Bogormen

Title: Magical Midlife Madness
Author: K.F. Breene
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 316
Date read: February 2025

A woman starting over. A new house with an unexpected twist. A cape wearing butler acting as the world's worst life coach.

"Happily Ever After" wasn't supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my husband of twenty years packs up and heads for greener pastures and my son leaves for college, that's exactly what my life becomes.

Do-over.

This time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number, after all, and at forty I'm ready to carve my own path.

Eager for a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. I'll be taking care of a centuries old house that called to me when I was a kid. It's just temporary, I tell myself. It'll just be for a while.

That is, until I learn what the house really is, something I never could've imagined.

Thankfully forty isn't too old to start an adventure, because that's exactly what I do. A very dangerous adventure that will change my life forever. I have a chance to start again, and this time, I make the rules.


I quite enjoy the "Magical Midlife" genre, but books like "Midlife Magic" and "Magic Uncorked" do it better. This started out strong, but stagnated. Too much explaining - too little plot. It may be that the author is just setting the scene for future novels, but she lost me in the process.

Also, it's MIDLIFE - not old age! K.F. Breene is really making 40 sound completely over the hill - creaking joints at all. I'm 45 and apparently in MUCH better physical shape than the main character here is!

It's the first book in a series, but despite a fairly open ending, I don't really see myself reading any further.

Title: The Little Lady Agency
Author: Hester Browne
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~14hrs
Date read: September, 2021


When sweet, naive Melissa seeks a job with her old Home Economics teacher she is half- way through the interview before it dawns on her that Mrs McKinnon isn't interested in her cookery skills, but is in fact running an escort agency. Melissa panics...but she needs the cash. What harm can providing lonely men with stimulating conversation over dinner do? More exciting still, she'll get to wear a disguise...


The things I liked, I really liked - the things I didn't like, I REALLY didn't like.

Basically it had three glaring issues that mostly ruined it for me.
- Melissa's dad. He was a two-dimensional tyrant with absolutely NO redeeming qualities. He was mean just for the sake of being mean - no explanation ever made, no come-uppance ever received. He was so unpleasant to read about and all scenes involving him basically made me want to put down the book and not pick it up again. I have seldom wanted to hit a man that much.
- Melissa's insecurity. She's awesome as Honey and a total pushover as anybody else.
- Melissa's way of handling Jonathan. I always get so frustrated when the main conflict of a book only occurs because of miscommunication. I don't know if it's lazy writing, but it's certainly annoying writing.

The narrator was generally good. Her normal voice was pleasant and easy to listen to, but some of the voices she put on for some of the minor characters got a bit grating.

All in all, not a bad book, but not one I would recommend either.

Title: A Place to Belong (Sister Circle #4
Author: Vonette Bright & Nancy Moser
Genre: Christian fiction
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 338 pages
Date read: July 2017

Evelyn Peerbaugh is worried. Once again she has taken in new boarders, but this time she's opened the doors of Peerbaugh Place to women who can't pay a cent for her services. But the bonds of sisterhood are as strong as ever. As Evelyn reaches out to these sisters in need, she discovers that God has a whole new plan for the Sister Circle - and for her. Evelyn could not have predicted the shock in store for her and Piper.


Like with all the others, the book comes across as naive and too good to be true at times, so I cannot recommend the series without a disclaimer.... but I wish I could, because I absolutely loved the entire series. Right book at the right time I guess, but it was exactly the type of book / series I was in the mood to read - a thought-provoking comfort read. And as such, it fit the bill perfectly.

I found it funny how Piper went from only being a minor character in the first book, to almost being the main character in these last few. But all the sisters seem like people I'd love to meet in real life.

I sat up until past midnight to finish this, and am sad to have reached the end of the series.

Title: 'Round the Corner (Sister Circle #2)
Author: Vonette Bright & Nancy Moser
Genre: Christian fiction
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 322 pages
Date read: July, 2017

Evelyn is not so sure she likes the new dynamics of Peerbaugh Place, her impromptu boarding house. Even though it had been hard adapting to strangers living in her home, she and the other women from The Sister Circle) had found a calm cove of sisterhood. Now Evelyn is forced to start over with a new set of boarders - with more challenging personalities and problems. Evelyn fears that the bonds of sisterhood may not come as easily this time.


As much as I loved the first book in the series, I knew I had to pick up the sequel straight away. I was slightly disappointed to see that most of the Sisters had moved away from Peerbaugh Place (and again - the timing was way off. This would have been more realistic if it had been set 2 years after the first book instead of less than one), but fortunately most of them turned up on a very regular basis, so I didn't get to miss them too much.

Not quite as good as the first book - some aspects were too unrealistic for me to be able to entirely refrain from rolling my eyes - but even so I ended up enjoying it almost as much. I grew really fond of Heddy, and Summer is just a delight! (I've meet girls her age who are exactly as precocious as she is, so never felt she acted too old for her years). And again, the book seemed to have exactly the right message for me, spurring me on in my own walk with God.

Title: Deception Point
Author: Dan Brown
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 585
Date read: November, 2016

Rachel Sexton works for the National Reconnaissance Office as an intelligence officer. She is also the daughter of a Senator currently running for President. Her father's main offensive, and a very popular one, against the incumbent President is to attack the huge amount of NASA funding. Rachel is barely on speaking terms with her father, believing him to be totally corrupt, but is still worried she is being used by the President when he asks her to verify an amazing find by NASA, a find which will settle the arguments about NASA funding for ever.

Reluctantly agreeing to view the find Rachel is whisked off to the North Pole. What she finds once she gets there takes her breath away. However, she quickly learns that nothing is what it seems, and, with two civilian scientists, is soon fleeing for her life. Stranded on an ice berg they are rescued in the nick of time by a nuclear submarine, but once back in the US their attempts to expose the plot show them that they can trust absolutely no one...


Better than I'd expected, but of course it helps that I know nothing about the technologies described. Dan Brown likes to claim he knows everything about the things he describes in his books, but my experience so far has been that he really doesn't... artistic license is all well and good, but now when you start the book off with an authors note saying that "Everything exists exactly as described in this book" - WHEN THAT'S JUST NOT TRUE!!!

*Cough* Sorry, I got side-tracked. Like I said, I know nothing about the techs described in this book, so the inaccuracies didn't bother me, as I could just ignore them. The funny thing about Dan Brown's books (at least the ones I've read so far), is that the plot itself is seldom anything special, but his writing is so action-packed that it pulls the reader through the pages anyway. And even though I recognized his antics for what they were here, I didn't really mind, and still wanted to know what happened next!

There were a few twists and turns in this book... some I'd guessed ahead of time, others I hadn't. It seemed rather far-fetched in places, but I'd gone into it knowing that I probably shouldn't fact-check too much, and as a whole, I rather enjoyed it. Not really a book that lends itself to rereading though.

Title: The Great Christmas Knit-Off
Author: Alexandra Brown
Genre: Chick-lit
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 400
Date read: December, 2015

Heartbroken after being jilted at the altar, Sybil has been saved from despair by her knitting obsession and now her home is filled to bursting with tea cosies, bobble hats, and jumpers. But, after discovering that she may have perpetrated the cock-up of the century at work, Sybil decides to make a hasty exit and, just weeks before Christmas, runs away to the picturesque village of Tindledale.

There, Sybil discovers Hettie’s House of Haberdashery, an emporium dedicated to the world of knitting and needle craft. But Hettie, the outspoken octogenarian owner, is struggling and now the shop is due for closure. And when Hettie decides that Sybil’s wonderfully wacky Christmas jumpers are just the thing to add a bit of excitement to her window display, something miraculous starts to happen.


Lovely read :) I was instantly charmed and found myself longing to go celebrate Christmas in a cozy English village like Tindledale where everybody knows everybody, everybody cares for their neighbour, and everybody wants to gather either at the pub, at the bookstore or to knit and natter!

Parts of it were perhaps a bit too perfect, but I tend to think that's allowed for Christmas stories :) It was a wonderfully cozy read and I never wanted to leave.

Title: The Sound of Music Family Scrapbook
Author: Fred Bronson
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 160
Date read: October, 2015

It's not an exaggeration to say that The Sound of Music is the most beloved film musical of all time. It has touched more than one generation, as over the years, many parents have shared the magic of this wonderful movie with their children. Seven very special children experienced The Sound of Music firsthand: the seven young actors cast as the von Trapp children. Now, for the first time, they tell their stories about making this celebrated film, from their auditions to rehearsals in Los Angeles to an incredible spring and summer in Salzburg, Austria. What was it like to work with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer? How did they learn the songs and dances for the musical numbers? Who almost drowned when the boat tipped over? What was it like to attend the gala Hollywood premiere? What were their lives like after starring in this legendary movie? And how did they become a family in real life, remaining as close as any brothers and sisters for the last 45 years?

I grew up with "The Sound of Music" and it's always been one of my favourite movies, so when I heard of this scrapbook, I knew I had to have it! "Behind the scenes" information has always been of great interest to me :)

Fortunately, this book totally lived up to my expectations, and I breezed through it in one day. While I was perhaps less interested in the "where are they now" chapters, I loved the insights given and enjoyed all the fun anecdotes. The book was co-written by the people who played the seven von Trapp children, so I did miss a few more anecdotes about Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer but oh well. I did find it awesome that the seven 'children' still stick together :-)

A great book to water my enduring adoration of this movie :)

Title: Envy
Author: Sandra Brown
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 549
Date read: July, 2015

When New York publisher Maris Matherly Reed receives a tantalizing manuscript from someone identified only as P.M.E., its blockbuster potential-and perhaps something else-compels her to meet its author. On an eerie, ruined cotton plantation on a remote Georgia island she finds Parker Evans, a man concealing his identity and his past. Maris is drawn into his tale of two young friends and a deadly betrayal ... and to Parker himself. But there's something especially chilling about this novel, its possible connection to Maris's own life, and the real-life character who uses her, or anyone, to get what he wants.


Sandra Brown writes trash. But ridiculously readable trash. I couldn't put it down and read it at times where I should have been doing other things ;) It's been so long since I read it last, that I'd forgotten most of the details, but they came back to me as I went along making for a fun combination of enjoying a new book and the fun of rediscovery.

It is not high class literature in any sense of the word, but it kept me nicely entertained. I have a hard time believing people as evil as Todd exist, but certainly enjoy reading about them getting their comeuppence... at least when they're brought to justice and aren't just killed off at the end because that's easier... Yes, that's a pet peeve of mine, can you tell? ;)

Title: Gehenna
Author: Jason Brant
Genre: Horror
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 176
Date read: March, 2015

When two cannibalistic, gravely wounded men stagger into the town of Gehenna, all Hell breaks loose. Infamous outlaw Mad Dog McCall, stuck in the city jail, must fight for his life to escape. The lonely, intelligent, and snarky Karen must make horrific sacrifices to survive the night against the growing army of the dead.

Together they set upon a journey of biblical proportions, fighting against the living and the infected, hoping against hope to find a safe haven in the middle of Hell.


I read Jason Brant's book "Ash" earlier this year, and was really pleasantly surprised by it, so when I found this book was free for Kindle, I downloaded it right away.

Unfortunately it couldn't quite live up to my expectations. It's still very well written, but it seemed more like an introductory novella than a book in its own right. Nothing was resolved, but the scene set very eloquently for book two.

I doubt I'll read book 2 though - not because I didn't like this one, but simply because it's a tad more firmly in the horror genre than I prefer. Zombies are all well and good when they further the plot like in Mira Grant's books, but when they're just an excuse for gore (I literally winced on several occasions while reading this), then I'd rather move on to something else.

I do think it'd make a terrific horror movie though. Not that I'd ever watch it - I'm too much of a scardy-cat for that - but it did remind me quite forcibly of "From Dusk Till Dawn" at times.

Title: Laced with Magic (Sugar Maple #2)
Author: Barbara Bretton
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 327
Date read: April 2014

Knit shop owner and sorcerer's daughter Chloe Hobbs felt the Fates finally got it right when she met Luke MacKenzie. And no one could have convinced her otherwise-including the trolls, selkies, or spirits who also call Sugar Maple, Vermont, home. But then out of nowhere Luke's ex-wife suddenly shows up, claiming to see the spirit of their daughter, Steffie-a daughter Chloe knows nothing about.

Steffie's spirit is being held hostage by a certain Fae leader. And if Chloe weaves a spell to free her spirit, her nemesis will also be free-free to destroy her yarn shop and all of Sugar Maple. But if she doesn't, Steffie won't be the only one spending eternity in hell. Chloe'll be joining her, cursed with a broken heart.

About half way through the book it looked as if I would end up giving it two stars at best. A horrible disappointment after I had enjoyed the first book so much. But fortunately Barbara Bretton managed to redeem herself in the second half, and in the end she regained my trust and at least almost lived up to my expectations. So after thinking I might not finish the book at all, I now find myself considering continuing with the series after all.

But the first half was absolutely ripe with foreshadowing - one of my hugest pet peeves in books. At page 111 I was disgusted enough with the entire thing that I considered just giving up on the book altogether. Fortunately I gave it the benefit of the doubt, and not only did the main characters not run quite as straight-forwardly into a brick wall as I had feared, but there was only one more incident of foreshadowing in the rest of the book. Still, the extreme use of the feature in the first half subtracted a full star off my rating.

I'm not sure I buy into Luke and Chloe's relationship any longer, and there were quite a number of plotholes here and there, but I absolutely adored Karen and her weird friendship with Chloe, and am sad we won't get to see her again.

Even the cliff-hanger at the end of the book was decent enough that it only subtracted half a star rather than the full star it would usually do.