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Review: The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

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25663807There surely are fewer things scarier to an aging person than the loss of themselves, the essence of who they are.  Whether that means physically or mentally, even the thought of such is devastating.  So who can imagine what it would be like to experience this scary yet fairly common milestone at an unnaturally early age?  Such is the premise of this intriguing book by Sally Hepworth.

Anna is a young 38 years old when her life as she knows it comes to an end.  Early stage Alzheimer’s has caused her world to change in ways she could never imagine.  Resigned to living out her days at an assisted living center, she retreats into a shell as she waits for the complete loss of her memory and, eventually, her life.

What she doesn’t count on, however, is falling in love.  You see, she’s not the only “youngster” at Rosalind House.  Luke’s experiences are much like Anna’s.  And fate would have it that they find each other.  But can someone fall in love without remembering it?  Is love in your mind or in your heart?

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking story.  The author does an outstanding job of taking us into Anna’s mind and allowing us to imagine what she might be thinking and feeling. And at the same time, she weaves into the story a mystery waiting to be unraveled.  I wanted to know what the secret was, what happened in Anna’s past that even she didn’t remember. Each chapter left me wanting more.An outstanding story!

~Thalia

Buy It Now:  The Things We Keep

 

Review: Sebring by Kristen Ashley

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01 a Boy, does Kristen Ashley know how to end a series. Goodness.

Fantastic. Emotional. Sweet. Sexy. Basically, it’s what you expect from a KA book. And you will never be disappointed. EVER.

Nick Sebring has a score to settle and he takes it upon himself to get close to Olivia in order to do that. But in doing so, he sees something in her that makes this more than a job. She is not living. She is surviving. Nick He decides to take it upon himself to give her a life of her choosing. A free one, if she’ll only let go and let him take care.

“And I’m the man who knew you meant a fuckuva lot to me yesterday, so you meaning more today means everything. And I’m the man who’s got two priority missions. To get you free of a life you hate and to get you to a place that you smile, frequently and easily.”

My heart was breaking for Olivia. Her life is full of secrets and lies and lots of destruction. She is a pawn in the game her sister and father are playing. She is merely a shell until she meets Nick Sebring. She wants to believe that he’s in this game for her and not any other reason. She wants the peace that he promises. She wants the safety. But living the life she does, she’s used to people playing her. So she’s wary of him at first, but then he gets her to believe that he can give her the peace she seeks.

“I breathe. I’m here. I take up space. I eat. I drive. But I have no brain. No will. No strength. No opinions. I do not matter to the point I do not exist.”

“You exist for me.”

So many secrets. So many lies. At numerous points my stomach dropped. I had faith that Kristen would work this out for me, but not without some stress. So you gotta get through it and it will be worth it.

Let me add a little more to this. My feelings about Knight just went up a little after reading this. He loved his brother, even if he caused him a ton a grief. Families forgive and move on and Knight did that and he helped Nick when he needed him.

That epilogue….aw man…again, she’s the queen of the epilogue.

“It’s your purpose this life to take care of me. And it’s my purpose to give that back.”

He tried to read her, thought he got a bead, and said, “You don’t gotta make grand gestures.”

But he’d read her wrong.

“You’re right, I don’t. You love me and I have one simple task. To make it worth it.”

That’s not gonna be hard, baby, you do that by breathing.”

Someone hand me a tissue, please.

~Melpomene

Buy Sebring (The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 5)

Get caught up with the series.
Knight (The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 1)
Creed (The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 2)
Raid (The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 3)
Deacon (The Unfinished Heroes Series Book 4)

Review: What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

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25111142This is a book that is hard to review, because it simply isn’t black and white. This novel is about a lady who finds a baby left unattended in an IKEA store and walks away with her. Twenty one years later she is caught. This book attempts to tell her story and show us the aftermath.

I’m so conflicted. Yes, what she did was 100% wrong. She never claims it wasn’t. However, the fact of the matter is, it was a “one-off” that would have never happened if the birth mother hadn’t answered a phone call, walked off, and left her baby unattended for several (never really told how long, but I am guessing it was well over 10 minutes, possibly more than 20) minutes.

Facts are, no one is perfect. Especially parents. Even though Lucy (the lady who abducted the child) seemed to want to be a parent above all else, it’s pretty evident to me that she wasn’t the best mother. Yes, she needed to support herself and her *daughter*, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that she was a very career oriented person. Much of the raising was left to the nanny. Having said that, she provided a good life and did, in fact, love the child. I do believe she didn’t attend to take the child and as the minutes ticked by one by one, she found herself unable (and unwilling) to correct the situation…

I would also like to point out that the birth mother….well, there’s no two ways about it. I didn’t like her character. As hard as I tried, I just couldn’t find her believable. She was just too over the top and wholesome for me to deal with. Going on and on about placing soothing drops on pillows to help her reunited daughter sleep easier through the night, sessions of throwing rocks and yelling into the wind to cleanse out bad feelings, taking her (now adult) daughter to sessions to have her charted and palms read. Yes, I’m sure these people exist in life…but if I was that daughter, I would have been very weirded out by her.

Finally, why the book was full of so much grey matter for me was the daughter. She made the book worth reading. Once she started reflecting on her life and the guilt she felt for loving a woman who provided so much for her….when she started wondering how different her life would have been….well, you can imagine…having to feel guilty about loving someone…well it must be a terrible feeling to have. Then trying to come to terms with that love, with the guilt, and being glad she had the life she had and not the one she was taken from….well, again, her story and her hurt is what made the entire book a worthwhile read for me….

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now What Was Mine by Helen Klein Ross

Review: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

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Sara flies from her home in Sweden to nowhereville, Iowa to visit a pen pal and fellow book lover, but when she arrives, nothing is as she expected. The people surprise her, the town isn’t much of a town at all, and her old standby — books — are hard to come by. So she makes a plan and makes some friends and puts the pieces of her life back together. 

In the course of telling the story, Bivald writes in some contrivances that just made certain aspects of the plot too obviously fake to me. I also noticed that as I read I kept asking myself, “is that supposed to mean something?” Maybe Bivald wanted to integrate symbolism in places? But those were just two bumps in the road. 

Most of the book went along quite smoothly, introducing the reader to some stereotypically exaggerated characters (the old maid, the gay guy, the town drunk) which, to me, made Sara seem all the more plain and subdued. But she surprises people and makes waves in her own way. 🙂 

I really loved that Sara shared her love for reading in the best, most apt way possible. She shared herself through those books, and I could feel the other characters’ gratefulness. 

The best part of the book was the happily ever after because it gave me that “sigh, everything is as it should be now” feeling. Settled. Which is something Sara only felt at the very end as well. 

-calliope

But THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND

Review: The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

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25513627My very first Chris Bohjalian novel….I’ve been told time and time again in the past that I should be reading this author….but like so many, I just have an abundance of really good books on my TBR list and not nearly enough time….In this case, a review copy dropped into my lap at just the right time and I dove right in. I am so glad I did! I can’t wait to read my by Mr Bohjalian!

There are lots of characters I feel that a reader can sympathize with….and because of that, I think this would be a really great book club read…and that is something I NEVER say! I don’t really do book club reads…hahahaha…but regardless of that, I still think this will be a brilliant book club read! It would be interesting to see whom people aligned their loyalties to…the husband, the wife, the young *strippers*, the daughter? All of them? None?

I for one love realist endings over HEA endings….so I wasn’t that bothered by this ending…but it will be interesting to see what others think….

This book makes it clear that life can change in an instant…..we all know it…..but we often forget it….we like to think that nothing like this could happen to us….we like to call this “escapism”….we tell ourselves that it makes for an interesting read and a distraction from real life….that we would never find ourselves in this type of situation….Bohjalian really makes me question that….this book starts out with just a few simple choices….not even choices…it’s more like being in the wrong place at the wrong time….when it comes down to it, the fact is, not many people who find themselves in a bad situation have actually meant to be in that position….yes, there are some things that you would change with hindsight…but that’s the pesky thing…hindsight only comes about AFTER the fact…..

There are lots of things and moral situations to ponder in this story….you’re sure to find yourself trying to put yourself into other’s shoes here and wonder what you might have done differently….

Highly recommend this one….no matter if you’re a long time fan of Chris Bohjalian or a new fan like myself…

Until next time…

Urania xx

ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review

Buy it now The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

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41ONc4Ga9+L._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_Let me preface this review by saying that this book isn’t for everybody. But then, most books aren’t. Still, violence and gun violence in particular is so prevalent in our society. And when the subject is a school shooting, that one place that absolutely should be safe, it makes it that much harder. But if you do choose to read it, you won’t be sorry.

54 minutes. That’s all it takes for young lives to be forever changed. In that span of time, one teen’s inner turmoil turns into revenge. And his high school classmates are the targets. They never saw it coming as they filed into the auditorium to listen to their principal’s speech. They find themselves cowering and scrambling for safety, all the while wondering why.

As the story is told from several different perspectives, we get a glimpse into the killer’s past to find out just what pushed him to this point. We also view the tragedy through the eyes of other students. What did they know? Could they have done anything to prevent what’s unfolding? Theirs are stories of bravery and heroism, lives saved and lives lost. Each character is unique and reads true to life, and the story flows easily in spite of the varying points of view.

As much as I enjoyed this story, I long for the day when a book such as this truly is fiction instead of something that sounds very plausible. Sadly, occurrences such as this one are far too common.

~Thalia

Buy It Now: This Is Where It Ends

Review: Anything For You by Kristan Higgins

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I love Kristan Higgins’ books – always have. She writes hilarious one-liners that provide comic relief when things get heavy. Higgins writes authentic, deep characters… people I feel like I know, even though they’re fictional. 

Higgins’ Blue Heron series adds beautiful scenery and a vineyard backdrop to the mix. I almost feel like this series is a saga – generations of families, light politics, and family owned businesses play a big role. 

Anything For You is number five in the series. Connor has been in love with Jessica forever, but even after a decade she holds him at arm’s length. Oh the angst, my friends. I mean, you know (hope) there will be a happily ever after, but for so long things are looking grim! I was tense in the shoulders waiting for the other shoe to drop. And drop it did, though not in the way Connor or Jessica or I imagined. 

The love story rocked (in all its angst), the subplot of new employees at O’Rourke’s and the vineyard — totally hilarious, and the recurrence of past characters in cameos was precise, deliberate, and perfectly placed. 

I’m just going to keep on loving these Blue Heron folks. Thanks, KH! 

-calliope

Buy ANYTHING FOR YOU

Review and Giveaway: Built by Jay Crownover

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01 built What can I say? I like my characters to be a little bit flawed or broken. Not shattered or destroyed, just a little chipped. And Miss Jay Crownover has a knack for that type of story, which is why I was super excited to sink my teeth into this book.

Zeb Fuller is this big mountain of a man who has turned his life around from his past mistakes. He’s happy with his life and never really knew what he was missing until Sayer walked into it. Sayer is this straight laced layer who likes everything simple and calm on the outside. She was in no way prepared for Zeb and his overwhelming presence in her life.

SYNOPSIS
Sayer Cole and Zeb Fuller couldn’t be more different. She’s country club and fine-dining, he’s cell-block and sawdust. Sayer spends her days in litigation, while Zeb spends his working with his hands. She’s French silk, he’s all denim and flannel.

Zeb’s wanted the stunning blonde since the moment he laid eyes on her. It doesn’t matter how many smooth moves he makes, the reserved lawyer seems determinedly oblivious to his interest—either that or she doesn’t return it. Sayer is certain the rough, hard, hot-as-hell Zeb could never want someone as closed off and restrained as she is, which is a shame because something tells her he might be the guy to finally melt her icy exterior.

But just as things start to heat up, Zeb is blindsided by a life altering moment from his past. He needs Sayer’s professional help to right a wrong and to save more than himself. He can’t risk what’s at stake just because his attraction to Sayer feels all consuming. But as these opposites dig in for the fight of their lives, battling together to save a family, the steam created when fire and ice collide can no longer be ignored.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Sayer. She seemed a little stuck up. But the more I got to know her the more I realized where she was coming from. She was made to help people, and being a family lawyer, she is very good at it. But when it comes to her own relationships, she needs a little nudge. Enter, Zeb.

I really liked these two together. It was a bit of give and take and little push and shove, but these two were made for each other. I loved watching Zeb force her into looking in the mirror and realize what’s right in front of her. She needed that nudge. Zeb was perfect. Yes, he made mistakes but he will move heaven and earth to fix them and build his life to what he wants it to be.

This was very nice way to start this spin off series. It was nice to see a few of the past favorites and I see a few new characters that I’m hoping we’ll see a bit more of. Their stories are bound to be full of drama and angst. Just the way we I like it.

~Melpomene

Enter the giveaway HERE.

Release Date: January 5, 2016
Be sure and pre-order Built: Saints of Denver

EXCERPT:
I met her at a bar.
She had a beer bottle in her hand even though she looked like she should be sipping champagne out of an expensive flute, and that inexplicably turned me on. She was pretty and looked completely out of place in the no-name bar sitting across from one of my longtime friends who also happened to be her long-lost brother. He was the reason she was here. In that split second that I laid my eyes on her I wanted to be the reason she stayed.
I knew it was rude and that the two of them needed some time together, some time to figure out what they were to each other now that she had blasted into his life unannounced. If I was a better friend I would have left them alone. As it was, I made my way over to the tiny table and sat down. I was covered in sawdust and had drywall mud caked in the hair on my head and on my face, but she didn’t flinch or bat an eyelash when I purposely broke up their party of two and placed myself as close to her as I could without actually touching her.
My buddy Rowdy St. James lifted his eyebrows at me as I stared at her while he introduced us. Sayer Cole. Even her name was elegant and sophisticated sounding. She was an enigma, this pretty woman that seemed like she should be in any place but this bar with the two of us. She’d showed up out of the blue a couple of months ago claiming to be Rowdy’s half-sister, claiming that they shared a father, claiming that all she wanted was to be in his life and have some kind of family of her own. She looked too delicate to be that brave. Came across as way too proper to have said “fuck it all” and picked up her life to move it someplace unknown without being sure of her welcome. She looked like silk, but if my guess was right about her, it was silk wrapped around steel.

Review: The Bride Wore Crimson by Adrianne Lee

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Well now, I was expecting a girly wedding story… but this wasn’t that! Maybe it’s because I’ve read other Adrianne Lee books that were quirky chick lit. Maybe it’s because I saw the word Wedding. Maybe it’s because I love fluff! Haha. 

Whatever the reason, I was super wrong, folks. This book is a whodunit… and not for the faint of heart.

If you’re into eccentric cozy mysteries, hop on for a ride through Weddingville. You’ll meet the suspicious photographer, the new girl, the off kilter cousin, and the regulars who try to make every bride’s dream come true in their kooky nuptial-destination town. 

-calliope

Buy THE BRIDE WORE CRIMSON

Review: Make Me by Lee Child

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23664710SO happy with this installment. I’ve felt that the last few have been lacking…hell, to be honest, after reading “Personal” I waited a few days after the release date to read this one….I’ve always read Reacher the day of release! Lee Child has been a long time favourite author of mine…I’ve followed Reacher from the very start…but the last few years have really left me feeling that perhaps Child was more interested in politics, Hollywood deals and easy payouts….

This one however! This is an example of what I loved about Reacher…Child wasn’t trying to invent dialogue and make Reacher more likable. Reacher acted exactly how he wanted to…said and did what he felt like doing, and didn’t much care if others didn’t really approve. They could either go along, or they could walk away….as often is the case, others followed along….I admit, Reacher is a type of person that I often wonder about in real life. I mean, he’s kinda stand-offish…his grooming habits might have a bit to be desired…he often takes the hard road, verses the easy way…and he doesn’t want to talk about, he just wants to bash someone’s head in….I should really be appalled by the man….but I’m not….I absolutely love him….

And if you want to know why….read this book….This is Reacher at his Reacher best…

**Spoiler** as for the all the reviews I am seeing now about Reacher settling down now…I wouldn’t bet on it…he’s had relationships in the past….he’s even crossed the country to meet a woman he was intrigued with….but Reacher isn’t the type to settle down…Hell, having a bank account was a sore subject with him…Does anyone REALLY believe he can stay in one place? Have a toothbrush holder? A favourite coffee mug? Pssssffffttttt….pleaseeeeeeeee…….give me a break…..

Until next time…

Urania xx

Buy it now Make Me by Lee Child