The Predictions, by Bianca Zander (@biancazander) #review @TLCBookTours

18 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book The Predictions

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 5, 2015)

Gaialands, a bucolic vegan commune in the New Zealand wilderness, is the only home fifteen-year-old Poppy has ever known. It’s the epitome of 1970s counterculture—a place of free love, hard work, and high ideals . . . at least in theory. But Gaialands’s strict principles are shaken when new arrival Shakti claims the commune’s energy needs to be healed and harnesses her divination powers in a ceremony called the Predictions. Poppy is predicted to find her true love overseas, so when her boyfriend, Lukas, leaves Gaialands to fulfill his dream of starting a punk rock band in London, she follows him. In London, Poppy falls into a life that looks very like the one her prediction promised, but is it the one she truly wants?

The Predictions is a mesmerizing, magical novel of fate, love, mistakes, and finding your place in the world.

Buy, read, and discuss The Predictions

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Bianca Zander

Bianca Zander is British-born but has lived in New Zealand for the past two decades. Her first novel, The Girl Below, was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and she is the recipient of the Creative New Zealand Louis Johnson New Writers’ Bursary and the Grimshaw Sargeson Fellowship, recognizing her as one of New Zealand’s eminent writers. She is a lecturer in creative writing at the Auckland University of Technology.

Connect with Bianca

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I was a bit trepidatious as I began reading Bianca Zander’s The Predictions, concerned that the entire novel would be pervaded by that “smells like Ren-Faire” feeling of too much patchouli and not enough common sense, as can so often happen when depicting life on a commune, but I needn’t have worried, because the main character, Poppy, leaped off the page, grabbed me by the hand, and took me with her on a journey that, ultimately wasn’t about the facts of growing up in an ‘alternative’ lifestyle, but the universal truth of finding our own definitions of ‘home’ and ‘family.’

For Poppy, both of those things are tied up in people – her younger brother Fred, who has a clubfoot, her mother Elisabeth who, like all adult members of the Gaialands commune, is referred to by her first name, and keeps her motherhood status ambiguous (though we all know Poppy is her daughter.) And then there’s Lukas, fellow commune kid turned rock musician, who is the catalyst for much of the change in Poppy’s life, as well as the anchor that keeps her entirely herself.

Mix in an earthy American hippie fortune teller (Shakti), a decent amount of globetrotting (New Zealand isn’t really a rock mecca) and a lot of growing up (we meet Poppy as an adolescent on the brink of adulthood) and you have The Predictions, an engaging, fast-paced story of love, loss, music, culture, home, family, and how we must all find our own versions of each.

Bonus points for author Zander’s use of language. All of the characters sound appropriate to the period (mid-70’s through 1989) and age-appropriate as well. Double bonus points for having Lukas utter one of my all-time favorite snarky phrases: “Perish the thought.”

I predict that you will find The Predictions interesting and engaging.

No patchouli required.

Goes well with: falafel made from organically grown chick peas, jicama sticks, and beet slaw.

Bianca’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, May 5th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Wednesday, May 6th: Stephany Writes

Thursday, May 7th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, May 14th: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile

Monday, May 18th: In Bed with Books

Monday, May 18th: Bibliotica

Tuesday, May 19th: Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Wednesday, May 20th: Book Loving Hippo

Thursday, May 21st: Good Girl Gone Redneck

Monday, May 25th: Every Free Chance Book Reviews

TBD: Ageless Pages Reviews

Five Night Stand, by Richard J. Alley (@richardalley) #review #giveaway @TLCBookTours

14 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Five Night Stand

Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (May 12, 2015)

Legendary jazz pianist Oliver Pleasant finds himself alone at the end of his career, playing his last five shows, hoping the music will draw his estranged family back… Frank Severs, a middle-aged, out-of-work journalist, is at a crossroads as his longtime dreams and marriage grind to a standstill… And piano prodigy Agnes Cassady is desperately grasping for fulfillment before a debilitating disease wrenches control from her trembling fingers… When Frank and Agnes come to New York to witness Oliver’s final five-night stand, the timeless force of Oliver’s music pulls the trio together. Over the course of five nights, the three reflect on their triumphs and their sorrows: families forsaken, ideals left along the wayside, secrets kept. Their shared search for meaning and direction in a fractured world creates an unexpected kinship that just might help them make sense of the past, find peace in the present, and muster the courage to face the future.

Buy, read, and discuss Five Night Stand

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

About the author, Richard J. Alley

Richard J. Alley is an award-winning reporter, columnist, and editor from Memphis, Tennessee, where he lives with his wife and four children.

Connect with Richard

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember – I even think in music most of the time. My first instrument is cello, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate jazz, and, in fact, one of my early teachers was starting to teach me slap cello (yes, it’s a thing) before we moved away.

It should be no surprise, then, that I responded to Five Night Stand very favorably.

The plot, while simple, was captivating – three people brought together by music – all for different reason. The individual stories, especially those of Oliver and Agnes were poignant, bordering on sad in some places, but all three characters seemed to sing, their perfectly captured voices projecting far beyond the margins of the printed page. By the end of the novel, I felt like I knew these people.

The structure of the novel also worked: five nights, a finite space of time, but so much character development, so many nuances, filled those five nights. I felt like, more than writing a story, Richard Alley was conducting a symphony. A jazz symphony, with surprises of syncopation and deviations of meter that worked together to enhance the whole. Even the dissonant moments only added to the whole competition.

The language, though, is what hooked me. At first, like some of the other reviewers on this tour, it felt poetic to me, and then I realized, no, it’s not poetry, it’s a riff. It’s this wonderful booze-y, blues-y use of language that combines the sharp notes of New York with the softer ones of the South, where jazz and blues were really born.

Usually, when I finish reading a novel that I acquired solely for the purpose of reviewing, I delete the file from my over-packed Kindle to save space. Five Night Stand, however, has been moved to my ‘favorites’ collection, where, much like a much loved album, I can revisit it at my leisure and see what new things I find upon rereading it.

Goes well with: bbq ribs for an early dinner, followed by a glass of Scotch during the show.

Giveaway

If you live in the U.S.A. or Canada and want to experience Five Night Stand for yourself, leave a comment here on the blog telling me about your favorite musicians. Make sure you provide a valid email address (only I will see it) because winners will be contacted by email. Alternatively, find my twitter post about this review, and re-tweet it, tagging me: @Melysse.

Richard J. Alley’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, May 11th: The Avid Reader

Tuesday, May 12th: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Tuesday, May 12th: Bell, Book & Candle

Wednesday, May 13th: Ageless Pages Reviews

Thursday, May 14th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!

Monday, May 18th: BookNAround

Monday, May 18th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Tuesday, May 19th: Mom’s Small Victories

Thursday, May 21st: Colloquium

Friday, May 22nd: Tina Says…

Tuesday, May 26th: My Book Retreat

Wednesday, May 27th: Unshelfish

Thursday, May 28th: A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall

Monday, June 1st: Priscilla and her Books

Tuesday, June 2nd: Patricia’s Wisdom

Wednesday, June 3rd: Fictionophile

Friday, June 5th: The Well-Read Redhead

The Summer’s End, by Mary Alice Monroe #quickreview

13 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, The Summer’s End

Series: Lowcountry Summer (Book 3)
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Gallery Books (May 19, 2015)

In the powerful and heartwarming conclusion to her bestselling Lowcountry Summer trilogy, New York Times author Mary Alice Monroe brings her readers back to the charm and sultry beauty of Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, to reveal how the pull of family bonds and true love is as strong and steady as the tides.

It is summer’s end and Sea Breeze, the family’s beloved estate on Sullivan’s Island, must be sold. It is an emotional time of transition as Mamaw and the three sisters each must face loss and find a new place in the world.

Harper, the youngest sister, arrived at Sea Breeze intending to stay only a weekend, but a rift with her wealthy, influential mother left her without direction or a home. During this remarkable summer, free from her mother’s tyranny and with the help of her half sisters, Harper discovered her talents and independent spirit.

But summer is ending, and the fate of Sea Breeze hinges on Harper’s courage to decide the course of her own life. To do so she must release her insecurities and recognize her newfound strengths. She must accept love fully into her life—the love of Mamaw, Carson, and Dora, the love of Sea Breeze and the lowcountry, and most of all, the love of a Wounded Warrior who has claimed her heart.

The third book in Mary Alice Monroe’s trilogy that brims with “stories that touch the mind and heart of her readers” (Huffington Post), The Summer’s End follows three half sisters bound by love for their grandmother and the timeless beauty and traditions of the lowcountry.

My Thoughts:

I’ve loved Mary Alice Monroe’s work, and especially her Lowcountry stories, for years, so it was with some sadness that I cracked open my Kindle to read this novel.

That sadness was misplaced, because this was the perfect conclusion to the story – the family has to deal with communal loss in the form of their Sullivan’s Island house being sold, and personal loss in their own lives, but ultimately they learn that the house, while full of memories, is only a structure, a framework within which the family existed for a time. The love and connection they have is not dependent on the house at all.

As always, Monroe’s characters are given dimensional personalities, distinct voices, and individual arcs of growth and understanding. She writes the sisters, especially, in a way that makes their relationship obvious, but their separate identities equally so.

If you, like me, are addicted to stories that take place on Sullivan’s Island, or beach books in general, you will treasure this novel.

Yes, I’m a little sad about the end of the series, but Monroe gave us a satisfying conclusion, and ultimately, a message of hope.

Goes well with grilled chicken, tomato salad, and cold chardonnay, eaten on the deck.

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

The Mapmaker’s Children, by Sarah McCoy (@SarahMMcCoy) #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway

7 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, The Mapmaker’s Children

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Crown (May 5, 2015)

When Sarah Brown, daughter of abolitionist John Brown, realizes that her artistic talents may be able to help save the lives of slaves fleeing north, she becomes one of the Underground Railroad’s leading mapmakers, taking her cues from the slave code quilts and hiding her maps within her paintings. She boldly embraces this calling after being told the shocking news that she can’t bear children, but as the country steers toward bloody civil war, Sarah faces difficult sacrifices that could put all she loves in peril.

Eden, a modern woman desperate to conceive a child with her husband, moves to an old house in the suburbs and discovers a porcelain head hidden in the root cellar—the remains of an Underground Railroad doll with an extraordinary past of secret messages, danger and deliverance.

Ingeniously plotted to a riveting end, Sarah and Eden’s woven lives connect the past to the present, forcing each of them to define courage, family, love, and legacy in a new way.

Buy, read, and discuss The Mapmaker’s Children

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Sarah McCoy

SARAH McCOY is the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of The Baker’s Daughter, a 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee; the novella “The Branch of Hazel” in Grand Central; The Time It Snowed in Puerto Rico; and The Mapmaker’s Children (Crown, May 5, 2015).

Her work has been featured in Real Simple, The Millions, Your Health Monthly, Huffington Post and other publications. She has taught English writing at Old Dominion University and at the University of Texas at El Paso. She calls Virginia home but presently lives with her husband, an Army physician, and their dog, Gilly, in El Paso, Texas.

Connect with Sarah

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

There are novels that you pick up thinking, “Hmm, this might be interesting,” and then you forget you have them until weeks later, when they resurface and you find yourself gripped – completely gripped – by the story, and kicking yourself for not reading it the second you got home. The Mapmaker’s Children was almost like that for me, because the original galley provider ignored my request for it more than once, and then when I finally got it, I was convinced it wasn’t going to be my cup of tea at all.

I was wrong.

I was so very wrong.

First, the historical part of this story – a fictional possibility of what the life of Sarah Brown, daughter of famed abolitionist James Brown (and, yes, you will have the song rolling through the back of your mind as you read this) may have been like, suggesting that she might have followed in her father’s footsteps, and put her artistic talent to use making maps for use on the Underground Railroad, is amazing. Yes, it’s fiction, but it’s fiction that feels completely plausible, especially since the author worked in real world touches. I especially liked the fact that Louisa May Alcott’s book of fairy stories was an important element of the story, and that so many real historical figures (including Louisa and her father Bronson) were rubbing elbows with the fictional, and quasi-fictional characters.

Then, there’s the contemporary part of the story. As a woman in her 40s who has had two miscarriages, Eden’s desperation to have a child resonated with me (though in my case, dogs are totally a substitute for children; I have five.) in a way that I wasn’t expecting. Her story was one where at times I wanted to hug her, at times I wanted to throttle her, and most of the time, I wanted to bake her some scones, brew some really good coffee and sit down for a cathartic venting session.

Author Sarah McCoy wove both stories, one based on history, one based on so many contemporary stories, into one lovely, gorgeous, satisfying tapestry of a novel. It made me want to go upstairs, pull out a quilting book and FINALLY learn to do something beyond hemming pants with my sewing machine. It also made me want to bake organic meatloaf suitable for all members of my family, whether they have two feet or four.

The Mapmaker’s Children is a well-crafted, brilliantly written novel, and I highly recommend it, especially to animal lovers, childless adults, and history buffs.

Goes well with Roasted free-range chicken with buttered carrots, and a spring green salad. Homemade cornbread on the side.

Giveaway

One lucky reader in the USA or Canada will win a copy of this book. How? Leave a comment on this post (include a valid email address in the comment form – only I will see the email address) telling me what historical figure you’d most like to hang out and have coffee with. Alternatively, find my post about this book in my twitter feed (I’m @melysse) and retweet it.

The winner will be announced next Thursday.

Sarah’s Tour Schedule:

Tuesday, April 21st: Savvy Verse & Wit

Wednesday, April 22nd: My Book Retreat

Thursday, April 23rd: BookNAround

Monday, April 27th: Man of La Book

Tuesday, April 28th: 100 Pages a Day…Stephanie’s Book Reviews

Wednesday, April 29th: Always With a Book

Thursday, April 30th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, May 4th: The Book Binder’s Daughter

Tuesday, May 5th: Books on the Table

Wednesday, May 6th: West Metro Mommy

Thursday, May 7th: Bibliotica

Friday, May 8th: Peeking Between the Pages

Monday, May 11th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, May 12th: A Bookish Way of Life

Wednesday, May 13th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, May 14th: FictionZeal

Friday, May 15th: Bookshelf Fantasies

Monday, May 18th: Kritters Ramblings

Tuesday, May 19th: Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Wednesday, May 20th: Kahakai Kitchen

Thursday, May 21st: Diary of an Eccentric

Friday, May 22nd: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews

Monday, May 25th: Readers’ Oasis

Tuesday, May 26th: Walking With Nora

Wednesday, May 27th: Raven Haired Girl

Thursday, May 28th: Reading Reality

Friday, May 29th: Thoughts On This ‘n That

Monday, June 1st: Doing Dewey

Tuesday, June 2nd: Ms. Nose in a Book

Wednesday, June 3rd: Books in the Burbs

Thursday, June 4th: Drey’s Library

Tuesday, June 9th: The Book Bag

Wednesday, June 10th: Bibliophiliac

Thursday, June 11th: Literary Feline

Friday, June 12th: Broken Teepee

Monday, June 15th: Staircase Wit

Running Fire, by Lindsay McKenna (@lindsaymckenna) #review @TLCBookTours #Giveaway

6 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Running Fire

Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: HQN Books (April 28, 2015)

He was a haven in the midst of Hell…

Temporarily assigned to the Shadow Squadron in a troubled region of Afghanistan, Chief Warrant Officer and pilot Leah Mackenzie is no stranger to conflict—even if most of her physical and emotional scars are courtesy of her vicious ex. Still, she’s got a bad feeling about picking up a team of stranded SEALs. A feeling that’s all too justified once enemy fire hits their helicopter and all hell breaks loose…

SEAL Kell Ballard’s goal was to get the injured pilot out of harm’s way and find shelter deep in the labyrinth of caves. It’s a place of dark intimacy, where Leah finds unexpected safety in a man’s arms. Where prohibited attraction burns brightly. And where they’ll hide until the time comes to face the enemy outside…and the enemy within their ranks.

Buy, read, and discuss Running Fire

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

About the author, Lindsay McKenna

A U.S. Navy veteran, she was a meteorologist while serving her country. She pioneered the military romance in 1993 with Captive of Fate, Silhouette Special edition. Her heart and focus is on honoring and showing our military men and women. Creator of the Wyoming Series and Shadow Warriors series for HQN, she writes emotionally and romantically intense suspense stories.

Connect with Lindsay

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

I don’t read a lot of Harlequin novels. Oh, I’m not judging – they’re great novels when you want to escape into something fun and frothy for a couple of hours, and the contemporary incarnation of the imprint tends to favor strong female characters who have lived a little bit, rather than doe-eyed, barely post-pubescent innocents. I don’t typically read them simply because it doesn’t occur to me.

That said, when I was offered the chance to read Lindsay McKenna’s Running Fire I said, “Please, sign me up,” because I’m do enjoy a good romance from time to time, and because the military aspect appealed to me. I am, after all, the granddaughter of a career Army officer, and a member of Soldiers’ Angels. As well, I lost a really good friend a couple of years ago, a friend who was one of my oldest ‘blog buddies’ and whose last email to me included pictures of an afternoon in Kabul. (He survived two tours in that region, only to die of cancer at far too young an age, but that’s another story.)

In any case, I began reading Ms. McKenna’s novel and found myself devouring it over the space of just a few hours. Her depiction of the male lead, Kell, matches my own experience with the SEALs I’ve met: off the job, they tend to be incredibly intelligent, kind, people, but once they’re in work mode their focus is laser-sharp. Likewise, I enjoyed seeing military life from the point of view of a woman who as also an officer. McKenna did a really good job of letting Leah be vulnerable, without diminishing the fact of her own training. Even when she was injured, she was never entirely helpless, and I thought the whole Leah/Kell relationship was treated as one of equals who had differing strengths.

To be honest, I was a little surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. I think I always start any military story being wary of the politics that might crop up. (Mine are decidedly liberal – I’m very much of the ‘love the soldier, hate the war’ school of thought). I needn’t have been concerned. In this story, there’s almost no mention of politics. Instead everything is very much in the present for each character: what do I have to do to survive this day, and improve my connection to this other person?

As a novel that does take place ‘in theater,’ as well as one that deals with (I’m trying hard not to spoil plot) past sexual abuse, there are a couple of bits of violence that may be off-putting for some readers, but it wasn’t gratuitous violence, and it wasn’t described in the kind of visceral detail that is likely to cause nightmares or anything.

As I said, I rarely read Harlequin novels, but when I do, I’m happy to share what I’ve read. I found McKenna’s work so engaging that I’m curious to read other novels in this series.

Goes well with Any variety of MRE…no, just kidding. Cheeseburgers, crinkle-cut fries, and Coca-cola.

Giveaway

If you want to experience Lindsay McKenna’s military romances for yourself, I have the opportunity for ONE reader from the USA or Canada to receive a copy of an earlier title in this collection: Taking Fire.

To win: leave a comment here (make sure you leave a valid email address when filling out the comment form) or tweet about this review, and tag me in your tweet (@Melysse). I’ll announce the winner next Wednesday.

Lindsay McKenna’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, April 13th: Book Mama Blog – author guest post

Monday, April 20th: Feminist Reflections

Tuesday, April 21st: Palmer’s Page Turners

Wednesday, April 22nd: The World As I See It

Thursday, April 23rd: Romance Novels for the Beach

Friday, April 24th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Monday, April 27th: The Romance Dish – author guest post

Monday, April 27th: Hot Guys in Books

Monday, April 27th: Booked on a Feeling

Tuesday, April 28th: My Life. One Story At a Time.

Wednesday, April 29th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Thursday, April 30th: Mignon Mykel Reviews

Friday, May 1st: Books a la Mode – author guest post

Monday, May 4th: Books and Spoons

Tuesday, May 5th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Wednesday, May 6th: Bibliotica – That’s ME.

Thursday, May 7th: The Pen and Muse

Friday, May 8th: From the TBR Pile

Friday, May 8th: Written Love Reviews

Monday, May 11th: Life is Story

Wednesday, May 13th: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Thursday, May 14th: Read Love Blog

Sweet Girl, by Rachel Hollis (@msrachelhollis) #review #ComingSoon

1 May 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Sweet Girl

Print Length: 282 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (May 5, 2015)

Max Jennings is in a bad mood. It’s not anything you did; it’s just that secrets from her past make it her natural state of being. But she’s not going to talk about it or share her feelings, so don’t bother asking.

Max’s bad mood means that very few people actually truly understand her or know that her secret dream is to be a pastry chef. When a rare opportunity to work for world-famous Avis Phillips presents itself, Max jumps at the chance. Avis and her staff aren’t stingy with the tough love, so Max spends every spare minute practicing her craft. As she bakes brownies and custards, cookies and galettes, she builds an unlikely friendship with a man she once loathed and finds herself falling into something she’s spent the last six years avoiding. Will she let her painful past stand in the way, or will she muster the strength to forgive herself and realize her full potential?

Buy, read, and discuss Sweet Girl

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author, Rachel Hollis

Rachel Hollis founded the LA-based event planning firm Chic Events at only 21. Six years later Inc. Magazine named her one of the Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30. She went on to turn Chic into the extremely popular lifestyle website The Chic Site where readers log in daily for the tips and tricks she acquired after years of planning fancy parties for celebrities!

She has designed and produced fabulous events for many of Hollywood’s elite including Bradley Cooper, Al Gore, Rashida Jones, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ivanka Trump, Jamie King, Sara Rue and Cuba Gooding Jr… just a name a few.

Rachel grew up in a big loud Okie family. Daddy was a Pentecostal minister and Mama was the church pianist… and PS, she knows the words to all the old-timey hymns in case you want to break into three-part harmony later.

She moved to Los Angeles to go to college and promptly met a boy named David who was as handsome as he was funny. First she made that boy her best friend, and then she made him my husband. 10 years later they have three equally handsome/hilarious little boys named Jackson, Sawyer, and Ford. They live in LA where they spend their time doing super cool/sexy things like going to soccer practice and hitting up any restaurant where kids eat free with the purchase of an adult entrée.

Connect with Rachel

My Thoughts

I was sort of familiar with Rachel Hollis’s website, The Chic Site, before I read Sweet Girl. I’ve even used a few of her recipes. I was, therefore, familiar with her writing style which is fresh and breezy, fun, but not shallow, and I found all of those qualities in this novel, which I read after a two-week period of reading much heavier material, so the change in outlook, as well as the upbeat, contemporary style was more welcome than the first sunny day after a week of stormy skies.

I really loved Max, the “sweet girl” in Sweet Girl. She’s bright and prickly, creative and funny. I love that when we first meet her one of her hobbies is finding recipes on Pinterest and picking them apart. “I’m never going to be a food blogger,” she tells us. “…but I love following people who are.” That could be me, completely.

Of course as the novel moves forward Max evolves, but under Hollis’s deft hand, she does so without ever losing her essential “Max-nicity.” I like that. It drives me crazy when authors think “character development” means “turn them into a completely different person.”

I liked the supporting characters as well, Landon, the recent roommate who is going on an early date with one of Max’s beloved stepbrothers when we first meet her, the stepbrothers themselves, Brody and Liam, and all the other people who populate her life. Without exception these characters feel real, fresh, and like people you could easily run into in your favorite gourmet grocery store – personally I envisioned encounters in the Trader Joe’s parking lot.

This is Hollis’ second novel (the first was Party Girl) and while the two are part of a series, this isn’t a direct sequel, as much a new addition to a set of stand-alones. Translation: I haven’t read Party Girl, and I didn’t feel like I missed anything because of that.

If you want a fun, fresh read, a book that will flirt with you and make you want cupcakes, and totally not judge you when you eat six in one go, and then skip dinner, this book is what you need.

Goes well with An iced skinny vanilla latte and a cupcake with pink frosting.

The Accidental Pilgrim, by Stephen Kitsakos (@stephenkitsakos) #review @TLCBookTours

30 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book The Accidental Pilgrim

Paperback: 306 pages
Publisher: ASD Publishing (January 20, 2015)

In the summer of 1974, Dr. Rose Strongin, a marine biologist, inexplicably disappears for three hours on the last day of an archaeological dig at the Sea of Galilee. She has no memory of the disappearance, but it causes her to miss her flight home from Israel. That plane, TWA 841, explodes over the Mediterranean killing all aboard. Twelve years later she learns that a 2,000 year-old perfectly preserved vessel, dubbed the “Jesus Boat,” is uncovered at the site of her disappearance and she begins to understand what happened and why.

The novel crosses several decades exploring the intersection of science, religion and the unexplainable as a family gathers to say goodbye to the matriarch who held a family secret.

Buy, read, and discuss The Accidental Pilgrim

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the author, Stephen Kitsakos

Stephen Kitsakos is a theatre writer and journalist as well as the author of three opera librettos. His current project is the opera adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s international bestseller, A Thousand Splendid Suns with music by Sheila Silver. Other works include the Sackler-Prize award winning “The Wooden Sword” and “The White Rooster: A Tale of Compassion” for the Smithsonian Institution. His work often explores the connection between religion and art. He divides his time between Key West and New York.

Connect with Stephen

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My Thoughts:

I tend to be pretty wary about any novel that is remotely related to religion, but I trust Trish at TLC Book Tours, so when she highlighted The Accidental Pilgrim and said she thought I’d really appreciate it, I said, “Okay.” In truth, I wish I’d had more time to sit with this novel before posting my review, because while the surface story is an easy one, the deeper story requires some digestion.

I’m glad I did, because this book a gem of a novel. First the story is completely compelling, combining family drama both in the present, as a father and his three grown children come together to pay last respects to his wife/their mother, and in the past, as we meet Rose (the wife/mother) in flashbacks and memories. Actually it’s pretty gutsy for a writer to have the main character begin the novel already dead, but this novel is really Rose’s story, though her husband (Simon) and her children (Sharon, Barbara, Nathan) have their parts to play.

Every single character was memorable, though Nathan is my favorite of the ‘children.’ I understood his prickly moodiness – he’s a musician, after all – and resonated with it. I loved experiencing Rose’s journey through her own eyes, and through the eyes of those around her. I also liked the way every character was flawed, and so very real. The two daughters, one like her mother, one more like her father, reminded me of my own aunts and their ability to bicker constantly but still completely love each other.

Then there’s the setting: most of the novel takes place on the Sea of Galilee, so we get to glimpse both contemporary Israel, and the Israel of the recent past, as well as a few other time-hops that I won’t go into for fear of spoiling some truly interesting plot twists. I’ve never had a particular desire to visit contemporary Israel (my fantasies tend to involve places like Fez, Tangier, or Algiers), but this novel gave me a deep appreciation for a region that is so entwined in political and cultural turmoil that I doubt resolution will ever come.

Finally, there is the author’s sense of craft. In an email to him yesterday, I commented that I loved the way he told us the way characters pronounced things – it really made me hear the subtle accents – Canadian, American, Russian, Israeli, British, etc. – and added a layer of realism that truly made the novel sing. Specifically, I mentioned a line early in the novel where he describes a character saying the word “kids” with a “k” that sounds like “…a small ball of phlegm stuck in his throat…” That’s the first example that struck me, but those little touches and nuances exist throughout the novel.

As I said, I’m wary about novels that have anything to do with religion, but when I open myself to one, I’m invariably led to a place where I’m provoked to examine some of my own beliefs and attitudes. (And as a culturally Catholic, liberal Episco-tarian (I’m UU in my heart but love the ritual and language of the Episcopal church) feminist with an ethnically Jewish stepfather and a Baptist husband, you can IMAGINE what my beliefs and attitudes might be.) This happened to me when I first read Madeleine L’Engle’s Certain Women. It happened when I read Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent. It also happened as I was reading this book, The Accidental Pilgrim.

If you’re in the mood for family drama, this novel will appeal to you, and it’s possible to read it and just skim the surface. If, however, you prefer to delve deeper, this novel is meaty enough to satisfy anyone’s craving for a discussion of philosophy, religion, and science, and where the three intersect.

Goes well with mint tea, falafel, tabbouleh, and a handful of Medjool dates.

Stephen’s Tour Stops

Monday, April 27th: Raven Haired Girl

Thursday, April 30th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!

Monday, May 4th: Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Tuesday, May 5th: Lavish Bookshelf

Wednesday, May 6th: Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Friday, May 8th: Mom in Love With Fiction

Monday, May 18th: Victoria Weisfeld

Monday, May 25th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, June 25th: Wall-to-Wall Books

TBD: Novel Escapes

About a Girl, by Lindsey Kelk (@LindseyKelk) #review @TLCBookTours

28 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, About a Girl

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Harper (April 14, 2015)

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when the Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.

After accidently answering her roommate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, she might try being Vanessa. With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?

But Tess is soon in big trouble. And the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster. Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

Buy, read, and discuss About a Girl

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Lindsey Kelk

Lindsey Kelk is a writer and children’s book editor. When she isn’t writing, reading, listening to music, or watching more TV than is healthy, Lindsey likes to wear shoes, shop for shoes, and judge the shoes of others. Born in England, Lindsey loves living in New York but misses Sherbet Fountains, London, and drinking gin and elderflower cocktails with her friends. Not necessarily in that order.

Connect with Lindsey

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

My Thoughts

From the first words of the preface to the last word of the last page I was hooked by the fresh, funny, fantastic read. Who among us doesn’t want to step into someone else’s life for a while? Which of us hasn’t been tempted to try to be someone we’re not?

What I love about this novel is that the author, Lindsey Kelk, really captured the truth inside a preposterous situation. Scenes that would have been played solely for laughs under less meticulous crafting, instead balanced humor and pathos. This is especially true with the lead character, Tess, whose voice narrates the novel, but even scenes where she wasn’t the central figure never felt two-dimensional.

I also love Kelk’s use of language, especially the way twenty-somethings tend to overuse casual curse words. I remember the my friends and I all had such potty mouths at that age, even though we were all working professionals. It was as if we were reveling in some kind of lingering linguistic freedom, a last frolic before we reached thirty. (Translation: Tess uses the word ‘fuck’ a lot. I find this to be a perfectly legitimate character choice.) Also, as an American reader, I have to say, I’ve always thought the British concept of “you’ve been made redundant” sounds so much kinder than “you’re fired,” even though the meaning is the same.

While Tess’s story may not appeal to everyone, if you’re looking for a fast, entertaining read – perfect for the beach or bathtub! – About a Girl is just about the best choice you could make. Read it now, so you’re prepared for the sequel, What a Girl Wants, which was published in the UK last summer, and is due to hit the USA soon.

Goes well with Poi, barbecued pork, and any drink that comes in a hollowed-out coconut or pineapple. Bonus if there’s also an umbrella.

Lindsey’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, April 14th: Unshelfish

Wednesday, April 15th: The Book Bag

Thursday, April 16th: BookNAround

Friday, April 17th: Stephany Writes

Monday, April 20th: Patricia’s Wisdom

Tuesday, April 21st: Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Thursday, April 23rd: A Chick Who Reads

Monday, April 27th: girlichef

Tuesday, April 28th: Bibliotica – That’s ME!

Wednesday, April 29th: Books and Binding

Thursday, April 30th: fangirl confessions

TBD: Kahakai Kitchen

Dear Carolina, by Kristy Woodson Harvey (@kristywharvey) #review

27 April 2015 by Melissa

About the book, Dear Carolina

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley (May 5, 2015)

One baby girl.
Two strong Southern women.
And the most difficult decision they’ll ever make.

Frances “Khaki” Mason has it all: a thriving interior design career, a loving husband and son, homes in North Carolina and Manhattan—everything except the second child she has always wanted. Jodi, her husband’s nineteen-year-old cousin, is fresh out of rehab, pregnant, and alone. Although the two women couldn’t seem more different, they forge a lifelong connection as Khaki reaches out to Jodi, encouraging her to have her baby. But as Jodi struggles to be the mother she knows her daughter deserves, she will ask Khaki the ultimate favor…

Written to baby Carolina, by both her birth mother and her adoptive one, this is a story that proves that life circumstances shape us but don’t define us—and that families aren’t born, they’re made…

Buy, read, and discuss Dear Carolina

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the author, Kristy Woodson Harvey:

Kristy Woodson Harvey holds a degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in English from East Carolina University. She writes about interior design and loves connecting with readers. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and three-year-old son. Dear Carolina is her first novel.

Connect with Kristy

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

When Kristy Woodson Harvey contacted me asking me if I’d be interested in reading her book, I jumped at the chance, because it sounded exactly like something I’d love to read.

I was not wrong. This is a fantastic novel about mothers and daughters, and what exactly constitutes family.

Written in alternating first-person accounts, letters to the title character, this book focuses on Jodi, the nineteen-year-old biological mother of Carolina, and Khaki (real name Frances) her older, married cousin, and Carolina’s adopted mother, and how the lives and stories of all concerned are intertwined, woven into a tapestry where love is ever present.

I loved the way the rhythms of southern speech infused this novel. All through it, I found myself reading bits aloud because I wanted to hear the words, not just read them, and the author did an excellent job of keeping the two main voices of the novel separate and distinct, but clearly related. It’s a tricky thing to pull off, but she did it with aplomb.

Based on this novel, I believe it’s safe to say that Harvey has a bright future ahead of her. I loved this book, but I’m also looking forward to whatever she comes up with next.

Goes well with homemade bread slathered with jam made from fresh-picked berries.

Then she climbed on.