Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Books Read - February 2016

Austen, Jane
  • Pride and Prejudice ***
Fiction.  Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters are looking for husbands, but when she meets Mr. Darcy, she can’t think of a worse candidate.  He’s rude and obnoxious and oh so arrogant.  But time goes on, and she sees a  different side of his character, but does he still want to marry her?

Baugniet, Gail M.
  • Mystery in Paradise ****
Fiction. 13 tales of mystery set in the Hawaiian Islands.

Blake, Deborah
  • Wickedly Powerful *****
Fiction.  Fifth book in the Baba Yaga series.  Bella has parked her caravan in the National Forest.  She’s taking time off after helping firefighting teams up north but is unaware that her skill will still be required in her new location.  Sam is an ex-firefighter who battles with PTSD and survivor guilt after losing his entire team in a fire, including his fiancee.  He now works as a fire spotter, and his and Bella’s paths are about to become entangled.

Chambers, Meg
  • Wilde Women ****
Fiction.  Second in thee Winnie Wilde erotic romance series.  Winnie is still seeing Ben, but she meets a handsome doctor on a visit to Florida to spend time with her mother.  Winnie and Gabe hit it off, and they have quite the torrid encounter.  When Winnie has to return to her home in California, Gabe asks her to be in a unique romantic relationship.

Cornwell, Bernard
  • The Winter King ****
Fiction.  A tale of King Arthur as told by one of his soldiers who later became a Christian and a monk.

Feehan, Christine
  • Magic in the Wind ****
Fiction.  First in the Drake Sisters paranormal romance series.  Damon Wilder has moved to Sea Haven to get away from his past.  He lives almost as a hermit, not wanting to interact with the townspeople...until Sarah comes home.  As if by magic, he is drawn to the house on the cliffs, whose gate remains padlocked against trespassers, until one day he walks up to find the gate standing wide open, as if inviting him in.

Galenorn, Yasmine
  • Darkness Raging *****
Fiction.  Menolly D’Artigo and her wife, Nerissa, are called to Roman’s office to meet with his mother, Blood Wyne, Queen of the Vampire Nation.  They are informed that they will be marrying Roman and will become princesses, even though Nerissa is not a vampire.  Telazhar continues his Earthside attacks in search of spirit seals, and the sisters and their extended family must be prepared for war.

Gober, Rebecca
  • Night Marchers **
Fiction.  First in the Night Marchers series.  Emma is upset when her father uproots her to move from Texas to Kaua’i, but she quickly acclimates to her new surroundings when she meets the boy next door, Tristan, son of the caretaker.  She falls for him right off, but he soon has to leave for the Army Reserves, and Emma is left to explore the island on her own.  Disregarding the warnings about going into the forest at night, she ends up in a nightmare when she encounters the feared Night Marchers.

Kondo, Marie
  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up ***
Non-fiction.  The KonMari Method of tidying and uncluttering a house.

Lu, Marie
  • Legend ****
Fiction.  Book one in the Legend series.  Day is a fugitive who steals money to buy a plague cure for his little brother.  June is a daughter of the Republic, charged with upholding the law.  When Day breaks into the hospital to steal some cure, an accident ensures that his and June’s paths with be dangerously entwined.

Mild, Rosemary & Larry
  • Cry Ohana ***
Fiction.  Kekoa witnesses the murder of his uncle by his uncle’s business partner, Red Murphy.  Frightened for his life, Kekoa spends the next two years on the street having no contact with his grandmother or his sister.  His life seems to be stabilizing as a Japanese baker and his wife take the boy in, but Red is still on the lookout for Kekoa and is willing to stop at nothing to destroy the boy.

Neal, Carl F.
  • Imbolc *****
Non-fiction.  Rituals, recipes, craft, and lore for the Imbolc Sabbat.

Neal, Toby
  • Paradise, Passion, Murder *****
Fiction.  Ten tales of mystery set in the Hawaiian Islands written by different authors.

Newmark, Amy
  • Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and Premonitions ****
Non-fiction.  101 tales of how dreams and premonitions have touched and turned people’s lives.

Smith, Seth Grahame
  • Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ***
Fiction.  A spoof on the original P&P.  England has been overcome with hordes of zombies, and the Bennet girls have all been trained in a Shaolin monastery to fight and kill the undead creatures.

Stabenow, Dana
  • Fire and Ice ****
Fiction.  First in the Liam Campbell mystery series.  Liam is an Alaska State Trooper, recently demoted from sergeant to trooper and reassigned to the small town of Newenham, Alaska.  As soon as he steps off the plane at the small airport, his first case is thrust upon him as the prior trooper bids farewell and steps aboard his own plane.  A man has been killed at the airport, but the big surprise for Liam is who the man worked for, Liam’s ex-lover, Wyanet Chouinard.

Strayed, Cheryl
  • Wild *****

Non-fiction.  Memoir of a woman’s journey to self-discovery as she walks the arduous Pacific Crest Trail.