Tag Archives: fiction

The Spirit Tree by Kathryn M Hearst

I have found a book that may be just what you are looking for!

(Okay, that’s not actually true. Rosie Amber found it.  I just read it. She’s a great helper of book finding and you should go look at her blog!) 

-If you are fan of the supernatural, this book may be for you.

(You know, like shape shifting, Native American magic sort of supernatural that comes at you all fast paced and crazy.  No napping in this book! There are also  a few… hundred… snakes in this book as well. Just in case you are one of those people who will string me up by my toes if I don’t warn you about such things.)

-If you are fan of the buxom girl meets older, like really, seriously, supernaturally, older man, this book may be for you.

(Yes, it’s been done… lots… because it works. So, go ahead roll your eyes, get it out of your system and then just enjoy the whole older man love triangle thing. Yup, there are two love interests, go ahead and get over that too. If we all stopped reading and enjoying books with such things, authors would probably stop writing them. But, that’s not really happening now is it?)

-If you like a bit of nudity in your books, this may be for you.

(That’s right nudity, not sex.  I think I can safely say that this book has the highest amount of nudity for the least amount of sex I’ve ever read.  I find this to be unusual and note worthy and you may do with that information what you will.)

-If you like some older sassy female characters, this book may be for you.

(The main character has an aunt and a grandma that are the sort of older conniving women we may not prefer to have meddling in our own lives but that we all secretly aspire to be.)

Would I recommend it? Maybe, do you fit any of the above criteria? This book was fun, fast read. It’s not for everyone but it’s an enjoyable book if you are a paranormal action romance reader. (Which is a mouthful of a genre, and possibly not really a genre… but it should be, it really should be.)

Rosie's Book Review team 1

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I discovered this book because I’m a proud member of Rosie’s Book Review Team!

 

 

A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman

I confess.

I did it.

It was an accident, but still, I broke a cardinal rule of book reading.

I read the last chapter first.

I blame it on the e-book format and I should probably have to re-shelve library books for the next week as penance. 

Would I recommend it? Don’t read the last chapter first because that will spoil everything but also don’t let the first few chapters get you down. Give it a little time and you’ll fall in love with the grumpy old Swedish man called Ove, I did.

Grind by Edward Vukovic

Is it cliche to compare a book that features coffee with a coffee shop? I hope not…

This book is told from a variety of view points and as they are introduced, the characters swirl through the plot like the steam and scent of coffee in eddies of breezes, mingling and changing as they meet. Just as if you were to follow your nose walking through your favorite local coffee shop, the scent of some of the characters drew me in. I wanted to know more about the woman who reads the future in coffee cups and I drank those stories up looking for seconds. Others pushed me back, the real estate agent was not what I hoped for, nor what I was expecting. Yet others, like the homeless man, changed on closer inspection, the difference between the initial scent of a cup and the surprising flavor on the tongue.

And I think the cover is wonderful. Judge books by covers sometimes- it totally works!

These people living in an Australian city have nothing but coffee in common, until they all drift toward the ceiling, swirling, changing and intersecting.  Once that happens, once all the characters intersect, some in big ways some smaller you are left with an overall ambiance that is better than any of them individually.

Would I recommend it?  Yes and I don’t even drink coffee.

(Also the book has undergone a rewrite and additional editing since the first reviews posted on Amazon, don’t let them scare you off!)

 

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

An Off-Piste Christmas by Julie Houston

Lets just start off with a definition of “off-piste” because I’ll admit I had no idea what the title of this book (novella really) was referring to.

Google to the rescue!

off-piste

adjective & adverb   SKIING
  1. away from prepared ski runs.
    “challenging expanses of off-piste skiing”
    • so as to deviate from what is conventional, usual, or expected.
      “on this occasion I went off-piste and booked in at The Griffin, a place none of us had ever visited before.”

I know there are people out there who always want their books to be really realistic and not all convenient with enough happily ever afters to go around.

I’m totally not that person.

I like happy endings, I like Christmas, I like this book (err- novella).

Actually, I love Christmas but it is also the part of the year that we spend lots of time with our family. Time where you look around and think that they are all crazy and you wonder how anything, much less everything is going to work out. (Sorry family.)

But then! Then, you read a book like this fine novella and think- “Well, her daughter is dating her best friend’s previous lover and father of her baby and they are all going on a fancy schmancy Christmas skiing trip in Italy together, even though she hates skiing and it all works out for them,” my totally normal family will be fine.

Would I recommend it? It’s goofy and funny and crazy and scandalous and *spoiler alert* ends happily. While I know there are scrooges out there who don’t approve of such things, I thought it was an excellent quick (Did I mention it was a novella? You can totally fit in in your reading schedule this month!) Christmas read!

Rosie's Book Review team 1

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I discovered this book because I’m a proud member of Rosie’s Book Review Team!

Madam Tulip and the Knave of Hearts by David Ahern

I’m so grateful that I was once reeled in by a cute frog on the cover of a book. That book, Madam Tulip, introduced me to Derry O’Donnell and her accompanying, charmingly over the top, literary comrades.

David Ahern’s newest book cover isn’t as cute…

… but that’s alright because I loved it even more!

Would I recommend it? Yes! This is the new series I’m recommending to anyone who loves a humorous mystery! It made me giggle (so many times) and almost gag (there’s an eyeball…) and had me on the edge of my seat (Well, that’s just a lie on my part. I was reading in bed. But it did have me refusing to put the book down and go to bed at a reasonable time) all at once. A perfect fun, quick read!

Rosie's Book Review team 1

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I discovered this book because I’m a proud member of Rosie’s Book Review Team!

Life in the Floating City by AR Neal

Do you ever take on a project and then wonder what you were thinking?

Me? Read and review a book inspired by a music album?

Me? Read a book where each chapter corresponds to a song of the album?

I am really not a music person.

But… I am totally alright with futuristic worlds and interstellar travel and (this may come as a shock) I really like books.

So, I offered to read it and…

…holy man the people in this book!

They are conniving and loving and crazy! They have secrets and plans and sometimes they get lucky and sometimes they don’t.

And…Wow!

But, people are always going to be – people. Just like the first chapter says, “No matter where the sun, there’s nothing new under it.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re a music lover or an interstellar space lover because, above and beyond all that, this is a book about people and the rest is just a minor back drop to the drama of their lives. But let me warn you, there is a lot of drama in these lives. I was taken aback by the twists more than once!

Would I recommend it? I would particularly recommend it to someone who loves music. You see I tried to listen to the album… but, and this pains me to admit, I got bored and I couldn’t focus and didn’t really listen to any of it. And so, while I found the information at the end of the book about the album and the inspiration it gave the author really interesting, I’m curious how someone who actually has the ability to pay attention to a whole song would feel about the book. Though I would caution that the novel flows more like a collection of short stories that tell a larger picture. Just remember I’m living proof that you don’t need to listen to the music to enjoy this crazy drama.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ivory and Gold by Jerry Johnson

This is one of those books where the good ole boy Nebraska deer hunters get transported back in time and space to early 1900’s Africa.

 

Yeah… I’ve never read anything like it either and it does sounds a little crazy.

Okay, it might actually be a little crazy, but give it a chance!

Jerry writes with the eyes of a man who appreciates the detail of the natural world.  He can bring both the Nebraska sandhills and the African plain to life like only one who’s loved and lived in the outdoors his whole life can. And, it seems, that he has heard enough hunters talking smart and telling yarns that his characters can banter and trash talk with the best of them, as they make their way through all the terrible and wonderful things the Athi Plain (not to mention that smugglers’ caravan they ran into) can throw at them.  Even if they are just a couple of modern day rednecks.

Would I recommend it? Ivory and Gold was one of those books that I couldn’t help but smile as I read it. I smile when I tell someone about it and re-reading bits as I write this has me grinning all over again. I smiled for the characters and for the African time in history, and I bet, if you don’t mind a little space-time travel and love a good hunting yarn, you will too!

The Elizabeth Papers by Jenetta James

“Finis.”

I read the last line, sighed happily and mentally hugged the digital book to my heart (It’s a true downfall of e-readers, they just don’t snuggle like paper does).

This novel flipped between excerpts from Mrs. Darcy’s diary (yes, that Pride and Prejudice Mrs. Darcy) and the 2014 hunt for the lost diary. On the surface that sounds like it could be, well, boring.

It wasn’t.

The chapters switched between time frames in a way that I was never lost in one time yearning for another. I loved the romance, (of the happy sighing kind) and the hard to put down suspense of it all (I know, lost document suspense, believe it!). My only regret is that e-readers just don’t accept hugs like paperbacks do.

Would I recommend it? I have already told everyone who’s been willing to sit and listen that they should read this and you should too! If you’ve ever shown even a passing interest in Pride and Prejudice, historical fiction, sweet romance, contemporary drama or detective stories, try this book! I absolutely loved it and have moved the authors other book to the top of my “to be read” list!

Rosie's Book Review team 1

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I discovered this book because I’m a proud member of Rosie’s Book Review Team!

The Pickpocket by Celine Jeanjean

Perhaps you’ve read The Bloodless Assassin or The Black Orchid (I know I told you should!). If you have, you’ll already know the main character Rory. But if you haven’t, this truly is (and believe me I’m picky about such things) a stand alone novella about Rory’s life as a young street urchin.

If you’ve read the others in this series you’ll get treated to flashes of insight into what makes Rory tick and fun glimpses of supporting characters as they were years before we really “meet” them.

If you are a new reader you’ll be presented with a page turning story (I read it in one sitting) of a hungry street urchin turned pickpocket. Complete with loss, hard times, friendships and the character depth and growth I’m beginning to happily expect from Celine Jeanjean’s writing. And, you’ll be introduced to the city of Damsport. A city that comes with such depth and detail it gives all of the books an unbelievably firm sense of place and seems to be a character in it’s own right.

Would I recommend it? Was it not yet obvious? Yes! If you haven’t been sure The Viper and Urchin is the right series for you, try this one first! It’s short, it’s minimally steampunk-y (in case that scares you off) and it’s an all around great read. Just don’t yell at me when you are downloading the rest of the series onto your e-reader in the middle of the night!

September’s Book at the Door giveaway is still open! Don’t forget to put your name in the hat for the chance to win a paperback book and first line artwork! Book at the Door: September Giveaway

Madam Tulip by David Ahern

There is a frog on the cover of this book and it’s pretty. And so I decided that I needed to read this book. (I’m pretty sure that’s what you call successful cover art!)

Would I recommend it? Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but you sure can choose one. Frog loving isn’t even required to enjoy this book! I mean, you should love frogs anyway but amphibian love is unnecessary to appreciate a book with a main character who, rather accidentally, gets caught up in the world of celebrities when she decides to become a fortune teller. Unfortunately, as she soon finds out, there are some seriously shady sides to a few of those celebrities.  The action is fast, the humor is constant and frogs are discussed. But it wasn’t the frogs that have me recommending this book, it’s the just slightly over the top characters and the just a little bit crazy plot.  Something about the tiny bit of excess in both turns this from just another female lead action book to a book that you really need to bring along next time you hit the beach! Rosie's Book Review team 1

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I discovered this book because I’m a proud member of Rosie’s Book Review Team!