OKelly Memorial Library

There is a famous line in the movie, “Jerry Maguire,” in which the female lead says in response to Maguire’s babbling on as to how much she means to him, “You had me at ‘Hello’.” In the case of James Lee Burke’s third novel in his Holland Family series, The Jealous Kind, Burke had me on page three as the central character, Aaron Holland Broussard, relates the experience of encountering his first love: “I was about to enter a country that had no flag or boundaries, a place where you gave up your cares and your cautionary instincts and deposited your heart on a stone altar. I’m talking about the first time you fall joyously, sick-down-in-your-soul in love, and the prospect of heartbreak never crosses your mind.” As it never crossed mine when I realized for the first time that I was head-over-heals in love. The Jealous Kind is about a lot of things. Friendship. Family. Combating evil incarnate. But above all it is about a first love and the utter naivety that comes with it when yo

From the Virgin River series comes this story about Sacramento prosecutor, Brie Sheridan. Brie had an exemplary record of winning her court cases until one: Defending a serial rapist. After the man’s prison term ended years later, he did exactly what he had threatened - to do to her what he had done to the other women. Brie had been raped and beaten severely. Brie left Sacramento to heal her wounds and damaged heart with her brother, Jack, who lived in Virgin River. Jack knew it would take a lot of care and time for his sister to be restored back to her beautiful and unbroken spirit. The people of the small town welcomed her with open arms. Brie made lots of new friends, and rekindled an old one. She also made some new decisions about her life that would change her forever. An exciting novel by Robyn Carr that her fans will love! by S.M. OKelly Associate

After the death of her mother, Meredith, daughter Kaylee, at the age of thirty-five, needed an escape from her depression and broken heart. Meredith had been not only her mother, but also her best friend. The Templeton’s, who were good friends of Meredith and Kaylee, offered their vacation home in Virgin River to Kaylee. She planned on doing what she had wanted to do since she was a child - to write a book. So she packed up enough clothing and supplies to get her started to live in Virgin River for a few months. Little did she know that this sleepy small town would change her life in so many ways! I thoroughly enjoyed this story by Carr. It’s a follow up to her original story of Virgin River. You can check out the TV series “Virgin River” on Netflix. by S.M. OKelly Associate

I mentioned in my review of the Harry Potter Series that it was important to read the books in order. It’s not that you wouldn’t get something good out of each if you didn’t, but one book adds to the previous ones in terms of characters and plot flow. To not read them in order would leave you in the dark about a number of things. And those gaps would only be filled as you go back and read the ones that came before. But there is another reason for reading a series in order. You find out things, important things, that make you aware of what happens in the previous books. And so when you get to the ones that came before much of the surprise is gone. You already know what is going to happen. For me this was absolutely the case relative to James Lee Burke’s lengthy series featuring the character of Dave Robicheaux. At times I felt almost omniscient, knowing what was going to happen and powerless in stopping it. After all this is a mystery series. The last thing you want to know in

When Irene Steele learns of her husband’s death, her perfect life is shattered... in more ways than one. She and her two grown sons, Baker and Cash, are mystified by the details, or lack thereof, surrounding his death in a place where he wasn’t supposed to be, which was on St. John in the Virgin Islands. They have many questions to which they must find the answers. They all travel from America’s heartland, Iowa, to the island in search of these answers. The drop-dead beautiful place is not really what they expected. And, they are finding out more than they bargained for! Apparently, not every family has this many secrets. Elin Hilderbrand’s style of writing kept me up all night reading this one. I didn’t want to stop. This book is the first of a series, and I’m looking forward to the next installment, “What Happens in Paradise.” by S.M. OKelly Memorial Library Associate