Reserved For The Cat (Mercedes Lackey)

Ninette Dupond was a dancer with the paris Opera Ballet. She had been very lucky - if she had not been pretty, and a natural dancer, she could only have become what her mother had been: a washerwoman, or perhaps if she were desperate and hungry enough, a prostitute.

But Ninette's good luck ended the day that the lead dancer sprained her ankle and Ninette was chosen to dance her part at a matinee. Her reviews had been very good - too good. Shortly thereafter Ninette had been fired in an attempt to soothe the wounded ego of the ballet's primary soloist.

Alone, unemployed, and filled with despair, Ninette had returned to her apartment to find a thin, rangy, tabby-striped tomcat sitting on her windowsill. He seemed like just another stray, until abruptly he spoke to her, mine-to-mind.

Ninette thought she was going mad, but the cat offered her an alternative to prostitution, albeit a very odd one. He proposed that she impersonate a renowned Russian ballerina, Nina Tschereslavsky, and go to work in a specific music hall in Blackpool, England. The cat also told her that he would take care of her in every way - he would somehow convey the English and Russian languages to her, supply her with monye, and guide her every move. With no other otpion open to her, she placed her life in his paws.

What Ninette didn't know was that the cat was an Elemental Spirit sent to protect her, and that the music hall in Blackpool was owned by an Elemental Master. But she also didn't know that the real Nin no longer existed. For the real Nina had been "absorbed" by an Elemental Spirit of the darkest kind that was now bent on Ninette's destruction...

This one was hard to get involved in. I actually would put it down and then read another book before picking it up again. now that I"ve finished it and looking back it does have a good premise to a story but is slow.

This book is actually book 5 in a series call The Elemental Masters.

I've been told that the others in the series are better.

At First Sight (Nicholas Sparks)

There are a few things Jeremy Marsh was sure he'd never do: he'd never leave New York City; never give his heart away again after barely surviving one failed marriage; and, most of all, never become a parent. Now, Jeremy is living in the tiny town of Boone Creek, North Carolina, married to Lexie Darnell, the love of his life, and anticipating the birth of their daughter. But just as his life seems to be settling into a blissful pattern, an unsettling and mysterious message re-opens old wounds and sets off a chain of events that will forever change the course of this young couple's marriage.Dramatic, heartbreaking and surprising, this is a story about the love between a man and a woman and between a parent and a child. More than that, it is a story that beautifully portrays how the same emotion that can break your heart is also the one that will ultimately heal it.While the novel picks up the tale of Lexie Darnell and Jeremy Marsh that started in True Believer and will delight fans of that novel, it stands on its own as one of Nicholas Sparks's most deeply moving love stories.

Emma : Woman of Faith (Anita Stansfield)

Emma stood alone at the edge of the Mississippi, pondering its lazy flow that was so familiar to her. . . . More than three decades had passed since she'd lost her precious Joseph. She had learned to live without him . . . but nothing had ever felt right without him. . . . "Joseph," she whispered into the breeze as she lovingly fingered the worn gold beads encircling her throat, a gift from Joseph, one of the few tangible remnants of his love for her.
In this triumphant tribute, well-loved LDS author Anita Stansfield conveys Emma Smith's greatness of spirit; her undying love for and loyalty to Joseph; her remarkable compassion, courage, and dignity; and her unwavering testimony of the Savior.
Joyful and poignant, insightful and moving, intense and reverent, this thoroughly researched fictional narrative paints an intimate portrait of the Lord's "elect lady" through a love story that transcends time and embraces eternity.

This book is almost exactly like the movie "Emma Smith : My Story". It does portray her love for Joseph a little more, but if you have seen the movie, then you pretty much have read this book.

The Magicians and Mrs Quent

The Magicians and Mrs QuentBy Galen Beckett
. Young Ivy Lockwell, the unmarried daughter of a family stricken with poverty after her magician father went mad, travels from her home in Invarel, a mirror of Austen-era London, to become a governess at the country estate of Heathcrest, a Bronte-analogue complete with mysterious Rochester stand-in, Mr. Quent. As a woman, she is forbidden to perform magic and consoles herself with the study of magical history, discovering an ancient story still working its will on the world. Treading a fine line between homage and unoriginality, Invarel occasionally sparkles with descriptions of illusionist shows and quasi-fascist government activity, but Heathcrest is lifted part and parcel from Jane Eyre, and Beckett relies too much on references to that work to fuel emotional arcs and reader attachment.

Ivy Lockwell is a responsible eldest daughter who dreams of mastering enough magic to save her mentally ill father. He has left her clues to the puzzle, but mysterious "others" may solve things before Ivy can. Perhaps the rakish Mr. Rafferdy can help? Too bad Ivy can't stick around town to find out. She's off to the remote countryside to serve as a governess to the enigmatic Mr. Quent's niece and nephew. Earning her living is the only way to save her family from financial ruin. Marrying the boss could really solve her problems. Beckett's tepid debut is partly an homage to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, only without any energy, drama, or originality. He creates a world (the island nation of Altania) with great potential, which he then squanders through slow pacing, minimal character development, an implausible romance, and very little fantasy. .

This book took me a while to get into. Once I did I could not put it down. It also has a sequal (The House on Durrow Street) I was going to go get it so I could see if its any good.

Black Swan, White Raven (story collection)

Come revisit the tales that charmed, enthralled, and terrified us in our early youth - but this time, hear the stories of Rapunzels, Rumpelstiltskins and sleeping beauties from an edgy, provocative and distinctly adult perspective.

Dont waste your time on this one. I couldnt even read all of the stories. I got maybe half-way through and decided I just couldnt take anymore. Most of the stories left me thinkin...huh!?!

A Knight's Vow (story collection)

The Traveller (Lynn Kurland)
A bedraggled knight makes a solemn vow to protect, defend, and rescue any and all maidens in distress - even those from Manhattan...
The Minstrel (Patricia Potter)
A vow to marry for love transforms a marquis into a minstrel who must sing for his supper - and for a woman whose heart is true...
The Bachelor Knight (Deborah Simmons)
A forgotten vow comes back to haunt the greatest knight in all the land, when a fair maiden asks for his hand in marriage...
The Siege (Glynnis Campbell)
Trapped underground with his unwilling betrothed, a deteremined knight vows to free her - body and soul...
These were all good reads. I think I enjoyed The Siege the most.

My Heart Stood Still (Lynn Kurland)

Thomas McKinnon is used to attaining impossible heights, both in business and in the mountains he loves. But when the chance to restore a twelfth-century castle comes his way, he gamesly take hammer in hand and crsses the Atlantic, expecting to find nothing more interesting inside his new home than cobwebs and weeds.

But in that ancient, crumbling castle, the fierce, restless spirit of a medieval Scottish woman lives on - a woman so haunting that he would do anything, go anywhere, risk anything to mak her his forever...

This was a good romantic story. I enjoyed it.