A Groom of One's Own by Emma St. Clair

 

From the blurb: 

"He always dreamed of getting married--but for love, not to avoid deportation. Eli Hopkins has it all--almost. A hockey career with the wildly popular Appies. Teammates who are like brothers. The only thing he's missing is someone to share it all with. Oh--and correctly filed visa paperwork. Due to administrative error, Eli is about to lose everything. Unless he can find someone to marry him in the next thirty days. And he might have the perfect woman in mind. The only problem? He'd like to marry her for real, not simply for legal purposes. Now Eli faces the challenge of winning over a wife who thinks the marriage is in name only..."

What I loved about this book:

• Sweet, swoony and clean romance
• Handsome and outgoing hockey player
• Shy and sometimes awkward heroine
• Scene-stealing shelter dog named Doris
• Super loyal and supportive teammates
• Heartfelt kisses
• Humorous situations (like pajama bowling!)
• A very public proposal
• And their promise to be "awkward together"

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Eli and Bailey made me happy. They're such a cute couple. I loved how Eli fell so hard for her and tried to always put her feelings first. And I loved their happy ending. Emma St. Clair has become one of my favorite authors. 

Happy Reading!

Other hockey romances with the Appies that I loved: 

Just Don't Fall by Emma St. Clair

Absolutely Not in Love by Jenny Proctor

A Classic Play...

 

Who is Cyrano de Bergerac:

My nose is enormous...I carry it with pride, because a big nose is a sign of affability, kindness, courtesy, wit, generosity, and courage.

With whom I'm in love? Come now, think a moment: this nose of mine, which precedes me by a quarter of an hour wherever I go, forbids me to dream of being loved by even an ugly woman. You ask me whom I love? The answer should be clear to you! Whom else would I love but the most beautiful woman in the world?

Cyrano loves Roxane, but he knows she could never love someone as ugly as him. Christian de Neuvillette, on the other hand, is more than handsome enough for a woman like Roxane, only he is tongue-tied and dull-witted whenever he's around her. So Cyrano decides to pen the words for him to say to woo the lovely lady, words that come from Cyrano's own heart. 

Together, we can win her heart! ... Shall we complete each other? We'll walk together: you in the light, I in the shadows. I'll make you eloquent, you'll make me handsome.

The story of Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, with the love triangle between Cyrano, Christian, and Roxane, is one I've long been familiar with, but I'd never read or seen the actual play. Then, last year, Sam @ Book Chase read and reviewed it, and put it on my radar. So when I saw that I needed to read a Classic Play for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge, I knew immediately that I wanted to read this one. And it's a fun read; it has lots of wit and action and is very entertaining, though it also made me cry at the end. Cyrano is quite the memorable character. He writes poetry, fights, and gives no quarter to anyone. But it's his own words that describe him best:

I prefer to lead a different kind of life. I sing, dream, laugh, and go where I please, alone and free. My eyes see clearly and my voice is strong. I'm quarrelsome or benign as it suits my pleasure, always ready to fight a duel or write a poem at the drop of a hat. ... I may not cut a stylish figure, but I hold my soul erect. I wear my deeds as ribbons, my wit is sharper than the finest mustache, and when I walk among men I make truths ring like spurs.

I ended up really liking this play. And someday, I hope to see it performed onstage.  

Happy Reading!

 

 

Mystery & Suspense...

Title & Author:  The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

The Setting:  Talgarth High, West Sussex, England

The Main Characters:  
CLARE CASSIDY -- a divorced high school English teacher who's writing a biography about the Gothic writer R.M. Holland (or at least trying to)
GEORGIA -- Clare's 15-year-old daughter who's into creative writing and Wicca (which her mother doesn't know)
HERBERT -- their fluffy white dog that's a cross between a cairn terrier and a poodle
DS HARBINDER KAUR -- the lead detective on the case who still lives with her parents and who also attended Talgarth High when she was a teenager

The Premise:  This well-written mystery begins with the murder of Ella Elphick, an English teacher at Talgarth High and Clare Cassidy's friend. The police think the murderer is someone Clare knows, but she can't imagine anyone wanting to kill Ella. Then she finds a note in her diary written in the same handwriting as the note the police found by Ella's body. How did the killer get hold of her diary? And is she next on the killer's list? Or is he killing for her?

My Thoughts:  Griffiths writes such engaging and compelling characters! The narrative rotates between three POVs: Clare's, Harbinder's, and Georgia's. And I liked them all. None of them are perfect, but I got caught up in each of their stories. Griffiths also weaves the fictional R.M. Holland's Gothic tale, The Stranger, throughout the narrative, adding another layer to this intriguing mystery. While I didn't guess the killer, I had fun trying to figure it out. I had even more fun reading this book with Melody. This is our fifth buddy read this year. Be sure to check out her review, and her questions for me that follow.

Happy Reading!

1. The author has written a suspenseful mystery with a Gothic tone in this story (and a story within as well.) What do you think of this "book within a book" concept? Generally, do you think it's a good addition or is it a diversion to the overall story?

I usually like it when an author uses this 'story within a story' device. It's always interesting to get an added layer and a secondary story to go along with the main one. But it doesn't always add to the mystery. In this book, for example, I think the overall story would have been the same with or without including those parts from Holland's short story, The Stranger, along the way. But even though the short story didn't tie in too tightly with the main mystery, I still thought it was fun to read. I just wish I could have read Holland's other short story, The Ravening Beast, too.  

2. To put this in a fun and hypothetical way, what do you think Harbinder and Gary had seen back when they were both students back at Talgarth High? Do you think it's the ghost of Alice Avery or is it their imagination, given the atmosphere of the old building?

Hmm... Harbinder doesn't strike me as the kind of person to be influenced by atmosphere or rumors of ghosts (even though she loved to read horror stories as a teen). So I'm going to say that they really did see the ghost of Alive Avery. The fact that neither she nor Gary ever told anyone about what they saw afterward also makes me think that they really did see something creepy and supernatural that night at the school that they both wanted to forget. I loved that practical, no-nonsense Harbinder had this unexplainable and eerie moment as a teen; it made me like her even more. 

Thanks, Melody, for another fun buddy read!

Shameless plug!

Check out my new favorite picture book:

It's AWESOME!

My brother-in-law did the fabulous artwork and my sister wrote the fun text. 

It's the second book they've done together. 

Here are a few of my favorite pictures:

Isn't it fun? Don't you want a copy all your own?  If you want to see more,
check out http://gregnewbold.blogspot.com/ or https://www.amynewbold.com/

Their first picture book, If Picasso Painted a Snowman is also still available.

They'd make great gifts for the budding artists in your life. Or for the kid in you.

Happy Reading!