Fiction | Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™

I, HUMAN by John Nelson

May 27, 2016

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This is a highly intellectual look into a dystopian future where the use of neural implants and drug conditioning are used to keep the population calm and malleable.

Difficulty is that this conditioning represses feelings and intuition and can cause mental breakdowns in the population that represent future problems for the government. In addition, segments of the population have refused the treatment, and are involved in living and working in a low tech environment. They are known as “bornies” and have evolved, living completely apart from those that have accepted the treatment and its consequent enhanced functioning.

Alan Reynard, a government agent, is given the assignment of infiltrating a spiritual commune run by a healer named Maria Fria, who has modified the implants for increased functionality. Alan grows to believe in what Maria is doing, and it causes him to begin to work towards modifying the government’s social control.

The thesis of the book is interesting and the concept possible. But Nelson falls into the trap of an overabundance of explanation of what is happening and could very easily lose the reader in sheer wordiness.

5/16 Paul Lane

I, HUMAN by John Nelson. Cosmic Egg Books (May 27, 2016). ISBN 978-1785353307. 288p.

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BORDERLINE by Mishell Baker

May 26, 2016

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The Arcadia Project, Book 1

With a directing gig and a film that garnered critical praise both under her belt, Millie was a Hollywood hopeful with what could have been a great career ahead of her. But a scandalous affair and her borderline personality disorder led to a suicide attempt that, thankfully, failed, leaving Millie an amputee forced to finally deal the emotional issues that resulted in her breakdown. With all hope of a career set aside indefinitely, Millie signed on to live in a psychiatric facility that leeches away at her meager funds all the while attempting to help her save her sanity.

All of that changes, though, when Millie is approached by the Arcadia Project. A super secret group that works with fey traveling to and inhabiting Los Angeles, the Arcadia Project promises an in back into the industry if Millie agrees to work for them. Her first job: helping to track a rogue fey whose visa has expired. With an experienced Arcadia Project employee by her side, the job should be a fairly easy one. But it turns out this initiation into Arcadia Project is definitely not ideal for a beginner.

Mishell Baker’s debut and first in the Arcadia Project series is a wildly entertaining and unique addition to urban fantasy.

The world of the Arcadia Project is one that lives at the crossroads between the “real” world and a fey dimension. There are Seelie and Unseelie, much like other fey worlds, but the real difference is that at the core of the world is the idea that the organization trusted and tasked with dealing with emissaries and travelers from another dimension aren’t trusted at all. They, like Millie, are chosen because their mental health issues means no one ever really has to worry about them spilling the beans about the fey or the agreement their world has with ours!

The fact that Baker’s heroine is handicapped and dealing with serious emotional issues makes Borderline different from pretty much every other urban fantasy out there. And when you add in a whole cast of well rounded characters, a world that’s fabulously defined, and a plot that’s built and paced fantastically, you have a truly standout read.

5/16 Becky LeJeune

BORDERLINE by Mishell Baker. Saga Press (March 1, 2016). ISBN: 978-1481429788. 400p.

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MERCY by Daniel Palmer & Michael Palmer

May 24, 2016

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Michael Palmer, sadly deceased, is credited as the co-author of this novel. The reason is quite clear; Michael, a medical doctor, utilized the format of medical thrillers in his own novels. Whether the idea is from his father, or based on Daniel’s own extensive research, the novel is definitely an all-nighter for any reader. The plot features a little known medical condition in which a patient with that condition can have a fatal heart attack when frightened.

Dr. Julie Devereux is an outspoken advocate of a patient’s right to die until her fiancé, Sam Talbot, becomes a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident. Faced with many years of lying helpless Sam begs Julie to help him end his life.

With the help of an organization that has the aim of convincing patients to hang on, with the hope that technology will someday be able to cure whatever the ailment, Julie is able to persuade him to change his mind. But then Sam suffers a fatal heart attack. Examination finds that Sam’s heart had the unusual defect that caused him to succumb to a fright.

When Julie begins to investigate other cases involving this little known defect, she finds that against long odds, there have been other cases at the hospital where she works. She also finds herself subject to threats telling her to forego her investigation. When she does not stop, she is accused of a mercy killing of her own. When even this does not get her to forget her investigation, an attempt on her own life ensues.

Events depicted in the book are rapid fire. Medical conditions are explained for the reader, enabling him or her to understand the consequences of each event. Characters are sufficiently developed for an understanding of their motivations. No problem for Daniel Palmer’s place as a major author to continue with constant demand for his books.

5/16 Paul Lane

MERCY by Daniel Palmer & Michael Palmer. St. Martin’s Press (May 17, 2016). ISBN 978-1250030849. 384p.

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BROWN-EYED GIRL by Lisa Kleypas

May 23, 2016

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Travis Series, Book 4

I always like Lisa Kleypas’s books. She writes both historical and contemporary romance, and she is a great story teller. So when I saw this book on the Romantic Times list of best contemporary romances of 2015, the ones they call “Love and Laughter,” I decided to give it a read. And I’m so glad I did.

Avery Crosslin is a wedding planner who was left at the altar, so she believes in happily ever after, but for other people. And she has some body image issues.

Avery is partners in business with her half-sister Sophia, who never knew about each other until their father died. Once having found each other, they move away together and start the wedding business. Sophia’s mother is not happy that her daughter moved away, but Sophia also left her fiance, an overpowering control freak, and she’s not moving back.

Joe Travis is a trust fund baby who seems to forget that. He works as a photographer, so when Avery runs into him fiddling with his camera while setting up for a Texas society wedding, she assumes he is the wedding photographer and gives him several orders. He listens respectfully, then introduces himself. She is mortified, and he is intrigued.

Avery can’t believe this rich, good looking man could possibly be interested in her, but a hot one night stand leaves her breathless. Determined not to get involved, she ignores him afterwards, but he is having none of that. He is smitten, and in hot pursuit.

Meanwhile Avery’s dream job – a reality TV show starring her as a wedding planner, may become her new reality. She has difficult clients to deal with, Sophia’s mother comes barreling into town causing trouble, and her friends from New York want her to move back. But what does that mean for Joe?

This is another winner for Kleypas.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BROWN-EYED GIRL by Lisa Kleypas. St. Martin’s Press (August 11, 2015). ISBN 978-0312605377. 304p.

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UNKNOWN REMAINS by Peter Leonard

May 22, 2016

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A story told against the backdrop of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center, and kudos to Peter Leonard for his mesmerizing plot and character creation.

Jack McCann is a Wall Street Trader working out of an office in the World Trade Center and in the process of cleaning out his desk when he is shaken up by a big bang. Jack is in financial trouble with the mob and can’t see a way out of his difficulties. He manages to escape the destruction caused by the terrorist attack and decides to fake his own death as a way out of his insurmountable difficulties.

Jack’s wife Diane learns about his death. Distraught with grief, she is visited by a grief counselor and also the mob the day after the tragedy. She learns that there are things about her husband that she was unaware of. Most important is the fact that Jack owes $750,000 to the mob, and they are transferring the debt to her. She quickly finds out that their personal bank accounts have been emptied and she is broke. The insurance company carrying a policy on Jack’s life want proof of death before they will pay, and his body has not been recovered.

Leonard presents us with an inventive crime story, twists and turns in an imaginative tale and people with stakes in the scheme. We are led logically and inexorably to an ending that is keeping with a fascinating plot. Very well done indeed.

5/16 Paul Lane

UNKNOWN REMAINS by Peter Leonard. Counterpoint (May 10, 2016). ISBN 978-1619026063. 375p.

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HEAT WAVE by Nancy Thayer

May 21, 2016

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Narrated by Kathe Mazur

Loved the narrator, always a plus for an audio book.

I liked the story but I had some issues.

This is about a young woman who is happily married with two young daughters living a fairly blissful life on Nantucket. Carley truly loves her life; she’s a happy homemaker and mom, that is until her husband dies suddenly from a heart attack.

She inherits their big old house on the Sound that has been in her in-law’s family for years, but no money. Her husband had made a lot of bad investments and unbeknownst to Carley, they were broke. Her in-laws invite her to move her family in with them, but she demurs. Instead, she turns her big home into a bed & breakfast. Just like that she’s in business.

Carley’s husband’s best friend, Wyatt, helps her out, offering advice and taking Carley and the girls sailing. While her daughters are visiting their grandparents in New York, Carley runs into Wyatt and they end up spending the week together, mostly in bed. They don’t tell anyone though, Carley thinks it is too soon. She spends the rest of the book teetering between admitting to herself that she has fallen in love with Wyatt and then talking herself out of it because it was too soon or she was afraid of what her kids or her in-laws or her friends would say. It really started to grate on me.

There are other subplots involving her best friends, adultery, secrets and more, but Carley is always at the heart of it all. It was an enjoyable read but you really have to suspend your disbelief. The book was published in 2011, so I had some issues with unprotected sex with a man who is extremely sexually active, another character gets pregnant after two one night stands with different men, the fact that everyone on this island has no money issues at all, including the broke widow, and a few other little things. But I got past it and enjoyed the book. Ultimately, it was an entertaining read.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

HEAT WAVE by Nancy Thayer. Random House Audio. ASIN: B005745JK0. Listening Length: 9 hours and 38 minutes.

Paperback: Ballantine Books; Reprint edition (May 29, 2012). ISBN 978-0345518323. 336p.

Kindle

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: Audiobook | Permalink
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ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld

May 20, 2016

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A modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice

Hats off to Sittenfeld, she really caught Jane Austen’s voice in this contemporary story of women, class, romance and family.

Liz Bennet is a writer for a woman’s magazine in New York City. She is one of six sisters; closest in age and geography is Jane, a yoga instructor who has started in vitro with a sperm donor, determined to be a mom even though she is not in any relationship. When their father has a heart attack, they rush home to Cincinnati to find chaos.

Their younger sisters all live at home. The two youngest are all about the gym and their diets and have no interested in work or living on their own. The middle sister is a professional student, also living at home. And home has become a problem; he old Tudor house that’s been in the family for generations is falling down around them, and the family is oblivious.

Liz’s mother is only interested in social climbing and marrying off her daughters. Her father has been managing the family money right into the ground. Liz takes charge and finds solutions for all of it, but gets little respect, appreciation and just grudging acquiescence.

Chip Bingley is a doctor who also starred on a “Bachelor” type TV reality show called Eligible. He’s returned home without having found his true love. When he meets Jane, sparks fly but the road to romance is hard won here.

Chip’s friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is also a doctor and a surgeon, with the expected super ego. Liz finds him condescending, to say the least.

If you’ve read Pride & Prejudice, you have a good idea where this all goes. If not, read it anyway. Eligible is great fun.

If you enjoy this sort of thing, check out HarperCollins’ Jane Austen Project. The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux is another new update on Pride & Prejudice that’s a fun read.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld. Random House (April 19, 2016). ISBN 978-1400068326. 512p.

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Audible

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BEST OF MY LOVE by Susan Mallery

May 19, 2016

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Fool’s Gold, Book 22

I am working my way through a bunch of new-to-me contemporary romance writers, and having a blast. This is the 22nd book in a series and my first Susan Mallery read – and I loved it.

Fool’s Gold is the name of a small town that runs on tourism. Aidan Mitchell literally put the word “adventure” into the company he took over from his mom, Mitchell’s Adventure Tours. He specializes in outdoor adventures and dating tourists, many of whom are looking for a little sexual adventure, too. He’s a love ’em and leave ’em kinda guy, so this works well for everyone. Until it doesn’t.

One night at a bar, a young woman who looks vaguely familiar approaches Aidan. She wants more from their relationship, and he can’t even remember her name. She annihilates him and for the first time, he feels like maybe this isn’t the best way to live.

Shelby Gilmore hasn’t lived in Fool’s Gold that long. She escaped there, running from an abusive father after her mother dies. She lands her dream job working for a local bakery. But Shelby has a lot of creative ideas, and her boss isn’t always receptive to them.

Shelby’s been in therapy long enough to know that she has serious trust issues with men, and after witnessing the Aidan debacle in the bar, she comes up with a plan. She needs to make friends with a man, just friends, to learn how to trust one. And she decides Aidan might be just the man she’s looking for.

Aidan realizes he needs to change, so when Shelby approaches him about her project, he agrees – he needs to learn to treat women with respect, to learn they are not just sex objects. They agree to a six month period of hanging out, and being just friends. But of course, they fall in love.

This was a perfect romance; great characters, an interesting setting, and lots of angst, love and sex. Next time I need a quick, fun read I will reach for another Susan Mallery book.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BEST OF MY LOVE by Susan Mallery. HQN Books (April 26, 2016). ISBN: 978-0373789191. 384p.

Kindle

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A BETTER MAN by Candis Terry

May 18, 2016

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A Sunshine Creek Vineyard Novel, Book 1

Romance in a vineyard? Count me in!

Jordan Kinkade is a hockey star in the NFL, but when his parents die, he returns home. The whole family is grieving, and it’s good for them all to be together.

Jordan’s brothers are taking care of the family vineyard, and he wants to pull his own weight, so he decides to help care for his teenage sister, Nicki, that the brothers have nicknamed “Baby Dragon” due to her teenage moodiness. Jordan and Nicki are not close at all, as he hasn’t been around for most of her life. But she is definitely having some problems and first up, he needs to chat with her teacher, Ms. Diamond.

Lucy Diamond really likes Nicki, and realizes she needs help. When Nicki’s big brother Jordan comes to see her, he is startled to find out he knew her when they were both younger. He realizes she probably hates him for the way he treated her, and he’s not wrong. She has some real trust issues, due to Jordan in part, and a bad first marriage. She’s determined to help Nicki and ignore Jordan’s flirting, but she may be ready for another relationship…or not.

I love that these characters all had realistic flaws and I couldn’t help but care about them. I can see why Candis Terry is so popular. This is the first book of a new series, and I am looking forward to the next.

5/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

A BETTER MAN by Candis Terry. Avon (March 29, 2016). ISBN 978-0062351173. 368p.

Kindle

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BOAR ISLAND by Nevada Barr

May 17, 2016

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An Anna Pigeon Novel

Anna Pigeon is asked to fill in for the Chief Ranger at Acadia National Park in Maine, but before she can leave, her best friend Heath’s daughter Elizabeth, Anna’s goddaughter, attempts suicide. Turns out she’s been the victim of cyber bullying, taken to the extreme.

It slowly comes out that Elizabeth was sexually assaulted by her best friend’s father. It would have been much worse except her friend Tiffany suspected something and showed up, along with her mother, in the nick of time, but then tried to blame Elizabeth.

Anna and Heath, along with Heath’s aunt Gwen, decide to get the girl out of town. They go with Anna to Maine and stay on Boar Island. As Anna assumes her new role, a lobsterman is murdered in town. While outside of her jurisdiction, she still gets caught up in it.

Denise, a park ranger, is assigned to drive Anna and is acting hinky. There’s a murder attempt on Anna’s life, kidnappings, and the cyber bullying evolves into stalking, leading to a hot mess in Acadia and a real page turner. Barr’s fans will be happy with this nineteenth entry into the series.

6/16 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

BOAR ISLAND by Nevada Barr. Minotaur Books (May 17, 2016). ISBN 978-1250064691. 384p.

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