Taming the Prince

Overall, the romance is what you expect. 

The meet cute is quite interesting, and the characters were solid. 

The pacing was off for me, and the story could've been lengthened a bit to show more growth of the character's feelings. 

If you like a royal romance, this is a good one, and can be read as a stand alone. 

Do you have a royal romance you recommend?

AMAZON

She’s a ballet teacher about to lose her studio. He’s a prince hated by his subjects. Can they put aside their pasts to create a future together?

Kara’s always dreamed of owning a successful ballet studio. But when a government-backed housing program turns out to be a scam, she’s left fighting to keep the property while raising her ten-month-old niece alone. The last thing she needs is a drunk and haughty prince who just cost her thousands in property damage.

Prince Nicholas of Galia has given up. When his pet housing project collapses due to a scam, he becomes a rebellious playboy instead of cleaning up the mess. But when anti-royalists chase him into the ballet studio of a bewitching brunette, he finds himself desperate to become a man worthy of her love.

Becoming Mrs. Lewis

Everyone knows who C.S. Lewis is, but I had no idea who his wife was or how they met until a friend picked this work for book club. 

This historical fiction account of how Jack and Joy became acquainted, fell in love, and ultimately married is as twisting a romance as any fiction author could create. 

There are insurmountable obstacles to overcome and yet the reader is aware the whole time that they will ultimately end up together. I spent the book wondering how and when. 

Ms. Callahan brings these real people to life on the page, full of thoughts, emotions, and challenges to help you feel as if you really know them and that you're there in post WWII America and England. 

I listened to the audiobook and give high praise to Lauren Woodward for giving voice to these beloved souls. 

Which based-on-real life romances have you read that thought were stranger than fiction?

AMAZON

When poet and writer Joy Davidman began writing letters to C. S. Lewis - known as Jack - she was looking for spiritual answers, not love. Love, after all, wasn’t holding together her crumbling marriage. Everything about New Yorker Joy seemed ill-matched for an Oxford professor and the beloved writer of The Chronicles of Narnia, yet their minds bonded over their letters.

Embarking on the adventure of her life, Joy traveled from America to England and back again, facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, and against all odds, found a love that even the threat of death couldn’t destroy.

In this masterful exploration of one of the greatest love stories of modern times, we meet a brilliant writer, a fiercely independent mother, and a passionate woman who changed the life of this respected author and inspired books that still enchant us and change us. Joy lived at a time when women weren’t meant to have a voice - and yet her love for Jack gave them both voices they didn’t know they had.

At once a fascinating historical novel and a glimpse into a writer’s life, Becoming Mrs. Lewis is above all a love story - a love of literature and ideas and a love between a husband and wife that, in the end, was not impossible at all.

Eat Cake

This is my first read by Ms. Ray. 

Ruth endears you to her the moment she describes her safe and happy place as being inside of a bundt cake. The cake theme is heavy throughout the book as Ruth navigates all the hurdles thrown in her way. And in the end, cake will be the thing that saves her and everyone she loves. 

Everyone needs a pyschological safe and happy place. Mine is the beach. What's yours?

AMAZON

Ruth has always found baking cakes to be a source of relief from the stresses of life. And now-as her husband loses his job, her life-of-the-party father arrives for an extended stay (much to the dismay of her mother, who also moved in recently), and her teenage daughter perfects the art of sulking-Ruth is going to have to save the day. And let the crumbs fall where they may...

The Thursday Murder Club

I highly recommend the audiobook. It was a delight to listen to. Well done, Lesley Manville. 

Definitely listen to the author interview at the end for insights behind the story. 

If you like murder mysteries, particularly solving the whodunit before the reveal, then this is a must read. It was a bit reminiscent of Murder She Wrote with our cast of characters in their mature years using their individual skills to find the culprit. 

Some parts of the plot I unraveled before the reveal, but not all, which is why this is a satisfying read for the murder mystery aficianado. 

Listen and enjoy. 

Which books have you read and solved before the reveal?

AMAZON

Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves.

A female cop with her first big case.

A brutal murder.

Welcome to...

The Thursday Murder Club

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together, they call themselves the Thursday Murder Club.

When a local developer is found dead with a mysterious photograph left next to the body, the Thursday Murder Club suddenly find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

As the bodies begin to pile up, can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer, before it's too late?