Catching UP 2014 Ebooks

As we count down to the end of the year, I find I need to post my last ebook reads.



I read from October 30 to November 1st
Bluebonnets for Elly by Sandra Nachlinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elly's fiance has betrayed her. Her grandmother has fallen and injured her ankle. Her parents are in Italy. So what's a girl to do? She moves in with Granny to help her out. While she is staying with her grandmother, Elly decides to tackle Granny's abundance of treasures. There is one problem with this situation, Elly is only supposed to stay with her grandmother for 30 days, according to the rules in the retirement village where Marge Macauley lives. Elly must rely on various disguises to avoid the prying eyes of the president of the Geriatic Government.

There is one in this seemingly smothering situation. The landscape guy is hunky Derek White. He makes Elly wonder if maybe she has been celibate too long!

This story is your consummate chick lit. Young beautiful red-head, strong viril gardener, a feisty out-spoken grandmother, and of course a jealous ex-wife. But Sandra tells the story with out being schmaltzy or too predictable. It is well written, I immediately became engaged with the characters. I'm more Marge (Granny) Macculey's age, but I could identify with Elly too. It is a great story.

I read from November 4th through the 9th.
I.O.U. Sex by Sandra Nachlinger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I started this book I thought it would be a fun read. I was not wrong, but it turned out to be more than that. It is a story about friendship, life lessons, and second chances.

When June and Peggy and Kiki decide during an evening of girl talk and drink, to look up their old boyfriend and pay them back for the sex they withheld in high school, I thought: that will be a disaster!

Each of the stories, June's, Peggy's and Kiki's are different, but are a happily ever after ending. I'm not really telling any spoilers as it is pretty clear from the start where this book is going. The character development was great, I felt I knew each of these women. Maybe it was pretty exceptional that the men they looked up were ready, willing and available, but that makes a good chick lit story.

I am married to my HS sweetheart, but when I was talking to my sister about this premise, she doesn't even want to look up her HS crush. He spent time in prison and turned out to be a pretty shady character. Most of us are probably glad we moved forward from whom we were attracted to in high school.

I enjoyed reading this book and I enjoyed Sandra Nachlinger's other novel, Bluebonnet's for Elly. I would recommend either of them to anyone looking for a feel good, easy read.

Yellow Crocus - a story worth telling

This is my 14th entry to the 2014 Ebook Reading Challenge. Hosted by Sarah at  Workaday Reads.

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've given 5 stars to a lot of books lately. Maybe I should be more selective, but they are all really good.

The first paragraph drew me in. I already felt bad for Mattie. How could the plantation owner expect her to just leave her own baby, to be the wet nurse to their new daughter? How could the Missus not want to hold and nurse her own child?

Elizabeth attaches quickly  to her nurse, preferring Mattie to her own mother. Mattie keeps an eye on her own son by watching out the window of the nursery. Luckily, because the quarters are close, when Lisbeth is finally old enough to be without Mattie for a few hours, Mattie is allowed to visit Samuel, and keep a relationship with him as he grows.

As Mattie transitions into becoming Lisbeth's maid, Lisbeth changes. As she grows into a young woman and then becomes betrothed, she ponders the way of her life. A disturbing event makes her really consider her future and she makes a courageous decision.

I really enjoyed the storytelling in this book. I hope Laila  Ibrahim writes again.


View all my reviews


Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter Four Stars

I read this on my Kindle and rated it 4 stars.





Goodreads Synopsis:

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow.

Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.


My thoughts:

I fell in love with the Italian coast part of the story. I have heard so much about this part of Italy, it makes me want to visit someday. The idealistic inn-keeper, Pasquale and the family and friends he supported. The ailing young starlet, he is smitten by, seems to have an attraction to all she meets. All the main characters are pretty well developed. I felt like I knew them well, with the exception of Michael, who I did not like at all. A user and abuser of others. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to indulge in looking into people's lives. It is a love story, yes, but a story about the people with maybe unattainable dreams that keep them focused on being their best selves.

I will be linking this review to

hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. I signed up to read 25 ebooks, this is number 13. I am afraid I will fail this challenge.

Until Next Time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10-20-14

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Come join the fun of visiting other blogs to see what everyone is reading. As Sheila says, "Fair warning...this meme tends to add to your reading list!" :)




This week I will finish up

and then I will link up a reveiw with 2014 E Book Challenge. 

I hope to have a review of The Bluest Eye and Half Broke Horses too. 

I hope to start The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap: A Memoir of Friendship, Community and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book 

It is the November selection of my local F2F bookclub.

And if I am unable to get my hands on this one, I will start Letter to My Daughter by Maya Angelou.

We have had unusually warm weather for October. Today it was 78 degrees. Sunny and not even windy. Very unusual. I am not complaining, any day that puts snow and cold wind farther away is fine with me!




Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday. What Are You Reading? Walls & Walter

This meme is brought to you by Sheila at Book Journey.  Click on over and join us in sharing the book were are reading this week, or at least hope to get read.



I finished reading :

I have not written a review as yet. It is still swimming around in my head. I did like it a lot, not because the story was wonderful but because the writing was beautiful.




This week I will start a print book, that I picked up from the library. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls .

Lily Casey Smith, this novel's feisty Texas protagonist, is a frontier teacher, a rancher, a rodeo rider, a poker player, and bootlegger. In Half Broke Horses, she survives droughts, tornados, floods, poverty, and whatever else fate can throw against her.
Based on author Jeannette Walls's grandmother, Lily is a plausible character because she has a voice that synchronizes with her history.

This novel lives up to the still gathering acclaim for Walls's novel The Glass Castle.

On my Kindle, I will be reading Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.

The story begins in 1962. On a rocky patch of the sun-drenched Italian coastline, a young innkeeper, chest-deep in daydreams, looks out over the incandescent waters of the Ligurian Sea and spies an apparition: a tall, thin woman, a vision in white, approaching him on a boat. She is an actress, he soon learns, an American starlet, and she is dying.

And the story begins again today, half a world away, when an elderly Italian man shows up on a movie studio's back lot—searching for the mysterious woman he last saw at his hotel decades earlier.

What unfolds is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set ofCleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion—along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow.

Gloriously inventive, constantly surprising, Beautiful Ruins is a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.

Until next time, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Review: Black Roses by Jenn Brink

Another Ebook to post to this challenge hosted by Sarah  at Workaday Reads. I signed up at the DVD Level which is 25 ebooks. Not a difficult challenge I didn't think. I need to get a move on, this is only #12. I have lots of books downloaded, but I have been reading print books too.


Black Roses by Jenn Brink
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jess is in over her head, and yet she believes she can handle her situation. When she picks her fiance up at Sea-Tac airport, she notices a buxom blond at his side. He almost makes it to the car, when some guys from the company say they need him at the office. This begins her adventure!

This book had a lot going for it. Strong willed female protagonist, a mystery stalker, funny one-liners, lots of sexual tension, and a beautiful setting. But this particular Kindle edition was hard to read. Chapter Four was a duplicate of Chapter Three. I don't think I missed anything, it was just a duplicate. There were sentences that did not make sense due to missing words, or duplicated words. This took away from my enjoyment of the book. This was downloaded from the author, I wonder if there is a better edition available now? Maybe it was an ARC and now there is a final revised version. Hmmmm?


View all my reviews

The Edge of Never - 2014 Ebook Challenge

The Edge of Never by J.A. Redmerski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a really good chick lit novel. I have not read any of the author's other books, but I enjoyed this one.

At first I thought, Camryn Bennett was spoiled little girl. And a bit stupid too!  To get on a bus to Idaho, just because the ticket agent was eating a baked potato?  But of course it developed into a boy meets girl, girl falls head over heels with bad boy, Andrew,  etc etc etc. It turned out to be a bit "steamier" than I had first imagined.

Lots of very detailed sex scenes. I do not consider myself a prude. I am over 60, and I have experienced quite a lot of life. Although these scenes did not put me off, I found it hard to believe that were being experienced by a nearly virginal 20 year old. Maybe I am just uninformed about the experience levels of today's twenty-somethings.

I bought this book for my Kindle, and as happens a lot with kindle editions, there were many typos. Some obvious editing errors and a few grammatical errors, I noticed, but it did not make me want to stop reading. In fact, I had trouble putting it down.

I am linking this short review to Workaday Reads. Sarah hosts the

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? New Month New Goal

Join us at Sheila's blog, Book Journey, where we share the books were are currently reading or want to start soon. Some of us will share the books we recently finished also, with maybe a link to a review. It is great fun, but fair warning, you will add to your TBR read list for sure.

This week I am still listening to :

I am enjoying this book just as I enjoyed The Life of Bees by the same author. The narrating of this one is superb. 

And I am also reading on my Kindle:

As I said in the past I am not a Stephen King fan, do not read his books, but so far ( and I have just started) I am involved with this one. It is of course, very well written.

My goal this month is to get caught up on my challenge to read 72 books this year. Goodreads says I am now 2 books behind. So I must pick up the pace. As of today I have 4 months, or 122 days to finish 27 books. If my calculations are correct, that means I must read 1 book every 4.5 days. That is pushing it for me. I always thought I was a fast reader, but compared to some I am not. And the older I get, the harder it gets. But I will work at getting to this goal.


Until next time,
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 3 new starts

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted every Monday by Sheila at Book Journey. This is a very active meme and one sure to entice you to add to your list of books to be read. Join us at Sheila's blog and check out what other bloggers are reading this week 

I finished all the books I had been reading, so started 3 new ones this week. 

First on my Kindle:

This one has been on my Kindle for a while. In fact I think it was the second one that I downloaded. I am not a Stephen King fan. I have not read any of his other books, but I thought maybe I could get through this one.  I was a senior in high school on November 22, 1963 and I remember the day in great detail.  This book will fill two challenges that I am working on too. One is the 2014 Ebook Challenge hosted by 

Sarah at Workaday Reads  and the other is the Mega Mix Challenge II on Goodreads. I need a book with a title that starts with E to spell out the title of my favorite TV show. When I started the challenge I selected Downton Abbey. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find a book title that starts with E, but I have had a difficult time. So creative license, Eleven/Twenty-two/Sixty-three!. 

I also started Copycat Killing, #3 of the Magical Cats Mystery by Sofie Kelly. This one has been on my TBR shelf for a long time. I decided I needed a book to carry in the car and I may need a diversion from the Stephen King novel. 

I really enjoyed the other Sofie Kelly book I read earlier in the month, Sleight of Paw. I own(or am owned by) a black and white cat, who looks very much like Hercules in this series. He cannot,  however, walk through doors. Thank goodness!. 

And just to round things out, because heaven forbid that I should have time to clean or sew, I decided I had better start on the first book in the fall lineup for my bookclub. We chose 

I read The Secret Life of Bees and bought the movie in preparation for this one. I have it as an audible on my kindle and given the trouble I had finding listening time when I was "reading" The Goldfinch, I wanted to give myself a time cushion. This one is only 13 hours as opposed to 30 hrs, so maybe I will be fine. 

Until next time, 

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Reading Reading Reading

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted every Monday by Sheila at Book Journey. This is a very active meme and one sure to entice you to add to your list of books to be read. Join us at Sheila's blog and check out what other bloggers are reading this week 

This week I was able to do a lot of reading. My husband and I spent 5 days camping in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Our plan was just to spend time together, doing nothing or at least not much of anything. We stopped at Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City SD and purchased a bottle of my favorite wine, Red Ass Rhubarb. We drove to Sheridan Lake and looked around the camping sites. I looked for chokecherries but did not see any, although my sister and sister-in-law have picked some recently.  And I spent lots of time reading! 

Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I won this book in a giveaway on the Cozy Chicks blog a couple of years ago. My copy is signed by the author and I also received the next installment, Copycat Killing.  Although I found a couple of typos it did not distract from my enjoyment of the story. This is the 2nd in the Magical Cats Mystery series and there are some references in the story about the solving of the first murder, but this book can stand alone. I may, however have a bit of insight into the murder in the first book, Curiosity Thrilled the Cat.

Kathleen Paulson, is a librarian and owner of two previously feral cats Owen and Hercules. I should probably say, she is owned by the cats. Owen and Hercules are magical cats. Owen can make himself invisible and Hercules can walk through unopened doors. Kathleen talks regularly to her cats and they "talk" back. Their abilities will help Kathleen find some clues to the death of a former and much loved teacher in Mayville Heights, MN. Agatha Shepard's death has Kathleen and her friends, Maggie, Ruby and Roma searching for the cold-hearted killer. Of course, there is professional help too, from handsome Detective Marcus Gordon. Kathleen finds that keeping secrets is never a good idea when there has been a murder.

If you like animals, cats in particular and quirky lady protagonists, then read this fun cozy mystery. I liked it a lot and it was a good read as my husband and I camped in the Black Hills of SD last week. I am on to read the next one, The Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly and then I will search out the 1st in the Magical Cat series

I will be linking this post to several memes today. Since the short story and book by Paulita Kincer are on my Kindle, I will add them to the Ebook Challenge hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. And for the first time, I will link up on Paulita's blog, An Accidental Blog for her Dreaming of France meme. 

I read this short story by one of my favorite authors on my kindle. 

I can't review this short story on Goodreads, they don't show it as a possible read. So here is short synopsis of a short story. 

Joanna's husband Simon has the flu. He quit kissing her on the lips. He turned away from her in bed in a fit of coughing. He moved into the spare room, and after a month he packed a bag and moved out of the house. Their only son Ben was going off to college, what could she do. So her friend Sylvia talked her into go back Paris to drown her sorrows in wine, museums and men with accents. Will the sights in Paris fill the void or will she realize she can't go back to the Paris that she remembers from her younger days? It is a short story with a happy ending, and I feel a prelude to the story that became I See London I See France

I See London I See France by Paulita Kincer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Caroline Sommers finds herself suddenly alone with her kids when her husband of 15 years walks out in a huff. She begins to wonder what happened to the happy fulfilled women she was before she married and before she became a stay at home, homeschooling mom to three. She remembers feeling most alive when she was traveling, and impulsively sells her minivan ( after all it was bought with an inheritance from her grandmother) and packs up Jack, Maggie and Henry at travels to Europe. As she shepherds her kids to London, to Scotland then to Paris and Provence she finds herself wondering. Should she chose love or lust in the arms of a European man she meets in Scotland? Should she try to rekindle the unrequited love of an older Frenchman she met while in Provence 16 years ago as a college student? Or should she give the father of her children and the man she truly loved once a second chance?

Paulita Kincer gives voice to many of our concerns as wives and mothers. She does it with humor, and insight into Caroline and Scott's life. She touches on the importance of taking care of yourself, but knowing that the needs of your children are first.


This next week I hope to finish Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and start on Copycat Killing by Sofie Kelly.
And I plan to ready the camper for our next outing, do some sewing and maybe, just maybe clean out a closet or two!  Maybe!

Until next time
Stay Busy and Stay Happy

The Driving Lesson : What's In A Name 2014 - Bonus

The Driving Lesson by Ben Rehder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did not know what to expect after the first paragraph. But it turned out to be a wonderful coming of age story about a grandparent and his 14 year old grandson.

Charlie Dunbar is the only son of Glen and Sarah Dunbar. Charlie is what I would call a typical 14 year old. He knows right from wrong, but he can be "bullied" into making a wrong choice by someone calling him names. So starts the journey of Charlie and his Opa.

As they travel across country from Abilene TX to Seattle WA and stops in between, Charlie "Bud" and his grandfather learn to trust each other, learn to be honest with each other and generally have a great time.

This story touched me. I am a grandparent. I wonder if I would have made the choice Charlie's grandfather made if my diagnosis had been terminal? Would I have been brave enough to share with a young, almost adult grandchild. I doubt it. This is a great story. I cried, I laughed and shook my head in amazement. I recommend it for all.


View all my reviews

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 8-4-14

Every Monday, Sheila at Book Journey hosts a weekly meme that allows us a place to showcase the books were are currently reading or plan to read soon. It also gives us an opportunity to check in to see what others are reading. Join us and share your current reads.  Warning though!  It will add to your want-to-read list!

This week I am reading

Toni Rodden has escaped a life of prostitution and vows she'll never let a man control her again. After months on the wagon train, she's finally earned her place, albeit grudgingly from some, and has found a surrogate family in Fannie Caldwell and her two siblings. For the first time she can taste freedom and the possibilities of a new life. But as Fannie prepares to marry wagon master Blake Tanner, Toni realizes how alone she is and questions whether she'll ever find acceptance, or true love.

Despite Toni's conviction that no man will be able to see beyond her marred past, Sam Two-Feathers, the half-Indian wagon scout and acting preacher for the train, seems to know of a love that forgives sins and values much more than outward appearances. Will Sam have the confidence to declare his love? Will Toni be able to trust in a love that can forgive even the darkest past?

So far, it reminds me of One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus.  Cheyenne Indians, Wagon Train, "soiled dove" woman afraid of being given to the savages!  I picked this book from the clearance rack at our local bookstore and did not realize is was #2 in a series. I hope it is a stand alone story, if not I will have to stop until I can read #1   Defiant Heart. I'm a bit OCD about that!  :)

I hope also to read on my Kindle :   The Driving Lesson by Ben Rehder. It will help complete the What's In A Name 2014 challenge.  Check out that challenge now being sponsored by Charlie at The Worm Hole.  

Charlie Dunbar had big plans for the summer break, but becoming a fugitive was nowhere on the list. Even more unexpected, his partner in crime is his own ailing grandfather. Now they're on the run, trying to make it across the country to see a special kind of doctor, while the world becomes mesmerized by their journey. They are the subject of heated debates on cable news channels. Thousands of people voice their support on Facebook fan pages. And Charlie's own parents appear on live TV to plead for him to come home safely. But Charlie isn't ready yet. He's determined to get his grandfather to Seattle. The only question is, will the police stop him first? **Recommended for ages 13 to adult.**

I finally finished listening to The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. It was 32 hours on my Kindle. About half way through it became a real chore. I loved the beginning, and the ending was beautifully written . The whole book was written well, but it was too too long in my opinion. 

I also finished The Potting Shed Quilt by Ann Hazelwood.  I liked this cozy mystery story, but the writing was a real distraction. What a contrast between these two books!

This last week was a bit quite in our house. Our granddaughter and her husband and baby son, finally were able to move into their house. I miss the activity and the happy baby smiles and noises. But that being said, I was able to finish a table runner and placemats that I have been making for our son and DIL. I participate in a quilting challenge too. I know I know!  Crazy, right?  Anyway, my quilting group has an annual challenge where we sign up to commit to to complete 6 previously unfinished projects. We donate 6  $1 bills to a pot and then if we complete our selected project for the current 2 month period, we get the dollar back. If we fail, the dollar get donated to the "kitty" and at the end of the year we will draw from the collection of names of those who finished.  Not big bucks, but the challenge is in  the peer pressure to complete not the money involved. It has been fun and most of us have gotten our projects out of the UFO box and completed. A really good feeling!

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy

Review: We Are Water, and challenges met.

The 2014 Ebook Challenge.
Encouraging readers to expand past just physical books to embrace ebooks in all forms. Hosted by Sarah at Workaday Reads. You can join at any time, sign up under the 2014 Ebook Challenge tab on her blog. I signed up at the DVD Level and promised to read 25 ebooks in 2014. 

Title: We Are Water
Author:Wally Lamb
Publisher: Harper


Goodreads Synopsis:

In middle age, Annie Oh—wife, mother, and outsider artist—has shaken her family to its core. After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Annie has fallen in love with Viveca, the wealthy, cultured, confident Manhattan art dealer who orchestrated her professional success.
Annie and Viveca plan to wed in the Oh family's hometown of Three Rivers, Connecticut, where gay marriage has recently been legalized. But the impending wedding provokes some very mixed reactions and opens a Pandora's box of toxic secrets—dark and painful truths that have festered below the surface of the Ohs' lives.
We Are Water is an intricate and layered portrait of marriage, family, and the inexorable need for understanding and connection, told in the alternating voices of the Ohs—nonconformist Annie; her ex-husband, Orion, a psychologist; Ariane, the do-gooder daughter, and her twin, Andrew, the rebellious only son; and free-spirited Marissa, the youngest Oh. Set in New England and New York during the first years of the Obama presidency, it is also a portrait of modern America, exploring issues of class, changing social mores, the legacy of racial violence, and the nature of creativity and art.
With humor and breathtaking compassion, Wally Lamb brilliantly captures the essence of human experience in vivid and unforgettable characters struggling to find hope and redemption in the aftermath of trauma and loss. We Are Water is vintage Wally Lamb—a compulsively readable, generous, and uplifting masterpiece that digs deep into the complexities of the human heart to explore the ways in which we search for love and meaning in our lives.

My thoughts:

I am not sure about this story. I gave it 5 stars because it touched me, it made me mad, it made me sad, it made me think. This family's story is told from the point of view of each family member. That at least makes it understandable. There are tragedies and emotions and consequenses to decisions. That is reality. I did not like all the characters, but that too is reality. I only really have one complaint in the story, and that is that part 5  is 3 years forward from the last of part 4, which left us sort of hanging as to what happened to Orion Oh, after he went back to the Viveca's rental .  We just get a quick summing up. It was a bit disappointing, but at least you did get a conclusion.  I guess I would recommend it, but it is not a feel-good read, rather a thought provoking, eye-opening, discussion making kind of read.


This book is the summer read from my face to face book club and I am looking forward to the discussion at our meeting in September. It also fits the Ebook Challenge as it was downloaded to my Kindle, and it fits one of the categories of the Mega Mix II Challenge that is hosted by the Love of Reading group on Goodreads.

The Thirteenth Tale Diane Setterfield

The Thirteenth Tale
Diane Setterfield
Pub:   Atria Books Yr: 2006

Reclusive author Vida Winter is a storyteller. In fact, she has been a master storyteller for nearly 60 years. Reporters and interviewers alike have tried to tell her personal story, but she tells each one a completely different tale. The 13th tale is elusive.

Now ailing, she wants to tell her story, a story of tragedy and pain. She contacts Margaret Lea, a book lover and a biographer. As Vida begins to tell her story, she lays down some rather strict rules and in the process mesmerizes Miss Lea. As the tale progresses, the two have more in common than either of them originally thought.

Others have described this book as a gothic tale. I would not have used that word, but the story was set in gloom and darkness. It is beautifully written fascinating tale of a young woman's  life surrounded by hidden truths, a dysfunctional brother and sister, sadness, and a  tragic fire. In the end, the ailing writer finishes her story and her life and in doing so, allows Margaret to confront her own past and find contentment she didn't know was possible.

This my May entry in the 2014 Ebook Reading Challenge hosted by Sarah at  Workaday Reads. Visit her blog and join us in featuring your electronic reads. 

Until next time

Stay Busy and Stay Happy