Keith Ablow - The Architect

59. The Architect by Keith Ablow (2005)

Frank Clevenger, M.D. Series Book 6
Length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery

Started: 18 October 2010
Finished: 28 October 2010

Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 October 2010
Why do I have it? I do enjoy contemporary mysteries and Keith Ablow is a new author for me.

West Crosse is a brilliant, handsome architect with a love of ideal beauty and a commitment to creating it at all costs. But the rich, powerful families who employ him don't realize that he has a dark side: Crosse can't stop at designing their homes, he must make their lives beautiful as well.

To Crosse, that means murdering abusive spouses, a toxic lover, predatory business partners or anyone else who doesn't fit with his ideal of perfection. As Crosse begins his master work, the FBI's Frank Clevenger begins the ultimate cat and mouse game. I enjoyed this book and give it an A+! 

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Scott Smith - The Ruins

58. The Ruins by Scott Smith (2006)
Length: 319 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 7 October 2010
Finished: 17 October 2010
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 October 2010
Why do I have it? I like horror and Scott Smith is a new author to me.


Six friends are exploring a Mexican archeological dig. What sets out to be a fun exploration of the Mayan ruins turns into a nightmare beyond imagination. I loved this story but it is not for the squeamish. It was the perfect horror story for me and I give it an A+!


A+! - (96-100%)


Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Joan Rivers and Richard Meryman - Still Talking

57. Still Talking by Joan Rivers and Richard Meryman (1991)
Length: 285 pages
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started: 1 October 2010
Finished: 7 October 2010
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 1 October 2010
Why do I have it? I like non-fiction and have always been curious about Joan Rivers' life.

This is the story of a woman who had - and then lost - everything. The story of a woman who worked for three decades to finally reach the top. What subsequently happened to Joan Rivers had more to do with being a woman than with being a star. In a business that is notoriously harsh to women, Joan Rivers struggled to carve out a niche for herself that for the past several decades, has marked her as one of the gutsiest comediennes working in the business today.

Ultimately, Joan was forced to choose between her husband and her career. In the titanic confrontation between her husband and the boss of her television network, Joan stood with her husband and was out of a job. Far worse, Edgar, her husband of twenty-two years, took his own life.

In the face of such awful tragedy, where did this controversial star find the inner strength to continue on and survive without the protection of her husband? With her trademark combination of biting humor and fragility, tough-minded ambition and traditional values, Joan Rivers tells a story of tragedy and eventual triumph. Not only has she learned to survive the trials and tribulations of life, but she has ultimately thrived.

I must say that while I don't enjoy Joan Rivers' style of comedy, I certainly enjoyed reading her autobiography. She has gone through so much tragedy; things that would quite possibly torpedo another person's career for good. However, Joan Rivers has somehow risen above and triumphed over such sadness and still has managed to be successful. In my opinion, she is a very strong woman; a woman who is to be admired for her fortitude. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Belva Plain - The Sight of the Stars

56. The Sight of the Stars by Belva Plain (2003)
Length: 342 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 28 September 2010
Finished: 3 October 2010
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 24 February 2010
Why do I have it? I like Belva Plain as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Dressed in a new suit with 150 dollars in his pocket, Adam Arnring says goodbye to his family and boards a train for the West. The year is 1907. Adam is nineteen years old, a young man with stars in his eyes who has dreams of a bright future in the wide open spaces of America. Far from his New Jersey roots, Adam lands a job in a small department store in a booming Texas town. He is taken with the beautiful and untouchable Emma Rothirsch who inhabits a world whose doors are forever closed to him. But Adam is determined to fight for what he wants.

One is Emma, another is to build a lasting empire to pass on to his children and grandchildren. But just when Adam seems to be able to attain what he wants, fate intervenes. Tragedy strikes from the trenches of World War I, setting in motion a series of events which will have reprecussions throughout the years.

Adam, now the head of a growing family and a prosperous department store, succumbs to a moment of weakness culminating in an ultimate act of betrayal - one that is unforgivable. Now as a new generation of the family is born, a secret from the Arnrings' past reaches forward to shatter their lives.

Surprisingly, this is one of very few books by Ms. Plain that is completely new to me. Somehow, it never even registered on my radar that she had written a new book until this one had been out for almost a decade. I have always thought Belva Plain was a wonderful author - in my opinion, she was a natural born storyteller, able to develop the type of characters that readers could really relate to and plots that were incredibly realistic.

The Sight of the Stars by Belva Plain is just such a book - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and was completely swept away by it; avidly wanting to know what would happen next. I would definitely give this book an A+! and would whole-heartedly recommend it to others who enjoy reading historical family sagas.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up for September at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out September with 657 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 650 books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from Bookmooch.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Changes to the TBR pile 


Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- The Deadly Gift by Norah Lofts
- Psychward by Stephen B. Seager, M. D.
- Treasures by Belva Plain
- Summer's End by Danielle Steel
- Running From the Law by Lisa Scottoline
- Thinner by Stephen King
- Whispers by Belva Plain

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))
- Hill Towns by Anne Rivers Siddons

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- No Mercy by John Walsh
- Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Flowers in the Rain and Other Stories by Rosamunde Pilcher
- The Day of the Storm by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher
- Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
- Halfway Home: My Life 'Til Now by Ronan Tynan
- The Passion of Molly T. by Lawrence Sanders

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 2,733
Grade Range: A+! to A!

So, there you go! The reading month that was September. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

September's Book of the Month

Hello Everyone! I chose the picture posted above because it reminds me of reading to my daughter Mareena when she was little. Every afternoon until she was about eight or nine years old, we would take one of her books that she wanted to read or that she was reading and we would curl up together on my big bed. 

We would spend an hour or so reading a chapter of her book, and then take a nap together. Her absolutely favorite author at that time was an English author named Enid Blyton. Ahh, nice memories...

My picks for 'Books of the Month' will be decidedly more adult these days, but they will be from almost any genre. September's Book of the Month is: 

 The Deadly Gift by Norah Lofts

Published as: Afternoon of an Autocrat or The Devil in Clevely  in 1956

Publisher: Doubleday and Company

Birth Name: Norah Robinson

Born: 27 August 1904 in Shipdham, Norfolk, England
Died: 10 September 1983 in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England

Canonical Name: Norah Lofts

Pseudonyms: Juliet Astley and Peter Curtis

The Deadly Gift by Nancy Thayer was the fifty-fifth book that I read in 2010. I have had this book on my TBR shelf since April 4, 2009 and it took me eight days to read. This book is a definite keeper for me.

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Norah Lofts - The Deadly Gift

55. The Deadly Gift by Norah Lofts (1967)
(Originally Published as: Afternoon of an Autocrat) (1956)
Length: 317 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 20 September 2010
Finished: 28 September 2010
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 4 April 2009
Why do I have it? I like Norah Lofts as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

As the patriarch of the all-powerful Shelmadine family, Sir Charles Augustus Shelmadine was known by all to be a benevolent autocrat. He ruled his little village 'kingdom' with a gentle but firm hand, and was genuinely liked and respected by his tenants for his warm demeanor. He kindly instructed his tenants on the best way to grow their crops; raise their children and handle their love affairs. However, when Sir Charles passed away rather suddenly and unexpectedly, the village stirred uneasily.

The villagers main unease grew from the arrival of the new Squire, Sir Richard Shelmadine. As Sir Charles' son, Sir Richard had recently returned from overseas and seemed quite ready and more than eager to take over his father's title. However, Sir Richard was an unusually secretive man; and the new squire had some very strange ideas. He also surrounded himself with even stranger friends - friends like the mysterious Mr. Mundford.

The strangest thing about Mr. Mundford was that he never seemed to age, and his name was linked to the terrible and infamous Hellfire Club. Mr. Mundford was also very interested in many things that shouldn't ever have interested him. His interest bordered on obsession, really - an almost unholy fascination...with the ruins of an ancient Roman temple; with what happened in the village on All-Hallow's Night; and most especially with a silent and somber young woman with amber eyes called Damask Greenway.

I have always loved Norah Lofts as an author, and despite finding the plot slightly more intricate than I was expecting, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would definitely give this book an A+! and will certainly be keeping it on my bookshelf to read again.

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight