Simon Bonner is desperately trying to retire from his previous profession as a tomb raider but his ex-wife's new husband shows up at his house in the mddle of the night trailing blood, news of his ex's abduction, and the key to the find that will get her back. All he needs to do is find a woman. Jillian Talbot isn't just any woman though. She can see the past in objects and the rock crystal lens that Simon is given was made for her because she is The Seer who must find The Archives of Man buried in some ancient ruins in Mexico. The trip through Mexico not only brings them closer to the Archives but closer to each other and to what is true and real in life which is something that they have both struggled with in previous relationships. [This book was a RITA finalist this year!]

Vida Winter has sold more books than any other writer except the Bible but now she's elderly and sick and wants to tell the real story that she's never let interviewers know - who she really is and where she came from. She hires Margaret Lea by mail and tells her the story of her life from beginning to end, without interruption and without questions, so that it can be published. But once Margaret knows the story of the fire and what happened to the twins and gets to know Vida will she want to make the biography public?

Julie Powell's life is full of disappointments. She's nearing 30, she learns that she will have difficulty conceiving, she's working as a temp for a nameless government agency and she realizes that there's no meaning in her life. Then she takes on The Project. She decides to cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and chronicling her journey in a blog. Julie and Julia is funny and full of lots of cussing for what is basically mid-life crisis/ food porn. But readable, funny, believable, and if they made the movie like the book even guys will enjoy this chick flick because it marries food/ love/ sex all together in one story. It's also a great read for anyone who has had a sucky job at some point in their life - and isn't that most everyone!

Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter is an inside look at the work and life of the first female captain of a New York 4-star restaurant but it's about more than just food. It's about life and love and commitment. Like the chicken and the pig that give us breakfast each morning. Rich, readable voice and wonderful anecdotes and warm happy ending.

June is the time for me to revisit this favorite on my keeper shelf. Bet Me is a modern day fairy tale about love and gambling and food and body image and the things families do to each other even when they don't mean to. Cal makes a bet that he can get Min to leave the bar with him even though she just got dumped by her boyfriend. Min overhears the bet and decides to take Cal for the perverbial ride so that she can have a gorgeous date to her sister's wedding. Min's rage over being dumped scares Cal away and Cal's Charm Boy persona is everything Min knows will break her heart. The two can't seem to stay away from each other though and as they learn more about who the other really is deep down inside they each try to figure out how to get to the Happily Ever After.

The subtitle wraps this up nicely "Life, Love and Faith in Stages" from Chenoweth's upbringing in Oklahoma, her love of singing, her love of family and her faith. All stories come back to these themes. The rest is gravy but it's incredibly fun and tasty gravy. Stories about her constant runner-up status in the pageants that paid for her to study opera, her move to Broadway, then TV and her on-again, off-again relationship with Mr. Writer. You will laugh and you will cry and you will be entertained the entire time. I kid you not!

Sookie Stackhouse has a front row seat to the Great Reveal - the night the Weres come out to the world - as her boss turns into a collie right there in the bar! But this is a small town and not everyone likes the idea of their neighbors having fur. Sookies comes under suspicion from the FBI, Jason's wife is murdered horribly, she's symbolically married to one of her former vampire boyfriends [I won't say which one!] and this is before the half-way point of the book. Harris keeps us hopping as the Fairies attack and it's not pretty. Lots of plots get dealt with so don't miss this installment of the Southern Vampire series.