2012 Favorite Reads: Samantha’s Picks
Sad Desk Salad Jessica Grose 5 stars Sarah’s Key Tatiana de Rosnay 5 stars Blackberry Winter Sarah Jio 5 stars Don’t Let Me Go Catherine…
Aftertaste by Meredith Mileti
First off, let me give five stars to the cover alone. I could stare at this beauty all day. I’m a big fan of foodie books, and I just knew this book was going to speak to me. Aftertaste, the debut novel from Meredith Mileti, follows Mira Rinaldi as she tries to pick up the pieces of her life after finding her husband cheating on her. Mira and husband Jake are co-owners to the wildly successful Manhattan Italian restaurant, Grappa, the same location where Mira finds Jake with Grappa’s newest waitress. Mira is shocked at Jake’s infidelity, especially since they welcomed their first baby just two months prior. Mira packs up baby Chloe and flees to Pittsburgh to be near her family. She struggles to fight for Grappa, stay sane for Chloe’s sake, and work through her divorce. Along the way, Mira must find what fulfills her life, what makes her happy and content.
Aftertaste makes it on my Favorites List, as this was such a satisfying novel. I found Mira so easy to relate to. Unlike a lot of novels where the woman finds her man cheating and slinks away to rebuild her life, Mira fought back. She attacked the mistress, got arrested, and was ordered to anger management classes. Those scenes made the story really come to life for me. Is it the best thing to turn to physical violence? Of course not. But it really put a human aspect to Mira’s character, and I was with her from the first page. Aftertaste has a ton of drama – I shed tears, I was furious with Jake, and I was rooting on Mira in every scene – and I didn’t want the story to end. Mira’s journey also gave me a sense of empowerment, and I love books that show a strong heroine never giving up. A must read in my opinion!
[Rating: 5]
In My Mailbox: Week of August 14
In My Mailbox: Week of August 14
Title: Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes
Author: Denise Grover Swank
Received: From Denise Grover Swank via CLP Blog Tours
Synopsis: “It all started when I saw myself dead.” For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect. Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen– do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own. Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.
Title: Merciless
Author: Diana Palmer
Received: From Jaime at Planned Television Arts
Synopsis: Can she convince a man to let down his defenses when he’s set on guarding his heart? Tall, dark and eligible? That’s all that matters to the women of Jacobsville when it comes to handsome and aloof FBI agent Jon Blackhawk. But if it were up to him, he would never settle down. Luckily, Jon has the best gatekeeper: his efficient and reliable assistant, Joceline Perry. Without her help, he’d be at the mercy of husband hunters—but the more he comes to rely on her, the more he notices how invaluable she really is… While Joceline can’t deny that her boss is attractive, as a single mother with responsibilities she’s determined to be professional. But when Jon is accosted by a criminal seeking revenge, she comes to his aid—fueling the spark that is growing between them. As the attempts on Jon’s life increase, Joceline stands by his side. But when the smoke clears, will the man who avoided love realize that all he ever needed was right there all along?
Title: Goddess of Vengeance
Author: Jackie Collins
Received: From Ann-Marie @ Get Red PR
Synopsis: Lucky runs a high profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys in Vegas.
Lennie, her movie star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent movies, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life.
And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her one way or the other.
Born a Prince in the small but affluent Middle Eastern country of Akramshar, Armand comes to America with his American mother at an early age, and rises to become a real estate business titan. Armand regards women as nothing more than breeding mares or sexual playthings, so when his people inform him that the one property he covets more than anything, The Keys, is not for sale, he is shocked. That a mere woman would dare to turn down his offer to buy The Keys is unthinkable, and Armand vows to force Lucky’s hand whatever it takes. And so the battle for power begins . . .
Meanwhile Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors, while his girlfriend—smart and independent Denver Jones—is becoming a Deputy D.A. in the L.A. drug unit.
And Max, Bobby’s seventeen year old sister, is busy embarking on a forbidden affair with a sexy young movie star. An affair they have to keep on the down-low lest Lucky finds out.
The word is that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and what happens in Goddess of Vengeance will blow your mind!
Title: Aftertaste
Author: Meredith Mileti
Received: From Kensington Books (unsolicited)
Synopsis: Mira Rinaldi lives life at a rolling boil. Co-owner of Grappa, a chic New York City trattoria, she has an enviable apartment, a brand-new baby, and a frenzied schedule befitting her success. Everything changes the night she catches her husband, Jake, “wielding his whisk” with Grappa’s new waitress. Mira’s fiery response earns her a court-ordered stint in anger management and the beginning of legal and personal predicaments as she battles to save her restaurant and pick up the pieces of her life. Mira falls back on family and friends in Pittsburgh as she struggles to find a recipe for happiness. But the heat is really on when some surprising developments in New York present her with a high stakes opportunity to win back what she thought she had lost forever. For Mira, cooking isn’t just about delicious flavours and textures, but about the pleasure found in filling others’ needs. And the time has come to decide where her own fulfilment lies – even if the answers are unexpected.
