2013 ARC's

Perfect by Rachel Joyce & Giveaway (US only)

December 27, 2013 by Darlene

Perfect by Rachel Joyce is a novel of heartbreak and loss; of trying to be perfect but never succeeding and ultimately of finding forgiveness and moving on. I listened to the audio version of Perfect narrated by Paul Rhys. I thought his voice was perfect for the telling of this story with its smooth, somber tone.

Perfect weaves back in forth in time from 1972 to the present. In 1972 while Byron’s mother Diana is driving into a dense fog something happens that irrevocably changes Byron’s life in all aspects. From that point on between the two seconds that were taken from the world that Byron believes is disastrous and the incident with his mother Byron is left dealing with things that no child should. He is fiercely protective of his mother and will do anything to try to make both of their lives as perfect as they were before the incident and he and his best friend James set out to do just that.

Alternately in the present we have Jim who suffers from mental illness. He spends his life focusing on the rituals that keep him able to function at all. He tries to work at various things but his illness severely inhibits what he can do. He feels all alone in the world but eventually he begins to realize that there are people out there who care. Seemingly these two story lines have nothing to do with each other but they come together seamlessly in the end.

I found the themes in this novel interesting. Young Byron trying to deal with adult issues that he’s fully incapable of handling and they affect his life in so many ways. Then there is his mother Diana who is trapped in a marriage with a domineering man. There is no love and she spends her time trying to be the perfect wife and mother to satisfy this man. It is her love and strong bond with her children that keeps her going but ultimately is even that enough in the end.

I enjoyed Perfect for the most part. I found the beginning quite slow and at times a bit confusing with the two story lines. As it all began to come together though I was hooked and anxious to see how it would all end and it’s quite the ending too as it surprised me. For those readers who enjoy deeper literary fiction and great writing Perfect s a good pick.

Other tour stops with TLC Book Tours
Rachel’s website and Facebook
Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US Only)

I have one copy of Perfect by Rachel Joyce to share with my US readers. To enter…

Leave a comment for 1 entry to the giveaway.
Tweet, share on Facebook, or blog for 2 extra entries.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and I will draw for the winner on January 11/14. Good luck!

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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Country Loving by Cathy Woodman

December 20, 2013 by Darlene

Country Loving by Cathy Woodman is the second of her novels that I have read and loved and I so adore the book covers. Cathy’s novels take place in the quaint town of Talyton St. George and are full of delightful characters. I find that part of the joy of reading another novel that takes place in the same town is the pleasure of once again meeting some of my favorite characters.

Stevie has a successful career as an accountant, a great place to live, and a boyfriend wanting to marry her. All seems well until she receives a call from Cecil who works on her father’s farm. He tells her that her father isn’t doing well health-wise (which she hadn’t known about) and on top of that he may be arrested and thrown in jail. There is no love lost between Stevie and her father since he picked her brother over her to run the farm but she still feels the pull of responsibility and decides to head back home to the farm to see if she can get things straightened out for her father.

Stevie is shocked by the state of things on the farm not to mention the state of her father when she arrives and it isn’t long before she’s determined to set it all right again – like it was when she was young. Stevie realizes a lot more in her first weeks on the farm and that is that she doesn’t want to leave and she doesn’t want to get married. After the dust settles Stevie gets started on trying to make the farm profitable again and in doing so she gets tied up in all kinds of folly with the animals, meets an awesome guy, and gets the ultimate surprise of her life along the way.

I just love the town of Talyton St. George. As a matter of a fact I myself would love to live there. I adore the people living there like the meddling Fifi and Guy and Jennie and it was fun visiting them again. Stevie was a great character as well although at times she drove me crazy. Still she grew as a person over the course of time and it was nice to see. I really enjoy Cathy’s books and intend on reading all of them as I get time. They are light, easy reading that I find comfort in. I’d definitely recommend them to those who enjoy the charm of small town stories!

Other tour stops with TLC Book Tours
Cathy’s website and Twitter
Country Loving on Great British Reads
Cathy Woodman’s page on Great British Reads

Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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Woman of Ill Fame by Erika Mailman & Giveaway (US only-Kindle eBook)

December 18, 2013 by Darlene

Woman of Ill Fame by Erika Mailman is a raw and realistic look into the life of a prostitute back in the 1800’s. In Woman of Ill Fame the streets of San Francisco are brought alive and you are literally transported back in time so vividly that you are quite sure you are standing on the streets yourself.

Nora Simms dreams of a better life for herself and she’s arrived in San Francisco with a plan to get it. Having been a prostitute from a young age it is all she knows and she’s going to use that and her good looks to get herself a job as a parlor girl. Parlor houses are much more reputable than the street cribs she’s worked all her life and she wants the prestige and safety of working for one.

Nora’s arrival doesn’t go quite as smoothly as she would have liked when her trunk is stolen and she is left only with what is in her pockets. Still she has enough funds to get a room in a boarding house run by Mehitabel who she eventually becomes friendly with. She begins her work in the cribs all the while trying to better her situation so that she can apply to a parlor house. Things take a turn though when prostitutes begin showing up dead and all seem to be wearing some piece of her missing clothing. Soon enough Nora is afraid that she may be the next victim of the ‘women of ill fame’ killer.

Woman of Ill Fame was quite interesting from a historical point of view. I loved reading about San Francisco back in the days of the gold rush. I also found it fascinating to read about the life of a prostitute back in the 1800’s and the different words and phrases they used were amusing at times. Nora was an easy character to like. She doesn’t mince any words when describing her life as a prostitute so for those with more delicate senses this likely isn’t the read for you. For me I enjoyed it as it was a part of history I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of reading about.

Other tour stops with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Erika’s website and blog
Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

GIVEAWAY DETAILS (US only – Kindle eBook only)

I have one Kindle eBook copy of Woman of Ill Fame by Erika Mailman to give away to my US readers only. To enter…

Leave a comment entering the giveaway for 1 entry.
Tweet, share on Facebook, or blog for 2 extra entries.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and it is for a Kindle eBook. I will draw for the winner on January 2, 2014. Good luck!

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman

December 11, 2013 by Darlene

The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman is a fun and sweet book that I really enjoyed. It has all the elements I enjoy like family drama, a little romance, and just plain old good and easy reading.

Jennie’s life is great. She has three beautiful kids and a husband she loves. All is well until her husband David tells her he is leaving her for another woman. Instead of completely wallowing in her misery she decides instead to follow a dream of her own.

She buys a ramshackle old house out on a farm in Talyton St. George and heads out there with her kids who are none too happy about it. Jennie is going to start her own business. She loves to bake cakes and she is finally going to go after that dream and open Jennie’s Cakes. The only problem is the town is set in their ways and getting a new business started may be a bit of a struggle and then of course there is her very attractive neighbor Guy. Hold it though Jennie is done with men! Or is she?

Oh the drama! Between her kids, the new farm animals, and a man Jennie doesn’t know which end is up. I liked Jennie except for the fact that she let herself be walked over by her jerk of a ex-husband for too many years. Other than that though I liked how she took a risk with her life when she moved her family out to nowhere land. Then there is Guy who is the kind of man most women would be ga-ga over, including me. And the town – I loved the sound of it with farmers markets and bake sales and having to barter for things you want instead of using money. It sounded like a cute and quirky town where it would be wonderful to settle in and live.

The Sweetest Thing was a delightful novel. It was light, fun reading and it was just what I needed – to relax and just enjoy a good story!

Other tour stops with TLC Book Tours
Cathy’s website and Twitter
The Sweetest Thing on Great British Reads
Cathy Woodman’s page on Great British Reads

Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson

December 5, 2013 by Darlene

Someone Else’s Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson is my first book, well technically my second by Joshilyn Jackson as I listened to the prequel to this novel called My Own Miraculous and it was awesome especially with Jackson narrating it herself. What I will say is how crazy am I to have waited this long to read the work of this amazing writer! Someone Else’s Love Story is a mix of love, destiny, and of learning who you are and what you ultimately want from life.

Shandi makes the decision to move to her father’s condo in Atlanta and finish up college and her father has promised the best schools for her son Nathan – nicknamed Natty. Natty is three years old and he’s a genius. She’s excited at the prospect of a new future until, on the way there, she and Natty find themselves in a store during a robbery. Also in the store is one of the most amazing men Shandi has ever seen who ends up getting shot in the process of trying to protect everyone. Shandi is already imagining a future with William and when he’s laid out on the floor and whispers destiny to her she’s hooked…but did this destiny involve her or someone else?

The one thing the robbery did for Shandi was make her realize that she had to stop being weak and face her own life head on. She still has so many questions about the night Natty was conceived. She tries to take charge of William’s care but his best friend Paula keeps shoving her away, telling her that William could never love her. On the flip side her best friend Walcott has started to act strange. They have been best friends for forever and it’s not like him to be so angry and discouraging of her friendship with William. As we all know though things are never as they seem and that most certainly fits for all these characters. There are a number of things going on in the background of everyone’s lives and it’s just a matter of time before it all explodes in one big emotional heap.

There were a few characters in this novel that I absolutely adored with the first being Natty. Hearing his little three year old self say adult things was the cutest thing and I just felt this need to protect this little guy myself. The men in this novel, both Walcott and William, were awesome. Walcott is the poetry spouting type while William is the big strong man, yet each is attractive in his own way. I liked Shandi but she grated on my nerves a bit although I very much admired that even at a young age she protected her son with everything she had. Then there was Paula, Williams’s best friend who just made me laugh.

Someone Else’s Love Story is full of great characters and a story that really made me think about love stories. It doesn’t have to be a man/woman type of love. There are many others … parent/child, furbabies/parents, the relationship we may have with God and likely many more. It also makes us think about whether love is just destiny or does it all boil down to some scientific explanation? For me, I don’t think so. I still like to believe in destiny and miracles. Someone Else’s Love Story is a great pick for book clubs and for anyone else looking for a charming, heart felt story that has some unexpected twists in it!

Other tour stops with TLC Book Tours
Joshilyn’s website, Facebook, and Twitter
A She Reads Book Club Selection for November
Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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One Thousand Porches by Julie Dewey

December 2, 2013 by Darlene

One Thousand Porches by Julie Dewey is a novel that takes you back in time when diseases simply took people’s lives. Back in the 1800’s medications such as we have today did not exist. This novel weaves fact with fiction and takes us back to when tuberculosis was a deadly disease and many lives were lost.

At the beginning of this novel TB is starting to make its presence known in many smaller towns. We meet Christine who loses two children to the disease and when a third comes down with it she vows not to lose her but realizes quickly she’s fighting a losing battle. That is until her husband tells her of a place called Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains that is referred to as a sanitarium and takes on the sick and cares for them. Being a family of means he is able to secure a spot for his daughter Collette and Christine goes along to be of service any way she can.

Arriving there Christine realizes that there are many that need help and not just those in the sanitarium. She also sees though that the work that Dr. Trudeau is doing with these TB patients is making a difference and some actually go on to live a normal life. It is believed the clean mountain air and rest is what helps these patients recover. The patients spend the majority of their days sitting out on the porch in lounge chairs that are dubbed the cure chairs. The most remarkable thing about being at this sanitarium is that the town does not shun TB patients which is in great contrast to how they are treated elsewhere.

This novel was fascinating. Of course I know of TB but to hear the history behind what Dr. Trudeau did for so many is remarkable. It was also interesting to learn more about the disease and very interesting to see how doctors tried to treat diseases like this in the past. I can’t imagine how hard it was for families to watch their loved ones die one after the other because there was no way to help them. Entire families were wiped out. We are very fortunate today to have the medications that we do that save so many lives.

I think anyone interested in history and especially the history of TB and the development of the first sanitariums should enjoy this novel. I’ve read one other of Julie’s books and I find her writing to be very frank and real. Nothing is sugar coated and is presented in such a way that you feel the pain and hardship of her characters. I look forward to seeing what subject Julie tackles next!

Julie’s website, Facebook, and Twitter
Buy at: Amazon, Amazon Canada, and B&N

Source: Review copy provided by the author. No compensation was received for this review and all opinions are my own.

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