Sunday, August 31, 2014

Series Me


Pierced by Sydney Landen


22451919



Lucian Quinn is the wonder boy of the business world. At twenty-nine, he owns one of the hottest software companies in the world. Personally, his life has been filled with tragedy and loss. He has learned to use his hate to survive and even thrive professionally, but his demons are always there, lurking just out of sight.

Lia Adams is a college student who has suffered through years of abuse at home to get to where she is today. She has done whatever was necessary to survive, including working as an escort for Date Night to pay for her education. Her life changes forever the day that Lucian Quinn’s friend convinces him to hire an escort for an important business dinner.

Circumstances bring two people that should have never crossed paths together and in the days and weeks ahead, they grow close quickly, each seeing a kindred soul in the other. As ghosts from their past rise to haunt them, they cling to each other as their lives start to spiral out of control. Soon, they realize that they’re both damaged possibly beyond repair. Will their love be what saves or destroys them?



Rate & take


Photobucket


Oh woe is me! Why do I always find the coolest books that make me want to hide away and read for days/hours.....only to find out it's basically a brand new book and I will have an impatient wait until the next....and the next, get published. I know what you are thinking, in the scheme of problems this is not a real one. But I still reserve the right to moan about it here just a little.

This book had so much going for it, humor, mystery, intrigue. The main characters had a real spark that kept the story going at a dizzying pace until I had to swear out loud because I was out of book. Don't you hate that? So sad when a good book runs out. Needless to say I have already noted the projected publication date (12/20/14) in my planner and hope all will be on schedule for it.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

New kind of dead


9462812Die for Me by Amy Plum

In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.





Rate & take



Photobucket




A new-to-me group of living dead that are hot and do good works, sign me up! I really enjoyed this book and all it's characters. Oh, and there was a main female lead in it too that didn't annoy me at all!! My only question is do I want to go on in the series knowing that every book is going to keep my couple apart? I'm not sure my happily ever after loving heart will be able to take all that angst along the bumpy road to true love. But if I do change my mind, you will be the first to know!



Tuesday, August 26, 2014

In Da Club***


19288043Gone Girl by Gilliam Fylnn


On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?


Rate & take



Photobucket


***I could not resist the song title because this book truly is from a club....it's the very first book to be reviewed by our newly formed and yet-to-be-named, book club at work.
At the end of this review I will share with you the first found of books that have been selected by each member of the group. I also hear that once the crazy days of summer are over we will get even more takers!! I hope this is a good thing since my first three tries at a book club did not work out so well.

The review; My first thoughts were, "I did not see that coming." This was a thought that came to me more than once during this read. Layer upon layer of things being not quite as they seem and then terrifying when I stepped back to consider how it all fit together. And knowing that it's not impossible from happening in real life, It's like I said, terrifying. Oh, and brilliant too. The writing was smooth and let me hang just enough before an answer was given to the question about to form on my lips.

This book should lend lots of material for book club discussion...I'm just afraid our lunch break will be too short to cover it all.

As promised, here is a list of our book club choices so far...


August 2014 Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
September 2014 Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
October 2014 In the Time of Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
November 2014 PlainSong by Kent Haruf
December 2014 Comstock Lode by Louis L'Amour

I think in December we will pick the next round. Wish us luck!!


Thursday, August 21, 2014

Strung out


22469811The Arrangement 15 by H.M. Ward


It's hard to trust anyone anymore. Everyone is suspect. And I have no reprieve, no rest. I can't sleep after all I've been through.

Sean is slipping away, receding back into the monster he was. Alone, I'm being smothered by death's cold shroud. Too many people have died -- this ends tonight. If it kills me, so be it.











Rate & take


Photobucket



Here we are 15 installments in and no resolution in sight. Some fans are now turning angry and saying they will no longer buy and follow the story. I'm not angry, and for a change I'm not impatient, I'm just chillin' and enjoying the quality ride I am getting. The only thing negative I can say is that before I know it I am out of pages....I wish each one would be longer than an hour or two read.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Mindful Minding


18527197Minding the Manor by Mollie Moran


Born in 1916 in Norfolk, Mollie Moran is one of the few people still alive today who can recall working "downstairs" in the golden years of the early 1930's before the outbreak of WWII. She provides a rare and fascinating insight into a world that has long since vanished. Mollie left school at age fourteen and became a scullery maid for a wealthy gentleman with a mansion house in London’s Knighsbridge and a Tudor manor in Norfolk.

            Even though Mollie's days were long and grueling and included endless tasks, such as polishing doorknobs, scrubbing steps, and helping with all of the food prep in the kitchen, she enjoyed her freedom and had a rich life. Like any bright-eyed teenager, Mollie also spent her days daydreaming about boys, dresses, and dances. She became fast friends with the kitchen maid Flo, dated a sweet farmhand, and became secretly involved with a brooding, temperamental footman. Molly eventually rose to kitchen maid for Lord Islington and then cook for the Earl of Leicester's niece at the magnificent Wallington Hall.




Rate & Take


Photobucket



This was such a lovely read and a great glimpse into a time gone by. I'm sure we've all seen a movie or show or read a period book that depicted what life was like for someone in service, here is the goods straight from a someone who lived it for a decade. It gave me a lot to think about. This young girl working hard 15 hour days and for the most part was very happy, while I wondered how happy the moneyed people she served were. Tied as they were to rigid social protocols that narrowly defined how they were to conduct every part of their lives. Once World War II arrived the pampered days of manor's full of servants doing the bidding of a few, crumbled with the demands of feeding the war effort. I could not imagine how an aristocrat with no practical household skills went from being fully cared for to being the only caretaker around. Talk about rude awakening! 
This book was a joy to read.




Thursday, August 14, 2014

Tidal wave



The Prince of Tides by Pay Conroy


Tom Wingo has lost his job, and is on the verge of losing his marriage, when he learns that his twin sister, Savannah, has attempted suicide again. At the behest of Savannah’s psychiatrist, Tom reluctantly leaves his home in South Carolina to travel to New York City and aid in his sister’s therapy. As Tom’s relationship with her psychiatrist deepens, he reveals to her the turbulent history of the Wingo family, and exposes the truth behind the fateful day that changed their lives forever.

Drawing richly from Pat Conroy’s own troubled upbringing, The Prince of Tides is a sweeping and powerful story of how unlocking the past can be the secret to overcoming the darkest of personal demons.


Rate & take


Photobucket


This was certainly an energetic read for me during the the time of year I consider the best time to champion the lite read. But, I could not resist. I had seen the movie several years ago so I was confident I had enough distance between the two so I could avoid the pitfalls of comparisons. The writing in this book is pure sweet tasting prose even when the subject matter follows some of the worst things humans are capable of. My only issue was that in some sections it went a bit overlong and could have used a small bit of editing. Other than that the story is powerful and satisfying. It's one of those books that lingers with you for some time after you've finished reading it.



Thursday, August 7, 2014

Three-in-one


18897203The Matchplay Series by Dakota Madison

MATCHPLAY (Book One of the Series)

A Girl, a Guy, a Tournament and a Challenge

The Girl: At a time when most girls obsess about homecoming and high school prom, Rainy Dey spent her senior year caring for her dying mother. So when her father drops her off at college to start her freshman year, his words of advice to his bookish daughter are to start acting like a young person and finally have some fun.

The Guy: College senior, Aaron Donovan, aka Mr. Hot-and-Knows-It, is President of The Clubhouse, a social club for the college's most wealthy and popular guys. Aaron can have any girl on campus except the one who challenges and excites him the most--Rainy Dey.

The Tournament: Every year, the senior members of The Clubhouse engage in a golf-inspired tournament to see who can sleep with the most freshman girls. When Rainy finds out about The Tournament, she believes Aaron's only interest in her is to score points by taking her V-Card.

The Challenge: Can Aaron convince Rainy that his feelings for her are true and that she won't be just another notch on his tournament scorecard?

FAIR PLAY (Book Two of the Series)

The Good-Girl, the Bad-Girl and the Boy They Both Want...FAIR PLAY begins where the New Adult romance MATCHPLAY left off.

Bad girls need love, too...

Keira Whitley is used to getting what she wants and what she wants is the sexy-and-smart, Aaron Donovan. They're both from extremely wealthy and prominent families and their parents have talked about getting the two of them together since they were kids.

The only problem is that Aaron recently got engaged to the girl of his dreams, Rainy Dey.

But Keira knows she and Aaron are supposed to be together and she's not about to let a little thing like Aaron's declaration of true love for Rainy get in her way.

But is all really fair in love and war?

FINAL PLAY (Book Three of the Series)

A Guy, a Girl and the Deviled Egg they both want...

Straight-laced newbie engineer Lucas Young wasn't looking for love when he attended his friend, Rainy Dey's wedding reception. But what he did want was one of the delicious looking deviled eggs that were prominently displayed on the hors d'oeuvres table.

Unfortunately, the delectable treat was practically stolen out of his hand by...

Ella Warner, groomsman Evan Warner's "crazy" younger sister and the black sheep of their well-to-do family. Ella does everything on her own terms, including snatching a yummy deviled egg from Lucas's rather hungry clutches.

But it's going to take a lot more than the perfect deviled egg to keep this completely mismatched couple from going completely off the rails as they negotiate an increasingly complicated relationship.

Opposites may attract but can they actually find true love with each other?





Rate & take


Photobucket


Heat Index 3 ☼☼☼

So much to love with this series. Each book is from the perspective of a different character and while the focus in each book changes the details never exclude past characters, I love being kept in the loop about all the happenings. Once again this is from the New Adult genre and I am happy to immerse myself in it and hope many more titles, well written such as these, will be populating publishing houses soon.