CASINO QUEEN BY Cara Bertoia – This book surprised me. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started reading it, and as I kept reading, I kept trying to pigeonhole it, but it refused to be classified as anything other than a really good fiction book. There’s a little romance, a little mystery, a little intrigue, kidnapping, theft, and more. The characters are believable—you feel like you can actually know someone like this or that one. 

KITTY CONFIDENTIAL by Molly Fitz – After an old coffee maker gives her the shock of her life, Angie discovers she can talk to cats – specifically one cat – Octavius (aka Octo-cat). He is the inheritor of a large estate and wants Angie to find out who killed his owner. Thus begins a hilarious cozy mystery to discover the perp.

DEATH BY SURFBOARD by Susie Black – I love the characters (even Holly’s dog Sigmund). And the world building is great—you’ll read all sorts of stuff about the swimsuit fashion industry – but not in a boring way! It’s interesting and works so well with the story.

EMBRACING AMELIA by Elaine Violette – If you love Regency romances, pick this one up. And if you’ve never tried one before, try this one. You won’t be disappointed. But beware, there are a few editorial issues that may jar you, but the story itself is really good.

FORWARD IN TIME WITH JELLY BEANS by Michelle Godard-Richer – This is the second in this series (See: Back in Time With Jelly Beans) and a perfect follow-up to that story – which you really need to read in order to understand what’s going on in this one. I enjoyed the family home still being in the family (and her clothes in the closet!) I loved the little girl letting things slip about the family secret (time travel). I loved the descriptions that put me in both times easily.

Birthdays: George MacDonald (1824), Emily Dickinson (1830), Nelly Sachs (1891), Mary Norton (1903), Rumer Godden (1907), Clarice Lispector (1920), Carolyn Kizer (1925), Philip R. Craig (1933), Jacquelyn Mitchard (1956), Cornelia Funke (1958), Helen Oyeyemi (1984)

Nelly Sachs won the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Carolyn Kizer won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

Quotes: “There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry.” – Emily Dickinson

“If I was a book, I would like to be a library book, so I would be taken home by all different sorts of kids.” – Cornelia Funke

“…stories never really end. They can go on and on and on. It’s just that sometimes, at a certain point, one stops telling them.” – Mary Norton (from “The Borrowers”)

“When you learn to read you will be born again…and you will never be quite so alone again.” – Rumer Godden

Tip: Each specific genre has its own subgenres. For instance, under “Mystery”, you have: cozy, hard-boiled, police procedural, medical or scientific, legal or courtroom. Under “Romance”, there is: paranormal, contemporary, futuristic, fantasy, suspense, historical, gothic, Regency, time travel, and more (and subsets of each of these). Whatever genre you’re writing, be sure you check out the subgenres for that subject. Each has its own set of rules.

Jumpstart: Maria stared at the imposing mansion. Seven children! How could she do this? She didn’t know anything about kids… (do not make this another Sound of Music – change it up)

Birthdays: John Milton (1608), Joel Chandler Harris (1845), Jean de Brunhoff (1899), Dalton Trumbo (1905), Eloise Jarvis McGraw (1915), Joan Blos (1928), Ashleigh Brilliant (1933), Joe McGinniss (1942), Joanna Trollope (1943), Eileen Myles (1949), Ann Hood (1956)

John Milton is best known for his book “Paradise Lost”.

Joel Harris is a folklorist who collected the Uncle Remus stories.

Jean de Brunhoff created the Babar children’s books.

Dalton Trumbo was involved in breaking the blacklists of the 1950s McCarthysim.

Eloise McGraw was a three-time Newbery Award winner.

Joan Blos won a National Book Award and Newbery Medal for her 1979 book “A Gathering of Days”.

Quotes: “When one man says, ‘No, I won’t.’ Rome begins to fear.” – Dalton Trumbo

“A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit.” – John Milton

“In the library I was handed a blueprint on how to live the mysterious, unnameable, big dream life I wanted. I was handed books. And through reading them, I grew up to find that very life.” – Ann Hood

“The closest you will ever come in this life to an orderly universe is a good library.” – Ashleigh Brilliant

Tip: When writing fantasy or science fiction, don’t make up impossible-to-pronounce names. If your reader has trouble figuring it out, you’ve lost them.

Jumpstart: He had to arrest her. He had no choice, even though he knew she was innocent. Someone like her couldn’t have…

ALL THAT GLITTERS ISN’T OLD by Gabby Allan – I am absolutely in love with this series. The setting of Catalina Island is so interesting. It makes me want to go there and visit. The author gives us so much detail without hitting us over the head with boring descriptions – like everyone drives golf carts and they don’t go over 15 mph. Cars are rare on the island. The characters are hilarious. The main character, Whitney (Whit) comes across as scatter-brained at times, but she’s really not. Everyone looks to her to solve the mystery because she is able to take what seems like insignificant facts and put them together in a way that makes sense.

WITCHES OF WILLOW HOLLOW b Kat McGee – These were so much fun to read. Great characters (though I cringed at some of the names – seriously!), interesting setting and enough conflict to go around. 

BUNNY HUNT by Margaret L. Carter – I really liked this story. It had threads of magic and the old religions that many still accept today. And there’s a HEA ending that satisfies.

FATAL WITNESS by Michelle Godard-Richer – Pick this one up. There’s lots of action, lots of romance, and a decent ending that lets you know there’s more to come.

BACK IN TIME WITH JELLY BEANS – by Michelle Godard-Richer –

This is a short, sweet time-travel romance. I really enjoyed this story and the romance between Henry and Bella – and the surprise ending that let me know another book will be coming from this writer. She does seem to like surprise endings.

IDENTITY by Nora Roberts – This is an intense story. The author gives us plenty of breaks to show us how Morgan’s new life is shaping up—then brings Gavin in again just to let us know he’s still on the hunt and things aren’t as rosy as we want to believe. But this is a romance, so you know it all works out in the end…but getting there isn’t easy!

MURDER WITH EARL GREY TEA by Karen Rose Smith – I love this series. But that being said, you really need to read them from the beginning in order to understand the relationships with the characters, especially Daisy and all her friends and family. Set in Pennsylvania Dutch country, there is a lot of Amish influence. And the author proves that she knows her background in both the country, the practices, the lives of the Amish and the “English” who live around them

PILLAR OF HEAVEN by Kitty Shields – Kate is perfect in this. I loved that she named her nervous stomach Howie and her migraine Janice! So much fun. Her boss is beyond nasty, but for a reason (kind of). And the other characters fit their jobs as well. The bit of mystery about who is the assassin is good and the situations well-written. 

SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL by Jessica Brody – If you’re a writer, you need this book. I’ve read a lot of books on the craft of writing over the years, but this one really connected for me. 

I have read a lot of books this year (nearly 200 according to my list), so for the next few days, I’m going to feature some of my favorites. All of these books received 5 stars.

Here is my favorite one for January:

THE PRINCESS BRIDE COOKBOOK by Jenn Fujikawa – I love the movie and the recipes are a hoot. Although there are some really good recipes in here, it’s not so much a cookbook as it is a cultural reference. There are pictures and quotes from the movie sprinkled in with the recipes.

BROOME ENIGMA by Meryl Tobin

Fiction, Mystery, Australia, 276 pages

4****

Blurb: On a working holiday in Australia’s cosmopolitan Outback town of Broome in 1986, Jodie, a young book designer is open to romance and adventure. At the holiday village where she is staying, she meets Joe, a young man who works there. Despite the strong attraction between them, the many unknowns about his earlier life keep them apart. To try to uncover his mysterious past, they travel to Perth and back to Broome and are drawn into not only bizarre but also dangerous situations. Is Joe the person Jodie thinks he is, or is he some alter ego? Can she stop their relationship from developing until she knows whether he is free to love her?

Thoughts: You could almost use this book as a tour guidebook for the town of Broome in Western Australia. The author takes us on a tour under the guise of the main character doing a series of pictures/paintings for an upcoming book. We tour Chinatown, Cable Beach, Roebuck Bay, learn about the pearling industry and the immense tidal changes. Which is all very interesting, but can get to be a bit much after a while. I was reading this for the mystery, not the tourist information. But the descriptions do put you right there. I will note, since it is set in Australia, be prepared for different terms than you may be used to. They add to the flavor of the story.

As for the mystery, it’s a decent one – or more. Just when you think you’ve solved everything, another one pops up and you keep on reading. But it does finally give you a satisfying ending. 

Recommendation: Recommended

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Joseph Conrad (1857), Kate O’Brien (1897), Morgan Llywelyn (1916), David K. Shipler (1942), Grace Andreacchi (1954), Mark Salzman (1959), Stephen Elliott (1971), Zlata Filipovic (1980)

David K. Shipler won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction for “Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Poisoned Land”

Quote: “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” – Joseph Conrad

“If you do all that work of figuring out exactly how writing is done, then it’s available to you at anytime, and you can build on it. It’s like the difference between shooting one hoop and having it go in by accident and saying later, ‘I shot a basket,’ – and practicing so much you can do it whenever you want.” – Mark Salzman

Tip: When writing a cover letter or proposal, don’t be cutesy or use fancy fonts. This is a business. Treat it as such.

Jumpstart: The book lay on the table, coated in dust, unopened for centuries. She drew near and it quivered, much like her stomach. “I am for you,” whispered in her mind…