Romantic Advances

It's been all over the blogosphere yesterday, and I couldn't resist posting about it too, that there's a new site to check for upcoming romance novels.

I like to plan my wish list with time and check the covers, the genre so I'm planning to be a regular visitor of Romantic Advances!

Fudge Cupcake Murder - Joanne Fluke

This book is nº 5 in the Hannah Swensen series.. This time Hannah discovers the Sheriff's dead body inside the dumpster and since her brother in law becomes prime suspect - because they were both running in the local elections - she has an added motive to find the killer. Not that she really needs a motive....

I did like the mystery, it was interesting and there were a lot of possible suspects, but I think that what really makes this series are the recipes and Hannah's relationship with family, friends and her cat, Moishe.

Hannah and her sister Andrea team up to solve the murder and not even being limited to bed rest stops the very pregnant Andrea. Meanwhile Hannah continues with her indecision about Mike or Norman... Norman is away for most of the book and Mike stays away because he is acting Sheriff and suspended Bill - the brother in law. I didn't much like that Mike seemed to be dating someone else without explaining things previously. But since I'm not a fan of the Norman / Hannah / Mike scenario I guess I can't complain much. It's just that it's hard to understand how she keeps comparing them and they aren't even jealous of each other.

I really like the Cookie Jar setting but it seems Hannah is spending less and less time there baking. One of these days I'll have to try one of her recipes because my mouth just waters when I read some of the descriptions.

As a final note I think Hannah's cat is also a great character! A really entertaining read and so a B+.

Original version or translation...

I'm currently reading a Nora Roberts' book in portuguese (by Ulisseia), so far I'm really not into it and I think that's partly due to the translation. It's not the first by her I read in portuguese but the previous I tried was by another publisher (Saida de Emergência)and I didn't have as many problems as I'm doing now. I think the problem is that they even tried to translate the slang, I'm used to read slang in english but I certainly don't talk slang in portuguese! It's weird! And I certainly wont be trying anymore of hers unless it's in english.

This has been in my mind because I've also thinking about it regarding Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series. I've been reading those in portuguese and somehow they also don't sound entirely right. I'm considering reading the english version to see wether I find substantial differences in how I enjoy the books.

Maybe the problem is the translator. I read my entire Agatha Christie collection in portuguese and they all sounded perfectly translated, even when I reread them today. Translators are a pretty important part of the process when a book is not published in it's original version. I'm wondering if I should start checking who translates the books I like / dislike...

The Gingerbread Man - Maggie Shayne

Aside from a short story on a paranormal anthology that I don't really remember this was my first read by Shayne. I really enjoyed her suspense.

Detective Vince O'Mally is investigating a disappearance of 2 children. Removed from the case after they are found murdered he follows a lead to a small town in search of more clues. There he finds Holly Newman, a young woman who's sister was kidnapped and is presumed dead while she managed to get away.

Holly was very traumatised by what happened to her and her sister and because she was the oldest and couldn't save Ivy. Vince's questions will make her think about the past once more and look for answers to try and save other children.

This is primarily a suspense story. There's a romantic subplot about Vince and Holly but for most of the book the important thing is their investigation. I liked that Holly was a strong character, she has to confront a few fears before she is ready to face the new facts that suggest her sister's killer is still out there but once she does it she is the one who cracks the case.

Vince is also an interesting character, he is the one who really starts the investigation and he is an experienced detective who let a difficult case get to him. At first he is a bit wary of being involved with Holly when she seemed so fragile but he is the first one to recognise her strengh.

The small town atmosphere is really well done and the set of secondary characters very interesting. I had no idea who the real killer was till it comes up and the surprise twist in the end was really well done.
A B+!

The Undomestic Goddess - Sophie Kinsella

This was my first book by Kinsella. I had heard lots about her due to the Shopaholic books but I had never been tempted to buy them so when this one was offered as a bookring I thought it was my chance to try a new author.

I did enjoy it, it's the perfect book to spend a few hours with because it's light and funny. Samatha Sweeting is a very stressed young lawyer at the beginning of our story. She is trying to make partner at the famous law firm Carter Spink and she works nights, weekends... all to reach her goal. But suddenly she discovers she has made a huge mistake, that will cost millions to their client and unable to deal with the pressure she runs away to the country. By a series of coincidences she is mistakenly taken for a candidate to a housekeeping job and so she starts a totally different life from the one she had before.

The book has many hilarious moments especially when Samantha makes huge mistakes in her new life and how she tries to solve them. Her employers are also very peculiar people (and very unbelievable too) but that is perfect for this plot. Samantha learns to cook, iron, clean the house and she even finds love with Nathaniel, the house gardener. But when everything seems to be perfect again she starts to put 2 and 2 together and realises she was set up in the first place and decides to clean her name... This leads to another set of funny scenes with her old law firm trying to get her to work for them again and all the journalists in the country wanting interviews with her. And Samantha will have to choose…
A B!

I've been Tagged

I've been tagged by Rosario to write about three of my favourite books other people might not know about. This is a tough question as most of the books I read are recommended to me by someone but I'll give it a try:


1 - Lions and Lace - Meagan McKinney
Set in New York in the late 19th century this is the story of an rich irish immigrant who is trying to be accepted by the New York high society and the socialite Miss he traps into marrying him to make that possible. I really enjoyed the descriptions of New York at the time and the love / hate relationship Trevor and Alana develop.


2 - The Conquered Heart - Denee Cody
I had already read two other books by Cody when I found this one. Unlike the others this one deals with historical people and the two main characters are people who actually existed. I can never resist reading books that are a mix of historical fiction and historical romance and this one is exactly that. The love story of Richard de Clare and Eve MacMurrough.


3 - The Maiden and the Unicorn - Isolde Martyn
I found this one while searching for info on the Wars of The Roses after reading SKP's The Sunne in Splendour. More of an historical fiction book it has strong romantic elements in the love story of Margery and Richard.

Oh, I'm supposed to tag someone else. I think I've seen this meme in so many blogs now that I don't know who to tag. If you haven't done it yet consider yourself tagged!

Destination - Barcelona

After much thought and deliberation we finally decided on where to go on our vacation in June. We're going to Barcelona!

I decided to forget about not walking all day. We will still have a week to rest and go to the beach on our return.

So now I'm all excited planning everything we are going to see there. I've visited the city before about 5 years ago but it's L.'s first time. If anyone has any interesting tips to share about eating, travelling, visiting and anything else they are appreciated :-)

Next Life Quiz

Your next life shall be as a...

Bear



Almost 32% of people will be reincarnated as a higher form of life than you.

You're not perfect, but you've lead a better life than most. With a few changes now, your next life could be even better.

Take the quiz http://www.reincarnationstation.com/

Night of The Phantom - Anne Stuart

Continuing my expoloration of Anne Stuart's back list this time I read Night of the Phantom. It's a 1991 edition and I think it shows. I could feel some of recurrent themes in her later books like beauty and the beast, ghosts, dark and brooding hero but it didn't make for such a strong story as some of her others.

Between dawn and dusk, Ethan Winslowe's weird mansion was as still as a crypt. Beneath its maze of gloomy corridors, its owner slept far from reach of the sun. As night fell, and fears and phantasms rose to haunt her, Megan Carey was led down to his underground lair -- to dine with a phantom she never saw, who remained a dark shape hidden among shadows. Reputation had it that Ethan was a genius, madman and monster. And Megan was Ethan's prisoner, held fast by a threat stronger than chains.... And by a hunger to know the heat of Ethan's passion, which raged like a fire in the night.

I blame it on the main characters (and maybe on having Fabio on the cover), they just never seemed real enough, strong enough and the whole setting is not dark enough for gothic material. On the other hand other things seemed a bit too much like the fanatics from the town. I know I have enjoyed other Stuart books I've read with the same characteristics as this one and enjoyed them more, maybe one of the problems is that I've been reading a bunch of them one after the other and I'm overdosing. Well anyway it's not a bad book and it didn't annoy me so I'm giving it a B-.

Tintin

Tintin's creator would be 100 years today

Buying magazines

I bought a new crafts magazine yesterday. I shouldn't have, I have enough magazines as it is but it's a strange compulsion that I seem to be unable to run away from.

The thing is I always buy them thinking of doing some of the projects pictured but in the end I seldom really do any. Sad isn't it? Not to mention the space all the magazines occupy. But I so love to open a brand new magazine and looking at all the beautiful photos inside... and maybe one of these days I'll actually start a project or two.

I have the same compulsion regarding books but those I find well worth it, no matter how many I buy sooner or later I know I'll read them...

The Mummy Case - Elizabeth Peters

I really like this series. First it has a wonderful cast of main characters, T think Peabody, Emerson and Ramses really do make the book and I would love it no matter which plot was used. And then it's set in Egypt, to me one of the most fascinating countries in the world.

Radcliffe Emerson, the irascible husband of fellow archaeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, has earned the nickname "Father of Curses" -- and at Mazghunah he demonstrates why. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, he and Amelia are resigned to excavating mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. And there is nothing in this barren area worthy of their interest -- until an antiquities dealer is murdered in his own shop. A second sighting of a sinister stranger from the crime scene, a mysterious scrap of papyrus, and a missing mummy case have all whetted Amelia's curiosity. But when the Emersons start digging for answers in an ancient tomb, events take a darker and deadlier turn -- and there may be no surviving the very modern terrors their efforts reveal.

Like in previous books what I enjoyed the most was the scenes between logical, sensible Peabody and temperamental Emerson, they are so much fun to read. And how they behave towards their son Ramses, Emerson always protecting him and Peabody disciplining him all the time. And Ramses always taking her orders literally! I'm very glad with the way Peters is developing Ramses as a character and I can't wait to get to the next book.

7 Wonders

As the World prepares to the election of the New 7 Wonders of The World we, in Portugal, are also voting for the 7 Wonders of Portugal.

Regarding the international candidates it really is a difficult choice and I think there should be more than 7 wonders. I like Neuschwanstein Palace, The Taj Mahal, Macchu Picchu... but all of the others are pretty spectacular too.

Regarding the portuguese ones I know I may be a bit biased but my vote goes to the one that is closer to home The Palace and Convent of Mafra. Even if I've lived with it in my backyard all my life, so to speak, it never ceases to amaze me whenever I look at it.

What about you? Do you have any favourites?

Weekend

After a week of sun and high temperatures, today the weather is foggy and it's probably going to rain. Fortunately I just received a new book in the mail to keep me occupied,it's Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess. It's my first by her so I'm wondering if it's any good...

Trace - Patricia Cornwell

Although I'm a big fan of Cornwell's Scarpetta series I had great trouble getting into this book.

Scarpetta goes back to Richmond after 5 years to help solve the case of a young girl found dead in her bed. She is called by the new Medical Examiner who reveals himself to be a less than competent man with a few skeletons in his closet. At the same time Benton is in Aspen trying to help a member of Lucy's team who was attacked in Lucy's house, having had to cancel the vacation plans he had with Scarpetta.

I think my main problem with this book is one that I have been feeling in the last books I read in this series. What I enjoyed the most was Kay's observations about life and people, her private life details like cooking or choosing the right wine, it gave the books a sort of an intimist feeling that I enjoyed very much, unfortunately that is absent here.

Then I never quite understood about the new medical Examiner - Dr Joel Marcus - what's his agenda, what is he hiding? There's some build up regarding his character in the beginning but then nothing. And Lucy keeps getting into to trouble and trusting/loving the wrong people. I have some trouble believing someone as smart as her, that has already been burned once by a sociopath lover would fall for that again. And asking Benton to solve her problems for her. I'm a bit annoyed with the Benton character, he is supposedly in love with Kay but he has pretended to be dead for a number of years leaving her to mourn and now he cancels a vacation to spend his time trying to help someone less than worthy, it seems everyone is important except for Scarpetta.

And the mystery about who was behind those deaths was a bit lost in the middle of all this. I never did understand the murder's motivation and there were too many loose ends that seemed to be important and were never tied up at the end. A C.

Some Interesting Links

If You Like Chick Lit (and more): Trashionista
If You Like Cozy Mysteries: Cozy Library
If You Like Mysteries & Thrillers: Stop You're Killing Me
If You Like Regencies: Good Ton
If You Like Romance: All About Romance

I'm looking for a similar link for historical fiction, any ideas? Or any other suggestions on the same genres I posted here?

Daisy's Back In Town - Rachel Gibson

Whenever I pick a Rachel Gibson book I always have high expectations. I’ve loved most of them because of her humorous scenes and her unique heroines. I also like her small town settings and in this book that was no exception.

• Daisy Lee Monroe thought she'd brushed the dust of Lovett, Texas, off her high-heeled shoes years ago, but she's come back home only to find that little has changed. Her sister is still crazy, and her mom still has pink plastic flamingos in her front yard. And Jackson Lamott Parrish, the bad boy she'd left behind, is still so sexy it hurts. She'd like nothing better than to avoid this particular man, but she can't. Daisy has something to say to Jackson, and she's not going anywhere until he listens.
Jackson learned his lesson about Daisy the hard way, and now the only word he's interested in hearing from Daisy's red lips is good-bye. But she's popping up everywhere, and he doesn't believe in coincidence. It seems the only way to keep her quiet is with his mouth, but kissing Daisy had once been his downfall. Is he strong enough to resist her now? Strong enough to watch her walk out of his life again? Is he strong enough to make her stay?

This is a secret baby plot. After 15 years Daisy comes back to the small town where she was raised to tell Jack that he is the father of her baby and not her deceased husband.
I liked Jack and Daisy in equal measures. She seems nice enough but really should have told him the truth sooner and he, although the injured part, is too wild to be trustworthy. When I finished the book I was really happy with it and considered rating it an A, now that a few days have gone by I think is more of a B than an A. It missed the rollercoaster of emotions SEP so well delivers and that this plot easily could have.

I liked that Daisy is determined to tell him the truth despite his bad attitude towards her, that their son always knew the truth, that she realises she is still in love with him rather early in the action and their dialogues. Also the small town atmosphere where everyone knows everything and gossips about their neighbours is well developed.

I didn’t like Jack’s wild attitude. It seemed like only him was allowed to feel grief and heartache because of the past – like he didn’t up broke with Daisy, he was just confused and in mourning so it was okay. He also moved things too fast with Nathan, I understand wanting to make up for lost time but immediately deciding he is moving to Lovett was a bit too much, in the end he wasn’t that bad but I didn’t like those first decisions. Oh and I also didn’t like how they got involved before things are straightened out between them. He seemed like a love them and leave them kind of guy.

Having said that I think he got out of his anger of not knowing about Nathan pretty fast. If he was feeling as betrayed as he was saying than it seemed logical that he needed more time or some grand gesture from Daisy to get him out of it. Not just telling him to…

Despite all these flaws the banter between them and some of the funny scenes still maintain it in B range.

Still the Bookmooch Widget

Now books I'm looking for...




Get a book from BookMooch.com

Strange Bedpersons - Jennifer Crusie

Whenever I pick a Crusie book I know I’ll be laughing out loud. She has great humour and a real knack for funny dialogues.

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne, she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer, she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business, she just wants . . . him — only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick.

And Nick wants her, too, but there's no way Tess is about to play second fiddle to his obsession to make partner. Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée for a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's wrapped up in convincing Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her left-wing opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

This Strange Bedperson is no exception but somehow the characters seemed a bit over the top. The heroine having been brought up in a commune and living in a dangerous part of town in an apartment decorated with thrift store stuff. Somehow she even seemed most over the top than the hero who is suppesedly a yuppie but in which I never saw the faults we usually have on nouveau rich people, ok he was mostly interested in making partner but when he decided to help Tess and her friend he really got things going.

Despite that little flaw (easily explained because this is a 1994 book) the “opposites attract” plot actually works and to add to that Crusie includes a really nice secondary story about Nick’s friend Park and Tess’s friend Gina. I must say I was rooting for them more than for Tess and Nick and the scene of the dinner with Park’s parents is just priceless.
A B.

The Harbor – Carla Neggers

Following on my romantic suspense binge I read my first book by Carla Neggers.

Shattered by her father's murder, Zoe West abandoned her plans to become an FBI agent and left her hometown of Goose Harbor, Maine. But a new home and job did nothing to get her life back on track, and now Zoe knows only one thing will -- returning to Goose Harbor and confronting the past.
FBI Special Agent J. B. McGrath is "on vacation" -- the Bureau's version of "Get your act together, or else . . ." Burned-out after working undercover for a year, J.B. agrees he needs a break, and chooses Goose Harbor as a retreat. But he isn't lying low. He believes a killer is still loose in the town -- a killer who isn't happy to see Zoe West return.
Zoe isn't sure she can trust the unpredictable FBI agent -- or their growing attraction to each other. But as the danger mounts, one wrong move could destroy everything she and J.B. care about. Because someone got away with murder and is determined to keep it that way.

I had some trouble getting into it. I didn’t feel the small town atmosphere and I really couldn’t warm up to the characters. JB just arrives but we don’t really know his agenda, Zoe finds him at her house and just invites him to stay over because he is FBI (no one saw his ID by the way). I never felt the attraction between them and although they weren’t particularly disagreeable they also weren’t really interesting.

Also the book lacked in the suspense department. The main characters are supposed to be investigating Patrick West’s murder (Zoe’s father) but I think the action focused more on the break ins happening than gathering clues of the murder. There’s no investigation and maybe because of that I didn’t it at all suspenseful. The secondary characters are less than interesting , for the most part they are all bad guys and had things to hide but nothing more.

A C-

Testing the Bookmooch Widget

Below it should appear the last 10 books I added to my inventory. I'm still playing around with this....

More Books

Any fans of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series?
I just bought nº3 – The Mummy Case and I’m looking forward to start it. From what I’ve been hearing on several groups I have many good books to read till the end of the series. And... I’ve just requested the first of her Vicky Bliss series from Bookmooch. Life is good!

PS: And I still have one or two Barbara Michaels’s books in the TBR pile. I’ll never understand why authors write under different names, it’s awfully confusing me thinks!

Books & other things

Yesterday I received Diane Mott Davidson’s The Cereal Murders from Bookmooch and Ken Follett’s The Pillars of The Earth from Virgulina. I’m looking forward to start both although I may have to save the Follett for when I have more free time. It is 1076 pages long…



On a totally different subject I am undecided on where to go on vacation. It seems I wont be able to do anything that includes a lot of walking. My foot is still in pain and the second doctor I went to decided I needed more exams before reaching a conclusion. I’m the mean time I’m still in pain and I limp instead of walking. So I’m thinking some light destination like Mallorca or Menorca where I can visit the places of interest half the day and just lay on the beach the rest of the time.
Anyone has any other destination with these characteristics they might want to recommend?

Catspaw II - Anne Stuart

I had great fun reading this book. This is an 1988 Harlequin Intrigue and it’s written almost like a movie or a TV series (T. mentioned a sitcom when she loaned it to me). It’s a sequel to Catspaw and although I don’t think I missed much by not having read that one first I have now decided that I must read only if to find if it’s as good as this one.

Ferris Byrd had no intention of marrying a cat burglar. she trusted her fiance', but when news came of jewel robberies in European cities Blackheart had recently visited, she began to wonder. Had he taken to the rooftops again?"

Ferris Byrd is engaged to an ex-cat burglar. Her fear that he has resumed his old profession and his pride in not denying it leads to fight and a broken engagement. But not all is has it seems as someone is trying to frame Blackheart for those robberies and the eventual robbery of some Faberge Eggs from the exhibition he and Ferris are involved with.

I read this book in one sitting. It has some funny situations in an over the top kind of way (like Ferris climbing her own balcony or facing a very dangerous white tiger) and every chapter has the name of an old 50s/60s movie reflecting the chapter’s theme. Actually the whole book could be easily turned into a 50s movie with an cat burglar and a proper miss as main characters and then a set of secondary characters that include some circus artists, a long lost sister, a cop wanting to lock up said cat burglar and a crook politician. I vote on Humphrey Bogart to play Blackheart (and he is actually mentioned in the book). There’s little of Stuart’s dark and brooding heroes in John Patrick and the whole book is really more on the light side.

I really liked the romance between Ferris and John Patrick but also the romance between Dani and McNab. Stuart does have a knack for making really interesting secondary romances

Both this book and the prequel are mentioned in Anne Stuart’s Out OOP Gems page and if they ever reprinted it I would grab a copy immediately. A B+

Side note: The cover picture is really small but it was the best I could find online...

The Horse's Show

I was planning to write this yesterday but I didn't upload the photos sucessfully and that's why I'm only doing it today. I really enjoyed the horse's show on sunday. Unfortunately we forgot the camera home (this is always happening, I really must find a way to remind myself...) but L. managed to get a few pictures on his mobile phone.

If you're curious you can find a couple more here

Dead Giveaway - Brenda Novak

The sequel to Brenda Novak’s Dead Silence is Dead Giveaway. As in the previous book we know at the beginning of the book that the main character – Clay – is a also a victim. If not a direct victim of the villain a victim of the circumstances who made him cover up a murder. 19 years after he is still guarding the place where everything happened.

Allie is the sheriff’s daughter. A cold case detective who just returned to her hometown after a messy divorce she is approached by Madeline to discover what happened to her father all those years ago and to clear up her family. The problem is that as soon as she starts investigating she finds that not all is as it seemed and some truths are better left alone.

As in the previous book I feel a bit manipulated because I’m siding with Clay and Grace from page 1, because of what happened it’s difficult to deal with how the town’s people treat them and I find myself wishing Maddy would give it a rest and Joe Vincelli to come to a bad end.

In terms of the mystery this book doesn’t move forward much but the suspense is still very much there. The reader is kept wondering what their enemies will uncover and due to the testimony of one of Clay’s ex-lovers for a time it seems they will succeed in prosecuting him. This book let’s us know Clay better and see how he and Allie manage to build a relationship in the middle of so much distrust. I thought he was a wonderful character by the way, not too hard around the edges even after everything that happened and still willing to dream of a future. One good thing about Novak is that her descriptions and characterization are so good that we really care about them.

We know a bit more about Reverend Barker’s sins but mostly this is Clay and Allie’s story and despite the suspense being very good this book is much more about the characters than about the murder plot. At least in my view! A B+ and I can’t wait to read the last one.

Mother's Day!

I finally got the sewing machine out of the closet to sew a gift for my Mom and my Mother-in-law. I made them one pocket wallet each. Since I only started yesterday I wanted something easy and that I already done before so I could be confortable with it. They are still not perfect, I still need to practice more to manage even stiches and straight lines but I'll get there eventually.

Now we're off to watch a horse show. GNR, the national military police force it's celebrating it' 96th annyversary and some of the events take place in our home town. I'm looking forward to watch this because I never seen it before, they will be playing music while riding their horses so I'm hoping it will be an interesting program.

Who is your Muse?

Do you immerse yourself in the annals of history? If so, Clio, patron goddess of history, may be your muse. Her name means "The Proclaimer" and her symbols are a scroll and a pile of books. You probably have a sharp memory and a passion for recording events; with Clio's gift of inspiration, you should be able to look back at history with an unbiased perspective and record it for posterity with clarity and eloquence.

Take the quiz here

Comics

Is anyone else a comics lover?
Besides having read Asterix, Tintin and Mafalda when I was a teenager and regularly reading Calvin and Hobbes on a daily paper I never considered my self much of a comic book's lover. However since KristieJ mentioned For Better or For For Worse and I decided to check the link I've been hooked. I have to have a daily fix! I think the attraction is exactly what she mentions, they are so human, just like everyone else and everyday I can't resist going there and see what's happening with that family.

So today I decided to share my addiction with you! Click here for the comic strip. Of course, if you're one of KristieJ's frequent visitors you might already be addicted too :-)

Lemon Meringue Murder Pie - Joanne Fluke

I really liked this Hannah Swensen mystery. In this story Norman Rhodes tells Hannah he just bought a property to tear down and build their dream house, however there's no mention of making theirs a permanent relationship. During their visit to the property they find a dead body and one of Hannah's pies on the table. The house's last owner was murdered...

Knowing Hannah, and since everyone is pulling for her to investigate, she just can't resist some amateur sleuthing to find the culprit. In the mean time we have the a closer look at her family when sister Michelle comes home and it seems to me they do more family things together. Norman and Mike keep vying for Hannah's attentions but none of them "pops the question" which after the first few chapters doesn't seem to bother her too much.

As I said I really enjoyed it and I find fascinating these mysteries where nothing really bad happens except for the dead body. It's curious how Hannah always confronts the obvious suspects with the belief that there's a perfectly good explanation for their behaviour. Also a lot of fun was her dieting throughout the whole book only to find out in the end that she wasn't getting fat, actually the slack's that didn't fit her where her sister's size.

Another B and looking forward to the next book which is sitting in my TBR pile.

Moon In The Water - Elizabeth Grayson

Still trying to make Mount TBR smaller I picked up a romance novel by Elizabeth Grayson called Moon in the Water. I guess this is what we would call a road romance although it is set on boat in the Mississipi river.

Chase Hardesty is bribed by James Rossiter to marry is daughter and give a name to the baby she is expecting. In exchange he will give him ownership of his new steamer. As Ann and Chase embark on a journey to the west it is also a journey of discovery for both of them.

I found this a rather sweet story. The reader guesses almost immediately who the father of Ann’s baby is but Chase is kept pretty much in the dark about that almost until the end. The most important thing about this story is how they get to know one another during those days in the river and how Chase shows Ann the true value of family. She was set against marrying anyone and is at first very angry with Chase. The author brings to life the emotions and troubles both of them face as well as their surroundings and a big set of secondary characters – from the other members of the steamer's crew to the Hardesty family.

This was my first book by Grayson and I’m happy to find it a B+.

Another Holiday!

Today is International Labour Day so we get the day off!

I'm planning going out for breakfast, some shopping and then a visit to the nearest Fnac as I want to check some travel guides and find something for a mother's day gift that is approaching fast. So nothing really labour related...

Later on I plan to start another of Joanne Fluke's books that arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm really enjoying these cozy mysteries!