19. Body and Soul

Rated 4 Stars. Would have been 5+ but...

It was written for the most part in that &^$#@ *&%$!@ Stream of Consciousness style. ARGGGGGGG! I can't tell you how much I hate that. If the story hadn't been so darn good I would have wall banged this sucker. But it was a very powerful and compelling story although the basic plot was kind of predictable so I hung in there to the end.

FROM AMAZON: Thirty-one year old Anna has been cloistered in a strict convent in Wales for 13 years when she is called home to England to look after her brother's widow, children, and the family business. Already doubting her calling, Anna is thrown into a world that has changed dramatically since she left. She finds that she desperately misses the things that she will never have as a nun. Her habit starts to become a prison rather than a sanctuary. She must come to terms with her sexuality and her power as a woman and at the same time resolve her spiritual questions. Bernstein has written a very thoughtful and elegant book. Her dialog is faultless and her visual images rich. Most of the characters, especially the nuns, are well drawn and believable.

18. The Winter Rose

By Jennifer Donnelly
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

When India Selwyn Jones, a young woman from a noble family, graduates from the London School of Medicine for Women in 1900, her professors advise her to set up her practice in London's esteemed Harley Street. Driven and idealistic, India chooses to work in the city's East End instead, serving the desperately poor. In these grim streets, India meets--and saves the life of--London's most notorious gangster, Sid Malone. A hard, wounded man, Malone is the opposite of India's aristocratic fiancé, Freddie Lytton, a rising star in the House of Commons. Though Malone represents all she despises, India finds herself unwillingly drawn ever closer to him, intrigued by his hidden, mysterious past.--From publisher's description.

17. Chosen by a Horse

Rated 4 Stars

I read this book on Diane's recommendation. This is another one of those books I wouldn't have thought to read on my own. Thanks Diane!

"A new chapter opens for Susan Richards when she agrees to care for an abused horse rescued by the local SPCA." "Her life has been difficult: her mother died when she was five and she was sent to live with unsympathetic and abusive relatives; she married unhappily and was divorced; she'd been an alcoholic. Now, at the age of forty-three, she lives with three horses who keep her company: diva-like Georgia, a Morgan mare, and Tempo and Hotshot, both quarter horse geldings." "At the SPCA Susan finds twenty sick, exhausted mares, together with their foals, milling about the muddy paddock. The horse she selected by name is impossible to find among the panicked herd. So, when an emaciated bay mare stumbles up the ramp to the trailer, followed by her foal, Susan agrees to take her. The mare's name is Lay Me Down, and with her arrival, Susan finds that she has acquired more than a horse: she has found a friend whose unstinting love makes it possible for Susan, in turn, to heal from the wounds that she has suffered, and respond to love."--BOOK JACKET.

16. The House at Riverton

By Kate Morton
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

Recommended to my by Tammy this is a turn of the century mystery with a riveting plot, a touching but tense love story and a haunting ending.

At 14, Grace Reeves leaves home to work for her mother's former employers at Riverton House. She is the same age as Hannah, the headstrong middle child who visits her uncle, Lord Ashbury, at Riverton House with her siblings Emmeline and David. Fascinated, Grace observes their comings and goings and, as an invisible maid, is privy to the secrets she will spend a lifetime pretending to forget. But when a filmmaker working on a movie about the family contacts a 98-year-old Grace to fact-check particulars, the memories come swirling back. The plot largely revolves around sisters Hannah and Emmeline, who were present when a family friend, the young poet R.S. Hunter, allegedly committed suicide at Riverton. Grace hints throughout the narrative that no one knows the real story, and as she chronicles Hannah's schemes to have her own life and the curdling of younger Emmeline's jealousy, the truth about the poet's death is revealed.

14. The Commoner

Rated 5 Stars
By John Burnham Schwartz


This was a great change of pace book for me. It is a fictionalized account of the Japanese royal family as they transition from a pre WWII mindset to the more modern Japan that has been changed almost beyond recognition. I highly recommend this book.

"It is 1959 when Haruko, a young woman of good family, marries the Crown Prince of Japan, the heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. She is the first nonaristocratic woman to enter the mysterious, almost hermetically sealed, and longest-running monarchy in the world. Met with cruelty and suspicion by the Empress and her minions, Haruko is controlled at every turn. The only interest the court has in Haruko is her ability to produce an heir. After finally giving birth to a son, she suffers a nervous breakdown and loses her voice. However, determined not to be crushed by the imperial bureaucrats, Haruko perseveres. Thirty years later, now Empress herself, she plays a crucial role in persuading another young woman - a rising star in the foreign ministry - to accept the marriage proposal of her son, the Crown Prince. The consequences are tragic and dramatic." "Told in Haruko's voice, The Commoner is the story of a brutally rarefied and controlled existence at once hidden and exposed, and of a complex relationship between two isolated women who, despite being visible to all, are truly understood only by each other."--BOOK JACKET.

15. Firefly Lane

By Kristen Hannah
Rated 3 Stars

From THE LIBRARY REVIEW: "A touching story of the friendship between two very different women. Cee Cee Bloom, with her loud mouth, loud personality and flaming red hair, is determined to become a Hollywood star. Bertie White, delicate and conservative, hopes for a loving husband and family. They meet as children in 1951 in Atlantic City, and, as pen pals, keep in touch with each other. Their reunions through the years always occur at or near the beach, whether in Sarasota, Malibu or Hawaii. Their story jumps back and forth between past and present. Cee Cee and Bertie are genuine, and readers will like them and understand why they are friends. Both characters suffer much, particularly Bertie, whose life seems most unjust. Young adults will be pulled into their lives, caring greatly about them and the steady stream of tragedies that befall them. In a particularly moving ending, Cee Cee leaves a show in the middle of production to care for Bertie, who is dying of cancer."

Oh wait, this review is for Beaches, by Iris Dart. Sorry about that, I got confused there for a minute. But Kristen Hannah does a pretty good job with this story too. Change a few dates, a few names, the location and Presto, your in business. I also Liked it when she used Bob Woodward's injury in Iraq to add a little extra drama to the story. Very touching.

13. Veil of Roses

By Louisa Fitzgerald
Rated 4 Stars

The plot iof this book is 100% predictible but it was saved from being just another puffy piece of chic lit by the voice of the main character who was also the narrator.

Copied from an amazon review: "Tamila Soroush, a 27-year-old Iranian woman, flies to Tucson, Ariz., to stay with her older sister, Maryam (whom she hasn't seen in 15 years), and Maryam's orthopedic surgeon husband, Ardishir. Tami is there for a three-month stay, courtesy of a visa arranged by her loving parents, who want her to marry an Iranian with American citizenship and stay in the States. Tami concurs with this plan: "being married is a small price to pay if I can stay in the land of Opportunity." But on her way to her ESL class, Tami meets Ike, an affable American working at Starbucks while he raises money to open his own chain of coffee shops. Potential Iranian fiancé setups move forward while Tami and Ike's mutual feelings deepen. As she nears the end of her visa, Tami faces some tough choices."

Watching Tami find her voice through such small comforts as being able to sit alone in a house, walk to school unescorted or buy lingerie with her sister will leave you rooting for her.

12. Every Last Cuckoo

By Kate Maloy
Rated 4 Stars

This is one of those books that I would have completely missed had it not been recommended on the Weekly Reads group. I think I enjoyed it so much because I really empathized with Sarah. Below is the description from the book jacket:

"At age seventy-five, Sarah Lucas imagined the rest of her days would be spent living peacefully in her rural Vermont home in the familiar, steadfast company of her husband. But when Charles succumbs to an injury he suffered in the woods, she is left suddenly and inconsolably alone." "As grief settles in, Sarah's mind lingers on her past. She remembers the intense joys and tough trials of her fifty-year marriage to Charles and the challenge of raising three very different children, particularly a daughter whose needs she never quite understood. And she lovingly recalls her own childhood, when her parents generously opened their home to friends and relatives during the Great Depression." "Curiously, her past comes full circle when several displaced people seek shelter in Sarah's big, empty home - breathing new spirit into a life she had thought was spent and done, and even offering the opportunity to mend the relationship that had troubled her the most. The first to arrive are Sarah's rebellious teenage granddaughter, Lottie, and two of her disaffected young friends. They are soon followed by an Israeli pacifist in need of a retreat, a young mother and son who've lost their home in a fire, and a woman and her infant fleeing a violent partner. This unlikely flock forms a family of sorts, whose members nurture and protect each other. Together, all of them, including Sarah, face their fears - both real and imagined - discover their hidden strengths and abilities, and slowly rebuild their lives."--BOOK JACKET.

11. Silent in the Sanctuary

By Deanna Raybourn
Rated 4 1/2 Stars

I took of half of a star because the book had what I considered to be kind of a messy ending. But this book is really not about the story so much, it's about enjoying Ms. Raybourn's excellent writing style and wonderful characters. I highly recommend it. Thanks Kathy.

Left homeless by fire, wealthy widow Lady Julia Grey has been recuperating in Italy. With Christmas approaching, Julia returns to England, where she joins her large and eccentric family at their equally large and eccentric ancestral estate, a former monastery that retains some monkish ghosts. Nicholas Brisbane, a private enquiry agent with whom Julia has shared both a heated embrace and a stint at detection, is among the holiday houseguests, and to Julia's astonishment Brisbane is in line for a title and engaged. Then a local curate is murdered in the former church sanctuary, and a set of priceless pearls goes missing. Headstrong and clever Julia joins Brisbane in investigating the crimes, deciphering his personal situation in the process. Readers may wish for a bit more romantic development, but the complex mystery, a delightfully odd collection of characters and deft period details produce a rich and funny read.