The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

 Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. 

A beautiful, honest, heartrending story of life, death, and love.  Had me laughing and crying, at times while reading the same page.  A beautiful, brilliant read.

Brownies and Broomsticks by Bail Cates

Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.

While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes. Turns out these herbal enhancements aren't just tasty—Aunt Lucy is a witch and her recipes are actually spells!

When a curmudgeonly customer is murdered outside the Honeybee Bakery, Uncle Ben becomes the prime suspect. With the help of handsome journalist Steve Dawes, charming firefighter Declan McCarthy, and a few spells, Katie and Aunt Lucy stir up some toil and trouble to clear Ben's name and find the real killer.. 

Witches, mystery and a hint of romance....with recipes. Very enjoyable light and silly read.

Death of a Hussy by M C Beaton

Maggie Baird is neither kind nor generous, but she is very, very rich. So it's no real surprise that when her car catches fire, with her inside it, there are five likely candidates for the role of murderer. All had been houseguests at her luxurious highland home - Maggie's timid niece and four former lovers, one of whom Maggie was intending to pick for a husband. All five of them are broke and all had the opportunity. So sorting through this embarrassment of suspects will require all of PC Hamish Macbeth's celtic common sense and insight into human nature. 

Great title, pity about the story.  Unlikeable characters, including the supposed hero. Baddie was a bit of a surprise but by the time I got to the end of the book I didn't really care whodunit.

Obedience by Jacqueline Yallop

Sister Bernard has lived in a grey-stone convent in rural France for more than seventy years. In that time, a once youthful and lively cloister has gradually emptied, until only Bernard and two other nuns remain. Now, the three women pack away their few possessions into wooden boxes, preparing to leave the building that has been their home for decades.

For the nuns, the closing of the convent means more than losing a home; the walls have shielded them from a changing modern world, for Sister Bernard the quiet monotony of the religious life has protected her from memories of the past - the disgrace of when she was a young woman in wartime France; when her devotion to God faded in the face of her need for a young Nazi soldier; and when she experienced the full horror and violence of war.

Left me feeling very sad. She was betrayed by everyone, even the boy she loved, the Mother Superior of her convent and the local priest.

A Year At The Races by Jane Smiley

Every horse story is a love story,” writes Jane Smiley, who has loved horses for most of her life and owned and bred them for a good part of it. To love something is to observe it with more than usual attention, and that is precisely what Smiley does in this irresistibly smart, witty, and engaging chronicle of her obsession.

In particular she follows a sexy filly named Waterwheel and a grey named Wowie (he “tells” a horse communicator that he wants it changed from Hornblower) as they begin careers at the racetrack. Filled with humor and suspense, and with discourses on equine intelligence, affection, and character 

I enjoyed the bits about the horses personalities and incidents involving her horses. I skimmed over the bits about different racecourses, costs involved in owning racehorses and some of the dryer stuff about research into horses personalities.

Overall an interesting if not enthralling read.

The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson

When Eve falls for the secretive, charming Dom, their whirlwind relationship leads them to Les GenÉvriers, an abandoned house set among the fragrant lavender fields of the south of France. Deeply in love and surrounded by music, books, and the heady summer scents of the French countryside, Eve has never felt more alive. But as verdant summer fades to golden autumn, the grand house's strange and troubling mysteries begin to unfold—and Eve now must uncover its every secret . . . before dark history can repeat itself.

From the first words I was enchanted with wonderful descriptions.

There are two stories in alternating chapters of the book, one about modern-day Eve and her lover Dominic, who have bought a rundown but charming farmhouse Les Genevriers, and the other about Benedicte Lincel and her family, the house's former owners perhaps a half century or more before.

Benedicte's story was stronger, more compelling and more interesting than Eve's. Dom's mystery was a bit overdone and I got to the point where I really didn't care about it. It was Benedicte's story that kept me reading. 

Still Life by Joy Fielding

Beautiful, happily married and the owner of a successful interior design business, Casey Marshall couldn't be more content with her life. Until a car slams into her at almost fifty miles an hour, breaking nearly every bone in her body, and plunging her into a coma. Lying in her hospital bed, Casey realizes that although she is unable to see or communicate, she can hear everything. She quickly discovers that her friends aren't necessarily the people she thought them to be - and that her accident might not have been an accident at all. As she struggles to break free from her living death, she begins to wonder if what lies ahead could be even worse.

An ok read, by the time of the big reveal of who arranged for her to be hit it was no huge surprise.

Priceless by Charlie Daniels

 Charlie Daniels started her career as a streetwalker when she was a seventeen-year-old single mother. Since she had virtually no qualifications, the streets seemed to offer the best way to get a comfortable and exciting life. Eventually she was forced to hand her over daughter to her own foster mother, just as she herself was given away nearly 20 years before. Charlie became one of the most successful Madams in the country, with a string of 50 girls working for her. By the time she was in her thirties, she had reached the pinnacle of her profession—but she had also realized just how shallow and meaningless her life was, and how much she wanted to get her daughter back before it was too late. 

I enjoyed this book. There were times I didn't understand Charlie or what she was thinking (ie some of her boyfriends, choice of career etc), but she is a strong woman, and I enjoyed reading her story. I admired the honesty and how she wasnt afraid to make herself sound bad. I am glad she has been able to sort her life out and use her experiences to help others. 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

When Harold Fry nips out one morning to post a letter, leaving his wife hoovering upstairs, he has no idea that he is about to walk from one end of the country to the other. He has no hiking boots or map, let alone a compass, waterproof or mobile phone. All he knows is that he must keep walking. To save someone else's life. 

A moving, honest, emotional journey. Loved it. 

Dead Ice by Laurel K Hamilton

Someone is producing zombie porn. I've seen my share of freaky undead fetishes, so this shouldn't bother me. But the women being victimised aren't just mindless, rotting corpses. Their souls are trapped behind their eyes, signalling voodoo of the blackest kind.

 This book was much better than recent books in this series. This book had much more plot and character development with less sex than recent additions to the series.

I am enjoying watching Anita's powers grow and watching her poly relationships grow and develop.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett

"Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.

I enjoyed the look behind the scenes at book collectors. An interesting read. 

The Accidental Sorcerer by K E Mills

 
For the life of him, Gerald Dunwoody can't seem to keep a job or a roof over his head. When disaster strikes again it looks like his days of being a wizard are over for good ... until his friend Monk, genius of the government's secret research department, helps him to get appointed as Royal Court Wizard to the King of New Ottosland. His offsider, Reg, an ensorcelled bird with a mysterious past, isn't so sure this is a good idea. But Gerald's choices are limited. It's New Ottosland, or starve. But once Gerald arrives it quickly becomes clear that King Lional isn't the vain, indolent young man he first appeared to be. And with the passing of time, it becomes even clearer that Lional's plans may not, in fact, be in Gerald's best interests...

A mostly lighthearted, fun fantasy. The ending was a bit dark, but I suppose leaves the way open for more in the series. I enjoyed it more than I had expected at first, but wouldn't rush out to look for more in the series. 

Juliet by Anne Fortier

 When Julie Jacobs inherits a key to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy, she is told that it will lead her to an old family treasure. Soon she is launched on a winding and perilous journey into the history of her ancestor Giulietta, whose legendary love for a young man named Romeo rocked the foundations of medieval Siena. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families immortalized in Shakespeare’s unforgettable blood feud, she begins to realize that the notorious curse—“A plague on both your houses!”—is still at work, and that she is the next target. It seems that the only one who can save Julie from her fate is Romeo—but where is he?

This book is a somewhat entertaining modern day re-telling of the story of Romeo and Juliet, complete with warring families, a look at Italian history, and, of course, love. The story alternates between long passages telling the ancient story, and Julie's passionate relationship with Allesandro--Romeo. Her sister Janice joins her and the danger ramps up as the sisters close in on the prize. They can't depend on any friend or foe being who he seems to be.

The historical sections were interesting. I didn't much like any of the modern day characters.  It was all made the more complicated because everyone in the modern timeline had at least 2 names, English, Italian and nicknames. Nobody told the truth to anyone else and most were just nasty people.