A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness

My great book streak continues with A Discovery of Witches.  I really enjoyed this book and I didn't feel like I was reading just another vampire book, although vampires, witches and daemons are the main characters.  I do have on complaint - I thought she could have edited it down a tad.  I don't mind long books (hello Pillars of the Earth) but I thought there were times when the story sagged a bit.  I know that this is a series so she was setting the foundation of the continuing story but I still thought she could have paced it a bit better.  That said I would still recommend this book to everyone AND I will be first in line for the next edition.


From Publishers Weekly


In Harkness's lively debut, witches, vampires, and demons outnumber humans at Oxford's Bodleian Library, where witch and Yale historian Diana Bishop discovers an enchanted manuscript, attracting the attention of 1,500-year-old vampire Matthew Clairmont. The orphaned daughter of two powerful witches, Bishop prefers intellect, but relies on magic when her discovery of a palimpsest documenting the origin of supernatural species releases an assortment of undead who threaten, stalk, and harass her. Against all occult social propriety, Bishop turns for protection to tall, dark, bloodsucking man-about-town Clairmont. Their research raises questions of evolution and extinction among the living dead, and their romance awakens centuries-old enmities. Harkness imagines a crowded universe where normal and paranormal creatures observe a tenuous peace. "Magic is desire made real," Bishop says after both her desire and magical prowess exceed her expectations. Harkness brings this world to vibrant life and makes the most of the growing popularity of gothic adventure with an ending that keeps the Old Lodge door wide open. (Feb.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

16 Lighthouse Road

 This is a very sweet, very light read.   Debbie Macomber has a way with character development  that makes the reader care about what happens to them - this book is no different.  By the end of the book I felt like I had made some new friends.

Amazon.com Review


Perennial favorite Debbie Macomber does what she does best in 16 Lighthouse Road, introducing fans to the scenic Pacific Northwest town of Cedar Cove, Washington, and its panoply of characters, including family court judge Olivia Lockhart who makes news when she denies the divorce petition of Cecilia and Ian Randall. Decreeing that the young couple had not tried hard enough to make their relationship work following the tragic death of their newborn daughter, Olivia's decision brings her to the attention of recent Cedar Cove arrival, newspaper editor Jack Griffin. And Jack's attentions are not entirely unwelcome for the long-divorced Olivia. In addition to her continued involvement in Cecilia and Ian's ongoing negotiations, Olivia's life is further complicated by her mother, Charlotte, her daughter, Justine, and her best friend, Grace, as they struggle with the difficult situations life tosses their way. Charlotte becomes enmeshed in trying to solve a mystery left to her by a mute stroke victim she befriends just before he dies. Justine has found the perfect man for her, one who shares her ambitions and thoughts on relationships, but why does she keep thinking about the boy she knew in high school who has grown into quite a man? And Grace's husband, Dan, has disappeared--again--and Grace has no idea where he is and when or if he'll be back. The multiple story lines and numerous relationships make reading at times challenging, but Macomber fans, old and new, will stand up and cheer as the prolific author lodges her protest against the disposable personal relationships all too common today. --Alison Trinkle --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

As a family court judge, Olivia Lockhart has dealt with numerous divorce suits but none as peculiar as Cecilia and Ian Randall's. Before the young couple was married the year before, Cecilia and Ian signed a prenuptial agreement stating their marriage would last a lifetime, but now, after the tragic death of their infant daughter, the two wish to rescind the agreement. Sensing that Cecilia and Ian are still in love, Olivia lets her heart guide her decision, and denies their petition. Olivia's decision makes headlines in The Cedar Cove Chronicle and earns her the admiration of the paper's editor, Jack Griffin, a newcomer to the small Washington town. While Jack courts Olivia, and Ian and Cecilia try to repair their marriage, Olivia's daughter is forced to decide whether she should marry a man whom she doesn't love; Olivia's best friend grows frantic over the disappearance of her husband; and Olivia's mother befriends a stroke patient who harbors a secret he would share if he could speak. Despite the novel's fragmented structure, readers will warm to its endearing characters. Prolific Macomber (Thursdays at Eight, etc.) is known for her honest portrayals of ordinary women in small-town America, and this tale cements her position as an icon of the genre. (Sept.)Forecast: A national print advertising campaign and a Northwest author tour scheduled to coincide with the publication of Macomber's latest offering will boost sales, and a rosy real-estate cover will increase the book's appeal to its target readership.

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

This was a great guilty pleasure read.  I was feeling a void since there hasn't been a new Sookie Stackhouse in awhile and this fit the bill perfectly (although the comedy element is lacking a bit in this series.)  The story follows Mac - a young and beautiful (of course) twenty something looking for her sister's murderer in Ireland.  There is a whole plethora of supernatural creatures from Fairies to vampires to "rhino boys"...and there is a sprinkling of horror and romance, just enough to keep you interested.  And while this is not winning any Pulitzer prizes, I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series.

From Publishers Weekly


Drawing on elements from the paranormal world that bestseller Moning (Spell of the Highlander) created in her earlier romances, this suspense novel takes readers on a darker journey, one dominated by the search for a powerful Faery magic and bereft of the romantic magic Moning's fans have come to expect. When MacKayla Lane, an ordinary young woman, travels to Ireland to track down her sister's murderer, she is sucked into an extraordinary world filled with ancient secrets, vampires, assorted Fae nasties and other tough-to-kill beings. In the process, Mac learns of her own unusual talents and finds an unlikely mentor in the wealthy and mysterious Jericho Barrons. Moning's newest foray contains suspense and plenty of setup. Indeed, this reads like a fragment of a larger story, an introduction to character and place that, while entertaining, skims the surface. But it's a compelling world filled with mystery and vivid characters, and this, combined with the hint of sparks between Jericho and Mac, will stoke readers' fervor for Bloodfever, the next installment. (Nov.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

MacKayla "Mac" Lane is a small-town southern girl living a life of suntans and shopping. All that changes when her sister dies in Ireland and a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone raises disturbing questions about the nature of her sister's death. Mac follows the lead to Dublin and the strange life her sister led, on to the darkly dangerous book-dealer Jericho Barrons, and a burgeoning war with deadly Fae that humankind doesn't even realize has begun. Time-travel-romance maven Moning reshapes her Celtic lore for a radically different and engaging new dark fantasy series. Mac's first-person narrative is more than point of view; it's a true recounting of how a sheltered young girl grows to accept the role fate has dealt her. And while moments of sexual awareness hint that a relationship between Mac and Jericho could complicate matters in the future, wisely there is no full-blown romance here to distract from the complex introduction to Moning's new world. Nina Davis

Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany

Susan Vreeland tells a fictionalized story of Clara Driscoll - the woman proported to be an instrumental part in designing the Tiffany Lamps.  The story takes place during the turn of the century in New York City - Vreeland does a wonderful job of transporting the reader to that time period, so much so that the place becomes a character unto itself.  I loved Clara - she was a gutsy woman in a time when that wasn't very popular.  I was rooting for her from the first page.

My only negative is that I felt that she got a tad bogged down in the details of stained glass window making - I found myself glazing over these parts.  Overall it was a great story - made even better because it was based on an actual person!!!

From Publishers Weekly

Vreeland (Luncheon of the Boating Party) again excavates the life behind a famous artistic creation--in this case the Tiffany leaded-glass lamp, the brainchild not of Louis Comfort Tiffany but his glass studio manager, Clara Driscoll. Tiffany staffs his studio with female artisans--a decision that protects him from strikes by the all-male union--but refuses to employ women who are married. Lucky for him, Clara's romantic misfortunes--her husband's death, the disappearance of another suitor--insure that she can continue to craft the jewel-toned glass windows and lamps that catch both her eye and her imagination. Behind the scenes she makes her mark as an artist and champion of her workers, while living in an eclectic Irving Place boarding house populated by actors and artists. Vreeland ably captures Gilded Age New York and its atmosphere--robber barons, sweatshops, colorful characters, ateliers--but her preoccupation with the larger historical story comes at the expense of Clara, whose arc, while considered and nicely told, reflects the times too closely in its standard-issue woman-behind-the-man scenario. (Jan.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The first thing to be said about a Vreeland novel is that the reader learns a lot from it, but the joy and delight of a Vreeland novel is that the knowledge gleaned from her beautifully articulate pages is not forced on you, not delivered as if from a podium. Welcome here to the world of Clara Driscoll, whom Vreeland has brought to light from the archives of Tiffany Glass Company to establish what is most probably her rightful place in the history of American decorative arts. This deep-reaching novel is based on the likelihood that Clara conceived the famous Tiffany leaded-glass lamp shade, which has come down from the early years of the twentieth century as the epitome of the creativity in glass for which the Tiffany outfit was known. Clara worked in the women’s studio for founder Louis Tiffany himself and struggled against the anti-female bias of the company—like that of any other company of the time, for that matter—to position herself as a first-rate artisan in her boss’ eyes. Plus, Vreeland takes Clara out of the workplace to give her a personal life quite suitable for not only the time but also her strong personality. There’s no excuse for any reader of high-quality literary fiction to let this novel pass by. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Vreeland will appear as a panelist at the ALA/ERT/Booklist Author Forum at ALA’s Midwinter Conference in January, and librarian interest will be supercharged by that event. --Brad Hooper

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards

Another winner...I feel like I have won the reading lottery lately - I am loving everything I read (this is MUCH better than the times that every book I pick up I hate - and not because they are poorly written, it is just because I am in a reading rut - hateful.)

But I digress.

This book was wonderful - it had some romance, good romance.  Not the drippingly oversentimental kind, just perfect.  It also had a mystery woven in through the story which literally left you guessing how it was all going to come together. 

The story also delved into some really interesting topics - the suffragette movement, glass blowing, stained glass windows, woman in religion - it was so interesting.  The glass blowing part really left me wanting more, so much that my next book is Susan Vreeland's Clara and Mr. Tiffany and I am looking into taking a glass blowing class.  If that doesn't leave you wanting to read this book, then I don't know what will.

From Publishers Weekly


Bestseller Edwards's much anticipated second novel may disappoint fans of her first, The Memory Keeper's Daughter. When Lucy Jarrett returns to her childhood home in Lake of Dreams, N.Y., she learns that her brother, Blake, who's gone into the family business, and his girlfriend hope to drain a controversial marsh to construct a high-end property. Meanwhile, Lucy, who remains haunted by her father's death in a fishing accident years earlier, reconnects with her first boyfriend, Keegan Fall, now a successful glass artist. But when she sees something familiar in the pattern of one of his pieces, and discovers a hidden note in her childhood home, Lucy finally digs into her family's mysterious past. Unfortunately, the lazy expository handling of information mutes the intrigue, and readers will see the reignited spark between Keegan and Lucy coming for miles. All loose ends eventually come together with formulaic ease to rock the family boat. Edwards is at her best when highlighting the strain between her characters. (Jan.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

After her father’s sudden death, Lucy Jarrett leaves her home in upstate New York, hoping to put some distance between herself and her grief. Ten years later, she returns to the Lake of Dreams to find the town a very different place. Her mother’s house has fallen into disrepair, and Mom’s on the verge of a new romance. Developers, including her shady uncle Art, want to turn the village into a housing development. The presence of her former high-school boyfriend, glass artist Keegan Falls, stirs up long forgotten feelings. When Lucy discovers a stack of old letters hidden inside a cupboard, she quickly becomes engrossed in a mystery whose roots go back generations and whose resolution will alter long-established family histories and future plans. Once again, Edwards (The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, 2005) has created a memorable cast of easily recognizable characters. As Lucy’s investigation deepens, past and present join to reach a satisfying and thoughtful resolution. This is a powerful story about the influence of history, the importance of our beliefs, and the willingness to embrace them all. --Carol Gladstein

The Passage by Justin Cronin

Wow, just Wow!  I loved, loved, loved this book and I loved it even more after I found out it is the first in a trilogy (with my only complaint being that the next one is not out until 2012.)  There are so many layers to the story - it is about a government experiment gone bad which turns people into vampires; it is about how we as humans have this innate desire to survive, even is the most dire of circumstances; it is about love and relationships.  There were moments that left me utterly breathless, hiding under covers.  There were moments that touched my heart and made me want to cry, it was amazing.  And if you are thinking this is another vampire book, it is so not.  The vampires in this book are like none we have ever seen before - they are much, much scarier.  I read the last page and wanted so desperately to talk to someone ABOUT this book.  There are so many questions left unanswered and it has a humdinger of a last line that left my jaw on the floor.  I will be first in line to buy the next installment in *big sigh* another year.

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2010: You don't have to be a fan of vampire fiction to be enthralled by The Passage, Justin Cronin's blazing new novel. Cronin is a remarkable storyteller (just ask adoring fans of his award-winning Mary and O'Neil), whose gorgeous writing brings depth and vitality to this ambitious epic about a virus that nearly destroys the world, and a six-year-old girl who holds the key to bringing it back. The Passage takes readers on a journey from the early days of the virus to the aftermath of the destruction, where packs of hungry infected scour the razed, charred cities looking for food, and the survivors eke out a bleak, brutal existence shadowed by fear. Cronin doesn't shy away from identifying his "virals" as vampires. But, these are not sexy, angsty vampires (you won’t be seeing "Team Babcock" t-shirts any time soon), and they are not old-school, evil Nosferatus, either. These are a creation all Cronin's own--hairless, insectile, glow-in-the-dark mutations who are inextricably linked to their makers and the one girl who could destroy them all. A huge departure from Cronin's first two novels, The Passage is a grand mashup of literary and supernatural, a stunning beginning to a trilogy that is sure to dazzle readers of both genres. --Daphne Durham

From Publishers Weekly


Starred Review. Fans of vampire fiction who are bored by the endless hordes of sensitive, misunderstood Byronesque bloodsuckers will revel in Cronin's engrossingly horrific account of a post-apocalyptic America overrun by the gruesome reality behind the wish-fulfillment fantasies. When a secret project to create a super-soldier backfires, a virus leads to a plague of vampiric revenants that wipes out most of the population. One of the few bands of survivors is the Colony, a FEMA-established island of safety bunkered behind massive banks of lights that repel the virals, or dracs—but a small group realizes that the aging technological defenses will soon fail. When members of the Colony find a young girl, Amy, living outside their enclave, they realize that Amy shares the virals' agelessness, but not the virals' mindless hunger, and they embark on a search to find answers to her condition. PEN/Hemingway Award–winner Cronin (The Summer Guest) uses a number of tropes that may be overly familiar to genre fans, but he manages to engage the reader with a sweeping epic style. The first of a proposed trilogy, it's already under development by director Ripley Scott and the subject of much publicity buzz (Retail Nation, Mar. 15). (June)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

First Book of 2011- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

I loved this book so much.  It had so many things that I love, multiple time periods, an interesting mystery, a smattering of love - perfect. 

This is what Amazon had to say:
Amazon Best of the Month, April 2009: Like Frances Hodgson Burnett's beloved classic The Secret Garden, Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden takes root in your imagination and grows into something enchanting--from a little girl with no memories left alone on a ship to Australia, to a fog-soaked London river bend where orphans comfort themselves with stories of Jack the Ripper, to a Cornish sea heaving against wind-whipped cliffs, crowned by an airless manor house where an overgrown hedge maze ends in the walled garden of a cottage left to rot. This hidden bit of earth revives barren hearts, while the mysterious Authoress's fairy tales (every bit as magical and sinister as Grimm's) whisper truths and ignite the imaginary lives of children. As Morton draws you through a thicket of secrets that spans generations, her story could cross into fairy tale territory if her characters weren't clothed in such complex flesh, their judgment blurred by the heady stench of emotions (envy, lust, pride, love) that furtively flourished in the glasshouse of Edwardian society. While most ache for a spotless mind's eternal sunshine, the Authoress meets the past as "a cruel mistress with whom we must all learn to dance," and her stories gift children with this vital muscle memory. --Mari Malcolm