Book Review: Jackaby - William Ritter

Title: Jackaby

Author: William Ritter

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Miss Rook, I am not an occultist,” Jackaby said. “I have a gift that allows me to see truth where others see the illusion--and there are many illusions. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”

Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the ability to see supernatural beings. Abigail has a gift for noticing ordinary but important details, which makes her perfect for the position of Jackaby’s assistant. On her first day, Abigail finds herself in the midst of a thrilling case: A serial killer is on the loose. The police are convinced it’s an ordinary villain, but Jackaby is certain it’s a nonhuman creature, whose existence the police--with the exception of a handsome young detective named Charlie Cane--deny.

Doctor Who meets Sherlock in William Ritter’s debut novel, which features a detective of the paranormal as seen through the eyes of his adventurous and intelligent assistant in a tale brimming with cheeky humor and a dose of the macabre.

Review:

I picked up this book because I loved the idea of a paranormal Sherlock Holmes, however it took me quite a while to really get invested in this book.  I think that was because this felt more like watching a TV series than  a movie.  As a reader you get a pretty basic idea of the characters and who they were, Jackaby being the easiest since we all know Holmes pretty well, but I didn't really feel like I got any character depth on any of them.  Jackaby's character was my favorite because while he did echo all the parts of Sherlock everyone loves, he was very much his own character exhibiting a bit more compassion and personable attributes that Holmes lacked.  I enjoyed the diversity of characters and the legends/theories/stories presented; they made the discovery of 'who-did-it' part of the book more enjoyable.  I believe that people who enjoy Sherlock Holmes, and (in my opinion a better comparison than Dr. Who) the TV Series Grimm, this book (series) will have a lot of appeal.

Rated:  PG

Genre: Fiction - Mystery

Rating: 4 Stars

Book Review: Money Didn't Buy Her Love & June Kramin's Top 10 "Wedding" Movies

Title: Money Didn’t Buy Her Love
Author: June Kramin
Publication Date: April 23, 2013


Find it at: 
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Smashwords
Also available at iTunes, Kobo & other retailers

Synopsis:
Trying to get his bearings on an unfamiliar street and not paying attention, Jeremy slams his breaks to avoid hitting the most beautiful bride he has ever seen. When Danielle climbs in his truck, he assumes she’s in a hurry to get to her wedding; he didn’t realize she was escaping one. He agrees to let her return to his apartment so she can call for help, only she refuses to leave.

As the days pass, Jeremy finds it harder to fight off her passes and claims of falling in love with him. Besides having almost ten years on her, Jeremy discovers the family secret she had been trying to hide. How could the daughter of a billionaire settle for a plumber living paycheck to paycheck?

Despite every tactic her father throws at her and an ex-fiancé who refuses to let her go, Dani stakes her claim to the only thing she has ever truly wanted in her life and fights to make Jeremy hers.

My Review:

Money Didn’t Buy Her Love was a very entertaining read.  I admit that at first I had a hard time getting past Danielle’s personality; I mean she is a very rich and spoiled person, and straight from the beginning she behaves as such – not to mention she's extremely overbearing.  However, as the book continues to move forward she begins to become a bit more normal. 

This book is perfect reading for a rainy day or a lazy Sunday afternoon.  The story-line is not really original, nor is there a whole lot of action.  It’s just a chic-flix-esque story about two unlikely people falling in love, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with picking up a feel-good book and just enjoying the ride.  What I really enjoyed about this book is Danielle’s determination once she realized she had fallen for Jeremy.  She really didn’t let much get in her way.  In this way, knowing what she wanted and doing whatever it took to get it worked for her – that isn’t always the case in books like this.  I also like Jeremy's character.  He is less determined than Danielle, but there are so many things just stacked up against their relationship, including his past relationship with his ex-wife.  But he is gallant person, and almost your stereotypical “prince charming” when it comes to saving the day and doing what is right. It is his character that really makes this book work.

The only part of Money Didn’t Buy Her Love that I wasn’t overly thrilled with was the ending.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, the ending was the big red bow that we so often want, but to me it still felt a bit unresolved.  It was way to abrupt, like all of the sudden everyone throws their hands up and says, “okay, fine, have it your way.”  And that’s it.

**********************************************

I got the privilege of getting to request a Top 10 from June Kramin, and sticking with the theme of the book I decided to have her list her Top 10 Wedding/True Love themed movies, and here is her response:



Gah! This is tough. I’m sure I’ll think of others as soon as I hit send! With my middle grade series, you’ll see a lot of princess ones. I still love a great fairy tale.

Princess Bride
Notting Hill
Return to Me
Love Actually
50 First Dates
Kate & Leopold
Ella Enchanted
The Prince & Me
Time Traveler’s Wife
Tangled :D

How many of these movies have you seen?  Me, I've seen 8 of them...which gives me 2 new movies to watch!  :)

About the Author:
Bio: Wife, Mother, Writer, Lunatic. Not necessarily in that order.

"There is a fine line between genius and crazy... I like to use that line as a jump rope!"


June, who prefers to go by Bug, was born in Philadelphia but moved to Maui, Hawaii when she was four. She met her “Prince Charming” on Kauai and is currently living “Happily Ever After” on a hobby farm in a small town in Southern Minnesota.

She enjoys riding her Paint horse, Ringo, around the small ghost town they are playfully reestablishing with the neighbors and playing in Photoshop. Her son and daughter are her greatest accomplishments. She takes pride in embarrassing them every chance she gets.

Being hopelessly addicted to 80's music is her super power.


June "Bug" Kramin's Links:

website / fan page /  middle grade site / twitter

Book Review: Someone Else's Fairytale - Emily Mah Tippetts

Author Website:  Emily Mah Tippetts
Form: eBook
Genre: Adult (18-20's) - Fiction, Romance

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Jason Vanderholt, Hollywood's hottest actor, falls head over heels for everygirl, Chloe Winters, who hasn't gotten around to watching most of his movies. She becomes the woman every other woman in America is dying to be, but it just isn't her fairytale.

My Review:  

Honestly, I feel like I’ve sort of read this book before.  Why? Because I think that the concept of a non-famous girl falling in love with a super-mega movie star is a hot concept right now.  I mean, think about it – dream come true, right?  Or not.  I think it depends on who you are.  (The other book, by the way, was Love Unscripted…in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, apart from their very similar concept, Love Unscripted and Someone Else’s Fairytale are quite different.  Mostly in the main character, Chloe.  Chloe is very down to earth.  She wants nothing major, especially not the attention that being the girlfriend of actor Jason Vanderholt would bring.  She isn’t the jealous type, very logical and slow to judge people, however she’s also very slow on the uptake.  She questions even the remote possibility that something could come from the friendship with Jason.

I am thankful not to have had to deal with another book of jealous, super insecure thoughts from the female lead.  I probably would have immediately put the book down.  I will say that while I got wrapped up in the story – I never once felt much of a connection to the characters in Someone Else’s Fairytale.  I always felt like we were skirting on the boundaries of who these people were.  I think part of that problem came from the lack of chemistry between Chloe and Jason themselves.  Sure they talked, went out and did things together, and even Skyped – but I felt like all of their interactions were very surface deep.  I really can’t put my finger on why – or how authors bring out this chemistry, while others don’t.  I do know that abstinence was a very important issue to author Emily Mah Tippetts, and I agree with her.  I liked that about this book, but I kind of think that the focus on it was a bit too heavy, and at times weird.  Then there was Matthew, who came off kind of nice at first, but then ended up kind of judgmental.  I don’t understand the switch.

Then there’s the sub-plot of Chloe’s relationship with Jason’s sort-of niece, Kyra.  Kyra is a troubled teenage girl who thinks she’s in love with an older guy, and thinks her entire family hates her.  The family is amazed that Kyra opens up to Chloe and actually talks to her, but Chloe is very apprehensive and stand-offish about it.  Her attempts at helping seem really weak and half-hearted to me.  But in the end, apparently Chloe says and does the exact right thing to turn Kyra’s life around.  It was really weird.

Then the OTHER sub-plot, Chloe’s half-brother who tried to kill her.  The book sort of started off all danger and cops and stalker brother-like.  But then there is like no climax to this.  They go to court, and eventually the brother gets caught on some other issues and is sent back to jail.  Then there is the cop who’s all like, “this issue is going to follow you, and never really go away…” but nothing more happens.  Yes, this was an obvious setup for a second book – but really?  Why? 

In the end, while I was okay with reading this book, I didn’t hate it or anything – I actually did get lost in it and found I couldn’t put it down at some points, but in the end it just left me kind of dry and…just wanting a little bit more.

BOOK REVIEW: Love Unscripted - Tina Reber

Author Website:  Tina Reber

Form: eBook, Netgalley

Genre: Adult Romance Fiction 

What girl at one time or another hasn’t dreamed of randomly catching the eye of their favorite, super-hot, movie star??  This is basically the story that Tina Reber has written. Even if Taryn wasn’t actually dreaming of the dreamy Ryan Christenson, she has definitely caught his eye and affection – this spinning her off into the limelight and razzel, dazzle of the paparazzi, grocery store tabloids and the craze that comes with ultimate fame.

 

Honestly, what Tina has captured is exactly why I do not go ga-ga over movie stars.  I absolutely love movies, and yes, of course I like the way actors look – who doesn’t…but even as a young teenager I really didn’t become star struck.  Okay, I take that back.  I really had a thing for Devon Sawa.  He was a cutie!  Anyhow, just knowing that 1. I never stood a chance, living in the middle of Ohio, of ever actually meeting these people, and 2. The fact that deep down they were just people, continued to keep me grounded ( and still does) about movie stars.  Reading Love Unscripted I was continually brought back to the Twilight craze when the first movie was filming.  I felt so bad for both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in those early days.  I honestly wouldn’t want to live that way.

 

Anyway, Love Unscripted captured my attention pretty early on.  Taryn’s chance meeting of Hollywood superstar, Ryan Christenson, was entertaining – and the chemistry was great from the very start.  The book continued to keep me engaged – mostly.  Really, over 700 pages of this relationship seemed a bit too much.  All I know is that I was torn between, “is this about done yet?” and “I have got to know what happens…” pretty regularly. 

 

I can tell that this book was a first complete and published novel (at least as far as I can tell by website, etc.) because it is a little bit rough around the edges.  Sometimes the dialogue was a bit flat and seemed….well…scripted.  There is a part where Taryn and Ryan decide to let their relationship “grow naturally,” and I kind of feel like the book could have used a little bit of that as well.  As I said, the story was good, and kept me engaged from the start, but it does get a bit rough to deal with Taryn.  She is a bit of a tough cookie.  She has had a run of bad relationships, and that doesn’t help, but she is suspicious at every corner – just waiting on the other shoe to drop.  (Who wouldn’t, he’s a MOVIE STAR!)  No matter how true it is though, the constant back and forth in the book would make anyone reading roll their eyes along with Ryan, “what, we’re back to this?” 

 

I also had a hard time with her difficulty receiving gifts, and feel that there should have been some kind of impactful big “ah-ha” moment that helped her overcome this…or compromise.  Something. 

 

The good parts – the chemistry between Taryn and Ryan make this book worth the read.  When it’s just the two of them, and no suspicion or anything, they are excellent.  They are both romantic and loving.  Ryan, from the start, is a normal down to earth guy with an awesome job – even a bit shy, which is always endearing.  With the exception of a brief time in Florida, he seems to remain that way.  Both of them just want to love and take care of each other, even if Taryn is a bit unreasonable with her, “I’ll never let them hurt you,” mantra that she continues to repeat.  Silliness is what that is.  Oh well.

 

I feel like I may have been a little hard on this book – I really did enjoy it.  I think that a good portion of my feelings about the parts I didn’t like would have been eliminate if a couple hundred pages of this book was cut out.  Yes, really.  They went back and forth on the trust issue so many times, I’m pretty sure we  (readers) could get the point without it happening so much.  I think that Tina’s writing will get increasingly better as she continues to write and publish books, and I’m looking forward to watch her grow.

Starting to read: Love Unscripted

I'm starting a NetGalley book called Love Unscripted, by Tina Reber.  I wanted to share the preface with you:

         "You never know which way the wind blows" was one of my father's favorite expressions.  I used to think it was silly, just one of those sayings we tell ourselves when we don't think we have control over our own destiny.
        But I've since come to realize that sometimes when those winds of change blow, they're strong enough to toss you into a whole new world, and you really have no control over where you fly or how you land.
        I'd always been quite content with my life; it was fairly easy and predictable, with only a hint of drama here and there caused by an occasional light breeze.  There were a few times when Mother Nature hit me with her best shot, but I always managed to land on my feet.
       Somewhere along the line I actually thought I had gained control over the weather, keeping the possibility of a terrible storm always at bay.
       That was until the day the wind blew through my door and carried me away.

Love Unscripted by Tina Reber
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book on sale: 9/8/12; in print 1/1/13

A Cold Creek Reunion - RaeAnne Thayne

GENRE:  Adult Fiction - Romance
FORM: eBook - Netgalley

SYNOSPSIS (from Goodreads):   

He was the one you called when you needed rescuing…

But who was Taft Bowman going to call when he needed help? Because ten years ago Laura Pendleton, the love of his life, had left town without a word, then or since. Now she was back, with a new last name, and two adorable, high-needs little ones in tow. Well, Taft had been stupid enough to let her go once before…he wasn't about to make the same mistake again. He'd never stopped loving her, and one look at those adorable little faces and he knew that he was meant to be with Laura and her kids forever. All he had to do was convince her that this time he was a man she could count on!

REVIEW:  So I’ve decided you might as well add “Small town life,” and “ranch cowboys” to my list of books I apparently gravitate towards. When I look at the scope of books I like to read, it gets broader every day. I mean, one day I’m reading about ships and pirates, another day I’m in the London Ton, the next I’m chasing down vampires, and then I’ll finish it off riding a horse. Such is the way of a book lover!

A Cold Creek Reunion has actually been sitting in my iPhone for a while. It’s a book I got from NetGalley, and while I try my best to be pretty time sensitive when I get a book from them, this particular one has continued to be pushed back to another time. I mean, it’s a Romance, so it’s a winner from the start, however the story line has been done (which obviously doesn’t bother me, since I DID request the book – right?), but I think I have to be in the moment that I feel like reading that particular kind of book. It doesn’t always happen that way, but apparently this one was one of those kinds of books.

And I must really have been in the mood, because I read two books back-to-back with extremely similar plots. Small town life, runaway bride returns home, old flame flares. It’s obviously a very frequently done plot, in all of its varieties. Like I said, I choose this (these) books, so I’m not knocking the over done plot here – but I’m pretty sure I’ve read 3 or 4 more that have the same basic outline. Thankfully, author creativity makes them not precisely the same book. Anyhow, reading two of these books back-to-back has helped me to really appreciate the value of a good writer. I am not going to name the other book I read, because…well, just because; but let’s just say that the other book was “less than” A Cold Creek Reunion, as far as stories go. While reading the other book I thought, this is a nice story. I’m enjoying it. Of course I love the way the story plays out, the idea around a rekindled romance. But it was just okay. Reading A Cold Creek Reunion in comparison was almost like night and day. I really got to know and enjoy the characters. I loved the town and the people in it. I could envision the story playing out in my head, it became much more than just words on a page. There was life and meaning in there.

Now, if I could tell you what the differences are as far as writing technique, details, etc., I would. I wish I could tell you why one book was just okay and the other evoked such a response that in the end I actually had tears of happiness. Maybe I was just having a sappy day? Or maybe with A Cold Creek Reunion, I had more time to really focus on the story where as the other book I was constantly being interrupted by one or three kids. Those are very distinct possibilities, but I truly believe there is a reason behind why one captured my attention so greatly and the other just merely entertained.

Superman's Cape - Brian Spangler

GENRE:  Adult Fiction
FORM: eBook

SYNOPSIS (from Goodreads):

When Sara Connely is asked what life is like today, she answers with the simple words, ‘life goes on.’ The life she and her boys enjoyed the last dozen years is gone. Sara struggles to cope with the death of her husband and doing so with two young boys, and no money, is almost too much to ask.

Life does go on, but when Sara’s oldest boy becomes lost in Croatan National Forest, life comes to a stop.

Twelve-year-old Kyle Connely doesn’t know the woods. He doesn’t know the wildlife. He doesn’t know how to get home. Lost in the wilderness, he faces dangers the likes of which he has never seen. Kyle’s time is running out. A hurricane is looming, and in its path is the coastal forest he is trying to survive.

Jacob Hanson has a gift. An intuition. An insightfulness. And it has helped him find success. But his gift turns into a curse as he becomes an unwilling participant in Kyle's plight.

What Jacob Hanson doesn't know is he also holds the key to Sara’s past and the lifetime she lost with her husband.

REVIEW:  Superman’s Cape draws you in straight from the beginning with the sad tale of how a mother (Sara) and her two boys lost their father. Immediately, especially as a mother, I was sympathetic and attached to this story. Once hooked, it took no effort to rope me into this book – a family going through tragedy, finding more along the way, a man with a special gift; how their lives are colliding.

Since the book was told from a variety of perspectives, you were able to see the story from multiple points of view, which was very effective in this case. I found it especially interesting in the case of Jacobs half of the book, seeing him from different angles as his gift took form and interrupted his life, it painted a picture that was a bit painful yet at the same time interesting to watch. Jacob is a mystery bigger than Kyle being lost in the woods. What is going on seems to shift and take different forms until you find the unexpected answer at the end.

For Sara and Kyle’s half of the book, I was filled with so much compassion and hurt for that family. I cannot imagine cooping with such tragic loss only to be thrown into the mix of another devastating event. Their story was so nicely told all the way up until the end, where things started to wrap up a little too quickly for me. Being so intimate with Kyle in the woods, I would have liked to have known the point of being carried out of the woods to his recovery. Not in so much detail mind you, but there seems to be a gap; seeing as how everyone was trapped in the trailer, huge storm coming, and Kyle being so close to death…. (I apologize if that seemed spoiler-y in anyway, but I’m thinking most of the information given here was in the synopsis as well..)

I will say that while the story wrapped you in from the beginning and kept you reading until you found out what’s going to happen, many, many times I found the writing to be extremely graphic. Reading mostly Young Adult and Drama/Romance novels, this is something I’m not used to. Even some of the crime and mystery books I’ve read, the attention to the gory details was never all that intense. I do think that the details did add to the experience of the book some, but it walked the fine line of overkill in my opinion. Another small annoyance - and I don’t know why this bothered me so much, but to use the word “giggled” for a man seems wrong, it seems teenagy and girly to me. The word was also used semi-frequently. Synonyms go a long way! “Chuckled” seems more adequate for a man.

BOOK REVIEW: A Kiss at Midnight - Eloisa James

GENRE: Adult Fiction - Romance - Fairytale
FORM: eBook

SYNOPSIS (from Goodreads):  Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales . . . or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince . . . and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancée, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble . . .

Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune . . .

Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

REVIEW:  I do believe I have found a new “favorite author.” A friend of mine was looking for fairy-tale based stories to read when she came across A Kiss at Midnight, and knowing my tendencies suggested the book to me before she was even half-way through. I do love a good fairytale re-tell! And this one is fabulous!

I will say that one, the cover of this book is NOT how I pictured Kate at all, and two - I'm not sure who wrote this synopsis because it doesn't really do the book justice...so my suggestion is to read and decide for yourself.  The characters are fun, and loveable. While Mariana, the “evil step-mother” is arrogant and snobby and not too bright; she isn’t detestable. Neither is Victoria, the step-sister. I actually kind of like Victoria, even if she got her lip bitten by a dog because she was feeding it meat from her mouth (uh, YUCK!) Kate, our Cinderella, is so brass and funny. She’s clever and quick witted, but she’s also self conscious and unsure of herself.

I love that this is a fairytale retell of Cinderella, but I also love that Eloisa James has slide in references to other books as well. I’ve caught several, and I almost wonder if I’ve missed some. One of the more notable would be Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as Romeo and Juliet (which is mentioned by name more than simply referenced). The storyline doesn’t actually move in that direction at all, it’s just…there. I don’t know if it was purposefully done, but my mind finds similarities between Kate and Gabriel, and Elizabeth and Darcy of the ever famous Pride and Prejudice. The book has also had me laughing out loud at some of the crazy scenes, and funny moments, and witty over-the-top characters.  Henry (aka Henrietta) makes a crazy and atypical fairy godmother.

The chemistry between Kate and Gabriel is notable from the moment they meet, but it is nowhere near the Disney version of love at first sight, however annoyance is very quick to turn into infatuation. The two of them fight it (the attraction) but bringing them together is instant flames, along with sharp tongues. The romance between them is hot and heavy and - a romance lovers dream.

I highly recommend the book! It is very well written, a lovely interpretation, and just plain entertaining!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Chasing Rainbows - Kathleen Long

GENRE: Adult – Fiction
FORM: eBook

Book 2 of the 2012 eBook Challenge

SYNOPSIS: “Hard times” is minor in comparison to what Bernadette is going through. Her husband has left her for another woman; another life. Her father just died unexpectedly. And if that isn’t bad enough, her dog got kicked out of obedience school….again. The death of her father and her husband leaving has also brought on an onslaught of memories from five years prior, when her one and only child, Emma, died of a heart defect at 5 days old. Despite wanting to wallow in a pool of chocolate and self pity, Bernie knows she has to press forward and move on with her life the best she can.

REVIEW: Outside of having a hard time not thinking “am I going to have to change my name to Bernice Matice,” (line from Hope Floats movie) every time I read the main character’s name, even though it was Bernadette and NOT Bernice…, I found Chasing Rainbows to be a beautiful and uplifting book about life and getting through it’s hard times. Now that I think about it, Hope Floats was very similar to this book in many ways, and now I’m wondering about the inspiration for the book itself…anyhow.

Bernadette is having her fair share of hard times, more than most of us could handle at one time. Often while reading when I felt like I might cry because of Bernie’s pain and emotional suffering, and there were times when I was laughing at her antics. She truly was a women on the edge of rational thinking. Her life seemed to be crumbling down around her, but she had a wall of support build up around her in form of her best friend, Denise, her mother and two of her neighbors, all of whom had words of help and wisdom but also demonstrated to Bernice that she was not the only one with hard times and pain in their life. At times even her soon-to-be ex-husband brought words of wisdom that ultimately played into Bernice’s healing process.

I will say, there were moments I thought the Bernie was a bit over the top – especially when she jumped the counter at a cosmetic station in the mall, but it was this over-the-topness that brought most of the entertainment of the book. For an ebook that I got free at Amazon.com, I was very impressed with this read. It was heartfelt, funny, sad and contained just enough courage and hope to make you believe in second chances at life.

(In addition to “Bernice Matice,” I found myself continually singing, “don’t go chasing waterfalls…” while reading, which is also completely and utterly unrelated...but I guess "chasing rainbows" was close enough for my mind. And NOW I’ve probably sufficiently gotten it stuck in your head…you’re welcome! =) )

Love Virtually - Daniel Glattauer

Love Virtually by Daniel Glattauer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the world of social networking, a book such as this one is perfect, because it is reality. I cannot tell you how many times I've heard of people meeting up with an old flame via Facebook, or Myspace or a chatroom or whatever. Just today, in fact, I heard a story about a marriage that was broken due to a "friend" on Facebook. Let's face it, the trap of finding intimacy within the virtual walls of the computer, is real.

So the book - yes, that is my focus, the book. Love Virtually was great! It was funny, and crazy and to be quite honest, it sucks you in within the first 5 e-mails. Yes, the book is filled cover to cover with nothing but e-mails. In the past I have read books like this; completely filled with e-mails and other impersonal type contact, thinking "wow, what a cleaver idea," only to be left with a bit of an emptiness, because of the lack of character, the lack of description, the lack of a true story. I honestly believe that Daniel Glattauer has wiped these other books completely off the table and replaced them with what they should have been. The way that Daniel Glattauer makes up for the "lack" that I have just mentioned - he addresses it head on. The fact that these characters are faceless, two-dimensional beings is a driving point in the book. It is mentioned countless times, maybe in even every single chapter. The fact that these characters (Emmi and Leo, by the way) are abstract is something even they are aware of.

You only get to know the characters because they choose to let you in. Even then, the revelations seem so minor in comparison to their intoxication with each other, even when they are bickering and even fighting back and forth, it all seems like a sort of foreplay.

There were times that I was extremely frustrated with Emmi. I mean, she is so sure of her perfect life, it's as if she wanted to portray (at times) that she was not nearly as invested in the relationship as Leo, because she pretty much already HAS a perfect life. Then she would throw temper tantrums, get jealous, etc., only to come crawling back apologizing or whining because he wasn't talking to her. So yeah, she could be a little annoying. But Leo wasn't without his baggage. A little wine, and he was off comparing Emmi with Marlene, the one thing Emmi would truly have to complain about, yet never did.

Anyhow, this completely obsessive relationship based solely on e-mail contact spirals and dips and dives and intensifies all the way to the very end...It's not edge of your seat drama, but you won't be able to put the book down until you get to the last page regardless.
View all my reviews

Call Me Irresistible - Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Call Me Irresistible by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Summary:

Meg Koranda flies to Wynette, TX to be the Maid of Honor in her best friend, Lucy’s, wedding only to find out that Lucy is having doubts about the whole thing. After helping her realize that Lucy was getting ready to make a grand mistake which resulting in her leaving her groom, Ted waiting at the alter, Meg becomes the most hated person in town. Unfortunately, being bankrupt and cut off by her family, Meg is stuck. She is left to stick it out and make what she can of herself in Wynette until she can get her feet back under her and a little money in her pocket. That is until she gets all tangled up with the town’s need to build a new, environmentally sound golf course, a project that Wynette’s towns people are counting on to bring the prosperity to their dying city. This also results in Meg getting all tangled up with the towns perfect citizen and mayor, AND her best friends dumped fiancé, Ted Beaudine.

Review:

As always, Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes the perfectly sizzling romance, which includes the rich, famous and perfect. Honestly, every single time I pick up one of her novels I always think, “I don’t care about the rich and famous, and I don’t really want to be reading a romance novel about them,” and every single time she sucks me in. I think it’s the fact that these perfect people end up not being so perfect, they have flaws, defaults, make mistakes and act stupid. Never mind the fact that Susan Elizabeth Phillips has a tendency to cause you to laugh out loud at least once in every book.

I always fall in love with the characters, and really enjoy seeing them return in other novels as well, but this time I was a little bit annoyed with Meg. She was perfectly sassy and had lots of attitude and determination, but I absolutely hated how she always made herself the scapegoat, throwing herself under the bus every chance she got. I was thinking that this was a character flaw that she would eventually stand up against in the end, but no – even in one of the final scenes she stands up and declares how everything was her fault and making up excuses. Ted was also a little but oblivious to everything Meg was going through. He acted like he knew, especially when he visited Meg’s parents, but Meg was harassed non-stop throughout the entire book. She was getting it from the left and right, and even though she did act as a buffer, protecting Ted from what was going on, all he would have had to do was open his eyes and pay attention.

I absolutely looooved the very last scene of the book – of which I’m not telling you about – it made the perfect ending!

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Yours for the Taking - Robin Kaye

Yours for the Taking by Robin Kaye
Genre: Adult Romance
Form: Book (ARC)

Summary:

Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks wasn’t easy for Gina and her family.  Her mother did everything she possibly could to make ends meet while her father was off in some drug haze, but it was all for naught as they still ended up losing everything in the end.  Gina is bound and determined not to let that happen to her or her sister.  It is this driving force that causes her to accept an offer of a convenience marriage to Ben.  A marriage where they both win in the end; he does not lose an inheritance that his grandfather has continually dangled over his head, and she gets enough money to make sure she and her sister can live comfortably and debt free in houses of their own.  This is not a decision that she makes lightly, but the deal is too good to pass up, especially since there is no danger of it turning in to something more.  Ben is gay after all….isn’t he?

 

Review:

Yours for the Taking is a fun, entertaining, witty ride of a book.  As it is with most books for me, characters are everything, and Robin Kaye has created two entertaining characters, to say the least.  I love Ben, but most of all I love his transformation from a metrosexual art dealer into a rough outdoorsy cowboy.  He is super sexy in both roles, and is obviously hard to resist.  Gina is a very cute little Latina that you can almost see running from one side of the room to the other, tossing her hands up in the air on a tirade.  Their chemistry throughout the book is hot!

 

The story line is perfect.  The constant bickering and making up is entertaining while the two fight for control of their lives and what they have known they have always wanted.  Two wildly different people have collided and eventually create the perfect couple.

All That is True - Jackie Lee Miles

All That's True by Jackie Lee Miles
Form:  Book (ARC)
Genre: Adult or Young Adult Ficiton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Summary
Andi is a privileged teenager.  He lives in a rich neighborhood, can pretty much stay on top of the fashion world and any activity is within her reach.  However, life isn't dealing her an easy hand. Her brother, Alex, recently died.  Her and her best friend, Bridget, have discovered that her dad and Bridget's step-mother are having an affair.  Her mother is an alcoholic and constantly dancing on the edge.  Couple all of that with the fact that she's a typical young teenager who is just trying to discover who she is and how her life is going to turn out - it seems as though her life is a complete mess.

Through many friends and relatives and most of all herself, Andi discovers everything she needs to move forward and not only live life, but how to do it and be happy as well.

Review
All That's True captivates you from the first page!  The book reads almost as a journal as Andi takes you on a journey of a year of her life, probably the hardest time she has ever had to go through.  She narrates on everything from her troubles with her father and his affair, her mother's alcohol problems, all the way to her latest boy craze, or future husband.  Andi is just a typical thirteen year old girl, and all she really wants is live a normal life.

There were many times throughout the book I felt really bad for Andi.  She tried so hard to do the right thing, and do whatever she could to help out in every situation.  Because there was so much going on in her home life, it seemed like Andi was left to figure things out on her own a lot of the time.  Andi is genuinely a good person through and through.  She wants to do what she can to make things the easiest on everyone, which sometimes makes things the hardest for her.  Through out this year she learns that life does not always give you what you want or expect, but given the choices you make and how you choose to react to it, you can make the best of all situations.



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Juliet - Anne Fortier

Juliet by Anne Fortier

Twenty-five-year-old Julie Jacobs is heartbroken over the death of her beloved aunt Rose. But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy.
   
This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life forever—a journey into the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei. In 1340, still reeling from the slaughter of her parents, Giulietta was smuggled into Siena, where she met a young man named Romeo. Their ill-fated love turned medieval Siena upside-down and went on to inspire generations of poets and artists, the story reaching its pinnacle in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy.
   
But six centuries have a way of catching up to the present, and Julie gradually begins to discover that here, in this ancient city, the past and present are hard to tell apart. The deeper she delves into the history of Romeo and Giulietta, and the closer she gets to the treasure they allegedly left behind, the greater the danger surrounding her—superstitions, ancient hostilities, and personal vendettas. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in the unforgettable blood feud, she begins to fear that the notorious curse—“A plague on both your houses!”—is still at work, and that she is destined to be its next target. Only someone like Romeo, it seems, could save her from this dreaded fate, but his story ended long ago. Or did it?

Summary Source:  Barnes and Nobel website

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A retelling of the story of Romeo and Juliet so good, it's hard to pick the book down!

I loved this book. The retelling of Romeo and Juliet was very intriguing and interesting. I loved the instant passion between the old lovers right from the beginning. In fact, I think I actually liked this version of Romeo and Juliet even better than Shakespeare’s. I also enjoyed how the story continued to flashback/flash forward in alternating chapters. It was fun to “learn” the details of Romeo and Juliet's love right along with Julie, but also see what trouble she was getting herself into as well.

The mystery of Julie's ancestors unravels slowly but surely, this was very well written. It seems as though danger lurks around every corner of this story, and you can't seem to figure out who you can or cannot trust. So there is the feeling of constantly being on the edge when it comes to what's going to happen next. There were moments in the story when I felt like I was listening to an excerpt out of Indiana Jones.

The characters in Juliet were very well developed. I truly felt like we were looking at this book straight from Julie's eyes. If she missed a small detail, it's likely you did to, even if it was right there staring you in the face. The only thing I was a little disappointed in was the development of Julie and “Romeo’s” relationship. There seemed to be almost no chemistry between the two at all, in my opinion. Somehow, since the sparks didn’t start right at the start, the characters just did not click the way I would have liked them to. This made the end of the story sort of fall flat. Perhaps Anne Fortier was a little too concerned with keeping the romantic scenes to a minimum, which left wanting more, for example, when they actually finally kissed there were no real descriptors or anything to help you to feel what Julie was feeling. To me the passage was a fancy way of saying “and we made out." The lack of chemistry could also have been because she was trying to keep Romeo's identity a mystery, therefore the characters had to remain on opposite ends of the book for a long time, too long for the reader to really get into the relationship. I guess I just wanted more here.

Despite my one misgiving over the book, I really did love it. I listened to it via audio (which explains my lack of naming characters - since I probably couldn't spell half of them), and the narrator was wonderful! I love the story of Romeo and Juliet, tragedy and all, and this book really just made it all the more beautiful. Juliet breathed even more life into an already excellent story.

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The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook - Matt Dunn

Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Edwards girlfriend of ten years, Jane, has left him. There was no discussion, no fight, no warning; she just packed her stuff and left. She leaves a note explaining that Edward has let himself go in every way imaginable, and she can't live with it. He has 3 months to get his life in order for when she gets back, or else.


Because it's not done very often, I am a fan of books that are told from the male perspective and are also a part of a genre that I enjoy. The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook one ups that because it is, in fact, written by a male, which gives it a very different feel than normal. I would not call a romance novel by any stretch of the imagination - because it really does lack all the heat and passion that one would find in a romance novel, but it does include all attributes of boy-meets-girl, which I truly enjoy.

I really liked Edward, even in his fat, "I don't care" state of mine, he seemed like a very stand-up kind of guy. This, I guess, really is the point. The book really focused on how while being a good, faithful person really just isn't enough for women, especially when it seems like the guy has sort of checked out of life and is just living day-by-day as if there is another to come. Edward's growth through the book is wonderfully mapped out. I enjoyed joining him on his relationship epiphanies, when he has pealed back another layer of his life, and has taken the next step on figuring out where he has gone wrong.

Edward's best friend, Dan, is another story. As expected I'm sure, I do not like him. What an all around jerk! I think some of my favorite parts of the book are when Edward would say something to his lady admirers about him that was completely appalling and utterly untrue. I think I did most of my chuckling at these parts.

I honestly believe that this book would make a great movie. I could see it easily being converted into a romantic comedy quite successfully.



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Ape House - Sara Gruen

Ape House by Sara Gruen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ape House was not exactly what I expected. I was expecting was a book about monkeys who are forced to take part in this reality TV show….and it is, to some degree. The book is actually about Isabel Duncan, the scientist who works with the bonobo monkeys, and has essentially made them her family, and John Thigpen, a journalist who was hoping to land an award winning story once he visits and discovers how remarkable the monkeys really are. It’s a story about how in one giant explosion, both if their lives fall apart, and then how they pick up the pieces again. The monkeys are at the heart of the book, but really are sort of a bi-product.

This is not to say I didn’t like the book. The story itself catches you early on. At the first interaction of with the bonobos you can’t help but want to move forward in the story and find out what happens. It started to slow down a bit for me right after the explosion, there seemed to be a lot of hem-hawing or fluff there…or so I thought. It is at this point that I realized the book was a little less about the monkeys and a little more about humans. It is around this time that I begin to have a vast dislike for Amanda, John’s wife. I can understand the depression and the desire to go off and do something, but she seemed to go through extremes and then went on a spending beige that – would never have flown in a normal household. Honestly the things that happen between John and Amanda in this book, I am not sure many marriages would survive. I DID like John a lot, and I really loved how much he loved Amanda, and continued to love her throughout, despite some of the crazy things going on. Near the end, John has a few of his own crazy moments – so I guess they really are perfect for each other.

I loved Isabel, her love and passion for the bonobos was evident, and I loved her drive. She did become a little paranoid of everyone, but with good reason. I mean, she was in a major explosion. I am so thankful she saw through her loser of a fiancé! It was really easy to see he was no good from the onset, it just took her a little bit longer to catch up with the rest of us. I am pretty sure that guy did not have an honorable bone in his body.

As far as the reality show goes…I thought it was as sad as it was made out to be. It really made me feel sorry for the bonobos for being so exploited. Yet, I really wouldn’t have put it past anyone to actually do something like that.



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The Red Scarf - Kate Furnivall

The Red Scarf by Kate Furnivall

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When thinking about trying to summarize The Red Scarf for a review, I found it very difficult. Kate Furnivall has written such a completely intertwined story that pretty much every moment from beginning to end is significant. As I write reviews, in most cases I like to be sensitive and not give away pertinent information to anyone who may be reading the review. I might give away names of characters or a side plot or something, but not something that will ruin the entire book for the reader. Below is the summary from Barnesandnoble.com, and to me, it really does not do the book justice…but it also does not give anything away you don’t already learn within the first few chapters of the book:

Davinsky Labor Camp, Siberia, 1933: Only two things in this wretched place keep Sofia from giving up hope: the prospect of freedom, and the stories told by her friend and fellow prisoner Anna, of a charmed childhood in Petrograd, and her fervent girlhood love for a passionate revolutionary named Vasily.

After a perilous escape, Sofia endures months of desolation and hardship. But, clinging to a promise she made to Anna, she subsists on the belief that someday she will track down Vasily. In a remote village, she's nursed back to health by a Gypsy family, and there she finds more than refuge—she also finds Mikhail Pashin, who, her heart tells her, is Vasily in disguise. He's everything she has ever wanted—but he belongs to Anna.

After coming this far, Sofia is tantalizingly close to freedom, family—even a future. All that stands in her way is the secret past that could endanger everything she has come to hold dear...

In my opinion, Kate Furnivall is a master storyteller. Under any normal circumstances, I wouldn’t pick up the books she writes based on the summaries given, because I can tell, by the summary, that there is a lot of real life anguish that is going to happen which is what I usually avoid when picking out a book. Life is usually real enough for me. Plus, her books tend to be rather political in nature…which is a bit of a turn off for me as well. I don’t even know what made me pick up The Russian Concubine, my introduction to Kate’s work. I’m pretty sure it was an impulse buy at Half Price Books, but I am glad I gave her a chance. As I said, the books are political and they are usually about struggle, but the characters are so real and unbelievable strong, they suck you into their lives and do not let go. There is always an air of hope that is mixing and spinning in all the distress and injustice.

The Red Scarf was, to me, ultimately about friendship and love. Sophia struggles with her decisions to do what is right for herself or, in a sense, laying down her life for her friend. It is about survival. Anna spends most of her time just focusing on surviving, and never giving up hope. Sophia, too, must survive and find a way to save her best friend. I don’t know many people or friendships that are as tight as this friendship, but I love it because we should love each other in such a way that we would walk to the ends of the earth for them. Could you imagine the world we would live in if we did?

I really enjoyed the way this book was set up. Usually I’m not big on bouncing forward and backward in time, but the flashbacks in this book were appropriately placed and absolutely necessary. The book would have been too long and too slow moving had it been told from the beginning to end in a straight line. This was my biggest surprise of all though, the fact that the book never seemed to really slow down. Even if there were moments of “down time” they were fast moving and still pertinent to the story. There was absolutely no extra fluff anywhere in the story that I could tell. The story and it’s message are just beautiful, even in all of its harsh realities.

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Falling Home - Karen White

Falling Home by Karen White

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lately I have been very choosey about ARCs that I agree to read. I find that it is a very narrow road for me, whether I will like a book or not, and I am not the kind of person who enjoys simply saying "I do not like this book," because someone took the time and energy to create the characters and the story and write it. Inevitably there are people who will like it, it's just in that instant, it wasn't me. This is a horrible way to preface this entry, because this is not what happened with this book. I am so very thankful I decided to say yes to reading this book. Technically, Falling Home isn't exactly a new book. It was first published in 2002, but has been reworked and is being republished November 2, 2010.

Falling Home was one of those books I hated to put down. Fortunately [and unfortunately] I got a stomach bug, stayed home from work and had an entire day to lay around reading it, so it wasn't really a problem.

Cassie is returning home to her small hometown in Georgia after 15 years away, returning to a life she has left behind. A life where her younger sister went off and eloped with her first love, and where the small town hustle and bustle has everyone knowing your business. She is reluctant to go back, but her father has suffered a heart attack and is not expected to make it, his dying wish is to have both of his daughters at home with him. According to Cassie, the only thing waiting for her at Walton is her past. What she does not expect to find is a community, a family, a life that she never knew she was missing, and who welcome her home with open arms.

I absolutely fell in love with this book! The characters are beautiful and fun. I did feel like I was reading the book version of Sweet Home Alabama at first because of the 'big-time girl going back to small-town life' story line, but there is so much more to this story about love and life, and learning from your past mistakes, and moving forward from past hurts. The book had me laughing, and crying and wanting to grab my kids and keep them as close to me as possible.

I loved how Karen White was able to create a picture that I could visualize and made me want it for myself. I could just see the old houses, the porch swings, and hear old porch doors slamming against the frame. I wanted to run in a field and catch lightening bugs, and be wrapped up in this community, even with it's downfalls. There were a few times I was actually wishing I was listening to an audio book, just so I could hear Sam's southern accent, which I imagined to be super sexy when he wanted it to be, and ultra-hick when he wanted it to as well. I would have loved to have been able to hear some of Cassie and Sam's verbal battles.



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Maybe This Time - Jennifer Crusie

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A book about Andie, a lady in her thirties who is just getting ready to move on with her life, and North - an ultra-busy, work-minded man. Andie and North are madly in love with each other (which is evident even from the very beginning) even though they've married, divorced, and supposedly moved on with their life. Andie meets with North for the first time in ten years with a gesture of closure that turns out to be a moment of new beginnings. This meeting spirals Andie's life into a new direction when he asks her to go and help to get the lives of his "wards" (Alice and Carter) back to some kind of normal. What Andie finds in Southern Ohio is much more than just two grief stricken, problem children.



I have enjoyed Jennifer Crusie's fun characters and witty dialogue in the past, and I was not disappointed with Maybe This Time either. I was laughing out loud quite a bit, between some of Alice's kid moments, and Andie's sarcasm - it's hard not to. This was a fun book with moments of seriousness, though not many. The story line is great and will keep you sucked in. A time or two I thought there were some inconsistencies with the story, but the relationship between North and Andie, the funny interludes, and well...just the whole thing held my attention the entire time.



Highly suggested!



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The Search - Nora Roberts

The Search by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It is pretty safe to say I'm a big fan of Nora Roberts. It's kind of funny though, because her books follow the same basic pattern, but I always love the characters she writes, and their trades.

In The Search Fiona is a Dog Trainer, ultimately for search and rescue dogs. I really enjoyed the aspect of this the book and the way Nora Roberts goes into detail on how Fiona trains the dogs and what a big part of her life they are. Fiona is fun an witty. I just recently finished Angel Falls and I'm very happy that Fiona was a stronger person than Reece. Reece was okay, but I got tired of her pretty quickly. I LOVED Simon, almost as much as I love Luke Callahan from Honest Illusions. He was so perfectly calm and sarcastic about everything. He has his moments of passion, and when he does, whether it be because of love or anger, he was always wonderful. I laughed at him out loud while at work more than once.

What I WAS expecting, and what didn't happen was an ending sort of similar to The Black Hills which I guess would have been sort of repetitive and predictable (especially since I was predicting it), but I loved the ending of that book that I guess I was rooting for it.

I listed to this via audio book, and must give props to the narrator, Tanya Eby. She was fantastic! The moment Simon said, "I love you," had my heart dropping out, which is kind of funny since it was right in the middle of a fight. I love good audio readers, and I guess Tanya would end up on my "like" list.

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