center, Dutchess and Wooly, show up on his doorstep.  They claim to have a treasure  just waiting for them in New York, that they are willing to share with Emmett, and all they need is for Emmett to drive them there.  Emmett refuses, but before he knows it they have stollen his car and he has no option but to go after them.  Thus starts an adventure for each of the boys. Emmett wants his car back, Billy wants an escapade like the ones in his adventure book, Dutchess wants to even the score with people in his past, and Wooly just wants to see his sister again. Their adventure leads them along the highways and railways of 1954 America, meeting all kinds of characters along the way. 

 This is my third book by Towles, and I liked this one very much. The writing is wonderful and it as much a fun adventure as it is a philosophical walk through the 1850's. Towels really is one of the great literary authors of our age, and this book won a boatload of awards. The characters are masterful and the book is put together brilliantly. Each chapter is written from the point of view of a different character, and aren't necessarily in chronological order. Each of the main characters are complex with fully developed backstories and personalities. I think the publisher expected the book to be a smash success, because they invested in three different voice actors to narrate the book and they all do a wonderful job. This is another great choice for a book club. (2021, 592p)

Personal note:  When I was a little girl there weren't any DVD players of video games for kids to play in the back seat of a car.  One thing I used to do on a long road trip was look at the cars passing or driving next to us and imagine my spirit jumping into the car with those people and going home with them for a while to see what they were like and how they lived. That is kind of what this book is like.  The reader gets to jump into the lives of almost every character, live inside them for just a short tim, and see how they think and how they live. 

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

 This book seems to be the concatenation of essays written by the two authors about what is wrong with our current political system, and what we might do to fix it.  They focus on two main problems: the lack of affordable housing, and the problem of global warming but their ideas also have a broader application to society in general.  The main premise seems to be that government regulation, although well intentioned, has gotten so unmanageable that it is very difficult to accomplish the large scale projects needed to end the housing crisis and combat global warming.  They give examples when government regulation was scaled back in an emergency and how quickly and efficiently the government was able to address needs when that happened, as in the creation of a vaccine during the COVID pandemic, and the recent speedy repair of the damaged bridge leading into Washington DC. They finish by explaining that our country has all it needs to combat its massive problems if we will only leverage it in the right way. 

I saw this book on the New Books shelf in the Highland Library and thought it sounded both interesting and hopeful.  As it turned out, I found it interesting, but not very hopeful. Yes, the things they propose are possible and would go a long way to solving these large looming problems they discussed, but I think it is virtually impossible in the current political climate that anyone could do what they propose. I kept wondering who was the intended target audience of the book. I think they are hoping that liberal policy makers will read the book and realize they need to loosen regulation and actually accomplish some of these big projects if they ever want to win back the confidence of the American people. Instead, the book made me see why so many people are willing to accept the dictatorial actions of the current administration in hopes that they can actually get something done. It made me worry that our country will slip into fascism and lose both its political and moral identity. So, yeah, not a very hopeful book. (2025, 304 p.)

Enchanting the Heiress by Kristi Ann Hunter

 Harriet Hancock and time, money, and a big heart.  She also has a plan to help almost everyone she comes across, whether they want her to or not. She sets her sights on her friend's brother, Jonas Fitzroy.  He is currently working as a ranch hand, but she is sure he has hidden talents she could help him discover.  She uses her friendship with his sister to rope him into "helping her" write a book. As they work together Jonas recognizes that she is trying to meddle in his life, but he also begins to see that his own life has been lonely ever since his sister's marriage. Harriet's company fills a void in his life, and writing with her is strangely fulfilling. Harriet has an ulterior motive in their little collaboration with Jonas that she keeps as a secret from everyone.  When that secret comes out, will it destroy the respect and affection growing between the two lonely hearts?

This is the third and final episode in the series that started with Vying for the Viscount. The premise for the second two books --the whole, twins who run away to the circus motif-- is a little improbable so it isn't my favorite of Hunter's series, but overall, I enjoyed it. One thing I liked about this one is that the woman is several years older than her love interest, and that isn't really an issue for either of them. They are more concerned about the difference in their social standing than their age. I also appreciated that when Harriet's deceptions are revealed, she doesn't get an immediate easy out. There are consequences and work that needs to be done to repair trust. So, if you are a clean Victorian romance fan, and have read all of Hunter's other series, go ahead and dive into this one. (2022, 368 p)

Great Courses: From Jesus to Constantine by Bart D. Ehrman

 After the death of Jesus Christ, his followers grew and spread across the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Believers in different regions developed a variety of beliefs about who Jesus was and what he taught. Many believers came under persecution from both the Romans and local authorities. In this series of 24 lectures, Ehrman follows the spread of Christianity, discusses the variations of beliefs, the causes and affects of persecution, and traces how the orthodoxy recognized by most modern Christians came to be adopted. 

I am particularly interested in this early Christian time period so I was excited to see this offering by the Great Courses. I have listened to Great Courses lectures by Ehrman before.  He does not, himself, seem to be a believer, but he is a careful and knowledgeable scholar. At times he lets a little bit of scoffing coming into his voice, as if he delights in disproving peoples' cherished beliefs, but mostly he just gives facts and informed analysis of events as he sees them. Ehrman is an engaging lecturer, and I enjoyed this series overall. (12 hrs, 2004)

Footsteps in the Dark By Georgette Heyer

Soon after Peter, Margaret, and Celia inherit an old family estate, they begin to hear rumors from staff and locals that the house is haunted bya ghost they call The Monk.  At first the rumors give the young people a pleasant kind of thrill, until they literally find a skeleton in the closet! Meanwhile, unexpected people keep wandering across their property, and townsfolks are acting strangely. Can the three solve the mystery, or will encounters with The Monk force them to give up their ancestral home?

Georgette Heyer (who wrote back in the 1930's) is best known for her Victorian romances, and hers are among my favorites in that genre. This book is one of a few mysteries she wrote, and when she wrote it it was set in contemporary (i.e. 1930's) England. As a result, some people have cars and others don't.  Some have electricity, but telephones are still quite rare. It is interesting to me how much has changed in 100 years. Anyway, although Heyer is not as good at mystery as she is at period romance, this is a decent mystery and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot and clues to the mystery are carefully thought out, and Heyers adds a cute little romance. The characters have the snappy dialog found in all Heyer novels. The setting is fairly gothic, and it was a good choice as a not-too-scary October ghost story. (1932, 352 p)

Fairest of Heart by Karen Witemeyer

Penelope Snow is a beauty, but with her good looks come unwanted attention.  Fleeing from a scandal in her home town, not of her making, Penelope takes a job as a lady's maid to a diva actress. Penelope purposely wears dark ill-fitting cloths, and keeps her eyes down so people won't notice her, but her dowdy clothes don't fool Titus Kingsley, Texas Ranger.  He is taken with Penelope the first time he sees her, but is on a mission and can't stop to talk with her.  Only a few days later he finds her at his father's home for retired cowboys. She had been cast out by her employer because of jealousy, and needs to lay low for a while.  The seven kindly old cowboys are happy to take her in, and Titus increasingly feels a need to watch over her, but can they keep her safe from the wily and evil diva?

This is an odd but charming rewriting of Snow White in a old western setting.  It isn't any great work of literature, but kind of fun because it was so silly. Witemeyer always has a strong Christian message, and I tend to read Karen Witemeyer when I have been having high levels of stress and need something light and uplifting.  In all Witemeyer's stories, the two main characters
each get to the point where they have to let go of their own will and turn things over to God. It is a bit trite, but I knew that message would be in the book and that is what I was looking for when I chose this.  It didn't disappoint. (2023, 352p)

To Love a Governess: a Timeless Regency Collection by Josi Kilpack, Heather B. Moore, and Julie Daines

 How could I resist this short story collection by three of my "Clean Romance Writers" A-list authors.  In each story a handsome rich man falls for a beautiful, but humble governess. 

In the first, Dina's fortunes have declined while her childhood friend David's have improved.  Even though Dina still holds a torch for David, she is determined not to interfere with his match to a "suitable" heiress, until she sees the fiancée sneaking off into the woods with another man.  

In the second, when Captain Ridout's brother and sister-in-law die suddenly of a sickness, he finds himself in possession of both and estate and two orphaned children. Emmeline is from a good family but is heartbroken when her crush marries another women.  To get away from the situation, she takes the position as a governess for the captain just for a year until she can make enough money to start a new life.  She doesn't bargain on falling in love with the children and their uncle.

In the third, Sarah Woolsey was orphaned as young child and accepted as a charity student at a girl's school.  She becomes a housemaid  but is hastily elevated to be the governess to a foundling child left on her employer's doorstep.  Her frank country ways and unspoiled beauty captures the attention of her employer, but can he convince she is good enough to marry a gentleman? 

This is a sweet and delightful collection--just what you would expect from the book description and title. It is shameless wish fulfillment, but sometimes that is just what we want to read.
(320 p. 2019)

Reckless by Cornela Funke

 Jacob's father disappears one day without a trace. Jacob discovers a magic mirror in his dad's office into another, dark world.  Hoping to find his father, and drawn to the danger in the mirror world, Jacob spends more and more time there, keeping it a secret from younger brother, William. Then one day William finds his way into the mirror world and is infected by a wound curse.  Jacob races against time to try to find a way to do what no one else has ever done, keep his cursed brother from turning into a beast.

Here is a good choice if you are looking for a spooky Halloween read. Funke is a good writer, and her mirror world convincingly weaves together the darker elements of a lot of well known fairytales. The scary elements are balanced by the brotherly devotion between Jacob and William, and by the stalwart loyalty of William's girlfriend, Clara. Overall, it is a good horror book except for the fact that the resolution is a bit abrupt, and not really well supported by the story. There are more in the series so I wasn't sure until almost the end if Funke would bring the story to a resolution, but then suddenly she did.  I generally like Funke's books, and I think a lot of readers have and would like this one, but horror is not my thing and I am not likely to read the next in this series. (2010, 400)

To Ride the Wind and To Steel the Sun by Melanie Cellier

Here is a two-book retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon set in the Four Kingdoms universe.  Charlotte is the odd man out in her family of three sisters.  When a mysterious talking white bear  promises her family riches and prosperity in exchange with a hasty marriage with Charlotte, they only make a pretense of objecting.  Something in the stranger's eyes captures Charlotte's trust, and she decides she is as well off with him as in a love-starved home. Meanwhile, Gwendolyn is the obedient daughter of a tyrannical queen of a high mountain kingdom.  She is so cowed by her mother that she fails to see how oppressed her servants and the people of the nearby village are.  Then one day something happens that opens her eyes, and she knows she must do something to help. When Charlotte makes a mistake that separates her from her beloved bear husband, she teams up with Gwendolyn in hopes of saving both him and Gwendolyn's kingdom.

This fascinating fairytale has always been interesting to me, and I think Cellier does an decent job on the odd story. It takes some plot acrobatics, and some convenient "Godmother gifts" to make things work out, but Cellier manages to pull it off.  The tone of the story is very much like all her other fairytale retellings.  It is actually something I like about Cellier, you pretty much know what you are getting when you start reading one of her books.  The princesses and princes all have almost the same personalities from one book to an other, with only a few small variations. This princess might be a little more spunky, and that a little more shy, but in the end they are all the same.  Still, it makes her books a predictable read when you need a predictable read. To Ride the Wind (2024, 314 p) To Steel the Sun (2024, 282 p)