Bed and Breakup

Finished May 25

Bed and Breakup by Susie Dumond

Set in the real town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas, this LGBTQ+ second chance romance features two women, Molly and Robin. When they met years ago, they connected quickly, married, and bought an old Victorian house in need of TLC. They did a fantastic job of it, and created a bed and breakfast that was well known beyond their region. 

Robin's cooking skills led her to being seduced away from Arkansas to bigger things, from reality television to her own restaurants. But despite the aura of success, Robin is not doing well financially. Her latest restaurant failed and she is back in town to regroup and find a new way forward. 

Molly was devastated when Robin left, and stayed for a while, later hiring a management company to run the B&B. But it has been closed for a while, and while Molly found an outlet for her creativity, stained glass, she has recently wanted to do work that she connected with on a personal lever rather than creating commission work for wealthy clients. She has come back to town at the same time as an artist friend of hers, and plans to create a sign for her friend's new shop, as well as another niche shop in town. She isn't sure if she's ready to stay longer or resume the nomad lifestyle she's lived for the last few years. 

As Molly and Robin discover each other's presence and intention to stay at their old B&B, they react first with antagonistic acts, but find their chemistry still calls them to each other.

The inn has been modified by the management company, with some of its best features removed or covered over. When a mutual friend who runs boutique hotels expresses interest, the two women team up to bring the bed and breakfast back to its beautiful past through updates so they can sell it and move on. The question is, do they really want to split up for good?

I really enjoyed this novel, as I do most second chance romances, as people change and grow and bring their maturity to a better understanding of the real work relationships need to survive. 

Sit! Stay! Speak!

Finished October 26
Sit! Stay! Speak! by Annie England Noblin

This novel begins with Addie Andrews leaving her Chicago home to come to small town Eunice, Arkansas. She comes ostensibly to deal with the house she inherited from her great aunt Tilda, but she is also leaving a place that reminds her too much of her late fiance.
Addie has given herself a few months to do any repairs that are needed to the house, get rid of any of the contents she no longer wants, and sell the house. On a walk near the river as she takes a break from unpacking, she finds a young dog left for dead. She rushes him to the vet, saving his life, and ends up adopting him.
As she meets her neighbours and makes friends, she begins to find a new life for herself. There are, however, undercurrents of crime and secrets, and she doesn't understand why more people aren't standing up for what's right, and why a man she's met blows hot and cold.
This is a story of new beginnings, of caring about others, and of having the strength to speak up against the wrongs one witnesses.

Personal

Finished November 28
Personal by Lee Child, read by Dick Hill

Another wonderful thriller featuring Jack Reacher. This time Jack is drawn back into the government fold by an advertisement in an army newspaper. Once he has met with the officers who have called him in he learns of an apparent plot to kill a world leader.
He is aware of a recent attempt on the president of France, and is now told that there are very few snipers who could have made the shot, and one is a man he arrested more than a decade ago, but who is now out and has slipped off the radar for those who were watching him.
Analysts suspect this attempt is a tryout of a sort, and with the G8 meeting coming up in London within a few weeks, they suspect a real attempt will be made there.
Reacher is teamed up with a young woman, a CIA agent who has been seconded to the State department. She is untried in the field, and has worries of her own. Reacher must play a role for her that alternates between partner and mentor.
Their quest takes them first to rural Arkansas where the sniper was living, and then to Paris and London.
Reacher is as strong a character of ever. He has a strong moral center, and while good at what he does, he doesn't let his confidence in his skills become more than simple confidence. His knowledge of Paris lets him move quickly when the action takes place there, and he uses his knowledge of human nature and motivation to take control of the situation in London before it control him. And the title is very apt. The sniper may have a personal revenge he wants to take against Reacher for arresting him those many years ago, but someone else makes this case even more personal than that. A wonderful read as always.