Nancy Martin, Blackbird Sisters Series

This is a great series I found when I browsed our "Beach Reads" display at the Woodmere Branch of the Traverse Area District Library.  I am so glad I happened to pick  up the first in the series, How to Murder a Millionaire.  Love it!  It was a super quick read, funny and a charming heroine.  The family is entirely quirky, but completely relate able, in a Philadelphia socialite, riches to rags mentality...if that makes any sense.  I laughed out loud many times and can't wait to read the next nine in the series.  Number ten is coming out in August, very soon!

We carry this book in regular print and ebook.

Danielle Steel

I am a complete paperback junkie.  I could read whatever.  Once upon a time I absolutely loved Danielle Steel which you can find everywhere in paperback.  But I fell out of love of her writing when I read too many in a stretch and found a character from one love story that showed up in another book who had an affair with another character---who was supposed to be madly in love with someone else.  Oh, the horror!  Then several, several years later I picked her up again.  I found the same formula writing but I still liked it.  She is definitely an easy read.  My two all time favorites of hers are The Ghost and The House.  If I had to pick one it would be The House.  I love the historical aspects of the house in the story and how the family genealogy is found throughout the story of the house.  It is a match made in heaven.  I liked The Ghost for the historical aspects too.  Go ahead, check one out today.  Read her knowing you will find a beginning, middle, drama, romance and usually a happy ending.  Danielle Steel is a romance must read sometime in your life.

  

We carry The Ghost in regular print and audio.  We carry The House in regular print and as an ebook.

Nora Roberts

I know, just about everyone reads Nora Roberts and may be getting sick of her right about now but she really is good.  She fits in perfectly for for this blog, at least a couple of her series do.  I could name about a dozen or more of her books that I feel I can not live without but I will try and narrow it down.  My absolute favorite in the light and fluffy genre today are the Bride Quartet and the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy.  I love them both in different ways, even with the ghostly aspect in the latter.  That being said, I will focus on the Bride Quartet.  I really like the romance and sweetness of the stories as well as the strong sense of family.  What really grabbed hold of me is how the business worked and thrived throughout the story.  I love how it was all described, the setup, take down, organization before and after, etc.  I like how each person had their place yet worked together in the business and each others lives.  May be a strange draw to a book but I like the inner workings of successful businesses that interest me...add in a little romance and I am hooked.  It's kinda cool.  Read them in order and you won't be disappointed.

             

We carry these titles in regular print, large print, audio and ebook.

Edilean Series

Jude Deveraux was one of my favorites when I first started reading romance novels along with Judith McNaught---I could not get enough of them.  At the time, they mostly wrote historical romances or maybe that is just all I wanted to read back then.  I moved on to different genres for awhile and came back to both of them awhile ago and began reading their contemporary novels.  I fell in love with Jude's Edilean Series.  They are light, contemporary and historical.  What I like best about these books is the continuation and history of the families.  I can't get away from historical fiction no matter how hard I try.  It is everywhere, I do like it...you may too.  I recommend two of her standalone novels also, Mulberry Tree and Wild Orchids.  Here is a list of the Edilean Series in order:

Lavender Morning                                      
Days of Gold
Scarlet Nights
Promises (Vook only)
Scent of Jasmine
Heartwishes
Moonlight in the Morning
Stranger in the Moonlight
Moonlight Masquerade (on order)

    

We do carry many of her titles in regular print, large print, audio and downloadable audio.  Enjoy!

Sara Donati

This series, beginning with Into the Wilderness, is high on my list of best historical romance/fiction series.  I would call it epic in a way because it reminds me of James Fenimore Cooper novels but on a slightly lighter scale.  What I love about this series is how strong the women are in each novel, each circumstance and each relationship.  The series spans several generations and geographic locations. From England to New York, to Canada and Scotland you will feel, through the prose, the landscape of each location and each life will come alive through the descriptions.  If you like Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, you will LOVE Sara Donati's Into the Wilderness series.  

We carry this series in book and ebook format, audio and downloadable audio.

Barbara Taylor Bradford

I remember my mother reading Barbara Taylor Bradford when I was a teenager and thought, "What an old lady read, how boring."  (Sorry, Mom)  Twenty years later as I reached my mothers' age or surpassed it, I picked up Emma's Secret by Barbara Taylor Bradford.  I pretty much grabbed it because I liked the cover. (Stop yelling!  I know I should know better.)  It was a great book!  Full of secrets, intrigue, romance, regrets and made me long for more.  Emma's Secret happened to be in the middle of the Harte Family Saga beginning with Woman of Substance...the very book my mother was reading twenty years ago.  Like they say, in some instances, you do become your parents at some point.  There was even a miniseries made about the Harte Family Saga that we carry!  So you know someone, other than me just knew this was a set of fantastic books.  See what you think, my mind was changed...definitely not an "old lady read".

Here is a synopsis of Emma's Secret that may just pull you in:

Emma Harte, the heroine of Bradford's novel A Woman of Substance (1979), has been dead for more than 30 years when Emma's Secret opens, but her past factors heavily into the events of the novel. At the bequest of her dying grandmother, young American Evan Hughes arrives at Emma's magnificent English clothing store, Hartes, only to find out that Emma has long since died. She is soon hired as a store assistant to Linnet O'Neill, Emma's great-granddaughter, who can't help but notice the American's resemblance to her own mother, Paula. Evan and Gideon Harte, Paula's cousin, fall in love amid whispers that Evan might be the descendant of one of Emma's husbands. The truth lies in Emma's diary, but Paula is reluctant to read it. Curiosity finally gets the better of her, and the journal takes Paula to Emma's life during World War II, and at least partially answers the family's questions about Evan's heritage. It is up to Paula to figure out the rest. Readers new to the series might have a hard time getting a handle on the large cast of characters and their relationships to each other, but those familiar with Emma Harte and her large family will feel right at home.

-BookList

  

We carry Emma's Secret in large print and regular book format.  Woman of Substance is available in regular book format and the miniseries is available in DVD format.

Judith Michael

Do you remember in the 80s and 90s the author Judith Michael?  They are one of my favorites.  This is a husband and wife team, Judith Barnard and Michael Fain.  I started reading them about ten years ago and became hooked.  Not exactly light and fluffy but man!  Some good stuff.  I like to read about twins (must be the Gemini in me) so if you do too, start with Deceptions and then the sequel A Tangled Web.  Otherwise, Sleeping Beauty and Pot of Gold are next on my list. Really, I recommend all of their books, eleven in all.  Some you may find on the paperback racks. There is a little bit of everything for everyone, love, murder, intrigue, rags to riches.  I love it, I hope you will also.  Don't get distracted by the ugly covers, they made some woozies twenty and thirty years ago!  I promise the stories are worth it.

Check the paperback racks but we do carry this author in Large Print, Hardcover, MP3 CD and CD as well as an ebook.

                        

(These covers are not so bad, there are worse ones but you get the drift.)

Lauren Willig

Do you like novels about espionage and spies?  How about modern day mysteries and Napoleonic mysteries all rolled into one?  Of course, there has to be love interest.  This would not be a fluffy read without one.   Well, say hello to Lauren Willig and her Pink Carnation series of ten, soon to be eleven historical fiction novels.  I would describe this series as fun, cheeky, historical, mysterious and lovable.  Here is a synopsis of the first title in the series, Secret History of the Pink Carnation, to give you an idea of how it all begins...

Nothing ever goes right for Eloise. The day she wears her new suede boots, it rains. When the subway stops short, she's the one thrown into some stranger's lap. And she's had her share of misfortune in the way of love. So, after deciding that romantic heroes must be a thing of the past, Eloise is ready for a fresh start.

Setting off for England, Eloise is determined to finish her dissertation on two spies, the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. But what she discovers is something historians have missed: the secret history of the Pink Carnation-the most elusive spy of all time. As she works to unmask this obscure spy, Eloise has more and more questions. Like, how did the Pink Carnation save England from Napoleon? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly escape her bad luck and find a living, breathing hero of her own?

Lauren Willig recently published a standalone, The Ashford Affair last year that is great by itself if you don't want to get into a series.  We carry various titles as hardcover, paperback, ebook, audio and downloadable audio.  Tell me what you think!

      

      

Susan Wiggs

I really like Susan Wiggs, especially the Lakeshore Chronicles.  She is very similar to Robyn Carr.  But the  Apple Orchard was phenomenal, it had more depth and meat to it.  Plus, it came out in hardcover first, which is always an indication I will like it.  I like books that involve research in some way and this one took on some family histories (and collectibles) that were fun to follow.  The setting of the book, in Sonoma County was rich with vivid detail. The characters were very likable and well developed.  Tess, the main character finds she has inherited half an estate from a Grandfather she did not even know she had--including a half sister whose life evolves around the Apple Orchard and her cooking.  The food described in this book will make you hungry on the spot.  As I became immersed in the story I could not help thinking something was missing. Not much was said about the half sister Isabel but what was mentioned was veiled in mystery.  I knew there had to be another book in the making.  And guess what?  There is!  The Beekeeper's Ball is due out in June, dedicated to Isabel.  So the story will go on, ahhhh my favorite kind.

So, there's another author to try.  I absolutely recommend the Apple Orchard and any of the Lakeshore Chronicles.  The first in the series is Summer at Willow Lake.  There are ten in the series so far.  I also recommend Table for Five.  Great, great standalone by this author.

The Traverse Area District Library carries all of these books in either hardcover, paperback, audio and ebook formats.

                                   

           

Jeanne Ray

I stumbled across this author while looking for a great story without any swear words or graphic killings.  I fell in love with her.  She is a writer who started her career at age 60!  Her daughter is author Ann Patchett, which is why I hesitated at first to read her Mother's books.  Ann Patchett is a wonderful writer but does not fall under my genre of light, fluffy, frivolous reads.  Jeanne Ray dreamed as a little girl of being a writer or a dancer but became a nurse.  As you read her books you will see some of those dreams expanded in her writing.   The first book I read of hers was Julie and Romeo, a very sweet updated version of Romeo and Juliet but with characters of an older generation.  I like this one because it also has a sequel, Julie and Romeo Get Lucky.  My absolute favorite of hers is Eat Cake.  This is another one that you can get lost in the story when you listen to it.  The recipes in this book are to die for.  If you want to escape, this is the one to read. But you decide, let me know.

The Traverse Area District Library carries many of these titles in our catalog as Large Print, Print, Audio and Ebook.  Check one out today!

                                             

Kristan Higgins

This weeks selection is The Best Man by Kristan Higgins.  A super easy read but full of laughter and maybe some tears, in a good way (if you are the right mood).  So, grab a chocolate bar and get comfortable for you will probably read it in a quick hour or two.  I actually listened to it for the narrator Amy Rubinate is another one you should not overlook.  The Best Man is the start of the Blue Heron Series.  I am reading The Perfect Match right now and will let you know if number two is just as cheeky as the first one.  To give you  an idea, click HERE to read an excerpt.

You can find copies of The Best Man in paperback, e-book and MP3 CD at the Traverse Area District Library.  Enjoy!

Robyn Carr

I love, LOVE books in a series.  Keeping that in mind, our first author pick will be Robyn Carr who has several books in several series.  The largest being the Virgin River series.  You can start from the beginning or anywhere really, there is enough information in the books so that you are not lost in the plot or people.  She has a couple side series or trilogies that touch on the characters you meet in Virgin River.  I walk away from each book with a feeling of contentment and it usually takes me a minute to come back to reality. If you would like to start at the beginning, the first book is titled Virgin River.  Here is a little synopsis:

  In Virgin River, Melinda needs a change after violence in Los Angeles took her beloved husband from her; but when she accepts a job as nurse practitioner and midwife in Virgin River in rural California, she gets something very different than she bargained for. The rent-free house, for instance, is unlivable and critter-infested. But she likes the restaurant and bar run by Jack Sheridan, and she feels needed. Life is precarious in this tiny community in Northern California's Humboldt County, with marijuana growers lurking in the backwoods. Carr's leisurely paced, low-key story charms by virtue of its characters, from curmudgeonly Doc to brawny Preacher, who cooks at Jack's, to teenaged Rick, and Jack's former marine buddies, who are only a phone call away.  (Booklist)

Sounds fun, doesn't it?  Just from that little insight you can tell the characters are going to be complex and likable.  This is one author I absolutely recommend listening to.  The narrator, Therese Plummer has one of the best voices.  I love that the author has kept her throughout the series.  My two absolute favorite books in the Virgin River series are about two sisters that are mentioned early on in the series, briefly.  Later, they each have their own story in Harvest Moon and Wild Man Creek.  For historical aspects as well as being foodie fiction is what gets them on my list as favorites.  But please, try any and let us know what you think!

Many of Robyn Carr's titles are available in paperback, ebook from Overdrive, downloable audio from OneClickDigital and audio CD format at the Traverse Area District Library.  Also, you may find some hanging out in the paperback spinner racks at the Woodmere Branch in the lobby or upstairs in Adult Services.