Barbara Vey

WW Ladies Book Club Blurbs

Ryan Braun slides into home

Glamour by Louise Bagshawe 

Read by Heidi    

 

Sally, Jane and Helen; three of the most unlikely friends become soulmates not only in their school days, but as adults when they open a high-end department store called GLAMOUR. Life gets in the way of each of their dreams and misunderstandings happen. All three are at risk of losing everything, including their friendship.

 

This book was like watching a fantastic soap opera. But the soap opera "town" is around the world. LA, New York and Cairo to start. It has all the great elements: girlfriends, money, movie stars, sexy men and heartache. YUM-O!!

The Better to Hold You by Alisa Sheckley
  

What I love the most about this book is how human it is.  It's funny at times, serious at times and violent at times.  It's about werewolves but never looses sight of the fact that werewolves are, at their core, at least half human.  Abra is definitely someone you can relate to, which makes her story just that much better.

Soul of a Highlander by Melissa Mayhue

Read by Emily

In 1272, Faerie magic saves Mairi MacKiernan from certain death and sent her to the twenty-first century. But to save her cousin's life, she has to travel back in time to 1295, but when Mairi doesn't return to the twenty-first century, her family becomes worried.  They send Guardian Ramos Servans to bring her back safely.  When he arrives, he finds that Mairi is not what he expected, and together they try to stop a murder before it's to late.
    

This third book in the Daughter's of Glen series, is definitely fantastical. I love the idea of time travel and faerie magic, and this book really brings that to life. I also like the bad boy turned good persona that is Ramos, it truly makes for an interesting read for me.

Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart and Lani Diane Rich

Listened to by joysann
      

Abby, Char and Daisy meet when each takes her dog to obedience classes in the local college history building. Strange things begin to happen in the unusually constructed auditorium, and around the divinely beautiful instructor as she expects them to obey commands as she expects their dogs to do. As they discover they can understand their canine companions when they speak, the three women also find that they must work together to overcome an ancient threat that has risen in the modern Ohio town. 
       

I found this collaborative story to be inventive, romantic, sensual, sexy, fun, and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and the audio performance by Renee Raudman is vastly entertaining. Dog lovers may find it strikes their particular fancy, but anyone who enjoys romance and humor will have a good time with the story.



Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Read by Michelle
 
Museum officials are preparing to launch their new Superstition exhibition, but there is a killer lurking in the depths of the museum.
 
Working as a research intern at the New York Museum of Natural History, Margo Green becomes involved in solving a mystery that could lead to the extinction of the human race.
 
This book gave me chills and added a new level of suspicion of what dwells behind the scenes at the museum.  I found I couldn't put the book down and needed to know what would happen next.

The Lost Hours by Karen White

Read by Jan

When young Earlene Mills, nicknamed 'Piper', helped her grandfather bury her grandmother's box in the backyard, she hadn't a clue as to what it contained. Her grandmother had developed Alzheimer's and was confined to a nursing home.

Years later, after a nearly fatal equestrian accident that left her frightened of ever riding again and of life itself, she inherited her grandfather's house and a key to a room that didn't exist. Remembering the buried box, she dug it up and found torn scrapbook pages, a charm necklace, a picture of three young girls (one she recognized as her grandmother) and a 1929 newspaper clipping about Negro male infant found floating in the Savannah River. In the 1920's her grandmother and her two best friends had taken turns writing in the scrapbook and adding charms, each  representing a life event. Why hadn't her grandmother ever told her of these wonderful friends who obviously had meant so much to her?
 

Using her genealogist's skills she finds one is still living on a horse farm south of Savannah sets off to find the answer to her questions.

 

I knew I was 'hooked' as soon as I found this book dealt with horses and genealogy, two subjects near and dear to my heart....and I was not disappointed!  This is the second Karen White book I have read, The House on Tradd Street being the other.  I adore her style of writing and am thrilled that I found a "keeper" author.

 

Among Other things, I’ve Taken Up Smoking by Aoibheann Sweeney

Read by Kathi

As a young child, Miranda moves to an isolated island off the coast of Maine where she lives alone with her reclusive father as he translates Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  His social awkwardness serves to further segregate her from the nearest community; their only real friend is Mr. Blackwell, whose parenting provides Miranda with her main source of nurturance until he inexplicably extracts himself from their lives.

Miranda heads to Manhattan to work at the Institute for Classical Studies, where she also resides with two gay men.  While exploring the New York City sights, which she finds both enthralling and unsettling, Miranda becomes involved with  Nate, whose wealthy family makes her feel discomfited and Ana, a Latina coffee vendor. Miranda’s navigation of these relationships draws her closer to an authentic understanding of her father and of herself.

 Miranda’s honest telling of her feelings engaged me into her unfamiliar worlds.  The dichotomies between the two settings and two lovers are also captivating. Following Ovid’s example in Metamorphoses, Miranda’s growth is organized around the three ages of man: the Age of Silver, the Age of Bronze, and the Age of Iron, which adds further to its relevance, which I found fascinating.

Fish out of Water by MaryJanice Davidson

Read by Emily

Fred the Mermaid has finally chosen Artur, Prince of the Black Sea. He has been after her to make a decision, him, or the human Thomas, a Marine Biologist. A good thing too, because all the world now knows about the existence of the Undersea Folk. They have thrown the media through a loop, and Fred is just the person to help control the uproar. Or is she? Soon Fred's real father arrives on scene to try and over throw Artur's command, and a civil war threatens the Undersea Folk's very existence. Not to mention their new relationship.

This is the third and final installment in the Fred the Mermaid series. Fred is quirky, and has a potty mouth which makes reading this series very enjoyable for me. The love triangle that is Fred, Artur, and Thomas also makes a extreamly interesting plot.

Nice mix of books, ladies.  BTW, I want to remind everyone that on Saturdays I now feature the Young Adult's blurbing about their books in the  Saturday Breakfast (Book Club).  I'm running out of books to give them, so, if you have any you'd like considered, please email me:  barbaravey@gmail.com

Bottom Line:  "People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball.  I'll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring."  ~Rogers Hornsby

Posted by Barbara Vey on May 20, 2009 | Comments (4)