CLP Blog Tours Excerpt: Catching the Bad Guy by Marie …
Marie Astor is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Catching the Bad Guy, and I am excited to share an excerpt from the…
Future Tour: Crisis of Identity by Denise Moncrief
Denise will be on tour July 15-August 5 with her romantic suspense novel Crisis of Identity Tess Copeland is an operator. Her motto? Necessity is…
Blog Tour Sign Up: On Grace by Susie Orman Schnall
Susie will be on tour in September with her women’s fiction/chick lit novel On Grace. I am looking for book bloggers to post reviews, guest…
Book Review: What Tears Us Apart by Deborah Cloyed
I received a copy of What Tears Us Apart by Deborah Cloyed in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Love lives in the most dangerous places of the heart
The real world. That’s what Leda desperately seeks when she flees her life of privilege to travel to Kenya. She finds it at a boys’orphanage in the slums of Nairobi. What she doesn’t expect is to fall for Ita, the charismatic and thoughtful man who gave up his dreams to offer children a haven in the midst of turmoil.
Their love should be enough for one another-it embodies the soul-deep connection both have always craved. But it is threatened by Ita’s troubled childhood friend, Chege, a gang leader with whom he shares a complex history. As political unrest reaches a boiling point and the slum erupts in violence, Leda is attacked…and forced to put her trust in Chege, the one person who otherwise inspires anything but.
In the aftermath of Leda’s rescue, disturbing secrets are exposed, and Leda, Ita and Chege are each left grappling with their own regret and confusion. Their worlds upturned, they must now face the reality that sometimes the most treacherous threat is not the world outside, but the demons within.
Review:
When I read the synopsis for this book, I thought whoa. Deep subjects and plenty of food for thought with this story. I was able to get into the reading and start to connect with the characters, but at times it was almost a bit too heavy for me. I will say that this book will give you a lot to talk about though, which I think is great. I brought up some discussion points with my fiancé and friends, and I always think that is important in a book. I saw one reviewer describe this novel as “ambitious” and do I agree with that term. A lot of research and heart went into the writing of What Tears Us Apart, and while not totally my style of reading, still a good book.
3.5 stars
Future Tour: Untimed by Andy Gavin
Andy will be on tour July 8-22 with his YA/time travel romance novel Untimed Charlie’s the kind of boy that no one notices. Hell, his…
On Tour: Geoducks Are for Lovers by Daisy Prescott
Daisy will be on tour June 10-17 with her novel Geoducks Are for Lovers Food writer Maggie Marrion is just getting back on her feet…
Author Profile: Karen Stivali
Author Name: Karen Stivali
Website: http://karenstivali.com/
Bio:
Karen Stivali is a prolific writer, compulsive baker and chocoholic with a penchant for books, movies and fictional British men. When she’s not writing, she can be found cooking extravagant meals and serving them to family and friends. Prior to deciding to write full time Karen worked as a hand drawn animator, a clinical therapist, and held various food-related jobs ranging from waitress to specialty cake maker. Planning elaborate parties and fundraisers takes up what’s left of her time and sanity.
Karen has always been fascinated by the way people relate to one another so she favors books and movies that feature richly detailed characters and their relationships. In her own writing she likes to explore the dynamics between characters and has a tendency to craft romantic love stories filled with sarcasm and sexy details.
Karen has published three erotic romances with Ellora’s Cave: Marry Me (June 2012), Long-Distance Lovers (co-written with Karen Booth, March 2012) and Always You (Passionate Plume First Place Novella Winner, RWA 2012).
Karen’s women’s fiction stories, published with Turquoise Morning Press, include Meant To Be (August 2012) and its sequel Holding On (November 2012). Both full length novels are currently available in e-book and paperback. A prequel to these novels, the short story All I Need, appears in the Foreign Affairs Anthology (August 2012). Another short story, White Wedding, which takes place between Meant To Be and Holding On, will be in an anthology due out in June 2013.
Also coming in 2013 Karen will have two contemporary romances releasing from Samhain Publishing. The first of these, THEN, AGAIN is due out on May 23, 2013. LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON will be out in November/December 2013. A new erotic romance novella will release from Ellora’s Cave in Spring 2013 and JUST IN TIME, a follow-up to Meant To Be and Holding On that will focus on Justine, will release from Turquoise Morning in January 2014.
Connect with Karen!
http://karenstivali.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/karenstivali
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/karenstivali
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5170527.Karen_Stivali
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005KWSFGO
Bio retrieved from CLP Blog Tours
Book Review: The Repeat Year by Andrea Lochen
I received a copy of The Repeat Years by Andrea Lochen in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Everyone has days, weeks, even months they wish they could do over—but what about an entire year? After living through the worst twelve months of her life, intensive care nurse Olive Watson is given a second chance to relive her past and attempt to discover where she went wrong…
After a year of hardships, including a messy breakup with her longtime boyfriend Phil, the prospect of her mother’s remarriage, and heartbreaking patient losses at the hospital, Olive is ready to start fresh. But when she wakes up in her ex-boyfriend’s bed on New Year’s Day 2011—a day she has already lived—Olive’s world is turned upside down.
Shouldering a year of memories that no one else can recall, even Olive begins to question herself—until she discovers that she is not alone. Upon crossing paths with Sherry Witan, an experienced “repeater,” Olive learns that she has the chance to rewrite her future. Given the opportunity of a lifetime, Olive has to decide what she really wants. Should she make different choices, or accept her life as she knows it, flaws and all?
Review:
I’m always up for a book with a bit of complex, almost magic-like quality, and The Repeat Years fit just into that. I love to question myself along with the characters, wondering what I would do if I were in their situation. Olive was great to take this journey with, as she was ready to start afresh in the New Year only to be forced to relive it – and try to decide if she should make different decisions along the way. What would we do if we got that chance? A very intriguing concept, a well-written story with well-developed characters, and I think The Repeat Years should make it on your to-read list!
4 stars
Future Tour: Royal Secrets by Kathleen Irene Paterka
Kathleen will be on tour July 22-August 12 with her women’s fiction novel Royal Secrets The Royal Wedding Chapel of Las Vegas Where dreams come…
