My Desert Kingdom by Jill Koolmees

When Jill Koolmees follows her husband to Saudi Arabia, she is in for a journey that challenges her beliefs, her marriage, even her sanity. Share her voyage of discovery through desert oasis, souk and shopping mall, and meet a cast of characters that includes housemaids and pilgrims, fanatics and princes.

An enjoyable read. It was interesting to hear about living in Saudi Arabia, the history and the changes taking place. Not a place I would like to live.

On Thin Ice by Cherry Adair

Lily Munroe thought she had married an honest, dependable man, but she was painfully mistaken. It didn’t take long for her once-loving husband to become a secretive stranger–mixing with shady people and even shadier dealings. Although Lily nursed him through a sudden terminal illness, her marriage was over long before he passed away. During that difficult time, only her passion for the exhilarating Iditarod race across Alaska gave her something to look forward to–and she channeled her emotions into training dogs for the grueling event. Now single again, she’s more determined than ever to win the race, awaken her sense of self, and leave her past behind.

In the competition, the person to beat is two-time winner Derek Wright, a man Lily dubs Mr. Wrong. Extremely sexy and devilishly charming, Derek is the consummate playboy. Or is he? Although Lily can’t deny her intense attraction, she believes he is dangerous to her scarred heart. Little does she know that Derek is an elite antiterrorism agent–or how desperately she’ll need to depend on his skills to keep her alive once the race is under way.

I've enjoyed others in this series more than this one.  There were a few errors that didn't make sense.  She met Derek 6 years ago, just before she got married to his best friend.  She was married for 3 years, widowed for 6 months....what happen to the other 2 1/2 years?

Lots of action but the romance was a bit hit and miss.  And sex outside in winter in Alaska during a snow storm  while both wearing multiple layers of clothes?  Very hard to imagine.

Madame Serpent by Jean Plaidy

 In Florence, her father Pope Clement VII arranges for his fourteen years old daughter Caterina de' Medici to marry the second son of the King of France Prince Henry of Orléans; as she leaves behind her beloved Ippolito. However, when she meets her fiancé, Caterina quickly realizes Henry has no interest in her as he loves his mistress Diane de Poitiers.

Prince Henry ignores his wife for his mistress even after they have children. When his older brother the Dauphin and then his father die, Henry becomes the king. Diane's influence is even stronger as visiting dignitaries pay her homage by kissing her hand rather than the Italian wife. However, bitter Caterina accepts the affronts as she stoically plans to insure her offspring one day will sits on the throne while also patiently waiting for the right moment to remind the manipulative Diane just who the queen of France is.


An Ok read.  I've read others by this author that I've enjoyed more. A bit superficial perhaps.

The Family Frying Pan by Bryce Courtney

Mrs Moses is a small woman with a big heart and enormous courage. The only survivor of a Cossack raid on her village, she takes with her a big cast-iron frying pan, so heavy that she can only sling it over her back. Yet this is no ordinary frying pan it's The Family Frying Pan, blessed with a Russian soul. From this frying pan Mrs Moses manages to feed the various refugees who are travelling with her across Russia to freedom. In return, each of the group must tell a story around the campfire at night stories of compassion and bravery, of human frailty and, above all, of hope. 

The true life stories of a small group of Russian refugees... stories of murder, fame, tragedy.
Stories told by Mrs Moses to her grand-daughters husband not long before her death.

I enjoyed this very much. 

16 Lighthouse Road by Debbie Macomber

As a family court judge, Olivia Lockhart has dealt with numerous divorce suits but none as peculiar as Cecilia and Ian Randall's. Before the young couple was married the year before, Cecilia and Ian signed a prenuptial agreement stating their marriage would last a lifetime, but now, after the tragic death of their infant daughter, the two wish to rescind the agreement. Sensing that Cecilia and Ian are still in love, Olivia lets her heart guide her decision, and denies their petition. Olivia's decision makes headlines in The Cedar Cove Chronicle and earns her the admiration of the paper's editor, Jack Griffin, a newcomer to the small Washington town. While Jack courts Olivia, and Ian and Cecilia try to repair their marriage, Olivia's daughter is forced to decide whether she should marry a man whom she doesn't love; Olivia's best friend grows frantic over the disappearance of her husband; and Olivia's mother befriends a stroke patient who harbors a secret he would share if he could speak.

Light "women's fiction" (chic lit for the over 40's). An entertaining read.

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

Elena Devereaux is a vampire hunter. She's what is known as hunter-born and so it's not just her job. It's her calling. She could no more walk away from it than she could sprout wings and fly. Elena belongs to the Hunter's Guild and, as such, is hired out to those willing to pay to have an expert hunt, capture, and/or kill rogue vampires. In this world, vampires aren't the top man on the totem pole. That honor belongs to the angels. Specifically, the archangels. Archangels rule the world and, get this, they create vampires. Who are then at their beck and call for at least a hundred years of servitude. The vampires are pretty much evil incarnate, but interestingly enough, the angels are not their polar opposites, i.e. paragons of virtue and goodness. In fact, they're sort of outside the whole good vs. evil spectrum. They run the show. They use who and what they need to to keep the vampires and humans in line and, if you value your life, you stay out of their way. Life spices up for Elena when Raphael, the Archangel of New York, enlists her services to hunt down a rogue Archangel who has done the unthinkable and become a vampire himself.

This was slow to start, but good once I got into it.  Just not as good as her Psy-Changling series.

A Certain Malice by Felicity Young

Senior Sergeant Cameron Fraser, along with his teenage daughter Ruby, has moved from Sydney to his hometown of Glenroyd to take charge of the local police station. Fraser hopes to finally put behind them the deaths of his wife and young son three years before in a deadly fire, one in which Fraser was badly burned trying to save them. He also hopes to protect Ruby and himself from the bikie gangs responsible for the fire that all but destroyed their lives.


Lots of twists and turns in this well thought out mystery. I enjoyed it being Australian too.