The Sheepish Scribe

A Stand-Up Guy: A Novel by Michael Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Nobody does a better job of depicting the underdog than Mr. Synder. Amidst the abject realty of the characters in this story, with their faults and foibles, their insecurities and insomnia, glimmers a little beacon of hope. If they can make it, anyone can.

Oliver, the wannabe stand up comic, is the quintessential wimp - in every sense of the word. Layer by layer his story is peeled away until we understand how he came to be who is he. I had a hard time liking him and never really got to the point of admiring him, but I came to understand him.

Mattie, who doesn't wannabe the girlfriend, is another complex character who is also not very likeable. She's something of a mystery and her story unfolds more slowly. She breaks all the molds for "typical" story girlfriend.

Through it all, Mr. Synder lights the reader's imagination with colorful word play while twanging the reader's conscience by revealing the reasons behind the characters. Everyone has a story. When you know it, it's easier to understand and to empathize. Too often in our busy everyday lives, we forget that. We look at the outside, we observe the obvious, and we miss their story.

The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I've become exceedingly stingy with 5 star ratings in recent months... but this book has earned one! I fell in love with both main characters from the start. The book hooked me immediately, held me in its grasp, and never let me wander. What more can you ask of a book?

Roxanna Rowan's life has been difficult. She's not perfect. She's not rich. She's getting "old" and has resigned herself to spinsterhood. She decides to head into the frontier of Kentucky and seek out her soldier father.

Her father, however, has been killed in an accident. Roxie finds herself in an impossible situation for a woman in the late 1700s. She is unmarried, with no family, and virtually trapped in a fort surrounded by hostile Indians and the British commander who is using them.

Colonel Cass McLinn is everything a commander should be. To fulfill her father's dying request, he has become her guardian. He must look after her while looking for his shoulder at the British commander who wants him dead.

A well written story that includes the sights, sounds, and smells of the frontier along with the intrigue of a war which birthed a nation.

Courting Constance by Teryl Cartwright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A delightful romp through the season in Bath with the unpredictable Constance in full pursuit of Sir Geoffrey. Gleefully breaking the bonds of propriety, Constance tries her hand at courting the gentleman in question. Nothing goes smoothly as the story twists and turns through one painful life lesson after another. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age looking for a fun, light romance.