Review: The Obsession by Nora Roberts

The Obsession

by Nora Roberts

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 464

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away. 

Kritters Thoughts:  A young girl follows her dad into the woods behind their home in hopes to find a clue as to her upcoming birthday gift, instead she finds a young girl who has been chained in a cellar and her father has been abusing.  There are a few chapters at this age and then it jumps four years into the future and then it jumps another 16 years to a contemporary Naomi as she is still trying to put the pieces of her life back together.

What a fantastic read.  Nora Roberts does a genius mix of mystery, who dun it with a little romance on the side.  

Naomi was a fantastic character.  She felt real and authentic and I could feel how the events of her childhood were still really affecting her as an adult.  I loved how Roberts gave you the events of her childhood and then the first jump took her into her teen years and a glimpse into how she was progressing and then the meat of the story was her life as an adult.  

Of course with Nora Roberts there was romance and at times it felt a bit much, but it still didn't take away too much from the main plot of the story.  I mentally ranked this alongside other recent romances and I was so glad that this one had a full and fantastic plot at the foundation.

Although I figured out the culprit maybe on the early side, it didn't completely ruin the book for me.  I wish a little bit that I hadn't, but its ok!  I was still satisfied with the story in the end.

A Nora Roberts stand alone which makes me happy!  After reading this book I went to her site and saw that she releases about one a year that is a stand alone, so I may be doing a Nora Roberts stand alone binge!  


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

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Berkley NAL.  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: Rare Objects by Kathleen Tessaro

Rare Objects

by Kathleen Tessaro

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Maeve Fanning is a first generation Irish immigrant, born and raised among the poor, industrious Italian families of Boston’s North End by her widowed mother. Clever, capable, and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she’s determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression.

However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin—a rebellious appetite that soon finds her spiraling downward, leading a double life. When the strain proves too much, Maeve becomes an unwilling patient in a psychiatric hospital, where she strikes up a friendship with an enigmatic young woman, who, like Maeve, is unable or unwilling to control her un-lady-like desire for freedom.

Once out, Maeve faces starting over again. Armed with a bottle of bleach and a few white lies, she lands a job at an eccentric antiques shop catering to Boston’s wealthiest and most peculiar collectors. Run by an elusive English archeologist, the shop is a haven of the obscure and incredible, providing rare artifacts as well as unique access to the world of America’s social elite. While delivering a purchase to the wealthy Van der Laar family, Maeve is introduced to beautiful socialite Diana Van der Laar—only to discover she’s the young woman from the hospital.

Reunited with the charming but increasingly unstable Diana and pursued by her attractive brother James, Mae becomes more and more entwined with the Van der Laar family—a connection that pulls her into a world of moral ambiguity and deceit, and ultimately betrayal. Bewitched by their wealth and desperate to leave her past behind, Maeve is forced to unearth her true values and discover how far she’ll to go to reinvent herself.


Kritters Thoughts:  A quintessential historical fiction where a woman comes from the wrong side of the tracks and gets mixed up in the high life and loves it!  Maeve returns home after a stint in New York city that did not work out and she is returning to Boston to put the pieces back together.  She is reunited with an acquaintance from her days in New York who will turn her world upside down.

I felt as though while I was reading that I had read this storyline before and I like it, but this one didn't outdo the others.  I enjoyed Maeve as a character, but there were moments in this book that seemed repetitive and others that seemed slow or lacking of plot movement.  

I almost loved the first half with her times in New York, they seemed interesting and I loved hearing her try out a new city and the growth that a person has when they get out of their comfort zone and have experiences that they wouldn't have in the place they grew up.

I love this author, I read The Perfume Collector and adored it.  I am intrigued to try some of her other books and will absolutely read them with an open mind.


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.

Review: Island in the Sea by Anita Hughes

Island in the Sea

by Anita Hughes

Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Pages: 304

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Juliet Lyman is a senior executive at Yesterday Records. Music is her passion and she's very good at her job. That's why her famously philanthropic boss Gideon sends her to Majorca, Spain to work with a very tortured, but talented client. Lionel Harding is one of the best song writers of the 20th century, the multi-Grammy award-winning lyricist of the third most recorded song in history. But now he's 42 and six months overdue on the his latest paid assignment. Juliet is not leaving Majorca without either new lyrics or a very large check.

To Juliet, business comes first. Emotions are secondary, and love isn't even on the menu. But to Lionel, love is everything, and he blames Gideon for his broken heart. He's determined to show Juliet that nothing is more important than love, but Juliet is just as determined to get Lionel to create the music that made him famous. If she can sign up local talent, even better. Her new friend Gabriella has a voice like an angel, but she's not interested in fame. Her grandmother, Lydia, wants the world for Gabriella, and she wants Juliet's help to give it to her.

As her professional and personal lives start to mix for the first time, Juliet is forced to reevaluate her priorities. Gideon hasn't been totally honest, and love may be the only thing that gives them all what they need.


Kritters Thoughts:  A record executive goes on a trip to reign in a song writer and get him to send in his latest work.  Upon arrival in Spain and meeting Lionel the song writer, Juliet realizes that this will be the trip where she probably finds herself and reevaluate her priorities.

For my first Anita Hughes experience, I feel like I may have had high expectations and I was let down just a little.  I had put her in my mind as a women's fiction author and the amount of romance/sexy times in this book were way more than I thought it would and the plot for me was just ok.  Don't call me a prude - I don't mind sexy times when there is a good plot behind it, so for this plot to be less than for me the sexy times really stuck out.

I will still give Anita Hughes another chance, I actually own a few and am a little more intrigued to read them to see if this was a one off book or if this is her usual.  Have you read Anita Hughes?  Does she always have a lot of sexy times?  


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

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: Orchids and Stone by Lisa Preston

Orchids and Stone

by Lisa Preston

Publisher: Thomas Mercer

Pages: 322

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  They’re trying to take me. Help! Help me, please.

Daphne Mayfield sought a moment of quiet in a park—a break from city life, a tense relationship, and chronic overwork—but then an elderly woman makes a desperate plea. Daphne is reluctant to get involved when she’s not sure what’s happening, but she wants to help the stranger. Is the rambling old lady the victim of a crime or a victim of dementia?

As her unease grows, Daphne can’t let go of the encounter. No matter what her boyfriend or her friends say. No matter what the retired homicide detective warns. Though she knows she’s meddling in other people’s lives, her instincts scream that the danger is real.

With each increasingly bold intervention, Daphne involves herself in someone else’s crisis until she’s in too deep to turn back. She’s not just fighting for a stranger’s life…she’s fighting for her own.

Kritters Thoughts:  Daphne is still recovering from big things that happened in her past - her sister was murdered and it goes unsolved and her dad commits suicide.  She is now living with a boyfriend and his two kids and thinks her life is going in the right direction.  She is walking their dog one evening and in a park she hears a women yelling that she was basically being kidnapped.

Daphne remembers her father saying many times that he wished someone had spoken up when her sister was kidnapped and murdered, thinking that if a bystander had said something maybe she would be alive or the murder would be solved.  With that in the back of her mind, I understood why she was pursuing this and really inserting herself in this old woman's life.  

At the same time that I say all of that, I thought this book was just odd.  While the pacing was great, it moved and was hard to put down.  I didn't enjoy the plot.  Her boyfriend kept harping against inserting herself in the situation and her best friend was on the fence and the police didn't seem legitimately helpful - it was just odd.  

I wouldn't rule out this author and would read something else by her as I think I liked her writing style, but for me this plot/story didn't work.


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

Ebook 2016 Challenge:  9 out of 50

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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Another great week and weekend of reading!  I made sure to spend extra time this weekend reading because this next week is chockful of evening activities.

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes
Orchids and Stone by Lisa Preston
Island in the Sea by Anita Hughes
Rare Objects by Kathleen Tessaro
The Obsession by Nora Roberts

Currently Reading:

The Ones Who Matter Most by Rachel Herron

Next on the TBR pile:

Pronouncing Enzo by Aimee Bealer
The Summer of Me by Angela Benson

Review: Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Lies and Other Acts of Love

by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 352

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn “Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little white lies. 
 
Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancé and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.
 
But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .


Kritters Thoughts:  A family drama that centers around a grandmother and her granddaughter as they are both in transition in their lives and trying to get comfortable in their new normals.  Lovey is the nickname of the grandmother and her husband has become bound to a wheelchair and is basically unresponsive and she is remembering moments from their past and realizing that her best years are in the past and her girls are a great legacy.  Annabelle has her life ahead of herself, but she isn't sure if she is in the right location and with the right main and after some ups and downs she realizes potentially where she should be.

The characters were everything in this book.  I loved that both Lovey and Annabelle narrated the book and absolutely adored the juxtaposition of Lovey in her old age while Annabelle is young and fresh.  I love with grandmothers play a big part in their grandchildren's lives and it is portrayed in a sweet way in fiction.  I also adored that there was full on woman power in this book and the women made the decisions in this family and through the grandmother they were empowered to be strong and fearless.

The one thing that I didn't love was that I felt like there was a long build up before the lies starting emerging.  There was a lot of set up and by the point that the secrets started coming out I felt like the story was more than halfway over.  I wish that they had started coming out earlier and then we could have seen more of the fall out of those things that were kept hidden.  

Kristy Woodson Harvey is a great author.  I love how she can truly do the south and doesn't do it up like Hollywood does, but it feels real and honest.  It makes me want to move back to North Carolina where the living is simple and easy!

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 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: Terrible Virtue by Ellen Feldman

Terrible Virtue

by Ellen Feldman

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 272

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The provocative and compelling story of one of the most fascinating and influential figures of the twentieth century: Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood—an indomitable woman who, more than any other, and at great personal cost, shaped the sexual landscape we inhabit today.

The daughter of a hard-drinking, smooth-tongued free thinker and a mother worn down by thirteen children, Margaret Sanger vowed her life would be different. Trained as a nurse, she fought for social justice beside labor organizers, anarchists, socialists, and other progressives, eventually channeling her energy to one singular cause: legalizing contraception. It was a battle that would pit her against puritanical, patriarchal lawmakers, send her to prison again and again, force her to flee to England, and ultimately change the lives of women across the country and around the world.

This complex enigmatic revolutionary was at once vain and charismatic, generous and ruthless, sexually impulsive and coolly calculating—a competitive, self-centered woman who championed all women, a conflicted mother who suffered the worst tragedy a parent can experience. From opening the first illegal birth control clinic in America in 1916 through the founding of Planned Parenthood to the arrival of the Pill in the 1960s, Margaret Sanger sacrificed two husbands, three children, and scores of lovers in her fight for sexual equality and freedom.


Kritters Thoughts:  A fictional tale of the life of the founder of Planned Parenthood and how she became an activist for women's rights in particular with their health.  Margaret Sanger's childhood played a big role on who she became and what she was passionate about, as a child she watched her mother barely keep it together with 11 children and even more miscarriages that wrecked havoc on her body.  She watched as her mother wilted away under the burden of family and Margaret thought there has to be a better way to both satisfy the "husband's needs" and have the amount of children that one would desire.  The other big thing she noticed was the lack of knowledge that both men and women had about women's healthcare especially in terms of pregnancy.

I love historical fiction books that are deeply rooted in truth.  I love to read a story instead of a textbook and learn something without feeling as though I am truly learning something!  

I also love reading historical fiction to honestly see a difference in the roles of women from then to now.  To get a little personal - I am happily married, but we have chosen to not go down the child path and instead enjoy 3 dogs in our home to make our family complete.  Reading books like these gives me true appreciation for the ability to make the decisions I do and avoid complete social pariah for choosing the life that I do.  Thank goodness my husband is happy that I find joy in my full time job, this blog and our dogs!

This is my first Ellen Feldman book and will definitely not be my last.  I will look out for her next book, but am also going to look into her backlist to find a few things to read!

If you have read this and loved it like I did, go check out My Notorious Life by Kate Manning as her story crosses paths with Margaret Sanger and they came at women's health from the same place.  I read My Notorious Life first for book club and found Terrible Virtue to be a companion, so read one then the other and you will enjoy two perspectives on the lack of women's healthcare and the craziness of men trying to "treat" women in this time period.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel (or another one by this author!)

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.

Review: Lost Among the Living by Simone St. James

Lost Among the Living

by Simone St. James

Publisher: Berkley NAL

Pages: 336

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  England, 1921. Three years after her husband, Alex, disappeared, shot down over Germany, Jo Manders still mourns his loss. Working as a paid companion to Alex's wealthy, condescending aunt, Dottie Forsyth, Jo travels to the family’s estate in the Sussex countryside. But there is much she never knew about her husband’s origins…and the revelation of a mysterious death in the Forsyths’ past is just the beginning…

All is not well at Wych Elm House. Dottie's husband is distant, and her son was grievously injured in the war. Footsteps follow Jo down empty halls, and items in her bedroom are eerily rearranged. The locals say the family is cursed, and that a ghost in the woods has never rested. And when Jo discovers her husband’s darkest secrets, she wonders if she ever really knew him. Isolated in a place of deception and grief, she must find the truth or lose herself forever.

And then a familiar stranger arrives at Wych Elm House… 


Kritters Thoughts:  A historical fiction tale with a fantastic ghost story embedded inside.  If you have followed this blog for awhile you know I love a good historical fiction and I am not usually a fan of fantasy things, but for some reason this ghost story inside the historical fiction worked so well for me!

First, the historical fiction tale of the story was full and could have been the full story by itself but it would have been like a lot of other tales.  What set it apart was the clever inclusion of the ghost story/murder mystery and they complimented each other.  The historical part - a semi war widow because his body hasn't been found she is taken in by their family and there is where the ghost story entered.  

I don't know really where I stand in the debate about ghosts' presence in our world, but I am not against it.  So I enjoyed reading a story that was of course fiction, but showed the presence of ghosts in a somewhat of a believable light.  I loved the reveal of the who dun it and how we the reader find out who did the deed - it was at just the right time in the book and I think I am pleased with the outcome.

If you are already a reader of historical fiction, try this one, its different.  


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 Berkley NAL.  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: What We Find by Robyn Carr

What We Find

by Robyn Carr

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 352

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Between the urban bustle of Denver and the high-stress environment of a career in neurosurgery, Maggie Sullivan has hit a wall. When an emergency, high-risk procedure results in the death of a teenager, Maggie finds herself in the middle of a malpractice lawsuit—and experiencing levels of anxiety she’s never faced before. It’s in this desperate moment that Maggie’s boyfriend decides he can’t handle her emotional baggage, and she’s left alone, exhausted and unsure of what her future holds. One thing is certain, though: she needs to slow down before she burns out completely, and the best place she can think to do that is Sullivan’s Crossing.

Named for Maggie’s great-grandfather, the land and charming general store at the crossroads of the Colorado and the Continental Divide trails have been passed down through the generations and now belong to Maggie’s estranged father, Sully. Though raised by her mother and stepfather after her parents divorced, Maggie has always adored Sully—despite his hands-off approach to fatherhood. When she shows up unannounced in Sullivan’s Crossing, he welcomes her with opens arms, and she relishes the opportunity to rebuild their relationship.

But when Sully has a sudden heart attack, Maggie’s world is rocked once again. Consumed with his care, she’s relieved to find that Cal Jones, a quiet and serious-looking camper, has been taking over many of Sully’s responsibilities as he recuperates. Still, Maggie is suspicious of this mysterious man’s eagerness to help—until she finds out the true reason for his deliberate isolation.

Though Cal and Maggie each struggle with loss and loneliness, the time they spend together gives Maggie hope for something brighter just on the horizon…if only they can learn to find peace and healing—and perhaps love—with each other.


Kritters Thoughts:  Maggie Sullivan has endured quite a bit of drama and has decided to escape to her father's small home town to help him and re center herself.  While there she will have to decide if she wants to return to her crazy life and go a different direction.

As all Robyn Carr books are it is such a great and easy read.  It is easy to get into the characters and easy to get into the plot and I love it.  Also as most Robyn Carr books go, I can probably predict early on where the story may end, but you never know how you will get there and the journey is enough to read and enjoy the story.

Of course, I must send out a warning that there are some sexy times in this book, but they felt like they were put in at the right times of the story and didn't feel awkward or weird, so if you are faint of heart, I would still pick this one up, the story has enough plot to enjoy.  


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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: All Stories are Love Stories by Elizabeth Percer

All Stories are Love Stories

by Elizabeth Percer

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 368

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  This tale follows a group of survivors thrown together in the aftermath of two major earthquakes that strike San Francisco within an hour of each other—an achingly beautiful and lyrical novel about the power of nature, the resilience of the human spirit, and the enduring strength of love.

On Valentine’s Day, two major earthquakes strike San Francisco within the same hour, devastating the city and its primary entry points, sparking fires throughout, and leaving its residents without power, gas, or water.

Among the disparate survivors whose fates will become intertwined are Max, a man who began the day with birthday celebrations tinged with regret; Vashti, a young woman who has already buried three of the people she loved most . . . but cannot forget Max, the one man who got away; and Gene, a Stanford geologist who knows far too much about the terrifying earthquakes that have damaged this beautiful city and irrevocably changed the course of their lives.

As day turns to night and fires burn across the city, Max and Vashti—trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium—must confront each other and face the truth about their past, while Gene embarks on a frantic search through the realization of his worst nightmares to find his way back to his ailing lover and their home.

Kritters Thoughts:  A book with quite the cast of characters and a few of them get the chance to narrate their point of view on this one day in San Francisco.  The first about half of the book is the set up of the characters and where they are in the story and in the city.  The second half of the book are the earthquakes and the aftermath in this city that should be able to handle earthquakes, but maybe not two in one hour!

The hardest thing, but enjoyable thing is the mass cast of character.  I read this slow and steady because I wanted to make sure I had each character and their story straight.  In the same respect, the second half read much quicker because I had set a good foundation with knowing the characters and once the earthquakes hit the action really started!

With all of that said above, the first half was slow and didn't have a lot of action, it was all set up.  I didn't hate it and once the earthquakes happened I got it, but I was nervous that this book wasn't be good for me.  This book taught me patience!  

I have read both Elizabeth Percer's books and I have enjoyed both.  I will definitely put Percer on my watch list to see what is coming next.

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.