Gone to Green ~

Gone to Green by Judy Christie was a fun and endearing book. I loved reading about the life in Green, LA. I love to read and the reading and writing life of a journalist amazes me. In this book, Lois has just taken over a small paper in Green, LA. She is from the big city, and is not use to the nosy, in your business, way of life for the Green community. The tells of how she gets down and gets involved in the town and falls in love with the people. Lois also starts to uncover some illegal actions with some of the towns people. I enjoyed every minute of the book. You can find it on Amazon, and for the Kindle readers it is on the free download list. I am looking forward to her next book in the series. 

The Sheriff's Surrender ~ Susan Page Davis

I finished this book on Tuesday afternoon, out at the pool. This was a very fun and quick read. The story flows nicely without getting bored. The story starts with the towns only sheriff being found dead. The town does not have a doctor, undertaker, and preacher. Gert and her brother help fix guns in the small town. Gert is one of the best shooters in town. After the murder of the sheriff, ladies in town start going to Gert for shooting tips, and thus the Ladies Shooting Club is born. The story follows the town as they try to find the sheriffs killer.

The Gunsmith's Gallantry is the 2nd book in this series. It just came out in June and you can get it on Amazon books or Amazon Kindle.

Next book on my list is ~ Gone to Green by Judy Pace Christie

Women of Ivy Manor ~ Lyn Cote

Women of Ivy Manor is a series that was written a couple of years ago but one I love to read and recommend to my friends.  There are four books in the series and each book features a Lady from the Manor, each one from the next generation.

Chloe ~ Chloe is born to a life of privilege and wants to please, and earn the love of her parents. But as she grows up she realizes that she needs to leave her family behind. She moves to DC and marries a soldier who dies in the World War I. She moves back home finding out she is pregnant with her late husbands baby. You will enjoy how the timeline moves in this movie. Chloe must learn how to trust God.

Bette ~ The second book in the series. Bette is Chloe's daughter. Bette has been raised by her grandmother in Ivy Manor. Bette also marries a soldier who goes to fight in WWII. Her husband leaves her for another woman ans Bette must raise her daughter alone. Follow Bette's life through the war, and her life as a mother and woman.

Leigh ~ The third book and the daughter of Bette. Leigh is living life as a flower child. She is living after WWII and headed through life and anti-war marches. Leigh has to prove to herself and her family that she is a fighter and a Lady of the Ivy Manor.

Carly ~ The last book in the series is about Leigh's daughter Carly. This book is more modern day but still making its way through the history and trials that women faced through the years. Carly follows in the men's footsteps and joins the army. The end of the book cleans up the series really nicely and helps close the chapters on their lives as a family. These books all give a great history lesson, life lessons, and the way God loves us no matter what choices we make in life.

Critical Care ~ Candace Calvert

Today I finished this book. This is the first one from this author that I have read. I love watching Grey's Anatomy and this book gives you the same drama and love with a biblical meaning behind it. I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series. 

Claire was an ER nurse when her brother, a firefighter, comes into the ER. Her brother dies and is going back to life in the ER, after 2 years. There are problems with other nurses, the ER doctor and the lives around the ER. This is a fun book that only took me 2 days to read because I could not put it down. 

Reluctant Burglar ~

The Reluctant Burglar is a book about robbery, murder and mystery. Desiree Jacobs and her father own a security business.  Desiree's Dad is murdered and she must find the killer as well as take over the family business. In order to give the best security service to their clients, she breaks into Art Museums and security systems. This book is fun to learn about the world of art and thieves.

Redemption Series ~ Karen Kingsbury

This  book is the start of a series about The Baxter Family. This series has books that all start with "R's". This first book is about Kari Baxter and her life. This book sets up the entire series of books about this family. There are five books in this series, each book talks about each of the siblings in this Baxter family. You will love this book and fall in love with the entire Baxter Family. Kari finds out her husband is having an affair. She struggles with making the marriage work, feelings of doubt and fear, and the entrance of an old boyfriend. Together the family helps Kari start to put her life back together. 

After this series, Karen Kingsbury carries the family into her next series, The Firstborn Series. I don't want to "spoil" the first series for you but this series picks up where the Redemption Series ends. You are able to continue following the Baxter family through another set of eyes. The fun and family commitment keeps going through this series.

Sixteen Brides ~ Stephanie Grace Whitson

Sixteen Brides is a book set in the late 1800's and is about a bunch of Ladies who want  settle their own land. These ladies are promised a piece of land and a better life out in Nebraska. What these ladies don't know is that the man who has promised them land, has also promised them to be Brides. This is an intriguing story about how these ladies learn to survive on their own. It has some really funny parts as well as parts that will make you cry. This is the first book that I have read by Stephanie Grace Whitson but I am looking forward to more of her books.

My Favorite Author and Series

This is my Robin Jones Gunn Collection ~ A couple of the books are missing as I have loaned them out to friends. You can tell some of the bindings are well worn on these books. I have read them Many Many times. 

Most people who know me, know I love to read. The first series that I really enjoyed was The Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn. Since that series, Robin has written a series about Christy's friend Sierra, Her Best Friend Katie and Christy & Todd, The College Years.

Volume 1, which includes the first 3 books

Christy Miller is 14 and visiting her Aunt and Uncle in Newport Beach, CA for the summer. During the summer she meets friends and learns lessons about true friendship, being a "God-lover" and life in Southern California. In the 2nd book Christy and her family move to California, (about an hour n a half from her aunt and uncle). The rest of the books follow Christy through high school and into college as she learns to be the Christian and adult that God wants her to be.

I have read everyone of these books many times. They are great books for a teenage girl to start reading and a light easy read for young adults. As Christy grows up you fall in love with her, Todd, their relationship, her best friend Katie and all the friends of the God-lovers.

I enjoy an author who carries their characters into their other books. After reading the Christy Miller series and falling in love with almost all the characters, I went on to read the Glenbrook series. Robin takes some of the characters from the Christy Miller series and develops them more in the Glenbrook Series. The most current series is the SisterChick series.


Check out Robin's website http://www.robingunn.com/

Night Passage ~ By Robert B Parkerl

I just finished "Night Passage" which is the first book in a new series for me. The book was first published in the late 90's but a friend here in Cali just recommended the author to me. This book is the start of a series on a cop by the name of Jesse Stone.

There have been a couple of made for tv movies about this character. Jesse Stone is played my Tom Selleck. Robert B Parker has passed away and another author has bought the rights to write about the Jesse Stone character.

Jesse Stone is an ex-LAPD officer who is recently divorced and an alcoholic. He moves to Paradise, Mass and becomes their chief of police. He has a couple of murders to solve and some mob ties to clean up. The previous chief was run out of town and you get to figure out why. This is an easy read, that flows nicely. I am excited to read the next book in this series.  

New Blog about Books

I know it may seem weird to have two blogs but I wanted to have one just for the books I read. I do a lot of reading and have a lot of authors and books that I recommend to friends and family. This blog is to help me tell you about the books I read most. I have also bought a Kindle a couple of months ago and have started my electronic book collection. Unless you have an iPad, the Kindle is the best e-reader, for the money, quality, book collection and memory. I highly reccommend a Kindle for anyone who is a big reader. I love to take mine to the beach and read. The pages do not blow in the wind and there is no glare.

Please let me know what you think about the books I post about. Whether you have read them, loved them, hated them or have more books to recommend that I read.

Let's get to reading!