The Same Sky

The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Same Sky is the story of Carla, a young girl living in the slums of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Alice, a childless woman who co-owns a BBQ restaurant with her husband in Austin, Texas. Carla's mother paid a coyote to smuggle her into the US when Carla was about seven years old and her younger brothers were babies. She's been sending a little money back to Honduras ever since, to help support Carla, the boys, and Carla's grandmother, and as soon as she could afford it, she paid a coyote to bring one of the boys to her in Austin, Texas. By the time Carla is twelve, life in the slums has become too difficult, and Carla realizes she must make the brutal journey north to America if she's to have any hope of saving her little brother, Junior. The immigrant experience is a waking nightmare, and only faith keeps Carla going.

Alice and her husband, Jake, have a thriving business, but their home life has been shattered by an adoption that fell through one night after they brought home a newborn baby boy. After being unable to conceive, they tried surrogacy and then adoption, and the latest disappointment drives a wedge in their close relationship as they struggle to grieve in totally separate ways.

The story is told in alternating chapters, and Carla's chapters held my attention a little bit better than Alice's, although both were gut-wrenching in their own ways. I just felt like Alice was a tiny bit obnoxious and unprepared to be a mother (at least based on the awkward and inept way she went about being a "Big Sister" to a troubled teen at a troubled local high school). I wanted to shake some sense into her sometimes, whereas with Carla, I longed to scoop her into my arms and shield her from any more harm.  Their stories don't intersect until the very end, and not quite in the way I had predicted.  The Same Sky is both wonderful and heartbreaking.  Keep the Kleenex box handy, although sometimes I was too stunned to even cry.  Carla's story was especially haunting, and I frequently wished I could change the events in her life--just rewind a bit, and it would all be OK again, right?

I received a free ebook copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, although in the end, in order to get the book read, I listened to a downloadable audiobook version I checked out from my library.

I'm not sure whether this was intended to be "Christian fiction," but Carla's faith plays a huge role in her story, and faith (or the lack thereof) plays a part in Alice's story as well.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary. There is some bad language, drug use by minors, rape, and some references to sex.

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Jo Frost's Toddler Rules: Your 5-Step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior

Jo Frost's Toddler Rules: Your 5-Step Guide to Shaping Proper Behavior by Jo Frost
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have always liked watching Jo Frost as "Supernanny" on TV because she works miracles with common sense and love. Her written advice is more of the same: practical, effective, logical, and based on the stages of child development. Fabulous! I especially appreciated that she gave real-world scenario examples of all her techniques, tips, and troubleshooting FAQs. That really helped me connect the theory to what it would look like in practice and when to use which method. There is nothing revolutionary or mind-blowing about the lessons in this book, but that's the point. Raising toddlers isn't rocket science, it's just structure, consistency, and discipline (in the best sense of the word), with a whole lot of patience and love. The main takeaway for me is something I usually do instinctively and will now do consciously: S.O.S. = Step back, Observe, Step in. Thanks, Supernanny!

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Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's Christmas time, and Jane Austen, her sister Cassandra, and their mother are on the way to visit their brother James and his family for the holidays. They have a mishap enroute, thanks to their brother's parsimony, and end up meeting a handsome stranger on his way to the home of mutual friends, which eventually leads to an invitation for the whole family to join the house party at The Vyne. Unfortunately, a young man dies while they are visiting, and Jane determines it was murder.

She's not alone in her sleuthing this time, for the handsome stranger turns out to be Raphael West, an artist and government agent, and the two of them work together to solve the crime. Jane isn't completely sure she can trust Mr. West, despite their mutual attraction, but she has few options, especially when a second person dies under suspicious circumstances.

I loved all the historical details in this volume--from James' wife Mary's hypochondria to the 12 outfits Cassandra and Jane sewed for their niece's doll as gifts for each of the 12 nights of Christmas. These elements really made the story come alive for me. If Stephanie Barron's Mary Austen is anything like the real Mary Austen was, it's a miracle no one smothered her in her sleep. She is so utterly self-absorbed, she makes for good comic relief, though!

Unfortunately, I struggled to keep straight the names and relationships between a few of the secondary characters, and it slowed down my reading tremendously when I had to stop and go back to look up their connections to each other. This was partly due to my only having time to read during lunch breaks, which wasn't Ms. Barron's fault at all. However, since those characters ended up being central to the mystery, it made for some rough going some of the time.

The other thing that frustrated me was that Jane seemed to ignore some rather obvious clues, which is unusual for this series. I kept wishing I could be like Tuesday Next in the Jasper Fforde Eyre Affair series and jump right in to the book and talk to the characters. I felt like Jane could have wrapped up the case faster if she had paid more attention. On the other hand, the resolution felt somewhat hasty and unsatisfying, albeit realistic.

Bottom line? It's a fun historical cozy mystery, worth the read, but not the best in the series. Still, I'm sad that there can't be many more of these books to come, given that Jane died in her early 40s.

For readers' advisors: setting and story doorways. No sex, bad language, or onscreen violence.

I originally was approved to read a free eGalley copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, but I didn't download it soon enough, so in the end I checked out a copy from my library. Same review, though. :)

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One Potion in the Grave

One Potion in the Grave by Heather Blake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Carly Bell Hartwell uses secret drops to create magical potions that actually work, so when she gets a visit from a famous bride-to-be wanting a love potion, she's curious. And when her childhood friend, Katie Sue Perrywinkle, now Kathryn Perry, stops by her shop to say hello after a ten year absence and sets off Carly's "witchy senses" with the aura of danger surrounding her, Carly grows concerned. Her worry leads her to warn Dylan Jackson, her former-fiance-almost-boyfriend who works for the sheriff's office, that something is amiss. Sadly, Carly's warning doesn't prevent catastrophe, and she must piece together what happened before anyone else dies.

I really enjoy Heather Blake's two mystery series. They are fun cozies with quirky characters and small town settings. Two things affected my rating with this one, though: 1) I figured out near the beginning that a key assumption Carly made about Katie Sue's relationship to the Calhoun family was wrong, whereas it took Carly 3/4 or so of the book to realize her mistake, which was annoying, and 2) I actually figured out who the killer was several chapters before the end of the book. (I prefer not to be certain about who & why.)

OK, and a third thing that didn't help my rating was that I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in the first book in this series, and I had been wanting to get to know them better in this one, which barely happened. There is a little progress made in some key relationships, which I appreciated, but I felt like Blake could have had much more space to flesh out her characters if only they hadn't wasted so much time chasing red herrings. Ah well, it was still fun and a great choice for relaxing on the couch, recuperating after the holiday whirlwind.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. There is no sex or onscreen violence and only a few mild swear words.

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The Job

The Job by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare once again teams up with Nick Fox, world-class thief and con man, this time to figure out who is framing Nick for crimes he's not actually committing. What they discover leads them to set up a complicated con to catch a sadistic drug lord who has bought himself a new face, making it impossible for authorities to identify and capture him. To pull it off they'll need the help of Kate's dad and his former covert ops pals, actor Boyd Capwell, their favorite driver Willie Owens, custom builder Tom Underhill, and CGI specialist Rodney Smoot.

Book #3 in the Fox and O'Hare series is just as fun as the first two. It's fast-paced and humorous, picking up where the previous novels left off. There isn't much in the way of character development, but the characters are fun to spend time with. It's escapist literature, perfect for reading on the beach or tucked up on the couch with a quilt and some hot chocolate, depending on your vacation venue.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary. There is no sex or graphic violence, but there is some mild swearing.

I received a free ebook copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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First Frost

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sarah Addison Allen's book, Garden Spells, is one of my all-time favorite novels, so when I had an opportunity to win a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of First Frost from Bookbrowse in exchange for my honest review, I jumped at the chance.  First Frost picks up the story of the Waverley women of Bascom, North Carolina, ten years after the end of Garden Spells.  Bay is now fifteen, her mother is happily married to Henry, and her Aunt Claire is happily married to Tyler.  Claire and Tyler live in the Waverley house with their nine-year-old daughter Mariah, while Sydney, Henry, and Bay live in Henry's farmhouse.  Evanelle isn't moving as quickly as she used to, but she still feels the urge to give people unusual objects they'll soon need, and her best friend and housemate, Fred, has begun to do the same.

The tension in First Frost, thankfully, isn't due to stress in the marriages--I absolutely hate when sequels ruin love stories just to provide plot points.  Rather, each of the Waverley women is struggling with a different issue in her personal life: Claire has been doing virtually nothing but making special candies for the past year and feels trapped and exhausted by it, Sydney desperately wants another baby but hasn't been able to conceive, Evanelle is facing fading health and a friend who cannot bear the thought of losing her, and Bay, well, Bay knows where things belong and is tormented when others can't see it, in this case a boy she knows she's meant to be with who barely knew she existed until she wrote him a note that gained her some unwanted notoriety.  A mysterious stranger asking the townspeople questions about the Waverleys in general and Claire in particular just adds to the anxiety and tension.   They all know things will get better, as they always do, after the first frost of the year when the apple tree in the backyard blooms.  The trick is to hang on until then.

I loved being able to revisit the enchanting world of Bascom.  The story is delightful--perfect for a cozy fall or winter evening.   I didn't want to put it down.

What I did want, however, is for the mysterious stranger subplot to have been better developed.  I felt like it started to go in an interesting, magical direction and then sort of fizzled out by the end.  Otherwise, though, I loved spending time with these characters and this story.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, setting secondary.  It's a lovely story about family supporting and nurturing each other.  There is no sex (well, mention of it as Sydney focuses on conception but not any real sex scenes), violence, or swearing that I can recall.

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Only Enchanting

Only Enchanting by Mary Balogh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Mrs. Agnes Keeping, a young widow, lives quietly with her sister, a spinster music teacher, in the English village Inglebrook. She had married an older gentleman for comfort and convenience and doesn't expect or wish to ever fall in love. In fact, she rather fears it, thanks to her mother's scandalous behavior and consequent abandonment of the sisters when Agnes was a small child. However, when she goes to a ball given by her new best friend, Sophia, Lady Darleigh, Agnes accidentally falls in love with Flavian Arnott, Viscount Ponsonby. Thankfully, he doesn't live in the area, and she believes she'll never see him again. This being a romance novel, she of course sees him again five months later when he and the other members of the Survivors' Club journey back to Middlebury Park for their annual gathering.

Flavian was shot in the head and trampled by a horse while fighting Napoleon's army in France. He has recovered from most of his wounds, thanks the the ministrations he received at Penderris Hall, home of the Duke of Stanbrook, but he still suffers from gaps in his memory, stuttering, and unexpected flashes of anger--symptoms familiar to many of today's soldiers as well. One of those frustrating holes in his memory relates to his former fiancee who jilted him to marry his best friend after he was wounded in battle. News that she's widowed and finished with her mourning period inexplicably sends him into a panic, where only marriage to Agnes feels safe. The difficulty lies in stitching together enough pieces of the past to understand the present and salvage their future together.

Mary Balogh does such a fantastic job writing multi-dimensional characters. It's one of the things I like best about her books--you feel like the people in them are real, and you enjoy spending time with them.

My only quibble with book #4 in this series is that I could have used some sort of chart or character list to help me keep the names and relationships straight. I thought I had read all three of the previous novels, but thanks to Goodreads, I just discovered that I'd only read the first one...which helps explain why I struggled mightily to connect titles, first names, and last names. My husband is in the military, and I have the exact same difficulty with his colleagues--it's taken me years in many cases to link a face with the three separate things she or he might be called, according to the circumstances. I have often wished for a cheat sheet with my husband's friends & coworkers, and I definitely wished for one while reading Only Enchanting.

For readers' advisors: character and setting doorways. Mild historical swearing and eventually a couple of sex scenes.

I received a free e-galley copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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