Marta Hoelscher's Blog – January 2009 Archive (14)

by Rich DeVos



This is a small book that really packs a punch! Rich DeVos , the co-founder of Amway and Chairman of the NBA Orlando Magic, believes in maintaining a positive attitude and offering encouragement to others. He's spent years as a motivational speaker and traveling the country meeting people from all walks of life. In this book he's sharing his knowledge of how using ten simple phrases can help transform your life and the people in it. These 10 phrases will make you a… Continue

By Kimberly Raiser



"Will they stay? Will they survive? The Weavers have inherited family property in Astral, Pennsylvania, a town so small that Mrs. Weaver can find no mention of it on the Internet, save for a tiny spot on Google Earth. Hoping for a simpler, small-town existence for their young family, Steven and Tara eagerly head to Astral to see what they hope will be their dream house. As they explore their potential new home, the Weavers begin to discover secret passageways,… Continue

edited by Ben Karlin



This is a great anthology of short stories about relationships. It's fun and snarky. We've all been in relationships and I'm sure you'll recognize something from the book. If nothing else it really shows us that we all have bad, crappy relationships and we all live through them and usually end up laughing about them. This book was a quick read and most of the stories were fairly short. Some of the stories are a bit graphic, so if you don't like that type of… Continue

Devotional Wisdom from 50 of the Best Loved Psalms

featuring Devotionals by Lori Jones



This is such an exceptional audio book I don't know where to start. The 3 CD's come packaged in a beautiful book with the cd's at the back. In the front, thick, creamy pages hold the text of the psalm and also a devotional to go along with each Psalm. This way you can read or listen. Not only are the Psalm excerpts recorded, but also the devotionals. This really allows the listener a lot of… Continue

by Patricia O'Brien



In this book O'brien has brought to life the Beecher family, one of the most influential families of the 19th century. The book focuses on the relationship between Harriet and Isabella. Harriet was the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin and Isabella was a proponent of women's rights. When a scandal threatens their families reputation they come to an impasse that almost destroyed their relationship.



This story is as much about the relationships between all of… Continue

by Gwendolyn Zepeda

Grand Central Publishing



Jessica Luna is your typical mid-twenties girl. She has trouble with her boyfriends, argues with her mom and sister and is confused about where her life is going. Everyone around her tells her what to do. Jessica is at a loss to make her own decisions and so she consults a psychic and watches for signs to base her decisions on.



Her boyfriend, Guillermo, is your basic friends with benefits even though she likes to think that… Continue

Wicked By Any Other Name

by Linda Wisdom



"Sparks fly when a love charm goes awry, and Stasi finds herself in a preternatural lawsuit matching wits with devastatingly handsome wizard attorney Trevor Barnes. Then mysterious magic from an unknown enemy threatens to turn Stasi's quiet town into a modern day Salem, and Stasi's witchy friends from long ago gather for the fight. They need Trevor's powerful help. But every witch knows you can't trust a wizard, and soon Stasi… Continue

OK OK...I love Augusten Burroughs books and Dry: A Memoir was no exception. This was a great way to kick off the New Year. Here's a little about the book. 320 pages.





Fans of Augusten Burroughs's darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad… Continue

I'm such a Crusie fan it's almost indecent. This book was such fun!



Quinn McKenzie's day started out in it's usual normal 'beige' way and then a stray dog came along and messed up her life, her friend's lives and her parents. Before she knew it she'd broken up with her boring boyfriend, her best friend had left her husband, her mother had come out of the closet, and her best friend Nick has kissed her and she's seeing fireworks.



What follows is her ex kidnapping her dog,… Continue

Blood Red is not your typical romance/thriller. It wasn't what I'd normally pick up, but I really enjoyed it. Three women are in New Orleans for a wild batchelorette weekend and find themselves the target of a vampire. The Vampire chases them and almost succeeds in killing them all, except for a tall, dark and handsome vampire chaser. At first the women don't believe his tales of vampires-until they see the evidence with their own eyes. What follows is a battle between good and evil where… Continue

Santa Baby is actually a shorter story by Jennifer Crusie called Hot Toy and two novellas by Lori Foster [ Christmas Bonus] and Carly Phillips [Naughty Under The Mistletoe].





All three made for good reading.





"Hot Toy" involves a frazzled aunt looking for a hard to find action figure toy on Christmas Eve, a hot professor/CIA Agent, and Chinese double agents. As usual with Jennifer Crusie book it's a fun book to read and the action and hilarity won't let you put… Continue

Nicholas Sparks never lets his readers down. His books are always a great read and this one was for me. 326 pages.





Is there really such thing as a lucky charm? The hero of Nicholas Sparks's new novel believes he's found one in the form of a photograph of a smiling woman he's never met, but who he comes to believe holds the key to his destiny. The chain of events that leads to him possessing the photograph and finding the woman pictured in it is the stuff of love stories only a… Continue

Another one of my favorite authors is Haven Kimmel. Iodine is her latest novel and it was a great read. Sometimes slightly confusing, but still a great read. 240 pages.





From Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“In her fourth novel, Kimmel offers a beautifully wrought portrait of the brilliant and psychotic Trace Pennington, a runaway now scraping by in an Indiana farmhouse while completing her final year of college. Trace excels in school despite her abject poverty… Continue

This book is by Jennifer Crusie who is an author that I just love to read. Her books are fun and light and yet have a great story. The only problem with these books is that I tend to start laughing out loud while I'm reading them which really makes people look at you funny! 384 pages.



~About the Book~



Min Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man like Cal Morrisey, who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Cal Morrisey knows commitment is… Continue