Review: The Wonder by Colleen Oakes

The Wonder

by Colleen Oakes

Publisher: SparkPress

Pages: 238

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  An Exiled Princess.
An Ancient Tribe.
A Dangerous Stranger with Unknown Loyalties. 

Dinah, the former Princess of Wonderland Palace, has been chased into the wilds of Wonderland after the brutal murder of her brother and the ruin of her impending crown. Now, as her half-sister Vittiore sits on the throne beside her Father, the brutal King of Hearts, Dinah finds herself alone in the forbidding Twisted Wood with only Morte, a homicidal beast, for company. 

Hunted by the King and his army of Cards, Dinah struggles to evade those who long for her head, including Cheshire, the King’s clever advisor, who is slowly tightening his grasp around her. Spurred on by her rising terror, the former Princess finds herself at the center of a web of conspiracy reaching far beyond the Palace and deep into the mysterious Yurkei mountain tribes. 
Even with the balance of an entire Kingdom at stake, Dinah knows something that her allies and enemies do not: that the most dangerous conflict of all has already begun as she battles the enticing rage that beckons her ever closer as love slips further from her grasp.


Kritters Thoughts:  The second in a series that is the fairy tale for an older crowd who grew up listening to fairy tales at bedtime.  Before you read on, if you haven't read book one in this series, stop now and read the first one!

Now for the second book, Dinah is definitely in a darker place, outside of the palace and deep in the woods.  She is on the run from her father and trying to decide what she wants to do next.  I loved the dark tone and the character arch for her, if you didn't quite love her in the first book, stick with her because she definitely gained some credit from me in this book.

The darker tone, the new characters and the maturing of Dinah really made me fall more in love with this series and I can't wait for the next installment.  If you are a fan of Once Upon a Time, this series was written for you!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 56 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 crazy week at work and some evenings with plans, but a good weekend of reading finished off this week!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

The Wonder by Colleen Oakes
Land of Dreams by Kate Kerrigan
Perfect Girl by Michele Gorman
The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

Currently Reading:

In Your Dreams by Kristan Higgins

Next on the TBR pile:

Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline

Animal Welfare week

Pawlease help us celebrate Animal Welfare Week (October 5-11) and National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week (November 2-8) with DOGHOUSE and the Gin & Tonic Mystery Series by L.A. Kornetsky!

Praise for the third Gin & Tonic Mystery, Doghouse:

“Infamously nosy Ginny Mallard may be unlicensed as an investigator, but she has begun to make a name for herself as the unofficial champion of the tongue-tied.  In the third installment of L.A. Kornetsky’s Gin & Tonic Mystery series, Doghouse finds Ginny getting herself tied up in a possible underground dogfighting ring.  With help from her bartender friend Teddy Tonica, his tabby cat and Ginny’s Shar Pei puppy, they have to figure out what’s going on before someone else gets hurt.”

—Cat Fancy Magazine, November 2014 issue

“Human and animal characters are equally appealing.  A thoroughly enjoyable read.”  I Love a Mystery

“Doghouse is a crafty mystery with engaging characters and countless unknowns…L.A. Kornetsky makes mysteries inventively delightful, and Doghouse entertains with wit and cleverness.”  Single Titles

“I recommend it to those that really like animals and cozy mysteries.”  Books and Things

“The third Gin & Tonic “researchtigations” is an appealing anthropomorphist amateur sleuth enhanced by life in a cheerful neighborhood bar. The lead humans and their animal owners remain fresh leads while the case proves bloody in the ring and the bar.”  The Mystery Gazette

“Sniffing out clues…L.A. Kornetsky brings back Ginny Mallard and her barLibrary Journal

tender friend Teddy Tonica, along with Ginny's pet shar-pei puppy and Teddy’s tabby cat, for their third outing in Doghouse.” 

Praise for the second Gin & Tonic Mystery, Fixed:

“[Fixed] is the second foray into the lives of a very unlikely pair of investigators; unlikely and a whole lot of fun…Collared was the first title that introduced this extremely fun ‘family and friends’ grouping, and the author has come back with a sequel that will truly make Gin & Tonic a well-known duo! Very light-hearted, this is a great book. Any reader who likes the ‘cozy’ avenue will love this mystery, with a little bit of cat and dog language thrown in for fun.”  Suspense Magazine

Praise for the first Gin & Tonic Mystery, Collared:

“The plot moves quickly, enhanced by smart dialog and good characterizations…Recommended for purchase where pet mysteries are popular.”  Library Journal

Summary of Doghouse:

Amateur sleuths Ginny Mallard and Teddy Tonica and their furry partners prove in L.A. Kornetsky’s DOGHOUSE (Pocket Books; July 22, 2014; $7.99) that twelve legs are better than four when it comes to solving a risky new case in the third novel from the “entertaining” (Library Journal) Gin & Tonic mystery series.  At her favorite Seattle bar, professional concierge Ginny Mallard can always count on a perfectly mixed gimlet and a friendly welcome for her shar-pei, Georgie, from resident cat, Penny.  On this visit, Ginny gets an unexpected bonus.  One of the regulars asks her and her sometime partner, bartender Teddy Tonica, to save an old friend who’s facing eviction.  This is no simple landlord spat.  Rumors abound of an underground dogfighting ring on the premises—a crime guaranteed to get Gin’s hackles up. Gin and Teddy want to believe the old man is innocent of all charges, thought a new piece of evidence suggests otherwise.  Penny and Georgie keep their noses to the ground as they help their humans investigate the vicious animal rights case.  But the truth is buried deep, and digging it up will unearth dangerous complications for owners and animals alike.

Author Guest Post:

I’m getting ready for a move, and part of that is decluttering.  Getting rid of things – objects, old paperwork – that I don’t need to haul with me any more.

But in a folder of otherwise no-longer-needed papers, there’s a sheet I’m keeping.  It’s from the ASPCA, and it documents my adoption of the kitten once known as Minna, who became my beloved Pandora, gone now a little over a year.

There’s no point to keeping the sheet of paper.  All it does is say that I paid x amount for a 4 month old female tiger kitten, spayed.  But throwing it out isn’t an option, either.  Because this was the first connection I had to Pandora, the first contract we made with each other: I would give her food, shelter, care, and a lap when she wanted it.  I would give her a home.  And in return, she gave me such love and companionship, letting her go at the end was no less a pain than losing a human friend.

I don’t have documentation from Indy-J, who was found on the street as a weeks-old kitten, and lived a long and adventurous life before cancer took her in 2000.  But Pandora’s adoption paper will go in the current file, along with the papers for  our current residents, Boomerang (aka Boomer you idiot), and Castiel the Kitten of Thursday (aka DamnitCas).

Because you keep the important moments, the documents that say “this is how you changed my life.”

(and some of you may note that I invite disaster in the renaming of my cats.  You would not be wrong.  But where’s the fun of living with Sir Napsalot?)

About the author:

L. A. Kornetsky is the author of two previous Gin & Tonic mysteries.  She lives in New York City with two cats and a time-share dog, and also writes fantasy under the name Laura Anne Gilman.  She welcomes visitors to www.lauraannegilman.net,@LAGilman and Facebook L-A-Kornetsky.

Review: An Unseemly Wife by EB Moore

An Unseemly Wife

by EB Moore

Publisher: NAL Trade

Pages: 336

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  1867. Ruth Holtz has more blessings than she can count—a loving husband, an abundant farm, beautiful children, and the warm embrace of the Amish community. Then, the English arrive, spreading incredible stories of free land in the West and inspiring her husband to dream of a new life in Idaho.
 
Breaking the rules of their Order, Ruth’s husband packs up his pregnant wife and their four children and joins a wagon train heading west. Though Ruth is determined to keep separate from the English, as stricture demands, the harrowing journey soon compels her to accept help from two unlikely allies: Hortence, the preacher’s wife, and the tomboyish, teasing Sadie.
 
But as these new friendships lead to betrayal, what started as a quest for a brighter future ends with Ruth making unthinkable sacrifices, risking faith and family, and transforming into a woman she never imagined she’d become….


Kritters Thoughts:  Weird intro for a review - As a child who grew up in the 80s and early 90s, I learned to type in middle school and during typing class we played Oregon trail.  This book is a fictional tale - minus them headed to Idaho instead of Oregon!  

Ok, now that we have the weird intro out of the way, let me tell you what I thought about the book.  Ruth was a great character, although I couldn't imagine her devotion to her husband, but with the time and her religion, I grew to understand and appreciate her blind devotion to her husband's plan for the family.  The things she went through were beyond belief - no spoilers, but man oh man, this journey was far from easy.  

My one peeve with this book was the ending.  It was abrupt and frustrating, I wanted more!  It wasn't a cliff hanger, it just stopped and I don't want to use my imagination to come up with an ending, I wanted it to end.  

If you are a fan of very historical fiction and love a journey style book then this one is for you, but be forewarned of a very abrupt ending to the story.


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 Random House.  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 Unforgivable Fix by TE Woods

The Unforgivable Fix

by TE Woods

Publisher: Alibi

Pages: 

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  The killer won’t come for you, you fool. He’ll come for me.
 
Detective Mort Grant of the Seattle PD has finally decided to sell. The home where he and his late wife raised two kids feels too large and too full of old memories. His son is married and raising a family of his own, and despite desperate efforts to find her, Mort has lost touch with his wayward daughter. That is, until the day she walks back into her childhood home and begs for his help.
 
For the last four years, Allie Grant has been the lover—and confidante, confessor, and counselor—of one of the world’s most powerful and deadly men. But a sudden, rash move has put Allie in the crosshairs of a ruthless Russian crime lord. Mort knows of only one place where Allie will be safe: with The Fixer.
 
As a hired desperado, The Fixer has killed twenty-three people—and Mort was complicit in her escape from the law. She has built an impregnable house, stocked it with state-of-the-art gear, armed it to the teeth, and locked herself away from the world. But even The Fixer may not be able to get justice for Allie when real evil comes knocking.


Kritters Thoughts:  Book three in the series, if you haven't read book 1 or 2 you may want to stop here.  Yesterday I reviewed book 2 and although there are no spoilers, it is definitely worth it starting at the beginning.

Mort and Lydia are back and Lydia is trying to get back into the groove of her life both professionally and personally.  Mort thinks that he will have a quiet period on the job until his daughter arrives after being gone for 4 years.  She has had quite the 4 years and has ended up in the middle of something that may be hard to get out of, enough to go running home to get help.  

Again, I loved that there was a main storyline and other story lines that weaved in and out and in the end connected.  I was glad to see Mort and Lydia interact more in this book, I loved their interplay.  It was also interesting to see a different side of Mort by having his long lost daughter be a part of the main storyline - gave him some extra vulnerability that I loved reading.

Another great book in the series and I am hoping not the last time we hear from Mort and Lydia.  


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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 55 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: The Red Hot Fix by TE Woods

The Red Hot Fix

by TE Woods

Publisher: Alibi

Pages: 288

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  What do you say, Morton Grant, Chief of Detectives? You got what it takes to find me? Show me a move. . . . Or I’ll have to show you one of mine.
 
A little more than a year after the Fixer killings, Detective Mort Grant of the Seattle P.D. once again has his hands full. In the last four months, seven men have been murdered in seedy pay-by-the-hour motels: first strangled, then tied with rope and set on a bed of crushed mothballs, with a red lipstick kiss planted on their foreheads. Speculation abounds that the killer is a prostitute who’s turning her tricks into dead men. The press has taken to calling her “Trixie.”
 
As Mort follows scant leads in the case, he can’t help but feel continued guilt over his involvement with the Fixer. Though the public holds her up as a folk hero, a vigilante who seeks justice when the system fails, Mort cannot shake the fact that serious crimes have been committed. And though legend says she has vanished, Mort knows exactly where the Fixer is—and he’s conspiring to keep her hidden.
 
As Trixie strikes again, Mort suddenly finds himself and his family in the crosshairs. Because these new murders are not random, and their perpetrator is hell-bent on luring Mort into a sick and twisted game. If he’s not careful, he’s going to need Fixing.


Kritters Thoughts:  Book two in a series or trilogy and before you read this review, you are going to want to read book one!

Now that that is out of the way, if you are a fan of the mystery genre, you should absolutely read these books.  Not only is there a main story line with a who dun it, there are fantastic underlying story lines that weave in and out.  The main story in this book is a lady of the night who is taking out clients and Mort must find out who this lady is.  Lydia is back in this book and has an investigation of her own that smartly ties into Mort's case.  

With great characters and fantastic action, TE Woods writes a great thriller that a reader of the genre will find fresh and new.  I absolutely loved the inclusion of little parts that were from the mouth of "Trixie" - it may be weird, but it is fun to hear from the mouth of the culprit.  

Again, I would start at the beginning, but this is a great sequel.


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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 54 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.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

This is another two weeks worth of reading because the week before was pitiful.  With the BIG corporate event that I plan happening and getting sick, my reading was so so sad.  Thankfully this past week made up for it!

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino
Painting Juliana by Martha Louise Hunter
The Red Hot Fix by TE Woods
The Unforgivable Fix by TE Woods
An Unseemly Wife by EB Moore

Currently Reading:

The Wonder by Colleen Oakes

Next on the TBR pile:

Land of Dreams by Kate Kerrigan

Review: Painting Juliana by Martha Louise Hunter

Painting Juliana

by Martha Louise Hunter

Publisher: Goldminds Publishing, Inc

Pages: 362

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Juliana Birdsong is your typical eight-year-old with an obsessive-compulsive mother who's too paranoid to leave the house. Making double-lined, black-out drapes to protect their home from the outside world, her mother only looks up from her sewing machine when Perry Mason comes on TV - the type of successful man Juliana should marry if she wants to get anywhere in life. But Juliana has other things to worry about. Night after night, she's awakened by a terrifying dream where she's chased down a long, tapering highway on the back of her father's motorcycle heading for an enormous, twisting funnel cloud that waits on the horizon. Even after locking it away inside her bedside drawer, Juliana wonders if there are parts of the dream she hasn't seen yet. Years later, she finds dynamic trial lawyer, Oliver Morrissey and she marries him for love. Life is going reasonably well for the priviledged socialite - that is, until she's faced with losing everything, including her children. Stepping out of her Lexus, Juliana peels off her Chanel sunglasses and glares up at her childhood home that's now smothered in ivy. Inside, there's only her estranged father left, who she's sure caused her mother's death. Moving in, she discovers a nude portrait of her with an odd set of tiny red footprints on the ankle, and another surprise she's not expecting: Her father has Alzheimer's and he needs her. Plus, a shipment of mysterious oil paintings arrives, all with his signature. When Juliana puts a brush in his hand, it sets off a surreal time warp and the canvases eerily transform, painting a different picture of the parents she thought she knew. As tragic secrets emerge that mirror her own, Juliana's old demons come back to haunt her. Consumed with his care and desperate for her old life back, the dream is still chasing her and it's catching up fast. Just when she can't run any faster, the funnel cloud is waiting on the horizon, twisting even faster than before.


Kritters Thoughts:  A family drama with a lot of drama!  Juliana is a mother of twins and while in couples therapy her husband drops a bomb on her that sends her whole life in a tail spin.  At the same time her father's Alzheimer's is taking a turn for the worse and she decides to move back into her childhood home to take care of him.

Juliana was an interesting main character and at times I was her biggest cheerleader and then at other times I wanted to shake her silly!  She had some definite ups and downs and some decisions that I wish I could have changed, but I still wanted to read on to see where she would end up.  Her husband on the other hand was just despicable and I just couldn't find any redeeming quality about him and really had a hard with Juliana's want to get back together with him.  

One other aspect of the book that I didn't completely love was the short and choppy chapters.  Each chapter didn't flow to the next; instead the chapter started so abruptly and some were so short that it was almost jarring to read.  I wish there had been a little more flow between each chapter or keep the abrupt changes and make the chapters longer, but maybe that was just me.

Overall I liked the family drama that had a lot of drama, the drama was great!  I loved that I was ultimately rooting for Juliana.  The parts with her father far exceeded many of the other moments that I didn't care for as much.

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: Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino

Rock Angel
by Jeanne Bogino

Publisher: Prashanti Press LLC

Pages: 400

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Shan is young, beautiful, talented, and addicted to heroin in Rock Angel, a novel that follows her meteoric rise to guitar goddess stardom in the 90’s. She is discovered in New York by a handsome, arrogant musical genius named Quinn, and sparks fly between them when he hires her as lead guitarist of his band. Although Quinn is accustomed to bedding a different groupie every night, he can’t ignore his deepening feelings for his new band mate. From gritty Greenwich Village clubs to L.A.’s Troubadour; gigging and touring the country to the cover of Rolling Stone, Rock Angel is infused with the passionate music and intense sexual chemistry of Shan and Quinn. Shan must work out her personal demons and learn to trust Quinn enough to love him, but still remain true to the music that has always been her salvation.


Kritters Thoughts:  A rock band in New York trying to keep their music true while also trying to make it big.  This book was full of music, relationships, and drugs.  With Shan the youngest member of the band narrating the story, the reader is taken along the journey as she joins this all male band and makes a name for herself in the rock world.  

Although the characters are of the YA age, I wouldn't recommend this to your younger readers as the themes were definitely of the mature age.  The author kept this book gritty and it definitely gave me an inside view of the rock world in New York and I was glad that it was set in New York as for some reason I think of LA when I think of rock n roll.  There were quite a few moments that involved the drugs part of the storyline that we very hard to read and although it kept the book feeling real, I kind of wish a few moments had been censored.  

The one thing that unfortunately happened in the beginning that took a lot for me to get over was the age that Shan was, at merely 16 I thought she was just a tad young to be having these crazy things happen to her and for her to experience.  Maybe I am naive, but I just wish she had started the book at 18 because I cringed through the beginning as I saw these things happen to her at such a young age.

Beyond the age at the beginning, this book completely picked up for me and by the end, I was excited to see that another book will follow with these characters.  


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 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.

September - crazy month!!

source

September was the craziest of months.  It started with an end to a vacation and then I was off running!  I had a work trip that was a big deal and then of course the retreat that I plan every year was the last of September and with over 300 employees in the company now, the retreat felt really big this year and the logistics just seemed nuts!  I am thankful for some hours on planes that allowed for a lot of the reading that occurred this month!

1.  Guests on Earth by Lee Smith

2. Defector in our Midst by Tom Fitzgerald

3. The Agincourt Bride by Joanna Hickson

4. Driftwood Tides by Gina Holms

5. All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St Amant

6. The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith

7. I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe

8. To See the Moon Again by Jamie Langston Turner

9. Ballroom by Alice Simpson

10. Ghosting by Edith Pattou
11. House of Wonder by Sarah Healy
12. Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
13. The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline
14. Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver

15. Rock Angel by Jeanne Bogino

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 5,324

Where Have I Been Reading?:

Asheville, NC
Washington, DC
France
Nags Head, NC
Bayou Bend, LA
Beaufort, NC
South Carolina
New York City, NY (2)
Illinois
New Jersey
Atlanta, GA
Maine
Brighton, England