Review: The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor (Giveaway)

The Girl Who Came Home:

A Novel of the Titanic

by Hazel Gaynor

Genre: Historical Fiction

A voyage across the ocean becomes the odyssey of a lifetime for a young Irish woman. . . .

Ireland, 1912 . . .

Fourteen members of a small village set sail on RMS Titanic, hoping to find a better life in America. For seventeen-year-old Maggie Murphy, the journey is bittersweet. Though her future lies in an unknown new place, her heart remains in Ireland with Séamus, the sweetheart she left behind. When disaster strikes, Maggie is one of the few passengers in steerage to survive. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that fateful night again.

Chicago, 1982 . . .

Adrift after the death of her father, Grace Butler struggles to decide what comes next. When her great-grandmother Maggie shares the painful secret about Titanicthat she's harbored for almost a lifetime, the revelation gives Grace new direction—and leads both her and Maggie to unexpected reunions with those they thought lost long ago.

Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home poignantly blends fact and fiction to explore the Titanic tragedy's impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants.

My Thoughts:  Ever since the movie, Titanic, came out I have been obsessed with things Titanic.  My son even loves watching the movie, but I suspect that was just because he liked watching the ship sinking.  It wasn't until we read a kid's book about Titanic together that he realized that it actually happened and that there were a lot of people who died.  

So anyway, when the offer to review this book came out I jumped on it!  I like the way the story is told between the events that led up to Maggie and her companions traveling on the Titanic back in 1912 and how finally sharing her story comes to affect her great-granddaughter Grace and the path that her life takes in 1982. 

There were times when I was reading about when they were all on the ship that I wanted to wring the necks of some of the first class passengers and how cavalier they were towards the third class passengers in steerage.  I would say the majority of the story was told from the 1912 perspective, as it should be, as that was when the tragedy occurred. You don't really learn much about what happened between 1912 and 1982 other than to know that Maggie survived and went on to have a family of her own. This made it kind of fun at the end when you did get a glimpse of those years. 

Though Grace wasn't involved in an ocean liner sinking, she did have tragedy befall her when she was just a little older than Maggie was while on the Titanic, and some of the things in her life paralleled Maggie's in that they were derailed for a short time before being able to put the pieces back together. 

I enjoyed the way the author used the cherry trees back in Ballysheen to represent people and how cherry blossoms figured heavily throughout Maggie's life. 

I would like to share one of my favorite passages from the book:

It was a moment Grace would never forget, watching this dignified old lady whom she loved so much, as she stared into a small case which she'd last seen when only a girl.  A lifetime of memories flooded Maggie's lined face; a lifetime of forgetting was washed away.  It was a moment of silent reflection; a moment laced with poignancy. (p70, Advance Reader's eproof of The Girl Who Came Home).

I received a complimentary ecopy of The Girl Who Came Home from Harper Collins in exchange for my unbiased review.

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About the author: Hazel Gaynor is an author and freelance writer in Ireland and the U.K. and was the recipient of the Cecil Day Lewis Award for Emerging Writers in 2012.  Originally from North Yorkshire, England, she now lives in Ireland with her husband, two young children, and an accident-prone cat. 

Visit Hazel Gaynor's Web Site

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Review: Just Destiny by Theresa Rizzo (Giveaway)

Just Destiny

by Theresa Rizzo

What would you do if your whole world fell apart?

Jenny Harrison made some poor choices in the past, but marrying Gabe was the best thing she’d ever done. They had the perfect marriage, until a tragic accident leaves Gabe brain dead and her world in ruins.

Devastated by grief, she decides to preserve the best of their love by conceiving his child, but Gabe’s family is adamantly opposed, even willing to chance exposing long-held family secrets to stop her. Caught in a web of twisted motives and contentious legal issues, Jenny turns to best friend and attorney, Steve Grant. Steve wants to help Jenny, but he has reservations and secrets
of his own. 

When something so private and simple turns public and complicated, will Jenny relent? What is Steve willing to sacrifice to help Jenny?

My thoughts:  I really enjoyed reading this book.  It held a secret that I didn't see coming, and it was revealed in such a way that I had to go back and read it again. It wasn't a big game changer, but it did put some things in perspective.  There are other secrets revealed that have a larger impact, but I felt this first one gave depth to the relationship between Steve and Jenny that I didn't think was there yet. 

  Steve had been good friends with Jenny and Gabe before Gabe died, so it was natural for Jenny to turn to him to lean on.  He was engaged, but his fiance was not someone that Jenny had every approved up.  Being so wrapped up in her grief and legal battle that she isn't even aware when Steve breaks things off with his fiance. And she is even more clueless when it comes to his feelings for her. 

Like life, this one is messy and the ending leaves some things unresolved and surprised me.  While I do think it is a happy ending, it didn't end the way I expected it to, and that was a nice change! 

I received a complimentary ecopy of Just Destiny from the author in exchange for my unbiased review. 

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About the author: Theresa Rizzo is an award-winning author who writes emotional stories that explore the complexity of relationships and families through real-life trials. 

Born and raised in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she currently lives outside of Boulder, Colorado with her husband of thirty years. She’s raised four wonderful children who are now scattered across the country.

Theresa’s debut book, He Belongs to Me was a finalist in the General Fiction Category of The 2013 USA Best Book Awards!  Her second book, Just Destiny, will be released March 31, 2014.

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Cover Reveal: Birthright by Nichole Giles (w/Giveaway)

Birthright

by Nichole Giles

Two months ago, Abigail Johnson saved the life of the boy she believes is her destiny and defeated an army of demons that have pursued her ancestors for centuries. Now, she and Kye should be taking their place as leaders of the new generation of Gifted. But the curse they thought was broken has returned, and every minute together brings them closer to death.

When remaining shadow demons attack again, the Dragons send Abby to Mexico. Being apart from Kye is slowly killing her soul, and it turns out she isn’t any safer here than she was back home. The shadows have tracked her, the locals expect her to help with their own demon problems, and the more time she spends away from Kye, the more she doubts the destiny that ties them together.

When the demons destroy her safe house, Abby has no choice but to take the fight to them. But the arrival of an old nemesis throws their careful plans into disarray, and Abby and her friends find themselves facing new adversaries in a battle that turns fatal. This time, not everyone will make it out alive. 

About the author:  Nichole Giles was born in Nevada, and moved with her parents to a number of cities in and around the West. Writing is her passion, but she also loves to spend time with her husband and four children, travel to tropical and exotic destinations, drive in the rain with the convertible top down, and play music at full volume so she can sing along.

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Book Blitz: One Broke Girl by Rhonda Helms w/ Giveaway!

One Broke Girl
by Rhonda Helms
Publication Date: April 2014
New Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Anna Parker’s life disintegrates with one phone call. Her dad’s selling their ritzy New York City condo because her Wall Street banker mom emptied their bank account and ran off with another man. Which means Anna has to drop out of her elite college and move with Dad back to their small Ohio hometown. Anna’s determined to reclaim her life ASAP, so she’ll use the next few months to save money, help Dad get back on his feet, and find and confront her mom.

But Anna doesn’t anticipate things going so wrong. The only job she can get is working as a lunch lady in an elementary school. Their money-pit duplex is falling apart around their feet. And her dad is depressed without her mom, who’s proving hard to find.

One bright spot in the chaos is Gavin Metcalf, a kindergarten teacher she dated when they were young teens. With his easy wit and sexy smiles, he makes her forget her stresses—and the fact that her boyfriend Steven back in New York doesn’t know the truth yet about her dire circumstances. When past and present collide, Anna has to decide where her future lies…

About the author: Rhonda Helms started writing several years ago. She has a Master's degree in English and a Bachelor's degree in Creative Writing. She also edits for Carina Press (an imprint of Harlequin Publishing) and freelance edits.

When she isn't writing, she likes to do amateur photography, dig her toes into the sand, read for hours at a time, and eat scads of cheese. WAY too much cheese.

Rhonda lives in Northeast Ohio with her family.

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- A $10 Amazon or BN gift card plus a kindle or nook copy of ALL I EVER WANTED, a new adult anthology with novellas by Rhonda Helms, Lexi Ryan, Caisey Quinn, and Marilyn Brant.

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Book Blitz: Perfectly Broken by Prescott Lane w/Giveaway!

Perfectly Broken
by Prescott Lane
Publication Date: March 2014
Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Even after years of trauma therapy, Peyton still believes she’s broken.  She has little desire to date or show off her natural beauty, content simply to hang out with her best friends and run her pie shop in New Orleans.  But her world turns upside-down when a handsome architect and self-confessed player shows up in her shop and thinks she’s perfect, much more than the usual hook-up.  While Peyton does her best to resist his charms, believing she could never be enough for him, she can’t deny the obvious heat between them.

With Reed determined to have her, Peyton must decide whether to continue to hide behind her apron and baggy clothes or take a chance and share her scars with Reed, a man with a playboy reputation and scars of his own — a dark past he can’t possibly share with Peyton, not after learning the horrors she’s endured.  But if they can find a way to trust each other, and themselves, they just might be able to heal, to save each other, to live perfectly broken together.

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Reed woke up in a sweat, breathing heavily, as if from a bad dream. But it hadn’t been bad at all. He’d been dancing with Peyton in Audubon Park, feeling her soft skin, tasting her lips, smelling the vanilla. He cursed the dream was over then looked outside, the moon shining brightly through his bedroom window. He thought about calling her and reached for his phone. He saw it was the middle of the night, so any call would have to wait.

Then he decided he wasn’t going to call her at all. He’d be seeing her tonight at the engagement party -- for the first time in 36 days. He flipped through the photos of her on his phone, landing on the one he loved the most, her resting her head on his chest, a small smile on her pink lips. He’d give anything to go back to that moment, to have her in his arms again. It seemed as if Griffin had held her more than he ever did. He threw the covers over his head, trying to get back to sleep and desperate to return to his dream.

But thoughts of tonight, thoughts of Peyton, kept him awake. Over several weeks, he’d tried to let her go but just couldn’t. Despite all the boxing, all the exercise, trying to bury himself in work, he wasn’t strong enough. He’d fallen in love – the first time ever – and now couldn’t recover. She’d been his soft spot, and he’d hit concrete without her, shattering his heart. He had no idea if she was as tortured, conflicted, unsettled as he was, or whether she’d just moved on without a second thought. He hoped she felt like he did. But she sure found a roommate pretty damn quick! His talk with Quinn helped put some things in perspective, but he still didn’t trust Griffin living in Peyton’s house, just a few doors down from her bedroom.

His mind flashed to the possibility that she was bringing some guy tonight. Griffin? And he wasn’t going to ask Bret if he knew whether she was. That would be pathetic and weak. He needed to be calm and strong, though not too strong. He couldn’t just wail on some new guy tonight, not even Griffin -- no matter what he saw, even if her lips, God forbid, touched Griffin’s or some other man’s.

He gripped his pillow tightly then threw the covers off his head, the moonlight hitting him again, shining down an unmistakable truth, one he already knew all too well. He needed Peyton. He needed her to love him.

About the author: Prescott Lane is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, and graduated from Centenary College in 1997 with a degree in sociology. She went on to Tulane University to receive her MSW in 1998, after which she worked with developmentally delayed and disabled children. She currently resides in New Orleans with her husband and two children.

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Book Blitz: Impossibly Forever by Shane Morgan with Giveaway!

Impossibly Forever

The Complete Impossibly Duology
Includes: Impossibly Love & Impossibly True

by Shane Morgan

Publication Date: Feb 24, 2013

NA, Romance

Discover the love story of Moya and Branden; from the very first kiss, to the moment where forever begins.

Includes the first and final book:

Impossibly Love:
All Moya Douglas wants to do is study hard, maintain her scholarship, and make her mother proud while attending college. She doesn't have time for a boyfriend or going on dates arranged by her best friend. Moya doesn't believe in love. And she has no intention of ever finding it. 

Branden McCarthy is determined to change her views.
A selfless romantic who's had his heart broken in the past, Branden is fascinated with Moya's personality and hopes to develop something real with her—a connection so strong it'll open her heart. But just when things start to work between the two, Branden’s secret threatens to get in the way.

Will Moya finally do the impossible and give love a chance with Branden, or will fear keep them apart?

Impossibly True: 
Moya is finally listening to her heart. 
She’s ready for love and willing to bask in all the joy it brings, but still, she insists on taking things slow. After all, her relationship with Branden isn't the only one that needs a chance.

With his health scare behind him, Branden wants nothing more than to get his life back on track—play hockey again, catch up on school, and get things moving with his girlfriend.

In the middle of strengthening their relationship and sorting out their individual lives, trouble begins to brew, testing the depth of their feelings for each other.

Can Branden and Moya once again overcome their trials and prove that their love is indeed true, or will past ghosts and new temptations drive them apart forever?

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About the author: SHANE MORGAN is the Amazon Bestselling author of Impossibly Love, and Unresisting. A book fanatic at heart, Shane currently lives in Narragansett, RI. where she spends her days blogging and writing young adult and new adult fiction.

Author Links:

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Review: Lies by Oliver Dahl

Lies: Ann Putnam Jr.'s Recounting of the Salem Witch Trials

by Oliver Dahl

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

 Ann Putnam Jr., one of the leading accusers during the Salem Witch Trials (1692) knows that something is wrong. After a horrifying encounter with Tituba, her friends were cursed. Miraculously untouched by the effects of the witch, Ann acts bewitched as well, in an attempt to accuse and hang her friends' torturers. This tragic experience of guilt, abuse, power, and love gives a first-person view into the spine-chilling months where neighbor turned on neighbor at the word of a little girl.

My thoughts: At just over 70 pages, this novella was a quick read and gave an interesting twist to the story behind the Salem Witch Trials.

While it starts with the cast of characters that we all know - Abigail, Elizabeth, Ann and Tituba, Oliver portrays the origins behind some of Ann's accusations in a new light. While I think most people believe that these girls were all pretending for fun and attention that got out of hand, reading Lies gave me another perspective to think about - how it might not have been all about the girls, but how there might have been other adults who were really running the show. 

I enjoyed reading Lies and it was a quick escape from the present.  I would also like to offer that the author, Oliver Dahl is just 16 years old and this is the third book that he has written.  You can find out more about him at the following links:  Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook. Follow the complete tour here. 

~I received a complimentary ecopy of Lies from the author in exchange for my unbiased review.~

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Review: Watching the Dark by Peter Robinson

Watching the Dark

by Peter Robinson

Publication Date: Feb 25, 2014 

(William Morrow)

When Detective Inspector Bill Quinn is found murdered in the tranquil grounds of the St Peter’s Police Treatment Centre, and compromising photographs are discovered in his room, DCI Banks is called in to investigate. Because of the possibility of police corruption, he is assigned an officer from Professional Standards, Inspector Joanna Passero, to work closely with him, and he soon finds himself and his methods under scrutiny. It emerges that Quinn’s murder may be linked to the disappearance of an English girl called Rachel Hewitt, in Tallinn, Estonia, six years earlier. The deeper Banks looks into the old case, the more he begins to feel that he has to solve the mystery of Rachel’s disappearance before he can solve Quinn’s murder, though Inspector Passero has a different agenda. When Banks and Passero travel to Tallinn to track down leads in the dark, cobbled alleys of the city’s Old Town, it soon become clear that that someone doesn’t want the past stirred up.

Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot, just back at work after a serious injury, is following up leads in Eastvale. Her investigations take her to the heart of a migrant labor scam involving a corrupt staffing agency and a loan shark who preys on the poorest members of society. As the action shifts back and forth between Tallinn and Eastvale, it soon becomes clear that crimes are linked in more ways than Banks imagined, and that solving them may put even more lives in jeopardy.

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My thoughts: This is book 20 in the Inspector Banks series, but it read very well as a stand alone.  It did refer to previous events, but if anything, it just made me want to go back and read the earlier books to find out what had really happened. 

You are given a lot of information in this book, and discover things in the same order as the police.  It seems to move slowly at times, but the whole book takes place in a little over a weeks time.  I enjoyed the way that the author brought together the pieces necessary for DCI Banks to solve his case. 

I liked the friendship between Banks and Annie and got the sense that there is a romantic history there and that it maybe isn't completely over.  Joanna Passero is also introduced in this book.  She is from Professional Standards (Internal Affairs) and Banks does not really want her around.  His brusque manner with her slowly evolves into a working relationship, but she keeps her personal life close to her vest. I have a feeling we will see more of her in the series. 

Now let me change tracks for minute.  For whatever reason, British mysteries take me what feels like forever to read.  I don't know whether it is the difference in terms/chain of command for police officers, whether it is the foreign locale - though many of the places in this book are fictional, they are based on foreign towns, or whether it is the different (interpret - not Americanized) names like Krystyna or Mikhel and Merike.  I was comparing the time it takes me to read a James Patterson or Harlan Coben thriller and think I figured out the BIG difference.  In this book and books like Charles Todd's Proof of Guilt, the crime has already been committed and you are seeing things from the police's point of view. In a Patterson thriller, the action is happening as you read and you often go back and forth between antagonist and the protagonist.  So now that I have worked through my own dilemma when it comes to reading these mysteries, let's get back to it.

~I received a complimentary copy of Watching the Dark from Harper Collins in exchange for my unbiased review.~

I did enjoy this book and want to take a minute to tell you about the next book coming out in this series NEXT WEEK - Children of the Revolution. 

New York Times bestselling author Peter Robinson is back with the gritty, witty, and intricate mind of Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks in a complex case told in CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION (William Morrow; Hardcover;March 25, 2014; $25.99; ISBN: 9780062240507). With inexorable momentum, emotional literacy, and a serpentine knot of connections driving the case, Robinson lucidly illustrates his ongoing ability to intrigue readers, old and new.

When disgraced college lecturer Gavin Miller is discovered dead on an abandoned railway line near his home, Banks and his team are drafted to investigate what appears to be a drug-facilitated murder. But Miller is found with a staggering 5,000 pounds—a surprising facet given Miller lived as a poverty-stricken recluse since his dismissal at Eastvale College four years prior. As evidence unfolds, Banks begins to realize it’s not the present that will lead him to the answers he needs, but the dark seeds of the past.

The detective and his team start to track back through Miller’s life, finding a long line of suspects at Eastvale, as well as his Alma mater—a hotbed of militant protest and bitter politics during his stay. Banks is convinced that the skeletons of the past will break this case open, but once a high-profile suspect becomes involved, his superiors warn him to back off.

Now risking his career by conducting the investigation surreptitiously, he uncovers family secrets that lead to a dramatic collision. After the layers of deceit are stripped away, the breakthroughs are not the ones Banks expected and the case moves into high gear with an unexpected end.

In this novel, Robinson brings a fascinating backstory to the fore and the reality of the 1970’s to life. CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION is a top-notch thriller that further confirms Banks’s place as one of the most intriguing characters in detective fiction.