Hello, and welcome back! The wind is whipping the neighbor's pine tree all over the place, and the sparrows are holding on for dear life outside my office window right now. While it's not cold, once the rain moves in, it won't be nice enough to go outside anymore. Sounds like good reading weather to me.

I'm working on a holiday wish list to share with all of you in the next couple weeks--one you can give to your dh's, maybe?--as well as an idea list for the folks you may have to shop for soon. Me, I'm aiming to finish my shopping this month, but I think I'll be cutting it close. And not everyone has given me a wish list, darn it, and that makes my own shopping a little more difficult.

In the meantime, I've got two new (they'll hit the stores in the next week or two) romances to share with you, and I think we'll start with Dee Holmes's
Coming Home (Berkley). Olivia Halsey seizes the opportunity to spend some time fixing up her parents' home to get away from her life--and the man in it who's looking for more commitment than she can stand to give. While she's at it, her two best childhood friends, Lexie and Claire, have some fixing up of their own to do in their lives. I enjoyed the book, but it's not a keeper for me. Some of the issues being explored here lend themselves better to women's fiction, in my opinion. And honestly, I'd love to see a book for Trent McGraw, Claire's interest for part of the book; there's a man who has some issues to be worked out, and I bet there's a woman somewhere who could help him. I'm only borrowing three of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

The other book I have to share with you this time out is Nora Roberts's
Key of Knowledge, (Jove), second book in her new Key trilogy, which will hit bookstores Tue, Nov. 25. Last time, it was Malory's turn. This time out is Dana's quest to find her key, and you just know her former flame Jordan will be involved somehow, even though she hates his guts. The bad guy gets nastier this time around--after all, for thousands of years, he's had his way, keeping the souls of the three demigoddesses locked up in a box, and now, for the first time, he's in danger of having his curse reversed. Of course he'll try anything he can to stop Dana from finding her key and helping to undo his curse, even going beyond the established rules of his world and this one. Oh, yes, and on top of trying to find a magickal key, Dana's got to deal with Jordan and setting up her new bookstore. I love the interplay between Jordan and Dana, and their attraction absolutely sizzles. I was so excited when this one came, I had to read it right away, even though I knew I wouldn't be able to review it here for a couple weeks. I'm giving this one four and a half arrows. Now I can hardly wait for Zoe's story in another month. I hope you're enjoying them as well. (Go here to find reviews of the first and third books.)

Until next time, happy reading!