Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Hannah Swensen is quite busy running her bakery, The Cookie Jar---busy enough she deftly dodges her mother's attempts to marry her off to every eligible bachelor in Lake Eden, Minnesota. But when Ron LaSalle, a much loved delivery man with the Cozy Cow Dairy and by all accounts an all around good guy, is found murdered, Hannah can't resist getting her hands dirty.

Book 1 in the Hannah Swensen series. 431 pages.

"Sleigh Ride" by Heidi Cullinan

Opposites attract in this second book in the Minnesota Christmas series.  Gabriel Higgins is the lone librarian in small Logan, MN, but he loves his job.  He excels at it but hasn't really made any friends outside of the library.  When one of the library volunteers decides to raise money with sleigh rides in a real sleigh, Gabriel balks at the idea because she wants him to play Santa's elf to her son's Santa.  Arthur Anderson does not want his mother to play matchmaker, especially when she tells him that he'll be Santa with the lanky librarian playing his elf.  However, the library desperately needs the money, so both men relent.  As they get to know each other, Gabriel introduces Arthur, who doesn't enjoy reading, to graphic novels.  The best part of the book, in my opinion, is when Arthur's young nephew wants a doll, but the boy's mother refuses because of what others will say.  When Gabriel hears this, he decides to do a children's story time about it.  He brings his own dolls that he had as a child and explains to the children and parents that boys who have dolls will grow up to be loving fathers.  The author does a fabulous job with this part of the book; so well that it brought tears to my eyes.  It was a wonderful portrayal of the way good librarians, especially in small, isolated towns, can change children's lives.  229 pages (Kindle edition).

"A Forbidden Rumspringa" by Keira Andrews

This very well written story focuses on two young men living in a strict Amish sect in northern Minnesota.  Isaac is eighteen and feeling pressure from his parents to start courting a girl so that he can soon marry and start his own family, but he knows he's not ready.  For one thing, he hates farming and must learn some other sort of trade so that he can support himself.  His father sets up an apprenticeship with carpenter David Lantz, a quiet twenty-two-year-old who has become the head of his family after his father dies in the field of a heart attack.  He works hard to support his mother and four younger sisters but is being pushed to join the church and get married.  Although their sect does not allow "rumspringa", Isaac and David take a few prohibited trips into the "English" world where they see movies and eat junk food.  Soon, their friendship turns to love and both must figure out what they are willing to give up, or not, in order to be together.

The details of  strict Amish life and the toll it takes on those who do not or cannot abide by its rules make this much more than the average forbidden love story.  Both Isaac and David have older brothers who could not conform, and their actions have had large influences on them and their desire to please their families.  The terrible angst and guilt these two young men felt was palpable to the reader as was their surprise at falling for each other.  This book was a gripping read, and I can't wait to get ahold of the rest of the series.  224 pages (Kindle edition).

"Dance With Me" by Heidi Cullinan

This is a very good book with two quite different, fleshed out characters driving a unique story about physical and emotional pain and how dance can help relieve both.  Ed Maurer severely injured his neck in a football game a year ago and still suffers from its lingering effects.  He has a desk job that he hates but volunteers at a community center in St. Paul, MN, teaching teens weightlifting.  Not only can he never play football again, but his neck pain is beginning to take a toll on his mental health.  Laurence (Laurie) Parker also volunteers at the center but is the complete opposite of Ed.  He was a professional dancer until a traumatic event five years ago robbed him of his confidence, his career, and his dance partner/boyfriend.  Laurie never wants to perform in public again, but his socialite mother keeps pushing him to do it.  Instead, he teaches classes to kids and adults.  There's a lot that happens in this story, but it's basically about Laurie teaching Ed to dance and take better care of himself, and Ed teaching Laurie to trust again.  I fell a little bit for both of these wonderful characters.  282 pages (Kindle edition).