With A Good Book, You Can Travel Anywhere!

Have you read any good books lately?  I haven’t gotten to read as much lately as I would like to.  I have so many books on my Kindle that I have downloaded and want to read, but haven’t had the time.  Reading is one of my favorite things to do, and relaxes me.  I love books!  The smell of them, the feel of them!  Books can take you anywhere that you want to go, without ever having to leave the safety of your home.

When my children were little I bought them books all the time.  They had a bookshelf filled with books.  I used to read to them every night before they went to sleep, but of course that faded with the time.  Now they’re 19 and 21, neither one of them like to read.  When I talk to my daughter on the phone, she will ask me “what are you doing?”  Reading, I’ll say, and she comes back with “reading is for nerds.”  Well, if that is the case, then I’m a big nerd!

Here are just a few of the books I have read lately, that are worth mentioning.  Maybe you will find something new to read, and get taken away, if for only a little while.

  The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan- I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in 3 nights, before going to bed.  I didn’t want to put in down, but I had to get some sleep so my brain would function for work the next day. 

Mary McAllister is a widow and lives in Mill River Vermont, in a white mansion.  She hasn’t left her home in almost 60 years.  Mary was disfigured by a blow from her husband and now suffers from a severe social anxiety disorder.  The only contact Mary has with the outside world are her bedroom window, where she can watch the small town below.  With an elderly priest, who has a habit of stealing spoons for his collection, and the mail and her television.

Most of the residents think of Mary and her white marble mansion as weird and peculiar.  Mary gets to know the people of the town through the local news paper and her television.  The people of Mill River do not think of Mary much at all, to most she is insignificant.

An arsonist, a covetous nurse, and the endearing village idiot are among the few who have ever seen Mary. Newcomers to Mill River–a police officer and his daughter and a new fourth grade teacher–are also curious about the reclusive old woman. But only Father Michael O’Brien knows Mary and the secret she keeps–one that, once revealed, will change all of their lives forever. (description for this book, taken from the Amazon website)

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux is an excellent book.  A Knight In Shinning Armor is a time travel, historical romance.  I stayed up way to late several nights, just to finish reading this book.  I could hardly wait to see what happened next.  This book has it all, romance, history, conflict, drama & time travel.  I don’t believe in time travel, but it is an exciting thought though!  This book will take you to 1960′s England and back to England in 1988.  Great read!

While on vacation in England, Dougless Montgomery is abandoned by her live in boyfriend, Robert and his spoiled teenage daughter.  Dougless is left behind in a small church yard with no passport, money or any of her clothing.  So she does the only thing she can do, she goes inside the small church and walks near the tomb of Nicholas Stafford, an earl who died in 1564.  Dougless begins to cry, and wishes for knight in shinning armor.  Almost immediately Nicholas appears, and Dougless does not believe he is who he says he is, the earl of Thornwyck.  Nicholas was hung for treason in 1564 in England.

Dougless thinks that Nicholas dresses and speaks weird, but she doesn’t believe he is from the 15th century.  Nicholas tells Douglass that he was wrongly accused of treason and betrayed by someone, but he doesn’t know who.  He wants Douglass to help him search for information so he can clear his good name.  Douglass does not believe him, but eventually Nicholas convinces her to assist him, and their adventures begin.   Douglass is intrigued by Nicholas but mainly agrees because she doesn’t want to call her parents to help her out ‘one more time.’  They already think she is constantly messing up her life with bad decisions.

Dougless and Nicholas become lovers, and then suddenly Nicholas is gone.  Dougless gets taken back to the 1560′s, when Nicholas was a young man, before he was the earl of Thornwyck.  She is still determined to clear his name even though he does not remember who she is.

  A Kingdom of Dreamsby Judith McNaught is the first historical romance that I ever read.  I loved this book so much, that I still read it once every year.  If you like medevil knights, castles, romance, betrayl and great conflict, this is the book for you.  When the story was over I didn’t want it to end.  Royce Westmoreland, Duke of Claymore is the knight in shinning armor that all women dream of, but only few ever find.  Judith McNaught wrote 2 more books about the Claymore men, Whitney My Love and Until You.  All 3 books are excellent, but A Kingdom of Dreams is by far my favorite.

A Kingdom of Dreams is about Jennifer Merrick & Royce Westmoreland, Duke of Claymore (know as the “Wolf”).  Jennifer is feisty, beautiful and loyal to a fault.  Royce is handsome, dark,  and feared by many.  Jennifer along with her sister, Brenna are  kidnapped from her convent school by Royce’s brother Stephen.

Jennifer is very headstrong and defies Royce at every turn.  She is forced to marry Royce, and does not give into him easily.  She has sworn to never love Royce to her father and her clan, and feels she is betraying them when she does start to love him.   This is a story full of emotion, loyalty, betrayal and pride.  A must have book!

Take advantage of the cooler weather and curl up on the couch with a good book!

Happy Reading-