James Dering and his new wife Rhoda are returning from their honeymoon, and Jock and Mamie Johnstone are delighted to welcome them to their new home on a neighbouring farm. But Mamie’s concern proves justified, and Rhoda, a talented painter who has chosen marriage over art, finds rural Scotland lonely ... more >
I was tempted to make a list of my favorites among the 2019-published books I read this year. In the end I decided to focus on my favorite 2019 reads (first time reads; I didn’t include books I had read / reviewed in prior years) without regard to their year ... more >
Thank you, hedge, / Thank you, tree. / Thank you, flower, / Thank you, bee. / Thank you, rain, / Thank you, sun. / Thank you, farmers, / every one. In this simple rhyming story from the author of Held in Love, a child says thank you for the gifts nature provides, ... more >
Dear Ms. Kleypas, Devil’s Daughter begins with Phoebe, Lady Clare (daughter of Sebastian and Evie from Devil in Winter) on her way to her brother Gabriel’s wedding. Phoebe is widowed and the mother of two young boys. Phoebe’s late husband, Henry, was her childhood best friend, and frail. Phoebe loved ... more >
Luke Lafontaine survived the past year by not thinking about the father he lost, the dairy farm he couldn’t save from bankruptcy, or his way of life that vanished with the rap of an auctioneer’s hammer. Cleaning up city folks’ trash at the Minnesota State Fair is just another dead-end ... more >
In Praise of the ‘Career Romance’ – A great tribute to Romance novels of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that highlighted women in different career paths, from private secretary to actress to architect to copywriter. That they were often written to provide an educational theme does not necessarily eclipse their ... more >