Monday, May 27, 2013

Once A Ferrara Wife



I am using this for my O book in A-Z challenge.

Laurel Ferrara takes a plane back to Sicily to be the maid of honor for her best friend, Dani's wedding.  There is only one problem, Laurel is still legally married to Dani's brother Cristiano Ferrara.   The stress of her returning was bad for her asthma.  

Cristiano was waiting for her at the airport and he had cancelled her room, she was to stay with him. It was Dani's idea as she felt if the two of them were together sparks would fly again.  Dani was correct as after the wedding the sparks did fly and they did make love.  What Dani did not know is why Lauren had left in the first place and neither did Cristiano.

Laurel had lost their baby and Cristiano did not come home when she called him while she was in pain.  He did not know about her past and her issues of trust.  She had been an orphan and there was a couple who was ready to adopt her when she had an asthma attack and had to be taken to a hospital.  She never forgot their house with a library that included Fairy Tales.  She had never owned one of her own.  

Cristiano surprises her with a home in the part of the island that she loved.  It seems that in Sicily, a divorce can occur only after three years of total separation and they were no longer separated. After, hearing her story about the library, he has his office converted into a library which includes a book of Fairy Tales.  She tells him that she cannot get pregnant because she actually had a tubal pregnancy and she even if she could get pregnant she did not want to go through that again.

Of course, as in any good romance story, Laurel and Dani both discover that they are pregnant.  She calls Cristiano while he is in an important meeting.  This time he hears something in her voice and comes to her.  He makes sure she has the best doctor possible.  The best friends have their babies on the same day, which we find out at the end.  We also find out that they have all the papers finished and can go and pick up the child they decided to adopt.

This book shows us that it is important to discuss things with your spouse and not to hold emotions back as the characters did.  In there case, Cristiano's sister helped get them together.  It is a re-kindled romance.  It is an extremly fast read and a wonderful one.

You Belong to Me







You Belong to Me by Mary Higgins Clark has been made into a Movie for Television.  I am using it as Y for A-Z challenge.


Dr. Susan Chandler has a radio show and she is having a week about why women should be safety conscious in social situations.  She invites a psychiatrist, Donald Richards, who wrote a book called Vanishing Women which is about cases he was involved in.  Susan decides to bring up the Regina Clausen disappearance as she used to watch her on CNBC.  Ms. Clausen disappeared after disembarking from a world cruise.  What Susan does not know is that Regina's killer had the radio on and he heard the promo for Susan's show.

Susan receives a call from a Karen who met someone on a cruise who gave her a ring and she was going to fly to Tangiers with him but her husband called and she decided to give their marriage another chance.  The ring was engraved "You belong to me".  From the sound of the caller's voice, Susan was sure that was not her real name and asked her to come to her office the next day.  Unfortunately, the caller is hit by a car - the police do not know if it was an accident or not.  But, one woman says she saw someone push her.  Dr. Susan is not aware of this.  The witness is killed and it is not the last murder.

Susan does all she can to find out what happened to Regina.  She gathers clues and even winds up ordering pictures from two ships looking for the man that was next to Regina.  While she is doing this she uncovers the fact that Mrs. Jane Clausen, Regina's mother is being scammed by her lawyer, Douglas Layton.  Susan finds out that she may know the killer and that she may also be a target.

This book is very easy to read.  We do not know who the killer is until Susan finds out.  There are many possibilities along the way.  It is very easy to make the connection to the song "You Belong to Me" before Susan does as we get to follow the killer's search for the feathers that have scattered in order to cover his tracks.  It is one of the most interesting books I have read.


Saturday, May 25, 2013

V is for Vengeance


V is for Vengeance is my book for V.  Kinsey sees a woman shoplifting.  Later, the woman's body is found below a bridge and believed to be a suicide.  Her boyfriend hires Kinsey to find out more about her.  Kinsey suspects a shoplifting ring which is making lots of money.  Throw in a wandering husband, a dirty cop and a crime family and you have V for Vengeance.

This book is very easy to read.  We are introduced to various things that happen.  A young man who owes money is thrown off a parking garage in the beginning and we find out he was the son of the man who helped Dante (the leader of the crime family) get a mortgage. It turns out that the lady that Dante falls for is the mother of that same young man.

Kinsey has been known to depend on her next door neighbor but he his called out of town and his brother William helps her while he is gone.  Throughout the book there are people who connect  in various ways with the shoplifting "mob" and the crime "boss".  The crime boss even punches Kinsey in the nose on her birthday to save her life.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  I have not read all the books in this series and actually borrowed this one from the library to use it for the challenge.  V may be for Vengance but it is also for Very good book, also.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Cat Trick



Cat Trick by Sofie Kelly is part of her Magical Cats Mysteries.  Owen and Hercules live with Kathleen Paulson, a librarian in Mayville Heights.  Mike Glazer grew up in Mayville Heights and now is a partner in Legacy Tours, which sells vacation packages.  The town is setting up a food tasting and an art show in preparation.

Kathleen's friend, Ruby,  is an artist.  She decides to paint a picture of Hercules to auction off for the benefit of a charity that helps cats.  Ruby wants to take photos of Herc so she asks Kathleen to bring him to her studio.  Hercules was in a cat carrier bag when Kathleen got out of her car.  While they were waiting for Ruby, Hercules jumps out and runs down the street toward where the tents were set up.  At the first tent, Hercules walked right through the heavy canvas and went inside (he was magical and could do this).  Kathleen follows him inside and finds him sitting next a lawn chair. Mke Glazer was in that chair and Kathleen was sure he was dead.

Thus begins this very interesting book.  I had not read any of the others in this series.  The cats magical powers are mentioned as is the relationship between Kathleen and Detective Marcus Gordon.     Later on in the book, Owen finds a clue in the tent after he got out of a carrier.

The characters and places are well described.  You feel like you are really in Mayville.  Since I do not know of any cats that actually disappear like Owen or walk through things like Hercules, I could really believe that it is not impossible.  I really like this book and would like to read the others at some time.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Enslaved


This is an e-book for adults as it is about a Dom and a woman who likes pain. It is well written but I would not recommend it unless you like books that involve bondage, sadism ets.