Blessing in Disguise

Blessing in Disguise by Danielle Steel
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Isabelle has the worst luck with men and every time she sleeps with a man she has his baby, first there is the guy that date raped her when she was 15 and got her pg with Charlie who she gave up for adoption, then there was the rich recluse in France that got her pg with Theo (who she kept), then there was the con man that got her pg with Xela, before she divorced him. Then she finally meets a decent guy who loves her and is willing to marry her and he dies before their daughter Oona is born.

She raises her 3 daughters alone, and they go out into the world leaving Isabelle behind. Thinking she is going blind she hires and assistant and he turns out to be exactly what she was looking for.

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The Woman in the Window

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I guessed pretty soon that her husband and daughter were dead but it was an interesting read. Especially as I am pretty much a homebody these days due to COVID-19, so I could relate to her never leaving the house and having little to no social interaction.

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A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan (Goodreads Author)

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

My big complaint and why it only got 2 stars was the women's stories felt unfinished to me. Just as I was beginning to relate to one of the women and really get into her story the book skipped ahead 12/15 years to her daughter's story.

The book starts in 1821 with Ursule Orchiere dying after successfully hiding her clan from the witch hunters. They follow her instructions and leave Brittany France and their gypsy life to settle at Orchard Farm in Cornwall England. Her older granddaughters don't have much of a "gift" but their hopes for the craft are realized when Nanette comes of age. Unfortunately Nanette's having a daughter out of wedlock brings scrutiny to the clan but she is able to protect them by killing the Catholic Priest and chasing off the Protestant Priest. After her daughter Ursule reaches maturity she shares her heritage with her but Ursule scoffs at the idea she is a witch, and is happy with her life as a farmer. Unfortunately she betrays them to her husband who helps a mob throw Nanette off a cliff.

Ursule escapes to a life of poverty in Wales with occasional visits from the musician who got her pregnant. Her daughter Irene isn't content with their life of poverty and uses the craft to ensnare Lord Llewelyn who is old enough to be her Father. She leaves her Mother and her past behind and becomes the Lady she dreamed of being. The groom Jago fathers her daughter Morwen.

Morwen has a charmed life as the daughter of a Lord but she refuses to marry the man her Father (Lord Llewelyn) choose for her (he was old enough to be her Father) and escapes to London with Jago. She meets Dafydd in a London Park (the son of the man she was suppose to marry) and dreams of marrying him.

Veronica never knew Morwen as she died giving birth to her but Jago tells her, Morwen's secret. And this is really out there supposedly the Queen Mother Elizabeth was a witch and she invited Veronica to join her coven where they cast spells to win WWII. Veronica uses her gift to find the Frenchman she fell in love with while he was convalescing in the hospital in her family home.

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The Hollow Hills (Arthurian Saga, #2)

The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Since the legend of Arthur has been written about numerous times there really wasn't anything new. Beautifully written and told from Merlin's POV.

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The Land Of Maybe by Sandra Field

The Land Of Maybe by Sandra Field
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

After being dumped by Tony Marya doesn't trust rich men, so when her sister falls for a rich man she heads home to put an end to the romance, but on the ferry she meets Craig Huntingdon a rich man determined to prevent his brother from marrying a gold digger. Too bad he falls for Marya on the ferry over.



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New Spring (Wheel of Time, #0) by Robert Jordan

New Spring by Robert Jordan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I had read this before I read The Eye of the World Moiraine Damodred of the Royal House of Cairhien and Siuan are young Accepted at the White Tower when the book begins and "pillow friends". They happened to be with the Amyrlin Seat (Tamra) when Gitara (the Keeper) foresees the birth of the Dragon Reborn before she dies. The Amyrlin Seat swears them to secrecy and begins a search for the baby, by offering women who gave birth recently money to celebrate the victory against the Aiel. A list is compiled of these women and their children by the Accepted and Moiraine and Siuan manipulate things so they have access to all the list. Shortly after that they are raised to Aes Sedai and choose the Blue Ajah. The death of Moiraine's Uncle has the Tower plotting to put Moiraine on the throne. Then Tamra dies and Sierin becomes Amyrlin Seat. Moiraine flees the White Tower in an effort to prevent the Aes Sedai putting her on the Cairhien throne and decides to find the Dragon Reborn leaving Siuan behind at the White Tower, working with the eyes and ears (spy network) of the Blue Ajah.

Lan the uncrowned King of Malkier and his protector Bukama (Bukama is the only survivor out of the 5 men who carried Lan as a baby from Malkier) have finished fighting the Aiel and are headed to Chachin along the way they are joined by a man they think is a friend Ryne.

Moiraine is searching out the women on the list to determine whose child is the Dragon Reborn when she is discovered by a group of Aes Sedai, she also find Siuan there. Siuan and Moiraine plan to meet in Chachin and as Moiraine leaves town early the nest morning to escape the Aes Sedai she follows behind Lan's party and plans to ask them for help. After Lan throws Moiraine in a pond when she attempts to sneak up on him, the three men agree to escort her to Chachin but Moiraine pulls several pranks on Lan along the way to get even with him for throwing her in the pond. They are attacked by a man who was sent to kill Moiraine, and Lan is wounded. Moiraine heals Lan after the assassin is dies from his wounds. When they arrive in Chachin Lan is eager to leave Moiraine and the 3 men leave her at the gate. Moiraine heads to the disreputable part of town to find Siuan and Lan and his entourage head to the Palace.

When Moiraine learns the woman she is seeking is at the Palace she stops pretending to by Alys and heads to the palace as Lady Moiraine Damodred of the Royal House of Cairhien and Siuan pretends to be her Lady's Maid. Moiraine is unpleasantly surprised to find Lan there and to learn he is the "King" of Malkier. But when Merean (Aes Sedai) arrives at the palace Moiraine is forced to ask Lan for help. He then demands to know why the White Tower did not answer Malkier's cry for help, against the rules Moiraine reveals the truth they did and failed but the Aes Sedai keep their failure a secret for fear of losing power. Believing her response he agrees to have Bukama follow Merean.

Bukama is killed with a knife in his heart and someone tries to kill Lan inside the palace. Suspecting Moiraine he goes to accuse her and reveals that Merean was with Iselle and then later he saw Iselle hurrying somewhere with Brys (The Queen's Consort) and their son Diryk. Moiraine realizes Merean is indeed a Black Ajah and that she is planning to kill Brys and Diryk (actually only Diryk was the target as he is "Lucky" but Iselle brought them both against Merean's orders). Lan and Moiraine rush to save them but Moiraine isn't strong enough to defeat Merean with the power and Lan is busy fighting Ryne (Darkfriend) who is revealed to be the person who killed Bukama. Lan defeats Ryne and Moiraine kills Merean by stabbing her with a knife she carries. Moiraine burns Merean and Ryne's bodies to cover up what happened.

Siuan finds out that the woman they came to find did not give birth to The Dragon Reborn. Moiraine convinces her to go back to the White Tower while she continues the search for The Dragon Reborn. She then finds Lan and makes him her Warder after revealing everything she and Siuan know and what she plans to do to save the world.




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Highfire by Eoin Colfer

Highfire by Eoin Colfer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of Artemis Fowl Collection so was really pleased to see he had another book out. Unfortunately this to me wasn't as good.

The opening was promising and I was really enjoying it until he killed Waxman off. Waxman was one of my favorite characters, after his rather sad (he didn't even put up much of a fight) ending, which in my POV served no purpose other than to show Hooke was a no good scoundrel which we already knew and had he lived I think he could have contributed a lot to the banter as well as the plot.

Pretty much a standard boiler plate plot crooked Constable has it in for the poor Cajun boy and has the hots for his Mom. Waxman and Vern were where it deviated from the standard they aren't human and Waxman and his bag were intriguing. Vern could be played by "Rambo" a sort of out of shape Rambo who is way to fond of cable TV, but that's pretty much what he brings to the table when the Cajun boy "Squib" gets kidnapped by the crooked Constable Hooke.

I am assuming this is going to be a series if so I hope he finds a way to bring Waxman back, although the way he was killed makes it highly unlikely.

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