A Knight In Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

In 1988 Douglass Montgomery is on holiday with her live-in boyfriend in England. After a huge fight with him and his daughter Douglass is left behind with no money or passport. In grief she goes to the nearby church and cries out that she wishes she had a knight in shining armor. Low and behold Nicholas Stafford, the earl of Thornwyck appears out of sixteenth century England. At first Douglass doesn't believe him that he's from the sixteenth century. She finds his way of dress strange, his talk ridiculous and the fact that he doesn't know what a car is or how to use the bathroom is outrageous! Well, eventually Nicholas wins over Douglass and the two are set to finding out who tried to set Nicholas up for treason in Elizabethian times.

After finding no answers, Nicholas finally resigns himself that he will stay in the 20th century and that Douglass is the love of his life. As soon as the two fall in love, poof! Nicholas is gone back in time. Douglass is at a loss, especially since history has altered and Nicholas was beheaded for crimes he did not commit. She is determined to find the answers to clear his name. But as soon as she finds her answers she is wisked back in time to 1560 and finds herself at Nicholas's home, before he was an earl and everybody was happy, although Nicholas does not remember her.

Douglass must win over Nicholas's trust to change history again, knowing that once it is changed she will be dragged back to the twentieth century.

An entertaining, heart-warming read. 

The Will by Reed Arvin

What happens when a town's richest inhabitant dies, uncovering secrets many would prefer left untold?

One case, Henry thought as he started the car, seeing his father in his mind. You died and left me one thing to handle. And now I have to try to explain to a lunatic that he's the richest man in town.

A smart and successful lawyer in a large Chicago firm, Henry Matthewd has it all: youth, ambition, status, and the beautiful, demanding, Elaine. Working a sixty-hour week leaves Matthews little time to reflect on his rural Kansas hometown - until he returns to execute its wealthiest inhabitant's will.

But soon what should have been a routine legal matter becomes tortuously complicated, for Crandall has bequeathed his assets not to his grasping son, Robert, nor to his grief stricken wife, Margaret. Instead, in a bizarre twist, his death makes a homeless, lunatic tramp known as the Birdman the richest, most powerful man in town.

What lies behind Crandall's strange legacy? It falls to Matthews to examine the facts and, as a string of shocking secrets about the towns leading citizens begins to unravel, he must also confront the truth about himself. 


 A bit slow moving, but the mystery of the will and what is really going on kept me reading.

Charmed Destinies by Mercedes Lackey, Rachel Lee, Catharine Asaro

Three new stories of timeless love and tantalizing fantasy . . .

"Counting Crows" by Mercedes Lackey

In Lady Gwynhefar's dark, lonely court, her only ally was noble Sir Elloran, a warrior willing to fight for her honor. But would her powerful spell capture his heart -- or tumble the kingdom into chaos?

"Drusilla's Dream" by Rachel Lee

Every night Drusilla Morgan dreamed of courageous and handsome Miles Kennedy. Their quest: to battle evil and find true love. Yet when the sun rose, would Drusilla's fantasy man become a reality.

"Moonglow" by Catherine Asaro

In a world where kings married for magic, Iris Larkspur was required to wed the prince -- despite the spell that kept him deaf, mute and blind. Healing her bridegroom would take a power greater than any she'd ever known -- one only two bonded hearts could provide! 


My favourite story was Moonglow. I liked the shape magic. 

Tell No One by Harlan Coben

Dr. David Beck lost the love of his life eight years ago. The story of her death is so gruesome he can't bear to think about it. Elizabeth was the love of his life; they were two halves of a whole. So how can he explain the e-mail that appears so mysteriously on their anniversary, mentioning things that only they would know?

Coben's weaving of a tale of romance and familial loyalty, the fast pace of the story and his ability to leave you guessing as his plot twists and turns made for an un-put-downable book. 

The Vesuvius Club by Mark Gatiss

Lucifer Box—the greatest portraitist of the Edwardian age and England's most dashing secret agent—investigates a series of bizarre disappearances and plunges headlong into low life and high society. Who is killing Britain's most prominent vulcanologists? What secrets lie beyond the grave? See him…Confront the purple undead. Instruct the mysterious and beguiling Bella Pok. Disguise himself with a false mustache. Face an ominous evil in the depths of a volcano. And come to grips with his new manservant, Charlie Jackpot.

I am unsure about this book. The was some clever writing and I did laugh out loud a couple of times, but it was also rather silly and Lucifer Box was not exactly likeable.

An enjoyable enough fluff read but it doesn't leave me wanting to read any more of the series. 

Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

 Stephanie's freezing her butt off on a Trenton bridge trying to keep her friend Carol--caught shoplifting some crotchless panties she was too embarrassed to buy--from committing suicide.

"Truth is, I didn't for a minute think she'd jump. For one thing, she was wearing a four-hundred-dollar jacket from Wilson Leather. You just don't jump off a bridge in a four-hundred-dollar jacket. It isn't done. The jacket would get ruined. Carol was from the Chambersburg section of Trenton, just like me, and in the Burg you gave the jacket to your sister, then you jumped off the bridge."

When Stephanie finally talks Carol down and makes it in to work at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, it's only to find that her libido-boosting pal Ranger, the professional bounty hunter and sometime hit man, has disappeared. A building owned by black-market arms dealer Alexander Ramos has burned down, with Ramos's son Homer lying inside, dead from a gunshot wound. Ranger, who was caught on film there by video cameras, is wanted for questioning. Stephanie's boss Vinnie wants her to find him, but Stephanie, who knows she won't find Ranger if he doesn't want to be found, refuses. Soon everyone, from her cop boyfriend Joe Morelli to the two Laurel and Hardy wannabes who suddenly start following her around Trenton in a badass black Lincoln, thinks she's hot on Ranger's trail.
And Stephanie's got other things to worry about. For one thing, Grandma Mazur's moved in with her, and so has Bob, a golden retriever who's only partly house trained. Then Ranger starts popping up at odd times of the night, with instructions for Stephanie to keep an eye on another Ramos son, Hannibal. Add to that one homicidal maniac, a couple more dead bodies, Stephanie's usual bad car karma, and the zit from hell, and you've got yourself a very entertaining read. 

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

This is the story of two women who could be called "The 19th Wife." 

The first, Ann Eliza, whose parents were at the origin of the Latter-Day Saints, and who married Brigham Young, one of the founding prophets. She tells the story of what it was like for her mother, father, brothers and sistes, and herself to live in a society that demanded plural marriages as the way to salvation. We learn how these women were treated, how their husbands probably felt about plural marriages, and how the children were victims of them. 

Ann Eiza eventually escapes her marriage to Brigham Young and travels across the nation speaking out against plural marriage. Eventually, partially through her own efforts, plural marriages are condemned by the government of the United States. 

The second "19th Wife" is a woman in present day America, who is part of "The Firsts", a sect of Latter-Day Saints that still believe and practice plural marriage. She lives in a town like those that we hear of on the news these days. They are governed by a prophet with too many wives to count, some less than legal. 

This woman, Becky Lyn, is in jail for allegedly killing her husband. Her son Jordan is a Lost Boy. Lost Boys have been cast off from their families, usually on the side of the road, because they are considered competition for the young girls in the sect. When his mother is put in jail he has to decide whether he can forgive her for abandoning him long enough to help her prover her innocence. 



While definitely entertaining it got a little bogged down with the academic stuff. The story of Ann Eliza Young was an interesting counterpoint to Jordan's story.