![Revenge on a Cruel World by [Rick Clements]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41UjAKh1k3L.jpg)
Revenge on a Cruel WorldSummary:
If you thought the Great Depression was bad, think again. How about a computer theft by a mathematical genius that mangles the worldwide banking system, causes a financial tsunami, and threatens to topple governments around the globe?
That’s the main storyline in this fast-moving, action-packed novel.
Stirring Up LoveA sassy, saucy story about a feud-fueled romance where two rivals with a passion for food and community come together in ways they never expected.
Simone Blake and Finn Rimes are as different as it gets. Simone has just returned from a corporate stint in Chicago where everything went sideways. She’s inherited her grandfather’s barbecue restaurant, Honey and Hickory. Determined to make a go of it and prove that she’s a competent professional who knows what’s what, Simone plans to put her restaurant and her hometown on the map.
So does Finn Rimes. Only from a different angle. A chef thinking big, Finn dreams of opening his own culinary school.
Sparks soon fly like fireworks on the Fourth of July when Finn shows up on Sim’s turf – the local farmer’s market – to market his own brand of barbecue sauce and hopefully raise some cash for his would-be culinary school.
Waterbury WinterSummary: Two lost souls reach for love and second chances during a freezing New England Winter.
“The transformative value of art is in making the ordinary extraordinary.”
It’s Christmas Eve. Barnaby Brown thinks back eighteen years when he lost his teaching job. His twin passions, painting and his wife Anna, also died that year. Now forty-five years old, a widower and an alcoholic, Barnaby’s working a dead-end job at the local hardware store.
Once a promising young artist, Barnaby has been on a downward spiral since loss and alcohol dragged him down. He’s lived a reclusive life after the deaths of his parents and his wife. He now prefers the company of his wise-cracking parrot, Popsicle, to companionship with other humans. Yearning to start over, Barnaby dreams of going to California and resurrecting his dreams of a painting career.
“It’s like painting. You have to reach beyond the vanishing point on the horizon for something important you can’t quite see, but know is there.”
The Second WifeWhen a down-on-her-luck violinist takes a menial job for a famous composer, she gets more than she bargained for in this intense and compelling murder mystery/suspense story.
Mia Benton is a former student at the Royal College of Music in London. Desperate for a job in the aftermath of a dark secret from her recent past, Mia takes a cleaning job at the residence of composer Robin Featherstone. Recently divorced, Robin’s new wife Tamsin is 25 years his junior. Tamsin’s not exactly thrilled with the new hire, to put it mildly.
Murder in Keswick“The game is afoot.” It’s the catch phrase for literature’s most famous detective. And there are plenty of twists, turns and “gaming” going on in William Todd’s delightful page-turner, Murder in Keswick.
Told in the third person by Dr. Watson, the story opens aboard a train bound for Keswick, England in 1898. Disembarking, the duo soon learns that a well-respected resident of the area has turned up dead. And while Watson is looking forward to a relaxing holiday in the bucolic countryside, Holmes quips that nothing is more relaxing than solving a murder, even if he’s informed that “this sort of thing never happens here.”
The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica:“There’s a very strange man outside, said Jack…’
One of us is totally kicking herself for not finding this book sooner.
“Good thing one of my brothers sent this to Her Momness for Mother’s Day,” spake I, Kimber the Magnificent. “Otherwise, Mom would still be clueless. Cuz this book is a bibliophile’s treasure trove. It’s just Too. Much Fun! Ya know. Like me. So way to go, bro!”
Potiphar’s WifeStep back into ancient Egypt and the palace of a mighty pharaoh in this beautifully crafted, meticulously researched historical novel where the writing is as elaborate as Potiphar’s apparel and the story is as exquisite as his bride’s finest crystal vase.
Most people know her as one of the Bible’s most notorious women. But who was Potiphar’s wife? What was her background? Her name? Who was she? How, where and why did she meet the powerful Potiphar? Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament story indicates that she was unhappy with her marriage and husband. But why?
These themes and more are explored in a captivating faith-based novel from the award-winning author of Isaiah’s Legacy.
Kimber here. You know Mom and I read a lot of historical fiction, right? Well. We’ve read so much historical fiction lately, we’re almost ready to produce our own Encyclopedia Historica. Almost.
Anywho, we’re in the process of reading our way through some “Best Of” historical fiction lists found elsewhere. We wanted to see for ourselves what titles are worth the time and what belongs in the kitty litter box. Cuz ya know, just because a book or author is a popular “best seller” doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll pass Kimber and Mom Muster.
Yea, verily. No one wants to waste their time on lousy snoozers with stale, brittle plots that are as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. Or populated with one-dimensional, cardboard characters we don’t know, don’t want to know, and could care less about, no matter how many accolades they get elsewhere. Cuz we’re like, picky.
So here’s our Totally Unscientific, 100% Subjective take on a few recently read historical-fiction titles. Plus one plain fiction title we’re throwin’ in for free. Cuz we can. (You may want to buckle up. Just sayin’). Ready? Set? Let’s GO!
Until Next SundayRosina leaves Italy to build a better life. But after joining her brother and his shrewish wife in America, Rosina finds disappointment and disillusionment. She never expects to find love in this place – until she meets a shoemaker’s apprentice named Gianni.
When Rosina becomes ill and is hospitalized, their future is at stake. All they have is their shared letters. Each week she tries to survive the long, lonely days until Gianni’s next Sunday visit.
Will fate bring Rosina and Gianni together once more? Or are they destined to remain star-crossed forever?
Stone Ruins and City SmokeYou might hear Winston Graham rippling through the pages of this light romance novel set in London and the lush countryside of Cornwall, stompin’ grounds of Ross Poldark.
Widower Tom Maynard owns the Wheal Neft (hi, Ross) Hotel in Cornwall. It’s a small, unique “bijou” hotel that caters to the rich and famous who yearn for sanctuary and privacy from prying eyes. Wheal Neft has also caught the eye of Owen Taylor, owner of the posh, upscale Carillion Hotel in London. His daughter, snooty Melanie Taylor, has been tasked to visit Wheal Neft and wangle a partnership deal.
Tom is less than thrilled at the prospect. To put it mildly. Mel has the personality of battery acid, with a caustic tongue to boot. Her haughty insolence doesn’t exactly sweeten the deal.
Meanwhile, Tom’s fourteen year-old daughter, Amy, decides her dad is lonely and needs a woman. She talks him into signing up at an online dating site. Hilarity ensues.
Pages & Paws 