My Current List of Historical Romance Writers I Like

 Here are some Historical Romance writers that I like. The settings are in England unless otherwise noted.  They are in alphabetical order (of course, I am a librarian after all).  Disclaimer: For some of these I have only read one of their books, so they may have other books that are awful or inappropriate.  

Joanna Barker (19th Century)

Julie Daines (19th Century)

Kimberley Duff (the two I read were set in India)

Sarah Eden (Regency and Victorian)

Georgette Heyer (Regency)

Kristi Ann Hunter (Regency and Victorian)

Josi Kilpack (19th Century and contemporary)

Sarah Ladd (19th Century)

Kim Vogel Sawyer (US history)

Helen Simonson (WWI and contemporary)

Anneka Walker (both historical and contemporary)

Roseanna White (WWI and WWII)

Karen Witemeyer (Western American)

The Letter From Briarton Park by Sarah E. Ladd

Cassandra Hale grew up in a girl's boarding school not knowing who her parents were. Her head mistress and mentor, on her deathbed, gives Cassandra a letter from a Mr. Clark inviting her to visit him at his home in Briarton Park to learn more of her family.  When Cassandra arrives she is disappointed to find that Mr. Clark has died and the new owner, a widowed mill owner named James Warrington, knows very little about him.  Undaunted she starts asking around town and is befriended by the local vicar, the young, single, and charming Mr. North. Having lived her whole life in a girl's school, Cassandra is overwhelmed by the interest she soon receives by both of her new male acquaintances. Both seem willing and eager to help her in her search to find out more about her family, even when the search uncovers illegitimacy and open hostility from potential relations.  Are both men's motivations for helping her pure, or are there ulterior motives in their attentions?

Here is a new clean Regency romance writer I wanted to try out.  I am always on the lookout for a new one to add to my list.  Ms Ladd turned out to be pretty good.  The story and characters are predictable, but the writing is decent and interesting enough to hold my attention.  I sensed that Ms Ladd was giving a nod to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.  This book has a similar setting to that with mill owners worrying about strikes because of new machinery replacing workers. I couldn't help but smile that Warrington's mill owner friend's name is Mr. Milton, the name of the mill town where North and South takes place. I enjoyed the book well enough that I did add Ms Ladd to my list and will probably eventually read the next in this series. (2022, 336 p.)

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

 Odie and his brother, Albert, are orphans.  They are not native Americans, but they have lived at an Indian school since they were 6 and 10.  It is 1932, and now Odie is 12 and Albert is 16.  Albert is obedient and diligent, but Odie makes all the trouble he can for the school's head mistress, Mrs Brickman, whom they call the Black Witch. The school is harsh. The kids are underfed, and overworked.  The only thing that makes it bearable for Odie is a couple of compassionate teachers who help shield him from the worst of Mrs Brickman's wrath.  Then one day tragedy strikes, and Odie is forced to flee the school.  Albert and their friends, Mose and Emmy flee with him.  They take a canoe and start down the river that will lead them to the Mississippi, St. Louis, and the only family Odie and Albert have left. Along the way the meet a wide array of people doing their best to survive at the height of the Great Depression,
and learn a lot about life, faith and love.

One of my co-workers who was an English major recommended this book to me because she loved the writing style.  It is an interesting mix of Huckleberry Finn, Grapes of Wrath, and Oliver Twist. The writing is very literary and the mood swings from melancholy to hopeful throughout the narrative. I didn't know if I was going to be able to handle a book like this this week because I was stressed by a big project at work,  but I ended up really enjoying it just because it was so well written. All the characters are complicated and fully drawn.  Odie is intelligent, but authentically only 12 years old. The others are also very believable characters, each with their demons to fight, and their battles to win.   Even though the characters are teens, the reader should beware that there are adult elements.  There is no description of sexual or physical abuse, but there are suggestions of it. Still, I could see this being really popular with book groups.  I could even see a high school student with an affection for the classics really liking it. (2020, 464 p)

Great Courses: Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor

 In this 24 part lecture series, Harl traces the history of Asia Minor from the period of the Hittites in about 2000 BCE to the rise of the Ottoman Empire in 13th century AD. He looks at how the different civilizations were manifested politically and culturally from the city of Troy, through the great empires of the Old Testament, Alexander the Great, the Roman empire, the Holy Roman Empire and finally the Ottoman Turks. Each lecture is about 1/2 hour long and Dr Harl is an informed and passionate advocate for increased appreciation for this part of the world. 

When people think of the leaders of Ancient Europe and Asia, they don't usual think about Asia Minor (the part of modern day Turkey between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas) but Dr Harl argues, convincingly, that they should. I was drawn to this series because I have been studying the New Testament this year, and the Apostle Paul, especially, talks a lot about cities in Asia Minor.  As I listened, however, I realized I was recognizing stories, places, and personalities I had studied in my Humanities classes in college.  It also gave me new perspective about the middle ages, especially the crusades and how Asia Minor switched from being the center of Christianity to being dominated by Muslim nations. When I told a co-worker I was listening to this series she commented that she thought it would be rather dry.  Maybe to many it would be, but I found it very interesting and it changed the way I saw the progress of history.  (2001, 24 lectures)

The Fire Keeper by J. C. Cervantes

 In this second book in the Storm Runner series, Zane, Brooke, and their friends and family are living on a is a tropical island, protected from the vengeful eyes of the Mayan gods. In some ways life has never been so good, but Zane is still worried about his divine father Hurakan who is imprisoned for fathering a demigod son. Zane is preparing to try to sneak off the island and go to free his father, when another demigod arrives on the island, Ren, who has read Zane's book about his first adventure and found the magic note in the end.  Zane soon discovers that by putting the hidden note in his book, he has exposed other godborn kids and that 10 have already been kidnapped by unknown magical forces.  Now Zane needs to save the godborns and his father and he is willing to do just about anything to do it.

When I read the first book, I mentioned that this was the most Riordan-esque of the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.  That is doubly true for this book.  I don't know if Cervantes is just good at imitating Riordan's style, or if Riordan did major text editing and plot help in its production.  Either way, this book is better than the first and I think Riordan fans will like it. Zane is smarter and the plot tighter. The character of Ren is good and it is fun seeing Zane team up with previous enemies. Cervantes is on a roll and I probably won't wait another two years to read the next in the series. (2019, 432 p)

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds

 Miles has his mother's last name, because his father had at one time been a notorious gangster. His dad has gone straight, and worked hard in able to put Miles in a top private school. As a mixed racial kid it is hard for him to fit in at his school, and 2018having to attend history class with a seriously racist teacher makes it even harder. He knows that his teacher will expel him with the least provocation, so he tries hard to be the perfect student his parents want and need him to be.  It is hard when he has a secret that he has to hide from everyone but his best friend and his dad, that he was bitten by a radioactive spider when he was 13 years old, and now he has spider super powers! His spider sense keeps telling him there is something wrong in his history class.  Dare he investigate his terrible teacher and risk being expelled despite all his parents' sacrifices for him?

I chose this because it was written by Jason Reynolds and I would probably read about anything written by him. That being said, I don't know if Mr Reynolds was cut out to write superhero lit. This book is mostly about Miles' struggles in a white-dominated institution and his internal conflict about whether to stand up to unfair treatment and risk losing his place at the school. That part of the story was really well written.  As always, Reynolds creates sympathetic characters that behave in authentic ways and puts them in realistic social conflict situations. The last couple of chapters, however, when Miles actually uses his superpowers, was pretty silly and didn't make much sense. I wonder if Reynolds came up with that part of the plot, or whether is was adapted from a historic DC comic book plot.  Either way, it wasn't Mr. Reynold's best work. I still enjoyed the part that was more like his other works enough that I don't regret reading the book. (2018, 272p)

Roses of Feldstone by Esther Hatch

Rose and William were childhood friends, but when William unexpectedly became heir to their family estate, he started avoiding Rose who was without fortune or title. After two fruitless London seasons, Rose returns to Feldstone manner not knowing what to expect from William.  William knows that after his older brother's shameful marriage to a lowborn foreigner, it is up to him to uphold the family status. He has tried to push down his feelings for Rose, but without much success. Yet he fears if he were to follow his heart, it would be the death of his mother who has been declining since his brother's scandal. There seems to be insurmountable obstacles between the two old friends, not the least of which is their reluctance to share their true feelings with each other. Will William's promise to his mother to marry a suitable bride within six months mean the end to their hopes of happiness?

When I read the collection of Christmas romances last month, I realized that I wasn't familiar with one of the authors, Esther Hatch. I decided to try one of her novels hoping to find a new name for my "preferred clean romance writers" list. By the end of the book I was still ambivalent about whether to add her to my list.  In some ways this novel was very much like those of other authors I have enjoyed.  Rose has a spunky personality and there is snappy repartee between characters.  There are some funny moments and there is nothing really wrong with the setting.  Yet somehow, I had a hard time getting through the book. I kept wanting to turn off the recording rather than continue listening.  I am trying to put my finger on the reason why. It may have been just because I wasn't in the right mood this week but I think it was because I got really frustrated in their miscommunication with each other.  One or two scenes where miscommunication is an important plot point is fine and even to be expected in one of these novels, but this whole book was just one long case of miscommunication. I felt like shouting at them, "just talk to each other already!"  I am not sure if I will try this author again or not. (2018, 225 p)

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

 In this NYT bestseller nonfiction, Yuval traces the development of the human species from prehistoric time when it competed with other hominids, to the present, and even into the future.  He posits that human history was marked with several world/changing revolutions: the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, the rise of empire, the industrial revolution, and the future biotechnical revolution. In each of these revolutions, humans gained certain things and lost certain things.  The world as a whole mostly suffered because of the rise of homo sapiens as the dominant species and he believes that humans were probably happier in simpler hunter/gatherer times. He also predicts that humans, as we know them with evolve into a new kind of being that is augmented by technology and bioengineering. 

Harari has a lot of astute observations in his view of the history of the world, and I thought a lot about what he wrote about and his view of modern humans as I read the book. The writing is accessible and engaging. He comes across as well informed and educated but doesn't drift into language that is difficult to understand or jargon that is unfamiliar. As I made my way through the lengthy book, I began to see that his view of life was not at all unbiased.  There were ideas that were clearly important to him, and his world view was slanted to support his beliefs. He is gay, vegetarian, atheist, and practices Buddhist style meditation. These ideas are portrayed as the ideal in his book.  He doesn't dwell on homosexuality that much, but clearly states that there is no reason it isn't as natural as any other sexual behavior, as it shows up among non-human species.  He spends more time deriding the meat production and processing industries as deplorably inhumane, and the belief in God as not only intellectual immature, but also ridiculous and insidious. By the end I felt like the whole book was written to justify his own life choices. Still, I don't regret reading the book and will probably recommend it to others who like philosophical works. (2015, 464 p)

The Holly and the Ivy by Sarah Eden, Esther Hatch, Dana LeCheminant, and Anneka Walker

 Here are four Christian historical romance novellas all with a Christmas theme.  In each a single young lady meets a man and starts to fall in love with him.  Conflicts arise because of status or propriety, the conflicts are resolved and they kiss and get married.  They are really Victorian/regency versions of a Hallmark Christmas special.  My favorite was probably the first one by Sarah Eden,  It is a prequel to her Lancaster Family series and shows the early childhood of the "Deadly Duke" of Lancaster from Seeking Persephone.  I also enjoyed the others, but I must admit, by the end I was ready to move onto another genre.  There is no reason, however, that you would have to read all four stories.  They are not at all connected to each other.  If you are in the mood for some clean, fun, romantic, historical Christmas cheer, this is a good choice. It will also introduce you to some pretty reliable clean historical romance writers. (2022, 400 p.)

Kitty and the Moonlight Rescue

 Kitty is the daughter of a famous superhero. Her mother has special cat powers and skills, and Kitty hopes she will grow up to be just like her.  One night a cat comes to Kitty's window asking for help. Her mother has already gone out for the night and Kitty wonders if she is brave enough to go on her first adventure.  With the encouragement of some feline friends, Kitty dons her cat costume and goes out into the night.

This is a new-ish early reader series that is really gaining popularity at my library.  It has a simple and mildly suspenseful story and darling pictures. I think it is well suited for kids who like Princess in Black but who are ready for a little bit more text. I could see my own granddaughter reading the story and then wanting to dress up like Kitty and rename her toy cats Pumpkin and Figaro. (2019, 128 p.)

Once Upon a Dream by Liz Braswell

 The beautiful Briar Rose pricks her finger on spindle and falls into a deep sleep.  A brave prince battles a dragon to save her.  He leans over, kisses her and they all live happily ever after, right?  What if Prince Philip's kiss had not worked.  What if Briar Rose and the rest of the castle were locked in a terrible dream world where Maleficent is the queen, Aurora is her ward, and there never were three good fairies. 

That is the premise of this edition of Disney's Twisted Tales books.  Like the Aladdin book I read earlier, this story is squarely YA, and rather dark.  Aurora is totally messed up psychologically as she has fragmented memories of her real life and the fictional life in her dream world. In addition to the emotional elements, there is also a pretty high body count complete with moderately graphic descriptions of ritualistic sacrifice. Though it was a little hard for me to get through, (edgy isn't really my thing) I could see a certain type of teen loving it because it addresses some real issues with the original story. I mean, really, wouldn't a girl get a little twisted and traumatized having been raised the way Aurora was? (2016, 448 p)

Voice of Command by Melanie Cellier

In this second in Spoken Mage series by Melanie Cellier, Elena is facing her second year at Mage School.  This means learning to do combat, not only with swords, but also with magic.  At first she is unable to do her spoken magical compositions fast enough to be effective in a fight, but she gradually figures it out and hones her skills.  Meanwhile, she is looking in dread to her 18th birthday when she plans to enlist in the military to fulfill her family's mandatory service obligation.  Her second year of school is sidetracked by a plague in another part of the kingdom, and all the students, including Prince Lucas, are sent to use their skills to help combat the sickness. Elena's feelings about Lucas swing wildly from frustration to admiration to fairly intense attraction; yet she knows that she, as a commonborn, could never end up with a prince.

I am finding I am enjoying this series, maybe even more than the other series I have read by Cellier.  I think both Elena's and Lucas's personalities are different than some of the stock personalities I got used to (and a little tired of) in her fairytale retellings.  She has also created an unusual and interesting magic system and social dynamic.  One of the interesting plot devices is that Lucas understands the court intrigue and politics of the kingdom, but Elena doesn't.  Lucas is also torn between his attraction to Elena, and his duty to his kingdom. There are two more in the series, and then an entire companion series after that.  I will probably finish this series, and then we'll see if I do the other.  (266 p. 2019)

Ada Lovelace Cracks the Code by Rebel Girls

 Ada Byron Lovelace was the only legitimate daughter of Lord Byron.  By the time she was born, her parents were already estranged, so she never really knew her illustrious father before he died when she was eight.  She was raised as an aristocrat and given a good education, but had few friends and was often lonely.  She also had delicate health and spent several years as an invalid after a terrible case of the measles. While ill, she turned to books as her companions, and as a teen and young adult became fascinated with math and logic.  She became friends with another female mathematician, Mary Somerville, who introduced her to her future husband, William, Earl of Lovelace, and to Charles Babbage who was a scientist working on a computing machine.  He was designing the machine to do mathematical calculations, but Ada was able to see that it had far more possibilities than just mathematics.  She became an advocate of Babbage's work and translated and added notes to a paper about his device in hopes of raising funding for his project. 

This is a short biography written as a highly fictionalized story of Lovelace's life focusing one her personality, early education, and work with Babbage. I found it interesting and entertaining.  At the end of it, though, I wasn't clear why she was considered to have been the first computer programmer.  I had to read a Wikipedia article to discover she had added to her translation of the article referenced above, a postscript with a description of how to calculate the Bernoulli numbers with Babbage's machine.  It is this postscript that is considered by some the first computer program. Still, I think this is a very accessible biography for anyone, especially girls, who are interested in computers and coding. (2019, 128p.)

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

 Dr. Dan Ariely is a professor of behavioral economics at MIT et alii.  In this book he catalogs how, contrary to assumptions, people don't generally act rationally, but that their irrational behavior follows predictable patterns.  In his position as an academic researcher, he has conducted a variety of research studies that demonstrate how people are swayed by suggest, emotion, offers of free stuff, the placebo effect and other influences. His studies are unconventional, often ethically questionable and amusing.  The writing is engaging, clearly written for the popular market.

I read this book because it was recommended by a co-worker.  I found it interesting and thought provoking.  There were some things about it that were suboptimal.  I did worry that some of the studies he did were unethical.  Also, while he delighted in showing human foibles, he didn't really set for any theory as to why we might be that way.  That's fine, because any theory he might propose would be speculation, but I did feel as if he was mostly just either laughing or shaking his head at the human family in kind of a demeaning way.  It would have gone over better with me if he had said something like, "the fact that the placebo effect work shows what a wonderful thing the human body is,"  or "Human propensity to be drawn to things that are offered for free stems from hundreds of generations where survival was at a subsistence level, and those who took advantage of free food and commodities were those who survived." Still, I am glad I read it and will probably recommend it to others. (2010, 384 p) 

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

 Homer has grown up as an enslaved boy on a plantation with this mother and sister, Ada. His mother and the two children make an attempt to escape to the south, and they are partially successful, but Homer convinces his mother to go back and get his best friend Anna.  When she does, she gets caught.  Homer and Ada are on their own in the swamp near their plantation.  The are found by a formerly enslaved man, Suleman who leads them to a secret community called Freewater deep in the swamp.  Homer and Ada find safety and friendship in the community, but Homer feels a terrible need to return and free his mother.  One of their new friends, Sanzi wants to be just like her hero, Suleman, and longs to leave Freewater where she was born to see the outside world. Defying all the advice of the adults around them, the children set out to make things right.

This is the winner of both the Newbery and the Coretta Scott King award last year.  I am sorry to say I didn't much like it. I only fought my way to the end because it received so much attention.  So, what didn't I like about it? The main problem was the character of Sanzi.  She was stupid and selfish.  Someone might defend her character by saying she was acting like a pretty normal 10-year-old would have acted, and that may be true, but I still didn't want to read about her.  She was making such big mistakes that had life-and-death ramifications for the whole colony and nobody was stopping her. Where were the adults in her life? All they did was give her a heart-felt lecture and then let her run off and do reckless things again.  I hate reading about stupid children in books. The other thing that bothered me was that the place, Freewater, didn't ever feel like a real place to me. I felt they didn't really capture how hard and nasty it would be to live in a swamp. They didn't talk about mosquitos, or stink, or fire ants, or the problem of getting enough nutrition living on a diet of fish and acorns. One commentator I read suggested the setting was implied to be in Florida.  I lived in Florida for five years, and know a little what a southern swamp is like.  In a southern swamp you never forget about the bugs, or the cotton mouths, or the gators if you want to stay alive.  Anyway, I think maybe kids might like it because there are adventures, and kind of an idealized hideaway place...I guess. Not my favorite Newbery. (416 p. 2022)

Voice of Power by Melanie Cellier

 Elena is a shop keeper's daughter from a small town.  Her society is ruled by powerful mages that use written compositions to harness and direct magic to do their bidding. Commoners are not even allowed to learn to read or write.  When Elena unwittingly unleashes a spoken "composition" to save her family business from looters, her act of power is discovered and she is taken to the mage school for further study and training. At the school, Elena is overwhelmed by the level of wealth and privilege that her mage-born classmates take for granted. As she gradually learns to use her unique skills, she is seen by some as a national threat.  She has to stay on her toes, and accept the aid of a few new friends to even stay alive. 

If you were to ask me who some of my favorite authors are I probably wouldn't list Melanie Cellier at the top of the list, but somehow I manage to read a great number of her books. This is the first I have read in an older series outside of the world of her fairytale retellings.  It is a pretty classic "magic school" story, but I enjoyed it anyway.  It has the stock characters you would expect: the kind girl who befriends the outcast, the cheeky boy who joins their social group because of interest in the kind girl, and the quiet and intimidating prince who internally fights against his attraction to Elena, but outwardly tries to wear a mask of indifference.  There is the older gentleman kindly mentor, the strict but fair lady teacher, and the kindly younger school nurse. If you say that those characters all sound familiar, you would be right.  There is not much that is original here, but it was still fun to read and I will probably read the next in the series. (2018, 312 p)

Culture: The Story of Us from Cave Art to K-Pop by Martin Puchner

 Dr. Puchner is a philosopher and teacher who received his PhD from Harvard. In this book he examines culture from the earliest cave paintings to modern time, showing how key events and people transmit cultural ideas from one people to another. He discusses a wide range of aspects of culture from all over the world.  There are chapters on Egypt, Greece and Rome, Aztecs, Ethiopian Christians, ancient Muslim libraries, the cultural exchange between China and Japan, and many more.  His main premise is that major cultural changes usually occur when one culture bumps up against another. He believes that these cultural clashes drive innovation and flowering of human creative potential.  

I picked this title because I was a Humanities major in college, and part of me still feels like a humanities nerd.  I didn't really expect to learn a lot of new ideas from the book, but was interested in refreshing my memory of topics I enjoyed in my studies.  Wow, was I wrong. I was bowled over by this book.  It totally made me rethink the Humanities education I received 30 years ago.  It made me realize how much my education was heavily biased toward the Western cultural ideal.  In my classes we discussed Egypt, Greece, Rome, European Middle Ages, Renaissance and Enlightenment.  I took one class on Asian humanities (an elective), but learned nothing about the huge influence of the Arab nations, South America, or Africa.   As I was listening to the book I also thought a lot about how I have always valued culture.  Like many in a dominant culture, I consider art and writing of high quality if it matches my culture's art and writing. The book opened my eyes a little to my own cultural bias. I don't know how many would get as much out of this book as I did, but it was paradigm shifting for me, so I am giving it a starred review. (2023, 384 p)

Sinister Secrets by Traci Hunter Abramson, Clair M Poulson, and Paige Edwards

This is a compilation of short novels by three of Covenant Book's most famous mystery authors. All of them involve a man who is working as some kind of agent, trying to solve some kind of mystery, and ending up saving a girl/woman as well.  In the first, a family man is investigating a money laundering scheme and finds a teenage girl in distress.  In the second an ex-Army Ranger joins a detective agency and helps a woman wrongly accused of murder, and in the third, a woman gets caught up in a FBI drug bust and must escape, with the aid of a handsome agent, the drug lords who don't want any witnesses. 

I haven't read short novellas, and it is interesting how they differ from a full length novel.  For one thing, these were more plot driven than character driven. This is partially because they are mystery stories which are already plot heavy,  but I was surprised how little character development there was.  Also, there was less effort to plug up all the plot holes.  Since they are so short, you just have to take it on faith that certain things make sense. The most surprising thing, however, was not due to their length.  I think it is due to to the fact that the publisher is associated with a conservative Christian organization that still has a pretty strong patriarchy.  So very rarely in modern popular books do you have a woman rescued by a strong male character.  The feisty woman who doesn't need rescuing, and the weak male who does, is such a strong trope in the modern world that few books with a damsel in distress ever gets published by the major publishing houses anymore.  Or maybe they do, but they just aren't the kinds of books I choose to read (ha, ha).  Anyway, it was a bit refreshing.  I think the pendulum has swung a little too far in the direction of "woman power" and needs to swing a little bit back to allow men to be heroes again, at least some of the time. (2022, 304 p)

The Dreaming Beauty by Anneka Walker

Tansy White lost her mother at a young age and doesn't know who her father is.  She has been raised by three aunts who love her, but who each have a peculiar personality trait.  When Tansy's fiancée cheats on her, Tansy's aunts decide it it time to take her out of London and back to their family homestead, Rose Cottage.  While there, Tansy is caught in a storm one night and ends up making her way to a nearby estate, where she collapses in the library.  She is found by Marcus Taylor, the younger brother of the estate's owner, who cares for her until he can find out who she is and where she belongs.  Thus starts a tentative friendship.  Marcus is interested in Tansy because both Tansy and Marcus have vivid dreams of the past they can't explain.  Tansy is eager to learn more about her mother and the identity of her father, and Marcus agrees to help.  Tansy's aunts and other local people tray to thwart their fact finding efforts, but their search leads to a truth neither of them expected. 

Ok, I am back to the historical Christian romances.  This one wasn't bad.  Of course, I have read enough of them now that they are terribly predictable, but this one had an interesting premise and nicely drawn characters.  I liked that fact that the author keeps hinting that there is something supernatural happening. It is not until the very end that the reader discovers whether there are mystical powers at work or not.  The writing is clean and blessedly free from commentary about "rippling muscles" or "heaving bodices."  It turns out that this is the second in the series, so now I will have to go back and read #1. I have a list of my favorite clean romance writers, and Ms Walker's place on the list is well deserved.  (256 p. 2022)

Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit by Jesse Q Sutanto

 Theo Tan is a Chinese American with the emphasis on "American".  He doesn't understand why his older brother is so "in" to learning about his Chinese heritage.  Then one day his brother is killed.  Theo is torn with grief and remembers that strange way his brother was acting and the strange things he said before he died.  Theo starts to investigate and is led to a summer camp where his brother had worked as an intern.  Dark things are happening there and as Theo investigates with the help of Kai, the fox spirit he inherited after his brother's death, he walks deeper into mystery and danger. 

This is a Rick Riordan-esque fantasy focused on Chinese folk stories and magic.  The story is told in chapters alternating between Theo's voice and Kai's voice.  Kai is an appealing character, sassy and arrogant but with a soft heart.  Theo is intelligent but insecure.  There are times when one feels elements were stollen from Harry Potter, especially in the character of Theo's friend, Namita, who is very like Hermione Granger. Still, it is well written and well read. I wouldn't say it is fabulous, but I can imagine a lot of kids who would enjoy it.  (320 p. 2022)

Tom Lake by Anne Patchett

Lara knows that the global pandemic is a huge tragedy, but it has brought her three young adult children back to the cherry farm and she can't help but rejoice at their presence. To fill the long days picking cherries, Lara tells the girls about one summer from her childhood when she had a fleeting affair with a man that later became a huge movie star. The girls, each on their own life's path, examine their choices and come to see their mother, and her first great passion, in a new light.

This book has been on the top 10 most requested books in the Libby App for a couple of months now. Ann Patchett is one of the most successful authors currently writing. Every character is fully drawn, utterly believable and heartbreakingly complex.  The story is at the same time tender and--in a few spots--brutal. The emotion is raw and intense in some places and gentle and subtle in others. As a whole, the story is hopeful.  It is a testament to Ms. Patchett's popularity and prowess that they got Meryl Streep to be the narrator of the book.  Ms Streep is masterful and it is hard to imagine a better performance of the text.

All that being said, I almost gave up on the book half way through.  It is hard for me to watch characters make stupid choices, and Lara, as a young hopeful actress, made some pretty stupid choices. I guess the reason the book feels hopeful is that the worst stupidity is in the past, and the reader knows, from the very beginning of the book, that she has both survived and overcome her youthful mistakes.   After I finished the book it haunted me so much that I couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking, "I am so grateful that my religious upbringing helped me avoid some of the pitfalls Lara went through."
(2023, 320 p.)

Great Courses: The Real History of Secret Societies by Richard Spence.

 Secret societies have existed from ancient times to today.  In 24 lectures, Richard Spence touches on every kind of secret society imaginable from ancient Greek wisdom cults to modern ISIS.  He spends quite a bit of time on the Free Masons and related organizations, focusing on their influence in history.  He has a lecture on the Mafia, a couple of lectures on the Knights Templar, and several on modern political societies.  In his lectures he gives both what is know through historical documentation about these groups, but also seems to delight in recounting unsubstantiated rumors as well.  He is careful to distinguish between the two, but he is also clearly focused on entertainment value as much as education.  

I had started another book whose plot turned out so silly that I couldn't finish it,(Come Back to Me by Jodie Hedlund)  so I picked this title since I vaguely thought it went along with the spooky tone of October.  It was interesting, and Spence is an entertaining lecturer.  As I mentioned above, Spencer is just as happy to quote obscure historical novels and he is historical documents. It seems like he not only quoted them for entertainment purposes, but because he doesn't discount their possible veracity. Despite the liberal mixing of fact and fiction, I came away from the series with the understanding that "secret" societies are more ubiquitous than I had thought, and that they have many similarities with each other.  It seems that forming secret societies meets some common human need, and therefore when one organization dies another is sure to pop up.  This is a good choice for those interested in listening to fairly light pseudo-nonfiction about an engaging topic. (2020, 24 1/2 hr lectures)

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

 Vera Wong is a widow who runs an unfrequented tea shop in China Town.  She often has only one customer each day, a gentleman who comes and talks about his ailing wife. Vera is lonely but keeps up appearances by adhering to a strict routine and sending frequent "advice" texts to her unmarried son. Her life changes drastically when she wakes up to find a dead body in her tea shop.  When she realizes that the police are not investigating the murder as aggressively as on CSI shows, she decides to take matters into her own hands.  She knows that murderers usually return to the scene of the crime, so she waits to see who shows up.  Over the next two days four young people show up at her shop, and she is sure one must be the murder.  She now just has to discover a way to find out which one is guilty. 

I put this one on hold because it was one of the top 10 items on hold on Libby last month.  It turned out to be pure delight.  Vera is the stereotypical Chinese dragon mother, terrifying everyone she meets, but underneath she is soft hearted and really does want to help people.  The relationship between the four young "suspects" is cute and well written.  It mystery plot is pretty good too, and I didn't really see the whole solution until it was revealed at the end.  If anyone has ever encountered one of these Chinese mother forces of nature before, this book with make them chuckle all the way through.  (352 p. 2023)

Tumble by Celia C. Perez

 Adela loves her mom and her step dad, Alex, but when he asks her if he can adopt her, red flags go up in her mind.  She knows nothing about her biological dad, and her mother won't answer her questions about him.  With the help of a best friend, Adela does some snooping and discovers her bio-father comes from a famous family of luchadores. As she explores this new side of her heritage, she learns a lot about her family, both good and bad, and a lot about herself. 

I read this one in honor of Hispanic Heritage month.  It won the Pura Belpre Award last year.  It was interesting learning about luchadores, a sport I never really followed before, and the story is well written, but, in the end, it was just like so many other coming of age stories I have read.  How often have we seen the story line that a kid is in some kind of crisis, and against their parent's wishes, learns both the glorious moments and dark secrets of their family's past.  I feel like Maisy Chen's Last Chance fits this description, as does Ariana del Mar Jumps In and Front Desk.  It is a good, important, and relevant trope, reflecting some of the difficulties many kids face.  But...Yeah. (368, 2022)

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 Tova Sullivan is over 70, but still works as a janitor at a local aquarium, mostly to fill time. She has been widowed for a few years, and the solitude of the night shift suits her. She morns her late husband but is haunted by the disappearance of her then teenage son 14 years earlier.  The police called his death a suicide, but she has never believed it.  She talks about her troubles to the fish in the aquarium as she cleans, never knowing that one of the aquatic residents understands her and wants to help.  Marcellus, a giant Pacific Octopus is more intelligent than any human would guess, and watches with interest the unexpected friendship between Tova and the new maintenance kid, Cameron.  Then there is Ethan, the Scotch grocery story owner, the Knit Wits, Tova's gossip group, and Alex, the young owner of the paddle board shop. They are all terribly lonely and Marcellus can end all of the loneliness, if he could only find a way to get through to them.

When you have read 1,100 books in 11 years, it isn't often when you find a book that is both unique and really good.  Such an one is this book.  The characters are richly drawn, totally sympathetic and believably flawed.  Van Pelt manages just the right mixture of sweetness and sadness and Tova faces the hard decisions that come with aging without close family support. Cameron's search for his unknown father is both tender and endearing. It is strange to have one of the POV characters be a giant octopus, but his supercilious voice was one of the best parts of the book. It reminds me of Bartimaeus from the book of the same name. I will be recommending this book to my friends who like A Man Called Ove and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. (My only dilemma is trying to choose a genre heading for it, besides, or course, "starred":). (2022, 368 p)

Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

 Iveliz is excited to have a new start in seventh grade.  The last few years have been difficult as she has dealt with PTSD and other mental health issues.  She makes goals to listen to her mother, do well in class and not be sent to detention.  She also wants to help her grandmother, who is suffering with Alzheimer's disease and recently moved from Puerto Rico, feel comfortable in America.  All her plans fall apart when kids at school make fun of her and she looses control.  From there things spiral until she finally has to face the fact that she needs real help. 

This is one of the Newbery Honor books for this year.  It is written in free verse, but listening to it on audio, I wouldn't have been able to tell you it was written in verse.  It it really just very sparse prose. It has a lot of Spanish in it, and usually I can follow Spanglish in books, but on the recording it was spoken with a Puerto Rican accent and I had a hard time following.  This is one of the social issues books where there are multiple trials the girl is going through.  Unfortunately life for some kids are like that, and perhaps reading a book like this will give some kids hope.  Iveliz has an authentic voice, and the other characters in the story--the mother, her friends, her therapist and her grandmother--are all multidimensional and sympathetic.  It is impressive how much Arango fits into so few words.  I can see why this book won the Newbery Honor, but sometimes I feel sad that all the Newbery winners these days are RX books.  None of them are just fun books that are a delight to read.  I know it is important to have books that help children deal with complicated lives, but it is also important to have books that allow kids to escape and have fun.  I guess those kinds of books are out there.  They just don't win prizes.  (272 p. 2022)

The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams

 In 2015 Desmond Tutu was invited to attend a celebration of the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday.  The two men had met before and had developed a quick and deep bond.  The week before the celebration the two men met daily to talk about different aspects of finding joy.  They were lead by Douglas Abrams and their discussions were recorded. In writing the book, Abrams adds notes about current scientific research that supports the concepts put forward by the two men.  He also gives some history of each man's journey in life and contributions to the world.  The book ends with descriptions of different practices performed by the two religious leaders that support the eight-fold path to joy discussed in the book. 

Last week I was having some emotional struggles including feelings that I lacked sources of joy in my life. I usually turn to a fluffy clean romance in such cases, but I had read several of those lately, and was a bit tired of them. I found this title by chance, and checked it out because I admire the work of both the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. The book turned out to be, not only delightful, but insightful.  It is delightful because the author describes the caring and joyful interactions between these two spiritual giants. He recounts gentle teasing and light heartedness, as well as gestures of genuine affection. The two men really do seem to be dear friends, despite the differences in their religious views. Abrams makes a point to emphasis that they agree more than they differ on their views of how to bring joy into life.  What I loved most about the book is that His Holiness and His Grace didn't give slick, carefully scripted sermons about Joy.  Instead they were just sharing simple principles they learned from long lives of both suffering and service.  The whole book feels very authentic, like the reader is able to sit down and have tea with two of the greatest forces for good in our generation.  I also liked the suggested practices at the end of the book.  Some are meditation practices, and some are prayer practices.  I am considering purchasing the ebook version for my kindle so I can go back and review those again. (2016, 386 p.)

Yesterday's Tides by Roseanna M. White

 Evie Farrow is an innkeeper on a small island in South Carolina in 1942.  Her life is, if not peaceful, then predictable until a U-boat sinks a British naval boat off shore.  One survivor, Stirling Bertrand, washes up on her beach and she takes him in without alerting the authorities. 18 years earlier, on the same island, an English aristocrat, Remington Culbreth, spends a summer at the inn and falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, Louisa Adair. When war breaks out in Europe, the two are separated in tragic ways.  As Sterling tries to unravel Evie's family secrets in 1942, the reader learns more about Louisa's fate in 1918. The two stories of love and loss intertwine into a beautiful tribute to the strength of the human soul.

Ms White is one of my favorite Christian historical writers.  I loved her series about the codebreakers of WWI and was excited when this book was released this year.  I thought it was a stand alone book, but was pleasantly surprised when it tied into the earlier series. The plot of this book is quite complicated and Ms White does an amazing job of unfolding the stories in both time lines in a way the keeps the reader enthralled and wanting to know how it all works out. Both Evie and Louisa are strong Christian woman, and Ms White's treatment of the prejudices of the 20th century American south are handled well. I am not completely thrilled with reader of the audiobooks in this series.  The way that Pilar Witherspoon's voice goes up at the end of a sentence instead of down drives me crazy for about the first three chapters every time I listen to her, but then I get used to it. Maybe the next time a book comes out in this series, I will check out the print copy and read it the old fashion way. (2023, 410 p)

Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker

 Rebecca Rowley is a proper society debutant on the outside, but a rebel on the inside.  She likes to ride, bareback (gasp) when no one is looking, and has entered into a secret engagement while vacationing in Brighton with the son of her parents' sworn enemy.  She and her fiancé decide to return to their respective families and try to discover why they hate each other.  Back home Rebecca meets her handsome new neighbor, Lieutenant Avery, and a quick friendship blooms.  She keeps telling herself that he is just a friend and she is not being disloyal to the love of her life, but the sparks between the two keep flying. Meanwhile she slowly gathers information about her family's past that unsettles her and complicates her plans with her fiancé.  She wants to do what is right, but what if that means denying her heart?

So, this book was about a predictable and stereotypical as it sounds.  Of course, we know what is going to happen and are assured of a happy ending for all, but isn't that why we read these books?  The writing is pretty good, and the characters are interesting enough.  There are a few little plot points that don't quite work, like how do Rebecca and Lieutenant Avery keep meeting in the meadow, day after day, without a chaperone, and never get caught?  Doesn't anyone notice that they are both gone for hours at a time, at the same time almost every day?  I also read a comment that the descriptions of her riding bareback were totally unrealistic.  Still, I enjoyed it and it met the need that I always have when I pick one of these sentimental historical romances--entertainment, and escape from the stresses of life. (2022, I couldn't find a listing of how many pages it has, but the recording was 9 hrs.)

A Whole New World by Liz Braswell

 Aladdin is a street rat from Agrabah.  Jasmine is the daughter of the Sultan.  When they meet by chance one day in the marketplace, it sets in motion a series of events that puts the whole Sultanate in peril. Sound familiar?  Yes and no. This series of books, written for a teen audience, asks the question, "what would have happened if..." In this story the question is, "what would have happened if Jafar had gotten the lamp at the Cave of Wonders instead of Aladdin."  What happens is the Jafar instantly kills the Sultan and makes himself the ruler.  He then makes himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world.  Jasmine escapes from the palace. Aladdin, with the help of the carpet, escapes from the Cave, and together they lead a revolt against Jafar.  The authors try to reimagine key points of the original story into the new plot.  It is Jafar that has the grand parade to the castle, not Aladdin.  There is a giant hour glass but it is not Jasmine trapped inside. There are also new characters, like the Street Rat Queen, that are interesting. All in all, it is cleverly written and an interesting concept.  (2015, 220 p)

Meriden Park by Julie Daines

 Mary Grace grew up in Calcutta, the daughter of some unknown mixed heritage, and the ward of a generous English woman, Lady Welling. When Lord Welling dies in India, Lady Welling returns to her family estate near Nottingham England, bringing a reluctant Mary Grace with her.  Will Mary Grace, with her dark skin and shadowed pass find a home in England?  One of the first men Mary Grace meets on arrival is the saucy Robert Markham.  He is enamored with the tales of Robin Hood and secretly acts the part of greenwood crusader, trying to right the wrongs of society. The two bond over an affinity for wandering around the woods at night, but get caught up in a smuggling ring that proves dangerous.  

This was an odd little retelling of the story of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. The author's attempt to tie the legend into a Regency romance is a bit eye-roll worthy.  Much of Mary Grace's and Robert's behavior is so far outside what would have been considered socially acceptable for the time period that a veteran Regency romance reader will have a hard time.  If you can let that go, however, underneath is a fun, lighthearted story with all the stock characters and plot twists readers of the genre have come to expect. I have read other Julie Daines novels, and none are going to win the Pulitzer prize, but they are decent samples of the genre.  This was not my favorite, but I finished it and will probably read more from the author. (240 p. 2022)

The Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

 When Xeones is a young man his town was conquered by an invading army. He escapes and lives as a vagabond for a few years, but eventually unites himself with the Spartans because he sees in them prowess and valor that would have saved his hometown if they had been there.  He becomes a squire to a young spartan noble, Alexandros, and later to a Spartan commander, Dienekes, who is enlisted to stand at Thermopylae with 300 Spartans and their allies to off the overwhelmingly larger Persian Army.  It is a suicide mission and of the 300 Spartans and their squires that are called as defenders, Dienekes is the only survivor.  He is captured by the Persians, and Xerxes compels him to tell his story and explain how a group of 4000 men were able to kill tens of thousands of Xerxes best fighters before they were overcome. Xeones not only tells about the battle, but about the lives of the brave Spartan warriors, their families and their training.  He contrasts the code of honor and the self discipline of the Spartans to the excesses of the Persian court.  Through the Spartan's heroism, the Persian army's advance is delayed long enough for the Greeks to later launch a sea offensive that halted the Persian invasion of Greece. 

This is an older books someone recommended to me when they heard that I studied classics in college.  As I listened to it I was transported back to my years reading Homer and Virgil in my Greek and Latin classes. The subtitle of the book is "A Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae" it is just that.  It is written in the high epic style of the old classics.  I loved the long descriptive similes, just as one finds in Homer, and the rousing and wise speeches of the military leaders and leading women.  I kept asking myself, "who is this guy" meaning the writer.  He is clearly familiar with the Greek and Roman classics. I expected to discover that Pressfield was a professor of ancient languages or something, but no. He is a man who struggled for 30 years to get something published, going from one minimum wage job to another. He is a military veteran, so he does understand the idea of comrades at arms.  I am still shaking my head as to how he was able to capture the feeling of an epic with no formal training. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, despite very descriptive battle scenes, and lots of crude references as one might expect among fighting men.  The whole book is very masculine, and a reader can almost feel hair growing on their chest as they read it.  It brings up interesting philosophical questions about the nature of valor and the meaning of honor.  Wikipedia says that it is required reading in several military academies. (400 p. 1998)

Lucia Chronicles Book 1 by Diane Cardon

Nia is a young but zealous member of a rebellion seeking to overturn the rule of a tyrant who has been oppressing her country. When Nia is captured by the Tyrant and thrown into jail she is expecting to be beaten or even killed because she is the daughter of the head of the resistance. Instead she, though in prison, is treated decently. She is eventually summoned to speak with the Tyrant himself, and finds him a melancholy young man, not much older than herself, trying desperately to rule an empire he inherited and struggles to maintain.

Jump 18 years forward, and we see a middle-aged woman, Melanie, who is in charge of the Carbrynian intelligence under her father, the Governer, while raising a son, Aiden on her own. She is preparing to take Aiden with her on his first mission into enemy territory, Lucia, to ostensibly investigate rumors that its ruler, Titus, is amassing troups at their boarder and intends to invade. In reality, she has a very different plan that relates to what happened to that teenage girl in prison almost two decades earlier.  As the two stories in the two time periods unfold in alternating chapters, the reader gets clues from the past that help explain Melanie's present life and Aiden's unexpected future.

 I haven't posted a book review for a few weeks.  There are two reasons for that.  One, is that I have been out of town and very busy with family obligations. The other is that I re-read an unpublished book written by my daughter, Diane Cardon in preparation for reading the sequel to the book which she had just finished (review to come). As of yet neither book has a real title or any artwork. They are manuscripts waiting to be submitted to an agent or a publisher. 

That being said, I have read a lot of books (1100+ reviews in this blog so far) and I think this book and its sequel are as good as many of them, and better than some.  The characters are sympathetic, dimentional, and realisticaly flawed, and the political intrigue elements shows a lot of insight into insurgency and intelligence in small regional conflicts.  There is a religious/mystical element that adds a bit of mystery and is reminscent of the writings of Megan Whelan Turner.  If you are interested in reading a pre-print, leave a note in the comment box. 

Romancing Daphne by Sarah Eden

 In this third installment of Lancaster Family series, seven years has gone by and Persephone's younger sister, Daphne, is old enough to have her first season.  Unlike her sisters, Persephone and Artemis, Daphne is shy, quiet and not at all interested in dances and moving about in society.  Determined to be the beloved spinster aunt, there is only one man she has ever dreamed of,  James Tilburn, who was kind to her on the day of Artemis' coming out ball.  Imagine her surprise, when that very man walks into her sitting room on her first "at home" in London.  His attention is guarded, but polite, and she is delighted when he, over the next couple of weeks, starts to pay her special attention.  Little does she know that he is not paying court to her because under his own volition. Over time, his obligatory attention turns into true regard, but he worries that if she finds out his initial interest was motivated by an over-reaching father's manipulation, she will never be able to trust him again.

This week I was so stressed at work and with family obligations, I started to read three other books and eventually returned them unfinished.  This was the only level of literature that could get me through the week.  It is like the first two in the series in plot, but Daphne is a different kind of heroine. She made me think of the Quiet Power book I read, or maybe of Fanny Price in Mansfield Park.  I didn't really see the mythology tie in until late in the story, so that was kind of fun. It has the same gallant hero and ansurrance of a happy ending as all Eden's other books.  Bless Sarah Eden and other clean romance writers for giving us over-50 women the literature we need to handle life's stress. (2017, 328p.) 

Every City is Every Other City by John McFetridge

Gordon Stewart works for the movie industry scouting locations for filming.  He is also a private investigator that does a few jobs on the side in the off season.  When his boss on the movie set asked him to look into the disappearance of her uncle, he feels like he can't refuse.  His search leads him into the forests of Ontario Canada, and to small towns miles from his home in Toronto.  He doesn't want to get involved, either with this case or with Ethel, a second in a film he scouted for, but each day he finds himself more deeply involved, and deeper in danger. 

This book is squarely in the genre of men's suspense/mystery, but it has a unique flavor. There was mention of sex but no description.  There was some bad language, but almost no blood and gore, and a surprising low body count. The author spends a lot of time musing about suicide rates for middle aged men, and stereotyping of women as ditzes. There was a sub plot dealing with each of these issues,  and I kept expecting them to intersect at some clever way, but they never did. The plot rambled, but the characters were insteresting enough that I stuck to it to the end though I am not putting the next one in the series on hold. (360 p. 2021)

Courting Miss Landcaster by Sarah Eden

 Athena Lancaster, younger sister of Persephone, has recently become the Duke of Kielder's ward and inherited 20,000 pounds.  She is excited to have her first London season and anticipates finding the man of her dreams.  The Duke of Kielder hates the London season, so he enlists his best friend, Harry, to help Athena meet appropriate gentlemen among the ton.  The only problem is that Harry has long been in love with Athena.  He knows, because of his finacial situation, that he is not an appropriate suitor, but he can't bring himself to find her anyone else that she might like.  Instead, he introduces her to men that are examples of what she should not look for in a suitor, with nearly diasterous results. 

This is the second in the series I started just a couple of weeks ago.  Although it wasn't quite as impactful to me as the first one, it was still just the right kind of book for me to read during a very stressful week. The relationship between the Duke and Dutchess of Kielder continues to be charming, and Harry and Athena have very good chemistry.  Ms Eden is a Christian writer, but her religious views are implied in the story instead of overtly stated.  She has the lightest touch of any Christian Romance writer that I have read. Ms Eden comes up with a heart-warming ending that makes me eager to read the next in the series. 

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

  Nic (short for Nichol) is a Remarkable, a person with a special magical power, just like her father is. They have been living in the non-remarkable world since her father left her mother when she was two years old. Nic hopes that on her 12th birthday her father will finally start to teach her how to use her power.  Instead, she discovers that her favorite author is really a Remarkable too and is her godfather. He gives her a magical object that sets off a series of events that sends her and her best (non-remarkable) friend on a desperate quest into the Remarkable world.  They must find an ancient power that can save her and the entire Remarkable world from destruction. 

This book got some good reviews when it came out earlier this year.  It is by the same woman who wrote, The Hate You Give but is much lighter than that one. There is no profanity or realistic violence. The story is very "Rick Riordan" like and draws on the mythology of African Americans in the South. In the story, haints, boo hags, rougarous and other mythical creatures are real and live in disguise among "non-remarkable" people.  It is a fast-paced and fun story with plenty of action and well drawn and sympathetic characters. There is a fairly strong civil rights theme, but it doesn't overwhelm the story.  I don't think it is as deep as the Tristan Strong book, but it is maybe more accessible for the target age group.  (2023, 368 p.)

Seeking Persephone by Sarah Eden

Adam, Duke of Kielder, is one of the richest of England’s peerage, but is without an heir. He does not like his cousin, the heir presumptive, but neither does he like his prospects of finding a wife. He has a facial deformity and constant pity from his mother and society has made him irascible.  When Adam’s lawyer convinces him that marrying and producing an heir is the only way to thwart his cousin's ambitions, Adam lets the lawyer arrange a marriage for him. Persephone Lancaster is a member of the impoverished aristocracy. Motherless, and with a disengaged father, she has scrimped to stretch their meager living but knows she can offer no real future to her four siblings. When she receives the proposal from Adam which includes an outrageously generous financial settlement for her family, she decides to sacrifice her future for the future of her siblings by marrying a man she has never met.  When she does meet Adam, she is not so concerned about his appearance as his total disregard for her.  Adam is determined not to care about her, but her patience and sweetness makes that progressively hard for him to do.

I must have been just in the right mood for this book this week because it ended out being my favorite Sarah Eden novel so far.  Both Adam and Persephone are well rounded characters, with flaws and strengths that are revealed gradually through the story.  Both have been deeply wounded and have issues to work through, but succeed in the end because they keep trying to make the relationship work.  Ms Eden has based the plot on the story of Persephone and Hades from Greek mythology, but it reminded me more of a Beauty and the Beast story.  The book was clearly written by a woman rather than a man, because there is no discussion at all about sexual urges. At one point they are even lying in the same bed, and the only emotion alluded to is companionship and comfort. Still, the book and story are delightful, sweet and just the right thing for my stressful week. (288 p., 2011)

The Nebula Secret by Trudi Trueit

 Cruz Coronado and his dad live in Hawaii and Cruz is a surfer boy.  His mother, however, was an elite scientist who worked for an organization called The Explorer Academy.  Ever since his mother's death in a tragic accident, Cruz has wanted to be admited to the academy as a student. His dream comes true the summer before his 13th birthday.  He flies to Washington DC and joins 23 ultra talented like-minded tweens from around the world.  Once he is at the academy, however, things don't go smoothly for Cruz. Someone seems to be out to get him, and he doesn't know why. Eventually he figures out that it has to do with his mother and a project she was working on before she died.  Could her death have been more than an accident?  As Cruz and his friends try to figure out the clues, they come closer to mortal danger.

This is the first in a long series produced by National Geographic.  The series is fairly popular at my library so I decided to give it a try.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The writing is decent and there is definitely a coolness/wish-fullfillment element that I think both girls and boys will enjoy.  At the end of the book there is a note that explains what science/tech in the story was real and what has not yet been invented.  It also highlights several of the real scientists mentioned in the book. Another plus is that the recorded book is read by Ramon de Ocampo, who is one of the best kid's book readers out there right now.  Even though the kids on Cruz' team are all from different countries, de Ocampo does a good job at least suggesting all their different accents.  I put the next book in the series on hold. (2019, 208 p)