The Best Books of 2020

I reread a lot of my favorite books this past year, so my Goodreads list doesn't reflect the real total of books I read. However, I have read a lot of new books too. Here are the top books for each month, followed by the Book of the Year. I really enjoyed all of them,…

Book Review: When Love Comes My Way

Tess Wakefield inherits her grandfather's logging company, but her interests lie in making and selling hats, so her fiancé convinces her to sell the company. However, when she and a school teacher head out to the logging camp in Michigan (1873), they are in a wagon accident. Only Tess is rescued alive, and her memories…

Book Review: No Less Days

Book Review: No Less Days, by Amanda G. Stevens -- David Galloway can’t die. He looks 35, but he’s actually over a century old. He has survived three wars and the loss of his loved ones, and he now lives a solitary life as the owner of a bookstore in northern Michigan. He keeps himself aloof…

Book Review: The Invisible Library

Book Review: The Invisible Library, by Genevieve Cogman:  Irene would like nothing better than to curl up with a good book. She is, after all, a librarian. However, she works for the mysterious Library that exists between the worlds. Her job involves going into the alternate realities and collecting important books of fiction, by whatever means…

Book Review: Sherlock, Lupin and Me: The Dark Lady

I’m a fan of Sherlock Holmes. Through the years I’ve come across many versions and spin-offs of the original books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I’ve enjoyed them all.  Here is yet another: Sherlock, Lupin, and Me: The Dark Lady, written by Irene Adler. Actually, the authors are Pierdomenico Baccalario and Alessandro Gatti. The…

Book Review: The Traitor’s Son

Fifteen-year-old Lasgol lives a hard life in a small village in the snowy north. He is hated and persecuted because his father, a Ranger, (one of the elite guards of the king and a protector of the realm) betrayed the king and tried to murder him. Lasgol believes his father is innocent, but he has…

Book Review: Intertwine

Emme Wilde finds an old locket at a sale. Within is a miniature painting of a handsome man and two locks of hair, one of which matches her hair color. On the outside of the locket a romantic note to "E," signed “F” has been engraved. Emme is sure the locket is meant for her,…

Letters to the Lost

I could not put this book down. Juliet is a grieving teenage girl who writes letters to her mother and leaves them on her mother's grave. One day Declan, an angry and also grieving boy with a troubled past, answers one of her letters. So begins a correspondence where each of them shares their true…

My Favorite Books of 2018

    Here are my favorite books from 2018. Some are old friends I’ve read over and over. Some were new for me and impressed me with their exciting storyline, deep characters, incredible world building, or writing skill. Some touched my soul and changed me for the better. I hope you will enjoy them too.…

Book Review: Dragonhaven, by Robin McKinley

Jake Mendoza lives at the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park. At the institute there are various lizards to show to the tourists who come in by the busload, but they aren't actual dragons. And then there are the amazing dragons themselves, who rarely show themselves, and who are endangered. When…