The Girls of Mischief Bay

The Girls of Mischief Bay is a wonderful start to a new series by Susan Mallery. The story features three women who are at different stages of life, yet they have a deep and loving friendship that helps them make it through the tough times. This was a sweet story that has a bit of everything, such as romance, tragedy, humor, fun, sadness, family, cute dog, and a friendship that will persevere. Susan Mallery has taken us on a wonderful journey of life's trials and tribulations, and the friendship that will hold the pieces together. *JK*

Thick and Creamy!

Ice cream? Milkshakes? No, Yogurt Culture: A Global Look How to Make, Bake, Sip, and Chill the World's Creamiest, Healthiest Food. This new book by Cheryl Rule tell you all of the above, with recipes. What can you make with yogurt besides, well, yogurt and fruit, you might ask? How about Oven-Baked Tarragon Scented Salmon, or Roasted Vegetables with Spiced Yogurt, Pistachio, and Lemon? There are also compotes to make as an  accompaniment.
There are instructions  on how to make yogurt which is laughably simple. The global aspects of yogurt is explored as many cultures have yogurt recipes. ML

Pleasured

If you can't get enough of Scottish historical romance, then you don't want to miss the second series of the Secrets of the Loch. Pleasured, which is written by Candace Camp, tells a story of Damon, the Earl of Mardoun, who arrives at his home in Scotland.Widowed with a young daughter, he doesn't expect to be enthralled by a beautiful redhead the minute he arrives. Meg is everything he shouldn't want--an independent woman healer who makes her own rules. The tension and the chemistry between the characters are enjoyable. The setting describes the rural Scotland, standing stones, caves, ancient ruins, and small village. *JK*

Natural Beauty

What could be better than natural beauty products you make at home? Annie Strole, a make-up artist and long-time beauty product lover has compiled 150 recipes for all-natural scrubs, potions, and creams that will be kind to your body and easy on your budget. The names sound so delicious (Oatmeal-Chocolate face treatment) that you may even be tempted to eat some. These mixtures are great for homemade gifts—and just in time for Mother’s Day! Take a look at Homemade Beauty: 150 Simple Beauty Recipes Made From All-Natural Ingredients and get ready to be pampered. DB

GREEN!

April Bloomfield is a chef and owner of many restaurants. She also won the 2014 James Beard Award for best chef in New York. She wrote the critically acclaimed A Girl and Her Pig, about nose-to-tail cooking. Her newest book is called A Girl and Her Greens: Hearty Meals From the Garden. This is not a vegetarian cookbook, although it is predominately vegetables.
The book has beautiful end papers, and lovely illustrations as well as photographs. The organization of the book is just quirky enough to be interesting, with chapters about potatoes, salads, vegetable pastas, (swiss chard cannelloni, a mélange of homemade pasta, chard and cream! mmm) and sauces, dressings, and pickles. Altogether a lovely book to read and cook from in the spring. M.L.

The Duke's Disaster

It's exciting to always read a novel by Grace Burrowes. The Duke's Disaster was a fantastic read. With sweet romance, charming humor, and a few secrets lurking in the past. But despite the weird start, Thea and Noah quickly came to care for each other, though they didn't want to admit it at first, showing it through their actions instead. They were very sweet together and they definitely had sensuous chemistry between them that turned up the heat on more than one occasion. The mix of humor, charm, and romance really made the story enjoyable and the ending was just perfect! *JK*

MI--Travel Time

Looking for great places you can visit in a day? Don't have a week for vacation travel? Check out Michigan Day Trips by Theme by Mike Link. You'll find plenty of ideas to keep you going. Sections of the book include arts, beaches, eateries, museums, shipwrecks and waterfalls. Happy exploring!

The more nature-minded traveler might like
Michigan State and National Parks: A Complete Guide by Tom Powers.
This book details the 109 parks in Michigan. There are directions, maps, listed activities and accommodations in addition to contact information.
You can even find out where you can spend the night in a Yurt!

Back in the day...

Why do we love historical novels? The historical novel does what all good books do, expand your horizons and creates another world to inhabit. In The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin, we have all the components of a good story. There is a feisty female heroine to admire and identify with, a terrific sense of place, that is, we can picture how the world feudal England would be to live in, and a suspenseful story.
It recounts two young women's courage during a dark, chaotic era. As civil war devastates mid-twelfth century England, Maud, the 16-year-old chatelaine of Kenniford, weds a boorish older man to save her people. Raped and discarded, Em, a peasant girl from the Cambridgeshire fens, is rescued by an aging mercenary and becomes an expert archer under his tutelage. Their stories converge as Matilda, the previous king's heir, escapes her rival, King Stephen, and seeks shelter at Kenniford. ML

Guest Review--If Wishes Were Horses by Robert Barclay

Five years ago Wyatt Blaine's wife Krista and son Danny were killed in an auto accident. they were hit by a drunk driver while getting ice cream for Blaine's birthday party. Blaine is still devastated. He decides to re-open Krista's Horse Therapy Program for troubled teens. This program includes group therapy and equestrian training. Gabby Powers, wife of the drunk driver that killed Blaine's wife, has a troubled son named Trevor. His grades are slipping and he has been fighting. He is bordering on being kicked out of school. Gabby hears about the program and must find a way to get Trevor the help he needs. One of Trevor's problems is that he doesn't believe his father caused the accident. He believes Krista was at fault, no matter what his mother and the police reports say. How will Gabby get Blaine to allow Trevor into the program? Can Gabby get Trevor to attend the Program? Blaine wants nothing to do with Gabby or Trevor, but he finds that she will do anything, even beg, for help for her son. Blaine is torn between his anger and the admiration he is beginning to develop for Gabby. If Wishes Were Horses by Robert Barclay is written from Blaine's, Gabby's and Trevor's points of view. Also included are Ram, Blaine's colorful father, and Sadie the very pregnant gray mare that captures Trevor's heart. GDW

Broken

Broken is written by Cynthia Eden. This was a great read and there is so much action. If you love action and suspense with a love story thrown in, this is the one for you! Cynthia Eden took this romantic suspense story and totally blew me away.

In this story, Eve Gray is a women looking for her identity. She awoke in a hospital with no clue who she was or how she got there. She reaches out to Gabe Spencer, the owner of LOST, an organization that helps locate missing people. Except in this case, Eve wants Gabe to help her find herself. As they work to find out who she is and what happened, she discovers she may be the only person to escape a serial killer and the key to putting a stop to the killing spree. *JK*

Last Train to sanity...

The Girl on the Train is one of our hot new titles ( holds!) Written by Paula Hawkins it is being touted as the new Gone Girl. It is dark and mysterious with a twist at the end. But in Gone Girl the reader is horrified at the evil of the characters in the last pages, this book just makes the reader feel sorry for them. The two main characters are self destructive to the extreme with some unhappy secrets. Written very tightly the plot may compensate for the unlikeable nature of the characters.