The books below are all ones that I checked out of our local library. Libraries Rock!

1. Scratch the Surface-Susan Conant

Felicity Pride, cat mystery writer, finds a body in her own home and must solve the crime. She acquires two cats along the way. I love Conant’s Holly Winter character and dog mystery series. If I see a new one, I grab it off the shelf. I did not find this character as endearing, but it was still an interesting book, and it took me a while to figure out who did it.

2. Becoming-Michele Obama (Non-fiction)

This is the story of Michele’s life through her own eyes. She is a caring, hardworking lady who has made her own way in life. I had no idea of all the accomplishments that she has achieved on her own merits. She grew from a young, poor black girl living in the south side of Chicago, into the impressive lady she is today.

3. The Daughters of Erietown-Connie Schultz

The timeline of this novel starts in 1957 and continues through the early 1980’s. It focuses on the story of Ellie and Brick McGinty and their families. The tale gives a glimpse into the lives of working class families during this era. Connie Schultz teaches classes at Kent State and is an award winning author. She is also the wife of Senator Sherrod Brown.

4. The Forever Girl-Jill Shalvis

Maze, Walker, Heather, and Cat all return to Wildstone, California for Cat’s wedding. The first three were foster children with Cat’s family until life altering tragedy struck. They are together again to work out their issues and cement their relationship as a family. I never read a Jill Shalvis book I didn’t love. In my opinion she is the queen of relationship writing, and not just romantic relationships although she is great at those too. I always feel like I know the characters when reading one of her books.

5. The Lost and Found Bookshop-Susan Wiggs

After a family tragedy, Natalie goes home to take care of her grandfather and The Lost and Found Bookshop which he owns. After many struggles, both financial and emotional, she finds her way in life. The books also has glimpses of Natalie’s family through several generations in San Francisco.

6. Paws for Love-Mara Wells

Danielle runs a greyhound rescue and works as a vet tech for her father. Knox is home from the Marines because of an injury and working with his brothers’ construction company. They were high school sweethearts that went their separate ways. And now they are encountering each other again in their hometown. Dogs and romance, you can’t go wrong!

It’s hard for me to pick a favorite recommendation from this list. Going with my gut reaction, rather than weighing out which book has the most merits, I would tell you to read Paws for Love. I read through this book quickly because I was enjoying it.