Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Rating: BRAG!

Beyond the Highland Mist
(Highlander Series #1)

by Karen Marie Moning
Romantic Fiction, Time-Travel, Faeries
Paperback: 416 pages
Publication Date: June 2004

Warning: Sexual Content



VERDICT
Tantalizing faerie tale for grown-ups! Beyond the Highland Mist is an unbelievably gorgeous love story. Karen Marie Moning combines a bit of magic, a bit of faerie, some sensual highland men, and a lot of undiscovered love. Wonderful ending, beautifully told!

Good Reading!
Sarah ;)

Other books by Karen Marie Moning

Now Reading... Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

Beyond the Highland Mist
(Highlander Series #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Romantic Fiction, Time-Travel, Faeries
Paperback: 416 pages
Publication Date: June 2004








Cover Summary
 
An alluring laird
 
He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart - until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm's length - but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.
 
A prisoner in time
 
She had a perfect "no" on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne's reservations were no match for Hawk's determination to keep her by his side....

Author's Website
http://www.karenmoning.com/


Reading Soon
Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Rating: BRAG!

by Sarah Addison Allen
Contemporary Fiction, Mystery
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publication Date: March 2011






Cover Description

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.  Show More

For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that—in good times and bad, from one generation to the next—endure forever.


VERDICT

Delicious enough to devour in a day! Sarah Addison Allen bestows on us a magical tale about friendship, southern charm, romance, and female independence. The Peach Keeper was thoroughly entertaining until the very end.
This charming story is the first novel I have read of Ms. Allen's. Now, I cannot wait to read more from her.

Good Reading,
Sarah :)


Quotes from The Peach Keeper

"Happiness means taking risks. And if you're not a little scared, you're not doing it right."

"When you're a teenager, your friends are your life. When you grow up, friendships seem to get pushed further and further back, until it seems like a luxury, a frivolity, like a bubble bath."

"Maybe you're afraid to relax and let some things just happen."


About the Author
taken from www.sarahaddisonallen.com

Seven Things About Sarah
1. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a trash man. I would spend hours daydreaming about riding on the back of a garbage truck, jumping off at every house and dumping people's trash into it.
2. I was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina, a place Rolling Stone magazine once called "America's New Freak Capital."
3. I have my B.A. in Literature, a major I chose because I thought it was amazing that I could get a diploma just for reading fiction. It was like being able to major in eating chocolate.
4. I can't turn away stray cats and I'm convinced they know this.
5. My father was a copy editor, reporter, and award-winning columnist for our local paper.
6. My mother has a nose ring, but we pretend it's not there.
7. Garden Spells, my mainstream debut, didn't start out as a magical novel. It was supposed to be a simple story about two sisters reconnecting after many years. But then the apple tree started throwing apples and the story took on a life of its own... and my life hasn't been the same since.

Rating: BRAG!


Die for Me
(Revenants Series #1)
by Amy Plum
Publication Date: May 2011
Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal Romance
Print: 352 pages



Verdict
Mesmerizing, romantic story set in Paris. Good use of vocabulary for the intended age group.  I was a bit disappointed in the ending; I know it is a series, but the ending was sort of blunt. Overall, a terrific read! Amy Plum is a wonderful storyteller and I can't wait for Until I Die (Revenants #2). Keep up the good work, Amy!

Good Reading!
Sarah

Now Reading... The Scottish Rose

The Scottish Rose
by Jill Jones

Historical Fiction, Romance
Publication Date: February 1997
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages

Cover Summary

It began with a letter...that leads to a passion and adventure beyond her dreams...

"I have taken measures to hide Mary's rose chalice...I fear that all in the castle may die for hiding it, but it is our duty to protect this sacred emblem of Scotland."
--Letter written in 1651

Taylor Kincaid hosts a top-rated television series that debunks everything supernatural. So when she finds herself on the Scottish coast-- to claim an out-of-the-blue inheritance and ancient letters telling of royal gold-- she's prepared to explode the local legend: an archway made of stone through which young women disappear. Until a stormy sea sweeps her through the Ladysgate-- and with her, handsome, rugged sea captain Duncan Fraser.

Beyond it lies the Scotland of 1651. It is the land of Taylor's heirloom letters and Mary Queen of Scots' fabled jeweled chalice, The Scottish Rose, emblem of peace. Together Taylor and Duncan must search for it amid the passions and perils of history...or, in a desperate bid to recross the centuries, risk losing each other and the love they've found beyond the gates of time.

Author

Jill Jones lives in western North Carolina with her husband, Jerry, who is a watercolor artist.

Reading Soon...
Devlin Diary by Christi Phillips

The Scarlet Lion by Elizabeth Chadwich
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addision Allen

Meridian by Amber Kizer

Rating: BRAG!

Meridian (Fenestra Series #1)
by Amber Kizer
Young Adult Fiction
Pages in Print: 320
NOOK Book pages: 216
Copyright: 2009

It was a little dark for my taste in the beginning, but soon becomes a story of good vs evil with the main characters on the side of good, of course. Ms. Kizer is a wonderful storyteller and it comes through beautifully in this book. The storyline was unpredictable and kept me guessing what would happen - which I loved. Another point to make is that while there is a love interest, book 1, at least, does not develop an overly romantic theme. The only advice I would have for Ms. Kizer, is to get a better editor, because the writing seems choppy at times due to poor sentence structure and the vocabulary should be at a higher level for the age group it is targeting. Overall, however, Meridian is a fantastic read for fans of the Young Adult genre.

Good Reading!

The Fenestra Series:
Book 1: Meridian
Book 2: Wildcat Fireflies
Book 3: Speed of Light
Book 4: Counting Tens