EMILY OF NEW MOON by LM Montgomery
Emily of New Moon is one of three books about Emily Byrd Starr. This book opens with her living with her father in a old kind of ramshackle home. He is dying though she didn’t really know it at the time. Her mother Juliet had died four-five years before and came from the great Murray family. When her father dies, and leaves her an orphan, she is taken in by some of her mother’s family at New Moon farm. At first she rebels, but soon finds that she dearly loves the childhood home of her mother. She lives with Cousin Jimmy, who everybody thinks is not quite right, Aunt Laura she loves, and Aunt Elizabeth that is a formidable person to meet. She makes friends and writes all the time. She knows to keep them from Aunt Elizabeth and continues to write. She goes to visit her Great-Aunt and meets more friends. She solves a great mystery. The book closes with her to start writing in a diary in her room. I rate this book preliminary three stars out of five. It may be rated differently after reading the others in the series.
PAT OF SILVERBUSH AND MISTRESS PAT by LM Montgomery
Pat of Silverbush and Mistress Pat should and are going to be reviewed together. They are very intertwined and if you read the first you will want to read the next just to see how Silverbush turns out. It opens with Pat before she is even in school and the first book takes you through most of her childhood and teens. During this time she becomes a big sister, she goes to school, is introduced to some very dear friends, learns to hate the Binnie family, and over all learns to love Silverbush, her home, more and more everyday. At one point her brother leaves for the sea, her mother gets more sick, and she scorns all that abuse her home that she dearly loves. To begin Mistress Pat you pick up where you left off in the previous book and it takes you through Queens, many beaus, Hilary going, the new neighbors, Judy dying, her mother ailing, her becoming an aunt, her beloved brother marrying the enemy, and many other things. In the end she finds the love she has always wanted secretly and a home all of her own that she doesn’t mind leaving Silverbush. Together I give these books a 3 1/2 stars out of five.
TANGLED WEB by L.M. Montgomery
Tangled Web is aptly named. The story opens with a lot of describing of two entire clans and back story on them. This means that they talk about about 20+ characters that she makes come alive. The theme of the book is about the matriarch of both clans and the “Dark Jug.” She knew she going to die and she tantalized everyone with who would get the precious heirloom. She makes the clans wait a year and during that subsequent year many things happen. Feuds are erased, love is gained and lost, feuds are started, and so on and so forth. I will not spoil the ending for any of you but it all comes out in the end and many good things come of the year. This aptly named book I give a four out of five stars.
THE BLUE CASTLE by LM Montgomery
I am reading her other books and just finished The Blue Castle. This book is about a girl name Valancy who is considered an old maid at 29. Her family is overbearing and she is not able to do anything that she would like. One day she got some rather bad news, and decides to live her life. She lives, learns to love, and realizes what is important to life. This book is outside most of Montgomery’s books, but is very good and uplifting. I give this book 4 stars and encourage all those who haven’t read outside the Anne series to pick the book up.
AKIN TO ANNE by LM Montgomery
I have started to read through my collection of L.M. Montgomery books which means my reviews will be about these books. This started with a new one I got for Christmas called Akin to Anne. This is the classic type of story by this author but with one difference. This book includes many short stories about children and adults alike that have no family, but find family in the end. It is a very uplifting read and the stories can be read in a few minutes which makes it a quick read. I rate this book four stars for its throwback to the old traditions.
LUCKY’S LADY by Tami Hoag
I was meaning to write about another book by this author, but I got sidetracked with Lucky’s Lady. I re-read this book and was amazed at the texture she brings to her books. You always know the story is going to work out, but how it does is the greatness of the book. Also the settings of the books are always detailed and researched. It is like the author lives by the bayou of Louisiana. The same goes for all her books though including ones set in Minnesota and many other places. This is definitely a good read and not as gory as some of her books and has the element of romance common to the suspense mystery. I officially give this book 3 1/2 stars.
DEATH BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON by Joan Hess
The book I am going to discuss is my second foray with this author, Death by the Light of the Moon by Joan Hess. I found this one just as good as the other one. This one is in another of her series and is about another character, but was a good read. At only 200 pages that is one of the downfalls of this book. I find this a refreshing change over the books dealing with mysteries that add sex and gruesome violence to their stories where it isn’t always needed. I don’t believe because of the length of the books I would want to buy them, unless you can get them in an anthologies or find them used. I think that they have some re-reading value, but I may just explore the local library for more of her books instead of buying. All in all this book also takes place on the edge of the bayou with a “landed” family that is all crazy, but takes themselves all very seriously. The main character is visiting her in-laws which takes her outside of her normal place. I am giving this quick great read 3 1/2 stars.
FEW DEMONS MORE by Kim Harrison
The next book I am going to discuss is Kim Harrison’s For a Few Demons More. First of all if you do not like the vampire fiction you may not like this series. This is book five of the Rachel Morgan series. The series starts off with a bang and introduces a world of vampires, werewolves, witches, pixies, elves, just to name a few. It takes place in Cincinnati and entails the adventures of a vampire, Ivy, Pixy, Jax, and witch, Rachel. It is a very entertaining series and in fact the latest installment is going to be rated 4 stars. Just for all of those skeptic out there: there is not all the romance that is found in a lot of other series. There are some passes to the romance angle, but none of the attachments some series have. This is a great installment and I highly recommend it. Read the rest of the series first!
ALONG CAME A SPIDER by James Patterson
The next one in the bag was by a newer author for me. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson, was a very quick and suspenseful read. I on many occasions wondered if they would outsmart the master adversary. In time they did, but it took them months to completely break him, maybe even years. The twist ending to the book that rounded out more enemies surprised me and left me hanging until the very end. This book left a lot unsaid but it answered all the questions while throwing in a little DC flavor in the mix. I highly recommend this book and give it three and half stars.
BLUE SMOKE by Nora Roberts
In the same bag from my mom is Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts. I have read a few of her books in the past, but she is not an author I seek out. This book about a Italian girl that grows up surrounded by fire. She studies it and works for an arson unit in the old neighborhood. It relies heavily on her family and past to get the book rolling and continuing throughout the story. The one fault I think of is that when something is going down I could always guess who it is. If the father was shamed the son would be too right? The police do not make the obvious leaps until the very end of the story when the guy introduces himself basically. It raps the rest of the story up well, but leaves you hanging in other aspects of the story. Is her sister, Isabella, really that stupid? Would she really stand for what she does with the background she has in her family. Overall a quick read and I give it also about 2 stars.
Stacie M. Ritchie answering Victoria's Challenge 