Reading - Go Set a Watchman

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

 

 

 

Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch—“Scout”—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise’s homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.

 

Go Set a Watchman perfectly captures a young woman, and a world, in painful yet necessary transition out of the illusions of the past—a journey that can only be guided by one’s own conscience.

Reading - The Liar

The Liar by Nora Roberts

 

 

 

Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions…

The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.

Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning...

Reading - Vixen in Velvet

Vixen in Velvet by Loretta Chase

 

 

 

 

Lethally charming Simon Blair, Marquess of Lisburne, has reluctantly returned to London for one reason only: a family obligation. Still, he might make time for the seduction of a certain redheaded dressmaker—but Leonie Noirot hasn't time for him. She's obsessed with transforming his cousin, the dowdy Lady Gladys, into a swan.

 

Leonie's skills can coax curves—and profits—from thin air, but his criminally handsome lordship is too busy trying to seduce her to appreciate her genius. He badly needs to learn a lesson, and the wager she provokes ought to teach him, once and for all.

 

A great plan, in theory—but Lisburne's become a serious distraction and Leonie's usual logic is in danger of slipping away as easily as a silk chemise. Could the Season's greatest transformation be her own?

Reading - Blue

Blue by Danielle Steel

 

 

Ginny Carter was once a rising star in TV news, married to a top anchorman, with a three-year-old son and a full and happy life in Beverly Hills—until her whole world dissolved in a single instant on the freeway two days before Christmas. In the aftermath, she pieces her life back together and tries to find meaning in her existence as a human rights worker in the worst areas around the globe.

Then, on the anniversary of the fateful accident—and wrestling with the lure of death herself—she meets a boy who will cause her life to change forever yet again. Thirteen-year-old Blue Williams has been living on the streets, abandoned by his family, rarely attending school, and utterly alone. Following her instincts, Ginny reaches out to him. Leery of everyone, he runs from her again and again. But he always returns, and each time, their friendship grows.

Blue glows with outsized spirit and an irresistible mix of innocence and wisdom beyond his years. Ginny offers him respect as they form an unusual bond and become the family they each lost. But just as Blue is truly beginning to trust her, she learns of a shocking betrayal that he has been hiding. Is it a wound too deep to heal, or will she be able to fight the battle that will make them both whole again?

Reading - Christmas Stories

Christmas Stories by Michael Morpurgo

 

 

Curl up by the fireside and let Michael Morpurgo envelop you in 5 stories of faraway lands and unexpected adventures.

 

In "The Best Christmas Present in the World," a mysterious letter in a secret drawer brings one night in the Great War vividly to life. Writing home from the front, a soldier has an incredible story to tell.

 

The second tale is "On Angel Wings." A singing of wings, a glorious light, and a sudden beacon of brightness? It can only mean—can it really?—a visit from the Angel Gabriel himself.

 

When the Prince and Princess marry in "The Best of Times," joy rings out across the land. But all too soon it fades away and a shadow hangs over the royal palace. As Christmas approaches, Prince Frederico must find a way to warm his new bride's aching heart.

 

In the new story, "The Goose is Getting Fat," Gertrude the goose is getting bigger by the day, and Charlie is proud to look after her. But as Christmas approaches, the thought of the grizzly fate awaiting her fills him with sadness. Can he save Gertrude from the Christmas dinner table?

 

The last stories, "Mimi and the Mountain Dragon", As soon as the bells stop ringing, I'm going to carry you home to your mother, back up to the Mountain Dragon's castle . . .In her castle lair, high in the mountains of Switzerland, lives a terrible dragon. In the village below lives a little girl called Mimi. When Mimi finds a baby dragon in the woodshed, she makes a brave decision that will bring joy and peace to the village forever. This heartwarming holiday adventure for the whole family is the perfect combination of magic, adventure, and Christmas cheer.

Reading - Juliet, Naked

Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

 

 

 

Annie lives in a dull town on England’s bleak east coast and is in a relationship with Duncan that mirrors the place; Tucker, once a brilliant songwriter and performer, has gone into seclusion in rural America—or at least that’s what his fans think. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker’s work to the point of derangement, and when Annie dares to go public on her dislike of his latest album, there are quite unexpected, life-changing consequences for all three.

Reading - Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray by Kay Hooper

 

 

 

Ruthless, charismatic, and devastatingly handsome, Andres Sereno rules the small South American island of Kadeira with an iron first—and he has abducted the irresistible Sara Marsh to keep her out of harm’s way. Of course, Andres has ulterior motives: He is determined to convince Sara that she cannot live without him. Overwhelmed by his urgent desire, Sara finds Andres hard to resist. But can she trust a man with darkness in his soul and danger in his blood?

Blindsided by a sudden storm with no safe harbor in sight, Sara has no choice but to embrace the fierce warrior who holds her captive. Though Andres tries to shield her from his violent side, Sara knows that she’s tempting fate. Before risking everything, Sara must walk through fire and discover the strength within herself. Only then can she surrender to the primitive force of their desire.

Reading - Born of Defiance

Born of Defiance by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

 

Born an Outcast, Talyn Batur has spent the whole of his life fighting against the prejudice of his people. An Andarion without a father is not something anyone wants to be.

 

 But when his companion's brother draws him into a plot against the Andarion crown, he finds himself torn between the loyalty to their planetary government that his mother has beaten into him and his own beliefs of justice and right.

 Now, he must decide for himself to remain a pawn of their government or to defy everything and everyone he's ever known to stand up to tyranny. It's a gamble that will either save his life or end it. And when old enemies align with new ones, it's more than just his own life at risk. And more than just his homeworld that will end should he fail ...