Month: December 2014

Review: A Cadence Creek Christmas by Donna Alward

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Ready for some Christmas reads? Here’s Christmas review reblog #1!

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20140222-225544.jpgEvent-planner and entrepreneur Taylor takes a winter trip from Vancouver to Cadence Creek to plan her brother’s wedding – and spend Christmas with her family. During her take-charge week of wedding plans she meets rancher and business owner Rhys. Taylor and Rhys both feel chemistry, but they have more fun verbally sparring with each other. Though they keep hurting each other’s feelings through judgement and thoughtless wisecracks, something meaningful runs deep, something they both want to explore.

The dialogue in a Cadence creek Christmas was wonderful. Taylor and Rhys joked with and snapped at each other realistically… They reminded me of my husband and me when we are annoyed with each other but still feel the strong, deep undercurrent of love. I also found very natural Taylor’s worries, her chats with her family, and her willingness to help others in a pinch. Taylor’s a doer. She doesn’t sit around waiting…

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Review: Hate: A Love Story by Laurel Curtis

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“No bottle is big enough for human emotion. Love, hate, anger, happiness, and deep melancholy. Each one exists for a reason. Emotion is real. It’s meant to be released. It’s meant to be lived.”

WOW. This book….WOW. What an emotional roller coaster.

Synopsis
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Life can be messy,
And love can be too.

Most people say that it’s not important where you’re going, but instead, how you get there.

Unfortunately for me, the journey to love was absolutely agonizing. Love and Hate wrestled with my life day after day, year after year, and the only way to stop it was to let one of them win.

Which one?

I fought to love harder. But I loathe my love story.

I admit, I knew nothing about this book, except that I liked the cover. But as I immersed myself in this story, I discovered that this was going to be one of the most devastatingly beautiful stories I’ve read this year. And I was right. One minute I was cracking up, and then next I was sobbing into my pillow. The overwhelming feelings of loss and heartache brought me to my knees. This is another of those books that I have no words for. I lived the story. I felt the story. I loved the story.

Whitney is a no nonsense kinda girl, with a quick wit and the gift of banter. She befriends Blane and they start on this epic journey called life. These two together were hilarious. I loved them together. They decided to add another friend to their mix, Franny, and that adds to their dynamic.

She is always there for them, even through loss and devastation. No matter what. She could never imagine her life without them. But soon life decides to change it up and see how she can handle it.

“DON’T LOOK FOR WHAT IF. Embrace what is.”

I feel in love with all the characters in this story. They were your average every day people. Moms and dads loved each other, and loved their children. Even Granny was a blessing. She had a way of being snarky and loving at the same time. Her character brought the funny, when all you wanted to do was sit and rock in a corner.

But unfortunately, no amounts of love can keep the hate and pain away forever. It will still creep in, when you least expect it. You just have to learn how to push it aside and hold on to love with all your might.

~Melpomene

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Review: Christmas at Carriage Hill by Carla Neggers

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I think 2014 was the first year I read anything by Carla Neggers, and I’ve become a fan. I was happy to see that Neggers wrote a Christmas novella, set in the part of Massachusetts where my mother grew up.

Christmas at Carriage Hill is a contemporary romance with an old-fashioned feel. There’s an impending wedding, New England snow, ice skating, English scones, and a military man who won’t let go of his true love.

Alex and Ian dated, broke up, then ran into each other while traveling abroad for a wedding. While the plot wasn’t thoroughly fleshed out and the secondary characters were a little flat, those are acceptable in a novella. I appreciated the great scenery, the main characters, the recipes, and the happily ever after. The power of nostalgia got to me, too, as I remember visiting the Quabbin as a child.

I enjoyed this light, uplifting, Christmassy novella by a favorite author… and it’s a steal at 99¢.

-calliope

buy CHRISTMAS AT CARRIAGE HILL

Review: Sister Eve, Private Eye by Lynne Hinton

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I read a lot of amateur sleuth mysteries. Sister Eve is a little younger than the usual sleuths I read, and she rides a Harley, and she’s a nun, AND her dad is a former detective. Refreshing and appealing!

I loved Eve (Evangeline) and her candor. She reminded me a lot of myself: A little brash, a little naive, a little impulsive. When she suspected a certain guy as the perpetrator of the crime, she just drove down to his house and jumped the fence. She had no backup plan. She didn’t even have a primary plan! Her haste made for some funny moments and even a possible meet-cute. (I see romance in every novel!)

I enjoyed Hinton’s other characters, too: the injured and stubborn dad, the greasy film producer, the martyr sister, the pretty young actress…
But the plot just didn’t come together smoothly for me. Storylines are aesthetic… Liking a plot line comes down to your personal taste. I think this one just didn’t do it for me — the whole film world turned me off. I didn’t like the deviousness and quirks of the characters in the film industry. Even pretty Megan annoyed me when she didn’t stand up for herself.

The crime SOLVING, though… That was my cup of tea. Sister Eve and her friends who just happen to have information to help her solve the case… Eve’s brainstorming sessions with her dad… The police on the fringe of the true investigation… All very well worth the read.

My favorite part? Eve taking another leave of absence from the convent, because that means she might have another crime to solve soon.

-calliope

buy SISTER EVE, PRIVATE EYE

Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

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*1This is a collection of short stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates. The authors of the stories are all prisoners in the United States prison system.

If you’re a fan of short stories, this is well worth your time. If you’re not a huge fan of that genre but are interested in the correctional systems, again this is well worth your time.

Some of these stories are *really* good! They are so good that it is easy to forget that they were all written by inmates. Having said that, what the hell does that even mean? Like it is unheard of that an inmate can actually write….psssffffttttt…..

It really made me stop and think about society’s narrow-minded view…..about my own narrow mindedness….I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I started this book. What I expected the stories to be like….however, it wasn’t what I was expecting….

I can only be reminded of a line from Charlie Chaplin’s great dictator speech “You are not cattle. You are men.”

Yep…pretty much sums it up for me. Regardless of how they got there…or why they are there….Prisoners are not just numbers. They are not just some faceless shadow on a wall that we dare not look at….

These stories demand that we take a look at them….they demand that we look eye to eye….sure, you might not like what you see….if might not change your feelings one way or the other….but damnit…you will at least see them…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now Prison Noir edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Review: Mocha Sunrise by Julie Carobini

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Best friends Livi, Bri and Gaby love each other like sisters, including telling it to each other straight even when the truth hurts. When Livi is mentally tortured by her antagonistic cousin/roommate, Bri and Gaby give Livi good advice – that she fails to follow.

Then Caleb enters the picture. Though he’s fighting his own demons, he forms a trifecta with Bri and Gaby to defend Livi. They push Livi to get out of her rut, push through, face her fears, make some decisions.

I like that Julie Carobini writes this story based on friendship, and maintains that main plot even while other things are happening to Livi – getting arrested, having job problems, meeting a new guy. I read a lot of contemporary romances, and none seem to hold the friendships in as high a regard as the romantic relationship. Mocha Sunrise focuses on the strength of friendship even while the best friends have romance in their lives.

I totally loved seeing Livi and Caleb find themselves as individuals and come together as a couple. Their transformations were amazing – from two uncertain and uneasy characters to honest and discerning people who were so authentic that I shed tears for them. 🙂

I appreciated Carobini’s hopeful and uplifting messages delivered by Caleb. And as I read Mocha Sunrise I felt a sense of peace and joy. How appropriate for this Christmas season.

-calliope

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Review: Sweet Damage by Rebecca James

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51slwSQHDkL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_This was one creepy and suspenseful book from the beginning until the very end. If you like scary, on the edge-of-your-seat stories, grab this one and settle in for the ride.

Tim Ellison’s an easy going fellow, happy in life for the most part. Surfing, working at his dad’s restaurant, pining over his crush on friend Lilla…he finds plenty to fill his days. But when things get a little too crowded crashing on Lilla’s floor, he’s forced to look for a new place to live. He can hardly believe his luck when he finds an affordable room in a fancy house in a posh neighborhood. Forget the fact that his new roommate is downright creepy, never leaves the house, is seriously depressed, and is likely sitting on the wrong side of sanity. But as he gets to know Anna, he discovers there’s more beneath the surface. And as he becomes closer and closer to her, strange happenings begin to occur.

It’s hard to give more of a review without giving away too much of the story, so I’ll leave it at that. This is a good story, quick and easy to read but hard to put down. There are plenty of twists and turns in this psychological thriller to keep you turning pages long after it’s bedtime.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: Sweet Damage: A Novel