Accidental Traveler Series, Book 3 Accidental Mage/ Jamie Davis / 344 pages

Dragged back to the game of Fantasma, for Hal Dix, this time it's personal. Hal returns home from Fantasma to find his greatest nightmare has come true. A personal tragedy in the real world drags him back into the game world of Fantasma one last time when he finds that the emperor has left him a message after kidnapping his wife and daughter as leverage against him and his role as the prophesied hero that will defeat the emperor.  After entering Fantasma once again, Hal seeks help from his comrades Kia, the mage Tildi, and warriors he has helped. Hal must master the art of magic this time, gaining abilities and training under four unique archmages and learning their individual elements to complete his quest and fight against the emperor. Does Hal have the discipline to stick with the training and reach the end of his chosen path? He doesn’t have a choice, Hal will do whatever he has to to rescue his wife and daughter. Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 10h 18min.

Accidental Traveler Series, Book 2 Accidental Warrior / Jamie Davis / 320 pages

Hal Dix had success at home after his initial outing into the world of Fantasma after helping a city overthrow the tyrant rulers set in place by the evil emperor. He leveled up in both his job and at home, getting into the management training program.  Everything was going fine in his life. Then, the mage Tildi, the Elder that had first sent him to Fantasma showed up again with news from the other world. His friend Kia was in trouble and only he could help. Hal didn't want to be a hero, but he wasn't the sort of fellow to leave a comrade behind. Whisked away to the game world of Fantasma once again, Hal enters the role of the reluctant hero he thought he'd left behind.  Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 9h 56min.

Accidental Traveler Series, Book 1 Accidental Thief / Jamie Davis / 310 pages

Hal Dix was stuck in an unlucky life. His wife is a successful executive while his IT help desk job leads nowhere. His supervisor is a rude bully and he has applied for management training 12 times already,  maybe this time will be lucky number 13. Even his daughter's daycare teacher thinks he's a loser. Hal can't catch a break. But when he checks out the flea market by his work for any new or interesting games he comes across a strange woman who sells Hal a bootleg release of a highly anticipated game. It is just what he wished for and he can't wait to play it during his long weekend home alone. Has his luck finally turned around? Hal should be careful what he wishes for, when instead of playing a relaxing game at his computer desk in the comfort of his own home, he gets sent to the the game world of Fantasma, is this real or just a dream?  Narrated by Roberto Scarlato 9h 9min.  

Gwendy's Magic Feather / Richard Chizmar / 328 pages

This is the sequel to the book Stephen King and Richard Chizmar co-wrote, Gwendy's Button Box.  Gwendy Peterson is now thirty-seven years old and is a representative in the United States Congress.  She returns to office in Washington one day after a meeting and finds the mysterious button box of her childhood sitting on her desk.  The box was entrusted to her one summer by Richard Farris, a mysterious stranger.  The buttons if pressed could cause catastrophic events in any part of the world.  Gwendy takes the box home with her over the Christmas holidays.  The box has effects over her mother's battle with cancer and with the disappearance of three girls from the town.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time / Mark Haddon / 226 pages

This book is about a mathematically gifted autistic boy, Christopher,  living in England.  The author tells the story from Christopher's point of view. Christopher's mother has left him and his father to live in London with another man.  She can no longer cope with raising an autistic child.  Christopher's father tells him his mother is sick in the hospital and then that she has died.  One day Christopher is in his neighbor's backyard and discovers that the neighbor's dog has been murdered.  Christopher sets out to be a detective and track down clues to solve the dog's murder.  In the process he stumbles on evidence that his father has lied to him about his mother and that she is living in London.  Angry with his father Christopher takes off on his own to London to find his mother.

The Summer Guests / 348 p. / Mary Alice Monroe

An ensemble of guests from the world of equestrian sports come together at a mutual friend's (Grace and Charles Phillips) N.C. mountain home to escape the ravages of Hurricane Noel that is posed to hit as a Category 5 along the Florida and South Carolina coasts.  They have come from the coasts with their precious prize horses that will be boarded at the large horse farm in North Carolina.
    The group includes highly accomplished winning horses and owners.  The evacuees are forced to confront the unresolved issues they have with themselves and with each other. Trust is not easily given and challenges are frequently thrown out to each other. As they ride out the storm together they realize that what really matters isn't what they brought with them to the mountains. Rather, it's what they'll take with them once they leave that really matters.

The Stranger Inside / Laura Benedict / 341 pages

The setting for this story is St. Louis!  It was fun seeing places mentioned that I knew and made the story more interesting.  Kimber Hannon is a divorced woman that lives in a house in Richmond Heights.  She returns from a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks to find the locks changed on the doors of her house and a stranger living inside.  Lance Wilson has a rental agreement with Kimber's signature.  He tells the police that Kimber left to move in with her boyfriend and rented the house to him until she decides what to do with the house. With the help of her ex-boyfriend, Gabriel, who is also a lawyer and her ex-husband, Shaun, Kimber sets out to get her house back.  However, Kimber has a dark secret from her childhood that Lance threatens Kimber that he knows and will reveal.  The story has many twists and turns and keeps the reader in suspense!

The Night Stranger / Chris Bohjalian / 375 pages

Chip Linton is an airline pilot whose plane crashed into the water after flying into a flock of geese which caused the plane's engines to shut down.  Thirty-nine people died in the crash.  Flash forward several months and Chip, his wife, and twin daughters have moved to a small town in New Hampshire.  They have bought an old Victorian house that has a mysterious room in the basement that is sealed shut with thirty-nine bolts.  Added to that is that the people of the town are unusually interested with Chip's twin daughters.  Many of the women of the town are "herbalists" and obsessed with the herbs they grow in their green houses.  Chip starts to see and talk to three of the passengers that died in the crash.  These elements all come together to tell a page turning scary story.

Nine Perfect Strangers / Liane Moriarty / 450 pages

Nine Perfect Strangers is about nine people who are all together for ten days at a health resort in a remote part of Australia.  They come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences and have their own reasons for seeking time at a health resort.  The resort is run by Masha, a woman with her own mysterious bachground.  Masha has a unique regime of running the health resort and the nine paying guests are in for a challenging ten days.  The story was exciting and had humorous parts to it as the reader learns about the background of each character and what brings them to the resort.

The Bride Test / Helen Hoang / 296 pages

This is a light, humorous romance novel.  Esme Tran is a young mixed race Vietnamese woman working as a bathroom attendant at an upscale hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.  It is there that she meets Co Nga, a Vietnamese woman living in California who is in Viet Nam looking for a "mail order" bride for her son.  Co Nga convinces Esme to come to the United States to live with the son for the summer.  If the two are not married by the end of the summer, Esme will return home.  The son, Khai, is on the autism spectrum and has difficulty with feelings, emotions, and romantic relationships.  It is an uphill battle for Esme with ups and downs over the summer.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays / Amy Meyerson / 364 pages

Miranda Brooks is a middle school history teacher in Philadelphia.  She grew up in Los Angeles where her parents are still living.  As a child she was close to her mother's brother, Billy, who owned a bookstore and would challenge her with clues on scavenger hunts.  Then on her twelfth birthday her mother and Uncle Billy had an argument and she did not see her uncle again.  Now sixteen years later she receives news that her uncle has died.  She returns home to attend his funeral, which her mother refuses to also attend.  Through Billy's lawyer Miranda learns that she has inherited the bookstore which is almost in bankruptcy.  While Miranda works to save the bookstore she is also working through the clues to Uncle Billy's final scavenger hunt for her.  This one will explain what really happened to lead up to that argument on her twelfth birthday that resulted in the disappearance of her Uncle Billy from her life.

Less / Andrew Sean Greer / 261 pages

Arthur Less is a forty-nine year old struggling author.  He receives a wedding invitation from his former boyfriend of the past nine years.  To avoid facing this occasion and his upcoming milestone birthday Arthur arranges an eighty day trip that will take him to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, and Japan.  Each chapter is about his adventures in each country.  At the end of the book Arthur returns home to find his happy ending with his life.

The Art Of Racing in the Rain / Garth Stein / 321 pages

I have seen this book for several years and with the movie coming out based on the book I finally read it.  It is about the relationship between a dog, Enzo, and his owner, Denny.  Denny is a race car driver, hence the title.  You will learn a lot about what makes a good race car driver.  The reader knows from the first chapter that this is a story that will make you cry.  But it is well worth reading.  There is a lot of joy in the book also.  The ending is a good one.  This was a particularly difficult read for me as I had to have my dog put down while reading this book.

The Red Address Book / Sofia Lundberg / 290 pages

Doris is a 96 year old woman living on her own in Stockholm, Sweden.  Her only living relative is a grandniece, Jenny, who lives in San Francisco.  When Doris was a young girl her father gave her a red address book for her birthday.  She has kept it all these years and it has the names and addresses of the many people that have been in her life.  The story of Doris's life  is told by going through the different people in the address book.  Doris skypes every week with Jenny.  When Doris has a heart attack and is hospitalized Jenny flies to Stockholm to be with her.  She discovers Doris's red address book and the story of Doris's life that Doris had been writing down for her.  I found this a very enjoyable book to read and the author's address book set up for the story was great format.

The Last Romantics / Tara Conklin / 352 pages

This is the story of five siblings, four sisters and a bother, and the bond that held them together through life.  The story is told in two time periods, the year 2079 and the 1980s when the siblings were children and following them into adulthood.  One of the sisters is the story teller and is 102 years old in 2079.  The children's father dies unexpectedly in 1981 of a heart attack at the age of 34.  This event sets into motion the path their lives will take.  The family is forced to downsize to a small house.  The children's mother takes a two year "pause" and secludes herself in her room, forcing the children to take care of themselves. Interesting character development and how one tragic event dictates the paths of their lives.

Night of Miracles / Elizabeth Berg / 267 pages

Elizabeth Berg uses characters in this book that she introduced us to in her book The Story of Arthur Truluv, but you do not need to have read that book to enjoy this new novel.  Lucille Howard is a woman in her eighties that has never been married, is a retired elementary teacher, and is an expert baker. She has started to teach baking classes out of her home.  This story follows how Lucille touches the lives of her students, her new assistant, and the new family next door as they all face challenges in their lives.

History of Wolves/ Emily Fridlund / 279 pgs

History of Wolves is...different. I can't say I really liked it but I also didn't hate it. The story is almost a compilation of impressions, as seen from the view of a young teen, Linda/Mattie/Madeline (frustratingly, I never understood why different people in her town called her by different names). The story takes place in far northern Minnesota in a small town and around the lake where the teen's mother and father own a rundown former commune. Some details in the story were so vague, I'm not even certain of the time period, though my guess would be early-mid 90s. It eventually comes out that this is the story of Linda, the teenager, and the family she ends up babysitting for one summer. I won't say much more than that except to say that the religion Christian Science is involved, though rarely named. The story also jumps back and forth throughout Linda's life but even then so much of it was just impressionistic that I'm not entirely sure of everything that went on. I'm still not clear on Linda's origins, for example. Overall this was just a so-so read.

All Summer Long by Dorthea Benton Frank

Olivia is a New York City interior designer with a very high-priced clientele. Her husband, Nick, is a professor who is ready to retire and move back to his beloved Southern roots. The story involves the transition from the big city to the low country and its impact on this loving couple.  We are introduced to the high-brow, jet-setting life of some of Olivia's clients and their quirky relationships and personalities.  I enjoyed listening to the story, but I didn't find the plot or characters as rich and rewarding as I had hoped.

Light on Snow / Anita Shreve / 6 hrs. 36 min.

Nikki Dillon and her father are trying to put their life back together after a tragedy strikes their family. They move to a new small town to escape memories and heartache. As part of their daily routine they take walks in the woods after Nikki comes home from school. One day, they hear a small cry that they soon discover is an abandoned newborn wrapped in a sleeping bag. Nikki and her dad rescue the baby and soon find themselves deeply involved in the incident. I enjoy Anita Shreve's writing and have read many of her books. This one is different in that it doesn't take place in the house on the East Coast like so many of her other stories. It is a story that illustrates how  the decisions we make have a domino effect on the lives of others. Nikki is 12 years old and the story is told from her point of view with misconceptions, innocence, naivete and wishful thinking that are part of that mixed up time in everyone's life. She is still a child, but forced to be caught in very grown-up circumstances. This could be a good book club selection.

The Last Time They Met / Anita Shreve /

I am a fan of Anita Shreve. This book was written going backwards in time so I was a bit confused until I hit the ending. Linda and Thomas meet in high school and share a deep devotion and love for one another. Beginning at a writers' festival in 2000, the novel accelerates backwards and ends on a June night in 1962, taking in Toronto, Nairobi and Massachusetts, and exploring the ravages of life and the need for forgiveness.The way the author chooses to reveal their relationship in backwards time frame is interesting and sometimes confusing...until you get to the surprising end.