Synopsis:

After a case ended badly for Rebecca Carson, she’s losing her mind sitting around her apartment waiting on her superiors to allow her to return to work. Since she was a teenager, the only thing she’d ever wanted was to join the FBI. Now that dream was in danger.

Gage Daniels has made a pretty good life for himself. A nice house. A career he loves. As a professional football player, he’s used to getting almost everything he’d ever want with just the snap of his fingers. This includes women. A well-timed smile is usually all it takes to attract the opposite sex, especially in Nashville.

When a stalker threatens Gage, the team owner calls an old friend, Rebecca’s ex-partner Travis Hansen, to help protect his star quarterback and find the person responsible. Hansen offers Rebecca the job, and she jumps at the chance. It’s work, and it will get her out of her apartment. How bad can it be?

Posing as Gage’s girlfriend, however, isn’t as easy as it seems. The man is relentless. Rebecca must work to protect Gage while staving off his advances. She’s there to do a job, nothing more. The last thing she wants is to be another notch on a hotshot athlete’s belt.

As the stalker continues to up the ante, Rebecca finds it harder and harder to keep her distance from Nashville’s star quarterback. He isn’t what she expected in one of the city’s most notorious playboys. Now all she has to do is keep him safe until they can find his stalker, and hope she doesn’t lose her heart in the process.

Review:

I don’t know if I knew that this was the 2nd book in a series, but it is definitely not a book that has to be read after the first book.  Sure there might be something about one of the characters in the first book, but I think it was a minor character and not one essential to the plot.

I found this to be a fun read and I tried to figure out through the whole book who was stalking Gage…trust me when I say it wasn’t anyone that was on my radar!  There is great interplay between Gage and Rebecca and we see her defenses crumble and maybe having a relationship isn’t quite so bad.  It is a fairly quick read and worth the time.  Overall we give it 4 paws.

About the Author:

Sherri is the author of four novels: Hidden Threat,Slave (Finding Anna Book 1), Need (Finding Anna Book 2), Behind Closed Doors (A Daniels Brothers’ Novel), Red Zone (A Daniels Brothers’ Novel), and a short story, A Christmas Proposal. She lives in central Ohio with her husband and three cats. Her mother fostered her love for books at a young age by reading to her as a child. Stories have been floating around in her head for as long as she can remember; however, she didn’t start writing them down until she turned thirty. It has become a creative outlet that allows her to explore a wide range of emotions, while having fun taking her characters through all the twists and turns she can create. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found helping her husband in his woodworking shop.

A few weeks ago I highlighted the book, The First Rule of Ten which is a new mystery series by authors Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay.  That book and this book, The Second Rule of Ten, was sent to me by their publicist to read and review.  They know me well enough to know that if I am to review a book in a series that I really need to read the ones before it…I’m picky like that!

Synopsis:

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Today I bring you a review for A Song for Julia by author Charles Sheehan-Miles.  Charles has been a soldier, nonprofit executive, short order cook, IT manager and run a restaurant. He doesn’t believe in specialization. He currently works as a communications and outreach specialist for a law firm representing disabled veterans.

Synopsis:

Everyone should have something to rebel against.

Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.

Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father’s career and dominating her family’s life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she’s haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.

When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.

Review:

A Song for Julia delves deep into the past and emotions of the two main characters, Julia & Crank.  Julia grew up with a father who was a diplomat with a mother that didn’t really know much about mothering.  She endures a traumatic event when she is 14 which scars her emotionally and only in meeting Crank is she finally able to work through it all.  Crank isn’t the perfect guy, he has his own set of issues including a brother with Aspergers and his own parent issues.

I enjoyed the book and it made me stop and think about how good my life has been compared to these characters and even those around me.  To see Julia break through her shell and stop doing what everyone else wants her to do made me want to cheer her on.  Life wasn’t going to be easy but she was going to be in control.  Crank was another hot mess but being around Julia helped him resolve some of his own issues and helped him grow up as well.  Julia’s relationship with her mother is tenuous at best and her relationship with her sisters wasn’t much better.  I always like it when I see family coming together and sticking up for each other, even if it just a few…because sometimes that is all that it takes.

I give this book 4 paws, might be something you would like!

Today’s review is a new series by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate. A television journalist since 1975, she has won 28 Emmys and twelve Edward R. Murrow awards for her work. Her work has resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in restitution. A best-selling author of five mystery novels, Ryan has won the Agatha, Anthony and Macavity awards for her crime fiction. Her newest thriller, The Other Woman, was published by Forge in September 2012 and named to several “Best of 2012” lists. She’s on the national board of directors of Mystery Writers of America (and an instructor at MWA-U) and is president of national Sisters in Crime.

She has another series, also about an anchorwoman, Charlotte McNally mysteries.

Synopsis:

Jane Ryland was a rising star in television news…until she refused to reveal a source and lost everything. Now a disgraced newspaper reporter, Jane isn’t content to work on her assigned puff pieces, and finds herself tracking down a candidate’s secret mistress just days before a pivotal Senate election.

Detective Jake Brogan is investigating a possible serial killer. Twice, bodies of unidentified women have been found by a bridge, and Jake is plagued by a media swarm beginning to buzz about a “bridge killer” hunting the young women of Boston.

As the body count rises and election looms closer, it becomes clear to Jane and Jake that their cases are connected…and that they may be facing a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to silence a scandal.

Dirty politics, dirty tricks, and a barrage of final twists, The Other Woman is the first in an explosive new series by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Seduction, betrayal, and murder—it’ll take a lot more than votes to win this election.

Review:

If politics doesn’t make for an interesting and explosive read, I’m not sure what does!  Jane is a reporter and does what reporters do…gets out there and gets the story.  Jake is a cop, with a thing for Jane.  He doesn’t want to tell her things because of her career, but knows that she can help him solve the mystery….even if she puts herself into precarious positions!

The story intrigued me because I wondered how a journalist would balance solving a crime (or helping to solve) and reporting on the situation.  The character had a good balance even if she did get herself into some trouble!

I know I’ve said it on here before, but I rarely figure out who the killer is and this book was no different…..I might have had an inkling towards the end, but Hank does a great job of masking the clues and not making it easy to figure out.

All in all we give it 4 paws and think this will be a great new series.  Check it out!

Interview with the author:

The Giveaway:

The publicist sent me a copy of the book to read and I want to share it with one of my lucky readers!

Synopsis:

After a terrible virus ravages the planet, Carly Daniels, one of the few survivors, hides in her apartment in Juneau trying to survive the best she can with only occasional forays to gather food. With her is Sam, a wolf puppy she found starving on the streets. He becomes her companion and a reason to continue when giving up sometimes seems like the more attractive option. Still dazed with shock and grief, she hopes for the world to go back to normal soon.

She is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to Florida before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey, because a warmer climate will be their best chance  against the extremes of Mother Nature.

Together, they begin a perilous journey through a nation laid to waste by the disaster. Challenges abound along the way. The weather, injury, and shortage of supplies all help to slow them down. In time, they discover that they aren’t the only survivors. Some are friendly but some have had their minds destroyed by the high fever. Then there are those who simply take what they want, leaving Carly and Justin with no choice but to defend what is theirs.

But their journey is not without joy and love. Together, they face every struggle, including an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the perils of bringing a child into a world of chaos, their baby is a new beginning for themselves and a symbol of hope for the other survivors they find along the way.

This is the story of their journey to find a place to begin a new life, and a home in each other.

Review:

I’m not even sure how to sum up my thoughts on this book…..WOW is what comes to mind but that seems so understated.  I normally don’t read this genre (end of the world/apocalypse) but had read Ghostwriter by Lissa and thought I would check out this book too.  The characters are very real and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next.  Now I was a little surprised that Carly’s “dog” was so protective since it was a wolf and you would have thought other instincts would have come out, but this is fiction so anything can happen.  I was rooting for Justin and Carly hoping that there wouldn’t be a sad ending.  I don’t want to give it away (so I won’t) but the ending is good…but left me wanting more!  However, there is supposed to be a sequel to this book called The Beginning…I sure hope so because I want to know what happens to all of the characters!

I give this book 5 paws and suggest picking it up as soon as you can!

About Lissa:

Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete’s foot…. though only in her head.

Real life isn’t so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.

Her first novel, Ghostwriter was released October 11, 2012, and her second, The End of All Things, will be released on January 24, 2013.

You can find her here:  Facebook * Goodreads * Her Blog

The bride’s chasing her fairy tale. And he’s chasing the bride…

Not even the bride could deny a certain punch-line quality to her current situation: hard-nosed divorce attorney dumps her fiancé and her career to take a job selling wedding gowns.

Sydney Garfield has always approached relationships rationally—none of this emotional head-over-heels or opposites-attract business. Marrying Jack Kaiser is the smart thing to do—after all, he’ll be the “perfect” husband. But after a life-changing shake-up at work, Sydney abandons logic—and her fiancé—to chase the fairy tale.

Real-estate mogul Jack can’t believe the woman he’s head-over-heels for is ditching her hard-won success—and him—to work as a small-town shop clerk. That’s her idea of a fairy tale? Hoping she’s merely in need of time, Jack follows Sydney to Smizer Mill, where he invests in the quaint coffee shop next door. Now, he’s got a few new challenges: make a failing coffee shop a success and convince Sydney that theirs is a romance worthy of a true happily ever after.

Genre: Category – Contemporary
Length: 286 pages
ISBN: 978-1-62266-990-5
Release Date: October 2012
Imprint: Bliss

Read an Excerpt Here

Thoughts:

This book reminded me of The Runaway Bride with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.  I loved the interplay between Sydney and Jack and how even Ginnie (Sydney’s new boss at the wedding dress store) knew that they were right for each other.  It just took getting away from life (in a way) to figure that out.  When I first started reading this book, it seemed hard to get into the book…it might have been the time of day I started (at night) or my mood…but I’m glad I pressed on because I really enjoyed this book and the light-heartedness between the characters.

Overall I give the book 4 paws and do recommend it when you are in the mood for something light.

A few weeks ago I went to an event called Readers & ‘Ritas which featured many authors, some I had heard of, some that I had not. While at breakfast before the event started, I met Alexandra Allred who happens to live in the DFW area (met a lot of authors that live in this area!). When I realized she was an author I asked her about her most recent novel. After she told me about her work I had to go and buy it because it sounded like a good read. Of course I had to have her sign it….can’t pass up that opportunity!

Bio (from her website) – While I met Alex in person at Readers & ‘Ritas, I had no idea everything she had accomplished in her life!  Wow! 

Alexandra Powe Allred graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.A. in History, saying, “As everyone knows, once you get a degree in history, all you can really do is teach or write. I’m just doing what I can!”

As the daughter of a (now retired) U.S. Diplomat, Allred traveled all over the United States and around the world. Her writing career began before graduation with several pieces on bi-lingual education with national education publications. But the real stories began while living as a youth in Moscow, Russia. Under a communist regime, imagination and the ability to create stories was the very best way to beat boredom (and the freezing cold!).

As her career was taking off, Allred embraced her second passion — sports. She trained for and made the U.S. women’s bobsled team in 1994, becoming the first U.S. National Champion. She was named Athlete of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee and garnered much worldwide attention as she was also 4 1/2 months pregnant at the time! Her training regimen was (and is) used by the United States and International Olympic Committees for pregnant athletes. Following her retirement from the sport in 1998, Allred returned to the literary world with The Quiet Storm. While living in the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY, she was able to talk to Olympic and National athletes from all disciplines and share with sports enthusiasts. From there, her career was launched. She did adventure freelance writing for Sports Illustrated, Muscle & Fitness for Her, and Volvo magazines. She held a sports column, worked as an editor for NOW magazines outside Dallas, Texas and began working as a Clean Air advocate, often testifying before the EPA.

Today, she writes (mostly) fiction, teaches kinesiology classes for Navarro Community College while enjoying her family and animals in Texas.

Synopsis:

Everyone thought when and how Joanna Lucas decided to leave her husband was the most shocking thing they had ever seen, that is, until she moved. But when the outsider befriends a stripper-turned-Mormon, a one-legged woman who lost her appendage to a loose tiger and the outrageous Jeanie Archer, things really heat up. With such friends on her side, the underworld of polluting and big-dollar politics is finally exposed and that’s just the beginning.

Review:

Damaged Goods, while fiction, is based on a lot of true facts.  Think of it as Erin Brockovich comes to Texas!  Alex addresses the issues in a town south of Dallas that had cement plants which cause environmental issues which results in health issues for the residents of the town.

I have to say that while reading this book I tried to picture it in that town south of Dallas.  I’m not sure if my imagination did a good job of that, but hey that is in my head, which you are not!  The characters were multi-faceted and I found myself relating to some of the characters and appreciating the strength of the women who decided to stand up to the politicians.  There were also sad portions of the story (to be expected) that tugged at my heart.  Yes I know it is a story, but I felt like these characters were my neighbors (which they could be in a way).

All in all I give the story 4 paws.  The only negative is that when the author switched between characters and their point of view, it took me a few minutes to figure out whose viewpoint was now being expressed.

Ready Player One by author Ernest Cline was chosen by my book club as the November read.  This book was published in 2011 and there was a big contest that went along with it where the author gave away a DeLorean car (think Back to the Future and the flux capacitor!)

Synopsis:

The year is 2044 and the world is in near-ruins. The Great Recession has taken its toll on the world’s economy, and resources are scarce. The Internet and gaming culture have evolved into a creation known as OASIS, a massive multiplayer online simulation game created by James Halliday and Ogden Morrow of Gregarious Simulation Systems (GSS), formerly known as Gregarious Games. Halliday, with no heirs or other living family, dies suddenly and leaves a video will to those in OASIS and a book that was dubbed Anorak’s Almanac, which purports to be a volume written by James Halliday’s avatar Anorak in OASIS. The video says that whoever can collect three keys (Copper, Jade, and Crystal) that are hidden throughout the universe of OASIS and pass through the matching gates will receive his fortune and controlling stake in GSS. This becomes known as the Hunt and people immediately begin the search for Halliday’s Easter Egg. Those searching for the Egg are referred to as “gunters,” a truncation of “egg hunters.” Gunters devote an enormous amount of time to studying 1980s pop culture, the decade Halliday grew up in and was perpetually obsessed with, in the hope it will assist them with locating and solving the puzzles involved with the egg.

Thoughts:

Normally I am not a huge science fiction fan…but WOW was this book good!  I don’t know if it was all of the 80’s references and tech speak or what, but I could not put this book down.  I was up until midnight finishing the book because I had to know how it ended.  I had a suspicion (when you read a lot of books some things become somewhat predictable, but not how they get to that ending!) but was still surprised and some of the things that were revealed.

I definitely recommend this book, I don’t think you will be disappointed.  I give it 4 1/2 paws

Earlier this year I reviewed an excellent historical fiction novel by Ed Brodow called Fixer.  If you haven’t picked that one up, definitely add it to your TBR (to be read) list.

Ed contacted me again and asked if I would like to review his new book, Women from Venus.  This book contains four short stories that have interesting twists at the end…

In the first novella, Women From Venus, psychologist Robert Elgar’s successful career as a debunker of alien kidnappings is sabotaged when a beautiful abductee charges him with rape.

The Man Who Could Not Make Up His Mind depicts the ordeal of Clifford Day Vanderwall as his career is destroyed by a predatory fortune hunter in this hilarious satire about love among New York’s upper crust.

Intent on revenge, ex-Marine Tommy Courten tracks his sister’s psychopathic killer to a remote South American
jungle only to be shocked by what he discovers about his own true nature in The Stamp.

In I’ll Take Manhattan, the Lenape Indians offer proof that their tribe is the rightful owner of Manhattan Island and they want it back.

Review:

Ed had a lot to live up to after I read Fixer and loved it!  He did not disappoint with with these four short stories.  In fact, I didn’t want the stories to end, I wanted them to continue!  The stories twist and turn in the end and what you think is going to happen or should happen, doesn’t.

I think my favorite was I’ll Take Manhattan because the thought of a group of people lying claim to Manhattan which is nothing but an island…well that is crazy and can you imagine how much people would lose if all of a sudden ownership of the land reverted to a group of people?!  Crazy!

Gracie and April enjoyed the stories too and give them four paws

Last to Die by author Tess Gerritsen is the latest (#10) in the Rizzoli & Isles series…you know, that show that is on TNT!  I will admit that I don’t watch the TV show and it has been a loooooong time since I read a book in this series, but that didn’t stop me from picking up this book!  But more on that in my review.

Interview with Tess Gerritsen:

What inspired the characters of Maura Isles and Jane Rizzoli?  — Jane was modeled after female cops I’ve met through the years.  They were tough, smart women who have had to work hard to be accepted in what’s been traditionally a man’s profession. Jane’s very much my opposite — she’s brash, unafraid to speak her mind, and not above a little arm twisting if it’s necessary.  Maura is very much like me: introverted, logical, and something of a loner.  In fact, a lot of Maura’s biographical details come straight from my own life, from where she went to college and med school to what kind of car she drives.

What was it like writing about children as crime fighters, rather than victims, of crime? — It was a lot of fun, because it fulfilled my own childhood fantasy of being a crime fighter.  I think it’s a universal fantasy entertained by children, that they’re heroes, capable of feats that adults don’t give them credit for.  And the teenaged trio in LAST TO DIE was particularly fun to write about because they’re the outcasts, the self-described “weirdos” whom no one respects.  When they can do heroic things, it’s even more of an achievement.

How did you originally become interested in writing thrillers?  What from your childhood impacted this? — I’ve always loved the mystery genre, because of my childhood addiction to Nancy Drew novels.  Nancy was a role model for a whole generation of girls.  She was smart, spunky, and independent — and that’s what I imagined every girl detective must be.  But as I grew older, I gravitated toward darker mysteries. Murder, after all, is not a light-hearted subject. My medical training forced me to see death face to face, and those details naturally made it into the books.

How do you use your background as a doctor to enhance your books? — A great deal of my medical training shows up when I write from Maura’s point of view.  Doctors learn to approach puzzles in a logical way, eliminating the possibilities until they reach the one logical conclusion.  That’s the way of thinking that dictates how Maura approaches a problem.  Her memories of medical school and residency are oftentimes my own experiences.

What’s it like to watch the show on TNT? — It’s both fun and a little strange, since these are my characters — except they’re different.  They’re funnier, more glamorous, and way more attractive on TV.  And they’re a lot more girlfriend-y, which is why so many women have gravitated toward the show. The female-buddy-cop show is something we haven’t seen since Cagney and Lacey three decades ago.  It was about time for a new one!

You can read here Tess’ blog post about why she wrote this book.

Synopsis:

For the second time in his short life, Teddy Clock has survived a massacre. Two years ago, he barely escaped when his entire family was slaughtered. Now, at fourteen, in a hideous echo of the past, Teddy is the lone survivor of his foster family’s mass murder. Orphaned once more, the traumatized teenager has nowhere to turn—until the Boston PD puts detective Jane Rizzoli on the case. Determined to protect this young man, Jane discovers that what seemed like a coincidence is instead just one horrifying part of a relentless killer’s merciless mission.

Jane spirits Teddy to the exclusive Evensong boarding school, a sanctuary where young victims of violent crime learn the secrets and skills of survival in a dangerous world. But even behind locked gates, and surrounded by acres of sheltering Maine wilderness, Jane fears that Evensong’s mysterious benefactors aren’t the only ones watching. When strange blood-splattered dolls are found dangling from a tree, Jane knows that her instincts are dead on. And when she meets Will Yablonski and Claire Ward, students whose tragic pasts bear a shocking resemblance to Teddy’s, it becomes chillingly clear that a circling predator has more than one victim in mind.

Joining forces with her trusted partner, medical examiner Maura Isles, Jane is determined to keep these orphans safe from harm. But an unspeakable secret dooms the children’s fate—unless Jane and Maura can finally put an end to an obsessed killer’s twisted quest.

Review:

As I mentioned above it has been awhile since I have read a book by Tess Gerritsen.  I remember enjoying her books but not sure why I stopped reading in this particular series.  But that doesn’t matter because after reading this book I want to go back and figure out what books I have missed in the series and read them as well!  Last to Die grabbed me from from the first few chapters…who was this mystery woman that was saving the children?  Why were the foster families of these children being murdered?  It didn’t make any sense….until you get near the end!  The interaction between Maura and Jane keeps you hopping because while they may be friends and have the same goals, there is sometimes a little tension….but that may be because I’ve missed something in the books I’ve missed.  Anyway, there are many twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and eyes glued to the pages wondering what could possibly happen next!

Gracie and April give this book 5 paws and if you have not read this series before, start at the beginning with The Surgeon because while you could read this book and not really miss out on anything, starting at the beginning of a series will introduce you to the two main characters and you will understand their relationship better!

The Giveaway:

This is open to all US residents.  Fill out the form below and a winner will be chosen on Sunday, September 30th.