Nobody’s Damsel by E.M. Tippets

This is actually a continuation of the story of Chloe and Jason, begun in “Someone Else’s Fairy Tale”. This story, however, is mostly a murder mystery. Chloe has begun her work as a “crim”, working in the crime lab of her hometown’s police station. She is a very junior forensic scientist for the police department, and her first case involves the disappearance of a young girl. Meanwhile, the paparazzi follows her around continuously and she must cope with rumors of Jason’s infidelity. Is it possible that he can stay faithful to her as he is living the lifestyle of a movie star? 

I liked this book too, but not quite as much as the first one (“Someone Else’s Fairy Tale), and I’ve liked both of the books in this series less than I liked the first one I read by E.M. Tippets, “Paint Me True”. That’s all relative, though, because all of them are enjoyable.  And Tippets assures her readers that there will be further stories of Jason and Chloe, so that’s good news. I’ll enjoy reading those.

Bad language: nope
Sex: references to the married love lives of Jason and Chloe, references to Jason’s past. No sex scenes.

Someone Else’s Fairy Tale by E. M. Tippets

Yes, I’m on a E.M. Tippets jag. 

This one was another romance, but it wasn’t LDS—in fact, it wasn’t Christian at all. I enjoyed reading a story that wasn’t religious in any way but in which our main character has some standards and ideals that she maintains and defends. Cool.

In this story we meet Chloe Winters, a complicated, intelligent college student. She meets Hollywood A-list actor Jason Vanderholt when he meets and greets a crowd of extras on his latest film (taking place at the university that Chloe attends). Jason recognizes her as related to someone he knows and his attention is captured. He pursues Chloe. She insists that his courtship of her is “someone else’s fairy tale”, not hers. 

Chloe is another survivor. She’s strong and likeable and I enjoyed reading her story. I’m liking these E.M. Tippets books!

Bad language: none
Sex: none. Well, Jason has had some racy exploits, but that’s all in his past.

Paint Me True by E.M. Tippets

This is a Christian romance, specifically it is an LDS (Mormon) romance. And it was very good; I liked it.

In this book we meet 30-year-old Eliza, single, a little bit shallow, a survivor, an artist, and a person who is really trying to do her best. This is the story of Eliza learning one of the most important lessons of her life.

I liked this book because Eliza felt genuine. She really grew over the course of the story. I liked all the LDS references. I liked Eliza’s tolerance of viewpoints other than her own and her commitment to her own ideals. I liked her love story. I loved the happy (well, mostly happy) ending. It was a sweet book.

Bad language: none
Sex: some kisses, all very chaste (yet there was good chemistry too)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This is one of those supernatural adventure/romance books that are so very popular these days. It is peopled by demons, demon-hunters, witches, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and “mundanes” (yeah, that’s what we regular people are called).  It’s the first in a series called “The Mortal Instruments” and it’s all about a girl named Clary Fray finding out who she is and what the heck is going on in her life.

The second book in the series is called City of Ashes, and I guess I’ll be reading it next since the ending in this book was all about loose ends—will Clary’s mom live? Who is Clary’s soul mate? Will Valentine prevail? Etc, etc. 

The book feels very trendy, very adolescent, but it is engaging, entertaining and absorbing. It’s certainly not the best book I’ve ever read, but it totally captures the supernatural thing and, so far, it’s inoffensive and I really want to find out how all these loose ends are tied up. I’m not going past #3 (City of Glass), though. No, really, I’m not!

Bad language: I don’t think so
Sex: a few kisses are exchanged, more romance is indicated in coming books…

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

This book was written for children—pre-teens, I think—and is a recipient of the Newberry Medal Award. It is set in 12^th century Korea and tells the story of Tree-ear, a 12-year-old orphan. 

Tree-ear lives under the bridge with his protector and mentor, Crane-man. Crane-man is crippled, aging and extremely poor, yet he has taught Tree-ear survival, integrity and happiness. Tree-ear spends his days foraging for food and barely surviving, until he begins secretly watching master potter Min making his beautiful celadon pottery. Then he is inspired with a dream of his own—someday he wishes to make a pot of surpassing beauty. So he volunteers to work for Min. And work he does, very hard. 

This was a lovely book—about family, love, kindness, honesty, hard-work, struggles, pottery and ancient Korea. It was uplifting and interesting. I really liked it. Highly recommended, for you and for your kids.

Bad language: none
Sex: none

84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

What a lovely book this is! For one thing, it is in one of my favorite styles—it’s told all in letters. It is, in fact, a series of letters from the 20-year correspondence (from 1949-1969) between outspoken New York screenwriter Helen Hanff and the denizens of a British bookshop, Marks and Company, “antiquarian booksellers”.

It’s the voices of and the relationships between the correspondents, of course, that make this book such a delight. It’s heart-warming to feel the gradual increase in warmth from the very British Frank Doel, it’s fun to hear the voices of his co-workers and their families and neighbors that also write to Helen Hanff. It's uplifting to read of the happy and grateful reception of the packages that Ms. Hanff sends to her bookstore friends in Britain.

I finished this book with a sigh and a smile. The saddest part of this little glimpse into some real relationships is that the correspondents are all gone now—the book was published in 1970, shortly after Frank Doel died. In fact, Ms. Hanff published the letters as a memorial to Frank Doel. She never did meet him in person, but the success of this book allowed her the finances to travel to England to meet his widow. By now, of course, all the characters we meet in these letters have passed away.

This little book was a great pleasure to read and I highly recommend it!

Bad language: nope
Sex: nope