Michelle L. Levigne's Blog, page 177

Off the Bookshelf: NELL'S COWBOY

This is the third and the last of the Heart of Texas romances by Debbie Macomber that I picked up at a book sale in the mall. I wish I had found the other 3 titles.

Well, at least the mystery of the ghost town of Bitter End got solved!

This episode in the town of Promise, Texas, features Nell, who has been widowed several years now, and Travis, a YA writer. He's come to town to follow up a story about the ghost town. As luck would have it, the rodeo is in town and every room is taken. Fortunately, Nell is just about to turn her ranch into a dude ranch, and Travis becomes her first customer. Her kids take to him, and despite herself, Nell takes to Travis, too. Although she's a little hurt when he presses to learn about Bitter End, and doesn't listen when it seems everyone in town warns him to leave the place alone ... well, their hearts have other ideas. This is a nice second chance story, a family romance, and ties up some loose strings in the saga of Promise, Texas. Plus it's fun getting glimpses into the lives of the other couples we've met along the way.

Debbie always delivers. And I gotta make a note to find the other 3 books and fill in those holes in my bookshelf!

Jane Bondservant #7

When we last met, I was nonplussed. (No, that doesn't mean I was subtracting, but mega-confused. What? You don't like big, $10 words? And what's wrong with expanding your vocabulary? Better your vocabulary than your ... ahem ... dimensions.)

And what, pray tell, had me so confused?
See Jane stare.See Jane watch Dr. Noway leave the school with his cute little nieces.Yes, they are real nieces.They are not cute little girl robots with bombs inside them.Jane is very confused.Dr. Noway has never gone into a place that belongs to the "good guys," such as a school or church or library and NOT tried to blow it up.That's just the way he is.Today, Dr. Noway has behaved very differently from his normal patterns.What is Jane going to do?Should she have checked for lobotomy scars on Dr. Noway before he left?Has he been hypnotized?
That is the only thing that could explain why Dr. Noway, loyal minion of the nefarious B.L. Zebob, would not only consider leaving the organization, but actually confess it in public -- and keep his name and original face. The man had to have brain damage, because common sense says to change your name, your face, your voice, your fingerprints and move to another galaxy if you want to make a clean break from B.L. Zebob and not be hunted down and turned into a pile of radioactive ash by way of punishment.
And you do NOT bring two adorable little girls with you into the target zone!
Much as I would have loved to believe this was an episode of America’s Funniest Videos, or yet another reboot of Candid Camera, I knew this was real life, and even though it was very nice that three cute little girls changed Mr. Gru, (see: Despicable Me) (No, I'm serious, SEE the movie!) it could not happen here, in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
This couldn’t be my assignment, could it? No, it could not be -- protecting Dr. Noway from his rather noble, and yet misguided and foolhardy and suicidal attempt to break free of B.L. Zebob.
It could not be my assignment, because who could ever predict such a thing happening?

Off the Bookshelf: DR. TEXAS

Here is the 2nd of the 3 Heart of Texas books by Debbie Macomber.

Kinda like potato chips, y'know? Once you start reading 1 book in a connected series, you want to read them all. It's fun seeing people you've "met" in other stories, as their relationships progress, and scoundrels who caused problems in previous books finally get their comeuppance a book or two later.

In DR. TEXAS, we meet Jane Dickinson and Cal Patterson. Jane is a new doctor who is working off her student loans with a commitment to Promise, Texas for 3 years. After that, her family plans on her coming back to California and going into practice with her uncle. It's what they've planned for her since medical school. The only problem is, nobody really asked Jane if that was what she wanted -- and she never really asked herself until now.

Then there's Cal Patterson. A few years ago, he was all set to get married. But his bride decided she didn't want to stay in Promise, and when he wouldn't follow her plans, she called it all off 2 days before the wedding, leaving Cal to pick up the pieces and apologize to everybody and return the presents. He's kind of soured on romance, and women in general -- especially the ones who have other places they'd rather be. So when he finds himself softening up and falling for the girl who everybody knows is leaving at the end of 3 years ... see the problem?

There are bits and pieces of other people's stories scattered through this book -- and doggone it, now I have to find the ones in the series I don't have, because I want to see all the excitement everybody else is still talking about!

Stay tuned for the 3rd installment in this series, next week!

Jane Bondservant #6

When last we met, I had finally come up with the perfect way to foil Dr. Noway’s plot to enroll his alleged nieces in the Christian school where I work. It was perfect because if he refused to answer, he couldn’t enroll the girls. And if he did answer truthfully, the school couldn’t accept them. Kind of like the Hatfields trying to enroll their children in a daycare run by the McCoys.
"We need to know your employer's name and address," I said, coming back to the counter with a stack of paperwork thick enough to choke two mules.

"My employer?"
To my delight, there was definite panic and -- to my confusion -- shame flickering and fighting for dominance in Dr. Noway's eyes.
"I am sorry," he said.
Every have one of those moments when you wanted to do a fist-pump and shout “YES!” loud enough to shake the acoustic tiles in the ceiling? That was the fight I had for self-control as I waited for Dr. Noway to take the little girls and leave the school. Success! I had driven one of my arch-enemies out of the school without endangering the students or hitting the fire alarm or revealing my secret identity.
Although, maybe I would have to risk that if I tried to take custody of those little girls. They couldn’t possibly be his nieces, so the questions appeared as the panic faded from my brain. The first being: WHERE did he get the girls? Did he steal them? But for all I knew, the criminal underground had businesses designed for undercover operations, such as “Rent-a-Family,” to provide the perfect cover story.
Maybe that was my assignment? Rescue those innocent little girls before Dr. Noway turned them into girl-bombs? (Or worse, Yankees fans. Hey, this is Northeast Ohio, and we are loyal to our sports teams. Want to be hated for life? Be a public figure, wear a hat for the opposing team at a home game, and be seen on national television. Fine, you can like the “enemy” all you want, but don’t rub our faces in it and then expect us to be loyal to you, you self-centered dweeb!)
Where was I ….
"I am sorry to say, I am currently working for B.L. Zebob Industries. But I am looking for a new job," Dr. Noway quickly added. “That’s why I’m settling here -- to start over.”
"B.L. Zebob Industries?" I’m not normally the fainting type, but the last thing I expected was to hear the man confirm he not only worked for Zebob -- but he was looking for new work.
This was worse than if Dr. Noway had ten cute little girl bombs with him!

Off the Bookshelf: LONESOME COWBOY

Don't you love used book sales? Either the Friends of the Library sale, where no matter how big or old or new the book is, paperbacks are 25 cents and hardbacks are 50 -- or the ones where people set up tables in the center of the mall and you wander up and down haphazard aisles, looking at whatever people are offering. That's where I got the next few books I"ll be reporting on. I have 3 books in Debbie Macomber's Hearts of Texas series.

LONESOME COWBOY is a sweet, quiet story, and introduces several characters in the local community who I hope get their own romances before I'm done reading -- and make me wish I had found all the Hearts of Texas books, because if I don't read their stories, I think I'm going to be disappointed. Well, that's just what Debbie Macomber does with her stories. Once she introduces people, you want to know, "And? Did they live happily ever after?"

Savannah and Laredo, the main characters of COWBOY are two people who have given up on love. Who have decided to be content with other dreams in their lives. And just as they think they're getting what they "really" want, his truck breaks down and she drives by and offers him a ride and love sneaks up and ambushes them both. Of course there's the gruff, overburdened, overprotective older brother who has both feet in his mouth when it comes to saying what he's feeling, and who tries his best and keeps irritating the woman he wants to think well of him. And the interfering, gossipy biddies in town. And other characters who make the town of Promise, Texas solid and real -- and make you want to come back for more.

Anything by Debbie Macomber is worth the sit-down -- and worth whatever you pay for the book. They're always keepers.

Jane Bondservant #5

When last we met, Dr. Noway had walked into the front office of the private Christian school where I work -- so deep undercover even I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing here -- and asked to register his nieces to attend. Fortunately, since I'm not the full-time office worker, I usually have no idea where anything is supposed to be kept. Searching the files and folders of paperwork in the next room gave me time to analyze the situation and try to come up with a response.
Fact #1: Dr. Noway does not recognize me.(Will wonders never cease? My friend at the makeup counter at Macy's was right -- a new blush and different shade of lipstick, and I'm a new woman.)
Fact #2: Whether they're his nieces or not, those little girls are so cute, I just want to bend down and hug them.(However, I would not put it past Dr. Noway to hide bombs inside robots disguised as adorable little girls, in the hopes that someone would hug them and blow themselves up.)
Fact #3: While I would love to push the master control for the fire alarm system for the whole school, I have to worry about the impact on all the innocent (or not so innocent -- don't let those plaid skirts, bobby socks, bowties and other parts of a standard school uniform fool you into thinking the inside matches the outside) students working hard (or hardly working) at their desks. Because even though common sense says to send everyone running out of the school before Dr. Noway sets off the girl-bombs, he might just be pretending not to recognize me.
He could have come into the school deliberately to frighten me into pushing the fire alarm, thereby sending all the students running out of the school, just to embarrass me and get me in trouble with the headmaster. Yes, not only is he as bad as the title implies, he's worse: a big, balding man with no sense of humor, who thinks women should only wear long sweaters and skirts down to their ankles and never jeans, and who believes fiction of any kind (especially movies and TV and romance) is an invention of the devil.
Before I can get to Fact #4 -- and realizing I can pretend not to know where the enrollment application form is filed for only so long -- I get an idea. A wonderful idea. Definitely an answer to my silent shouts for help from On High.
All I have to do is ask Dr. Noway one specific question. If he doesn't answer the question, he can't put the little girls in my school. And at the same time, if he does answer the question, he won't be allowed, either. Kind of like trying to enroll your son in West Point and admitting you work for the KGB, and even made Agent of the Year last year.

Off the Bookshelf: OUT ON A LIMB

Is there anything more down-home than a romance in farm country?

Gail Gaymer Martin comes through, as always, with a touching, sweet romance, with a light touch of the Hatfields and McCoys. This novel was a freebie picked up at a book exchange -- don't ask me where or when!

Karen and Eric met many years ago, when they were children visiting their grandparents' farms. Now they're adults, in transition times in their careers, in their lives.

Their grandfathers are feuding, and Karen and Eric keep coming face to face as they try to rein in these cantankerous old poops, constantly playing childish, nasty little tricks on each other. As the tricks escalate, becoming downright irritating (such as putting "for sale by owner" signs on each other's home or car!), Karen and Eric keep getting distracted from resolving their own problems. And figuring out just what they feel about each other.

Gail always comes through with a fun story that gives her characters a chance to shine -- even when they're being nasty, overgrown kids. If you want a light, quick read that will leave you smiling, go for it!

Jane Bondservant #4

Sometimes, it's good to run on automatic when you're undercover. Especially when you've had a major shock to the system. Black-hearted villains aren't supposed to appear at the door of a small private Christian school, walking hand-in-hand with two adorable little girls (unless they're cleverly disguised midget assassins?). Maybe I tend toward superstition, but shouldn't someone like Dr. Jose Noway burst into flame as soon as he steps onto holy ground?
So when my arch-nemesis appeared at my current job assignment -- full-time librarian and part-time office assistant -- I slid into my "day job" persona. I stepped up to the counter and smiled at this man who looked like any ordinary, slightly overwhelmed successful businessman in his mid-30s.
"Welcome to Parma Heights Christian Academy. How can I help you?" I asked, holding onto the counter a little tighter than usual. Not to restrain myself from flying over the counter and taking him out with a roundhouse kick to the gut -- please, there were small children present! -- but because my knees kept wanting to hit the ground.
First rule of self-defense for all agents: Make contact with the Higher Power before entering any situation facing the enemy.
"Hello," Dr. Noway said. He even sounded slightly overwhelmed. Why do villains always have such wonderful voices? It sounded like warm chocolate. Dark chocolate-coated raspberry caramels, to be exact. Do they learn such tactics in black-hearted villain school? "I hope you can help me. I know it's late in the school year, but I'd like to register my nieces to attend here."
Dr. Noway has nieces? I had my doubts that Dr. Noway was even a member of the Human race, let alone that he could have a family. At least, not one that had to be assembled from a kit, or slopped together in a dark and sinister lab in a castle somewhere in storm-wracked mountains.
"If you want to take a seat," I responded, still smiling, still sounding as if I had no idea who had just walked into my office, "I'll go find the proper paperwork."
Voiceover:See Jane walk casually to the next room, when she really wants to run for her life.What will Jane do next?

Off the Bookshelf: NORTHANGER ABBEY

Why, you may ask, am I reviewing a book that has probably been discussed to death by reviewers and literary types, ad nauseum?

Because, dear readers, this ain't your granny's Jane Austen!

Yes, this IS Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY.

But it's Marvel Comics' version . Five issues, published between 2011 and 2012. Sometimes I had to take issue with the ... umm ... caricatures of the characters. Honestly, the exaggerations of expression were funny, sometimes not even human. How dare they treat Jane Austen with such a cavalier lack of respect? But then I thought, hey, I loved "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," so who am I to point fingers?

You can't turn a classic like a Jane Austen book into a comic book without LOVING the story -- so it wasn't lack of respect. More along the lines of "sacred cow makes good hamburger."

I'm still going to read the whole book one of these days. For now, I can honestly say I know enough about the story to want more. If you don't have the TIME to devote to a classic novel, you might want to consider the comic book version, just as an introduction.

The Hunt at OneTrueMedia.com

YA fantasy series published by Writers Exchange, including the 2013 EPIC Award finalist, "Butterfly." Children from another world are sent to Earth to protect them from a despot threatening their family. As they grow up, they find each other and prepare to return home to save their world.

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