The History Book Club discussion

Here is your thread for 2014. Happy reading!

January

1. by Lauren Dane
Finish Date: January 10, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: A-
Review: I read this book not knowing it was the third book in the series. Now I must go back and read the first two books. I really enjoyed this book. The love story is very sweet and the sex very steamy. I love stories about friends who fall in love.

2. by Donnie Eichar

Finish Date: January 16, 2014
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: A very thought provoking mystery involving nine experienced Russian hikers who never made it back alive. The mysterious way that these hikers died has led to decades of speculation and spawned several conspiracy theories. Donnie Eicher gains unprecedented access to the hikers journals, personal photographs and the official government files. He uses these sources to piece together what really happened on that mountain almost 60 years ago. The author does a good job of explaining all the theories and giving reasons why they are not plausible. The theory he comes up makes a whole lot of sense and he does a great job in making his highly technical theory understandable to the average person.

3. by C.A. Harms (no photo)

Finish Date: January 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: A
Review: Kylie's life is turned upside down when her husband leaves her and her baby daughter. She is young and uneducated so they only option she had was to become a stripper and a waitress. One day she meets Evan a wealthy businessman. They fall in love but things get complicated when her husband Brad comes back. Adding to this complications is the fact that Evan's family disapproves of his relationship with Kylie. I loved this book. It was very emotional and the road to Kylie's and Evan's happiness was very bumpy.

Carly wrote: "2. byDonnie Eichar

Finish Date: January 16, 2014
Genre: H..."

That sounds like an interesting book, Carly. I will have to check my library for a copy. I am not familiar with the incident that is the subject of the book.

4. by V.L. Dreyer

Finish Date: January 31, 2014
Genre: science fiction: post apocalyptic
Rating: A-
Review: I enjoyed this book. This book has a little bit of a different feel to it than the first one. In the first book it was all about surviving. In this book is mainly about learning to live again. Sandy starts to think seriously about the future and we see her gradually becoming a leader. I cannot wait until the next installment.

February

5. by J. Kenner

Finish date: February 3, 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: A very emotionally charged romance between a domineering hero and a strong but damaged heroine. Nikki moves to Los Angeles to get a fresh start. There she meets former tennis star turned billionaire businessman Damien Stark. At first she really does not want to start a relationship with Damien but she cannot deny her attraction. She really starts to fall for him, but they both have secrets that might destroy their relationship. The books ends in a pretty good cliff hanger so I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

6. by Cherise Sinclair (no photo)

Finish Date: February 5, 2014
Genre: contemporary romance/erotica
Rating: A-
Review: Jessica stumbles across an elite sex club where she gets a crash course in BDSM by the Zachery the owner of the club.

7. by Zoe York

Finish Date: February 13, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: A
Review:I really enjoyed Evie and Liam's story. Evie is in Toronto for the weekend where she meets the younger Liam. Evie thinks she is having a one night stand and will not see Liam again, but Evie finds out she is pregnant. Its a good thing that Liam is moving to Evie's small town and shows up at her studio on day. Liam wants something more than a co-parenting relationship with Evie, but Evie is reluctant.


This love story is really sweet and I can't wait to read more Zoe York novels.

Carly wrote: "2. byDonnie Eichar

Finish Date: January 16, 2014
Genre: H..."

This sounds like such an interesting book. I'll be scouring for a copy!

8. by Samantha Young

Finish Date: February 21, 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: This book was a emotional roller coaster and I loved it. Jo and Cam do not have favorable first impressions of each other, but slowly put surely these impressions turn out to be incorrect. They start to have feelings for each other, but they try to ignore them because they are both seeing other people. Eventually they can no longer ignore these feelings, but Jo insecurities cause friction in their new relationship.

9. by Graeme Simsion

Finish Date: February 21, 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: I love romantic comedies and The Rosie Project is no exception. It had everything one could want in a romantic comedy, humorous situations and a sweet romance. "Sheldon (from Big Bang Theory) finds a wife" is a great description. It was hard not to picture Sheldon as Don.

March

10. by Sharon Davis

Finish Date: March 5 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: A-
Review: I won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway.

I really enjoyed this book. It ended on a pretty good cliff hanger so I cannot wait to get the second book. I really loved the fact that it was not love at first sight for Lacey and Zane. In fact it was the complete opposite. Throughout the book the sexual tension between Lacey and Zane intensifies so I cannot wait to see what happens with these two in the next book.

April

11. by Alice Clayton

Finish Date: April 17 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: A
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It was very funny. I found myself laughing through out the entire book. This book made me wish I was in Spain enjoying great wine and food with a very attractive man.

May

12. by Nora Roberts

Finish Date: May 30 2014
Genre: Romantic Suspense
rating: A
review: Another great Nora Roberts novel. Great romance and enough danger and suspense to keep things interesting.

June

13. by Samantha Young

Finish Date: June 5, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Suspense
rating: A
Review: Another great book in this series. you know its a great book when your heart breaks along with the main characters. Samantha Young really knows how to spin a tale about the ups and downs of romantic relationships.

14. by Chantal Fernando (no picture)

Finish Date: June 6, 2014
Genre: Contemporary romance
Rating: B
Review: I liked this book. Chantal Fernando really knows how to make murderers/criminals likable. However, i do have a complaint. The body count is rising yet the police are nowhere to be seen. They do not show up until the end after Arrow murders the president of a rival club. I think with all the criminal activity going on they would be looking into things.

15. by J. Kenner


Finish Date: June 12, 2014
Genre: romance
Rating: A
Review:There was a long gap between the time I read the first book in this trilogy and reading this one so I hard time remembering what happened but that did not change how i felt about this book.

I absolutely loved this book. Damien finally opens up and we learn a whole lot more about him. He is damaged but he a sweet loving person. Nikki also gets stronger. So this one ends in a pretty good cliff hanger. [Will Damien be found guilty of murder? I seriously doubt that will happen, but we will see in the last book of the trilogy

Good progress Carly - but you might want to try a non fiction or historical fiction book or two to shake things up.

You have 48 views of your thread (that means that 48 folks have read your reviews so far here on the History Book Club)

thanks. i will be reading a non fiction soon. I won

Donald L. Miller

through goodreads. I also have a book on Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot that I have wanted to read for a while.

Happy Reading

August

16. by Paul Collins

Finish Date: August 4, 2014
Genre: History
Rating: A
Review: The main theme of this book was the way the local New York newspapers covered the murder. This was the beginning of tabloid journalism. This book was very enjoyable to read. It read like a novel. It was really interesting to learn what a late 19th century murder investigation looked like.

Carly wrote: "August

16. by [author:Paul Collins|821970..."

I read this book a couple of years ago and thought it was great. It was the beginning of "yellow" journalism and reporters got away with just about anything. Very interesting.

17. by Mary Roach

Finish Date: August 23 2014
Genre: Science
Rating: A
Review: Mary Roach makes learning about the human digestive system fun and interesting. She uses a lot of humor to entertain the reader and keep the reader interested all while educating us.

18. by Johana Amsilli(editor,no photo)

finish Date: August 31, 2014
genre: Cookbook
Rating:A
Review: I loved that the book is in the shape of a Nutella jar. It is very cute. The recipes look easy to make and they all look good. I made the Nutella and Orange Whoopie Pies. They were easy to make and very very good. I am looking forward to making all the other recipes.

19. by Donald L. Miller

finish date: August 31, 2014
genre: american history
Rating: A
review: I won this book through goodreads.


A wonderful glimpse into Jazz age New York. The book focuses on the cast of characters including Mayor Jimmy Walker, bootlegger Frank Costello, and night club owner Texas Guinan that made Jazz age New york what it was. I very easy enjoyable read especially for a 800 page book.

I like the looks of that book, Carly, and will be looking for it. Thanks for the tip.

Good progress Carly

November

20. by John Green

Finish Date: November 16, 2014
Genre: Young Adult/Romance
Rating: A
review: A wonderful tragic love story. I laughed, I cried. I added to my short all time favorites list.

December

21. by A.J. Langguth (no photo)

Finish Date: December 5, 2014
Genre: American History
Rating: A
review: I loved this book. It chronicles the men tasked with putting the country back together after the civil war and how the lofty ideals of some collided with the narrow minds of others to produce years of frustration, tragedy, and missed opportunities

Great progress Carly and we have already set up your new thread for 2015.