A Dropped Stitches Christmas by Janet Tronstad

This is book 2 in the Dropped Stitches series.  I strongly recommend reading book 1 first.  These are definitely books that build on each other. I have been saving this one for my annual Christmas readathon. As expected, I enjoyed it very much. I am not a huge fan of the first person style you find with Chick Lit, but somehow it works with this series. Even though the majority of the story is told from one person's view point, there are moments when someone else interjects via a journal that all members of the Dropped Stitch Sisters share. (Again, you need to read the 1st book to totally understand the significance of the group and the journal.) 

In book 2, we focus on Carly Winston, the former Rose Queen and cancer survivor. Carly, like most of us, has secrets... one big one she has kept from her "Sisters" and it is weighing her down. Will they understand when she tells them or will it cause a mistrust among them? And what about Randy and their evolving relationship? Will he understand? 

Carly has a lot to learn about being comfortable in your own skin... being open and transparent with those you love... and letting God heal you of your past hurts.

92 Pacific Boulevard by Debbie Macomber

I am a big Macomber fan, as I am sure I have stated here before. Her Cedar Cove novels were the first of her works I read and are still favorites. 92 Pacific Boulevard is book 9 in the series (which really needs to be read in order). It was so much fun to go back to Cedar Cove and visit with old friends, get to know some of them a bit better and meet a few new ones. Sheriff Troy Davis is still struggling with his love for Faith Beckwith, but is it too late to make up for his foolish actions? In the meantime, Faith has become the target for some malicious vandalism and is considering leaving Cedar Cove. Maybe it was a mistake to move here in the first place. Olivia Griffin is fighting cancer with grace and the support of her many friends in Cedar Cove. And there are babies on the way.... triplets! Life is never dull in Cedar Cove!

Where Do I Go by Neta Jackson

Where Do I Go is Book 1 of Jackson's new Yada Yada House of Hope Series. I absolutely adored the Yada Yada Prayer Group series and am so happy Jackson decided to write a "spin-off". While the main focus is on a new character who is not part of the prayer group, the story is connected to the Yadas and many of the characters from that series show up in this one. For me, it was a bit like going back to visit some old friends and making new ones also. Gabby Fairbanks has moved to Chicago... away from her children... away from her career... and thrown into a new world and a lifestyle she has no desire to embrace. Determined to make the best of it, Gabby sets out to explore her new home and discovers Lucy, an ill homeless lady. In a gesture of good will she puts Lucy in a cab and sends her to the nearest shelter, Manna House. Her husband, Philip, hopes that is the end of it... but it isn't. Gabby cannot get her thoughts off Lucy and ends up going to the shelter to check on her. She comes home with more than she bargained for... a job opportunity and a tiny spark in her dead faith. As Gabby flourishes, her marriage doesn't... and as her faith grows, her life falls apart.

Warning.. this book has a cliff hanger ending and leaves many questions unanswered. I have no idea how many books are planned for this series, but I do know number 2 is out! And Neta Jackson's husband has written a series that parallels this one... the Yada Yada Brotherhood. I have the first in that series in my to read stack.. Harry Bentley's Second Chance.

This is an excellent read! If you love the Yada Yada series, you must read this one! And if you have not read the Yada series, I encourage you to do so a.s.a.p. They are one of the best series I have read! Not just entertaining, but Faith building!

Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn

Off on another SisterChick adventure! These books are delightful reads filled with fun and laughter and a dose of Faith. In Wooden Shoes, Summer decides she needs to escape the reality of her world a bit and heads off to the Netherlands to meet Noelle, who has been her penpal since 3rd grade. Their adventures seem right up my alley... their good intentions are often met with hilarious mishaps and confusion.. and yet they get through each one with laughter and usually some chocolate! (Chocolate is a running theme in this series!). During their time together, Summer is able to make peace with her present and possible future and Noelle makes peace with her past. It is all about letting go and letting God. Something we all struggle with doing!

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

When I go to the library, usually to pick up a book I have requested, I always peruse the new books shelves and I usually find at 1 or 2 books to add to my stack. Sometimes they are new books by favorite authors and occasionally they are books by an author I don't know but something about the book captures my attention. Such was the case with The Wednesday Sisters. I have never heard of the author nor the book, but the cover caught my eye, the title intrigued me and when I read the synopsis on the back I knew I wanted to meet these ladies.

In The Wednesday Sisters (set in California during the 1960s) is a group of five young mothers who meet at a local park. They start out chit chatting about their children, as young mothers do, and the conversation moves on from there. They eventually turn their talk to books and then to writing and decide to form a writing group... thus the birth of the Wednesday Sisters Writing Club.

In this novel we follow these friends -- Frankie, Linda, Kath, Ally and Brett -- through the various bumps and bruises, highs and lows that life throws at them. Through prejudice, infertility, rejection, adultery, fear... through promotions, acceptance, courage and victory. The ladies grow in knowledge and strength and in their friendship with each other.

One thing I love about this book is that Clayton doesn't sugar coat everything and spin happy ever after fairy tales. We see these women and their lives warts and all. We see them celebrate with each other and we see them disagree and fall apart together. She presents the issues of the time in truthful ways not pressing an agenda and allowing her characters to be real and have real thoughts and reactions to the changing world in which they live.

Most often the books I review are distinctly Christian. The Wednesday Sisters is not. That said, except for 2 scenes, I found nothing offensive in it. There are, however, 2 scenes... both deal with sex... both contain graphic detail and one has a word considered extremely vulgar. I have to say that the word fits the mouth that utters it and the situation, still... some may prefer to not read a book with any language in it.

I truly enjoyed reading The Wednesday Sisters and plan to look for other books by Clayton.

Dying to Decorate by Cyndy Salzmann

This is the first book I have read by Salzmann and probably won’t be the last. I enjoy her writing style and her characters. The book is chick lit, so written in first person, which I don’t always enjoy. But it worked well here. Salzmann is able to work in more dialogue and information about other characters and scenes than some chick lit writers, so this book isn’t just about the “main” character with her doing all the talking.

The cover says that Dying to Decorate is a Friday Afternoon Club Mystery, which indicates to me that there are (or will be) more books concerning the group of women we meet here. The Friday Afternoon Club (FAC) is made up of a group of girlfriends who get together once a week (guess when? LOL) to unwind and vent a bit. They pray for each other… encourage… exhort… and have a whole lot of fun. Oh yes, food plays a bog roll in their getting together and Salzmann has been kind enough to include recipes with each chapter. I will definitely be trying some of the goodies she has shared!

Lucy is a member of FAC and she is drowning in grief. Her husband is killed suddenly, then her mom dies and her daughter leaves for college. Lucy holes up at home wearing the same ratty clothes, eating junk food (or nothing) and watching Lifetime movies. Not a horrible way to spend a day, but not months! FAC comes to the rescue! Upon learning that Lucy as inherited a pre-civil war home, the group decides it is time for a road trip!

At Locust Hill they find mystery and adventure and along the way God opens their eyes to His truths and teaches that He still has work for them to do.

I did enjoy reading this book and would like to read others in their series… if there are any. I do have one thing I didn’t like and I will share it… but I have to warn that it is a bit of a spoiler. So if you don’t want to know, stop reading now.

***********SPOLIER*****************

OK, here is the deal. In this home that Lucy inherits, they find a secret room and in it an old quilt with what appears to be blood stains on it and some metal they learn is part of an old pair of shackles. Lucy is distraught as she decides her ancestors tortured folks. No one really seems to have any idea what the room was for or why the items are there. Then they are given a journal and over time, as they read, they learn that Locust Hill was a station on the Underground Railroad. Now maybe it is just me, but when I read of the room and the items in it, the first thing I thought of was the UGRR. It seems a bit implausible that grown women wouldn’t think of that… wouldn’t put those pieces together. It didn’t ruin the book for me, but it did seem a bit unrealistic.

On the Run & Stranded by Lorena McCourtney

On the Run is book three and Stranded is book 4 of McCourtney’s Ivy Malone Mysteries. To date, there are 4 books in their series. I have read them all and loved them all. I am hoping the series hasn’t ended. It was difficult to tell from book 4 and there were definitely some loose ends still flapping in the wind.

On the Run finds Ivy tooling around in an old dilapidated RV with her cat, Koop. Still running from the Braxtons (who are still determined to silence Ivy for good), she finds herself in the small town of Dulcy, Oklahoma. While there, Ivy picks up a new friend and traveling companion, Abilene, who has her own reason for being on the run, and to know surprise she stumbles across 2 dead bodies. Once again, Ivy’s sleuthing skills come in handy as she and Abilene poked around in the Northcutt’s lives and find a large motive for murder.

In Stranded, Abilene is still traveling with Ivy and as the title indicates, they get stranded… in Hello, Colorado. Ivy and Abilene find a bit of peace there and find that they fit in with the locals. With the RV out of commission and no money for repairs, they hunker down for a bit and find jobs and a place to stay…. a home with a sordid past… a very recent sordid past… a murder and their landlady is the prime suspect. Ivy is determined Kelly had nothing to do with her uncle’s murder and sets off to find out who did.

Both books are wonderful… so much fun to read. Ivy is a hoot and the characters she meets along the road are rich and colorful… not flat cardboard cut outs. This is must read series for mystery lovers, but you definitely need to start with book 1 and read them in order! Warning: you will be hooked!

An Undivided Heart & A Place to Belong by Nancy Moser & Vonette Bright

These are books 3 & 4 in the Sister Circle Series by Moser and Bright. Another wonderful series based on women and their friendships… and another series best read in order (as most are). Evelyn Peerbaugh continues to run Peerbaugh Place, a boarding house for single women. In An Undivided Heart, Evelyn finds herself with all new tenants and it comes as no surprise that she has gotten more than she bargained for. One tenant’s name is vanity (ok… not really, but it should be) and another is engaged to a demanding man who uses her like a doormat and she lets him. Fortunately Mae, Piper, Audra and Tessa are still around to encourage and help. Their sister circle continues to go and to grow as Evelyn embraces the new sisters God has placed in her life.

In A Place to Belong, Peerbaugh Place is once again empty and Evelyn is worried about her financial well being. On top of money worries, Evelyn also has love trouble… her heart is drawn to a certain someone who doesn’t seem to share her feelings. Despite her need for income, Evelyn finds herself opening Peerbaugh Place to new sisters who have no means to pay rent and as she steps out in faith, she finds that God has new plans for her home and her heart.

Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber

I have really become a big fan of Macomber. My friend, Jody, introduced me to her a year or so ago. Her books are not Christian fiction, but they are clean... and often issues of faith come up. Occasionally there is some language (this book has a tiny bit) and I know in one or two of her books characters sleep together outside of marriage. Interesting thing about that, to me, it isn't glorified... in fact, the 2 books I am thinking of have consequences to those actions.

All that is said as a bit of a "warning" to those who read Christian fiction and might try a Macomber book. They are really good!

When I read the synopsis of Thursdays at Eight I knew I would love it! Four ladies at different stages of their lives and going through different seasons meet at a journalling class. As friendships develop and the class ends, they decide to keep meeting once a week for breakfast and so the Thursday Breakfast Club is formed.

We, the readers, are given a "fly on the wall" view of the club and the lives of these ladies. We watch Claire deal with her husband's infidelity and divorce; we watch Liz seek to find purpose for her life; we see Karen work through her dreams and learn that what you want isn't always what you need; and we sit with Julia as she comes to term with a late in life unexpected pregnancy.

This is a book about life and about friendships... those wonderful relationships women seem to form that keep us sane!

Great read! My only regret is I can't go visit them all again and see where they are now and what they are doing!