Books I've read

I like to read. A lot. Here's a list of books I've read and enjoyed lately.

"The Key" by Victoria Darkins
Summary from Amazon.com: Jack and Carrie are lost souls. Jack is an eminent university lecturer in English Literature who suffers from quadriplegia after a spinal cord injury in his late teens. Having convinced himself that he was better off on his own he has closed the door on any romantic entanglements and instead directed all his energy into his work. 

Carrie is trying to unchain herself from a cruel, neglectful and guilt ridden childhood. She has earned a place on a degree course of her dreams but it comes at a costly price. 
Both are thrown together by Mary, a mutual friend and past social worker, who has hatched a plan to help Jack and Carrie with their predicaments. Carrie becomes Jack's live-in carer securing her with an income and unexpected benefits. 


Will it be too late from them to find out that they both hold the key to unleash each other from the chains that hold them to their past? A key that will unlock their hearts.

Disability: Quadriplegia


"Love In Sight" by Holly Gilliat
Summary from Amazon.com: Looking for love is easier if you can see where you’re going. 

Like most people, Jason’s looking for that elusive happily-ever-after. But although he’s good-looking, athletic, funny and charming, he’s starting to realize that his white cane isn’t exactly a chick magnet. 


When he meets Heather, he can’t believe such a sweet, smart, beautiful woman is falling for him. Best of all, she doesn’t seem bothered by his occasional run-in with a low-hanging tree branch or inability to color coordinate. They soon become inseparable. But as they begin to negotiate their life together, they encounter obstacles even his white cane can’t navigate. 

While Jason’s dreams seem to be slipping from his grasp, he’s forced to face his insecurities and accept who he is…and maybe see things more clearly than ever before. 
Love in Sight is a novel about coming to terms with what you can live with and what you can’t live without. 

Disability: Blind
My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Both Jason and Heather are feel "real" to me - neither of them are perfect, they both have their strengths and weaknesses. The writer has done an excellent job of bringing them to life. I highly recommend this book!


"Walk on Water" by Josephine Garner
Summary from Amazon.com: Rachel Cunningham is a recently divorced woman living in Texas. However, when a chance encounter with an old college friend and brief lover's mother leads to a rekindled friendship, Rachel immediately finds all of her old feelings rushing to the surface.
With more than twenty years and two failed marriages between her and Luke Sterling, Can they overcome the distance and restore their past friendship and possibly more?
Furthermore, can Rachel conquer her insecurities and learn to trust Luke again? Because after all, he left her once and she cant seem to get the question of whether or not he will leave her again out of her mind.  Touching on topics such as self image, disability, trust and social class, Walk on Water is romantic novel that foregoes the traditional and stereotypical structures and setting.  With a mature protagonist who has deep-seated insecurities and her recently disabled love interest, the novel broaches the subject of love and how it can overcome life's adversities.  Between Luke's disability and elitist mother, and Rachel's inability to trust him or herself, their love proves to be a struggle that may not have the happy ending that Rachel so desperately wants.
Disability: Paraplegia (T-12 incomplete)
My thoughts about this book: It's a pretty good read and I feel that Luke's disability is portrayed accurately. The author has obviously done her homework on spinal cord injuries.
Luke is very yummy and I wouldn't mind if he was my man; I have to say I kind of fell for him.  He is a confident, handsome, successful man that's well adjusted to his disability. Rachel is a different story and her lack of confidence and ability to trust Luke got pretty annoying IMO. There are several moments in the book were I'm like; "Sheesh lady, wake up! Can't you see that you're the one Luke wants?".  It might also be a turnoff for someone that Rachel (and her Mommy) are deeply religious (Christian).

"A Life Worth Living" by Lorrie Kruse
Summary from Amazon.com: A surefire way to jinx your future is to perfectly map it out and then expect your journey to go as planned. Twenty-six year old home builder, Matthew Huntz, is on his way to making his dreams a reality - gorgeous fiancée, perfect job, and the house he always wanted. Until the accident. Paralyzed from the chest down, with his life's GPS offline, Matt is forced to recalculate his path in life.
Disability: Paraplegia (T-1 incomplete)
My thoughts about this book: It's very well written and the author is obviously knowledgeable about spinal cord injuries and the recovery and rehabilitation process after an injury. I really like Matt; he's a good guy that genuinely cares about his family and friends, and he is very dedicated to the family business.  His main motivation for wanting to walk again is to get back to work with his father and brother. I like the underlying "mystery" of what really happened the day of the accident.
A couple of things do annoy me. The first thing is that there's quite a bit of storyline about how Matt refuses to order his own wheelchair and I don't feel we get closure on that. At some point it's clear that he's gotten his chair, but there's no mention of the delivery of the chair or his switch from the hospital chair to his own in the story.  The second thing that annoy me is how long it takes Matt to realize that Crystal is wrong for him. 


"Stranger in Town" by Brenda Novak
Summary from Amazon:  The car accident was Hannah Price's fault -- a few seconds of inattention that changed Gabe Holbrook's life forever, destroying everything he had been or ever wanted to be.  He was a man who'd had it all.  Intelligent, handsome, talented, rich, he'd been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.  Now he's come back to Dundee, the small town where he was raised, but he's a stranger to the people that once knew him.  Folks thinks he's bitter and withdrawn; he knows he's just focused on recovering.  But thanks to Hannah Price, there are some things that can't be fixed.
Hannah has been struggling to recover from that fateful night too. Unlike Gabe, she sustained only minor injuries.  But she's not sure she'll ever be able to forgive herself for making a mistake with such far-reaching consequences.  Especially when Gabe becomes her older son's football cache, and she begins to fall in love with the man she nearly destroyed.
Disability: Paraplegia (I think low and incomplete)


"The Single Mom and the Tycoon" by Caroline Anderson
Summary from Amazon: Handsome millionaire David Cauldwell is blown away by sexy and lovely single mom Molly Blythe. He can see she and her young son need his love as much as he yearns for theirs.  But falling in love and raising a family means taking risks - for both of them - and first David must face the secret that has changed his life....
Disability: Left leg amputated below the knee


"Loving Luke" by Suzanne Barret
Summary from Amazon: Jo McGuigan's job is on the line. She needs a photographer to teach her rehab class, but the only one available is an angry recluse who wants nothing to do with the hospital or its outreach program.  Luke Falconer's photo career ends in a fiery auto crash that leaves him badly burned and crippled. Hating the world he retreats to his cabin.  But when an encounter with the intriguing social worker ends in a night of passion their lives are changed forever.  Jo is a spark to Luke's flame, and where there's smoke, there is often a raging inferno.
Disability: Burns/scars


"Her Lone Cowboy" by Donna Alward
Summary from Amazon: Noah Laramie has come back home to run Lazy L Ranch.  Injured and now out of the army, he wants to shut himself off from the world.
Lily Germaine is there to help him, but loner Noah is the most stubborn-as-a-mule man she's ever met.  Losing an arm doesn't mean he has to lose sight of who he is. His courage, strength and loyalty make him one in a million. She just needs to convince him of that...
Disability: Right arm amputated above the elbow.


"The Soldiers Homecoming" by Donna Alward
Summary from Amazon: A hero for his country--home to win her heart.
Jonas Kirkpatrick left town to be a soldier without ever looking back.  But Shannyn saw him every day in her little girl's green eyes...
Six years later, Jonas has come home, changed utterly from the carefree boy Shannyn once knew. Hardened by war, Jonas can't allow himself to open his heart.
Until he discovers what he left behind--the unbreakable bond with a child he never knew existed, and the enduring love of the only woman who can make him whole again.
Disability: Limp/bum leg


"The Story Guy" by Mary Ann Rivers
Summary from Amazon: I will met you on Wednesdays at noon in Celebration Park. Kissing only.

Carrie West is happy with her life...isn't she? But when she sees this provocative online ad, the thirtysomething librarian can't help but be tempted.  After all, the photo of the anonymous poster is far too attractive to ignore. And when Wednesday finally arrives, it brings a first kiss that's hotter than any she's ever imagined.  Brian Newburgh is an attorney, but there's more to his life...that he won't share with Carrie.  Determined to have more than just Wednesdays, carry embarks on a quest to learn Brian's story, certain that he will be worth the cost.  But is she ready to gamble her heart on a man who just might be The One...even though she has no idea how their love story will end?


"House Calls" by Michelle Celmer
Summary from Amazon:  Sharing the cottage was her idea, and since Dr. Pete Morgan was her patient, Maggie made the rules.  If only "Doc" weren't so attractive...and so hard to tame.  She tried to convince him that the lake setting would heal him, body and soul.  And her therapy seemed to be working...except with the demons he faced at night.  Sometimes the only way to soothe him back to sleep was to slip beneath his sheets.
Maggie Holm knew she'd entered forbidden territory. She'd grown dangerously contended "playing house" with Pete, when she feared their affair was simply a summer distraction.
Because the summer would end and her feeling never would.
Disability: Shot in the chest and knee - limp