Review: Killer Holiday by Amy Korman

Killer Holiday

by Amy Korman

Publisher: Witness Impulse

Pages: 176

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Kristin Clark and her offbeat crew of Bryn Mawr pals are ready for a festive holiday—one that involves sipping Blitzen’s Bourbons by a yule log, hot guys beneath the mistletoe, and a holiday cabaret starring ex-Mafia wife Sophie Shields. But this year, Saint Nick has something more dangerous in store.

A stranger dressed as Santa has Kristin’s friends on his naughty list. First, Sophie’s favorite handbag is blasted by a bullet. Then, Father Christmas shatters local golf-shop owner Chip Delaney’s car window with a 5-iron and leaves a threatening note demanding $50,000. When Chip goes missing, the stakes become deadly.

Much-hated Powerball winner Eula Morris is also back from a luxury cruise, more boastful than ever and toting a handsome new boyfriend (who looks oddly familiar), as well as a Samsonite filled with gold bars. When the suitcase is snatched, Eula implores Kristin and the gang to track it down.

Is Chip on the run, or was he kidnapped? And who stole Eula’s gold? The Killer WASPs and Kristin’s basset hound, Waffles, are on the case—before this white Christmas turns dark . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  Just over novella length, this short book is the final in this series for now.  Kristin Clark owns an antique store that isn't doing well, so she ends up spending her time solving mysteries in this Pennsylvania town.  Along with her large cast of characters they end up embroiled in one another's messes and antics.

As I mentioned yesterday it was some time between reading book one and two and then reading three and four.  I had the same feeling when I read this book as the previous.  They felt less edited and finessed than the previous two.  I don't that it is particularly the book's fault or more my reading tastes have changed.  

I did seem to like the mysteries that were needing solving more in this book compared to the previous and felt as though the adventure was just a bit more fun.  

I am glad to have finished the series and I am not sure if I would revisit if there are more to come.


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 100 out of 100

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: Killer Punch by Amy Korman

Killer Punch

by Amy Korman

Publisher: Witness Impulse

Pages: 224

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Antiques dealer Kristin Clark is ready for summer: Her friends—Holly, Sophie, and Bootsie—have been busy party-planning for the annual Tomato Show at the country club, and plotting to beat long-time nemesis, Eula, in the tennis tournament. Plus, Kristin’s now serving a famously potent Peach Punch every Thursday at her store, which will definitely lure in customers!

But when a prominent pastoral painting, a key piece of décor for the big event, disappears from the Club, everyone’s a suspect, and Kristin and her friends start sleuthing. Could the annoying Eula have stolen the pricey painting? And, is Eula violating Tomato Show rules by growing her Early Girls in the unbeatable New Jersey soil?

Meanwhile, their village is in an uproar about an unsightly new Mega Wine Mart slotted to go up in a local forest (though everyone’s excited about the cheap booze). And will July be the month their decorator buddy Joe finally proposes to Sophie—if she can get her Guccis back from her shoe-stealing ex, and finish her divorce? The Killer Wasps are on the case!

Kritters Thoughts:  Killer Punch is book 3 of a mystery series.  I had read book one and two a very long time ago and reading book 3 and 4 were on my to do list that I wanted to complete in 2018 and I just barely did at the end of the year.

I think the reasons why I didn't love this book as much as book one and two is because I read those so long ago and I wasn't connected with the characters and felt as though reading this book I was jumping on a ship midstream.  I have also read a lot of mystery books since reading the previous two books and after reading all of those, this book felt amateurish.  I felt as though this story jumped around and I had a hard time keeping my attention to the story.  

I think I liked Kristin Clark more in the previous books and felt as though I enjoyed her investigating in the previous mysteries.  This one had two mysteries going on and they seemed disjointed and maybe I would have liked it more if there had been more focus on one other the other.  

Tomorrow I am reviewing the final in the series, Killer Holiday and will be glad to check an unfinished series off my list.


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 99 out of 100

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: The Saturday Night Supper Club by Carla Laureano

The Saturday Night Supper Club

by Carla Laureano

Publisher: Tyndale House

Pages: 416

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Denver chef Rachel Bishop has accomplished everything she’s dreamed and some things she never dared hope, like winning a James Beard award and heading up her own fine-dining restaurant. But when a targeted smear campaign causes her to be pushed out of the business by her partners, she vows to do whatever it takes to get her life back … even if that means joining forces with the man who inadvertently set the disaster in motion.

Essayist Alex Kanin never imagined his pointed editorial would go viral. Ironically, his attempt to highlight the pitfalls of online criticism has the opposite effect: it revives his own flagging career by destroying that of a perfect stranger. Plagued by guilt-fueled writer’s block, Alex vows to do whatever he can to repair the damage. He just doesn’t expect his interest in the beautiful chef to turn personal.

Alex agrees to help rebuild Rachel’s tarnished image by offering his connections and his home to host an exclusive pop-up dinner party targeted to Denver’s most influential citizens: the Saturday Night Supper Club. As they work together to make the project a success, Rachel begins to realize Alex is not the unfeeling opportunist she once thought he was, and that perhaps there’s life--and love--outside the pressure-cooker of her chosen career. But can she give up her lifelong goals without losing her identity as well?

Kritters Thoughts:  The first in a series that centers around three friends, all very different with different skills and passions and outlooks on life.  This first book focuses on Rachel Bishop.  After a social media firestorm costs her her job and restaurant she ends up partnering with an unlikely character and starting a new venture that could hopefully lead to more.

Tyndale House Publisher is a Christian fiction publisher and I knew going into this book that there would be this element in the story.  I like to read a few books in the year that are from the genre of Christian fiction to expand what I read.  The big thing that I could see that made this book a piece of Christian fiction was that it was a romance without any sexy times.  The relationship that bloomed in this book was very chaste, but I have to say I liked it.  It makes me feel like that the author puts more effort into the plot and story because they can't rely on sexy times to move the story along.

It was interesting to have social media take a front seat in the book.  I don't seem to think of a lot of plots that use social media as a plot point.  It made this book feel really fresh and of the time.  I loved it.

I hope there are more books to come in this series.


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 98 out 100

Review: The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman

The Wartime Sisters

by Lynda Cohen Loigman

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Pages: 304

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Two estranged sisters, raised in Brooklyn and each burdened with her own shocking secret, are reunited at the Springfield Armory in the early days of WWII. While one sister lives in relative ease on the bucolic Armory campus as an officer’s wife, the other arrives as a war widow and takes a position in the Armory factories as a “soldier of production.” Resentment festers between the two, and secrets are shattered when a mysterious figure from the past reemerges in their lives. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Two sisters who have had a troubled past end up in the same home again as adults and the dramas of the past are going to come boiling up and may just explode.  Ruth and Millie are two sisters that are complete opposites and they have been battling since their childhood.  

Ruth is living in Massachusetts and Millie needs to escape New York and with nowhere else to go, Millie retreats to Ruth's house.  Yes this book is titled The Wartime Sisters, but I would say this book is mostly about the sister relationship that just so happens to take place during a war.  Bring a sister is such an interesting and complicated relationship and this book showed that relationship to a T.  It was so accurate it was scary!  

Loigman's writing was so easy to read.  I read this book in the middle of December in the middle of the holidays and it was just the right book to curl up with a few times over a weekend.  It was easy to pick up and put down and get in and out of this book.  There were a few moments where the author repeated something and I was confused that I had heard that detail before, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

If you are a reader who doesn't tend to read historical fiction, I would challenge you to try this one, there is more plot that could have taken place at any time in history then there was historical details.  Don't get me wrong, it is obvious that this takes place in the 1930s and 1940s and those moments I enjoyed, but this book really focuses on sisters and family.


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge:  95 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  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: Life Admin by Elizabeth Emens

Life Admin

by Elizabeth Emens

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Pages: 288

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Every day an unseen form of labor creeps into our lives—stealing precious moments of free time, placing a strain on our schedules and our relationships, and earning neither appreciation nor compensation in return. This labor is life admin: the kind of secretarial and managerial work necessary to run a life and a household.
 
Elizabeth Emens was a working mother with two young children, swamped like so many of us, when she realized that this invisible labor was consuming her. Desperate to survive and to help others along the way, she conducted interviews and focus groups to gather favorite tips and tricks, admin confessions, and the secrets of admin-happy households.   

Life Admin tackles the problem of admin in all its forms, from everyday tasks like scheduling doctors appointments and paying bills, to life-cycle events like planning a wedding, a birth, a funeral. Emens explores how this labor is created, how it affects our lives, and how we might avoid, reduce, and redistribute admin whenever possible—as individuals and as a society.

Kritters Thoughts:  What seemed like a little book that I picked up at the end of 2018 to get me thinking about new years resolutions and things that I wanted to change going into 2019 made a big impact on how I view what I do professionally and what I have to do personally.  

I am an Executive Assistant for my full time job.  Rarely does a book cross over and affect my work life.  The fiction I read is entertaining but doesn't impact my day to day professional life.  This title struck me because of my job and then reading the description it made me think about what I do for my home and my family.  Sometimes I wish that I had an assistant for my home life who could do what the author describes as life admin.  After reading this book and thinking about the tips and tricks, I have a few things I want to implement that could affect both my personal life and my professional life.  

I want to purchase a physical copy of this book and reread it every so often to be reminded of how life is full of admin and things go well when you take into consideration that some of the choices you make may create a little bit of admin!


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 96 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  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: No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen

No Mercy

by Joanna Schaffhausen

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Police officer Ellery Hathaway is on involuntary leave from her job because she shot a murderer in cold blood and refuses to apologize for it. Forced into group therapy for victims of violent crime, Ellery immediately finds higher priorities than “getting in touch with her feelings.”

For one, she suspects a fellow group member may have helped to convict the wrong man for a deadly arson incident years ago. For another, Ellery finds herself in the desperate clutches of a woman who survived a brutal rape. He is still out there, this man with the Spider-Man-like ability to climb through bedroom windows, and his victim beseeches Ellery for help in capturing her attacker.

Ellery seeks advice from her friend, FBI profiler Reed Markham, who liberated her from a killer’s closet when she was a child. Reed remains drawn to this unpredictable woman, the one he rescued but couldn’t quite save. The trouble is, Reed is up for a potential big promotion, and his boss has just one condition for the new job—stay away from Ellery. Ellery ignores all the warnings. Instead, she starts digging around in everyone’s past but her own—a move that, at best, could put her out of work permanently, and at worst, could put her in the city morgue.

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and this is one of those typical mystery series where each "case" is self contained in each book, but there is character development of the main characters from book to book.  So I suggest starting with book one, but you can skip to book two if you wish.

Ellery Hathaway is on leave due to the ending of book one.  She is attending mandated therapy and group therapy and while at group therapy she inserts herself into a current investigation and one from the past that maybe a little different then what people think.  The FBI profiler, Reed Markham, is back from book one and I love the way the author brings him back and the dynamics they have in this book.

I think my most favorite thing about this book was that due to Ellery's inability to use all of her police insider stuff, she has to be creative to solve the two crimes.  I loved how she had to really use different techniques to investigate because she couldn't use all the databases and such that she could have if she were a full time police officer.  

The two cases were so different, so I didn't have a problem at all keeping them separate and enjoying each one of them.  I think it was a good idea to have two in this book because they each had ebbs and flows in the investigative process and when one was a little stagnant the other picked up. 

I hope there is more to come from this series, I enjoy the duo of Reed and Ellery.   


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 97 out of 100


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  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 Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

The Only Woman in the Room

by Marie Benedict

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 272

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hedy Kiesler is lucky. Her beauty leads to a starring role in a controversial film and marriage to a powerful Austrian arms dealer, allowing her to evade Nazi persecution despite her Jewish heritage. But Hedy is also intelligent. At lavish Vienna dinner parties, she overhears the Third Reich's plans. One night in 1937, desperate to escape her controlling husband and the rise of the Nazis, she disguises herself and flees her husband's castle.

She lands in Hollywood, where she becomes Hedy Lamarr, screen star. But Hedy is keeping a secret even more shocking than her Jewish heritage: she is a scientist. She has an idea that might help the country and that might ease her guilt for escaping alone -- if anyone will listen to her. A powerful novel based on the incredible true story of the glamour icon and scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication, The Only Woman in the Room is a masterpiece. 


Kritters Thoughts:  If you love historical fiction that is based completely in the truth then this book is for you!  Hedy Kiesler was a real woman that had a unique viewpoint as Hitler was tearing across Europe.  She was married to an owner of an ammunitions plant and she was at many a party where things were said and alliances were made and broken.  

I LOVE a historical fiction that has me guessing where the truth ends and fiction begins.  I pulled up Wikipedia a few times to get a few thoughts on where the truth is/was.  Every time I read a book, and I read a lot, about World War II I think I have read it all and there isn't anything else that I could learn about the people, time and place, but this one was such a different viewpoint of the business behind war and how different leaders and countries reacted to Hitler and his ideas.  

I haven't read Marie Benedict's other two books and after reading this book they have moved up on my TBR list.  I loved her hyper focus on a female who maybe didn't make the history books, but maybe should!  Her other two books seem like the same, should I read The Other Einstein or Carnegie's Maid first?


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge:  92 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the Netgalley.  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: Pure Hollywood by Christine Schutt

Pure Hollywood

by Christine Schutt

Publisher: Grove Atlantic

Pages: 144

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In 11 captivating tales, Pure Hollywood brings us into private worlds of corrupt familial love, intimacy, longing, and danger. From an alcoholic widowed actress living in desert seclusion, to a young mother whose rejection of her child has terrible consequences, a newlywed couple who ignore the violent warnings of a painter burned by love, to an eerie portrait of erotic obsession, each story in Pure Hollywood is an imagistic snapshot of what it means to live and learn love and hurt.


Kritters Thoughts:  I don't tend to read a lot of short story collections, but usually when I do I remind myself that I really like them - this was not the case.  I couldn't connect or care about any of the stories.  The way I rate short story collections is if I have the feeling that I wish at least one or more of the stories were to be expanded into a full novel, then that is a good collection in my book.  I couldn't find one story in this collection that I wanted more from.  

I am going to keep this short and quick since I don't want to dwell on the negative.  I would love to hear if you have read something else by Christine Schutt and if I should try something else?



Rating: not such a good read

Ebook 2018 Challenge:  93 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  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: True Places by Sonja Yoerg

True Places

by Sonja Yoerg

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 347

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A girl emerges from the woods, starved, ill, and alone…and collapses.

Suzanne Blakemore hurtles along the Blue Ridge Parkway, away from her overscheduled and completely normal life, and encounters the girl. As Suzanne rushes her to the hospital, she never imagines how the encounter will change her—a change she both fears and desperately needs.

Suzanne has the perfect house, a successful husband, and a thriving family. But beneath the veneer of an ideal life, her daughter is rebelling, her son is withdrawing, her husband is oblivious to it all, and Suzanne is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. After her discovery of the ethereal sixteen-year-old who has never experienced civilization, Suzanne is compelled to invite Iris into her family’s life and all its apparent privileges.

But Iris has an independence, a love of solitude, and a discomfort with materialism that contrasts with everything the Blakemores stand for—qualities that awaken in Suzanne first a fascination, then a longing. Now Suzanne can’t help but wonder: Is she destined to save Iris, or is Iris the one who will save her?

Kritters Thoughts:  A woman, mother and wife has almost hit her breaking point so she decides to give up the commitments and drive away from all the things she has to do while on her drive she comes across what seems like a homeless girl and rescues her and takes her to a hospital, this girl changes the trajectory of her life and her family's lives.  Will they in turn change her life for the better?

I loved this story.  I love how in a moment of sheer frustration this woman makes a decision and it will completely alter her life.  Suzanne had what seemed like the perfect life and as things are piling up she comes across Iris.  She decides to take Iris to the hospital and not just drop her but help Iris beyond the immediate medical needs that she had.  I loved Suzanne, I loved Iris and I loved Suzanne's family and parents.  Even though I am not a parent, there were so many moments where I could relate to Suzanne and her need to to do it all even above taking care of herself.  I love how Iris' outlook on life and what is important makes her question everything she has signed herself up for.  

This book was perfect to read during this time of year when the new year is making me question what priorities from 2018 I will continue in 2019 and what I may need to leave behind.  I love when a book is first a good story but second makes me think and sit down and reflect on my own life.  The story is simple and sweet, but if you really sit with it, it can make you check on yourself and make sure you are where you are supposed to be and heading where you want to go.    


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

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 91 out of 100

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: A Bella Flora Christmas by Wendy Wax

A Bella Flora Christmas

by Wendy Wax

Pages: 87

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Although their lives have changed since their first desperate renovation of Bella Flora, friends Madeline, Avery, and Nicole have always been there for each other. Now they're returning to Bella Flora for Christmas—where Maddie’s daughter Kyra isn’t feeling particularly celebratory. 
 
Kyra was hoping for a peaceful holiday at Bella Flora—a last gathering before a wealthy, mystery tenant moves into the home she’s been forced to rent out. Instead, she must make a life altering decision by New Year’s -- a decision that becomes even more difficult when unexpected guests arrive at Ten Beach Road on Christmas Eve. Now Kyra, Maddie, Avery and Nikki will need to pull together to secure Bella Flora’s future, as well as their own.

Kritters Thoughts:  A Bella Flora Christmas is a novella in the Ten Beach Road series and although I haven't read all of this series, I am invested and love the characters.  I was excited to see that there was a Christmas novella because I like seeing characters in a series get thrown into a holiday novella.  But this one didn't work for me.

First, the book started with almost a full recap of the whole series.  The first two chapters were a rehash and as novellas are extremely short, I didn't want a recap, I would have preferred her jump right into the story.  I also don't feel like people usually read novellas unless they are already full invested into the series, and especially since this is book 5.5 in the series.  Like me, readers must have read at least one or two books in the series to get to this point.  

On the complete opposite hand, I did love reading about these characters during the holidays.  Once you get past the recap of the first two chapters, the story begins and it is a great little addition to the series.  I wouldn't have minded if this book had not been a novella but a full book in the series and see these characters go through the holiday season and start a new year.  

If you have already read books in this series than maybe skip the first two chapters and enjoy this one, but if you haven't I would completely suggest going back to the beginning or close to the beginning and reading a book or two before diving into this one.  


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more
                (ready for a full novel, not a novella in this series)

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 12 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Netgalley.  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: Christmas at the Beach by Wendy Wax

Christmas at the Beach

by Wendy Wax

Publisher: Penguin Group

Pages: 52

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When Madeline Singer, Avery Lawford, and Nicole Grant first gained ownership of Ten Beach Road, they didn’t realize that remodeling the house would not only bind their fates together but give them a second chance at rebuilding their lives.

Now, as Kyra, Madeline’s daughter, returns to the newly sold Bella Flora for one last Christmas, she’s hoping to get a brief respite from the paparazzi that constantly hounds her and the son she had with famous actor Daniel Deranian. But when a string of bad news threatens to disrupt her happy holidays, Bella Flora’s sanctuary may be threatened for all of the women who call it home…

Kritters Thoughts:  A novella in the Ten Beach Road series that is very short.  It is book 2.5 in the series and I would suggest reading it in order.  But keep reading to decide whether you think it is necessary to enjoy the series.

Like all of the books in this series there is an element of rewind and catching the reader up on previous book or books, but this being a novella I thought it would be less catch up than a full novel and more original content and that was not the case.  This book was mostly catch up and just not a lot of original content which was disappointing.

I think you could enjoy this series without the content that was in this book, but if you are enjoying this series, this could be an added value.  I read this one right after reading book one and two and maybe I was burnt out on the series, but I just wish there had been more.


Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more (novellas in the series)

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 47 out of 100

Review: Miracle on Chance Avenue by Jane Porter

Miracle on Chance Avenue

by Jane Porter

Publisher: Tule Publishing

Pages: 222

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Rory Douglas is the oldest Douglas and McKenna’s adored big brother, but this big, quiet cowboy rarely returns to Marietta, choosing to exorcise his demons by a life on the road, riding bulls every night on the American Extreme Bull Riding Tour. 

Thirty-eight year old Rory needs a miracle, and he gets one when Sadie Mann, one of his sister’s childhood friends, appears on his motel doorstep, asking for a favor. 

Shocked by Sadie’s request, Rory brusquely refuses, but when an accident in the arena sidelines him, he begins to wonder if granting Sadie’s Christmas wish, might just turn his life around.

Kritters Thoughts:  I have been a fan of Jane Porter for a long time, so when I found out that there was blacklist books that I hadn't read I got so excited.  I was even more excited to find a holiday themed book that I could read for December.  I say all of this because I didn't love this book at all.

From the beginning I knew this was book two in a series, but with most romance series each book is self contained.  I felt as though throughout the whole book I was missing out on a storyline or something and I didn't love it.  

Rory and Sadie were interesting characters and not interesting in the way I like things.  Sadie's obsessive nature about becoming a mom felt weird and awkward.  I felt as though the author didn't do a great job of setting up how they had known each other from childhood which made things feel all a bit uncomfortable.  Because their history wasn't established that well, it felt as though Sadie was this weird rodeo stalker instead of what she probably was which was a long standing crush.  

I just couldn't get behind this couple or their journey.  I wanted to love this book so much that I went and devoured this series and instead I think I will drop this series and will not try anything else from this series.  


Rating: not such a good read

Ebook 2018 Challenge: 90 out of 100

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