Book Review: Essence by Mackenzie Lucas
Reviewer: Terry I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. Essence is a story about 2 women overcoming their past to better…
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Something Yellow by Laura Templeton
Laura Templeton is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Something Yellow
Summary:
It has been thirteen years since Holly’s nine-year-old sister, Rachel, disappeared without a trace.
It has been thirteen years since Holly left her hometown.
It has been thirteen years since Holly’s first love and high school boyfriend, Houston, was the only suspect.
Now another nine-year-old girl has disappeared.
Holly is back, and so is Houston—never charged and still proclaiming his innocence.
Can she trust him . . . should she trust him?
Review:
Um, wow. What a read. This book is so emotional, so gripping, that is was nearly impossible for me to put down. When I wasn’t reading I was thinking about the story, wondering about the missing little girls and Holly’s family life and the little town that has seen so much sadness. The writing is beautiful and poignant, and builds up the scenes in your mind as you frantically flip through the pages trying to find the resolution. I honestly had no idea who was behind Holly’s sister disappearance, and when the true story finally came to life, I got goosebumps all up and down my arms. A truly wonderful read, and five stars in my eyes!
5 stars
Book Review: The Art of Falling by Kathryn Craft
Reviewer: Rhonda I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review Summary: One Wrong Step Could Send Her Over the Edge…
Book Review: Sex in the Title by Zack Love
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
New York City, May 2000. The Internet bubble has burst, and Evan’s boss fires him with an email. The next day, his girlfriend dumps him, also via email. Afraid to check any more emails, Evan desperately seeks a rebound romance but the catastrophes that ensue go from bad to hilariously worse. Fortunately, Evan meets someone whose legendary disasters with females eclipse even his own.
To reverse their fortunes, they recruit their friends into a group of five guys who take on Manhattan in pursuit of dates, sex, and adventure. With musings about life, relationships, and human psychology, this quintessential New York story about the search for happiness follows five men on their comical paths to trouble, self-discovery, and love.
Review:
I was interested in reading this book because it’s nice to read from the male perspective every once in a while, since the books I tend to go for are all female POV. It sounds like standard chick lit – losing a job and significant other – but lad lit, if you will. There were parts that I enjoyed and others I didn’t so much. The book was funny at times, had me laughing out loud a few times, and again – I like reading from the male POV for a change of pace. But the book got quite long and I wasn’t really sure where it was going in the end – there didn’t seem to be the standard intro, peak, conflict, resolution, etc. type of storyline, and that threw me off a bit. It was an okay book, just ended up not being my taste.
3.5 stars
Book Review: The Wind Whisperer by Krista Holle
I’m conflicted over whether to like Anaii or to hate her for her scheming ways. I know hate is a powerful and negative word but the way she treated the men in her life, I just felt so fed up. I wanted to yell at the men to move on… find someone else; I just didn’t get what made her so special that they stayed. Anaii, has the gift of wind. She talks to the wind and listen to their reply, warning and heeding to their advice. Being special, the other women in the village are resentful towards her which also includes her since sister Shala. While Shala talks about the village men, Anaii mind is elsewhere and does not care that the time is approaching for marriage. Sha-copay, her father is concerned over his brother Askook who is estranged and who is at war with Sha-copay’s tribe. Using Anaii’s talent, their tribe is able to be prepared for battle but exactly why Askook’s tribe attacked is the question Sha-copay is wondering. As Anaii escapes for a few minutes of freedom, she discovers Jayttin in the field. A young beautiful female discovering a young captivating male in the tall grasses, the attraction between the two is imminent. Promises are made, stories are told and then the ball is dropped! Jayttin is from Askook’s tribe yet he is drawn to Anaii. As Anaii mind is spinning, she remembers Elan. Elan, the boy from her village who wants her hand in marriage, whom she has known since she was a child, oh how her memory has failed her. Anaii is now juggling two young men who claim their love for her while in the same vicinity. This just blows my mind! How she carries on and these men are in the same area while she contemplates their love has me wondering if she put a spell on them. What power she holds in her hands. Let’s not forget we have the villages at war. This tension, this confusion and it doesn’t stop there. The adventure is just starting, so be ready. Battles must be fought, tears must be shed, the wind calls and Sha-copay still wants a wedding.
I kept thinking if I had the power of the wind, what would I ask? Would I really want to know? Once you got the hang of the names in the book it was easy to read. I was so drawn to Anaii’s power over these two men that I could not put the book down. I realized that Elan had known Anaii since they were children but she had turned him down at his marriage proposal but yet he hung on to his dream of marrying her. Then there was Jayttin, he was a sweet talker and he had great dreams (yet would they turn into reality?) but just the thought of who he was should have put an alarm in her head. It’s one of those times when you are reading, you are saying to yourself “don’t go there…this looks like a trap” and you squirm as you read the lines on the page. That is exactly what I did every time Jayttin and Anaii where together. This book sure took me out of my normal lines of reading but it was a great escape. The story lines were not twisted just a straight linear line that just kept going.
I was given a free book for an honest opinion.
4 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Mounting the Whale by Colleen …
Colleen McCarty is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Mounting the Whale
Summary:
“Cartel got me, tell mom”
The siblings, drowning in their own problems, are forced to focus on the task at hand: a half-cocked rescue mission that involves a borrowed yacht, a favor from a notorious drug kingpin, and a shocking reunion none of them expected.
When the family decides to sneak into Mexico, mother Cybil is forced to deal with a rival CEO whom she’s developed feelings for in secret. Her only son, Tom, is willing to risk bodily harm to save Janine while his other sisters, Carlyle and Valerie, suspect that the kidnapping is less than legitimate.
The long sea voyage tests the limits of the family’s already frail bonds. Dark secrets of infertility, drugs, gambling and extreme taxidermy begin to float to the surface. But nothing compares to what they begin to learn about their missing sister.
If they’re going to make it out alive, they have to recognize they’re fighting the same battles and facing life’s greatest challenges: love, loneliness, and the struggle to find a place in the world.
Amidst all the chaos, the Pierce family is brought face-to-face with the ugliness of Janine’s addictions, the truth about their mother’s fortune and the most terrifying question of all: Can you really save someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
Review:
When I first read the synopsis, I’ll be honest – I was a little hesitant about this one. It seemed pretty far-fetched, and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to connect to the story at all. Well those fears were put to rest pretty quickly after reading just the first few chapters. The writing is terrific and the storyline just sucks you in. What I ended up liking most about this book is actually what I feared I would dislike – the crazy plot. Whenever I was reading I was completely absorbed in the book because it took me out of whatever it was I was doing and made me fall into the world of these characters. I saw another review saying this book read like a movie in your mind, and I absolutely agree with that. Terrific fiction read!
4.5 stars
Book Review: The Chick Lit Cookbook by Alicia de los …
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
You’ve said it a dozen times before: If only you had the chance, you would write a chick lit novel. But between job, boyfriend, kids, school — life — you just can’t find the time.
The Chick Lit Cookbook: A Guide to Writing Your Novel in 30 Minutes a Day is the solution. This fun, cupcake-themed guide will take you from start to finish of your first draft. In 13 chapters, each with a short exercise that will get you writing now, you will learn how to create the perfect main character, her ideal love interest, a world for her to live in and an adventure that will draw in readers. You will outline your entire first draft — and then you will write it.
The Chick Lit Cookbook is a beginner’s guide to writing funny, snappy, sucks-you-into-the-story prose about modern women, life and love. It is full of tips and techniques, prompts and pep talks that will spark your imagination and inspire you to put pen to paper. The exercises can be done while sitting on the bus, waiting at the doctor’s office, or talking on the phone with your mother-in-law. This book will show you that you can and will write a chick lit novel.
Whether you’ve been wishing for years that you could write chick lit or are a brand-new fan of Bridget Jones and Becky Bloomwood, you owe it to yourself to pick up this guide. The Chick Lit Cookbook will prove to you that writing a novel can be fun and easy — it’s just like baking cupcakes!
Review:
This is a great and quick read for someone wanting to write chick lit books. There are exercises to help you get the most out of your reading, and if you are a first time writer, I really suggest doing these and helping create your story for when you start writing. I thought the format she wrote in – comparing writing to baking cupcakes – was a great spin and made it easy to read, easy to follow, yet also fun. A great guide that I recommend!
4 stars
CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Hard Hats and Doormats by …
Reviewer: Terry Laura Chapman is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Hard Hats and Doormats First I have to admit this book was unique…
Book Review: I Don’t Know How She Will Do …
Reviewer: Samantha
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Lily has had it with Aunt Lizzie. She wants her inheritance. She wants to be free. Aunt Lizzie wants Lily to find a husband, though she thinks it’s impossible. To her Lily could kiss freedom goodbye since it might be about the only person who’d allow that.
Aunt Lizzie’s thinking marriage; Lily’s thinking marriage-if-anyone-would-ever-want-me. Aunt Lizzie’s thinking cooking, cleaning and looking after a family; Lily wants a career that isn’t home-running. Aunt Lizzie’s not bent on making Lily have her way. So what would Lily do? She’d plot to gain her inheritance. She’d plot to gain her freedom. Her dad’s will says nothing about Mr. Right, neither does it mention an aspiring actress eager to break into Hollywood.
Join Lily in her quest for freedom as she poses as a couple with Clare behind a camouflage of flashy cars and cupcakes in order to get that inheritance. Follow this hilarious recipe of a low self-esteem girl, a sassy self-employed actress, an Aunt whose quotes would get you raising brows and two grannies who are willing to help low self-esteem girl. But watch out, one has a pistol which she stashes in her underwear.
Summary:
This was a cute and short read, funny in some moments, wacky in others. I thought the story about Lily getting her inheritance was a unique one, and the relationship that forms between her and Clare was definitely interesting to read about. Sometimes the plot points got a little too out there for my particular taste, and the more I read novellas the more I realize I just don’t connect with them as well as full-length novels. I always feel like more character buildup could have been written or more subplots put in, but that’s not the point of a novella – I know! Just a personal preference. But overall I thought this one was well-written and made me laugh.
3.5 stars
