Moving

I'm moving the blog to wordpress, not because I dislike blogger, but because wordpress has a great app for my Blackberry and I should be able to blog more frequently. I am in the process of importing all of my posts from blogger, so I shouldn't loose any content.

The new site is: http://www.allysonsbookshelf.wordpress.com/

:-)  See you there!

Here Burns My Candle, by Liz Curtis Higgs

I'll admit that I'm a history buff.  I have a weakness for a good historical romance.  And I have always been interested in Scotland (since my family comes from there).  I've read stories of the Rising or the '45 (you might know these by their more formal name of the Jacobite Uprising of 1745), so I was eager to get my hands on a new tale set in that period. 

Higgs' characters seemed weak as I began the novel, but grew stronger in my eyes as they learned more about each other and themselves throughout the book.  I liked that she was able to convey much of the emotion in Edinburgh and surrounding the Young Pretender, bonny Prince Charlie, and his attempt to regain the throne for the Stuarts.  It was even more impressive that she was able to do this while maintaining language that was unoffensive.  She didn't shy away from honest topics, but she dealt with them without making them the focus of the narrative.

I also liked watching Elisabeth and Marjory deal with their respective faiths, both in higher powers and their own selves.  It was fascinating without being "preachy" and was also inspirational.

The only thing I did not like about Here Burns My Candle was the way Higgs jumped from one person's point of view to another with the chapter changes, but only while the character was in Edinburgh.  I quickly became accustomed to these jumps, but I feel that it could have been made smoother by, at the very least, using the current character's name as a heading for the chapter.  There were a few passages where I was half a page or more into the chapter before knowing which person was the focus of that portion of the story.

Overall, this was a good, clean book.  If you have ever read any of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, you would most likely enjoy this view of the Jacobite Rebellion.  If you enjoy historical fiction, this is a good one to pick up.

You can find this book at Barnes and Noble here, or Amazon here. 

I was forwarded a print copy of this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Talk of the Town, by Lisa Wingate

Talk of the Town was such a fun read.  It was lighthearted and funny, sweet and romantic without crossing the line.  Lisa Wingate's language was clean and her storytelling was superb.  I downloaded this book because, at the time, it was being offered for free.  Even though it is not free any longer, I still encourage you to get a copy.
It is worth the read!

Most of us here in the South can relate to the small town setting.  The plot is based primarily on an American Idol type show with one of the finalist's coming home for a "surprise" concert.  As anyone in any small town can tell you, there is no such thing as a surprise.  Watching the big city people from the show interact with the small town inhabitants is funny enough, but adding in the antics of stars and the egos of executives and this is laugh-out-loud funny.  I will admit that the descriptions of the residents of Daily, Texas made me picture them just as Wingate described them; strangely, they seemed just like many of my family members!


Here's where you can find your own copy of this book at Amazon, at Barnes and Noble, and at Kobo.

Check out Lisa Wingate's Talk of the Town yourself and let me know what you think!