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Lessons in Love at the Cornish County Hospital–many faces of love
Lessons in Love at the Cornish County Hospital
By Jo Bartlett
This series is the fictional account of several of the workers at St. Piran’s Hospital. It focuses specifically on two couples: Gary, a staff nurse, and Wendy, the head of housekeeping; and Danni who works in emergency medicine and her boyfriend Charlie, a children’s book author. Working on the fourth book in this series, Jo Barlett presents a lot of background about the various characters. Sometimes I felt like I had been dropped into the middle of a soap opera; and at other times, I admired Barlett’s handling of characters and situations that are serious.
Wendy had been married to Mike, unquestionably a philandering, narcissistic jerk who was the father of her two young adult girls. Now he is in a relationship with the much younger Chloe. Wendy struggles with doing the right things for her daughters as they form bonds with Chloe who is pregnant. Danni is also pregnant and is carefully cared for medically as an older mom with a first child. Both Gary and Charlie are caring and loving mates, but the women take the stage in this novel.
With relationship and medical issues, there is both trauma and drama for Chloe. Eating disorders affect several characters. Wendy struggles with jealousy over Chloe even though Wendy no longer loves or is attracted to Mike. It hurts that her daughters see Chloe as the fun “mom.” Meanwhile Chloe suffers from a deep seated and unfulfilled desire to be loved.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #4 in the Cornish County Hospital series, but could be read as a standalone.
2. Only 6 instances of swear words and no open bedroom doors.
Publication: October 3, 2024—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
…borrowing tomorrow’s trouble was a sure-fire way to suck all the joy out of life.
If death could come from a thousand small cuts, so could the death of a relationship and it felt like that day was getting closer and closer.
Everything they’d been through had taught her that love really could be found in the most unexpected of places. There was no such thing as loving too many people, or being loved by too many people in return.
Frank and Red–healing tale
Frank and Red
By Matt Coyne
Frank is a curmudgeon and a recluse. Red is a precocious six year old. Both have had a rough life in the last few years, but they approach their situations from very different perspectives. Frank is in such pain when his beloved Marcie passes away that he creates a dysfunctional relationship with his son. Red’s parents divorce causes upheaval in his life with a new home, new school and new neighbor Frank. Red faces life with enthusiasm despite the tough times. When Frank’s advice to Red about bullies has some unfortunate consequences, Frank finds himself taking on caregiving responsibilities for Red. Frank has a lot to learn from Red. Although some may initially find the plot predictable, the last part of the book is anything but predictable with lots of adventure and humor.
Frank is the ultimate grump, and Red is totally lovable. Together they make an interesting pair. The book is replete with crude language, but being British English it somehow doesn’t seem as offensive to the American ear. Short chapters are entitled “Frank” or “Red” with alternating perspectives moving the story along quickly. Red’s interactions with his new classmates are both sad and funny; it’s hard to be a new student. Red’s mother is a hospice nurse, a very caring woman who is devoted to Red and tries to shield him from an indifferent father. A fence separates Frank and Red, but its physical toppling brings about a metaphorical destruction of the barriers between Frank and Red and between Frank and the outside world that he fears.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Humor
Notes: Offensive Language
Publication: February 1, 2024—Wildfire
Memorable Lines:
He had once heard a saying that went something like: “You don’t need a parachute to skydive once.” That’s what he was thinking about: that falling in love with someone, and allowing yourself to do so, was like falling without a parachute. And that’s okay when it’s the love of your life, because you only intend to skydive once.
And Jake, of course, whom he had absolutely no intention of playing with, inside or outside, on account of him being a dangerous cycle-path.
“You’re comfortable being miserable. You wear it like a pair of slippers.”
The Finders Keepers Library–caring and helping
The Finders Keepers Library
by Annie Rains
I was immediately enchanted by the format of The Finders Keepers Library. Each chapter begins with a quote, usually bookish, always by a famous author (from Lamott to Tolkien and many in between), and always pertinent to the content of the chapter. I am quite familiar with starting chapters with quotes, but sometimes they are obscure, obtuse, or irrelevant. Not in this book where they are charming and relatable! Each chapter also begins with a pencil sketch of flowers emerging from a book. This illustration has a special meaning because one of the main characters, Eleanor, owns the free library created by her deceased husband along with an extensive garden. They combined their hobbies in a way that engages the community.
Savannah is in between jobs and has just had a troubling medical diagnosis, lupus, that she is learning to live with. Rather than go to her parents’ home, she has a long overdue visit with her beloved Aunt Eleanor who could really use her skills with plants to get the garden in shape for the wedding of a friend of Savannah. Eleanor’s next door neighbor is Evan who was Savannah’s close friend every summer when she came to visit. When they parted ways after high school graduation, they lost touch with each other although neither forgot the “what could have been” of their relationship. Now they are at a different place in their lives. Evan is divorced and has newly become the custodial parent for his grieving daughter. Savannah’s partner of two years walked away when she got her lupus diagnosis. Eleanor has not left her house in a year since she was hospitalized from a bad fall. All of these really nice characters, plus several more, have issues to work through and obstacles in the way. Annie Rains weaves several sweet romances into this story of people helping each other. I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: 1. #1 in the Love in Bloom series
2. Clean
Publication: April 16, 2024—Forever (Grand Central Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
“If you ask me, a cup of tea and a good book is the best kind of medicine.”
“I think sometimes, when we’ve been wounded, we humans like to push people away, to prove our greatest fears.” She looked at him again. “What fear?” She shrugged. “That we’re unlovable.”
Knowing that someone loved you enough to bother you when you wanted to be alone was always better than leaving that person alone and letting them believe that no one cared.
The Ghost Orchid–so many questions
The Ghost Orchid
By Jonathan Kellerman
When you want to read a hard core mystery (i.e. not the cozy mysteries I enjoy so much with predictable characters and happy endings), The Ghost Orchid is a good choice. The protagonist of the series is a PhD. psychologist. He has a home office where he specializes in working with judges and divorcing parents when there are issues involving children. He also consults on special cases for the police, especially Milo, a detective with the rank of lieutenant.
I really like Alex as a character. He is both smart and wise and can withhold judgement until everything he needs to see comes to light. I especially like that although he is extremely talented at both detecting in the criminal realm and helping others with psychological issues, he is a humble man.
In The Ghost Orchid, the major plot line is the murder of a man and a woman, both shot while relaxing at a private swimming pool. Just determining their identities, addresses, and family connections is a major puzzling challenge. Whose home are they in and what are their occupations? The usual channels of text messages and social media don’t reveal much, but Milo and Alex keep picking at the pieces until they get some leads. When interviewing subjects, Milo takes the lead as the officer in charge of the case, but sometimes Alex’s perceptive insights are more effective and soften the interviewee. The duo is good at sharing the questioning depending on the situation.
Another plot line involves a young teenager who was adopted out of bad circumstances in Ukraine when he was five. Now, his rich adoptive parents are divorcing. The judge views this situation with compassion for the boy and asks Alex to evaluate, recommend, and treat. This minor plot line does not intersect the main one, but as a reader I found it important for understanding more about Alex. It also allowed me to come up for air after reading the tense and surprising conclusion to the major plot. Hint: when a book begins with two dead people, the ending will not be one of cupcakes and confetti. The journey through the lives of the protagonists as clues are discovered and revealed is a difficult one.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery & Suspense
Notes: 1. #39 in the Alex Delaware Mystery series, but could be read as a standalone. I have only read a few in the series, but I enjoyed all of them and had no problem needing further background information.
2. There is a lot of swearing.
3. The author has a PhD. In psychology, but that in no way turns the novel into something pedantic.
Publication: February 6, 2024—Random House/Ballentine
Memorable Lines:
“Unknown suspect from an unknown place murdering a mystery woman? Gee, thanks for clarifying.”
Rooney’s nomadic life offered an additional fringe benefit: law enforcement tends to think locally so by shifting locales criminals avoid piling up too much iniquity in any one jurisdiction.
Time was nearly up and there’s no point in opening up worm cans unless you’re going to be sitting for a while and fishing.
Sunshine After the Rain–family heartbreaks
Sunshine After the Rain
by Jessica Redland
Can there be “sunshine after the rain” or will tragedy and bad choices just keep pushing Mel down with no hope of escape from her past? Mel is a conservation architect. She specializes in the “preservation of historic buildings.” She worked alongside her husband Flynn who handled the construction end of the business until the untimely death of their son. Mel needed answers; she wanted to blame someone. In a totally irrational response to the death, she left her husband and her home. She thought she needed time and space so she cut almost all ties with her family, not considering that all of them were grieving too.
Mel grew up in a village near Derwent Water in the Lake District National Park. Seven years after her split from Flynn, a trip back to Willowdale to celebrate her mom’s eightieth birthday cracks open the tough shell Mel has built around herself. She discovers that the owners of the historic Willowdale Hall, a local landmark, are embarking on a reconstruction. This would be a dream job for Mel. There are a lot of characters who have ties to Willowdale Hall. Many of those characters have been previously introduced in the Escape to the Lakes series, and the author uses their kindness to bring together a supportive structure for Mel as she heals. There is another large piece of sadness in the story that adds to Mel’s struggles.
There is so much grief, despair, and despondency in Sunshine After the Rain that at times it is difficult to read. At the same time, it is uplifting to see familiar characters who have gone through tough times themselves reaching out to help Mel. In addition to the obvious themes of grief and loss, there are also themes of enduring and steadfast love and hope for a better tomorrow. There is a lot of symbolism as Willowdale Hall is being transformed from a place with a lot of past sorrow into a place of restoration. There is also a motif of broken vessels being repaired to a new state of beauty.
I particularly identified with the characters’ love of the library at Willowdale Hall along with another small reading room introduced later in the book. I would love to spend time in either room surrounded by books!
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Women’s Fiction, Romance
Notes: #4 in the Escape to the Lakes series. By the time you get to this fourth book, there are a lot of characters and relationships. I recommend you start at the beginning of the series and keep going. You will be happy you read them in sequence. Redland is aware of how many characters are involved at this point, and she includes a “Cast of Recurring Characters” as a reference for readers.
Publication: May 15, 2025—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
The biting cold wind whipped my hair across my face and took my breath away. The lake was choppy but the sound of the water slapping against the beach was both mesmerizing and comforting. Closing my eyes, I breathed in several deep lungfuls of fresh air, trying to quieten the battle inside my head.
Georgia laughed at me when I told her I could hear old buildings breathe, which was rich from somebody who talked to books. I loved the phrase if walls could talk. I wish! The things these walls must have seen—the good times and bad, the joy and the pain.
Even the things that seem the most broken can be fixed with enough time, love and will.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel–romance in Paris
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel
by Rebecca Raisin
When Anais discovers her husband and new housekeeper in bed, she divorces him. He is a smarmy leech and a serial adulterer. Using the many lawyers in his family, Francois-Xavier drains Anais’ financial resources leaving her with a decrepit hotel in Paris. As a romance writer, the dissolution of her marriage drains her of her professional motivation as well. She has the dreaded writer’s block, has spent her advance, and has a deadline looming.
Anais’ wild and unpredictable cousin Manon undertakes the rehabilitation of the hotel with her. Together they dedicate themselves to making the boutique hotel profitable so they can sell it. Along the way, there are potential romances and roadblocks in the reconstruction. More importantly, they discover a wall that blocks off two rooms on the top floor. Thus emerges a bookish mystery, and they have to discover why the rooms are sealed and who occupied them.
If you have any interest in Paris, you will enjoy this book. There are French phrases thrown in for flavor along with descriptions of the neighborhoods, foods, and Christmas markets. Manon is French and Anais is of mixed heritage and speaks French with a British accent. She has lived in Paris for 16 years. Friends since childhood, they are very different but get along well. There is a lot of humor that is derived from this pair.
Christmas at the Little Paris Hotel is a very literary book. The hotel will have a library, and the rooms will be named for authors. Anais and Manon seek out bookish items to be part of the decor and are researching bookish places to provide on a map for their guests. They visit many of Paris’ various vintage shops, libraries, and bookshops in their search for decorative items and furniture for the hotel.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Fiction, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Notes: a small amount of swearing in English and French
Publication: September 26, 2023—Boldwood Books
Memorable Lines:
“We’re stuck in a time-warp. The seventies called and they want their avocado green drapes back.”
“He has the IQ of an oyster.” “That’s being unkind to oysters.”
I must leave for my own sanity. While he may do his best to besmirch me, he cannot take away the words I am yet to pen. Those words, they are all that matter. I’ll never publish another novel as long as I shall live, thus he cannot profit from me. That will be the best revenge. The man is dangerous. I must tread ever so carefully.
Finlay Donovan is Killing It–dark, comedic mystery
Finlay Donovan is Killing It
by Elle Cosimano
Normally a cozy mystery/Agatha Christie reader, I decided to see what all the buzz is about with Finlay Donovan is Killing It and the other books Elle Cosimano has written in this series. The author has created a protagonist that many women can related to. Finlay finds herself in a morally shaky and sticky situation. Her happily ever after has disintegrated under her feet. She is divorced from her ex-husband who is a philanderer and a manipulator. She is deeply in debt to so many people including her ex who has become her landlord.
When a private conversation at Panera is overheard and misunderstood, Finlay becomes entangled in a scheme to murder a serial date-rapist who drugs and then blackmails his victims. He also works for the mob.
I don’t want to give away more of the plot. I can share that despite the dark nature of the predicaments, the author includes many humorous situations and twists and turns that are truly unpredictable. Characters are a big part of this book. Finlay is motivated to keep her two preschool age children safe and retain custody of them. To do that she needs reliable childcare and financial independence from her ex-husband. She is a writer and her profession plays a large role as fiction and non-fiction intertwine. There are two romantic interests, a detective and a law student. She is supported in many ways by her sister Georgia, a cop, and by Vero, her babysitter and partner in crime.
I did enjoy this book. It has lots of women-focused themes and ethical issues. It addresses practical concerns—nosy neighbors, malfunctioning alternators, and inoperative garage doors—and issues that we hope we will never encounter like hitmen, affairs, and date rape drugs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. very insightful discussion questions
2. a fair amount of swearing
Publication: February 2, 2021—St. Martin’s Press (Minotaur Books)
Memorable Lines:
If you’ve never had to wrestle a two-year-old slathered in maple syrup into a diaper while your four-year-old decides to give herself a haircut in time for preschool, all while trying to track down the whereabouts of your missing nanny as you sop up coffee grounds from an overflowing pot because in your sleep-deprived fog you forgot to put in the filter, let me spell it out for you.
Patricia withered, clearly mistaking my mom face for something else…some callous expression worn by contract killers and hit men. Maybe they’re similar. I wouldn’t know.
Theresa was all about social cachet and prestige. If there was a chance to flaunt a high-profile client like Feliks by sticking her head out of the roof of his slick black limousine and shouting it to the moon, she wouldn’t miss a chance to do it.
Dating Can Be Deadly–quilts and goats at the county fair
Dating Can Be Deadly
by Amanda Flower
In Holmes County, the Amish and the Englisch have their own traditions, but in general they get along well. The Holmes County Fair draws both groups in. Protagonist Millie Fisher, known to her friend and sidekick Lois Henry as the “Amish Marple,” has been widowed for a number of years and has gradually become comfortable with that role. So, this year, Millie enters a special quilt in the fair and allows her grandson to show her two mischievous goats Phillip and Peter in the goat competition. With the fair as the background, there are many threads in the plot of this amusing cozy mystery. When Millie and Lois discover the body of one of the quilting judges and the shredded quilt of the inimitable bishop’s wife, Ruth, the two sleuths are compelled to investigate.
There are lots of ups and downs in the plot as suspects are found in the most unlikely places. There are romances for both ladies. The most compelling part of the plot for me deals with a little abandoned Amish boy whose grandfather doesn’t want anything to do with him. Millie’s heart goes out to the sweet, fearful child, and she is stuck in the middle of a legal, moral, and Amish cultural dilemma.
As always, Englischer Lois with her colorfully dyed, spiky hair and her best childhood friend Millie, a faithful Amish widow are as different from each other as they can be. They remain devoted to each other. They find themselves involved in a case that leads them into lots of adventures. Lois is famous for her tote bag in which she carries something for every emergency. Millie’s investigative skills are top notch as are her matchmaking skills. This is another fun book in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #5 in the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series. Amanda Flower brings new readers into the series quite well, but I recommend reading the previous books in the series because they are good and they make the humor more predictable.
Publication: October 24, 2023—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
As soon as she said that, my guard went up. Lois had said to me once that any time an Englischer said something was very simple, it was the opposite, and they typically spoke in a way that was meant to be ambiguous.
“Sometimes when a person turns their passion into an occupation, they begin to resent it. I don’t want that to happen to me.”
You are only poor when you want more than you have.
Double Indemnity
Double Indemnity
by Robert Whitlow
Connor Grantham, a graduate of Princeton Divinity School, is from a family of highly successful professionals. He loves reading, studying, and hiking. His job in Bryson, Georgia, allows him to do all three in the low stress environment of Rock Community Church. When Matt Thompson is killed in a hunting accident on the property where Connor is hiking, life becomes complicated. Matt and his second wife, Elena, had been consulting Connor for marital counseling. With her interest in her husband’s will and insurance policies, she hardly fits the profile of a grieving widow. There are, however, several other characters who could also benefit from Matt’s death. Complications arise when a video surfaces of Connor at the hunting lodge. Believing he is innocent is far from having evidence that he is innocent.
Liz Acosta is a young American lawyer of Cuban descent. She has been hired for her Spanish speaking abilities, but when she is assigned Elena as a client, she demonstrates skills far beyond translating. She is eager to learn and her boss encourages her talents.
The plot is complicated, and the characters are interesting. I had not read a legal novel in a while so I enjoyed returning to that genre. Even more, I saw what a legal mystery could be when told from a Christian perspective. Author Whitlow takes a character who has basic Christian beliefs, but not much actual experience in communicating with God, and places him in circumstances where he needs to do just that. He also positions him near a family that is suffering through extreme hardships but nevertheless can model prayer and faith to him in a way he has never experienced. Connor sets out to minister to Lyle and Sarah Hamilton and their son Josh. He does that, but he also receives blessings that help him through an ordeal that he never expected to endure.
Double Indemnity has many opportunities for character development. Which church members will rally around Connor and who will turn their backs on him? Connor has always been careful to be above reproach in meetings with female members of his congregation. Will tongues wag anyway when a meeting in a public place becomes a topic of gossip? Can Liz help Connor when her first obligation is to her client Elena? Why is the Georgia Bureau of Investigations so concerned about this case? What role does ex-wife Anne play? Matt claims to love both women! Matt’s company is in trouble. Could his business partner be trying to rescue the business through an insurance claim? Double Indemnity answers these questions and more while engaging the reader in a page-turning plot.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery, Christian, Fiction
Notes: References to Cuban cuisine give this book both culinary and multicultural appeal.
Publication: June 6, 2023—Thomas Nelson
Memorable Lines:
“What should the topic for my message be on Sunday?” he asked. Michelle raised her eyebrows. “Shouldn’t you be asking God, not me, about that?” “I did and didn’t get an answer.” “Maybe that’s your message: “What to Do When God is Silent.”
Sarah Hamilton prayed. The woman’s words reminded Connor of a freight train slowly pulling out of the station. They carried a weight and power that couldn’t be ignored. Something big and powerful was on the move. Sarah spoke as one who knew what she believed and expected God to listen.
“God knows the end from the beginning whether the path in between is long or short, complicated or simple, and how everything fits into the destiny and destination he has for each person’s life.”
If prayer is a weapon, Sarah’s words weren’t bullets, they were artillery shells.
Sycamore Circle–rebuilding a life
Sycamore Circle
by Shelley Shepard Gray
Madisonville is a prison in the novel Sycamore Circle. Lincoln was formerly incarcerated there, as were the men who work under him in the organization called T-DOT (Tomorrow Depends on Today). The group tries to rehabilitate former inmates, giving them practical skills by restoring houses and flipping them. They also learn self-discipline and how to survive in the outside world. Lincoln has earned the respect of law enforcement, probation officers, and prison officials. The program is voluntary, but the men who sign up agree to certain rules and will be kicked out of the program if they don’t abide by them.
Bo is Lincoln’s friend and his right hand man at T-DOT. He spent three years incarcerated as a felon, but has turned his life around. He is attracted to Joy, a literary tutor he met in a coffee shop, but he realizes that she is a special lady and he doesn’t know how to approach her. Joy has been divorced for 4 years from Tony, a man who constantly put her down. He had an affair and wanted to move on. Despite being a terrible and stingy ex-husband, he is a good father to their 16 year old daughter Chloe.
Joy and Bo are moving extremely slowly into a friendship when Joy starts receiving calls, texts, and letters from a stalker. Bo realizes how serious this could be and turns on his protection mode.
This story is well-written with likable characters, understandable relationship hesitations, and a lot of suspects for who the stalker might be. There is a subplot of an abused teenage boy who is trying to decide on a commitment to the Amish way. I was fortunate to read this on a day I could devote a lot of time to it as I wanted to keep reading until the end to find out who the stalker really is and what the future holds for Joy, Bo, and Chloe.
Trust is one of the themes of this series. It is a problem the former inmates and the people they come in contact with both have. Can someone who has done hard time in prison be trusted again? Even family members can have difficulty trusting their love ones, questioning if the changes are real. If they can’t be integrated into society again and find meaningful, financially sufficient employment, how can they survive without breaking the law again? Although this theme is not stated directly, it is the undercurrent of the series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Mystery and Thriller, Romance
Notes: 1. #2 in the Rumors in Ross County series, but could be a standalone.
2.I found that the stalker element leaned this mystery slightly into the thriller category.
Publication: February 7, 2023—Blackstone Publishing
Memorable Lines:
…he realized that he was going to need to be real patient if he wanted a chance with Joy—and that he was going to have to bring his A game too. She was not the kind of woman to accept a date on the fly or put up with him being anything but respectful and kind. I had been noted.
But he wasn’t worried about the Lord being upset with him. He’d started talking to God on his own years ago. Though it wasn’t something that he was comfortable sharing, he was pretty sure the Lord was still going to have his back whether he was Amish or not.
She treated him to a fake smile too. The kind women gave to security guards and annoying salespeople. Like she was glad for his place in her world, but she didn’t want them to connect on a regular basis.
education pathways 