A Kindle first-of-series freebie.

I found this readable, but wasn't greatly impressed. A great many earth-shattering events were happening to the main characters, but I never felt that their emotional responses quite rang true. In the case of Maggie Newberry, the heroine, both her words and her actions quite often seemed a bit "off" to me. Now I will freely admit that a large part of my problem with Maggie was her sudden infatuation (and over-ready forgiveness) of the man who looks like becoming her permanent sidekick and romantic interest in the series, Leo. Leo could not be more despicable in my books, and though his physical attractiveness is insisted upon, I could not for the life of me get past either his bossiness (he is constantly telling Maggie what to do) or his major lying about his background and motives. And yet, there he is at the end of book, apparently ready to carry on with Maggie through whatever other crime adventures present themselves in the sequels to this book. My aversion to Leo is distinctly related to my aversion to the overbearing love object in conventional romances, so I'm willing to concede that Leo may not be so much of a stumbling block to readers who like that sort of thing.

Three stars because there were only minor writing/editing errors, not enough to take me out of the story, and the plot, although sensationalistic and, as I said, not always wholly convincing, was rolled out with reasonable skill.

I made an exciting adventure to a flea market in New Castle DE today and while there were not many book tables, they had really good deals, so I did get some random stuff just for the heck of it. Cuz...books. Also found some other neat things. Altogether I think I only spent 70-80 dollars on the whole lot. There was another table of books, but the lady wanted like...30 dollars a hardback and 10 dollars and paperback--they were good looking books too....but I was like...nu-uh.
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The first book I picked up is a beat up hardback about horse racing, as I wanted to be a female jockey when I was little, before moving to English riding. Then I picked up the second because of the lovely cover, a book about a mans adventures in the south of France.
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Now I have yet another Pilcher in my collection, being the third, and from what i can gather, it's set in the 30s and 40s, during WWII. I like the cover. The second is a little vintage childrens book that caught my eye, a hardback with black and white illustrations.
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These two books are definitely me, the first being a little book of glossy photographs of The Longwood Gardens, and then a small guidebook to the birds of Eastern North America, a hardback.
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Then I found a vintage collection of short stories by Hemingway and a very large maritime saga set in 1896. Should be interesting. {I also saw someone with a pug near the table where I got these books. So ugly, yet so cute.}
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Two mysteries, one by an author who I'm a pretty big fan of. I'm mad I couldn't procure the first William Monk novel, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to read "Slaves Of Obsession" until I do. I have read a few of Perry's Thomas and Pitt novels {1, 2, 3, and 4, I think}, but not any of her William monk. "Dying For Mercy" sounded interesting from the inner flap. We'll see how it goes.
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These last books came from a place in a store on the inside building part of the flea market, which is lined with stores--it's the only book place in the whole building and called Between The Pages--it should really be called Between The Sheets, as it consists of nothing but romance novels--mostly smut and books with half naked guys dipping silk clothed damsels, but I was surprised this time to find it well stocked with historical romances, my favourite and my dessert as far as books go..my girlish indulgence. I was in a hurry as my mom was sweating to death, so I snatched up "The Fountain" without even looking at it, but I'll give it a shot. The others besides "End Me A Tenor" I found through scouring the book laden shelves for authors names that were familiar or were mentioned in the Historical Romances Goodreads group. Both are Regency, I believe, though I maybe wrong. "End Me a Tenor" just looked like a light fun read.

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Now onto the non-book stuff... :)
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I bought these two DVDs out of nostalgia and love.

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Then I found a lovely blouse with purple feathers and blue...what I'm assuming is waves, and a floral dress that looks just about my size. Also, a little pair of strawberry earrings! :P



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Lastly, and what I love most of all besides the books, is this darling figurine which is also a spinning music box.  The poor gentleman lost part of an arm, but my fathers trusty glue-gun will turn him alright again, I'm sure. I shall have to think of names for them..
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I think this may be the last of my hauls for a while, unless temptation sneaks up and points me in the direction of an nearby secondhand bookshop---the older stuff always lures me and I'm still waiting till I find a Virago Modern Classic at any thrift store/flea market/etc-this doesn't seem to happen in America, but I heard the UK peoples are lucky. For now, I will read what I have unread on my shelves. I had a really great day and also got a delicious strawberry banana smoothie and got to be outside in the sun, though I appreciated it much more than my mom did...On a side note, I convinced my mom to get some Danielle Steel books for herself, as she's her favourite. I may just turn my mom back to reading yet...

Since the Republicans in the House of Representatives have decided they wanted a role on the show Hostages and are trying to extort  the president and the country at large, many people out there are not going to be paid.  With all the stress of having to continue to do your jobs (something that Congress doesn't know how to do anymore), you're going to need some escapist literature.  Fortunately, for you, there are a number of e-books available for free from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Ibooks, and other sites.

1. The Honeymoon Cottage by Barbara Cool Lee.

 

InD'tale Magazine gives The Honeymoon Cottage 4 stars: "This first novel in the Pajaro Bay romance series promises great things to come! It is written well, with interesting characters that are easy to like. The novel holds the reader's interest with romance, intrigue, danger and murder. The author's theme of redemption and forgiveness is well thought out. One will love getting to know the characters in this story where everyone has a secret! Also, the author has 10% of all profits going to charities. With all that, what's not to love?" You can read the entire review at indtale.com/reviews/honeymoon-cottage

 

Camilla Stewart desperately needs to make a fresh start: her despicable ex-fiancé stole her life savings, embezzled from her job, and then disappeared without a trace--leaving behind nothing but his eight-year-old son, Oliver.

But when she arrives in the little beach town of Pajaro Bay, she immediately runs into local sheriff's captain Ryan Knight, and finds escaping her past won't be as easy as she planned.