Monday is Valentine’s Day so I thought I should review some of the books I have read that were romantic to set the mood for day!
Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan is a wonderful mix of the luxury designer clothes lifestyle and romance. The romance between Luci Churchill and George Zao is filled with false steps, extremely embarrassing moments and lots of misunderstandings. But of course, just like in his oiginal series Crazy Rich Asians, love (and money) conquers all!
The Girl from the Channel Islands by Jenny Lecoat is based on true events during the occupation of the English Channel Islands during WWII. Hedy Bercu fled from Vienna and thought she would be safe on the remote Channel Islands, but when German forces occupy the islands and there is no retaliation by the
Allied forces, the islanders, including Hedy, must learn to coexist with the enemy. But for Hedy, who is Jewish, the risks are even higher. Trying to hide in plain sight, Hedy works for the Germans using her language skills and meets a German officer who befriends her. Can love bloom in such circumstances? Can you really learn to love your enemy?
The Paradise Series by Elin Hilderbrand is a win-win combination of romance and mystery set on a gorgeous island in the Caribbean! Winter in Paradise begins with Irene Steele getting a phone call on a snowy night that her husband had died in a helicopter crash. Trying to find out what happened to the husband and father, Irene and her sons travel from Iowas City to the Caribbean island where it happened. There they are confronted with even more shocking news- he was living a secret life and had another family. The story continues in What Happens in Paradise and Troubles in Paradise as Irene tries to figure out who her husband was and how to get on with her own life. Hilderbrand is a best selling romance writer for a reason and these books do not disappoint.
Finally, The Husbands by Chandler Baker offers a twist to the normal romance genre. Like so many woman who try to balance their professional and family, Nora Spangler feels like she is hanging on by a thread. When she and her husband are out house hunting they find a wonderful house in a development called Dynasty Ranch. There she meets other professional women like herself who don’t seem to be as stretched or anxious and get so much more support from their husbands. Nora is intrigued and soon gets the opportunity to find out more when the HOA of Dynasty Ranch ask her to handle a wrongful death claim that has been filed against them by one of the home owners. While it is bit of a homage to the Stepford Wives, the twist at the end offers an interesting discussion point for a book club discussion!
Enjoy and have a wonderful, romantic Valentine’s Day.
Van Veeteren is not sure what bothers him about Janek Mitter’s conviction for murdering his wife. After all, she was found murdered in the bathtub and Mitter, who called the police, is strangely emotionless, hungover, with no recollection of what happened. Without any evidence that anyone else had been in the house, it was a straightforward case that ended when Mitter was convicted and sent to a mental institution. But when Mitter is found murdered in his cell, Van Veeteren decides to reinvestigate the original murder as well as Mitter’s and catch the killer before he gets away with another murder.
Like 
In my review of books I read in 2021 I listed 
By turns horrifying and almost too close to reality for comfort, this show keeps you on the edge of your seat season after season. It is NOT for the faint hearted, however. With four seasons completed and a fifth season in the works, the TV series has moved well beyond the story line Margaret Atwood first portrayed in her original novel, but the writers have been true to the sprit of her vision and have created a world, storylines and characters that Atwood should be proud of.
Jordan. You can see Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime.
Finally, 
Reve, the town priest, has been given the task of investigating the disappearance of Tom Newmanon Shrove Saturday, 1491. Newman, is the wealthiest resident in the town of Oakham, so to help in his investigation the bishop has sent another priest to supervise Reve. Caught between his knowledge of the town’s people and their secrets, as well as his own, Reve faces increasing pressure from the bishop’s man to resolve the matter quickly. Tom Newman’s jacket was discovered at the river’s edge but was Newman murdered, was it suicide, or was he merely swept away by accident? Who gains from Newman’s death? Through Reve’s eyes, the dark underbelly of the village and even bishopric are revealed- including competing interests of greed and jealousy, now that such vast wealth is in play. Can Reve find the answer? What happens if he doesn’t?
To say that Elizabeth, a retired spy chief, is surprised when her ex husband suddenly appears at her retirement village, is a bit of an understatement. But Elizabeth, cool, calm and collected, never showed even a twitch of surprise. Instead she listened carefully, as Douglas explained that he was being accused of stealing diamonds worth millions from some seriously bad people and needed a place to hide. What better place to do that than in a retirement village in the countryside? It seems like a great idea, but then the bodies start accumulating, and the Thursday Murder Club, composed of Elizabeth, Joyce (retired nurse), Ibrahim (retired psychiatrist) and Ron (ex-trade union boss) with some help from the local police and Bogdan, a man with a mysterious past, must find the murderer and in the process the diamonds, as well.
I think 
thought 
I read quite a few historical novels this year, but the best were the 
The Hamilton Affair explores the life of Alexander Hamilton from his wife Elizabeth’s perspective using her letters and other information we understand her role in his life and why she made it her life’s purpose to keep his memory alive.
century England. Based on careful research and materials from various nunneries from this time period, Groff crafts an engaging and complicated character who builds her small nunnery into a formidable institution.
Jesus and John Wayne, is a historical examination of what led Christian Evangelicals to support Trump. What is so compelling in this book is the step by step analysis of the compromises and the deeply disturbing heretical theological choices Evangelicals have made since the early 1950’s that led them to abandon Jesus for money and power.
thought provoking and very memorable!
lighthouse where the three lighthouse keepers disappear and are never found. T
Christmas Comes
Fatma el-Sha’arawi is an agent for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities. Although she is the youngest woman serving in the agency, she already has an impressive track record for preventing magical entities (djinn) from upsetting the carefully negotiated balance of power between humanity and magical beings in the city of Cairo. After al-Jahiz established the current political structure and recognized magical beings and entities in Cairo, the Ministry, founded in 1885, was charged with maintaining order among magical beings and entities and to solve crimes caused by magic or magical entities. Now almost 30 years later, through its vigilance, recent advancements in science and agents like Fatma, the Ministry has been able to keep the peace. That is, until now.
Mr. Richard Smith arrived by boat in the late fall of 1746 to small town of New York. After disembarking he made his way directly to a counting house on Golden Hill where he presented a written order in the amount of one thousand pounds. Trying to buy some time to think about how to handle such an exorbitant sum, Lovell, the owner of the firm tries to extract from Smith information about who he is what he is going to do with the money, but Smith maintained his silence. In the end, Lovell decides that he needs for confirmation and sends a letter back to England to the company who issued the note to confirm that it is legitimate. Smith, anticipating that something like this might happen, must now prolong his stay and become acquainted with the denizens of New York.
Brenda's Bookshelf 