Book Review - Love Will Find A Way - Barbara Freethy

 

 

 



 

I'm trying to catch up on my book reviews.  I suppose I should be thankful that I don't read as much as I once did.  However, I don't find as much time to blog as I once did, either.  So, I am still well behind!  Of course, I stopped keeping track of WHEN I read my books, so I really don't know how far behind I am!  I think it is safe to say that I probably read Love Will Find A Way in March-ish?

Dylan has always been drawn to Rachel...from the first moment that he saw her....on the arm of his best friend, Gary.  Gary is a hell of a guy...well, was a hell of a guy.  He's been gone for 6 months now, dead in a mysterious car accident.  And Dylan has spent the last 6 months avoiding Rachel like the plague.  Because he's still drawn to her.  He still wants her.  But what kind of a heel does that make him?  Wanting his dead best friend's wife - great guy!  And now, here she is, right in front of him, demanding answers about Gary that Dylan doesn't know....and is afraid to find out.

Rachel needs answers.  The insurance company won't pay on her life insurance claim for her deceased husband, Gary.  Something about his death is fishy -- he wasn't where he was supposed to be, and he had recently increased his life insurance -- all without letting Rachel know.  The one person who knew Gary better than anyone is his lifelong friend and business partner, Dylan.  Surely he knows what was going on with Gary.  If not, they would have to find out together.  And she'll just have to put her feelings for him aside --- the ones where her insides turn to jelly with a look from him. 

Right from the start I was interested in reading this book.  It's such a touchy subject - having feelings for your deceased friend's wife --- or your deceased husband's best friend!!  I was curious how Freethy would handle it without making everyone looking skeezy.  And what mysteries did the husband's life hold?  Perhaps he was the skeezy one, and everyone else was the victim?  In my opinion, Freethy did a terrific job of showing all of the pain and awkwardness one could expect in this situation.  As with most love stories, things might tie up into too neat of a bow.  But, the story was more interesting than most.

My rating: 3/5.  Would I read more Barbara Freethy?  I think so, but I wouldn't necessarily seek her out.

Audiobook Review - Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

 

I recently finished listening to Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini.  Although in my title I call it an audiobook, it was truly a Radio Play.  If you've never listened to a Radio Play, please give it a try.  It made the book so much fun, with the score and the various actors doing the parts.  I found myself smiling frequently, even if just due to the swelling of music at a dramatic part.  OK, it was a little corny at times, like when you are watching an old TV show and suddenly hear (dun-dun-dun!) and know that a shocker has been revealed.  But, corny can be fun, right?

Originally published in 1922, Captain Blood is the adventurous saga of Dr. Peter Blood, a man with ever-changing fortunes, from Doctor to Slave to Pirate.  At times arrogant, at others self-deprecating, and usually angry, the character of Captain Blood is one with whom the listener cannot help but sympathize.  The production is voiced by the Colonial Radio Players, and is backed by a fantastic score by Jeffrey Gage.  When I picked it up at the library, I was unsure as to whether I would enjoy a book this way.  Indeed, I did.

If you get a chance, check this book out, specifically, this Radio Play.  It's a fun way to spend a long trip or a flight.  I only get a chance to listen a few minutes a day because of my limited drive time, and I found myself frustrated that I couldn't keep listening!

My rating: 4/5

Stressin' Through The Week

Surgery Day is almost here.

The Snowmageddon forecast has been increased to 15 inches.

My daughter will definitely be hanging with Daddy at the hospital.

Hubby is going to be late coming home tonight -- when we have so much to do prior to surgery.

They say God only gives you what you can handle, but do we need to test the limits?

Will be back with y'all as soon as I can, depending on my recovery. 

Scared, nervous, stressed....that's me!

Snowmageddon 2013!!!

It's coming!  Hide your children!  Protect the pets!  Stock up on everything you might need in the next 2 months!  The snow is coming!  Not just one inch, oh no!  Kansas City is due to get 1-5 inches of snow, sleet, freezing rain!  The end is near!

Yep, that's what the news stations would lead us to believe.  By the way, can anyone tell me what the difference is between sleet and freezing rain????  Although I don't think that 1-5 inches is all that bad (my BFF just faced 34 inches outside of her door in Connecticut!), apparently here in Kansas City it is the pathway to our doom.  So much so that my daughter's daycare is already telling me that they will be closed on Thursday.  Really?

Ugh.  Here is the snow that we will probably get....

So now I get to go in for gallbladder surgery on Thursday as my husband tries to corral a 2 year old in a hospital waiting room.  I don't envy him. 

Serenity prayer is needed, I think.

Book Review - Long Time Coming by Edie Claire

Don't you absolutely hate it when you have a draft in for a blog post, go to do a final edit....and it's gone???  Me too!  So, I am going to take the following review on the fly.  I had fairly well finished my post yesterday, but it's nowhere to be found today!

Joy has kept herself out of her hometown of Wharton, Kentucky for most of her adult life.  From  Oregon to Florida to Pennsylvania, Joy has kept on running, but from what?  That, unfortunately, is what she is about to find out.  Joy has had to come home to Wharton to take care of her aging parents, and it's hard to avoid the past when it keeps slapping you in the face. 

First, the only home that she can avoid to purchase once belonged to Jenny.  Dear, sweet, dead Jenny, Joy's childhood best friend.  Jenny's death is the primary reason that Joy has been on the move for 18 years.  Strangely, though, the bungalow seems warm, even welcoming...even with the ghostly presence!  Ghost?  Ha!  Joy doesn't believe in ghosts, despite the front door opening on it's own, music playing in the night, invisible hugs...  All part of owning an old house, right? 

Of course, a ghost is easy to take compared to Jeff.  Jeff would be the other reason that Joy has been on the run.  Jeff was Jenny's boyfriend, and the mad that she blames for Jenny's death.  It boggles her mind that instead of being behind bars, Jeff is a respected physician...even her parents have him as a doctor, the traitors!

All of these unexpected bits of Joy's past have created an unexpected result...her memory is starting to return.  Not that Joy knew it was missing.  And these fresh new/old memories are throwing Joy's entire sense of being out of whack.  She might also be thrown for a loop by the person trying to kill her....

What can I say about Long Time Coming?  Let me put it this way.  I had been reading it casually for a day or two.  Come Friday night, I thought I would read a little bit before bed.  I was about 1/3 of the way through the book.  I read...and read....and read.  I finished the book at 3:30 am.  I haven't done that in years.  Edie Claire's story drew me in.  I needed to know what secrets everyone was hiding.  It's true that the ghost might have kept me awake,  too.  I'm big enough to admit it.  Long Time Coming was a very good book.  No one was perfect, and yet no one was quite all bad either.  My rating: 4/5.  Highest rating so far this year!

And you, too, can read this book.  It is available on Kindle at NO COST to you!  Download it today while it is still free.  Long Time Coming is a prime example of a book that can be a little bit of everything, and refuses to settle into one genre.