The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

Anne Rice's werewolf book.  Ehh.  Apparently going to be the first in a series.  Some people will love this book (if you like her, if you liked Twilight, etc.)

The Proposal by Mary Balogh

This is a somewhat silly romancey type novel.  It was good but you have probably read a million books with the same plot line. 

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

This book takes true details from the Titanic disaster and adds fictional details to flesh out a story.  Normally that really bothers me but this time it seems to work.

Tess works as a maid but wants to start a new life as a dressmaker.  She decides that she will get hired by the Titanic and get free passage to the United States where she will face endless opportunities in a new country.  She arrives too late and is instead hired by the famous designer Lady Gordon.  She and Lady Gordon both survive the sinking of the ship and become embroiled in the aftermath.  There are hearings both in America and in Britain regarding who knew what, who did what and why no one helped all those who died.

This was a good book and I learned a lot about the Titanic that I never knew.  I would recommend it but it won't make any of my favorite lists.  Overall, a good book.

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Meyes

I hate the title of this book.  I LOVED everything else about it.  It is the 1960s in London and Jennifer is a young married woman.  She has been in a car accident and doesn't remember anything.  She is reunited with her family, her husband and friends and has no memories of them.  Her life seems lacking, she doesn't identify with the woman everyone expects her to be and then she finds a letter.  Signed "B" it is from someone who evidently loves her with a passion.  She sets out to figure out who B is and what happened to them.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.    It's not silly, it's not graphic, it is just lovely.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This book is not for everyone but I liked it a lot.  It reminds me of Neil Gaiman's Star Dust.  It is a fantasy.  It is beautifully written but until you get used to the prose can be a bit of a struggle to get into.  It's about the battle between two magicians.  They have each selected an apprentice to compete against each other.  I can't describe much more without it coming across as confusing so this is stolen from Wikipedia:The Night Circus is a phantasmagorical fairy tale set near an ahistorical Victorian London in a wandering magical circus that is open only from sunset to sunrise. Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams, features such wonders and "ethereal enigmas" as a blooming garden made all of ice and a fire-breathing paper dragon. The circus has no set schedule, appearing without warning and leaving without notice; they travel in a train disguised as an ordinary coal transport. A network of devoted fans who style themselves "rêveurs" develops around the circus; they identify to each other by adding a splash of red to garb that otherwise matches the characteristic black and white of the circus tents. The magical nature of the circus is occluded under the guise of legerdemain; the illusionist truly transforms her jacket into a raven and the fortune teller truly reads the uncertain future, and both are applauded for their ingenuity.
The circus serves a darker purpose beyond entertainment and profit. The magicians Prospero the Enchanter and the enigmatic Mr. A.H— groom their young proteges, Celia and Marco, to proxy their rivalry with the exhibits as a stage. Prospero teaches his daughter to hone her innate talents by holding ever larger and more complex magical workings in her mind. Celia takes her position on the game board as the illusionist, adding tents and maintaining wondrous aspects from the inside. Mr. A.H— trains his orphan ward with books in the ways of glyphs and sympathetic magic. Marco takes a position as majordomo to the producer of the circus; he works from the outside in, connected to the circus but not a part of it. The two generate nightly wonders for the circus and for each other, soon falling in love despite being magically bound to a deadly competition with rules neither understands; the magical courtship strains the fate laid out for them and endangers the circus that has touched the lives of so many and cannot survive without the talents of both players.

An Available Man

This book is about dating after the death of a spouse.  It was a great book, hopeful and beautiful.  Edward's beloved wife has died.  He becomes the target for widows, divorcees, friends of friends, etc. who are looking for an available man.  His adult stepchildren have placed a singles ad for him.  His former fiance has reappeared.  Edward just wants to be left alone, but slowly reemerges.  It is a great book. 

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

Lately, and not on purpose, I have been reading a lot of fiction that centers on China, Japan, North Korea, etc.  (The Buddah in the Attic, Nothing to Envy, the Shanghai Sisters, Dreams of Joy).  This book takes place in Hong Kong.  I am always confused about Hong Kong, is it China, is it not, so I googled it.  Here's what I found:  Hong Kong is a group of islands off the coast of mainland China.  While part of China NOW it is one of two 'special administrative regions' of China.  It runs itself in all areas except for foreign relations and military matters.  At one point it was a British colony and then was occupied by Japan during WWII. 
The book covers two time time periods.  The first centers around the occupation by Japan, the atrocities committed then and the interplay between the Chinese and the foreigners who made Hong Kong their home.  The second is that of 10 years (or so) later.  The reprecussions of what occurred during the war and the secrets that came out of that time.  The two main characters are Claire, the piano teacher who has been hired by a very wealthy, influential Chinese family, the Chen's, to teach their daughter and Will, the Chen's driver..  It turns out that Will used to be involved with a cousin of the Chen's.  This was a very interesting book and I learned a lot.