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Día de los Muertos–Day of the Dead
Ajijic, Jalisco, México–2014
Must Love Flowers–revival for a widow
Must Love Flowers
by Debbie Macomber
As may know, Debbie Macomber, after forty years of writing, put aside her pen for a well deserved retirement. That lasted for four months before she picked up her pen to compose Must Love Flowers, a sweet romance about a widow who is in her fifties and needs to move on with the grieving process and can’t seem to do so. I’m glad Macomber decided to tell this tale.
I don’t normally read anything about the Covid fiasco, but I could tolerate it in this book because it is not set during the restrictions, but shows the negative effects on someone who maintains feelings of being “safe” and “protected” by continuing to cut herself off from people and activities—life, in short. Family members want to help her, but are at a loss as she is in denial that she has a problem.
This novel tells Joan’s story as she takes a few steps at a time to rejoin the world and find her new place in it. Joan was pushed into these changes by threats from her HOA because in four years she has let the yard she was once proud of become an overgrown mess. Enter Phil Harrison, a former lawyer, who is currently a landscaper and a really nice person. She even decides to take in a boarder, Maggie, who needs to get out from under her alcoholic father. Along the way she joins a grief therapy group, which she had said she would never do. The ramifications of Joan’s decisions reach out to affect the lives of her two grown sons and their relationships with others.
I enjoyed this novel which contains several romantic threads. When one of the twists occurred, I was sad because it potentially meant good things for some characters and bad for others, but Macomber works the situations out for her characters in a way that is both realistic and satisfying for me.
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: Romance
Publication: July 11, 2023—Random House (Ballentine)
Memorable Lines:
It used to be… That was what her life had become: a series of all the things that once were but were no longer.
As silly as it sounded, she recognized deep down with a certainty that she didn’t question that she was meant to help Maggie Herbert. For whatever reason, God had put Maggie in her path.
“It didn’t take me long to realize it didn’t matter how much money I had in the bank, or what my career goals were; if I didn’t have someone to share life with, they meant nothing.
The Lucky Shamrock–working together
The Lucky Shamrock
by Carolyn Brown
This contemporary romance is set in Shamrock located in west Texas. Nana Irene calls three cousins back to the town they couldn’t wait to get away from to work the summer in her flower shop The Lucky Shamrock when Irene’s best friend Ruby breaks her hip. The three cousins couldn’t be more different, but Nana Irene wants them to see the value of being united as a family. None of the girls are happy to work with each other and live together so it is interesting to watch what happens when they are put in situations that require them to cooperate with each other. Taryn is former Air Force and works with computers. Straight laced Jorja is a Kindergarten teacher in a Christian school. Anna Rose is looking for happiness in cowboy bars. All of their parents have relocated out of Shamrock.
Clinton is a nice man who has been hired by Nana Irene to work in the shop when he is not busy counseling vets with PSTD. Local ladies have a contest going to try to snare him into marriage even though he has made it clear that he is not interested. He is supposed to be quite a catch as he comes from a rich family and is a war hero. As he lives in an apartment above The Lucky Shamrock, everyone at the shop benefits from the foods the ladies bring to try to win him over.
One of the vets Clinton is counseling has a baby, but is in no condition to care for her. Little Zoe is adorable. Clinton gets temporary custody of Zoe, and Taryn falls in love. But now she has to figure out if she is in love with Clinton or just Zoe.
Along the way in this romance there are some bombshells as the girls work through traumas they have experienced. Former “mean girls” who have not changed are after Clinton. Aging residents see what happened in the past and is recurring. They have ways of influencing those situations.
Although some serious subjects are addressed, the book in general is light. It would make a good summer read.
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: Women’s Fiction, Romance
Notes: 1. The Lucky Shamrock includes humor and a sprinkling of swearing.
Publication: July 4, 2023—Montlake
Memorable Lines:
“You are right. Confidence is mostly bluff with a little ego and fear thrown into the mix.”
“Hey, we’ve all got a past,” Clinton said “But we have a million futures in front of us, and it’s up to us to choose which path is right.”
“We may fight and argue amongst ourselves, but Lord help anyone who tries to come between us.”
Goodbye to fall and Hello to fall!
As this blog post finds its way to your computer, I am on my way from fall in the mountains of northern New Mexico at 7,000 feet to fall in Oklahoma at 1,200 feet. We have had our first hard freeze and our first snowfall of the season (with no real accumulation). It’s time to transition.
Fall was beautiful this year with lots of blazing yellow. Now I’m hoping to see fall again in Oklahoma. Last year there were beautiful yellows, reds, and oranges, but strong winds blew them away in just a few days’ time.
I am sharing a few pictures from end of summer and fall in a climate that never got hot this year.
- Ammo in the middle of New Mexico sunflowers that grow abundantly here.
- A tiny berry from a black currant bush that grows wild on our property. It is the first time the bushes have produced fruit in 20 years. Time intensive to collect and remove the ends, but they were fun to eat added into a rhubarb/apple pie.
- Worth the walk up the hill to get a good view of the Brazos Cliffs which are the tallest in New Mexico.
- New Mexico sunflowers that didn’t get planted in the pot until the first of August, and they bloomed before the frost.
- Lovely fall colors.
- Lucy is a nosy chiweenie. This was a little scary because these wildflowers attract wasps.
- A giant sunflower in another pot on the deck. I held my breath until it bloomed! The last frost of the winter and the first frost of the fall can overlap in this area; that can make for a really short growing season.
- Sunrise!
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris–charming
Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris
by Paul Gallico
A delightful work of fiction set in London and in Paris tells the tale of Ada Harris, a hard working char woman who sets her sights on owning a Christian Dior dress. She doesn’t want to wear it, just to own and look at something so beautiful as one would admire a work of art. How indeed would an honest widow, who is already living with few indulgences, manage to accumulate enough money for a designer dress?
Paul Gallico in Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris takes us on the journey with Mrs. ‘Arris as she struggles with the money issues that crop up all through the book as there are many aspects of a trip to Paris that the poor lady who is clearly not a seasoned traveller could not anticipate. You will quickly come to love Mrs. ‘Arris as everyone does who meets her. She is so genuine and determined and never wishes anyone ill.
Paul Gallico makes his character come to life from her wrinkled face and the twinkle in her eye to her accent (e.g. “lydy” for “lady”), dropping her “h’s,” and her word choices like “lumme” and “blime.” Her interactions with other characters are key to the story. They have aspirations of their own, and Mrs. ‘Arris is not shy about helping others including Natasha, Dior’s top model, and M. Fauvel, a quiet accountant at the fashion house. She breaks down English/French and class barriers with her inviting charm and practical approach to problems.
This little book brought smiles to my face, and I got teary eyed a few times as I found Mrs. ‘Arris had stolen my heart. The author’s writing style is perfect for this book, moving along quickly with descriptions that can put the reader in a messy bachelor’s flat or on the thick gray carpets of Dior’s. It is a charming novel that has held up well across the years, and that I will no doubt reread just for pleasure in the near future.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction
Notes: Blogger friend Christopher recommended this book in a “throw back” post. His review was so convincing that I bought it immediately. It’s over a year later, but I finally read it and am so happy I did. Thanks, Christopher! You can find his review here: https://pluckedfromthestacks.wordpress.com/2019/06/24/mrs-arris-goes-to-paris/.
Publication: 1958—Doubleday & Co.
Memorable Lines:
And yet with some chars there was more to it than just that, and particularly with Mrs. Harris—a kind of perpetual house-proudness. And it was a creative effort as well, something in which a person might take pride and satisfaction. She came to these rooms to find them pigsties, she left them neat, clean, sparkling and sweet-smelling.
She had an exquisite figure and clever tiny feet that never once had tripped upon the corpses she had climbed over on her way up the ladder of success.
Mrs. Harris simply felt that if one owned a dress so beautiful that it cost four hundred fifty pounds there was then nothing left upon earth to be desired.
Flower Power Trip–flowers at the heart of a mystery
Flower Power Trip
by James J. Cudney
The third cozy in the Braxton Campus Mystery series does not disappoint its fans nor leave out new readers. It begins with a helpful Who’s Who briefly describing the characters in the series. The first chapter follows up with a summary of the action in the first two books as told by the main character Kellan, while getting the plot for the new book underway.
Kellan discovers a dead body and again finds himself in the middle of a homicide investigation. Flower Power Trip swirls delightfully with interesting characters, a multitude of clues, and humorous repartee. Several threads continue on from previous books: Kellan’s rocky relationships with his boss Myriam and Sheriff April Montague, Nana D’s bid for the mayoral seat, and Kellan’s presumed dead wife Francesca with ties to a mob family. There are also romantic conflicts and more than a little danger.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #3 in the Braxton Campus Mystery Series but works quite well as a standalone
Publication: March 30, 2019—Creativia
Memorable Lines:
Helena recently celebrated her birthday by doing a pub crawl across all four villages in Wharton County. Eight hours, eight bars, eight different drinks. I wouldn’t have survived that level of commitment.
…”you are nothing but a nosy, interfering, non-stop questioning, painful wart on the tip of my pinky toe that has aggravated me beyond any reasonable expectation.”
…you must always have more physical books than e-books. I wanted Emma to experience a multitude of technology at her fingertips from an early age, but she also needed to respect and cherish all that our country had accomplished in the history of bookmaking and printing.
Death and Daisies–magic and murder in Scotland
Death and Daisies
by Amanda Flower
Fiona, who has inherited a home in Scotland, a magic garden, and most importantly the position of Keeper of the Garden from her godfather, Ian, is joined in the book by her much younger, at-loose-ends sister Isla. Fiona is opening her flower shop named the Climbing Rose Flower Shop after the 300 year old rose growing in her magic garden in Duncreigan. Some townspeople are welcoming and friendly like Raj and Pasha, twins in their sixties with calming and wise ways. Others view the sisters with suspicion for their strange Tennessee accents and ways and their association with the magic garden. The local minister is so opposed to Fiona that he publicly bans her from the church.
Death and Daisies by Amanda Flower centers around a murder, threatening notes, an abusive spouse, and drugs. Fiona is compulsive about investigating despite a scary vision that might potentially foretell her death and the warnings of Chief Inspector Neil Craig who is afraid she will be hurt.
Death and Daisies is a fun and fascinating cozy mystery you will not want to put down. Filled with interesting characters and lots of twists and turns in the plot, this tale has room for character development and an interesting setting. The murderer and the reason for the murder surprised me. The author has another surprise for Fiona and the reader toward the end of the book on a very personal level. There is closure to this book, but also several issues that deserve further attention. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Magic Garden Mystery Series but works well as a standalone
Publication: November 23, 2018—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
“St. Thomas Church, as it stands today, is much younger. It was built in the seventeenth century.” She said this like the seventeenth century was last week. If anything was over one hundred years old back in Nashville, they turned it into a museum and built a fence around it. In Scotland, “old” had quite a different definition than I was accustomed to.
I didn’t want to break it to her, but no one had their life figured out at twenty-two. I didn’t have it figured out at thirty, and I wasn’t expecting fifty to be much better.
“But no one should make an apology expecting one in return. That ruins it for both parties. It is better to say you are sorry and be at peace.”
The Road to Paradise–climbing new heights
The Road to Paradise
Karen Barnett’s The Road to Paradise is a delightful visit through time to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. Set in 1927, the story tells of young Margie Lane, the socialite daughter of Senator Thomas Lane. A naturalist at heart, Margie is hired for the summer, as a political favor, into the male dominated environment with the expectation that she will only last a few days. Margie, lacking practical experience, brings with her determination, enthusiasm, a sense of wonder at God’s creation, and an academic background in botany and zoology.
This book has a villain, Phillip Carmichael, who has been manipulating Margie since childhood, and it has a hero, Chief Ranger Ford Brayden, Margie’s new boss. By the end of the story the reader has learned the motivations of each character and how their backgrounds and experiences set the stage for their actions.
Maggie is attracted to Ford, but realizes they have no future together because he does not share her faith in God. Calling God “the greatest Artist ever known,” Margie sees Him all around her in His amazing creation in Mount Rainier National Park and asks God to use her to share His love with others.
As Margie struggles in her new job and relationships with co-workers at the Park, Phillip is always a force as he tries to convert the Park from wilderness to super tourist entertainment center—by any means necessary. Margie’s parents also play a role with their expectations for their daughter’s social and media status.
I would like to extend my thanks to Edelweiss and to Waterbrook (Random House) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Fiction, Christian, Historical Fiction
Notes: a Vintage National Parks novel
Publication: June 6, 2017—Waterbrook (Random House)
Memorable Lines:
Ridgeline after ridgeline of deep green rose to meet the jagged edges of the enormous peak, tucked into its rumpled blanket of white.
Her smile added to the graceful beauty of her face. “I love seeing God’s creation laid out in front of us. ‘The earth is full of thy riches.’ How anyone can look at this natural order and not see the Maker’s hand, I’ll never comprehend.”
“God wants me broken and miserable?” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’d go that far, Ford, but when we’re weak He is strong. It’s in His strength that we find victory.”
Natural Thorn Killer–flower power in Portland
Natural Thorn Killer
by Kate Dyer-Seeley
Kate Dyer-Seeley, author of the Pacific Northwest Mystery Series, continues to share her love of that area in her new series, Rose City Mysteries. In the first book of the series, Natural Thorn Killer, Britta leaves her deadbeat husband, freezing Minnesota winters, and several unimaginative jobs to return to Portland, Oregon, to the nurturing and creative home of her childhood and the aunt who raised her. Both women are artists with flowers and woven into the book are tips on creating floral arrangements and maintaining their beauty, a personal view of the Riverplace Village area of Portland which is “like its own little city within the city,” and Scandinavian traditions and language. Her aunt Elin owns Blomma, the only flower shop-wine bar in Portland.
Natural Thorn Killer is packed with personal exchanges, a potential romance with a cute detective, interesting characters, outstanding descriptions of food, flowers, and wine, and a taste of Portland culture. At the heart of the book and woven throughout, the main focus of this book is the mystery. Britta discovers a body in her aunt’s flower shop, and life becomes very complicated. She readily shares her findings and insights with the close-lipped detective and mutual respect develops as the story progresses.
I liked the characters in this book and learned a lot about flowers and Portland. I am looking forward to the next book in this series, Violet Tendencies, and anticipate this will be another successful series for this author.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #1 in the Rose City Mystery Series
2. There are lots of floral tips in a section in the back of the book.
Publication: March 27, 2018—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
Usually the flowers guide me. It’s as if they tell me when they know the arrangement is complete. I liked the subtle pink tones and texture. The antique silver bowl gave the arrangement a nostalgic vibe, while the white strawberries made it feel springlike.
I was excited about the now, yet if I didn’t do some serious self-reflection I was worried that I would be doomed to repeat my past.
My instructor at the Floral Institute had shared a study that noted people who stopped to smell the roses were happier and reported being more satisfied with life. The simple act of taking a minute to appreciate a flower’s sweet scent or cheerful bloom had a direct impact on health and well-being.
education pathways 