Cloaked in Beauty

 Karen Witemeyer is one of my favorite historical authors.  Cloaked in Beauty is a book based on the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood. 

From the very beginning, the reader knows who the heroine and the villain are.  The plot of the book seems a bit overdone.  The young girl's life is in danger, so she is spirited away to live with her grandmother until she is at an age where she can handle her own affairs. The "woodcutter" of this story is a Pinkerton agent who has been hired to guard her on her passage home.  Once he has delivered her to her mother, she ends up in the clutches of her evil uncle who wants all the money her father had left her. His greed overshadows his own good sense. 

Now that I've exposed the weaknesses of the book, there are many aspects of the novel that are well thought out and well-written.  She has used the characters well and developed them to their fullest.  They played their part in the novel and had a great performance.  The settings were well developed and quite believable. The plot has been done before, but it was still readable and enjoyable.  

Four Stars. 

Bethany House Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

A Year of Flowers

 This is a collection of four novellas that all combine to tell a singular story about three friends who used to work in the same flower shop. After a fire they all moved in separate directions.  Rose, the owner of the flower shop, writes each of the girls a letter telling them to come home, that all is forgiven.  Each girl has had time to gel her hopes and dreams and make them a reality.  Jaime is working for the most elite wedding planning service in New York, Tessa has bought a one acre lot to grow flowers to supply to florists, and Claire finally has enough money to buy a flower shop.  Each girl has issues to overcome even after getting their dream.  Each girl has to respond to Rose's request to come home. Each girl is afraid of what Rose has to say.   

Suzanne Woods Fisher has written a thoughtful book that includes a lot of floral lore and legend. Each chapter is prefaced with a flower quote or observation.  Some of them I wish she hadn't included, but overall it was an entertaining read that didn't take a lot of time to read.

Four Stars 

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.   

Some Like it Scot

 

Katie Campbell is a travel writer/blogger/videographer who makes her name on her misadventures.  She is in Scotland for an Edwardian Experience and her first experience is to fall into the banister that had just been replaced and break it. That is the beginning of the book that will hold the reader's attention throughout the whole book. 

Pepper Basham writes with a touch of humor and adventure.  Even though Katie's grandfather was a Campbell and there was a slight reference to a feud, but Katie is accepted readily in the community.  Graeme MacKerrow and his family begin to love Katie and enjoy the energy she brings to the community.  

There is one fly in the ointment for Katie during this Edwardian Experience and that she has been nominated for a prestigious award, but her competition is also attending the Experience and does everything in his power to discredit her so that he can win.  She doesn't care who wins, but she's going to do her best work, regardless. 

There is one thing missing from the book that would have made it better and that would have been a glossary of the Scottish words used throughout the book.  That would have made the book much easier to understand. 

Serious Four Star Book 

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

Christmas at Sugar Plum Manor

 

Synopsis from Amazon: As the beloved stepdaughter of the Earl of Castleton, Lady Mariah Lyons cherishes her home at Plumford Manor, but her idyllic world will be threatened when the estate passes to Cyril Lightbourne, a childhood friend she hasn't seen or heard from in years. Once, Mariah dreamed their friendship would kindle into something more, but that was before she heard Cyril was courting the cruelhearted Lady Pearl. Now Mariah is willing to welcome him as a friend and pray he will be the heir her stepfather needs, but she'll keep her heart locked safely away from anyone with such poor taste.

Cyril Lightbourne has long avoided returning to Plumford Manor, yet he reluctantly arrives in time for Christmas. When his friendship with Lady Mariah reignites, he finds himself caught between his affection for her and her family's misunderstanding of his attachment to Lady Pearl. Then, more trouble arrives in the form of a Danish lord on a mission to win Mariah's hand by Christmas. 

I loved Mariah's child-like joy in her approach to life.  She interacts with the villagers and writes plays for the children to act out based on a play she wrote as a child.  Cyril also helped her write the play and create the set for the play.  

Mariah's stepfather has invited Cyril and another suitor to pursue Mariah.  Cyril understands her while Soren Glyndekrone has a stodgier outlook on life. Soren wants to marry Mariah and then mold her into his perfect mate while Mariah's sister Louise is already the woman who fits Soren's ideal.  

Roseanne M White writes with such grace and joie de vivre in her novels--this one especially. I've enjoyed everything I've read by her and this one is no exception.  It is a quick read with a light-hearted air and deserves every star.  

Four Stars. 

Bethany House provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

The Color of Home

From Amazon's synopsis: Audrey Needham, Bay Area interior designer to the rich and pretentious, is down to her last nerve. Her boss is impossible to please, her future is in jeopardy, and her great-aunt Daisy needs support as her husband descends into Alzheimer's.

When Daisy enlists Audrey's help preparing for a move to assisted living, Audrey risks her career to return to the idyllic small town of Charity Falls, Oregon, the summer stomping grounds of her childhood. But Charity Falls was also the place that broke her heart when her father was killed in a tragic fire at the Sugar Pine Inn thirteen years ago.

Despite Audrey's intent to avoid emotional entanglement, the pull of home is hard to resist. Something should be done about the deteriorating inn. A local girl with an incarcerated father needs a friend. And handsome local do-gooder Cade Carter is coloring Audrey all shades of uncertain.

For the most part, this book was enjoyable and brought out some of it was quite necessary for the times we live in.  Caring for our aging relatives made it feel quite rewarding, especially for someone who has cared for an ailing relative.  The primary characters were not the ones I loved most, but some of the secondary characters made the book what it is.  The only thing I have against the book is that the ending was totally unsatisfying.  It seemed to be wrapped up and tied with a knot in just a short, few paragraphs. Kit Tosello has written a fairly good book that will keep the reader engaged.  Four Stars

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

The Blooming of Delphinium

From Amazon's synopsis: As far as hidden talents go, Delphinium Hayes is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone's most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in life--until she meets two men who turn her world upside down.

Mason McCormack has agreed to help her with a group of seniors who have taken over her flower shop as their hangout. But his assistance is not without its price, and Delphinium agrees to compensate him with beautiful bouquets that seem to possess a bit of dating magic.

Elliot Sturgis, director of The Gardens Assisted Living Facility, is determined to discover why a group of his residents keeps sneaking over to Delphinium's shop to play poker in the walk-in refrigerator. He soon finds himself as enchanted by Delphinium as everyone else. But his devotion to following the rules and maintaining order does not endear him to the shop's owner.

There are some other characters who play a part in the warp and woof of the fabric of this novel.  One, in particular, throws a monkey wrench into the works and creates such havoc that the main players think they will never recover.  I truly enjoyed this book by Holly Varni.  She puts together an interesting plot with a lot of entertainment to keep the reader engaged.  

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and the fragrance of love. 

Revell Publishing provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

So Into You

From Amazon's synopsis:  Artist Britt Branch has a successful online channel where she teaches a variety of art lessons. Obsessed with the 1970s, she has a style all her own. But she also has a huge problem--severe social anxiety. She lives with her mom, and while she pays her own bills, she wonders if she'll ever have the courage to move out and move on. When her best friend announces she's getting married, Britt decides it's time to make a change.

Gorgeous Hunter Pickett has always skated by on his model looks, applying very little effort to anything except sports, and even that was iffy at times. The third son of extremely wealthy and successful parents, he dealt with being the black sheep of the family by drinking and using drugs. By his third year of sobriety, he's still dealing with aimlessness. Late one night he catches Britt's channel and ends up watching her videos. He's not interested in art . . . at first. And when he sends her an online message, he's surprised she responds. Before long they are chatting every day, and once they start meeting in person, a spark-filled friendship begins.

Kathleen Fuller has written a book full of contemporary problems.  While she does follow the romance novel formula, it fits the plot so well that it doesn't feel formulaic.  The secrets all of the main characters are holding blow up the relationships in an explosive fashion.  The only thing I didn't like was how the conflicts were resolved.  It seemed too easy to me.  Still So Into You is a good read.

Four Strong Stars

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.