The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair Copyright 2004 Berkley Sensation 295 p
I am pleased to announce that I have finally found the perfect beach book. This may not sound like much to the casual reader but for someone who likes to read as much as I do, it is a serious undertaking. First of all the book must be neither too long nor too short. Long enough to last a few hours, but not so long that your arms get tired holding up the weight. Then there is the content, it must be amusing enough to hold your interest, but not so engrossing that you don’t hear your child scream for help if he or she is being pulled under the water by a shark. And so you don’t mind being pulled away from it to buy ice cream, look at a sand castle or watch aforementioned child do a handstand, or hold his head underwater. Further, the book must have a happy ending. When I am lying in the sun, slowly turning the shade of a cooked lobster, I don’t want to be depressed by death, lost love, dismemberment or lingering illness. I want the adult fairy tale. This is not to say that I don’t like to read thrillers, but they are often engrossing and if my son were to be eaten by a shark, I might miss it. Finally, it should also covered with a plastic book cover which repels sand, sun block, soda and water.
The book that has met my exacting requirements is The Kitchen Witch by Annette Blair. The story is about a witch (I love paranormal romance) named Melody Seabright who is cute, sexy and somewhat ditzy who manages to talk her way into being the star of a cooking show, although she can’t cook and a man named Logan Kilgarven who doesn’t believe in witches and is looking for a serious woman to settle down with. Opposite attract and all of that. Is this a fantastic book? No. Is it entertaining, and light and perfect for the beach? Absolutely. And it has the added plus of being the first in a series of other entertaining books perfect for the beach. All of which are owned by the library, covered in plastic and available for check out.
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory 416 p. Touchstone 2006
Before I was lucky enough to pick up this book on a whim, all I really knew about Catherine of Aragon was what I learned from watching Anne of a Thousand Days: A religious middle aged woman begging not to be divorced. This book traces her life from her parents, Ferdinand and Isabella’s conquest of Spain through her two marriages. Her first to Arthur, the Prince of Wales whom she loved, which lasted only five months before he died and the second to Henry VIII. The most compelling part of the book is when she is widowed and she fights to stay in the country and to ultimately marry Henry and complete her destiny and her deathbed promise to her late husband. It is fascinating to watch her develop and become a powerful queen to Henry VIII’s spoiled king, leading men into battle and accomplishing Henry’s greatest victory in his name. The book ends with her speech begging Henry not to divorce her.
Henry is treated poorly in this book, as he is the other Philippa Gregory books in this series. He comes across as spoiled and an incompetent ruler whose desire for a son overwhelms his good sense. Granted, with the War of the Roses just behind him, it was not unreasonable for him to be concerned with the succession.
Regardless, this is a wonderful work of historical fiction. I could not put it down and am anxious to read the other books in the series. I highly recommend it to any fiction lover who enjoys strong female characters.
This book may be found in the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library under FIC GRE.
Escape by Carolyn Jessup 413 p. Broadway Books Copyright 2007
I was doing my annual library inventory not too long ago when I came across this book. I, like so many others, had seen the footage on television of the raid of the YFZ compound last year and was intrigued about the church. Having read Under the Banner of Heaven, which includes a history of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), I felt I had a basic understanding of polygamy and how it works for those in the FLDS. I also saw the footage last year of women defending their family and lifestyle and wondered how the two fit together. That said, I decided to read this book.
This is the true story of Carolyn Jessop, a mother of eight who became the fourth wife of a fifty-four year old man at the age of 18. Jessop struggles finding her place in the large family, competing with her “sister wives” and fighting to get her education. An underlying theme in Jessop’s story is the dominion of men. Rulon Jeffs, the prophet of the LDS makes all decisions, no matter how small, including what underwear may be worn and any rebellion against them is not tolerated. In the home, the husband makes all of the decisions and the only power the wives have is through sex.
This picture of FLDS life jibes sharply with that shown on television only last year. I have to ask myself how the two images can be reconciled. The only thing I can think of is education. Carolyn Jessop went to college. She had experience outside the compound. She was a teacher and became somewhat of a computer programmer. The women on television last year? Who knows? Which is true? Read the book and see for yourself.
The book Escape may be checked out from the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library.
Midnight Bayou by Nora Roberts Copyright 2001, Jove 368 p.
I was surfing channels on my television one night not too long ago and I came across a made for TV movie based on the Nora Roberts book Midnight Bayou. As I remembered loving the book I watched the movie and was totally disgusted and decided to revisit the book to see if I had been mistaken when I read it. After all it might have been as bad as the movie. To my utter delight, it wasn’t.
The book has two intertwining plots. One is the story of Declan, a lawyer from Boston who comes to New Orleans wanting a change from his life and remembering a house, Manet Hall, which he has seen years before. He restores it and falls in love with Lena. Meanwhile he has dreams and fugue episodes about a family who lived in the hall a hundred years earlier. As both stories unfold we find out what happened to the family and why the hall is haunted.
This book is extremely well written. The characters are well delineated and maybe it’s just me, but I always wanted to restore a big house. The detail in the restoration makes me think that Nora Roberts either always wanted to or did restore something.
Either way this book is an entertaining mix of romance, ghosts and home improvement and is perfect for beach reading or whiling away an afternoon.