The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe

Connie Goodwin is a PhD candidate in American History at Harvard. Her ambition is to become a professor. For her dissertation, she starts to research a new source of material related to the Salem Witch trials. Her mother requested Connie to attend to the mess that her grandmother's house had become. Cleaning it out, packing up the things inside, getting it ready to be sold to pay off the tax lien.

Connie reluctantly goes to Marblehead, MA and moves into the house. While she's there, she starts having visions of the past and blinding headaches which she can't explain. At first.

There is a dual storyline in which we go back to the times of the Salem witch trials. Deliverance Dane is a "cunning" woman, which means that she tends to her patients with herbs and such. She has true power though and, more often than not, utilizes it to help those under her care. She was caught in the furor over the witches and did not survive.

It is a power that is passed on through the women in her family. From mother to daughter to granddaughter and so on.

I think the book was very well written. I could see the images in my head that Ms. Howe painted with words. I'm obviously not going to give the ending away but, if you're like me and fascinated with that time, it's worth the read.

The Innocent Man - John Grisham

In 1982, a woman in Ada, OK was murdered in her apartment. This is the catalyst for one of the most blatant miscarriages of justice I've ever read about. The Ada Police Department set about to solve the crime. Rather than letting the evidence lead them to the killer, the police officers started with suspects and built the case around them.

Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were accused of murder. Being innocent, they felt that the legal system would vindicate them. Instead, they were convicted based on manufactured evidence and spent 12 years searching for ways to overturn their convictions. And death sentences.

In Ron's case, he had the additional problem of having mental health issues. He should have never been put on trial in the first place as his competency was called into question.

I've always been a proponent of the death penalty. If someone took another human being's life, they should pay the price with their own. This book really has me reconsidering my stance. In most cases, I still think it would be warranted but it has me reconsidering if everyone on Death Row is guilt. But now it's tempered with "What if ..."

Online community

OK ... seriously? The online community I visit which houses my favorite online book club hasn't been working for at least the last 24 hours. For me. Other people can post but I can't for some reason.

So how am I supposed to talk about books, the biggest love of my life outside my husband?

I know that most of you are from the book club so tell everyone that I'm locked out until the PTBs (Powers That Be) figure out what's going on. I've set up an alter ego but can't use it yet.

In the meantime, I've finished listening to another audiobook in celebration of National Audiobook Month. I'll post about it later in a separate post.

Atonement - Ian McEwen

I didn't like this at all. Briony Tallis made a horrible mistake at the age of 13 which affected the lives of her older sister, Cecelia, and the housekeeper's son, Robert Turner. Briony was 13 at the time and didn't understand fully what was going on or the consequences of her statements. That led to Cecelia's estrangement from the family and Robbie being convicted of rape and subsequent jail time.

At the age of 18, she tried to make things right because in a sudden burst of clarity, Briony realized who had raped her cousin Lola.

I found the whole thing contrived and unbelievable. It was also very disjointed, in the jumps from part to part. I didn't like the flowery language. I felt that the backbone of a good story was there but Mr. McEwen failed to deliver it.

I know that this is on several lists of must reads but I can't figure out why for the life of me.

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

I've recently (within the last year) become a fan of some of Richelle Mead's other series. The succubus series. The Dark Swan series. Everyone that I talked to about her told me that I had to read the Vampire Academy series. OK. I have no problem with that. I love getting new books and I truly marvel at the creativity that dwells within a select few. I think I'm also slightly envious since my own writing creativity has been sucked out of my mind somewhere along the line.

Lissa is a Moroi, a vampire who has not killed humans and turned to the dark side. (Those are Strigoi, by the way.) The Moroi have 12 families from whom they select one individual to lead them. One person is voted into power but is considered to be a king or queen.

Rose is a dhamphir, a guardian. She will protect the Moroi from the Strigoi, who's sole mission is to murder all the Moroi and take over the vampire and human worlds. There's a catch: they haven't graduated school yet. Further, they are linked in a way that no one can explain but may have ties to their patron saint.

It's an interesting read. I have the next two books in the series. They should be quick reads hopefully.

And with this book, I'm about halfway to my goal of reading 25 new books this year. I do reread quite a bit.

Onto the next book!

Savor the Moment - Nora Roberts

This saved the series for me. I was rather disappointed with Emma and Jack's story but I really liked Laurel and Del.

Maybe it's because Laurel's more like me. She had to scrape and work to get through school while holding down jobs that paid the bills. As a result, she's forthright and not afraid to go after what she wants. She is a pastry chef and runs that aspect of Vows.

Del may be wealthy (and here is where the comparison between Laurel and me ends) but he's not snobbish. In some ways, Laurel is more stuck up than he is. But it's a reverse sort of discrimination against herself as she doesn't feel worthy of being with him.

I liked Del; he wasn't too overconfident and cocky. He was the right mix of man, boy, adult and child for me. Fun loving but serious when the situation requires it. He helped Laurel unwind a bit and stop being so stuffy.

Overall, good job!

Rising Tides - Nora Roberts

I picked it up on a whim. I think I saw it in Walmart. I think I'm now in love with Ethan, the male lead.

As with all the boys the Quinns adopted, Ethan comes from a troubled past. His mother was an addict and sold both herself and her son for the next fix. He fought his past and his memories for years until the Quinns brought him home. As usual, they helped him heal physically and emotionally.

Along came Grace. She had her own issues but was determined to rise above without leaning on anyone. Married at 19, pregnant and divorced by 20, she recognized that inner core of strength which women seem to have. She determined that she would do better for her little girl and was doing OK. Just OK. So she was killing herself with work. So she was too proud to ask her father for help. It was fine.

Grace and Ethan dance around each other for most of the book. Since it is a Nora Roberts book, the inevitable happens. Again and again ... if you know what I mean. lol

I think what I like about her books is that her women are not weak characters. She realizes that everyone is flawed and isn't afraid to showcase those flaws. Also, her male leads are not perfect specimens which can do no wrong. They're believeable (sp?). Yes, they can act like fools. Yes, they often do. Yes, they make mistakes and learn from them. Yes, they grow as most human beings do.

She understands how people are with each other and really shows the development of relationships fully, if in a microcosm of time.