Monthly Archives: March 2016

Coming Soon….

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…. On a Bookshelf near you!

In April I hope to read….

Lies and Other Acts of Love

Publication Date: April 5, 2016
Publisher: Berkley

Goodreads:  Dear Carolina was praised as “Southern fiction at its best.”* Now author Kristy Woodson Harvey presents a new novel about what it really means to tell the truth . . .

After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn “Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little white lies.

Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancé and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through her grandfather’s declining health.

But when Annabelle’s world starts to collapse around her, she discovers that nothing about her picture-perfect family is as it seems. And Lovey has to decide whether one more lie will make or break the ones she loves . . .

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

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

Second Kiss

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second kissAuthor: Natalie Palmer
Publisher: Tate Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:  ‘Even my most humiliating moments seemed funny somehow when I told them to Jess.’ Gemma Mitchell is a normal girl who somehow gets herself into abnormally embarrassing circumstances. And while she thinks she’s the biggest loser in school because of them, there are a few people in her life who would disagree. One of those people is her best friend, Jess Tyler, who is opposite to her in every way. He’s popular, good looking, athletic, and intelligent, and he can’t get enough of Gemma. But while Gemma is dealing with problems like wrong locker combinations and Valentine’s Day dances, Jess is living in a world of serious issues that are foreign to Gemma, until she realizes that he’s holding on to her for dear life. Humorous and true to life, Second Kiss is an entertaining saga about a boy and girl who find that their lives have a lot more meaning once they have shared them with each other.

Ope’s Opinion:    I love young adult books – this was a middle school, coming of age book.  If I had known that when I started reading, I either would not have chosen to read it or come in with a different perspective.

I was frustrated that the author wrote Gemma as dependent on her friend Jess as she was.  I think middle school ( or any age ) females need strong roll models to read about and Gemma was not that role model.  I couldn’t believe she walked into a classroom without a schedule and just stayed in the class – the teacher didn’t send her to the office to find out where she was suppose to be.  It all seemed a little odd to me.  I feel like Gemma put herself in uncomfortable situations, then didn’t get why it was happening to her.

Jess was a kind, understanding friend.  I give him a lot of credit for hanging around Gemma.  He needed her friendship too.

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Better off Friends

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Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Publisher: Point
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:  WHEN HARRY MET SALLY . . . for teens, from romantic comedy star Elizabeth Eulberg.

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends — which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

From romantic comedy superstar Elizabeth Eulberg comes a fresh, fun examination of a question for the ages: Can guys and girls ever really be just friends? Or are they always one fight away from not speaking again — and one kiss away from true love?

Ope’s Opinion: I really like YA books and I like when it isn’t instant love, but this one was really drawn out for me.

The characters were likable, but wishy-washy with their feelings.  I understand protecting a friendship you don’t want to loose, that is important.  They just kept going back and forth, as to who was available and who would admit deeper feelings.

I did like that the physical part of the relationships in this book was very basic – kept to kissing.  It was nice to see a relationship that wasn’t all about the physical aspects.  They did know each other and enjoyed similar things.

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Worth the Wait

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Worth the Wait (St. James, #1)

Author: Jamie Beck
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Source:  BEA

Goodreads: Thirteen years ago, Vivi LeBrun was sketching a rooster and eating Oreos when she first met—and fell for—her friend’s brother, David St. James. Since then, her love for David has only intensified thanks to years of friendship with his family, who rescued her from a lonely, tumultuous childhood. As she travels to Block Island to vacation with the St. James siblings, Vivi daydreams about reuniting with David, hoping he’ll finally see her as his soul mate.

After his mother’s death, David distanced himself from his siblings, determined to hide a devastating family secret. Now, he’s brought a new girlfriend along to his homecoming—one who’s pushing for a serious commitment. The last thing he needs on his growing list of problems is his budding attraction to Vivi.

With tensions running high, David’s behavior triggers a series of events that might cost him the love he’s always taken for granted and Vivi the only real family she’s ever known.

Ope’s Opinion:  This story was intense from the beginning to the end.  All the characters had tense relationships with each other.  I wish the females had been a bit stronger in their relationships.  They seem to just take whatever the men in their lives were willing to give.

The details in the intimate scenes were too explicit for my taste.

Also,  I felt like the “f” word was placed in there after the story was written.  It did not add anything to the story and was actually kind of distracting.

The ending is predictable – which is not always a bad thing.  I just wish Vivi had more of a backbone.

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The Changing Season

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the changing season

Published:  February 17, 2015
Publisher: The Story Plant

Goodreads:  This was supposed to be a simple summer for Billy; one more lazy expanse of time before college began. He’d fill the hours playing with Jimmy – his canine best buddy – going camping and doing all the things he promised Jimmy they’d do before Billy left.

But that was before the accident that shook the entire town.

It was before the summer job that turned into something so much more than a way to get a paycheck.

And it was before Vicki.

This summer was destined to be many things to Billy, things he didn’t truly understand until now. But it was definitely not going to be simple.

An enormously touching, richly textured, deeply moving novel of new adulthood, THE CHANGING SEASON is an experience to savor.

Ope’s Opinion:  Great book!  It took a little while to get started, but worth the time to keep reading.   If you have someone in your life who will be graduating from high school this spring – this would be an awesome gift. 

The relationships in this book felt real. The heart ache and decisions were some we all face.

Steven Manchester has been an author I have read often.  This is one of my favorites of his.

Rating:  4

This Just In…

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From Amazon

somewhere

Published:  March 1, 2016
Publisher: Washington Square Press

Goodreads: What happens when two sisters who were torn apart when their young mother abandoned them—and grew up in tragically different circumstances—reunite thirty-five years later to find her? For readers who love Jodi Picoult, acclaimed author Amy Hatvany fearlessly explores complex family issues in her gripping, provocative new novel.

Natalie Clark knew never to ask her sensitive adoptive mother questions about her past. She doesn’t even know her birth mother’s name—only that the young woman signed parental rights over to the state when Natalie was a baby. Now Natalie’s own daughter must complete a family tree project for school, and Natalie is determined to unearth the truth about her roots.

Brooke Walker doesn’t have a family. At least, that’s what she tells herself after being separated from her mother and her little sister at age four. Having grown up in a state facility and countless foster homes, Brooke survives the only way she knows how, by relying on herself. So when she discovers she’s pregnant, Brooke faces a heart-wrenching decision: give up her baby or raise the child completely on her own. Scared and confused, she feels lost until a surprise encounter gives her hope for the future.

How do our early experiences—the subtle and the traumatic—define us as adults? How do we build relationships when we’ve been deprived of real connection? Critically acclaimed author Amy Hatvany considers controversial and complicated questions about childhood through the lens of her finely crafted characters in this astute novel about mending wounds by diving into the truth of what first tore us apart.

Amy Hatvany is such a great author I couldn’t wait to buy her latest book!

Left for Dead

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Left for Dead (Ali Reynolds, #7)

Author:  J.A. Jance
Publisher: Touchstone
Genre: Mystery
Source:  Kristin of Kritters Ramblings

Goodreads: When violence from the drug wars with the Mexican cartels crosses the border into Arizona, and an old friend is murdered, Ali Reynolds steps in to investigate in New York Times bestselling author J.A. Jance’s fast-paced mystery.

When Santa Cruz county deputy sheriff Jose Reyes, one of Ali Reynolds’s classmates from the Arizona Police Academy, is gunned down and left to die, he is at first assumed to be an innocent victim of the drug wars escalating across the border. But the crime scene investigation shows there’s much more to it than that, and soon he and his pregnant wife, Teresa, are both under suspicion.

Ali owes Reyes a debt of gratitude for the help he gave her years earlier. When she’s summoned to his bedside at Mercy Medical Center in Tucson, it’s impossible for Ali to turn away. Upon arriving at the hospital, Ali finds her good friend, Sister Anselm, is there as well, working as a patient advocate on behalf of another seriously injured victim, an unidentified border crosser who was raped and savagely beaten.

As more bodies begin to pile up, Ali becomes determined to seek justice, even when it becomes impossible to know where the danger is coming from. Fast-paced, tension-filled, and intriguingly complex, Left for Dead is J.A. Jance at her riveting best.

Ope’s Opinion: This book:
– started slow
– has so many characters I needed a score card!
– in depth description ( some times too many gruesome details )
– some good twists along the way
– ending wrapped everything up and felt satisfying

Rating: 3