It’s almost April! How time flies. My husband and I have been working in the garden. When I moved to Oregon, the recommendation was to wait until the end of May to plant. In little over a decade, that planting date has moved forward by two months. I’ve expanded my garden, preparing for our expected food shortages. I’ll have extra to share with our food bank.

I had a splendid month of reading, though less than usual with all my gardening chores. I’m delighted to share some wonderfully absorbing reads. Below are my 4 and 5-star reads of a global poetry collection, a contemporary fiction about dysfunctional families at the highest levels of society, a YA crime solver, an 1880s western, and a 12th-century fantasy romance.

Click on the covers for Amazon global links.

*****

After Rain Skies: The Global Anthology, curated by Michelle Ayon Navajas

New Release

This anthology is the third book in the “After Rain Skies” series, composed of poems and prose curated by contributing poet Michelle Ayon Navajas. It’s a collection of voices from around the world speaking out against “all forms of abuse and violence.” In its pages, 30 poets and storytellers share the ever-present trauma of sexual, emotional, and physical abuse experienced as children, teens, and adults.

Powerful Forewords and an Introduction provide the background of how the anthology came to be. Five years after the original collection was published in Malaysia, the work of addressing violence against women and children continues with this global effort.

The offerings are personal, wrenching, and courageous. Some of the experiences are physically visceral, relating events that may have lasted mere minutes, though the scars have lingered for a lifetime. Others share abuse endured for years, cruelty that stole joy and innocence from childhood, instilled deeply rooted shame, and damaged self-esteem. These pages are filled with monsters, brutality, incredible resilience, and healing. The authors share their stories with a heartfelt desire to raise awareness and give hope to others who were once (or are currently) targets of abuse.

Most of the poets and storytellers share more than one piece of writing. The collection is divided into 7 sections, each with a short introduction about the effects of abuse: Finding Hope in the Darkness, Painful Betrayal, Love should Heal not Hurt, Living with Trauma, Silenced and Held Down, and Unstoppable Strength. The seventh section—A Research Project on Gender-based Violence by Michael Cheadle—demonstrates the immense tragedy of the violence against women and girls that continues in South Africa today.

I’ve followed and read the poetry of numerous contributors to this anthology. The collection includes a broad range of voices, and though some of my favorite poets are among them—poets who move me with the beauty and raw emotion of their work—I decided not to call out any specific contribution. All need to be heard, all are valuable, all matter as they share their lingering pain and messages of hope, healing, and recovery. Highly recommended to poetry readers who appreciate deeply moving and personal work, to readers who have been there or are there, and to readers who want to make a difference. # MeToo. (Kindle Unlimited)

*****

An Honourable Institution by Laura Lyndhurst

New Release

This was a super and unexpectedly thought-provoking read about arranged marriages at the highest tiers of British society. Though the author never draws a parallel, it reminded me of the arranged marriage between Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. And we all know how that turned out.

This story is fiction, of course. Cressida diFerraro’s family has loads of money but no royal title. Hugo deVere-FitzAllan has the title, but his family is broke. Their parents make a deal that Cressida and Hugo will marry and immediately produce an heir. Or else!

Cressida is a sexually prolific party girl living on her daddy’s dollar. Hugo is gay and about to marry his lover. I didn’t find either of them particularly likable, at least in the beginning, though I did feel pity for them. Both comply against their will, and things go downhill from there, especially since they can barely hide their dislike for each other. Secondary characters add dimension to the story, softening or hardening my first impressions of the MCs.

The almost non-existent relationship between Cressida and Hugo is a train wreck. It’s hard to look away or imagine how the story will end. That kept me turning pages like an addict. The ending has a great twist that I didn’t see coming at all and really enjoyed. Highly recommended to readers of contemporary British lit, stories about relationships, and family dysfunction. (Kindle Unlimited)

*****

Reuben Hayes by S. Cox

New Release

Rueben Hayes is a middle-aged ranch owner in the 1880s who parted ways with the love of his life about 19 years ago. He learns about Katherine’s death when a letter arrives for him, delivered by Katherine’s 18-year-old daughter, Sage Baylor. He can’t bring himself to read the letter, but there’s little question that Sage is his daughter. Though she still has her daddy, a senator, back in St. Louis, she and Reuben develop a close relationship. When the senator’s enemies come after Sage, Reuben is determined to keep her safe. So is Hawk, the young gunslinger working at the ranch to earn some traveling money.

I enjoyed the plot, which is fairly straightforward, and the pace was excellent, compelling me to read the book in two sittings. But what kept me glued to the pages was the characters. Reuben is the perfect mixture of hardened cowboy and overprotective father. Hawk is chivalrous and scared to death of his attraction to Sage, and Sage is a great blend of feisty and fearless without being reckless. I enjoyed every scene for its believability and appreciated the genuine care the characters felt for each other.

Secondary characters—Soggy, the cook and housekeeper; and Senator Baylor, who visits the ranch to check on his daughter—are both well-rounded. I appreciated that Rueben and Baylor come to a mutual understanding about supporting Sage. There was plenty of respect and kindness to go around.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t wild horses, gunfights, barroom drunks, and ambushes. The book has plenty of action to complement the softer family moments and the touch of romance. Highly recommended to readers of westerns, aged cattlemen, gunfights, family love, and a touch of romance. (Kindle Unlimited)

*****

The Bloody Shoe Affair by Joy York

Most of us have a natural survival instinct that keeps us from making dangerous choices. Not so for fourteen-year-old Lily, the jailhouse keeper’s daughter, whose out-of-control curiosity and ability to manipulate adults make her a menace—as well as a great protagonist. Christi is Lily’s level-headed cousin, the main POV character, and she can’t help but get pulled into Lily’s schemes. The current scheme is to solve a double murder.

The shenanigans that ensue make for a quick pace, and the girls’ investigation actually seems plausible. Their hunt for clues and their conclusions makes sense, and of course, they keep everything to themselves or they’d get in big trouble with their parents. The whodunnit plot was pulled off expertly, and I didn’t guess the killer until it all came together at the end.

Typical of the YA genre, adults aren’t much help and function mostly in the background. Likewise, the girls are wonderfully realistic and well-rounded, wavering between grown-up behavior (Christi) and recklessness (Lily). Aside from the murder investigation, the story is sprinkled with teen fun, romantic crushes, family love, and concerns about body image and fitting in. These are handled lightly, without a lot of angst, and are endearingly relatable. There are also plenty of chuckles as Christi gets into awkward situations, frequently at her cousin’s instigation.

Not all is fun and games, though, and the ending, in particular, gets quite tense. That said, this is a clean novel with very little “on-stage” violence, and I have no hesitation recommending it to readers age 10 and up who enjoy young teen protagonists who solve crimes. Super fun and highly recommended.

*****

Magnar: The Wolves of Clan Sutherland (Book 1) by Mary Morgan

In this fantasy romance, Magnar is the leader of the legendary wolves of Clan Sutherland, men capable of shape-shifting into wolves. They are sworn to protect King William the Lion of Scotland.

When Thomas Gunn, the chieftain of Castle Steinn, refuses to marry his sister Elspeth to a Northman, he’s murdered and his castle ransacked. Elspeth and her young nephew flee into King William’s care. The king agrees to send his wolves to reclaim the castle, but first, he orders Magnar and Elspeth to wed, ensuring that no marriage can be forced upon her by the spurned Northman.

This book falls solidly into the romance genre. The sexual tension between Magnar and Elspeth— his lust and her resistance to his sexual advances—occupies most of the text. Sex, when it does occur, is explicit and thorough, but artfully written.

The main characters are believable with emotional depth and solid motivations. There’s a good variety of secondary characters with distinct personalities and relationships. Magnar is noble in his behavior despite being intensely sexual. Elspeth is a major tease (almost to the point of being cruel), and for that reason, I found her a little less likable. This is a romance, however, and love eventually wins the day.

Though I’m not usually a romance reader, it was clear to me that the quality of the writing is excellent, the pacing spot on, and the dialogue natural even with some Scottish pronunciation thrown in. Descriptions are vivid and detailed without overwhelming the story, and the paranormal elements are skillfully threaded into the tale. Highly recommended to readers of romance with sexual content and a fantasy twist.

*****

Happy Reading!

A Note to my International Friends: If you are considering travel to the US, I urge you to reconsider. The incidences of people being snatched off the street, put in chains, and indefinitely detained, without due process, are on the increase. It isn’t worth the risk to you, your partner, your children or grandchildren. I highly recommend traveling to Canada instead!