Review: Bones and Roses by Eileen Goudge

Bones and Roses

by Eileen Goudge

Publisher: Cypress Bay Mysteries

Pages: 231

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Welcome to the northern California seaside town of Cypress Bay, where the surf’s up, the sixties live on and long-buried secrets are about to surface. 

From home invasions to cheating spouses, Rest Easy Property Management owner Leticia “Tish” Ballard thought she’d seen it all. Almost four years sober after flambéing her real estate career in an alcohol-fueled blowout, she’s finally in a good place in her life when the discovery of skeletal human remains rocks her world and plunges her headlong into solving a decades-old crime. Now she must delve into the darkness of her own past, including the one-night stand gone horribly wrong with Spence Breedlove, who happens to be the lead detective on the case. When the truth comes out at long last, Tish finds herself pitted against an enemy who will stop at nothing in a fight for her own life.

Kritters Thoughts:  What a who dun it!  Tish's mom disappeared to follow a man and a dream when she was young and has never heard from her, but in a twist Tish inherits a storage unit and inside is the body of her mother in the dress that she was wearing the day she supposedly left.  Obviously something is up and Tish is determined to find out because the police and detective that are in charge are people from her past that she believes may not perform at their peak due to some high school drama that still haunts her.

Just a hint longer than a novella, this book was quick and the pacing was perfect!  As the crime didn't happen recently, I enjoyed the added element of tracking through history to find the clues - made the book so much more dramatic.  I also loved the small town feel and how Tish had to help herself since she had burned some bridges and no one really trusted her.  I loved that I could trust her as a narrator, but she wasn't trusted by the people in town.  

I may have figured out the culprit a little on the early side, but it in no way made me disappointed in the ending.  If you are new to the who dun it genre, this is a quick read to enjoy.  On the flip side, if you have read many books in this genre, I would absolutely suggest reading this one as it had a little something different with the main crime occurring years in the past.


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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 45 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: Expecting by Ann Lewis Hamilton

Expecting

by Ann Lewis Hamilton

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Pages: 340

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A mom, a dad, a baby...and another dad.

Laurie and Alan are expecting, again. After two miscarriages, Laurie was afraid they'd never be able to have a child. Now she's cautiously optimistic -- the fertility treatment worked, and things seem to be different this time around. But she doesn't yet know how different.

Jack can't seem to catch a break -- his parents are on his case about graduating from college, he's somehow dating two girls at once, and he has to find a way to pay back the money he borrowed from his fraternity's party fund. The only jobs he is qualified for barely pay enough to keep him in beer money, but an ad for the local sperm bank gives Jack an idea.

Laurie and Alan's joy is shattered when their doctor reveals that Laurie was accidentally impregnated by sperm from a donor rather than her husband. Who is Donor 296. And how will their family change now that Donor 296 is inarguably part of it?


Kritters Thoughts:  A couple decides that they are ready to bring a child into the mix and after two failed miscarriages Laurie talks her husband Allan into some IVF.  Unfortunately, this IVF goes very wrong and they have to live with the consequences. 

Told through three different perspectives - Laurie, her husband Allan and Jack their donor, I was so glad that Jack and Allan contributed to the story.  It made the story feel more full getting the men's perspectives and finding out how they were reacting with how this pregnancy was evolving.  All three characters felt very real and the situations that they were put in also felt so honest.  

There are many people I would pass this book along, but most have had babies in the past year and I hesitate giving such a sensitive book to them.  If you are a fan of family drama with fantastic elements of comedy embedded then this book would be right up your alley.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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: Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Ain't She Sweet

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 464

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  In high school Sugar Carey had reigned supreme. She alone had decided what or who was cool. Her spiral perm had been the perm against which all others were measured, and her opinion on which boys were acceptable to date the only one that counted. A beautiful, blonde - if not always benevolent - dictator, she had a reputation for being the wild child in her home town, the girl most likely to set the world on fire, and leave a trail of destruction in her wake. When she left home she swore she'd never return. Only now, fifteen years and several husbands later, she's run out of money, luck and options...But Sugar arrives back home to discover that everyone else is living her life. Her half sister is married to Sugar's high school sweetheart, the teacher she schemed to get fired is now a successful novelist and owns her old house. She also discovers that people have long memories - especially where Sugar is concerned...


Kritters Thoughts:  Sugar Beth grew up in a small town and when she was in her high school years she was both popular and a mean girl.  She is returning but only to get some things from her inheritance and then leave, but she is confronted by people from her past and she has to choose how she is going to respond.  

Sugar Beth ends up living in the guest house of her childhood home and I loved how one of the people she persecuted ended up living in her childhood home.  The many times that she is hurt by the people in the past, I loved her many reactions.  Eventually the story gets to the love part and I completely loved it.  The relationship didn't start easy and had some speed bumps, but I loved how Colin treated her and didn't completely forgive her of her past at the beginning.  

As I said with the other Susan Elizabeth Phillips, there are some sexy times, but the storyline is so good, so if you tend to avoid books with the sexy times, then you may want to avoid this one, BUT if you can skip over the pages and enjoy this story then get this one!  The storyline for this book completely sold me on this book.


Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from HarperCollins.  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 Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe

The Curse of Van Gogh

by Paul Hoppe

Publisher: SparkPress

Pages: 

Format: eARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon

Amazon:  Tyler Sears, art thief, just released from a Federal prison, vows never again. He slides into a simple life bartending in NYC until one day an invitation arrives to the hottest art event of the season, where Tyler meets Komate Imasu, famed art collector. Suddenly Tyler's vows of abstinence slip away as Imasu uses threats against Tyler's family. Tyler quickly learns that gambling against a ruthless billionaire is never a good idea. Forgetting his own safety, Tyler plunges headfirst into a world of art forgers, hit men, Yakuza, a femme fatale named Chanel N°5, and the hideous curse of van Gogh, in order to pull off...the greatest art heist in history.


Kritters Thoughts:  An art heist that kept me holding my breath til the very end!  Tyler is out of prison from a previous art robbery that didn't quite go as planned and he was completely caught.  Now he is out and given the charge for a new job that seems completely ridiculous!

This was a fantastic book with perfect ups and downs.  Tyler's nemesis in this book were great, both his "boss" and the one trying to catch him in the act, I loved how detailed the author gave them.  Tyler's mom and brother were perfect inclusions, they gave his job even more of a stake for him as his boss was completely threatening them.  It had me biting my nails!

This may be another art heist book, but it was a good one.  I would recommend this to readers of any genre, this one had it all.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Booksparks 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: My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal

My Last Kiss

by Bethany Neal

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Pages: 358

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy? 

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss.


Kritters Thoughts:  Cassidy experiences her last kiss and she doesn't even know it.  Then she realizes that she is staring at her dead body and must follow her friends to find out how she died and help expose her killer.  

An interesting part of editing/formatting the book was where the numbered chapters were concerned that was Cassidy as a ghost in the present tense and the titled chapters were stories from the past to give the reader some context.  I appreciated that there were stories included to take the reader back in time and give some backstory.  Those parts made the book for me.  

There are a few books that are along this kind of storyline and if I put them all up against each other, I am not so sure about this one.  I didn't fall in love with Cassidy and had a hard time because she kept frustrating me and as some YA characters can be - she was a bit on the whiny side.  If you are a fan of this sub genre, then you would definitely love this one.


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


Ebook 2014 Challenge: 45 out of 100

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

Another average week of reading with a lot going on on the job front and a few evenings with plans.  I spent a whole day this weekend cuddling the niece and playing with her big sister, so definitely didn't get any reading that day!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe
Expecting by Ann Lewis Hamilton
A Pinch of Ooh La La by Renee Swindle

Currently Reading:

Bones and Roses by Eileen Goudge

Next on the TBR pile:

The Virtues of Oxygen by Susan Schoenberger

Review: 7 Years Younger: Instant Makeovers

7 Years Younger: Instant Makeovers

by Editors of Woman's Day

Pages: 288

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Kritters Thoughts:  An interesting addition to my non fiction shelf with this book including make up tips, recipes, fitness and stress relievers.  I took a few tips from each chapter and implemented them for a week and definitely felt like after the week I could tell that I was leaving a little healthier life!

Makeup:  I may be in my early 30s, but I have never been into make up until this past year.  I enjoyed reading the entire chapter on make up.  The biggest tip that I am taking to heart is if you have a bold lip that will help give your overall face a major uplift.  I found a great berry, but still looking for a good summer coral to go with my skin tone, but I can definitely tell that my face looks finished when I apply.

Recipes:  Just before obtaining this book I had started making some smoothies with almond milk and after reading I have added the chocolate treat smoothie to my rotation!  The doing salads better was good for me because you always assume that salads are good, but the swap in and out helped really focus on what I could do to make my salads better.

Fitness:  Both the dogs and I are in need of a little more activity as of recently.  I did the mini makeover - Walk at Home a few days and although it was hard to complete with the dogs, I did enjoy having a guide.

Stress Relievers:  I was not so successful in this area, but am still taking notes to hopefully implement these tricks to bring the stress levels down.  The daily download helped, but it created big to do lists that I worried I couldn't complete, so not sure it was the best tip for me to use - still going to work on this!

Review: The Home Place by Carrie La Seur

The Home Place

by Carrie La Seur

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 304

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A successful lawyer is pulled back into her troubled family's life in rural Montana in the wake of her sister's death.

The only Terrebonne who made it out, Alma thought she was done with Montana, with its bleak winters and stifling ways. But an unexpected call from the local police takes the successful lawyer back to her provincial hometown and pulls her into the family trouble she thought she'd left far behind: Her lying, party-loving sister, Vicky, is dead. Alma is told that a very drunk Vicky had wandered away from a party and died of exposure after a night in the brutal cold. But when Alma returns home to bury Vicky and see to her orphaned niece, she discovers that the death may not have been an accident.

The Home Place is a story of secrets that will not lie still, human bonds that will not break, and crippling memories that will not be silenced. It is a story of rural towns and runaways, of tensions corporate and racial, of childhood trauma and adolescent betrayal, and of the guilt that even forgiveness cannot ease. Most of all, this is a story of the place we carry in us always: home.


Kritters Thoughts:  Alma is a middle sister in a family that has definitely had quite a few tragedies to overcome and I am not sure they are completely through them at all.  Alma is called home because her little sister Vicky is found dead on the side of the road on a bitterly cold evening in Montana.  She must come home and bury her sister, confront some things from her past and figure out what really happened the night her sister died.  

A family drama with a lot of drama.  A set of three siblings who lost their parents at young ages and had to depend on extended family to provide their basics and Alma was able to escape to college, where Vicky and Pete didn't take the easy road.  I loved all of the parts of the family and their different pieces to the puzzle with these siblings.  

The concept of home was huge in this book and I appreciated the author's emphasis on going home and all the things that can happen when you are gone and return to the place you grew up - both good and bad.  Everything is similar and everything is different at the same moment and Alma has to decide how she will come out of the situation and what her path will look like without her sister in it.  

This book wasn't too far out of my usual genre, but felt different than the normal family drama and I am not sure if it was just because the setting was just so different for me.  I rarely read about a book set in the midwest and have never lived there myself, so I absolutely adored the time that the author put into making this book feel authentically Montana.  


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: Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Radish

Gravel on the Side of the Road

by Kris Radish

Publisher: SparkPress

Pages: 240

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A woman who worries about carrying a .38 special in her purse, nearly drowns in a desert canyon, flies into the war in Bosnia, dances with the FBI, tells Geraldo he shouldn’t put guests in hotel rooms with rats and spends time with murderers, has more than a few stories to tell.

Gravel on the Side of the Road-True Stories From a Broad Who Has Been There is a daring and revealing adventure itself.

Beloved novelist Kris Radish returns to her non-fiction beginnings with her first, but not last, book of autobiographical essays. Her writing career has spanned four decades and has included award winning newspaper work, magazine features, a national syndicated column, eleven books and enough stories and adventures to fill up many more.

Radish’s talent for telling it like it is, sharing the wit and wisdom of a life lived mostly on her own terms and her keen sense of humor are highlighted in these stories- some of them old- some of them new, but all of them a glimpse into worlds many never dare to enter. This author always lives in a world where nothing is sacred but the sweet emotions of the heart.

Kris is definitely a broad who has been there.


Kritters Thoughts:  A non fiction collection of short stories from Kris Radish's life as a mother, journalist and adventurer.  Her job as a journalist has taken her all over the place and these stories are from those travels, her childhood and her personal life. 

Kris Radish has an interesting life and the stories of her life were very interesting.  I loved the juxtaposition of her being a mom and the personal stories to the professional ones where she is interacting with mothers who are in prison for various reasons.  The content of her stories were entertaining. 

The lack of chronology is probably the biggest thing that made me not fall in love with this book.  I didn't love that her stories jumped all over the place; I didn't see a flow or reason as to their order and I wanted to find it so bad.  As a random collection of short stories, it was fine, but it wasn't completely for me.



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


Ebook 2014 Challenge: 44 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Booksparks 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: Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Natural Born Charmer

by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 400

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon 

Goodreads:  It wasn't every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of a road, not even in Chicago Stars quarterback Dean Robillard's larger-than-life world. He slammed on the brakes of his brand-new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her.

The beaver marched right past, her big, flat tail bouncing in the gravel, and her small, sharp nose stuck up in the air. Way up. The beaver looked highly pissed . . .

She was definitely a girl beaver because her beaver head was missing, revealing sweaty, dark hair pulled into a scraggly ponytail. He'd been praying for a little distraction from his own depressing company, so he threw open the door and stepped out onto the shoulder of the Colorado road . . .

Kritters Thoughts:  What is right now the last in the Chicago Stars series that centers around a fictional football team and each book in the series centers around a different character affiliated in one or another with the team.  I have only read the last two books, but I didn't feel like I was missing too much by not reading them in order.  At some point I do hope to go back and start at the first and read them all through.  

This book centers around a wanderer named Blue Bailey and the quarterback of the stars Dean Robillard.  They meet basically on page one and the book follows not only their love story, but some other characters from Dean's family and life.  Although their relationship was a complete mess, I loved it.  I loved how fiesty Blue was, the reader gets bits and pieces from her childhood that help to create the full image of why Blue is the way she is why she reacts the way she does.  There are also some reasons as to why Dean is who he is and I loved seeing them overcome their individual pasts and start a relationship.  It was easy to root for them!

As a warning, this book definitely had some sexy times, not too completely over the top, but this one is definitely not chaste!  If you are any where near faint of heart when it comes to the bedroom scenes, then you may want to avoid this one, but it wasn't too over the top for me to enjoy!


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 HarperCollins.  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?

So here in lies two weeks worth of reading as I was nose in a book last Sunday when I usually spend some time working on the blog!  It was kind of nice to just keep on reading!  So although this list looks long, it is definitely two great weeks worth of reading!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown
Best Supporting Role by Sue Margolis
When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Radish
The Home Place by Carrie La Seur
My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal
Neverhome by Laird Hunt
Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Currently Reading:

The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe

Next on the TBR pile:

Expecting by Ann Lewis Hamilton

Review: When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren

When I Fall in Love

by Susan May Warren

Publisher: Tyndale House

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Hawaii was the last place Grace Christiansen ever imagined she’d vacation, much less fall in love. But when her family surprises her with a cooking retreat in paradise, she is pulled—or maybe yanked—away from her predictable, safe life and thrown headfirst into the adventure of a lifetime.

Max Sharpe may make his living on the ice as a pro hockey player, but he feels most at home in the kitchen. Which is why he lives for the three-week culinary vacation he takes each year in Hawaii. Upon being paired with Grace for a cooking competition, Max finds himself drawn to her passion, confidence, and perseverance. But just when Grace dares to dream of a future beyond her hometown, Max pulls away.

Wrestling with personal demons, Max fights against opening his heart to a love he knows he should never hope for. And as his secrets unfold, Grace is torn between the safe path in front of her and what her heart truly desires. If love means sacrificing her ideal happily ever after, Grace’s faith will face its toughest test yet.


Kritters Thoughts:  Grace is a sibling in the Christiansen family that kind of took a back burner in both the previous books - conveniently this is her personality, she takes a back burner to her other siblings who are definitely people who put themselves out front.  Another sibling is also featured in this book - the middle son Owen, he isn't the main character but I think because his story weaves so perfectly with Grace's that it was great to put the two together.

I absolutely adored Grace's story.  I loved that the homebody sibling's story took her very far away from Minnesota to Hawaii and for some reason I think her love story was the least cheesiest!  The ups and downs were not overtly dramatic and this book read so quickly!  As I may have stated in previous reviews, these books are Christian fiction and there is definitely some Jesus talk, but the fictional story is still the main focus which I appreciate.

The third in the series and although they are somewhat companions as each book is centered around a different sibling, so I would say you should stop and pick up book one and two first before reading this one.  There appearances by the other siblings and updates if you will that you would want to read after you have read their full stories.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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

July

source

July was an average reading month with some good weekends worth of reading and some weekends full of plans with friends and family.  Thankfully most of the books I read this month I loved!
1.  A Triple Knot by Emma Campion

2. Don't Try to Find Me by Holly Brown
3.  All I Love and Know by Judith Frank
4. Elly in Love by Colleen Oakes
5. Isolation by Denise R. Stephenson
6. The Sea Garden by Deborah Lawrenson
7. After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. What Strange Creatures by Emily Arsenault
9. Brunette Ambition by Lea Michele
10. Serenade by Emily Kiebel
11. The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin
12. Flight of the Sparrow by Amy Belding Brown
13. When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren
14. Best Supporting Role by Sue Margolis
15. Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
16. Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Radish
17. The Home Place by Carrie La Seur

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 6,239

Where Have I Been Reading?:

England

Durham, NC
New Hampshire (2)
St Louis, MO
France
Hollywood, CA
Massachusetts (2)
London (2)
Nashville, TN
Hawaii
Billings, Montana