Vision in White - Nora Roberts

I really liked this one. It's the first in a series of four books about a wedding planning company in CT. It was inspired by her son's wedding and contains no paranormal elements. While I love her paranormal stuff, it was fun to read a pure romance.

What was nicer to discover was that there was a fun, light-hearted read. Mac is the photographer for Vows, the wedding company in CT. She works with her partners and best friends and has helped build Vows into the premiere place to BE married in CT. As usual, she is anti-wedding despite her job because of a selfish and self-absorbed mother. Enter the protagonist ... Carter is slightly bumbling but very intelligent. And had had a crush on Mac in high school.

Together, they help Mac get over her fears and insecurities. I just love Nora Roberts.

I'm still here!

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I went through a bit of a depression but I'm working my way out of it and picking up books again. I have a few I've finished which I'll post. I just need to organize my thoughts on them first.

Look for more soon ...

Into the Wilderness - Sara Donati

Elizabeth Middleton is a spinster. She is 29, unmarried, with no prospects or interest in changing her fate in England. She lives with her father's sister and is rather well off. She is also strong minded and rather opinionated. She decides to move to America and live with her father in a little town in upstate NY called Paradise.

It is a move that will change her life.

When she first arrives along with her brother, Julian, she is surprised by the lack of comfort but soon learns that the people who live in Paradise prefer their way of living. They are helping to forge the new country as England's rule is no longer. The older folk don't forget it and the youngsters never have to deal with it.

She meets several eligible bachelors for, as fathers of the time tend to do, Judge Middleton wants to see her married to someone of his choosing. Elizabeth has other ideas and eventually runs off with a backwoodsman named Nathaniel Bonner who has grown up among the remaining Mohawk in the area. And that's just the first portion of the book.

It's a well written story. I like all the detail that Ms. Donati has included. I also am somewhat familiar with the area in which the story takes place so it's fun to see places I've been described as they used to be. It's the first in a series as well. I think I'm going to look for the rest of them.

Homeport - Nora Roberts

This may be one of my favorites of her standalones.

Dr. Miranda Jones is an archeometrist. She is a scientist that studies, authenticates, and restores various art pieces for public and private display. Art restoration and display is a family affair. Miranda and her brother, Andrew, run the Institute in Maine where they teach various classes and restore paintings in the labs as well as work as curators of the museum. Their father, Charles, prefers dig sites to family and is usually off. Elizabeth, the mother, moves to Italy and opens her own lab, Standjo, where she is engaged in authentication of new pieces.

It is on such a mission that Elizabeth contacts Miranda and orders her to Italy. In their family, there is no tenderness ... no care. Miranda is delayed as she is mugged in front of her house, an unusual occurence as she lives in a very small town. For those of you who don't live in a small town, something like that would never happen as there typically aren't enough people to rob or care about.

It is the start of a downslide for the entire family. Miranda gets to Italy and authenticates an original, undiscovered work of Michelangelo's which is later proven to be a fake. Andrew's drinking gets worse and worse. The Institute is robbed after Miranda's return from Florence by a retiring thief who also happens to be a gallery owner in NYC named Ryan Boldari.

He discovers that the statute he stole is also a fake and is bound & determined to prove that Miranda did it on purpose. Along the line, they figure out that someone is trying to ruin her and fall in love. It's a fun ride that takes us from New England's serenity to the bustle of Brooklyn and the beauty that is Florence.

Enjoy!

The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon

Someday, I will actually review the original book that started this obsession with kilts, Gaelic, Scottish people, and Celtic mystique. I promise. For now, this is the fifth book in the series. Actually, I've linked the author's blog to mine. Voyage of the Artemis is Diana Gabaldon's blog. She's funny, insightful, and a pretty darn good cook to judge from her most recent recipe post. Check out the enchiladas.

This is quite possibly my favorite book of the Outlander series so far. The start of the book finds everyone at a Gathering. If you've been camping, picture something like that only you'll know everyone at the campground. It's a special time where everyone comes together, families share with relatives they haven't seen in years, old friendships renewed, new friendships forged, a celebration of the best part of life ... people. It involves a call to the clans, bonfires, and lots of other fun stuff.

Brianna and Roger are more involved in this story than in some of the others along with their son, Jeremiah. There are injuries, kidnappings, hangings, elopements, and a variety of other things to liven up life on the Ridge. I don't want to give too much away but this is my favorite of the series. So far ...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - JK Rowling

OK. So I've been a little derelict in my duty lately with regard to the blog. But I've had a little medical thing which is hopefully sorting itself out. I haven't read much lately but I am getting back into it slowly but surely. Let's start with this.

The second HP is my least favorite of the lot. Why? Because one of them has to be. In this one, we find Harry barely being spoken to by the Dursleys since they're afraid he's going to blow them up or something else just as sinister with magic. So while he's not being treated as badly as before, he's being ignored and neglected by them ... and his friends. Or so he thinks. He hasn't gotten a single letter from Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid and he thinks they've forgotten about him.

A visit from a strange being called a house elf changed that. What's a house elf? It's a magical being that works for a family throughout its life until it either dies or the family sets it free. The magic binding the elf to the family breaks when a member gifts the elf with clothes. Dobby (the elf in question) breaks his family's rules and goes to warn Harry about danger that's to come to Hogwarts this school year. He stopped letters to Harry, tried to get him expelled from school, stopped the gate from letting him through, and sent a Bludger after him to "protect" him. Dobby sees him as something of a savior.

Harry does wind up back at Hogwarts, efforts of the Whomping Willow notwithstanding. And the year starts out as normal, with classes, Quidditch practice, Malfoy & Snape being a jerk. Then ...

Mrs. Norris (the caretaker's cat) is petrified shortly after Harry hears a voice. Odd as there was no way she could have come into contact with anything that might have caused it. But that, along with an incident at the Dueling Club, and several other attacks, leave many people wondering if Harry is the Heir of Slytherin. He is persecuted and tormented mostly for being different but Ron and Hermione stick by him as usual.

A lot more happens in this book. We see the seeds of the relationship between Ron and Hermione being sown. Ginny actually talks to Harry. The Weasley twins are ... well, they're the twins. Wood is still maniacal about Quidditch. All's well that ends well ... or is it?

If you get a chance, please listen to the audiobook by Jim Dale. He's fabulous.

FYI re: HP fanfics

I'll get to them soon. I haven't forgotten. I've just had other stuff pop up which needed attending to.