Author: tamaramorning

Book Review: Through an Open Window, by Pamela Terry

Image belongs to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Ballantine Books.

Title: Through an Open Window  
Author: Pamela Terry         
Genre: Fiction    
Rating: 5 out of 5

In the small Southern town of Wesleyan, Georgia, where the air smells of red clay and sea salt, Margaret Elliot has lived a seemingly charmed life—until the recent loss of her beloved husband. Since then, Margaret has been seeing visions of her aunt Edith, the indomitable woman who raised her after her parents died when she was a baby. As these mysterious and undeniable visitations continue, Margaret becomes convinced that Aunt Edith is trying to tell her something important. As she follows the clues that almost magically present themselves, it becomes clear there is a secret from Margaret’s past waiting to be uncovered.

As Margaret grapples with each new revelation, she also worries about her three grown children. Her stoic and inscrutable eldest daughter, Mouse, continues to struggle with the grief of losing her father. Her son Lawrie, always his mother’s favorite, faces life-altering changes that he both longs for and fears—while Tom, Lawrie’s twin, must wrestle with the consequences of a work decision that has blown up his entire life. Despite the tensions among the siblings as they argue about how best to support their mother, the whole family is soon embroiled in uncovering the truth the ghost of Aunt Edith is striving to expose.

I loved this book! The characters are so vivid and realistic—down to the chihuahua in a bowtie. Lots of family dynamics on display here, to go with the small-town drama, and it was so well-written I half forgot I was reading about these people instead of watching them in real life. Such a good read!

Pamela Terry lives in Georgia. Through an Open Window is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine | Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Second Chance Bus Stop, by Ally Zetterberg

Image belongs to Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA.

Title: The Second Chance Bus Stop  
Author: Ally Zetterberg      
Genre: Fiction   
Rating: 4 out of 5

They say life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.

Edith has Alzheimer’s. The idea that she will someday forget her son, her life, even her self, plagues her constantly. So there is something important she must do before the disease robs her of her she has to find Sven, the love of her life she was supposed to meet on a bus bench twenty-seven years ago and run off with, but he never showed.

Her son, Blade, is struggling to keep an eye on her. His mother’s full-time caregiver, he resents the fact, if he’s being honest, that he gave up his career and most of his life to look after her. But what wouldn’t he do for his mother? Track down her decades-old flame so that she has a chance to finally understand why he never showed all those years ago, before her mind fails her? Sure, he can do that.

Sophia is fiercely working to keep her business afloat. Her uncle left his flower shop to her and her brothers after he died, but she seems to be the only one interested in keeping it running. She needs to land a big enough client to show her family that not only is the business worth saving but she’s the one to do it. So when an opportunity comes along that takes her all over Sweden, she can’t say no.

While Edith is desperately trying to hold on to her memories, she discovers friendship with a young woman who sits with her daily at the bus stop. While Blade is out looking for Sven, he learns to embrace his relationship with his mother more fully. While Sophia is fighting to keep her dream alive, she comes to terms with the way her parents treated her as a child and the therapies that were forced upon her in response to her autism diagnosis. Life is happening all around them, and much like with life, there’s so much good to be found in these pages.   

At first, I wasn’t sure I’d like this, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. Sophia’s family was…really difficult to like. In her memories, they were pretty horrible to her, but I liked how eventually she was able to explain herself to them and they started trying to understand her behavior, even if they weren’t good at understanding. Sophie herself was a little hard to connect to, but I liked her sheer determination and courage.

Blade was a bit of a wet blanket to me. He seemed exceedingly passive and content to just drift along, buffeted by events and people around him without putting much actual effort out himself.

I have a family history of Alzheimer’s, so reading Edith’s point-of-view was really heartbreaking to me. That she knew she was losing bits of herself was just so sad to me, but I think the author captured it beautifully.

Ally Zetterberg is British/Swedish. The Second Chance Bust Stop is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #342

This was a solid writing week, and a crazy week at work, but I managed to write three book reviews: Thief of Night, by Holly Black, You Make It Feel like Christmas, by Sophie Sullivan, and The Sisterhood, by Tasha Alexander. I also DNFed How to Break My Heart, by Kat T. Masen.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Love is an Open Book, by Chandra Blumberg

Image belongs to Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press.

Title: Love is an Open Book  
Author: Chandra Blumberg     
Genre: Romance    
Rating: 4 out of 5

Mia Brady never imagined her romance novels would become bestsellers, much less inspire a hit TV show. However, after signing a deal to write the final book of the series, she’s struck by a serious case of writer’s block. Her fans are clamoring for a passionate payoff, but Mia’s own experience with heartbreak—and current lack of real-life romance—is getting in the way. Do friends who become lovers ever truly have a happy ending?

Gavin Lane would like to think so. As Mia’s ride-or-die BFF, he’s been by her side through it all and convinced himself his crush on her is a thing of the past. He’s not about to let his feelings ruin their friendship, and never will. But that doesn’t stop him from pitching a bold idea to help save Mia’s testing out tried-and-true love story tropes…together.

From workplace romance to fish-out-of-water, Mia and Gavin embark on a series of “dates” to spark a little creativity—but are not prepared for the flame that ignites between them. Does their friendship even stand a chance when pure fantasy suddenly becomes a little too real?

This was a cute read. Nothing unexpected, but a fun story. From Mia’s always-gotta-have-a-plan ways to Gavin’s more laidback approach, seeing these two look at each other through new eyes was enjoyable. Add in trying to keep it a secret from everyone who knows them, and a litter of adorable kittens, and this is a perfect summer binge-read.

Chandra Blumberg lives in the Chicago area. Love is an Open Book is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: For the Record, by Emma Lord  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin.

Title: For the Record  
Author: Emma Lord     
Genre: Romance   
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Once the most notorious rivals in the music scene, pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar Sam Blaze electrified audiences as their bands clashed on stage. But behind the scenes, their simmering tension grew into something more — until suddenly both bands fell apart, and the idea of Mackenzie and Sam did, too.

Two years later, Sam has traded the rockstar lifestyle for a quiet life raising the son he didn’t know about. Meanwhile, Mackenzie is dealing with a postoperative change in her voice by only singing under a pseudonym. The only way to revive their public careers? A joint comeback album.

With fans over the moon and their futures on the line, Sam and Mackenzie face their biggest challenge yet: giving up the old rivalry and learning to work together. But as old sparks fly and new secrets emerge, they set off a chain reaction neither of them could have anticipated — one that proves that sometimes, the greatest hits are the ones yet to be written.

This was such a cute read! I enjoyed every page. Both Sam and Mackenzie are both determined to dislike each other again, even though it wasn’t really dislike last time. I enjoyed seeing scenes from the past through the eyes of the present, and how much both characters had truly grown and changed. Loved all the secondary characters, too, especially Ben and his “dessert” creations.

Emma Lord is a bestselling author. For the Record is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | St. Martin’s Griffin in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #341

This week, I only wrote one book review, The Second Chance Bus Stop, by Ally Zetterberg. I was just too tired to get much reading done, so that’s all that happened.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Woven From Clay, by Jenny Birch

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books.

Title: Woven From Clay
Author: Jenny Birch      
Genre: YA, fantasy   
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Terra Slater might not know anything about her birth family or where she comes from, but that’s never stopped her, and she fully intends her senior year to be her best yet. Until the dark and mysterious Thorne Wilder―a magical bounty hunter―moves to town, bringing revelations that wreck all of her plans.

When Terra learns she is a golem, not born but crafted from mud and magic by a warlock, her world is upended. Worse, Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her, is a fugitive, on the run from the witches who want to hold him accountable for his past crimes. But Quill’s sentence is death, which would unravel the threads of magic that hold Terra―and all of the other golems that he crafted―together.

Desperate to save herself and her friends, Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and his coven to preserve the warlock’s life and his magic. If she can prove her worth to the coven by mastering the magic within her, the golems will survive. If she can’t, they’ll perish along with Cyrus. As Thorne helps her to see and manipulate the tapestry of magic that surrounds them, their unexpected alliance evolves into something more and Terra comes to understand the depths of her magic, her humanity, and her love for the people most important to her.

I thought this was a unique concept, and I enjoyed it! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where the protagonist is a golem and I enjoyed the worldbuilding here—and how Terra didn’t have a clue she wasn’t human.  The way she physically melted/fell apart under stress was a great manifestation of how most of us feel on the regular. This was a bit of an enemies-to-lovers read, mixed up with magic and mythology, and it was a fun read.

Jenny Birch is from Pittsburgh. Woven from Clay is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Magician of Tiger Castle, by Louis Sachar

Image belongs to Berkley Publishing Group | Ace.

Title: The Magician of Tiger Castle
Author: Louis Sachar         
Genre: Historical fiction, fantasy   
Rating: 3 out of 5 

Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia’s father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the “wedding of the century,” Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.

The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.

When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?

This didn’t really work for me. Everything was a little too coincidental for it to be believable, and what might have worked for The Princess Bride, did not work here. (Not that I’m saying this was trying to be The Princess Bride. Just that when absurdities became magical in that case, they did not here.) Anatole came across as more bumbling idiot than anything. Why was he so clumsy/klutzy? It, like a lot of other things, just seemed kind of pointless to me. I’m clearly not the target audience here.

Louis Sachar is from New York. The Magician of Tiger Castle is his newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Berkley Publishing Group | Ace in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Girls of Dark Divine, by E. V. Woods

Title: Girls of Dark Divine   
Author: E. V. Woods         
Genre: Fantasy, YA    
Rating: 4 out of 5 

In the legendary ballet theatre of New Kora, the girls on stage enchant the audience each night with their grace and divine beauty. Before Emberlyn became the show’s star, it was her dream to become one of the ballerinas… until she learned the price of their living nightmare.

A curse has bound the girls to the show’s mastermind, Malcolm, so they must obey his every command. They are controlled by the magic’s invisible strings that has the power to wield their limbs like marionette dolls. Only the commands don’t stop when the curtain comes down, and the girls live a life of fear from Malcolm’s wickedness and the twisted truth that each dancer is destined to turn to dust when the curse finally consumes her.

When the troupe is invited to perform in the glitzy city of Parlizia, Emberlyn knows this could be her best chance to save them all. She meets an elusive boy made of shadows with a magical connection to the girls. Together, they work to unravel the haunting truth about their creation and fight for their survival. But the cost of freedom might be too high, and as she dances closer to the edge of darkness she realizes she might break the curse… or break her own heart forever.

I do love ballet, so when you combine it with fantasy, I definitely wanted to read this! Ember was a great character, and from the very first of the book, it was easy to be fascinated by her POV and her world. I liked all the Marionettes, and their friendship was what drew me into the story—and kept me reading, eager to find out if they were going to escape their dark curse.

E. V. Woods is from the U.K. Girls of Dark Divine is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #340

This was a better writing week! I wrote three books reviews, The Secret Book Society, by Madeline Martin, Lauryn Harper Falls Apart, by Shauna Robinson, and The Book of Guilt, by Catherine Chidgey (I’m only recommending the first read, which was wonderful!), and I think I managed to journal every day, too.

Happy writing!