Too Tempting: Slave

Slave (Finding Anna) by Sherri Hayes
paperback, 267 pages
Published July 2011 by The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
ISBN 9781612130484
Read November 2011

The publishing house I work for sent me some of their damaged stock to see if I could figure out what to do with it. I knew some of the books are missing pages and I have a cool idea for them (I just hope it turns out as well as it does in my head). So I was flipping through the books in the box to see which ones where cosmetically damaged and which where missing pages. Slave was in the box. And it was too tempting not to sit down and read it. So that's what I've done for the past 5 hours. (It's Saturday; I can be lazy!)

I first learned of Sherri's writing in our online writing community about 2 years or so ago. She was working on this story. I was intrigued because as you know I have an affinity for books about troubled people - if the character has been kidnapped, abused, suffers from mental illness, then I have to read it. Sherri took an extra step with hers and placed her troubled heroine in the world of BDSM. I'm a bit fascinated with the lifestyle. Not so much for the kinky sex, but the deep emotional connection the partners have with one another.

Outside of some kissing and a few mentions of masturbation, there is no sex in this romance novel. It was all about the two main characters learning to communicate and connect with one another. However, this is just book one of the series, so I can imagine that it could get rather steamy in future books.

Like I said I read a draft of this story through our writer's group, but as it is meant to be a forum to explore your creativity and hone skills often the finished product is quite different than where it started. Though the general back bone remained in tack, the fleshing out of the story was quite well done. Many of the questions readers in the writing group where left with were addressed in this published version. Like I said, it's a series and so not everything was answered. But I was quite satisfied. I was happy to see a particular part near the end. It was something that was not included in the original draft and many readers were upset about it.

As it is the publishing house I work for who published Slave, I have read many reviews. Some readers seemed upset about the ending. I thought that it was a great ending. It it tied up some of the story lines presented in the book, while at the same time setting the stage for the next chapter in Brianna's and Stephen's lives.

GoodReads Choice Awards 2011

Yesterday Goodreads.com announced their nominees for their 2011 Choice Awards. A few books that I have reviewed made the shortlist in their respective categories and many more that I've not read but want to! I'm also excited as a book published by my publisher made the short list in Best Romance.

The winners are chosen by public vote and you can even do a write in vote if your favorite isn't listed.

See my reviews of shortlisted titles:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

My write in vote for Favorite Book: Forbidden by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Now go vote for yours!

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Favorite Book of 2011 Vote now for your favorite books!

A Roller Coaster Ride: The Undertaker

The Undertaker by William Brown
ebook, 322 pages
Published February 2011 by William F. Brown
ISBN13: 9781617505119
Read October 2011

The Undertaker is definitely a roller coaster ride, complete with the slow standing in line start. Seriously, for about the first third of the book I questioned if it was going to be worth it - just like when you stand in the long line inching forward and you see the ads for the ride and maybe a glimpse of the fun in action on a video screen, but aren't sure the shuffling pace of the line will really be worth it in the end. Boy, am I glad that I didn't hop out of line on this book.


It is a thriller involving the mafia, government, and cover-ups - all the right ingredients for a great read in my book. But there was just something about Peter's character that made it difficult for me to buy into him jumping to the conclusion of a conspiracy or scam. If you follow my Goodreads.com updates you know that I thought Peter must be really stupid for not seeing that it was the witness protection program. While I do still stand by the claim and I did finally jump on the conspiracy bandwagon around the half-way mark and that is when the ride got wild.


For a thriller, it didn't really require much thought to keep up with the story. Brown uses pretty stereotypical characters, which might be why I had problems with Peter. An aeronautical engineer (aka rocket scientist) from California does not scream conspiracy nut to me. Maybe it was the death of his wife, but I would have thought he would have been more logical.

I really liked the supporting characters of Sandy and Gino. It would be cool if there was a book that focused on Gino. Sandy was a bit unstable (I could totally see her jumping to the government conspiracy theory). Her character though served more to reinforce my opinion that Peter shouldn't have gone down that path so quickly/easily. 


The Undertaker isn't meant to be a book that you think too hard about. If you do, you just start seeing more problems and lose some of the thrilling fun that it is meant to be. It was pitched to me as a great summer beach read and it definitely would have been if I could have gotten to it this summer. For a reader who doesn't really care to read fluffy chick-lit, but still wants a light read The Undertaker is perfect! (I can say it's a fluffy thriller?)

Related articles

• Review: The Undertaker - William F. Brown (bookbagsandcatnaps.com)
• Didn't connect: Amongst My Enemies (girl-who-reads.com)

Video: Weekend Reading News

Currently Reading:

 

The Undertaker by William Brown

 

 

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Completed by David Madden)

Gotchyaa by Steven Stiles

Book Event: Avid Bookshop Grand Opening

Originally, I was suppose to be in Texas for the Austin Book Festival this weekend. However, plans fell through. But lucky for me, my local town is providing a variety of book related events this weekend. Last night, I attended the Grand Opening of an independent bookstore: Avid Bookshop.

I arrived just a few minutes before 7:00 pm when the doors where set to open and there was already a crowd gathering outside. People of all ages where arriving for this event, many from the surrounding neighborhoods. When the doors opened with a dramatic flair the crowd surged forward.

As I entered, I could see owner Janet Geddis wiping tears from her eyes as she greeted the eager clients. She lives in the surrounding community and I'm sure many are her neighbors, friends, and excited supporters. Looking around the large crowd, I could see many greeting one another with hugs and warm welcome.

As you can see the crowd was large. On Friday afternoon, the Facebook invite page had 133 people listed as attending. Amidst the hub-bub, everyone wanting to congratulate Janet, I was able to get a quick with her. When asked about how she felt about finally opening the bookstore after several years of planning, she said it was "amazing... surreal", and just as she always imagined it. 

Avid Bookshop has a little bit of everything. I didn't really see much in the way of local authors' work, which was a little disappointing in a neighborhood bookstore. But if you are looking for the mainstream, popular titles for children, middle grades, young adult, and adult there was quite the selection.

The evening wound down with a reading from local writing group New Town Revue and the illumination of the permanent art installation in the children's area.

I had a great time. I mentioned my blog to a few people and even did a little scouting for the publishing house. Then I came home and like a typical book lover, I curled up in bed with a cup of hot cocoa and a book.

I'm off to another literary event this afternoon. The Northeast Georgia Reading Council is hosting a Family Day to celebrate literacy at the local Barnes & Noble. There are a couple of open mic times, so I'm hoping to do a little more scouting and then my friend and author William j. Barry will be reading from his book Sebastian and the Afterlife.

I'm back to reading!

I'm on location this week with my video blog. It's not an exotic place, but it is sort of exciting. I finished my front porch project. You can see "live" footage in the video, but here are a few of pictures.

Now on to what I'm reading this week. It's Monday! What are your reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.


The Undertaker by William Brown

Curiosity can kill more than cats, but when Pete Talbott found himself at the wrong end of Gino Parini's .45 reading his own obituary, it was a mystery he couldn't leave alone. From the cornfields of Ohio to the gritty slums of Chicago, a bloody kitchen in a Back Bay townhouse, New York's Washington Square, and the nation's Capitol itself, the hunt is on. Someone with a penchant for sharp scalpels and embalming tables is planting bodies under other people's names, and if Talbott doesn't stop them, he and his quirky new girlfriend Sandy Kasmarek will be next on the Undertaker's list. From Goodreads.com

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Completed by David Madden)

To mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens in 2012, Unthank Books are publishing Sir David Madden's masterful new completion of THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, Dickens' last, and unfinished novel. In a work of incredible literary ventriloquism David Madden renders the greatest homage he can to the great author by creating an ending as faithful to Dickens' written intentions as possible. Closely following the clues clearly laid down by Dickens in his sadly incomplete version, David Madden seamlessly continues the story with a stunningly similar repertoire of comedy, psychological acuity, inimitable description and turn of phrase. Published in one volume with Madden succeeding the 'master,' this is at last a completion of the mystery which proves it to be as much a 'whydunnit' as a 'whodunnit' and affords real pleasure, finally and fully from start to finish.
It is literally as if Dickens has risen from his grave to finish the job. From Goodreads.com