Monthly Archives: November 2015

Coming Soon….

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…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In December I hope to read….

anything for you

Publication Date: December 29, 2015
Publisher: HQN Books

Goodreads:  Before you get down on bended knee…

…you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O’Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she’s got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it’s the perfect time to get married.

When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who’s now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she’s positive married life isn’t for her.

But this time, Connor says it’s all or nothing. If she doesn’t want to marry him, he’ll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he’s never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn’t quite as sure as she thinks…

What is coming soon …. to a bookshelf near you?

Let me know – I am always looking for a good read!

Whisper If You Need Me

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Author: Dina  Silver
Publisher: Createspace    whisper
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Book SparK

 

Goodreads:  From bestselling author, Dina Silver, comes her first Young Adult Contemporary Romance novel.

A strong-willed yet vulnerable young beauty, Julia Pearl is sixteen years old when she’s sent away to summer camp for the first time. Julia’s father and stepmother are convinced that time away from home will be good for Julia, hoping it will restore the confidence she lost when her mother disappeared five years earlier.

Released from the emotional constraints of her new family and the ugly reputation her mother left behind, Julia finds herself reluctantly tossed into the free-spirited and often drama-infused world of overnight camp—where she quickly falls for an intensely charismatic counselor named Jack Dempsey, a nineteen-year-old college student who will prove to save her life in more ways than one.

Rich with humor and poignancy, Whisper If You Need Me is a timeless story that will remind readers of the strength of friendship, the unwavering devotion of family, and ultimately, the power of young love.

Ope’s Opinion:  If you like summer camp books with a little romance, a lot of girl drama and some family issues, you will fall in love with this book.  The story line is a bit predictable with a good looking guy at camp, a young camper falls in love and a couple of mean girls cause trouble.  Dina Silver adds some interesting elements to keep your attention.  

The characters are interesting and relatable.  I would recommend this to a young adult reader with the warning of some foul language – not excessive, but also not necessary.

I have a couple more Dina Silver books on my shelf I will look forward to reading them.

Rating:  3 – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

A Book in the Mailbox!

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If you are reading this, you are probably a book lover,
so you will understand my reaction.
Our mailbox is up at our house we are building.
I have been waiting to get our mail there.
When I opened the mailbox and the first thing I see is a book,
I was so giddy!!

This is the book I found when I opened the mailbox.
what she knew

Goodreads:              In her enthralling debut, Gilly Macmillan explores a mother’s search for her missing son, weaving a taut psychological thriller as gripping and skillful as The Girl on the Train and The Guilty One.

In a heartbeat, everything changes…

Rachel Jenner is walking in a Bristol park with her eight-year-old son, Ben, when he asks if he can run ahead. It’s an ordinary request on an ordinary Sunday afternoon, and Rachel has no reason to worry—until Ben vanishes.

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel, already insecure after her recent divorce, feels herself coming undone. As hours and then days pass without a sign of Ben, everyone who knew him is called into question, from Rachel’s newly married ex-husband to her mother-of-the-year sister. Inevitably, media attention focuses on Rachel too, and the public’s attitude toward her begins to shift from sympathy to suspicion.

As she desperately pieces together the threadbare clues, Rachel realizes that nothing is quite as she imagined it to be, not even her own judgment. And the greatest dangers may lie not in the anonymous strangers of every parent’s nightmares, but behind the familiar smiles of those she trusts the most.

Where is Ben? The clock is ticking..

This looks like a good way to start my reading when we finally move in the new house.

Hello, Goodbye and Everything in Between

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Author: Jennifer E. Smith       hello
Publisher: Poppy
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: BEA

 

 

Goodreads:  On the night before they leave for college, Clare and Aidan have only one thing left to do: figure out whether they should stay together or break up. Over the course of twelve hours, they retrace the steps of their relationship, trying to find something in their past that might help them decide what their future should be. The night leads them to family and friends, familiar landmarks and unexpected places, hard truths and surprising revelations. But as the clock winds down and morning approaches, so does their inevitable goodbye. The question is, will it be goodbye for now or goodbye forever?

Charming, bittersweet, and full of wisdom and heart, this irresistible novel from Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, explores the difficult choices that arise when life and love lead in different directions.

Ope’s Opinion: I just finished this book – it was so good!  Anyone who left for college or is getting ready to, will certainly relate to the story of good byes.  It is an emotionally hard time of life, with so much uncertainty ahead.  I think Jennifer E. Smith captured the emotional roller coaster very well.

When reading this book you need to remember it is a YA.  It is written from a young adults perspective, for young adults to relate to.   If you remember that time – these characters express a lot of the emotions that are happening at that point of life.  Just enjoy the read.

Rating:  4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

Last Night at the Circle Cinema

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Author:  Emily Franklin         last night
Publisher: Carolhoda Lab
Genre: Young Adult
Source: BEA

 

 

Goodreads:  Olivia, Bertucci, and Codman were the trio no one else in high school could quite figure out, an impenetrable triangle of friendship. Now they’re graduating and about to start new lives away at college and without one another. Beyond their friendship, there’s one thing they have in common: the Circle Cinema, a once-thriving old movie theater now reduced to a boarded up concrete box, condemned and about to be forgotten forever―which is, as far as Olivia and Codman can tell, a lot like what’s going to happen to them.

So in one last desperate effort to hold on to the secrets they share, Bertucci hatches a plan―an experiment, really. He convinces Olivia and Codman to join him in spending their last night before graduation locked inside the cinema’s concrete walls. None of them can open the box before sunrise. Over the course of the night, the trio is then forced to face one another, the events of the past year, and whatever is to come when the new day dawns.

Emily Franklin’s Last Night at the Circle Cinema is the story of a friendship’s end and moving rebirth.

Ope’s Opinion:  This was a much darker book then I usually read.  I was glad it was a short one.  I liked seeing the story from different points of view. I also liked going back in time to learn more details about the characters.

I didn’t care for the language in this book.  Although I suspect it is probably how these teens talk to each other, I didn’t enjoy it.

Maybe I was a bit on the slow uptake, but I did not see the ending very far in advance.  I was actually kind of disappointed ( can’t say more without giving it away ).

I suppose if you are looking for an October read, this one might fit the bill.

Rating: 3 – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.

Life After Perfect

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Author: Nancy Naigle
Publisher: Montlake Romancelife after
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: BEA

 

 

Goodreads:  Katherine Barclift had it all: the perfect job, the perfect car, and what she thought was the perfect marriage. But when her entire world collapses in one stomach-churning instant, she hits the road and keeps driving until that so-called “perfect life” is just a dot in her rearview mirror.

A chance encounter leads her to make a pit stop in Boot Creek, a drowsy little North Carolina town where she can call herself Katy, soak up the peace and quiet…and drink in the bluer-than-blue eyes of Derek Hansen, a local doctor still wrestling with his own painful past. Both Katy and Derek are wary about giving romance another shot, but they can’t deny the intense attraction between them. And if being in Boot Creek has taught them anything, it’s to take life as it comes and never pass up a chance at true love…no matter how wounded your heart may be.

Ope’s Opinion:  This book started out a little on the sad side, but moved quickly forward from there.  The pace was awesome – constantly moving the story along.  Most of the book only took place in a couple of weeks, but it felt like so much was packed into that time period.

I am definitely going to look for more books by Nancy Naigle.  She didn’t use much of any foul language, the characters prayed at their meal times and they gave God credit. This was not a christian book in any way and was not preachy.  These characters felt very real with real reactions to difficult situations.

The woman in this story were amazingly independent.  I wanted them to be my friends.

Rating:  4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

It’s You

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Author:  Jane Porter                  it's you
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Source:  BookSparks

 

 

Goodreads:  From the USA Today bestselling author of the Brennan Sisters novels comes a heartwarming story about finding love and strength, even in the darkest moments…

In the wake of a tragedy that tore her life down to the foundations, Dr. Alison McAdams has lost her way. So when she’s summoned to Napa to care for her ailing father, she’s not sure she has anything to offer him—or anyone else.

What Ali finds in Northern California wine country is a gift—an opportunity to rest, and distance from her painful memories. Most unexpectedly, she finds people who aren’t afraid of her grief or desperate for her to hurry up and move on.

As Ali becomes part of her father’s community, makes new friends of her own, and hears the stories of a generation who survived the Second World War, she begins to find hope again. In a quest to discover the truth about another woman’s lost love, she sets off on a journey across oceans and deep into history. And in making sense of that long-ago tragedy, Ali is able to put together the broken pieces of her heart and make new choices that are right for her.

Ope’s Opinion:  I really think for me this book is a 3.5 – not because it wasn’t good, but because it has  a lot of history in it.  I am giving it a 4 since most people will love the history.  The story itself is very good.

I felt like Alison’s life and journey paralleled Edie’s.  It was interesting to see somethings don’t change with time – may the details are different, but the out comes are similar.  I think Alison learned a lot from Edie in a short period of time.

If you are interested in Germany or Nazi history you would probably really enjoy reading this book.  It was a different perspective.

Rating: 4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.

Forgotten

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Author: Catherine McKenzie
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Genre: Women’s Fiction                                          forgot
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

 

 

Goodreads:  When everyone thinks you’re dead, how do you start your life over again?

Emma Tupper, a young lawyer with a bright future, sets out on a journey after her mother’s death: to Africa, a place her mother always wanted to visit. But her mother’s dying gift has unexpected consequences. Emma falls ill during the trip and is just recovering when a massive earthquake hits, turning her one-month vacation into a six-month ordeal.

When Emma returns home, she’s shocked to find that her friends and colleagues believed she was dead, that her apartment has been rented to a stranger and that her life has gone on without her. Can Emma pick up where she left off? Should she? As Emma struggles to recreate her old life, everyone around her thinks she should change – her job, her relationships, and even herself. But does she really want to sacrifice everything she’s working so hard to gain?

Ope’s Opinion:  This book was given to me,  from my daughter Kristin of Kritters Ramblings. She loved this book so I went into with a very positive expectation.  I think she liked it more then I did, but I did enjoy this read.

If you have read my other posts, you know, I am slow to get into a book.  This one was no exception. I enjoyed it from the beginning, but didn’t really get into it until part of the way through it.  Don’t get me wrong it was good – it just takes me a while to feel involved.

I can’t imagine coming back to a life that isn’t there anymore.  Where do you begin to pick things up? How often do you think – if only I could start over? – Read this book and you may rethink that thought!

Too much foul language.

Rating: 4 – I like the book so much I know several friends to share it with.

P.S. I Love You

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Author: Jenny Han              ps
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source:  Purchased

 

 

Goodreads:  Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.
She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.
When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of what makes it so amazing.

Ope’s Opinion:  I have enjoyed several of Jenny Han’s books.  This is right up there at the top of them.  She can really capture a young girls heart and thoughts.  This is a book I would love to share with my granddaughters when they are a bit older.

Jenny Han’s characters are all very well developed, they have flaws and they are realistic. Relationships are handle with truth and honesty.  I think any girl could relate to at least one of the characters.

I will continue to look for books that Jenny Han writes.

Rating:  4 – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.