In 1747 Katie O'Toole is living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania when 'savages' attack her home and two Indians take Katie away. One of these men tells her that he is a seer and he has been seeking her, a creature with hair of fire and eyes of ice.

The Spirit Keeper is a journal written by Katie as she recounts her travels with her two captors, Syawa and Hector. I'm a fan of fiction that features Native Americans, but this book fell a little flat for me. The books is not labeled young adult but it seems like a book that would appeal to a teenage girl. I found the story to be repetitive and I never connected to the three main characters. The overall story seemed rather improbable and although the tale picks up after the first half it wasn't until the last hundred pages that I became pulled more into the story.

The ending was also disappointing, it seems as if there is the possibility for a sequel as there isn't a satisfying ending to the quest that Syawa and Hector embarked on, although at this point I'm not sure I would read it.

In 1934 William Eng has been in a Seattle orphanage since his mother died 5 years earlier. When William sees a movie starring Willow Frost he is convinced that the actress is his mother, so he sets out to find her.

The premise of the story is good the execution is not. The book is filled with stereotypical villains; a cruel nun, a vicious stepfather, uncaring stepmother and more. The story was melodramatic and it was so bleak it was hard to read and then after a time I became inured to all the terrible things that happened to Willow.

William is supposed to be 12 years old, but he often thought and spoke as an adult and that was off-putting. I also found it hard to believe that a young boy and his blind companion could roam the streets of Seattle without attracting attention.

It's clear that a lot of research went into this book and a lot of the information about the movie business at that time was very interesting, but overall the book fell flat for me.

Imagine being bricked up into a small two room enclosure, with no windows and only a small courtyard that receives sparse light. This enclosure is attached to a church and your only contact with the outside world is through a small screen in the wall into the church. Your sole purpose is to be a handmaiden to Jutta von Sponheim, a noble woman who has agreed to be anchorite to the Disbodian abbey. Now imagine that you are only eight years old. This is the life of Hildegard von Bingen who became one of the most famous women in the Catholic Church, a writer, mystic and eventually a saint.

This was a fascinating book about the life of Hildegarde. She was a truly remarkable woman, a feminist for her time. After 35 years of living with the possibly mentally unbalanced Jutta, Hildegarde broke free of her anchorite, established an abbey and spoke all over Europe against the corruption of the church.

This book was fascinating. I knew very little about the life of an anchorite, I had read a little about Julian of Norwich but I learned so much more from this book. It is not a 'religious' book so much as it is an examination of human fortitude and the courage to fight for your convictions.

Falls short of five stars because I found the ending a little rushed. The opening chapters start with a mystery, but it is just explained away in the afterword. Up until this point I loved the book and wish it had been a little longer, about ten years seemed to be summed up in a few pages.

For those who like historical fiction, especially medieval history this is an excellent choice.

I loved Maris de los Santos’ first two books, Love Walked In and Belong to Me, so I was looking forward to her newest novel. While enjoyable it did not live up to my expectations.

Cat, Pen and Will met in college and became fast friends, doing everything together, virtually to the exclusion of everyone else. When Cat leaves the trio to get married it causes a rift in the relationship. Six years have gone by when an e-mail from Cat to both Will and Pen arrives; Cat is asking for help and a meeting at their ten year reunion. When Cat doesn’t show up it sets in motion a series of events that lead to an exploration of the meaning of love, friendship and growing up.

As usual the book is well written and the dialogue and bantering between friends is entertaining, but herein lies a problem. It just seemed improbable that after a rift of six years everyone was able to pick up almost right where they left off. Many changes had occurred in their lives but it was hard to distinguish the youthful students from their adult counterparts. I also found it hard to believe that both Will and Cat would drop everything in their lives in an effort to find Cat, it just didn’t seem realistic. I did enjoy the book, but it was more along the lines of like and not quite love.

It’s always a good feeling to start a book and to be engrossed right from the start; it’s an even better feeling when you close the book completely satisfied. This was my experience with “Sister”.

At first blush the premise seems rather mundane, Bee’s sister is missing. When Tess is found dead and her death is declared a suicide Bee refuses to accept it. The idea isn’t unique; but what sets this book apart is the author’s way of telling the story; the book is in the form of a letter from Bee to Tess. This open letter concept really lets us in on Bee’s thought process as she tries to tie all the threads of Tess’s story together.

The story is rich in details and character development and the writing is excellent. I did figure out part of the mystery but Lupton throws in a twist at the end that I did not see coming – although there were several clues along the way.

A real page-turner that still haunts me.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction so I was really looking forward to this book. It started off really well, I found the information on infertility treatment in the early part of the 20th century fascinating. However in the middle of the book the story got bogged down in too much detail, so much so that I found it hard to continue on at times. In addition the three main characters, in spite of some good intentions, were are so selfish I found it difficult to like them. The only one I had any real sympathy for was the child. Each adult in this book made choices without really considering the ramifications and although at times a compelling story in the end it was more disappointing than enjoyable.

Daughters of the Witching Hill is a fictionalized account of the so called “Witches of Pendle Forest”, who were found guilty of witchcraft in England in the early 1600’s. The main focus of the story is Elizabeth Southerns, a cunning woman, who had been helping the people of the area for some 50 years by using herbs and charms to cure ills in exchange for food for her family. Both her daughter and granddaughter have the same talent for curing, but choose not to pursue their talent, and the family’s eventual downfall forms the crux of this story.

I usually enjoy stories of this type, but I found that at times this book went on and on describing walks to and from various homes of the townspeople. The bleakness of the lives these people led was often hard to read about, that isn’t a criticism of the writing, it’s just a statement that the book was often depressing. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters, with the exception of Alizon Device, the granddaughter; to me she was the most fully realized character in the book. It was hard to follow time frames, years seemed to go by with the turn of a page. After all the time spent setting up the story, the eventual imprisonment and trial seemed very rushed. Although it’s clear that a lot of research went into this I never ‘felt’ the story.

Tessa Harlow is a tour guide recovering from a terrible accident on her last tour, a tour that ended with a death and Tessa recovering from severe injuries. After months of recuperation she is looking to get back to work and heads to Las Ladrones, New Mexico to determine if it would be a good tour for her company. Tessa has a bit of a past there, she lived there as a child and almost drowned. While there Tessa comes face to face with her past and she begins to discover “The Secret of Everything”.

This book was an easy read, pretty standard chick lit fare; beautiful emotionally damaged woman meets incredibly handsome but equally damaged man, sparks and sex fly and together they help each other heal. Nothing earth shattering here, although there was a bit of an interesting mystery involving Tessa’s past. Some small magical realism bits seemed a little out of place. The characters were very likable, especially the character of Natalie, a little girl grieving the loss of her mother. The descriptions of New Mexico make you want to pack your bags tomorrow. The storylines eventually come together in one big happy bow at the end, not too believable but if you just want to have a nice beach read this is the book for you.

Kissing Games of the World is a cute romance, a good if predictable story; boy meets girl, they hate each other on sight but feel an attraction to each other they can't hide. We all know how the book will end up, and the author doesn't vary the formula very much. The characters were pleasant, the children were cute and it was a nice way to spend a few hours. If you are looking for a pleasurable and light read for the beach or a rainy day at home this book will satisfy that need very nicely.

This book is hard to categorize, part fiction, mystery and fantasy.

Willie (Wilhelmina) Upton has returned to her hometown of Templeton NY. She has left school at Stanford in disgrace and hopes to hide away in the town that her family has lived in for generations. On the day she arrives an enormous monster dies and rises to the surface of Lake Glimmerglass. Not knowing what to expect when she finally goes home to her mother she is shocked when Vi informs Willie that she lied about her father being a one night stand and that her true father lives in Templeton. So Willie sets out to find the truth about her father and along the way uncovers many family secrets and a few other ‘monsters’.

I really, really liked this book. I loved the plot, the delving into the past, hearing the story in many different voices. I love the magic and supernatural embellishments; they added another fun layer to the story. There is more than one monster in this tale and it was so well done and enjoyable I was sorry to see it end; I have so many questions about so many of the characters I am longing for a sequel!!!

I am a huge fan of historical fiction, so I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately I struggled with this book for over a month. Some of the passages were so detailed I lost interest in the point of the chapter. I found the story of Mary and Robert Elgin more engrossing than the Aspasia/Perikles story set in Ancient Greece, but in general didn't care very much for most of the characters in the two stories, they just didn't 'feel' like flesh and blood people to me. I usually enjoy reading books that have stories set in two different eras, but the back and forth in this book was often jarring. Although I wouldn't consider this a bad book, I was disappointed in it.

This harrowing tale of a dysfunctional family is told in an almost dispassionate voice by Jeannette, yet we are often horrified by her living situation and her frequently neglectful parents. Through the entire awfulness of this existence there is a love for her parents that shines through on every page. It is abundantly clear that as negligent as her parents were Jeannette has somehow moved past her anger and has forgiven them both. I could not put this book down, and have great respect for Ms. Walls courage in telling her story in such a non-condemning way, although there were so many times I hated her parents it is obvious she does not. Unforgettable!

The Mahabharat is an epic poem that tells the tale of the Pandava and Kaurava families and their rivalry for the throne of Hastinapur. The author uses that poem as the basis for her retelling, imagining the story from the view point of Panchaali, the woman who was the wife of the five Pandava brothers. Divakaruni effortlessly weaves history, mythology and magic together into a fantastical retelling of this tale.
At times I had a little difficulty with the names in the book as they were sometimes very similar, but I soon was able to follow the story line and was captivated by Panchaali. I read through the last half of the book in one sitting, I had to know how everything turned out. I loved the ending; it was the perfect finish to a wonderful story.
This book was unlike anything I have ever read, as I knew nothing of the history of this story. I think this would be a great book for reading groups, there are so many topics to discuss.