"The Lady of Bolton Hill"

Author: Elizabeth Camden
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers, 2011
Pages: 334
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Female journalists are rare in 1879, but American-born Clara Endicott has finally made a name for herself with her provocative articles championing London's poor. When the backlash from her work forces a return home to Baltimore, Clara finds herself face-to-face with a childhood sweetheart who is no longer the impoverished factory worker she once knew. In her absence, Daniel Tremain has become a powerful industry giant and Clara finds him as enigmatic as ever. However, Daniel's success is fueled by resentment from past wounds and Clara's deeply-held beliefs about God's grace force Daniel to confront his own motives. When Clara's very life is endangered by one of Daniel's adversaries, they must face a reckoning neither of them ever could have foreseen.

Review: While parts of this story are too fantastical in nature to be even remotely realistic, the story line is a sweet love story in which I became completely absorbed. The ending was rather predictable, but it was fun getting there. Couldn't put this one down.

"Where Do You Stand with the Church?"

Author: John T. Catoir, JCD
Genre: Religion, Catholic, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Alba House, 1997
Pages: 82
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: The full title of this book is "Where Do You Stand with the Church? The Dilemma for Divorced Catholics". For more information, click here.

Review: I found this book when I was searching for books about annulments and the process of having a marriage annuled. Easy-to-read, concise, and informative this is a good book to start with if this is a subject you're interested in, either for yourself or someone else.

This is an "Annulments for Dummies" guide, but written more intelligently and in a serious tone. It answered all my questions, dispelled some myths, and provided insight.

Prior to my experiences the concept of the "internal forum" would have been over my head, but the way Father Cantoir explains it, it makes total sense. The internal forum is a person's conscious and I was surprised to learn just how much value and trust the Church places on the individual. It's an interesting thing.

For anyone who takes a hard-nosed stance against the Church and feels the annulment process is simply a money-maker for the Church, they owe it to themselves to at least hear Father Cantoir out.

"Prairie Tale"

Author: Melissa Gilbert ("Laura" on the tv series Little House on the Prairie)
Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Adult Publishing Group

Pages: 384

Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: To fans of the hugely successful television series Little House on the Prairie. Melissa Gilbert grew up in a fantasy world with a larger-than-life father, friends and family she could count on, and plenty of animals to play with. Children across the country dreamed of the Ingalls idyllic life-and so did Melissa.

 

With candor and humor, the cherished actress traces her complicated journey from buck toothed Laura "Halfpint" Ingalls to Hollywood starlet, wife, and mother. She partied with the Brat Pack, dated heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and bad boys like Billy Idol, and began a self-destructive pattern of addiction and codependence. She eventually realized that her career on television had earned her popularity, admiration, and love from everyone but herself.
 
Through hard work, tenacity, sobriety, and the blessings of a solid marriage. Melissa has accepted her many different identities and learned to laugh, cry, and forgive in new ways. Women everywhere may have idolized her charming life on Little House on the Prairie, but Melissa's own unexpectedly honest, imperfect, and down-to-earth story is an inspiration.

Review: Easy to read and candid, this is one of the better written memoirs I've read. Melissa Gilbert had me from page 1. She is is easy to relate to and feels real, even though she grew up in Hollywood. While Little House on the Prairie (the tv series) is mentioned often, it is not the focus of this memoir. Melissa lets the reader into her life and her world.

As someone in the middle of a divorce and feeling as though my world is kind of mess right now, this book was a good dose of "I'm not the only one who's been there". Granted my lows aren't quite as low as Melissa's, but the lessons learned are the same.

This memoir is just a great read and you don't need to be a fan of Little House to enjoy it.

"Wedding Season"

Author: Katie Fforde
Genre: Romantic Comedy / Chick Lit
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 424
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Sarah is a wedding planner hiding a rather inconvenient truth - she doesn't believe in love. But as the confetti flutters away on the June breeze of yet another successful wedding season she finds herself agreeing to organize two more events, on the same day, and only two months away. And while her celebrity bride is all sweetness and light, the other bride, Sarah's own sister, quickly starts driving her crazy with her high expectation and very limited budget. Luckly, Sarah is aided in her seemingly impossible task by two best friends, Elsa, an accomplished dress designer, and Bron, a multi-talented hairdresser. All three are very good at their jobs, but romance doesn't feature very prominently in any of their lives. As the big day draws near, every moment is spent preparing for the weddings, and they certainly havn't got any time to think about love, or have they?

Review: I really wasn't expecting great things from this novel and actually thought that it would be quite silly. It was cute with more substance than I initially expected. I enjoyed it.

My favorite part was the British language and humor. Or shall I say, "humour"? It did read differently with the use of British English phrases and words than it had if it were written in American English. It was fun.

The characters were easy to relate to, but overall the plot was convenient (for the author) and the ending predictable, but still, enough substance to be worth my while. This is just a fun read.