Garden Spells was my first introduction to Sarah Addison Allen and she instantly pulled myself and my book club into her magical web with her story of the Waverley sisters and the small town of Bascom, North Carolina. We loved that novel and made it a point to read each of Allen's books since. As much as I have enjoyed each book, I always felt a need to know what became of Claire, Sydney and Bay Waverley. First Frost has provided me with that opportunity and it didn't disappoint!

When we return to Bascom we find the Waverley women living in their family home. Sydney's daughter, Bay, is a teenager and the two are struggling to find footing in their relationship. Bay longs for someone she is not sure knows she exists and Sydney longs for another child to fulfill her new family.

Claire has started her own new ventures as both a mother and a business owner. But she has also begun to question her gifts. As all of this drama unfolds, a stranger arrives in Bascom. One who makes all of the Waverley women question everything they know and the bonds that they feel.

I truly love Addison's stories. The words somehow always feel lyrical and I can almost hear the "music" flow from the books as I read them. I also appreciate the relationships she creates between family members and friends. Always a well done story and a book I look forward to getting my hands on each time.

"A Lonely Death" by Charles Todd was my first introduction to Ian Rutledge. I was a little worried that I would not like the book at first as it is a little slow in the beginning but if you stick with it I promise you will not be disappointed.

Although this was my first Rutledge read, I did not feel that I had missed out on a ton of back story and was easily able to follow along.

Don't be put off by my rating of 4 as opposed to 5 stars. The story was very good and it kept me turning the pages - once I got over that little hump in the beginning. Had it not been for that, I would have given the book a 5.

I am pleased enough to go pick up some of the previous Ian Rutledge books and get caught up. Definitely pick up a copy of this one if you get a chance...Rutledge, a cozy fire and a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of wine could make for a very good weekend!

It's 1961 and we are in Kenya. Dr. Natalie Nelson has just arrived on an airstrip in the midst of the Serengeti to join an excavation team to begin the dig of her dreams. As an archeologist she is excited by the prospects but she is also taking the opportunity to flee dealing with the memories and pain of past trauma.

Little does she know she has stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Kenya is beginning its journey to independence, a controversy and a murder has turned up involving the local Masai people and the leader of the dig, Eleanor Deacon is watching an irreparable schism grow between her sons. And then there is Natalie's growing attraction to Jack that goes from passionate affair to turmoil when she is forced to present evidence in a trial that very well could lead to a rebellion.

The social upheaval of the times and the tribal customs of the Masai are well presented as are many of the dig protocols. I found the methodical pace to be daunting at times, but I suppose the pace echoes the care and slowness carried out on a dig. But one hopes for a little more speed in the delivery when dealing with murder as opposed to a procedural. All in all a good book but I am a bit undecided as to whether I would go for a second book by this author.

Tat'yana Levchenko is a sniper in the Red Army during 1942. She is the heroine of Michael C. White's "Beautiful Assassin", a WWII - era thriller.

Levchenko travels to America as a goodwill ambassador with a stated mission of obtaining financial support and materials for the U.S.S.R as well as to persuade FDR to open a 2nd front in Europe. The US is already fighting in the Pacific but the Europeans desperately need them to enter the war in Europe. Stalin and his secret police have another agenda - one that Tat'yana wants to ignore. Her only goal is to return home and continue killing the German soldiers who are battering her country.

FDR's wife, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt takes a liking to the young woman and she becomes the darling of the American press. Reluctantly, the beautiful sniper goes along with her espionage agent handler's demand that she spy on the first lady. In the end, Tat'yana must make a fateful choice involving an American army captain she's grown to love.

I found the first half the book much more enthralling then the second half. Levchenko's ethical dilemas about spying on Eleanor Roosevelt are interesting to a point but I found her romantic struggles after arriving in the U.S. to be a bit annoying. I struggle with women being made to appear too much the victim that you just want to shake them to snap them out of it or they are such a heavy that you find them annoying.

So for me this book was a struggle and only mildly enjoyable.

As someone with a degree in political science and history and who happens to be a fan of mysteries, I was immediately intrigued by S. J. Parris' novel "Heresy".

The story blends fact and fiction as it revolves around Giordano Bruno, a monk with a long resume. He is a scientist, a philosopher, a magician and as some historical documents have indicated, he may well have added spy to his list of job titles as well. But it was his heliocentric view of the universe that put him at odds with the church and on the run.

When he flees he travels throughout Europe and winds up in England where he is recruited by Queen Elizabeth I to ferret out a Catholic plot to overthrow the queen. Before he can really get into his investigation, bodies begin to turn up and he is drawn into finding the murderer.

What I loved about this book was the writer's style. She kept things interesting and gave just enough detail without weighing the story down with too much prose as so many writers of historical fiction are want to do. Her characters are well-developed and she does a good job of splitting time between the plot and a fascinating period of history. It's a time when what one believes could well get them killed if they shared those beliefs with the wrong individual.

I highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction and mysteries as well as those interested in the English history. I for one hope this turns into a series because I would definitely purchase the next one.