My Thoughts On "Rising Storm" By Kathleen Brooks

Source:  Goodreads

Rising Storm is the second book in Kathleen Brooks' Bluegrass Brothers Series.  It follows Marshall, an elite military man turned hometown sheriff and Katelyn Jacks, an ex-supermodel who worked her way through college and has come back to her grandparents small hometown to start her career as a vet.  Even thought they can't stand each other, they can't seem to avoid each other or the small town gossip mill, and they soon discover they're feelings for one another might not be what they thought they were.  Yet even as they fall in love they are forced to fight for their lives and the lives of innocent dogs when they try to track down a dangerous, illegal, dog fighting ring, and are targeted  by the criminals running it.

Rising Storm is exactly what I expected from Kathleen Brooks.  It's the fifth book I've read by her, and I wasn't disappointed.  Once again we get to visit with the unforgettable characters of Keeneston, Kentucky and have some fun along the way.  Rising Storm is full of humor, romance, and suspense.  I'd recommend it to anyone who loves to read romance with a little suspense thrown in or anyone looking to read something regional.  Although Keeneston is a little over the top idyllic, the book still gives you a snapshot of what a small Kentucky town might be like.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

My Thoughts On "Where the Red Fern Grows"

Source:  Goodreads

Somehow I missed reading Where the Red Fern Grows during my childhood.  I have always heard of it, and I know lots of people, my Dad included, love the movie, yet somehow I missed it.

Where the Red Fern Grows is the story of Billy, a little boy who comes down with a serious case of "puppy love".  He wants puppies, but not just any kind of puppy.  He wants two coon dogs, and it becomes his life's mission to get them.  He breaks his back working for two years until he finally saves the fifty dollars he needs to buy his dogs.  The scene where he first meets Old Dan and Little Ann is one of the sweetest scenes I've ever read in a book.  The love between Billy and his dogs is beautiful.  Where the Red Fern Grows is a story of love, loyalty, friendship, and sacrifice.

I'd recommend this book to anyone.  It's just a good story that kids and adults both will like, so if like me, you missed this one as a child--give it a try.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

My Thoughts On "Shiloh"

I can't believe it's August!  It seems like yesterday it was January and I was beginning The Cupcakes War Reading Challenge hosted by Brenda at Curling Up With a Good Book.  Now we're 8 months in, and I have read some really great books.  This month's genre is Animal Stories or Autobiographies, and since we read memoirs in a previous month I decided to focus on Animal Stories for this month.  Brenda is doing such a great job with this challenge, and if you have some time you should check out her blog.

Source:  Goodreads

My first animal story comes straight from my daughter's bookshelf.  She actually bought this book a while ago, and I've wanted to read it for a while.  I've read and enjoyed other works by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, so I had high hopes for this one.  I wasn't disappointed.

In Shiloh, a little boy named Marty comes across a runaway beagle while he's out exploring the hills and woods around his home.  The beagle is very skittish and shy which leads Marty to believe he's been abused. Marty wants to keep him, but discovers that the dog he names Shiloh belongs to the meanest man Marty knows, Judd Travers.  Shiloh is all about Marty's courageous struggle to save the dog he has grown to love.

This was such a sweet story.  It was a quick, enjoyable read, and I really needed it.  Shiloh is something totally different for me, and that's one of the things I liked most about it.  I fell in love with the little beagle along with Marty, and I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially animal lovers.

It's Softball Time...

We signed our daughter up for softball last week, and that got me thinking about softball in books.  I've never read nor heard of a "softball book", so I decided to go looking.

Here's some of what I found...

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Set in a small Oregon town just after WWII, this is the powerful tale of a community shattered by its reaction to two young newcomers, Aki and Shazam.  Told from 21 different points of view, Bat 6 explores the subject of Japanese-American racial prejudice after the war.

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
The Story of two sisters and one softball-playing summer.

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Everyone thinks being a fourteen-year-old fast pitch softball player is nothing but fun and games.  But ask Rachel Adams, and you'll learn otherwise.  There are millions of problems to deal with, including demanding dads, grumpy coaches, and umpires that make terrible calls.  But Rachel really complicates things for herself when she sneaks out with her teammates, meets some boys, and drinks alcohol...

Source:  Goodreads

From Goodreads...
Brooke Conrad is on top of the world.  She is the star shortstop for her high school's softball team, and it is one of the best teams in the state.  But everything changes overnight when the shortstop for the school's baseball team gets kicked out of school , and the baseball coach asks Brooke to take his place for the season.  Brooke has never heard of anything more ridiculous...

Source:  Goodreads

From Amazon...
Fifteen-year-old Angel Williams has wanted a puppy all of her life, so she is ecstatic when her dad finally agrees he can get one-but on one condition.  She has to hit a home run in her softball game later in the day.  Much to Angel's delight, she does, and she is rewarded with an adorable chocolate Labrador named Homer.  Homer becomes her team's mascot, and he leads them on their quest to win the state championship.  But when Homer is injured in a freak accident, can Angel and the rest of the team continue without him?




Let me know if you've read a good book about softball !