Tag: book review

The Third Heiress, by Brenda Joyce

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Cover ImageFinished 4-12-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 1999

 Jill is a lonely woman who meets the man of her dreams and he asks her to marry him.  Ecstatic, Jill is unprepared for him to have second thoughts and the worst happens.  Hal dies because of Jill.  Jill flies his body back to London to his super wealthy  family and is greeted with disdain.

So, begins the mystery of what Hal had meant with his last words whispered to Jill.  She is obsessed with finding the truth and finds an ally in Hal’s cousin, Alex.  She packs up her life in New York to move to London to uncover secrets Hal’s family would rather leave buried.  Alex is the hero or the villain and Hal turns out to be no prince charming.  The pages turned fast because I wanted to know what was what.

I love Brenda Joyce, which should be evident by now since this is her third book I’ve read this year.  To me this felt like a departure for her and not her best work.  It was a bit disjointed, but with that being said I really did enjoy it.  The mystery will keep you reading even if you think you’ve got it figured out because there are so many little questions you need answered.  This is more mystery than romance, but if you are open to that I think you’ll like it.

The Greatest Miracle In The World, by Og Mandino

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Cover ImageFinished 4-3-08, rating 2.5/5, fiction, pub. 1983

This was my first and most probably my last Og Mandino book.  It was sweet, preachy, and a little dated.  I think the sentiment was good and did enjoy Chapter 9, The God Memorandum.  The problem was the eight chapters leading up to it were not my cup of tea.  The story was that Og met God in the flesh and God gave him a memo to print for the world.

The four laws of happiness and success according to God?  1. Count your blessings.  2. Proclaim your rarity.  3. Go another mile.  4. Use wisely your power of choice.  These are rules to live by, but it was one chapter.  The only thing that kept me reading to Chapter 9?  The book is only 98 pages.

I finished this on our layover at JFK on the way to Italy.  I left it on a chair, so I have passed on the God Memorandum to someone bored at the airport and now to you.

Destiny Unleashed, by Sherryl Woods

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Cover ImageFinished 3-28-08, rating 3/5, romance, pub. 2004

Destiny gave up a carefree life in France with a man who wanted to marry her to rush back home to the States after her brother and sister-in-law died in a plane crash.  Destiny took over the care of her three young nephews and left her art and love, William,  behind.  Fast forward 20 years and Destiny has decided to reclaim her life.

Destiny wants be the head of Carlton Industries European division, her family business.  Her nephew Richard, head of the company gives her the position although her only qualification is that her last name is Carlton.  She rushes to London to begin her independence and immediately puts herself into William’s orbit.  William happens to be the head of a rival company and the two are forced together by business and by choice.  The nephews do not approve of this liaison and send their wives to London to find out what is going on.  There is lots of family drama and a little business intrigue too.

Destiny was a wonderful main character.  As a 50 something heroine she brought a lot of charm and it was refreshing.  I thought the book was fun, even if a bit unbelievable.  It was an enjoyable read.