Tuesday Reviews - September 29, 2015

Harriet Wolf's Seventh Book of Wonders by Julianna Baggett
4.5 stars



It took me about fifty pages to warm up to this book and its characters but once I did I fell in love with their story and the relationships between them.  Harriet Wolf had a heartbreaking childhood that later propelled her to write a series of much beloved and praised books.  After her death there was clamor for a much wanted seventh volume that no one appears to know for sure really exists.  This novel follows four different perspectives; Harriet, her daughter Eleanor and her granddaughters Tilton and Ruthie.  Each character offers a completely unique perspective to the story and while Harriet's seventh book plays out, you find yourself routing for the complex love between these mothers and daughters.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


First Season/Bride to Be by Jane Ashford
Pub. Date - October 6, 2015
2 stars/4.5 stars



This is a hard book to rank because it is a bind up of two very distinct novels.  The first of which I did not care for and the second of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  First Season stars with an intriguing story line.  Anabel is the young widowed mother of three precocious children.  She entered into an arranged marriage very young and was denied the chance at her own season or the chance to make some of her own life decisions.  Her mother decides to bring her to London to offer her a first season.  Anabel is immediately noticed by a notorious rake who pursues a woman for the first time in his life.  Around this time, family friend Christopher Hanford appears in town after some time abroad.  His steady presence relaxes Anabel but also introduces new feelings.  The story is good but Anabel might be one of the most infuriating heroines that I have come across in the historical romance genre.  She is so naïve and foolish that it is really hard to root for her and her constant confusion and lack of backbone makes her unlikable.  I almost put the entire volume down... but I am glad that I didn't because the second book was much, much better. 

In Bride to Be, notorious London dandy Richard has just returned from being shipwrecked in South America for a year.  His whole personality has changed and he dreads going back into the society that he once ruled.  On his way back he is attacked by two men and would have drowned were it not for Emily boldly rescuing him and dragging him to safety.  Emily lives with her two very bohemian, social outcast parents and longs for a more stable existence.  She is sent to spend the season with her aunt, a duchess, and attempt to impersonate a demure society lady.  Her attempts come to naught when she is forced into contact once again with handsome Richard and realizes that his life might be in very much danger.  As they work together to discover who is behind the attacks, they realize they might just be meant for each other.  This is pretty much a perfect romance read for me, with complex yet likable characters, interesting backstory and just enough danger.  I especially liked Richard's story and his unlikely transformation and would have liked even more insight to his former existence as the town wit.  I'm not sure why these two books were bound together but I would suggest reading the second even if you are not a fan of the first as it is the much better of the two.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Friday Romance Reads - September 25, 2015

The Predictions by Bianca Zander
3.5 stars



Poppy grew up in the seventies living in a commune in rural New Zealand.  Her unusual upbringing provided many bizarre opportunities including a divination ceremony that gave predictions to each of the seven children.  As they reach adulthood Poppy and her boyfriend Lukas leave the commune to try their luck in London.  As Poppy deals with Lukas's tumultuous music career, her prediction never strays far from her mind.  This is a well written book and I like the way it explores how parenting philosophies, especially the extremely strange ones, have long lasting effects.  I liked Poppy and Lukas and how they dealt with their childhood traumas but I found myself a little stressed out by their relationship and mistakes.  I also didn't get Poppy's obsession with her prediction.  I did enjoy reading this book though, and after a fast read, it ended well.  I received this book from a LibraryThing giveaway in exchange for an honest review. 


Good Earl Gone Bad by Manda Collins
Pub. Date - October 6, 2015
4 stars



This is the second in the Lords of Anarchy series and I have to say I enjoyed this one a little more than the first.  Hermione is fearless and opinionated and as the first female racer in the Lord of Anarchy club, she has her work cut out for her.  Jasper, Earl of Mainwaring, likes to show off his intelligence at the gaming tables and is not sure what to make of Hermione.  What follows is a sometimes convoluted plot about horse thieves, murder, gambling and falling in love when least expected.  I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next in the series.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 



His Work of Art by Shannon Schroeder
Pub. Date - October 27, 2015
3 stars

Adam and Reese know each other from interactions in a comic book store.  When Reese approaches Adam to help her with a comic book project, they get to know each other and fight a growing attraction.  This is a short book but I thought the relationship between the two seemed complete.  A lot of the drama stemmed from the fact that they are an interracial couple and I think it is a good issue to explore.  I do think that the cover is HORRIFIC and I hope that it is changed before publication because it does not depict the realities of this couple at all.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Massive Weekend Wrap-Up - September 22, 2015

Freedom's Child by Max Miller
4 stars



This is a gritty book with gritty, often unlikable characters and violent scenarios.  Freedom Oliver lives in Oregon under the Witness Protection Program.  She drinks to forget the children that she has left behind.  When news reaches her that the man she put in prison is now out and the daughter she gave up has disappeared, she starts a cross-country journey to Kentucky.  Freedom is a crass character... so crass that she almost becomes a caricaturization instead of a realistic character.  That is beside the point because this is a book about redemption and about overcoming the past and pushing forward.  I still liked Freedom and liked how tough she had to become.  The story is intriguing and moves quickly.  The bad guys are really bad and the good guys aren't perfect which makes this an entertaining book to read.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.




You Don't Have to Like Me by Alida Nugent
Pub. Date - October 20, 2015
3.5 stars



While I enjoyed this book of feminist writing, I am still trying to figure out its purpose.  I agreed with most everything the author stated, yet it wasn't exactly new information and even though it was humorous at points, it wasn't quite laugh-out-loud funny enough to be categorized as humor writing.   I am almost a decade older than the author so it could just be that while this is all old hat to me, it is fresher with a younger audience.  That said, this is written well and clearly with conviction and a lot of common sense.  I think in the right hands, this could be an important book to certain readers.  I received this from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 




The Distance From Me to You by Marina Gerstner
Pub. Date - October 20, 2015
4.5 stars



So I started this book late last night with the intention of getting a small start on it and then ended up finishing it in under a day.  McKenna is all prepared to spend the next several month of her life hiking the Appalachian Trail when her best friend bales and she is confronted with the possibility of hiking it alone.  She does so, without telling her parents, and is forced to discover her own bravery and strength.  Serendipitously, I just finished rereading Bill Bryson's A Walk In the Woods so I was definitely in the mood to revisit the infamous trail.  I honestly think the fictional McKenna was much more prepared with the right gear, knowledge and fitness to complete this trip.  She is smart and organized with a good head.  There is a love story here and some powerful life lessons about making mistakes and learning not to follow blindly when you know it is wrong. This is definitely Young Adult literature and the characters are in their late teens but it is one of the better in the genre that I have read lately.  I received this from Penguin's First to Read Program in exchange for an honest review. 




Every Word by Ellie Marney
4.5 stars



I enjoy this series in the same way that I devour episodes of "Veronica Mars."... with an appreciation for smart and quirky teenage characters and a healthy suspension of belief.  I really enjoy this series and I liked that Rachel grew a lot more in this book.  The characters are really well developed in these books and very smart, even when they get themselves in ridiculous situations.  I'm not sure that I will say much more about this book since it is the second in a series but I did enjoy this one even more than the first and I am dying to get my hands on the third.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 




If You Dare by Jessica Lemmon
3 stars




Lily and Marcus have worked together for a while and even though Marcus has harbored a crush for the entire duration, Lily has been burned before and knows to keep work relationship professional.  Until one night Marcus dares Lily to stay for one night in a notoriously haunted house and the ridiculous situation forces them to confront their growing attraction.  This contemporary romance is pure light fluff.  It started out as a novella and was recently expanded which might be why it had a lot of repetitive statements.  Regardless, it was fun to read and I liked the characters and their relationship.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Thursday Reviews - September 17, 2015

The Highlander's Choice by Callie Hutton
4 stars



Sybil has very definite ideas about Scottish men and Liam (and his family) definitely has set ideas about English women but when they are thrown together at a wedding their ideas evolve along with their mutual attraction.  I absolutely loved the two main characters in this book.  Sybil is very smart and strong while Liam is kind and funny.  The obstacles that the two have to overcome are realistic and their chemistry together is completely believable.  I liked the author's writing style and will definitely be following up on the other's in this series.  I received an electronic galley of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Pilot, Author, Spy - September 15, 2015

The Outsider:  My Life in Intrigue  by Frederick Forsyth
Pub. Date - October 6, 2015
5 stars



Frederick Forsyth is a bestselling author of international suspense novels but his own life as been just as exciting.  Although I have not read his novels, I can bet that this is just as fast-paced.  He was a precocious teenager who received his pilot's license early and became the youngest RAF.  He worked as the sole journalist in East Germany at time when tensions were very high.  He was in the midst of a war in Nigeria.  I found this absolutely compelling and I just can't imagine the life he has lived so far.  He is also very funny and had a great sense of humor about some of the situations that he found himself in.  I enjoyed reading this and found myself so involved in his story that I could not put it down.  I received this book from Penguin's First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 

Thursday Reviews - September 10, 2015

Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays and Other Writings by Shirley Jackson
5 stars



This is a pretty hefty book of stories and essays by Shirley Jackson that were previously unpublished.  I thought the stories were good but maybe not as good as her previously published material.  They were sufficiently creepy, strange and thought-provoking.  What I really enjoyed most about this book were the essays.   By the end of this collection, I wished that Shirley Jackson was still alive and that I could be her friend.  The essay collection was funny, true and relatable.  I would have liked to see dates that the essays were written, if even in the table of contents, to be able to put them in the correct context but that is a minor complaint.  Overall, this was a pleasurable reading experience and a great collection of new Shirley Jackson writing.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Undercover with the Earl by Robyn DeHart
3.5 stars



Evelyn Merrington is the middle of five sisters and at times she feels as if she is a changeling amongst graceful beauties.  One evening the Earl of Summersby approaches her at a ball and gives her a chance at adventure that she just can't refuse.  That she looks very similar to Queen Victoria makes her the perfect person to pose at the Queen while the real Queen recovers from a fall.  I liked both of these characters and I especially loved Bennett's arrogant cluelessness when it comes to courtship and women in general.  I am starting to get tired of the woman so insecure with her own appearance that she cannot fathom how a man can be attracted to her, which seems to be popping up in female romance characters.  This was a fun, short book that was worth the read.  I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


This Book Will Change Your Life by Amanda Weaver
Pub. Date - September 28
4 stars



So a good portion of this book revolves around books, a bookstore and discovering the ways a book can impact your life.  Hannah came to college as a chemistry superstar but has since failed her first exam.  Upset, confused and disappointed, she blindly enters into a used bookstore and meets Ben.  Ben introduces her to reading for pleasure and therapy and it changes both of their lives.  This is a young adult/new adult book and reads like one.  It is simply written and the characters at times irritating but this was just such a fun joy to read so it is kind of hard to find fault with it.  I receive this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Literary Fiction Reviews - September 8, 2015

The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer
4 stars


This book has been on my TBR pile since it's publication and I am glad to have finally read it.  The Blair family of northern California includes four children, a loving pediatrician father and a narcissistic mother who moves into the shed in order to do her art.  This book follows the various members of the family in the present, when they are reunited after the youngest James mysteriously returns and in different stages of the past.  It has an interesting narrative style.  In the present day segments it follows one of the children but when it delves into the past it changes narrators constantly as it attempts to show certain situation from multiple points of view.  I wouldn't normally like this style but I think it works for this book.  The characters are so deftly created that they become very real.  I did feel like this book was building up to something but didn't quite get there.  The ending felt a little anticlimactic but I enjoyed getting to know this family during different time periods in the Silicon Valley.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


our endless numbered days by Claire Fuller
5 stars



Peggy is an eight year old child with a professional pianist for a mother and a father who repeatedly leads her on disaster preparedness drills.  As her father becomes increasingly obsessed with survivalist techniques and her mother leaves for a concert tour, Peggy finds herself being dragged deep into the woods after being told that the rest of humanity has been destroyed.  For nine lonely years she is alone with her father in a decrepit cabin without realizing that civilization has marched on without her.  I found this to be a completely fascinating story that delves into the human psyche and the nature of survival.  Beautifully written with devastating descriptions of hunger and loneliness, this book will stay with me for a long time.  I received an eARC of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.


Get in Trouble: Stories by Kelly Link
3 stars



I am always at a loss on how to rate short story collections because I always find myself drawn to some stories and not others.  This collection starts very strong with "Summer People," which is probably my favorite, about a young woman who is tasked with caring for an unusual house with creepy occupants.  I also liked one titled "Origin Story" but some of the others were hard to get into and I always find that if a short story take pages to orient the reader than it might not be worth the effort.  Overall, I loved some stories and would recommend this to frequent readers of short stories collections.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Romance Reads - September 4, 2015

The Highwayman by Kerrigan Byrne
Pub. Date - September 1, 2015
4.5 stars


From the first chapters of this historical romance I was obsessed with the characters of Farah and Dorian.  Farah is the only woman clerk in the Scotland Yard and Dorian is a renowned criminal lord with mass power and wealth.  With a powerful childhood connection, these two characters team up to take revenge for what should have been theirs.  This book included some pretty dark scenes.  Dorian has a very disturbing past and has to overcome his past horrors in order to accept Farah wholly into his life.  I really liked Farah.  Her kindness and caring don't cause her to get walked all over and she accepts Dorian for what he is and what he has done.  I really enjoyed this and am intrigued by the next in the series which includes a character introduced in this book.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


The Rogue You Know by
Pub. Date - Sept 1, 2015
4.5 stars


So this book is not just a retelling of the Repunzel fairytale but pretty much a replica of Disney's Tangled with adult content.  I personally think this is pretty awesome, but I am also a fan of the movie.  Lady Susanna has grown up under the very protective tutelage of her mother who wants nothing more than for her daughter to be a proper lady who makes a proper marriage.  Susanna is already starting to chafe under the constant supervision when a cunning thief, Gideon, stumbles into the library of her London home.  Gideon has just stolen a necklace that is his ticket out of London and the criminal life.  He has a ton of charm and more enemies than is healthy.  After Susanna hits him over the head and hides the necklace, she makes a startling preposition; she will give it back only after he escorts her to Vauxhall Gardens.  What follows is an adventure unlike either of them have experienced before.  Susanna is often annoyingly innocent but she is also really funny and the dialogue made me laugh out loud...a lot  I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it for those wanting a light romantic read.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 


Finding Perfect by Kendra C. Highly
Pub. Date - Sept. 14, 2015
3.5 stars


Things are beginning to unravel for perfect Paige and it all begins with a bad grade in Calculus.  Paige's failing becomes Ben's opportunity as he makes Paige a deal she can't refuse even though she has immediate regrets.  I liked this young adult romance.  The characters are intelligent and have good chemistry.  I honestly wished it could have been a little longer with more interactions as this almost read like a longer novella and I didn't get really enough of the relationship between the two characters.  Overall, thought, I enjoyed reading it and appreciated that the characters were both smart and caring.  I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

A Long Hilarious Hike - September 2, 2015

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
5 stars



This book is a reread for me but as it has been over a decade, I didn't quite remember how funny it is... or maybe I just empathize a lot more now that I am older.  Almost twenty years ago, Bill Bryson decided to walk the Appalachian Trail.  An endeavor that takes much preparation and months of hiking.  Fortunately, he didn't have to do it alone.  An old friend, Stephen Katz, volunteered to accompany him and the adventures of the two make for hilarious and touching reading.  I am almost certain that Bryson and I have the exact same sense of humor because I laughed out loud some many times while reading this book that I stopped reading it in public.  I really like how his experiences on the trail are intermixed with historical and ecological information.  Since reading this book the first time, I have read almost all of Bryson's books and while I enjoyed them all, this still remains one of my favorite books of all time.  As this book is being made into a movie, they have released a movie tie-in version which I received from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.