Book Report: Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Waterfall (River of Time #1)Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lisa Tawn Bergren’s new YA series, River of Time, is romantic, historical fiction in which the plucky heroine doesn’t have to fear a vampire’s bite but must still fight for her life.

In Waterfall, American teenager Gabi Betarrini accidently finds herself in Fourteenth-Century Italy . . . Knights. Swords. Horses. Armor. And Italian hotties. Most American teens want an Italian vacation, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives there with their archaeologist parents. Stuck on yet another hot, dusty dig, they are bored out of their minds… until they place their hands atop handprints in an ancient tomb and find themselves catapulted into the Fourteenth Century and in the middle of a fierce battle between knights bent on killing one another. Continue reading

Book Report: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1)Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother’s life. Then she’s captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unlikely partnership. In exchange for help finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her Continue reading

Book Report: Red and the Wolf by Evangeline Anderson

Red and the WolfRed and the Wolf by Evangeline Anderson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sara Jensen is the town witch in Buck Lake, Tennessee. More than anything she misses her older brother and his best friend Reeve, who are overseas in the Marine Corps. But when her brother is killed in action, Reeve comes back with a secret-an ancient crone laid a curse on him that turns him into a ravening wolf every full moon. Continue reading

Book Report: Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #9)Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, warrior cloth as her brother: A fighter by nature, and a maverick when it comes to the traditional role of Chosen females, there is no place for her on the Far Side… and no role for her on the front lines of the war, either.

When she suffers a paralyzing injury, human surgeon Dr. Manuel Manello is called in to treat her as only he can- and he soon gets sucked into her dangerous, secret world. Although he never before believed in things that go bump in the night- like vampires- he finds himself more than willing to be seduced by the powerful female who marks both his body and his soul.

As the two find so much more than an erotic connection, the human and vampire worlds collide … just as a centuries old score catches up with Payne and puts both her love and her life in deadly jeopardy. Continue reading

Book Report: Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry

Hide in Plain SightHide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Please God, if you’re listening, keep Rachel safe.” She couldn’t turn her back on her family in their time of need. So when her sister was injured, financial expert Andrea Hampton traded the big city for Amish country to help turn her grandmother’s house into an inn. But life with the Plain People took a treacherous turn when a string of accidents and pranks threatened her family. Someone didn’t want the secrets the old house harbored to come to light. Trusting anyone-even the handsome carpenter who seemed so genuine-was a battle for Andrea, but her life depended on her ability to find the truth. Continue reading

Book Report: Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

Drinking: A Love StoryDrinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fifteen million Americans a year are plagued with alcoholism. Five million of them are women. Many of them, like Caroline Knapp, started in their early teens and began to use alcohol as “liquid armor,” a way to protect themselves against the difficult realities of life. In this extraordinarily candid and revealing memoir, Knapp offers important insights not only about alcoholism, but about life itself and how we learn to cope with it. Continue reading