(Image from Barnes & Noble)

For her proper New York family, Kate Donahue's insistence on pursuing a medical degree is confounding.  She's a well-bred woman for heaven's sake, one with plenty of money and a handsome fianceé to manage it for her.  What more does she need?  For 24-year-old Kate, becoming a doctor is about helping people.  Her parents and intended might think her dream frivolous, but she's determined to pursue a career in medicine no matter the cost.  

When Kate sees an advertisement from Craig, Colorado, seeking a town doctor, she hesitates.  But only for a moment.  Knowing the move will mean disinheritance, she sets out for the Wild West anyway.  Not surprisingly, a female doctor is not quite what Craig expected.  From the moment she steps onto its dusty streets, she meets resistance.  It only worsens when Kate finds herself entangled with a handsome Irish sheep rancher with plenty of his own problems, including an estranged wife in Boston.  Can Kate really create a life for herself, pursuing her passion—for medicine and for Lucas McCurdy—out in the lawless west?  Or will she be forced to return to her parents with her tail between her legs?

Heart of the West, a historical romance by Carolyn Twede Frank, is a clean, compelling story with plenty of conflict to keep it exciting.  It's an uplifting girl power novel that explores women's roles in America at the end of the 19th Century.  Kate represents a new kind of woman, one who bucks tradition by pursuing both a career and a family.  While I appreciated our heroine's confidence and determination, I also found her to be a condescending, know-it-all busybody.  Although she does learn some lessons throughout the novel, I felt like she didn't grow enough as a character.  A little humility would have made her more likable—at least for me.  Overall, though, I enjoyed this book.  It made for light, entertaining reading even if it was pretty predictable and tell-y. 

(Readalikes:  Honestly, the only "readalike" that comes to mind is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.)   

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for violence, mild innuendo, and scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Heart of the West from the generous folks at Covenant.  Thank you!

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I discovered all kinds of new book blogs last year thanks to Top Ten Tuesday—just one of the many reasons I love participating in this weekly meme so much.  One of my finds was Reading is My SuperPower, written by the lovely Carrie.  I love her twist on this week's TTT topic, so I'm going to steal it.  Hopefully she doesn't mind 😬 

Before I get to that, though, I want to give a shout out to the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish.  They created TTT and have been hosting it for a looonnnggg time.  They'll be passing the duties on to Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl starting next week.  So, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all of our hostesses.  I appreciate your hard work in running this super fun meme.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books We Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn't Get To.  I feel like I've already talked incessantly about what I want to read this year, so I'm going to channel my inner Carrie and go with this instead (thanks again, Carrie, for the fabulous idea):  

Top Ten Excuses Reasons I Didn't Read As Many Books As I Wanted to Last Year

1.  Words With Friends—It's embarrassing to admit, but this is definitely one of the top distractions that got in the way of my reading last year.  I've never cared for video games, but it's tough for me to resist word games.  If you play, hit me up—I'm sjwordnerd.

2.  Word Streak (formerly Scramble With Friends)—This is Zynga's version of Boggle and it's actually more fun than WWF.  Since you only get a limited number of free tokens to use for play, I can't waste endless time on it; thank goodness because otherwise I totally would!  I'm sjwordnerd on Word Streak as well.

3.  Family History—Much less embarrassing and a much more noble pursuit is genealogy.  Like many LDS people, I'm obsessed with tracing my roots.  It's fun and it's addicting.  Because it's my church "calling" as well as my hobby, I spend lots of time indexing historical records, exploring my own family tree, and helping others do the same.  If you're interested in family history, I highly recommend checking out familysearch.org.  It's a free, user-friendly site that allows you to search millions of historical records and use them to build a collaborative family tree.  Watch out, though, or you might find yourself becoming as obsessed with it as I am!

4.  Housework—I live in a 5000 square foot home that I clean myself. 'Nuf said about me and my first-world problems.

5.  Family—My husband and kids wouldn't recognize me if I didn't have a book in my hands.  Occasionally, I do have to come back to Earth and pay them a *little* attention.

6.  Lack of Speed Reading Skills—Every year I set the goal of reading 200 books.  Every year I fail.  I'm a fast reader, but I can't speed read unless I want to suck all the enjoyment out of the experience.  No thanks.  

7.  Writing Reviews—I read books faster than I review them, so I'm always—always—behind on reviews.  I review every book I read and I try to do so in a thoughtful manner, considering both what worked for me and what didn't.  As a writer, I've always been a bleeder so composing a satisfactory review takes some time.  Especially when you're still working on books you read back in July!

8.  Book Blogger Relations—I love the book blogging community.  I've been a part of it for a long time because I enjoy it so much.  That being said, it takes time to visit blogs, make comments, participate in memes/community events, etc.  It's fun but it definitely gets in the way of my reading—and that's okay.

9.  Social Media—Scrolling through Facebook and Instagram eats up way too much of my time.  I love keeping up with far-flung friends and family, but it's definitely a time suck.  

10. Volunteering—I love to volunteer in my community and should probably do more of it.  Still, I manage to put in time at my daughter's elementary school, at church, and with the FamilySearch Indexing program.  Go, me!

Do any of these things get in the way of your reading?  What other distractions take your attention away from the books?  What books did you plan to read in 2017 that you just didn't get around to?  I'd love to know.  Leave me a comment and I'll gladly return the favor.

Happy TTT!

*Generic photos/graphics from Google Images.  Family photo by Sidney Ulrich Photography.     

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

With her abusive husband dead, Lady Kiera Darby has been released from his tyrannical reign over her life.  She can't, however, shed the reputation she's gained by assisting him in his "unnatural" pursuits.  A skilled artist, Kiera was forced to sketch the dead bodies her anatomist husband studied with an interest more macabre than medical.  Although she had no choice but to obey her spouse's commands, Kiera is still viewed with suspicion and disgust.

Kiera finds refuge at her sister's estate in Scotland.  There, she can hide away, concentrating on painting what she likes.  Her intent is to stay completely out of the public eye, but when a vicious murder occurs during a party hosted by her sister, Kiera is encouraged to use her knowledge of anatomy to help solve the crime.  Paired with Sebastian Gage, an insufferable rake with some experience in private investigation, Kiera becomes more and more involved in finding the killer.  Despite the threatening notes she receives warning her off the case, she's determined to see it through.  Can she and Gage find the murderer?  Or will they become his/her next victims?

When Lark praised the Lady Darby mystery series by Anna Lee Huber on her blog, I knew I had to check it out.  I mean, a historical Scottish setting + a murder + an "unnatural" lady detective?  How could I pass up that winning combo?  The Anatomist's Wife, the first book in the series, introduces our appealing heroine and her enigmatic partner in (solving) crime.  Kiera is a sympathetic character, who's easy to admire for her intelligence, bravery, and compassion.  The mystery she's striving to solve gets predictable, with few surprises to keep the reader guessing.  Likewise, the murderer's motive seems thin.  Despite these irritants, though, The Anatomist's Wife remains a compelling novel.  I enjoyed it overall and immediately reserved the next two books in the series at my library.  As I've since read them, I can vouch for this series—it definitely gets better as it goes!

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other books in the Lady Darby mystery series [including Mortal Arts; A Grave Matter; A Study in Death; A Pressing Engagement (novella); As Death Draws Near; and A Brush With Shadows])

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Anatomist's Wife with a portion of the millions I earn from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

On an ordinary Monday at Bayview High School, five teens walk into detention.  There's Brownwyn Rojas, the brilliant Yale-bound senior; Nate Macauley, a 17-year-old drug dealer; Addy Prentiss, a pretty, popular homecoming princess; Cooper Clay, the well-liked basketball star; and Simon Kelleher, creator of a gossip app which Bayview kids view with both fear and fascination.  How Simon gets his surprisingly accurate intel remains a mystery, but everyone knows he's not afraid to use what he knows to stab his classmates right where it hurts most.

Although Simon is hardly Mr. Popularity, it's still shocking when he dies in detention following an allergic reaction to peanut oil.  It soon becomes apparent that his death was no accident.  The only question is: Who murdered Simon Kelleher?  He was just about to publish damaging secrets about Brownwyn, Nate, Addy, and Cooper, giving all of them motive to kill the app maker.  But which one of them actually did the deed?  All profess to be innocent.  Are they telling the truth?  Is someone on the outside framing the four teens?  If so, who?  Who wanted Simon dead bad enough to take such elaborate measures in order to close his digital mouth forever?  With a whole school full of suspects who know more than they're saying, finding the killer won't be easy ...  

I love me a good murder mystery, so I was excited to give this YA version a go.  One of Us Is Lying, a debut novel by Karen M. McManus, definitely opens with an intriguing premise.  It's essentially a locked-room mystery with a cast of unlikely suspects.  Tense and twisty, the story reveals secrets about all of the characters, adding to their realistically complex lives while upping the tale's intensity.  While I guessed whodunit without too much trouble, I appreciated the plot's build-up and the surprises it did offer.  Overall, this is a suspenseful novel with important messages about acceptance, honesty, and true friendship.  It's also a depressing little drama starring some seriously disaffected teens.  All in all, then, I didn't love One of Us Is Lying like I wanted to.  I enjoyed it enough, though, to keep reading and to keep an eye out for more from McManus.  

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for strong language, violence, sexual content, and depiction of underage drinking and illegal drug use

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find