She Always Wore Red

She Always Wore Red
(The Fairlawn Series, #2)
by Angela Hunt

Jennifer Graham and her boys are trying to fit into their new community and life at the Fairlawn Funeral Home. Jennifer makes a much needed friend when she meets McLane Larson. When McLane reveals that she is carrying her husband’s baby, Jen promises to stand by her. This proves to be a huge test of their relationship and Jen finds out just how deep their ties really go! I really like this series.

- Dixie

Doesn't She Look Natural?

Doesn't She Look Natural?
(The Fairlawn Series, #1)
by Angela Hunt

Jennifer Graham quits her job after her divorce and has to live with her mother. She learns that she has inherited some real estate in a small town in Florida. Great! Money to start her new life! She heads to Florida fully intending to sell and get on with life. What a surprise to find out that she is the owner of a funeral home. It is in no shape to sell so she settles in to fix it up. Little does she know that some of life’s mysteries will be made clear living in a funeral home. Very enjoyable.

- Dixie

The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden

The Ever-Blooming Flower Garden
by Lee Schneller

If you want flowers blooming continually in your garden, this is the book for you. Plants’ habits are explained as well as color combinations, which plants work best in the garden, amending soil, and improving an existing bed. The book gives step-by-step instructions how to plan a garden using a chart system. This method will help determine how many plants are needed for your garden, placement of plants, and assist with planning eye-appealing color combinations. Visual aids such as photos and graphs make this book an excellent resource for any gardener.

- Rose

Ghost Town

Ghost Town (DVD)

Ricky Gervais as an unlikely star for a romance, but I absolutely love this romantic comedy. Gervais plays Bertram, a very rude dentist and Tea Leoni plays Gwen, an archeologist. After Gervais accidentally dies & is revived during a routine colonoscopy, he sees dead people and they see him. He tries hiding, but he's stuck helping them with their unresolved issues. Gwen is a widow with a broken heart. I refuse to ruin the plot so you'll just have to watch the movie to find out what happens.

This movie fits right in the tradition of New York City romances. I loved the setting, the story and the actors. It's witty & fun.

- Holly

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria: How a Peace Corps Poster Boy Won My Heart and a Third World Adventure Changed My Life
by Eve Brown-Waite

Available through CLEVNET, First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria is Eve Brown-Waite's account of her time in the Peace Corps in Ecuador in the late 1980s and then in Uganda, as wife of a CARE worker, in the mid-1990s. The title is a bit misleading - it was the author who worked hard to win the heart of her Peace Corps recruiter, including signing up for the Peace Corps! Her writing is fresh and funny and I learned a lot about life in Uganda.

- Linda

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
by Rebecca Wells

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder is the story of Calla Lily, a small town Louisiana beautician. The tale of Calla's life is told with the warmth and humor that have made Rebecca Wells' other books, including Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood, such a success. Great summer reading!

- Lynn

Energy of Prayer

The Energy of Prayer : How to Deepen Your Spiritual Practice

by Thich Nhat Hanh

In this concise and powerful book Nhat Hanh discusses prayer from a Buddhist perspective. The book covers why sometimes prayer works while other times it does not. His meditation on the matter is surprisingly real & effective. He concludes with a meditation on the Lord's Prayer.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Zen master in the spirit of the Dalai Lama. This very short book speaks volumes. It's a profound meditation that provides insight to everyone from any culture or belief.

-Holly

Skintrade

Skintrade: an Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Novel
by Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita, along with three other U.S. Marshalls, is called to Las Vegas to hunt down a serial killer vampire. Anita finds herself dealing with the Vegas PD and their prejudices. After all, she's a woman, has powers they don't understand, and is living with vampires and shape-shifters. On top of everything else, Anita's powers continue to grow. Her control of them is tested in ways she didn't expect.

Hamilton continues to deliver interesting reads.

-Rochelle

Summer on Blossom Street

Summer on Blossom Street
by Debbie Macomber

While the story centers around Lydia Goetz’s knitting shop and her new class, Knit to Quit, the readers are brought up-to-date on the other families on Blossom Street. Newcomers on the block: Phoebe, Hutch, Casey, Tim, Mel, and Clark are introduced into the neighborhood as their personal lives are revealed.

I could hardly wait to read Summer on Blossom Street; and, as always, Debbie Macomber did not disappoint me. An excellent summer read!

- Rose

The Woods

The Woods
by Harlan Coben

Coben leaves behind his usual main character of Myron Bolitar to construct a tight suspense that leaves you guessing until the last chapters.

Twenty years ago when Paul Copeland was a teenage counselor at a summer camp, four teens were killed, one of them his sister. Now as a prosecutor in a rape case, a defendant's parent tries to dig up dirt on Paul to persuade Paul to drop the charges. They start looking into this episode in Paul's life and the effect is explosive.

- Rochelle

Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing

Crafty Chica’s Guide to Artful Sewing
by Kathy Cano-Murillo

I love colorful things so I had to check this book out. There are 30 projects ranging from beginner to difficult with full color photos, templates and resource lists. Using garage sale finds or “it's been in the closet awhile” items, these projects show how to “re-purpose” (or should I say recycle?) things you already have around the house. Sections include: Power Purses, Wondrous Wearables and Embrace Your Space. The book has many sewing tips and funny stories too. Even if you don’t have the time to do one of these projects, check this book out and enjoy it!

- Dixie

The Deepest Cut

The Deepest Cut
by Dianne Emley

This is the third in the trilogy about Pasadena Police Department detective Nan Vining, who was brutally attacked and left for dead by a deranged and cunning unknown man. Nan and her teen daughter Emily have dubbed him "T.B. Mann" for "the bad man." As Nan struggles to get her career and life back on her terms, she obsessively takes the investigation of her attack into her own hands. I liked how the author puts the reader inside Nan's head and especially liked Nan's emotional and physical strength. Read these in order: The First Cut, Cut to the Quick, and then The Deepest Cut. Though not for the squeamish, they are well-written suspense novels with a little romance thrown in.

-Linda

Wintergirls

Wintergirls
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Laurie Halse Anderson has written a gripping book about the downward spiral of anorexia and the agonizing path to recovery. Like her book Speak, I found Wintergirls impossible to put down - recommended for both teens and adults.

- Lynn

Lavender Morning

Lavender Morning
by Jude Deveraux

Jocelyn Minton was five years old when her mother passed away. Her father remarried and Jocelyn gained a stepmother and identical twin step sisters, which she often referred to as the “Steps.” Joce didn’t have anything in common with her father or the Steps and became friends with Miss Edilean Harcourt, who was like a grandmother to her. When Miss Harcourt passed away, she left everything to Joce, including a house in Edilean, Virginia. When Joce moves to Edilean, not only does she become interested in two men who are cousins, but learns Miss Harcourt had secrets she never shared with Joce.

This is the first book in the Edilean series by Jude Deveraux and is cleverly written with a little mystery and a touch of humor. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

- Rose

Dead & Gone

Dead & Gone
by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse is at it again. Her sister-in-law is found dead, nailed to a cross at the bar where she works. Did her brother do it? The fairies are at war - who will win out? Eric is struggling to keep his position as sheriff and Sookie gets dragged in. Typical Bon Temps activities!

- Rochelle