With the exception of Susan Baganz’s “Pesto and Potholes” – so suitable for the start of the Green Bay Packers season! – it’s all audiobook reviews this week. I get a lot of housework and sewing and quilting done while I listen to audiobooks! Pesto and Potholes, paperback by Susan M. Baganz This is a delightful, gentle romance sprinkled with silliness. The heroine is recovering from serious physical and emotional trauma, trying to restart life in a new city. She connects with the hero and friends at her new church and starts to heal, but she experiences setbacks and has to recover, a little stronger each time. I was especially impressed by the realistic community. The friends and families of the main characters interact naturally under various circumstances, including the potentially-problematic operation of a family business. Ms. Baganz writes in a pleasant rhythm, pacing the story well. Poseidon’s Arrow, audiobook by Clive and Dirk Cussler, read by Scott Brick I’m starting to worry about Dirk Pitt. He’s not getting any younger, but he’s still out there saving the world. This is an interesting and creative story featuring the rare earth minerals, Chinese villains, and an amazing piece Read More
Tag: Colleen Coble
Bite-size Book Reviews
These were all new, first-time reads for me, from some of my favorite authors. It was a nice variety of styles and time periods. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Random Acts of Murder, audiobook by Christy Barritt, read by Sandy Rustin This book is the first in a new series. The heroine is appealing, with her good intentions, insecurities and quirky personality. She fled the scene of a murder and now she’s being framed for it. The hero is an old high school classmate, all grown up and in charge of the murder investigation. Ms. Barritt does a good job of pacing the mystery and concealing the identity of the killer. I would have liked to see more about the heroine’s spiritual and physical conditions, but it is a light-hearted story with lots of other action. The supporting characters seem interesting; I hope they are developed further in the rest of the series. Snow on the Tulips, audiobook by Liz Tolsma, read by Susan Denaker Ms. Tolsma has created a vivid portrait of a small Dutch village and its residents near the end of WWII. This is an intense, suspenseful story as much as Read More
Bite-Size Book Reviews
I haven’t published a “weekly” book review since the end of October. Oops. Excuses… NaNoWriMo, followed by Christmas. I read at least 15 books in that time, even if I didn’t get much writing done. The following, except for the Mary Stewart book, are all Christian fiction in a variety of genres. 1. Last Light, Paperback, by Terri Blackstock Last Light is the first book in the Restoration series, about a Y2K-style event happening in the suburbs. That setting made it unusual. It wasn’t in the country, where it’s easier to improvise water, heat, and food, and it wasn’t exactly like Y2K, which was a predicted event. This was a devastating event that happened with no warning. The characters were interesting, with believable responses and relationships for that setting. The mystery seemed like a secondary event, but it was wrapped up neatly at the end. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. 2. Grandmother’s Letters, Kindle, by Rebekah Jones This is a sweet story with unexpected plot twists. Several story lines run separately for most of the story, gradually connecting near the end. Ms. Jones is good at writing about relationships. The characters are well-defined Read More