Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

Beware everyone, I've started to go back through some of my favorite romance novels, starting with this one. Vivian moves into a house she inherited from her great aunt and wants to start making repairs, but finds out that everything has to be approved by the local historian/librarian, Clark, as the house is on the historical register. Did I get annoyed that the librarian is constantly pushing his dust covered glasses up...like a lot? Sure, but there's lot of funny parts and a lot of heart.

Pages: 256

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#BecRereads2018

This is one of my favorite YA novels, and I don't throw the word favorite around easily. If you told me to grab 10 novels, before stranding me on a deserted island, this would be one of the 10 I grab. No hesitation.

I thought I'd revisit this beauty on audio this week, but the reality is that once I began, there was no turning back. I read it straight through, staying up far too late, even though I already knew how it would all work out. This story is so gorgeous, awkward, and emotional, and I love the use of art and creation to express and uncover truth.

The previous review still stands, and this time, I'll give it the sun, and the moon, and all the flowers, too.

Book 185 read in 2018

Pages: 371

PREVIOUS REVIEW:

"In the Kill" by K. Sterling

Book 1 in the Lavender series is about a hit man and the artist whom he is sent to kill.  However, once he meets Sage Bradley, "Mr. Lavender" is sure that he's about to assassinate the wrong man.  Surely someone so talented who devotes his spare time to helping homeless teenagers and knitting hats for the elderly is not deserving of death.  Lavender must figure out who hired him to kill an innocent man and why before another assassin is sent to finish the job and him with it.  Although not a full length novel, it was packed with exciting scenes and kept me guessing how things would turn out.  109 pages (Kindle edition).

"Winter Blom" by DJ Jamison

This was a cute love story between a widower and a newspaper intern who is sent to interview him about his metal art.  Lane Cross works construction and does art to support himself and his six year old son who keeps running off his sitters.  He's immediately smitten when he meets Andy Blom, who's going to interview him for the local paper.  Lane tries his best to woo Andy while still dealing with his son's grief over his mother.  Andy is also mourning the death of his mother, so emotions are running high.  There are misunderstandings and lots of snow in this nice, little read.  156 pages (Kindle edition).

Messenger of Truth: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, by Jacqueline Winspear

London, 1931. The night before an exhibition of his artwork opens at a famed Mayfair gallery, the controversial artist Nick Bassington-Hope somehow falls to his death. The police rule it an accident, but Nick's twin sister, Georgina, isn't so sure, so she calls on Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator. It isn't long before the evidence surrounding Nick's death leads Maisie to the beaches of Dungeness in Kent and the underbelly of London's art world, in another confrontation with the perilous legacy of the Great War.
319 Pages

"Outing the Quarterback" by Tara Lain

Quarterback Will Ashford seems to have it all - a blue Lamborghini, rich parents, starting position on a well-known college football team, and captain of the cheerleader squad for a girlfriend.  The problem is that he hates it all and is afraid to be who he really is - a gay man who only wants to paint.  When he meets starving artist Noah Zajack, he realizes that he can no longer hide his true self if he ever wants to be happy.  (This is just a bare bones description since I don't want to give away any spoilers.)

I really liked this story, and the primary characters were fleshed out well.  There was plenty of angst, especially since not only is Will hiding his sexuality from most everyone but he also hides his desire to be an artist instead of following his father into business.  However, the angst wasn't overwhelming since Noah was fairly patient with Will and his fears.  This is the first book in the Long Pass Chronicles, and I hope to read more.  216 pages (Kindle edition).

A Trick of the Light, Chief Inspector Gamache, Book 7, By Louise Penny

"Hearts are broken," Lillian Dyson carefully underlined in a book. "Sweet relationships are dead."
But now Lillian herself is dead. Found among the bleeding hearts and lilacs of Clara Morrow's garden in Three Pines, shattering the celebrations of Clara's solo show at the famed Musée in Montreal. Chief Inspector Gamache, the head of homicide at the Sûreté du Québec, is called to the tiny Quebec village and there he finds the art world gathered, and with it a world of shading and nuance, a world of shadow and light. Where nothing is as it seems. Behind every smile there lurks a sneer. Inside every sweet relationship there hides a broken heart. And even when facts are slowly exposed, it is no longer clear to Gamache and his team if what they've found is the truth, or simply a trick of the light?
368 pages

"Bad Idea" by Damon Suede

This story features two characters with unusual professions.  Trip Spector is a comic book artist who draws squeaky clean superheroes whom he has come to hate.  Silas Goolsby is a special effects makeup artist currently working for a popular t.v. show.  They meet at a zombie run charity event and are smitten.  With Silas' encouragement, Trip creates "Scratch", an adult graphic novel that could let him write his own ticket.  However, Trip is not a risk taker, and when Silas gives Scratch an outing in public, Trip panics and lets his fears take over his common sense.  Will the men's relationship survive?  Will Scratch be their savior?  These were two nerdy, funny, and flawed but lovable characters whom I won't soon forget.  350 pages (Kindle edition).