Tote Bags and Toe Tags

Tote Bags and Toe Tags by Dorothy Howell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Engaging and well-written story with a heroine I (frankly) did not expect to like, but ended up loving. Haley is young and scattered and easily distracted. Her work ethic would drive me absolutely nuts if I were her boss, but she made me laugh out loud more than once as she admitted to drifting off during a conversation. I will definitely read more in this series.



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Book Review: Flamingo Diner

Flamingo Diner by Sherryl Woods

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I added this book to my to-be-read pile based on the cover alone and didn't realize what it was about until I picked it up to read it. The subject of suicide is a touchy one for me, so I approached it hesitantly. It turns out, I didn't need to worry since that part of the story never actually reached me on an emotional level. I applaud the author for tackling such a sensitive and important issue, but I wanted it to take me deeper into the characters' emotions as they tried to put the world back together again after the family tragedy.

The story was too slow moving for my taste (the heroine vowed to find out why her father took his own life for at least half of the book without ever actually making any attempts to find out anything.) I looked forward to the strong sense of community promised on the book's jacket, but that, too, fell short of my expectations.

As disappointed as I was with the suicide story line, however, I thought Ms. Woods handled the romance between Emma and Matt very well. Their attraction built slowly, but anything more rapid would have felt unrealistic to me.

Not destined for my "keeper" shelf, but not a wall-banger, either :)



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Book Review: Celebrations

Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer by Maya Angelou

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Maya Angelou is a genius, plain and simple. Her words are like honey. They trickle down into the soul, little by little, slowly, soothing pain and lifting the spirit on their way. Every piece in this collection marks some special event, thus the title Celebrations. "On the Pulse of the Morning," read at President Clinton's inauguration; "Amazing Peace," presented at the 2005 lighting of the National Christmas Tree at the White House; "A Brave and Startling Truth," which marked the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, a poem for Oprah's fiftieth birthday, one for the bar mitzvah for Angelou's nephew, and several others.

As I set this book aside, a few stanzas stay with me, working their way through the maze of my mind and finding their permanent place in my soul. Definitely recommended.



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Book Review: Winter Garden

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Meredith and Nina are sisters. Daughters of a kind and loving father and a remote, cold mother. Their mother's coldness affects both sisters, driving them away from her until their father dies and the girls are left to pick up the pieces, keep their promises, and make sense of their own cold lives by convincing mom to finish the fairy tale she told them as children.

The book is fabulous in many ways. I wept when the dad died. I wept when mom finally revealed the ending of the fairy tale. I wept in several places, in fact, but I won't go into detail about those.

I have to say that both Meredith and Nina seemed a bit too delusional to me in the beginning. None of us sees ourselves as others see us, I get that. But it was hard for me to believe that these two women could think how cold their mother was one minute and then fail to recognize that same coldness in themselves, even a little bit.

I really wanted to understand the fairy tale and find out what it meant in their mother's life, but there were times when the sections of fairy tale were a bit too long and detailed for me. Through the middle of the book, I found myself skimming the fairy tale so I could get back to the current story. That may have been because the sections of fairy tale seemed repetitive for a while. As a result of my impatience, I missed a couple of details along the way but none that were important enough to make me go back and re-read what I'd skipped.

But even with those two minor flaws I enjoyed the book. It's definitely worth reading, especially if you're in the mood for a good cry.



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Book Review: Flowerbed of State

Flowerbed of State by Dorothy St. James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After meeting Dorothy St. James at a writer's retreat last year, I had the good fortune to get an advanced reading copy of the first book in her new series, Flowerbed of State, scheduled for release in May 2011.

This book is well-written and charming--a bright blossom in the garden of cozy mysteries. Casey Calhoun, an assistant gardener at the White House wakes up to find herself lying in the mud surrounded by ruffled pink tulips. How she got there is a mystery quickly compounded by the discovery of a dead body nearby.

Casey is an intriguing protagonist. She's both spunky enough to hold the reader's interest and vulnerable enough to be believable. The rest of the cast of is interesting and varied, the setting captivating. The author skillfully draws the reader into the world of the White House staff and the beautiful city that is our nation's capital. I'll definitely be reading more in this series.

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