First Friday: How Virginity Almost Killed Me
by Tory Hartmann
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed For Readers Favorite
Agnes Anne has a plan, it's a five step plan, and it will take her over a year to accomplish it, but she is determined to break free of her nutty uber-Catholic Irish family. She is twenty-eight years old and still living at home with her parents, working for her father in the back office with no career aspirations and no boyfriend. Not to mention she has a tendency to stutter when she is nervous or put on the spot. First Friday follows Agnes Anne on her adventure to put her plan into action and the reactions her family has to some of the changes that she makes. Author Tory Hartmann has woven a complex story of family, faith and change together to create a believable yet humorous story of finding your own way in life, even at an age when the rest of your siblings are married and on their own.
First Friday really revolves around a large Irish immigrant family that is devoutly Catholic, in fact maybe a little too devoutly Catholic. As a reader, knowing nothing about being Catholic, some of the things I found hilarious and some I found to be truly scary in that they hammered Agnes' ability to have a normal relationship with a guy. Author Tory Hartmann has created an amazingly complex story with many layers in the family and a number of stories going on around Agnes. In parts I felt sorry for her in that her family seemed to dismiss her so easily and she felt she couldn't he honest with them about some of the things going on, and it other ways I found myself rooting for her to break free and become her own person. This was a very clean book, there was some language and brief mentions of intimate moments, but they were so much less than anything I've read lately. I think this would be a great book for young adults and teens as well as older readers.
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The Witch's Daughter (The Irish Witch's Series, Book 2)
by Leigh Ann Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
All of her life, Alainn has lived between two worlds. Although she was of the servant class, the others didn't like her, thought she was too good for herself because she was given certain privileges, raised and tutored with the master's sons. When she falls in love with the heir, Killian, life gets even more complicated only for her to find out truths about her parentage. The Witch's Daughter is set in Ireland in 1536, and the historical imagery is amazing. The world of rules, the master and Lord and the servant and peasant classes truly divided and not to mix. But this is also the story of love and hate, of curses and revenge, of the excesses of privilege and the heartbreak of the lower class. Author Leigh Ann Edwards weaves a story that draws you in and has you guessing until the end.
The Witch's Daughter is said to be the second book in a series, that being said I have not read the first book, but I was not hindered by that at all. This book stands alone and is easily understood, although it does make me wonder if the first book is the story of Alainn's parents, and if so I desperately want to read that now! Author Leigh Ann Edwards wrote this book with the ability to stand on its own, but if anything it makes you want to know more, the past and the future, how the curse came about and what is to come next. This is definitely an adult book, there is talk of sex and rape, so I wouldn't recommend it for a younger reader, but I think it was a wonderful story all the same.
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Silver Moon Deja Vu
The Deja Vu Chronicles
by Marti Melville
My rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
When we first met John he is a paramedic working on a patient, upon arrival at the hospital he sees a nurse that he thinks he knows, in fact he is sure she is someone from his past. Very quickly we find out that when he means his past, he means his long ago past life! Silver Moon Deja Vu is John's story. In a past life he was a pirate captain in love with an Irish lass named Kathryn. There are trials and setbacks, good times and promises and a romance that lives on past their lives. Add in some superstitious pirate crew members and a hussy lady pirate and you have a wonderful story. Marti Melville mixes Irish and Caribbean traditions, Druids and Voodoo to give a story that is part romance and part adventure, but all enjoyable.
Although Silver Moon Deja Vu is the second book in the Deja Vu Chronicles, it can stand on it's own quite easily. I had not read the first book and had no trouble following the story or understanding what was going on at all. Of course it is probably even better if you have read the first, but it was good without. John and Kathryn are characters that are so real, they have flaws that lead them to mistakes that hurt them, but they love deeply and have tempers. Marti Melville adds in some paranormal aspects into the story with the Irish folklore and ideal that Kathryn has a gift, she is a witch in the Irish tradition and able to heal. Her role on the pirate ship is the ship's doctor or healer. There is also some Caribbean Voodoo since the ship is traveling and Kathryn can't ask her grandmother questions, she searches out those where they are at, which just happens to be Trinidad. This is a wonderful story for those who love romance, adventure and paranormal or any of those. Definitely one that you want to check out.
The Deja Vu Chronicles
Book One: Midnight Omen Deja Vu
Book Two: Silver Moon Deja Vu
Book Three: Onyx Rising Deja Vu
Book Four: Cutthroat's Omen: A Crimson Dawn
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The Selkie Enchantress
The Seal Island Trilogy, Book Two
by Sophie Moss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Caitlin has loved Liam since they were kids, but the timing has never been right for them. Finally, things looked to be turning their way at Tara and Dominick's wedding. Tonight was to be their first official date, she made a special dinner and wore a dress, but he was late. Where could he be? Liam rode the ferry home carrying a bouquet of yellow roses for Caitlin thinking about tonight when the woman on the ferry started talking to him. As they approached the docks, Liam went to help tie off, and he slipped. So unlike Liam. Now he remembers nothing of his relationship with Caitlin or his research, and seems be be under this new woman's spell. The whole island is wondering what is going on. The Selkie Enchantress is a novel of one woman trying to take for herself what is not hers to take by force, and what happens when a whole town turns out to try to prevent that. Sophie Moss has created a story where the whole island is awash with the paranormal and receptive to it, so when something strange is going on they all rally to the cause.
The Selkie Enchantress is the second book in the Seal Island Trilogy, but it can stand alone on it's own. I have not read the first book and was not hampered in understanding the story at all. Caitlin and Liam are the focus of this book, and although they are sure to have been mentioned in the first as other characters in this book would have been the focus of that book, it is nice to have that continuation. I found all I needed to really know in this book, Sophie Moss did a wonderful job in allowing this book to stand on it's own and not depend on the other books so much that you had to have read them all to understand the story. This is a great book for adults who want to add a little Irish folklore and legends or myths to their romance. It is a well written and delightful story for all readers.
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Seal Island Trilogy
Book One - The Selkie Spell Amazon Link
Book Two - The Selkie Enchantress Amazon Link
Book Three - The Selkie Sorceress Amazon Link
The Irish Princess and the Pearls of Eetanam
by Jamie Scheid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
When Mathius takes over the kingdom from his father, who was not the sort of king you wanted to have, his only thoughts are how to make sure people know he is nothing like his father. His first challenge comes in the form of Vikings attacking villages, and once the Vikings are dispatched, King Mathius dies in his sleep. His widow and young daughter are left to change the kingdom, and he leave a heroic legacy. His death effects a fisherman, who is given a magic medallion, and he passes it on to the Queen. The time comes when the queen needs to find out if Cassidy, her daughter is ready to take the throne, and she tells her of the medallion and sets her on a mission. The future of the kingdom is borne on the mission and the leaders emerge. The Irish Princess and the Pearls of Eatanam follows Cassidy and her journey, along with the fate of the kingdom. Jamie Scheid writes a fairy tale of sorts with wisdom and character.
Cassidy is the perfect princess, caring more for people and her kingdom than herself. The Irish Princess and the Pearls of Eatanam follows Cassidy and teaches of her gentleness and kindness. A kingdom ruled by a widow Queen, but covered in the legacy of a heroic king gone before he had time to do anything. The daughter born to take over, and the children of the kingdom that will be her help and guidance forever. Jamie Scheid gives us a story part historical, part fairy tale, and part realistic. So much to learn from the characters and the way they respond to everything that life offers them.
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