Pleating for Mercy

Pleating for Mercy by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Harlow Cassidy has recently returned to Bliss, Texas, after years of working in NYC as a fashion designer. She's set up a custom dressmaking shop in the house her recently deceased great-grandmother left her, and she's eager to get her new business off the ground. However, having a client's bridesmaid murdered in her garden isn't helping, so Harlow is quite motivated to figure out who the real killer is and clear her name.

This is the first installment of a fun cozy mystery series with elements of magic and ghosts. The Cassidy women have all been gifted with various talents thanks to a wish made by their long-dead many-times-great grandfather, Butch Cassidy. (Yes, that Butch Cassidy.) Death doesn't necessarily put an end to these talented women, either, as Harlow comes to realize.

I read this book about the same time I read the first in another magical mystery series, Secondhand Spirits, by Julia Blackwell. Both are enjoyable, but overall, this one feels more like a cozy, despite surface similarities of magical backgrounds, affinity for knowing what clothes someone should wear, trying to get fledgling businesses off the ground, and potential non-magical love interests. It's a bit lighter in tone.

One thing that left me puzzled, though: How in the world did Miriam and the sheriff know to barge into the bathroom there at the end when Harlow was being attacked by the killer? That made no sense. Did I miss something?

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character & setting secondary. No sex or graphic violence, but I think there might have been a couple of mild swear words? I forget--it's been a couple months since I finished it. (I'm just really behind with reviews.)

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Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner

Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For more than eight years, Lindsay Attwood has played it safe. After her ex-husband ditched her upon learning of the impending arrival of their daughter, Lindsay stopped traveling the world and instead took a job in the basement of a museum in Denver, converting her talents for archaeological discovery into those of restoration and cataloging. She wrapped her life around her daughter, Sydney, keeping new people at bay after learning the hard way that men can't be trusted. However, that approach led to fundamental loneliness and an emotional collapse the moment her ex suddenly decided he wanted to be a part of Sydney's life and took her to Mexico for the summer.

Lindsay's twin sister, Laura, and their friend Collie hatch a plan to drag Lindsay out of her despair: Laura invites Lindsay for a visit to Texas, and Collie begs for her help discovering who has stolen dinosaur tracks from a local ranch. Collie persuades Lindsay to go "undercover" at the ranch as a student in the horse psychology camp run by the owner's granddaughter, since it's possible the theft was an inside job. On the way to the ranch, Lindsay nearly runs over a giant dog chased by angry cowboys, and her defense of the dog leads to a temporary adoption--although which of them did the adopting is a matter of debate.

One of the cowboys turns out to be the veterinarian grandson of the same ranch owner whose dinosaur tracks had been stolen, and over the next few days, Zack and Lindsay fall in love while repairing windmills and chasing her escape-artist dog across fields to the Lover's Oak. Once the townsfolk hear they were seen kissing under the famous tree, curiosity is at a fever pitch, and the wedding a foregone conclusion. Unfortunately, Lindsay has Trust Issues with a capital "T" and no faith that it's possible to have a relationship with a USDA vet who lives thousands of miles away.

I'm not typically one to notice language unless it's unusually bad (especially grammar and typos) or unusually good. While listening to this audiobook, I noticed not only Johanna Parker's lovely voice, but also the lush, lyrical, evocative, and amusing descriptions and idioms Lisa Wingate used to tell the story. The beautiful words helped me cope with the main character's stubborn refusal to pay more attention to present actions than past hurts.

Seriously--Lindsay is in dire need of Alison Armstrong's workshops on understanding men & women! The horse psychology class was a big step in the right direction, yet it's fairly improbable that Lindsay so quickly went from being a failure to a star pupil, given her inability to fully translate the early skills into the human world. I think she needed a bigger "Aha!" moment first, like some of the other students seemed to have. That would have made it a 5-star book, in my opinion.

For readers' advisors: character and language doorways are primary, story and setting secondary. Some contortions to avoid actual swear words, which was sweet but unrealistic. No sex or violence.

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Call Me Irresistible

Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Meg Koranda arrives in the small town of Wynette, Texas, just in time to fulfill her role as Maid of Honor in her best friend's wedding. Lucy is marrying Ted Beaudine, the town darling and the Most Perfect Man on Earth. Everyone loves him. Everyone. Even sunbeams seem to follow him around! Meg is the only person who finds him irritating, and who likewise irritates him. What Meg quickly realizes is that the match isn't as ideal as it should be, and Lucy is intimidated by her fiance's perfection. When she voices her reservations, she starts a chain of events no one sees coming, and suddenly she finds herself the most hated person in town. Unfortunately for Meg, she lacks the money to leave, so for once in her unfocused life she is forced to find reserves of resourcefulness and determination she didn't know she had in order to survive and overcome the obstacles and complications now blocking her path.

I put this book on hold based on an interesting blurb I found on a list of this year's Top 10 Romance Novels. (Put out by the publisher? I don't remember which list it was.) I was expecting it to be a good story, based on its presence on that list, but I was not prepared to be so drawn in by the story and the complexity of the character development. Then I discovered it was book #6 in a series with at least 7 volumes so far--happy day! I've gone on to read #7 (even better than #6!), and I plan to go back and read the earlier novels as well. What a delight to find a new-to-me author who writes with such depth, humor, and compassion for the follies and foibles of her characters.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways. Some sex scenes and swearing.

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The Great Escape

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To call The Great Escape a romance is technically accurate but so inadequate. It's really a character-driven novel of three couples struggling with identity and history, trying to figure out what they want and who they want to be.

The book opens as Lucy panics and flees her own wedding to The Ideal Man, Ted Beaudine. His perfection has tipped her over the edge into the rebellion she never experienced as a teenager, and she escapes Texas with Panda, a biker who isn't quite what he seems. Panda tries to shock Lucy into returning to Ted--or at least to her family--and he is surprised and dismayed when his efforts fail. He decided long ago he was unworthy of and too dangerous for family life, and Lucy's presence is an unwelcome reminder of what he cannot have. Unfortunately for him, Lucy can't yet bear the thought of returning to her old life as the prim and proper lobbyist daughter of the former president of the United States, instead seeking solace in her new identity as Viper until she can figure out who and what to become now.

Couple number two features depressed and penniless Bree West, whose cheating husband dumped her for a nineteen-year-old office temp, and gregarious real estate salesman Mike Moody, whom Bree has detested since childhood and blames for destroying her chance at happiness with her first love, David. Bree returned to Charity Island after inheriting the guardianship of David's twelve-year-old son, Toby, who happens to idolize Big Mike, and she's grappling with her new realities of poverty and parenthood.

Couple number three consists of famous TV fitness guru Temple Renshaw and the love of her life, Max, whom she deems unsuitable. Temple is known for her harsh onscreen methods of coercing contestants into losing weight on her reality show "Fat Island," and she is no less critical when it comes to herself and shedding the pounds she gained in her despair over giving up Max. She hires Panda to keep her hidden from the paparazzi and prevent her from getting her hands on contraband like chocolate or muffins. But no matter how thin she gets, it's never enough.

Healing occurs slowly as their lives intersect on a small island in Lake Michigan.

I absolutely love this novel. It's the seventh in a series, following Call Me Irresistible, which I picked up because it was on a Top 10 list. Ms. Phillips is now one of my favorite authors. Her characters are real and flawed. They are people you might actually meet or already know. They struggle with PTSD, abuse, societal and familial pressures, sexual identity, body image, and low self-esteem. They crave a sense of purpose and seek to make a positive difference in the world. I'm glad to have met them.

For readers' advisors: character doorway. There are a few sex scenes and some swearing.

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Blue Moon Bay

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Heather Hampton is a career-driven architect who has shut herself off from emotion and family, so a trip to Texas to convince her mother to go through with the plan to sell the family property is a journey she dreads. No one is happy to see her, everyone is keeping secrets from her, and not even a couple of wonderful dates with her high school crush can compensate for the frustration and turmoil she experiences while revisiting the scenes of the worst year of her life. But sometimes the only way through a nightmare is to confront the fear, lest the demons in your imagination keep you paralyzed, even if those demons are Moses Lake church ladies bearing casseroles. Buried secrets are about to explode into the open, changing Heather's perception of long-ago events and present-day realities.

The first two thirds or so of this book are character-driven, full of inner dialogue and angst. The pace picks up in the final third, racing along to the conclusion.

My overall rating for the novel is an average of the highs and lows of different aspects. I was absorbed enough to yell out loud at my car stereo numerous times, such as when Ms. Wingate used the word "smirk" four times in the second half of chapter 15 alone. Or when Heather didn't pay attention to Roger-the-dog's urgent attempts to get her to come outside, and then when she did not call 911 to get help for her brother when he crashed the truck and hit his head. Or when she lied to her mother and uncles about how the truck ended up in the fig tree. Much of the book had me hollering, "Just tell the f-ing TRUTH already," at every one of the characters except Ruth. So 4 stars for my level of involvement, 1 star for the lying and smirking, and 2 stars for the annoying angst, for an average rating of 3 stars.

This is the third Lisa Wingate novel I've read, and it contains more religion than the other two. Thankfully, it's still extremely low on the "preachiness scale," although it seems the author believes in predestination rather than free will.

For readers' advisors: character and story doorways, with setting secondary. No sex or on-screen violence.

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Larkspur Cove

Larkspur Cove by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Divorce has forced Andrea Henderson to accept the hospitality of her parents' lake house and to dust off her barely-used counseling degree, taking a job working with families referred by Child Protection Services caseworkers in rural Texas. Her first day is already not going well when she gets the news that her 14-year-old son has gotten in trouble with the local game warden, Mart McClendon, for climbing an off-limits rock formation and boating without permission and with alcohol on board. The parents of most of the other teens opt to pay the fine, but Andrea chooses to have Dustin attend the water safety course as a sort of diversion program.

Mart McClendon is not impressed with Andrea's parenting skills when they first meet. She is late, and he is exhausted and in no mood to put up with mothers who shield their punk kids from consequences and try to buy their way out of trouble. But when they begin working to figure out how an older local man with brain damage ended up caring for a traumatized small girl about five or six years old, he soon realizes Andrea is not the spoiled rich woman he assumed her to be.

Both Andrea and Mart have demons to face, remnants and reminders of their pasts. The challenge is learning to trust the future and let love back into their lives.

Johanna Parker and Scott Sowers take turns narrating chapters from Andrea and Mart's points of view. Their voices bring the story alive, Johanna's inviting you to linger and savor the warmth of the words, Scott's evoking the sounds of crusty old Texas fishermen.

Faith and faith struggles are an integral part of this story, but never once did Lisa Wingate get preachy. Rather, God and the church were just part of the fabric of life for most of the characters--much like they would be if someone told the story of my life or of anyone raised in a community of faith, no matter the religion. I'm so thankful to have found a Christian fiction author who doesn't make me cringe!

For readers' advisors: character doorway, with story, setting, and language sneaking in as secondary doorways. No sex, and I honestly can't remember if there were a couple of swear words or not, but probably not.

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A Month of Summer

A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Johanna Parker's versatile voice brings this book to life in the audiobook version of Lisa Wingate's novel. I checked it out at random from my library's digital audiobook service when I was testing their updated mobile app. I'd never heard of the book or the author; I just liked the cover. I liked the ideas of planting a seedling and a month of summer. What an amazing bonus it was to discover such a lovely story!

Rebecca Macklin has spent more than 30 years believing her father abandoned her and her mother for a new life with his new wife and her mentally challenged son. She has held on to that bitterness for so long, she doesn't even see how it's poisoned her relationship with her husband and cut her off from three decades of her father's love. Now her father has Alzheimer's disease, and her stepmother, Hanna Beth, has had a massive stroke. Reluctantly, Rebecca boards a plane to Dallas, leaving behind her 9-year-old daughter, Macey, and her struggling marriage in order to spend a few weeks taking care of her father and stepbrother, Teddy. Their caretaker has vanished, leaving behind a filthy house, disconnected utilities, and empty bank accounts.

Hanna Beth Parker is determined to regain her powers of speech and control over her bodily functions. The idea that her beloved husband and son are dependent on the whims of her angry, hurt stepdaughter scares her. She knows that Rebecca has no idea what really happened all those years ago. But for now, Hanna Beth is trapped inside her uncooperative body with only the nurses and her "neighbor" and fellow patient, Claude, for company.

This is a story about family--biological and otherwise. It's a story of forgiveness and learning to love and trust. It's a story categorized as "Christian Fiction," surprisingly enough, since there is zero preachiness and no sermons on How To Pray And Be Saved From All Your Troubles. (I usually hate "Christian Fiction" because most of it is proselytizing thinly veiled with a not-terribly-well-written story. It makes me embarrassed to be a Christian.) Some of the coincidences, however, are Positively Providential (as Mrs. Rachel Lynde would say).

Johanna Parker's voice wraps around you like a warm shawl on a chilly day. Each character sounds different, almost as though the book were read by a full cast instead of by one talented woman. For example, the native Texans spoke with thicker accents, while Rebecca retained only a hint of her roots, and Macey sounded like a child of the West Coast.

My only quibble with this novel, and the only reason I didn't give it 5 stars, is that at times I felt like Rebecca was a little too angst-y for a 45-year-old woman. Then again, in her situation I might also be afraid to broach difficult subjects with my husband and would shy away from unwanted realities, too. I sometimes found myself almost yelling at my car stereo, "For crying out loud, just say it! Just tell the truth! You people need to learn how to communicate!" As is true in real life, so much anguish and drama would be eliminated if everyone always spoke the truth no matter what, no excuses.

Overall, though, I loved this book and was sad to have it end. I look forward to reading (listening to!) the other books in this series.

For readers' advisors: character doorway, definitely. Everything else paled in comparison, although the story was also good, and the narrator made the language come alive. Since it's Christian Fiction, it's "clean," meaning no sex, violence, or bad language.

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