Good Books: Girl Power

Finished this week: Julie Ortolon's Unforgettable, a love story between Riley, a sexpot lounge singer, and Jackson, a contracts lawyer who's no longer the gangly boy Riley knew in high school. Both want to save their rural hometown--and the historic dance hall--near Austin, Texas. Riley is a feminist in a very real sense--she's self-sufficient and unafraid to take chances or stand up for what she believes. Jackson is her masculine counterpart, and their sexy romp forces them both to analyze their chances of survival as a couple. They are, after all, kids from two different sides of the tracks. This is a believable and fun read, and the element of historic preservation speaks to me. Preorder it.

Next up: Marjorie Price's memoir A Gift from Brittany. Price is a fairly well known American watercolorist who lived, among other places, in France in the 1960s and learned to be a DIY queen out in the sticks. She learned a thing or two from the local "peasants" too, not just about taking care of an old home. This is a well-written story about self-preservation and the special friendship that bonds women.