Wild Alaska by Dale Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wild Alaska was published forty years ago in this Time-Life series, American Wilderness." I enjoyed the text and the many photographs.

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The Centurion's Wife by Davis Bunn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was free when I downloaded it to my Nook from Barnes and Noble.
It is entertaining Christian fiction. It kept bringing the 1953 movie with Victor Mature, The Robe to mind so I imagined the centurion Alban as Victor Mature in black and white.


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Fodor's Alaska 2013 by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Like 60% of Alaska's tourists I will travel by cruise ship and this guide has enough information for cruising tourists and the limited time we will be in port. Website URLs are included when further research may be required. Enough pictures of the most common flora and fauna for the different regions are included to use it as an introductory field guide.

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A New Day Rising by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I enjoyed the second book of "Red River of the North" series as much as I enjoyed the first because it reminds me of stories told by my great-grandfather and his children about their work as farmers and people who live in a farming community. I already requested the books of the rest of the series.

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The Gardener of Aria Manor by A. L. Duncan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is the first novel by this author, and I look forward to a second novel. It is my hope that the author finds a talented editor who can develop the the author's skills to tell a story within a genre. It is listed as a romance. I was willing to think of it as a suspenseful romance; but, the antagonist introduced in the first chapter is not a continuing immediate threat. Stars dropped from my rating as the author introduced ghosts and Nazis. Reincarnation and "solving the crime with a re-enactment in the parlor" dropped this down to two stars. Discovering this to be a lesbian romance was off-putting because I already agreed to share the book with elderly relatives.

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An Untamed Land by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An Untamed Land was free when I downloaded it to my Nook. This was the second book in my e-library from this author, and I had moderate expectations for another entertaining book. This one caught my interest early and gripped my interest so that I finished the book quickly.

In this story of Norwegian emigrants whose extended families scrimped and saved for the price of passage to Amerika so that they might homestead in the Dakotah territory, I enjoyed the cooperative effort of humans who were in conflict with time limits on land that needed to be improved and shelter to be built; with deadly weather; and with harsh disease.

I recommend it for all readers who enjoy family historical fiction. I would also recommend it to high school students for supplemental reading for an American History class.

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Jenna's Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Jenna's Cowboy was free from BN.com when I downloaded it to my Nook. I appreciated the opportunity to read a new-to-me author.

I enjoyed the human characters and the way this Texan setting is almost a character of its own. This is Christian fiction and it is used to develop the characters without preaching to the reader. Infrequently the author used a bit too much "telling" while she explained the treatment and therapy of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

I recommend this to all readers who enjoy a contemporary romance with Christian characters.



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Return of the Mountain Man by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This has been in our home library since my husband read it in 2009.

I rated this book only two stars because, in a flashback, the text was so similar to text in The Last Mountain Man it almost read as if it had been copied and pasted, and I prefer any author show more craftsmanship than that.

I recommend it only to fans of the series.

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Ruby by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ruby was free when I downloaded it to my Nook.

The story of two sisters who travel to the Dakotah Territory to be with their dying father and then make do with the inheritance he leaves them is entertaining. There is enough resolution in the plotline to end this book. There are many unanswered questions to continue a four-part series.

I take away a star from authors who use rape as a plot point for conflict, and that is why this rating dropped to three stars.


I recommend it to readers who prefer a female protagonist in their Western.

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The Complete Guide to Watercolor by Ray Campbell Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There are so many projects with materials lists and instructions I'm keeping this book for reference.

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The Last Mountain Man by William W. Johnstone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This has been in our home library for more than five years after my husband read it and before I read it. Westerns are a genre he prefers to read. I do find the main characters to be memorable. The violent action scenes inhibit me from making a recommendation to all readers. I recommend it to adult readers who prefer the Western genre.

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Frommer's Alaska by Kris Capps
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book includes lots of information about cruising, including pros and cons of big ships vs small ships. When it provides information about cities that are ports of call, it includes the dock areas and the ship terminals. It provides information about the railways and to the places that most cruise tours travel. This is the information I wanted. It also includes basic information and recommendations for backpackers.

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City of Darkness and Light by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I eagerly anticipated the release of City of Darkness and Light, and I highly recommend it to fans of the Molly Murphy series.

There were just a few things that bothered me about my dear fictional friend this time around. I have enjoyed Molly coming into contact with historical characters during her investigations; but, this time there seemed to be more name-dropping than usual. I know a cable was sent to Gus and Sid saying that Molly and Liam would accept their invitation to stay in Paris with them; but, does she ever tell them about her fright when her house was destroyed by the firebombing or that her servant was killed for those are topics I might want to tell best friends before I could even hear their problems. Liam has good care with a suitable wet nurse, Madeline; but, Molly never complains about sore breasts and leaking milk when she misses a feeding during her investigations. No, she complains more about her feet on cobblestones.

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