Kneading to Die

Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero is a cozy mystery that was suggested by one of the yahoo groups I belong to.  I am not using it for any other challege and participation in discussions is voluntary.  I must admit I would have chosen this book to read in any case as I love animals and the title is interesting.

Stan has had her job eliminated.  She fell in love with this house in a small town.  Unsure of what to do best, Stan is taking her time to decide.  One of the things she does do is to cook a special diet for her cat.  She also makes treats for the cat.  These treats become popular among the other animals in town.  She keeps finding a dog on her doorstep.  Of course the dog's owner is a handsome, single guy!

The local vet is killed and Stan was not in the appointment book.  She does suspect her best friend who had been in the area when the doctor was killed.  The friend leaves a dog with Stan and then is out of touch.

It is a very interesting read.

Quite Honestly

 













Quite Honestly by John Mortimer is my Q book for A-Z challenge and is my book for humor at the Eclectic reader challenge..

The back of the book describes it as" A comic novel of middle-class do-gooding gone quite awry.  Lucy Purefoy is a college graduate who joins SCRAP - Social Carers, Reformers and Praeceptons which is an organization to help ex-convicts coming out of prison.  Lucy meets a burglar named Terry Keegan. She become fascinated by him and falls in love.  They move in together.  Lucy things they will become closer if she steals things.  She begins taking small things but then decides to steal a painting belonging to a friend.  She is caught and sent to prison.  At the end of the book, Terry is now the member of SCRAP and he is at the prison to meet her.

This book is told from both points of view.  We get Lucy telling her story and Terry telling his.  I can understand why she wants to have the excitement of burglary even though it is misguided.  Lucy compares prison with the boarding school she was sent to as a child.

I like the endings which mirrors the beginning of the book where the two of them tell of their first meeting.  It is interesting to read the descriptions of the other characters and of the surroundings.  Mortimer does show a sense of humor especially having the head of the burglary ring become the head of SCRAP.  Lucy may be a bad burglar but she does not give up the ones who helped her which is honorable.

Perilous Pranks

 

Perilous Perils is an e-book by Joyce and Jim Lavene.  It is part of their Renaissance Faire series.  I am using it as P in A-Z book challenge and it is a cozy mystery.

Jessie has received her Ph.D. in Historical Arts & Crafts and has been appointed director of a museum at the Faire.  She decides to put blue dye into Wanda La Fey's shower to get back for Wanda's gluing her dress to a chair.  When Wanda does not scream after taking a shower Jessie discovers that she is dead and blue.  Jessie seems to be the main suspect.  However, "Shakespeare" was married to Wanda and Wanda was seeing Marcus who was one of the Knights.  Others told Jessie that Sir Marcus had also been seeing Ginny Stewart at the Tavern.  Wanda's ghost is also been staying close to Jessie and aids her in catching the murderer.

I love this series and this novella is wonderful.  There are some new characters and many of the old favorites.  I love the description of Jessie's wedding gown and look forward to reading about her wedding in the next book in the series.

Zombie Man: Feared to Cheered

Zombie Man: Feared to Cheered is an e-book by Pat Hutt.  It is an illustrated children's book and is in rhyme.  This is my book for Z for the A-Z Challenge.

I liked this book even though I don't like Zombies.  This Zombie is fun and becomes a hero.  A book book to read to children.  I read it in June, 2013.

Gunman's Bride

The Gunman's Bride is an Inspirational Historical Romance which I am using for my Romance book for the Literary Exploration Challenge and as G for Ato Z challenge.

Laura Rose C married Bart Kingsley when she was young.  Her father did not know about the marriage and arranged a marriage for her.  Bart disappeared after they were married and they had not consumated the marriage.  Laura Rose left Kansas and moves to New Mexico using the name Laura Kingsley.  Bart looked all over for his Rosey and winds up in New Mexico and is shot by the sheriff and climbs into Laura's room.  Laura does what she can for him and he soon disappears.

When Bart shows up again, he is helping put out a fire and is using the name Burt Springfield.  He courts Laura and they run away to get married.  Laura wanted to teach and they wanted a married woman to teach.  When they get back from their "wedding" Laura finds out that other woman was hired.  The Springfields settle down on a homestead and soon are raising chickens and have milk cows.  Burt is raising a beet crop.  Things seem to be going well.  The teacher that was hired does not work out and Laura gets the job.  When one of her student's is killed, she goes home.  Because of the death, Laura misses a doctor's appointment.  When she finally sees the doctor, she finds out she is with child.

Some of the outlaws thay Bart rode with come to town and try to talk him into robbing the train.  Bart has Laura move to the hotel in town.  Unfortunately, her father finds her there and decides to take her home.  Bart climbs into her hotel room to have a night with her.  Laura and her dad board the train, but the train is stopped.  Bart manages to hold the train long enough to show Dr. Vermillion their marriage certificate.  Laura tells him she is pregnant.  She finds out his record is cleared but he can not go to Missouri or he'll be arrested.  They get off the train and go home.

I finished this book in one day.  It was extremely easy to read.  I enjoyed the fact that Bert or Burt had to court Laura before they run off to get "married".   At the end of the book, there is historic background that was the basis for the book.  This book does have them going to church and Laura does try to teach him manners.  It is a book anyone should enjoy.

Big Sky Dynasty

 


Big Sky Dynasty by B.J. Daniels Is about Dalton Corbett from Whitehorse, Montana.  A trust was set up for the five Corbett brothers but they had to marry a Montana cowgirl before they were thirty.  Dalton had married nine years before he returned home but did not tell anyone.  He thought he had killed his wife on their honeymoon.

Nicci Angeles was the name of Dalton's wife.  She comes to town and rents a room from Georgia Michaels.  Georgia and Dalton do not know that Nicci is a murderer.  They find out she had re-married and her husband had died in a fishing accident on their honeymoon which was would have happened to Dalton.  The other crimes are discovered at the end of the book.  The other important character is Agnes Palmer.  Agnes had been hit by lightening and seemed to know Nicci was evil and what was going to happen in the future.  Ms. Palmer may seem to be going senile but she is pretty handy with knitting needles.

I loved having a subscription to Harlequin Intrigue until I was reducing expenses.  Now, I am getting a chance to read what I bought either for the first time or again.  I do not remember all of the books so if I had read them, I don't remember what happens.  I like this book because it takes place in a small town with a knitting shop.  It also has cowboys.  Together they make a great read.

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.