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Book Review: The Unexpected List by Chrissy Anderson

I received a copy of The Unexpected List by Chrissy Anderson in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Chrissy Anderson’s The Unexpected List delivers another charismatic combination of romance and anguish, peppered with large doses of wit. In this second novel from THE LIST TRILOGY, Chrissy, who is now divorced from her husband, Kurt, is finally free to pursue a “truly, madly, deeply” relationship with the man of her dreams, Leo.

And it looks like Chrissy is finally going to be able to have her wedding cake and eat it too as Leo valiantly tries to make all of her dreams come true. But once again, Chrissy’s world, and her relationships, are turned upside-down as someone else close to her dies. And, an unexpected gift forces her to grow up– fast. For a second time, Chrissy is pushed to make a choice between love and obligation. What will she choose this time?

Your favorite characters from The Life List are back. Dr. Maria, Slutty Co-worker, and Chrissy’s best friends from high school, Courtney and Nicole, continue to laugh and cry with Chrissy as she learns how to pick herself up and move on to achieve the life she’s always wanted, and now knows she deserves.

As in The Life List, not everyone will agree with Chrissy Anderson’s decisions, but all will pause as they follow along on her journey to ask, “What would I do if I were her?”
Review:
I was super excited times ten to read this book, as I just loved the first in this trilogy, The Life List. I found myself thinking about the characters and if Chrissy ended up Leo, as we are left with a cliffhanger. Now, this is going to be an interesting review. Why? Because I didn’t love all the aspects of this book. I struggled with some of the editing. For example, I don’t like sentences like this: Smiling from ear to ear, “So what?” Taking my hands, “I see very beautiful things.” My editor self was cringing when I read these types of sentences. Also, the beginning threw me off a bit. I thought the prologue was a bit too long, and too much of trying to keep an air of mystery. I just wanted the story to start all right, and stop with all the mysteriousness of it. Now, even after that being said…I’m giving this book a 5 star review. If I ever find something wrong with the editing it’s an automatic no 5 star, a 4.5 at best. So why would I have two things about the book that I dislike and still rate it 5 stars? Because I absolutely loved this story, and did not want to put it down (after I got through the prologue). The ending had me practically panting, and I actually felt crushed – crushed! – when the book ended at yet another cliffhanger. I felt even more crushed when I saw the third and final installment won’t be here until winter. These books are having a profound effect on me, and I’m talking to everyone I know about them. I think the about the characters, wonder about their lives, and find myself continuing the stories in my mind how I hope they will end. Very rarely, and I mean VERY rarely, does this happen. So yes, while I might find aspects that I didn’t totally like, in all I loved this book as a whole. I highly recommend this trilogy!
5 stars

Blog Tour Sign Up: The Unraveling of Bebe Jones by …

Roje will be on tour in September with her fiction novel The Unraveling of Bebe Jones. I am looking for book bloggers to post reviews,…

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Aggravated Circumstances by Michele Shriver

Michele Shriver is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Aggravated Circumstances
Summary:
A family can be torn apart in an instant. Putting it back together is a harder task.

A relapsed addict opens the door to find a cop with a search warrant, setting off a chain of events that will cause four lives to intersect.

Devin Lenox has already lost one child to the system and this time she vows it will be different. If she’s going to make it, though, she’ll need something she’s never had before- someone on her side.

Her battle with depression behind her, Elisa Cahill looks forward to resuming her legal career. Devin’s case seems like the perfect opportunity to do that, and bury her own past demons in the process, at least if old grudges don’t prove to be her undoing.

Child protection worker Taylor Ross struggles to balance a social life with her demanding job and has little sympathy for people like Devin, at least at first. When Taylor starts to see Devin in a new light, she finds herself at odds with her superiors. Will she be willing to go to bat for Devin, and what price will she pay if she does?

Sarah Canfield is a compassionate judge who is not afraid to make difficult decisions, but will her past link to Devin undermine her objectivity and cause her to put her own family at risk?

A look inside the child welfare system, the people who work in it and the lives it impacts, Aggravated Circumstances is a story of despair, hope and recovery.

Review:
This book was fascinating, and quite hard to put down. An emotional and deep story, I found myself talking to my friends and family about the situation of the women involved, about the system, and about the processes that come along with a parent who struggles with addiction. I loved getting a POV from all involved, and think it worked really well to have Devin’s POV in first person. She would definitely be the hardest to relate to and not the easiest character to stand behind, so I think that format worked out really well. This is a novel that will make readers become emotionally invested in the story, and I highly recommend.
4.5 stars

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Crime & Passion by Chantel Rhondeau

Chantel Rhondeau is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Crime & Passion
Summary:
A decorated police officer, more intent on justice than following the letter of the law, lands in trouble when a schoolteacher finds a dead body on the beach.

Officer Donovan Andrews knows how to have a good time—ask any woman in town. But when it comes to men abusing their wives or children, Donovan takes it upon himself to make them regret it.

Madeline Scott is unlucky in love. All she wants is a quiet place to heal, away from cheating, womanizing men. However, her life is far from peaceful once she stumbles across the body and witnesses someone fleeing the scene.

Terror spreads in Pleasant View when the small community hears a killer is on the loose. All evidence points to Donovan, and he realizes someone is trying to frame him. When troubling suspicions from his past surface, even fellow officers believe he’s guilty. Madeline might be the only person who can clear his name, but first he has to win her trust.

The body count rises and no one is safe. The murderer makes it clear Madeline is next. Soon, Donovan’s whole world is focused on protecting her and keeping himself out of prison. The more time he spends with her, the harder it is to fight his growing attraction. Since she’s been burned by love, convincing Madeline he’s interested in something more than hot sex may prove harder than keeping her alive.

Review:
I don’t read a whole lot of romance books, but romantic suspense novels are ones that usually catch my eye. I enjoy a bit of mystery in my reading, and that is definitely the element that kept me invested in this story. We start out right away with Madeline discovering a body, and it wasn’t until the end that I really felt confident in figuring out who the murderer was. There is a great plot twist that really kept me on my toes and kept my mind open to all the suspects. The love story is good too, not quite as much my thing and sometimes I got a bit impatient with all the false starts, but overall an intriguing read and one that I enjoyed.
4 stars

Future Tour: Masterpiece of Murder by Evelyn Cullet

Evelyn will be on tour August 12-19 with her romantic suspense novel Masterpiece of Murder Heartbroken art student Charlotte Ross, intent on locating her errant…

Blog Tour Sign Up: Killer Image by Wendy Tyson

Wendy will be on tour in October with her mystery novel Killer Image. I am looking for book bloggers to post reviews, guest posts, interviews,…

Book Review: The Time Between by Karen White

I received a copy of The Time Between by Karen White in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Eleanor Murray will always remember her childhood on Edisto Island, where her late father, a local shrimper, shared her passion for music. Now her memories of him are all that tempers the guilt she feels over the accident that put her sister in a wheelchair—and the feelings she harbors for her sister’s husband.

To help support her sister, Eleanor works at a Charleston investment firm during the day, but she escapes into her music, playing piano at a neighborhood bar. Until the night her enigmatic boss walks in and offers her a part-time job caring for his elderly aunt, Helena, back on Edisto. For Eleanor, it’s a chance to revisit the place where she was her happiest—and to share her love of music with grieving Helena, whose sister recently died under mysterious circumstances.

An island lush with sweetgrass and salt marshes, Edisto has been a peaceful refuge for Helena, who escaped with her sister from war-torn Hungary in 1944. The sisters were well-known on the island, where they volunteered in their church and community. But now Eleanor will finally learn the truth about their past: secrets that will help heal her relationship with her own sister—and set Eleanor free….
Review:
I highly enjoy and often recommend White’s titles because they bring that element I gush about so much – entwining the past and present. This book does exactly that, and also will give readers a history lesson; never a bad thing! The relationship between both set of sisters in this book is intriguing to read about. Since both sisters are alive and we can get both POV’s I was drawn more to Eleanor and Eve’s situation. It’s difficult to imagine the guilt that both sisters carried and for how many years they clung to it. Something that kept sticking out to me though while reading was a niggling feeling that I had already read this story, or else one extremely parallel to it. I’m not sure if I’m thinking of a past White title that involves sisters or a different author, but I kept finding it challenging to submerse myself into the book because of that. Still a solid read though, and I would continue to recommend her books!
4 stars

On Tour: Tainted Love by Erin Cawood

Erin will be on tour June 17-28 with her novel Tainted Love Is it possible for a heart to survive twenty five years of abuse…

CLP Blog Tours Book Review: Eleusis by Genevieve Fairbrother

Genevieve Fairbrother is now on tour with CLP Blog Tours and Eleusis
Summary:
Macy needs a break to sort out her life. Her parents are dead and now a moody trespasser has set up camp on the property she has inherited. When the stranger confesses himself to be an ageless sea-god and tells Macy she has been guarding a secret she never knew existed, her simple life takes a drastic turn. Just when she thinks it can’t get any stranger, a back door to the Underworld opens up and it’s time to run like hell.

This fast-paced adventure romance novel explodes as the dark forces tracking Macy surface to capture her. In the transatlantic chase that follows, she learns of her forgotten past and an ancient connection to the sea-god who helps her escape.

As events challenge Macy, she must come to grips with her past, determine what she wants in life, and become a force in her own right. Family betrayal, sinister plot twists, and unlikely friends fill this exhilarating story of one woman’s journey to forge her own path as she learns her true identity.

She soon realizes that to gain real freedom and become legend, she must reject her assigned place in history and risk everything in the process.
Review:
I like stories that seem unique and original, and that is why I was drawn to Eleusis. Clearly there is a lot of plot points and story to work through, and I think if you read this book with an open mind you can really enjoy it. There are some beautiful descriptions in the book, along with an interesting love story, a fantasy twist, and a strong heroine with a chance to be a legend. Sometimes the dialogue was a bit choppy almost and there were parts I had to re-read to make sure I was understanding everything, but intriguing concept for a book overall!
4 stars