Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts - 472 pages

Rowan Tripp and Gulliver Curry are smoke jumpers dealing with murder, arson, and sabotage.

I listened to the audio version of this book.  I enjoyed it.  The romance and mystery aspects were well integrated into the story.  The characters were also intriguing and fun to "read".

Year One by Nora Roberts

Year One by Nora Roberts - 419 pages
Chronicles of The One - bk 1

The sickness started on New Year's Eve and spread quickly around the world.  It wiped out over half the population sending the world into a panic.  Civilization broke down with the loss of electricity, medical services, and easy access to food.  It also changed part of the population that survived.  Some people gained powers.  Unfortunately, not everyone used those powers for good . . .

This book, the first in a new series by Nora Roberts, is told from the point of view of several different characters as they try to survive in the new world.  I did not care for this book as I don't really like dystopian fiction.  While the characters were interesting, it was a very depressing read. 

Twin Star Exorcists, v.1 by Yoshiaki Sukeno

Twin Star Exorcists, v. 1 by Yoshiaki Sukeno - 208 pages

Rokuro wants nothing to do with being an exorcist.  Benio's whole life is devoted to exorcism.  Then it is decreed that they are the Twin Star Exorcists who will marry and have a child who will be the most powerful exorcist of all time.  Too bad they hate each other.

This is the first volume in the series.  It was fairly interesting to read.  They did a good job of keeping you reading by not revealing too much of either Rokuro or Benio's past while dropping hints.  I'm intrigued enough that I started reading the second volume.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - 388 pages

Once a year, the youngest baby in the Protectorate is taken and left in the woods for the witch.  The witch steals the baby and eats it . . . .

Once a year, a witch finds an abandoned baby in the woods and rescues it.  She takes it to a loving family on the other side of the forest . . . .

One year, Xan the witch discovers a baby girl that steals her heart.  That year, Xan falls in love with the baby and feeds it moonlight enmagicking her.  This is the year that everything starts to change . . . for Xan, for the baby, for the forest, for the Protectorate, for the world.


I have loved all of Kelly Barnhill's books.  They are very sophisticated original fairy tales for children.  So I was looking forward to reading her latest.  Then it was declared the winner of the Newbery Award and I immediately checked it out.  I absolutely loved this book.  It's probably my favorite Newbery winner since The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  The characters capture your interest while the plot twists keep you reading.  This is a great read for all children and teens.

Gone With the WItch by Annette Blair

Gone With the Witch by Annette Blair - 294 pages

Storm hears a baby crying every time she gets near to Aiden.  She knows it is her psychic powers telling her he has a missing baby.  So she kidnaps him and sets out to follow the crying.  Along the way, Storm and Aiden fight a mutual attraction that could change both of their lives forever.

Turns out this is the second book in a trilogy - and it is actually the second trilogy in a series.  So there was a lot of backstory and side characters that was confusing.  However, the main story was understandable on its own.  It might be interesting to find the other books and read them.

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts - 472 pages

Little else in life is as dangerous as fire jumping. Flying past towering pillars of smoke, parachuting down to the edge of an all-consuming blaze, shoveling and sawing for hours upon hours, days at a time, all to hold the line and push back against the raw power of Mother Nature. But there's also little else as thrilling -- at least to Rowan Tripp who has been a fire jumper for several years.  But this year, the biggest danger isn't the fire, but the killer who is out for revenge for the death of fire jumper the previous year.  Now Rowan and rookie jumper Gull must team up to protect each other, fight the fires, discover the killer, and just possibly fall in love.

I listened to this on audio.  I enjoyed it.  I read it in print form when it first came out several years ago and didn't care for it.  It was better as an audio.  I still found the characterization annoying.  Gull was just a little too perfect - he had no flaws whatsoever.  I also thought it was a little too obvious who the killer was.  But still, it was a fun listen.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver by Lois Lowry - 180 pages

Jonas has been given the high honor of being the next Receiver.  He will receive all the memories of the past to help the elders make important decisions for his community.  But is it right for only one person to remember colors, emotions, and music?

This is one of those books that I think people should reread over and over again.  Each time you read it you get a little more out of the story.  Since the movie version came out this summer, I decided it was the perfect time to read it again.  This time I chose to listen to the audio.  I really enjoyed the audio version of the book.  It was interesting how the voice of Jonas changed as he received more and more memories of the past.

The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn

The Safe-Keeper's Secret by Sharon Shinn - 222 pages

Fiona and Reed have grown up as the children of the Safe-Keeper - one who must keep the secrets told to her.  However, one of them was a baby delivered to the Safe-Keeper's doorstep on the day of his birth.  Fiona is determined to be a Safe-Keeper even though everyone believes that she is not right for the job.  But can she keep the secrets?  Especially the one about her family?

I really liked this book.  While I saw the twist coming it was still really well done.  The characterization was well done.  The plot was different than many fantasy stories for teens.  A great book.  I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Sharon Shinn's books.

Dolores by Bruce Brooks

Dolores: Seven Stories About Her by Bruce Brooks - 135 pages

This book contains seven short stories about the girl Dolores throughout her childhood and teen years from ages 7 years to 16 years.  It includes stories on attempted kidnappings, divorced parents, first kisses, and high school cheerleading.
I enjoyed reading this book.  I had seen it for years on the shelves here at the library and finally picked it up when it was a candidate for weeding last week.  The stories were all very short but contained a lot of character development and plot.  There was no real connection between stories.  They are merely snapshots of events in her life.  I would probably suggest this for older kids as the last story does involve her being taken by man wanting sex (she does get a way without anything untoward happening to her).

Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 by Linda Medley

Castle Waiting, Vol. 1 by Linda Medley - 184 pages

Lady Jain runs away in the middle of the night to try to find Castle Waiting -- a place of safety and refuge for any who finds it.  She is pregnant and gives birth shortly after finding the Castle.  The Castle has only a few people living in it -- a cook and her simple son Simon, the steward who is also a stork, three ladies-in-waiting who have retired, a blacksmith who has no emotions, and a knight who is also a horse.  There are also lots of fairies, sprites, brownies, etc.  Overall, this was a strange story that seemed to more for kids than for adults. 

Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman

Charming the Highlander by Janet Chapman - 389 pages

When Grace's sister dies after childbirth, she makes Grace promise to take the baby to the father, Michael McBain, to raise.  But Grace doesn't feel she can give her nephew to a crazy man to raise.  After all, he believes he traveled through time from Scotland in 1171.  She goes home to meet Michael and determine what would be best for the baby.  But on the way she is in a plane crash with Grey MacKeage.  Grey saves her life and the life of the baby and Grace starts to fell something for Grey.  But they she discovers the animosity between Grey and Michael and gets in the middle of it.
This is the first book in Chapman's Highlander series.  It was interesting to see how the story began. 

Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

Think your baby is the only one who won't sleep at night?  You couldn't be more wrong!  This is another book with another approach to getting your tike to sleep through the night.  Unlike The "Ferber Method" of sleep training - letting your child cry, while offering comfort, Dr. Weissbluth suggests letting your child determine when they need sleep - by watching for his sues as to when they are tired.  544 pages