The Reunion by Dan Walsh (Book Review)

Title: The Reunion
Author: Dan Walsh
Publisher: Baker

Expert storyteller Dan Walsh pens a new tale filled with the things his fans have come to love – forgiveness, redemption, love and that certain bittersweet quality that few authors ever truly master. Fans old and new will find themselves drawn into this latest story about restoration for the broken and ignored.

Walsh brilliantly weaves together two stories of men embroiled in turmoil – Aaron Miller a Vietnam vet who returned from war only to lose everything and of Dave Russo, a writer unable to love again. The Reunion opens with Aaron, 40 years after the war, slowly putting his life back together. Dave uncovers his heroic actions during the war, leading both men to find a second chance in life and love – if they’re willing to take a risk.

Walsh captures genuine emotion in his writing, and according to RT Book Reviews, he “demonstrates that, like Nicholas Sparks, men are capable of writing romantic fiction.”

Walsh has mastered telling stories set in separate time periods. The Reunion is a contemporary story with flashbacks to Vietnam. When Walsh was young, he hated history until he discovered a few non-fiction history books that read like page-turning novels. “They made history come alive,” says Walsh. “Reading became a joy. That’s my goal now, to create that same experience for my readers. I hope they get inspired and thoroughly enjoy themselves.”

Available September 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Dan Walsh is the award-winning author of The Unfinished Gift, The Homecoming, The Deepest Waters and Remembering Christmas. He lives with his family in the Daytona Beach area, where he's busy researching and writing his next novel. Visit www.danwalshbooks.com for more information. 

My thoughts: Dan Walsh continues to make my list of favorite books.  This one started out like any other book - you know what I mean - just starting to get to know the players, seeing if the storyline was one that was going to grab you, wondering if it was going to keep your attention - and boom - I was hooked and already half-way through.  

I loved Aaron Miller.  He was this unassuming older man who was just living his life trying to make other's lives a little easier.  He was a Vietnam War Vet where he had won the Congressional Medal of Honor, but because of how his life fell apart after the war, he didn't feel like he was deserving of it and never spoke of it.  Like many Vietnam Vets, he came home from the war with lots of psychological/emotional baggage as well as physical wounds that left him hooked on painkillers. All this made him unbearable to live with so his wife sent him packing.

Years later, after he had cleaned up his act, he tried to reconnect with his kids, but his wife shut the door on that idea and told him to just move along.  For twenty years he has lived with the regret that he has never been able to have a relationship or even know anything about his kids.  He finally got away from living on the streets, but his housing now is just a handyman's shed at a trailer park/campground.  From his little shed though, he does what he can to make the lives of the residents a little easier, a little safer, a little less lonely.

Dave Russo is a reporter writing a book to honor his father, who was killed in Vietnam.  He was just recently reunited with his son, Jake, because of the death of his ex-wife. He has realized that he had been valuing the wrong things in life and has vowed to spend more time with Jake.  While interviewing a Vietnam Vet for his research, he is set out on a journey to find Aaron Miller.  Little does he know how far, yet how near, this journey will take him.

I recommend having a box of Kleenex for the last third of this book.  I kept expecting my son to ask me why I was crying, but I guess he is used to seeing Mom cry while reading!  I have also read and reviewed Remembering Christmas and The Deepest Waters. 

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Publishing in exchange for my unbiased review.~

The Reunion
Publisher/Publication Date: Baker, Sept 2012
ISBN: 978-0-8007-2121-3
304 pages

ADHD + Writing = &%$#! (Guest Post and Giveaway)

 ADHD + Writing = &%$#!

by Stacey Turis

Writing a book is no laughing matter.   It takes super-human qualities like focus, planning, extended concentration, and self-discipline just to name a few.  Those may not sound like super-human qualities to you, but someone with ADHD would give their big toe to be able to sit down for just ten minutes and focus.  Only an hour ago I started writing this post and realized that I didn’t have my trusty drink next to me.  I went to the kitchen to get a glass and saw a book on the counter that I was supposed to sign and mail out today.  Since I couldn’t sign the book with the peanut butter that was distracting me where it lay in a blob on the counter; I hurriedly wiped it up before setting out to find a Sharpie.  Twenty minutes later, after getting the book signed and packaged, I returned to the kitchen knowing I was supposed to be doing something but not at all remembering what it was.  Since I was already in there, I decided to make myself some lunch and naturally the dishes followed.  Since the kitchen was done, I thought I should just pick up the living room so the “bottom-half” of the house could be considered clean’ish.  After all of that productivity I surely deserved some me time, so I decided to kill some brain cells on Facebook.  I sat down at my computer, looked at the screen and realized that I had completely forgotten about the post I was supposed to be writing.  DAMN – and I still don’t have my trusty drink!  I’ll be right back…

To learn more about Stacey, read my interview with her here.

And enter to win a copy of her book - Here's to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit - Oh Look! A Chicken!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Under the Sea Giveaway hop (Sept 14 - 20) U.S. only

Come and join me Under the Sea for this Giveaway Hop!  It is being hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and The Musings of ALMYBNENR.

This hop will be featuring books with mermaids, sirens, selkies, divers, swimming, boating, dolphins, etc - just tied to water in some way.

Please check out my other giveaways in the right sidebar while you are here!

 I will be giving away your choice of one of the following three books:  

The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory,

  Barefoot in the Sand by Roxanne St. Claire









or

When the Brook Dries Up by Blondina Jeffrey.














a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pulled by A.L. Jackson (Review, Guest Post, Giveaway!)

September 3 - My Cozie Corner - Review/Giveaway

September 4 - Insomnia of Books - Review/Interview/Giveaway

September 5 - Wonderland Reviews - Review/Interview

September 6 - Dive Under the Cover - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 7 - LovLivLife Reviews - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 8 - I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read - Review/Giveaway

September 9 -

September 10 - Just Bookin' Around - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 10 - My Escape - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 11- Literature Lovers Labyrinth - Review/Interview/Excerpt

September 12 - Books and Needlepoint - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

September 13 -

September 14 - My Reading Addiction - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 15 - Sweeping the USA - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 16 - The Solitary Bookworm - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

September 17 - A Date With a Book - Review/GiveawayExcerpt

September 17 - Reader Girls - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 18 - The Story of a Girl - Review/Excerpt

September 19 - Beth Art From the Heart - Review/Guest Post

September 20 - Paranormal Wastelands - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 21 - Taking One Page at a Time - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 22 - Paranormal Wastelands - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 23 - For the Love of Film and Novels - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 24 - Up All Night Reviews - Review/GuestPost/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 25 -Crazy Four Books - Review/Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 26 - The Adventures Within - Review/Interview/Giveaway

September 27 - The Book Maven - Review/Giveaway/Guest Post

September 28 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

Title:  Pulled

Author:  A.L. Jackson

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

About the book: Melanie Winters and Daniel Montgomery shared a love most only dream of, a love they believed bonded them together for life.  When their world is shattered by the tragic loss of their daughter, overwhelming grief and misguided guilt distorts the truth, and their relationship ends in uncertainty and unanswered questions. 

For nine years, they drift through life, each unable to forget the one who holds the strings to their heart.  In an attempt to escape the pain of her past, Melanie finds herself trapped in a loveless marriage, while Daniel loses himself in a career that means nothing without Melanie by his side.  

Now, when their lives again intersect, neither can deny the connection they felt so long ago.  

But will the power that drew them together be enough to heal the wounds from their past, and will they have the courage to overcome the insecurities and fears that threaten to keep them apart? 

Pulled is a story of attraction and separation, of destiny and duty, of a love so strong it refuses to give up even when all others have. 

My thoughts: I liked the idea of this book with the whole scenario of being "pulled" to another person with nothing being able to keep them apart, but I didn't quite buy into the reasons they were kept separated for nine years.  

Melanie and Daniel's story was very believable, with their young love and pregnancy and loss of their daughter.  Even the reason they were first separated was very logical (from a parent's standpoint) even though they could not see it at the time.  However, I don't think that Daniel's family would have remained as uninvolved as they did for nine years.  

Okay, with that aside, I did enjoy the book.  Sometimes I was confused as to whose POV it was - Daniel's or Melanie's, but that was usually cleared up pretty quickly.  Their backstory was told in flashbacks so that while you learned about them now, you were also learning how they came to be where they were today.  

The whole idea of destiny is very romantic when it comes to your true love, and this also had a sense of danger thrown in with it - that force that will do whatever it takes to keep the lovers from reuniting.  All in all this was a tearjerker at times and I would find myself urging both Daniel and Melanie to take that next step to get back to one another.  

And now for a guest post from A.L. Jackson - and don't forget about the giveaway at the bottom!

How to Avoid the Slush Pile

Hi everyone. I’m A. L. Jackson, author of Pulled and Take This Regret, and I’m excited to share with you all today my tips on avoiding the slush pile. As an author and the co-owner of a small publishing house, I know submitting a manuscript can be one of the most nerve-racking steps we ever take as authors. We sit in front of our computers biting our nails, refreshing our email hour after hour, waiting to hear something back.

All the while, our submissions are sitting on someone’s desk waiting to be reviewed.

So how do you keep your manuscript from hitting the slush pile once someone does look it?

First, be sure you follow the publisher or agent’s submission guidelines to a tee. If you miss something or ignore instructions, your manuscript will most likely be rejected before the editor or agent even reads the first line.  Be sure that you don’t come across as someone who doesn’t know how to follow instructions or someone who just doesn’t care about them. Both are red flags.

Second and most important in my opinion is ensuring your book immediately hooks the reader. The writing should be strong and raise questions that make the reader want to continue on to get those answers. Don’t start with backstory on your main character or over-describe the setting. Get right into the conflict and then weave those other details in later. Be sure the first few pages are both clear and interesting.  The reader should be intrigued, but not confused, and most definitely should not be bored.

Be sure the portion you’re submitting has been carefully proofed and is formatted correctly (again check for submission guidelines to find out if a specific format is requested). Taking these small steps show you’re serious about your submission and are committed to your writing. If an editor is spending more time noticing typos or wonky formatting, it will distract from your writing. 

Take the time to ensure your submission stands out from the masses. These three points above can mean the difference between opening an email with a rejection letter or one asking to see your full manuscript. 

Wishing you all luck with your writing endeavors! 

About the author: A.L. Jackson first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she'd been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel.  A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three beautiful children.  Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.  

You can connect with her at the following places:

Sapphire Star Publishing

Twitter

Facebook

Tragic Beginnings, Fairytale Endings (blog)

Purchase:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Pulled
Publisher/Publication Date: Sapphire Star Publishing, April 2012
ISBN: 978-1938404009
350 pages

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Interview with Stacey Turis - Author of Here's To Not Catching Our Hair on Fire

Please welcome Stacey Turis to my blog today.  She is the author of Here's To Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An absent-minded tale of life with Giftedness and Attention-Deficit - Oh Look! A Chicken!  

Here is some background information about Stacey before we get to the interview:

Stacey Turis is an adult living with ADHD and giftedness who earned her degree in broadcast journalism from Wichita State University. She co-produced and hosted a TV show for a FOX affiliate before pursuing a career in advertising, then graphic design, then market research, then photography, then IT, then acting, then...

 

In 2006, she became certified to teach Yoga but didn't, then founded pawsforpeace.com, an online, holistic pet-health site, with an iPhone app called Dr. Shawn's Natural Pet Therapies to match. In 2010, she developed a course to teach families how to live more natural lifestyles, which she taught for about a month. She then started a Facebook page called ADHD - Tales of an Absent-Minded Superhero, for wacky folks like herself. That is still exciting enough to hold her interest. She has, through the years, unsuccessfully started twenty-seven businesses but can't remember most of them.

 

She lives in Texas with her husband, two kids, a dog, three cats, and eight goldfish. Stacey now spends her time speaking to groups of those same kinds of wacky people, where she’s not afraid to stop in the middle of a speech and ask “What was I talking about?” You can learn more atwww.staceyturis.com.

 

Facebook – ADHD Superhero

Twitter – ADHD Superhero

Website – Staceyturis.com

And now for the interview:

Do you have a favorite place to write or “must haves” while writing?

Honestly, the dog and pony show I have to go through to write is borderline-ridiculous.  Focus doesn’t come easy for me so I have to use an arsenal of must-haves during each writing session.  Mostly, I need to be in a semi-confining space with little or no stimulation.  I have an office that I adore, but it’s painted a lovely shade of creativity-inspiring orange, and has tons of shelves overflowing with books and tchotchke from all over the world.  That kind of environment is pure eye candy to me, and I’d much rather look around at all of my fun stuff than to face a computer, trying to wrench words from my unresponsive brain.  Instead I lock myself in my less “energizing” bedroom and bang my head against the wall until a sentence tumbles out of my brain, where I hurriedly type it before I forget what the heck I was even thinking about.  That’s on a good day.

Is there anything that has surprised you about writing, publishing or touring with your books?

I never realized how tough book signings can be!  I was lucky enough to get on with Barnes and Noble, and I’m not sure if I thought I was a Jersey housewife or what, but it wasn’t what I expected.  I was there with two other authors, set up right in the entrance to the store yet no one was clamoring to buy a signed copy of my book, let alone forming a line around the parking lot.   I finally stood up and went around to the other side of my table so I could get closer to the innocent shoppers, and formulated the lamest sales pitch in history.  “Hi…ummmm…do you know anyone with ADHD?”  When they said no, the best thing I could come up with was “Oh, I’m sorry.”, like I felt bad for them that no one in their life had been afflicted with a neurological condition.  It was awkward for everyone involved, but at the end of the day I sold out, so it was all good.

Do you have a favorite quote? 

I have a vast collection of favorite quotes, with a page on my blog dedicated to them.  I even have a page of quote notes on my phone so I can write them down as I hear them.  It doesn’t matter who it’s coming from, I can pick up on a kick-ass quote from even the most mundane sentence if it rings my bell, though I think one of my favorite quotes came from a friend’s refrigerator magnet.  It said, “Does my fat ass make my ass look fat?”  That never gets old.

Do you have any books on your nightstand right now?

I have six books on my nightstand right now, so I just went upstairs to write all the titles down and suddenly realized how weird I actually am.

1       1.       Does Anything Eat Wasps?  by New Scientist

         2.      Journey of Souls by  Michael Newton, PhD

         3.      Dry Storeroom No. 1 – The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum                              by Richard Fortey

         4.      Quantum Wellness by Kathy Freston

         5.      Einstein by Walter Isaacson

         6.      There’s a (Slight) Chance I Might Be Going to Hell by Laurie Notaro

In one sentence, why should we read your book?

Rumor has it that your perspective on life will change for the better no matter how you put your shoes on. 

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I’m sure most people would be surprised to know that I have a wicked temper.  It doesn’t come out that often, and it takes a lot for me to get there, but when I do - hold on to your shorts!  I have definitely learned to control it better, but back in my wild and crazy drinking days, you could find me in the middle of a fist fight with another girl (or guy on occasion) every other weekend.  That was back in the grungy 90’s, so my best friend knew when I kicked the Birkenstocks off, it was her job to grab them and wait until I was carried out by the bouncers to slip them back on my feet.  Good times…

What do you do in your spare time?

Spare time?  I don’t know what that is and probably don’t want any part of it!  If I’m not with my family or animals, you can find me doing one or more of the following (sometimes at the same time); Yoga, Cross-Fit, Big Foot expeditions, paranormal investigations, reading, road trips, juicing, studying neuroscience, practicing aromatherapy, listening to music, meditating, gardening, hanging out with my friends, cooking, going to movies, and watching my favorite cryptid investigation shows.  Man, I love my life! 

Do you have any hidden talents?

I can hypnotize animals and small children!  I’m not sure if it would be classified as hypnotizing because basically they just close their eyes and go right to sleep.  It only takes a minute and I have no clue how I do it.  A couple of months ago I thought I should spread my wings and attempt it on a lion when we were visiting a big cat reserve.  That lion didn’t stand a chance!  He was asleep in exactly forty-seven seconds.  I really need to do something with that.

Talk or text?

Text, text, text!  There are a million very-horrible things I would rather do than talk on the phone.  It just requires more focus than I’m able to dish out.  When it’s inevitable, I have to sit in my garage in the dark so I have absolutely nothing distracting me.  Besides all that, a phone ringing feels so aggressive!   “HEY LADY!  ANSWER ME.  ANSWER ME.  ANSWER ME.  ANSWER ME.  ANSWER ME.  ANSWER ME.”  Suck it phone – you’re not the boss of me!  It used to be a big stressor, but now I don’t even keep the ringer on so I only see texts and calls when I find wherever the hell I left my phone that day. 

Cat or dog?

Both!  One love my friends - one love.

Book Summary

Did you know that if you forget to pay a speeding ticket you WILL get arrested—in front of your kids, the neighbors—the dog—and anyone else who happens to be there? True story. And the thing is, Stacey Turis has a million of them, and she imparts these and other nuggets of wisdom to offer others suffering from ADHD some hope in knowing that they are not alone.

A belly-laugh inducing romp through a life so convoluted and chaotic you know it has to be true, Stacey Turis’s debut gives a voice to the genius yet tormented souls suffering from giftedness, ADHD, or a combination of both (a condition known as twice-exceptional) who are too afraid to speak.

Chronicling her life journey from a state of self-loathing to one of self-acceptance, the stories flow timelessly, always incorporating the resulting lessons and reflections gleaned from each adventure. Including both the tragic, stomach churning details of a horrifically abusive time in her childhood to comic adventures such as deciding to dye her hair plum the day before an important presentation to a bank only to have it turn out purple, her life has never suffered from a dull moment. Though she often thought Karma was the reason she found herself in so many “pickles,” a friend explained to her that when you put yourself out in the world more than anyone else, it’s really just a matter of statistics. Lucky for Turis and the rest of us, putting herself out there all these years allows us all to look at life through her pair of less-struggle-more-sass glasses.

With over three hundred million people suffering from ADHD worldwide and experiencing many of the same debilitating symptoms, Turis’ goal is to share her experiences so that others afflicted can rid themselves of the shame of hiding their behavior. A rip-roaring and bracingly honest look at a twice-exceptional life, Here’s to Not Catching Our Hair on Fire: An Absent-Minded Tale of Life with Giftedness and Attention Deficit—Oh Look! A Chicken! turns the rational on its head in a rollicking depiction of a life that seems to be constantly going off the rails.

Stacey is going to be back visiting later this week with a guest post and giveaway and I will be reviewing Here's To Not Catching Our Hair on Fire next week!

Books to Movies Giveaway Hop! (Sept 11 - 17)

Books to Movies Giveaway Hop is hosted by

 I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Sweeping the U.S.A.

For my giveaway, you have the opportunity to win a book of choice, under $15, that has been made into a movie.  It will come from Book Depository.  You may enter this giveaway as long as the Book Depository ships to your country!  Be sure to check out all the great blogs that are part of this giveaway after you enter mine!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking Charge by Mandy Baggot (Review and Giveaway)

Title: Taking Charge
Author: Mandy Baggot
Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

About the Book: Is going back Robyn’s only way forward? American-born Robyn Matthers is going home. With her dad in hospital, his roadhouse in ruins and the ice hockey team slipping down the league, she needs to take charge. But does she have the strength to do it? Cole Ryan is a hockey player on a personal mission. He’s tall, dark, hot and Robyn’s noticed! But can she trust her feelings - or his? And what will Cole do when he finds out the truth about her? Robyn returns to Michigan and things aren’t quite the same. Her best friend has grown up and is thinking about marriage and babies, the ice hockey team is no longer the life blood of the community and her father is engaged! When Robyn’s twin cousins drag up past events that hold painful memories for her, she and Cole are forced together. But are either of them ready to start something new? With an ill father, a trailer trash almost step-mom and ex-boyfriend Brad desperate for another chance, does Robyn have time to contemplate a relationship? Does she really want one? And is it physically possible for two people to fall in love in just three days?

My thoughts: I hadn't previously read anything by Mandy Baggot and can't say that I am a fan of sports romances, but this one was a lot of fun!

Robyn may have been a little outspoken and over-the-top, but I enjoyed her 'take charge' attitude.  She shows you what she's made of right in the beginning when she gives a steamy good-bye kiss to Cole Ryan, a guy she met right before they both boarded the same plane to Portage, Michigan.  

Robyn is coming home after 9 years in England because her dad has fallen ill and someone needs to step in to take care of his bar and his hockey team.  Both are failing badly.  Nancy, her father's fiancee, isn't helping the bar business any and Robyn does not lose any sleep not-liking her soon to be step-mom.  Robyn hasn't been back to her hometown before now because of an incident that happened when she was a teenager.  She thought she had put it behind her, but the past always has a way of rearing it's ugly head. 

Cole Ryan has some baggage in his past as well.  He lost his girlfriend and his brother in the same blow -yep, you guessed it - they were sleeping together.  He is still a little shell-shocked over the break up, but when the whirlwind that is Robyn blows into his life, he might have to actually move forward.  

I loved the humor infused through out the book and will definitely be watching for more Mandy Baggot in the future.

Author bio: Mandy Baggot is a self-confessed Twitter addict who likes to sing on You Tube. She regularly guests on book blogs and is a featured author on the innovative website loveahappyending.com. She is also a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association.
Taking Charge is her fifth novel. Mandy lives near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK with her husband and two daughters.

Follow Mandy on Twitter and on Facebook.  
Buy Taking Charge on Amazon. 





*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Time for a giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Taking Charge

Publisher/Publication Date: Sapphire Star Publishing, May 2012

ISBN: 978-1938404023

382 pages

It's Monday! What are you reading? (Sept 10, 2012)

What are you reading on Mondays is hosted by Sheila at One Person's Journey - You can hook up with the Mr. Linky there with your own post - but be sure and let me know what you are reading too! 

Started to get my reviews done, but wouldn't you know it - now I am behind on my reading!  lol

Current Giveaways:

Amazon $100 GC - sponsored by Bewitching Blog Tours and Jennifer Malone Wright - ends Sept 15

Desert Rice by Angela Scott (please enter and leave a comment - blog with most comments can win a prize!) - ends Sept 17

Taking Charge by Mandy Baggot (ebook)

Upcoming giveaways - this week:

Pushing the Limits

What the Heart Remembers

Back to the Movies Giveaway Hop

Pulled

Here's To Not Catching Our Hair on Fire

Under the Sea Giveaway Hop

Last Wish of Summer

Currently reading this week: 

Pushing the LImits by Katie McGarry

Pulled by A.L. Jackson

You Take it From Here by Pamela Ribon - I just can't seem to get back to this book!

Upcoming books:
Freak by Jennifer Hillier
What the Heart Remembers by Debra Ginsberg
The Fine Color of Rust by P.A. O'Reilly
Found by Shelley Shepard Gray


Bathroom Book:

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Books reviewed last week: 
India's Summer by Therese
The Good Woman by Jane Porter
A Girl Like You by Maria Geraci

Books read and needing to be reviewed:

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

The Witch is Back by H.P. Mallory

The Search by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harmon 

Until next week ----  Ready - Set - Read!

India's Summer by Thérèse

Title: India's Summer
Author: Thérèse
Publisher:  Fiction Studio

About the book: Single and about to turn forty, India Butler, a grade school teacher in London is having a meltdown. Desperate to reinvent her life she flies out to LA to spend the summer with her sister Annabelle a famous Hollywood actress and her brother in law a legendary rock musician. She maintains a wry detachment until she begins dating Adam, a gorgeous A- list actor. In an attempt to appear more successful she tells him she creates and teaches motivational workshops. 

When Adam’s friend is in a drunk-driving accident, Annabelle finds a lump on her throat and a mutual friend’s stepdaughter overdoses, India is drawn behind the veneer of Hollywood glitz and glamour and into their private lives. As her illusions about the perfection of their LA lifestyle fade away, India has an epiphany about her own real talents. She begins designing the kinds of classes and workshops she has fantasized about to Adam and successfully launches a series of workshops to help parents relate to their teenage children. She also drafts a book proposal.

In love with a movie star and with a burgeoning new career as a self- help guru, India is in her element until a defamatory video, filmed of her venting to Annabelle soon after her arrival goes viral. Her new life unravels. Humiliated and depressed, she returns to London where she repairs the damage with those closest to her. When her agent calls with news that he has sold her book proposal she takes control of her life. Shakily re-united with Adam and still balancing life on both sides of the pond, she returns to America to promote her book.

My thoughts:  This one was just okay for me.  While I liked India and her sister Annabelle, I found the storyline a little jumpy and hard to follow.  Many times I had to reread as all the sudden we were in a new place or it would jump from one person's POV to another and I wouldn't know whose eyes I was supposed to be seeing out of.  

India moves to L.A. for the summer to live with her sister Annie and her rock star husband.  She doesn't seem to be satisfied with who she is, as it sounds like over the years she has tried to find a "style" that fits her and in her eyes has been unsuccessful.  She is also burnt out on teaching and is wondering if she shouldn't try a different career.  

She is thrown into the celebrity whirlwind with parties, fund raisers, and paparazzi.  She begins to date a movie star, Adam, but when he questions her about her career she tends to be vague about the fact that she was a teacher in England.  She creates this fantasy job that she comes to realize is closer to what she really wants to do. 

When tragedy strikes it seems like it all happens at once (and actually, it does seem that that is how it happens. . .)Even though India isn't always true to herself, she is loyal and true to her friends and makes herself available to them when they need her.  Following this path she really does start to develop some workshops as well as a book proposal and finds her niche in helping people.  

There is more chaos and more success before the book wraps up.  All in all it wasn't a page turner for me but it was entertaining.  

~I received a complimentary copy of this book from Book Sparks PR in exchange for my unbiased review.~

Buy India's Summer:  Amazon

Link to Thérèse'S website: http://thereseblogs.com/indias_summer

Link to Thérèse on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theresetweets

India's Summer
Publisher/Publication Date: Fiction Studio, Jan 2012
ISBN:  978-193655834-6
259 pages

Mailbox Monday (Sept 10, 2012)

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, the weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books.  This is where I share the titles I have received for review or purchased during the past week.  Mailbox Monday will be hosted in September by Kristen at BookNAround.

Resurrection Express

by Stephen Romano

There is no code Elroy Coffin can't break, nothing he can't hack, no safe he can't get in to.  But for the past two years, he's been incarcerated in a maximum-security hellhole after a job gone bad, driven to near-madness by the revelation of his beloved wife's murder.

Now a powerful and mysterious visitor who calls herself a "concerned citizen" offers Elroy his freedom if he'll do another job, and sweetens the deal with proof that his wife might still be alive.  All Elroy has to do is hack into one of the most complicated and deadliest security grids in the world -- clear and simple instructions for the best in the business.  Or so he thinks.

Quickly drawn into the epicenter of a secret, brutal war between criminal masterminds, Elroy is forced to run for his life through a rapid-fire labyrinth of deception, betrayal, and intrigue -- where no one is to be trusted and every fight could be his last. . . and the real truth hidden beneath the myriad levels of treachery may be too shocking to comprehend. . .

The Ruins of Lace

by Iris Anthony

Lace is a thing like hope.  It is beauty; it is grace.  It was never meant to destroy so many lives.

The mad passion for forbidden lace has infiltrated France, pulling soldier and courtier alike into its web.  For those who want the best, Flemish lace is the only choice, an exquisite perfection of thread and air.  For those who want something they don't have, Flemish lace can buy almost anything -- or anyone.

For Lisette, lace begins her downfall, and the only way to atone for her sins is to outwit the noble who now demands the impossible.  To fail means certain destruction.  But for Katharina, lace is her salvation.  It is who she is; it is what she does.  If she cannot make this stunning tempest of threads, a dreaded fate awaits.

The most lucrative contraband in Europe, with its intricate patterns and ephemeral hope, threatens to cost them everything.  Lace may be the deliverance for which they all pray. . . or it may bring the ruin and imprisonment they all fear. 

Courageous Teens

by Michael Catt and Amy Parker

You need the courage to stand strong when everything else is falling apart.

You need the courage to say no when the world entices with diversions.

You need the courage to be a faithful leader of the next generation.

Looking at strong biblical characters, examples from the unforgettable film Courageous, insightful questions, and practical applications, Courageous Teens builds an unshakeable foundation for a courageous lifestyle.  Perfect for weekly group or individual study, this inspiring and in-depth study of courage will call teens like you to step out in faith, equipping you with the courage that is vital to your future -- and to the future of us all.

Tilt

by Ellen Hopkins

Witnessing the fallout from the poor choices their parents make and the lies adults tell themselves, three teens are clinging to the last remnants of the secure and familiar world in which they've grown up.  But the ground is shifting.  What was once clear is now confused.  Everything is tilting.

Mikayla is sure she's found the love her parents seem to have lost, but is suddenly weighing nearly impossible choices in the wake of dashed expectations.  Shane has come out, unwilling to lie anymore about who he is, but finds himself struggling to keep it all under control in the face of first love and a horrific loss.  Harley, a good girl just seeking new experiences, never expects to hurtle toward self-destructive extremes in order to define who she is and who she wants to be.

Inspired by teen characters first introduced in her adult novel, Triangles, Ellen Hopkins crafts a wrenching story that explores the ways we each find the strength we need to hold on when our world's been tilted completely off its axis.