Karen’s Blog

Yes, I love to read. I read books, magazines, cereal boxes - everything. I love a good book, regardless of subject matter or genre. And if I start a book, I will almost inevitably finish it. I always figure, maybe it will get better next chapter even halfway through a book. But sometimes they just don’t, and sometimes what starts as a good book gets worse.

Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban 

This was a book was okay. But just okay. It starts out in a promising fashion, with the title character, Andrea, a Princess who would rather be a knight. Or at least a squire. The fourth of her father the king’s daughters, she has been allowed to train with the boys, and wins the big Archery competition they have been training for. Andrea, about to turn fourteen, is sure this will convince her father to let her continue with the training, and not to become a lady like her mother and sisters are. Set in a medieval kingdom, it seems a decent start.

And when the book takes a science fiction/fantasy turn, who could complain? By accident she ends up in modern California, and realizes her Tio (uncle) Ramiro travels there regularly when she finds his house not far from the beach she lands on. Still interesting enough, right? We then go through the expected culture shock and transition, and the expected tension when her uncle insists she return to her own world as soon as possible.

But it all kinda goes downhill from there, with Andrea and her sisters dealing with battling kingdoms, a deceitful suitor, princes, soldiers, romance, and what is proper and what is not. And I guess the story disappoints me, because in the course of all this action, Andrea is obviously supposedly falling in love with one character whom she dislikes. And it isn’t until the end of the books that she realizes this, and it just seems too dumb for a girl who is supposed to be strong, smart, and clever enough to get away with all sorts of stuff and travel secretly between worlds, but not to figure out her own feelings at all.

So, eh, don’t bother with this one. I am sure the author meant well, and it appears to be aimed at young teen girls, and is supposed to be empowering, I am sure, but it just loses steam. By the end, I was just mildly annoyed by Princess Andrea’s obtuseness, and didn’t even care if she lived happily ever after.

Oh, and by the way, I have always hated cover art that doesn’t quite fit the story. You can’t see her father’s castle from the beach archway she’s standing in - for goodness sake it’s far from the castle, down a large cliff and at the base of a rocky beach, and as the story begins her hair is short, not long enough for a long braid, and the “golden arrow” is supposed to be large and sharp enough to hurt someone with, and is hidden in her hair, not a cute little ornament like the cover illustration shows. I know, the artist was probably not given the actual story to read, but should have been!

Hot Blooded by Lisa Jackson

You know an author has made it, when before you even see the “New York Times Bestselling Author” on the cover, you notice her name is set in a (much) bigger typeface than the actual title of the book. So it is with Lisa Jackson. She’s a mystery writer, and I have read, and enjoyed, her work before.


This is a mystery in the classic sense. Strong woman main character, but with a “past,” male villian who is completely evil, and other targets to lead up to the inevitable confrontation. As is often the case in such novels, the other murders before the main character is threatened are prostitutes, and the main character, Dr. Sam, A.k.a. Samantha, is not only wealthy but beautiful, and a celebrity - a radio talk show host and psychologist. And single, of course, so there is the requisite tension between the love interest, the villian and the reader getting to figure out which is which, and how they all fit into the equation.


All in all, a quick read. Fun if you like murder-mystery books, and it will keep you guessing. It is also set in Lousiana, so there is plenty of “local color,” and we all, because of Hurricane Katrina, even have heard of Lake Ponchetrain, not just New Orleans. Plenty of R-rated stuff, so not for the kiddies, and Jackson does sustain the tension until the very last chapter, and the reveal.


If you like mysteries, you’ll like this!

Fatima’s Good Fortune
a novel by Joanne and Gerry Dyansky

Okay, there are no fairies or magic involved, but this is just a very sweet story with a nice happy ending. That’s why I say it is like a fairy tale, as it actually has an ending, and certain individuals do live happily ever after, and some events stretch credulity a little, but don’t let this dissuade you. I still smile seeing this book in my pile.

The Fatima of the title is a plain, ordinary Tunisian woman who comes to Paris, France to replace her much more slender and fashionable sister Rachida, who died suddenly (falling skylight on the head) while working for an elderly French countess. See, fairy tale-like, right? But Fatima is niether slender nor fashionable, and while her own habit of listening to her neighbor’s troubles and quietly advising them brings them comfort and happiness, she is not happy herself. She had been married, not very happily, but her husband has moved to America years before, and recently sent divorce papers so he can marry an American woman. So she is known as an unlucky woman in her Tunisian village.


The Parisian Countess is demanding and exacting in her ideas, even regarding her elderly poodle, but she is not the evil witch she first appears to be cast. She and the normally calm Fatima have a rough time at first, but the way their relationship evolves is at the heart of the story. Fatima’s gentle presence helps many she encounters, and lives are changed. We discover Paris through Fatima’s eyes, and it is obvious the authors love the city, and its neighborhoods and eccentricities. And though she misses her warm, beautiful home country, Fatima finds a new life for herself, and an unexpected romance and dare we say good fortune for her and her newfound friends ensues.


It is a sweet little book, with completely lovable characters, and it just made me smile. I recommend it!

The Breathtaker by Alice Blanchard

This was an excellent story, creepy, suspenseful, and a little gory in parts. The title is taken from a term for tornadoes, as one can seem to suck the air from where you stand. This was published in 2003, and even made the Today Show bookclub.

Policeman Charlie Grover, who is a widower and the father of a teenage daughter, and local tornado expert and stormchaser Willa Bellman team up as murders are taking place near the scenes of tornados, and made to seem like part of the storm’s destruction. The big giveaway occurs when a storm doesn’t take the path the killer thought it might, so the scheme is revealed, and other recent “tornado deaths” re-examined. Charlie’s father is a stormchaser himself, as are many locals, so the pool of suspects is not exactly small. Local legends from a city further south turn out to have significance. There is your requisite romance, both for Charlie and for his daughter, though they don’t take center stage or distract from the central story, which I appreciate.

I like it - murder mystery and some science education all in one, though as I said, it does get a little gory - if you cannot take precise descriptions of pieces of wood being pulled from bodies without getting squeamish, you might want to skip this one. Still, what is a murder mystery without some blood, right?