Monday, September 30, 2013

Review: Help for the Haunted by John Searles

Help for the Haunted by John Searles

Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 368
Format: book
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.

As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family's past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years.



Kritters Thoughts:  Sibling rivalry, family issues and mystery made for a fantastically creepy book!  Told through the voice of a 14 year old, Sylvie is dealing with the loss of both her parents and she was there when they were killed.  While the present story is being told as they try to bring the killer to justice, a parallel story is being told from Sylvie's childhood up to the killing to provide the reader with all of the insight to this family.  

Sylvie's voice was fantastic, she was such a great narrator.  She was old enough to have opinions, but still naive and growing up.  The dual stories made for such a great read.  I loved how as she was trying to confirm the suspect, she was also coming to terms with her childhood and learning what may have been going on behind her back.  The things she learned and the twists that came at the very end were perfectly timed.

Reading this book as fall began was perfect, it definitely put me in the crisp weather mood!  I would add this book to your October TBR pile!  

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The tour schedule

Tuesday, September 17th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Wednesday, September 18th: Girls Just Reading
Thursday, September 19th: Book Snob
Friday, September 20th: A Bookish Way of Life
Monday, September 23rd: Book-alicious Mama
Tuesday, September 24th: Alison’s Book Marks
Wednesday, September 25th: The Well-Read Redhead
Thursday, September 26th: BoundbyWords
Friday, September 27th: Peeking Between the Pages
Monday, September 30th: Kritters Ramblings
Tuesday, October 1st: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, October 2nd: Lesa’s Book Critiques
Thursday, October 3rd: Lectus
Monday, October 7th: From the TBR Pile





Sunday, September 29, 2013

It's Monday, What are you Reading?


A slow reading week with the retreat this coming week, the past week was a lot of last minute details.  I hope that next week with some plane time, I may get a few things done - fingers crossed!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:
Little Island by Katharine Britton
A Secondhand Murder by Lesley Diehl
Take Me Back by Sally Mandel

Currently Reading:
The Joshua Stone by James Barney
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer (this one will be here for awhile as I am reading it chapter by 
chapter with my sister)

Next on the TBR pile:
We Are Water by Wally Lamb

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Book Trailer!

I have listened to Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and loved it.

The Signature of All Things is going to be a great piece of fiction by Elizabeth Gilbert.  This trailer takes you to where she found inspiration for the book, seeing it made the book come even more to life for me, so check it out!

 

Friday, September 27, 2013

Review: Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard

Rescue Me, Maybe by Jackie Bouchard

Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 306
Format: eARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  If you lost both your husband and your dog to cancer within weeks of each other, but you were sadder about the dog, would you tell anyone? Maybe your closest friends. Unfortunately, Jane Bailey’s closest friends are on the other side of the country. That’s where Jane plans to go now that she’s free to leave Philadelphia, the too cold, beachless, street taco-deficient city her husband dragged her to six years ago. But with no job prospects in her hometown of San Diego, Jane is roped into helping out temporarily at her uncle’s southwestern small-town B&B. En route to her new role as innkeeper and breakfast chef, she finds a stray at a rest stop. With her heart in pieces from the loss of her dog, she’s determined not to let this mutt worm its way into her affections. She’s also determined to have next-to-no interaction with the B&B’s irritating guests, and the even more annoying handyman who lives next door. Can Jane keep her sanity—and her secret that she’s not really a grieving widow—while trying to achieve her dream of getting back to the place she thinks is home?


Kritters Thoughts:  My second Jackie Bouchard book and I am officially a fan!  I love how her books center around dogs, as right now that is what my life is centered around.  Jane is a recent widow and also lost her dog which was maybe more devastating.  She is wanting to return to her favorite city of San Diego, but gets side tracked at her aunt and uncle's B&B where she learns some interesting things about herself.

Jane was a fantastic character and I immediately cared about her and what she was wanting to do with her life.  I love it when I immediately get drawn in by a character and care about them.  Usually characters are super peppy and for some reason Jane's negativity really stuck out in this book and I enjoyed the realness it made of her.  

I will definitely be following Jackie Bouchard and hoping for her next book soon.  I wouldn't mind if she continued Jane's story into another book!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2013 Challenge: 64 out of 50


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Review: Imperfect Pairings by Jackie Townsend

Imperfect Pairings by Jackie Townsend

Publisher: Ripetta Press
Pages: 414
Format: book
Buy the Book: Amazon Amazon

Goodreads:  Can love cross borders? In "Imperfect Pairings" a woman’s love for an Italian leaves her confronting this question. He’s Jack in America, but he’s Giovanni in Italy; understanding him means understanding his culture, his language. It means losing the foundations of her identity to become entangled in the deep-rooted vines of his family’s troubled past when she’d vowed to remain disentangled. Her career and autonomy had always come first, and she fell in love thinking she could control it, not give in to it. Is she losing herself? Or is she finally giving in to the woman she’d been all along. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Jamie is dating a man who she knows as an American named Jack, but out of the blue he becomes Giovanni from Italy and their relationship changes.  With a few trips to Italy, this couple has to figure out how to make their marriage work with two different cultures colliding.    

There were a whole host of characters and it was absolutely hard to keep it all together and I kept getting Jack and Giovanni mixed up and thinking about them as two separate people.  Because of this I had a hard time getting into it and felt lost and confused at times.    

The aspect that kept me turning pages was the international relationship.  The hurdles that their relationship had to overcome beyond the language barrier between Jamie and her in-laws was more than interesting to read.  I enjoyed when she spoke about how she was learning about herself through seeing the world through a different culture's viewpoint.

A book that had some slow spots, but if you are a fan of international relationships, this book would be perfect to pick up.

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Smith Publicity.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Across My Doorstop - September 2013



Review:
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent  (Goodreads  Amazon)

Between a Mother and Her Child by Elizabeth Noble  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope  (Goodreads  Amazon)

We Are Water by Wally Lamb  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Stranger You Know by andrea Kane  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Suite Life by Suzanne Corso  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Grounded by Angela Correll  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Best Man by Kristan Higgins  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Pieces We Keep by Kristina McMorris  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Buying In by Laura Hemphill  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Theory of Opposites by Alison Winn Scotch  (Goodreads)
Royal Inheritance by Kate Emerson  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Colette by Michelina Vinter  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Water Thief by Nicholas Lamar Soutter (Goodreads  Amazon)

Swap Sites:
Confessions of a She-Fan by Jane Heller  (Goodreads  Amazon)

Library Sale:
That Summer by Sarah Dessen  (Goodreads  Amazon)
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Daughters by Joanna Philbin  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Things We Do For Love by Kristin Hannah  (Goodreads  Amazon)
My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Looking for Mr. Goodfrog by Luarie Graff  (Goodreads  Amazon)
The Legacy by Kartherine Webb  (Goodreads  Amazon)

Winnings:
The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses  (Goodreads  Amazon)

From mom:
Down From the Clouds by Marilyn Grey  (Goodreads  Amazon)
Where Love Finds You by Marilyn Grey  (Goodreads  Amazon)



Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Review: The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

Publisher: Harper
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Just after dawn, Caren walks the grounds of Belle Vie, the historic plantation house in Louisiana that she has managed for four years. Today she sees nothing unusual, apart from some ground that has been dug up by the fence bordering the sugar can fields. Assuming an animal has been out after dark, she asks the gardener to tidy it up. Not long afterwards, he calls her to say it's something else. Something terrible. A dead body. At a distance, she missed her. The girl, the dirt and the blood. Now she has police on site, an investigation in progress, and a member of staff no one can track down. And Caren keeps uncovering things she will wish she didn't know. As she's drawn into the dead girl's story, she makes shattering discoveries about the future of Belle Vie, the secrets of its past, and sees, more clearly than ever, that Belle Vie, its beauty, is not to be trusted. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Caren has reluctantly returned home for a job and is taken back in time to discover hidden secrets about her family's past.  What she does with this information is very interesting!

A working single mom, Caren was a fantastic character who was struggling with being a boss, but also a hometown girl.  I loved her inner battle with herself and finding her place.  With some mystery and intrigue this book had a great creepy factor that kept me turning and turning the pages!  I wanted to know who the killer was and why they committed the crime and I was quite satisfied with the outcome!  (no spoilers here!!)

A fantastic piece of southern fiction that takes you back in time, but through the eyes of current people.  The twists and turns were timed perfectly and I would dare anyone to be able to put this book down at any point!

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.




Tuesday, September 17th: red headed book child
Wednesday, September 18th: Time 2 Read
Thursday, September 19th: Book-alicious Mama
Monday, September 23rd: BoundbyWords
Tuesday, September 24th: Kritters Ramblings
Wednesday, September 25th: Peppermint PhD
Thursday, September 26th: Lectus
Monday, September 30th: Booksie’s Blog
Tuesday, October 1st: Olduvai Reads
Monday, October 7th: M. Denise C. 

Monday, September 23, 2013

Review: Emma vs the Tech Guy by Lia Fairchild

Emma vs the Tech Guy by Lia Fairchild

Pages: 201
Format: ebook
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: Emma Barton is a workaholic. Nothing is more important than becoming managing editor of the magazine she works for. And she has the perfect plan to achieve that goal. Then Guy Walker enters her office. Sexy, sweet, and super popular, the new tech guy takes the office by storm. Will he derail every strategy Emma has in place? If he discovers her secret, it could ruin Emma’s career and turn her life upside down.


Kritters Thoughts:  Emma is the second in command for a magazine that is doing well, but isn't quite up to speed electronically.  Her boss brings in someone without quite consulting her and she is not quite happy with this addition to the staff.  Pair that with drama in her home life and Emma has some drama headed her way.

Without the major twist at the end of the book, I would not have liked this book as much.  As I can not reveal any parts of the twist, I may have to keep this review short and simple.  This was a great quick read and was perfect to read during the Bout of Books read a thon!

Rating: definitely a good read but can't read two in a row


Ebook 2013 Challenge: 61 out of 50


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

It's Monday, What are you Reading?


What a crazy week for work and the next few weeks are going to get worse, but I should have some good time on an airplane!  I am quite surprised with the amount I read this week with the busy weekend I had.  I should have some great books to share as a trip to Baltimore happened!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:
The Preservationist by Justin Kramon
After the Fire by JA Jance
Sisters in Bloom by Melissa Foster
Torn by Yolanda Klem
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

Currently Reading:
Little Island by Katharine Britton

Next on the TBR pile:
A Secondhand Murder by Lesley Diehl

Friday, September 20, 2013

Review: Sisters in Love by Melissa Foster

Sisters in Love by Melissa Foster

Publisher: World Literary Press
Pages: 300
Format: eARC

Goodreads:  Danica Snow has always been the smart, practical, and appropriate sister. As a therapist, she prides herself on making reasonable, conservative choices, even if a bit boring, and as part of the Big Sister Program, she has little time for anything more in her life.

Blake Carter is a player. He never gets bored of conquering women, and with his sexy good looks and successful lifestyle, he has no trouble finding willing participants. When his friend and business partner dies in a tragic accident, he suddenly, desperately, wants to change his ways. The problem is, he doesn’t know how to stop doing what he does best.

When Blake walks into Danica’s office, the attraction between them is white hot, but Danica isn't the type to give into the heat and risk her career. Danica’s desire sets her on a path of self-discovery, where she begins to question every decision she’s ever made. Just this once, Danica wants to indulge in the pleasures of life she’s been so willingly ignoring, but with her Little Sister in turmoil and her biological sister’s promiscuousness weighing heavily on her heart, she isn’t sure it’s the right time to set her desires free.


Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters who are completely different are trying to find out what matters most to each of them.  This book mostly focused on Danica, the older sister who has always been a therapist and yet has wanted to open a youth center for a long time.  She is in the Big Sister program and wants to use her therapy skills to help youth instead of crazy adults.  At the same time, Blake the womanizer is recovering from losing a friend in a horrible accident and seeks therapy with Danica.  The sparks fly and drama ensues.

I loved the sibling relationship and the quest for finding one's true path.  I felt for both the sisters who have felt pigeon-holed in the careers and lives that they felt were picked for them.  I know many siblings who wonder if they switched places and how it would end up.  

Caution, this book definitely had some romance to it and a few steamy scenes!  But the characters and their journey were definitely the focus of this book.  I can't wait to start the next one and find out where these sisters go from here.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel (and already have it!)

Ebook 2013 Challenge: 62 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Review: Some Act of Vision by Lori Ann Stephens

Some Act of Vision
by Lori Ann Stephens

Pages: 291
Format: eARC

Goodreads:  After ten years of ballet lessons, Jordan Walker has finally landed her first principal role in Romeo and Juliet. Sweeter yet, "Romeo" has asked her to the May Fling Ball at Winston High. But a massive Texas earthquake triggered by the fracking activity nearby tears apart the community and Jordan's future as a dancer. The Walker family survives the earthquake, but wake up the next morning utterly invisible. 

On the run from a military with nefarious plans, Jordan and her family are forced to abandon their old lives and flee to Galveston. It isn't until she meets Caleb, a blind musician, that Jordan dares to hope again. And the more their secret friendship develops, the more Jordan understands the danger she's placed everyone in.


Kritters Thoughts:  A little supernatural, a little political, and a lot of family take the center of this book.  With a large mysterious building that pops up in this town in Texas, comes some intrigue as to what is going on behind the closed doors.  After an earthquake, that doesn't seem to come from just nature, this town has an environmental hazard and a father must make a quick decision to save his family.

As the blurb above already spoils that this family ends up invisible, the book really starts there and how they must cope and try to see if they can find a cure.  Jordan, the daughter, ends up in an interesting friendship where her invisibility is a non issue and this relationship is sweet and innocent and I absolutely adored the underlying tone of we have flaws, but it is how you live through it that makes you a strong person.  

With a cliffhanger ending, I am hoping that book two is not far behind.  I also wouldn't mind a prequel that gave more information as to how this town became the center of this scientific lab.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Ebook 2013 Challenge: 63 out of 50


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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