Review: City of Liars and Thieves

City of Liars and Thieves

by Eve Karlin

Publisher: Alibi

Pages: 266

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It is high time to tell the truth. Time for justice. . . . How she was murdered and why she haunts me. It is not only Elma’s story, it’s mine.
 
On the bustling docks of the Hudson River, Catherine Ring waits with her husband and children for the ship carrying her cousin, Elma Sands. Their Greenwich Street boardinghouse becomes a haven for Elma, who has at last escaped the stifling confines of her small hometown and the shameful circumstances of her birth. But in the summer of 1799, Manhattan remains a teeming cesspool of stagnant swamps and polluted rivers. The city is desperate for clean water as fires wreak devastation and the death toll from yellow fever surges.
 
Political tensions are rising, too. It’s an election year, and Alexander Hamilton is hungry for power. So is his rival, Aaron Burr, who has announced the formation of the Manhattan Water Company. But their private struggle becomes very public when the body of Elma Sands is found at the bottom of a city well built by Burr’s company.
 
Resolved to see justice done, Catherine becomes both witness and avenger. She soon finds, however, that the shocking truth behind this trial has nothing to do with guilt or innocence.


Kritters Thoughts:   A historical fiction perfectly combines some truth and some fiction.  In New York in 1799, the young country of America was still trying to find its way in the political sense and money and politics were starting to intermingle.  At the same time a young woman moves into her cousin's home to escape the ridicule of her hometown and start new and fresh.  She (Elma) gets mixed up with the politics and money of New York and it doesn't end well.

I loved reading about the beginnings of politics and money and how that not only affects the politicians but citizens also.  To see the beginnings of wheeling and dealing was great and to even see how the Electoral College began and could be influenced was so entertaining.  I love when I learn something in a fiction book, but I don't even know it because the plot line is still enjoyable.  

My only disappointment was that I thought it was advertised that this book was centered around the dueling of Burr and Hamilton and I felt like it wasn't really there.  They were in the book, but I thought the dueling wasn't really there.  If I hadn't felt like it was going to be in it, I wouldn't have been so disappointed.

If you are new or have been a historical fiction fan for awhile, this is one that I definitely recommend, but I would warn that going in, you aren't getting as much Burr and Hamilton as maybe you wish you would!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 1 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: A Sister to Honor by Lucy Ferriss

A Sister to Honor

by Lucy Ferriss

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Afia Satar is studious, modest, and devout. The young daughter of a landholding family in northern Pakistan, Afia has enrolled in an American college with the dream of returning to her country as a doctor. But when a photo surfaces online of Afia holding hands with an American boy, she is suddenly no longer safe—even from the family that cherishes her.
 
Rising sports star Shahid Satar has been entrusted by his family to watch over Afia in this strange New England landscape. He has sworn to protect his beloved sister from the dangerous customs of America, from its loose morals and easy virtue. Shahid was the one who convinced their parents to allow her to come to the United States. He never imagined he’d be ordered to cleanse the stain of her shame...

Kritters Thoughts:  A daughter and sister leaves the comfort and safety of her home to go to America to get an education in hopes to return and make her hometown a better place as a female doctor.  She brings with her the customs of her home and tries to keep them while living in a completely different culture.  At the same time her brother is at a university close and is trying to live within both cultures and having a hard time with it all.

Through some interesting twists and turns their home life intersects with their new lives in America and it was explosive.  I don't know a ton about Pakistan customs, but as a reader you don't need to know much as you get the idea of how things work through the dialogue of the characters.  It was crazy to think that this was a contemporary book and that just maybe these customs and ideals are still lived by currently and seeing them up against an American culture made me really think.  

If you love books with cultural emphasis, then this one is right up your alley.  Also, if you love honest stories that really make you think about the way we live, then you should pick this one up!  


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.

Bout of Books 12.0 Wrap Up

With a few evenings with activities and my first week back at work, I was ambitious, but hopeful!  It helped that I had a quiet weekend at home with the husband working the entire weekend and two pups who wanted nothing more than to cuddle up under blankets!

Total book count: 6 finished!
Total page count:  2,182!!

Day 1- Monday, January 5 Total 275 pages
Perdita by Hilary Scharper  (read 275 pages)

Day 2- Tuesday, January 6 Total 167 pages

Perdita by Hilary Scharper (finished, read 167 pages)

Day 3- Wednesday, January 7 Total 59 pages
The Art of Stealing by Sandi Perry (read 59 pages)

Day 4- Thursday, January 8 Total 257 pages
The Art of Stealing by Sandi Perry (finished, read 257 pages)

Day 5- Friday, January 9 Total 336 pages
Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman (finished, read 336 pages)

Day 6- Saturday, January 10 Total 418 pages
Cane and Abe by James Grippando (finished, read 368 pages)
House of Broken by Sonja Yoerg (read 50 pages)

Day 7- Sunday, January 11  Total 670 pages
House of Broken by Sonja Yoerg (finished, read 286 pages)
The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle  (finished, read 384 pages)

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

What a good Bout of Books week!  I definitely made a point to read more than diddle on the internet and it was a good week.

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

How Do You Know? by Meredith Schorr
Perdita by Hilary Scharper
The Art of Stealing by Sandi Perry
Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman
Cane and Abe by James Grippando
House Broken by Sonja Yoerg

Currently Reading:

The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle

Next on the TBR pile:

The Grown Ups by Robin Atalek

Review: After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson

After the War is Over

by Jennifer Robson

Publisher: William Morrow

Pages: 384

Format: ARC 

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After four years as a military nurse, Charlotte Brown is ready to leave behind the devastation of the Great War. The daughter of a vicar, she has always been determined to dedicate her life to helping others. Moving to busy Liverpool, she throws herself into her work with those most in need, only tearing herself away for the lively dinners she enjoys with the women at her boardinghouse.

Just as Charlotte begins to settle into her new circumstances, two messages arrive that will change her life. One is from a radical young newspaper editor who offers her a chance to speak out for those who cannot. The other pulls her back to her past, and to a man she has tried, and failed, to forget.

Edward Neville-Ashford, her former employer and the brother of Charlotte's dearest friend, is now the new Earl of Cumberland—and a shadow of the man he once was. Yet under his battle wounds and haunted eyes Charlotte sees glimpses of the charming boy who long ago claimed her foolish heart. She wants to help him, but dare she risk her future for a man who can never be hers?

As Britain seethes with unrest and postwar euphoria fattens into bitter disappointment, Charlotte must confront long-held insecurities to find her true voice . . . and the courage to decide if the life she has created is the one she truly wants.


Kritters Thoughts:  A companion to Jennifer Robson's previous book Somewhere in France where characters from that book play a part, but this book focuses on Charlotte Brown and her and England's life after the war is over.  

I absolutely loved that Lady Elizabeth was still in the book and the reader was given a glimpse of how her and Charlotte Brown met and how their friendship formed.  I loved that the spots in the past were spattered throughout the book and it was easily marked to allow for the reader to seamlessly glide in and out of the past.

Maybe I am reading too far into the book, but I loved reading the unrest of England compared to the unrest of Charlotte Brown and how the country was recovering from the war and having issues with the soldiers coming home with bumps and bruises and how hard Charlotte Brown was having re-entering into her life that she had before the war.  It reminded me of college days as college students return home from summer but home is just a little off from how they left and so are the students and nothing fits as it used to.

These books are companions, so essentially you could read them out of order, but I would still suggest you pick up Somewhere in France and check it out - especially if you have read this one and liked it.


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

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: Windy City Blues by Marc Krulewitch

Windy City Blues

by Marc Krulewitch

Publisher: Alibi

Pages: 254

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Jules Landau feels right at home in the ethnic stew of the Windy City, where he’s indebted to the hopes and schemes of his criminal ancestors. Street-smart and college-educated, Jules wants nothing more than to go straight and atone for his family’s past. But when he investigates a horrific killing, Jules uncovers a hidden world of lucrative corruption.
 
Jack Gelashvili had his head bashed in and no one knows why. The most obvious answer is that he was a parking cop, a universally loathed job—especially in Chicago. Turns out there’s a lot of money to be made on expired meters, and when Jules starts making noise, he starts making enemies—from the head of a media empire to the mastermind of a prostitution ring. When rumors of bloodthirsty Mob connections arise, Jack’s gorgeous cousin Tamar objects, and Jules is increasingly swayed by the logic and charms of the sexy baker. Following this beautiful woman into the cloistered world of Georgian immigrants, Jules brings his hunches, his family connections, and his gun. But he’s just one man against a pack of criminals with a million reasons to shoot first.


Kritters Thoughts:  Jules Landau is back and is called into another murder investigation against the advisement of his father.  This investigation gives him a new view of Chicago and maybe not the prettiest side of the city!  With parking officers, billionaires, money and prostitution the amount of work that went into this investigation was quite large.

I have only visited Chicago a few times, but both times that I finished Marc Krulewitch's books I have wanted to make a return trip to see the things he describes in his books.  I could feel the grittiness of the city and the neighborhoods that Jules Landau ends up in.  I loved also seeing the business buildings and the relationship between the working class and the banking folk.  

The amount of characters and their interconnectedness in this book was insanely confusing and at times I had a hard time keeping up with Jules.  Thankfully he repeated his findings to other characters and that helped me get the story.  

The second in a series, but this is one of those series that you don't have to read them in a row as each book is mostly self contained and each book is a new investigation that will be solved within. 


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

Ebook 2014 Challenge: 73 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: Before I Go by Colleen Oakley

Before I Go

by Colleen Oakley

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 320

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Twenty-seven-year-old Daisy already beat breast cancer three years ago. How can this be happening to her again?

On the eve of what was supposed to be a triumphant “Cancerversary” with her husband Jack to celebrate three years of being cancer-free, Daisy suffers a devastating blow: her doctor tells her that the cancer is back, but this time it’s an aggressive stage four diagnosis. She may have as few as four months left to live. Death is a frightening prospect—but not because she’s afraid for herself. She’s terrified of what will happen to her brilliant but otherwise charmingly helpless husband when she’s no longer there to take care of him. It’s this fear that keeps her up at night, until she stumbles on the solution: she has to find him another wife.

With a singular determination, Daisy scouts local parks and coffee shops and online dating sites looking for Jack’s perfect match. But the further she gets on her quest, the more she questions the sanity of her plan. As the thought of her husband with another woman becomes all too real, Daisy’s forced to decide what’s more important in the short amount of time she has left: her husband’s happiness—or her own?

Kritters Thoughts:  As told above in the synopsis, Daisy has been living cancer free for a few years and isn't prepared for the news that the doctor will give that gives her a time limit on her life.  After taking the news in she realizes that her dying would leave her husband alone and she believes that he will be in desperate need of a new companion - so she is on a mission.  

The premise of the story got me and I was intrigued as to how a woman could face death while trying to find her spouse happiness after she is gone.  Although I found the story to drag a little and Daisy's complaints were getting repetitive, I still read the book quickly and wanted desperately to find out how it would end. 

I will admit to having tears and not pretty tears through the end of this book.  I am so thankful as to how the author ended the book and how it wrapped up.

From the synopsis I knew this would be a hard read, but was hoping that it would be rewarding and yes it was!  


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 Gallery Books.  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: Always on My Mind by Susan May Warren

Always on My Mind

by Susan May Warren

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Pages: 400

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  After a failed dig in Honduras, aspiring archaeologist Casper Christiansen heads home to Minnesota to face his unresolved feelings for Raina Beaumont, the woman of his dreams. But when he arrives unannounced on her doorstep, he receives the shock of a lifetime: Raina is pregnant with someone else’s baby.

Heartbroken, especially when he discovers the identity of the baby’s father, Casper tables his dreams and determines to be dependable for once, helping his older brother, Darek, prepare the family resort for its grand reopening. Casper longs to be the hero of at least one family story, but a never-ending Deep Haven winter and costly repairs threaten their efforts—and the future of the resort.

Worse, one of Casper’s new jobs constantly brings him into contact with Raina, whom he can’t seem to forget. A tentative friendship begins to heal fresh wounds, but can they possibly overcome past mistakes and current choices to discover a future together?


Kritters Thoughts:  The fourth in the Christiansen series and before I go further if you haven't started this series, then stop here and go start reading!

This book centers around the middle son Caspar and at the end of the previous book he had escaped his hometown to do some treasure hunting and get away from the drama of a failed relationship and a fight with his younger brother.  Raina was the other main character and the author gave her a chance to tell her side in quite a few chapters, so I enjoyed that her story didn't only occur when Caspar was there.  

Like most Christiansen stories I love that although the book concentrates on one sibling, the others make appearances and the reader gets an update on them.  Darek and his wife Ivy were the the most prevalent in this one and I loved hearing about how Tiger was getting along and how Darek and the resort were recovering.  

This author is in the Christian fiction genre and this book has some Christian elements, but I love that it is subtle and still has a full plot line to it with Christian features weaved into the story.  I don't know how many more Christiansen books there will be, but I will definitely be reading them all!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Tyndale 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: Evergreen by Susan May Warren

Evergreen

by Susan May Warren

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Pages: 208

Format: book 

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  An empty nest has Ingrid Christiansen dreading the upcoming holidays, but her husband, John, couldn't be more excited about this new season of life. He even has a surprise trip abroad planned. He's sure she'll love it. What's more romantic than Christmas in Paris?Before he can stop her, however, Ingrid agrees to spearhead a major church project. Then their faithful dog, Butterscotch, needs emergency surgery, draining their savings. And then--because disasters strike in threes--an unexpected guest arrives, dredging up old hurts.As a beautiful blanket of snow transforms the north woods into a winter wonderland, a deep chill settles over John and Ingrid's marriage. With the holidays fast approaching, their only hope of keeping their love evergreen depends on turning the page on the past and embracing a new chapter of their future. 


Kritters Thoughts:  The Christiansen series has each book focus on a sibling, the novellas have focused on the parents with the first novella telling the story of how the parents met and this novella about the start of their empty nesting period.  

First, I love the Christiansen series and I would highly recommend starting at the very beginning and enjoying the family from the start.  

This novella (which came out in print form!) is a perfect winter story about how a couple can be deeply affected by an empty home and have to create a new normal.  After reading many books and seeing them in the background as this amazing couple, it was nice to read some real struggle that they have as their lives are transitioning.  

A novella with the Christiansen series that I highly suggest reading before book 4, which will be reviewed later today.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Review: Passionate Nutrition by Jennifer Adler

Passionate Nutrition

by Jennifer Adler

Publisher: Sasquatch Books

Pages: 272

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Amazon:  This power-foods healthy-living guidebook will inspire readers to eat well, lose weight, and embrace food as medicine. “Food as medicine” is a powerfully healing way to eat and was embraced by nutritionist Jennifer Adler as she recovered from a malnour­ished childhood and adolescence. Part power-foods cookbook, part handbook for healthy living and eating, and part memoir, Passionate Nutrition provides digestible information, tips, and techniques for how to find your way to optimal health. She focuses on abundant eat­ing (as opposed to restrictive eating), and explores what she calls “the healthy trinity”—digestion, balance, and whole foods. Adler guides and encourages readers to shift their diet to achieve this desirable bal­ance, introduces power foods we should all eat, and provides healthy ways to lose weight, along with simple recipes to optimize health. With her personal story interwoven, readers will be inspired to embrace the healthy power of food.


Kritters Thoughts:  What a positive take on nutrition and health!  Jennifer Adler starts her book with her story which didn't start out in the must nutritious of ways (which gives hope for the rest of us!).  Then she talks about all the different things that good food can help you do better.  I love books with practical advice that I feel like one trip to the grocery store could help change a few things and then little by little could make my eating and things better.

I made a list on my phone of the power foods that she suggested and have purchased two and incorporated them into my daily/weekly routine.  Kafir and miso.  I heard about Kafir before from a co worker and how it helps with digestion and such and purchased just one bottle and take a healthy swig at night and I actually see a difference!  Miso - not a purchase for the home, but have since reading the book, tried to have two bowls of miso soup a week and I love the soup, but am still working on getting into the home and into the routine.  I don't feel overwhelmed and after tackling these two am ready to add some more things to the list to build a healthier pantry and fridge!

As a side note, I read this book in early December to allow me some experimental time to give you some results.  I am hoping to scatter some Passionate Nutrition updates throughout the blog this year and hopefully see my general nutrition take an upswing in 2015!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel (or to just read it over and over!)

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?

A combination of the last week of 2014 and first week of 2015!  I had quite a bit of time while taking a staycation to do some reading and get a few of my scheduled reading for January done!

Tomorrow starts the bout of books, we shall see how it goes with my first week back to work from the holidays.

A meme hosted by Sheila at BookJourney. 

Finished this past week:

After the War is Over by Jennifer Robson
A Sister to Honor by Lucy Ferriss
The Other Shakespeare by Lea Rachel
Lost and Found in Prague by Kelly Jones
City of Liars and Thieves by Eve Karlin
Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester

North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo

A Taste of Power by Elisabeth Elo

Currently Reading:

How Do You Know? by Meredith Schorr

Next on the TBR pile:

Perdita by Hilary Scharper

Bout of Books 12.0 TBR Pile

Bout of Books starts on Monday, January 5th and goes through Sunday, January 11th. 

My goal for the Bout of Books 12.0 TBR pile is to read 250 pages per day, which amounts to 1,750 pages for the whole week.  

I have no clue what this week looks like for me as it is the Monday after a long holiday break.  I am excited that it could jump start my year of reading and get 2015 started on the right reading foot!  

Let's see how this goes!

1. Perdita by Hilary Scharper  (425 pages)
2. The Art of Stealing by Sandi Perry (278 pages)
3. Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman  (336 pages)
4. Cane and Abe by James Grippando  (368 pages)
5. The Last Breath by Kimberly Belle (384 pages)


For those that don't know what Bout of Books is... here you go:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team