New Year's reads

After Christmas each year, I get a ‘to be read’ pile, but the new year brings no time to read them. Nevertheless I’ve managed to read two.

I won Cynthia Owens’ Christmas contest, and in addition to a beautiful book bag, candles, bath salt and other great stuff, I finally got my hands on her book.

Sure, and she can write a fine tale that has one seeing the green, smelling the peat fires and hearing the pipes and fiddles of Ireland. As someone said to me recently, it is the emotions that are key in romance writing, and this book has it in spades! The characters feelings were just dripping off the pages in the last three or four chapters--no, those were the constant tears pouring from my eyes. Made it hard to read, but such a satisfying finish.

The other book I’ve read this year I feel a bit guilty about. I didn’t have time to read, you see, and I meant just to take a quick peek at the first page. But Denise Eagan hooked me immediately and never let me go. What a fantastic story, and funny and action-packed to boot. While it kept me up all night, the lack of sleep was well worth it. With apologies to my critique partners for my tardiness.

So, IN SUNSHINE AND IN SHADOW and WICKED WOMAN will go on my keeper shelf, right beside THE MOST UNSUITABLE HUSBAND by Caroline Clemmons. What a talented bunch I blog with!