Beautiful, Complicated Family: Volumes 1 & 2 by Rosey Lee ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Beautiful, Complicated Family is a collection of flash fiction stories exploring the connections that can hold people together or tear them apart. Like most families, the relationships in this uplifting collection consist of intricate elements. Sometimes things get messy, but it’s always beautiful. Read each story in about 5 minutes The stories are perfect for readers who enjoy contemporary fiction/women's fiction novels as well as those who only have time for a quick read. This collection is filled with relatable characters and endings that pull at your heartstrings, so don’t be surprised if you laugh or cry along the way.

Scarlet Fever by Rita Mae Brown ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

Scarlet Fever, the 12th book in Rita Mae Brown's Sister Jane series, is a bit different than most cozy mysteries I read. But it is still filled with fun characters. If you are fan of books with animal characters then you might want to check out this book.

The Princess Plan by Julia London ~ a Review

by MK French

Eliza Tricklebank is sure that she's a spinster after cruel rumors from ten years ago, but she has a life taking care of her father, and working with her sister and friend on a fashion and gossip gazette. She is sure that meeting the prince of Alucia will be great gossip fodder, but that is soon eclipsed by the murder of his personal secretary. A clue is deposited at her home that she and her sister publishes, leading the Crown Prince Sebastian of Alucia to her doorstep. His secretary had been his friend, and he wants to find the murderer. Eliza frustrates him at every turn but is clever in ways he didn't expect, leading them to work together on what clues were available.

Mistletoe at the Lakeside Resort by Susan Schild ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Jenny Beckett woke up in her little log cabin to the sounds of waves lapping on the shore of Heron Lake and a cool fall breeze wafting in. Was there anything more delightful than sleeping with an open window on a cool night? Smiling, she yawned, pushed her two eighty-pound dogs off her bed, where officially they weren't allowed to sleep, and slipped on a flannel robe. The temperature was finally dropping, heaven after the steam bath of a summer they'd had. Buddy and Bear pranced, capered, and reared up on their hind legs, play fighting. The drop in temperature always made the dogs friskier. As she scooped chow into bowls, Jenny glanced at the Just a Buck store calendar she kept on her fridge. It was October 15th. Hard to believe how much her life had changed in just one year. (pg 1)

3 Books for Nonfiction November

by Susan Roberts

A nonfiction book is one that tells you facts and information about the world around you. It can cover almost any topic, from wild animals to Vikings. If it's about something that really happened or something that really exists, it is nonfiction.

I don't read many non-fiction books but I set a 2019 goal to read 10.  I just finished my 11th non-fiction book so there's one reading goal that I've met this year.  Here are reviews of the last three non-fiction books I've read.

5 Books to Entertain Young Readers

by MK French

People seem to think that children need watered down stories and can't handle hearing about potentially serious topics. Children are often far more aware of these issues than adults think and can face their own struggles and triumphs even without an adult present. In these stories, the fantastic elements of the story don't detract from those themes that children often have to deal with: bullying, fear, self-confidence and discovering who they are under pressure.