Patricia Rosemoor’s Christmas Delivery, part of the Jenkins Cove miniseries (with Christmas Spirit
by Rebecca York and Christmas Awakening
by Ann Voss Peterson).
Thirteen years ago, teenagers Simon Shea and Lexie Thornton were set to elope, but Simon died after a night of lovemaking in the woods. Or did he? Suddenly, Simon is standing in front of Lexie, a changed man, insisting she needs protection and that he’s here to face down the people that wronged him. Should she believe him, or have the years damaged the sweet boy she loved? And how can she explain to her daughter that the father she never knew is alive? Patricia Rosemoor’s excellent plot, throttled-up action and touch of the supernatural make Christmas Delivery (4) an excellent read. — Romantic Times, 4 Stars!

Scholes’s mesmerizing debut novel, the first installment of the five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, launches him into the stratosphere of contemporary epic fantasy. Fueled by an impressively serpentine story line that explores deep philosophical issues of knowledge and power, the novel begins with a literal bang: Windwir, “the world’s greatest city” and home of 200,000 people as well as the famed Androfrancine Order and its enormous library, is completely destroyed by a mysterious weapon unleashed by an unknown foe. Left oddly untouched are the Androfrancines’ mechoservitors, one of whom, Isaak, may be the only one who knows what happened and why. Readers will be intrigued by the subtle, adept world building and ensemble cast of brilliantly complex characters, but it’s Scholes’s pure storytelling prowess that makes this tale of devastation and retribution so unforgettable. — Publishers Weekly, starred review