Book Review - First Comes Marriage

Book Review

First Comes Marriage

Mary Balogh

So last week the call went out over our Facebook page wanting to know if anyone was a romance novel reader and could do a review.  Hmmm…It’s been a while for me, but I could use some fun and fluff reading.  But where in the world to start?  Historical Romance?  Contemporary Romance? Paranormal Romance?  Historical Western Romance?  What in the world are people reading?  What do they want to know?

After an exhaustive search of the library’s e-book collection and several top 150 book lists, I finally settled on Mary Balogh’s First Comes Marriage.  I’d never read any of Balogh’s books so I wasn’t sure what to expect.  What I had really hoped was to find something I could review that would be interesting enough to lure in some of the most voracious romance readers, as well as tame enough that one could recommend it to her mother without worrying that she’d be shocked at the content.  First Comes Marriage definitely fit those requirements.

Set in England during the Victorian Era, First Comes Marriage is the first in a series of six “Huxtable” novels about a young family of three adult sisters pulled from the class of commoners and elevated to the aristocracy when their younger brother inherits an earldom.  At the center of the story is Vanessa Dew (nee Huxtable), a young widow accepted as the “Plain Jane” of the family.

Though she lacks the physical beauty of her two sisters, Vanessa’s inner beauty shines through in her every word and through her endless sense of humor.  Basically, those around her become easily enamored by her contagious laugh and ability to find joy in the smallest of things.

Through a series of events and for the sake of convenience, Vanessa marries the stoic and humorless Elliot, Viscount of Lyndon, and now has a huge task in front of her with her new husband.   Can she help him find his sense of humor?  Can she teach him to be happy and find joy in the world around him?  Can she teach him to love?

While First Comes Marriage certainly follows the prescribed formula of most romance novels, I found the characters to be well-developed and interesting, and the overall story to be compelling.  Simply stated, I enjoyed it and found it to be an nice change from what I’ve been reading lately.

First Comes Marriage is available at the Rochester Public Library in paperback format, or through SELCO in e-book and downloadable audio format.

For more information about this book or the author, visit her website by following this link.

~ Catherine H. Armstrong

Second Saturday Sale

It is never too early to shop for Christmas, especially if it is books. Saturday the 12th November the Friends' Bookstore is having a special Saturday sale with collectible, unusual, special, older books. Here are a few examples of sets, children's books, and fiction that will be available. We will highlight a few on similar posts this week. Call ahead if you see something you really want! REMEMBER Friends get a discount off their purchases. There has never been a better time to become a Friend of the Rochester Publich Library!

TODAY - SUNDAY

Don't forget to Join Paige TURNER in the Library Auditorium this afternoon for what promises to be a brilliant discussion with favourite MN authors! All this and cookies too!

Can't you tell Paige loves these events? I would love to see her wardrobe closet!! What's next?!

Book Review - Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Book Review

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Jeff Lindsay

What could be better than a fast-paced crime novel narrated by a serial killer?  Not much, unless that serial killer isn’t even the one committing the crimes.

Adopted and raised by a well-respected cop, Dexter Morgan knows the ins and outs of the police department and has been carefully groomed to commit the perfect crime and to not get caught.  As a blood-spatter analyst for the same police force, Dexter continues to watch and learn as mistakes are made by other killers, and he has become the self-proclaimed “perfect monster.”  But there’s a catch:  Dexter isn’t what you might expect from a serial killer.  He only kills other monsters; those who prey on the innocent and who escape the justice system through technicalities and legal missteps.  He is, effectively, the final judge, jury and executioner. 

Now his sister, Deborah, is on the force and pushing against the good-old boys to be taken seriously and earn a position as detective, and it’s up to Dexter to help her.  But as Deborah struggles to solve the latest serial killer’s crimes, Dexter realizes that the brilliance of this same killer speaks to him on levels he neither understands, nor wishes to admit; and it becomes increasingly more difficult for Dexter to keep his extracurricular activities a secret.

With a completely enjoyable and thoroughly charming narrator, Darkly Dreaming Dexter is fast-paced and downright witty in places.  More than once I caught myself laughing out loud at Dexter’s dry humor, and almost wishing I could crawl inside the book to get to know him better.

Fans of a good crime novel will likely enjoy this book; and fans of the Showtime series Dexter will both enjoy it and find many similarities between this book and the first season of the TV show.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is the first in a series of six Dexter Morgan books by Jeff Lindsay, all of which are available through the library.  Don’t have time to read?  Skip to the Showtime series on DVD, all of which are also available at the library.

For more information about the author or this enjoyable series of books, visit the Random House website dedicated to these books by following this link.

~ Catherine H. Armstrong

MN Crime Writers

You will recognize this great team of MN CRIME WRITERS! Join us in the Library Auditorium on Sunday November 6th for a brilliant literary afternoon (with amazing cookies from Library staff!)

Looking for something to do this coming Sunday?

 

How about attending the Minnesota Crime Wave - especially you Mystery Crime readers.

Sunday November 6, 2011

2:00 - 3:00  p.m.

Library Auditorium

 

Established in the fall of 2000, the Crime Wave consists of mystery writers Ellen Hart, Carl Brookins and William Kent Krueger. Between them they have published more than 30 novels and have received nearly 2 dozen local, regional and national awards for their writing.  They have toured the country several times, presenting over a hundred events and workshops at libraries, bookstores, conferences and book festivals.

 

Remember the Friends help sponsor the Author Series  - Go and Enjoy! 



Book Review - The Language of Flowers

Book Review

The Language of Flowers

Vanessa Diffenbaugh

How does one begin to trust after a lifetime of betrayals?  Is it possible for one to be trusted after a lifetime of one’s own lies and deceit?  These are the questions that Victoria Jones struggles to answer in The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

Orphaned at birth and processed through the foster care system her entire life, Victoria has finally reached the age of majority and has aged out of the foster care system.  Completely on her own for the first time, she must learn to land on her feet and make it on her own, or face certain homelessness and starvation.   At a time when most young women are just discovering who they are or who they want to be, Victoria must make these discoveries while simultaneously shouldering the burden of her own success or failure in a world that has thus far shown more cruelty than kindness.

With no money, no education and no support system in place to help her, Victoria turns to the only good thing she’s ever known:  The nearly forgotten language of flowers -- a language created by the Victorians as a means to express their emotions through flowers.

Is it true that “A rose is a rose is a rose” as Gertrude Stein once argued? Are things really exactly as they seem to be, or might there be more to be discovered below the surface?  As Victoria struggles to answer these questions for herself, she is forced to admit to her own culpability in the trail of youthful destruction she has left behind.

The Language of Flowers is a beautiful story that intertwines Victoria’s past with her present, and teaches us all the important lesson that we sometimes must make peace with our past in order to look forward to a bright future.

This title is available in standard and e-book format at the library.  For more information on this first novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, visit the Random House website dedicated to this book by following this link.

~ Catherine H. Armstrong

Literary Calendar - November

Literary November
November 5 - Book Editors Day
November 6 - Book Lover's Day (first Saturday in November)
November 12 - One Million Books Day
November - National Children's Book Week (third week of November)
November 30 - Steal This Book Day

There are perhaps no days of our childhood that we lived as fully as those spent with a good book. Marcel Proust
There is no substitute for books in the life of a child. Mary Ellen Chase

Novermber 11^th Veterans Day/Rembrance day (the Bookstore and Library will be closed)

November 24^th Thanksgiving (NB: save the date for Black Friday in the Bookstore!)