Belva Plain - After the Fire

61. After the Fire by Belva Plain (2000)
Length: 439 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 5 July 2013
Finished: 7 July 2013
Where did it come from? From Bookmooch
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 25 May 2013
Why do I have it? I like Belva Plain as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Gerald and Hyacinth had the type of marriage others envied. She was a talented artist. He was a brilliant plastic surgeon. Theirs was a comfortable, happy home with two wonderful children. Then whispers of betrayal tainted Hy's perfect marriage. And in one terrible night she commits an act that she will regret for the rest of her life. An act that gives Gerald the ultimate weapon: blackmail.

The price of his silence is uncontested custody of their two children. When her angry mother wants to know why Hyacinth won't fight for custody, she can give no satisfactory answers. But deep in her heart, Hyacinth knows that there is one question she must answer if she wants to free herself from a life of lies: What really happened that terrible night? Only then can she reclaim her children, her pride, her life - at last.

I think that Belva Plain is a really gifted storyteller, and After the Fire is yet another example of what a terrific storyteller she is. I was drawn into the story from the first page, and really wanted to know how Hyacinth would deal with her dilemma. I give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Michael Phillip Cash - Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island

60. Stillwell: A Haunting on Long Island by Michael Phillip Cash (2013)
Length: 231 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 4 July 2013
Finished: 5 July 2013
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Michael Phillip Cash for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 3 July 2013
Why do I have it? I like horror and Michael Phillip Cash is a new author for me.

Paul Russo's wife has just recently passed away from cancer. While grieving her loss, Paul is also trying to get his family's life back in order. After taking a six month long leave of absence from his job as a realtor, in order to care for his wife during her illness, Paul is in desperate need of work. Enter Craig and his wife Melissa, who ask if he can represent them when they sell their house on Long Island. Craig is a childhood friend of Paul's, and of course, Paul jumps at the chance that Craig offers him.

Stillwell Manor has been in Craig's family for generations, but due to an horrific family tragedy which occurred there, he wants to sell the mansion as soon as possible. Paul agrees to walk through Stillwell Manor, which he remembers visiting as a child, and which Craig's wife Melissa has been preparing to sell.

Little does Paul realize how much his fate will become entwined with Stillwell Manor. For months now, he has been tormented by a demon who asserts that Paul's wife's spirit is being held hostage on the other side. Paul's only chance to set his wife's soul free, lies in traveling to Stillwell Manor - the scene of an horrendous murder-suicide - where Paul hopes to discover the clues buried deep within the Manor's dark, secretive, centuries-old past - clues which will finally allow his wife's soul to rest in peace.

This book was really, really good; I absolutely loved it! It was just the type of book that I enjoy reading - featuring creepy old houses, ancient horror, and multi-layered family relationships. I give this book an A+! and will eagerly be searching for more books by this author to add to my TBR pile.

A+! - (96-100%)    

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Harrison Arnston - Trade-Off

59. Trade-Off by Harrison Arnston (1992)
Length: 369 pages
Genre: Contemporary Mystery
Started: 2 July 2013
Finished: 4 July 2013
Where did it come from? From a Library Book Sale
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 15 February 2001
Why do I have it? I like contemporary mysteries and Harrison Arnston is a new author for me.

Less than enthusiastic with the prospect of taking on yet another murder case in light of her failing marriage, attorney Laura Scott reluctantly agrees to represent John Slocum, a drifter who was discovered bent over the mutilated body of a local teenager. The case is simple enough, Laura thinks, until it suddenly takes a nightmarish turn. As the dark secrets of her client's past are revealed, Laura realizes that she is the only one who can ensure that justice will be served...but only if she gives up something in return. 

I have to say that this book was excellent! I had read it before, some time ago, but didn't remember any of the major plot points at all. The plot was extremely interesting and fast-paced, and the characters were sympathetically drawn. The book itself was very well-written and I will certainly be looking out for more books by Harrison Arnston to read in the future. I give this book a definite A+! 

A+! - (96-100%)
   
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Richard Bausch - The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories

58. The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories by Richard Bausch (1990)
Length: 219 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 29 June 2013
Finished: 2 July 2013
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 June 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and had read and enjoyed In the Night Season: A Novel by the same author in the past. 

The epigraph for this collection of ten stories is a brief quotation from the poet John Keats: 'Happy love, more happy, happy love!' Richard Bausch does indeed write about the joys of marriage and family life, however he also reveals the pain lurking just beneath the surface of every seemingly happy life. 

The first short story 'Wedlock', is about a newly married couple whose honeymoon night of amiable levity suddenly turns mean-spirited; in 'Equity', three adult daughters whose mother had previously supported them through divorces, nervous breakdowns, and other crises now must deal with their mother's senility; the title tale and its sequel, 'Consolation' both examine the lives of firemen and their spouses before and after a tragedy; 'Luck' is narrated by the son of an alcoholic house painter. While many of the stories contained within this collection have contemporary urban settings, the short story 'Old West' is a retelling of the Shane story which basically strips away all of the legendary gunslinger's heroism.

I must say, that while I certainly appreciated reading many of these stories, I was slightly irritated that none of them actually led anywhere for me. To be completely honest, several of these short stories just didn't make all that much sense to me. However, I did find the last story, 'Letter to the Lady of the House' - in which a man on the eve of his 70th birthday, writes an apology letter to his wife after a disagreement they've had that evening - particularly heartwarming and sweet. Overall, I give this book a B+! 

B+! - (89-94%)
          
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Richard Bausch - The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories

58. The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories by Richard Bausch (1990)
Length: 219 pages
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Started: 29 June 2013
Finished: 2 July 2013
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 27 June 2013
Why do I have it? I like contemporary fiction and had read and enjoyed In the Night Season: A Novel by the same author in the past. 


The epigraph for this collection of ten stories is a brief quotation from the poet John Keats: 'Happy love, more happy, happy love!' Richard Bausch does indeed write about the joys of marriage and family life, however he also reveals the pain lurking just beneath the surface of every seemingly happy life. 

The first short story 'Wedlock', is about a newly married couple whose honeymoon night of amiable levity suddenly turns mean-spirited; in 'Equity', three adult daughters whose mother had previously supported them through divorces, nervous breakdowns, and other crises now must deal with their mother's senility; the title tale and its sequel, 'Consolation' both examine the lives of firemen and their spouses before and after a tragedy; 'Luck' is narrated by the son of an alcoholic house painter. While many of the stories contained within this collection have contemporary urban settings, the short story 'Old West' is a retelling of the Shane story which basically strips away all of the legendary gunslinger's heroism.

I must say, that while I certainly appreciated reading many of these stories, I was slightly irritated that none of them actually led anywhere for me. To be completely honest, several of these short stories just didn't make all that much sense to me. However, I did find the last story, 'Letter to the Lady of the House' - in which a man on the eve of his 70th birthday, writes an apology letter to his wife after a disagreement they've had that evening - particularly heartwarming and sweet. Overall, I give this book a B+! 

B+! - (89-94%)
          
Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For June at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out June with 707 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 694 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 1st, Bookmooch and Paperback Swap.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Rereads
- A Rose For Virtue: The Very Private Life of Hortense, Stepdaughter of Napoleon I, Mother of Napoleon III by Norah Lofts 

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Cypress Point by Diane Chamberlain
- First Things First by Barbara Delinsky
- 11 Great Horror Stories Including "The Oblong Box" and "The Dunwich Horror" by Betty M. Owen
- Blood Brother: 33 Reasons my Brother Scott Peterson is Guilty by Anne Bird
- Last Kiss by Luanne Rice
- In the Night Season: A Novel by Richard Bausch
- Beachcombers: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Eighth Day by Brooke Leimas
- The Last Time They Met: A Novel by Anita Shreve
- Guilt by Association by Susan R. Sloan
- Moon Shell Beach: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Glenna Powers Case by Hillary Waugh

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Best Friends Forever: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
- Bloodroot by Amy Greene
- The Collected Stories by John McGahern
- Dance With Me by Luanne Rice
- Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
- First Offense by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
- A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein
- Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage by Robert Morgan
- How to Clean Practically Anything by Edward Kippel
- The Magdalena Curse by F. G. Cottam
- The Mill by Tracy Lamphere
- My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
- Silent Witness: The Karla Brown Murder Case by Don W. Weber and Charles Bosworth, Jr.
- A Special Relationship by Douglas Kennedy
- Stranger in Paradise by Eileen Goudge
- Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice
- Taker: An Immortal Love Story by Alma Katsu
- A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin
- Big Girl: A Novel by Danielle Steel
- The Confession by John Grisham
- Sidney Sheldon's Angel of the Dark by Tilly Bagshawe
- Summer Breeze: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories by Richard Bausch
- Rand McNally Student's World Atlas by Rand McNally

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- The Dark Fantastic by Stanley Ellin
- Chameleon by William Diehl
- First Things First by Barbara Delinsky
- The Man With the Candy: The Story of the Houston Mass Murders by Jack Olsen
- A Room For the Dead by Noel Hynd
- Blood Dreams by Jack MacLane
- Memories of Another Day by Harold Robbins
- 11 Great Horror Stories Including "The Oblong Box" and "The Dunwich Horror" by Betty M. Owen
- Irresistible Impulse by Robert K. Tanenbaum
- In the Night Season: A Novel by Richard Bausch

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 13
Pages Read: 3,983
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was June. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight

Reading Wrap-up For June at Moonshine and Rosefire

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Rosefire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog. I originally posted my reviews over at my daughter's blog, Emeraldfire's Bookmark but am now in the process of transferring them all over to my own blog. My daughter makes blogging look like so much fun that I thought that I would try it out for myself! :)

Anyway, I started out June with 732 unread books lying around the house and ended the month with 719 books unread. All the books that I acquired this month came from a Library Book Sale that we went to on the 1st, Bookmooch and Paperback Swap.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:

Rereads
- A Rose For Virtue: The Very Private Life of Hortense, Stepdaughter of Napoleon I, Mother of Napoleon III by Norah Lofts 

Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Cypress Point by Diane Chamberlain
- First Things First by Barbara Delinsky
- 11 Great Horror Stories Including "The Oblong Box" and "The Dunwich Horror" by Betty M. Owen
- Blood Brother: 33 Reasons my Brother Scott Peterson is Guilty by Anne Bird
- Last Kiss by Luanne Rice
- In the Night Season: A Novel by Richard Bausch
- Beachcombers: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Eighth Day by Brooke Leimas
- The Last Time They Met: A Novel by Anita Shreve
- Guilt by Association by Susan R. Sloan
- Moon Shell Beach: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Glenna Powers Case by Hillary Waugh

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! Not too bad though, I suppose:))
- All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz
- Best Friends Forever: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner
- Bloodroot by Amy Greene
- The Collected Stories by John McGahern
- Dance With Me by Luanne Rice
- Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
- First Offense by Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
- A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein
- Gap Creek: The Story of a Marriage by Robert Morgan
- How to Clean Practically Anything by Edward Kippel
- The Magdalena Curse by F. G. Cottam
- The Mill by Tracy Lamphere
- My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
- Silent Witness: The Karla Brown Murder Case by Don W. Weber and Charles Bosworth, Jr.
- A Special Relationship by Douglas Kennedy
- Stranger in Paradise by Eileen Goudge
- Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice
- Taker: An Immortal Love Story by Alma Katsu
- A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin
- Big Girl: A Novel by Danielle Steel
- The Confession by John Grisham
- Sidney Sheldon's Angel of the Dark by Tilly Bagshawe
- Summer Breeze: A Novel by Nancy Thayer
- The Fireman's Wife and Other Stories by Richard Bausch
- Rand McNally Student's World Atlas by Rand McNally

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- The Dark Fantastic by Stanley Ellin
- Chameleon by William Diehl
- First Things First by Barbara Delinsky
- The Man With the Candy: The Story of the Houston Mass Murders by Jack Olsen
- A Room For the Dead by Noel Hynd
- Blood Dreams by Jack MacLane
- Memories of Another Day by Harold Robbins
- 11 Great Horror Stories Including "The Oblong Box" and "The Dunwich Horror" by Betty M. Owen
- Irresistible Impulse by Robert K. Tanenbaum
- In the Night Season: A Novel by Richard Bausch

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 13
Pages Read: 3,983
Grade Range: A+! to B+!

So, there you go! The reading month that was June. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

Till we Meet Again, Glow Brightly as Moonlight