In Want of a Knife by Nancy Warren

 In this fifth installment of the Vampire Book Club series, a movie producer has come to Ballydehag wanting to make a porno version of Pride and Prejudice. At the same time Jane Austen, now one of the undead, shows up in town and asks for help to stop the production. Quinn Callahan is at first start-struck by meeting her favorite author and determined to help her any way she can, but when the producer of the film turns up dead, can she be sure that her literary idol was not the killer?  Of course there are other suspects and motives, and it takes all Quinn's supernatural friend's help to discover the truth.

I keep reading these, and they just aren't very good. I knew who the killer was going to be in the first chapter, but the author didn't have Quinn even consider the true culprit until the last two chapters.  It was an entire book of red herrings. The only redeeming quality about books in this series is that listening to them takes absolutely not emotional or intellectual effort on my part. It is about as engaging as elevator music in a department store.  Still, sometimes that is exactly what I am looking for in a book, so I will probably read more. (226 p. 2023)

More Than Words Can Say by Karen Witemeyer

I was a little disappointed by the 
cover.  She is supposed to be 
more plump than this. 

 Zacharias Hamilton is happy to be free from family responsibilities. He has a good job, a good friend, and good sticky buns for breakfast each morning. When his favorite female baker's shop is threatened, the only way to save it is for her to get married, and Zach can't imagine her marrying anyone but him. In Abigail Kemp's mind, the marriage is just a business deal, allowing her to keep her bakery, and giving Zach free room and board. She considers herself--plump and independent--as not worthy of the romantic attentions of a tall, strong, handsome man like Zach. He sees it differently. It doesn't take long before convincing her to be his wife in reality is his highest priority, but first he needs to find out who is trying to ruin Abby's life, and stop them.

It is a common trope in historical romance, for a couple to get married first and then gradually fall in love.  It is a sweet theme and Witemeyer does it well here. There is good chemistry between Zach, the strong silent type, and Abby, who is delightful, but doesn't know it. One thing I appreciate about Witemeyer, is that when the main characters have a misunderstanding she doesn't let it draw out for chapters and chapters.  They resolve it quickly by actually talking to each other, and most the the time is spent with them confronting exterior threats together rather than bickering between themselves. If you had told me 10 years ago if I would be a regular reader of Texas cowboy historical romances, I wouldn't have believed you.  But, there it is. (358 p. 2019)

A Study in Death by Anna Lee Huber

 This is the fourth in the Lady Darby Mystery series. Lady Kiera Darby is preparing for her upcoming marriage to inspector Sebastian Gage. The wedding preparations are stressful, as is her commission to paint a portrait of Lady Drummond. She suspects that Lady Drummond is the victim of spouse abuse, but doesn't know what she can do about it. Then Lady Drummond is found dead in her home. The physician rules her death as natural, but Lady Darby suspects that she was murder. Her husband's family is not pleased as she jumps into the case, trying to find justice for her fallen friend. When the number of possible suspects grows, so does the tension between herself and Sebastian. Is she willing to pursue the case to the end, even if it costs her own future happiness?

This is another well crafted mystery by Ms. Huber.  She is good at creating both clues and red herrings so that the final solution is not obvious.  The relationship between Kiera and Sebastian vacillates between being steamy and cold.  I guess the author has to write it this way to maintain a dramatic tension, but it made me feel a little frustrated. If they can't even get along while they are engaged and still enjoying the first flower of their amore, how will they ever survive marriage?  Still, it was entertaining enough that I finished it, even though I was reading it instead of just listening to it (I checked out the print version to take on a vacation.)  (336 p. 2015)

Upside Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins

 Nory's father is the head master of a very prestigious magic school, and her older brother and sister are both star students in the school.  When it comes time for Nory take the qualifying test for the school, she fails dramatically. Her embarrassed father arranges for her to go to a different school where they have a program for kids whose magic is "upside down." There Nory finds friends and an emotionally supportive teacher but still longs to be normal and able to go home and be with her family again.  She and one of her newfound friends create a scheme that will allow them to test out of the special class, but it requires her to box up most of her inner life in order to fit in.

I checked out this book because Netfix has a new series based on it.  I remember it being fairly popular when it fist came out. I also noticed it on the Pride Month book list in June.  It is a short book for primary grade readers, but I can see why it would be on an LGBTQ list, even though it never mentions gender identity. It is all about the social pressure to be "normal" and how it encourages children to deny their real self. It is a good message for anyone who feels different, not just those with gender identity issues. The same yearning to be socially acceptable drove me to anorexia at about the same age as the Nory character. The writing is good and there are plenty of humorous scenes where Nory and the other kids in her class try to control their as-of-yet-uncontrolled magic. I think a lot of 3rd and 4th grade kids would enjoy it. (208 p. 2016) 

Yours is the Night by Amanda Dykes

Orphaned as a teen, Matthew raised himself and his younger sister in the stables of a race horse farm where he found work as a stable hand. When WWI begins, Matthew enlists, and his sister become nurse. Both end up in France where Matthew's commander recognizes in him the qualities of a true leader.  They are in trenches near the Argonne forest, where Mireilles had always lived with her father and grandfather.  When the war encroaches on Mireilles sheltered life, Matthew and his band rescue her right before she falls behind enemy lines.  In a rare moment of sentimentality, their commander allows Matthew and two companions to escort Mireilles and the important documents she holds, to Paris where Mireilles might have relatives. On the way, shared joys and trials bond them in ways that nothing but a war, hard fought, can. 

Here is yet another historical fiction by Amanda Dykes.  The style of the writing and general tone is the same as her other books. It is perhaps a bit more somber because of the backdrop of WWII but Dykes manages to balance the darkness of war with the hope of faith and friendship. Dykes clearly did a lot of research to get the setting of the novel authentic. The characters are well drawn (and well read by the narrator) and each makes their own journey of self-discovery. At one point Dykes leads the reader to believe that one of the main characters has died, but since I had read her other books I was pretty sure she would pull out a happy ending.  I will be reading more from Dykes, but I need a rest from the thickly layered emotions of her literary style. (368 p. 2021)

Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes

 Mercy Windsor has fled Hollywood because of a scandal not of her making and runs to the only place she felt she might belong. She knows her best friend doesn't live there anymore, having suffered a tragic early death, but she still hopes the secluded Colorado mining town will still give her needed seclusion. When her friend, Rusty Bright, was still alive, they had sworn to each other that together they would try to find a lost treasure rumored to be in the hills surrounding the town.  Mercy is determined to fulfill their dream and use the money to help the struggling town that Rusty had loved so much. Mercy doesn't expect the warm welcome and support of the townspeople that help her discover something more valuable than any hidden treasure.

Since I enjoyed the book All the Lost Places by the same author, I decided to try another. I ended up liking this as well, so I have added Ms Dykes to my illustrious "Clean Romance Writers" list. The book has plenty of heart break but it primarily hopeful. I guess I wouldn't call it a romance, since the primary relationship is between the two friends, but there is a nice secondary romance that adds a dollop of sweetness.  Like the Lost Places book, this book jumps back and forth between time periods, the past  being primarily represented by excerpts between the pen pal letters written between Rusty and Mercy. Rusty has an indominable personality that is fun to read.  Another fun thing about the book is that we get to see a cameo of Victoria and Daniel from the Lost Places book. They don't play a role in the plot, but just step in and take a brief bow.  (384 p. 2024)

A Full Life by Jimmy Carter

 Jimmy Carter was born in 1924 in Plains Georgia.  His parents were poor land owners and he grew up in a small community where most of his neighbors were black sharecroppers. They lived humbly without either running water or electricity.  From those humble beginnings Carter's intelligence and work ethics helped him attend college and later be appointed to the United States Naval Academy. After graduation he went through specialized training to serve on submarines, and eventually rose to become a major player in the development and testing of the first nuclear submarines.  When his father died, he left the military and took his young family back to Georgia to take over the running of his father's interests which included both farming, and the distribution of farming supplies and seed to other farmers. He got involved with politics as a champion of civil rights, and eventually was elected of Governor of Georgia. He was so successful in cleaning waist and corruption in Georgia that leaders of the Democratic Party urged him to run for President. He won the election and served for one term.  After being defeated by Ronald Regan in 1981, he spent the rest of his life working for political causes through the Carter  Foundation which sought world wide democracy and improvement of civil rights and economic equity.  

Here is another book from the US 250 celebration list.  I enjoyed it immensely.  It is read by the author and listening the the book felt like I had been invited to his home and allowed to sit while he told stories about his life. I have kept journals since I was 12 years old and the first entry in my very first journal stated that Jimmy Carter had won the election, and that my mother said, because of that, we should get our food storage up to date since there was likely to be a war. My parents were staunch Republicans, so I didn't really have a great opinion of his presidency.  Listening to the stories in the book, however, I feel like he was one of the most moral of the US presidents. He was devoutly Christian and let his religious faith guide his decisions in office. His presidency has not been seen as one of the best in history, but the way he comported himself is so strikingly different from some current politicians, it made me nostalgic for days gone by.  This book is a good choice for those in my demographic who are interested in US political history, but also for those who want to read about someone who tried his whole life to do the right thing. (2015, 272 p)