Review: Presidential Declarations by Douglas J Wood

Presidential Declarations

by Douglas J Wood

Publisher: Createpace

Pages: 307

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The United States is in crisis. Can Samantha Harrison be what the country needs?

Ripped from today’s headlines, PRESIDENTIAL DECLARATIONS is a behind-the-scenes political thriller and an inspiring portrayal of a woman’s rise to the highest office in the land that gives readers a lot to think about when casting their votes in the next presidential election.

Ambitious, smart and one of Washington D.C.’s power elite, Samantha “Sam” Harrison’s entire political career, once seemingly unstoppable, is in question and her loyalty to her country is about to be tested as never before.

Washington, D.C. sustains the worst terrorist attack in American history, and the President of the United States needs Sam to serve her country once more. Political rivals on opposite sides of the aisle, Sam and the president have never agreed on deeply dividing issues. While Sam realizes that it’s time to put aside political differences, get justice, and help the nation to heal, she’s not sure whom she can trust. 

Leading the country out of chaos could put the White House once more within her grasp, but will place Sam, her daughter and her daughter’s first child directly in harm’s way. Sam’s actions in the coming days will decide her family’s survival, her political future, and the fate of the United States of America. The stakes have never been higher.


Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series and I highly suggest if you start with book one, so opposed to spoilers then stop here and go read, but you have been warned!

So Sam starts this book and she has lost the presidential election and she has to decide where she wants to go from here - is her political life over or is there a spot for her somewhere else.  I absolutely adored this second book, it was so fun to continue on with Sam and see where she was going to go after a defeat.  

It was crazy to read a book set in the future that still felt very close to a truth.  I know I said above that I was going to spoil but I won't spoil the major plot point in this book because it was so good.  I liked the quick little hints and tips and views into the radicalizing of people and then the outcome is crazy but I don't know how far we are from it.  

I said this yesterday and I will reiterate because I still believe it to be true - I loved reading about real people in this fictional tale.  It was enjoyable to see them make appearances and interact with the fictional characters of the book.  I may have had to remind myself of the fictional part of it a few times!

Check out the blog tomorrow for the final review of this series.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Claire McKenny 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: Presidential Intentions by Douglas J Wood

Presidential Intentions

by Douglas J Wood

Publisher: Createspace

Pages: 294

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  An overachiever who is driven by an ambition to succeed, Samantha Harrison has set out to be the first woman president in United States history. With her devoted husband Ben behind her, she begins her campaign with Zachary Watts, a determined campaign manager with questionable ethics. As her campaign begins to take shape, Samantha is forced to deal with a crumbling home life as she continues her quest to hold the highest office in the land. Forced to decide what she's willing to lose to win, Samantha's choices will ultimately determine who's standing beside her in the end. Highlighting Samantha's personal conflicts and burning desire to win, Presidential Intentions creates a gripping political drama that examines the personal cost of realizing her dream. With an innocent naivety on the human capacity for evil and certain blindness to the things around her, Samantha might achieve her goal; however, she might never truly know what it costs her.


Kritters Thoughts:  Samantha Harrison has had an interesting life and is set and ready to become the first woman president of the United States.  The first book in a series Presidential Intentions really chronicles Sam's life and what led her to run for the highest office in the United States.  

As a resident of northern VA, just outside of DC - I have become much more of a informed viewer of the current state of politics than ever, so a little political drama is just my speed.  And lets side aside who we voted for in November and just enjoy this one for what it is - a good piece of fiction!  Although it is truly fiction, I loved how the author included many players in the political realm of our current day.  It was fun to read this now and not when it came out as I knew the outcome of the recent election and could read it parallel to what Douglas J Wood imagined.

I also love a series to start a book knowing you get three books with the same characters is definitely enjoyable.  I will be reviewing all three over the next three days.  

After finishing this book, I immediately picked up book #2, check out my review and see if it measured up to the first one.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A busy week on the work front and home front, but a great weekend by the pool full of reading!
A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan
Siracusa by Delia Ephron
Presidential Intentions by Douglas J Wood
Presidential Declarations by Douglas J Wood

Currently Reading:

Presidential Conclusions by Douglas J Wood

Next on the TBR pile:

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Review: The Beach at Painter's Cove by Shelley Noble

The Beach at Painter's Cove

by Shelley Noble

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 432

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Harper Collins

Goodreads:  The Whitaker family’s Connecticut mansion, Muses by the Sea, has always been a haven for artists, a hotbed of creativity, extravagances, and the occasional scandal. Art patrons for generations, the Whitakers supported strangers but drained the life out of each other. Now, after being estranged for years, four generations of Whitaker women find themselves once again at The Muses.

Leo, the Whitaker matriarch, lives in the rambling mansion crammed with artwork and junk. She plans to stay there until she joins her husband Wes on the knoll overlooking the cove and meadow where they first met. Her sister-in-law Fae, the town eccentric, is desperate to keep a secret she has been hiding for years.

Jillian, is a jet setting actress, down on her luck, and has run out of men to support her. She thinks selling The Muses will make life easier for her mother, Leo, and Fae by moving them into assisted living. The sale will also bring her the funds to get herself back on top.

Issy, Jillian’s daughter, has a successful life as a museum exhibit designer that takes her around the world. But the Muses and her grandmother are the only family she’s known and when her sister leaves her own children with Leo, Issy knows she has to step in to help.

Steph, is only twelve-years-old and desperately needs someone to fire her imagination and bring her out of her shell. What she begins to discover at the Muses could change the course of her future. 

As Issy martials the family together to restore the mansion and catalogue the massive art collection, a surprising thing happens. Despite storms and moonlight dancing, diva attacks and cat fights, trips to the beach and flights of fancy, these four generations of erratic, dramatic women may just find a way to save the Muses and reunite their family.

Kritters Thoughts:  In Connecticut, a family has lived for a few generations in a beautiful home.  One of the descendants has moved to New York and is called home when things are falling apart and like the prodigal son she goes home to try to pick up the pieces and put this big extended crazy family back together.

I love family dramas, especially dramas that are multi generational they are my jam!  I love reading how one generation's decisions impacts the next and even how grandmother could impact two generations below her and in this book the characters get to see up close and personal how they affect what comes after them.  Leo was the best matriarch that I have read in a book in awhile and I kind of LOVED that this book was a book chock full of women with barely a man in sight!

At times the writing in this book didn't completely work.  I felt like there were some repetitive parts and could have used with some bits and pieces taken out.  It didn't take away too much from the story to inhibit me from still liking it.

I was a Shelley Noble fan before I started this book and I have to say I am a Shelley Noble fan after!  I will be excited to hear what her next book will be about.



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: Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan

Secrets of Southern Girls

by Haley Harrigan

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 320

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ten years ago, Julie Portland accidentally killed her best friend, Reba. What's worse is she got away with it. Consumed by guilt, she left the small town of Lawrence Mill, Mississippi, and swore nothing would ever drag her back. Now, raising her daughter and struggling to make ends meet in Manhattan, Julie still can't forget the ghost of a girl with golden hair and a dangerous secret.

When August, Reba's first love, begs Julie to come home to find the diary that Reba kept all those years ago, Julie's past comes creeping back to haunt her. That diary could expose the shameful memories Julie has been running from, but it could also unearth the hidden truths that Reba left buried…and reveal that Julie isn't the only one who feels responsible for Reba's death.


Kritters Thoughts:  Julie may have physically moved from her hometown of Mississippi, but her mind and thoughts are still in her hometown and after someone comes to find her in New York, she travels back to confront the things of the past and maybe finally put them to rest.

Let me start by saying that I loved the premise of the book and how it was laid out.  Without spoiling too much, Julie thinks she killed her best friend and come to find out there is a diary that has been floating around from this best friend that may have some answers in it.  So while you are reading the adventures of Julie and August as they travel back to Mississippi, the reader is also getting tid bits from Reba's diary to set up the events before her death.  I love getting this information and I loved the moment it intersected with the story - it was just at the right moment.  

I say all of the above to also say this book moved so slow for me.  At times it was painfully slow and when books aren't moving at a good enough - not quick, just a good pace - then I can set a book down easily.  It took me awhile from beginning to end for this one and not because it is chunky.  

So I liked it, but I would hesitate before reading another by the author.  I would want to make sure I was in love with the synopsis before I started reading it.  Has anyone else read this one?  Was it just me or was it a very slow burn?


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

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 15 out of 50

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Sourcebooks.  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: Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley

Sweet Tea Tuesdays

by Ashley Farley

Pages: 270

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When new next-door neighbors Georgia, Midge, and Lula first assembled on Georgia’s porch in Charleston for sweet tea, they couldn’t have known their gathering was the beginning of a treasured tradition. For twenty-six years they have met on Tuesdays at four o’clock, watching the seasons change and their children grow up, supporting each other in good times and in bad. With their ambitions as different as their personalities, these best friends anticipate many more years of tea time. And then, one Tuesday, Georgia shares news that brings their long-standing social hour to an abrupt halt. And that’s only the beginning as unraveling secrets threaten to alter their friendship forever.


Kritters Thoughts:  Three women have been friends for years and spent Tuesday afternoons in Charleston, SC gathering on a front porch and start with tea and maybe move to wine every once in awhile!  Each women is entering their later years and each woman has a little drama in their life.  Don't worry there isn't soap opera level drama, it is just the right amount for each woman.  

As to not spoil any of the storylines, I will play it general and say usually in these types of books I prefer one character and their drama over another - that wasn't the case in this book, I loved them all equally.  I will say that 3/4 in one of the characters storylines was really in the front of the other two, but you can understand why when you get there and I would say I enjoyed it.  

I loved Ashley's writing.  Each character was unique and their own story, but wove in and out of each other so easily.  I loved how it was easy to read these characters as friends and neighbors and you can imagine them walking in and out of each other's homes.  

I have had a few of Ashley's other books on my radar and after reading this one I may have to find them and read them soon!


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

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 14 out of 50

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: The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

The Sunshine Sisters

by Jane Green

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ronni Sunshine left London for Hollywood to become a beautiful, charismatic star of the silver screen. But at home, she was a narcissistic, disinterested mother who alienated her three daughters. 

As soon as possible, tomboy Nell fled her mother's overbearing presence to work on a farm and find her own way in the world as a single mother. The target of her mother s criticism, Meredith never felt good enough, thin enough, pretty enough. Her life took her to London and into the arms of a man whom she may not even love. And Lizzy, the youngest, more like Ronni than any of them, seemed to have it easy, using her drive and ambition to build a culinary career to rival her mother's fame, while her marriage crumbled around her. 

But now the Sunshine Girls are together again, called home by Ronni, who has learned that she has a serious disease and needs her daughters to fulfill her final wishes. And though Nell, Meredith, and Lizzy are all going through crises of their own, their mother s illness draws them together to confront old jealousies and secret fears and they discover that blood might be thicker than water after all.

Kritters Thoughts:  What a fantastic novel about three sisters who have gone separate ways and a mother's illness brings them home to confront their childhood and maybe reconnect.

First - I love a story about families when you read about siblings who all come from the same household but end up completely different people.  Nell, Meredith and Lizzy had the same mother and father, maybe different childhoods due to where their parents were in their lives when they arrived, but essentially came from the same home and the three ladies ended up in completely different places - both personally and professionally.  

I loved how this story was set up.  There was a prologue that set the foundation and then we went back in time to the childhood of the sisters and we get a few short chapters in a few snapshot moments in time.  I liked that there were just a few chapters in a few moments, it was the right amount of time spent at each spot in time.  

And the characters!  The mother and three sisters and then their spouses and children and all the things, there were a lot but for some reason it was so easy to keep them all straight as to who went with whom and so on.  

Of course I will avoid spoilers, but will just say briefly I loved the ending.  It was just right!

Already a fan of Jane Green before starting this book and wish she could put more books out each year, they are the perfect pool bag book - thats where I read over half of this one!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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

A busy week getting back into gym mode, BUT a great weekend full of reading!
A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green
The Scent of Rain by Anne Montgomery
Sweet Tea Tuesdays by Ashley Farley
The Beach at Painter's Cove by Shelley Noble

Currently Reading:

Secrets of Southern Girls by Haley Harrigan

Next on the TBR pile:

Siracusa by Delia Ephron

Review: The Scent of Rain by Anne Montgomery

The Scent of Rain

by Anne Montgomery

Publisher: Treehouse Publishing Group

Pages: 386

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Rose Madsen will do anything to keep from being married off to one of the men in her Fundamentalist Mormon (FLDS) community, even endure the continued beatings and abuse of her mother. But when her mentally handicapped baby sister is forced to strangle the bird she loves at the behest of the Prophet, Rose frees the bird and runs away. 

Adan Reyes will do anything to escape the abusive foster care system in Phoenix, even leaving his good friends and successful high school athletic career behind him. Ill-prepared for surviving the desert, Adan hits the road only to suffer heat stroke. Found by a local handyman, he catches a glimpse of a mysterious girl--Rose--running through town, and follows her into the mountains where they are both tracked and discovered by the men of the FLDS community.

With their fates now intertwined, can Rose and Adan escape the systems locking them into lives of abuse? Will Rose be forced to marry the Prophet, a man her father's age, and be one of dozens of wives, perpetually pregnant, with no hope for an education? Will Adan be returned to the foster home where bullying and cruelty are common? Is everyone they meet determined to keep them right where they belong or are some adults worthy of their trust?


Kritters Thoughts:  With multiple perspectives going on, the first few chapters felt a little short and bouncy, but once they are established it makes the book move so quickly.  Rose is a young woman in the FLDS community and is probably on the bring of being married off and come another wife to a man who already has a collection of them.  Adan has run away from his foster home in Phoenix and the reader doesn't know why he was put into the foster system and what made him run.  

I have a weird fascination with the FLDS community and all the books both fiction and non-fiction that take me into that community.  When I was pitched this book, it had been awhile since I had read a book that took me into the FLDS world so I was excited to read another one.  I liked most about this one having quite a lot of characters that are outsiders to the community instead of being completely surrounded by FLDS members - their reactions and inquisition into them and their customs was the most interesting.

If you are like me and like to read a lot in and around and about FLDS then I would add this to your TBR pile, it was different in the best ways possible.  


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

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 13 out of 50

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

the merry month of May

source

Thank goodness for a great reading month!  March and April were very sad, I am glad to be back into my reading sweet spot.  I hope I can keep chugging into the second half of 2017 and end on a positive note!

1. Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson
2. The Hidden Thread by Liz Trenow
3. The Hideaway by Lauren K Denton
4. Novel Destinations by Shannon McKenna Schmidt and Joni Rendon
5. The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman
6. Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank
7. Allie and Bea by Catherine Ryan Hyde
8. The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence by Alyssa Palombo
9. The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron
10. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
11. Memorandum by Anders de la Motte
12. Ultimatum by Anders de la Motte
13. The Cottage Next Door by Georgia Bockoven
14. All the Best People by Sonja Yoerg
15. Touch by Courtney Maum
16. The Beach House: Coming Home by Georgia Bockoven
17. Knoll by Stephen Hillard
18. The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green

Total pages read, clicked and flipped:  6,251

Where having I been Reading?:
London (2)
Alabama
Los Angeles, CA
South Carolina
California (2)
Boston
Florence
Stockholm, Sweden (2)
California
New York City, NY
Vermont
Dallas, TX
Connecticut

Review: Touch by Courtney Maum

Touch

by Courtney Maum

Publisher: GP Putnam Sons

Pages: 320

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Sloane Jacobsen is the most powerful trend forecaster in the world (she was the foreseer of the swipe ), and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions about the future. Her recent forecasts on the family are unwavering: the world is over-populated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an extravagant indulgence. 

So it s no surprise when the tech giant Mammoth hires Sloane to lead their groundbreaking annual conference, celebrating the voluntarily childless. But not far into her contract, Sloane begins to sense the undeniable signs of a movement against electronics that will see people embracing compassion, empathy, and in-personism again. She s struggling with the fact that her predictions are hopelessly out of sync with her employer's mission and that her closest personal relationship is with her self-driving car when her partner, the French neo-sensualist Roman Bellard, reveals that he is about to publish an op-ed on the death of penetrative sex a post-sexual treatise that instantly goes viral. Despite the risks to her professional reputation, Sloane is nevertheless convinced that her instincts are the right ones, and goes on a quest to defend real life human interaction, while finally allowing in the love and connectedness she's long been denying herself. 

Kritters Thoughts:  From the synopsis, I thought this book would be right down my alley.  As a full time working lady, I have known for awhile that I wasn't going to go down the kid road and found a partner who is on the same page.  I read a lot of books about families and family drama and love them all, so I was excited to read a book where I could completely relate to the character and maybe have a quote or two to enjoy.  I will not spoil the book, but the ending really didn't work for me and really made me sad about the whole book.

I will say I loved Sloane as a character.  She was confident both in her professional life and her personal life and I loved that she knew what she knew and was seen as an expert.  Her "husband" was a little from left field and at times was almost distracting and frustrating and maybe there was a reason, but I had times where I wished I could delete him!  

Without spoiling the ending, I will say that I was fine with the conclusion that Sloane came to, but I wish it had come about a different way.  It felt as though the crutch of a "rough" childhood is used often and I was sad to see it used again in this book.  

I loved that the book mostly took place in an office.  Some books forget that characters have to have jobs!  It was interesting to go to an office and the way Courtney Maum described it was so vivid and I wanted to transfer to that office!  

As you can see in my review, I went back and forth with loving bits and pieces and getting frustrated here and there.  This was a middle of the road book, absolutely not one that I despised but one that I would hesitate passing onto to every reader I know.  This was my first Courtney Maum book and am I intrigued to read her previous and her next.


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

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from GP Putnam Sons.  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 the Best People by Sonja Yoerg

All the Best People

by Sonja Yoerg

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Vermont, 1972. Carole LaPorte has a satisfying, ordinary life. She cares for her children, balances the books for the family’s auto shop and laughs when her husband slow dances her across the kitchen floor. Her tragic childhood might have happened to someone else.

But now her mind is playing tricks on her. The accounts won’t reconcile and the murmuring she hears isn’t the television. She ought to seek help, but she’s terrified of being locked away in a mental hospital like her mother, Solange. So Carole hides her symptoms, withdraws from her family and unwittingly sets her eleven-year-old daughter Alison on a desperate search for meaning and power: in Tarot cards, in omens from a nearby river and in a mysterious blue glass box belonging to her grandmother.


Kritters Thoughts:  A book that takes a personal dive into mental health and as I don't have a lot of personal experience with mental health with me or those close to me, I enjoyed this look into how it affects not only the person personally but also the family that surrounds them.  

Beyond the interesting things to learn and read about about mental health, I loved that the book was set not in our current day.  It may be weird to say but I enjoyed reading about the current state of affairs of health care for mental health patients in 1970s and to see the progress.  I think it was more clear to see how Carole's mother was diagnosed and treated and the juxtaposition between her, Carole and how we know today's patients are treated.  

I am a huge Sonja Yoerg fan and love that each of her books are unique, but all still feel like they came from the same author.  The way her books flow just seems effortless and I say that in the most complimenting way possible!  It is easy to fall into her story and I will say that all of her books that I have read have been ones that were hard to put down because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. 


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

Ebook 2017 Challenge: 12 out of 50

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