MONDAY'S MUSINGS—TOOK A TRIP AND NEVER LEFT THE RANCH

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Mine was great and I got to spend some time with my mother on Saturday and got to see her mama cat's new litter of babies. She has them in one of her extra bedrooms—now a nursery, lol! That's my mom J.

We have a winner for M.L. Buchman's Pure Heat: Farawayeyes. If you'll contact me I'll arrange for you to pick up your copy. Congratulations!

While I was recuperating and restless I had the chance to read some books that I enjoyed. Somewhere along the way my sense of restlessness was assuaged by my 'travels'. I've been to Texas, Colorado, Montana and slipped up into northwest Canadian wilderness, traveled all the way over to Pennsylvania and up to Maine.  Pretty nifty. Take a trip and never leave the farm, J  I’d thought I share a few with you (All were at least 4 1/2 stars in rating). 

Being restless I wanted something different. Something to pique my interest and divert me from hurting. I do have eclectic taste in reading. And it is very much mood driven. About the only thing I don’t read is horror (sorry horror fans), I don’t care for heavy-duty erotic romance (I like a bit left to my imagination), and kid’s books (my kid’s all grown up). I've read and enjoyed a few YA—but I really have to be in the mood to read YA (preferably when I don’t have a house load of young adults running in and out or playing Dear Abby with me). 

I have a towering stack of TBR books I can read but nothing appealed. Have you had those times? 

A friend of mine who writes sexy and fun cowboys also writes women’s fiction (which I hadn't read yet). She has a great sense of humor and I've laughed a lot reading her books, her turn of phrase, her realistic settings, sense of family and community. I needed some laughter and so I thought, why not?

TheBlue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee and the second, The Red Hot Chilli Cookoff, by Carolyn Brown. 

“Welcome to Cadillac, Texas, where the jalapeños are hot, the gossip is hotter, and at the end of the day, it's the priceless friendships that are left standing...”

Oh, I am so glad I passed that welcome sign! That was five days of fun and laughter spent in Cadillac, Texas. Just what the doctor ordered.  What drew me to her stories?  Well, I loved watching movies like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes, and absolutely loved Designing Woman series on TV. These books encapsulate the best of those shows. The southern humor, laughter and tears, diverse multi-generational women and how they deal with life, and strong friendships that see you through everything life throws you. Scratch the surface of the southern charm and you’ll find some very strong women who can take you to the cleaners without breaking a sweat and smile graciously while doing it, bless their hearts. I have to tell you, I fell in love with the feisty Agnes! The woman is diabolical and Lord love her, she can have my back anytime. She is a character in both books. All I can say is I’m glad I’m not the pretentious Violet (I loved how that played out!).

If you like a face paced page-turner and laugh out loud situations these two stories are a must read this summer.

I tried a new, to me, author, Mark Nykanen. I haven’t read any of his books but that will change henceforth. I read his thriller, Primitive Excellent story. Definitely intense. I like stories that grab from current issues facing us and in this case it was climate control and what dangers could be facing our world if steps aren't  taken to correct consumption. I've read a lot about the issue. But Primitive doesn't preach and it is an involving, multi-layered thriller about climate change theories. It starts with a kidnapping of a well-known model, Sonya Adams, to act as a spokesperson for their group’s agenda and subsequent media frenzy and some darker governmental agencies involved. It kept me turning pages and I liked the growth of Sonya and how she found her own tough core to survive. There is a well-developed layer in the story that says the surface may not show the whole and that’s especially true in the relationship between Sonya and her estranged daughter, Darcy. They seem at first glance to be polar opposites and yet at the core of both are more similar they either believes. Tightly constructed and entertaining story. Makes you think. If you like a good suspense/thriller it’s worth the read!

Another new to me author, but not for long, is Melinda Leigh. I read her romantic suspense, Midnight Exposure. Another multi-layered page-turner. I really liked the reasons for the creepy villains actions. She developed that well without tipping her hand by prematurely revealing him (I knew one character had to be involved but minute clues said he wasn't the main bad guy and that kept me guessing for awhile). You really got to see the bad guy’s arc and goals and motivations. Still a very creepy guy but very well done. This one starts with the disappearance of two hikers, which is blamed on the snowstorms in the Maine wilderness, but it’s oh so much more. Add in the attempted kidnapping of visitor, Jayne Sullivan, a tall red-headed beauty who is a part time tabloid photographer, a reclusive sculptor with past, and sparks fly. There is a well done happy ever after but not before some serious danger to traverse and problems, one of which is to keep Jayne out of the hands of a creepy Druid with an agenda. I really enjoyed the story—clever in execution and fast paced with a good romance attached. Hope you will, too.

So, how was your Mother's Day? Do anything fun? Read any good books you'd like to share?