My Most Recent Blog Posts

Chicago Stars quarterack Dean Robillard is driving cross-country to think about his life when he sees Blue Bailey stomping down a Colorado road dressed in a beaver suit minus the head. She ends up going with him to his Tennesse farm where they fall in love and discover their family: his mother, father, half-sister and an old lady who owns the town. A lovely read with plenty of humor and affection as the characters learn to forgive each other for years of hurt and become each other's family. Recommended. From HarperCollins and Harper Audio; read by Anna Fields. NFM

Four children's books combined to equal one full-length book for the auto-counter. All enjoyable reads with basic lessons. Okay for as young as age 4 (maybe even 3) but enjoyable to age 10 or so. Dinosaurs Before Dark; The Knight at Dawn; Mummies in the Morning; Pirates Past Noon. Read by the author, available from Random House and Listening Library. NFM

Joelle Webber and Bobby DiFranco have been married 37 years when Joelle's HS boyfriend shows up on their doorstep, asking that their dd be tested to see if she's a match to donate bone marrow for his dying son. Bobby and Joelle had been best friends since elementary school, so when Joelle became pregnant and her ex-boyfriend gave her $1000 and the name of a doctor to perform the abortion (still illegal in 1970, not to mention not something Joelle could bring herself to do), she and Bobby got married. The problem is, Joelle and Bobby have never told their dd that she's not

A funny, delightful read about Lindsey Parker, who is spending Christmas with her mother at the resort/lodge of old family friends in the Yukon, and RJ, one of the hostess' many brothers. Lindsey lived there until she was 16. Zany cast of characters including a great-aunt who makes accurate predictions about people's love lives and the stock market, annoying cousins, a widowed mother finding love again . . . and Lindsey and RJ. RJ drove Lindsey crazy in one way while they were growing up and is driving her crazy in another way now. A well-done read with a mostly realistic wrap-up regarding how these two can merge their very different lives. NFM

From the back: Expert organizer Mindy Ryder has told her meddling father that she's seeing a doctor. Now he's coming to visit, so she gets her dog's vet, Eric Kincaid, to pretend for one date with her and her dad. He agrees b/c his mom is always meddling in his love life and he understands. Then Mindy's dad breaks his ankle and has to stay with her longer than expected, so Mindy and Eric work out a new agreement. Will their continued togetherness lead to something more? Some humor, nice people to spend a couple of hours with. a Few annoying misunderstandings but . . . NFM

Dr. Kelly O'Shea has come to Bright to work as a locum for 6 months while the patriarch of the practice and his wife are gone. The son, Matt Bentley, and daughter are also docs in the practice. Kelly and Matt are attracted immediately. But they are reluctant to act on it b/c Kelly has just learned that she's pregnant by her ex-dh and Matt thinks that Kelly isn't the kind to settle down and she'll break his heart. Will they let their hearts lead? Can they work something out? What about the ex-dh? Really nice people to spend some time with, including the supporting characters. NFM

Fourth in the second Athena Force series. Edited from the back: Lynn White has a new life, close to Athena Academy and her past. When authorities blackmail her to use her unique skills one last time, Lynn returns to the stealth game. Her assignment: stop terrorists from smuggling a bomb through Miami's Stingray Wharf. Her contact is FBI Agent Nick Barnes, the man Lynn loved and left. My take: a good enough read to move the plot along but could have stood on its own had various other characters from the series not been mentioned or had cameos. NFM

Jonah Gray Wolf has always had an uncanny connection to animals and has always been a healer. He's been a drifter for 10 years, staying ahead of the man who wants to use Jonah's healing gifts for his own gains. Wintering in West Virginia, he finds Luce and immediately they know they are soul mates. But now he has a weak spot that the bad guy will use, b/c no doubt in Jonah's mind, the bad guy will learn about Luce. A good read. Some of the members of our local reading group had problems with jumps in the POV but I only noticed once or twice. There were a couple of things that didn't quite jive with me but overall a really good read and a fantastic epilogue. NFM

First in The Landis Brothers series (and last in the Beachcombers sisters trilogy). Matthew Landis is the eldest son (of 4) of the wealthy SC Landis family. Matthew is running for his mother's Senate seat. Matthew and Ashley Carson have a one-night stand which a slimy photographer got pics of. Ashley is just going to ride out the scandal -- she and Matthew are both single, after all -- but her sister Starr worries that the opposing candidate will get ahead in the close race, so Ashley and Matthew pretend to be engaged. Time spent together makes them realize that they could possibly have a good, permanent relationship. I enjoyed this very much, it's a quick read, which Desires are supposed to be. I wish that this could have been a longer book, though, as I would have loved to see more of the other relationships -- the ones between the siblings and parental units: I'd like to spend more time with them . . . NFM