DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE by Susan Mallery

December 15, 2016

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This time of year – especially this year – I find myself reaching for kinder, gentler books, often holiday themed, but not always. This book has been in my to-be-read pile since summer, and I’m happy to say that I finally reached the bottom of that pile. Of course I have several more piles to get to, but that is what makes me happiest, knowing I have many books just waiting to be read.

Daughters of the Bride is not as quick a read as I expected of a Susan Mallery book.

The little twist in this book is that there are three daughters, all in their twenties, and the mom who is remarrying after many years of being a widow. I always enjoy a good middle-aged romance but they are far and few between and it is a bit of a stretch to say this book is really about the mom. She is a bit of a bridezilla, but that is all background. It’s the daughters that are front and center, especially the youngest, Courtney.

When her dad died, he left the family destitute. Her mom was all wrapped up in trying to make ends meet and Courtney sort of fell through the cracks. She had a learning disability, was left back twice and eventually dropped out of school to work as a maid at the hotel where her mom’s best friend was the owner. But she worked hard to get her GED, then her associates degree, and is nearing completion of college – except she hasn’t told anyone, other than her boss.

Rachel is the middle sister, divorced but still in love with her ex. Rachel pretty much raised Courtney and they are still very close. Sienna is the oldest and very beautiful, but can’t seem to make a commitment to a man, having been engaged twice and in this story, for the third time.

Courtney has an affair with her boss’s grandson, a mega-successful music producer who has decided to leave the glitzy L.A. life behind and move to the small town where his grandmother has her hotel.

I loved Courtney’s story, liked Rachel but Sienna just irritated me. I had significant issues with the mom. Maybe because I know how my mom struggled to make ends meet after my father left, but she always made me feel like me (and my brother) were the most important priorities in her life. So this mom just pissed me off.

Not my favorite Mallery book, but I’ll be going back for more. I like this author too much to give up just because I didn’t love this one.

12/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE by Susan Mallery. HQN Books (July 12, 2016). ISBN 978-0373789719. 416p.

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Meet a winner!

December 14, 2016

This is Gloria from Oswego IL – she was a winner of the International Thriller Writers Bookshelf, winning all these signed thrillers. Doesn’t she look happy?

winning-books

This could be you! All you have to do is enter for a chance to win. Plus, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on how you to enter this month’s contest.

Best of luck! And congratulations, Gloria!

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THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath

December 13, 2016

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Hellions of Havisham Series, Book 3

It’s my week for Viscounts, I guess, which are pronounced Vie-count, no “s” at all – I double checked.

I actually read the first book in this series, but somehow missed the second so guess I’ll have to go dig that up. This was really good.

Lord Lockley is heir to the Viscount but his father, while still alive, is mad as a hatter. Lockley’s mother died in childbirth, and his father went mad with grief. The house has fallen into disrepair, but Lockley gets a shock when a beautiful young woman shows up at the front door.

Portia announces that she is there to marry the Viscount and Lockley gets his hackles up. His father apparently put an ad in the paper seeking a wife of child bearing age. Since his son hasn’t married, he wants to produce his own “spare”.

Portia is seeking financial security, and Lockley isn’t about to let a fortune hunter take advantage of his father. After reading the fine print of the contract, he realizes that he can protect his father if he marries the young widow himself, and he does so immediately. There is an incredible physical attraction between them, but both are also determined not to fall in love. Lockley fears madness and Portia fears heartbreak.

But what good is a romance if no one falls in love? Yes, there is a good deal of very erotic sex (that Heath is known for) but love – well, you’ll have to read it to find out.

An excellent addition to the series.

12/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VISCOUNT AND THE VIXEN by Lorraine Heath. Avon (November 29, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062391056. 400p.

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THE VIRGIN AND THE VISCOUNT by Charis Michaels

December 12, 2016

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Bachelor Lords of London Series, Book 2

So I’ve fallen back on my bad habits and I started this series with this book, the second in the series. I had a digital review copy that I had requested because it sounded interesting, but then I realized it was from the Avon Impulse imprint, which I had sworn off because I read a few in a row that I didn’t care for. But I had it on my iPad, needed something to read at a doctor’s office, and forgot why I hadn’t read it before. And I was happily surprised – it was really good.

Charis Michaels is a new romance writer from what I can tell, it looks like this was her second book and a third has come out since. She is definitely someone to watch.

Lady Elisabeth Hamilton-Baythes is the virgin in the title. Her parents were killed by highway men when she was a young teen, and she was kidnapped and sold to a brothel where she’s branded and left in a room while the owners tried to get the best price for a night with her.

But before she can be deflowered, a young lord Bryson shows up in her room. His father has decided it is time for him to lose his virginity, and the humiliation is just an added bonus. He and Elisabeth climb out the window and he helps her escape to an aunt’s house in London.

Fast forward several years and Elisabeth’s aunt is hosting a party for Bryson Courtland, Viscount Rainsleigh, a rich and powerful man. The same man Elisabeth has mooned over since he saved her. But while he doesn’t recognize her, he is attracted to her and in need of a wife.

You can figure out what happens but let me say that there is a lot of drama, some hot sex and some heartbreak along the way. Looking forward to more from this author.

12/16 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE VIRGIN AND THE VISCOUNT by Charis Michaels. Avon Impulse (August 23, 2016). ISBN: 978-0062412959. 416p.

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2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Historical | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE MISTLETOE SECRET by Richard Paul Evans

December 11, 2016

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I’ve never read this hugely popular author but I saw the Hallmark movie based on Mistletoe Promise and really liked it, so I decided to read this new book.

Richard Paul Evans writes contemporary romance that is on the sweet side, a sort of male Debbie Macomber, if you will. A little humor, no sex, and happily ever after is the formula and it works.

Alex Bartlett (like the pear) is a salesman in Daytona Beach, Florida who was doing a lot of traveling for his job. His wife met someone and took off, breaking his heart, and Alex is lonely. He has friends, but it’s not enough.

Those friends convince him to try Internet dating but when the site matches him up with his ex, he decides to Google loneliness. He finds a blog written by a woman with the initials LBH, and he really connects with everything she’s written. Determined to meet her, he follows some of the clues she’s left in her blog posts and figures out she is in a small town in Utah.

Alex flies to Utah and stays at a bed and breakfast and the owner is only too happy to help – it is a small town, after all. Eventually he falls for a waitress, Aria, at the local diner but still seeks the mysterious “LBH.” Aria has also been hurt by love, but there is a strong attraction between them – until Alex blows her off when he thinks he’s found his mystery woman.

It’s not too hard to figure out the story but it is enjoyable nonetheless. A quick, sweet holiday story that may end up on Hallmark next Christmas.

12/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE MISTLETOE SECRET by Richard Paul Evans. Simon & Schuster (November 15, 2016). ISBN 978-1501119811. 320p.

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2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: Christmas, Holiday | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

TURBO TWENTY-THREE by Janet Evanovich

December 10, 2016

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Stephanie Plum Series, Book 23

I still enjoy this series, but I was a bit disappointed in this latest entry. I thought last year’s Tricky Twenty-Two was the best book in years, so I was hopeful for this one. While Evanovich kept the shorter length which worked well in 22, this one felt longer. Really long.

It starts off silly, which we have come to expect and enjoy. Stephanie is out to pick up her latest bounty runner but he takes off in an ice cream truck. She causes it to stop, the subject takes off and a dead guy falls out of the back of the truck. Not just dead – frozen, dipped in chocolate and covered in nuts. A dead Bogart Bar, as it were.

Lula is back of course, and she’s hatched a plot with Randy Briggs. The two of them are creating demo tapes to submit to Naked & Afraid, the Trenton edition, with varying results. Meanwhile Ranger offers Stephanie a chance to earn extra money. She goes undercover at the ice cream factory to try and figure out what’s going on. But all she finds is another frozen body and she’s not happy about it.

Stephanie and Joe are still together, and she’s constantly tempted by Ranger as well. Her mother is ironing like mad, Grandma Mazur has a boyfriend, and all sorts of hijinx ensue.

I found the first half really slow moving but it picked up after that. The usual jokes, exploding cars and so forth abound and fans will enjoy.

12/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

TURBO TWENTY-THREE by Janet Evanovich. Bantam; First Edition edition (November 15, 2016). ISBN 978-0345543004. 304p.

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Author Linda Fairstein on her first mystery

December 9, 2016

Linda Fairstein (author of INTO THE LION’S DEN) talks about the first mystery she ever wrote… as a fifth-grader.

for the third to sixth graders you know and love…

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Into the Lion’s Den

The Devlin Quick Mysteries, Book 1

Watch out, Nancy Drew—Devlin Quick is smart, strong, and she will DEFINITELY close the case in this thrilling new mystery series for girls and boys from New York Times bestselling author Linda Fairstein

Someone has stolen a page from a rare book in the New York Public Library. At least, that’s what Devlin’s friend Liza thinks she’s seen, but she can’t be sure. Any other kid might not see a crime here, but Devlin Quick is courageous and confident, and she knows she has to bring this man to justice—even if it means breathlessly racing around the city to collect evidence. But who is this thief? And what could the page—an old map—possibly lead to? With her wits, persistence, and the help of New York City’s finest (and, okay, a little bit of help from her police commissioner mother, too), Dev and her friends piece the clues together to uncover a mystery that’s bigger than anyone expected—and more fun, too.

With all of the heart-pounding excitement that made her internationally bestselling Alexandra Cooper series a hit, Linda Fairstein paves the way for another unstoppable heroine . . . even if she is only twelve.

Into the Lion’s Den by Linda Fairstein. Dial Books (November 15, 2016). ISBN: 978-0399186431. 320p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah

December 8, 2016

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Stories from a South African Childhood

When it was announced that Jon Stewart was leaving The Daily Show and all but unknown (to us) correspondent Trevor Noah had been tapped to take over, the news came with an understandable amount of trepidation. Noah had appeared just a few times on the show before the announcement and basically vanished until the transition, which meant viewers didn’t really have a chance to get to know him. Unless, of course, you’d sought out his stand up. Because Trevor Noah, while new to most of the US audience, had already made a name for himself elsewhere.

Noah is charming, smart, and funny, each of which holds equal weight in The Daily Show. But again, most of us knew little about him. And though personal stories have made their way into the show’s dialogue, this debut collection of essays offers up much more of a look inside the history and childhood that made him who he is today.

The title, Born a Crime, is true. Trevor Noah was born in South Africa during apartheid when the mixing of races (socially and otherwise) was illegal. Noah intersperses his beginning tales with a basic history of apartheid, explaining not only the law but how it came to evolve as well, offering up an honest look at a truly horrific and recent piece of world history.

Noah’s own reminiscences, while perfectly illustrating the charm and humor he’s known for, are fairly dark. He recounts, for instance, the time his mother threw him from a moving vehicle in order to escape the very possible violence about to occur at the hands of a minibus driver one Sunday. And he talks honestly about how his family handled the very fact that his very existence could have meant jail for them and/or an orphanage for him.

At the heart of the collection, though, is the fact that Noah’s mother, an extraordinary woman, is responsible for the man he is today. At a time when education and opportunity were all but nonexistent for a Xhosa woman, she pursued both. And she taught her son to think, to reason, and to dream.

Born a Crime is an amazing book that is eye-opening and shocking as well as funny. It’s addictingly readable and definitely one I’d recommend not only to fans of Trevor Noah and The Daily Show but to readers interested in an inside, and again honest, look at apartheid and South Africa.

12/16 Becky LeJeune

BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah. Spiegel & Grau (November 15, 2016). ISBN 978-0399588174. 304p.

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OCEAN OF STORMS by Christopher Mari & Jeremy K. Brown

December 7, 2016

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A sudden massive explosion on the moon leaves a vast gash on the lunar surface. It also sends a titanic electromagnetic pulse to earth which becomes the cause of failure of all electrical equipment and causing plane crashes, auto accidents and the stoppage of machinery used to keep civilization running.

At this time China and the United States are embroiled in harsh disagreements looking like they will lead to war. The problem in this hostile scenario is Taiwan and if it is to be annexed by China.

Treaties provide that the United States will protect it. At the time of the explosion on the moon, the U.S. is sending a fleet to the waters near Taiwan in order to put on a show of force to prevent the Chinese Annexation.

The United States is also looking at the lunar explosion and has made the decision to send an expedition there to enter the gash created and find out what is the cause. NASA has not sent a space craft to the moon in many years and has to enter a crash program in order to bring an older ship up to snuff. China has also started to mount a lunar expedition and looks like it may beat out the U.S. in getting to the moon. But a very fortuitous chain of events cause the two rivals to become forced to send a joint expedition.

China has an excellent flight rocket, but their lander is not up to the needs required to land on the moon’s surface, while the U.S. has the lander but must bow to the Chinese rocket. A sensible combined effort is quickly put together and takes off.

There is friction at first between the International crew but quickly becomes friendship when problems arise that must be handled quickly in order for the expedition to succeed. The moon is reached and the gash is entered. What is there, and what it means forms the gist of the novel while guiding the actions of the now united International crew members.

Ocean of Storms is well done science fiction and the development of the action nicely includes the characters as well. The book provides a fast paced read and does an excellent job of keeping the reader’s interest and attention.

12/16 Paul Lane

OCEAN OF STORMS by Christopher Mari & Jeremy K. Brown . 47North (December 1, 2016). ISBN 978-1503938779. 410p.

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THE CHOSEN by Kristina Ohlsson

December 6, 2016

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The Fredrika Bergman Series, Book 5

Fredrika Bergman is a brilliant crime analyst & Alex Recht is a police inspector, and together they solve crimes in Stockholm, Sweden.

Peder Rydh, former police and newly minted head of security at the Solomon Center, a Jewish community, is immediately thrust into turmoil. A preschool teacher is shot and killed in the middle of the afternoon pickup, and a short time later two ten-year-old boys go missing.

The boys are found dead the next day, left in the woods with paper bags over their heads. The story starts escalating, landing Fredrika in Israel and involving Efraim, a Mossad agent, as well as Eden, an agent with Sago, the Swedish secret police.

This is an intricate story with tentacles that reach to an Israeli myth of “the Paper Boy”, a Mossad operation gone horribly wrong, and the Sago investigator’s personal crisis, yet never gets bogged down. If only these principal investigators weren’t all so secretive, the murders could probably have been solved a hundred pages sooner, but what’s the fun in that.
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12/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE CHOSEN by Kristina Ohlsson. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (December 6, 2016). ISBN 978-1476734064. 496p.

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