Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire. Show all posts

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Book Review: My Way to You, by Catherine Bybee

My Way to You, by Catherine Bybee book cover and review
I saw My Way to You as a Kindle Daily Deal, and for some reason, it jumped out at me and I bought.  Both the ebook and audiobook. I really enjoyed reading and listening to it. First time I've tried the combination formats.

Parker, in her mid-20s, has for two years been taking care of her younger sister and brother as well as their house and substantial property after the sudden death of her parents. Now, to add to the stress, a California wildfire threatens their home.

The home survives, but the surrounding canyon is devastated. And the rains are coming, which can cause debris and mud to devastate both Parker's and her neighbor's properties.

Colin works for the public works department, and his job is to create dams and structures to control the runoff from the rain. It is a huge project and requires a huge disruption to Parker's life and threatens her security. It doesn't help that Parker is a control freak and needs to know everything and be in charge of everything.

Colin is a "too good to be true" guy. And I got a bit tired of the "poor Parker" interludes, but otherwise this was an interesting, dramatic, and heartwarming story that kept my attention. I rooted for the relationship's development and was happy with the way it played out. 

Apparently, this story is somewhat autobiographical from Bybee. There are two more books in the Creek Canyon series, and I enjoyed My Way to You enough to seek them out. (The third book doesn't come out until November.)

Published by Montlake, March 10, 2020
eBook and audiobook purchased
367 pages

Rating: 4/5





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Monday, October 1, 2018

Book Review: When We Caught Fire, by Anna Godbersen @AGodbersen

When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen book cover and review
Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and The Luxe Series is one of my favorite book series. So when I saw that Godbersen had a new book coming out, When We Caught Fire, I was very excited.  I was not disappointed!

The reader knows that this is a book about The Great Fire that occurred in Chicago in 1871.  But the story starts out about a girl, Emmeline Carter, who is a society girl soon to be married to Frederick Tree. Emmeline's father has worked very hard, in a sort of rags-to-riches story that has gotten the Carter family accepted into society.  And now he is to see his daughter "marry up."

Emmeline's personal maid, Fiona, is a friend from her past.  The days when they lived in squalor. Emmeline treats Fiona more like a friend, but Fiona knows that without the Carters, her family would be much worse off. She still visits her family often and gives them money each visit.  But she hasn't seen the third member of their group, Anders, and she doesn't want to. They were getting along fine, but then there was a kiss, and Anders didn't want anything to do with Fiona anymore.

Fiona wonders if he knows about Emmaline's upcoming nuptials. Anders and Emmaline were promised to each other at a young age. When Emmeline demands that Fiona find Anders for her just a few days before the wedding, Fiona senses trouble coming.

And boy does it come! Emmeline decides she's going to bail on the wedding and run away with Enders.  And Fiona has to help her with this plan. I don't want to go any further.  There is excitement, entertainment, danger, romance, and some eye-rolling moments.  I was thoroughly entertained the entire time.

Several well known Chicago figures make an appearance, but this only adds to the authenticity. In Godbersen's accounting, it wasn't Mrs. O'Leary's cow that tipped over the lantern (this story has pretty much been debunked anyway), but of course, our characters are instrumental in starting the blaze. I enjoyed learning about that historical period in Chicago and a bit about how the city changed after the fire.

Teens who enjoy historical romance will certainly enjoy When We Caught Fire, and so will adults.

Published by HarperTeen, October 2, 2018
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
384 pages

Rating: 5/5





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