Miracle Creek Christmas by Krista Jensen

I have a slight weakness for cheesy Hallmarkesque Christmas movies. (I blame my daughter for getting me involved.)  Miracle Creek could have been a screen play for a Hallmark movie. It had all the ingredients including a cute young girl, niece of male character, and older friend of  female character that also has a small romance on the side with male character's father. There is the irritating, slightly dysfunctional family of female and supportive strong family of male character. Despite all the traditional tropes, the one thing that was very unHallmarkish was the up front honesty of both people. There was no misunderstanding of random conversations or misunderstood hugs. Both Riley and Mark are surprisingly forth right about their past and their expectations for the future.  There was, however, a lot of CHRISTMAS throughout, trees, carols, traditions, snow angels, snow, food, etc. Overall it was a really nice enjoyable adventure. 

 Fiction, romance, Christmas, fire fighters

Recommend: Yes

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede

 I had a lot of sitting at a desk/computer work to do last week and so found a quick audiobook to listen while I worked. This is the first in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles which I have previously read. I enjoy children's fantasy fiction because of the plucky characters that I find there. 

Princess Cimorene is not happy that she has to be a princess. She sees so much more to life than doing needlework and knowing which fork to use. Dragons are known to carry off princesses to work for them which then spurs knights and princes to rescue them. Cimorene decides to volunteer to be a dragon's princess and lets her rescuers know in no uncertain terms that she is happy in her new role and does not need to be rescued. Her bravery and intelligence help the dragons thwart the wizards and Cimorene finds something she is both good at and loves. 

Children's fiction, fantasy, dragons, independence

Recommend: Yes.

The Winter Companion by Mimi Matthews

 When I fly, which is not often, I like to have a regency romance book to read on the plane. It seems to distract me from the cramped quarters I'm forced to be in for the few hours I'm experiencing the miracle of flight. 

I've read other of Matthews' books and enjoyed all of them. This is the 4th book in the Parish Orphans of Devon series. You don't need to read these in order as each of them is about a different orphan boy as he matures and enters adulthood. This was a short enjoyable read. It had all the predictabilities of regency romances which is just what I needed to make the flight relaxing. 

Neville has had a traumatic brain injury that causes his speech to be a bit slower. Clara is trying to find a way to receive an education for which she feels is out of her reach. Together they are able to find peace and joy that they both felt would only be for others. 

Fiction, Regency romance, brain injury

Recommend: Yes. 

Love and Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen

 On a recommendation from my daughter I opened this book. I have read, The Romantics by Konen, which I enjoyed. Konen's teens are multi-layered and their reactions to unforeseen situations are unformulaic. When I read YA fiction, especially romantic fiction, the characters often take the road most traveled and easiest. Not so with Konen's books, at least the two I've read. And the ending is not neatly tied up in a bow with all the conflict eased and erased by the last page. At the same time it's not a depressing read or unhopeful. It's real. 

Ammy (like Sammy without the S) and Noah are on a train in New York state. A snow storm hits, the train is delayed, and they decided to band together to get to their destinations sooner than the stalled train promises. Within 24 hours together they have a life time of experiences and emotions and each has some hard decisions in front of them. 

Young adult fiction, romance, realistic fiction, New York State, trains

Recommend: Yes

The Mariposa Hotel: A Tangerine Street Romance: a Novel in Three Parts by Heather B. Moore, Julie Wright, and Melanie Jacobson

 This is the third book in this series and I have to admit it was disappointing. The other two had plots that were believable and characters that were realistic and I enjoyed the intertwining of characters and places. This one seemed as if the writing was a bit rushed and things were either not resolved or wrapped up too neatly. The three stories seemed to focus more on kissing than storyline. 

There is one more book in this series and I'm on the fence whether to read it or not. They are short stories so I don't have to invest a lot of time to find out if this last book is more of the same. 

Fiction, romance, beach life

Recommend: maybe

Wyoming Wild by Sarah M. Eden

 I've read several of Sarah Eden's historical romances and enjoyed them all. I've been missing Wyoming lately so this one was an obvious choice for me to read. It was just published in March so I was excited to see my library here had a copy. 

I didn't realize until I was reading it that it is the third book in the Savage Wells series. I had read the first one, The Sheriffs of Savage Wells a while ago and remembered liking it. Wyoming Wild has the same characters from that first book, but they are now only supporting characters. This book focuses on US Marshal, John Hawking, and his efforts to bring peace to the small fictional town of Sand Creek, Wyoming, which is run by a corrupt sheriff and his cronies. The sheriff's daughter, Liesl, knows of her father's wicked ways and would like nothing better than a safer and calmer life for her and her mother. But her father is a man without scruples and will stop at nothing to keep his hold on Sand Creek and it's inhabitants. 

Historical fiction, romance, western fiction, crime fighting

Recommend: Yes. 

The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian Vande Velde

 Has the Rumpelstiltskin story ever bothered you? There are so many problems with this fairy tale which is full of bad parenting, short sighted royalty, inept magical people, and foolish girls. This book addresses all the problems in 6 short stories. I read this book aloud to my kids and we had fun voting for our favorite version. Vivian Vande Velde recognized the problem and wrote 6 different ways to solve all the questions. 

Short story, fantasy, fairy tale

Recommend: Yes.