2 Final Books to Read Before the Heat of Summer Disappears

by Susan Roberts

July and August is typically the time of the year that Southerners refer to as DOG DAYS - a period of stagnation or inactivity due to the hot temperatures.  We spend as much time in air conditioning as possible.  The way the weather looks this year, it isn't just the South that is having hot and muggy days, and just because we are past Labor Day it doesn't mean the summer heat is gone. Since you can't do much outside due to the heat, it's time to add a few new books to your reading lists.  Both of these books kept me so interested that I barely even knew that the sun was out.

Clutch by Lisa Becker ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

I originally passed on reviewing Clutch when it was originally released a few years ago. Then I read Links by Lisa Becker (read my review). So when I was asked again several months ago to review the re-release of the book, I agreed. I was really looking forward it since I loved Links so much. Some e-reader problems kept me from getting to it until recently. Did it live up to my expectations?

The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn ~ a Review

by MK French

What do you think of the opening paragraph? Would you keep reading?

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal ~ An @Audible_com Review #MondayBlogs

by Donna Huber



I was so thrilled when I finished The Calculating Stars (read my review) that I only had to wait a few days until the release of the book 2 in the Lady Astronaut series, The Fated Sky, came out. Now I'm sad because I finished it and it was so incredibly good that I didn't want it to end.

Drawn to the Marquess by Bronwen Evans ~ a Review

by MK French

September 2018; Loveswept
ebook (223 pages); Regency romance

Penelope had been trapped in a terrible marriage for six years before her husband died, allowing her prior properties and money to revert back to her. Her brother-in-law wants to seize that fortune by proving that her husband's death was murder, so Penelope enlists Stephen Hornsby, the Marquess of Clarendon. He's a rake she's determined not to fall for and has contacts that could help her.

This is a rather seasoned formula for Regency romances, as the titled lord with contacts must be convinced to rescue the damsel in distress. Penelope isn't fresh out of the schoolroom, which is nice, and she is very self-assured and helpful to the people in her country village. Stephen has his own issue, as he is slowly going blind and trying to race against time to see every beautiful thing he can before that happens. Penelope figures out his secret fairly early on, and Stephen figures out her secret toward the end of the novel, temporarily driving a wedge between them. The two really do make a good match, as they're both stubborn and independent while longing for someone special to share their lives with. They are surrounded by loving and supportive friends and family, which makes for a warm and easygoing story before the action kicks in at the very end.

Buy Drawn to Marquess at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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The Stand by Stephen King #GreatReadPBS

by Susan Roberts

This is the way the world ends: with a nanosecond of computer error in a Defense Department laboratory and a million casual contacts that form the links in a chain letter of death. And here is the bleak new world of the day after: a world stripped of its institutions and emptied of 99 percent of its people. A world in which a handful of panicky survivors choose sides -- or are chosen.

When a man escapes from a biological testing facility, he sets in motion a deadly domino effect, spreading a mutated strain of the flu that will wipe out 99 percent of humanity within a few weeks. The survivors who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge--Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious "Dark Man" who delights in chaos and violence.

The Stand by Stephen King is one of the top 100 Best Loved Books on the new PBS Series American Reads.

Have you read it?  Do you agree that it should be one of the top American books?