Review: The 500 by Matthew Quirk

The 500 by Matthew Quirk

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Pages: 336 

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Mike Ford is a former con artist who's been plucked from his Harvard Law School classroom to be an associate at The Davies Group, Washington's most high-powered and well-respected strategic consulting firm. Their specialty: pulling strings and peddling influence for the five hundred most powerful people inside the Beltway, the men and women who really run Washington -- and by extension the country, and the world. 

The namesake of the firm, Henry Davies, knows everyone who matters; more importantly, he knows their secrets. Davies' experience goes back 40 years -- he worked for Lyndon Johnson, jumped shipped to Nixon, then put out his own shingle as the Hill's most cut-throat and expensive fixer. Now he's looking for a protégé to tackle his most high-stakes deal yet, and Mike fits the bill. 

Quickly pulled into a seductive, dangerous web of power and corruption, Mike struggles to find his way out. But how do you save your soul when you've made a deal with the devil?





Kritters Thoughts:  A political thriller that will take you inside the workings of Washington, D.C., the reader questions where the truth and fiction begin and end.  The book starts in the future for a chapter and the reader is taken into the past to explain the story that must take place to get the characters in that place.  Mike Ford the main character has had a sketchy past, but ends up in a job where his checkered past can be put to good use.  


The working relationships in the book were full of deceit and lies.  I loved the interweaving of storylines and even having moments in the past come back and haunt the characters in the present.  I wonder if this is true in the halls of our leaders in Washington, D.C.  Do they use past secrets to get a decision they want?  These characters all had closets full of secrets that they were using to hold each other accountability, at times it was hard to remember who had what secret and the details behind it.         


Living in the D.C. area, I loved this book because I am always intrigued by what happens behind the scenes on the hill or in these ancient buildings.  I think fans of the political thriller subgenre could enjoy this even if they aren't residents of the D.C. area, but I am more than excited to pass this onto friends who live and work in the area where this book takes place.  




Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


April-June Challenge 2012: You Live Where?


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author at BEA.  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.  

Review: Picture This by Jacqueline Sheehan

Picture This by Jacqueline Sheehan

Publisher: William Morrow Publishers 

Pages: 304 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Peaks Island, Maine vibrates with its own special magic, a unique flow to life that knits together the small community that calls it home. The people, the animals, and even the houses have a charm and personality all their own. Just ask Rocky Pelligrino. Devastated by her husband Bob’s sudden death, she found hope thanks to a relentlessly loyal black Lab namedCooper. Warm friends and a new job—as the island’s Animal Control Warden—have helped Rocky chart a course toward a promising future. She’s even ready to try at love again with Hill, the gentle and patient archery instructor. And there is an old house haunted by lost love and forgotten secrets that speaks to her soul.

But a phone call from a troubled young woman looking for her biological father shakes Rocky’s newfound joy. Could this young girl hold a tendril of the man who was the love of her life? Or could the girl’s appearance throw Rocky’s world into chaos . . . and shatter her heart again?





Kritters Thoughts:  A widow who feels like she has lost everything when her husband passes away and an 18 year-old girl who is trying to become a woman even though she had very little guidance growing up in the foster care system are the two main characters in this book.  BUT this book is full of side bar characters, chocked full to the point of almost confusing.


I enjoyed the heart of the story, the moments when the story centered on Rocky or Natalie, but there was so much beyond it that weighed the whole novel down.  There were many times were I was lost and confused with the connections between the characters and where it was all going to go.  The confusion wasn't the happy kind of confusion.  The end was satisfying, but it took quite a few hurdles to get to the conclusion.


A little slow and long, but the premise of the story can keep a reader sucked in until the last page. 






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


Ebook Challenge 2012: 28 out of 25  

April-June Challenge 2012: Dog Days of Summer


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.  


Tour Stops:

Tuesday, May 22nd: Silver & Grace

Thursday, May 24th: Iwriteinbooks’ blog

Monday, May 28th: Hospitable Pursuits

Wednesday, May 30th: Chocolate & Croissants

Tuesday, June 5th: Just Joanna

Wednesday, June 6th: Jenny Loves to Read

Friday, June 8th: Kritters Ramblings

Tuesday, June 12th: Peppermint PhD

Tuesday, June 12th: BookNAround

Wednesday, June 13th: Peeking Between the Pages

Thursday, June 14th: My Bookshelf

Review: The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore

The Arrivals by Meg Mitchell Moore 

Publisher: Little Brown and Co. 

Pages: 336 

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood - only this time around, their children are facing adult problems. 

By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family - and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.





Kritters Thoughts:  One of those unique books about the workings of families that makes you want to call your own and tell them how much you love them!  With different reasons to return home, three adult children find themselves all under their parents roof with their own kids in the mix.  The drama quickly follows!


I am intrigued by birth order and how that affects families.  As a first born, I easily related to Lillian and her quest for perfection, no matter what situation she found herself in.  The other character that struck a chord with me was the mother, Ginny.  I could see my mother in her or her in my mother - it made this book even better than I could have imagined.  


I love family dramas, but this one was above the rest because the drama wasn't over the top - it was pitch perfect.  Each reader can see a characteristic from their own family in this one.  This book was my first by Meg Mitchell Moore, but I am already a huge fan.


Tomorrow I will review So Far Away by Meg Mitchell Moore.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


April-June 2012 Challenge: Soak Up the Sun


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Booksparks PR.  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. 

Review: After the Fog by Kathleen Shoop

After the Fog by Kathleen Shoop 

Publisher: Create Space 

Pages: 212

Format: eARC 

Goodreads:  The sins of the mother... In the steel mill town of Donora, Pennsylvania, site of the infamous 1948 "killing smog," headstrong nurse Rose Pavlesic tends to her family and neighbors. Controlling and demanding, she's created a life that reflects everything she missed growing up as an orphan. She's even managed to keep her painful secrets hidden from her loving husband, dutiful children, and large extended family.When a stagnant weather pattern traps poisonous mill gasses in the valley, neighbors grow sicker and Rose's nursing obligations thrust her into conflict she never could have fathomed. Consequences from her past collide with her present life, making her once clear decisions as gray as the suffocating smog. As pressure mounts, Rose finds she's not the only one harboring lies. When the deadly fog finally clears, the loss of trust and faith leaves the Pavlesic family-and the whole town-splintered and shocked. With her new perspective, can Rose finally forgive herself and let her family's healing begin?




Kritters Thoughts:  Quite the depressing read, that took quite a few pages, or a lot, to get to the heart of the story.  There were days upon days of our main character Rose complaining about life and her family and I just didn't see the book going anywhere at all.  There was little set up for the town before the smog rolled in and would have liked more of an emphasis on how this city was going to be impacted by the disaster.    


I was intrigued that this book was going to be centered around a disaster that affects the town, but it took way to long for the disaster to happen.  The build up of the Rose's personal turmoil overshadowed the main star that I believed to be was the smog and the affect of it on this town.  


The ending brought closure, but it took too much to get to the heart of the story. I appreciated where the story ended.  




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


April-June 2012 Challenge: Secret Gem


Ebook Challenge 2012: 23 out of 25  


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Spark Point Studio.  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.  

Review: Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski

Objects of My Affection by Jill Smolinski

Publisher: Touchstone 

Pages: 320

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  A personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung on to for decades. Lucy Bloom is broke, freshly dumped by her boyfriend, and forced to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them. While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding, she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference.




Kritters Thoughts:  Have you ever seen an episode of Hoarders or one of those organizational shows and wonder what really goes on behind the scenes?  This book takes you in behind the scenes of a once famous artist and along with the main character, Lucy, we find out how a person can find themselves buried by their belongings.  The main plot with a few sub plots were more than entertaining, enough for me to have to fight sleep to finish the book!


Lucy was adorable and quirky.  I loved her inability to "practice what you preach".  She could help Marva remove belongings and find value in people, yet Lucy was struggling through life with blinders on to many of her own personal situations.  Even with a few twists that I wish had gone a different way, the writing was simple and sweet which I always find to be enjoyable.


A book that I would pass onto a variety of readers, although a chick lit, skeptics to the genre would adore this sweet story about a woman finding value in herself.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


April-June Challenge 2012: Happy Birthday!


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Simon and Schuster.  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.  

Review: Sweetness by Lindsay Paige

Sweetness by Lindsay Paige 

Publisher: CreateSpace

Pages: 114

Format: ebook 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Emily wished she was invisible. But after moving to a new town with her dad, a charming boy makes it impossible for her to disappear. Despite her feelings of unworthiness, Emily soon finds herself drawn to the safety of Jake's world. 

Good looking and the star of the hockey team, Jake has a lot going for him. What most people don't see is the difficult life he has at home. When quiet Emily steals his heart, Jake vows to help her discover she is worthy of love. 

Just when the two of them realize the sweetness of their relationship, they are put to the test. Only together can they overcome their haunted pasts to fight for a future together.



Kritters Thoughts:  Sometimes a YA book is sent to me and just by the synopsis alone, I know that even though I am not always the YA fan I am going to like it.  From the very beginning, the reader meets Emily, a girl who is living with her father after some drama takes place while she was temporarily living with her mother.  As the chapters switch to our other main characters point of view - Jake, he is your guys guy in high school who finds something interesting in Emily and just has to get to know her.


A great YA book that shows the drama of high school without feeling to whiny.  You see Emily grow in this book through her interactions with Jake as he pushes her out of her shell.  With realism, it didn't feel like life is always dandy as some books can seem to be.


With simple language and great characters, I would pass this YA book onto any high school reader.




Rating:  the perfect YA read 
               (a new shoe has been added)


Ebook Challenge 2012: 24 out of 25  


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. 

Review: Daughters for a Time by Jennifer Handford

Daughters for a Time by Jennifer Handford

Publisher: Amazon Publishing

Pages: 302

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Feelings of abandonment fill Helen Francis at a too-young age when her mother dies and her father walks out. Left in the care of her older sister, Claire, she moves on but never truly heals. Now thirty-five and married, Helen is desperate to start a family of her own. After four unsuccessful years of trying to become pregnant, Helen accepts the idea of adoption. 


When her baby is finally in her arms, Helen experiences true exaltation. But she is quickly blindsided with the worst possible news: Claire has cancer. Helen's wounds are again torn open as she balances the bliss of a new daughter with the grief of a dying sister.





Kritters Thoughts:  A book that tugs at your heart strings and makes you realize how unlucky life can be.  Helen, the younger sister of two, who loses her mom in the middle of her teenage years is forced to live with her older college sister as their father has left at the same time that their mother succumbs to cancer.  With major trust and "leaving" issues, Helen is having a hard time accepting her infertility issues and the lucky woman who has a husband to stand and support her through it all.


I was instantly grabbed by the character of Helen and just wanted to know where her story was going to go and where it would end up.  I ached with her, but I wasn't overwhelmed by her grief, it was a perfect balance.  Although the story was full of trials and problems to overcome, I was left with a sense that the author handled her struggles with some reality - this I completely enjoyed.  


A fiction book that many a reader would enjoy, although there may be a few tears to shed in the process of reading it.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


April-June Challenge 2012: Keep it in the Family


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Little Bird 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.  

Review: The Queen's Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray

The Queen's Lover by Francine du Plessix Gray

Publisher:  Penguin

Pages: 300 

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  The Queen’s Lover begins at a masquerade ball in Paris in 1774, when the dashing Swedish nobleman Count Axel Von Fersen first meets the mesmerizing nineteen-year old Dauphine Marie Antoinette, wife of the shy, reclusive prince who will soon become Louis XVI.  This electric encounter launches a life-long romance that will span the course of the French Revolution.  The affair begins in friendship, however, and Fersen quickly becomes a devoted companion to the entire royal family.  As he roams through the halls of Versailles and visits the private haven of Petit Trianon, Fersen discovers the deepest secrets of the court, even learning about the startling erotic details of Marie-Antoinette’s marriage to Louis XVI.  But the events of the American Revolution tear Fersen away. Moved by the colonists’ fight for freedom, he is one of the very first to enlist in the French contingent of troops that will fight for America’s independence.




Kritters Thoughts:  An interesting take on life behind the scenes in the palace of Louise XVI and Marie Antoinette.  As a reader that limits her historical fiction intake, the "story" must grab me to make me forget that it takes place beyond our current times.  From the summary, I was intrigued by the look at the French side of history, as I often read about the English kings.  The addition of an affair and Marie Antoinette's obvious fame were definitely points to pull me in.


Written from both the perspective of Axel, the queen's mister and his sister who is said in the prologue to have her chapters fill in the gaps, I loved hearing her take on her brother's life.  


I even learned a thing or two!  Beyond learning what went on in the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, I was excited to read about France's role on the Revolutionary War and what a Swedish man's input was on behalf of the French in the war.  The chapter written by his sister including letters he wrote from the states, including my home town of Williamsburg, VA, were informative and entertaining.  


A fan of historical fiction and those who love a little behind the royal scenes would enjoy this book.   




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


April-June Challenge 2012: Royal Flush


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.  


Other tour stops:


Monday, April 16th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Wednesday, April 18th: Life in Review
Monday, April 23rd: Kritters Ramblings
Wednesday, April 25th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, April 26th: Broken Teepee
Friday, April 27th: Unabridged Chick
Tuesday, May 1st: Amused By Books
Wednesday, May 2nd: Life is Short. Read Fast.
Thursday, May 3rd: Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
Wednesday, May 9th: Historical Tapestry
Thursday, May 10th: A Bookish Affair
Monday, May 14th: Scandalous Women
Wednesday, May 16th: Enchanted by Josephine

Review: Whole Latte Life by Joanne DeMaio

Whole Latte Life By Joanne DeMaio 

Publisher:  CreateSpace

Pages:  336

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Would you leave everything behind to know who you are?

Sara Beth Riley never dreamt she'd walk straight out of her life. Actually she'd never dreamt a lot of things that had happened this year ... From being kidnapped by her own best friend, to throwing her wedding rings into the Hudson River, to calling an old love in France, to getting inked with said best friend, painting the passionate constellation of these choices into permanence. But mostly, she could never have dreamt what started it all. How could it be that her mother's unexpected death, and the grief which lingered painfully long, turned her into the woman she was finally meant to become?

Sara Beth's escape begins a summer of change - of herself, of marriage, of the lives of those around her. In a story that moves from Manhattan to the sea to a quaint New England town, Whole Latte Life looks at friends we never forget, at decisions we linger with, at our attempts to live the lives we love.





Kritters Thoughts:  Two friends head to NYC to celebrate a milestone birthday - the 40th!  While out enjoying a meal, one friend (Sara Beth) disappears leaving only a note that she needs some time away.  The other friend (Rachel) is stuck trying to figure out what should be her next step.  


Told from both of their points of views and even Sara Beth's husband, the reader is easily taken through the story.  I was amazed at how flawlessly each character took over the story and I knew who was talking and what was going on.  As well, I easily kept each character's lives separate, this is only due to great writing.


A great book that went a few places that were nicely unpredictable.  I would recommend this book to readers who love a deep, heartfelt story with true characters.




Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel


April-June Challenge 2012: Drinks, Dinner & Dessert


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.  

Review: More Like Her by Liza Palmer

More Like Her by Liza Palmer 

Publisher: HarperCollins 

Pages: 336 

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  What really goes on behind those perfect white picket fences?

In Frances's mind, beautiful, successful, ecstatically married Emma Dunham is the height of female perfection. Frances, recently dumped with spectacular drama by her boyfriend, aspires to be just like Emma. So do her close friends and fellow teachers, Lisa and Jill. But Lisa's too career-focused to find time for a family. And Jill's recent unexpected pregnancy could have devastating consequences for her less-than-perfect marriage.

Yet sometimes the golden dream you fervently wish for turns out to be not at all what it seems--like Emma's enviable suburban postcard life, which is about to be brutally cut short by a perfect husband turned killer. And in the shocking aftermath, three devastated friends are going to have to come to terms with their own secrets . . . and somehow learn to move forward after their dream is exposed as a lie.

Kritters Thoughts:  A chick lit that took a bit to get into, but once the prologue's 911 call is explained, the story picks up and takes off.  As the reader finds out in the prologue, there is a shooting involved, but it takes quite a few pages to get into where this fits into the story.  I was intrigued by the prospect of a school shooting that is centered around adults instead of the students.  It takes a whole new perspective on how adults react to a shooting that takes place among their peers.


I wasn't immediately hooked to any of the female characters, but slowly I fell in love with each of the three main girls.  Throughout the book there was a lot of internal dialogue that sometimes repeated things that the reader already knew.  The boys in the book took a back-burner until the end when they became major players.    


I would recommend this for chick lit fans, those who enjoy a book that takes a new approach to women interactions through their work environment that spills into their personal lives.




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


April-June Challenge 2012: Brand Spankin New (April 2012)

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.  




Other tour stops:


Tuesday, April 17th: A Bookworm’s World
Wednesday, April 18th: Iwriteinbooks’ blog
Thursday, April 19th: Kritters Ramblings
Monday, April 23rd: A Musing Reviews
Tuesday, April 24th: Seaside Book Nook
Wednesday, April 25th: Walking With Nora
Thursday, April 26th: A Bookish Way of Life
Tuesday, May 1st: A Soul Unsung
Wednesday, May 2nd: Into the Hall of Books
Thursday, May 3rd: Melody & Words
Tuesday, May 8th: Knitting and Sundries
Wednesday, May 9th: The Book Chick
Thursday, May 10th: Peeking Between the Pages