Hello, and welcome back. With this break in our bad weather cycle, I've been stocking up on soup ingredients, teas and cocoas again--we'll need them again this week. And at the top of my to-do list is making my bookstore run. I can't wait to get my hands on the new J. D. Robb due out this week.

In the meantime, I have two new historical romances to share with you this week. The first is Tammy Hilz's
Shadow of the Sun (Zebra). Sarah is on a mission to save her dying father: to return the things he took from an Egyptian tomb. Meeting her father's former student, Jake Mitchell, along the way throws a wrench into her plans, though. Jake never realized she even existed, though she recalls him well; he just knows that this trip is getting more complicated by the minute, and when he learns who Sarah really is and why she's making this journey, he's furious. Ancient Egypt is one of my when-I-find-time-I-learn-more-new-things topics, so that endears this story to me, and adding to that is the well-written story drawing Sarah and Jake together despite all the obstacles in their way. I'm borrowing four of Cupid's five arrows for this one.

The other story I have to share with you this time out is Yvonne Jocks's
Say Goodnight, Gracie (Zebra). Grace Sullivan is not exactly graceful, but her mother's come up with a solution: Comtesse Arabella, coming from Paris to Colorado to teach Grace comportment. But before she arrives, Grace manages to tumble down several flights of stairs and break her fall on Jon Erickson, son of one of her father's old friends--whose leg is broken in the process of saving her. What else can they do but offer the man a place to stay while he recuperates? But he's not exactly what her mother has in mind as husband material. Too bad Grace's heart has other ideas. And then there's the orphan boy she's secretly caring for. Plenty of complications here--fighting parents, odd household help who're a bit more than human. This one was pleasant enough but not a keeper for me. It's earned three arrows.

Don't forget to join us in the forum for this month's book club discussion. And until next time, happy reading!