Goodbye January - Hello February

Goodbye January 

Hello February

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My goal for this year is going to be staying on top of my blogging with reading and writing my reviews right away.   I eventually want to update my blog a little bit, but I need to get out of the backlog of reviews first.   I have been struggling to write my reviews recently so I am making that a goal for this year to write them after I finish a book.  I also will be taking less reviews and book tours so that I can get some of my backlog books read and reviewed.  I have finally made it through all of my emails so now I am prioritizing review requests and getting them done as fast as possible. 

In my life it has been a busy January.  In January we celebrated my husband's birthday with several dinner trips with family and friends.  I went to the Devil's game with my friend and we had amazing seats.  The weather has gotten a little better, it started with a very cold January.  Work has been quiet so I am able to get slightly caught up with my blogging. February I am going to be traveling again for work so hopefully I will get some reading done on my flights.

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My top clicked on post for January was: Girl in Pieces - Kathleen Glasgow (Review)

My favorite book I read in January was:  The Bastard's Bargain - Katee Robert (Completed 1/22/18) - My review is part of a Blog Tour that I will post on 2/8/18

I can't wait to read in February: I Stop Somewhere - T.E. Carter - I am participating in a Blog Tour for this book and it sounds so interesting I can't wait to see if the emotions truly come through from the author.
 

Books Completed in January:
Getting Off - Erica Garza (Completed 1/1/18)
Caught - Karen Fenech (Completed 1/6/18)
Outlaw Ride - Sarah Hawthorne (Completed 1/7/18)

In Black and White - Catherine Lavender (Completed 1/20/18)
The Bastard's Bargain - Katee Robert (Completed 1/22/18)
Something to Howl About - Christine Warren (Completed 1/23/18)
Team Phison - Chase Verity (Completed 1/24/18)

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Audiobooks Completed in January Months: 
Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult (Completed 1/8/18) 
Talking as Fast as I Can - Lauren Graham (Completed 1/10/18)
Most Wanted - Lisa Scottoline (Completed 1/22/18)
One Perfect Lie - Lisa Scottoline (Completed 1/25/18)

February TBR List:
Wintersong - S. Jae-Jones (I am almost done with this book, but wouldn't finish until February)
I Stop Somewhere - T.E. Carter
Shadowsong - S. Jae-Jones

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 How was your January?  What do you have planned for February?

An Indecent Proposal - Katee Robert (Review)

Title: An Indecent Proposal

Series: The O'Malley's Book # 3

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 30th 2016

Publisher: Forever

Format: Digitial and Print

Synopsis:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert continues her smoking-hot series about the O'Malleys-wealthy, powerful, and full of scandalous family secrets.

Greed. Ambition. Violence. Those are the "values" Olivia Rashidi learned from her Russian mob family-and the values she must leave behind for the sake of her daughter. When she meets Cillian O'Malley, she recognizes the red flag of his family name . . . yet she still can't stop herself from seeing the smoldering, tortured man. To save her family, Olivia sets out to discover Cillian's own secrets, but the real revelation is how fast-and how hard-she's falling for him.

Plagued by a violent past, Cillian is more vulnerable than anyone realizes. Anyone except Olivia, whose beauty, compassion, and pride have him at "hello," even if she's more inclined to say good-bye to an O'Malley. While his proposal of sex with no strings seems simple, what he feels for her isn't, especially after he learns that she belongs to a rival crime family. Cillian knows that there is no escape from the life, but Olivia may be worth trying-and dying-for . . .

Download at:  

Amazon 

B&N

Review:

This book contains adult themes.

This is the third book in the O’Malley series by Katee Robert and follows Cillian the third oldest brother of the O’Malley family as he is trying to get his life together.

Cillian has the bad boy reputation of the family since his younger wild days.  Cillian is working on getting his life together, but struggling with the death of his youngest brother Devlin that is a major focus of the series.  Cillian ends up meeting a woman he becomes infatuated with named Olivia who is a bartender at a bar in the O’Malley territory.   Cillian has always been the screw up so now he needs to convenience everyone he has grown up because he is infatuated with Olivia.   Cillian’s POV of his family and the feelings that go along with that help to keep the story moving along and the reader wanting more.

Olivia has a darker past then she lets on.  She is trying to stay out of trouble and away from everyone while raising her child, but her past is still lurking around the corner.  Olivia is a member of the Romanov family from NY and her brother wants more out of her.  Olivia is a very complex character that the author does a great job creating.  I love that we get to see Olivia’s POV during the story because helps to give us a backstory as well get her current feelings.  Olivia’s main goal is keeping her child safe and in turn she is always keeping her guard up.

The romance that develops between Cillian and Olivia is a slow burning one.  Olivia is so guarded she doesn’t want to let Cillian in, but realizes that maybe he isn’t the bad guy.   They take their time to get to know one another and learn about each other.  Cillian grows into a new character during this book and realizes exactly what he wants in life and how he needs to achieve that.

The drama that we get in this story isn’t fully focused on the O’Malley versus everyone idea, but more on the danger specifically Olivia is in.  I enjoyed learning more about the Romanov group in this book and seeing what the Romanov’s want.  The drama comes quick towards the middle of the book and carries throughout the rest of the book.  I love the slower build up to a relationship prior to the drama hitting so that as a reader I could fall in love with the characters.  

I would suggest this as a weekend read.  I enjoy reading the O’Malley series and find it challenging to put this book down.  The story is fast paced in nature and an interesting read.  Towards the middle half the action picks up and it became challenging to put down as I wanted to know what was going to happen. 

My Rating: 4/5

Other Books in The O’Malleys Series

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

THE WEDDING PACT

AN INDECENT PROPOSAL
FORBIDDEN PROMISES

UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION 

About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension."  When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. 

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

Hardcore Twenty-Four - Janet Evanovich (Review)

Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
Series Stephanie Plum #24
Genres: Fiction, Mystery
Publication date: November 14th 2017
Publisher: Bantam
Format: hardcover, 320 pages
How I got it: Library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
My rating: 3/5 
 
Janet Evanovich’s #1 New York Times bestselling sensation Stephanie Plum returns in her twenty-forth thriller as mutilated corpses litter the streets of New Jersey...Trouble comes in bunches for Stephanie Plum. First, professional grave robber and semi-professional loon, Simon Diggery, won’t let her take him in until she agrees to care for his boa constrictor, Ethel. Stephanie’s main qualification for babysitting an extremely large snake is that she owns a stun gun—whether that’s for use on the wandering serpent or the petrified neighbors remains to be seen.

Events take a dark turn when headless bodies start appearing across town. At first, it’s just corpses from a funeral home and the morgue that have had the heads removed. But when a homeless man is murdered and dumped behind a church Stephanie knows that she’s the only one with a prayer of catching this killer.

If all that’s not enough, Diesel’s back in town. The 6-foot-tall, blonde-haired hunk is a man who accepts no limits—that includes locked doors, closed windows and underwear. Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli isn’t pleased at this unexpected arrival nor is Ranger, the high-powered security consultant who has his own plans for Stephanie.

As usual Jersey’s favorite bounty hunter is stuck in the middle with more questions than answers. What’s the deal with Grandma Mazur’s latest online paramour? Who is behind the startling epidemic of mutilated corpses? And is the enigmatic Diesel’s sudden appearance a coincidence or the cause of recent deadly events?

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My thoughts:

I have been a big fan of the Stephen Plum series for years now as they are perfect fast paced humor reads.   I have read every book in this series and couldn’t wait to read the next.  I have struggled through the past few with the repetitive nature of the story line, but this one gave me some hope.

This book follows Stephanie as she is trying to hunt down some escapees while feeding a boa and potentially zombies.   We have Lulu along for the ride as always during the book.  We only get bits and pieces of the relationship with Morelli in this book as well as bits and pieces with Ranger.   Diesel is in this book, but doesn’t add too much to the story line.  He seems as mysterious as ever.

The plot is a typical Stephanie Plum series where it can go in any direction at any time.  The story moves quickly along to keep me wanting to read.  The zombie story line creates a lot of humor for me as it just seems ridiculous in nature. 

I think my saving grace for this book was by far the humor has come back to the series.  I was struggling with the last few books there were some funny parts, but other than that they were standard and not to exciting.  Finally, in book 24 we are back to the comedy relief that this series provides.   The author does a great job bringing in the humor to make this a fast paced read.

My biggest complaint is we still don’t have a defined male for Stephanie and it just seems silly now.  She goes back and forth between Morelli, Ranger and now add in Diesel.  I would love for her to settle down with one, but I guess that wouldn’t keep the series going.  It is always the same I think she is heading towards Morelli and then back to Ranger.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  It was very fast paced and an easy read to be able to take your mind off a long day.   It was easy enough to read a long portion in a short amount of time, but there were some stopping points as well in the book. 

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About the Author

Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum series, the Lizzy and Diesel series, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and Trouble Maker graphic novel, and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author, as well as the Fox and O'Hare series with co-author Lee Goldberg.

Author Links:

   

The Marriage Contract - Katee Robert (Review)

Title: The Marriage Contract
Series: The O'Malley's Book # 1 

Author: Katee Robert

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: June 2nd 2015 

Publisher: Forever

Format: Digitial and Print

Synopsis:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katee Robert begins a smoking hot new series about the O'Malley family-wealthy, powerful, dangerous and seething with scandal.

Teague O'Malley hates pretty much everything associated with his family's name. And when his father orders him to marry Callista Sheridan to create a "business" alliance, Teague's ready to tell his dad exactly where he can stuff his millions. But then Teague actually meets his new fiancée, sees the bruises on her neck and the fight still left in her big blue eyes, and vows he will do everything in his power to protect her.

Everyone knows the O'Malleys have a dangerous reputation. But Callie wasn't aware just what that meant until she saw Teague, the embodiment of lethal grace and coiled power. His slightest touch sizzles through her. But the closer they get, the more trouble they're in. Because Callie's keeping a dark secret-and what Teague doesn't know could get him killed.

Download at:  

Amazon 

B&N

Review:

This book contains adult themes.

I got hooked on the O’Malley series after reading books 4 & 5 so I figured I would go back and start from the beginning.

This book is the first in the O’Malley series and follows Teague O’Malley the second oldest brother as he finds out he is being forced into an arranged marriage.   Teague is set to marry Calista Sheridan who is from another powerful family in Boston.  The marriage comes out of left field for Teague since Calista’s original groom was murdered.   

Teague doesn’t want to be an O’Malley and wants to move away from this life style.  Teague was hoping that his life wouldn’t catch up with him as quickly as it did.  Teague does have strong ties to his family and will follow through with family commitments.  Teague loves his sisters and wants what is best for them even if that means getting them away from his family.  Teague is a standup guy once you get to know more of his personality he will become a perfect book boyfriend.

Calista recently lost her brother and is now in line to take over the Sheridan family after her father steps down.  Calista has a large amount of pressure on her shoulders to step up into the role of head of a family.  Calista doesn’t trust anyone from the outside and struggles with accepting Teague as a partner.

I enjoyed reading the romance that develops between Calista and Teague.  It seems they have an insta-attraction, but it takes some time for the romance to develop.  Calista doesn’t want to jump feet first into anything so she is always trying to evaluate the entire situation.  Teague on the other hand goes after things that he wants.  It is a cute combination that the author created and their two personalities work well with one another.

Since this is the first book in the series the author is giving us the lay of the Boston land.  We get to learn about the different territories and what is going on with each family member.  I love that we get to see a little bit of how the O’Malley children were raised and were their values stand.  The story is fast paced and an easy read.  The author sets up the rest of the series within this first book and gives a big glance into the next book in the series.

I would suggest this as a weekend read.  I love the O’Malley clan so I enjoyed jumping back into the world and getting lost with the characters.  I enjoy reading the story that Katee has crafted out of these characters.   I found it challenging for me to put this book down. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and the last one in the series! 

My Rating: 5/5

Other Books in The O’Malleys Series

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

THE WEDDING PACT

AN INDECENT PROPOSAL
FORBIDDEN PROMISES

UNDERCOVER ATTRACTION 
THE BASTARD'S BARGAIN

About Katee Robert

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension."  When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. 

Connect with Katee at: Website | Facebook | Twitter| GoodReads | Instagram

Pretty Little Liars - Sara Shepard (Review)

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Series: Pretty Little Liars # 1
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery
Publication date: June 8, 2010
Publisher:  HarperAudio
Format: audiobook, 7 hours and 5 minutes 
How I got it: My public library
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
My rating: 3/5 

Three years ago, Alison disappeared after a slumber party, not to be seen since. Her friends at the elite Pennsylvania school mourned her, but they also breathed secret sighs of relief. Each of them guarded a secret that only Alison had known. Now they have other dirty little secrets, secrets that could sink them in their gossip-hungry world. When each of them begins receiving anonymous emails and text messages, panic sets in. Are they being betrayed by some one in their circle? Worse yet: Is Alison back? A strong launch for a suspenseful series.

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My thoughts:

This is my first Sara Shepard book that I listened too.  I have never seen the Pretty Little Liars show, but did enjoy watching the preview when it came out I just never got around to watching the show. 

This book is the first in the Pretty Little Liars series that follows the four girls who used to be best friends with Allison who disappeared three years ago from a slumber party.  The four girls drifted apart from one another and now live their own lives.

Each of the four girls begin receiving text messages from someone calling themselves “A” who knows all their secrets.  The big issue is that the only person who knew the secrets was Allison who went missing.  The girls don’t want to divulge the secrets to each other because they only shared them with Allison.  It doesn’t appear that the girls were all friends together, but rather each a friend to Allison and acquaintances to each other.    

The author does a great job creating the four different personalities of the girls Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna.  Each girl is going through their own drama related to the secrets as well as new developments.  It also seems though that “A” is watching them currently leading them to believe she might be alive. 

The story is very fast paced and an easy listen.  We get details of each of the girl’s lives, secrets, struggles and then we get to piece together the little mystery.    Aria just got back from overseas with her parents and is hiding a secret about her dad’s infidelity.  Emily is the star of the swim team and hiding that she is gay.  Spencer is almost valedictorian and hiding that she tries to steal her sister’s boyfriends.  Lastly, we have Hanna who feels her father abandoned her for a new family.  They all develop new secrets that “A” is also trying to bring to light.  I enjoyed learning about the girls and watching them each struggle with what is going on.  I did want them to come together in this book, but it is a longer series so we will see what happens.  

My one biggest issue was in the audio it took me a few chapters to figure out exactly what girl is what.  They had the same narrator for all the girls so it was challenging to figure out who was who.  I think reading the book might have helped with this issue as you could have easily looked back to see who was narrating the chapter.

I would suggest this as a perfect nighttime read.  It was easy to stop in between the chapters since the narrator was changing.  I found the book had natural stopping parts that helped me to stop and start the book without missing the storyline.   I can’t wait to see where the author takes the series.  

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About the Author

For as long as she can remember, Sara Shepard has been writing. However, when she was young she also wanted to be a soap opera star, a designer for LEGO, a filmmaker, a claymation artist, a geneticist, and a fashion magazine editor when she grew up. She and her sister have been creating joint artistic and written projects for years, except they’re pretty sure they’re the only ones who find them funny.

She got her MFA at Brooklyn College and now lives outside Philadelphia, PA with her husband and dogs. Her first adult novel is called The Visibles/ All The Things We Didn’t Say.

Sara’s bestselling young adult series, Pretty Little Liars, is loosely based on her experiences growing up on Philadelphia’s Main Line…although luckily she never had any serious stalkers. The series has also inspired the ABC Family television series of the same name.

Author Links:

   

One Perfect Lie - Lisa Scottoline (Review)

One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline
Genres: Mystery
Publication date: April 11th 2017
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Format: ebook, 384 pages
How I got it: Netgalley to provide an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
My rating: 4/5 

A handsome stranger moves to the small Pennsylvania town of Central Valley, and his name is Chris Brennan. He’s applying for a job as a teacher and varsity baseball coach at the local high school, and he looks perfect, on paper. But his name is an alias, his resume is false, and everything about him is a lie. And he has a secret plan - for which he needs a pawn on the baseball team.

Susan Sematov loves her younger son Raz, the quirky and free-spirited pitcher of the team. But Raz’s adored father died only a few months ago, and the family is grief-stricken. Secretly, Raz is looking to fill the Daddy-shaped hole in his heart.

Heather Larkin is a struggling single mother who’s dedicated to her only son Justin, the quiet rookie on the team. But Justin’s shy and reserved nature renders him vulnerable to attention, including that of a new father-figure.

Mindy Kostis is the wife of a busy surgeon and the queen bee of the baseball boosters, where her super-popular son Evan is the star catcher. But she doesn’t realize that Evan’s sense of entitlement is becoming a full-blown case of affluenza, and after he gets his new BMW, it’s impossible to know where he’s going – or whom he’s spending time with.

The lives of these families revolve around the baseball team – and Chris Brennan. What does he really want? How far will he go to get it? Who among them will survive the lethal jeopardy threatening them, from the shadows?

Enthralling and suspenseful, One Perfect Lie is an emotional thriller and a suburban crime story that will keep readers riveted to the shocking end, with killer twists and characters you won’t soon forget.

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My thoughts:

This book follows Chris Brennan who has just moved into a small Pennsylvania town to be a high school teacher and baseball coach.   The beginning of the story is told through Chris’s POV and we are made to think he is an unreliable narrator.  The story evolves and we then get the POV of three mothers of boys on the baseball team.   Each mother is going through a difficult time in their life and making some life changes.

The author does a great job with this story.  We originally are introduced to Chris who seems to be hiding something that I just couldn’t put my finger on.   You can tell as you were reading something was adding up, but it was hard to figure out exactly what wasn’t adding up as the clues where going off in several directions.

It is a story about an event that could happen, everything in the story seems very plausible.  I found myself questioning a lot of the characters in the book.  I enjoyed how the characters interreacted with one another and I enjoyed getting everyone’s thought pattern since no one else was even curious about Chris and his motives. 

Chris develops into the main character in the book.  I enjoyed getting to hear about his life and how he ended up where he was today.  We get to see how his career is the most important aspect of his life and that he has been thinking maybe he wants more, but when should more come to him.

The three mother's in the story are each going through a challenging time in their lives.  I did enjoy getting their perspectives on what was going on with their sons.  The stories were mostly focused on being the best mother for their own son. 

The story takes a lot of twists and turns and towards the end I was completely hooked.  I wanted to know what was going to happen and how all the pieces fit together.  We get the background information for a good portion of the book, but once the actions starts it keeps on rolling.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  I did enjoy reading the story, but I found some natural stopping points that I was able to put the book down and come back to it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgally to provide an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book. 

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About the Author

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 28 novels, including her latest, ONE PERFECT LIE, which releases in April 2017. Her previous emotional thriller, MOST WANTED, has been optioned for a TV series. Lisa also co-authors a bestselling series of humorous memoir with her daughter, Francesca Serritella, which is based on their weekly Philadelphia Inquirer column titled "Chick Wit." These witty and hysterical books examine life from a woman's perspective, and the most recent book is, I'VE GOT SAND IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES. The first in the series, WHY MY THIRD HUSBAND WILL BE A DOG, has been optioned for TV. Lisa reviews popular fiction and non-fiction, and her reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Lisa has served as President of Mystery Writers of America and has taught a course she developed, “Justice and Fiction” at The University of Pennsylvania Law School, her alma mater. Lisa is a regular and much sought after speaker at library and corporate events. Lisa has over 30 million copies of her books in print and is published in over 35 countries. She lives in the Philadelphia area with an array of disobedient pets, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Author Links:

   

Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult (Review)

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult 
Genres: Fiction 
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Format: ebook, 480 pages
How I got it: Netgalley to provide an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
My rating: 5/5 

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.

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My thoughts:

What a powerful read.  I couldn’t put this one down once I started it and I am not sure why I put it off so long.  

This book follows Ruth Jefferson who is a labor and delivery nurse for a local hospital.  Ruth has been a nurse for many years.  One day while at work a couple asks for Ruth to be removed from their case because of the color of her skin.  Due to an unfortunate series of events the child does not make it.  Ruth is then blamed for the death of the child and is taken to trial.

The story felt so natural, raw and real that I was hooked once it got going.  The author does an amazing job bringing all the emotions to the surface in this book.  The book gave me a lot to think about personally about my actions and reactions to different situations in my life.  I love when a book is thought provoking.   The author takes us for a journey in this book and it is one I will not forget easily.

This book is told through three POV’s.  We have Ruth who is on trial for the murder, the father of the baby Turk who is a white supremacist and Kennedy the public defender for Ruth.  

Ruth is such a strong and determined main character.  I loved that we got to see flashbacks of the past of how she became to be the person that we know her to be today.  I enjoyed getting to see her relationship with her family as well as how she feels about race in the world today.  It was refreshing look on racisim coming from Ruth’s eyes that people might not even consider.   I enjoyed reading Ruth’s views during the book and seeing her relationship with Kennedy form.    I loved to see the relationship Ruth had with her son as well.

Turk was an interesting character.  The author did a great job staying in character with Turk the entire time.  He was going through the grieving of losing a child, while also trying to justify his white supremacist attitude.  I did like getting a look at what Turk was thinking and getting to see when he had questions about his beliefs arise.   I also did like hearing of how he ended up where he was today.

Kennedy was an outstanding character in this book.  I loved that she thought she had her whole life figured out and then got this case, which brought her a dose of reality. Kennedy in my mind grew leaps and bounds during this book.  I loved that we got to see her mind changing and her thoughts on everything going on in her life.  Kennedy took things into her own hands and tried to step into the shoes of Ruth.   Originally Kennedy’s goal was to get Ruth off on murder, but the story went way beyond that.

The author does a great job with the pacing of the story.  The story keeps moving forward while we learn about each character, but we also get to see tidbits of the past that bring the story further to life.  I loved all the side characters that we got in the book because it helped make the story feel authentic.

I would suggest this as more of a weekend read.  I read it at night and found myself reading late into the night because I didn’t want to put it down and needed to know what was going to happen.   I would have loved to sit down on a weekend and be able to dive into longer reading sessions.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to provide an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book. 

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About the Author

Jodi Picoult is the author of twenty-three novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Between the Lines, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

Her new novel, SMALL GREAT THINGS, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 11th.

Website: http://www.jodipicoult.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodipicoult 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodipicoult

Team Phison - Chace Verity (Review)

Team Phison by Chace Verity 
Genres: Romance, Contemporary
Publication date: August 15th 2017
Publisher: Chace Verity
Format: ebook, 132 pages
How I got it: Read.Sleep.Repeat's giveaway
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5 

For 55-year-old Phil Hutton, finding a new boyfriend is tough, especially since he’s still hurting from his ex leaving him for a younger man. Online dating has been a soul-crushing experience for the restaurant owner. Too many meat-haters interested in microbreweries or something called geocaching. His matches in the multiplayer for his favorite video game have been equally sucky too.

One night, he encounters a newbie who is so helpless, Phil can’t help showing him the ropes. It doesn’t take long for Phil to become interested in his enthusiastic teammate. 28-year-old Tyson Falls from Georgia loves working as a server in a rinky pizza joint and sees the best in everything. As Phil’s online dating matches get worse and his in-game matches with Tyson get better, he finds himself wanting to pursue the easygoing chatterbox with a thick, sexy drawl.

But Phil can’t get past the fear that Tyson couldn't possibly want a fossil like him. If his brain doesn’t stop being so damn insecure, it might be game over for his heart. 

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My thoughts:

This story follows Phil who is a 55-year old restaurant owner who is looking for a new boyfriend.  He has been hurt in the past by a boyfriend and isn’t 100% sure how to move on.  Phil has been doing some dating, but hasn’t found anyone right.  Tyson is a 28-year-old from Georgia who meets Phil while playing a game online.  The two develop a friendship by playing the game together and the story unfolds from there.

I enjoyed the author’s comments at the end of the chapters that gave a very personal touch to the story. 

The story is told through Phil’s eyes.  We get to see the relationship between Phil and Tyson slowly unfold.  I enjoyed getting to learn more about Phil and what issues he is dealing with when it comes to his view of relationships.  I also enjoyed that we got to learn about the restaurant business from Phil’s eyes.  I loved that when out he would be pointing out issues or health violations.    I also loved that we got to see Phil’s family during the book; it was interesting to learn about the relationship he had with his sister and her family. 

Tyson was such a great character who I just couldn’t help but love hearing about him.  I enjoyed getting to know him through Phil’s eyes.  He seemed so cute and a very positive personality.  I loved how he could turn Phil’s whole view around and how exciting he made Phil. 

My one issue with the book would be I wanted a little more out of the story.  The book is short in nature and I would have loved to get more of a backstory on Phil and Tyson.  They seemed to have a very strong connection in the book and I would have loved them to share more about themselves.  I felt connected to the characters, but I wanted a little bit more.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read it was easy to pick up the story and put it down while keeping pace.  The story is short, but is easy to follow along with.

I received a copy of this book from a giveaway hosted by Read.Sleep.Repeat's Blog. 

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About the Author

Chace Verity (she/they) is publishing queer as heck stories with a strong romantic focus, although queer friendships and found families are important too. Chace prefers to write fantasy but dabbles in contemporary and historical fiction as well. An American citizen & Canadian permanent resident, Chace will probably never be able to call a gallon of milk a "four-liter."

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