Let Me Die in His Footsteps, by Lori Roy #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway

8 June 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Let Me Die in His Footsteps

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Dutton (June 2, 2015)

On a dark Kentucky night in 1952 exactly halfway between her fifteenth and sixteenth birthdays, Annie Holleran crosses into forbidden territory. Everyone knows Hollerans don’t go near Baines, not since Joseph Carl was buried two decades before, but, armed with a silver-handled flashlight, Annie runs through her family’s lavender fields toward the well on the Baines’ place. At the stroke of midnight, she gazes into the water in search of her future. Not finding what she had hoped for, she turns from the well and when the body she sees there in the moonlight is discovered come morning, Annie will have much to explain and a past to account for.

It was 1936, and there were seven Baine boys. That year, Annie’s aunt, Juna Crowley, with her black eyes and her long blond hair, came of age. Before Juna, Joseph Carl had been the best of all the Baine brothers. But then he looked into Juna’s eyes and they made him do things that cost innocent people their lives. Sheriff Irlene Fulkerson saw justice served–or did she?

As the lavender harvest approaches and she comes of age as Aunt Juna did in her own time, Annie’s dread mounts. Juna will come home now, to finish what she started. If Annie is to save herself, her family, and this small Kentucky town, she must prepare for Juna’s return, and the revelation of what really happened all those years ago.

Buy, read, and discuss Let Me Die in His Footsteps

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads

About the author, Lori Roy

Lori Roy was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas where she graduated from Kansas State University. Her debut novel, BENT ROAD, published in 2011, was awarded the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best First Novel by an American Author, named a 2011 New York Times Notable Crime Book and named a 2012 notable book by the state of Kansas. BENT ROAD has been optioned for film. Her second novel, UNTIL SHE COMES HOME, was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and was nominated for an Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Novel. Her upcoming novel, LET ME DIE IN HIS FOOTSTEPS, will be published June 2nd. Lori also serves as treasure for the Sisters in Crime organization and is a liaison to the Author Coalition. She currently lives with her family in west central Florida.

My Thoughts

The problem with books like Let Me Die in His Footsteps is that they’re so well-crafted, and the characters are so vivid, that you want tell everyone you know, “Read this book. It’s amazing.” But because the plot is so delicately woven – a perfect combination of Southern historical fiction, coming-of-age drama, and murky mystery – you don’t want to spoil it for anyone. This is a book you need to come to with a fresh palate. This is a novel you need to experience without any preconceived notions of what it’s about.

So, here’s what I will say: Lori Roy is a talent to be reckoned with. From the first scene on the opening page, to the very last line of the novel, I was hooked. I fell into the rhythm of her words, and let myself be submerged in this story, and when I finished it, I was almost surprised to find myself at home in suburban Texas, and not in a Kentucky farmhouse surrounded by lavender fields. It’s that gripping. It’s that atmospheric. It’s that good.

I wanted to get to the end of Let Me Die in His Footsteps, because I wanted to now how the story resolved itself.

I hated reaching the end, because it meant leaving Lori Roy’s rich tapestry of a world.

Goes well with: A dish of coffee ice cream and a glass of cool water, eaten while sitting in a chair that’s far too big, in the wee hours of a sultry summer night.

Giveaway

If you live in the USA or Canada, and want to win a copy of Let Me Die in His Footsteps, comment on this post and tell me about your first kiss. Alternatively, find my post about this review on twitter (I’m @melysse) and retweet it. (Be sure to follow me if you do that.)

Winners will be notified by email before they’re announced NEXT MONDAY, and you have until 11:59 PM CDT on Sunday night to enter. Be sure the email address in your comment is a valid one (only I will see it.)

Lori Roy’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Tuesday, May 19th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Wednesday, May 20th: Kissin’ Blue Karen

Thursday, May 21st: FictionZeal

Tuesday, May 26th: Feminist Reflections

Wednesday, May 27th: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, June 1st: Joyfully Retired

Tuesday, June 2nd: For the Love of Fictional Worlds

Wednesday, June 3rd: Bell, Book & Candle

Wednesday, June 3rd: The Bibliophile Chronicles

Thursday, June 4th: Reading Reality

Monday, June 8th: Bibliotica – That’s Me!

Monday, June 8th: Books a La Mode

Tuesday, June 9th: Bibliophiliac

Wednesday, June 10th: A Reader’s Oasis

Thursday, June 11th: A Book Geek

Friday, June 12th: The Novel Life

The Jesus Cow, by Michael Perry (@sneezingcow) #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway

2 June 2015 by Melissa

About the book The Jesus Cow

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harper (May 19, 2015)

The New York Times bestselling humorist Michael Perry makes his fiction debut with this hilarious and bighearted tale—a comic yet sincere exploration of faith in the face of the modern world.

Life is suddenly full of drama for low-key Harley Jackson: A woman in a big red pickup has stolen his bachelor’s heart; a Hummer- driving developer hooked on self-improvement audiobooks is threatening to pave the last vestiges of his family farm; and inside his barn lies a calf bearing the image of Jesus Christ. Harley’s best friend, Billy, a giant of a man who shares his trailer house with a herd of cats and tries to pass off country music lyrics as philosophy, urges him to sidestep the woman, fight the developer, and get rich off the calf. But Harley takes the opposite tack, hoping to avoid what his devout, dearly departed mother would have called “a scene.”

Then the secret gets out—right through the barn door—and Harley’s “miracle” goes viral. Within hours, pilgrims, grifters, and the media have descended on his quiet patch of Swivel, Wisconsin, looking for a glimpse (and a per- centage) of the calf. Does Harley hide the famous, possibly holy, calf and risk a riot, or give the people what they want—and in the process raise enough money to keep his land and, just maybe, win the woman in the big red pickup?

Harley goes all in, cutting a deal with a major Hollywood agent that transforms his little farm into an international spiritual theme park—think Lourdes, only with cheese curds and souvenir snow globes. Soon, Harley has lots of money . . . and more trouble than he ever dreamed.

Buy, read, and discuss The Jesus Cow

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Michael Perry

Michael Perry is a humorist, radio host, songwriter, and the New York Times bestselling author of several nonfiction books, including Visiting Tom and Population: 485. He lives in rural Wisconsin with his family.

Connect with Michael

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

I’ve been reading Michael Perry‘s memoirs for years now, having first “met” him when I picked up a copy of Population: 485 on the discount rack at Barnes and Noble. In fact, my first review for TLC Book Tours was Perry’s Visiting Tom. He writes with this tone that combines intelligence (he listens to NPR) and cozy Americana (like Garrison Keillor without the collection of tag lines, or Stephen King without the killer clowns and sadistic vampires), and it’s that unassuming style that sucks you into his writing.

The Jesus Cow is Michael’s first novel. (Can I call him Michael? After reading so much of his writing, I feel like we’re on a first name basis, or should be). I have to admit I was a bit concerned that what works so well in personal stories might not translate to fiction, and I have to say, I’ve never been more glad to be wrong. First, this is absolutely, unmistakeably a Michael Perry book. Second, it’s also absolutely, unmistakeably fiction.

Oh, sure, The Jesus Cow pays the same attention to the details of rural small-town life that Perry’s other work does, and addresses (if somewhat obliquely) what is happening in our agricultural communities – something he’s never shied away from discussing, but it’s also just a story: a story of a man, a calf, and the preposterous situation surrounding the two.

I feel safe saying that only Michael Perry could tell a story like this, and make it feel so real that you want to leap out of your chair and drive to Wisconsin. He has given us a collection of memorable characters: Harley, Billy, Klute, Carolyn, Maggie, and Mindy all have distinct voices, and feel like people you’ve run into at the mini-mart. (I’m quite certain we’ve driven behind Carolyn’s Subaru, actually). He’s got a knack for setting a scene that I actually envy. And he does it all with an economy of phrase that Hemingway would hate because he’d feel threatened by it.

Reading The Jesus Cow won’t change your life, but it will give you a glimpse into rural America that is filtered through the lens of fiction, and if nothing else, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll want to invite a friend over for a “staff meeting” that involves gathering around the kitchen table with a couple of beers.

Goes well with a farmhouse breakfast of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns, OR, a couple of doughnuts from the mini-mart, washed down with a giant cup of coffee.

Giveaway

Want to read this book? If you have a USA mailing address (sorry, this one’s US only), enter to win a copy. ONE winner will be selected next Tuesday and notified by email, as well as on this blog.

How to enter? Leave a comment on this post before 11:59 PM US Central Daylight Time on Monday, June 8th telling me about your favorite roadside attraction. OR follow @Melysse on Twitter and retweet my post about this review.

Michael’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, May 19th: Read. Write. Repeat.

Thursday, May 21st: Buried Under Books

Friday, May 22nd: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Monday, May 25th: Jen’s Book Thoughts

Tuesday, May 26th: The Book Binder’s Daughter

Wednesday, May 27th: Gspotsylvania: Musings from a Spotsylvania Dog and Bird Mom

Thursday, May 28th: girlichef

Tuesday, June 2nd: Bibliotica

Wednesday, June 3rd: BookNAround

Thursday, June 4th: I’d Rather Be At The Beach

Monday, June 8th: Booksie’s Blog

Tuesday, June 9th: Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Wednesday, June 10th: Apples and Arteries

Thursday, June 11th: A Dream Within a Dream

Friday, June 12th: Imaginary Reads

The Case of the Invisible Dog, by Diane Stingley #review #Giveaway @TLCBookTours

12 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, The Case of the Invisible Dog: A Shirley Homes Mystery

Published by : Alibi (May 19, 2015)
Pages: 385

In the start of a charmingly imaginative cozy series sure to delight fans of Carolyn Hart and Diane Mott Davidson, Diane Stingley introduces a blundering detective who believes herself to be the great-great-granddaughter of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.

After failing to launch her career as a Hollywood actress, Tammy Norman returns home to North Carolina, desperate for a regular paycheck and a new lease on life. So she accepts a position assisting Shirley Homes, an exceptionally odd personage who styles herself after her celebrated “ancestor”–right down to the ridiculous hat. Tammy isn’t sure how long she can go on indulging the delusional Shirley (who honestly believes Sherlock Holmes was a real person!), but with the prospect of unemployment looming, she decides to give it a shot.

Tammy’s impression of her eccentric boss does not improve when their first case involves midnight romps through strangers’ yards in pursuit of a phantom dog—that only their client can hear. But when the case takes a sudden and sinister turn, Tammy has to admit that Shirley Homes might actually be on to something. . . .

Buy, read, and discuss The Case of the Invisible Dog

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads

About the author, Diane Stingley

Diane Stingley is the author of Dress You Up in My Love and I’m With Cupid. She was also a columnist for The Charlotte Observer and received e-mails from around the country in response to her columns. She currently resides in North Carolina and is hard at work on the next Shirley Homes mystery.

My Thoughts

I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes fan almost as long as I’ve been able to read, and unlike some purists, I’m happy to discover new takes on the character. I’ve read – for review as well as just for pleasure – the works of Laurie R. King and Stephanie Osborn, for example, and loved them to bits, even though each woman writes a radically different version of Holmes. I also love the BBC series Sherlock, but, I confess, I’ve never been able to get into Elementary.

The practical upshot of all this is that when I was invited to review The Case of the Invisible Dog, I was really excited to do so. Diane Stingley also has a fresh perspective on Holmes – her detective, Shirley Homes (no-l), likes waffles with extra butter syrup on the side, and is a little more of a psychopath than even Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes at his most…idiosyncratic. She also uses the name of her famous ‘ancestor’ (because in this universe he’s a real person – or at least Shirley believes he is), to help build her business.

Her Watson, who is our point of view character, is Tammy, failed actress, successful purveyor of bon mots. She’s maybe not as book-smart as previous Watsons we have known, but she’s street smart and snarky – two things I always enjoy in a character. It’s her voice that narrates this story, and everything we see is filtered through her eyes and perceptions.

Author Diane Stingley has done a great job of creating a slightly kooky, absolutely cozy version of the Great Detective, or rather, the Great Detective’s Descendant, and I found this novel to be engaging and interesting, especially once things got a little bit twistier and darker near the end.

If you’re looking for a female detective who is basically Sherlock Holmes in drag and a contemporary setting, this novel is NOT for you, but if you want something fun, fresh, a little bit fluffy (but in a good way), give The Case of the Invisible Dog a shot. Worst case: you’ll crave a trip to your local diner, at the end.

Goes well with Waffles with extra butter and syrup (warm, organic, maple), a side of crispy bacon, and coffee with cream.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diane Stingley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, May 11th: Kahakai Kitchen

Monday, May 11th: A Chick Who Reads

Tuesday, May 12th: Bibliotica – That’s ME

Wednesday, May 13th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, May 14th: Mama Vicky Says

Monday, May 18th: Priscilla and Her Books

Monday, May 18th: Bell, Book & Candle

Tuesday, May 19th: Book Babe

Wednesday, May 20th: Reading Reality

Monday, May 25th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, May 26th: Open Book Society

Wednesday, May 27th: Mom in Love with Fiction

Thursday, May 28th: For the Love of Fictional Worlds

Monday, June 1st: A Book Geek

Wednesday, June 3rd: Dwell in Possibility

Monday, June 8th: Staircase Wit

Thursday, June 11th: Joyfully Retired

Read Bottom Up, by Neel Shah & Skye Chatham #review @TLCBookTours

22 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Read Bottom Up

Print Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Dey Street Books (April 7, 2015)

A charming novel about falling in love (or like) in the digital age—the never-before-seen full story.

Madeline and Elliot meet at a New York City restaurant opening. Flirtation—online—ensues. A romance, potentially eternal, possibly doomed, begins.

And, like most things in life today, their early exchanges are available to be scrutinized and interpreted by well-intentioned friends who are a mere click away.

Madeline and Elliot’s relationship unfolds through a series of thrilling, confounding, and funny exchanges with each other, and, of course, with their best friends and dubious confidants (Emily and David). The result is a brand-new kind of modern romantic comedy, in format, in content, and even in creation—the authors exchanged e-mails in real time, blind to each other’s side conversations. You will nod in appreciation and roll your eyes in recognition; you’ll learn a thing or two about how the other half approaches a new relationship . . . and you will cheer for an unexpected ending that just might restore your faith in falling in love, twenty-first-century style.

Buy, read, and discuss Read Bottom Up

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the authors, Neel Shah and Skye Chatham

Neel Shah is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. He used to be a reporter at the New York Post and his work has appeared in Glamour, GQ, and New York magazine.

Skye Chatham is a writer living in New York. Her work has appeared in various publications, including GQ and Maxim.

My Thoughts

I always enjoy the way different authors, or teams of authors, handle epistolary stories. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, after all, is mostly a series of journal entries and letters, and it’s probably what got me hooked on the structure, though possibly Bridget Jones’s Diary is a better contemporary example of the same.

Read Bottom Up actually owes a lot to Helen Fielding’s novel, I feel, because it has a similar contemporary sensibility, and a similar feeling of freshness and fun. It makes sense, in an age where we are all glued to our smartphones and iOS devices for a good chunk of our waking life, that our reading materials would reflect this, and – let’s be honest – how often do any of us make actual phone calls from our phones and phablets, rather than just sending a text, an email, a tweet, or a private message on some other social media site?

Read Bottom Up, then, is a natural extension of reality into fiction, and while the creation of the novel seems a bit contrived (apparently the authors wrote it in real time, from separate locations, each taking two characters, and didn’t see the whole product until they came together at the end of their project), it also absolutely works.

It also means it’s a blissfully quick read, which isn’t to say that the novel is bad – it’s actually pretty engaging – but just as the perfect romantic comedy movie is about ninety minutes long, this novel is a ninety minute – two hour read. Any more than that would be too much. Any less, and the story wouldn’t have room to become what it eventually does: a depiction of a very real, very believable modern romance.

All of the characters – Madeline, Elliot, Emily, and David, were interesting and at least somewhat likeable. The ultimate ending was not a particular surprise. At times, I wanted to throttle each of the four ‘voices’ we hear in the book. Is it great literature? Probably not. But it’s a great afternoon read, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it does become a film someday.

I mean, I’d watch it.

Goes well with iced tea and a cashew chicken salad from that trendy bistro you know you want to try out.

Tour Stops for Read Bottom Up

Tuesday, April 7th: From the TBR Pile

Wednesday, April 8th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, April 9th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Friday, April 10th: A Bookish Way of Life

Tuesday, April 14th: BookNAround

Wednesday, April 15th: bookchickdi

Thursday, April 16th: Peeking Between the Pages

Friday, April 17th: 5 Minutes For Books

Monday, April 20th: Booksie’s Blog

Wednesday, April 22nd: Bibliotica – That’s ME!

Thursday, April 23rd: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Monday, April 27th: Mom in Love With Fiction

Tuesday, April 28th: Walking With Nora

Wednesday, April 29th: The Book Binder’s Daughter

Thursday, April 30th: Kritters Ramblings

Monday, May 4th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Wednesday, May 6th: 100 Pages a Day … Stephanie’s Book Reviews

Friday, May 8th: The Discerning Reader

Life in General, by Becca Rowan (@ravenousreader) #Review

10 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Life in General

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (November 20, 2014)
Paperback: 358 pages

Approaching her 50th birthday in 2006, author Becca Rowan decided to explore her passage into mid-life through writing. She created a blog called Becca’s Byline, and soon connected with other women who were exploring questions about life, family, home, work, and pursuing their dreams.

LIFE IN GENERAL is a collection of essays reflecting on experiences familiar to women in midlife: the empty nest, becoming a grandparent, long term marriage, caring for aging parents, downsizing a home, changes in the workplace, finding a passion for living. Readers will connect with these thoughtful, humorous, and inspiring pieces, and find new hope and ideas to make their own particular lives more fulfilling.

Buy, read, and discuss Life in General

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Direct from the Author | Goodreads

About the author, Becca Rowan

Becca Rowan is a writer and creator of the blog Becca’s Byline. She is a senior editor at All Things Girl magazine where she writes about books, popular culture, and home life. She is also a musician, and performs as a pianist and as a member of Classical Bells, a professional handbell ensemble. Born and raised in southeastern Michigan, she currently lives in Northville (a suburb of Detroit) with her husband of 38 years, and their two pampered Shih Tzus, Magic and Molly Mei.

Connect with Becca

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

It’s not often that I get to review a book by someone I consider a friend, but Becca and I have been ‘blog buddies’ for years, and worked together at All Things Girl. Despite this, or maybe because of it, my review is an honest one, and, for the record, I paid for my copy of her book.

In a world where anyone can publish with relative ease, many people look down at self-published work. If you’re one of those people who recoils in horror when you see “CreateSpace” listed as a publisher, and therefore skip this book because of that, then I’m sad for you, because Becca’s collection of essays are candid, witty, beautiful glimpses into the life of a typical American woman, and as much as they are universal, they also prove that there really is no such thing as ‘typical.’

As a long-time reader of Becca’s blog, some of the material in Life in General, more correctly titled Life in General: an American woman reflects on midlife in the 21st century, was familiar to me, but her writing style – that of an old friend you’re meeting for coffee, or a favorite (and very young) aunt offering life-lessons – is so warm and engaging that even the familiar felt new, and the pieces I hadn’t read offered me wonderful insights into her personality and character.

But you don’t have to know Becca, or be familiar with her previous work, to enjoy this book. If you’re already over fifty, you’ll likely find yourself nodding in agreement at some of the things she relates – how her lifestyle has changed now that she and her husband are empty-nesters, for example. If, like me, you’re still a few years shy of fifty, there’s still a lot to appreciate. While her essays are exactly what she calls them: personal reflections, they are also full of ideas, advice, and little tidbits of daily life that make you go, “Hey, I should try that,” or, “wow, that sounds so cozy.”

More than just being an enjoyable read, however, I found that the process of carefully reading Becca’s work made my own fingers itch to be flying over a keyboard again, after weeks (at the time I read it, around Christmas of last year) of not feeling very ‘writey.’

And that’s what good writing does, I think. It educates. It inspires. It says, “hey, this is me and this is my story, but why don’t you tell me your story, too?”

Becca Rowan’s Life in General is really good writing.

Goes well with a pot of tea, a plate of buttery scones, a rainy day, and a dog or two to cuddle.

The Bookseller, by Cynthia Swanson #review (@TLCBookTours)

7 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, The Bookseller

Print Length: 352 pages
Publisher: Harper (March 3, 2015)

A mesmerizingly powerful debut novel about the ways in which past choices can irrevocably define the present—and the bittersweet confrontation of what might have been

1962: It may be the Swinging Sixties in New York, but in Denver it’s different: being a single gal over thirty in this city is almost bohemian. Still, thirty-eight-year-old Kitty Miller has come to terms with her unconventional single life. She was involved, once—with a doctor named Kevin—but when things didn’t work out the way she had hoped, she decided to chart her own path. Now she dedicates herself to the bookstore she runs with her best friend, Frieda, returning home each evening to her cozy apartment. Without a husband expecting dinner, she can enjoy last-minute drinks after work with her friends; without children who need to get ready for school, she can stay up all night reading with her beloved cat, Aslan, by her side.

Then the dreams begin.

1963: Katharyn Andersson is married to Lars, the love of her life. They live in a picture-perfect home in a suburban area of Denver, close to their circle of friends. It’s the ideal place in which to raise their children. Katharyn’s world is exactly what Kitty once believed she wanted . . . but it exists only when she sleeps.

At first, Kitty enjoys her nighttime forays into this alternate world. Even though there is no Frieda, no bookstore, no other familiar face, Kitty becomes increasingly reluctant to open her eyes and abandon Katharyn’s alluring life.

But with each visit to her dreamworld, it grows more real. As the lines between the two worlds begin to blur, Kitty faces an uncertain future. What price must she pay to stay? What is the cost of letting go?

Buy, read, and discuss The Bookseller

Amazon | Barnes & Noble| IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Cynthia Swanson

Cynthia Swanson is a writer and a designer of the midcentury modern style. She has published short fiction in 13th Moon, Kalliope, Sojourner, and other periodicals; her story in 13th Moon was a Pushcart Prize nominee. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and three children. The Bookseller is her first novel.

Connect with Cynthia

Website | Facebook

My Thoughts

Because I read quickly, it’s actually pretty typical for me to pick up a book and read it straight through in a matter of a few hours. Last weekend, in fact, I read four novels that way, because it was rainy and I wasn’t feeling well, and …well, you get the idea.

When I picked up The Bookseller (well, opened the file on my Kindle) at 3 AM on Thursday night/Friday morning, I thought, oh, I’ll just read a chapter while I sit here in the bathroom (oh, come on, you all do it, too). So entranced was I, however, by Kitty/Katharyn’s story that I found myself unable (once I’d returned to bed) to actually sleep. Instead I inhaled Cynthia Swanson’s writing, while my husband snored blissfully next to me. I was bleary by dawn, but I was bleary with a completed story settled into my consciousness.

Swanson has created a set of characters that are plausible in both realities depicted. In the reality where our protagonist is called Kitty, her life seems a bit lonely, but charming, and and she has a good friend in Frieda and supportive loving parents. In the reality where she is Katharyn, she has the perfect husband and three adorable children, though one of them isn’t quite like the others.

It’s obvious from the start that one reality has to go in order for the other to stay, but until the very end, I was not entirely certain which it would be, and I love that Swanson kept me guessing that long.

As someone who spent a chunk of her childhood in suburbs (Arvada, Golden) and relative exurbs (Georgetown) of Denver, CO, I appreciated the authors level of detail. As I told a friend, “There are scenes when she shops at May D&F! I remember my mom driving there to bring home the first ‘Patty & Jimmy’ and ‘Hello Kitty’ puffy stickers, when those things were brand new to America.”

I also appreciated that each reality was not without flaws.

Swanson has a knack for writing complex, interesting, human characters, and for writing a book that is both technically a period piece, but at the same time, completely contemporary. I really hope she has another book in process, because hers is a voice I’d like to hear more from.

Goes well with Hot coffee and a Navajo-style burrito (mostly because that’s what I remember eating as a kid in Colorado).

Cynthia’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, April 7th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!

Wednesday, April 8th: The Discerning Reader

Wednesday, April 8th: Read Lately

Thursday, April 9th: A Chick Who Reads

Friday, April 10th: 5 Minutes For Books

Monday, April 13th: West Metro Mommy

Tuesday, April 14th: Reading Reality

Wednesday, April 15th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Thursday, April 16th: Kritters Ramblings

Monday, April 20th: BoundbyWords

Tuesday, April 21st: Readers’ Oasis

Wednesday, April 22nd: Vox Libris

Thursday, April 23rd: Read. Write. Repeat.

Friday, April 24th: Always With a Book

Monday, April 27th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, April 28th: A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, April 30th: Bookshelf Fantasies

Friday, May 1st: Bibliophiliac

Wednesday, May 6th: Ms. Nose in a Book

To The Stars, by George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) #review #autobiography @NetGalley

2 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, To the Stars: the Autobiography of George Takei

Print Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (March 10, 2015)

Best known as Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise™ and captain of the Starship Excelsior, George Takei is beloved by millions as part of the command team that has taken audiences to new vistas of adventure in Star Trek®—the unprecedented television and feature film phenomenon.

From the program’s birth in the changing world of the 1960s and death at the hands of the network to its rebirth in the hearts and minds of loyal fans, the Star Trek story has blazed its own path into our recent cultural history, leading to a series of blockbuster feature films and three new versions of Star Trek for television.

The Star Trek story is one of boundless hope and crushing disappointment, wrenching rivalries and incredible achievements. It is also the story of how, after nearly thirty years, the cast of characters from a unique but poorly rated television show have come to be known to millions of Americans and people around the world as family.

For George Takei, the Star Trek adventure is intertwined with his personal odyssey through adversity in which four-year-old George and his family were forced by the United States government into internment camps during World War II.

Star Trek means much more to George Takei than an extraordinary career that has spanned thirty years. For an American whose ideals faced such a severe test, Star Trek represents a shining embodiment of the American Dream—the promise of an optimistic future in which people from all over the world contribute to a common destiny.

Buy, read, and discuss To the Stars: the Autobiography of George Takei

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author, George Takei

Best known for playing Sulu on the original Star Trek TV series and six movies that followed, George Takei is unlikely social media royalty. Unofficially dubbed the King of Facebook, he counts 5.5 million fans in his online empire – including Trekkies, Howard Stern listeners, and the LGBTQ community – who devour his quirky mix of kitten jokes, Star Trek references, heartfelt messages, and sci-fi/fantasy memes.

An outspoken advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, Takei has used his unmistakable baritone in several satiric PSAs, including one in response to Tennessee’s infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill that encourages viewers to say, “It’s OK to be Takei.”

His current projects include the musical Allegiance, drawn from his experience of growing up in Japanese American internment camps during World War II, and the recently published Oh Myyy! There Goes the Internet and Lions and Tigers and Bears: The Internet Strikes Back.

Connect with George

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My Thoughts

I saw this listed on NetGalley, and requested the digital ARC, not realizing this was just a re-release of the same autobiograpy Takei published in 1994, which I have in hardcover already. Still, it’s a good read – Mr. Takei’s life is incredibly rich and interesting and he tells his own story so well that anyone familiar with the cadence of his voice, whether from vintage reruns of Star Trek or from his more recent projects will hear the words in their head, and feel as though they are sitting at the knee of a family elder.

And really, especially since the loss of Leonard Nimoy, that’s what George Takei has become. If Nimoy was the honorary grandfather of all us fans, then Takei is our honorary uncle, the one who has no filter, who looks for the humor in everything, and who, in spite of everything he’s experienced, or seen others experience, still sees hope and possibility and the best in all of us.

That sense of hope and possibility is woven into every line of this autobiography. We see young George bond with a stray dog in the internment camp where he and his family were forced to stay, share his first experience with Mexican food (something that impressed me – having grown up in Colorado and California, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t reasonably familiar with Mexican food) and culture, feel the nervousness and later the thrill at his first taste of acting, and go through the realization that he’s gay, but even when he’s sharing the darkest parts of his life, there’s still that glimmer of positivity, that ray of hope.

If you, as I did, grew up on reruns of the original Star Trek, came of age during the movie era, and were gifted with TNG only after you were mostly-grown up, you will likely enjoy this autobiography in the same fashion you would any family story, even if that family is only one of spirit, and not blood.

If you are younger, and know Mr. Takei through his activity on Facebook and Twitter (where, I confess, he is a great favorite of mine, even though I’m rarely brave enough to interact with him), you will enjoy this book because it shares where he came from, and adds context to many of the things he talks about.

Either way, To The Stars is an interesting, engaging read, from a man who will probably never run out of stories to tell or silly memes to share.

Goes well with A homemade burrito and a glass of chilled horchata.

The Tusk that Did the Damage, by Tania James #review @tlcbooktours #giveaway

1 April 2015 by Melissa

About The Tusk that Did the Damage

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Knopf (March 10, 2015)

From the critically acclaimed author of Atlas of Unknowns and Aerogrammes, a tour de force set in South India that plumbs the moral complexities of the ivory trade through the eyes of a poacher, a documentary filmmaker, and, in a feat of audacious imagination, an infamous elephant known as the Gravedigger.

Buy, read, and discuss The Tusk that Did the Damage

Amazon | Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author, Tania James

TANIA JAMES is the author of the novel Atlas of Unknowns and the short-story collection Aerogrammes. Her fiction has appeared in Boston Review, Granta, Guernica, One Story, A Public Space, and The Kenyon Review. She lives in Washington, DC.

My Thoughts:

There is a meme going around Facebook – a picture of an elephant kept in solitary confinement in a zoo, and the poor creature is so lonely that she’s holding her own tail. That image was burned into my brain, and kept resurfacing while I read this book, The Tusk that Did the Damage, and it really was the perfect image.

It feels wrong to say that I enjoyed this book, because so much of it is about the awful things we do to elephants in exchange for money, but it was so well written, and well crafted, that I can’t not say it. Tania James gave us the expected POVs of the filmmakers (Emma is my favorite human in the book, though Manu is a close second) and the poachers, but then, in a bold move, she also let us see things from The Gravedigger’s point of view and I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job at getting inside an elephant’s head.

Poaching specifically, and trophy hunting in general, are activities that have never made sense to me. I mean, I understand responsible hunting when you use the entire animal – for food, for clothing, etc – but killing majestic creatures for the bragging rights or the cash is something that I, as someone who works in pet rescue, find unconscionable, so you’d better believe I was in tears for a lot of this novel.

And yet, I would still recommend it, because it’s an important story, and a well-told one. Fiction serves to entertain, yes, but it can also be a teaching tool. James teaches us about elephants, about ivory, about what we as humans are capable of – the good and the bad – and every lesson is an important one.

Read this book. It may not change your life, but it will definitely change your perspective on elephants.

Goes well with vegetable curry and African beer.

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Win a copy of The Tusk that Did the Damage

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Tania James’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, March 9th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Tuesday, March 10th: The Feminist Texican Reads

Wednesday, March 11th: Life is Story

Thursday, March 12th: Books on the Table

Monday, March 16th: BookNAround

Wednesday, March 18th: 100 Pages a Day

Thursday, March 19th: Conceptual Reception

Monday, March 23rd: She Treads Softly

Tuesday, March 24th: Bell, Book & Candle

Wednesday, March 25th: Julz Reads

Thursday, March 26th: Under My Apple Tree

Monday, March 30th: Read Her Like An Open Book

Tuesday, March 31st: My Bookshelf

Wednesday, April 1st: Bibliotica – That’s ME!!!

Monday, April 6th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, April 7th: Read. Run. Breathe.

Wednesday, April 8th: Book Snob

Thursday, April 9th: Suko’s Notebook

The Dead Key by D.M. Pulley #review @tlcbooktours #giveaway

5 March 2015 by Melissa

About the book The Dead Key

Paperback: 477 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (March 1, 2015)

Grand Prize Winner, 2014 — Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

It’s 1998, and for years the old First Bank of Cleveland has sat abandoned, perfectly preserved, its secrets only speculated on by the outside world.

Twenty years before, amid strange staff disappearances and allegations of fraud, panicked investors sold Cleveland’s largest bank in the middle of the night, locking out customers and employees, and thwarting a looming federal investigation. In the confusion that followed, the keys to the vault’s safe-deposit boxes were lost.

In the years since, Cleveland’s wealthy businessmen kept the truth buried in the abandoned high-rise. The ransacked offices and forgotten safe-deposit boxes remain locked in time, until young engineer Iris Latch stumbles upon them during a renovation survey. What begins as a welcome break from her cubicle becomes an obsession as Iris unravels the bank’s sordid past. With each haunting revelation, Iris follows the looming shadow of the past deeper into the vault—and soon realizes that the key to the mystery comes at an astonishing price.

Buy, read, and discuss The Dead Key

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Goodreads

About D. M. Pulley

D. M. Pulley’s first novel, The Dead Key, was inspired by her work as a structural engineer in Cleveland, Ohio. During a survey of an abandoned building, she discovered a basement vault full of unclaimed safe deposit boxes. The mystery behind the vault haunted her for years, until she put down her calculator and started writing. The Dead Key was the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award grand prize winner. Pulley continues to work as a private consultant and forensic engineer, investigating building failures and designing renovations. She lives in northeast Ohio with her husband and two children, and she is currently at work on her second novel.

My Thoughts

I love a good mystery. I love a mystery even more when women are at the center of it, when it’s got an interesting construction, when the story seems innovative. This book, The Dead Key, has all that and more.

The prologue had me intrigued but it was with the first pair of scenes – one in 1978, the other twenty years later – that I really got hooked. Parallel plots in different decades – what a great way to spice up what is, essentially a fairly basic story.

Beatrice (1978) was more compelling to me than Iris (1998), perhaps because Iris was a bit too self-entitled and obvious for my tastes. Too often, I wanted to shake her because she kept guilelessly giving away what she was doing. Really, if she had just announced to people, “Hi, I found an old safety deposit box key and I’m poking into what happened when the bank closed,” she would not have been much more obvious.

Also I thought her flirtation with Nick the designer was a bit random. Yes, women in their early twenties like to date, but their relationship did nothing for the story.

Beatrice, on the other hand, was a mystery unto herself. We don’t know her real background until well into the story, and she, at least, knew how to be somewhat discrete.

Minor flaws aside, this is a truly enjoyable novel. I loved the 1998 characters finding that the cafeteria (untouched for 20 years) still had working coffee machines (no, they didn’t drink any), and the setting – an abandoned bank – was just creepy enough to offset the fact that some of the twists were fairly predictable.

Pulley’s writing voice is truly engaging, her use of description and dialogue well balanced. If you want a great novel for a cozy late-winter afternoon, The Dead Key would be a perfect choice.

Goes well with Hot pastrami on rye bread and a bottle of any flavor Snapple.

Giveaway

One person (US/Canada only) will win a copy of The Dead Key. How? Comment on this post or share this post on Twitter (and tag @Melysse) to be entered. Winner will be chosen on Monday, March 16th.

D. M. Pulley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, March 2nd: Life is Story

Wednesday, March 4th: Bell, Book & Candle

Thursday, March 5th: Bibliotica

Monday, March 9th: Reading Reality

Tuesday, March 10th: Rhodes Review

Monday, March 16th: Fictionophile

Wednesday, March 18th: Luxury Reading

Thursday, March 19th: Open Book Society

Monday, March 23rd: It’s a Mad Mad World

Wednesday, March 25th: 2 Kids and Tired Books

Monday, March 30th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, April 1st: Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Monday, April 6th: My Bookshelf

Monday, April 6th: Omnimystery News – author guest post

Monday, April 13th: Lesa’s Book Critiques

Thursday, April 16th: A Bookworm’s World

Friday, April 17th: Brooke Blogs

Hunting Shadows, an #InspectorIanRutledge #Mystery by Charles Todd – #Review #Bibliotica

6 February 2015 by Melissa

About the book Hunting Shadows

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: William Morrow; First Edition edition (January 21, 2014)

In the latest mystery from New York Times bestselling author Charles Todd, Inspector Ian Rutledge is summoned to the quiet, isolated Fen country to solve a series of seemingly unconnected murders before the killer strikes again.

August 1920. A society wedding at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire becomes a crime scene when a guest is shot just as the bride arrives. Two weeks later, after a fruitless search for clues, the local police are forced to call in Scotland Yard. But not before there is another shooting in a village close by. This second murder has a witness; the only problem is that her description of the killer is so horrific it’s unbelievable. Badgered by the police, she quickly recants her story.

Despite his experience, Inspector Ian Rutledge can find no connection between the two deaths. One victim was an Army officer, the other a solicitor standing for Parliament; their paths have never crossed. What links these two murders? Is it something from the past? Or is it only in the mind of a clever killer?

Then the case reminds Rutledge of a legendary assassin whispered about during the war. His own dark memories come back to haunt him as he hunts for the missing connection—and yet, when he finds it, it isn’t as simple as he’d expected. He must put his trust in the devil in order to find the elusive and shocking answer.

Buy, read, and discuss Hunting Shadows

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Charles Todd

Charles Todd is the author of the Bess Crawford mysteries, the Inspector Ian Rutledge mysteries, and two stand-alone novels. A mother and son writing team, they live in Delaware and North Carolina, respectively.

Connect with Charles Todd

Website | Facebook.

My Thoughts

I love a good mystery, and this book was exactly what I needed on a cold, drizzly, Texas winter day. The opening, with a man planning a revenge-based murder, was chilling, and the next chapter with the actual murder taking place during a wedding had all the chaos and confusion you’d expect, plus the twist of the (possible) killer walking through the scene without anyone taking real note. (This is not a spoiler for the whodunnit part of the story.)

As the novel opened up, and we met Inspector Ian Rutledge, I felt like I was being plunged into one of those oh-so-atmospheric British novels I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. The action was well paced, taking time to appreciate the heavy mist or a well-earned meat pie without getting too bogged down by extraneous detail. The characters seemed appropriate for the period (the 20s) and the piece, and there were some lovely bits of all-too-human comedy to balance the darkness inherent in a murder mystery.

What took Hunting Shadows to a whole new level for me, though, is Rutledge’s ongoing battle with what, today, would be called PTSD. Burdened with guilt over the death of a war buddy, he still hears his friend’s voice from time to time. That layer of storytelling added a lot to Rutledge’s character, but it also made the whole book have a deeper resonance. We forget, sometimes, what war does to even the brightest, most stable people, and how those experiences shape our whole lives.

If you love a classic mystery-thriller with lush descriptions, believable characters, and a compelling story, you will, as I did, love Hunting Shadows.

Goes well with a pint of stout and a fresh-from-the-oven meat pie.

Tour Stops

This review is part of a blog tour organized by TLC Book Tours. For the complete list of tour stops, see below. For more information, click HERE.
Friday, January 2nd: Kritters Ramblings

Tuesday, January 6th: Dwell in Possibility

Wednesday, January 7th: 5 Minutes For Books

Monday, January 19th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, February 5th: Luxury Reading

Friday, February 6th: Bibliotica

Monday, February 9th: Jorie Loves a Story

Wednesday, February 11th: A Bookworm’s World

Wednesday, February 18th: The Discerning Reader

TBD: Fuelled by Fiction