SOCIABLE by Rebecca Harrington

March 27, 2018

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The premise of this sophomore novel by Harrington (Penelope) is that journalism is dying and millennials will save it. To do that they will have to fit some work in between parties, fighting with friends, romance, and in this case, surviving a bad breakup.

Our heroine is Elinor Tomlinson, a vapid, immature twenty-something working as a nanny. Her boyfriend’s mother, a well respected journalist, recommends her for an opening at a second tier online news magazine. Elinor stumbles through the interview spouting generic nonsense and gets the job, creating viral content for the web. She is probably better at her job than the two men who want to mentor her, yet she doesn’t seem to like her job very much. Her boyfriend dumps her, and she just wallows in self pity.

Readers may be able to empathize with the breakup if they can slog through the changeable points of view, the too-brief attempts at humor, hash tags and even comments addressed directly to the reader. ©Library Journal, 2018

This book sounded so good from the publisher:

The Assistants meets The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. in this exuberant comedy of manners set in the world of Internet media, a brilliantly irreverent novel about what it means to be young, broke, dumped, and scarily good at creating viral content.

Um…not so much. Very disappointing read.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SOCIABLE by Rebecca Harrington. Doubleday (March 27, 2018). ISBN 978-0385542821. 256p.

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THE OCTOBER MEN by David Impey

March 25, 2018

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Hindsight Can Be Deadly

Impey begins an intricate and mesmerizing story during the early days of WWI with a company of soldiers moving up to the front lines. He than goes forward describing other seemingly non-related events, including the later attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. A series of color photos which appear to be beyond the range of photography during the periods covered by these photos calls attention to what is going on.

The novel goes on describing other events and bringing into the picture a young Oxford physicist, Otto Parsons, who has been conducting experiments in quantum physics, attempting to create zero gravity without going into outer space. His work yields totally unexpected results which serve to tie together the various events described in the story.

A group of scientists attempt to tie Parson’s experiment together by producing a historical TV series that attempts to uncover the truth behind such isolated instances as the Roswell incident and the assassination of president John F. Kennedy. The show unfortunately attracts the attention of a group of international criminals who use the equipment developed by Parsons to take advantage of both the financial and art markets.

A very interesting plot and a narrative that will definitely capture and keep the reader’s attention.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE OCTOBER MEN by David Impey.  BigBear Communications Ltd (March 20, 2018).  ISBN 978-1912145799. 340p.

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THE TERMINAL LIST by Jack Carr

March 24, 2018

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The phrase,”revenge is a dish best served cold,” is a piece of advice with roots in literature possibly stemming from the time of William Shakespeare. Carr’s powerful novel resoundingly takes a different track.

Lt. Commander James Reece is in charge of a group of Navy Seals and certainly a warrior’s warrior. He is sent on a mission to Afghanistan and his entire team is killed and then the group of rangers sent to extract his squad also lose their lives in the attempt.

Sent back to the states, Reece is astonished to learn that another member of the team has committed suicide. With these deaths weighing heavily, a medical exam ordered for him due to unexplained headaches finds that there is a tumor on his brain. The only thing now buoying him up is the expectation that he is going home to his wife and daughter. The final horror hitting him is the discovery that both his wife and daughter were killed in an attack on his house.

Reece must hold himself together in order to avenge the deaths of his men and wife and daughter which he soon finds are related. The action to find and kill those that were responsible comprises most of the novel. He is livid and not knowing if the brain tumor that he has will kill him shortly, moves as quickly as possible with the help of a few friends. One is a young reporter who is aware that there is definitely malfeasance involved in the actions of the upper level military command, a pilot whose life he once saved, and the boss of a Mexican Mafia group.

There is nothing cold involved in Commander Reece’s actions. He is livid, he just wants revenge and expects to die when it is exacted in order to join his wife and family. The descriptions of the manner Reece handles the actions against those on his list of persons to be punished is, to say the least, gruesome and certainly done in hot blood.

One of the obvious opinions Carr brought out in the book is the low opinion he has of the juggernaut of our Federal government. He obviously feels that it has grown too large and become too cumbersome to properly provide good government, and the system of rules and regulations obstruct rather than help the growth of the economy. People are hindered by regulations which serve to basically interfere with their every day lives. Whether or not the novel was written to postulate Carr’s opinions or not it still is an extremely well written and captivating book about the professional military. It is one that the reader will not be able to easily put down until finished.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE TERMINAL LIST by Jack Carr. Atria/Emily Bestler Books (March 6, 2018).  ISBN 978-1501180811. 416p.

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STILL ME by Jojo Moyes

March 23, 2018

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This is the third book in what I guess is the Louisa Clark series, although not advertised as such. But if you haven’t read Me Before You and After You, don’t start here.

Louisa Clark is back and this time she’s heading for New York City. She’s gotten a job as the personal assistant to a very wealthy second/trophy wife, Agnes Gopnik. They live on the upper East side and while Louisa’s room is tiny, it’s all hers. Agnes is an interesting woman, and they get along pretty well other than the  lack of free time for Louisa. Her boyfriend, Ambulance Sam, is still back in the UK, and they are trying to make the long distance thing work.

Then Louisa meets Joshua Ryan, who bears a startling resemblance to Will Traynor. (This is why you need to have read the first two books, none of this will make sense otherwise.) She also finds a vintage clothing store where she feels right at home.

The long distance thing is working, sort of, and the Josh Ryan thing is also sort of working – without giving anything away, Louisa is somewhat torn between the two, and then the fates conspire to make things even more complicated.

This is another terrific read, full of charm, humor and just enough pathos to make it all worthwhile. Moyes’ fans will be thrilled to spend more time with Louisa – I certainly was.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

STILL ME by Jojo Moyes.  Pamela Dorman Books (January 30, 2018). ISBN:  978-0399562457. 400p.

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THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman

March 22, 2018

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Sam Mullins grew up on the northern shore of Michigan on her family’s orchard, and couldn’t wait to leave and make her own mark on the world. She went to culinary school in New York and landed a much coveted job – baking for a television celebrity chef in his restaurant/bakery. Except he’s a jerk and can’t even cook, and when the head chef quits, Sam is picked to create something wonderful for the Good Morning America team that will be filming in the bakery that morning. She does, and everyone loves it but her boss – he trashes her grandmother’s beloved slab pie and orders her to make something else. Finally growing a spine, she, too, quits.

Sam heads home to the family orchard and bake shop where her grandmother and mother rule supreme. They are delighted she has shown up for a visit but she doesn’t tell them why she’s suddenly home, at least not for a while.

The recipe box is a family tradition. On each daughter’s 13th birthday, they are given a wooden recipe box filled with family recipes going back generations. The key to the box is worn on a chain around the neck, close to the heart. When Sam went off to culinary school, she left her recipe box at home but now she is feeling the pull of family and all that means.

In a side story, there is a produce delivery man she has been chatting with every morning of her working life in New York City. After turning down several invitations to date him, they remain friends. After she gets home, he tells her he’s taking a few days off and wants to see the Michigan she loves. This romance adds a bit more story to the story, as it were.

Every chapter is named after a recipe and the recipes are all included. Most are desserts but there is at least one savory dish as well.

The book held my attention but it verged on being sickeningly sweet, if you’ll pardon the pun. It actually felt smarmy at times and way too heavy handed and I just don’t like being manipulated. The story was good, I didn’t need to be hit over the head about the importance of family and tradition and love on every page. All that said, it moved me to tears more than once and I couldn’t put it down, so I guess it was compelling smarminess, if you will. If you like reading stories about food and families, and don’t mind emotional minefields, this is the book for you.

I am planning on making that slab pie for sure, and probably a few of the other recipes as well.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE RECIPE BOX by Viola Shipman. Thomas Dunne Books (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-1250146779. 336p.

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THE BISHOP’S PAWN by Steve Berry

March 21, 2018

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A Cotton Malone Novel, Book 13

Steve Berry and his wife Elizabeth are both ardent advocates of historical preservation. Their passion has taken them to a multitude of places and sites as well as the founding of a charitable foundation, “History Matters,” to raise both awareness as well as money to preserve historical places. Many of Berry’s novels have had a little known historical event become the basis for the story told in the book.

Bishop’s Pawn is the latest adventure of Berry’s main protagonist Cotton Malone, but includes several changes in the format of the story. It is written in first person with Malone being the one telling the story. It is also out of the continuing time sequence of Malone’s career with the Magellan Billet, a secret group attached to the Justice Department. Insteaed, we are taken to the beginning of Cotton’s work for Stephanie Nelle, who founded the Magellan Billet and is the supervisor.

Eighteen years ago Malone was working as a lawyer in the Navy and trying to outgrow his reputation as a maverick. He is approached by Stephanie and asked to help with an investigation currently underway by the Justice Department. Cotton takes the assignment with the hope of getting into a situation other than his present tedious job with the JAG.

Cotton then finds himself involved with an extremely rare coin and a set of documents that provide explosive data on the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Malone becomes embroiled in a war between the Justice Department and the F.B.I. for possession of both objects.

Dr. King is pictured here as the giant that he was in the early days of the Civil Rights movement, but also shown as a man with faults and hesitations. The real life war between the F.B.I. and Dr. King is brought vividly into the scenario.

J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the F.B.I. at the beginning of Dr. King’s work, had an obvious hatred for the man. Hoover ordered wire taps, surveillance, and branded Dr. King as a trouble maker all against orders from Congress. Berry brings out the distinct possibility that Hoover ordered the assassination of Dr. King and was instrumental in bringing James Earl Ray, Dr King’s killer, conveniently into the picture in order to do the actual shooting.

The book is a fascinating study of both the events surrounding Dr. King’s assassination and portraits of some of the individuals that both worked for and against him. Berry eloquently pictures the F.B.I. as Hoover’s fiefdom, and due to the secret files held on many people by him, was able to establish total control over the organization as well as becoming a law unto himself.

The ending consists of the airing of Berry’s thoughts about the assasssination with actual facts presented to back up his theory. I feel that while Steve Berry may have written better books, Bishop’s Pawn is beyond any doubt the most thought provoking of them. Totally mesmerizing and the “king” of all nighters.

3/18 Paul Lane

THE BISHOP’S PAWN by Steve Berry. Minotaur Books (March 20, 2018).  ISBN 978-1250140227. 352p.

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ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen

March 20, 2018

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So Anna Quindlen finally decided to write a love letter to New York City. Manhattan, to be precise. And while she may point out its foibles and idiosyncrasies, even the bad stuff is wrapped up in love.

Nora and Charlie have been married for many years and have boy and girl twins in college and a dog. They live in a townhouse which is crammed in between the townhouses on either side of them, all on a dead end street in Manhattan, an almost unheard of thing in the city. This is a clannish group of New Yorkers who share a handyman and a small parking lot, overseen by George, the self-appointed street mayor, issuing coveted parking spots, warning about any infractions to the desired appearance of the block, and offering non-negotiable recommendations of flowers to plant and when to put out the holiday decorations.

Nora and Charlie consider theirs to be one of the better marriages among their circle of friends. They are well off, and attention to class distinction is paid here. Charlie is an investment banker, but his career has never taken off the way he thought it would and he dreams of leaving the city for greener pastures. Nora is the director of a small, private museum and loves her job, her family, and most of all, her home, but definitely feels that something is lacking in her life.

Then one of the neighbors, a wealthy attorney with a viscous temper, attacks the Latino handyman, beating him with a golf club and causing serious injury because his truck was blocking the parking lot. The neighbors are divided; was it provoked? Was it an accident? Charlie was a witness and stands up for his neighbor, but Nora heard the whole thing and knows Charlie is wrong. That incident creates a wedge in their marriage and in the neighborhood, causing feelings to shift and change and ultimately deteriorate.

An interesting look at friendship, marriage and class warfare within the city that never sleeps, with lots to talk about for book discussion groups. I didn’t love it, maybe because I need at least one character to care about, to relate to, and Nora just barely made the cut. I’m from New York and know people like her so I understood her, but also know I could never be friends with her, and fortunately that is not a deal breaker. The book did give me pause – and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Thought provoking for sure.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ALTERNATE SIDE by Anna Quindlen. Random House (March 20, 2018). ISBN 978-0812996067. 304p.

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SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands

March 19, 2018

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The  Highlanders Series, Book 5

I tend to avoid historical romances set in Scotland because I can’t help but compare them to Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series and let’s face it, there is no comparison. So I was determined to just read this book and judge it on its own merits, so I did. It was okay, nothing bad to say about it but nothing great, either.

From Amazon:

In New York Times bestselling author Lynsay Sands’ captivating romance, a lass targeted by an unknown foe is saved—and seduced—by a bold Highlander

Edith Drummond owes her life to Niels Buchanan and his brothers. Waking after an illness to a castle overrun by rugged Highlanders is disconcerting, but so is learning that she’s slowly being poisoned. Niels insists on staying by her side, and Edith soon discovers that even more dangerous is her wild attraction to the fierce warrior.

Niels has never met a more courageous—or enticing—woman than Lady Edith. The idea of such a bonny lass being forced to enter a nunnery is more than any red-blooded Scotsman could bear. He’ll gladly marry her himself. But while sweeping her off her feet is easy, it’ll take all his skill to defeat her family’s relentless enemies, and convince her to surrender to his sweet embrace. . . .

This definitely falls into the historical romantic suspense category. People are dropping dead with some regularity and we don’t find out the who or why of it until the end. The romance plays nicely against this backdrop and we get the requisite happily ever after. Maybe if I had read the entire series I would have been more invested, but I didn’t like this enough to pursue any more. If you like Scottish historicals with a lot of suspense, then this is the book for you.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER by Lynsay Sands. Avon (January 30, 2018). ISBN 978-0062468987.  384p.

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FAKE WIFE by Stacey Lynn

March 18, 2018

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Corbin is your typical hot millionaire playboy who works in the family business. He’s not close with his parents but truly adores his grandmother and the time he spent at her home on the beach. When she passes away, he is devastated, especially when he hears about his inheritance. She left him the only home he ever loved, but with a catch – he has to be married within 6 months to inherit.

Teagan is not having a very good day. First she loses her job, then heads home to find her boyfriend in bed – their bed – with another woman. She tears out of the house and boom! Next thing she knows she’s rear ended a very expensive car. And worst of all, she recognizes the driver, Portland’s most eligible bachelor and her secret crush, Corbin.

Much to her shock, he is awfully nice about the damage to his car. In fact, he comes up with a crazy proposition: she should come home with him, marry him, then they can get it annulled or divorce after he inherits. She needs a job and a place to live so it’s a win-win for both of them. Until they fall in love.

It’s a silly premise for a book but a really fun read – pure escapism including a lot of heat. It was exactly what I needed.

3/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FAKE WIFE by Stacey Lynn.  Loveswept (January 9, 2018). ASIN: B06ZZL8W1V. 219p.

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THE BIG GET-EVEN by Paul Di Filippo

March 17, 2018
A very well told story about a scam – not just any scam but one for the sum of twenty million dollars. There are two main characters plotting this masterpiece. There is Glen, a disbarred lawyer and a man just out of prison who narrates the story. By chance and certainly not planned, he saves Stan’s life.
Stan is an arsonist who has a grudge against Barnaby Nancarrow, a major real estate developer, a rather crooked one, and sort of Stan’s former partner. Nancarrow hired Stan to burn properties owned by him in order to collect on the insurance. Nancarrow, was shall we say, not very honest with Stan in terms of paying him for the work and keeping him out of trouble with the law.
Stan and a woman named Vee, who is also somewhat miffed with Nancarrow, manage to convince Glen that they are aware of several factors that can be used in a scam. The scam that could net the group twenty million dollars in a relatively short period of time and for not much work.
There are more members of the team gathered for the venture including a very talented computer geek. He lives with Vee and his part will be to set up certain documents to aid in getting Nancarrow’s interest piqued. While all are in it for the money at first they do get to liking their fellow schemers making the novel a bit of a comedy.
The writing is certainly entertaining and will appeal to any reader looking for a good read. No deep dark messages nor hidden meanings to divert the reader’s attention from a well done novel.3/18 Paul Lane

THE BIG GET-EVEN by Paul Di Filippo. Blackstone Publishing (March 6, 2018).  ISBN 978-1504783910. 352p.

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