Darlene's Digest

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

I'm working on the first draft of my tenth historical romance, [working title] The Privateer's Bartered Bride . It's the second in an as-yet untitled series of three books: Smuggler/Privateer/Pirate, and  takes the sister of the hero in the first book on her own adventure. The problem is, I'm a "seat of the pants" or "pantser" writer so I sometimes have no idea how my books are going to shape up. She meets him, or he meets her, they're together, stuff happens, and then there's an HEA. But it's that journey to the "happily ever after" that makes the book. I've got tricks and techniques that help me along when I get stuck. Today I pulled out an old research biography, one I'd purchased when I was writing Captain Sinister's Lady some 20 years ago. As I'm reading through some chapters set in the year of my WIP it suddenly struck me what my hero's goal is, why he's sailing, where he's going...and why the ...

The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson My rating: 5 of 5 stars There's not much I can add to the glowing reviews, but I was thoroughly engrossed in the world-building of this Appalachia set Depression-era novel. Women's fiction in the best sense of the word, it brings to life a world of determined women, starving families, medical mysteries, and the healing properties of the written word. Cussy--nicknamed "Bluet" for the color of her skin--is one of the last of the blue people of Kentucky, families affected by a recessive gene that created a population of blue-skinned offspring. Outcast, shunned, attacked, and under the law treated as second class "coloreds" by their communities. Even when medical science offers an explanation and a treatment, Bluet is still an outcast and subject to hatred and miscegenation laws. But she perseveres, taking a job as a Packhorse Librarian, women who under the WPA of t...

The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Left for Dead: Shipwreck, Treachery, and Survival at the Edge of the World by Eric Jay Dolin My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Goyhood by Reuven Fenton My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Disturbing the Dead by Kelley Armstrong My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

  “You underestimate the will of the American people, Doctor,” he poked his finger in the air for emphasis. “When you push us, we push back. Hard. John Bull cannot bully America into surrendering now any more than you could 40 years ago. Have you already forgotten the lesson of Fort McHenry?” He rummaged in his desk and pulled out a tattered newspaper, much folded and creased. “My mother sent this to me with the letters, a newspaper from home. A Mr. Key wrote a poem about the battle, Doctor, titled ‘The Defence of Fort McHenry’. Look here–‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’. That’s America, Charley!" --- SEA CHANGE   (High Seas, book 1) June 14 is Flag Day, the day the United States honors our nation's star spangled banner.  If you've got a flag, fly it proudly!

Funny Story by Emily Henry My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

System Collapse by Martha Wells My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

When I was a child, #MemorialDay meant the start of summer. Now I'm an adult and it means so much more to me because I know people who died in service to our country, fighting to protect our nation. Take a moment this holiday to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day. Remember that the freedoms we enjoy this weekend, and all year long, to swim, to gather, to have outdoor concerts, to hike in the national parks, came at a cost. At the start of summer we should always recall those who gave their lives, the "last full measure of devotion" to keep us free.

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Wake Me Most Wickedly by Felicia Grossman My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman My rating: 5 of 5 stars View all my reviews

A Grave Robbery by Deanna Raybourn My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews