December 08 Reads

The Trouble with Angels by Debbie Macomber

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy are three angels sent to earth to help three humans in their hour of need. Gabriel is a bit worried about sending the angels because they have caused trouble on previous trips to earth. This time around they do okay, though. Each angel is assigned to one human – an embittered single mother, a grieving pastor, and the disenchanted grandson of a lovely elderly lady. While things look grim for awhile, it all works out in the end.
It took me almost two weeks to read this book because I just couldn’t really get into it. I’m not a huge fan of Christmas books, and the storylines in the book were a bit hokey and dry. I generally love Debbie Macomber, but I just cannot give this novel two thumbs up. I’d say it’s more of a “one thumb up, one thumb down” novel.

The Horse and his Boy by C. S. Lewis

Third in the Chronicles of Narnia. This novel falls between The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. I decided to reread it after watching Prince Caspian. I had to wonder why they skipped this story. Now I know! Not a lot of action in this novel. Lots of traveling, a few scrapes and battles, but a ho-hum tale at best. Shasta is a slave boy and Bree is a talking horse in the land of non-talking animals. Together they escape their captors and head toward Narnia. Along the way they team up with Hwin and Aravis. Aravis is a high-born girl escaping an arranged marriage, and Hwin is another talking horse. The quartet have some trouble getting through a large city, are separated and reunited a couple of times, and, after a battle in Archenland get the honor of meeting Kings Edmund and Peter and Queens Lucy and Susan.

The Nannie Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

I saw the movie, so I had to read the book. The movie actually follows the book pretty closely, IMO. Nanny gets saddled with 4-year-old Grayer and two days per week morphs into almost 24/7 child care. Grayer’s mother, Mrs. X, takes complete advantage of Nanny, but Nanny has fallen in love with Grayer and cannot bring herself to leave the lonely and neglected little boy. I found this to be a heart-wrenching story, but a very quick read.

4th of July by James Patterson

Another excellent novel in the Women’s Murder Club series! I devoured this book in less than 48 hours. Lindsay is shot, charged with police brutality, reeled into a murder case that brings to mind a John Doe murder case from early in her career, and becomes a potential victim of a serial killer. Talk about action packed! Awesome book!