Lisa White

I've been "birding" since my mother started me on the hobby, back when I was about 7 or so, so I wasn't sure if this book would be too elementary or too advanced for me. It was neither, just a good balance of humor and tips that most bird watchers/birders should appreciate. One story about observing a Snowy Owl struck home with me, as I had a similar experience recently (no spoilers!). Definitely recommended even if you only have a casual interest in birds.

Reviewed by: JoAnne
Book provided by: TLC Book Tours
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

This was a quick and enjoyable romantic suspense with quite a few twists and turns. Some were predictable but many were not and that’s what made it so engrossing. Jake and Livi had reincarnated chemistry from the minute they unexpectedly meet in the small town where they both grew up and where Livi still lived and worked. There was enough background given that I felt I knew them and their show more history early on and could understand why they both acted as they did. The characters were all well developed but the main characters and those involved in Hampton Steel all had many layers to them. There were friends, family, coworkers, management, romance, love, caring, anxiety, tension, angst, laughter and tears along with an overwhelming workload for Livi to get out from under so she could enjoy life and what was right in front of her.

The descriptions of the guesthouse that Jake was fixing up for his family as well as the water surrounding it and the sunsets were so vivid I felt I was there. The other side of Millersville had the McMansions that were well described as well and showed the two sides of the town – the working class vs management. Since much of the novel took place at Hampton Steel it was nice that the business side of things were described in layman’s terms for everyone to understand.

This was a debut novel for White and I hope she continues to write stories like this. There was a presumed happily ever after but a few chapters more or an epilogue would have been nice for better closure. I look forward to reading other books she writes.
fla show less

If you're a beginning birder who just "got bitten" by the birding obsession, here's your 5-star book. 50 short essays by the top names in birding. Most essays are corny, quaint, comic and cute. Others have valuable bits of sage advice that are well-explained. These topics include Prepare for comfort, choose quality tools, be courteous, slow down, watch the weather, go out in all kinds of weather, learn distribution, take field notes, conserve where you can, take sketches, question authority, show more enjoy birds wherever you go. A short book and a fast read great for situations where you have snippets of reading time. show less

I mined a few helpful pointers from this collection of very short essays. However, while I appreciated the authors' probable reasoning for injecting frequent humor into their pieces (hoping to expand the readership beyond just people already obsessed with birds, I guess), the humor mostly fell short for me and I would've preferred a more straightforward approach. The illustrations were kind of corny, too. I did like that a lot of these "all-star" birders emphasized the ultimate importance of show more just enjoying the birds, rather than obsessively id'ing, listing, and moving on to the next sighting like some kind of assembly line. There is certainly a wealth of information in here, with enough diversity to appeal to birders of various experience levels. show less