by MK French
The 14th book in Emily March's contemporary romance series Eternity Springs comes out February 27.
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Showing posts with label MondayBlogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MondayBlogs. Show all posts
February 19, 2018
February 12, 2018
Review: Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
by MK French
Sylvie and Dan have been together for ten years, and it's a seamless kind of marriage. They care for their twin daughters, work at their jobs, and know each other so well that they can finish each others' sentences. Both are in good health, so the doctor at their annual physical guesses they should plan for another sixty-eight years of marriage. That's when they're unnerved and start to panic, looking for ways to spice up their life together. It doesn't always go to plan.
Sylvie and Dan have been together for ten years, and it's a seamless kind of marriage. They care for their twin daughters, work at their jobs, and know each other so well that they can finish each others' sentences. Both are in good health, so the doctor at their annual physical guesses they should plan for another sixty-eight years of marriage. That's when they're unnerved and start to panic, looking for ways to spice up their life together. It doesn't always go to plan.
February 5, 2018
Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
by Susan Roberts
AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE is showing up on all of the lists for the 'best books of 2018' and after reading it, I agree. I was lucky to win a copy from LibraryThing and thrilled to be able to read an early copy.
AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE is showing up on all of the lists for the 'best books of 2018' and after reading it, I agree. I was lucky to win a copy from LibraryThing and thrilled to be able to read an early copy.
January 29, 2018
Donna's January Book Round Up
by Donna Huber
I'm still shocked that I read 115 books last year. I credit audiobooks for the win, and if my list of books read this month is an indication, audiobooks are going to play a big part in reaching my 2018 reading goals. Do you listen to audiobooks? I prefer to read books, but it is a nice way to fit in books when I have other things that need doing - cleaning the house or at work.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Covers and descriptions are from Goodreads.com
Saving the Sheriff by Roxanne Snopek
Over Christmas, I discovered the Marrietta, MT universe. I went looking for other books in that universe and came across this free short story (it's now 99 cents). While Snopek does write in the Marrietta universe, this book is not. As far as clean romances go, I really liked it.
The power might be out…but the heat is on.
Every year, free-spirited Frankie Sylva banishes her holiday loneliness with good deeds. This time, she's rescuing a truckload of neglected reindeer—until a blizzard sidetracks her scheme, and now she's stuck…literally.
Local sheriff Red LeClair is shocked to find a very cute, half-frozen woman trespassing on Three River Ranch in a ditched rig, with a suspiciously empty trailer. Is she a horse thief? Is she on the run? Is she out of her mind? He has no choice but to take her back to the ranch and keep an eye on her.
But when the power goes out, Red and Frankie are forced to depend on each other in a way that both have avoided for years. The sheriff's quiet holiday is suddenly festive: a crackling fire, candles, carols, and an irresistible stranger…who might be a felon.
Buy Saving the Sheriff at Amazon
A Rancher's Surrender by Michelle Beattie
This is another Marietta, MT story. It is set in the 1880 and features Jillian whom I briefly see in Away in Montana. This book is more steamy than the other titles I've read in this universe. It reminded me a bit of the television show Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.
Denied entrance into vet school because of her gender, fiery and determined Jillian Matthews trained at her father's side and then headed west to Montana Territory after answering an ad using only her father's initials and last name. She is convinced that her skills will override local ranchers prejudice. She's wrong and handsome Wade Parker, the one who hired her, is the first to make his displeasure public. But Jillian refuses to back down and sets out to win Wade's approval. Soon that's not all she hopes to win.
Widower Wade Parker is furious the new vet he helped hire is a woman. The fact that she's beautiful, smart and wakes parts of him that he thought dead burns even more. Feeling tricked, Wade is determined to send her back east but when the town turns on Jillian and her enemies become dangerous, he steps up to be her protector. And that's not the only role Jillian has him contemplating.
Buy A Rancher's Surrender at Amazon
(the ebook was still free when I prepared this post this weekend)
Betrayed by Lisa Scottoline
I discovered this series last year when looking for audiobooks. I really enjoyed the story. I liked the main character Judy. I'm undecided on how I feel about the family twist at the end.
The women of Rosato & Associates return, after the relaunch of the series that started with Accused. This second entry, Betrayed, stars Judy Carrier, who has had the starring role in only one previous Rosato book. When Betrayed opens, Judy Carrier finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Her best friend, Mary DiNunzio, has just become partner and is about to become a bride, leaving Judy vaguely out of sorts. She's not jealous, but she's not happy either and she's wondering where her own career and love life are going. To make matters worse, she is rocked to her emotional foundations when she learns that her beloved Aunt Barb has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She races to her aunt's side, and so does Judy's mother, only to find that her aunt is dealing with the sudden death of a friend who had been helping her through chemo. The friend, Iris Juarez, was an undocumented worker at a local farm, but her death doesn't look natural at all, to Judy. Judy begins to investigate, following a path that leads her into an underground world far more dangerous than she ever imagined. Judy has to dig to uncover what happened to Iris, and at the same time unearth the secrets in her own family.
Buy Betrayed at Amazon
This Could Hurt by Jillian Medoff
My first review book of 2018. At the start of the book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I thought is might be too depressing for the start of a new year. But after getting to know the characters, I really started to like the book and it didn't feel quite as depressing. By the end, I felt that it was a bittersweet story and one I'm glad I read. Read my full review.
A funny and deeply felt novel that illuminates the pivotal role of work in our lives—a riveting fusion of The Nest, Up in the Air, and Then We Came to the End that captures the emotional complexities of five HR colleagues trying to balance ambition, hope, and fear as their small company is buffeted by economic forces that threaten to upend them.
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.
While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something—a romance, a promotion—to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places—that is, if his high-powered wife has her way.
Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant—Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.
Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane, comforting, and terrifying glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and achingly funny, This Could Hurt is a novel about work, loneliness, love, and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls; a novel about life.
Buy This Could Hurt at Amazon
Brooklyn by Colm TóibÃn
I enjoyed this audiobook. It was a sweet coming-of-age type story. The book was made into a movie, but I haven't seen it. I'll probably look for it. Have you read it or seen the movie?
Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"--she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.
By far TóibÃn's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, Brooklyn will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters.
Buy Brooklyn at Amazon
Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand
When I listened to the 4th book over Christmas, I realized I had somehow missed book 3. It filled in some of the missing gaps I had when I listened to the last book in the series. When I started this series I wasn't sure if I would stick with it, but I grew to love these characters. From the description, this was supposed to be the end of the series. I'm glad there was a 4th and I wonder if the series will spin off with some of the children.
Gather under the mistletoe for one last round of caroling with the Quinn family in this heartwarming conclusion to Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling Winter Street Trilogy. Some of the stormy weather of the past few seasons seems to have finally lifted for the Quinns. After a year apart, and an ill-fated affair with the Winter Street Inn's old Santa Claus, Mitzi has returned to rule the roost; Patrick is about to be released from prison; Kevin has a successful new business and is finally ready to tie the knot with Isabelle; and best of all, there's hopeful news about Bart, who has been captured by enemy forces in Afghanistan. That doesn't mean there aren't a few dark clouds on the horizon. Kelley has recently survived a health scare; Jennifer can't quite shake her addiction to the drugs she used as a crutch while Patrick was in jail; and Ava still can't decide between the two lovers that she's been juggling with limited success. However, if there's one holiday that brings the Quinn family together to give thanks for the good times, it's Christmas. And this year promises to be a celebration unlike any other as the Quinns prepare to host Kevin and Isabelle's wedding at the inn. But as the special day approaches, a historic once-in-a-century blizzard bears down on Nantucket, threatening to keep the Quinns away from the place--and the people--they love most. Before the snow clears, the Quinns will have to survive enough upheavals to send anyone running for the spiked eggnog, in this touching novel that proves that when the holidays roll around, you can always go home again.
Buy Winter Storms at Amazon
22 Scars by C.M. North
It is kind of like an edgy indie film that either people hate or love. I liked the chapters with Beth as the narrator as they flowed more like a story. Read my full review.
Raised with apathy and spite, Amy’s life is a monotonous drone of deep despair, broken only by coffee and nights out with her best—and only—friend. She battles depression daily, fighting to keep her sanity in a world that, to her, is set on destroying her soul.
Her future is bleak, overcast with shadow and doubt; her past harbors terrible secrets that even those closest to her couldn’t begin to guess. When tragedy strikes someone she holds dear, will she succumb to the crushing weight of despair, or will she find the strength to fight—to live?
22 Scars is a story of what it takes to live daily with depression - and how the scars of a lifetime can pass through generations and beyond.
Can the past ever truly be forgotten?
Can depression ever be beat?
Buy 22 Scars at Amazon
Busy Body by M.C. Beaton
If you haven't tried audiobooks, and you like cozy mysteries, then I recommend picking up one in the Agatha Raisin. They are fun and easy to follow.
Agatha Raisin has always been ambivalent about holiday cheer, but her cozy little village of Carsely has long prided itself on its Christmas festivities.
But this year Mr. John Sunday, a self important officer with the Health and Safety Board, has ruled that the traditional tree on top of the church is a public menace; that lampposts are unsafe for hanging illuminations; that May Dimwoody's homemade toys are dangerous for children. Things have reached such a desperate pass that the Carsely Ladies' Society joins forces with the ladies in the neighboring village of Odley Cruesis to try to put a stop to Mr. Sunday's meddling - only to find that someone has literally put a stop to him with a kitchen knife.
Agatha's detective agency is on the case, but when a man has made as many enemies as John Sunday, it's hard to know where to start.
Buy Busy Body at Amazon
MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood
The first book in this trilogy was a book club read and since I listened to it on audio, I decided to listen to the whole trilogy. I got it from the digital library in December, but with the holidays I kept running out of time and then would have to go back on the holds list. I don't know if it was the wait or because this one had a lot of recapping in it as the story was wrapped, but I found myself growing bored with it.
Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, newly fortified against man and giant pigoon alike. Accompanying them are the Crakers, the gentle, quasi-human species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. Their reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is recovering from a debilitating fever, so it's left to Toby to preach the Craker theology, with Crake as Creator. She must also deal with cultural misunderstandings, terrible coffee, and her jealousy over her lover, Zeb.
Zeb has been searching for Adam One, founder of the God's Gardeners, the pacifist green religion from which Zeb broke years ago to lead the MaddAddamites in active resistance against the destructive CorpSeCorps. But now, under threat of a Painballer attack, the MaddAddamites must fight back with the aid of their newfound allies, some of whom have four trotters. At the center of MaddAddam is the story of Zeb's dark and twisted past, which contains a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear, and a bizarre act of revenge.
Combining adventure, humor, romance, superb storytelling, and an imagination at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognizable world, MaddAddam is vintage Margaret Atwood—a moving and dramatic conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy.
Buy MaddAddam at Amazon
Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Susan reviewed this book back in the fall of 2016 and I've wanted to read it ever since. So I got the audiobook. It caused it me a lot of anxiety to the point I went looking for spoilers (since I couldn't just flip to the last page and find out what happens). It is an excellent psychological thriller, even knowing how it ends.
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.
Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?
And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?
The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?
Buy Behind Closed Doors at Amazon
Women Float by Maureen Foley
I've felt much like reading in the evenings so even though it is a novella I haven't made much progress.
Lonely California pastry chef Win never learned how to swim, despite growing up just miles from the Pacific Ocean. Even Janie, her flaky pro-surfer single mother, couldn't convince her to brave the water, solidifying Win's fear when she leaves her at the tender age of 9. But when Win turns 29 and decides to take swimming lessons for the first time -- finally confronting her hydrophobia and trying to make sense of why her mer-mother suddenly swam off all those years ago -- she must also deal with a desperate crush she's developed on her New Age neighbor, mysterious postcards that keep arriving in the mail, and her bad habit of pathological lying. This touching and humorous look at female relationships and the dramas that come for contemporary women turning thirty also doubles as a loving ode to the small coastal town of Carpinteria and the laid-back SoCal lifestyle that guides it. Poetic and moving, Maureen Foley's fiction debut is both a perfect beach read and an insightful look at love, accidental families and the power of friendships.
Buy Women Float at Amazon
Peregrine Island by Diane B. Saxon
I'm not really sure where this story is going but it is interesting so far. It's won a bunch of awards.
Part “who-done-it” and part family drama, this award-winning novel reveals that neither people nor paintings are always what they appear to be
Contradictory relationships within troubled families are nothing new, but the award-winning psychological novel written by well-known journalist Diane B. Saxton elevates these relationships and the mysterious heirloom painting that both exposes and unites them to an art form.
Peregrine Island interweaves the stories of three generations of women, one valuable painting, the artist who created it, and those who would do anything to possess it – including kill.
Lush with sensory details, this psychologically complex mystery novel is set on a private island in the middle of Long Island Sound. It begins when the family’s lives are turned upside-down one summer by so-called art experts, who appear on the doorstep of their isolated home to appraise a favorite heirloom painting. When incriminating papers along with two other paintings are discovered behind the painting in question, the appraisal turns into a full-fledged investigation and detectives are called into the case— but not by the family whose members grow increasingly antagonistic toward one another.
During the course of the inquiry and as the summer progresses, the family members discover new secrets about one another and new facts about their past. Above all, they learn that neither people nor paintings can be taken at face value.
Buy Peregrine Island at Amazon
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
This is the book club read for February. I've just started it and my book club meets on Thursday! It took forever to get a copy from the library.
The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.
Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.
Buy The Three-Body Problem at Amazon
Prancing Around with Sleeping Beauty by Stacy Juba
This Sleeping Beauty isn’t sure she wants to wake up…
Dance instructor Rory Callahan likes to play it safe. When she meets Kyle, he’s impulsive, persistent, and her exact opposite. He’s pushing her to tango way past her comfort zone and keeping Rory on her toes more than twenty years of dance teachers ever had.
Unfortunately, he’s the grandson of her family’s archrival and she doesn’t want to disappoint them. After all, her parents imagine her as a proper princess - hence her namesake Aurora, AKA Sleeping Beauty. Complicating matters, Rory’s also dealing with a surgeon boyfriend who’s perfect for her (sort of), an obnoxious boss, and desperate dance moms. Kyle wants to change her whole life, but Rory doesn’t like the stakes. After all, princesses are the ones who get the happy endings. . .aren’t they?
This sweet romantic comedy is a standalone and can be read on its own. All books in the series can be read in any order so jump in at any time.
Buy Prancing Around with Sleeping Beauty at Amazon
Birds of Wonder by Cynthia Robinson
Fiction. One August morning while walking her dog, high-school English teacher Beatrice Ousterhout stumbles over the dead body of a student, Amber Inglin, who was to play the lead in Beatrice's production of John Webster's Jacobean tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi. Barely able to speak, Beatrice calls the police. That is to say, she calls her daughter. Jes is a detective with two years of experience under her belt and a personal life composed primarily of a string of one-night-stands, including the owner of the field in which Beatrice has found Amber. In addition to a house and a field, Child Services lawyer Liam Walsh owns a vineyard, where Amber Inglin, along with a handful of other teens who've had difficulty negotiating the foster system, was an intern. Set among the hills and lakes of upstate New York and told in six vibrantly distinct voices, this complex and original narrative chronicles the rippling effects of a young girl's death through a densely intertwined community. By turns funny, fierce, lyrical and horrifying, BIRDS OF WONDER probes family ties, the stresses that break them, and the pasts that never really let us go.
Buy Birds of Wonder at Amazon
What great books have you discovered this first month of 2018?
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| My January snow day - fuzzy socks, good books, hot tea |
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Covers and descriptions are from Goodreads.com
Read:
Over Christmas, I discovered the Marrietta, MT universe. I went looking for other books in that universe and came across this free short story (it's now 99 cents). While Snopek does write in the Marrietta universe, this book is not. As far as clean romances go, I really liked it.
The power might be out…but the heat is on.
Every year, free-spirited Frankie Sylva banishes her holiday loneliness with good deeds. This time, she's rescuing a truckload of neglected reindeer—until a blizzard sidetracks her scheme, and now she's stuck…literally.
Local sheriff Red LeClair is shocked to find a very cute, half-frozen woman trespassing on Three River Ranch in a ditched rig, with a suspiciously empty trailer. Is she a horse thief? Is she on the run? Is she out of her mind? He has no choice but to take her back to the ranch and keep an eye on her.
But when the power goes out, Red and Frankie are forced to depend on each other in a way that both have avoided for years. The sheriff's quiet holiday is suddenly festive: a crackling fire, candles, carols, and an irresistible stranger…who might be a felon.
Buy Saving the Sheriff at Amazon
This is another Marietta, MT story. It is set in the 1880 and features Jillian whom I briefly see in Away in Montana. This book is more steamy than the other titles I've read in this universe. It reminded me a bit of the television show Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.
Denied entrance into vet school because of her gender, fiery and determined Jillian Matthews trained at her father's side and then headed west to Montana Territory after answering an ad using only her father's initials and last name. She is convinced that her skills will override local ranchers prejudice. She's wrong and handsome Wade Parker, the one who hired her, is the first to make his displeasure public. But Jillian refuses to back down and sets out to win Wade's approval. Soon that's not all she hopes to win.
Widower Wade Parker is furious the new vet he helped hire is a woman. The fact that she's beautiful, smart and wakes parts of him that he thought dead burns even more. Feeling tricked, Wade is determined to send her back east but when the town turns on Jillian and her enemies become dangerous, he steps up to be her protector. And that's not the only role Jillian has him contemplating.
Buy A Rancher's Surrender at Amazon
(the ebook was still free when I prepared this post this weekend)
I discovered this series last year when looking for audiobooks. I really enjoyed the story. I liked the main character Judy. I'm undecided on how I feel about the family twist at the end.
The women of Rosato & Associates return, after the relaunch of the series that started with Accused. This second entry, Betrayed, stars Judy Carrier, who has had the starring role in only one previous Rosato book. When Betrayed opens, Judy Carrier finds herself at a crossroads in her life. Her best friend, Mary DiNunzio, has just become partner and is about to become a bride, leaving Judy vaguely out of sorts. She's not jealous, but she's not happy either and she's wondering where her own career and love life are going. To make matters worse, she is rocked to her emotional foundations when she learns that her beloved Aunt Barb has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She races to her aunt's side, and so does Judy's mother, only to find that her aunt is dealing with the sudden death of a friend who had been helping her through chemo. The friend, Iris Juarez, was an undocumented worker at a local farm, but her death doesn't look natural at all, to Judy. Judy begins to investigate, following a path that leads her into an underground world far more dangerous than she ever imagined. Judy has to dig to uncover what happened to Iris, and at the same time unearth the secrets in her own family.
Buy Betrayed at Amazon
My first review book of 2018. At the start of the book, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I thought is might be too depressing for the start of a new year. But after getting to know the characters, I really started to like the book and it didn't feel quite as depressing. By the end, I felt that it was a bittersweet story and one I'm glad I read. Read my full review.
A funny and deeply felt novel that illuminates the pivotal role of work in our lives—a riveting fusion of The Nest, Up in the Air, and Then We Came to the End that captures the emotional complexities of five HR colleagues trying to balance ambition, hope, and fear as their small company is buffeted by economic forces that threaten to upend them.
Rosa Guerrero beat the odds as she rose to the top of the corporate world. An attractive woman of a certain age, the longtime chief of human resources at Ellery Consumer Research is still a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. A leader who wields power with grace and discretion, she has earned the devotion and loyalty of her staff. No one admires Rosa more than her doting lieutenant Leo Smalls, a benefits vice president whose whole world is Ellery.
While Rosa is consumed with trying to address the needs of her staff within the ever-constricting limits of the company’s bottom line, her associate director, Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged, happily married father of two, finds himself drawing closer to his "work wife," Lucy Bender, an enterprising single woman searching for something—a romance, a promotion—to fill the vacuum in her personal life. For Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, Ellery is a temporary stepping-stone to bigger and better places—that is, if his high-powered wife has her way.
Compelling, flawed, and heartbreakingly human, these men and women scheme, fall in and out of love, and nurture dreams big and small. As their individual circumstances shift, one thing remains constant—Rosa, the sun around whom they all orbit. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and Leo, Rob, Lucy, and Kenny find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.
Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane, comforting, and terrifying glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and achingly funny, This Could Hurt is a novel about work, loneliness, love, and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls; a novel about life.
Buy This Could Hurt at Amazon
I enjoyed this audiobook. It was a sweet coming-of-age type story. The book was made into a movie, but I haven't seen it. I'll probably look for it. Have you read it or seen the movie?
Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor Eilis in America--to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland"--she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.
By far TóibÃn's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, Brooklyn will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters.
Buy Brooklyn at Amazon
When I listened to the 4th book over Christmas, I realized I had somehow missed book 3. It filled in some of the missing gaps I had when I listened to the last book in the series. When I started this series I wasn't sure if I would stick with it, but I grew to love these characters. From the description, this was supposed to be the end of the series. I'm glad there was a 4th and I wonder if the series will spin off with some of the children.
Gather under the mistletoe for one last round of caroling with the Quinn family in this heartwarming conclusion to Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling Winter Street Trilogy. Some of the stormy weather of the past few seasons seems to have finally lifted for the Quinns. After a year apart, and an ill-fated affair with the Winter Street Inn's old Santa Claus, Mitzi has returned to rule the roost; Patrick is about to be released from prison; Kevin has a successful new business and is finally ready to tie the knot with Isabelle; and best of all, there's hopeful news about Bart, who has been captured by enemy forces in Afghanistan. That doesn't mean there aren't a few dark clouds on the horizon. Kelley has recently survived a health scare; Jennifer can't quite shake her addiction to the drugs she used as a crutch while Patrick was in jail; and Ava still can't decide between the two lovers that she's been juggling with limited success. However, if there's one holiday that brings the Quinn family together to give thanks for the good times, it's Christmas. And this year promises to be a celebration unlike any other as the Quinns prepare to host Kevin and Isabelle's wedding at the inn. But as the special day approaches, a historic once-in-a-century blizzard bears down on Nantucket, threatening to keep the Quinns away from the place--and the people--they love most. Before the snow clears, the Quinns will have to survive enough upheavals to send anyone running for the spiked eggnog, in this touching novel that proves that when the holidays roll around, you can always go home again.
Buy Winter Storms at Amazon
It is kind of like an edgy indie film that either people hate or love. I liked the chapters with Beth as the narrator as they flowed more like a story. Read my full review.
Raised with apathy and spite, Amy’s life is a monotonous drone of deep despair, broken only by coffee and nights out with her best—and only—friend. She battles depression daily, fighting to keep her sanity in a world that, to her, is set on destroying her soul.
Her future is bleak, overcast with shadow and doubt; her past harbors terrible secrets that even those closest to her couldn’t begin to guess. When tragedy strikes someone she holds dear, will she succumb to the crushing weight of despair, or will she find the strength to fight—to live?
22 Scars is a story of what it takes to live daily with depression - and how the scars of a lifetime can pass through generations and beyond.
Can the past ever truly be forgotten?
Can depression ever be beat?
Buy 22 Scars at Amazon
If you haven't tried audiobooks, and you like cozy mysteries, then I recommend picking up one in the Agatha Raisin. They are fun and easy to follow.
Agatha Raisin has always been ambivalent about holiday cheer, but her cozy little village of Carsely has long prided itself on its Christmas festivities.
But this year Mr. John Sunday, a self important officer with the Health and Safety Board, has ruled that the traditional tree on top of the church is a public menace; that lampposts are unsafe for hanging illuminations; that May Dimwoody's homemade toys are dangerous for children. Things have reached such a desperate pass that the Carsely Ladies' Society joins forces with the ladies in the neighboring village of Odley Cruesis to try to put a stop to Mr. Sunday's meddling - only to find that someone has literally put a stop to him with a kitchen knife.
Agatha's detective agency is on the case, but when a man has made as many enemies as John Sunday, it's hard to know where to start.
Buy Busy Body at Amazon
The first book in this trilogy was a book club read and since I listened to it on audio, I decided to listen to the whole trilogy. I got it from the digital library in December, but with the holidays I kept running out of time and then would have to go back on the holds list. I don't know if it was the wait or because this one had a lot of recapping in it as the story was wrapped, but I found myself growing bored with it.
Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, newly fortified against man and giant pigoon alike. Accompanying them are the Crakers, the gentle, quasi-human species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. Their reluctant prophet, Snowman-the-Jimmy, is recovering from a debilitating fever, so it's left to Toby to preach the Craker theology, with Crake as Creator. She must also deal with cultural misunderstandings, terrible coffee, and her jealousy over her lover, Zeb.
Zeb has been searching for Adam One, founder of the God's Gardeners, the pacifist green religion from which Zeb broke years ago to lead the MaddAddamites in active resistance against the destructive CorpSeCorps. But now, under threat of a Painballer attack, the MaddAddamites must fight back with the aid of their newfound allies, some of whom have four trotters. At the center of MaddAddam is the story of Zeb's dark and twisted past, which contains a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear, and a bizarre act of revenge.
Combining adventure, humor, romance, superb storytelling, and an imagination at once dazzlingly inventive and grounded in a recognizable world, MaddAddam is vintage Margaret Atwood—a moving and dramatic conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy.
Buy MaddAddam at Amazon
Susan reviewed this book back in the fall of 2016 and I've wanted to read it ever since. So I got the audiobook. It caused it me a lot of anxiety to the point I went looking for spoilers (since I couldn't just flip to the last page and find out what happens). It is an excellent psychological thriller, even knowing how it ends.
Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace: he has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You'd like to get to know Grace better. But it's difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart. Some might call this true love.
Picture this: a dinner party at their perfect home, the conversation and wine flowing. They appear to be in their element while entertaining. And Grace's friends are eager to reciprocate with lunch the following week. Grace wants to go, but knows she never will. Her friends call—so why doesn't Grace ever answer the phone? And how can she cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim?
And why are there bars on one of the bedroom windows?
The perfect marriage? Or the perfect lie?
Buy Behind Closed Doors at Amazon
Currently Reading:
I've felt much like reading in the evenings so even though it is a novella I haven't made much progress.
Lonely California pastry chef Win never learned how to swim, despite growing up just miles from the Pacific Ocean. Even Janie, her flaky pro-surfer single mother, couldn't convince her to brave the water, solidifying Win's fear when she leaves her at the tender age of 9. But when Win turns 29 and decides to take swimming lessons for the first time -- finally confronting her hydrophobia and trying to make sense of why her mer-mother suddenly swam off all those years ago -- she must also deal with a desperate crush she's developed on her New Age neighbor, mysterious postcards that keep arriving in the mail, and her bad habit of pathological lying. This touching and humorous look at female relationships and the dramas that come for contemporary women turning thirty also doubles as a loving ode to the small coastal town of Carpinteria and the laid-back SoCal lifestyle that guides it. Poetic and moving, Maureen Foley's fiction debut is both a perfect beach read and an insightful look at love, accidental families and the power of friendships.
Buy Women Float at Amazon
I'm not really sure where this story is going but it is interesting so far. It's won a bunch of awards.
Part “who-done-it” and part family drama, this award-winning novel reveals that neither people nor paintings are always what they appear to be
Contradictory relationships within troubled families are nothing new, but the award-winning psychological novel written by well-known journalist Diane B. Saxton elevates these relationships and the mysterious heirloom painting that both exposes and unites them to an art form.
Peregrine Island interweaves the stories of three generations of women, one valuable painting, the artist who created it, and those who would do anything to possess it – including kill.
Lush with sensory details, this psychologically complex mystery novel is set on a private island in the middle of Long Island Sound. It begins when the family’s lives are turned upside-down one summer by so-called art experts, who appear on the doorstep of their isolated home to appraise a favorite heirloom painting. When incriminating papers along with two other paintings are discovered behind the painting in question, the appraisal turns into a full-fledged investigation and detectives are called into the case— but not by the family whose members grow increasingly antagonistic toward one another.
During the course of the inquiry and as the summer progresses, the family members discover new secrets about one another and new facts about their past. Above all, they learn that neither people nor paintings can be taken at face value.
Buy Peregrine Island at Amazon
This is the book club read for February. I've just started it and my book club meets on Thursday! It took forever to get a copy from the library.
The Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple award winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.
Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.
Buy The Three-Body Problem at Amazon
Up Next:
I have two reviews coming up in February so they will be my next reads.This Sleeping Beauty isn’t sure she wants to wake up…
Dance instructor Rory Callahan likes to play it safe. When she meets Kyle, he’s impulsive, persistent, and her exact opposite. He’s pushing her to tango way past her comfort zone and keeping Rory on her toes more than twenty years of dance teachers ever had.
Unfortunately, he’s the grandson of her family’s archrival and she doesn’t want to disappoint them. After all, her parents imagine her as a proper princess - hence her namesake Aurora, AKA Sleeping Beauty. Complicating matters, Rory’s also dealing with a surgeon boyfriend who’s perfect for her (sort of), an obnoxious boss, and desperate dance moms. Kyle wants to change her whole life, but Rory doesn’t like the stakes. After all, princesses are the ones who get the happy endings. . .aren’t they?
This sweet romantic comedy is a standalone and can be read on its own. All books in the series can be read in any order so jump in at any time.
Buy Prancing Around with Sleeping Beauty at Amazon
Fiction. One August morning while walking her dog, high-school English teacher Beatrice Ousterhout stumbles over the dead body of a student, Amber Inglin, who was to play the lead in Beatrice's production of John Webster's Jacobean tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi. Barely able to speak, Beatrice calls the police. That is to say, she calls her daughter. Jes is a detective with two years of experience under her belt and a personal life composed primarily of a string of one-night-stands, including the owner of the field in which Beatrice has found Amber. In addition to a house and a field, Child Services lawyer Liam Walsh owns a vineyard, where Amber Inglin, along with a handful of other teens who've had difficulty negotiating the foster system, was an intern. Set among the hills and lakes of upstate New York and told in six vibrantly distinct voices, this complex and original narrative chronicles the rippling effects of a young girl's death through a densely intertwined community. By turns funny, fierce, lyrical and horrifying, BIRDS OF WONDER probes family ties, the stresses that break them, and the pasts that never really let us go.
Buy Birds of Wonder at Amazon
What great books have you discovered this first month of 2018?
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up today! Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
January 22, 2018
Review: 22 Scars by C.M. North
by Donna Huber
Girl Who Reads's features writer C. M. North has a new book out. 22 Scars is an edgy, character-driven story focused on the relationships affected by mental illness.
Girl Who Reads's features writer C. M. North has a new book out. 22 Scars is an edgy, character-driven story focused on the relationships affected by mental illness.
January 15, 2018
Review: The Promise Between Us by Barbara Claypole White
by Susan Roberts
Society would have us believe that any woman who left her baby for ANY reason must be a terrible mother. This novel delves deep into the issue of a mother with HARM OCD who left her baby to protect her. It shows the true love of motherhood and family set against the problems that are caused by OCD in any form.
Society would have us believe that any woman who left her baby for ANY reason must be a terrible mother. This novel delves deep into the issue of a mother with HARM OCD who left her baby to protect her. It shows the true love of motherhood and family set against the problems that are caused by OCD in any form.
January 8, 2018
2 Suspense Novels
by Susan Roberts
I love a good suspense novel especially when you don't know who the 'bad guy' is until the very end. Here are two reviews of suspense novels that I've read recently.
I love a good suspense novel especially when you don't know who the 'bad guy' is until the very end. Here are two reviews of suspense novels that I've read recently.
December 25, 2017
Donna's December Reading Round-up
by Donna Huber
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I have been on a roll this month - thanks to audiobooks and short holiday romances. And most of the books have been really good, which makes me a very happy reader. A lot of these were free when I got them; some may still be free.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I have been on a roll this month - thanks to audiobooks and short holiday romances. And most of the books have been really good, which makes me a very happy reader. A lot of these were free when I got them; some may still be free.
December 18, 2017
Review: Ensnared by Rita Stradling
by MK French
Alainn Murphy's father is hired on to create an AI for the reclusive billionaire Lorccan Garbhan, and he created the Rose model in Alainn's image. There are some flaws with the AI and the design, and her father isn't being given more time to perfect it. In order to ensure that he isn't sent to prison for fraud, Alainn takes the place of the robot. She is isolated in Lorccan's tower, away from living things and windows, as he is scarred and has a poor immune system. At first, she is scared of the situation, but gradually comes to love him.
Alainn Murphy's father is hired on to create an AI for the reclusive billionaire Lorccan Garbhan, and he created the Rose model in Alainn's image. There are some flaws with the AI and the design, and her father isn't being given more time to perfect it. In order to ensure that he isn't sent to prison for fraud, Alainn takes the place of the robot. She is isolated in Lorccan's tower, away from living things and windows, as he is scarred and has a poor immune system. At first, she is scared of the situation, but gradually comes to love him.
April 10, 2017
The Horror Genre and 3 Horror Novels Reviewed
by MK French
According to Wikipedia, "Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle their readers or viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon has defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".[1] It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural."
For many people, there is a fine line between horror and thriller. David Hohl, on his website, discusses the differences. He asserts that Horror is a subgenre of Fantasy. The Horror Writers Association has a nice piece on What Horror Is that you might want to check out if you are interested in how the horror genre went from an esteemed literary genre, i.e. gothic horror, to more of a pop culture genre.
The three horror novels I recently read have supernatural elements and could also be considered dark fantasy. What do you like about the horror genre? What are some of your favorite horror novels or films?
Amazon Affiliate links are used in this post and a free book was provided for these reviews. The opinions are my own.
Chaste: A Tale of Perilisc by Jesse Teller
Chaste is a small town known for its ties to the god Cor-lyn-ber, but gradually its peaceful nature had been corrupted. Children go missing and are found dead, and a sinister presence seems to have infected the town. Cheryl's parents had once been its defenders, but after their deaths, she turned her back on her god and submitted to the abuses heaped upon her. The priest and all those in power in the town are corrupted, and her efforts to keep its corruption from spoiling the innocent are feeble at best. Five strangers enter the town, intending to keep going but are soon drawn into the corruption and evil.
Those who play Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or similar games set in high fantasy sword-and-sorcery settings will instantly feel at home with this book, as long as they are comfortable with the darker potential of it. There are graphic descriptions of violence, torture, and fights, as well as rape, murder, and psychological tortures. While Cor-lyn-ber might be the god of hope and light in this series of novels (this particular book is the third in the Perilisc series), the priest is actually a corrupted minion of Hac-Jahoo. He plans to bring demons into the world using the bodies of the children, which are defiled in ways not actually described but disgust the characters comfortable with rape, murder, and torture. The stories of all the characters are eventually revealed, and all of them are tortured in some way.
This is not a book of happiness or light, and the darkness can be very disconcerting at times. Characters are changed by the end of it, not always for the better, but in ways that make sense for this world. For those who enjoy dark fantasy tropes, this book will definitely meet expectations.
Buy Chaste at Amazon
The Devil's Prayer by Luke Gracias
The suicide of Sister Benedictine in Spain reveals that she was Denise Russo, the mother of Australian Siobhan Russo. She had apparently abandoned her family six years before, and Siobhan travels to Spain to pay her respects and find out what happened to give her family closure. A strange group of monks follows her, and she steals her mother's confession that had been locked away in the convent vault. Siobhan reads the journal as she tries to escape the monks and understand why her mother took a vow of silence after leaving Australia. It turned out that her mother had made a deal with the devil to get revenge on the people that had tortured her when Siobhan was a girl, with Siobhan's soul hanging in the balance.
The entire book was an engaging read, full of details that really give the characters life and full atmosphere to the locations. There are two distinct stories within this book. One is Siobhan's home life in Australia and journey to Spain, then being on the run from the monks before returning to Australia. The other is Denise's journal, which outlines the rape and torture she endured from friends after winning a lottery ticket. It's horrific to experience with her, even in the relatively spare description given, as well as the intense revenge she takes after making the deal with the devil. A larger conspiracy is at work, so Denise had also been tasked with finding the Devil's Prayer, which was left to Siobhan in the back of the journal.
It feels very similar to the Da Vinci Code, as it involves history blending together with religion; Luke Gracias had actually taken the Devil's Prayer from a piece of folklore regarding a bet a monk had made to complete a handwritten Bible overnight. That gives the conspiracy behind the drama a little more authenticity, which is always good in a novel like this. The ending feels almost abrupt and open-ended, though the story is complete. It could very easily be the first of a series of novels, exploring the ramifications of the Devil's Prayer and the fallout from Denise's deal.
Buy The Devil's Prayer at Amazon
Evening's Land by Pauline West
After her best friend's suicide, Ada Walker moves with her parents to Charleston, South Carolina. They have their own issues and don't always see what's happening to Ada. There is a ghost in the house that appears to her, and she has some kind of psychic gift that allows her to access the collective unconscious of the world, known as Evening's Land. She isn't the only one able to do so, and the others that are aware of her plan to use her ability for their own purposes.
The tagline says that this book has the "dark elegance of Anne Rice" and "lush parallel worlds of Neil Gaiman." Being a fan of both authors, of course, I would try to read this book.
While the characters all have their own motivations, the way the story is told makes the beginning rather confusing. There is the current plot alternating with chapters outlining the past with Faye before her suicide, which would be fine if it wasn't told from varying points of view. I had no idea there was going to be graphic depictions of violence, drug use, rape, self-harm, suicide, and human sacrifice, and it felt like all of these elements were thrown together because it had to be "dark" and "edgy." The ghost didn't seem to be "rakishly handsome," but manipulative, selfish, and just as awful as everyone else in the book.
This was a quick but not very pleasant read, and by the end, I really wasn't interested in what else might happen to the characters.
Buy Evening's Land at Amazon
Get even more book news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/mHTVL. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
According to Wikipedia, "Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle their readers or viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon has defined the horror story as "a piece of fiction in prose of variable length... which shocks or even frightens the reader, or perhaps induces a feeling of repulsion or loathing".[1] It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is frequently supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural."
For many people, there is a fine line between horror and thriller. David Hohl, on his website, discusses the differences. He asserts that Horror is a subgenre of Fantasy. The Horror Writers Association has a nice piece on What Horror Is that you might want to check out if you are interested in how the horror genre went from an esteemed literary genre, i.e. gothic horror, to more of a pop culture genre.
The three horror novels I recently read have supernatural elements and could also be considered dark fantasy. What do you like about the horror genre? What are some of your favorite horror novels or films?
Amazon Affiliate links are used in this post and a free book was provided for these reviews. The opinions are my own.
 |
| October 2016; 978-1535515283 ebook & print (244 pages) a free book was provided for this review |
Chaste is a small town known for its ties to the god Cor-lyn-ber, but gradually its peaceful nature had been corrupted. Children go missing and are found dead, and a sinister presence seems to have infected the town. Cheryl's parents had once been its defenders, but after their deaths, she turned her back on her god and submitted to the abuses heaped upon her. The priest and all those in power in the town are corrupted, and her efforts to keep its corruption from spoiling the innocent are feeble at best. Five strangers enter the town, intending to keep going but are soon drawn into the corruption and evil.
Those who play Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, or similar games set in high fantasy sword-and-sorcery settings will instantly feel at home with this book, as long as they are comfortable with the darker potential of it. There are graphic descriptions of violence, torture, and fights, as well as rape, murder, and psychological tortures. While Cor-lyn-ber might be the god of hope and light in this series of novels (this particular book is the third in the Perilisc series), the priest is actually a corrupted minion of Hac-Jahoo. He plans to bring demons into the world using the bodies of the children, which are defiled in ways not actually described but disgust the characters comfortable with rape, murder, and torture. The stories of all the characters are eventually revealed, and all of them are tortured in some way.
This is not a book of happiness or light, and the darkness can be very disconcerting at times. Characters are changed by the end of it, not always for the better, but in ways that make sense for this world. For those who enjoy dark fantasy tropes, this book will definitely meet expectations.
Buy Chaste at Amazon
 |
| February 2016; Australian eBook Publisher ebook (294 pages) a free ebook was provided for this review |
The suicide of Sister Benedictine in Spain reveals that she was Denise Russo, the mother of Australian Siobhan Russo. She had apparently abandoned her family six years before, and Siobhan travels to Spain to pay her respects and find out what happened to give her family closure. A strange group of monks follows her, and she steals her mother's confession that had been locked away in the convent vault. Siobhan reads the journal as she tries to escape the monks and understand why her mother took a vow of silence after leaving Australia. It turned out that her mother had made a deal with the devil to get revenge on the people that had tortured her when Siobhan was a girl, with Siobhan's soul hanging in the balance.
The entire book was an engaging read, full of details that really give the characters life and full atmosphere to the locations. There are two distinct stories within this book. One is Siobhan's home life in Australia and journey to Spain, then being on the run from the monks before returning to Australia. The other is Denise's journal, which outlines the rape and torture she endured from friends after winning a lottery ticket. It's horrific to experience with her, even in the relatively spare description given, as well as the intense revenge she takes after making the deal with the devil. A larger conspiracy is at work, so Denise had also been tasked with finding the Devil's Prayer, which was left to Siobhan in the back of the journal.
It feels very similar to the Da Vinci Code, as it involves history blending together with religion; Luke Gracias had actually taken the Devil's Prayer from a piece of folklore regarding a bet a monk had made to complete a handwritten Bible overnight. That gives the conspiracy behind the drama a little more authenticity, which is always good in a novel like this. The ending feels almost abrupt and open-ended, though the story is complete. It could very easily be the first of a series of novels, exploring the ramifications of the Devil's Prayer and the fallout from Denise's deal.
Buy The Devil's Prayer at Amazon
 |
| February 2017; 978-1542463461 ebook & print (376 pages) a free book was provided for this review |
After her best friend's suicide, Ada Walker moves with her parents to Charleston, South Carolina. They have their own issues and don't always see what's happening to Ada. There is a ghost in the house that appears to her, and she has some kind of psychic gift that allows her to access the collective unconscious of the world, known as Evening's Land. She isn't the only one able to do so, and the others that are aware of her plan to use her ability for their own purposes.
The tagline says that this book has the "dark elegance of Anne Rice" and "lush parallel worlds of Neil Gaiman." Being a fan of both authors, of course, I would try to read this book.
While the characters all have their own motivations, the way the story is told makes the beginning rather confusing. There is the current plot alternating with chapters outlining the past with Faye before her suicide, which would be fine if it wasn't told from varying points of view. I had no idea there was going to be graphic depictions of violence, drug use, rape, self-harm, suicide, and human sacrifice, and it felt like all of these elements were thrown together because it had to be "dark" and "edgy." The ghost didn't seem to be "rakishly handsome," but manipulative, selfish, and just as awful as everyone else in the book.
This was a quick but not very pleasant read, and by the end, I really wasn't interested in what else might happen to the characters.
Buy Evening's Land at Amazon
Get even more book news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/mHTVL. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
February 20, 2017
Michael Hicks Thompson: Hemingway Could Pack ‘em In (@MHThompsonSR)
Whether behind his faithful Underwood, or drunk in the corner of the Floridita bar in Habana, Ernest Hemingway could pack ’em in. Not only the booze and admirers, but the words, too.He’s credited with writing the best 6-word short-short novel ever written. In today's world, it's called Super Flash Fiction.
“For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never worn.”
Sad, when you think about it. A baby who died at birth. But Hemingway is giving his writer friends a 6-word lesson in writing—good story telling is participatory. If the reader doesn’t have any emotion for the characters, or sense of urgency, the story will fall flat on its face.
One of my favorite stories about Hemingway happened when Lillian Ross, writer for The New Yorker, wrote to him in Cuba, asking if she might interview him on his next pass-through the Big Apple. Papa seldom stayed over. He preferred to pass through quietly, heading on to who knows where to be with his friends, drinking, telling loud stories. While he abhorred the limelight of the press, he loved his lime.
He was a regular at the Floridita. (I've been there.) Shorts, sandals, an open, long-sleeve shirt—rolled up above the elbow—was his unassuming style. His life-size bronze statue still resides in the corner. He probably never gave much thought to his sweaty, glistening skin and roughen beard.
The photographs of him usually show a lot of chest hair. Why was his shirt always open? The Cuba and Key West humidity I suppose.
According to Ross, here’s what Hemingway told her on the tarmac at Idlewild airfield, all while hugging a four-foot Nigerian who had shared a seat beside him on the long flight. They’d obviously exchanged much conversation on the flight, because Hemingway kept squeezing this little guy in a hug of fresh friendship. Evidently, the little man had read Hemingway’s work. Papa was astounded, and mimicked to Lillian Ross his new friend’s explanation of Hemingway's books, all while standing on the tarmac.
“Book start slow, then increase in pace till it becomes impossible to stand. I bring emotion up to where you can’t stand it, then we level off, so we won’t have to provide oxygen tents for the readers. Book is like engine. We have to slack her off gradually.”
Did Papa know something about writing, or what? And, he evidently knew about air travel. His aeronautical metaphor for how to write a riveting book is a short story in itself.
Why is it that most of the great writers are peculiar in one way or another? Why am I so normal? Not all of them committed suicide, did they?
Michael Hicks Thompson was born in his mother’s own bed on a farm in Yazoo County, Mississippi. He grew up in a town of 310 souls. He knows a thing or two about strong Christian women, alcoholic men, and Jesus. He’s a member of Kairos (prison ministry), been to Cuba twice on door-to-door evangelism mission trips, been a Sunday School teacher, and a member of Independent Presbyterian Church for 35 years. He and his wife of 45 years live in Memphis, TN, have three sons and four grandchildren. The little ones call him “Big Mike.”
After earning his undergrad degree from Ole Miss and then a master’s in mass communication from the University of South Carolina, Michael started a one-man ad agency in Memphis. It grew to 87
employees in two cities, winning numerous national and international creative awards. Michael sold his firm in 2011 and turned his attention to full-time Christian fiction writing. His latest novel, The Actress, is available in book stores and on Amazon in print, and Kindle.
The Rector was first in the series. They’re both murder mysteries that take place in the Mississippi Delta. The Rector has already won four major awards.
Get even more book news in your inbox by signing up for our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/mHTVL. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
August 17, 2015
What's popular in #YA?
The kids are back in school and soon book reports and reading logs will be coming due. Get your kids into reading by suggesting these popular young adult titles (you might even win some cool parent points!).
What if you aren’t the Chosen One?
The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?
What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.
Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.
Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.
Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.
Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.
Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
Twelve years ago Stella and Jeanie vanished while picking strawberries. Stella returned minutes later, with no memory of what happened. Jeanie was never seen or heard from again.
Now Stella is seventeen, and she's over it. She's the lucky one who survived, and sure, the case is still cloaked in mystery—and it's her small town's ugly legacy—but Stella is focused on the coming summer. She's got a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.
Then along comes a corpse, a little girl who washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and who has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect that something sinister is at work.
And before the summer ends, Stella will learn the hard way that if you hunt for monsters, you will find them.
It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead, he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.
The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?
It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.
The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.
But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?
Covers and descriptions are from Goodreads.com. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
What if you aren’t the Chosen One?The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death?
What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again.
Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world, and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.
Even if your best friend is worshipped by mountain lions.
Award-winning writer Patrick Ness’s bold and irreverent novel powerfully reminds us that there are many different types of remarkable.
Buy The Rest of Us Just Live Here at Amazon
Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.
Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.
Buy Legacy of Kings at Amazon
Now Stella is seventeen, and she's over it. She's the lucky one who survived, and sure, the case is still cloaked in mystery—and it's her small town's ugly legacy—but Stella is focused on the coming summer. She's got a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.
Then along comes a corpse, a little girl who washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and who has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect that something sinister is at work.
And before the summer ends, Stella will learn the hard way that if you hunt for monsters, you will find them.
Buy The Creeping at Amazon
The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions, and Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?
Buy What You Left Behind at Amazon
The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.
But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?
Buy The Accident Season at Amazon
Covers and descriptions are from Goodreads.com. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
August 10, 2015
Calling all @DebHarkness Fans - @AllSoulsCon 9/21
AllSoulsCon is a one-day nonprofit convention celebrating Deborah Harkness‘s masterpiece, All Souls Trilogy.
The convention is a unique opportunity to meet the author, the outstanding narrator of the audiobooks, Jennifer Ikeda, as well as other trilogy enthusiasts. You’ll be able to enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, renaissance music, and learn more about the Bodleian Library.
You can see the schedule here, but highlights include:
AllSoulsCon 2015 will take place on Saturday, September 12, in Los Angeles, California, and will be live streamed to virtual attendees around the world. That’s right! You’ll be able to participate no matter where you are. Early bird tickets are 20% OFF through August 13.
All proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to Bodley’s American Friends, the US-based organization that provides support for the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
One lucky Girl Who Reads reader will win a FREE virtual ticket. This giveaway is open to readers any where in the world and is sponsored by AllSoulsCon and Viking/Penguin Books. To enter, leave a comment with one question you would like to ask Deborah Harkness. Please remember to leave a contact email with your comment. A winner will be chosen using Random.org on at midnight EDT on Friday, August, 14.
Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
THE ALL SOULS TRILOGY follows the journey of Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, who discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. In no time, Diana and Matthew are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and danger, and as the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey. Themes of power and forbidden passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences drive this intelligent, romantic and transporting saga, praised by People as “wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter or Twilight.”
The convention is a unique opportunity to meet the author, the outstanding narrator of the audiobooks, Jennifer Ikeda, as well as other trilogy enthusiasts. You’ll be able to enjoy AST-inspired food, wine, contests, renaissance music, and learn more about the Bodleian Library.
You can see the schedule here, but highlights include:
- Q&A sessions with Deborah Harkness and Jennifer Ikeda
- A Renaissance Music Workshop, with performances by University of Southern California musicians and featuring original compositions by Isaias Garcia
- A fan panel
AllSoulsCon 2015 will take place on Saturday, September 12, in Los Angeles, California, and will be live streamed to virtual attendees around the world. That’s right! You’ll be able to participate no matter where you are. Early bird tickets are 20% OFF through August 13.
All proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to Bodley’s American Friends, the US-based organization that provides support for the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
One lucky Girl Who Reads reader will win a FREE virtual ticket. This giveaway is open to readers any where in the world and is sponsored by AllSoulsCon and Viking/Penguin Books. To enter, leave a comment with one question you would like to ask Deborah Harkness. Please remember to leave a contact email with your comment. A winner will be chosen using Random.org on at midnight EDT on Friday, August, 14.
Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 27, 2015
Interview with #LAPunkQueen Brenda Perlin
by Donna Huber
Hi Brenda! Welcome back to Girl Who Reads. While you aren't a stranger here (see Brenda's past appearances), please tell us a little about yourself and what you have been up to.
Thank you for your ongoing kindness and generosity. Girl Who Reads is a wonderful website and asset to all authors. I am a California girl who got bit by the writing bug pretty late in life. It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I decided to put my real-life drama into book form while my life was spiraling out of control. I was going through a gruesome divorce and I do believe it was writing that was my saving grace. Without that, I might have gone bonkers or at the very least needed extensive therapy.
Now, things have settled down and I have managed to publish three novels, two short stories with one on the way. It’s almost like giving birth. Each one is exciting in its own way. I have had the luxury of writing about things that I am passionate about such as bullies and saving stray dogs. To me it’s a blessing and a true gift.
Your newest book, L.A. Punk Rocker, hit the shelves last week. Your previous works have been fictionalize reality. Have you taken this same direction with L.A. Punk Rocker?
Thank you, Donna. You have a good memory! In L.A. Punk Rocker none of my stories are fictionalized other than a few name changes to protect the identities of some of my friends. These are all personal accounts that date back to the eighties. My teenage years when I discovered punk rock music and got lost into the Hollywood scene. All of the other authors stories are from real life experience as well except for Mark Barry’s two pieces that he writes from Billy Idol’s perspective. It could be called “fan fiction” and he does a brilliant job of bringing the King Rocker to life. There is even a paranormal twist. Personally, I think he should take what he started and do a full length novel. I would pay fat to read that!
You have written about your life some through your series Brooklyn and Bo Chronicles, did you find it more difficult writing L.A. Punk Rocker without having fictional characters to put somewhat of a barrier between you and the world?
Actually, writing L.A. Punk Rocker was very much like writing Shattered Reality (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon) and Burnt Promises (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon) since they are all based on my true-life experience. Same thing with Alex the Mutt (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon), my short story about saving rescue dogs.The hardest book to write thus far has been Fractured Vows (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon), the third book in Brooklyn and Bo Chronicles because it’s all from Bo’s life experience, a male’s perspective and I had to do some ad-libbing. Since I am not a true fiction writer it felt sneaky putting words into my characters mouths. Though I have to say it was quite liberating at the same time.
It sounds like your youth was a really wild time. What are some of the highlights from it that you share in L.A. Punk Rocker?
This is a paragraph from a story titled ‘Vintage Punk’. It’s kind of fun to look back at some of the people I saw on the grungy streets of Hollywood.
“When Andy Warhol slid out of the shiny white limo, nobody paid attention. Among all of us rebellious teens he stood out, but no one seemed to care. We were all too preoccupied doing our thing. His hair was as white as snow, and his sweater was so bright that he didn’t have to stand under the light to be seen. In an orange day-glow turtleneck, he looked like the artist that he was. He had a style all his own. The man was part grungy and part refined. The manner in which he walked told us that, as did his attitude, a swagger that accompanied his stride. He was used to the finer things in life but despite that, he still had a taste for walking on the wild side.”
L.A. Punk Rocker is a collaborative work. While writing teams are becoming more popular, was it difficult to work with four other authors? I can imagine there were creative differences at times. How did you all manage to stay on the same page?
Actually I wasn’t pining to write another book, but then U.K. author Mark Barry (who I don’t know personally) put the idea into my head. At first I told him he was crazy. Then I gave it some thought and suddenly I became inspired going back to this unusual time in my life. If it wasn’t for Mark I would have retired with Alex the Mutt.
I also didn’t plan on asking other authors to contribute to L.A. Punk Rocker but as I started writing the stories I thought it would be fun to get a little more color. On Facebook I have been able to get reacquainted with many of my old friends and acquaintances from that time period and that was where I practically begged for stories. Haha. Most people who are not writers don’t think they can write when in actuality we all have it in us if we give it a try. Sadly, I didn’t receive as many stories as I would have liked but the ones that I did get fit perfectly.
Besides L.A. Punk Rocker, what other projects are you working on?
More than anything I want to spend my days doing things that inspire me. I do read a ton and when I have time I try to help other Indie authors in ways that I am able. There are no other books in the works unless a new passion hits me in the face. In the meantime, I am enjoying the day to day stuff with my boyfriend. Looking for the positives in a very tough world. I have been through some hard times and I am not taking ANYTHING, NOTHING, NADA for granted. We are here for a reason so we better make the most of it and contribute in positive ways. Even if it’s just walking a shelter dog. Everything counts!
Thanks, Brenda, for chatting with me today. I hope L.A. Punk Rocker is a huge success.
Thank you so much, Donna. I rather enjoyed this me me me time. I appreciate your great questions and you having me back. Warm wishes to you and to all the readers who have taken the time to read this interview. And of course I am grateful to all my friends who are by my side in this journey. This kind of support is the best!
Special thanks to the contributors of L.A. Punk Rocker, Mark Barry, Steven E. Metz, Deborah Hernandez-Runions, and Cindy Jimenez Mora who put themselves out there.
Much gratitude to MAB and #mrword.
#LAPUNKQUEEN
About the Author
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
Thank you for your ongoing kindness and generosity. Girl Who Reads is a wonderful website and asset to all authors. I am a California girl who got bit by the writing bug pretty late in life. It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I decided to put my real-life drama into book form while my life was spiraling out of control. I was going through a gruesome divorce and I do believe it was writing that was my saving grace. Without that, I might have gone bonkers or at the very least needed extensive therapy.
Now, things have settled down and I have managed to publish three novels, two short stories with one on the way. It’s almost like giving birth. Each one is exciting in its own way. I have had the luxury of writing about things that I am passionate about such as bullies and saving stray dogs. To me it’s a blessing and a true gift.
Your newest book, L.A. Punk Rocker, hit the shelves last week. Your previous works have been fictionalize reality. Have you taken this same direction with L.A. Punk Rocker?
Thank you, Donna. You have a good memory! In L.A. Punk Rocker none of my stories are fictionalized other than a few name changes to protect the identities of some of my friends. These are all personal accounts that date back to the eighties. My teenage years when I discovered punk rock music and got lost into the Hollywood scene. All of the other authors stories are from real life experience as well except for Mark Barry’s two pieces that he writes from Billy Idol’s perspective. It could be called “fan fiction” and he does a brilliant job of bringing the King Rocker to life. There is even a paranormal twist. Personally, I think he should take what he started and do a full length novel. I would pay fat to read that!
You have written about your life some through your series Brooklyn and Bo Chronicles, did you find it more difficult writing L.A. Punk Rocker without having fictional characters to put somewhat of a barrier between you and the world?
Actually, writing L.A. Punk Rocker was very much like writing Shattered Reality (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon) and Burnt Promises (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon) since they are all based on my true-life experience. Same thing with Alex the Mutt (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon), my short story about saving rescue dogs.The hardest book to write thus far has been Fractured Vows (Blossoming Press, 2014, Amazon), the third book in Brooklyn and Bo Chronicles because it’s all from Bo’s life experience, a male’s perspective and I had to do some ad-libbing. Since I am not a true fiction writer it felt sneaky putting words into my characters mouths. Though I have to say it was quite liberating at the same time.
This is a paragraph from a story titled ‘Vintage Punk’. It’s kind of fun to look back at some of the people I saw on the grungy streets of Hollywood.
“When Andy Warhol slid out of the shiny white limo, nobody paid attention. Among all of us rebellious teens he stood out, but no one seemed to care. We were all too preoccupied doing our thing. His hair was as white as snow, and his sweater was so bright that he didn’t have to stand under the light to be seen. In an orange day-glow turtleneck, he looked like the artist that he was. He had a style all his own. The man was part grungy and part refined. The manner in which he walked told us that, as did his attitude, a swagger that accompanied his stride. He was used to the finer things in life but despite that, he still had a taste for walking on the wild side.”
L.A. Punk Rocker is a collaborative work. While writing teams are becoming more popular, was it difficult to work with four other authors? I can imagine there were creative differences at times. How did you all manage to stay on the same page?
Actually I wasn’t pining to write another book, but then U.K. author Mark Barry (who I don’t know personally) put the idea into my head. At first I told him he was crazy. Then I gave it some thought and suddenly I became inspired going back to this unusual time in my life. If it wasn’t for Mark I would have retired with Alex the Mutt.
I also didn’t plan on asking other authors to contribute to L.A. Punk Rocker but as I started writing the stories I thought it would be fun to get a little more color. On Facebook I have been able to get reacquainted with many of my old friends and acquaintances from that time period and that was where I practically begged for stories. Haha. Most people who are not writers don’t think they can write when in actuality we all have it in us if we give it a try. Sadly, I didn’t receive as many stories as I would have liked but the ones that I did get fit perfectly.
Besides L.A. Punk Rocker, what other projects are you working on?
More than anything I want to spend my days doing things that inspire me. I do read a ton and when I have time I try to help other Indie authors in ways that I am able. There are no other books in the works unless a new passion hits me in the face. In the meantime, I am enjoying the day to day stuff with my boyfriend. Looking for the positives in a very tough world. I have been through some hard times and I am not taking ANYTHING, NOTHING, NADA for granted. We are here for a reason so we better make the most of it and contribute in positive ways. Even if it’s just walking a shelter dog. Everything counts!
Thanks, Brenda, for chatting with me today. I hope L.A. Punk Rocker is a huge success.
Thank you so much, Donna. I rather enjoyed this me me me time. I appreciate your great questions and you having me back. Warm wishes to you and to all the readers who have taken the time to read this interview. And of course I am grateful to all my friends who are by my side in this journey. This kind of support is the best!
Special thanks to the contributors of L.A. Punk Rocker, Mark Barry, Steven E. Metz, Deborah Hernandez-Runions, and Cindy Jimenez Mora who put themselves out there.
Much gratitude to MAB and #mrword.
#LAPUNKQUEEN
Buy L.A. Punk Rocker at Amazon
About the Author
Brenda Perlin is the author of several novels including The Brooklyn and Bo Chronicles. From memoirs to illustrated books, Brenda evokes passionate responses in her readers by using a provocatively unique writing style. Fractured Vows captures the soul-wrenching conflicts of a personal struggle for emotional fulfillment.website * blog * Twitter * Facebook
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 20, 2015
Meet author K. Webster
by Heather Kirchhoff
What made you decide to start writing?
I actually went to a book signing to see Colleen Hoover with a friend. It was the first signing I ever attended and was completely nervous. My friend mentioned that she was writing a book. It was always something I had thought of doing but hearing that she was gave me the courage to start one. Ten days later, I’d written Moth to a Flame.
Was this something you always thought you’d do?
Yes, ever since I was a child, I figured I would write. At the time, I imagined writing more of a memoir of my life since it was littered with traumatic events. However, I soon realized people prefer the world of fantasy…as do I.
How do you come up with your characters or story ideas?
Sometimes it is simple. For instance, with Alpha & Omega that releases February 16th, I came up with the title first. The big craze is alpha males so I thought it would be funny for the character to be named Alpha…he goes by Al for short. Alpha seemed like a name a Greek god or angel would have and thus my character was born: a hunky, badass, alpha angel. The story fell into place at that point. Most of my stories play out as movies in my head and I simply record them. I even had a story idea while watching the Bubble Guppies cartoon. They were stuck in an avalanche. I thought, what if I had a couple of characters who also got stuck in an avalanche. However, instead of it being fun, it would be awful: Surviving against the elements, trying not to kill each other, oh and did I mention they are going through a divorce? That story is one of a second chance romance.
How do you get inspired to write?
I usually read or watch a movie to get inspired. I barely make it twenty minutes in before I’m twitching to get back to my stories.
What do you do while having writers block?
Unfortunately, I have writer’s diarrhea…meaning the stories JUST WON’T STOP! LOL! I have had blocks on my stories though and I tend to work them out in the shower. The shower is the only place I can free my head from distractions and think it out. Oftentimes, I will talk it out with the hubby and he’ll help me get past a road block.
What kind of stories do you write?
I actually write all sorts. However, they all have a romantic theme. I have a paranormal romance, Apartment 2B, that’s already out and carries the most five star reviews. I also have two different series that follow different couples. One is a rock star series that people seem to love. I’ve written suspense stories. Cop drama. An angels/demons story releases next week. And, I just finished a STEAMY historical novel. Also, up my sleeve, I’m writing a horror novel under a pen name. I even have a sci-fi story in my head lol.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favorites are Colleen Hoover (amazing chick with amazing stories), Ella Fox (she is my mentor), and Pepper Winters (I’m in love with her dark, poetic writing.)
How long have you been writing?
I started writing in November of 2014. Since then, I have published 11 novels…the 12th comes out next week. I’ve completed fourteen total and keep on plugging away.
What are your books about?
Moth to a Flame – A girl on the run from a stalker settles into a small town and falls in love with a home builder with secrets. My Breaking the Rules series follows a bunch of steamy stories of an architect firm. My Vegas Aces series is about broken, emotional rock stars that kick their bad boy ways for love. Love and Law is about a female cop who goes undercover to take down a huge drug ring and ends up falling for the main bad guy. Apartment 2B is about a woman that escapes the awful abuse of her mother and falls in love with a mysterious man in her new apartment building despite all of her OCD and past issues. Erased is a co-written book with Elle Christensen that is about a woman that must throw out her life for a new one when her father’s job puts her in danger…of course she will fall for her caretaker. And Alpha & Omega, coming soon, is about an angel that falls in love with someone destined for Hell. :D
What are you currently working on?
I just finished book one in my Becoming Her Series which is historical romance set in the late 1800s in London. Becoming Lady Thomas is about a woman that is set to marry her childhood sweetheart. But, when her father informs the family of his mountains of debt, she soon learns that he negotiated for Lord Thomas to take the hand of one of the daughters of his choosing in marriage. Elisabeth is devastated when he chooses her and that’s where it becomes complicated. He whisks her away to the city and she soon realizes that unplanned love is oftentimes what is meant to be versus the kind of love we think we want. IT IS THE STEAMIEST STORY I HAVE WRITTEN…so don’t let the time frame deter you. I’m hoping to put this one out for free!
What do you do when not writing?
What? There is such a thing? Just kidding. I am quite obsessed with graphic design and you’ll see me making teasers and covers in Photoshop when not writing. My husband and I also love going to concerts…big rockers! Mostly, my husband, kids, and I just sit at home and chill. We’re kind of boring lol. All the action takes place in the books!
About the Author:
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect thos of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
I actually went to a book signing to see Colleen Hoover with a friend. It was the first signing I ever attended and was completely nervous. My friend mentioned that she was writing a book. It was always something I had thought of doing but hearing that she was gave me the courage to start one. Ten days later, I’d written Moth to a Flame.
Was this something you always thought you’d do?
Yes, ever since I was a child, I figured I would write. At the time, I imagined writing more of a memoir of my life since it was littered with traumatic events. However, I soon realized people prefer the world of fantasy…as do I.
How do you come up with your characters or story ideas?
Sometimes it is simple. For instance, with Alpha & Omega that releases February 16th, I came up with the title first. The big craze is alpha males so I thought it would be funny for the character to be named Alpha…he goes by Al for short. Alpha seemed like a name a Greek god or angel would have and thus my character was born: a hunky, badass, alpha angel. The story fell into place at that point. Most of my stories play out as movies in my head and I simply record them. I even had a story idea while watching the Bubble Guppies cartoon. They were stuck in an avalanche. I thought, what if I had a couple of characters who also got stuck in an avalanche. However, instead of it being fun, it would be awful: Surviving against the elements, trying not to kill each other, oh and did I mention they are going through a divorce? That story is one of a second chance romance.
How do you get inspired to write?
I usually read or watch a movie to get inspired. I barely make it twenty minutes in before I’m twitching to get back to my stories.
What do you do while having writers block?
Unfortunately, I have writer’s diarrhea…meaning the stories JUST WON’T STOP! LOL! I have had blocks on my stories though and I tend to work them out in the shower. The shower is the only place I can free my head from distractions and think it out. Oftentimes, I will talk it out with the hubby and he’ll help me get past a road block.
What kind of stories do you write?
I actually write all sorts. However, they all have a romantic theme. I have a paranormal romance, Apartment 2B, that’s already out and carries the most five star reviews. I also have two different series that follow different couples. One is a rock star series that people seem to love. I’ve written suspense stories. Cop drama. An angels/demons story releases next week. And, I just finished a STEAMY historical novel. Also, up my sleeve, I’m writing a horror novel under a pen name. I even have a sci-fi story in my head lol.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favorites are Colleen Hoover (amazing chick with amazing stories), Ella Fox (she is my mentor), and Pepper Winters (I’m in love with her dark, poetic writing.)
How long have you been writing?
I started writing in November of 2014. Since then, I have published 11 novels…the 12th comes out next week. I’ve completed fourteen total and keep on plugging away.
What are your books about?
What are you currently working on?
I just finished book one in my Becoming Her Series which is historical romance set in the late 1800s in London. Becoming Lady Thomas is about a woman that is set to marry her childhood sweetheart. But, when her father informs the family of his mountains of debt, she soon learns that he negotiated for Lord Thomas to take the hand of one of the daughters of his choosing in marriage. Elisabeth is devastated when he chooses her and that’s where it becomes complicated. He whisks her away to the city and she soon realizes that unplanned love is oftentimes what is meant to be versus the kind of love we think we want. IT IS THE STEAMIEST STORY I HAVE WRITTEN…so don’t let the time frame deter you. I’m hoping to put this one out for free!
What do you do when not writing?
What? There is such a thing? Just kidding. I am quite obsessed with graphic design and you’ll see me making teasers and covers in Photoshop when not writing. My husband and I also love going to concerts…big rockers! Mostly, my husband, kids, and I just sit at home and chill. We’re kind of boring lol. All the action takes place in the books!
Buy Moth to a Flame at Amazon
About the Author:
K. Webster loves my husband of 11 years and sweet kids. Her passions include reading, writing, graphic design, and shopping! She absolutely loves social media and the power of how it connects people all over the world. You can usually find her easily on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads!Website * Newsletter * Facebook * Twitter * Blog * Pinterest
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect thos of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 13, 2015
Audio Books for Short Summer Trips
by Donna Huber
Are you heading out on a day trip or maybe just a few hours away for a quick weekend getaway? I have some short audio books to help you pass the time until your destination.
At just around 9 hours, Eyes On You by Kate White would make a great audio book for your weekend getaway. It started out a little slow but it was like a snowball and by the end I was so invested in the story that I didn't want to stop listening. I was suspicious and paranoid of everyone in the story. Who's out to get Robin?
Robin is a television co-host who is just starting to get her career and life back on track when strange things start happen. Does she have a stalker or is she doing it to herself for the attention?
Have you seen the movie If I Stay? This is the book the movie is based on. If you are looking for something a bit more artsy for your road trip, then check out this one. There is a bit more detail in this 5 hour audio book than made the movie cut so even if you some in the car has watched the movie and others haven't, there will be something new for everyone.
Mia is a gifted cellist, she has a great family, a great boyfriend when everything changes. A car accident leaves it all hanging in the balance.
There is a follow up novel to If I Stay, Where She Went. I actually liked this book a bit more. It is told from Adam's point of view and I really like him. Again this is a short book (5 hours 21 minutes) so perfect for a day trip out of town.
We get to catch up with Mia and Adam and how life turned out for them. With a title like Where She Went I thought it would be from Mia's point of view so having it from Adam's was a nice surprise. I liked getting inside his head.
Are you having a Girls' Weekend? Then this romance may be the perfect pairing for the car trip. The Cinderella Substitute by Nell Dixon. It is a REALLY short story - only 3 hours 24 minutes long. We are kind of dropped into the story of Jenni and Nate. Jenni is Nate's personal assistant but it isn't a creepy love story in that sense. It is more that they have both been focused on their own life and just haven't noticed one another in that way, but when they do the romance is a bit of a whirl wind. I thought the story was a little bland and could have been fleshed out a bit more. But it could be a fun thing to listen to with the girl friends.
Got kids in the car? Then I recommend The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake by Kristiana Gregory. It was a fun little story (1 hour 40 minutes) that will keep the entire family entertained. It reminded me of Encyclopedia Brown or The Bobbsey Twins.
Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
Are you heading out on a day trip or maybe just a few hours away for a quick weekend getaway? I have some short audio books to help you pass the time until your destination.
Robin is a television co-host who is just starting to get her career and life back on track when strange things start happen. Does she have a stalker or is she doing it to herself for the attention?
Buy Eyes on You at Amazon
Mia is a gifted cellist, she has a great family, a great boyfriend when everything changes. A car accident leaves it all hanging in the balance.
Buy If I Stay at Amazon
We get to catch up with Mia and Adam and how life turned out for them. With a title like Where She Went I thought it would be from Mia's point of view so having it from Adam's was a nice surprise. I liked getting inside his head.
Buy Where She Went at Amazon
Buy The Cinderella Substitute at Amazon
Buy The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake at Amazon
Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
July 6, 2015
S.H. Jucha: Deleted Chapter from The Silver Ships
An explorer-tug captain, Alex Racine detects a damaged alien craft drifting into the system. Recognizing a once in a lifetime opportunity to make first contact, Alex pulls off a daring maneuver to latch on to the derelict.
Alex discovers the ship was attacked by an unknown craft, the first of its kind ever encountered. The mysterious silver ship's attack was both instant and deadly.
What enfolds is a story of the descendants of two Earth colony ships, with very different histories, meeting 700 years after their founding and uniting to defend humanity from the silver ships.
S. H. Jucha has provided a short chapter that was deleted from his debut novel The Silver Ships.
Buy The Silver Ships at Amazon
About the Author:
S.H. Jucha has had an extensive career as a senior manager in the technical education and software development industries, with degrees in Biology and Broadcast Communications. He has been driven by an innate interest in computers since his initial adoption of an IBM PC in 1981. Jucha’s new novel, The Silver Ships,—the product of extensive planning, researching and development—is now part of a planned five-book series with a potential spin-off in the works.
Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
June 15, 2015
Meet Karyn Pearson (@kp_writes)
by Heather Kirchoff
Welcome, Karyn Pearson! What made you decide to start writing? Was this something you always thought you’d do?
When I was eight years old and reading Harry Potter for the first time, it occurred to me that writing books was an actual career, which I thought was pretty cool to do. When I was eleven, I started writing Harry Potter fanfiction, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed writing. I've been writing ever since. In that sense, yes, I do think it's something I've always thought I'd do. It's been my childhood dream!
How do you come up with your characters or story ideas?
Honestly, I don't know how characters or story ideas come together. I'm inundated with so much pop culture that after a while, random elements throw themselves together and they happen to be character ideas or story ideas. Take for example, how I first came up with Ardentia, the main character of the Hellfire Trilogy. At the time, I'd been watching a ton of reruns of the CW TV series, Supernatural, I'd also recently seen the Hollywood adaptation of the graphic novel, Priest, and I was stuck on the character creation screen for a new fire mage in the MMO, Dragon Nest. The character avatar had red hair and red eyes, and I wanted her to have a fire-themed name. So I took the root "ardent" and femmed it up a little by adding an "-ia" at the end. Over time, I started to wonder why I'd made my character have such a unique look. Ultimately, Ardentia got a back story that helped build the post-apocalyptic world the Hellfire Trilogy is set in.
How do you get inspired to write?
Inspiration comes to me at the most random of times. Sometimes I'll be sitting in the car and see something interesting out the window, or I'll be reading a book, watching a show or a movie, and suddenly think, "Hey, you know what'd make a cool story? If I did . . ." Other times, inspiration strikes on account of book characters screaming in my head and demanding their stories to be told.
What do you do while having writers block?
If it's a particular story that I'm blocked on, I'll try to work on something else. I still have an ongoing Inuyasha fanfiction for this very reason (also I'm too stubborn to abandon it--I hate leaving things unfinished). Other times, I just try to rest my brain and do something different, since I typically get writer's block when I'm burnt out. So I'll go into a YouTube coma, binge watch anime on Netflix or Crunchyroll, play a ton of Guild Wars 2, or get dogsaulted by my adorable fur children. In time, my mental vacation helps me recharge my batteries and I can resume writing again.
What kind of stories do you write?
Right now, I'm in the paranormal YA and Adult urban fantasy genres. Though, I've got a couple sci-fi and horror story ideas rattling around upstairs. So who knows? Maybe I'll branch out into other genres.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favorite authors are J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, and Susan Ee. In the manga world, my favorites are Kishimoto Masashi, Isayama Hajime, and Kubo Tite (names have been listed in Japanese tradition).
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for thirteen years, since I was eleven years old.
What are your stories about?
Apart from life in an angel-demon post-apocalypse, I'm also working on a vampire story set in our present time where secret societies of vampire hunters and vampire factions coexist among normal people.
What are you currently working on?
Right now, there's nothing on the docket. But very soon, I'll be getting to work on the first book of my next series, Arcturian Bloodlines.
What do you do when not writing?
When I'm not writing, I'm either reading, murdering manuscripts, playing video games, playing with my dogs, or just lounging around at home with one of my dogs using me as a head rest.
About the Author:
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
When I was eight years old and reading Harry Potter for the first time, it occurred to me that writing books was an actual career, which I thought was pretty cool to do. When I was eleven, I started writing Harry Potter fanfiction, and to my surprise, I really enjoyed writing. I've been writing ever since. In that sense, yes, I do think it's something I've always thought I'd do. It's been my childhood dream!
How do you come up with your characters or story ideas?
Honestly, I don't know how characters or story ideas come together. I'm inundated with so much pop culture that after a while, random elements throw themselves together and they happen to be character ideas or story ideas. Take for example, how I first came up with Ardentia, the main character of the Hellfire Trilogy. At the time, I'd been watching a ton of reruns of the CW TV series, Supernatural, I'd also recently seen the Hollywood adaptation of the graphic novel, Priest, and I was stuck on the character creation screen for a new fire mage in the MMO, Dragon Nest. The character avatar had red hair and red eyes, and I wanted her to have a fire-themed name. So I took the root "ardent" and femmed it up a little by adding an "-ia" at the end. Over time, I started to wonder why I'd made my character have such a unique look. Ultimately, Ardentia got a back story that helped build the post-apocalyptic world the Hellfire Trilogy is set in.
How do you get inspired to write?
Inspiration comes to me at the most random of times. Sometimes I'll be sitting in the car and see something interesting out the window, or I'll be reading a book, watching a show or a movie, and suddenly think, "Hey, you know what'd make a cool story? If I did . . ." Other times, inspiration strikes on account of book characters screaming in my head and demanding their stories to be told.
What do you do while having writers block?
If it's a particular story that I'm blocked on, I'll try to work on something else. I still have an ongoing Inuyasha fanfiction for this very reason (also I'm too stubborn to abandon it--I hate leaving things unfinished). Other times, I just try to rest my brain and do something different, since I typically get writer's block when I'm burnt out. So I'll go into a YouTube coma, binge watch anime on Netflix or Crunchyroll, play a ton of Guild Wars 2, or get dogsaulted by my adorable fur children. In time, my mental vacation helps me recharge my batteries and I can resume writing again.
What kind of stories do you write?
Right now, I'm in the paranormal YA and Adult urban fantasy genres. Though, I've got a couple sci-fi and horror story ideas rattling around upstairs. So who knows? Maybe I'll branch out into other genres.
Who are your favorite authors?
My favorite authors are J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, Suzanne Collins, and Susan Ee. In the manga world, my favorites are Kishimoto Masashi, Isayama Hajime, and Kubo Tite (names have been listed in Japanese tradition).
How long have you been writing?
I have been writing for thirteen years, since I was eleven years old.
Apart from life in an angel-demon post-apocalypse, I'm also working on a vampire story set in our present time where secret societies of vampire hunters and vampire factions coexist among normal people.
What are you currently working on?
Right now, there's nothing on the docket. But very soon, I'll be getting to work on the first book of my next series, Arcturian Bloodlines.
What do you do when not writing?
When I'm not writing, I'm either reading, murdering manuscripts, playing video games, playing with my dogs, or just lounging around at home with one of my dogs using me as a head rest.
Buy Spark at Amazon
About the Author:
Karyn Pearson is the author of Spark (Hellfire Trilogy #1), Inferno (Hellfire Trilogy #2), and Arcturian Bloodlines. She is a full-time pet parent of her two dogs Nikki and Jamie. Karyn has a B.A. in Anthropology and has explored dozens of cultures in her studies, but has imagined countless more. She enjoys reading, playing action RPGs, and plotting the next adventure for her characters whenever she has a spare moment free of the dreaded and undefeated "puppy dog eyes attack."Facebook * Twitter
Her current projects include Embers (Hellfire Trilogy #3) and the first novel of a new vampire series. When she's not writing, Karyn can be found playing with her puppies or Googling various dangerous topics for novel research that make her constantly question why federal agents haven't yet knocked down her front door.
The views, opinions, and beliefs expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Girl Who Reads. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
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