The unrest of the Regulators and the fight for American independence are of little interest to many of the residents of River Plantation in Chowan County. The beautiful Angela Ferrier busies herself with romances even as her step-father, who sits on the Governor’s Council, fears for North Carolina and his family.  Only when Angela finds herself torn between a dashing British spy and a handsome American army captain does she realize the perils of her times. Although essentially a romance, the last quarter of the book gives a good account of the fighting in North and South Carolina in the fall of 1780.

This is one of the books in Fletcher’s series of novels about North Carolina in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: November 20th, 2009 under 1940-1949, 1946, Chowan, Coast, Fletcher, Inglis, Historical, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

Joe Winston is the type of guy that girls flock to.  He has no problem with getting his pick of the litter until he meets Luna Clark.   Luna knows better than to fall for Joe’s usually irresistible charms and, of course, this drive’s Joe crazy.  He pursues and she ignores until Luna finds herself the new guardian of her two young cousins.   Now Luna needs Joe’s help to protect the kids.   The group becomes an instant family as Joe and Luna grow closer, realizing their true feelings.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: November 2nd, 2009 under 2000-, 2003, Foster, Lori, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

Victoria Porter has a knack for always finding her way into an undesirable situation.  In fact she yearns for them.  Being a maiden at twenty-three in 1746, Victoria has given up on finding a suitable mate and now searches for any man willing to cure her boredom.  During an escapade with a drunken sailor Victoria’s older brother, Jeremiah, dies from a bullet to the back as he tries to prevent Victoria from defiling her honor.  Victoria finds herself alone and suicidal from guilt until Jeremiah’s ghost comes to save her yet again. With Jeremiah’s guidance she begins a quest to find their missing brother. Victoria soon finds herself washed up on a shore after being thrown from a ship during a terrible storm.  Alone and frightened once again, she is rescued by a mysterious man with demons of his own and from a time that is not hers.

Colt MacKenzie is desperate to write another bestselling horror novel in 2007.  He heads to Ocracoke Island in search of his newest topic: The Cult of Teach.  While Colt immerses himself in the legend of The Cult and its obsession over Blackbeard’s Chalice, he comes to the rescue of a strange woman who soon turns his world upside down.

Through the chalice Victoria and Colt discover that their destinies are intertwined and the couple is inevitably thrown into the world of The Cult.  At all costs Victoria and Colt must protect the chalice and reunite it with its rightful owner.  This is the only way to protect themselves and their destinies.

The Cult is the second book in Maddie James’ series The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under 2000-, 2008, Coast, Hyde, James, Maddie, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

The Curse is the first book in Maddie James’ series The Legend of Blackbeard’s Chalice.  The story begins in 1718 with Jack Porter in the mist of a mission to retrieve his wife, recently stolen by the pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard).  Jack successfully fights off Blackbeard and escapes with his wife, Hannah.  His happiness is short-lived; Hannah dies a few days later in Jack’s arms.

Fast forward 300 years to Claire Winslow enjoying a quite, secluded vacation on Ocracoke Island.  When Claire is visited by a mysterious, intoxicating man this vacation quickly turns into an adventure she never expected.  Claire finds herself inexplicably obsessed with her nightly visitor and begins to question whether he is real or fantasy.  Eventually she realizes that her phantom lover is really her husband from a lifetime past, Jack Porter. Thus Claire and Jack embark on a destiny-altering, time-traveling journey to find a chalice constructed of Blackbeard’s skull.  The chalice is their only way of ending the curse leveled by Blackbeard that threatens to keep them apart for eternity.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under 2000-, 2007, Coast, Historical, Hyde, James, Maddie, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Suspense/Thriller.
Comments: none

• The Curse. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, 2007.
• The Cult. Edgewater, FL: Resplendence Publishing, 2008.

Maddie James builds this series on the fierce history of the pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and the continuing interest in pirate lore.  The novels move back and forth between the 1700s and the present and feature bits of history, mayhem, the supernatural, and star-crossed lovers.

Posted: September 14th, 2009 under Coast, Historical, James, Maddie, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Series.
Comments: 1

Jemma Chase’s parents own a dude ranch near Boone where she works as a trail leader.   The ranch’s dining hall serves as a gathering place for locals as well as guests, with good food and better gossip.  When a rash of strange crimes begin to happen in town, Detective Tucker and his partner investigate all possible suspects, including Jemma.  The crimes become more serious, and then Jemma’s horse finds a dead body near a trail.  Tucker realizes that Jemma isn’t a suspect, she’s a target.  Jemma’s natural curiousity leads her to play CSI and investigate the crimes on her own in order to help Detective Tucker and the police department find out who is behind the crimes.   Detective Tucker is impressed with Jemma’s moxie, leaving readers to wonder if his desire to serve and protect is purely professional.

This is the third novel in Bishop’s Appalachian Adventure series.

Posted: September 12th, 2009 under 2000-, 2006, Bishop, Maggie, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Watauga.
Comments: none

It is September 22, 1989 and Hurricane Hugo is leaving its dark mark on Lystra, North Carolina. The power is out and the community is astir. The locals, and extended locals, are milling about the town attempting to work, corral their livestock or pets, party, and, of course, make last minute, emergency runs to the local grocery store. During all this the reader gets insights into the lives of the town’s inhabitants through 12 seemingly independent narratives that together tell the story of this small town and the day Hurricane Hugo hit.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 11th, 2009 under 2000-, 2009, Brown, Nic, Humor, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

Emerald Graham, a petite math professor at Appalachian State University, has always had the best of everything – the right clothes, the best schools, the promise of a large inheritance, and plenty of the gemstones she’s named after.  Em decides to take up skiing and after an embarrassing fall, meets Lucky Tucker, a handsome and rugged member of the ski patrol.  Lucky has been working since he was a young boy to help his large, close-knit family make ends meet.  Despite their drastically different lifestyles, Em and Lucky quickly find that they get along well.  After Em finds an old treasure map that used to belong to her grandfather, the two decide to embark on what appears to be an innocent adventure.  When they uncover an old murder and a case of emeralds, the pair opens up a mystery that shakes up both their families.  Will this tension drive them apart or closer together?

This is the second novel in Maggie Bishop’s Appalachian Adventure series, and includes cameo appearances by Wes and Suzanne from Bishop’s first novel, Appalachian Paradise.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Library catalog.

Posted: September 6th, 2009 under 2000-, 2004, Bishop, Maggie, Mountains, Mystery, Novels in Series, Romance/Relationship, Watauga.
Comments: none

This three-in-one collection tells the love stories of three women living in three very different times across the state.  Lauralee Bliss’ novella, Journey to Love, begins in London, where Beth Colman has just buried her father.   With nothing left for her in Britain, she sets out for America in 1650 with Judith, her sister, and Mark, Judith’s husband.  The trio is trying to solve the mystery of their ancestors who were some of the original settlers of the lost colony of Roanoke, but Beth is looking for more.  Guided by her strong faith, and the hardy John Harris who knows the country well, she just might find love during the journey.

In Lynn A. Coleman’s Corduroy Road to Love, Ida Mae McAuley is strong, single woman with a brilliant mind for business living in 1830s Charlotte.  She’s caught between the affection of two men, both of whom are hiding something.  Ida Mae must use her keen sense to figure out who she’ll trust with her heart.

Tamela Hancock Murray tells the story of a Drusie, a small town singer in the 1930s in her novella The Music of Home.  Drusie is happy and successful in Sunshine Holler – she’s engaged to the love of her life, Gladdie Gordon, and sings at Church on Sunday with her sister.  When Drusie is given the chance to risk it all and enter showbiz, will Drusie leave her mountain home and loved ones behind?

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: September 4th, 2009 under 2000-, 2007, Bliss, Lauralee, Coast, Coleman, Lynn A., Dare, Historical, Mecklenburg, Mountains, Murray, Tamela Hancock, Novels Set in Fictional Places, Piedmont, Religious/Inspirational, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none

When the rich, young, self-indulgent Francis (Frank) Ravenel returns to his family plantation north of Charlotte, he expects to be master of all he sees.  He is is not prepared for the changes that occurred during his absence–the charming Irish lawyer and financier Dermott McDermott on the next plantation, the Irish overseer McDermott has recommended to Ravenel’s mother, or the overseer’s beautiful daughter, Katrine. Katrine is sweet, wise, with a subtle sense of humor, and an independent streak.  Frank’s self-confidence is shaken when he finds himself falling in love with Katrine.  The ups-and-downs of their relationship are the meat of the novel.

Elinor Lane was a prominent novelist at the beginning of the twentieth century.  This novel, published a few months after her death, was the #2 bestseller of 1909.

Check this title’s availability in the UNC-Chapel Hill Library catalog.

Posted: August 31st, 2009 under 1900-1909, 1909, Lane, Elinor Macartney, Mecklenburg, Novels to Read Online, Piedmont, Romance/Relationship.
Comments: none