The Summertime Girls

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Laura Hankin                                     summertime girls
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction
Source: BEA

 

 

Goodreads:  When two lifelong friends reunite for one more summer in small-town Maine, they must bridge the gap caused by the dreams and secrets that tore them apart…

Ally Morris and Beth Abbott were beyond inseparable. From the very first time they met, the girls knew they’d found a once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But sometimes, life can’t help but get in the way.

As time goes by, disappointments and petty resentments begin to alter what they once thought was forever. Ally’s boho lifestyle leaves her drowning in confusion and cheap whisky, while a terrible secret threatens to shatter Beth’s carefully controlled world. By the time they need each other most, Ally and Beth are nearly strangers to each other.

When a family crisis prompts Beth to contact Ally for help out of the blue, the girls reunite in Maine. But the distance between them is overwhelming. To save their friendship, Ally and Beth will have to confront painful moments in their past and redefine who they are—before their incredible connection fades away for good…

Ope’s Opinion:  The friendship story was very enjoyable.  I liked that their was a friendship between two young women paralleled two older women.  Female friendships cross time lines.  It was interesting to see the older women learn from the younger women.

The story, the characters and their feelings were all very realistic.  I did not care for the casual attitude toward sex.  Ally acted like it was a sport or a time killer instead of something with meaning.

I would have given this book a 4 rating, but the constant use of the “f” word made me feel like I could not recommend this book to several of my friends.  I wish authors would be more creative and find other words to express their characters thoughts and words.

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

Sleeping with the Enemy

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Tracy Solheim                 sleeping
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Booksparks

 

 

Goodreads:  The author of Risky Game returns with a football team owner who’s a real player, and the woman who’s ready to call him out on everything . . .

Dot-com millionaire Jay McManus is discovering that owning a pro football team like the Baltimore Blaze isn’t easy. An anonymous blogger is out to destroy his reputation, and now his team is being sued by its own cheerleaders. If Jay’s not careful, he could lose big—and not just financially.

Bridgett Janik’s brother may play for the Baltimore Blaze, but she’s not thrilled to be defending Jay McManus, the man who broke her heart. It’s bad enough she has to mingle with Jay during games, but working beside her former lover may be too much for her body—and her heart—to resist.

Jay’s determined not to let Bridgett slip away from him a second time. But, as the two follow the mysterious blogger’s trail, secrets—both past and present—are revealed, and Jay and Bridgett must decide if their relationship can be something more than just sleeping with the enemy.

Ope’s Opinion: This is my first book by Tracy Solheim.  Although this is book four of the Out of Bounds series, I did not feel like I was missing a part of the story.  

The repetative theme of how hot Bridgett and Jay are for each other made the story move slowly.  On the other hand, the subtle disclosure of their past relationship was written amazingly well and made me want to know more.

I enjoyed more of the story part of this book.  I liked that each of the main characters had careers and were independent.  I like how they were brought back into each others lives.

Side note:  This may sound petty, but I would have enjoyed the reading experience more if the print was not so small with a large margin on the book.

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

Dancing Through Life

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Candace Cameron Bure           dancing
Publisher: B&H Books
Genre: Memoir
Source:  BEA

 

Goodreads: Candace Cameron Bure has grown up before our eyes and we’ve watched as she’s balanced life in Hollywood with her faith for many years. But that all reached new heights when she was given the opportunity to join the cast of Dancing With the Stars. Being on the show was one of her dreams come true; and with that dream came the opportunity to display her Christian faith in front of millions of people, through an intense season of stretching beyond her limits, and to run the race God gave her with joy and perseverance.

Join Candace as she reflects on the self-discovery that came through leaping out of her comfort zone. Go behind the scenes and experience the highs and lows, the roadblocks, and the personal victories. Hear straight from her heart on tough lessons learned about grace, rejection, perfectionism, disappointment, accountability, dealing with criticism, and more. Through God’s strength, and with the help of endless support from her family and friends, see how Candace stayed true to herself and publicly lived out her faith in Christ all the way to the finale.

How do you stand with conviction in your world? Where does your courage come from when faced with challenges? How do you live out your faith on a daily basis despite opposition? Your stage probably isn’t in Hollywood and the challenges you are facing may not be on live television, but they are no less real. Come along with Candace as she shares how she found the courage to stand with conviction on one of the largest platforms of her life.

Ope’s Opinion:  If you are a Dancing with the Stars fan you definitely will enjoy reading this book.  Candace shared her view of before, during and after her time on Dancing with the Stars.  

If you enjoyed watching Candace grow up on TV you will enjoy this book.

My only disappointment was that I wanted more of her family and private life.  That was not the focus of this book.  The focus was her time on DWTS and keeping her focus on her faith while dancing.

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

I’m Not Her

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Cara Sue Achterberg         I'm
Publisher: Story Plant
Genre: Adult Fiction
Source: Story Plant

 

Goodreads:  It was a Tuesday like any other. And then it wasn’t. A simple encounter at a supermarket changed Carin Fletcher’s and Leann Cane’s lives – literally. Suddenly Carin, a pretty, self-absorbed, underemployed college graduate, finds herself living as Leann, an uneducated, perennially poor, obese checkout clerk, and vice versa.

Carin is at first horrified: she’s enormous, she can barely make ends meet, her husband is an abusive loser, and she’s saddled with the kid Leann had when she was a teenager. Meanwhile, Leann is initially thrilled: she’s escaped destitution, she looks like a model, and people treat her completely differently.

But as the days pass, it becomes clear that life isn’t clear-cut for either woman. Carin finds herself attaching to Trevor, Leann’s precocious son, and developing feelings for Jimmy, a fellow employee who treats her with the respect few others bother to give her because of her appearance. At the same time, Leann is living a life she’s always wanted in a body she’s always dreamed about, but that doesn’t mean that all of her problems have gone away…and a new one is emerging with Carin’s sometimes-boyfriend.

Both women are facing unknowable futures that neither could have imagined. Are they destined to live this way forever? And if so, where will it all lead?

A brilliant, nuanced, and surprising tale about the way the world sees us and the courses we are on, I’M NOT HER is a remarkably assured first novel that introduces a profound new storyteller.

Ope’s Opinion:  I wish I had known the two main characters more before they were switched.  It was hard to understand their individual struggles when I didn’t feel like I knew their past.  

As I did get to know their present situations, it felt a little stereotypical. There was an overweight, abusive girl and a beautiful self absorbed girl.  For Leann, it is the grass is always greener on the other side until you get there.  For Carin, I think it is a wake up call to appreciate the life she had even with it’s struggles.

I like at the end that Carin talks about the outside of someone being like wallpaper. You can change it, but the inside is still the same.

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

When do you read the most? Least?

Posted on by
2

I think most people read the most during the summer.  Relaxing by the pool, vacation, etc. Not me!  My summer has been so full, I have been really behind on my reading.

My granddaughter has been here for swim lessons for two wonderful weeks!  We had a blast and she did awesome!  Wouldn’t trade that time with her for reading time.

I think I am a winter reader – when it is too cold outside to go anywhere I want to curl up and read.  I hope to catch up on all the great books from BEA and other ones that have been sent to me.

Check back soon.  I hope to have some reviews on the way.

Coming Soon…..

Posted on by
1

….  On a Bookshelf near you!

In August I hope to read….

summertime girls

Publication Date:  August 4, 2015
Publisher: Berkley

Goodreads:  When two lifelong friends reunite for one more summer in small-town Maine, they must bridge the gap caused by the dreams and secrets that tore them apart…

Ally Morris and Beth Abbott were beyond inseparable. From the very first time they met, the girls knew they’d found a once-in-a-lifetime friendship. But sometimes, life can’t help but get in the way.

As time goes by, disappointments and petty resentments begin to alter what they once thought was forever. Ally’s boho lifestyle leaves her drowning in confusion and cheap whisky, while a terrible secret threatens to shatter Beth’s carefully controlled world. By the time they need each other most, Ally and Beth are nearly strangers to each other.

When a family crisis prompts Beth to contact Ally for help out of the blue, the girls reunite in Maine. But the distance between them is overwhelming. To save their friendship, Ally and Beth will have to confront painful moments in their past and redefine who they are—before their incredible connection fades away for good…

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

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

The Ones We Trust

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Kimberly Belle                      the ones
Publisher: MIRA
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
Source: Emer Flounders

 

Goodreads:  A moving and evocative exploration of grief and guilt in the wake of one family’s devastating loss.

When former DC journalist Abigail Wolff attempts to rehabilitate her career, she finds herself at the heart of a US army cover-up involving the death of a soldier in Afghanistan — with unspeakable emotional consequences for one family. As the story of what happened comes to light, Abigail will do anything to write it.

The more evidence she stumbles upon in the case, the fewer people it seems she can trust, including her own father, a retired army general. And she certainly never expected to fall in love with the slain soldier’s brother, Gabe, a bitter man struggling to hold his family together. The investigation eventually leads her to an impossible choice, one of unrelenting sacrifice to protect those she loves.

Beyond the buried truths and betrayals, questions of family loyalty and redemption, Abigail’s search is, most of all, a desperate grasp at carrying on and coping — and seeking hope in the impossible.

Ope’s Opinion:  From the very beginning this book had my attention.  I really liked reading a first person perspective in this book.  It was fun to see things from Abigail’s point of view. It let me figure things out as she did.  

I live near DC, so the setting was familiar and made the story more fun to read.  I always enjoy reading a story set where I can see the places they are writing about.

I think the title is very appropriate.  At times Abigail did not know who she could trust.

Side Note:  The foul language was over the top, not needed, and did not add anything to this story.  Other then the language, I would recommend this book.

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

Perfect Touch

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Elizabeth Lowell                 perfect touch
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Source:  Harper Collins

Publication Date: July 28, 2015

 

Goodreads:  The queen of romantic suspense returns with a heart-racing tale in which a former soldier turned rancher and a beautiful designer race to stop a vicious killer—a battle for survival that threatens to explode in an intense and irresistible passion

An art dealer and owner of her own design studio, Perfect Touch, Sarah “Sam” Maddox travels the world to find the ideal artwork for her clients. Her sophisticated, comfortable life in San Francisco is light years away from the poverty of her family’s dairy farm, and Sam will do whatever it takes to keep her business strong. A dedicated urban career woman focused on her work, she doesn’t have time or energy for a family or distracting romantic entanglements.

Jay Vermillion recently inherited Vermillion Sky, a working ranch near Wyoming’s breathtaking Grand Teton Mountains—and the estates of the rich and restless. While he was fighting in two wars, his father tried to keep the homestead running, until illness stole his fight and then his life. Jay’s determined to restore Vermillion Sky, but first he’s got to settle a vicious battle with his former stepmother over some of his late father’s paintings. The last thing on his mind is a finding a wife and creating a sixth generation of Vermillions. 

When Jay hires Sam to handle his father’s artwork, it’s love at first sight—a mutually inconvenient attraction that is soon complicated by a double murder at the edge of the ranch and a potential betrayal even closer to home. Working together to unmask a murderer, Sam and Jay try to fight the intense heat between them. Then the killer targets Sam. And suddenly, Jay, the war-weary soldier, finds something he’s once again willing to die for . . . 

Ope’s Opinion:  If you like hot steamy cowboy love stories, you will like this book.  The story itself was interesting enough, but the hot steamy scenes were too much for my taste.

The mystery part of the book was interesting, but was not given enough attention for me.

The descriptions of the mountains and the area they rode the horses were amazing.  I could see it and wanted to be there.

This was my first Elizabeth Lowell book.

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

Pretty Baby

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Mary Kubica              9780778316558_RHC_SMP.indd
Publisher:  MIRA
Genre: Thriller
Source:  Emer Flounders

Publication Date:  July 28, 2015

 

 

Goodreads:  A chance encounter sparks an unrelenting web of lies in this stunning new psychological thriller from national bestselling author Mary Kubica

She sees the teenage girl on the train platform, standing in the pouring rain, clutching an infant in her arms. She boards a train and is whisked away. But she can’t get the girl out of her head…

Heidi Wood has always been a charitable woman: she works for a nonprofit, takes in stray cats. Still, her husband and daughter are horrified when Heidi returns home one day with a young woman named Willow and her four-month-old baby in tow. Disheveled and apparently homeless, this girl could be a criminal—or worse. But despite her family’s objections, Heidi invites Willow and the baby to take refuge in their home.

Heidi spends the next few days helping Willow get back on her feet, but as clues into Willow’s past begin to surface, Heidi is forced to decide how far she’s willing to go to help a stranger. What starts as an act of kindness quickly spirals into a story far more twisted than anyone could have anticipated.

Ope’s Opinion:  This was a very slow moving story.  The characters are well developed, but they all have very deep issues going on.  I could see where the story was going – there were enough hints along the way.  Some of those hints were repeated several times.

Willow, Heidi and Chris each give their perspective.  It helps you see the whole story.  It was a dark, depressing story.

The ending shows where everyone is now.

 

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

The Girls of August

Posted on by
Reply

Author: Anne Rivers Siddons
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing   the girls of august
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Source: Purchased

 

 

Goodreads:  Every August, four women would gather together to spend a week at the beach, renting a new house each year. The ritual began when they were in their twenties and their husbands were in medical school, and became a mainstay of every summer thereafter. Their only criteria was oceanfront and isolation, their only desire to strengthen their far-flung friendships. They called themselves the Girls of August. But when one of the Girls dies tragically, the group slowly drifts apart and their vacations together are brought to a halt. Years later, a new marriage reunites them and they decide to come together once again on a remote barrier island off the South Carolina coast. There, far from civilization, the women make startling discoveries that will change them in ways they never expected.

Ope’s Opinions: The three main characters are real tight friends because they have known each other for a real long time.  When someone new tries to join them, they act like five year olds who don’t want to share their friendship.  I wanted to say grow up several times.  It is hard to be a new one person in an established group.  These woman didn’t make it any easier.

A lot of bad things happened while they were on an island.  There were so many random hard things, it did not feel likely to happen.

Each character had secrets they were keeping.  The secrets came out slowly.  The end came fast and just sort of ended.

Rating: 3 – I like this book enough to suggest it a friend to share it with.