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Review: Mr. President by Katy Evans

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pres Matt Hamilton for President. That is all. Really. I wish I could just leave it at that, but that would be a crazy review, right?

Matt Hamilton never wanted to run for president. But life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to. So when he finds himself running, he remembers receiving an intriguing letter from a girl eleven years ago and her promise to help him win if he ran. Little did he know this girl would have him questioning everything he believed.

Charlotte has zero desire for the spotlight of politics. She prefers working behind the scenes and living a quiet life. But when she receives an invitation to work for Matt Hamilton, she really wants to say, but something has her changing her mind. That something is Matt himself. He is powerful and he can win and she wants to help him do just that.

Matt remembers when his dad was president and how his job came before his family, so he is determined to run and win and not have one. Charlotte is the wrench in his plan. Their chemistry is combustible. No matter how hard they try, they can’t stay away from each other. But will his feelings of family keep them from being together? If he wins, what will happen to them? Will he let her go?

We’re a perfect couple, in the most imperfect situation.

I will admit, my nerves were twisting throughout this story. I wanted them together, but I knew they couldn’t be. Watching them sneak around had me on his alert. His passion for this job was noble. I would vote for him in heartbeat. No joke. I can’t wait for the next installment. I need to know what happens with these two!

~Melpomene

Buy Mr. President HERE

Review: The Devoted by Suzanne Woods Fisher

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What a terrific book! I loved reading The Devoted for Suzanne Woods Fisher’s excellent writing and ability to touch my heart. Amish Ruthie is thinking of leaving the community to search for something bigger and better. Dok has been there, done that, has the t-shirt… and wore it back home for a reason.  Patrick the Englischer faces matters of his own mortality and wants to become Amish, serendipitously taking away time Ruthie might have with her boyfriend Luke. 

The bishop watches it all unfold, shares his words of wisdom, and takes a stand when individual storing-up grows into a problem worse than the Israelites hoarding manna. I so appreciated the discussions of sufficiency and dependency woven seamlessly into a story that centers around family and community. 

Fisher has a way of bringing the reader into the Amish world, so we wend through problems with the characters, connecting and loving and learning with them. I’m grateful. 

-calliope

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Review: A Cotswold Christmas by Kate Hewitt 

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This quick and easy holiday romance was cute, but not as satisfying as I’d hoped. Maybe its brevity precluded some of the depth I’ve come to appreciate in cozy romance novels. 

Anna heads to the Cotswolds from New York City, hoping for a respite from the pressures of life: relationships, work, and family. What she finds is no room at the inn, and a second-rate offer by the innkeeper’s cousin Colin. Colin is a happy go lucky guy who forms an attraction for Anna. 

I won’t spoil it, but when two roads diverge in a yellow wood, Anna and Colin don’t have too many choices: they fall for each other or they don’t… someone moves halfway around the world or someone doesn’t. 

This is book one in a series, and it definitely seemed like an introduction. I wanted more substance, some subplots, and a more memorable hero. But it was charming and well-written, and a nice way to familiarize readers with a new setting… especially for the price ($2.99). Here’s hoping book two hits me right in the heart! 

-calliope

Buy A COTSWOLD CHRISTMAS

Review: Lost Gods by Brom

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28819821Wow…what a wild ride. Parts of this I never saw coming and I have to say they had me all up in arms and twitchy with nerves! Parts of it were downright scary to me!

This book blinded me with parts that were filled with brilliance. Other parts were just so outside the normal acceptable realm of imagination that I had a hard time wrapping my head around it.

That is entirely my fault, and of no fault of Brom.

Do you want to know how I know it was my fault and not Brom’s? Because as I read it, I had no problem believing that the characters he dreamed up were real…as my mind was almost stretched beyond belief, I kept thinking, does Brom really expect me to believe that was not freaking out whilst this happened? No doubt of the character…just the crazy circumstances that they were having to endure…

I can’t say I was 100% sure about this book as I read it. The Child Thief is an all time favourite of mine…From the first page to the last I loved every word. I loved this one as well, I just wasn’t sure I could accept it. I wasn’t sure I could believe it. I wasn’t sure if I would be glad I read this at the end of the day or feel like it was a wasted read…it started out just so wonderful and then I kind of stalled…again, simply because it was so far out there….

However, once I finished the last page (and I was reading at a mad pace to see what happened the last few chapters). I was very sad to see it end. Hell was a small price to pay to spend time with all of these wonderful characters Brom created….I knew as soon as I finished it that any doubts I had were unfounded…I loved this novel….even if it did seem almost impossible at times…

I’m still thinking about some of these characters long after I finished the last page…

Finally…the artwork! Hey, it’s Brom and you should expect nothing less…except expectations often fall flat…but Brom’s artwork ALWAYS blows me away…

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy your copy here Lost Gods by Brom

Review (Take 2): Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult 

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Urania reviewed this book recently (Click here for her thoughts) and now it’s my turn. I’ll take a page out of Urania’s book by not including any spoilers.  🙂

This book is about race, truth, blindness, and forgiveness. Picoult will make you uncomfortable. She will push against your cheek until your head is facing truths you’ve denied for so long. She will chip away at the facade of equity that you believe in. You will fight it tooth and nail, chapter by chapter, because you don’t want any of it to be true about you or your best friend or anyone. 

I’m going to say it. I still don’t think just being white makes me racist. But I do see that being white gets me through the day a lot more smoothly than not being white would. For that, I should act responsibly, always standing up for what’s right and true. That will be my small great thing. 

-calliope

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Review: Christmas in Paris by Anita Hughes

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This is how you know we muses (and Pegasus) post honest, unbiased reviews, folks: 

There I was reading this lovely story, not remembering the title or author, but impressed with the writing and basking in extravagant descriptions of Parisian food, shopping, and architecture. I thought, “Wow, this book reminds me of Anita Hughes’ novels. Everything is so luxurious and magical. The romance is subtle, slow, and authentic.” 

And I kept reading, enjoying the serendipitous meetings of Isabel and Alec. Balconies, cobblestones, gardens, restaurants. I loved the magic of the fortune teller and her adorable daughter. Mathieu was the PERFECT wingman, and Bettina the perfect wicked stepsister. 

I just couldn’t get enough. 

After a satisfying happily ever after I finally checked the title and author. 

Christmas in Paris. Anita Hughes. BOOM. 

Mais, oui, I should have known. 

-calliope

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Review: The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa

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I love historical fiction, especially World War II era stories.  I’ve read many, ranging from exceptionally good to just so-so to absolutely dreadful.  But I’ve learned from each one of them, a bit of something from history that I was unaware of.  And isn’t that, after all, the point of historical fiction?

Young Hannah’s family isn’t particularly concerned in the year 1939.  Her German family is well to do, after all.  They move in all the best circles and want for nothing.  But things quickly begin to change in Berlin as the Nazis quickly move in and begin to take over.  They find themselves being shunned by those who once welcomed them.  Their possessions no longer belong to them.  And they no longer feel safe.  All because they’re Jewish.

So when her father discovers a possible escape route, he jumps on it.  After much struggle, the family finds themselves aboard the St. Louis, bound for Cuba.  The country has promised safe haven to those escaping Hitler’s Germany.  As the family pulls away from the shores of their homeland, they begin to relax a bit and hope for a happy future.  But things take an unfortunate turn when Cuba suddenly refuses to admit them.  An entire ship full of passengers is stuck in limbo as they await word of their fate.

This is an outstanding debut novel.  It’s clear that the author put much thought and research into this story.  We hear the story from two generations, that of young Hannah and that of her great niece, Anna.  As Anna discovers her past, she helps us to fill in the gaps as well.  An excellent story for fans of historical fiction!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  The German Girl

Review: A Blind Guide to Normal by Beth Vrabel

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I loved loved loved A Blind Guide to Stinkville, and so there was no way I was going to miss out on the sequel, which proved to be very satisfying on many levels. (Both of these books are YA, by the way, for grades 5-7 I would guesstimate.)

First, I understand why many authors use alternating narrators, but frankly it just confuses me and makes the story choppy and less engaging. Beth Vrabel is so clever that she didn’t need to use alternating narrators, because she used Alice as the narrator for book one and Richie Ryder as the narrator for this book. Presto: The benefits of alternating narrators without the abrupt shifts every chapter! 

Second, and I’ve said this about Vrabel’s other books, I just love when the book reflects the personality of the narrator/protagonist. I was so annoyed with Richie Ryder and his jokes and stupid way he had with people. He really got under my skin! I didn’t want to keep reading at one point… and THEN I realized that it was Beth Vrabel’s awesome writing talent making me feel that way. It was like she was channeling Richie across dimensions. (Beth, do you tesser?!)

My most favorite facet of A Blind Guide to Normal wasn’t the fabulous karate competition or the yard horse or even Richie Ryder’s heartfelt friendships with quilting classmates and Alice and Jocelyn and Max. The best part of the book for me was the ending, where everyone figures out that fear is pretty much the ONLY thing that’s normal, and where Beth Vrabel again writes a book within a book. 

-calliope

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Review: Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

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28587957You won’t find any spoilers here…if you’re looking for that you can just move on by…ha!

Honestly, you won’t find much at all here…there simply aren’t words enough that I can say to make you understand how much I loved this novel.

What’s more, there are no words for just how much this book resonated with me. The truths that lie within, that we all know, but refuse to accept as truths…just because we know they are wrong…or we choose to believe that they have nothing to do with us and are in no way, shape, or form our fault.

I don’t want to say Picoult was brave in the writing of this novel. However, that’s just not true…it’s not how we should look at the writing of this novel. This was the right thing to do. The elephant in the room needs to be acknowledged….I hope that this novel is the start of things to come….

Equity…

Read this book…Recommend this book…Buy a copy of this book and give it to a stranger…But most of all….Discuss this book with as many people as you can…

Until next time…
Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy your copy nowSmall Great Things by Jodi Picoult

Review: Twelve Days of Christmas by Debbie Macomber

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A book about a blogger! With a meet-cute. And a smart, handsome, buff, broody guy in the same apartment building who likes Starbucks. Come on now, who isn’t signing up to be the girl in this girl-meets-boy?! 

THIS is my kind of Christmas chick lit. You’ve got your possibility of snow, your peppermint latte, some chicken soup, a job at Macy’s, struggles with a Christmas tree… I couldn’t have asked for even one more perfect scenario in this book. 

Twelve Days of Christmas is about, yes, falling in love, but more importantly, figuring out that the way to change a relationship is to become a better person, not try to change the other person. And telling the truth. That always helps. 

I really had so much fun reading this novel. Macomber put obvious effort into character development, authentic dialogue, and a natural trajectory for a growing romance. It’s chick lit, but it’s GOOD chick lit, complete with excellent writing, fun characters, and witty remarks. 

Enjoy! 

-calliope

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