The Midnight Hour by Karen Robards

From Barnes and Noble:

Karen Robards offers up another superb romantic suspense novel, with a slight touch of supernatural. The Midnight Hour is one of her best! Grace Hart is a single mother and a juvenile- and family-court judge in Bexley, Ohio -- and her daughter, Jessica, has gotten out of control. When Jessica goes into what might be diabetic shock, hunky Tony Marino thinks Grace should practice what she preaches as a family-court judge. But there's more to what's going on than either Grace or Tony realize. Someone is stalking Jessica and breaking into Grace's home.

So it's official, this book made the decision for me. I'm not a Karen Robards fan. For me the only likeable character in this book was Tony. It's good that I liked him, as he was the hero, but what about the rest of them. I didn't like Grace. She was not a strong character. She was whiny (which I hate) and not very well put together. I like to see a person change somewhat through a book. I like them to learn and become better people right before my eyes. This was not so. I didn't like Jessica, she was a brat. She did do some turning around right at the end of the book but not soon enough for me to see a big heart wrenching moment. The story line was good. What she was going for had the potential to be really good, we just never got there. It was an ok book. It was fairly quick. It's not like it was painful to read and it was tied up nice and tidy. But I would rather read a great, or even good book than just an ok one.


Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne



I read Winnie for my book club. I must first say that I didn't really read as a child. The library wasn't a place that was familiar to me. I didn't come into my love of reading until I was in college, so children's books are pretty unfamiliar to me. I had a great time reading Winnie. I don't remember ever going through the Pooh phase, so most of this was new to me. I know all the main players, but nothing about story lines.

There were so many great quotes in here! I know that I'll keep this book and use it in the future.

I must say that I'm looking forward to reading Winnie the Pooh to my future kiddies. I got the whole volume with the rest of the Pooh books. I haven't read them yet, but I will.

Bait by Karen Robards



From Barnes and Noble:

It’s a business trip that takes attorney Maddie Fitzgerald down to New Orleans, but it’s hardly business as usual when a man breaks into her hotel room and tries to kill her. Barely escaping with her life, the sexy, stylish thirty-two-year-old brunette calls the police and finds herself face-to-face with FBI agent Sam McCabe. Unnerved by his questions — and his good looks — Maddie is told she’s been targeted by a hired killer, one who has eluded McCabe for years. Apparently, she’s been mistaken for another woman, an FBI informant of the same name who was also staying at the hotel that night. McCabe grills her, and then disappears. Shaken, she finishes her business and returns home to St. Louis.
But days later, Maddie is attacked a second time, and again McCabe returns to question her. He convinces her that the only way she’ll ever be safe again is if the killer is caught, and the quickest way to nab him is to use her as bait. Maddie reluctantly agrees, and sparks fly and then ignite as McCabe shadows her. But their unexpected romance throws McCabe off his stride — and puts Maddie in the hands of a killer.

This was my second Karen Robards book. I did not like it as much as Ghost Moon. It was kind of slow for me. It took a long time for you to see everything. It took a long time for the story to pull itself together. I still have another book by her on the nook and I'll read it, but I was a little disappointed in this on. After you finally got going it was over. I like the good parts to last a little longer. Once we finally get to the "chase" scene, they are still mad at each other and then...it's over. It was ok, not alot of suspense in my opinion though.

Ghost Moon - Karen Robards

From Barnes and Noble:

Nine years after leaving in disgrace, Olivia Morrison is coming home again with her eight-year-old, Sara, to put things right with the Archer clan. But there is no welcome for the prodigal daughter at the lavish Louisiana estate.
Her stepcousin, Seth, once her only comfort, is icy, dangerously attractive — and engaged. Her formidable stepgrandfather collapses with a heart attack at the sight of her, gasping her dead mother’s name: “Selena!”
The bayou echoes with memories of her mother’s mysterious death. Suicide by drowning, they said. But Olivia’s terrifying nightmares suggest another story. She is determined to learn the truth, and to face a newly ignited passion for Seth, who is too close for comfort, despite his vows.
When a new danger threatens her and her daughter, Olivia must find the courage to confront her old demons ... and uncover a shocking secret buried in the long-forgotten past....


This is my first Karen Robards book. It reminded me ALOT of Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts. I liked the build. I was mad at Seth for a long time, but suspected the "bad guy" early on. I liked Olivia alot. I loved to see her work through things and justify things. I liked the girls alot too. Their relationship was fun to watch. I did struggle with Mallory for a while. She was very underdeveloped and seemed to just kind of fade away. I loved David and Keith. I was not expecting Aunt Callie to die and Big John to live. I would have like to have seen how that reunion went. I wonder did he apologize to Livvy or just let it go? Overall I liked my first Karen Robards book. I have downloaded two more in fact!

Wild Man Creek - Robyn Carr



 

 From Barnes and Noble:

 

Colin Riordan came to Virgin River to recuperate from a horrific helicopter crash, the scars of which he bears inside and out. His family is wonderfully supportive, but it's his art that truly soothes his troubled soul. Stung personally and professionally by an ill-advised affair, PR guru Jillian Matlock has rented an old Victorian with a promising garden in Virgin River. She's looking forward to cultivating something other than a corporate brand.
Both are looking to simplify, not complicate, their lives, but when Jillian finds Colin at his easel in her yard, there's an instant connection. And in Virgin River, sometimes love is the simplest choice of all….

This one was one of my favorite's. Colin is the brother to three previous heroes. And Jill just stumbled upon the River on a girls trip. I like Colin alot. He's struggling with several things that are legitamate struggles. I love what Jill does with the garden. I loved watching that unfold. I did think that it toke FOREVER for Denny to just come out and say his business. I was disappointed when he left, but he came back and I'm sure we'll see him again. I love that Colin paints. I was so good to see a man in a book with an artists soul that wasn't a pansy. I liked these two and I liked them together. I liked how it ended because they both got what the needed. I'm ready for the next one!!

Promise Canyon - Robyn Carr



From Barnes and Noble:

After years spent on ranches around Los Angeles, Clay Tahoma is delighted to be Virgin River's new veterinary assistant. The secluded community's wild beauty tugs at his Navajo roots, and he's been welcomed with open arms by everyone in town—everyone except Lilly Yazhi. Lilly has encountered her share of strong, silent, traditional men within her own aboriginal community, and she's not interested in coming back for more. In her eyes, Clay's earthy, sexy appeal is just an act used to charm wealthy women like his ex-wife. She can't deny his gift for gentling horses, but she's not about to let him control her. There's just one small problem—she can't control her attraction to Clay.
But in Virgin River, faith in new beginnings and the power of love has doors opening everywhere.…

As I have said before, I like Robyn Carr. I loved how these two characters even from the background of their story were two halves. I find the characters real and the decisions they make real. I like that everything was tied in a neat little bow with her doing the traditional clothing. I loved her Grandfather, he was great. This story, while a Virgin River book, brought in new people. We saw all our friends from previous book, but really only in passing. I like the folks from the previous book, so I was a little disappointed in this. But it was necessary because these two are not a part of the main Virgin River crowd. I think that was nicely done.



Ice - Linda Howard



From the back cover:

’Tis the season for mistletoe and holly, Santa . . . and suspense. And the gift that keeps on giving is Ice: premier thriller author Linda Howard’s breathless tale of a man, a woman, and a battle for survival against an unforgiving winter–and an unrelenting killer. Oh what fun it is to read.

Gabriel McQueen has only just arrived home on holiday leave from the service when his county-sheriff father sends him back out again with new marching orders. A brewing ice storm, and a distant neighbor who’s fallen out of contact, have the local lawman concerned. So he enlists Gabriel to make the long haul to the middle of nowhere, and make sure Lolly Helton is safe and sound. It’s a trip the younger McQueen would rather not make given the bitter winter weather–and the icy conditions that have always existed between him and Lolly.

But there’s no talking back when your dad is the town’s top cop. And there’ s no turning back when night falls just as Gabriel arrives–and discovers that the weather outside isn’t the only thing that’s frightful. Spotting strangers in Lolly’ s home–one of them packing a weapon–is all it takes to kick Gabriel into combat mode. And his stealth training is all he needs to extract Lolly from the house without alerting her captors. But when the escape is discovered, the heat–and the hunt–are on. And the winter woods are nowhere to be once the ice storm touches down, dropping trees, blocking roads, and trapping the fleeing pair in the freezing dark.

So, I like Linda Howard's suspense novels. I have not tried the historical. Most of the other books that I have read by her have been much longer. I would not consider this a novella, but it was much shorter than most of hers. As a result the characters were a little less developed and the plot line was a little iffy. I thought it was good. I would have liked a little more I think. I would have liked to see a little more From Lolly and Gabriel, but their "crisis" was over. I'm not really sure I find their romance real. I like to think that after I'm done reading a book that the romance will continue on without me. I didn't really feel that with these two. But it was a pleasant read!