Jeremy Poldark (Poldark Saga #3) - Winston Graham

Now that Poldark (the PBS show) is over, I decided to dive into another one of Graham's books.  This is the last one I have at present, so it might be a while before I get another dose of Poldark.  In the meantime, I can always watch it on Amazon Prime, or I have the soundtrack.

This installment continues the story with familiar events and characters.  I'm not going to say too much, but I still enjoyed the writing style, and it felt like I was watching the show all over again.  There's some minor differences, which is to be expected, but I'm pretty impressed so far by the consistency between the books and the show.  To be clear, I'm not expecting them to be the same, and I keep my expectations low when I break the rule of "either read the book or watch the movie - don't do both!"

Anyway, all that to say, another great book, another good read.  I'm watching the others in the series and hope to read more soon!

Dangerous Illusions (Code of Honor #1) - Irene Hannon (DTB)

This is the first book in a series about three friends who have known each other since they were kids.  The other two titles are Hidden Peril and Dark Ambitions.  I've read a few of Hannon's books in the past, but I didn't specifically seek this one out.  I'm in charge of the library at my church, and it had been a while since I'd sifted through the donations.  We're having company for the holidays, so I thought it would be a good idea to clean up a bit.  This was one of the donations, and I decided to read it.

Trish has had her share of tragedy, but when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she wonders if it's her fault.  Colin is on the case, and he thinks there's more to the case than meets the eye and wants to clear Trish's name.  It doesn't take long for the danger to increase, and time is running out for Colin to solve the mystery. 

Hannon has a good writing style that I enjoyed.  I liked this book, and I'm curious about the rest of the Treehouse Gang.  The second book is about Kristen, and I liked her character.  Kristen wasn't in it that much, so I'm thinking you might be able to read these out of order.  It gives me the impression that it's one of those series where you can read it out of order, but you get more out of it reading them in order.  I plan on tracking this author and see what happens.  Good Book!

Carry Me Home (Blue Wren Shallows #1) - Dorothy Adamek

This is the first book in the series.  The second book just came out recently and is called Carry Me Away.  This is the first book I've read by this author, and I found her by participating in a scavenger hunt.  The summary of the story drew me in, and I was anxious to read it.

Finella leaves England with her father to marry a pastor in Australia.  What she doesn't anticipate is both men dying.  She finds purpose and a job taking care of Shadrach's sister.  Shadrach is the son of a convict, and she's not interested in staying at his muddy farm now that her fiance is dead.  She's waiting for her aunt to come fetch her, but will Shadrach be able to convince her to stay?

Finella doesn't start out as a very sympathetic character.  She comes across as one of those spoiled ladies who raises their nose in the air at dirt and dust.  Her "qualm" with mud was a bit strange, even with the explanation, but it wasn't super distracting.  Her hoity-toity attitude doesn't last long, and most of the book was happy enough.  It wasn't until the end that fell apart, and it did lower my rating a bit.

There's a few errors in there (mostly extra words that don't fit into sentences), but the writing style is pleasant.  The thing that has me hesitant to pick up the second book is the tragedy.  The second book is about a shipwreck, so I'm afraid the tragedy elements won't change much.  It's important to know that I think this is a good book, but it did have some major tragedy that was not only somewhat unexpected, but it also affected my overall enjoyment of the book.  I'm torn on this one, and I can't say for sure if I'll pursue the next one.  Most readers probably won't share my issues, but I love a happy ending, and this one was bittersweet.

Daisies are Forever - Liz Tolsma

I've read a few of this author's books in the past: Snow on the Tulips and Remember the Lilies.  They're set in various places around WWII, and this one is located in Germany.

Gisela is faced with the hard choice of leaving her grandfather and cousin behind as the Russians are approaching.  Gisela is eventually convinced that she needs to take her cousin's children and get them to safety.  Mere hours later, she's facing more hardships than she ever imagined.  She meets up with a couple of "German" officers, but she sees through their ruse immediately.  They're actually escaped prisoners of war, but Gisela finds herself wanting to help them.

I didn't make it too far.  The characters were okay, but the amount of depressing elements surrounding them made me not want to read more.

It's a matter of changing tastes, I think.  I enjoyed the other two books, even though they seemed to follow the same general idea - depressing elements through much of the book with a happy ending.  I can only say that I wasn't as interested in this book as the previous ones.  I was only about 25% in, and at least two of the characters I'd gravitated toward were dead or abandoned.  I'll take responsibility for not liking this.  The writing was good, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.

A Tailor-Made Bride - Karen Witemeyer

The last time I checked my "to be read" pile, I decided to do something a bit different.  None of the books I had waiting grabbed my attention, so I searched for a book I enjoyed in the past and reread it.  Once I finished this book, I didn't think I'd have to write a review for it.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered I actually read it before I started my blog, and thus, there is no review for me to reference!

This is the first book by one of my favorite authors, Karen Witemeyer.  

Hannah is a dressmaker who opens her own shop in Coventry, Texas.  She's met at the train station by a grouchy liveryman, J.T., and immediately goes about getting under his skin.  She's quick to apologize for any offense she gives, but J.T. seems determined to think the worst of her.

J.T. (Jericho) doesn't appreciate Hannah's presence.  She's interfered with his plans to help a widow and her children, and Hannah also represents something he despises: vanity and beauty.  He considers her to be setting stumbling blocks in the paths of the women of Coventry, including his little sister!  But there's also a side to her that he doesn't understand.  She truly cares for people, and he isn't sure what to make of her.

I remembered some of the plot, but I'd forgotten most of it.  The last 4% or 5% , everything seemed wrapped up, and I worried that the end would be filled with nonsense.  My fears were unnecessary, and I was glad to be wrong.  It's just the right length, and a sweet, clean romance.  Good Book - even the second time around!

The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot #2) - Agatha Christie

This is the second story featuring Hercule Poirot.

After a mysterious letter and a mysterious murder, it's up to Poirot to solve the strange death of a wealthy businessman.  There's more suspects than you can imagine, including the man's own son!  Add in a similar mystery from the past, more than one beautiful woman, an annoying inspector, and Hastings falling in love, and Poirot has his work cut out for him.  But nothing escapes his little gray cells!

While this was a pretty good story, it was also more confusing than the other books of hers I'd read.  After doing a bit of digging, it's possible that this particular version isn't the entire book.  Whether or not that's the case, it wasn't my favorite.  It was free so I won't complain too much.

Slumbering (Starlight Chronicles #1) - C.S. Johnson

This is the first book in a 7-book series.  It's also the first book I've read from this author.

Hamilton is a selfish 16-year-old popular kid who thinks he's better than everyone else.  Anyone that gets in his way is immediately thought of as inferior and only worthy of his disdain.  A meteorite hits his town, and his life is changed forever.  Suddenly, people in his town are coming down with strange illnesses and demon attacks are on the rise.  Hamilton gets involved when the girl he likes is in danger, but he eventually learns that there's much more to life than himself.

Other than saving the girl he's interested in a few times, Hamilton isn't a likable character.  In fact, I hated him for the entire book.  I kept reading on, waiting for some kind of growth or change in him, but he seemed to be the same horrible person that he was at the beginning.  Since this is a series, maybe he changes later on, but I'm not really interested in spending any more time on the series.

I enjoyed the writing style, but the story didn't appeal to me at all.  It had potential, but I needed more (any) transformation on the main character's part to care about his story.  Just not for me.