Thursday, March 31, 2011

Shelf Cravings (12)


 
Welcome to Shelf Cravings a weekly feature all about books coming out soon, just discovered and cant wait to reads. This week Im excited for........

 
~Coming Soon ~ 
 


There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

October 4, 2011 by Thomas Nelson

In There You’ll Find Me, Finley is a senior and spending the year in Ireland in a foreign exchange program. She is trying to come back from a devastating loss, but pretty much failing. While she stays with her host family, who own a B&B, she meets Beckett Rush, the hottest teen actor in Hollywood and star of a series of popular vampire films. While Finley tours the countryside, determined to walk in the same steps her brother did when he was there years ago, she finds her stay in Ireland not nearly as inspiring. Between an assignment that has her babysitting a cranky old woman with troubles of her own and working as Beckett’s personal assistant against her wishes and her good judgment, Finley is finding little time to do the healing God is calling her to do. And little time to deal with the secrets from her own past that threaten to pull her under.
 
 
 
The Bakers Wife by Erin Healy
October, 2011 by Thomas Nelson

If what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, why is Audrey growing weaker by the day? It's been a tough year for Audrey's family. Her husband Geoff, a pastor, lost his job after a scandal rocked their congregation. Audrey's never lost faith. She's held her family together. Their attempt to resurrect a failing bakery is an effort to heal the family wounds and restore their place in the community. Late to the bakery one dim, foggy morning, Audrey strikes a vehicle that she can't see even after the collision settles. Emerging from her car into the fog, she discovers she's hit a motor scooter. There's no rider in sight. There's blood, though, so much that she slips in it, injuring her wrists. The absence of the scooter driver is a mystery, especially to Sergeant Jack Mansfield, the detective and church member who drove Geoff from his pulpit. The scooter belongs to Jack's wife, Julie, a teacher at the local high school. She has vanished like morning fog. Though there is no evidence to support Jack's growing suspicion that Audrey and Geoff were involved in Julie's disappearance, the detective is convinced of their guilt. Jack's ability to reason slips as the leads on his wife dry up. When Jack takes the tiny bakery and its patrons hostage, Audrey must find Julie and unravel the secret of her own mysterious suffering before Jack comes undone.
 


The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
September, 2011 by HarperCollins (GreenWillow)

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do.  
 
 


Save Me by Lisa Scottoline
April 12, 2011 by St. Martins Press


Susan Pressman volunteers as a lunch mom in her daughter Melly's school in order to keep an eye on Amanda, a mean girl who's been bullying her daughter. Her fears come true when the bullying begins, sending Melly to the bathroom in tears. Just as Susan is about to follow after her daughter, a massive explosion goes off in the kitchen, sending the room into chaos. Susan finds herself faced with the horrifying decision of whether or not to run to the bathroom to rescue her daughter or usher Amanda to safety. She believes she has accomplished both, only to discover that Amanda, for an unknown reason, ran back into the school once out of Susan's sight. In an instance, Susan goes from hero to villain as the small community blames Amanda's injuries on her. In the days that follow, Susan's life starts to fall to pieces, Amanda's mother decides to sue, her marriage is put to the test, and worse, when her daughter returns to school, the bullying only intensifies. Susan must take matters into her own hands and get down to the truth of what really happened that fateful day in order to save herself, her marriage and her family.

 
~Just Discovered~
 
 

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
June, 2010 by Penguin

Remember the woman you used to be ...
Alice is twenty-nine. She is whimsical, optimistic and adores sleep, chocolate, her ramshackle new house and her wonderful husband Nick. What's more, she's looking forward to the birth of the 'Sultana' - her first baby. But now Alice has slipped and hit her head in her step-aerobics class and everyone's telling her she's misplaced the last ten years of her life. In fact, it would seem that Alice is actually thirty-nine and now she loves schedules, expensive lingerie, caffeine and manicures. She has three children and the honeymoon is well and truly over for her and Nick. In fact, he looks at her like she's his worst enemy. What's more, her beloved sister Elisabeth isn't speaking to her either. And who is this 'Gina'everyone is so carefully trying not to mention? Alice isn't sure that she likes life ten years on. Every photo is another memory she doesn't have and nothing makes sense. Just how much can happen in a decade? Has she really lost her lovely husband for ever? 
 

 
~Cant Wait to Read~
 
 The Uncoupling by Meg Wolitzer
April 5, 2011 by Riverhead

When the elliptical new drama teacher at Stellar Plains High School chooses for the school play Lysistrata-the comedy by Aristophanes in which women stop having sex with men in order to end a war-a strange spell seems to be cast over the school. Or, at least, over the women. One by one throughout the high school community, perfectly healthy, normal women and teenage girls turn away from their husbands and boyfriends in the bedroom, for reasons they don't really understand. As the women worry over their loss of passion, and the men become by turns unhappy, offended, and above all, confused, both sides are forced to look at their shared history, and at their sexual selves in a new light. 



WOW- The Uncoupling sounds like an interesting read.....I also cant wait to read Jenny B. Jones new one and lets not even talk about how excited I am to read The Girl of Fire and Thorns!! All these look fabulous!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

False Pretenses by Kathy Herman

False Pretenses by Kathy Herman
March 1, 2011 by David C. Cook
Paperback, 340 Pages
Review Copy

Zoe Broussard loves the life she and her husband Pierce have built in her beloved Louisiana hometown. She owns a thriving Cajun eatery in South Louisiana and is married to the love of her life.

But it’s about to become hell. One day, out of the blue, she receives a series of anonymous notes that sends her life into a tail spin. Five simple words, “I know what you did.” Zoe has a secret so terrible it could leave the business in shambles and tear her marriage apart. Unbeknownst to anyone, even Zoe’s husband, Pierce, she has a past—a past she had covered so well she never thought she would have to confront. How could anyone know what she did? Can she find the courage to face her past?

Review

Nothing says shiver worthy better than a little boy seeing a man in his closet, then again having a stalker send you creepy notes about your hidden past can be just as shiver worthy. Zoe Broussard is a happy woman, she loves her husband, she loves her little restaurant and just loves life. Even with all that love Zoe has a secret, one that she’s locked far away inside her, one that she’s hid from everyone and as the letters keep coming and exposure threatens to leave her restaurant and marriage in jeopardy Zoe will have to come face to face with a woman she laid to rest years ago…..

This was a twisty, intriguing mystery which held suspense, intense situations and a dash of romance, making False Pretenses an entertaining read. Herman takes her characters into the thick of secrets and displays an extreme case of what not facing your problems could lead to. Zoe takes readers down a road of broken trust, ghost stories, murder and lies and will prove to be one story defiantly worthy to keep you reading late into the night. I really liked this novel and enjoyed watching Zoe grow and finally face her fears, however even with its mystery and suspense feel it certainly was written for a specific market. I would recommend this to loyal fans of Christian fiction as the faith message is very thick.

Rating

Suitable for most readers including teens, content includes: Ghost story's, violence, suspense, murder, kidnapping, domestic abuse, lying and mild romance.

3/5- Inspirational Suspense
Thanks to David C. Cook and the Cfba for review Copy


Monday, March 28, 2011

Drought by Pam Bachorz

Drought by Pam Bachorz
January 2011 by Egmont
Hardcover, 400 pages
Review Copy-Finished


Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.
 
She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood. So she stays. But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known.


Review

How many seventeen year old girls can say they've been alive for 200 years? How many girls can say they have special healing powers in their blood that make the sick healthy and make the dying heal? How many girls do you know who are in complete slavery? Well this about sums up Ruby...as the genie would say "phenomenal cosmic powers...itty bitty living space".....that space being with her overbearing controlling mother who's primary goal is brainwashing her daughter, squelching her potential and making sure no one finds out about her special gifts outside of their cult-like circle...(sounds like a real peach)..a cult that oppresses themselves in the face of slavery relying on man who left them years ago.

Ruby's never known life outside of the Congregants, they collect water daily as slavery-work, they live in simple homes, wear old-fashioned simple clothes and are controlled by a master named Darwin. He controls the food, the water and the well being of the group, he also controls the guards and the beatings that get handed out on a daily basis for missed quotas. Ruby's mother steps in daily for Darwins beatings to protect the group knowing later Ruby can heal her, still though the beatings take a toll on her well-being. Although Ruby longs for life outside of the Congregants, she feels terrible her mother gets beaten, she (even with her power) submits to her mother and a man-God named Otto they worship, one Ruby has never seen but shares DNA with as he- this savior, Christ like figure- is her father. As the days grow hotter and longer in a drought unlike any other the group has dealt with, a restlessness begins to grow in Ruby and when she meets Ford, a new guard watching them, he stirs in her things shes never felt, things she wants to explore and a deep rebellious fire that makes her want to stand up and fight back.

I liked Drought for what it was, that being an interesting premise set within a dystopian world. In the beginning of the novel the reader just starts with these people, we really don't know why nor do we find out how these people (super-long-living-people) came to this point. I have so many whys Im left with...like: Why did Otto come to them in the first place, why do they live so long, why does Ruby have this blood from Otto, why do the people just work like slaves, why wont they run and for petes sake why wont they do anything about it???? I felt a lot of the characters lacked the proper emotional drama that I would liked to have seen, especially considering these people were severely oppressed, starved and beaten constantly. At some point I was hoping for a fierce outcry, a rise up, a REVOLUTION or even an utter loss of hope from them to set some sort of tone for their plight. Instead Drought ends in a very quiet manner, with more the revolution playing out in Ruby's head, it took her the entire book to get to this milestone but nonetheless she does finally grow and come into her power taking complete responsibility for her life. Im left with some questions and Im hoping Pam addresses those in a future installment, overall though even with a few hiccups I did enjoy reading Ruby's story.

Rating

Drought is suitable for teens 14 and up and contains: Violence, domination, religious aspects, slavery, abuse, manipulation, death and mild romance.

3.5/5- YA-Dystopian
Thanks to Egmont for Review Copy and if you missed my fun interview with Pam you can check it out here!



Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Saturday Spotlight- Brandy Bruce & Giveaway




Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight, a weekly feature hosted by Tinasbookreviews and promotes authors and the great books they write. This week I have the pleasure of introducing readers to:

~BRANDY BRUCE~
Q&A

Hi Brandy and welcome to the blog!! So today I'm going to bombard you with some fun questions to help readers get to know you a little better.....


Please tell us a little about yourself.                

Well, I’m originally from Houston, Texas, but I now make my home in Castle Rock, Colorado. I’ve got a wonderful husband and a two-and-a-half-year-old little girl, and I’m currently pregnant with our second child. I’ve been a book editor for Focus on the Family for more than six years, and I love it and feel so blessed to be a part of our book team. Oh, and I can make a chocolate-chip cheesecake that will make you say, “Yum!” J

What inspired you to write Looks Like Love?

I went on a European tour to England, Ireland, Scotland, and France while I was in college, and I came home with lots of inspiration for stories. But it was a few years later when my husband and I had just moved to Colorado that a story of a young woman starting over kept popping into my head. I kept envisioning her visiting England (much like I had), so I pulled out my journal from my trip overseas, my souvenirs, and my photos, and I began to write Kasey Addison’s story.

What authors have inspired you or your work?

Definitely Robin Jones Gunn. I fell in love with the Christy Miller series in middle school and it shaped so much of who I became. Her Glenbrooke series also really inspired me. I’m really a very eclectic reader. I love Liz Curtis Higgs—she’s amazing—and Beverly Lewis and Jodi Picoult. I like to read about the Amish, but then I like to read about vampires, too. J I’m a huge Harry Potter fan; I think J.K. Rowling is a genius. When it comes to nonfiction, Philip Yancey is my favorite author.

Did you always want to be a writer?

I started scribbling my own stories in the sixth grade, so I’ve had a love of writing for a very long time. Even more than that, though, I’ve loved books ever since my mother used to read to me when I was very young. Going to the bookstore to buy a new book was always something that thrilled me. I knew from about the time I was in middle school that I wanted books to be a part of my life in a big way. When I went to college, the idea of being an editor was so intriguing to me. I thought about how great it would be to be surrounded by book ideas and to help shape the stories that came to me. And it’s been an amazing experience. It was the perfect profession for me.

What are you reading now?

 The Third Sister by Julia Barrett. It’s a story about Margaret Dashwood, the youngest of the Dashwood sisters, if you’re familiar with Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

How does having a blog and being a part of the blog community help you as a writer?

I think having a blog is such a great way to document your thoughts. I love that you can talk about anything you want to, and you can search around and choose to follow other blogs that interest you. For writers, blogging is a wonderful way to interact with your readers and to offer some transparency, which is something I think readers expect of authors today. It’s a great way to feel connected to a group of other people who have similar interests that you may never have known otherwise.

Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi. J My husband actually worked for Pepsi for about six years, so I’m loyal.

Last great movie you saw?

It was actually a TV miniseries called Pillars of the Earth. But I can tell you I’m super excited about the Deathly Hallows Part 2 coming out this summer.

Can you share some future work with us?

My sister and I are working on a book project together, a fantasy series for young adults. It has tons of adventure, romance, excitement, and intensity. We’ve  just about finished book one and will start shopping it to publishers soon. It’s been so fun to work on, and I love that we’re doing the project together.


Thank you so much Brandy for answering those questions and giving us a little look at what makes Brandy Bruce....Brandy Bruce!! Best of luck with your book and future YA books...I cant wait to read all of them!! To find out more about Brandy check out her blog http://www.brandybruce.com/

Giveaway

Brandy is offering an Ebook copy of her book Looks Like Love, this is open to everyone. To enter please leave a comment and a winner will be drawn April 2, 2011.

About the Book- Looks Like Love:  


Following a break-up with her boyfriend, an unfulfilled career, and a general bad taste in clothes, Kasey Addison feels lost in her own life. With the help of her best friend, Amanda, Kasey embarks on an unexpected journey to rediscover life and love, starting with a whirlwind London jaunt. Surrounded by red telephone booths, double-decker buses, and men in fuzzy black hats, Kasey falls in love with mud baths, Jane Austen, and stone cathedrals. And in the middle of London she meets Lincoln Davis, a Texan with a really great tan, and her life gets even more unrecognizable.

When her spur-of-the-moment vacation is over, Kasey, a junior marketing consultant, finds herself on the marketing team for LETA, a growing cosmetics company. Kasey's thrown into the fast-paced world of promotional galas, photo shoots, and magazine interviews. When the owners of LETA decide to release their very first fragrance, Kasey's new assignment is to find out what love looks like and then find a way to sell it. With the help of Amanda and a few new friends, and with a rekindled relationship with the Lover of her soul, Kasey discovers that sometimes love looks like what we least expect....(buy here)







Friday, March 25, 2011

Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock

Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock
February 2011 by Zondervan
Paperback, 324 Pages
Review Copy

When fifteen-year-old Lance Covington finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of a car, he knows she's the newborn daughter of a meth addict he's been trying to help. But when police arrest him for kidnapping, Lance is thrust into a criminal world of baby trafficking and drug abuse.

His mother, Barbara, looks for help from Kent Harlan---the man whom she secretly, reluctantly loves and who once helped rescue her daughter from a mess of her own. Kent flies to her aid and begins the impossible work of getting Lance out of trouble, protecting a baby who has no home, and finding help for a teenage mother hiding behind her lies.

In this latest novel of suspense and family loyalty, bestselling author Terri Blackstock offers a harrowing look at drug addiction, human trafficking, and the devastating choices that can change lives forever.


Mini-Review

Vicious Cycle was an unstoppable heart pounding read, which hooked me from the first page. Blackstock displays pure emotional depth as she drags her characters through drug addiction, facing sobriety, kidnapping and human trafficking. The suspense was nail bite worthy and the story dug deep to show a real word that contains 15 year old moms high on meth, children facing a life of the harshest realities and the overall ensnaring control of addiction. What I admired most about these characters was the fact that they were all good people stuck in horrible situations. They were the innocent, the addicted and the helpless all looking to be saved. I also loved the fact that not only did the author showcase her main characters as Christians, but used characters who weren’t and how each person Christian or not faced the same harsh realities and how easy struggles and addictions come to all of us, in every walk of life and in every class situation.



If you would like to read the first chapter of Vicious Cycle, go HERE.






Rating

An excellent book for all to read, especially mature teens. Content includes: Drug use, addiction and drug dealers/culture, teen pregnancy, human trafficking, rehab treatments, intense situations, suspense, homelessness and friendship.

4.5/5- Inspirational Suspense
Thanks to Zondervan and the CFBA for review Copy


Thursday, March 24, 2011

Home to Woefield by Susan Juby

Home to Woefield by Susan Juby
Harper Paperbacks; March 8, 2011
Paperback, 320 Pages
Review Copy


Prudence Burns, a well-intentioned New Yorker full of back-to-the-land ideals, just inherited Woefield Farm—thirty acres of scrubland, dilapidated buildings, and one half-sheared sheep. But the bank is about to foreclose, so Prudence must turn things around fast! Fortunately she’ll have help from Earl, her banjo-playing foreman with a family secret; Seth, the neighbor who hasn’t left the house since a high school scandal; and Sara Spratt, an eleven-year-old who’s looking for a home for her prize-winning chickens. 
Home to Woefield is about learning how to take on a challenge, face your fears, and find friendship in the most unlikely of places.

Review

Prudence is a quirky girl, one who loves organic food, has a green thumb and will try and recycle anything she uses. Along with being an unknown YA author in New York she also craves for a way to express her passion for growing her own food. So when fate steps in and hands Prudence an inherited farm from an uncle, she drops everything, moves to Canada and begins a new life on Woefield Farm.

Woefield farm consists of a run-down house, a freaky looking sheep, dirt and a mangled little cottage that the crotchety old handyman lives in. What Woefield farm doesn’t have is a barn, grass or any animals that can actually produce healthy food. Prudence though, always the sunny optimist, who sees the silver lining in every cloud sets her mind on a mission to pull the farm together and make enough money before the bank forecloses. She receives some unlikely help from a hermit crab blogger named Seth, who by chance moves in for room and board in exchange to help out with house chores, Earl the grouchy old man who swears like a dirty old sailor and lives on the farm and a little girl named Sarah who raises chickens and needs a new home for them. Little by little as the chickens bring the first real hope to the farm, Prudence and the gang begin to spruce things up…from scary toilets to sheering sheep this farm may just be the most successful story this neighborhood has seen.

This was hilarious and I did enjoy getting to know these unforgettable characters at Woefield. The small hick town, the odd relationships, everything just fit together in a big bowl of laugh out load jell-o. The writing was fabulous in the sense of character development and plotline and the use of the four distinct voices worked so well to get the serious, hopeful, grouchy and funny sides across. Nothing overly exciting happens in the story but it was fun to watch the friendships come together and feel the sense of community that the small neighborhood created bringing Woefield Farm to life. I guess the only problem I had with this book was the language and not that language offends me but I thought it was overused and Seth and Earl defiantly needed some vinegar squirted in their mouths. Hearing the F bomb, S bomb, B bomb and GD bomb on every page just takes away from the characters and Earl’s use of swear words irked me to the point where it did take away some of my likeness for the book. So if language offends you I would not suggest reading this, however if quirky characters, chickens, freaky sheep and comedy are your thing I would go for it.

“Let me paint a picture for you in words. People don’t take my skills seriously, but there’s an art to it. There really is. When I was on a roll, I used to update my blogs eight, sometimes twelve hours a day. That’s eight or twelve hours of writing. Stephen King is probably one of the only other guys who writes that much...Pg.8- Seth


Rating

Home to Woefield is recommended to adult readers and contain: Graphic language, violence, family drama, creating community, friendship,organic food and farming and lots of chickens!

3/5- Adult Contemporary
Thanks to Publisher and Tlc for review copy




Shelf Cravings (12)


Welcome to Shelf Cravings, a weekly feature all about books coming out soon, just discovered or cant wait to reads. This week Im excited for.....
 
 
~Coming Soon~
 
 
 
Protection for Hire by Camy Tang
October 25 2011 by Zondervan
 
Tessa Lancaster's skills first earned her a position as an enforcer in her Uncle Teruo's Japanese Mafia gang. Then they landed her in prison for a crime she didn't commit. Now, three months after her release, Tessa's abilities have gained her a job as bodyguard for wealthy socialite Elizabeth St. Amant and her three-year-old son. But there's a problem or two ... or three .... There's Elizabeth's abusive husband whose relentless pursuit goes deeper than mere vengeance. There's Uncle Teruo, who doesn't understand why Tessa's new faith as a Christian prevents her from returning to the yakuza. And then there's Elizabeth's lawyer, Charles Britton, who Tessa doesn't know is the one who ensured that she did maximum time behind bars. Now Tessa and Charles must work together in order to protect their client, while new truths emerge and circumstances spiral to a deadly fever pitch.
 

Insight by Diana Greenwood
April 2011 by Zondervan
Some secrets won't let you go. Elvira Witsil lives about as far away from civilization as you can get, in a remote corner of Wisconsin where nothing much ever happens. In a house crowded with her mother, her cantankerous grandmother, and her little sister, Jessie, Elvira feels forgotten and alone. Their house also contains numerous secrets, and Elvira's family holds their secrets closely. Secrets about the father that Jessie never knew, and that Elvira can't forget. Secrets about that day five years ago. And the one secret that Elvira can't quite understand: that Jessie sees things no one else can see. These secrets will lead Elvira and her family on a journey far away from home---on a journey toward redemption and healing---if she can just bring herself to believe.


 

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy
October 2011 by Bethany House
A storm the size of Texas brews when Gloria Powell and Kai Chang meet in a Dallas hotel. They have come to discuss the future of Lily, the daughter Gloria adopted from China and the sister Kai hopes to reclaim. Kai is a doctor who had to give up her little sister during the Cultural Revolution and has since discovered that an inherited genetic defect may be waiting to fatally strike Lily. Gloria's relationship with her daughter is tattered and strained, and the arrival of Kai, despite the woman's apparent good intentions, makes Gloria fearful. Gloria longs to restore her relationship with Lily, but in the wake of this potentially devastating diagnosis, is Kai an answer to prayer...or will her arrival force Gloria to sacrifice more than she ever imagined?



The Colonel's Lady by Laura Frantz
August 1, 2011 by Revell
In 1779, when genteel Virginia spinster Roxanna Rowan arrives at the Kentucky fort commanded by Colonel Cassius McLinn, she finds that her officer father has died. Penniless and destitute, Roxanna is forced to take her father's place as scrivener. Before long, it's clear that the colonel himself is attracted to her. But she soon realizes the colonel has grave secrets of his own--some of which have to do with her father's sudden death. Can she ever truly love him?
Readers will be enchanted by this powerful story of love, faith, and forgiveness from reader favorite Laura Frantz. Her solid research and deft writing immerse readers in the world of the early frontier while her realistic characters become intimate friends.


~Just Discovered~
 

At the Scent of Water by Linda Nichols
Feb 2009 by Bethany House

Life is rewarding for Samuel Truelove. He's a gifted surgeon, he's married to the love of his life, and he has a beautiful daughter. But when he's called to perform an emergency surgery, a deadly cascade of events is set in motion, and his picture-perfect life begins to unravel…. Annie Truelove, hoping to escape painful reminders of her grief, leaves her beloved home in the mountains of North Carolina and begins a new life in faraway Seattle. But a disturbing headline takes her back home, where memories of both joy and sorrow come flooding back. What will it take to heal two broken hearts?


~Cant Wait to Read~
 
 
 

Leaving (Baily Flannigan) by Karen Kingsbury
March 22, 2011 by Zondervan
The Bailey Flanigan series begins with Bailey leaving Bloomington for the adventure of a lifetime. She has won an audition for the ensemble of a Broadway musical in New York City. She's determined to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of the city? And what of Cody? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive.
In order to be closer to his mother in jail, Cody takes a coaching job in a small community outside Indianapolis. New friends, distance, and circumstances expose cracks in his relationship with Bailey Flanigan.
Love, loneliness, big opportunities, and even bigger decisions highlight the first book in the new Bailey Flanigan series that features members of the popular Baxter family and finally completes the Bailey Flanigan/Cody Coleman story.

 
So let me tell you how eager I am to get my hands on Patti Lacys Reclaiming Lily....The Rhythm of Secrets was one of my favorites this year....Protection for Hire sounds really fun too....all of these titles look great.

 
 


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

In the Storm by Karen Metcalf

In the Storm by Karen Metcalf

February 15th 2011 by Vagabondage Press
Ebook, 88 Pages
Review Copy

Abandoned by the world around her, Carly believes she is fated to a life of torment at the hands of her stepfather and is desperate for an escape. When she can bear the abuse no longer and gives in to a thunderous rage, she suddenly finds herself in an unfamiliar, yet beautiful, storm world. This limbo between dimensions appears to be her private sanctuary, but it may just be her purgatory.
No one escapes fate without sacrifice, but is the price more than Carly is willing to pay? 


Review

In the Storm opens up with Carly, a seventeen year old girl living a life of hell. Carly and her five year old brother Mitchell live with their stepfather, an alcoholic abusive man who gets his jolly’s by torturing both of them on a daily basis. Its during one of these intense almost “tortures” that Carly becomes so furious so clicks herself into another world…a world inside of a storm, full of purple, lightning, thunder and crashing waves.

Clicking over once was easy, clicking over twice though proves to be difficult and while Carly endures the daily threats, insults and watching her brother be terrorized she desperately seeks that other world. We are literally dragged through Carlys depression and finally when she finds her way back into the storm we are then plunged into a sci-fi story with a paranormal feel thinking perhaps Carly has finally snapped and her world is just a storm of madness. Shortly we discover the storm is a sanctuary for Carly and there she meets her created love Morgan…although we don’t really know if Carly has created him or if he has been sent as ruler over her creation….hmm sound weird, well it only gets more psychologically twisty as Morgan begins to explain who Carly is and what his purpose has been all along in her world. As Carly gets closer to the truth and closer to dreaded events we all know is coming, she will have to face the unbearable and lose everything she loves to really find the truth in who she is.

In the Storm is considered a novella and while the story and the transitions move at lightning speed, the story offered a lot of depth. Child abuse doesn't need 200 pages to get its message across and I felt horrified by the things Carly and especially Mitchell dealt with. Personally child abuse is one of hardest things for me to handle and seeing this happen in detail to a five year old, did disturb me. The use of visual detail Metcalf used was beautiful and I loved the concept of the twisty Sci-Fi elements Carlys worlds contained. I thought the story was suspenseful and written well, although the clicking concept was a bit confusing, I got lost a bit in the description Morgan gives for the many portals or dimensions they call them, but the dialog and scenario was based in realism and that’s what stood out in the story making it genuine. But even with some of the light moments and the oddity of the romance, I couldn't get past Mitchell’s character and for that reason I would consider this story dark and full of sorrow. I almost feel that I need to shake it off and think about sunflowers and daisies and sunshine and beautiful things that make the terrible things that evil people do easier to handle.

Rating

In the Storm is a urban fantasy YA novel and I would recommended this novel to older teens due to the adult content that includes: Graphic language, violence, horrific child abuse and odd-romance.

3.5/5- YA-Urban
Thanks to Karen for Ebook Copy and for your own chance to read In the Storm be sure to enter the current giveaway.



Guest and Tour Stop with Karen Metcalf and Giveaway!!

Guest and Tour Stop with author Karen Metcalf

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Karen Metcalf to Tinasbookreviews!! Today Karen will be sharing some fun facts about herself and her book.

Hi Karen and welcome to the blog...!!

Trivia with Karen Metcalf

1. When I was five, I was named “Little Miss Hyde County”. For my talent, I sang the song Do Your Ears Hang Low.

2. My favorite show is Fringe. The Office is a very close second.

3. Though I love thunderstorms, the ocean is my true obsession. I have a tattoo of the painting Japanese Wave.

4. I first saw my name in print when my poetry was published in an anthology at the age of 11, and again at 14.

5. My favorite band right now is Massive Attack.

6. I eat spaghetti every year on my birthday.

7. My most prized possessions are my grandmother’s wedding ring and my Gaston Locklear surf paintings.


IN THE STORM


1. I chose a purple Stormworld because the lightning in North Carolina was always purple. I’ve yet to see it anywhere else.

2. The character Mitchell was based on my brother Michael. I accidentally used his name twice in the original manuscript.

3. I purposely did not give my characters many physical descriptions, because as a reader I hate that. I always ignore them and picture them my way, instead.




Thank you so much Karen for stopping by and sharing those fun facts with us. Be sure to check back here later this afternoon for my review of In the Storm!!


Giveaway

Karen is offering three of my readers an ebook edition (format of your choosing) of her novel In the Storm. This is open to everyone including international. Please just leave a comment and a winner will be chosen March 29 2011.


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Book Spotlight- No Safe Haven by Kimberly & Kayla Woodhouse



This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
 
No Safe Haven
B&H Books (March 15, 2011)
by
Kimberly and Kayla Woodhouse
 
 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

A devoted wife and mother, Kimberley Woodhouse is a third generation Liszt student, she has passed down her love of the arts to hundreds of students over the years.

About fifteen years ago, Kimberley began writing seriously. Songs, plays, short stories, novels, picture books, articles, newsletters - you name it - she's written it. It wasn't until a dear friend challenged her to "do something with it", that she pursued publication. Kimberley and her family's story have been on the front page of newspapers, in magazines, articles, medical journals, and most recently her family was chosen for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. They were also asked to share their story on The Montel Williams Show and Discovery Health Channel's Mystery ER. She has recorded three albums, and has appeared at over 700 venues. Kimberley lives, writes, and homeschools in Colorado with her husband and their two children in a truly "Extreme" home.

Thirteen-year-old Kayla Woodhouse’s zest for writing comes not only from her natural ability, but also from her love of the written word as witnessed by her voracious reading appetite. One of only a few dozen cases in the world, Kayla was born with HSAN, Hereditary Sensory Autonomic Neuropathy, an extremely rare nerve disorder. Unable to sweat, or feel pain, she’s also been through brain surgery. But even through a life of extreme hardships, her ever-present smile encourages others to pursue their dreams, no matter the obstacles. In addition to being homeschooled and writing with her mom, she’s an amazing swimmer, and spends up to thirty hours a week in training. No Safe Haven, her first release from B&H Publishers in 2011, written with mother, Kimberley, makes her the youngest author to have a full-length novel published by a royalty paying publisher.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Jenna and Andi Tikaani-Gray are hoping for a fresh start. Though twelve year-old Andi has long struggled with a rare medical disorder, she and her mother have finally received good news from out-of-town specialists. It's news they desperately needed, especially after the recent death of Jenna's husband (Andi's dad) in a car accident.

But as they are flying home to Alaska, ready to begin again, the unthinkable happens. The pilot sabotages their small plane and crashes into Sultana, one of the most remote and dangerous mountains in the Land of the Midnight Sun. Even worse, a winter storm is headed their way along with someone who doesn't want to save them, but to kill them. Only one man can keep them alive: Cole Maddox, the mysterious last-minute passenger who joined them on their flight. But trust doesn't come easy to Jenna or AndiÑand they both sense Cole is hiding something.A relentless tale of survival and suspense unfolds, involving military technology designed by Jenna's late husband that some would do anything to possess.

Watch the Book Video:







If you would like to read the first chapter of No Safe Haven, go HERE.


**I just received my copy from the publisher a few days ago. Im super excited to finish this one and see how the mother/daughter team wrap this thrilling adventure up.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
April 19th 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Paperback, 297 Pages
Review Copy (Galley)


Every girl who has taken the test has died. Now it's Kate's turn.

It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.


Review

Kate Winters hasn’t led a normal teen life, she’s taken care of her sick mother for years, missed her last year of school and hasn’t had much of social life. At seventeen she has little skills in the friendship department and zero in the romance. So when her mother decides to move them to Eden, Michigan and make Kate go back to school and start living her life, Kate is not happy about it. But she knows this is her moms last request and agrees to go back to school, try and make some friends and please her. As time moves forward, Kate begins to dread the goodbye that will be a part of her immediate future and dreads her new school. Eden High seems so small and different from school in New York, the kids are friendly, have small cliques and all the normal high school stuff...but things just seem off. Her first day she meets Dylan, a high school jock who eyes her a bit to much in front of girlfriend Ava, who essentially brings Kate a lot of the debacles she will face in the book and meets James, a boy who becomes an instant and only friend.

Obviously if Kate had any common sense skills, she would of known never to go off with Ava one night to a party. A prank that Ava plans to warn Kate from staying away from her boyfriend, becomes a nightmare as Ava almost dies. Kate is hysterical with panic, but risks her own life and while Ava lays dying, a mysterious man (Henry) encounters them, he offers Ava’s life in return for a favor from Kate. Kate in a state of fear and stress without even realizing what she’s agreeing too winds up becoming the potential wife of Henry aka Hades. Its not everyday a girl gets offered to be the queen of the underworld and with her mother in a coma and her life flipped upside down, she decides to go through with it. Kate arrives at Henry's mansion eager to begin her favor and gets plunged into a world of luxury, fancy clothes and basically anything she wants…kind of like a girls dream come true. During the process of becoming a Goddess she will face seven tests and must pass all of them to gain immortality, while of course dodging whoever may want to kill her in the meantime. If she fails and manages to escape death she will leave with no memory of it, if she passes she will become the queen and marry Henry, a god she never expected to fall in love with.

This was fun, I loved the story and the characters and it was overall a very fluffy story about a human girl becoming a Greek goddess. Now with that being said, I will say The Goddess Test doesn't follow Greek Mythology very well, out of all the gods Carter choose she based this story on Hades- a pretty mean and awful god according to the original myth. In this novel he's portrayed as Henry and has a very Edward-like character, only not as obsessive, actually not obsessive at all, just broody with no communication skills. I was expecting Henry to be dark and a bit twisted and most certainly manipulative, but he came off very...sweet. Not that Henry's character was a bad thing but it may disappoint mythology buffs. I could dissect this novel and pinpoint the many predictable scenarios, the characters that needed serious flushing out and the obvious villain, but I thought the actual writing and overall entertainment of the book outweighed its shortcomings. Ive read some very nasty and downright ridiculous mean reviews about this book and the one thing to keep in mind is that the author made it fun and made the mythology her own and also made it suitable for younger readers, taking out all the "taboo" themes in Greek mythology. So if your looking for disturbing sexuality and creepy Greek god behavior, your not going to find it in this book, lovers of teen romance, fairy tale atmospheres and light paranormal will love.

Rating

The Goddess Test is recommended to mature teens (15&up) and contains: Violence, death, Greek mythology, romance, language and while this novel doesn't contain graphic scenes, it most defiantly has teenagers (alive and dead) engaging in sexual relationships and adult-like lifestyles.

4/5- YA- Greek Mythology-Romance
Thanks to Harlequin for Review Galley


Saturday, March 19, 2011

Saturday Spotlight- Rhiannon Van der Munnik & Giveaway



Welcome to the Saturday Spotlight a weekly feature hosted by Tinasbookreviews and is all about promoting authors and the great books they write. This week I have the pleasure of introducing readers to....


RHIANNON VAN DER MUNNIK author of Tulip Days!
~Q&A~


Hi Rhiannon and welcome to the blog! Please tell us a little about yourself

I grew up in Southern California, where I spent most of my summers tucked away in my bedroom writing poems and short stories. At the age of nineteen I left the state for the first time to join my future husband in the Netherlands. It was there, while staying in a small, seaside village, that I began writing full length fiction in earnest. I currently live in the Sacramento area with my husband, and we are expecting our first child (a baby girl) this May.

What inspired you to write Tulip Days?

I lived in Holland for a year when I was younger. I fell in love with the charm of the village in which I lived and just had to write about it. Parts of the book are semi-autobiographical, in fact, especially those having to do with an Americans perspective of the Netherlands.

Have any authors inspired your work

I enjoy the works of Alice Hoffman and Sylvia Plath. Hoffman for her magical realism and Plath for her beautifully written honesty.


If you could cast your book as a movie, who would play the lead roles?

Jude Law would be great for the part of Christian (if he could pull off a good Dutch accent) and maybe Tobias Menzies for Jakob. I'm not quite sure who I'd place in the role of Seraphina though.





What are reading right now?

Lots of baby books and THE RED GARDEN by Alice Hoffman.

Coke or Pepsi?

I'm trying to avoid sodas at the moment, but Coke if I had to choose.

Can you share any future work with us?

Actually, my next novel is coming out very soon. It's called THE BLOOM GATHERER.



**Awesome!! Thanks so much Rhiannon for stopping by and answering those few questions...and best of luck with your novel Tulip Days and congrats on a the expected delivery of your baby!! Oh and Jude Law...Ill be there to see it!!!!


GIVEAWAY

Rhiannon is graciously giving away one copy of her novel Tulip Days to a reader at my blog. To enter please just leave comment and a way to contact you. Winner will be notified by email on March 26, 2011.


Tulip Days Synopsis:

Seraphina, a twenty four year old poet from California, has never doubted that she loves her Dutch husband, or that she will spend the rest of her life with him. But when his job brings them to the Netherlands, an introduction to her husband's childhood friend (Jakob, a charming violinist) leads to a series of events which force Seraphina to ask herself if the life she has is truly the one she wants.

Spanning nearly a decade, TULIP DAYS delves into the aftermath of her decision, and paints a carefully constructed portrait of a young woman attempting to bloom amidst the raw and foreign landscape of Holland. To find out more about Rhiannon please check out her website www.rhiannonsbooks.info/books.html



Friday, March 18, 2011

The Other Life by Ellen Meister

The Other Life by Ellen Meister
February 17, 2011 by Putnam Adult
Hardcover, 320 Pages
Review Copy (ARC)

If you could return to the road not taken, would you?

Happily married and pregnant, Quinn Braverman has an ominous secret. Every time she makes a major life decision, she knows an alternate reality exists in which she made the opposite choice-not only that, she knows how to cross over. But even in her darkest moments-like her mother’s suicide-Quinn hasn’t been tempted to slip through…until she receives devastating news about the baby she’s carrying.

The grief lures her to peek across the portal, and before she knows it she’s in the midst of the other life: the life in which she married another man, and is childless. The life in which her mother is still very much alive. Quinn is forced to make a heartbreaking choice. Will she stay with the family she loves and her severely disabled child? Or will an easier life-and the primal need to be with her mother-win out?
Review

I think “What If…..” is a universal question. Who hasn’t wanted to rewind, go back and make a switch, reverse a decision or have a re-do? Well what if you could slip through a crack in the wall, breach a parallel universe and live the life you didn’t choose? That’s exactly the power Quinn has, a power she’s had since birth, but has never used until this moment….

Quinn has been blessed with a loving husband, an adoring son and a soon-to-be baby. Life couldn’t be any sweeter, nor could the decision to change her life tempt her. All that changes when the happy couple is faced with devastating news about their baby, a baby who will be born with severe deformities, a chance of death before its even born or a chance at a life full of difficulties. The outlook is almost hopeless and Quinn is left with a decision to go to term with the child or abort, which in the end is just to hard of a choice to make and to escape her responsibilities Quinn remembers her secret, her portal, her escape. As a reader, this is where I became fascinated and frustrated with Quinn, on one hand we see her escape, we see what life could have been, which isn’t that great in the love department with boyfriend Eugene, but holds her there due to her mother who she lost to suicide in her “real” life. On the other side her husband, son and unborn child await and the question I kept asking was how could she leave them? How could she go through those portals pregnant and not worry about the child inside her? It was interesting to see her inner struggle about her own mother and being a mother, her intense desire for Eugene and yet her deep love for Lewis, which almost begged the question as to choosing between love and passionate desire. As the date for a decision gets closer, Quinn’s portal jumps become more frequent and as her baby and belly grow the portal begins to close inch by inch, making it more difficult to get back home. She’s anchored to her son but also wants to keep her mother and as Quinn risks her chance again and again she may wind up in a place she never wanted to be, losing everything and everyone in the process.

I seriously loved reading Quinn’s story, while her character most certainly could have used a bit more fleshing out and I would have liked to understand her better, I found the story intriguing and on the edge worthy, trying to figure out if this “crack” in the world was real for Quinn, if she really slipped thorough a portal to another life or if this crack was a fissure in her own mind, splitting her into madness. The novel explores love, marriage, mother/daughter relationships and the scar tissue of suicide and mental illness. An overall stunning story with a mix of light, dark and twisted, making the love triangle unpredictable and different. Meister has cast a spell on me and I cant wait for more.

Rating

The Other Life is recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, language, sexuality (mild-graphic) Pregnancy issues, topics on abortion, infidelity and birth defects, romance, death, suicide, bi-polar disorders and mental health issues.

5/5- Women's Contemporary Fiction
Thanks to Publisher and tlc for review copy




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