This book is a collection of saying and very short tales that are meant to inspire and enhance a spiritual if not religious outlook. I was unimpressed. If you try, it’s not hard to find meaning in many events, and I think this author tried too hard and often ventured from spiritualism, that I would have been OK with, into religion, that I was not.

A fun academic mystery in a beautiful location. Great cast of characters to spend a little time with in the summer.

It is really hard to say much about the plot of this book without giving a lot away, so let me just say that a woman goes into an Ikea in Oregon and something terrible le happens. And there is something about this woman’s situation that make it even worse. Now what I can tell you is that it is an amazing book! The author does a wonderful job of taking you thought the array of emotions the central character experiences. And you will not be ablet to put it down.

This was an interesting look at Russian life set in the early 1900’s. Though one sister is unhappily married, another will marry a man she does not love just to be married, one sister is in college and worried about the future, and a brother who is gambling away their home, they all share the belief that life would be better in the city than in the country and there is a circulating feeling that life may be, should be better in the future. A good read.

Now that I’m done, I can say it; What the heck was this? A person who was an editor and writer once told me that readers have to be able to like, empathize, or at least understand a character in order to be able to enjoy a book. In this book NONE of the characters are likeable, and what’s more they are all verbally abusive to one another; mother to child, child to father, sister to sister. Set in India, the mother keeps her teenage daughters locked in their rooms for most of their lives, supposedly to keep them safe, but then says things to them like “Your days are numbered” and “I wish you were dead”. And the book starts off with one of the daughters being approached by a man in town, and there is this whole back and forth between the two where he goes after her, then she goes after him, then he drives her home and……nothing. Nothing more is said about the relationship or what happened. I could not wait for this book to be done and then felt like I needed to wash.

Adorable nerdy romance. I cannot wait for more from this author.

A very emotional book about family, reminding us that no family is perfect. I loved every character and empathized with them through their pain and heartache. A powerful debut, can't wait to read more from this author.

This is an interesting look at friendship and how It both changes and endures over time. It’s also an examination of how friends enrich each other’s lives, even in the face of conflict. I love how the starting point of the book is when the 2 women are young and how they reunited after many years. A good read for everyone.

This is the second book I have read this summer by this author and I really enjoyed this one. It is an old time western, with the traditional “tenderfoot” family moving out west, but having no idea what they were up against which, in this case, is lack of law. Enter Con Vallian, a man who seems to live on the range with just his horse and who decides to stay around to help this family. What I liked most was how well developed the characters were, particularly Con. This author has opened up a whole new genre for me.

This book is the true embodiment of the romantic comedy, but when you first begin it, that is not what you will see. It is well done and is set in Maui, so there is nothing not to love. A nice summer fun read.