Tag: book review

A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, by Debbie Macomber

2016-02-A-Girls-Guide-to-Moving-On-2016.HC_
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Ballantine Books.)

 

Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times bestseller writer. Her newest novel, A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, hits shelves today.

Starting over isn’t easy, but having a friend in the same boat makes it a little bit easier. For Nichole, that friend is her mother-in-law, Leanne. When Nichole learns that her husband, Jake, has cheated on her, she knows her marriage is over and decides to forge a new life for herself and her young son. Inspired by Nichole’s decision, Leanne decides to stop ignoring her own husband’s unfaithfulness, and starts over as well.

Nichole juggles work, her son, and volunteer work, keeping herself busy while she heals. Then she meets Rocco, her husband’s opposite in every way. Just when things begin to progress, Jake steps in with a last-ditch effort to get Nichole back. Will she give Jake another chance, or overcome her fears of the future and choose Rocco?

Leanne has finally had too much—decades too much—of her husband’s cheating, and begins a new life as an English as a second language teacher. There she meets Nikolai, a charming Ukrainian baker. Before Leanne can put her past behind her and move forward with Nicholai, tragedy steps in, forcing Leanne to face the most difficult circumstance of her life.

A Girl’s Guide to Moving On is a sweet, inspiring read. The characters are strong, with a few chinks in their armor, as they learn what starting a new life, and love, is all about.

(Galley provided by Ballantine Books via NetGalley.)

Love Sick, by Cory Martin

love sick
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Write Out Publishing.)

 

Cory Martin wrote for the hit show The O.C., and she also wrote three young adult novels based on the show. Now she is a yoga instructor and the author of Love Sick, which hit shelves on February 9th.

Cory Martin has just about everything she ever wanted, a growing career in Hollywood, her own apartment, and yoga. She doesn’t have a man, but she has a great group of friends, and at 28, she’s got time to meet “the one.” Then she gets news from her doctor she never dreamed about: she has MS.

From having it all, now Cory feels like she has nothing. Endless rounds of doctor’s appointments for a body that has betrayed her, and she’s alone. Who’s going to want to marry someone with MS? So Cory starts dating, searching for Mr. Right as she struggles to come to terms with her new reality.

Love Sick is a poignant, emotional true story about a young woman’s struggle with a serious illness and how she comes to terms with her new reality amidst the escapades of dating and life in California.

(Galley courtesy of Write Out Publishing via NetGalley.)

Suddenly Spellbound, by Erica Lucke Dean

suddenly spellbound
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Red Adept Publishing LLC.)

 

Erica Lucke Dean dropped her career as a business banker to pursue writing in the North Georgia Mountains. Her newest book, Suddenly Spellbound, is the second book in the Ivie McKie Chronicles.

Ivie McKie has a lot going on. Her job as a kindergarten teacher is always hectic. Her marriage to Jackson is fast approaching. And her father is back from the dead. A little magic would make things so much easier. Too bad she promised Jack she wouldn’t use magic.

But growing up without her father means when her dad asks her for help with a spell, she reluctantly agrees, and finds herself in the wreckage of her dad’s lab with his hot new apprentice. Soon she finds herself drawn to the mysterious stranger with forces beyond her control, as a promise made long before she was born threatens to alter her life forever, and a clan of Scottish sorcerers appear to make sure someone gets a happily-ever-after.

Suddenly Spellbound is a light-hearted read full of Ivie’s mishaps and mistakes, as she struggles to get her life back on-track despite her father’s interference. Disasters abound, in the spirit of Bridesmaids and the Stephanie Plum novels.

(Galley provided by Red Adept Publishing LLC.)

Where My Heart Used to Beat, by Sebastian Faulks

heart
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Henry Holt & Company.)

Sebastian Faulks is the award-winning author of Charlotte Gray, Devil May Care, and A Trick of the Light. His newest novel is Where My Heart Used to Beat.

Robert Hendricks, a doctor who works with psychiatric patients, has seen many things in his life, from the English countryside of his childhood to Italy in World War II. But a letter from a stranger asks him to confront everything in his past to get answers about the father he never know.

Robert’s new acquaintance leads him down memory lane as he remembers his childhood, school, war, and love in Italy during the war. Sometimes it seems he knows more about Robert than Robert does, and the painful memories bring back the hurt and loss that Robert has experienced throughout his life, as he grows ever closer to learning who his mysterious father really was.

Where My Heart Used to Beat is a poignant, introspective novel that takes the reader to the English countryside and a life that was forever changed by loss and the war.

(Galley provided by Henry Holt & Company via NetGalley.)

Storm Damaged, by Kerry Adrienne

KA_StormDamaged_coverin
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Loose Id, LLC.)

Kerry Adrienne is the author of several novels in different genres. Her newest book, Storm Damaged, is a fantasy/sci-fi romance.

Humans don’t know that mermaids exist, but they have a large tribal society and prefer to keep themselves apart from humans. Except for Mari. Desperate to get away from her domineering mother and her controlling fiancé, she left life under the sea behind to open a tiny souvenir shop on the island. She’s happy there, until her landlord, Chase tells her he’s selling the bar under which her shop is located.

Suddenly Mari’s happy fantasies of a relationship with Chase, the former Navy diver who lost his brother in a diving accident and is now afraid of the ocean, go up in smoke. Chase wants to get as far away from the ocean—and memories of his brother’s death—as possible, but before he can, a hurricane moves in, trapping him and Mari on the island. Will she be able to convince him to stay, or will her sea life come back to haunt them both?

Storm Damaged is a breezy story of two people both running from something. Mari has struggled for years against her family’s expectations, as well as her fiancé, while Chase is intent on running away from what haunts him. Their journey towards each other is a fun, engaging read touched with a little bit of magic.

(Galley provided by Loose Id, LLC via NetGalley.)

Night Study, by Maria V. Snyder

B&ENight-Study
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Mira.)

 

Maria V. Snyder is the author of Study Series, the Glass Series, and the Insider Books. Her newest book, Night Study, is the second book in the new Study Series. It released yesterday.

Yelena Zaltana has always lived a dangerous life. But now, with her Soulfinder abilities gone, her life is even more dangerous than usual. Not to mention the assassins, psychopathic grudge-holding mages, and threat of war between Ixia and Sitia. Oh, and the Commander, ruler of Ixia, seems to be making questionable decisions of late. Decisions that put Yelena, Valek, and everyone they love in grave danger.

Valek has always been loyal to the Commander. But the Commander is keeping secrets. Dangerous secrets. Secrets that could cause the death of Yelena and their future as war looms. Valek must find out the truth as he struggles to protect Yelena, bereft from her magical protection, and try to prevent the war that seems inevitable as violence and betrayal looms on the horizon.

Night Study is the fifth book in the Study series of books. It picks up the tale of Yelena, former poison taster but now Soulfinder, as she struggles with the loss of her powers, trying to find out what caused the loss and how she can counteract it. The relationship between her and Valek is deeper as they fight their unseen enemies together amidst a world torn apart by lies and deception.

(Galley provided by Mira via NetGalley.)

The Winter Girl, by Matt Marinovich

the winter girl
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Doubleday Books.)

 

Matt Marinovich lives in Brooklyn and has written for numerous publications. His first novel was Strange Skies. His new novel, The Winter Girl, hit shelves on January 19th.

Scott and Elise have come to the Hamptons because her father is dying of cancer. While she spends every day at the hospital, Scott stays home, growing more down with every passing day, as he focuses on his failing marriage, his lost job, and his ailing father-in-law, who hates him. Scott becomes fascinated by the empty house next door, where lights turn on with timers in a semblance of life. Soon Scott dares to go inside, hoping for a sort of escape.

What he finds is an empty house that speaks of secrets. Secrets that excite Scott, lifting his depression. Soon he enlists Elise in his explorations, as they seek to rekindle their marriage. But things in the house next door are not what they seem, and soon Scott and Elise are seeking a different kind of escape: from the darkness that surrounds them, hiding secrets they never imagined.

The Winter Girl is dark and twisted, full of shocking revelations, insidious secrets, and a history of violence only hinted at on the surface. This book is not for the faint of heart, nor is for the reader looking for characters that are likeable and uplifting.

(Galley provided by Doubleday via NetGalley.)

The Poison Artist, by Jonathan Moore

poisonartist
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Poison-Artist-Jonathan-Moore/dp/0544520564

http://www.amazon.com/The-Poison-Artist-Jonathan-Moore/dp/0544520564

Jonathan Moore finished law school in New Orleans, which probably gave his fiction that creepy twist. Now he works for a firm in Honolulu, after an eccentric career past. He was short-listed for the Bram Stoker award. His new novel, The Poison Artist, hits shelves January 26th.

Caleb Maddox is a toxicologist who studies the effects of pain. His work is demanding and all-consuming, leading to a fight with his girlfriend that leaves him wounded and emotional. He goes to a speakeasy to brood, and over absinthe, sees an alluring woman who whispers in his ear after getting his blood on her fingertips before leaving. Caleb is fascinated and must find her.

But a rash of dead bodies in San Francisco delays his search for Emmeline. One of the men vanished from the speakeasy the same night Caleb was there, so he feels obligated to help his medical examiner friend solve the case. Caleb remembers nothing that will help the detectives, but continues to help his friend in secret while also continuing his search for the tempting Emmeline. Soon the hunt for the killer entwines with Caleb’s obsession with Emmeline, linking with his past in ways he never imagined.

The Poison Artist is a haunting, creepy tale full of twists and turns. Caleb is a conflicted man driven by the horrors in his past. His obsession with Emmeline drives him to places he never believed possible as he seeks to unravel her mysteries.

(Galley courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via NetGalley.)

But You Did Not Come Back, by Marceline Loridan-Ivens

butyoudidnotcomeback
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Grove Atlantic.)

Marceline Loridan-Ivens is a French writer and film director. Her memoir, But You Did Not Come Back, is available on January 5th, 2015.

When Marceline was fifteen, she and her father were arrested by the government. He told her that he would not come back. They were sent to concentration camps, he to Auschwitz, and she to Birkenau. The three kilometers separating them might as well have been a million. Occasional glimpses of her father kept her going, but the note he managed to get to her kept her hope alive even in her horrendous, terrifying surroundings. She made it out of the camp alive and came home. Her father did not come back.

But You Did Not Come Back is a novella-length letter that Marceline wrote to her father, the man she never knew as an adult. Her experiences in the concentration camp colored the rest of her life, and through it all, her father’s memory lived on, her grief over him shadowing every day. Eventually, Marceline found her calling as an activist for refuges and as a documentary filmmaker.

Her heart-wrenching tale is filled with emotion and sorrow, grief and determination, in this memoir of one of the darkest times in history.

(Galley provided by Grove Atlantic via NetGalley.)

 

This Is Where It Ends, by Marieke Nijkamp

TIWIE
(I do not own this image. Image belongs to Sourcebooks Fire.)

Marieke Nijkamp is from The Netherlands. She is the founder of DiversifYA. Her debut novel, This Is Where It Ends hits shelves January 5th.

This Is Where It Ends is told by four different characters, over the course of 54 minutes. It is a tale of love, of family, of friends, and of violence. It is the story of a school shooting, something horrifically more common today than ever before.

When the semester starts in Opportunity, Alabama, everyone is gathered in the school auditorium to listen to the principal’s beginning-of-semester speech. That is the last normal thing they experience that day. When they get up to leave, the doors won’t open. And someone starts shooting.

The author weaves together the viewpoints of four different characters, telling a tale that is sadly familiar to today’s society. It is a story of a small town ripped apart by violence, and by people forever scarred by the actions of one person.

(Galley provided by Sourcebooks Fire via NetGalley.)

This was not an easy book to read. It’s a hard topic, but one that is far too common today. The characters are diverse and vividly-imagined. The setting feels familiar. The details bring the story to life.

Side note: I knew going in what this story was all about. I was also clear that this story was told from multiple POVs. Which is why, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why someone on Goodreads gave this one star, and listed their reasons, starting with 1) “I really, really hate violence.” And, 2) “I hate multiple POV books.”

Um, okay. So you requested this book, when it was clear it was about violence and told from multiple characters’ viewpoints, which you hate, but you gave it a bad review for these reasons? Hmmm….sounds like the problem is with you and not with the book. I’m just saying: if the book is about something you hate, why even read it? More importantly, why give it a bad review, when it’s your fault you didn’t like it, not the author’s?