FINDING CHRISTMAS by Karen Schaler

October 19, 2019

Click to purchase

From the publisher:

From the writer of the Netflix sensation, A Christmas Prince, and Christmas Camp, the Hallmark movie and novel, comes a heartwarming new Christmas story, Finding Christmas, showing how sometimes the detour in your journey is the path to true love.

With all the glittering decorations, twinkling lights, snow angels, gingerbread men and mistletoe, Christmas is Emmie’s first love.

This year, she can’t wait to share her favorite Christmas traditions with her boyfriend, Grant. She thinks he’s “the one.” So when Grant’s hectic work schedule has him more “Bah Humbug” than “Ho, Ho, Ho,” Emmie creates a holiday-themed scavenger hunt to help him find his Christmas spirit. At the end of the journey, Grant will arrive at the charming town of Christmas Point where she’s planned a romantic weekend filled with holiday activities.

But Emmie’s plan backfires when a mix-up has the wrong guy following her clues! Sam, a best-selling mystery writer, thinks Emmie’s clever Christmas riddles are from his agent, who is trying to help him get over his epic writer’s block.

When he arrives at Christmas Point and finds the stunned Emmie, he immediately feels she’s someone special, but she can’t see beyond the fact that the wrong guy has shown up. Inspired by the small, charming town, Sam decides to stay and convinces Emmie to join him in a little holiday fun while she waits for Grant.

When Grant finally shows up, Emmie is disappointed to discover he’s not enjoying the activities she planned and can’t help wonder if he’s really the one for her. She also can’t get Sam out of her mind and all the great times they had together. With Christmas coming fast, Emmie will need the magic of the season to help steer her in the direction of true love…

I enjoyed the Netflix movie, “A Christmas Prince,” mostly because it felt new and more modern than the typical Hallmark channel Christmas romance movies. I haven’t seen “Christmas Camp” because I have been very turned off by how crappy the Hallmark movies have been this past year. It feels like since they started pushing a new movie every week, the quality, which let’s face it, was never great, has gotten even worse. I just couldn’t watch them anymore. But if I find the Christmas Camp movie, I’ll give it a try. Probably. Maybe. Who knows.

This book. I started reading it and put it down. A couple of times. The first five chapters or so are basically descriptions of Christmas decorations and I got bored. Fast. But I persevered because I kept hearing about this book (good publicity department!) Once the scavenger hunt kicked in, the story started progressing. It was entirely predictable, a generic Christmas romance, which I dont mind at all. I stuck it out for the happily ever after. Mostly because of what’s been going on in the news this week. I really, really needed a break, an entertaining read that required little to no thinking whatsoever. This book worked beautifully for my escape from reality, if only for one night.

I loved the meta touches – Emmie and her friend talk about watching “A Christmas Prince” and “Christmas Camp.” Cute, and it worked. Sam and Emmie were mostly developed characters, Grant nothing but a caricature of the overworked, ambitious lawyer.

If you, too, want a fast, easy read to escape your reality, give this book a try. There is no sex, and barely any kissing either, so suitable for a Hallmark movie. Which I’m guessing is where it’s headed.

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FINDING CHRISTMAS by Karen Schaler. William Morrow Paperbacks (October 15, 2019). ISBN 978-0062883711. 384p.

Hardcover

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on FINDING CHRISTMAS by Karen Schaler | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

SUMMER OF ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand

October 18, 2019

Click to purchase

From the publisher:

The #1 New York Times Bestseller
 

Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed, in New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand’s first historical novel

Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century. It’s 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother’s historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same: Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby, caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests and determined to be independent, takes a summer job on Martha’s Vineyard. Only-son Tiger is an infantry soldier, recently deployed to Vietnam. Thirteen-year-old Jessie suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother and her worried mother, each of them hiding a troubling secret. As the summer heats up, Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family experience their own dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country.

In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel.

I was ten years old during the summer of 1969, just a few years younger than the youngest sibling in this story. I remember a lot about what was happening then.

I was a big reader, including newspapers; we got the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Newsday, and I read them all cover to cover. I never had enough reading materials. My parents were not readers and back then books were a special occasion gift. My mom would take me to the library once a week, wait outside in her car, so I always felt rushed, not to mention that the library limited the number of books I was allowed to borrow. I don’t recall exactly, but it was something like 3-5 books at a time. I could read that many children’s books in a day. When I ran out of children’s books, the librarian let me borrow adult books. I read everything I could get my hands on.

I knew about Vietnam and it scared me. I don’t really remember Chappaquidick, but I definitely remember the man walking on the moon. All that comes up during the Summer of ’69, wrapped up in a family that lived through it all.

While the publisher notes that this is Hilderbrand’s first historical novel, the rest is pure Hilderbrand. She is known for fabulous beach reads, and this certainly fits the bill. The family, Nantucket, the romance, the squabbling, it’s all here. I was immediately caught up in the story and these characters, and she does a really good job making them all come to life.

There are deeper issues woven throughout the story; racism, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, suicide, and more all come to light, making this a very satisfying read. Lots for book groups to discuss for sure. I really enjoyed this book, though it was more nostalgic than historical for me.

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SUMMER OF ’69 by Elin Hilderbrand. Random House (June 18, 2019).  ISBN 978-0525510871. 384p.

Kindle

Audible

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Fiction, Women's Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

A HANDFUL OF STARS by Helene Saucedo

October 17, 2019

Click to purchase

A Palmistry Guidebook and Hand-Printing Kit

From the publisher:

“In Handful of Stars, the hand becomes an exquisite map . . . wise, trusted, and uniquely our own. Beautiful and mysterious.”—Kim Krans, artist and author of the New York Times bestseller The Wild Unknown Tarot, The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit, and The Wild Unknown Journal

Packaged in a deluxe keepsake box, Handful of Stars by hand analyst Helene Saucedo is a beautifully illustrated, step-by-step guide to the ancient art of palmistry with a novel twist.

Preprinted perforated sheets designed by Saucedo especially for the book—along with a a nontoxic ink pad, ink roller, and gel pen—enable readers to create a palm print and record notations on a single sheet of paper.

Informative and entertaining, this unique volume appeals to novice hand analysts and makes a great gift for inquisitive minds of all ages.

This is a fun gift book, and the holidays will be here before you know it. Costco has out their Christmas trees, toys, and food gifts, etc. It’s happening, people!

So I’m not really a new-age kind of person, but I thought this book was interesting. Apparently, palmistry is more than just looking at your life-line or heart-line. You start with your hand analysis.

I learned that my hand flexibility relates to my level of adaptability and flexibility in my career and relationships. My hand showed that I am somewhat flexible, and I would say that’s probably right. Next up was thrumb size. I didn’t know that size matters <cough.> Using the scale presented in the book, I have a large thumb. It says that people with large thumbs are “determined go-getters who don’t take no for an answer. They’re ambitious and energetic with high standards.” I would say that is fairly accurate.

Next up was using the thumb to determine the balance of logic and willpower. My thumb has a larger top, which indicates logic. It says I’m “a planner, a person who makes choices based on calculated measures. This person may tend to overthink or overanalyze a situation.” So more logic (top half) than will (bottom half.) I am definitely a planner, but I’m not sure that I would say I overthink or overanalyze things.

Then it was time for “Thumb and Personality Type.” Based on the information provided, I am an extrovert, “a person who is excited to engage with others and is at ease in groups.” Nailed it.

There are lots more things to look at before you even get to the lines on your hands, and this book clearly explains what to look for and what it all means. If you’ve ever had an interest in palmistry, or are just curious, this is an excellent place to start. The book comes in a box with everything you need to figure all this out. The illustrations are clear and made this novice feel like a pro. I think teens and young adults would love this, and I had fun with it, too.

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

A HANDFUL OF STARS by Helene Saucedo. Harper Design (October 15, 2019). ISBN 978-0062899361. 80p.

 

Comments Off on A HANDFUL OF STARS by Helene Saucedo | Book Reviews, Nonfiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE NUGGET by P.T. Deutermann

October 16, 2019

Click to purchase

World War II Navy Series, Book 6

is a retired Captain of the U.S. Navy who has found a brilliant second career as an accomplished author. Many of the books he has had published concern action by the Navy in different areas and also various periods. He also has a set of equally well written novels that do not concern the military, which are just as engrossing as the military novels. All in all, a man with a superb background and obviously a gift for telling a story, keeping his readers pinned to the book, and assuring his place as a writer in constant demand.

The Nugget is a story set during a period beginning with the outbreak of World War II for the United States. Bobby Steele is a graduate of Annapolis, the U.S. naval academy.  He has had a two-year assignment, after which he is sent to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii where he is assigned to an aircraft carrier. We meet him as he is awakened from a sleep aboard a ship by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and with this is run full tilt into high action.

Deutermann describes the first days of the war in the Pacific against the Japanese and the first victory against them at Midway. Bobby Steele plays his role in much of the action that actually took place during the first several years of the war. He is shot down twice, rescued each time, but eventually ends up in the Philippines. It is there that Bobby and the copilot that flew with him unable to return to U.S. forces work with the Philippine resistance forces against their Japanese invaders.

The Nugget is a book that successfully keeps the reader glued to a plot involving plenty of hair raising action with the incredible dangers of war, making sure that the reader must finish the book before attempting to go to sleep. A definite five star novel for an author who has plenty of them to his credit, with the certainty that more will follow.

 

10/19 Paul Lane

THE NUGGET by P.T. Deutermann. St. Martin’s Press (October 8, 2019). ISBN 978-1250205889. 320p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on THE NUGGET by P.T. Deutermann | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

IN HER SIGHTS by Katie Ruggle

October 15, 2019

Click to purchase

Rocky Mountain Bounty Hunters, Book 1

From the publisher:

Five bounty-hunting sisters
Deep in the heart of the Rockies
Fighting to save each other
…and the men who steal their hearts

Bounty hunter Molly Pax fought hard for everything she has, turning the bail recovery business she shares with her sisters into an unqualified success. So when their sticky-fingered mother jumps bail and puts the childhood home up as collateral, Molly’s horrified. To make matters worse, every two-bit criminal in the Rockies now sees her family’s misfortune as their next big break.

She needs help, stat.

Enter rival bounty hunter John Carmondy: six feet of pure trouble, with a cocky grin to match. John’s the most cheerfully, annoyingly gorgeous frenemy Molly’s ever had the pleasure of defeating…and he may be her only hope of making it out of this mess alive.

Ruggle writes good romantic suspense, which I don’t always love because it often feels like the mystery was an afterthought. Not the case here, however. This introduction to a new series revolves around four sisters who all live together and run a bounty hunting business together. The romance in this story revolves around the eldest sister, Molly, and one of their competitors, John.

Molly’s sisters all realize that John has a major crush on Molly, but she is oblivious. Molly is working hard to keep the business going and their lives afloat, after their mother almost lost their house. That mother is quite an unusual character; I’ve seen cats that are better mothers. In fact, most cats are better mothers. She’s been in and out of jail and marriages, is completely self serving, and uninterested and uncaring about her daughters. It would be sad except the girls are doing fine despite their mother. Until she steals a very valuable necklace and puts them all in danger.

There were a few minor plot points that didn’t make sense to me but why quibble when a story is as fast moving and well written as this one. One of the mysteries is solved by the end, but the other is a cliff hanger, leaving me waiting impatiently for the next book in the series. Risk it All comes out 12/31/19. Guess what I’ll be doing this New Year’s Eve!

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

IN HER SIGHTS by Katie Ruggle. Sourcebooks Casablanca (March 26, 2019). ISBN 978-1492662495. 384p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on IN HER SIGHTS by Katie Ruggle | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

MET HER MATCH by Jude Deveraux

October 14, 2019

Click to purchase

From the publisher:

In small towns, no one lets the facts get in the way of juicy gossip…

Terri Rayburn is a girl with a reputation. She doesn’t deserve it, but having grown up on the outskirts of Summer Hill, Virginia, she knows how small towns work. The only way to deal with vicious gossip is to ignore it. So she keeps to herself as she runs the summer resort on Lake Kissel.

When she returns home from a short trip to find a handsome stranger living in her house, she smells a rat. Someone is trying to fix her up, and she has to admit that Nate Taggert is just her type. However, Nate is engaged to the daughter of the mayor and strictly off-limits.

Nate and Terri form an unlikely friendship while he throws himself into life at the lake. As Nate starts to hear rumors about Terri he’s confused. Knowing how smart, beautiful and strong she is, he’s determined to discover the source of the gossip. Terri doesn’t want to revisit the past, but Nate won’t stop until he discovers the truth—even if the truth might be more than either of them can handle.

Set in the beloved fictional town of Summer Hill, Virginia, Met Her Match examines the tensions between the wealthy townspeople, the summer vacationers and the working-class people who keep the town and resort running. Told with humor and heart, Met Her Match is the perfect summer escape.

I’ve only read a few of Jude Deveraux’s books because I don’t love her writing style. Reading this book reminded me of that. It’s a good story, but honestly it feels like it could be a young adult book if only the characters fit that profile. That said, this was a good story and a very quick read, so redeeming qualities for sure.

The secret from Terri’s past takes too long to get out, but it helps ramp up the tension. Nate also has baggage, but we know more about his as the story unfolds. Nate’s fiancee is named Stacy, which made it hard for me to hate her, but she is the antagonist of the story. Sort of. The characters were interesting and fairly well developed, and the small town setting showed the darker side of what I tend to think of as idyllic small town life. All in all, it was an entertaining read.

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

MET HER MATCH by Jude Deveraux. MIRA; Original edition (September 17, 2019). ISBN 978-0778351245. 336p.

Kindle

Audible

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

PURSUIT by Joyce Carol Oates

October 13, 2019

Click to purchase

The author, in many of her novels, has demonstrated a capacity to project the innermost feelings of the people she writes about. The Pursuit is definitely a study in one woman’s grasp of reality and how this affects her mother, and later her husband.

Abby is a reclusive young woman coming from the most traumatic of childhoods. She keeps to herself, afraid that contact with others will showcase her faults and drive them away. She dreams of coming upon a field with skeletons and a large skull, and a smaller one that she thinks of as the daddy and mommy skulls. Her mother and father disappeared one day leaving Abby to feel that they didn’t care for her and left to go live alone without her.

Not seeking companionship, Abby is surprised when a young man, Willem, seeks her out and eventually asks her to marry him.  She does so with a good deal of trepidation. The day after the wedding, as Abby is on her way to the University she is attending, she gets off the bus she is riding on and into traffic. She is hit by the same bus she was on and sent to the hospital. Willem, in love with Abby, begins investigating whether the incident was an accident or done on purpose by his wife.

Oates sets up the rest of her novel as a completely mesmerizing look into what is the deep-seated trauma that engulfs Abby, how was it initiated, what caused it, and how to bring it to rest. The workings of her mind become bared for the reader, and it becomes impossible to set the book down before solutions are arrived at, or not arrived at. And, of course where her trauma began.

 

10/19 Paul Lane

PURSUIT by Joyce Carol Oates. Mysterious Press (October 1, 2019). ISBN 978-0802147912. 144p.

Kindle

Audible

1 Comment | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE by Susan Isaacs

October 12, 2019

Click to purchase

Isaacs presents her latest published novel, and it is certainly one that continues her practice of giving her readers an engrossing book, which instantly draws them into the action.

A native New Yorker, the author does center the action in that area of the U.S. Corie Geler is a woman who, at the beginning of her working life, became a member of the FBI. She had studied the Arabic language while in college, and became a very valuable agent due to that expertise.

Corie retired shortly before the novel begins, with the aim of having a personal life. She did meet a man that had lost his wife due to illness, fell in love, and the pair married. She adopted Josh Geller’s 14-year-old daughter a year after they married, and her current life is supervising the girl and tending to running her house. She also does an occasional job as a contractor for the FBI using her Arabic skills. And at the same time, she acts as an agent for several publishers of Arabic literature looking to have their books translated and sold in English into the English speaking world.

Corie has gotten into the custom of going for lunch with a group of people living in her hometown of Shorehaven, on Long Island, and who also have the advantage of being able to work a business from home. They meet, exchange ideas making the shared luncheons a social event. But Corie’s FBI instincts kick in when she begins to feel that one of the group is more than a little strange, and begins to examine him.

Pete Delaney indicates that he is a package designer doing a bit of traveling to customers in order to present his products to them. But his habits do cause alarm in Corie’s FBI trained mind, and this is reinforced by what she does uncover.

Isaac’s style is somewhat tongue in cheek and quite engaging to the reader. The book becomes one that cannot be put down, and when finished, makes her readers quite ready for her next novel. Well done and a good read.

10/19 Paul Lane

TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE by Susan Isaacs. Atlantic Monthly Press (October 1, 2019). ISBN 978-0802147554. 288p.

Kindle

2 Comments | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

ANYTHING BUT A DUKE by Christy Carlyle

October 11, 2019

Click to purchase

The Duke’s Den, Book 2

From the publisher:

Self-made man Aidan Iverson has seen more closed doors in his thirty years than he’s ever cared to count. As a member of the elite Duke’s Den, he has all the money he could possibly need but the one thing he can’t purchase is true power. If roguish Aidan can’t buy his way into society’s hallowed halls, he’ll resort to a more extreme measure: marriage.

Brought up to be a proper lady, the only thing Diana Ashby desires is to be left alone to the creation of her own devices. But when her dreams are crushed, she must find another way to secure the future of her invention. Knowing his desire to enter her world, Diana strikes a deal to arrange Aidan’s marriage to the perfect lady—as long as that lady isn’t her. She doesn’t need any distractions from her work, particularly of the sinfully handsome variety.

As Diana and Aidan set out to find him an aristocratic match, neither are prepared for the passion that ignites between them or the love they can’t ignore.

In the Duke’s Den, can happiness ever be a winning prospect?

I really liked the first book in this series, A Duke Changes Everything, but I don’t think they need to be read in order. This one stands on its own quite well.

Aidan has had a troubled upbringing, to say the least. But by sheer determination, hard work, and a bit of luck, he is now one of the wealthiest men in London. But he is not of the aristocracy, and soon that becomes his most ardent goal. He wants to be recognized by the peerage, and he figures the only way to do that is to marry royalty. Since so many title holders are broke, it seems like an easy feat. Until he meets Diana.

Diana lost the father she adored. He was an inventor, and she seems to have inherited that ability, and is bound and determined to make a success of at least one of her inventions. Her mother, on the other hand, only wants her to marry well. Well enough to support the family, as her father’s bad business decisions has left them not very well off. Diana strikes a deal with Aidan; she will introduce him to her friends in society, if he will finance one of her inventions. It seems like a really good plan, except for the chemistry between Aidan and Diana, which is throwing a major wrench into the project.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second book of this series, and I’m looking forward to the third. Carlyle is a good storyteller, she kept me turning the pages until I reached the happily every after.

10/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

ANYTHING BUT A DUKE by Christy Carlyle.  Avon (April 30, 2019).  ISBN 978-0062853974. 368p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on ANYTHING BUT A DUKE by Christy Carlyle | Book Reviews, Fiction, Romance | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

DACHSHUND THROUGH THE SNOW by David Rosenfelt

October 10, 2019

Click to purchase

An Andy Carpenter Mystery, Book 20

In my recollection, there has never been a bad book featuring Andy Carpenter and his assorted team of assistants. This novel is certainly not an exception to the rule. It does, however, go a step further and delivers a story that connects in every which way, and if not his best, is certainly among David Rosenfelt’s top novels.

The basic idea is the same; Andy has inherited a large sum of money and really does not want to work. He is married to Laurie, his true love, they have a son, and of course two dogs that he walks while he thinks. He then is faced with a case to prove someone is not guilty of the murder of which they have been accused.

The present volume is released in time for Christmas, and the holiday spirit permeates the book. Laurie has developed the custom of filling the wishes of children that are undoubtedly poor. A pet store near the Carpenter’s home normally puts up a Christmas tree and allows children to place their wishes on it, instead of having ornaments. Laurie takes the wishes and gets the children what they wished for, delivering it confidentially.

One of the lists is from a boy named Danny, who would like a coat for his mother, a sweater for his dachshund, and to bring home his father, who has suddenly disappeared. The first two wishes are easy to fulfill when the answer to the third one becomes suddenly apparent. Danny’s father is arrested for murder.

The crime is 14 years old and never solved, but the DNA of the possible killer was located on the dead girl’s body and around the scene.  Noah, Danny’s father, has no criminal record so that his DNA, which was that found, has never been identified. Unfortunately, Noah’s brother sends a sample of his DNA to a website that matches DNA with possible groups, and of course, Noah is identified and arrested.

Andy has to take the case because it was part of Danny’s wishes. While the normal banter between Andy and others takes place, the handling of the case in court is a lesson in the scientific handling of DNA as evidence in police work. This sequence does take the novel to an area that is beyond the norm in Rosenfelt’s work. A very well done novel.

10/19 Paul Lane

DACHSHUND THROUGH THE SNOW by David Rosenfelt. Minotaur Books (October 1, 2019). ISBN 978-1250237682. 352p.

Kindle

Audible

Comments Off on DACHSHUND THROUGH THE SNOW by David Rosenfelt | Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Fiction | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »