Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

The first time Eby Pim saw Lost Lake, it was on a picture postcard. Just an old photo and a few words on a small square of heavy stock, but when she saw it, she knew she was seeing her future.
 
That was half a life ago. Now Lost Lake is about to slip into Eby's past. Her husband George is long passed. Most of her demanding extended family are gone. All that's left is a once-charming collection of lakeside cabins succumbing to the Southern Georgia heat and damp, and an assortment of faithful misfits drawn back to Lost Lake year after year by their own unspoken dreams and desires.
 
It's a lot, but not enough to keep Eby from relinquishing  Lost Lake to a developer with cash in hand, and calling this her final summer at the lake. Until one last chance at family knocks on her door.
 
Lost Lake is where Kate Pheris spent her last best summer at the age of twelve,  before she learned of loneliness, and heartbreak, and loss. Now she's all too familiar with those things, but she knows about hope too, thanks to her resilient daughter Devin, and her own willingness to start moving forward. Perhaps at Lost Lake her little girl can cling to her own childhood for just a little longer... and maybe Kate herself can rediscover something that slipped through her fingers so long ago.
 
One after another, people find their way to Lost Lake, looking for something that they weren't sure they needed in the first place:  love, closure, a second chance, peace, a mystery solved, a heart mended.  

I really enjoyed this magical, captivating story. It has romance...and a magical alligator.

Fragile Flame by Nora Roberts

Taming Natasha. -  The first time single-father Spence Kimball set eyes on Natasha Stanislaski, he was floored by her exotic beauty. But the former ballet dancer turned toy shop owner had a fiery temperament that kept men safely at bay. Sensing a hidden wound, Spence and his little girl joined forces to find a way into her closely guarded heart. For Spence realized he'd do anything to tame Natasha's fears…and show her how to love.

Luring a Lady -  Nothing in Sydney Hayward's background of wealth and privilege prepared her to take the helm of her family's corporation, and her new responsibilities left no room for complications. Mikhail Stanislaski was definitely a complication. Earthy and entirely masculine, Mikhail came from a world utterly different from her own. But the way she felt when he put his strong, work-hardened hands on her was wreaking havoc with Sydney's resolve. 

2 stories in one book.  Quick, easy to read romances with few surprises.

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde

England, 1851. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive-one that will give both him and his children honour and fame.

United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper and fights an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation.

China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared.  

Three connected stories but their connection is not clear until almost the end of the book. 
George(2007) is a descendant of William (1851).  Tao (2098) finds a book written by George's son that helps her start to bring bees back from the few that remain in the wild.
It is also about parents and children and parents expectations of their children.

An interesting and thought-provoking read. 

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Love, family, peace, turmoil, romance, heartbreak, evil, good, and lots of magicks - this book has it all.

Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-time Husband by Barbara Toner

It's September 1919. The war is over, and everyone who was going to die from the flu has done so. But there's a shortage of husbands and women in strife will flounder without a male to act on their behalf.

And in the southern New South Wales town of Prospect, four ladies bereft of men have problems that threaten to overwhelm them.

Beautiful Louisa Worthington, whose dashing husband died for King and Country, is being ruined by the debts he left behind. 

Young Maggie O'Connell, who lost her mother in childbirth and her father to a redhead, is raising her two wayward brothers and fighting for land she can't prove is hers.

Adelaide Nightingale has a husband, but he's returned from the war in a rage and is refusing to tackle the thieving manager of their famous family store.

Pearl McCleary, Adelaide's new housekeeper, must find her missing fiancé  before it's too late and someone dies.

Thank God these desperate ladies have a solution: a part-time husband who will rescue them all. To find him, they'll advertise. To afford him, they'll share . . .


Charming, quirky story that got a bit convoluted and was all tied up neatly in the end.

Pecked To Death By Ducks by Tim Cahill

This hodgepodge of travel pieces tells of Cahill's experiences diving with sharks, jumping out of planes, trekking through jungles and other dangerous and exotic adventures.

This has one of the best first lines in a book (considering it's title)...."There are no ducks in this book."   Lots of very funny stories about Tim Cahill's adventures travelling the world,  all told with a very dry wit.   My favourite was The Throne of Doom.....about a long drop being situated over the entrance to a cave full of bats.

The Word Ghost by Christine Paice

This is England 1973, and fifteen-year-old Rebecca Budde is in love with Dave. After one glorious summer, Rebecca is forced to move with her family to Brightley, a village with a puddle for a pond, and no excitement at all. If only Dave were there.

Very weird things are going on inside their new house, and even stranger things are happening in the village at night. Someone appears to be living in Rebecca's wardrobe. Someone else is on the balcony, trying to get in. Things don't make sense anymore as Algernon Keats steps from the shadows, his sister not far behind him. There's no Dave, two ghosts, a pub, a dog and Alex March, a dark and brooding artist, living in the Manor House down the road, whose interest in Rebecca is both puzzling and thrill.

Poetical, otherworldly, strange and haunting.....or weird.  Very, very weird.