SUMMER IN PARIS by Michele Ashman Bell

Kenzie Williams feels like she has it all; wealth, friends, popularity and talent. But when her father tells her that he has declared bankruptcy, her whole world in New York City turns upside down. Her parents' solution while they sort through their financial and marital problems is to send Kenzie to live with her relatives in Paris . . . Idaho!

Feeling like she's been sentenced to three months in Hickville Prison, Kenzie arrives in Idaho feeling like a square peg, with name brand clothes, in a round, horribly podunk, hole.
Leaving everything she loves behind, Kenzie is forced to get up at the crack of dawn, do chores, and hang out with her cousin's loser friends. She feels like she's about to die until she meets Adam White, the town outcast, whose been accused of killing his best friend and is being blamed for some trouble that's been happening around town.
Not only is Adam the best-looking guy she's ever seen, but he's also the most fascinating guy she's ever met and Kenzie is determined to get to know him and find out his secret. But, the longer she stays in Paris, the more she realizes, Adam isn't the only one keeping secrets.
This was a fun book. I liked that the spoiled rich girl got sent to small town Idaho. It was good to see her have to learn to work,and do things for herself.
Kenzie grew up a lot during her stay in Paris, although she managed to gt into plenty of trouble with her cousin an his friends.
I would recommend this book to anyone from 11 or 12 to adult.
This book is available from http://valorpublishinggroup.com/ in paperback and e-book. As always check with your library for inter library loan.
To learn more about Michele Ashman Bell CLICK HERE.

DANGEROUS CONNECTIONS by Julie Coulter Bellon

From the back of the book:
Having just finished a tour of duty in Iraq, Dr. Tyler Winthrop is ready to join his father, Craig, for a little downtime in Paris. But when Craig is kidnapped, Tyler is yanked back into the brutal realm of international terrorism, and his fate quickly becomes entwined with attractive French counterintelligence agent Isabella Floret. Risk escalates and trust dwindles as the pair uncovers ties between Tyler's father and a plot to poison American troops in the Middle East, a scheme masterminded by the diabolical rogue agent Devigny. As lines separating enemy and ally increasingly blur, Devigny's master stroke sends Tyler and Isabella on a pulse-pounding race through Paris while the security of nations hangs in the balance-and dangerous connections are the only aid to be found. "

I waited anxiously for Dangerous Connections to get to Deseret Book and it was worth the wait. I couldn't put it down and really hoped that work would be slow so I could read more.
I liked the character of Tyler, and that despite the danger he was in he never left Isabella, who seemed to need someone with some common sense to keep her alive. Even with him, they managed to find a lot of danger.
I loved that I didn't know for sure who were the good guy and who were the bad guys until the end.
If you like intrigue and adventure this is a book you will love. I would recommend it to everyone.
You can find Dangerous Connections at Deseret Book, Seagull Book, Amazon.com and as always Inter library loan.
To learn more about Julie Coulter Bellon CLICK HERE

SECRET SISTERS By Tristi Pinkston

From the back of the book:
Ida Mae Babbitt, president of the Omni 2nd ward Relief Society, didn't mean to become a spy. But when visiting teaching stats are low and she learns that one family under her care is in financial trouble, she'll do whatever it takes to make sure they have what they need. If that includes planting surveillance cameras in their home and watching them from a parked car in the woods, well, isn't that what any caring Relief Society president would do?

With the help of her counselors Arlette and Tansy, Ida Mae soon learns that there's more to the situation than meets the eye. It's all in a day's work for the Relief Society.

This was a fun book. I loved their adventures and it made me laugh to picture them bugging a house in one breath and then baking cookies or knitting stockings in the next.
As I read I pictured a Relief Society President we had in our ward  few years ago. I could so see her in Ida Mae's place.
If you want a fun quick read, I would recommend Secret Sisters by Tristi Pinkston. I am looking forward to the next volume of this series.
You can find it at Deseret Book, Seagull Book and http://valorpublishinggroup.com/ , you can also check inter library loan.
To learn more out Tristi Pinkston and her other books
CLICK HERE

TWILGHT'S LAST GLEAMING FREEMEN & DREAMERS Volume 2 by L.C. LEWIS

From the back of the book:

While cannons roar and rockets ignite American skies, disease ravages the upper Connecticut Valley. Few notice the sufferings of the families . . . of a single child . . . a remarkable lad named Joseph. Attentions are forced elsewhere on the Chesapeake, which guards the entrance to the infant nation's threatened capital.

It is the height of the War of 1812. As the beleaguered American forces begin to rally, Britain's military is divided between battlefronts on two continents. Until Napoleon can be toppled and all of the Crown's resources can be diverted to the American campaign, Britain needs a tactical diversion. They attack the Chesapeake Bay!
Lieutenant Jed Pearson heads to war, leaving his beloved Willows estate in the care of powerless freed slaves. But soon circumstances will blur the line between adversary and friend, family and foe, British and American.
In this second volume of the epic historical series Free Men and Dreamers, witness the saga of five families caught in the tumult of the oft-forgotten war that cemented American liberty and set the stage for the great work of the Restoration.
Part 2 of the Freemen and Dreamers series was even better than part 1. It made my commute shorter, a thing for which  normally don't complain, but I always wanted just a few more minutes.
I love history so the details of what was going on in the background to fuel the war had me hooked by the 1st volume.
I found myself rooting for Jeb & Hannah, even though their relationship seemed to be cursed for most of the book.
I was also glad to see Joseph Smith's family as part of this book. It would somehow seem wrong to send Hannah and her sister into the middle of a typhoid epidemic and not include the Smiths.
I ordered Volume 3 Dawn's Early Light tonight. I'm disappointed to find that it is not on CD, but I'm looking forward to continuing the story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes history and romance. Laurie Lewis' books are available at Deseret Book, Seagull Book, amazon.com and inter library loan.

THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer

From the Back of the book:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

I listened to The Host while commuting to and from work a few weeks ago.
I thought it would be kind of weird and wasn't sure I wanted to listen to it.
It was kind of weird, with alien souls taking over human bodies. Melanie is captured by the souls and is implanted with the soul called wanderer (later shortened to Wanda). When Melanie refuses to give her body up to Wanda it creates adventure and a dual personality love story.
The story teaches that we should accept others and not judge them to harshly.
I ended up liking this book more than I thought  would.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes romance with a touch  science fiction.
The Host is a National Market book, so you should be able to buy it at your favorite book seller.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE by Josi Kilpack

From the back of the book:
Your favorite culinary sleuth, Sadie Hoffmiller, is back! It's been years since bestselling author Thom Mortenson has been back to Garrison, Colorado. When his manager ends up dead on a stage at a library fundraiser, Sadie jumps in to offer her expertise to investigators. But when the police refuse to take her seriously, Sadie has no choice but to pursue justice on her own-sharing a trail of fabulous recipes along the way.
This is the third of the Sadie Hoffmiller series and they just keep getting better.
I like a good murder mystery and Josie Kilpack writes good ones. Sadie Hoffmiller,of course, manages to be right in the middle of this newest mystery. Even though the police don't want her help, she manages to uncover evidence they might not ever think to look for, and to solve another mystery.
A bonus of these books are the recipes included for the goodies Sadie manages to find time to cook, while solving the mystery.
I would recommend this book to everyone, especially those who like culinary mysteries.
You can buy it at  http://www.deseretbook.com/, http://www.seagullbook.com,www.amazon.com/  or inter library loan.
CLICK HERE to visit Josi Kilpack's blog

DARK SKY AT DAWN by L.C. Lewis

From the back of the book:
It is a dangerous time for America. The years following the signing of the Constitution have been riddled with British aggressions aimed at breaking the will of the young government. Trade restrictions tear at its economy while British ships attack and kidnap Americans at sea, refusing to acknowledge their American citizenship.
Washington, Franklin, and Hamilton have died. Their inspired dream is now entrusted to their aged and war-weary peers and to the succeeding generations-men and women, born in liberty, who are prepared to sacrifice their lives in its defense.
But the divisive evils of greed, slavery, and class distinction cast a dark cloud over the promise "We the People," even as war talk rattles the governing halls. America declares a war to reconfirm her independence . . . a war to protect her "more perfect union": The War of 1812.
Some believe a more divine purpose awaits the Union in the wake of this war. Such seekers are Jed Pearson, the sensitive heir to both a large plantation and a mysteriously tainted family heritage, and Hannah Stansbury, the visionary woman whose family holds the key to the Pearson riddle.
Treacherous forces on both shores seek to manipulate the war's outcome for their own purposes, ensnaring Jed and Hannah in dangerous intrigue during this pivotal moment in time when the ultimate definition of liberty is about to come to light.
Dark Sky At Dawn, the stirring first volume in the epic Free Men and Dreamers series, tells of the fascinating people, events, history, and spiritual reawakening that precede the compelling moment in time before the guns blazed and the light of the Restoration dawned on a new day.
I love historial romance and I was excited when I discovered that I had bought this one for Dad on CD a year or more ago. I borrowed it to listen to on my never ending commute. I enjoyed the story so much I had  hard time seeing my drive come to an end both morning and night.
This 1st volume of the Free Men and Dreamers series, tells the story of the events leading up to the War of 1812. I found out just how little I knew about the War of 1812 while listening to this book. If I hadn't known the ultimate outcome of that war,I would have despaired for the American's chances after the Battle of Detroit.
The Character's and personalities were well developed and I couldn't help feel sympathy for Hannah, whose Mother was crazy, and Jed who was the recipient of Hannah's Mother's hate.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes Colonial History 
To read more about Laurie and her books CLICK HERE.