Review: Traces of Kara by Melissa Foster

Traces of Kara by Melissa Foster

Pages: 178 

Format: eARC 
Buy the Book:Amazon  

Goodreads:  Kara Knight can't wait to leave her hometown for the promise of nursing school and a fresh start on her future--leaving behind an over protective mother, a broken heart and painful memories. However, twenty-five miles away, the brother she doesn't know is determined to be reunited with the sister he cannot forget. 

Kara is abducted and thrown into her obsessive captor's delusional world. As the past she thought she knew unravels around her, Kara struggles to make sense of the memories that come creeping back, threatening her sanity and her safety. Meanwhile, Kara's mother races against time to save the daughter she fears she will lose when a long-held secret is revealed. The hours tick away as Roland plays out his plan--to take Kara with him into death at the exact moment of their birth, never to be separated again. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Are you looking for an intense read that won't let you up until the last page?  Then you need to go find this book.  Quite the intense trip that does not let up until there are 5 pages left to flip.  Kara is kidnapped from her job in a power plant that is in the midst of being shut down and in this maze of a plant, an old acquaintance has decided that they should die together.

As this is definitely a thriller, I can't divulge too much or it would completely ruin the reading experience.  A thrill ride with psycho crazies, family secrets and a hunter - this book is not for the faint of heart and is a little different read than others that Melissa Foster has published.

I enjoyed the book, but found the intensity to be exhausting and was definitely ready for the resolution when it arrived.  If you are an intense reader, this one is for you.

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

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 85 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: Three Good Things by Wendy Francis

Three Good Things by Wendy Francis

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 

Pages: 256 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Ellen McClarety, a recent divorcée, has opened a new bake shop in her small Midwestern town, hoping to turn her life around by dedicating herself to the traditional Danish pastry called kringle. She is no longer saddled by her ne’er-do-well husband, but the past still haunts her—sometimes by showing up on her doorstep. Her younger sister, Lanie, is a successful divorce attorney with a baby at home. But Lanie is beginning to feel that her perfect life is not as perfect as it seems. Both women long for the guidance of their mother, who died years ago but left them with lasting memories of her love and a wonderful piece of advice: “At the end of every day, you can always think of three good things that happened.” Ellen and Lanie are as close as two sisters can be, until one begins keeping a secret that could forever change both their lives. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters that are 10 years apart, but at a young age they endured a tragedy together when their mother passed away.  From an early age, Ellen had to become a semi-parent to her younger sister Lainie because of this they have a unique and very close relationship.  This book is a glimpse into their lives for a year.  It is about them both equally, which I loved.  I didn't feel like one sister was more or less the main character than the other.  

As you probably know, I am an older sister to my younger sister.  We still have our mom in this world (thank goodness!), but recently we have found the strengths in each other that we can use to better both of our lives.  I help my sister with her business and use my degree and passion to help her move it forward, while she is a dreamer and reminds me to reach beyond the stars because I just might be able to get there.  I loved reading about these two sisters who truly want the best for each other and encourage each other to be their best version.

A little women's fiction and a little chick lit, I think this book can go both ways and readers of both genres would enjoy.  Quite the quick read, this book was just easy reading on a cold weekend.

Rating: absolutely loved it, and want a sequel

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 88 out of 25

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss.  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 Tell by Hester Kaplan

The Tell by Hester Kaplan

Publisher: Harper Perennial 

Pages: 352 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Mira and Owen's marriage is less stable than they know when Wilton Deere, an aging, no longer famous TV star moves in to the grand house next door. With plenty of money and plenty of time to kill, Wilton is charming but ruthless as he inserts himself into the couple's life in a quest for distraction, friendship--and most urgently--a connection with Anya, the daughter he abandoned years earlier. Facing stresses at home and work, Mira begins to accompany Wilton to a casino and is drawn to the slot machines. Escapism soon turns to full-on addiction and a growing tangle of lies and shame that threatens her fraying marriage and home. Betrayed and confused, Owen turns to the mysterious Anya, who is testing her own ability to trust her father after many years apart.


Kritters Thoughts:  A book that centers around a couple living in a very old home, the childhood home of the wife in the couple and after a tragedy in her family, she never left the home in fear of losing a connection to her family.  Her husband moves in and is marking time next to his wife's things.  A change in neighbors sparks the beginning of the book and a rollercoaster that will forever change this couple.

The actor that becomes their neighbor is fantastically quirky and there were a few older actors that I imagined while reading about his character.  I found his intrusion in their marriage to be odd and strange, but so was he, so maybe it fit.  I will not reveal what happens after he gets quite in the middle of the marriage or whatever happens to him, but he is the drama in the book and he is the center as he puts himself into the center of things.    

I guess my main issue with the book was the lack of action, it was very everyday and the author used quite a few words to describe almost everything and everyone, maybe too many.  I wanted more to happen than just the everyday.  But if you are a reader who likes a book that is just the everyday, then this would be the perfect book for you to pick up for a cozy weekend.    

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

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 87 out of 25

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, January 8th: Good Girl Gone Redneck

Thursday, January 10th: Excellent Library

Tuesday, January 15th: Savvy Verse & Wit

Wednesday, January 16th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Thursday, January 17th: Books in the City

Monday, January 21st: Between the Covers

Wednesday, January 23rd: Speaking of Books

Monday, January 28th: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Tuesday, January 29th: Kritters Ramblings

Wednesday, January 30th: Bibliophiliac

Review: Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster

Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster 

Publisher: NAL 

Pages: 320 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Twenty years after ruling the halls of her suburban Chicago high school, Lissy Ryder doesn't understand why her glory days ended. Back then, she was worshipped...beloved...feared. Present day, not so much. She's been pink-slipped from her high-paying job, dumped by her husband, and kicked out of her condo. Now, at thirty-seven, she's struggling to start a business out of her parents' garage and sleeping under the hair-band posters in her old bedroom.

Lissy finally realizes karma is the only bitch bigger than she was. Her present is miserable because of her past. But it's not like she can go back in time and change who she was...or can she?


Kritters Thoughts:  If you took the movie 13 going on 30 and added a little cocktail twist, you would get Jen Lancaster's latest trip to fiction - for me it was one of the best books in her portfolio.  Lissy Ryder is the high school queen who led the rally of the Mean Girls and after a class reunion is regretting a few things that may have happened in the past.  Through an interesting encounter with a classmate she is given the opportunity to rewind the clock a bit and change a few things, will all the changes result in good?

Although this is Lancaster fiction, it still has the signature Lancaster snark that we all love.  Her main character Lissy ruled the school and through this character you feel Lancaster's view of the high school years and how some classmates make it out alive to tell the tale and some wish to erase the entire episode.  Obviously, I was reflecting back on my high school days and wondering if I made a different decision here or there, would I still be in the spot I stand now?

With many classmates involved in the story, somehow it was so easy to remember who was whom in high school and who they had become after graduation.  I rooted for the underdogs and then hoped for those whose lives had not met potential after leaving school.  I wonder if after reading this book would any other alum want to change a moment in their high school chapters or keep it all the same?

There is a quiet underlying storyline about the importance of family and how everyone has a family unit in some way shape or form and how critical these relationships influence our upbringing.  I wasn't prepared for a moment in the book to go very serious and subdued, but it drove the message home that family is the center of it all.

My first read of a Lancaster fiction and I am now headed to pick up her first foray - If You Were Here.  I would recommend this book to both fans of Jen Lancaster and those who may be a little uneasy with her non-fiction titles.  Funny, sassy, and entertaining - you can not ask for more from a book!    

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 56 out of 25

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Penguin via Edelweiss.  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 Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell

The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell

Publisher: Harper 

Pages: 336 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon  

Goodreads:  Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.

Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren't telling. While life in Glasgow's Hazlehurst housing estate isn't grand, they do have each other. Besides, it's only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.


Kritters Thoughts:  Quite an interesting book and definitely different from most of what I read, this book centers around two sisters who are burying their parents and at the young ages of 15 and 12 are trying to keep up the appearances to avoid being separated.  Their inquisitive neighbor enters the picture and provides another voice to the book with his own issues that he is trying to live with.  

This one was a quirky one.  There are two young girls, sisters, who literally buried their parents and each are trying to hold the "fort" down, so they can stay together.  Unfortunately, I don't always enjoy a book that is narrated by a younger voice, and this was one of those where I didn't completely love the voice she brought to the book.  I did enjoy Nelly, the younger sister and her eccentric ways!  The neighbor is dealing with loss as well and through taking care of the girls, I think he finds healing that he wouldn't have felt through any other way.  

After reading this book, I had such mixed feelings about it.  I loved the different voices that kept the story moving along, but in all the book was on the bland side.  I didn't feel like there was a lot of happenings in the book.  I think if you are a reader who loves to read books set abroad, you would definitely love this one.  Also, if you enjoy your characters to be of a younger age and voice, then this one would be perfect for you.

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

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 86 out of 25

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: 

Wednesday, January 2nd: Sweet Tidbits

Friday, January 4th: Literary Feline

Monday, January 7th: Mrs. Q: Book Addict

Tuesday, January 8th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, January 9th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, January 10th: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, January 14th: A Patchwork of Books

Thursday, January 17th: Kritters Ramblings

Monday, January 21st: Unabridged Chick

Tuesday, January 22nd: JulzReads

Wednesday, January 23rd: a novel toybox

Thursday, January 24th: A Reader of Fictions

Thursday, January 24th: Reflections of a Bookaholic

Monday, January 28th: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, January 29th: My Bookshelf

Wednesday, January 30th: Silver’s Reviews

Review: Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester

Goodnight, Brian by Steven Manchester

Publisher: The Story Plant 

Pages: 308

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  Fate was working against little Brian Mauretti. The food that was meant to nourish him was poisoning him instead, and the doctors said the damage was devastating and absolute. Fate had written off Brian. But fate didn’t count on a woman as determined as Brian’s grandmother, Angela DiMartino who everyone knew as Mama. Loving her grandson with everything she had, Mama endeavored to battle fate. Fate had no idea what it was in for.


Kritters Thoughts:  A family that is excited to have their second child ends up encountering a debilitating disease early and must rely on the whole family to help this one child learn the basics of life.  

At the hear of this story is a little boy and his strong willed grandmother and eventually family.  The book has sibling relationship issues, learning developmental battles and the strength of families and the author tackles hard issues with such ease.  I loved the dynamic of having a strong grandmother present to keep this family together and help each of her 5 grandchildren find success and happiness - whatever that looks like for each of them individually.

Although this book is fiction, I know there are many families in the world who are living this story and there were many times throughout the book where I found myself close to tears wondering how these families endure through the biggest challenges.   

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2012 Challenge: 82 out of 25

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Providence Book Promotions.  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 Reviews:

Jan 6 Review ~ Cheryl @ CMash Reads
Jan 8 Review ~ Mary @ The Mary Book Reader
Jan 9 Review & Interview ~ Julie @ Julzreads
Jan 10 Review ~Teena @ Teena in Toronto
Jan 15 Review & Giveaway~Kristin @ Kritters Ramblings