On Tour: Cookies for Dinner by Pam Johnson-Bennett and Kae …
Pam & Kae will be on tour May 6-27 with their novel Cookies for Dinner Pam and Kae are good friends but total opposites. Pam…
CLP Blog Tours Promo Blast: Lori Verni-Fogarsi
Lori Verni-Fogarsi is currently on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Unexpecting, but that is not all this busy author has going on! In order…
Book Review: The Adoption by Anne Berry
I received a copy of THE ADOPTION by Anne Berry in exchange for an honest review.
The Adoption revolves around the story of a woman who finds herself pregnant by a German POW after the second WW. When Bethan discovers that she is pregnant and against her better judgement, she decides to give the baby away. Sweet Lucille ends up in a home with Harriet and her husband who have no idea how to love a child. Lucille has a rough childhood but once she finds out about the adoption, she starts to feel slightly optimistic. She decides to contact Bethan in her late forties and the story really builds from there. The three main women in this story take turns narrating and you get to see and really become Lucille, Harriet and Bethan.
This story absolutely broke my heart. Anne Berry does an amazing job writing this tale in a way that sticks with you long after you’ve read it. I wept for Bethan early on, and then Lucille as I continued through the story. Although the characters are far from perfect, the raw emotion that they convey is what makes them so … real. I really enjoyed getting to read about their faults and although this book is definitely not wrapped tightly in a pretty bow, it is real and honest and through Anne Berry, you get to read about the emotions that each of them felt. This book is haunting and will hold you tightly as a reader. So, word to the wise, if you are looking for a happy ending, this book is not for you. But, if you are looking for a gritty and raw book filled with emotion, then give this one a try.
Rating: 4 stars
Blog Tour Sign Up: Geoducks are for Lovers by Daisy …
Food writer Maggie Marrion is just getting back on her feet after a horrible year, or two, or three. With their twentieth reunion approaching, she invites four of her closest friends from college for a weekend at her beach cabin on Whidbey Island. What she doesn’t expect is her best friends, artist Quinn Dayton and part-time erotica novelist, Selah Elmore, to play matchmaker. The two plot a surprise that will make the weekend, and her life, a lot more interesting.
Gil Morrow, former grunge musician turned history professor, joins them as Selah’s date for the weekend. After coming face to face with the one who got away, he decides he’s waited long enough to get the girl. With the support of old friends, a few wishing rocks, the world’s largest burrowing clam, and a hot lumberjack thrown into the mix, Gil reminds Maggie that forty-something isn’t too old for second chances.
Can we learn to love the life we have and let go of who we expected to be? What happens when the generation from The Breakfast Club and Reality Bites meets The Big Chill? Come spend a weekend with these Generation X-ers as they share laughter, tears, life’s ups and downs, old stories, and new beginnings.
Book Review: Too Close by Elizabeth Krall
I received a copy of TOO CLOSE by Elizabeth Krall in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
What rules would you break for the one you love? What lies would you tell?
Three weeks before their wedding day, Nicola and Greg discover that they may have the same mother. They met when Greg joined the San Francisco newspaper where Nicola is the travel editor. After six months, eager to start a life together and raise a family, they decide to marry. When Nicola finally meets his family in Seattle, and mentions the circumstances of her adoption, Greg’s horrified mother is forced to reveal the shameful secret she has kept for 36 years. As they struggle to deal with her revelation, their relationship is challenged and strained. If his mother’s suspicions are true, they will be forced into a devastating choice: break all of society’s rules and fight for their love, or break their hearts and give each other up. It will be the greatest test their newfound love has faced – and their love may not survive.
My Thoughts:
The premise of this book is both disturbing and intriguing. It has been a while since I’ve had both of those emotions evoked while reading a book and for some reason, I couldn’t put the book down. Needless to say, Elizabeth does a really good job at drawing the reader in and keeping them intrigued throughout the whole book. The book starts off just like most typical romance novels do, but that quickly changes as you find out what is really going on. I really enjoyed both Greg and Nicole and thought that Elizabeth did an amazing job at crafting such real characters with honest and raw emotions. I kept thinking, “what if this happened to me?” the entire time I was reading. Needless to say, the topic is quite sensitive, but I think it was handled very tastefully with great respect and tact. So, I must tip my hat because this book is a job well done.
Rating: 4 stars
Future Tour: Somewhere Between Black and White by Shelly Hickman
Shelly will be on tour July 1-22 with her chick lit/women’s fiction novel Somewhere Between Black and White Romance, humor, family drama, with a touch…
Book Review: The Wanderer by Robyn Carr
I received a copy of THE WANDERER by Robyn Carr in exchange for an honest review.
This story takes place in Thunder Point, a small and remote community nestled on the Orange Coast in Oregon. We met Hank Cooper (or Cooper) right away and he is the type of man who doesn’t stay in one place very long, but he heads to Thunder Point after his friend Ben dies and leaves him a piece of property on the beach. Once he gets there, he falls for the town and realizes that it is at risk of becoming developed and ironically, he holds the key in his hands with the property that Ben left. And, to top it off, he meets Sarah, a beautiful and very complicated woman full of charm. They seem like a very unlikely pair but one can not deny their chemistry. Will an emotionally unavailable man and an an emotionally scarred woman be able to overlook their past to make their love work? Or are they destined for failure? And what will Cooper do about the land and the potential threat from developers?
I really, really enjoyed The Wanderer and thought Robyn did an amazing job at crafting such amazing, honest and real characters. This story takes place in a very small town and the author does a really good job at creating a visually appealing novel so that you often times feel as though you are right there with the characters. The story opens with a mystery and I thought it did a really good job at peaking my interest early on but I found that my interest was held pretty much throughout the novel. My only complaint is that we had to wait so long to meet Sarah, but I do understand that timing is everything. Overall though, this book is a really enjoyable read and I think you will enjoy it.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Book Review: Field of Schemes by Jennifer Coburn
I received a copy of FIELD OF SCHEMES by Jennifer Coburn in exchange for an honest review. Field of Schemes follows newly widowed Claire Emmett…
Book Review: The Witch of Little Italy by Suzanne Palmieri
I received a copy of The Witch of Little Italy by Suzanne Palmieri in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
In Suzanne Palmieri’s charming debut, The Witch of Little Italy, you will be bewitched by the Amore women. When young Eleanor Amore finds herself pregnant, she returns home to her estranged family in the Bronx, called by “The Sight” they share now growing strong within her. She has only been back once before when she was ten years old during a wonder-filled summer of sun-drenched beaches, laughter and cartwheels. But everyone remembers that summer except her. Eleanor can’t remember anything from before she left the house on her last day there. With her past now coming back to her in flashes, she becomes obsessed with recapturing those memories. Aided by her childhood sweetheart, she learns the secrets still haunting her magical family, secrets buried so deep they no longer know how they began. And, in the process, unlocks a mystery over fifty years old—The Day the Amores Died—and reveals, once and for all, a truth that will either heal or shatter the Amore clan.
Review:
Ooh, a good magic story – right up my alley! I’ll admit that it took me a few chapters to ease into the Amore women and their history, but just short of halfway through the book I really started to become hooked. The mystery aspect of the Day the Amores Died was interesting, and a bit of a heartbreak to read about once it was finally time for that to be revealed. Sometimes I felt that the scenes were a bit over my head and I struggled to connect, but overall this was a really fun story filled with shaky family dynamics, the bond between mother and daughter, and the power of magic. An intriguing debut from Palmieri¸ and I hope to read more from her!
4 stars
