Susannah's Garden by Debbie Macomber

When she was eighteen, Susannah Nelson was sent abroad to school. In what she saw as her fathers attempt in dictating her life it effectively separated her from her boyfriend Jake, and she never got to see her brother Doug again who was killed that summer in an automobile accident. After a few short letters, Susanna never heard from or saw Jake and though it hurt at the time, she later met, married a fine man, and raised a family. -----

Now her children are just about grown, she's hitting midlife, and Susannah's marriage seemed stale as her thoughts continually seemed to focus on what `could have been' if her father hadn't interfered in her life and romance with Jake. With her father recently passed on, she had been summoned home sooner than she'd planned when alerted by neighbors and friends that her widowed mother was having difficulties dealing with her loss and living alone. Back in the house and town she'd grown up in Susanna would have to deal with her mother's increasing aging problems, and make some tough decisions regarding her care. Additionally, she would she face the past, discovering new insights into her troubled relationship with her dad, and dealing with a similar issue concerning her rebellious nineteen year old daughter. 

A lovely, heartwarming read.  I like the ending.  She discovered/decided that the life she had was way better than if her life had gone in any other direction and she and her husband reconnected. 

The Man Who Lied To Women by Carol O'Connor

When a woman killed in Central Park is mistakenly identified as Mallory, the former street urchin and computer whiz sets herself up as bait by moving into the apartment building that houses her three main suspects. Using a computer and the building's electronic bulletin board to psych out the killer, she stirs up more than she bargained for, including someone who wants her dead. Other elements in the intelligent plot include a crime of passion, a suspenseful cat-and-mouse game and a boy who may be telekinetic and whose stepmothers keep dying. 

A different sort of heroine, in some ways she reminded me of Dexter. She has her own set of rules that don't always conform to society's. Lots of bad guys, lots of men who lie to women but who is the murderer she is after?

I would read more in this series. 

Kill The Messenger by Tami Hoag

At the end of a long day battling street traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.'s sleaziest defense attorneys, he's nearly run down by a car, chased through back alleys, and shot at. Only the instincts acquired while growing up on the streets of L.A. allow him to escape with his life—and with the package someone wants badly enough to kill for. 

Jace returns to Lenny Lowell's office only to find the cops there, the lawyer dead, and Jace himself considered the prime suspect in the savage murder. Suddenly he's on the run from both the cops and a killer, and the key to saving himself and his ten-year-old brother is the envelope he still has—which holds a message no one wants delivered: the truth.

Very good read, likeable characters and a perfect ending.

Cara Gayle by Geraldine O'Neill

 Cara Gayle is one of life's pleasers. A young, country school-teacher in 1960s Ireland, she spends her life looking after her philandering husband, Oliver, and her pious mother, Maggie. When Cara's seventh wedding anniversary reveals her husband's latest infidelity, Cara decides it's time to do something for herself. Offered the chance to escape her loveless marriage for a few weeks by accompanying her parents to a family wedding in Lake Savannah, upstate New York, she's only too keen to accept. The gorgeous scenery and the relaxed, American approach to life make Cara more aware than ever of how narrow and unfulfilling her life in Tullamore has become. When she meets Jameson Carroll, a reclusive artist who lives with his young son on the shores of the lake, Cara embarks on a once-in-a-lifetime passionate affair. Yet in the background, her return to Ireland and life with Oliver looms. Can Cara Gayle find the courage, at long last, to finally please herself?

An engaging love story, that was much quicker and easier to read than I had expected from the size of the book.

Black Magic by Cherry Adair

SHE HATES USING MAGIC . . .

Ever since the death of her parents, Sara Temple has rejected her magical gifts. Then, in a moment of extreme danger, she unknowingly sends out a telepathic cry for help—to the one man she is convinced she never wants to see again.

HE’S A POWERFUL WIZARD . . .

Jackson Slater thought he was done forever with his ex-fiancée, but when he hears her desperate plea, he teleports halfway around the world to aid her in a situation where magic has gone suddenly, brutally wrong.

THEY’VE BEEN CHOSEN TO SAVE THE WORLD . . .

But while Sara and Jack remain convinced they are completely mismatched, the Wizard Council feels otherwise. A dark force is killing some of the world’s most influential wizards, and the ex-lovers have just proved their abilities are mysteriously amplified when they work together. But with the fate of the world at stake, will the violent emotions still simmering between them drive them farther apart . . . or bring them back into each other’s arms? 

An OK read with no surprises. I knew who the baddie was from the first time his character was introduced.  Not as good as I would usually expect from Cherry Adair.

The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis

Sancha de Aragon, princess of Naples and illegitimate daughter to the coldhearted duke of Calabria (briefly king of Naples), is used to establish ties to the feared and influential House of Borgia when her father betroths her to the younger scion, Jofre. War with the French briefly returned her to Naples, but rumors of her beauty reach her lecherous father-in-law, Pope Alexander VI, who recalls her and Jofre to opulent Rome. There, she avoids the pope's advances—and her jealous sister-in-law Lucrezia's animosity—but falls into a steamy affair with her brother-in-law, the dashing Cesare, cardinal of Valencia. Cesare becomes furious when she refuses to leave Jofre, and he sets out on a warpath that includes her brother Alfonso, who has also married into the Borgia clan—to Lucrezia...

Well written, interesting story.

Midwinter's Bliss by Cathleen Claire

Seeking shelter from a snowstorm at the house of the notorious Marquess of Amberton, Lady Hope Blissfield and her companion unwittingly crash a raucous bachelor party and force their reluctant host to observe proper rules of conduct.

Light, fluffy and totally unbelievable nonsense.

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris

As a person with so few living relatives, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse really hated to lose one. But she never guessed that it would be her cousin Hadley—a consort of the Vampire Queen of New Orleans. After all, technically speaking, Hadley was already dead. And now, as unexpected heir to Hadley’s estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk.
Someone doesn’t want Sookie looking too deeply into Hadley’s past—or for that matter, Hadley’s possessions. And they’re prepared to do anything in their power to stop her. But who? The range of suspects runs from the Rogue Weres who reject Sookie as a friend of the Pack to the Vampire Queen herself, who could be working through a particularly vulnerable subject—Sookie’s first love, Bill.
Whoever it is, they’re definitely dangerous—and Sookie’s life is definitely on the line…

Pretty good book, had some good twists that take you by surprise. Because the True Blood series is taking some liberty's with plot lines and the order things happen in, Sookie having Fairy blood wasn't the big shocker in this book it was supposed to be.  But she did have a new lover, Quinn, a were-tiger i don't remember from the series.  He should be in though, he sounds ....umm...tasty.

Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline

When attorney Jack Newlin discovers his wife dead in their home, he's convinced he knows who killed her—and is equally determined to hide the truth. He decides to frame himself for murder, and to seal his fate he hires the most inexperienced lawyer he can find: a reluctant rookie by the name of Mary DiNunzio from the hot Philadelphia firm of Rosato & Associates. But hiring Mary may turn out to be his biggest mistake. She doubts Jack's confession, and her ethics and instincts tell her she can't defend a man who wants to convict himself. Smarter, gutsier, and more persistent than she has any right to be, Mary sets out to prove what really happened—because, as any lawyer knows, a case is never as simple as it seems. And nothing is ever certain until the final moment of truth.

The Impostor Prince by Tanya Anne Crosby

Scottish lord turned highwayman holds up a coach. The occupant looks exactly like him and so he realises immediately it must his twin brother, the one he never knew he had until this moment.  Se he knocks him out, switches clothes and gets in the coach.  He gets home and his father, a king of a small country, never notices anything different. He falls in love with an unsuitable girl, reveals all to his father and they all live happily ever after.  

 Light, fluffy and and very improbable romance.

The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter

Possessed by the demon of Defeat, Strider cannot lost a challenge without suffering unimaginable pain. For him, nothing stands in the way of victory. Until Kaia, an enchanting Harpy, tempts him to the razor's edge of surrender.

Known among her people as The Disappointment, Kaia must bring home the gold in the Harpy Games or die. Strider is a distraction she can't afford because he has an agenda of his own--steal first prize, an ancient godly artifact, before the winner can be named. But as the competition heats up, only one prize will matter--the love neither had thought possible... 

I have never liked Kaia but this book brings out a little more personality to her. It showed a side of her that had some vulnerability to it which made her more well-rounded and likeable.

I prefer the books where the woman is human. I found a lot of the harpies stuff annoying.

i still love the series and will continue to read it to find out what happen to the other Lords.

Children on the Oregon Trail by A. Rutgers van der Loeff

A story based on the remarkable journey made by the Sager children through the north-west of America in the pioneering days of 1844. John Sager is 13 when his family leave Mississippi for the Far West. When tragedy strikes and John's parents die, he is left to look after his six younger siblings.

A remarkable story of survival. i would love to know what happened to them next. 

Dog Days by John Levitt

Mason used to be an enforcer, ensuring that suspect magic practitioners stayed in line. But now he scrapes out a living playing guitar. Good thing he has Louie, his magical...well, let's call him a dog. But there are some kinds of evil thateven Louie can't sniff out. And when Mason is attacked by a supernatural assailant, he'll have to fall back on the one skill he's mastered in music and magic-improvisation.

Started out fairly slow, i wasn't sure I'd like it at first but it sucked me in and now i want to find the next in the series.  

The Christmas Cookie Club by An Pearlman

Every year at Christmastime, Marnie and her closest girlfriends mark their calendars for the cookie exchange. Everyone has to bring a batch of homemade cookies and a bottle of wine, but this year, it’s their stories that are especially important—the passion and hopefulness of new romance, the betrayal and disillusionment some relationships bring, the joys and fears of motherhood, the stress of financial troubles. On this evening, at least, the sisterly love they have for one another rises above it all.

A nice, seasonal feel-good story. I liked the sparkly cover, the recipes and the history of some of the ingredients. 

Christmas is Murder by C.S. Challinor

Prompted by memories of happy childhood visits at Swanmere Manor, QC Rex Graves travels to that remote estate, looking forward to a relaxing Christmas holiday in the country. His mother's friend, the widowed Dahlia Smithings, is still in residence there, having converted her family home to a small hotel.
A series of unexpected events complicates his plans in this entertaining debut novel straight out of the Agatha Christie school of plotting.
His arrival coincides with a blizzard that will bury the inn, effectively isolating both guests and staff. Within minutes, he learns that the previous afternoon's tea had been disrupted by a sudden death. One of the guests confides to Rex that he has questions about the cause of death: Was it a stroke - or poison in the almond tart?
Soon, there's another death. An accident? Or is there indeed a murderer in the house? The body count rises and Rex investigates, aided by two fellow guests. The amateur sleuths uncover some curious secrets and an abundance of possible motives as the list of suspects grows. Unfortunately, that list must include Rex's two confederates, one of whom is an attractive young woman who has sparked a romantic interest in the bachelor barrister.
Finally, in the classic denouement, the survivors gather in the drawing room to hear Rex reveal the solution to this contemporary cozy mystery.

An entertaining seasonal mystery and suspense read.

Lilla's Feast by Frances Osborne

At the end of her life, Frances Osborne’s one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother Lilla was as elegant as ever - all fitted black lace and sparkling-white diamonds. To her great-grandchildren, Lilla was both an ally and a mysterious wonder. Her bedroom was filled with treasures from every exotic corner of the world. But she rarely mentioned the Japanese prison camps in which she spent much of World War II, or the elaborate cookbook she wrote to help her survive behind the barbed wire.

Beneath its polished surface, Lilla’s life had been anything but effortless. Born in 1882 to English parents in the beautiful North China port city of Chefoo, Lilla was an identical twin. Growing up, she knew both great privilege and deprivation, love and its absence. But the one constant was a deep appreciation for the power of food and place. From the noodles of Shanghai to the chutney of British India and the roasts of England, good food and sensuous surroundings, Lilla was raised to believe, could carry one a long way toward happiness. Her story is brimming with the stuff of good fiction: distant locales, an improvident marriage, an evil mother-in-law, a dramatic suicide, and two world wars.

Lilla’s remarkable cookbook, which she composed while on the brink of starvation, makes no mention of wartime rations, of rotten vegetables and donkey meat. In the world this magical food journal, now housed in the Imperial War Museum in London, everyone is warm and safe in their homes, and the pages are filled with cream puffs, butterscotch, and comforting soup. In its writing, Lilla was able to transform the darkest moments into scrumptious escape.

Lilla certainly lived in interesting times and had a very eventful life. A fascinating story. I loved the recipes, not that i would like to try all of them.