Amaryllis

Amaryllis by Jayne Castle (Book 1 of Curtain: Futuristic World of St. Helen’s) 328 pages

Set several hundred years after groups of humans traveled through a space anomaly from Earth to this planet, and then were cut off from Earth, this tells the story of the society created after the curtain closed.  People began developing paranormal strengths about fifty years after the two worlds were cut off, and now most people have some paranormal abilities and some work as prisms that can focus these abilities for longer periods of time. Amaryllis is a prism who works for a company that provides prisms to work with different peoples’ skills.  Lucas needs to hire a prism to focus his abilities as a detector to find out if one of his employees is selling company secrets.  What they discover leads to much more than expected and much more dangerous than they planned.  In a society that puts much value in solid families and marriages, both Lucas and Amaryllis our outsiders because of their family history.  Adventure, fantasy, and romance mesh to create an exciting story not to be missed.

Lord's Fall

Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison (Book 5 of the Elder Races series)    298 pages

During the first book of this series, Dragos, dragon and leader of the wyr demesne, violated a treaty with the Elves by chasing Pia into Elven territory.  Since then, trade agreements have fallen and both demesnes have lost money. While the Elves want nothing to do with Dragos, they have invited Pia to visit them, since some of them remember her mother quite fondly.  Pregnant with their child, Pia doesn’t really want to leave Dragos, but knows this meeting could help smooth things out with the Elves.  But it turns out to be anything but easy.  An ancient force is at work and set to greatly disrupt the world unless Pia, Dragos, the Elves, and the Wyr can work together to stop it.  Pia and Dragos are still learning how to be a couple and save the world at the same time.  This series continues to be a favorite of mine.  Several of the secondary characters are becoming more developed, just adding to the fullness of this world.  I would recommend starting at book one and reading all the books in order, including the short novellas, to get a real sense of the complexities of this world.

Dragon Bound

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison (Book 1 of the Elder Races series)  312 pages

Pia is running very scared because her despicable ex-boyfriend blackmailed her into using a trick she can do to steal something from Dragos, Leader of the Wyr races who is a dragon shifter and one of the oldest creatures in the world. No one steals from a Dragon and gets away with it, so the hunt is on.  This is the beginning of one of my favorite books and of a wonderful continuing series.  Harrison has a way of pulling you into a world where humans have known about other races for years and the many different types of creatures have conflicts, border disputes, and long-held grudges. Pia is half human and half wyr shifter, but how we find out about that identity is part of the wonderful storytelling.  Action and romance are equally developed as we follow Pia and Dragos’ adventures.  Humor also plays a part, so the intensity of the action is relieved by a few laughs. 

Logical Family

Logical Family: a Memoir by Armistead Maupin        292 pages

Maupin’s Tales of the City appeared as a book while I was in college and I’ve always loved his storytelling abilities. This memoir is written very much like one of his stories, with his wry sense of humor and astute observations of people and events.  Born in the 1940s and growing up in a conservative North Carolina family, he tells how he tried to fit into that conservative mold, but ultimately, how he broke free of it.  He managed to keep some of his relationships with family healthy, but not with all.  He talks about many famous people, but always with a personal touch, and often, with humor.  I haven’t read the Tales of the City books in years, but this memoir makes me want to go back, read, and savor them again.

Summer That Made Us

Summer That Made Us by Robyn Carr   330 pages

 For years, summers for the Hempstead families meant summer at the lake house.  Two sisters had married two brothers, with each family having three girls.  The moms and girls would spend all summer at the lake with the dads coming up on the weekends.  The house was owned by the moms’ parents.  This was the pattern until one summer, the youngest girl drowned in a boating accident, and both families splintered.  Years later, one of the daughters decides she wants to return for the summer and invites all the women to join her.  The revelation of many secrets changes all their lives.  Carr has a way of turning interconnected stories into a larger story.  The results are not all happy, but understanding is achieved.  There are also no perfect people, just real people involved.

Sugar Pine Trail

Sugar Pine Trail by RaeAnne Thayne (Book 7 of the Haven Point series) 345 pages

Julia has agreed to rent the upstairs apartment in her large, historic to Jamie for a couple months while his condo unit undergoes construction.  She is the Library Director in her small town, and recently lost her mother, her last remaining relative.  She needs the rent money, but Jamie makes her nervous because of her secret crush on him.  Jamie is gorgeous, a former Air Force pilot, and now a private pilot for his brother’s very successful tech company.  He is known for not getting serious with anyone he dates.  When Julia takes in two young brothers abandoned by their mother, his help with them begins to turn the four of them into a unit, with Christmas drawing near.  Filled with both fun and lots of touching moments, this is a good Christmas read.  I did have a few quibbles with the “timid librarian” characterization, but they are small quibbles.  It was fun to see some of Jamie’s family from previous books, especially his lovely father.

The Christmas Room

The Christmas Room by Catherine Anderson   422 pages

This story starts as a romance between two people with considerable obstacles, but turns into much more.  It addresses the effects of loss of a spouse to cancer and how two different people survive that loss.  It is a love letter to Montana, detailing both the beauty and the difficulty of surviving there.  Cam, his teenage son Caleb, and his mother, Maddie, are basically camping out on land they purchased as they wait for the builders to start construction on their living spaces.  They’ve relocated from California after the death of Cam’s dad to cancer.  Cam stops one night at the local bar and grill for a drink and meets Kirsten.  They enjoy the encounter, but when he hears who her father is, he backs away.  Sam has a reputation of destroying any man who tries to date his daughter, even though she is twenty-six-years-old. Since his wife died of cancer six years’ ago, he has become so volatile that his daughter and one long-time couple are the only people left to run his enormous ranching operation.  Cam and Kirsten decide to meet secretly and their relationship grows, but when Sam discovers it and he can’t find Cam, he unleashes some of his wrath on Maddie.  She is not someone who puts up with such nonsense, so she gives it right back.  It takes a horrible accident to begin to move all of these people toward a future filled with love instead of loss and sorrow. 

Wicked Deeds

Wicked Deeds by Heather Graham (Book 23 of the Krewe of Hunters series) 315 pages

Vickie and Preston are on their way to Virginia where Vickie will start training as an FBI agent and a member of the Krewe of Hunters.  They decide to spend the weekend in Baltimore to relax, but the murder of a popular author in the wine cellar of a Poe-themed restaurant where they had dinner the night before changes their plans.  The appearance of Poe in his ghostly form invades Vickie’s dreams and her waking hours.  He wants to know who is killing, using his stories as inspiration.  This popular series follows a special unit who use FBI methods, but also paranormal visits from ghosts and spirits to solve crimes.  This is the third book following Vickie and Preston, which has given us more time to get to know these two.  While some of the steps seem a little convoluted, I enjoyed the parallel investigation into both the current murder and to Poe’s death.

Seeing Red

Seeing Red by Sandra Brown       432 pages

Kerra Bailey is a TV journalist who finally convinces Major Franklin Trapper to sit for an interview on the 25^th anniversary of a hotel bombing in which the Major saved a number of people.  She actually went through John Trapper, the Major’s estranged son, hoping he could get her in to see his father.  John is a P.I. who left the ATF some time ago after disputes with his supervisors.  He is surprised that his father does grant the interview, but he refuses to be more involved.  After the interview is over, Kerra’s crew leaves her alone with the Major for some off-camera discussion.  While she is in the bathroom, she hears shots, then escapes out the window, only to fall into a ditch as she runs.  When she wakes up in the hospital, the Major is just holding onto his life and John knows that both of them are in danger.  Thus begins a sprint to see if the two of them can uncover who is behind the assault and how it connects with the bombing of the past.  Brown always keeps the action moving and the discovery of the relationship exciting.

Spellbinder

Spellbinder by Thea Harrison (Book 2 of the Moonshadow series)    512 pages

Morgan le Fae has served Queen Isabeau of the Light Fae Court for centuries, only because she placed a powerful spell on him that he has not been able to break.  Very few know about the enchantment or that Morgan despises the Queen.  When he is injured in a battle (detailed in the previous book), he is able to escape her for a time and he plans to continue his search for a way to be released.  Sidonie Martel is a brilliant violinist with no magical talent at all, but her music enchants humans and members of the Elder Races.  Morgan attends one of her concerts and begins following her concert schedule.  Robin, a puck who escaped torture by Isabeau, kidnaps Sidonie and places her in Isabeau’s realm, hoping to get Morgan upset enough so that he will break away from Isabeau. How Morgan rescues Sidonie and how Sidonie rescues Morgan is filled with Harrison’s wonderful storytelling.  There is even an appearance of one of my favorite Elder Races characters at the end of the book. 

The Chesapeake Bride

The Chesapeake Bride by Mariah Stewart (Book 11 of The Chesapeake Diaries)   384 pages

This small town series continues with the second book to focus on Cannonball Island, just across the bridge from the main town.  The history of the island adds to the plot.  The story is that the people who settled Cannonball Island were people who supported the British in the Revolutionary War.  They were exiled there after the British lost.  The island is small and doesn’t have a lot of resources, so those who dug in and made a go of it were a hardy lot.  Now, there are only a few families still living on the island.  Cassidy is an architect whose father purchased a number of the abandoned old-style houses.  His plan was to tear them down and replace them with modern vacation homes.  She convinces him to try a different approach that keeps some of the unique features of the island homes, but her plan is threatened by the discovery of a sunken ship in the area where they plan to place a small boat dock.  Owen is the grandson of Ruby, a spry but elderly descendant of some of the original settlers.  He is working with the salvage company as a diver.  Their story weaves into some of the previous stories in the series as well as the history of the area.  Very enjoyable!

Wired

Wired by Julie Garwood        336 pages


 FBI agent Liam Scott needs someone outside the agency to hack into FBI servers to discover a leak.  Allison Trent is working on her computer science degree and comes to his attention.  When he approaches her, she has no interest in doing the job.  Allison has secrets that she fears will come out if she works for Scott, so she refuses. With the help of some friends, he convinces her to help, but they find much more that they expect, putting them both in danger.  Fast paced action moves the story along.  I liked Allison, but she was a little too perfect.  Not only was she a skilled hacker and programmer, she was also a model on the side.  She refuses to see her cousin’s problems, allowing him to avoid punishment far longer than he should.

Rituals

Rituals by Kelley Armstrong (Book 5 and series conclusion of the Omens and Shadows/Cainsville series)          496 pages


Olivia, Gabriel, and Ricky now know that they are caught up in a reenactment of an ancient drama that wants Olivia to choose between the Wild Hunt and the Elders of Cainsville. The three of them have vowed to work together to change the pattern that has been reenacted many times over the centuries, but it soon becomes obvious that there is a third entity involved that wants power from all parties.  Armstrong keeps us guessing until the very end, but the conclusion was satisfying.

Secrets in Death

Secrets in Death by J. D. Robb   370 pages


When Eve Dallas reluctantly joins a new colleague for a drink after work, a local media celebrity gossip reporter also in the bar ends up dead at Eve’s feet.  While quick to start looking for clues, Eve soon finds that the victim Larinda Mars, has many, many possible enemies.  The victim was a minor character in one of the very early books in this long-running series.  Robb continues to tell the stories of series regulars (Peabody, McNabb, Feeney, Summerset, and of course, her husband Roarke), while discovering that possible suspects in the murder were also victims of Mars as well.  The books in this series arrive two per year and I await each one with anticipation.

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

Secrets of the Tulip Sisters by Susan Mallery     416 pages


 Two estranged sisters reconnect and change their lives when one of them returns to the family tulip farm after several years’ absence.  After the very bad breakup of their parents’ marriage, their mother left town.  Kelly loved the farm and learned all she could to work with her father.  When the younger sister, Olivia began to run a bit wild in high school, Kelly convinced her father to send Olivia away to a boarding school.  Feeling abandoned, Olivia stayed away for many years.  Kelly’s high school crush Griffith has also returned to town and he seems to show up in the places Kelly happens to be.  As the sisters reconnect, many secrets are revealed and must be dealt with if the sisters and their father are going to figure out how to relate as adults, especially when an unwelcome guest arrive and disturbs them all.

Etched in Bone

Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop (Book 5 of the Courtyards of the Others series)   397 pages


The Elders cleansed much of the world of difficult humans, but Lakeside still survived.  When a troublesome relative of one of the trusted Lakeside humans arrives, the Elders will not let Simon turn him away because they want to observe and figure out how one bad human can affect a larger group. When this man goes after Meg, Simon must enlist all the help he can to save her.  This is the final book of the series, and I’m very sorry to see it end.

Marked in Flesh

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop (Book 4 of the Courtyards of the Others series)  399 pages


The Lakeside Courtyard begins making preparations as more and more humans become hostile toward the Others.  Across the country and across the Atlantik, groups of humans begin violently attacking Others, believing that they will be able to take over the lands of the Others.  What these violent groups do not remember is that the Others they see are the barrier between much more dangerous predators called the Elders who have no qualms about removing humans who become troublesome.  The unusual relationship between blood prophet Meg Corbyn and the Others may be the only reason for hope in the town of Lakeside when the Elders arrive.

Vision in Silver

Vision in Silver by Anne Bishop (Book 3 of the Courtyards of the Others series)  400 pages


The Others discovered and removed the captive blood prophets from most human control and now Meg is being asked to help with ideas on how to acclimate the newly released girls to different lives.  Meanwhile, war across the Atlantik is being whispered, and the Others in Lakeside Court have to figure out what humans they can trust. This series continues to be both serious and humorous as Meg, Simon, and the collection of Others and friendly humans learn to work and live together.

Murder of Crows

Murder of Crows by Anne Bishop (Book 2 of the Courtyards of the Others series)  354 pages


The human looking for blood prophet Meg Corbyn did not succeed, but caused a near catastrophe in the Lakeside Courtyard. Now, Meg wakes up from a dream of dead crows and Crows on the road. Humans are using something that makes people and Others either very violent or very mellow, causing fights and deaths.  The Others figure out that the Controller, the human looking for Meg, may be the source.  Courtyard leaders from other regions in Thaisia gather in the Lakeside Courtyard to discuss the problem and to meet the blood prophet. The humans who work in and with the Courtyard have become Meg’s human pack, causing some of the Others to see that a few humans can be trusted.  Dramatic events end one problem for the character you’ve come to know and love, while setting up new problems for the next book in he series.

Written in Red

Written in Red by Anne Bishop (Book 1 of the Courtyards of the Others series) 433 pages


In an alternative earth history, humans are not the dominate species.  When humans arrive in Thaisia, the equivalent to North America, their negotiations for land are with a much stronger group of predators known as “the Others” that includes shapeshifters, vampires, Elementals, and the Elders.  Humans can only lease the land and the wild country is filled with others who consider humans “clever meat.” When Meg Corbyn, human, but also a cassandra sangue or blood prophet, stumbles into bookstore in the Others’ Courtyard where human laws do not apply, she is running from a human.  Simon Wolfgard is the leader who is trying to find better ways to work with humans, but Meg does not smell like prey, as all other humans do.  Watching Meg and the Others work together to learn from each other while a determined group tries to get her back fills this story with both excitement and humor.  It also is an interesting study of various types of human nature and how they can bring lasting consequences to a situation.