Novelas Romanticas Gratis

I know I missed some books.  A twirl through my reading past has been such fun, and has me thinking I need to revisit some of my favorites.  And I will.  Who knows what 2017 will hold?  So I'm closing out November with my final favorite ten books.  Some of the books I've picked are favorites because they were my first introduction to serious subjects.  Others are silly, and make me smile.  They all have a special place in my heart and remind me of who I was, where I was, and what the world was like around me when I read them.   Here they are, my final ten (in no particular order): Western fiction at its best. Laugh out loud stroll through the 20th century My first chick-lit book Read this in high school and became fascinated by the moors. Toni Morrison.  No one matches her brilliance. Makes me grin every time I read it! A childhood favorite. The story of a house that stays the same while the world around it changes. Historical fiction about immigrants in America.  Wherever you

Laura's real life story.  This task of figuring out my 50 favorite books has proven to be more difficult that I expected!  If anything, I've learned that keeping track of what I've read makes life for a bibliophile much easier.  I won't let a year pass by without making a list of every book I read.  Here's my next batch of favorite books--in no order of fondness: A favorite historical-paranormal novel. Packed a punch.  Fantastic. I became a fan of Paula Brackston with this book. Smart, sexy, and brilliant trilogy. Magical realism at its best. Combines history, archaeology, and paranormal. Oh, this book.  Love it. Read it as an adult and loved it Always a favorite. Required reading that became a memorable read Powerful One of my all time favorites Had me on the edge of my seat Love this series about Charleston and ghosts  I think it's pretty clear I've always been drawn towards books that have an element of magic and other-worldliness to them.  I do enjoy non

This is a book that I've picked up numerous times over the past ten years, but I never could read it  for one reason or another.  I was finally compelled to read it because the sequel The Fifth Petal , is coming out in January, and I wanted to read the sequel.  Reading reviews online had me all set for a novel that I was sure to enjoy.  I was wrong.  I'm really bummed I didn't much like The Lace Reader .  I so wanted to enjoy it, and rave about it.  But I can't.  It took me weeks to finish it, which is usually not a good sign for me.  I wasn't pushed to really sit down and dive into the story of Towner and her mother May and Aunt Eva no matter how hard I tried.  And this book takes place in Salem for pete's sake!  A book set in Salem, MA is always a winner for me.  But not this one.   So why didn't I like The Lace Reader?   I felt like I was doggie paddling in a circle most of the time.  I couldn't tell what the story was trying to focus on:  was it a p

Where did November go?  Wow--it zipped by so quick I'm scrambling to get my thoughts on Christmas in just 4 short weeks!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  It was a peaceful day filled with tasty food and good company.  Lo Blacklock, the narrator in The Woman in Cabin 10 , however, cannot say she experienced good company or good food during her time spent on a luxury cruise.  As a matter of fact, poor Lo was either completely exhausted, drunk, or seen as slightly crazy throughout the novel.  I have to say I was disappointed with her character, and not terribly impressed with this novel.  I've read plenty of novels where I didn't like the main character.  Usually it makes for a pretty compelling read, but Lo just completely irritated me.  She suffers from a chronic lack of sleep because of a break-in at her apartment, where she came face to face with the robber.  Lo cking Lo in her bedroom, he ransacked her place, and left her severely shaken and unable to rela

Whether you're blissfully happy with your partner, dating and having fun, or someone who prefers the quiet life...we all enjoy a good romance novel. I must confess it's been a little while since I ventured into the romance genre, but I certainly enjoyed reading t he just p ublished The Dare and the Doctor by Kate Noble.  It's the third in a series which centers around three friends:  The Earl of Ashby ( The Game and the Governess) ,  John Turner ( The Lie and the Lady) , and Dr. Rhys Gray.   Dr. Gray is a handsome doctor from a society family that has seen scandal and is just now coming back into society.  He's kept up a correspondence with Margaret Babcock, a young woman (and heir to her father's large estate) who prefers to spend her days experimenting with plants and flowers and creating new hybrids.  Both have met each other before, and their mutual love of research and tinkering in labs has fostered a firm friendship via letter. Ah, the days before Facebook an

Wandering through my bookshelves  recalling some of my favorite books has been a trip down memory lane and a chance to see how many books I've got on my shelves that I still have to read.  I didn't have a library card as a child (we lived in the country and didn't have access to a library close by) and relied on my school's library to read books.  Alas, in elementary school our turn at the library only came every two weeks, but I always checked out as many books as I could each time.  This was before the era of big bookstores; Iowa just wasn't flush with bookstores at all.  I always knew Santa would bring me books each Christmas, and they were by far my favorite gifts.  To this day, I cherish the memories of carving out my space under the tree and lying there reading my new books.  It was the only time of the year that I actually received books as gifts.  I treat myself to books every Christmas season and nothing makes me happier than reading a good book on Christma

  I normally don't pay any attention to cover blurbs, but I was delighted to see Simone St. James' thumbs up for Yesternight.   I've read Winters' teen novel In the Shadow of Blackbirds and started her other adult novel Uninvited so I knew what to expect--historical fiction with a paranormal twist.  Yesternight appealed to me because it added another twist:  children and reincarnation.   Imagine my disappointment when I finished the book and couldn't figure out just what it was about the book that left me unsatisfied. Was it the main character, Alice?  Was it the ending?  What the heck was it?! Alice Lind is a psychologist in 1925 Oregon.  She travels to Gordon Bend, Oregon to administer IQ tests to schoolchildren.  Frustrated by the doors in higher education staying firmly closed to her because she's a woman, Alice travels the country for a job that mostly leaves her unsatisfied and yearning to be accepted into a PhD program for psychology.  Alice is an inte

It's been quite awhile since I've read a novel that creeped me out.  It was creepy  enough that I decided to only read it during the day, on my lunch hour in a busy hospital cafeteria. Either I'm getting soft, or it was a pretty darn good ghost story. It was a pretty darn good ghost story. I love Cherie Priest's writing.  Her Eden More series is about restless souls; usually from the Civil War Era.  She followed that up with her steampunk Clockwork Century novels; Boneshaker really put her on the radar of a lot of science fiction/fantasy fans.  I did read Boneshaker years ago, and did enjoy it quite a bit, but her gift, to me, lies in her ability to make you uneasy in the comfort of your own home.  And that is what The Family Plot did to me.  Music City Salvage is on the cusp of financial ruin, and one big job will save the company.  Enter Au gusta Withrow, the la st member of the Withrow family.  For $40,000, Music City Sal vage get s all the rights to her family&

I wasn't sure what to expect from this quirky novel.  I have a few things that struck me as I read the book; ideas about love and the idea of wandering through life with purpose.   Henry Quantum is a 40 year old man who lives in San Francisco with his wife Margaret.  It's December 23rd, and Henry realizes he hasn't purchased a gift for his wife for Christmas.  He decides he wants to buy her Chanel No. 5, and after a meeting at his advertising job, he takes a long lunch, determined to walk to Macy's and buy the perfume.   Except Henry's simple task takes him on a journey that has him thinking about physics, the stars, buddhism, the meaning of life, and Christmas songs.  He's a bit absent minded, what with all the ruminations that continually fill Henry's mind.  His marriage to Margaret is stale; she's always busy as a successful realtor, and disappointed in Henry's unfulfilled potential.   But on Henry's wanderings, he runs into Daisy.  Their affa

This month, I'm looking back over the years and posting 50 of my all-time favorite books.  I don't have one favorite book, but I certainly have many that are near and dear to my heart.  They are the books that will never leave my house (or my heart).  Some are from childhood, others from as recently as the past few years.  God willing, I'll have another 50 years to read more amazing tales.   Here's my first batch of favorite reads.  They are in no particular order, and run the gamut between fun romance, fantasy, and a heart-breaker that became a modern literary classic.  Some of these novels are the first in a series; I've listed just the first novel in the series, but I consider the series as one giant favorite read. This series is everything I love about fantasy fiction! Still makes me cry My first Katie Fforde novel.  Fan for life. This book made me a fan of Alice Hoffman.  Fantastic! An out of print series that I read 25 years ago.  Still have all of them on my