The Persian Pickle Club

Author: Sandra Dallas
Pages: 196
Rating: PG-13 (1 F-bomb, some other mild swearing, one character is almost raped)

Summary:
It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up, and there's not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. In her magical, memorable novel, Sandra Dallas explores the ties that unite women through good times and bad.

My Thoughts: I have to say, I was about halfway through this book and thinking, "Ok...what is this going to end up being about?" It's seems like just a nice story about a bunch of farmwives who like to quilt and who support each other during hard times. But then it suddenly turns into a murder mystery, and it all gets pretty interesting. I liked the book because the characters seemed very real. The way the members of the Persian Pickle Club take care of each other reminds me of Relief Society. So that part really connected well with me. I also enjoyed that it was nice and short, but it was surprising. I had no idea what was going on until the end. Like I said, it seems like a book about a bunch of nice, tame little farmwives, but you find out...that's definitely not who these ladies are all the time. It was good for a quick, but surprising read. 

Blackmoore

Author: Julianne Donaldson
Pages: 279
Rating: G

Summary:
Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured and rejected three marriage proposals.
Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain sooner rather than later and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

My Thoughts:  Along with Edenbrooke, this book has been all the rage in the LDS community, mainly because it's a clean romance novel. I'm personally not super impressed. Yes, it is a clean romance novel, and it's entertaining enough, but I felt like there wasn't really enough meat to the story, and I also knew exactly who Kate was in love with and would end up with in the end when I was barely 2 chapters in. It was a bit of a surprise how she actually got there, and of course, very romantic, but overall, I don't particularly enjoy knowing the ending before I even get very far. Regardless, it is a good read, nice and short, and plenty sappy.