Hello, and welcome back! It really does look as if winter is slowly fading away. It's supposed to be warm enough this weekend that I should be able to get out and start cleaning up the flower beds. I can hardly wait. Of course, it is only the end of February, so I'm sure we're not completely out of the woods, but the change of season is coming. The glider in the backyard is waiting for it to be warm enough for me to bring out a couple books and enjoy the story and the weather. What fun!

First up this week is by Liz Maverick,
What a Girl Wants (NAL). Hayley meets a great new guy when she finds her next-door cubicle co-worker dead--the cop sent to investigate. This really isn't a story about a romance between Hayley and Grant, but a story about Hayley, with her three friends tossed in for good measure--sort of a Sex in the City, which means chick lit. The way the young women in these books are portrayed makes me cringe--I don't know a single twenty-something woman who's so shallow, and reading about them is not at all enjoyable for me.

Next is Loretta Chase's
Miss Wonderful (Berkley). Alistair Carsington is off to hide in the wilds of Derbyshire, away from the temptation of women. Of course, there'll be one where he's going. Mirabel Oldridge doesn't need another man to look after--her father is quite enough. But Alistair doesn't exactly need the same sort of looking-after. Very proper, as the time period would suggest, and filled with expressive language, this one's fun. Not a keeper for me, but fun. I'm borrowing three of Cupid's five arrows for it.

Finally, we have Ruth Ryan Langan's
Paradise Falls (Berkley). Fiona Downey has left her home after her father's death and moved west to become a schoolteacher. The family she lives with has two grown sons, Fleming and Grayson, and her life becomes even more complicated in getting to know this family. But it's Grayson who always does the right thing, which means not putting Fiona's job in jeopardy by acting on his feelings. Of course, his assumption about her feelings for his brother doesn't help either. This is a wonderful story, with believeable characters--it reminds me a bit of LaVyrle Spencer, and, even further back, Laura Ingalls Wilder. I love it. Definitely a keeper. It's earned four and a half arrows.

Don't forget to pop into the forum where we've got a couple more books in the giveaway pile. Also, now's the time to start reading our April Book Club selection,
Outlander. You can find details on this here.

Until next time, happy reading!