The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns: A Novel by Margaret Dilloway

The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns: A Novel.  Margaret Dilloway.  Penguin Group (USA). July 2013. 416 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780425260975.

Galilee Gartner, a private high school biology teacher, raises roses as a hobby, but she’s not the kind who mails away for different styles or breeds of these gorgeous flowers.  She breeds them, experiments with different breeds that are both already popular, specialized and loved as well as trying to breed new types.  Her dream is to create a beautiful rose that also has a magnificent fragrance.  While she calls herself an amateur and may be compared to other famous rose breeders, she knows a million times more than the average lover of roses and is so deeply passionate about her hobby. 

It brings her peace in the middle of her medical problems that require routine dialysis and avoidance of all infections in her very high risk status.  She’s not popular with students and is even described as too “tough” but she refuses to yield to mediocrity, an attitude that has come to threaten her job, even though she is tenured.

She’s got one good friend, Dara, whom she could lose because of her caustic and hurtful comments; but Dara, an art teacher, is smarter than that and a genuinely compassion person who knows when to appear to help and when to cut to live her own life.

Her life is about to change even more dramatically with the arrival of her niece, Riley, a teen who dresses in Gothic style that Gal finds appalling.  But now the surprises begin once Gal gets through her initial rage with her irresponsible sister, Becky, who is a functional drug addict and possibly alcoholic as well.  Becky knows she’s not wanted but has turned out to be quite a gal which Gal is about to discover.  The external attitude is deceiving indeed and our journey with Aunt Gal and Riley is filled with unexpected moments and growing maturity – on the part of both women!

Gal even discovers she can develop a friendly relationship with a new chemistry teacher and that it is possible to merge science with art to the benefit of both teachers and students.

Margaret Dilloway is a literate writer who has crafted a fascinating novel about the parallel of breeding relationships with roses, family and friends.  The quote is so apt in the beginning of the book, “Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses.”  What an absolutely phenomenal read with a message that inspires, fascinates and never descends to maudlin.  

Highly recommended!

The Love Wars by L. Alison Heller

The Love Wars.  L. Alison Heller. Penguin Group (USA). May 2013. 352 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780451416230.

Molly Grant is employed as a corporate lawyer for the prestigious law firm of Bacon Payne; she’s okay with the 16 hour days because that’s the cost of earning one’s way into partner status.  One day she hears a conversation in the elevator and soon thereafter applies to work in the Divorce Department.  No, this isn’t a bleak, suffering, painful novel; Molly describes her work in a light manner that is both amusing at the foolish demands and counter-demands of couples ending a marriage; satire at the laws that dictate who gets what material goods; and poignant moments when one is on the brink of losing a child and Molly is bold enough to put on her fighting style for the sake of what is truly right and wrong and not just “billable.”

Upon entry into the marital real of legal affairs at Bacon Payne, Molly meets Lillian Starling, a high power, driven attorney who either totally loves her “girls” or fires them with the most absolutely withering phrases and insults, with no in-between moments.  When Molly meets Fern Walker and hears her story, she is reminded of another request for help from a threatened mother years ago and how cavalierly she was turned away since protecting an abused spouse was not the area of the facility where Molly was then interning.  Deciding to represent Fern Walker is risky because Fern’s husband is a very high profile customer of Bacon Payne.  Fern knows there’s a conflict of interest and yet believes she can manage it by starting her own firm.  There’s another bonus in that Molly would get the chance to represent needy clients and not the rich snobs who constantly range from cajoling, insulting and bossy ordering snobs.

How Molly can manage to do her normal work, pay off her college loans her parents assumed for her dream career, and juggle friends and dates is funny, cool, and interesting.  For there are elements of the law that aren’t dry and boring but instead specifically designed to be neutral in order to protect a wife or husband from losing a child, an event that could quite literally destroy that person forever. 

Molly also forms new relationships with colleagues that are honest, straight-forward, challenging, and more reflective of the family-like atmosphere of many law firms that succeed because of successful lawyers and a collegial team spirit, with an additional touch of spicy appeal.

The Love Wars is a fascinating look at divorce law and the lawyers and clients who pass through its gates briefly but with all the drama of a high speed roller coaster.  L. Alison Heller presents the topic and gutsy, intelligent characters with panache and an obviously personal knowledge of the subject.  This may be her first novel but it is definitely a successful endeavor and will leave readers eagerly anticipating more and better of this author with a definite, unique style!  Well done, indeed, L. Alison Heller!

The Ashford Affair by Laren Willig

The Ashford Affair.  Lauren Willig. St. Martin’s Press. April 2013. 368 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9781250014498

Addie Gillicote’s life has evolved into a series of dramatic changes, some of which fall upon her and some of which she inadvertently causes. Her granddaughter, Clementine (Clemmie), seems to be following the same journey.  It all begins with the sudden, accidental death of Addie’s parents when she is sent to live with her cousin, Bea’s family. Addie is really unwanted, the daughter of “bohemian” parents who really doesn’t fit into the aristocratic family she is now expected to call her own.  WWI looms almost immediately upon her arrival, but Bea and Addie promise from the very first day to be like “sisters.” What is to follow is far from sisterly behavior!

The story goes back and forth between the late 1920’s in England to New York in the year 2000.  Addie is old and frail but we are treated to the story of her life, which includes falling in love with what she believes is the wrong man; Bea marries the wrong man, divorces, and then is forced to marry another man, Frederick; they quickly tire of each other and even come to loathe each other.  Bea believes she saved Addie from the likes of Frederick but the story shows otherwise with a shocking series of events that doesn’t come to light until Clemmie, years later finds out the truth that is really about lie after lie after lie.

Frederick is a stereotypical character marred by the awful memories he carries from his time of service in WWI.  He is so shocked and marred that he is incapable of following his heart instead of reasoning what could possibly destroy the woman he truly loves!  He will change but not until he is so in love with a daughter that he fears to choose a lifestyle that might mean losing her and later his wife, Bea.

In a time when couples married for social standing, love arrangements seem to be satirized, especially when they are reached through rebellion and from selfish interests.  Clemmie, after losing a senior associate lawyer’s position in which she hoped to become partner after seven grueling years of work and sacrifice, is circumspect about the possibility of love and finding where to fit in for one’s own worth, a position contrary to everything she was raised to believe would guarantee happiness.  Changing times often leave behind personalities who either refuse to change or who choose the most contrary opposite of lifestyles.  It’s all about finding one’s identity as one loses the old ways; for some it works, for others it’s tragic! 

The Ashford Affair is a gripping story of love and hate gone awry and reaching out for a satisfactory union that will heal a mass of wounds almost worse than war itself!  Lauren Willig has crafted a stunning read that is quite reflective of the eighty year span of history that shaped and jettisoned generations into the twenty-first century.  Great Read!

The Scent of Roses by Charlene Raddon

The Scent of Roses.  Charlene Raddon. Tirgearr Publishing. May 2013. 331 pp. e-book. ISBN #: BOOD377012.

Whip Kincaid is about to be hit by a series of disasters that will rock his peaceful world.  First there is a mine collapse in the town of Whiskey Ridge, Arizona, perhaps caused by Whip Kincaid’s partner, Josiah Bullock.  Three men die and before Whip can question Josh more, the latter is found dead, shot by an intruder.  Whip discovers his body and also a woman who escapes before he can question her further about the murderer.  However, as Josh’s butler, Smythley, remarks, Whip is holding the gun and everyone in town already knows about their big fight right after the mine collapse.  It surely looks like Whip is the killer and the Sheriff would love to exact revenge of his own, for other reasons, by seeing Whip hung!

On the same day as all of these events occur, Rosalyn Delaney arrives in town to seek help from Josh, whom she claims is her husband.  The problem is that another woman, Lucy, is also Josh’s wife, his second one.  The reader waits with intense longing to know to whom Josh will leave his money in his will.

At the same time, Whip hasn’t left Josh’s home but is hiding out in secret passages, listening and looking through peepholes and wandering around at night through the house to try to find out who Josh’s killer really is and what this new woman is out to get.  He poses a threat to Rosalyn, who is trying to escape a religious cult leader, and yet is also secretly very, very attracted to her as well.  He initially poses as K.D. and oh how the romance swells and swirls! 

Still there are two mysteries to solve involving the murder and the two marriages.  Whip can’t see his daughter until he finds Josh’s killer and more complexities develop for all the characters.  These are basically good, good people who’ve been dealt the wrong hand, as the Tarot cards indicate in this tale, and are trying to find a way out of their quandaries in the middle of a haunted house.

This is a fine Western romance with just the right amount of tension through hot-tempered dialogue, paranormal quirks, and questionable clues as well as hot, hot, hot romance that will thrill those who love romance fiction or Western fiction.  

Charlene Raddon puts just enough unique surprises in each of her romance novels to leave the reader very satisfied and yearning for more stories from this talented writer!  Nicely done, Charlene Raddon!

The Great Divide: A Novel by Janet Goss

The Great Divide: A Novel.  Janet Goss.  Penguin Group (USA). July 2013. 336 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780451239266.

It’s fun to be a rebel, to be immature for a certain period of life!  That’s the label Vera Van Loon has; she’s got a lightweight albeit talented calligrapher’s job, Daddy pays many of the bills, and others make her life in the city with a summer vacation in rural New York swell, indeed!  So now she wonders why others are trying to keep her summer lark delayed.  An “Uncle Cyrus” is the man they’re trying to make sure she never meets because they are so obviously wild and wacky!

Newcomers enter Vera’s life, the first being Georgie across the hall from her place who on first meeting her accidentally informs her that a member of her family is not the staid person she thought, a very upsetting realization.  Then he tries to cover his tracks by hinting it’s somebody else and at the same time bringing a disastrous dessert treat that totally belies his culinary abilities! Very funny scenes grace these pages!

The story then gets even more bizarre with the appearance of her landlord’s gay, pot-smoking son who it turns out is actually a very, very talented guy who will be part of the inspiration that changes Vera’s career direction but that will take a while.  Meanwhile, Vera finally meets “Uncle Cyrus” who is a hot “sex” as others call him.  The sparks between them were already primed by the photographs she saw of him, but when they meet it’s a mixed bag of flight or passionate embraces!

We get to go back to Vera’s past and meet an artist who earlier broke her heart and an elderly art connoisseur who enables Vera to live where she wants and opens up inspirational doors to reveal the real talent Vera doesn’t even know she has.

The Great Divide: A Novel is a fun read that proves that distance, misunderstandings, and the past can’t block a woman from emerging into a beautiful soul and finding the one who complements her in every way.  Delightful read!

Sweet Nothings by Janis Thomas

Sweet Nothings.  Janis Thomas. Penguin Group (USA). July 2013. 384 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9780425264829.

This is a fun story in spite of some of the quandaries that Ruby McMillan finds herself in, life-changing shockers that she is totally unprepared to handle.  But Ruby is a feisty lady; so when her husband decides to leave for his “soul mate” from work, Ruby does her mourning with her two children.  But she never wallows in the sadness, even though it’s most definitely there! 

The next shocker is about the possibility of losing her home and her gourmet bakery due to lack of financial resources, again caused by her husband who has cut off all her money and won’t pay a dime to support her or her children.  Creep for sure! 

Ruby has good friends and is actually making a new friend in a mortgage broker, Jacob.  This is greatly helped by the total makeover she gets first from her daughter which turns her from a frumpy Mom to a hot chick who catches many male looks for her great beauty which has so long been hidden.  What’s really been hidden is the sense of self-worth beyond just knowing she’s a great baker!  All it takes is a bit of encouragement, daring and allowing the naturally bright and beautiful woman to emerge!  The journey is wonderful!

Now her life is about to travel down many unforeseen roads to become a “Cake Lady” teacher and perhaps even consider getting a TV show to teach and show her magnificent baking skills.  Her husband?  By the time he’s gotten over his mid-life crisis or whatever it is, where will Ruby and Walter be?  Quite a surprise, actually!

Janis Thomas writes with a light style that is so pleasant to read and makes one flip the pages, with interest never once waning.  There’s a reading guide in the back of the book with very thoughtful, provocative questions for book clubs or just one’s own private consideration.  

Sweet Nothings is a light, delicious read which I am sure readers will relish!

Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices Through the Ages by Nathan Belofsky

Strange Medicine: A Shocking History of Real Medical Practices.  Nathan Belofsky. Perigree Books: Penguin Group (USA). July 2013. 224 pp. hbk. ISBN #: 9780399159954.

The path to modern medicine is strewn with helpful and malignant practices, all of which are wondrous to the modern reader.  The earliest theories most of us have heard are included which concern the four humors of the body believed to cause health and disease, blood, black bile, yellow bile or phlegm.  In ancient Rome the first doctors were better known as “executioners.”  Little was known about the human body and experimentation by analysis of internal anatomy was mostly forbidden until the time of Leonardo da Vinci when cadavers were used to study the body.

Add to that the superstitions of the ancient world where some believed illness arrived via the presence of ghosts, elves, or other malignant, demonic spirits.  Therefore one could reason that such dangerous beings called for severe measures.  But what does one think when considering the use of electric eels attached to the head to treat migraine headaches? Or what about using branding irons to cauterize parts of the head until bone was exposed?  Sounds gruesome but burning away, on par with later uses of leeches to purge the blood of illness at the time seemed quite logical.

On the other hand, the well-known Hildegard of Bingen’s (12^th Century) believed the origins of all sickness were linked to lungs, spleen and liver, a theory that many alternative medicine practitioners today follow with substantial success.  Or one could read about the 19^th Century practitioner Mandt prescribed a laxative for the first time for a patient who had swallowed a snake.

The terrors of surgery were quite real to almost all patients in the nineteenth century where gangrene, lack of anesthesia, and surgical errors proved deadly to far too many victims. More amazing is the fact that the “Great Anatomy Theater” was standing room only status as viewers vied to watch a live macabre removal of a groin tumor.  So these stories progress, all the way to the well-known shock therapy and surgical lobotomy procedures used to cure or at least help patients suffering from mental illness.

Belofsky’s book is replete with amazing facts and stories of medical treatments intriguing those who practiced as doctors with and without formal training.  What drives one’s interest in Belofsky’s history is the fact that there was no other way for medical practice to evolve but the “practice’ of trial and error.  All, after all, truly wanted to “help” those in medical need.  Strange Mystery… is shocking but intriguing and fascinating reading for all interested in medical care, as it is well-researched, readable for the average layman, and panoramic in scope.  Highly recommended!