Our March Staff Picks

Great reads for that month that starts with a roar and ends all nice and fuzzy warm!

Barbie and Ruth by Robin Gerber, $24.99Draws on previously unavailable material to trace the parallel lives of the Barbie Doll and its creator, Ruth Handler, discussing the latter's origins as the tenth child of Polish-Jewish immigrants and a competitive business pioneer who drew on the lessons of her fight with breast cancer to become a respected humanitarian and entrepreneur.

Robin Gerber has a way with words that bring to life her fiction characters, and bring you into the mind of the subject of this biography- one hard-working determined woman, who's creation speaks to women across generations.

Lamentation by Ken Schoels, $24.95While a young survivor struggles with the devastating destruction of the city of Windwir, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, realizes that war is approaching the Named Lands and witnesses the chaotic dissolution of alliances throughout the Kingdoms.

This is a fast-paced, fun story, providing the perspective of numerous fascinating characters in a world that seems familiar but has joys and surprises for every fantasy fan.

Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke, $24.00
When bakery owner Hannah Swensen stumbles upon a dead body floating in the new health club's jacuzzi with a plate of her very own cream puffs - purchased by her boyfriend, Detective Mike Kingston--decorating the crime scene, she suddenly has a lot on her plate.

When her part-time beau is the one suspected of "hot" Ronnie's death, Hannah learns a little more about him than she wants to ... which leads to some great in-depth moments not seen before in this series.

Oolong Dead by Laura Childs, $24.95
Theodosia Browning discovers the body of her archenemy only to be reunited with an ex-boyfriend, the victim's brother, in the tenth in this best-selling series.

A real treat to read on a cold rainy spring afternoon, sipping your tea of course! Jory returns and spins Thea's life out of control for a few brief days, while investigating Jory's sister's murder. The characters and the tea shop are like coming home after a long hard day...and the recipes at the end are to die for!

Serendipity by Louise Shaffer, $14At thirty-seven, Carrie Manning feels her life is going nowhere, and when she suspects that her issues might have to do with her fraught relationship with her recently deceased mother Rose, she begins to dig deep into three generations of family history to uncover the dark secret buried for more than thirty years.

Coming from "Broadway Royalty" Carrie struggles to find herself and her place in the world after the death of her mother. Her angst stems from the fact that while she lived with her mother most of her life, she never really "knew" her, what motivated her. After her death, Carrie decides it's time to figure out what led her mother to be the woman she was and what caused her mother Rose and Grandmother Lu to stop speaking to one another. Moving between the present tense and the early years of Lu's life (and her relationship with her own mother), Carrie begins to understand the women in her family and what made them into who they became. This was an amazing story of mothers and daughters and how each generations relationships can affect the next. A story of a woman finally finding her place in the world, and finding the happiness she so richly deserves. This is a book that you don't want to miss ~ but make sure you keep the tissues close by. You're going to need them. A++++++(Review provided by our friend Lori G. from Lori's Reading Corner)

Want to review books for us? Come check out our Advance Readers Copy table. Take a book, let us know what you think, and maybe be featured in an upcoming newsletter, blog post, or on the website!