In Her Skin (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: In Her Skin
Author: Kim Savage
Publication: Farrar Straus Giroux, April 2018 (hardcover, Kindle, audio)
Genre: YA

Plot: From childhood Jolene Chastain's mother taught her how to survive by scamming the public, pretending to be someone else to garner sympathy and extract cash. Jo can be whatever or whoever anyone wants her to be. When her mother takes up with a series of bad boyfriends, Jo's life deteriorates rapidly even as her con artist skills become very lucrative. But after her mother is killed, she takes off, ending up on Boston where she makes friends with another abused teen, Wolf, in the tent city where the homeless live.

Finding Felicity (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Finding Felicity
Author: Stacey Kade
Publication: Simon & Schuster, hardcover and eBook, 2018
Genre: YA

Plot: Caroline Sands has never been particularly good at making friends. And her parents’ divorce and the move to Arizona three years ago didn’t help. Being the new girl is hard enough without being socially awkward too. So out of desperation and a desire to please her worried mother, Caroline invented a whole life for herself—using characters from Felicity, an old show she discovered online and fell in love with. But now it’s time for Caroline to go off to college and she wants nothing more than to leave her old “life” behind and build something real.

However, when her mother discovers the truth about her manufactured friends, she gives Caroline an ultimatum: Prove in this first semester that she can make friends of the nonfictional variety and thrive in a new environment. Otherwise, it’s back to living at home — and a lot of therapy. Armed with nothing more than her resolve and a Felicity-inspired plan, Caroline accepts the challenge. But she soon realizes that the real world is rarely as simple as television makes it out to be. And to find a place where she truly belongs, Caroline may have to abandon her script and take the risk of being herself.

Giveaway Link: Enter by 3/29/18 to win a copy of Finding Felicity:
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Purchase Links: Goodreads Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks IndieBound Book Depository

Audience: Fans of books in which the heroines muster their wits, but an older YA audience might find the heroine a bit pathetic or the story too tame.

My Impressions: I never watched the TV show Felicity but I always meant to, as I was living in New York when it began and I always enjoyed stories set at college (a subset of the school story), so was interested in the concept behind this book (also was curious because I remembered one of the actors turned up on Scandal). Finding Felicity is a poignant story about a young woman whose natural shyness has been exacerbated by the departure of her father with his second wife, while Caroline moved across the country and had to start her sophomore year of high school at a new school in Arizona. She is so lacking in self confidence that she literally becomes speechless when confronted by the cool kids at school. Her obsession with the TV show Felicity is an understandable way to escape from the casual cruelties of adolescence (even if she takes it to unbelievable extremes) and I faulted the mother for failing to recognize how miserable her daughter was.

Surely we have all anticipated new beginnings, whether at school, work, or a new home, and yearned to be perceived differently, and I have enjoyed many books with this theme such as Emily of Deep Valley, Don’t Call Me Katie Rose, This Adventure Ends, and a hilariously funny book that turns the theme upside down called How Not to Be Popular in which the heroine/new girl in town tries NOT to make friends because it is so painful when one has to move. However, I did get tired of Caroline’s abject misery and lack of self-esteem. Her story becomes more interesting when she stops moaning and – with the help of her new roommate - starts making an effort to find out who she really is instead of pretending to be someone else.

I liked the character of Lexi, the daughter of the college janitor, who has (with some justification) a chip on her shoulder about being a scholarship student at a college full of rich kids but comes through when Caroline really needs a friend. Even Liam, the boy Caroline foolishly follows to Ashmore, is extremely convincing: the kind of young man who is carelessly kind when he remembers and it does not inconvenience him but ultimately will not consider the feelings of anyone but himself – the best moment of the book is when Caroline turns down his invitation to play Beer Pong. Luckily, there turn out to be some kindred spirits for Caroline and Lexi and, refreshingly, the book ends with the promise of friendship rather than a romance cure-all.  And I think a less cluttered cover would have worked better.


About the Author: The daughter of a minister and a music teacher, Stacey Kade grew up like many of us reading Harlequin romances on the sly. She is the author of two young adult series and recently published her first adult contemporary, 738 Days. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and dogs.

Source: I was provided an ebook by the publisher and the Fantastic Flying Book Club for review purposes. Please follow other stops on the tour below:

March 14th

Pink Polka Dot Books- Welcome Post

Match 15th

Vicky Who Reads- Review & Favorite Quotes

Postcards for Ariel- Interview

March 16th

Belle's Book Blog- Review

We Live and Breathe Books- Review & Favorite Quotes

Star-Crossed Book Blog- Spotlight

March 17th

Flying Paperbacks- Promo

Books, Boys, and Blogs!- Creative Option

March 18th

Life at 17- Review

Here's to Happy Endings- Review

March 19th

Bookmark Lit- Creative Option

Book Crushin- Review

The Candid Cover- Review

March 20th

Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf- Review

Call to Engage: Team Poseidon (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Call to Engage: A Team Poseidon Novel
Author: Tawny Weber
Publication: Harlequin paperback, 2017
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Giveaway: Thanks to the publisher, I have a copy to give away!

Plot: The Poseidon team consists of hard-bodied, fiercely competitive Navy SEALs. But when a sensitive mission goes disastrously wrong, three of the team’s finest will have to trust their hearts and instincts to uncover the truth… 

Lieutenant Elijah Prescott should be spending his precious leave somewhere with sun, surf and scantily clad women. Instead, he’s heading home with two goals in mind. Figure out exactly how his last assignment went to hell and almost killed him—and reconnect with the woman who might offer salvation.  Ava Monroe has streamlined her life, eliminating every source of pain—including a marriage touched by tragedy. One glimpse of her ex and those good intentions turn to bad-girl desires. Her strategy: get over Elijah by getting under him again, sating herself until she can finally let go. But as betrayal within the rank of the SEALs turns deadly, there’s no denying that her heart and her life are on the line. Elijah is the only man who can protect both…

Audience: Fans of Suzanne Brockman and Cherry Adair

My Impressions: I am a big fan of Suzanne Brockman’s Troubleshooters series and have not been impressed by most wannabes, but enjoyed this book - it was an entertaining, fast paced read that will make you want to read the rest of the series.   The Poseidon team is investigating a traitor in its midst and this is the second book in the series. Much of Call to Engage is about a couple who have gone through the tragic loss of their child, which destroyed their marriage; they been apart for four years, rebuilding their lives. While the reader is initially sympathetic to Ava, that wears off it becomes clear that the breakdown of the marriage was her fault and that she was responsible for most of the difficulties along the way (including telling her dedicated military husband he is wasting his time for a pittance and an ego boost - lovely).  There is character development but her actions are not fully explained: one minute she is disgusted her ex has reappeared, next she is sleeping with him just to get him out of her system (does this ever work? she is not as well read as we are!), next she agrees to date him for “sexy fun” (p. 252), then suddenly she is participating in a Seal mission with the boys (p. 284), and is willing to abandon the job that helped her rebuild her life.

The story is also about Ava's husband Elijah and his Poseidon team.  While Call to Engage is the second in a trilogy, it was easy to jump right into the story. The unit commander, Nic Savino, is the most intriguing character and will star in the third book, coming in November. 

Caveats: I wish Weber’s editor would alert her to this grammatical rule so she stops saying, “...between he and Ava” (page 200). Also, if Ava had agreed to leave with the child she is ostensibly minding (p. 344), wouldn’t Mason Powers still be alive? Surely Nic is responsible for this casualty?  Matchmaking in the middle of a secret, critical mission?   Even if the desired outcome is achieved...

Source: I was provided a pre-publication copy of this book by the publisher and TLC Book Tours for review purposes, and I have another to share. To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment telling me what interests you about this book. Do you have a military hero?  (US and Canada only!)

Please join Tawny Weber as she tours the blogsphere!

Tawny Weber’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, July 10th: Bewitched Bookworms

Wednesday, July 12th: Reading Lark After Dark

Monday, July 17th: Books a la Mode – excerpt

Thursday, July 20th: Readaholic Zone – excerpt

Monday, July 24th: A Fortress of Books

Wednesday, July 26th: Snowdrop Dreams – excerpt 

Thursday, August 3rd: Jathan & Heather 

Friday, August 4th: Becky on Books 

Monday, August 7th: Book Nerd 

Wednesday, August 9th: The Romance Dish 

Monday, August 14th: Moonlight Rendezvous 

Wednesday, August 16th: What I’m Reading 

Friday, August 18th: Books and Spoons – excerpt

Slow Burn Cowboy (Book Review)

Title: Slow Burn Cowboy, a Copper Ridge Novel
Author: Maisey Yates
Publication: Harlequin paperback, April 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Description: Lane Jensen left her affluent East Coast upbringing behind as a teen and found a home, career, and even a best friend in Copper Ridge, Oregon. She runs a gourmet food store, owns a cozy house, and can call her friend Finn Donnelly whenever there’s an emergency like a mouse or blown fuse.

The Last Chance Matinee (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: The Last Chance Matinee: A Hudson Sisters Novel
Author: Mariah Stewart
Publication: Gallery Books, Trade Paperback, March 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Description: When Hollywood agent Fritz Hudson passes away, he leaves families on each coast who didn’t know of the other’s existence. His first wife was an over the top movie star, now deceased, with whom he had two daughters. Allie Hudson, divorced and having just lost her job, is stressed about finances and sharing custody of her pre-teen daughter in Los Angeles. Her sister, Dee, is a former child star, now living quietly in Montana, with a few close friends, spending most of her time as an animal volunteer. After his first marriage fell apart, Fritz fell in love with a calm and affectionate woman in New Jersey, who gave him one daughter, Cara. Cara runs a new but successful yoga studio, and has just suffered heartbreak when her husband left her for a close friend, not long after her mother’s death.

Tough Justice: Countdown (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Tough Justice: Countdown (part 1 of 8, currently priced at $.99 each)
Author: Carla Cassidy
Publication: Harlequin Intrigue, ebook, February 2017
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Giveaway: I can give away one digital copy of Book 1 - see below

Plot: Tick. Tock. BOOM.

FBI Special Agent Lara Grant had thought that she’d put her past behind her—finally—with her last case. But now a serial bomber is targeting Manhattan’s elite power players, offering them a choice between saving hundreds of lives or seeing their darkest secrets exposed. Lara is working with the Crisis Management Unit to stop the bomber, but how will she react when she’s the one who has to choose between truth…or death?

Law and Disorder (Book Review)

Title: Law and Disorder, Book 1, The Finnegan Connection
Author: Heather Graham
Publication: Harlequin Intrigue, paperback, January 2017
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Plot: Kidnapped while visiting her family home in Florida, Dakota “Kody” Cameron has no one to turn to – except the unexpectedly attractive man holding a gun. Outnumbered and trapped in the deadly Everglades, she has little recourse, but something in this captor’s eyes make her believe he is not as evil as the other men threatening her. Does she dare trust him?

Undercover agent Nick Connolly met Kody briefly in NYC where they both work and is afraid if she recognizes him the bad guys will kill them both. Though determined to maintain his cover, he can’t let Kody die. And his decision to change his own ruls of law and order are about to cause all hell to break loose. . .

Audience: Fans of romantic suspense; readers who like Jayne Ann Krentz, Nora Roberts, and Kay Hooper.

My Impressions: This fast paced and, at times, humorous story begins on a historic estate in Florida, once owned by a 20th century mobster named Anthony Green. Kody, an aspiring actress in New York, is home briefly visiting her family, who nominally own the Crystal Manor, when she is kidnapped by a group of thugs dressed up as historic gangsters. Their leader, going by the name Dillinger, believes Kody can find lost treasure, reputed to have been hidden by Green years ago. He threatens to kill Kody and the staff managing the estate if Kody, who has always been fascinated by the history of her home, cannot locate the treasure.

Kody is a very resourceful heroine who doesn’t back down to thugs, but perhaps it’s a little over the top – given that people have been searching for 80+ years – how quickly she deciphers Green’s papers to deduce where the treasure is buried in the Everglades. Personally, I think having a gun being pointed at me while I researched lost treasure might inhibit my creativity! Add the fun of a kidnapper whose “deep, dark, blue and intense” eyes engender trust and make Kody yearn to get to know him better, even when he seems to be threatening her and her friends. While the reader assumes Kody will be rescued or save herself, this is a romp of a book that reveals Heather Graham’s love of history and her home state. So long as Heather doesn’t make me stumble about in the Everglades hunting for treasure amongst snakes, alligators, and goodness knows what else, I will continue to enjoy her books from the safety of an armchair.
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About the Author: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham has written more than a hundred novels. She’s a winner of the RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. For more information, check out her websites: TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com, eHeatherGraham.com, and HeatherGraham.tv. You can also find Heather on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Source: I was provided a pre-publication copy of this book by the publisher for review purposes.

Please join Heather Graham, author of Love and Disorder as she travels with TLC Book Tours.

Tuesday, January 17th: The Sassy Bookster – excerpt

Wednesday, January 18th: A Holland Reads

Thursday, January 19th: Bewitched Bookworms

Friday, January 20th: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, January 23rd: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, January 24th: Mama Vicky Says

Wednesday, January 25th: Books a la Mode – excerpt

Friday, January 27th: Books and Spoons

Monday, January 30th: A Bookaholic Swede – excerpt

Tuesday, January 31st: Snowdrop Dreams of Books

Wednesday, February 1st: Stranded in Chaos 

Monday, February 6th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy – excerpt 

Monday, February 6th: From the TBR Pile 

Wednesday, February 8th: Dog Eared Daydreams 

Friday, February 10th: Not in Jersey 

Monday, February 13th: Becky on Books 

Wednesday, February 15th: Reading Reality

The Mapmaker's Children (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: The Mapmaker’s Children
Author: Sarah McCoy
Publication: Crown Publishers, hardcover, May 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 19th century and 21st century United States
Purchase Links: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

 

Plot: When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and hiding her maps within her paintings. She boldly embraces this calling after being told the shocking news that she can’t bear children, but as the country steers toward bloody civil war, Sarah faces difficult sacrifices that could put all she loves in peril.

Eden, a modern woman desperate to conceive a child with her husband, moves to an old house in the suburbs and discovers a porcelain head hidden in the root cellar—the remains of an Underground Railroad doll with an extraordinary past of secret messages, danger and deliverance.

Ingeniously plotted to a riveting end, Sarah and Eden’s woven lives connect the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way.

Audience: Fans of historical fiction; those interested in the Civil War and/or strong heroines

What I liked: The Mapmaker’s Children was one of my favorite books of 2015 and should be included on your summer reading or future book group list. I was fascinated by the description when I first read about it, months before it came out, and I immediately asked if I could participate on the blog tour. I particularly enjoy books that move from the present to the past, especially when written by a skillful author such as this one, and which feature a strong heroine. McCoy moves effortlessly from prevent day West Virginia where Eden, a troubled woman, is trying to make a new start in a quirky and appealing community, to one of the most troubled times imaginable, and a heroine who moves from New York to West Virginia to Massachusetts to California in a time where most women stayed within a few miles of where they were born. Her description of John Brown’s surviving family and how they coped with the notoriety that was his legacy to them kept me reading late into the night. I loved the character of his daughter, Sarah – her ingenuity and courage and dedication to her father’s dream. I almost resented whenever we left her story for Eden’s modern-day problems and unreasonable quarrels. Those interested in the Underground Railroad will also be interested in Sarah’s clever way of disguising maps to freedom.

Author Information: I was delighted to see that Sarah McCoy was going to be in Massachusetts on her tour for The Mapmaker’s Children and caught up with her at the Brookline Booksmith in May when she appeared with Jenna Blum (a writer whose work I look forward to exploring). It was so much fun to hear how her upbringing in the South has informed her love of history and her ability to convincingly evoke a Civil War setting and heroine. In common with other readers, I loved the characters of the Hill family, especially Freddy Hill, who is a perfect combination of handsome hero and loyal friend. As little is actually known about Sarah Brown, McCoy walks a careful line between factual information (such as her artistic talent and the time spent being educated with the Alcotts in Concord) and the fictional information necessary to craft a novel. I yearned for a happy ending that would not have been supported by what is known about Sarah.  For more information on author Sarah, please visit her website.

Because I am usually more interested in the English Civil War than the American Civil War, I did not know much about John Brown (except the doleful song) and surprised Sarah by asking how he became so associated with the Harper’s Ferry plot when he was from New York (I am still astonished that he would bring his family down from NY for the proposed raid, putting them in grave danger, but I suppose it is not so different from those who picnicked while watching the battle at Bull Run). Hearing about her research was fascinating. In turn, she was pleased to hear that I and others in the audience immediately started reading more about John Brown after we finished reading, and she told us that is a great compliment to the author to know she has inspired that much interest in the period.

Giveaway: Thanks to the generosity of TLC Book Tours and the publisher, I have a copy to give away.  US and Canada only, please.
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Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours but all thoughts and opinions are my own.  You can visit other stops on the tour by clicking here.  I bought an earlier book, The Baker's Daughter, at the event and look forward to reporting on that soon.

The Case of the Invisible Dog (Book Review and Giveway)

Title: The Case of the Invisible Dog: A Shirley Holmes Mystery 
Author: Diane Stingley 
Publication: Alibi ebook, May 2015, $2.99
Purchase Links: Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Genre: Mystery

Plot: Down on her luck actress Tammy Norman has given up on Hollywood and returned home to North Carolina but even there she is unsuccessful at getting and keeping a job.  When she responds to a newspaper ad for an assistant, she finds herself working for eccentric Shirley Holmes, who believes she is the great granddaughter of the famous sleuth.  Alas, Shirley does not share Sherlock’s acumen and Tammy finds herself apologizing to everyone in sight for the tone deaf escapades of her new boss, but it’s better than being unemployed…

Supreme Justice (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: Supreme Justice
Author: Max Allan Collins

Publication Information:  Thomas & Mercer, Trade Paperback, 2014

Genre: Suspense/Political Thriller

Plot: When one conservative Supreme Court justice dies in a seemingly random robbery, it is shocking enough, but when a second conservative justice is murdered, it is clear to former Secret Service agent Joe Reeder that some enemy of the Court has an agenda and could be planning a dramatic reconfiguration of the court.  Reeder once saved the president’s life by taking a bullet but that heroic act indirectly led to his retirement.  Now his friend, Gabriel Sloan, is the FBI’s agent in charge of the case and asks for Joe’s help investigating the crimes that threaten to bring DC to a standstill.

Audience: Fans of suspense, legal thrillers, and readers like me who wish they had clerked for a Supreme Court justice.

What I liked: This is a fast paced thriller with several interesting characters, and although they are not fully developed, it is a fun if predictable summer read which I will share with my father.  Reeder is an interesting protagonist: someone who was dedicated to his job as a Secret Service agent and respected the presidency although not the incumbent whose life he saved.   Unfortunately, he shared his feelings too openly so while he was admired for his dedication to duty he was pushed into retirement.   Now that I have thought about it, I would prefer that those who guard the President avoid political partisanship as I had to do when a federal employee.  However, in fiction, I found the differing political viewpoints of the characters interesting.   I am reminded of something I read earlier today - that we should not be divided into conservatives and liberals but haters and non-haters (of course, I can't recall where I saw it or I would provide a link).  

I particularly enjoyed the quotations from Supreme Court justices which begin each chapter.   This is billed as a standalone by prolific author Collins but I would read another book about Reeder and FBI agent Patti Rogers.   

What I disliked: The author’s research on Supreme Court justices was incomplete: even if Patti is clueless enough to call the Chief Justice “your honor,” Reeder had met him before so would have known to address him as “Chief Justice.”   Moreover, the justices are guarded by a special police force in DC and by federal marshals when they travel so perhaps would not have been quite such sitting ducks as implied (although the book is set slightly in the future so I suppose security cuts could have been made).   And, given that Justice Venter’s invitation to his clerk, Nicholas Blount, (which results in his death) was spontaneous, how did the killer know they would be at the bar in time to set up the attack?   Perhaps Amazon’s new imprint does not include any actual editors who could have provided some suggestions to Collins and Clemens.

Giveaway:  Thanks to the publisher, I have a copy to give away.   If you are interested, please leave a comment telling me something you have enjoyed reading recently and I will pick a name.

Source:  I received Supreme Justice from the TLC Book Tours and urge you to stop by the tour to learn more about the author and see what other reviewers had to say about this book.   

Max Allan Collins’ TLC TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 16th:  5 Minutes for Books

Wednesday, June 18th:  FictionZeal

Thursday, June 19th:  Kritter’s Ramblings

Monday, June 23rd:  Reading Reality

Wednesday, June 25th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, June 26th:  Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Friday, June 27th:  A Bookish Way of Life

Monday, June 30th:  Bookchickdi

Tuesday, July 1st:  Bookish Ardour - excerpt

Wednesday, July 2nd:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, July 7th:  Bibliotica

Tuesday, July 8th:  Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Wednesday, July 9th:  From the TBR Pile

Thursday, July 10th:  Traveling with T

Wednesday, July 16th:  Literally Jen

The Garden Plot (Book Review and Giveaway)

Title: The Garden Plot
Author: Marty Wingate

Publication Information: Alibi, Random House, 2014, ISBN 978-0-8041-7770-2 (ebook original)

Genre: Mystery     Setting:  England

Plot: 50ish Pru Parke has always dreamed of living in England, her mother’s country, so after a failed relationship, she moves from Dallas to London hoping to get permanent work as professional gardener.  Giving herself a year to find a full time position, Pru makes ends meet through small projects so is pleased when she is hired by Vernona Wilson to tidy up a garden.  But when Pru finds a body in the garden shed, she is plunged into a police investigation.  Although intrigued by Detective Chief Inspector Pearse, Pru can’t help following up a few leads on her own, even though the handsome detective warns her she might put herself in danger…

Audience: Anglophiles, gardening fans and fans of cozy mysteries.  Remember that you don't need to own a Kindle to read an ebook.

What I liked: This is a charming debut mystery with an appealing heroine whose melancholy is understandable in someone basically alone in the world and living in a new city.  One yearns for Pru to alleviate her loneliness by making more friends, and DCI Pearse’s interest seems like more than enough reason for Pru to extend her sojourn in England.  There aren’t a lot of books about women of a certain age which is another plus for what I hope is the beginning of a new series.

Each chapter begins with a letter declining her services from one of the gardening positions Pru has applied for – I wish my job rejections were that funny (not that Pru is amused).

What I disliked:  I know a plot involving an amateur sleuth requires that she pursue her curiosity but I get tired of heroines who withhold information from the police and gratuitously put themselves in danger. It works better if there is some plausible reason other than pique to pursue leads on one’s own.   This was a good read although the whodunnit seemed a bit obvious.

Source: I received this book from TLC Book Tours (via the publisher and NetGalley) and urge you to stop by the Garden Plot tour.   This tour includes a giveaway for a Grand Prize of a $30 egiftcard to the ebook retailer of the winner's choice, and a First Prize Mystery Prize Pack of three mystery mass market paperbacks and a gardening title from Random House.
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The Garden Plot Tour

 Monday, April 28th:  5 Minutes for Books

Wednesday, April 30th:  Reading Reality

Thursday, May 1st:  Patricia’s Wisdom

Monday, May 5th:  From the TBR Pile

Monday, May 5th:  Kelly’s France Blog 

Tuesday, May 6th:  Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews  

Wednesday, May 7th:  A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, May 8th:  Bibliotica

Monday, May 12th: Under a Gray Sky

Wednesday, May 14th: A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, May 15th: Joyfully Retired

Friday, May 16th:  Kahakai Kitchen

Tuesday, May 20th:  Serendipity Reviews

Wednesday, May 21st: Mom in Love with Fiction

Thursday, May 22nd:  Stitch Read Cook

Thursday, May 29th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

The Idea of Him (Book Review)

Title: The Idea of Him
Author: Holly Peterson

Publication Information: William Morrow, Trade Paperback, April 2014

Genre: Fiction verging on Chick Lit

Setting: 21st century NYC

Plot: Chick lit used to refer to a genre of fiction involving sprightly single women experiencing the travails of love and a usually not too demanding career, surrounded by friends and family (in that order).  The genre expanded (perhaps as that first group of Bridget Jones readers aged, or perhaps because the industry needed some fresh plots) to include busy working women, with bland or troubled marriages, facing some kind of challenge, sometimes with the spouse.  Points/extra credit if the book is set in a vibrant city like New York or London, though I am partial to the quaint village backdrop which is a favorite of British authors such as Katie Fforde.

Sailing Out of Darkness (Book Review)

Title: Sailing Out of Darkness
Author: Normandie Fischer

Publication Information: Whitefire Publishing, trade paperback, 2013 

Genre: Inspirational Fiction 

Plot:  Samantha, in her mid 40s, is recently divorced from a cheating ex and rebounded into an affair with a childhood friend, Jack, whose live-in girlfriend objected violently.   Ashamed of her lack of control and poor choices, Samantha leaves her home, boat, and beau to visit Italy where her daughter is studying in Florence.

At the River's Edge: Chesapeake Diaries #7 (Book Review)

Title: At the River’s Edge: Chesapeake Diaries #7
Author: Mariah Stewart

Publication Information: Ballantine paperback, February 2014

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Plot: Bestselling author Stewart’s Chesapeake Diaries series is set in the small Maryland town of St. Dennis.  In this installment, Sophie Enright turns her back on a successful career as a prosecutor when she finds her lawyer boyfriend cheating on her.  She leaves town to visit her brother, Jesse, who moved to St. Dennis and fell in love with Brooke Burke (main characters of book 4), and she decides to stay while figuring out a way to open the restaurant she has always dreamed about. 

The In-Between Hour (Book Review)

Title: The In-Between Hour
Author: Barbara Claypole White

Publication Information: Mira, Trade Paperback, January 2014

Genre: Fiction

Plot: Two lonely people who have suffered great loss come together when handsome, bestselling author Will Shepard comes to North Carolina to see his ailing father, Jacob who has been kicked out of a nursing home.