Wrapping up my Winter's Respite reading and other bookish concerns

My first readathon of the year, Winter's Respite(hosted by Michelle Miller from Seasons of Reading) ,ended last Friday and it was a great way to kick start my reading there.

Since I already reviewed one of the books on that TBR separately,due to it being part of a blog tour, this wrap-up post begins with The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory.

This novel is part of a set of sorts that began with The Wedding Date and followed by The Proposal but it can work as a stand alone read although you might want to check out the other titles afterwards. The romantic leads here are Maddie and Theo, who find each other repulsive and only tolerate the other's presence in public due to having a mutual friend, Alexa, in common.

Maddie has been Alexa's gal pal for years and Theo works with her at the mayor's office, which throws both of them together when Alexa announces her engagement and insists that Maddie and Theo help with the wedding plans.

While Maddie and Theo are happy to join in, even willing to put up with one another for Alexa's sake, they wind up having a one night stand that changes the nature of their adversarial relationship. Surprised at their sexual chemistry, they continue to hook up privately with the deadline being Alexa's wedding for these trysts to end.

Yet, a couple of unexpected incidents pop up that make each of them wonder if this is more than just a fling but neither one wants to be the first to bring up the question of real love. Guillory has a great way with creating romantic tension that doesn't skimp on sexy moments and allows for solid as well as engaging character building along the way. Granted, I read the earlier books(along with the one that comes after TWP, Royal Holiday, that highlights Maddie's mom) so clicking into this realistic romance vibe was easy for me.

However, I would recommend this to a newcomer and yes, it's a great Valentine's Day read. This novel also brought back great memories of the TV sitcom Living Single, where snarky Maxine Shaw and snide Kyle Barker found themselves in a similar situation that ended up rather well there:

Next on my Winter's Respite list was Kim Michele Richardson's The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, a fictional story with some real world connections.

The title lady is Cussy Mary Carter, who lives in the Kentucky mountains with her father during the hard times of the Great Depression era. She and her family are considered outsiders, despite having deep roots in the community, due to a genetic condition that gives them blue skin.

Nevertheless, Cussy finds purpose in life upon becoming a Pack Horse librarian, a government initiative meant to spread literacy in rural areas. She also makes friends among her patrons on her book delivery route and even gets some respect from those who appreciate Cussy's kind gestures in bringing more than books at times-when she can, food, medicine and messages to be mailed are part of her Pack Horse service.

However, Cussy is put upon by deliberately ignorant folks, such as a local preacher obsessed with "healing" people born different and a library matron determined to keep the more intelligent Cussy in what she deems "her place" . Even the local doctor who insists on testing Cussy for a possible cure to her condition is condescendingly callous to her needs at best.

Despite all of that, she persists in finding what good she can in the life given to her and discovers that being loved for her own self is not impossible. This book is a true page turner and although Cussy has some rather sad moments in her life, you can't help but follow her every step of the way.

Included in the bonus materials at the end of the book, information about the Pack Horse Library and photos of the actual women who did brave the rough terrain in order to spread the love of reading to remote areas provide inspiration to modern day readers:

So, I completed three out of the four books that I intended to read(made progress with the last one, The Chocolate Maker's Wife by Karen Brooks, that I have made part of my regular reading), plus a couple of library books to boot.

I consider this another successful readathon and much thanks to Michelle for setting up such much valued reading time. The next SOR event is Spring Into Horror and I'm making plans for that as we speak.

Meanwhile, thanks to finishing some of my library loans, I was able to make a quick trip to return and borrow a pair of light hearted reads. The one that I am currently in the middle of is The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson, a romcom delight indeed.

Children's librarian Charlotte Gorman has no real interest in her identical twin sister Ginny's beauty pageant lifestyle but decides to be supportive and share her vacation time with her sis on a major competition in Florida. Charlotte plans to spend a good amount of time at Harry Potter World when she's not cheering her sister on but her bookish activities are forced aside when Ginny has a allergic reaction that swells up her face.

The Miss American Treasure pageant is all important to Ginny as it was the crown jewel in their deceased mother's beauty queen career. The thought of not being able to compete is so upsetting to her that Charlotte, against her better judgement, winds up taking her sister's place. This is only meant to be a temporary fix yet Ginny's facial problem is taking it's own sweet time to heal.

Much to her surprise, Charlotte does better than either she or Ginny thought she would, plus some of the other contestants are very nice and supportive of one another. A major hitch to this switcharoo is that Charlotte finds herself falling for one of the judges, a man with a love of literature who could be the Darcy to her Elizabeth Bennet. However, knowing the truth about her would be damaging to not just this budding romance but to Ginny's beauty queen dreams as well.

This is such a charming read that really relieves my spirits during these troubling times and after I turn the last page, I might take the time to watch Miss Congeniality, a cinematic treat that suits this sisterly story perfectly(and yes, the movie is mentioned in the book!):

To round things out, I decided to check out a book that I've heard a lot about, Maria Semple's Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Granted, it helped that my local library is going to screen the movie adaptation this spring and the big display they had set up for that event made it hard to miss but I am curious to see what all of the fuss was about.

The plot takes place in Seattle, where celebrated architect Bernadette Fox lives in near isolation with her husband Elgie Branch and their daughter Bee. Internet access makes it easy for her to keep most of the world at bay but over time, Bernadette starts to feel creatively closed in.

With a family vacation on the horizon that she doesn't want to go on, Bernadette takes off for parts unknown, causing Bee to use the Internet to search for her missing mom. If I like the book, I may see the movie before the library showing. From what I know of this story, it's got a good amount of snark and satire with a touch of heart so this might be a tasty comedy meal to savor until spring arrives:

 While I do hate to end this on a sad note, I would be remiss to not send my condolences to the loved ones of suspense author Mary Higgins Clark.

She passed away on January 31 at the age of 92, leaving a legacy of over 50 mystery novels since her first one in 1975, Where Are The Children? Over the decades, she worked with co-authors on several books including her daughter Carol Higgins Clark, who has a mystery series of her own.

This departure is a bit personal for me, with Mary Higgins Clark  not only being one of my mother's favorite writers, but I was fortunate enough to meet her both as a customer and later as a bookseller. In fact, I first met her at the bookstore where I eventually wound up working at.

My younger sister and I were making a casual visit to the store that day and discovered that MHC was finishing up a book signing. Having no idea that she was going to be there(plus, didn't have enough money on me for the hardcover she was promoting), I grabbed a paperback anthology from the mystery section that had her name on it and asked her if she would sign it for my mother's birthday.

She was more than happy to do so and kind enough to chat with my sister for a bit, making a good impression on her indeed. During my time working at that bookstore, my mom did get a chance to meet MHC and Carol Higgins Clark as well, with that group photo that I took of the three of them holding a special place of honor in our home.

When our store did book signings for both mother and daughter(they really had a nice sense of teamwork at these events), both ladies were a pleasure to work with. I wasn't the only one on staff who thought well of them and their fans appreciated their charm as well. It is a shame that she is no longer with us but her books will be around to remind readers of her savvy writing skills and good nature for a long time to come: