Review of: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon--when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach--an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding Highland clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into intrigues and dangers that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here she meets James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, and becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

Review of: Dead as a Doornail (sookie Stackhouse, Book 5) by Charlaine Harris

 "Sookie Stackhouse is a cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's pretty and well-mannered and has only a few close friends - which isn't surprising, since not many people can appreciate Sookie's abilities as a mind reader. It's not a quality that has the guys beating down her door - unless they're vampires, werewolves, or other supernatural beings. And now some of them aren't just friendly - they're family." "When Sookie sees her brother Jason's eyes start to change, she knows he's about to turn into a werepanther for the first time - a transformation he embraces more readily than most shapeshifters she's known. But her concern for her brother becomes cold fear when a sniper sets his deadly sights on the local changeling population - and Jason's new panther brethren suspect he may be the shooter." Now, Sookie has until the next full moon to find out who's behind the attacks - unless the killer decides to find her first.

Review of: Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 3) by Charlaine Harris

 Things between cocktail waitress Sookie and her vampire boyfriend Bill seem to be going excellently (apart from the small matter of him being undead) until he leaves town for a while. A long while. Bill's sinister boss Eric has an idea of where to find him, whisking her off to Jackson, Mississippi to mingle with the under-underworld at Club Dead. When she finally catches up with the errant vampire, he is in big trouble and caught in an act of serious betrayal. This raises serious doubts as to whether she should save him or start sharpening a few stakes of her own ...

Key Lime Pie Murder (Book 9) by Joanne Fluke

The yummy [ninth] small-town cozy from Fluke (after 2006's Cherry Cheesecake Murder) finds sometime sleuth Hannah Swensen, owner of the Cookie Jar in Lake Eden, Minn., judging the baking contest at the Tri-County Fair. When one of her fellow judges, home economics teacher Willa Sunquist, is murdered, Hannah determines to sniff out the killer. Was it a man from Willa's mysterious past? Or a student she flunked? Fluke has developed a charming supporting cast—Hannah's besotted (and slightly spineless) two suitors, her overbearing but likable mother, her endearing sisters and her levelheaded business partner all feel like friends by the time the murder is solved. The dozens of tempting recipes Fluke includes are an added treat. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review of: Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery

At sixteen Anne is grown up. . . almost. Her gray eyes shine like evening stars, but her red hair is still as peppery as her temper. In the years since she arrived at Green Gables as a freckle-faced orphan, she has earned the love of the people of Avonlea and a reputation for getting into scrapes. But when Anne begins her job as the new schoolteacher, the real test of her character begins. Along with teaching the three Rs, she is learning how complicated life can be when she meddles in someone else's romance, finds two new orphans at Green Gables, and wonders about the strange behavior of the very handsome Gilbert Blythe. As Anne enters womanhood, her adventures touch the heart and the funny bone.

Review of: When the Soul Mends (Sister's of the Quilt, #3) by Cindy Woodsmall

Rumors and lies left Hannah’s life in tatters; can the truth possibly stitch it back together? 

Having fled in disgrace more than two years earlier, Hannah finally has found happiness in the Englischer world, as well as love with Martin Palmer, a man with whom she can safely entrust her heart. But almost immediately after her arrival in Owl’s Perch, the disapproval of those who ostracized her reopens old wounds.

As Hannah encounters former fiance Paul Waddell, truths unknown to her surface about the events during her absence and she faces an agonizing decision. Will she choose the Englischer world and the man who restored her hope, or will she return to the Plain Life-and perhaps her first love? 

Review of: Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

Hannah Swensen and her bakery, The Cookie Jar, bask in the glow of Hollywood glamour when Main Street becomes a movie set. And although tensions simmer as the cameras roll, no one expects the action to turn deadly...until it's too late...

There's no such thing as privacy in Lake Eden, but Hannah never thought things would go this far. Everyone has been telling her what to do ever since she got not one but two marriage proposals. Movie mania soon shoves Hannah's marriage dilemma into the background and even gives her cat a shot at stardom. The Cookie Jar serves as snack central with Main Street rented out for the week. She stirs lots of fresh gossip, whipping up treats for cast and crew, including demanding director Dean Lawrence's favorite--cherry cheesecake.

Everything's on schedule until Dean demonstrates a suicide scene with a prop gun that turns out to be all too real. As filming continues, Hannah sifts through the clues, hoping against hope that the person responsible for Dean's death is half-baked enough to have made a mistake. When it happens, Hannah intends be there--ready to rewrite a killer's lethal script with the kind of quirky ending that can only happen in Lake Eden...

Review of: Peach Cobber Murder

With The Cookie Jar, Hannah Swensen has a mouthwatering monopoly on the bakery business of Lake Eden, Minnesota. But when a rival store opens, tensions begin to bubble... As she sits in her nearly empty store on Groundhog Day, Hannah can only hope that spring is just around the corner—and that the popularity of the new Magnolia Blossom Bakery is just a passing fad. The southern hospitality of Lake Eden's two Georgia transplants, Shawna Lee and Vanessa Quinn, is grating on Hannah's nerves—and cutting into her profits.

At least Hannah has her business partner Lisa's wedding to look forward to. She's turned one of Lisa's favorite childhood treats into a spectacular Wedding Cookie Cake. And Lisa's aunt will be bringing her famous Peach Cobbler to the reception. But Hannah starts to steam when she finds out that Shawna Lee has been invited—and is bringing her own Peach Cobbler.

Hannah doesn't like having the Georgia Peach in the mix, especially when both Shawna Lee and Hannah's sometime-boyfriend, Detective Mike Kingston, are no-shows to the wedding. Hannah has suspected that Mike is interested in more than Shawna Lee's baking abilities. So when she sees lights on at the Magnolia Blossom Bakery after the reception, she investigates—and finds Shawna Lee shot to death.

Everyone in town knew the Cookie Jar was losing business to the Magnolia Bakery—a fact that puts Hannah at the top of the initial list of suspects. But with a little help from her friends, Hannah's determined to prove that she wasn't the only one who had an axe to grind with the Quinn sisters. Somebody wasn't fooled by the Georgia Peaches and their sweet-as-pie act—and now it's up to Hannah to track down whoever had the right ingredients to whip up a murder…

Review of: When the Morning Comes

Her relationship with fiancé Paul Waddell in tatters, Hannah Lapp has fled her secluded Old Order Amish community in hopes of finding a new home in Ohio with her shunned aunt. Hampered by limited education and hiding her true identity, Hannah struggles to navigate the confusing world of the Englischers.

Back in Owl’s Perch, Pennsylvania, Paul is wracked with regret over his treatment of Hannah. Fearing for her safety, he tries to convince Hannah’s remaining allies–brother Luke, best friend Mary, and loyal Matthew Esh–to help search for his love. Hannah’s father, however, remains steadfastly convinced of her sinful behavior. His blindness to his family’s pain extends to her sister, Sarah, who shows signs of increasing instability.

Convinced her former life is irreparably destroyed, Hannah finds purpose and solace in life with her aunt and in a growing friendship with Englischer Martin Palmer. Will the countless opportunities in her new life persuade Hannah that her place is amongst the Englischers — or will she give in to her heart’s call to return home and face her past?

2010 Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge

This is another challenge that I am doing for the second consecutive year.

There are four levels:

--The Mini – Check out and read 25 library books.

--Just My Size – Check out and read 50 library books.

--Stepping It Up – Check out and read 75 library books.

--Super Size Me – Check out and read 100 library books.

Go to J. Kaye's post to sign up and read all of the rules

I'm going to shoot for the Stepping It Up level. I really used my library a lot this year and Reaghan and I read a lot of library books together. I have a feeling I will land somewhere between Just My Size and Stepping It Up, but I am taking J. Kaye's advice and aiming high!

1. Kazam's Cards by Amy Erlich
2. Kazam's Wand by Amy Erlich
3. When the Morning Comes (Sisters of the Quilt, #2) by Cindy Woodsmall
4. The Ear Book by Al Perkins
5. The Tooth Book by Dr Suess
6. In a People House by Dr Suess
7. Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke
8. Arthur's Valentine by Marc Brown
9. Franklin's Valentines by Paulette Bourgeois
10. Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Kids by David Kirk
11. Duck, Duck, Goose by Tad Hills
12. Never Babysit the Hippopotamuses by Doug Johnson
13. Bea Rocks the Flock by Victoria Jamieson
14.  Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke
15. What's Wrong with This Book? by Richard McGuire
16. Who Is It? by Sally Grindley
17. The Greentail Mouse by Leo Lionni
18. Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand
19. When Dinosaurs Go Visiting by Linda Martin
20. Dog Day by Sarah Hayes
21. The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon
    
22. A Mammoth Mix-Up by Catherine Hapka
23. Seven Little Postmen by Margaret Wise Brown (she of the Goodnight Moon)
24. Picture This... by Alison Jay
25. When the Soul Mends: A Novel by Cindy Woodsmall
26. This is the Teacher by Rhonda Gowler Greene
27. The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
28. Anne of Avonlea by LM Montgomery
29. Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

This is getting to be way too much to keep track of since I haven't updated this list in 6 months (this is being written in August). So I will link to my list on GoodReads which I am much better at keeping current.

2010 SYLL list.

Last Updated: February 9, 2010