Last Christmas in Paris - a GREAT Book about WW1

I am a big fan of Heather Webb and Hazel Gaynor's collaborations. Last Christmas in Paris is my second book (of four) that they have written together.  The other one is Three Words for Goodbye, which I also loved.  In addition, I have read two books that Heather has written as a solo author:  The Next Ship Home and Queens of London. And these were also terrific.  Are you catching my drift here?

Last Christmas in Paris centers on Thomas Harding and Evie Elliott. Evie is the younger sister of Will Elliott, who is Tom's best friend.  They all grew up together.  When Britain enters WWI, Tom and Will enlist and are sent off to France.  This is primarily a story about the relationship between Tom and Evie, along with a number of other characters, told exclusively in letter (epistolary) form.  But there is so much more to it.  We learn a lot about the war itself; about how women came to be involved; and how difficult it was to keep communication lines open with soldiers on the front line.

There are some things about the book that absolutely captivated me. But I don't want to give anything away.  You will just have to read it to figure out what I'm talking about.  And if you decide you want to "talk" about it with me, just message me on Facebook so we can compare notes.  I look forward to sharing my thoughts.  P.S. This is an easy 4/4!

 

Tilka Faces the Odds...One man at a time - by L.A. (Lizbeth) Meredith

Back on March 8, 2019, I wrote a review of a book by Lizbeth Meredith called Pieces of Me: Rescuing My Kidnapped Daughters.  It's the true story of Lizbeth's ex-husband kidnapping their 4- and 6-year old daughters, taking them to Greece, and how she got them back (this is not a spoiler alert - we learn about that right up front).  This book is completely captivating.  You will NOT want to put it down.  Well, I just finished reading her latest, called Talk Faces the Odds.  This is a fictional (or is it?) account of how Tilka hits 40, with 2 teenage daughters, and decides she wants to put herself out there and meet, hopefully, the right guy.  We see how she navigates the process.

Lizbeth knows how to write!  This book combines an interesting look into dating a little bit later in life with lots of humor and very clever writing.  Here are two examples:

"I felt like a gypsy that crashed the Von Trapp variety hour."

"I felt like a mom who showed up to her teenage son's prom uninvited."

See what I mean.  Besides being funny and clever, you can picture what she's talking about.  And you will find this kind of writing throughout.  At the same time, she lets us all know, whether we've been through it or not, what it's like to date after raising two kids basically by herself.  It sounds rewarding and a bit harrowing at the same time.

There is no question that you will enjoy Tilka Faces the Odds...One man at a time.  How could you not? 

The Silent Watcher, by Victor Methos

Victor Methos has written a lot of books.  I mean really a lot of books. But The Silent Watcher is my 1st.  Will I read any more of his books?  I would say...Yes!  This is especially true because TSW wraps up a case but hints at a follow-up.  It's Book 1 of his new series, Vegas Shadows. 

So what is this book about?  The Silent Watcher takes place in Las Vegas.  The two main protagonists are a male detective, Lazarus, and a female guardian ad litem (GAL), Piper, who worked as an attorney for a large law firm until she decided to become a GAL.  They become very involved with a 15-year old girl whose mother and brother were savagely murdered by a serial killer, nicknamed The Creeper.

This is definitely NOT a romantic comedy (like ICE ICEMaybe, the last book I reviewed)!  There are obviously some scenes that are not fun to read.  However, there is a lot more to this book than just tracking down a bad guy.  There are some very good scenes in the courtroom (Methos is, after all, an attorney).  And there are quite a few supporting characters for Lazarus and Piper.  I'm very much looking forward to Book 2! 

Rich Amooi's Books ALWAYS Leave Me Smiling

Rich Amooi has written and published 24 books.  I've only read 5 or 6, but that is NOT a reflection of how much I enjoy them.  They are all romantic comedies, and I defy anybody to not smile and laugh a lot when they read an Amooi.  And let's not forget that he isn't just funny. He writes a mean romance!

Rich's latest is ICE ICE Maybe.  Nolan Reid is an ex-hockey player who had a great career ahead of him until he had an injury that took him off the ice as a player...permanently.  Zena Dalton is the daughter of the billionaire owner of the professional hockey team, the San Diego Sea Lions.  She also runs the non-profit foundation on behalf of the team.

The Sea Lions are not a good team.  Mr. Dalton has just signed a star player, Mitch Redding, to bring some life to the team.  They only have 20 games remaining in the season, and Dalton is hoping that Redding can get them into the playoffs and beyond.  Why would such a big time player want to come late in the season to a floundering team?  Well, he used to play with the Sea Lions and had/has a thing for Zena. Nolan, who runs the Zamboni machine for the team, is called into Dalton's office.  He wants Nolan and Zena to pretend that they have a thing going on so that Redding will be frustrated and take it out on the Sea Lions' opponents.  Do you know where this might be going?  As romance author Katherine Center said, and I paraphrase: It's not about the predictability.  It's about the anticipation!