The Flame and the Flower

Set in England and the Carolinas, 1799

For the flame will surely come,

 And burn, and blacken, and lay bare the hill.

But with the first sweet breath of spring

The shy and lovely flower will again show

its face among the charred ruins.

It yields to the searing heat,

But with its persistent beauty

Far surpasses and finally tames the flame.

Heather Simmons is a timid young woman who is desperately unhappy living under the abusive thumb of her lazy, mean Aunt.  She sees no way to improve her life until her Aunts brother suggests taking her to London to work in a school for ladies. When he attempts to rape her, Heather stabs him with a paring knife.  Believing him dead, Heather runs off.  When two men find her and tell them to go with them, Heather goes willingly, under the mistaken belief that they know she killed a man and are taking her to the authorities.

Instead she met Brandon Birmingham.  A sea captain from America looking for companionship, he takes Heathers innocence before she can explain she was not a prostitute.  Even worse, he decides to keep Heather and force her to be his mistress.  She escapes, and returns to her Aunts house, wanting only to forget him.  Then her Aunt realizes Heather is pregnant. Heather is horrified when she learns her Aunt is forcing Brandon to marry her, and that she will have to move to America with him.

Brandon is furious at being forced to marry Heather.  He tells Heather she will be a wife in name only; little more than a servant in his eyes.  Although free from the fear of having to share his bed, he still makes Heather dread his company, for he is often mean and short tempered with her.  Even though he scares her, Heather decides to try and be the best wife she can, for she still dreams of happiness and hopes for a better life in America.

Time eases pain and fear, and Brandon and Heather come to love each other.  Together they find a strong, passionate love that allows them to overcome all the problems that they, and fate, have placed in their paths.

I was a teenager when I first read this book.  The rape scenes at the beginning were upsetting, but I thought that was just how men acted in that time.  I cheered for Heather, and hoped she would find happiness.  This book set the bar for romance, and I recommend it to anyone who loves historical romance.

Have you read this book yet?  I would love to hear your thoughts of both this book and my review.  Are there any books like this you would recommend?

My Valentines Day List of Romances

Falling in love is not for the faint of heart.  So many strange and crazy emotions.  The rush of happiness, the confusion, the terror that your feelings may not be returned.   Since I am lucky enough to be madly in love with a wonderful man who is as crazy for me as I am for him, I don't get that rush that falling in love brings anymore.  But luckily for me, a good author can bring back all those emotions. So I read a lot of romances!  Here are some of my favorites.                                                                                                              

• The Flame and The Flower by Kathleen E Woodiwiss                                                                                                                                           
• Gentle Rogue by Johanna Lindsey
• The Charm School by Susan Wiggs
• Born in Fire by Nora Roberts
• Only Mine by Elizabeth Lowell
• Dark Lover by J R Ward
• A Little Bit Wicked by Victoria Alexander
• The Irish Devil by Donna Fletcher
• The Wolfe and the Dove by Kathleen E Woodiwiss

Have you read any of these books?  What are your favorite romances?  Happy Reading and Happy Valentines Day!

Firestarter by Stephen King

I love Stephen King.  I hope you do, too, because I will review a lot of his books.  I have his collection and enjoy reading his books over and over again.  I can't decide which book is my favorite.  My top 5 favorites would have to be Firestarter, Carrie, The Talisman, Wolves of the Calla, and Needful Things.

I will start with Firestarter.  Charlie McGee is my favorite Stephen King character.

In 1969 Andy McGee and Vicky Tomlinson participate in a college experiment where they were injected with Lot 6, a mild hallucinogen.  A shadowy organization called The Shop ran the experiment, and they are related to the U.S. government.  Afterward they realized they could do odd things.  Andy developed a talent which allowed him to mentally dominate, or 'push' people into believing anything he told them.  Vicky could open or close doors with her mind, seemingly without even realizing it.  A few years later they married and had a baby girl named Charlie.  When Charlie started fires as a baby, they realized Lot 6 had a bigger impact on their lives then they realized.

By the time Charlie is 7, they McGees are trying to live a normal life and stay below the radar of The Shop.  They know The Shop has kept tabs on them and are interested in Charlie.  Vickys power is a small one that she can barely control.  Andy can control his, but only uses it for good, and in very small amounts.  They have also taught Charlie that her power is dangerous and she must not use it. But when Shop agents kill Vicky and kidnap Charlie, Andy is forced to use his power to take Charlie back and go on the run.  Charlie is scared to use her power, but does when her and her father realize there is no other alternative.

The Shop agents are smart and determined, however, and chase them relentlessly until they capture them.  Andy and Charlie are taken to The Shop headquarters in Longmont, VA.  Scientists there want to test their powers, but neither cooperate- Andy because his power has seemingly dried up, and Charlie because she won't.  Her daddy taught her starting fires was BAD, and using her power scares her; because of the carnage that results and the disquieting realization that she is starting to like it.

Then Charlie meets John Rainbird.  A Shop agent disguised as an orderly who cleans her qsuarters, he tricks Charlie into trusting him and convinces her to go along with their tests.  She agrees because she doesn't want to disappoint her only friend, and because he suggests she use the tests as a way to get rewards, such as going outside, visiting the horses on the property, and ultimately seeing her daddy again.  Charlie does not know that there is no way anyone will let her see her daddy again, or that Rainbird is actually an assassin who agreed to convince Charlie to undergo the tests on the condition that he gets to kill her when they are done testing her.

Meanwhile Andy has been addicted to Thorazine.  He is seen as a washout; an overweight drug addict who has lost his power.  But Andys power unexpectedly comes back.  He hides this from his captors but uses it to learn about Charlie and form an escape plan.  When he learns of Rainbirds plan for Charlie, he sends her a message telling her of his escape plan and the truth about Rainbird.

Andys plan goes horribly wrong.  Rainbird realized what happened and shoots him while they are trying to escape.  Andys dying words to Charlie tell her he loves her, to get away, that the Shop wants her dead, and she has to do anything she can to get away and burn the facility down in such a way that they can not cover up what happened.

And she does.  She only kills the people who try to stop and/or kill her, and she burns the compound down to the ground.  Then she runs away and hides until she can recover and figure out what to do next.

I love this book. Charlie is such a strong little girl to go through everything The Shop has done to her and her family.  I could feel her struggle with her power, and felt sorry for the way The Shop tried to twist her to their own ends.  I admired her strength. She did not want to harm anyone, and did only for her own survival. When she was pushed into using her power she was selective about who she used it against.

Have you read this book?  I hope this sparks your interest in reading it if you have not.  Leave a comment about what you think.

Lets get started

As anyone who knows me can tell you, I LOVE READING.  It is my biggest passion.  One of my greatest pleasures is to curl up with a good book. As a teenager, I was the only one in my circle of friends who visited the library because I actually wanted to, not because I had to.  I've been teased about my love for books.  Bookworm, nerd, you name it, I've been called it.  And that's OK.  I don't mind a bit!

It was my oldest sister who first got me into reading.  She started reading bedtime stories to me when I was around 8.  The books she read?  The Little House On The Prairie books.  I loved listening to the description of pioneer life.  To this day, Laura Ingalls Wilder is one of my favorite authors, and I own her books and read them still.  
      
I'll read just about anything.  Give me a good story and I'm one happy girl.  Luckily for me, my wonderful man and kids take it in stride and understand when Mom has her nose stuck in a book again.  A few of my favorite authors are Stephen King, Nora Roberts, Victoria Alexander, Jim Butcher, Jean Auel, and Barbara Taylor Bradford. I used to annoy the owner at my once favorite bookstore (which closed a while ago) because I had already read a lot of books or authors that he would recommend to me!  It was his goal to try to find new authors for me, and it made his day whenever he came up with one.  I really miss that store.

Finding a good book is always a wonderful thing for me.  That's why I'm here!  I want to spread my love of reading.  I want to know what books you, my wonderful followers, like to read too.  I enjoy discussing books as much as reading them.  I will be reviewing the books I read here.  You will also find links to great chairs to read in, lamps to read by, and lots of other book paraphernalia, as I call it.  My definition of book paraphernalia is anything that makes reading more enjoyable, so there will be a lot of different items to look at.

I hope you enjoy my site!  Leave comments to tell me what you think would be good, or just to say hi, or anything that might make this a more enjoyable experience for you.  And don't forget to tell your friends about my site too! :)