It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A kitchen renovation, a baby shower and another crazy week at work, sadly next week looks even worse - reading is definitely the best escape during these crazy moments in life.

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Reboot by Amy Tintera
Rebel by Amy Tintera
Up at Butternut Lake by Mary McNear
Black Chalk by Christopher J Yates

Currently Reading:

The Last Original Wife by Dorothea Benton Frank

Next on the TBR pile:

Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson

Review: Why Can't I Be You by Allie Larkin

Why Can't I Be You

by Allie Larkin

Publisher: Plume

Pages: 304

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  When Jenny Shaw hears someone shout “Jessie!” across a hotel lobby, she impulsively answers. All her life, Jenny has toed the line, but something propels her to seize the opportunity to become Jessie Morgan, a woman to whom she bears an uncanny resemblance. Lonely in her own life, Jenny is embraced by Jessie’s warm circle of friends—and finds unexpected romance. But when she delves into Jessie’s past, Jenny discovers a secret that spurs her to take another leap into the unknown.


Kritters Thoughts:  Jenny Shaw is headed on a work trip and her life is going down a path that she just isn't sure it is right for her, so she is given an interesting opportunity to put herself in another person's shoes for a little bit.  She finds the definition of friends, where her true passion lies and where she thinks she wants her future to go.

I absolutely ADORE books that have reunions!  I love the idea of people reuniting after years apart and seeing who are still friends and how the dynamics change from high school to the adult years.  This one put in an extra twist with Jenny "filling in" for a missing alum; I loved it.

My first Allie Larkin book and this will definitely not be my last!  I already have Stay on my shelves and can't wait to read it!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Review: Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway

Little Girl Lost

by Brian McGilloway

Publisher: Pan McMillian

Pages: 305

Format: ebook

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Unwilling, or unable, to speak, the only person she seems to trust is the young officer who rescued her, Detective Sergeant Lucy Black. Soon afterwards, DS Black is baffled to find herself suddenly moved from a high-profile case involving the kidnapping of another girl, a prominent businessman's teenage daughter. 

Black's problems are not only professional: she's caring for her increasingly unstable father, and trying to avoid conflict with her frosty mother - who also happens to be the Assistant Chief Constable. As she struggles to identify the unclaimed child, Black begins to realize that her case and the kidnapping may be linked by events that occurred during the grimmest days of the country's recent history - events that also defined her own troubled childhood.

Kritters Thoughts:  There are a few little girls who are lost in this book and a young woman who lost her childhood and must realize the details behind what happened in the past.  As a detective Lucy Black returns home to care for her father and continue her career, but just as she gets in town a little girl is found in the woods and has an odd connection to another girl who is the daughter of a wealthy businessman and who is missing.  

I loved the parallels of DS Black learning about her past in her hometown as she investigates the girl found in the woods, it was thankfully obvious that DS Black didn't have an easy childhood and because of her past she can help these girls.  It was so interesting watching her piece together both the events of the present and the past.  There was an interesting twist in the end that was satisfying and sad at the same time, I wouldn't change it, but it made me stop and think about the rest of the book.

An interesting thriller that takes place in Ireland, but don't let that keep you from reading it - if you are a reader who doesn't like to read outside the US (like me!).  

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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 10 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Partners in Crime 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: Something New by Janis Thomas

Something New by Janis Thomas

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Pages: 384

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  If you stop trying new things, you might as well just stop.

Ellen Ivers has it all: a nice house, great kids, and a husband who loves her no matter how much she’s let herself go. There’s just one problem: Ellen is completely, utterly bored. Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis, or maybe it’s just time to make a change. Ellen starts taking care of herself and decides to start trying new things. As the pounds melt away and she begins to feel more comfortable in her own skin, Ellen’s cousin prompts the former writer to enter a blog competition.

At first Ellen is hesitant; after all, what exactly is she supposed to write about? But soon the words start flowing and Ellen gains confidence, in part because of the attention she’s getting from her cousin’s new neighbor, handsome detective Ben Campbell. Both Ellen and Ben are married with kids, and they know their friendship is heading down a dangerous path. As her attraction to Ben grows and her blog starts attracting a lot of interest, everything else in Ellen’s world begins to unravel. Now, she finds herself wondering if the life she has is what she really wants, or if something new is exactly what she needs…


Kritters Thoughts:  A woman who has been married for a long time with three kids and realizes that her life recently has revolved around her husband and the kids and through a stranger she realizes that she needs something for herself.  

Although, I am not at this place in life, I could relate to the character and was able to really take away some things and reflect.  With such an honest set of characters, it was interesting to see where the author would take them and how they would react to each thing, but I absolutely adored the raw honesty that she put in this book.

This one definitely made me feel awkward a few times and I may have said some choice words to the book, but it never made me want to give up on her.  I wanted to know what she would choose in the end.  

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.  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 Accident by Chris Pavone

The Accident by Chris Pavone

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 336

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  As dawn approaches in New York, literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript, racing through the explosive revelations about powerful people, as well as long-hidden secrets about her own past. In Copenhagen, veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of an unexpected gun. And in Zurich, the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life, trying to atone for a lifetime’s worth of lies and betrayals with publication of The Accident, while always looking over his shoulder.

Over the course of one long, desperate, increasingly perilous day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication, toward saving or ruining careers and companies, placing everything at risk—and everyone in mortal peril.  The rich cast of characters—in publishing and film, politics and espionage—are all forced to confront the consequences of their ambitions, the schisms between their ideal selves and the people they actually became.


Kritters Thoughts:  What a crazy whirlwind ride that didn't stop turning until the very end!  With a crazy cast of characters, I definitely had to chart this one out from an author and the things he set in motion to a publisher, editor and the subject of this book, this book had an interesting combination of thriller rolled into the book publishing world.  

The publishing aspect of the book was so interesting, to see all of the hands that it takes to get a book from the author into the public's hands and then to add the anonymous author and the thriller aspect was genius.  As a book blogger I have an interest in the publishing world and I always find it interesting to read books that center around the business of books.  

After reading the book, this is one that definitely left me with a few unanswered questions and I am not sure if I like that or not.  I tend to like my thriller/mysteries to end with everything wrapped up and knowing that I finally put all the pieces together, I think there are still some pieces left dangling.  This book is not meant for a lazy reader, it definitely took work to realize if they were in the past or the present and which character was being featured.

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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 9 out of 100

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: Two Sisters by Mary Hogan

Two Sisters by Mary Hogan

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  One family, two sisters, a lifetime of secrets . . .

The third child in a family that wanted only two, Muriel Sullivant has always been an outsider. Short, dark-haired and round, she worships her beautiful blonde sister, Pia, and envies the close bond she shares with their mother, Lidia. Growing up in their shadow, Muriel believes that if she keeps all their secrets—and she knows plenty, outsiders always do—they will love her, too.

But that was a long time ago. Now an adult, Muriel has accepted the disappointments in her life. With her fourth-floor walk-up apartment and entry-level New York City job, she never will measure up to Pia and her wealthy husband, their daughter, and their suburban Connecticut dream home. Muriel would like nothing better than to avoid her judgmental family altogether. One thing she does quite well.

Until the day Pia shows up to visit and share devastating news that Muriel knows she cannot tell—a secret that will force her to come to terms with the past and help her see her life and her family in unexpected new ways.


Kritters Thoughts:  A family of 5 that didn't start on the best foundation and from the parents to the children they all had issues.  The book unfolds in the present with flashbacks into the past when the parents of the family met and "fell" in love.  As a reader, I definitely had to pay attention as it switched in the middle of the chapter to the past and then back to the present story.

As a product of a fantastic family and childhood, it is hard to read about characters who have it rough from the moment they are born and well into adulthood.  It was easy to care for Muriel as she is the outside and you just want her to find an independence and depart from the dramas of her family.  I definitely talked straight to the characters in this book, they irritated me a few times!

There are a few twists that I of course can not share, but they definitely took the book to a different level and I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish it.  It took about 100 pages to get to a few twists and once there I thought it started picking up and finished well.  

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

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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

What a week!  Two book clubs and a hard week at work, so thankful to have a very quiet reading weekend!  

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Pack Up the Moon by Rachael Herron
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard
On Grace by Susie Schnall
Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter
Dancing with Fireflies by Denise Hunter
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Currently Reading:

Up at Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

Next on the TBR pile:

The Collector of Dying Breaths by MJ Rose

Review: Real Happy Family

Real Happy Family

by Caeli Wolfson Widger

Publisher: New Harvest

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Part-time actress, full-time party girl Lorelei Branch isn’t famous yet, but she’s perfected a Hollywood lifestyle full of clubbing, fashion, and the latest juice cleanse. When Robin, her sister-in-law and agent, throws a plum job her way, Lorelei jumps at the chance and auditions to be the new girl on television’s hottest reality show, Flo’s Studio. Enter Colleen, Lorelei’s pill-popping mother, who wants nothing more than to see her daughter win the fame and glory she never had a chance to pursue herself. But Lorelei’s dream of becoming the next reality star is dashed when she loses the spot on Flo’s Studio to a stunning African woman. In an attempt to defend her daughter against what she calls a rigged contest, Colleen goes ballistic and delivers a racist rant on live television, sparking a national media frenzy. Lorelei flees the limelight, humiliated and broke, with her slacker boyfriend Don and heads for Reno where she begins to self-destruct.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Branch family starts to come apart at the seams. Colleen and her husband, Carl, are quietly drifting apart. Darren, Lorelei’s older half-brother, is stuck in Florida working on a contentious film set while his wife, Robin, continues the tedious regimen of fertility drugs meant to help them conceive a child. Desperate to bring the family together again and make things right, Colleen hatches a plan to stage an intervention for Lorelei on the reality show Real Happy Family. Soon the entire Branch family is entangled in a mission to bring the prodigal daughter back into the fold.

Kritters Thoughts:  Drama, Drama, Drama!  This book was slam packed full of drama.  Taking place in probably the most dramatic of towns, Los Angeles, this family is caught up in the movie business in all sorts of ways and this book doesn't make it look all nice and pretty!  

Centered mostly around the youngest of the family, Lorelei has been trying to get into the acting business one way or another and after a very public dramatic event, she runs to Reno, Nevada to hide.  At times, this book was hard to read because there was quite a bit of drug use and cheating spouses, but it all felt real.  So often a book takes you behind the scenes of Hollywood, but only shows the positive happy times, while this book took you through the rough parts that can happen when a family is trying to make it in this business.

Although a hard book to read, it read quickly and it was easy flow from the past to the present and from one character to the next.  I would recommend this one to readers who enjoy the nitty gritty books and likes the harsh view of things.


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

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: Fallen Beauty by Erica Robuck

Fallen Beauty

by Erica Robuck

Publisher: NAL Trade

Pages: 384

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Upstate New York, 1928. Laura Kelley and the man she loves sneak away from their judgmental town to attend a performance of the scandalous Ziegfeld Follies. But the dark consequences of their night of daring and delight reach far into the future.…

That same evening, Bohemian poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and her indulgent husband hold a wild party in their remote mountain estate, hoping to inspire her muse. Millay declares her wish for a new lover who will take her to unparalleled heights of passion and poetry, but for the first time, the man who responds will not bend completely to her will.…

Two years later, Laura, an unwed seamstress struggling to support her daughter, and Millay, a woman fighting the passage of time, work together secretly to create costumes for Millay’s next grand tour. As their complex, often uneasy friendship develops amid growing local condemnation, each woman is forced to confront what it means to be a fallen woman…and to decide for herself what price she is willing to pay to live a full life.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two very different characters take turns moving this story along, one is the famous poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (goes by Vincent) and the other is a woman from the small town right near where Edna lives - Laura.  Both took turns during each chapter telling their side of the story in the small town and how they both felt like outsiders in this close knit community.  

I absolutely adored Laura's story from the very beginning - the fact that just one night changed her life and due to the time that she is living in, the consequences put her on the outside of society and threatened her career.  Vincent on the other hand was hard to read, at one moment I had to look her up and read her wikipedia page just to make sure I was reading everything correctly, she was definitely on the artsy side and since I am not such a fan of poetry in general, it was not interesting to see how she gained her inspiration for her poetry - BUT I did enjoy her moments when she interact with Laura.  SO even though I didn't love the character, it didn't keep me from enjoying the book.  

I am definitely going to check out more of Erika Robuck's books, I love her twist of fact and fiction in this book.

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 Penguin.  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 Deepest Secret by Carla Buckley

The Deepest Secret
by Carla Buckley

Publisher: Bantam

Pages: 448

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads: Diagnosed with XP, a rare medical condition which makes him lethally sensitive to light, Tyler is a thirteen-year-old who desperately wants just one thing: to be normal. His mother Eve also wants just one thing: to protect her son. As Tyler begins roaming their cul-de-sac at night, cloaked in the safety of the darkness, he peers into the lives of the other families on the street-looking in on the things they most want hidden. Then, the young daughter of a neighbor suddenly vanishes, and Tyler may be the only one who can make sense of her disappearance…but what will happen when everyone's secrets are exposed to the light?


Kritters Thoughts:  What would you do in order to save your family from harm?  Eve is a mother of two and one of her children has been living with a life threatening condition and she has spent the last few years taking care of her son and trying to keep the rest of the family together.  A tragedy happens and she must make a big decision.

Thankfully the tragedy that occurs isn't spoiled in the synopsis and I can't spoil it here either!  I can say that it involves the neighborhood and I thought this was in interesting twist by adding in neighbors as bigger characters mixed in with the family drama aspect.  The other part that kept me reading was the disease that Eve's son Tyler lives with - his inability to be near UV rays and sunlight.  This book made me thing about the extreme of this disease and what those have to suffer through.

A good family drama that I was definitely interested to find out how it would all unravel.

Rating: 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: The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

The Good Luck of Right Now

by Matthew Quick

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 304

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday mass, and the library learn how to fly?

Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life, writing Richard Gere a series of highly intimate letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.

Kritters Thoughts:  Quirky.  This book was full of some quirky characters with extreme eccentricities.  Bartholomew the main character was quite an older gentleman to have lived in his mother's home entire life and I kept forgetting his true age!  An alcoholic priest who leaves the church, a fellow therapy patient who likes the word F$%# a lot! and a girl who he has been pining over for awhile - what a combination!

As this was my first Matthew Quick book, I wasn't sure about his style, but knew of him through his previous book being made into quite the hit movie.  This book was told from Bartholomew's perspective through letters to Richard Gere - interesting, but it fit the character completely.  I am not one to enjoy profanity, so I had a hard time reading the parts that included the character Max, but there again, I thought it fit the character so I agree with the author putting it in.  

I am not sure about this author, I think I would like to give him another try, but it may have been a little too much quirky for me!

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

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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

Probably my saddest reading week this year so far!  A crazy week that included going to a St Jude's Gala, an anniversary at my local bookstore - One More Page and a trip to my favorite Baltimore book places with my mom, sister and her mother in law!  So not much reading, but definitely a fun week!
A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Golden State by Michelle Richmond
Margot by Jillian Cantor
Waiting on You by Kristan Higgins

Currently Reading:

Pack up the Moon by Rachael Herron

Next on the TBR pile:

Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter

February in review

source

My February picture above definitely represents my feelings for February - it was full of snow and snow days!  The shortest month of the year, but definitely a full month of reading on my end!  Some novellas definitely beefed up the numbers!!  I also went to a few book signings which made for some fun evenings out.  

1.  Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck

2.  Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

4. Vintage by Susan Gloss

5. Real Happy Family by Caeli Wolfson Widger

6. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

7. Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

8. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

9. Four Friends by Robyn Carr

10. Left by Tamar Ossowski

11. Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

12. Forgiving Lies by Molly McAdams

13. Deceiving Lies by Molly McAdams

14. Mind Games by Kiersten White

15. Anna and Fia by Kiersten White

16. Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren

17. I Really Do Miss Your Smile by Susan May Warren

18. It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren

19. The Memory Child by Steena Holmes 

20. The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor

21. Panic by Lauren Oliver

22. Precious Thing by Colette McBeth

23. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
24. Golden State by Michelle Richmond
25. Margot by Jillian Cantor

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped:  7,649

Where Have I Been Reading?:
Chatham, NY

Northern Ireland
Beijing, China
Madison, Wisconsin
Reno, Nevada
San Francisco, CA (2)
Tampa Bay, FL
Austin, TX
Chicago, IL (2)
Minnesota (3)
Ireland
New York
Brighton, England
Westchester, NY
Philadelphia, PA