Category Archives: Recommended Read

January 1, 2014 · 11:58 pm

Review: Inside These Walls by Rebecca Coleman

insideTitle: Inside These Walls by Rebecca Coleman
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Mira
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

There is only one day, and I live it over and over…

For Clara Mattingly, routine is the key to enduring the endless weeks, months and years of a life sentence in a women’s prison. The convicted murderer never looks back at who she once was—a shy young art student whose life took a sudden tragic turn. And she allows herself no hope for a better future. Survival is a day-to-day game. But when a surprise visitor shows up one day, Clara finds that in an instant everything has changed. Now she must account for the life she has led—its beauty as well as its brutality—and face the truth behind the terrible secret she has kept to herself all these years.

Critically acclaimed author Rebecca Coleman brings you the haunting story of a woman’s deepest passions, darkest regrets and her unforgettable and emotional journey toward redemption.

The Review:

Rebecca Coleman’s latest release, Inside These Walls, is an incredibly compelling and fascinating character driven novel. Narrated in first person by protagonist Clara Mattingly, this insightful story is a candid portrayal of a life gone tragically wrong.

When Inside These Walls first opens, Clara has served 25 years of a life sentence for murder. Although a movie has been made about the crimes and despite numerous media requests, she has never granted a single interview. An unexpected visitor is the impetus behind her decision to cooperate with Karen Shepard, the journalist who is writing a memoir about Clara’s long ago boyfriend and partner in crime Ricky Rowan. Clara’s past is slowly exposed through her letters to Karen and her own unflinchingly honest reflections. She takes full responsibility for her past mistakes but some truths are revealed a little too late and a relationship Clara has grown to cherish is threatened.

Clara is a reliable narrator and genuinely likable character. Her time in prison has not been easy but she has carved out a comfortable routine for herself. Clara does not dwell on the past nor does she examine long ago memories that are best forgotten. But once she has no choice but to recall her painful past, she does so with surprising candor. Clara remembers Ricky with fondness and despite how badly her life with him ended, she has no regrets about their relationship.

Completely captivating from beginning to end, Inside These Walls is a beautifully written story of love, forgiveness and ultimately, redemption. Rebecca Coleman broaches difficult topics with sensitivity and the resulting story is realistic, gritty and occasionally, heartbreaking. The novel’s ending is low-key and rather anticlimactic yet intensely satisfying.

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Filed under Contemporary, Fiction, Harlequin, Inside These Walls, Mira, Rated A+, Rebecca Coleman, Recommended Read, Review

December 23, 2013 · 11:57 pm

Review: A Miracle of Hope by Ruth Reid

Title: A Miracle of Hope by Ruth Reid
The Amish Wonders Series Book One
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers
Genre: Contemporary, Christian, Amish, Romance
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

How far can God’s mercy reach?

Lindie Wyse is pregnant out of wedlock and thinks an arranged marriage is the only way to preserve her future. Josiah Plank is certain he’ll never love again, but he needs someone to care for his eight-year-old daughter, Hannah. The two take on their arrangement tentatively at first but soon realize they are each in for more than they imagined.

Lindie experiences a breakthrough with Hannah when she recognizes Hannah’s special gifts, but a risky pregnancy and serious health issues threaten to demolish the foundation Josiah and Lindie are building. Will their growing love survive despite their struggles, or will their hearts become as cold as the northern winter?

The Review:

A Miracle of Hope, the first novel in Ruth Reid’s The Amish Wonders series, is a delightful story of faith and unexpected love. This incredibly heartwarming romance is beautifully written with a compelling storyline but it is the extraordinary cast of characters that completely stole my heart.

Unmarried and pregnant, Lindie Wyse is out of options when she agrees to an arranged marriage with her brother’s friend, Josiah Plank. Starting over in a new community with an older husband is difficult but Lindie is determined to be a good wife and mother to Josiah’s daughter, Hannah. Her feelings about her pregnancy are ambivalent and she is struggling to bond with her unborn child. Lindie’s new life is also complicated by her inability to communicate with Hannah and her uneasiness around her new husband.

In the beginning, Lindie is quite shy and timid. She is also very reluctant to discuss her past and the circumstances surrounding her pregnancy. She is undergoing a slight crisis of faith as she tries to understand God’s plan for her and her baby. Lindie tries to be an obedient wife but she does not hesitate to voice her opinions where Hannah is concerned. She lets her instincts guide her relationship with her young stepdaughter and Hannah soon begins to flourish under Lindie’s care.

Still deeply mourning the death of his wife Caroline, Josiah never thought he would remarry but he agrees to a marriage of convenience for Hannah’s sake. Amid his growing concern for Lindie’s health and that of her unborn baby, Josiah is shocked by the realization that he is beginning to fall in love with his young wife. Conflicted by his unexpected feelings for Lindie and his loyalty to Caroline, Josiah must figure out how to move forward with his life.

Josiah is kind, caring and compassionate. He takes a gentle approach with Lindie, but he is quite firm when it comes to matters of her health. Although he has strict ideas about how he wants Hannah raised, he does listen to Lindie and changes his stance on a few of his viewpoints. Josiah is at first reluctant to give in to his feelings for Lindie and he finds it difficult to reconcile his need for her with his desire to keep his love alive for his first wife.

Just as things are finally coming together for Josiah and Lindie, an unforeseen health issue threatens their future. The community rallies around the couple and provides them some much needed assistance as they face this difficult battle. Josiah is accepting of their fate but Lindie’s faith refuses to let her give up and she rises to the challenge facing them.

A Miracle of Hope exemplifies everything I love about Amish novels: a slower paced, simpler life, community support and strong beliefs. Ruth Reid takes all of these essential ingredients, adds in some complications that take faith and love to overcome and the resulting story is heartfelt, emotional and most importantly, believable. An incredible journey of love and faith that I hated to see come to an end and leaves me eagerly anticipating the next installment of The Amish Wonders series.

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Filed under A Miracle of Hope, Amish, Christian, Contemporary, Rated A+, Recommended Read, Review, Romance, Ruth Reid, Thomas Nelson Publishing

September 2, 2013 · 1:56 am

Review: Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain

Title: Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Fiction, Historical (1960)
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a breakout book about a small southern town fifty years ago, and the darkest—and most hopeful—places in the human heart

After losing her parents, fifteen-year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm. As she struggles with her grandmother’s aging, her sister’s mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.

When Jane Forrester takes a position as Grace County’s newest social worker, she doesn’t realize just how much her help is needed. She quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients’ lives, causing tension with her boss and her new husband. But as Jane is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm—secrets much darker than she would have guessed. Soon, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.

Set in rural Grace County, North Carolina in a time of state-mandated sterilizations and racial tension, Necessary Lies tells the story of these two young women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy. Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it’s wrong?

The Review:

Necessary Lies is a powerful and thought-provoking novel that paints a vivid portrait of poverty, sexism, racism and social work in rural North Carolina in 1960. Very different from her previous works, Diane Chamberlain’s latest release is an emotional and compelling story about a young idealistic social worker and the poverty stricken family that captures her heart.

Newly married to a successful pediatrician, Jane Forrester bucks tradition when she takes a job as a social worker instead of becoming a housewife. Jane is ill-prepared for her new career, but she is enthusiastic and dedicated to her clients. Unable to maintain a professional distance, Jane is quickly enmeshed in the lives of fifteen year old Ivy Hart, her seventeen year old sister Mary Ella and elderly grandmother Nonnie. As horrifying secrets come to light, Jane fights to protect Ivy from the system that is supposed to protect her.

Jane is refreshingly honest and stands behind her convictions. She loves her husband, but she refuses to give up her career for him. Jane is kindhearted and although she is a little overwhelmed in the beginning, she is determined to help the people she encounters. Jane is tenacious and willing to fight for what she believes in.

Ivy is mature beyond her years yet she is also quite innocent and naive. Often taking a motherly role, Ivy keeps a close eye on her diabetic grandmother and two year old nephew. Ivy’s relationship with neighbor Henry Allen is sweet yet neither teenager is prepared for the consequences of their actions.

Told in first person from alternating points of view, Necessary Lies is a study in contrasts as affluent and well-educated Jane becomes acquainted with her poverty stricken and barely educated clients. Jane unexpectedly finds common ground with young Ivy and some of their circumstances are surprisingly similar. Rich or poor, women’s choices were limited in 1960 and while Ivy’s decisions were made by her grandmother and the welfare system, Jane’s fate was often in her husband’s hands. Jane is sometimes forced to go to drastic lengths to protect her own and Ivy’s best interests.

Based on real life events, Diane Chamberlain’s Necessary Lives is an eye-opening and sometimes heartbreaking story. Never bleak or depressing, it is an engrossing and sometimes chilling novel about the welfare system and the incredible amount of power that was once afforded to social workers in North Carolina. A must read novel that I highly, highly recommend.

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Filed under Diane Chamberlain, Fiction, Historical (60s), Necessary Lies, Rated A+, Recommended Read, Review, St Martin's Press

July 1, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman

Title: The Life List by Lori Nelson Spielman
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Imprint: Bantam Dell
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In this utterly charming debut—perfect for fans of Cecelia Ahern’s P.S., I Love You and Allison Winn Scotch’s Time of My Life—one woman sets out to complete her old list of childhood goals, and finds that her lifelong dreams lead her down a path she never expects.

1. Go to Paris
2. Have a baby, maybe two
3. Fall in love

Brett Bohlinger seems to have it all: a plum job, a spacious loft, an irresistibly handsome boyfriend. All in all, a charmed life. That is, until her beloved mother passes away, leaving behind a will with one big stipulation: In order to receive her inheritance, Brett must first complete the life list of goals she’d written when she was a naïve girl of fourteen. Grief-stricken, Brett can barely make sense of her mother’s decision—her childhood dreams don’t resemble her ambitions at age thirty-four in the slightest. Some seem impossible. How can she possibly have a relationship with a father who died seven years ago? Other goals (Be an awesome teacher!) would require her to reinvent her entire future. As Brett reluctantly embarks on a perplexing journey in search of her adolescent dreams, one thing becomes clear. Sometimes life’s sweetest gifts can be found in the most unexpected places.

The Review:

Lori Nelson Spielman’s extraordinary debut, The Life List is an emotional and thought-provoking journey of self-discovery. It is an unforgettable reminder that it is never too late to follow our dreams even if those dreams seem unobtainable. This captivating story will inspire you to take a second look at your long forgotten and abandoned dreams and give you the courage to fulfill them.

Although devastated at her beloved mother’s passing, Brett Bohlinger is ready to step in her mother’s shoes as CEO of the family cosmetic business. At the reading of the will, Brett is stunned to discover that instead of inheriting the vast fortune and her mother’s position, she has one year to fulfill the remaining dreams on her teenage life list. As she checks off each goal, Brett receives a precious letter from her mother that contains wisdom, advice and startling insight that will forever change Brett’s life.

Hurt and angry by what she perceives as her mother’s lack of faith in her, Brett reluctantly begins to knock the goals off her life list. Some are easy to accomplish while others seem not only ridiculous but impossible to obtain. But as Brett begins to take each task more seriously, she begins to reflect on the true reason behind her mother’s stipulation and she is soon rethinking many of her decisions and priorities. Uncomfortably aware that she is compromising in very important areas in her life, Brett re-evaluates her life and is very surprised by she learns not only about herself, but her mother as well.

One of the most interesting things about The Life List is the sometimes unconventional ways Brett fulfills her goals. She discovers that her dream might be right for her, but that achieving it might mean taking a non-traditional approach. As she steps further and further out of her comfort zone, Brett’s growing dissatisfaction with her previously materialistic life sparks some unexpected decisions that prove to be emotionally rewarding and ultimately, life altering.

Brett’s character undergoes tremendous growth throughout the course of The Life List. In the beginning, she allows her fears to dictate her decisions and instead of taking a risk, she often makes the “safe” choice. Her lack of self-confidence drives her career decision and keeps her in a dysfunctional relationship. It is incredibly gratifying and uplifting when Brett takes control of her life and finds the happiness she so richly deserves.

The Life List is an incredibly heartfelt and moving novel. Lori Nelson Spielman easily captures the reader’s attention with her engaging writing style, incredibly well-developed characters and refreshing plot. The riveting storyline keeps the pages quickly turning in this captivating story about love, loss and healing.

3 Comments

Filed under Bantam Dell, Contemporary, Fiction, Lori Nelson Spielman, Random House Publishing Group, Rated A+, Recommended Read, Review, The Life List

June 13, 2013 · 3:59 am

Review: Tarnished Souls 4: Bread, Salt and Wine by Dev Bentham

Title: Tarnished Souls 4: Bread, Salt & Wine by Dev Bentham
Tarnished Souls Series Book Four
Publisher: Loose Id
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic, M/M, Romance
Length: Novel
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Author

Summary:

Some wounds never heal. George Zajac grew up in a religious family with a father who beat “the swish” out of him. Now he’s a troubled man. At thirty-eight he moves across the country to start a new life in Los Angeles, working as the catering chef for a prestigious French Restaurant.

Kenny Marks, a writer who’s currently waiting tables, is everything George cannot be–flamboyant, proud and sexually confident. Enthralled by Kenny, and against his own better judgment, George agrees to a date. Sparks fly. The sex is better than good. But even after the two get close, George remains crippled by humiliating sexual hang-ups. Still haunted by his childhood, he lingers in the closet and can’t commit to a relationship with Kenny.

Love is the great healer, but is it enough? George’s emotional scars could drive Kenny away, and with him, George’s last chance at happiness.

The Review:

Bread, Salt & Wine, the final installment of Dev Bentham’s Tarnished Souls series, is a poignant, yet ultimately uplifting romance. Closeted, reserved George Zajac cannot fight his desire for openly gay Kenny Marks. With George unable to commit to a relationship, they embark on a friends with benefits relationship that takes place over several years and goes through many ups and downs before George can freely admit his feelings for Kenny.

George Zajac’s abusive childhood absolutely broke my heart, but watching him find the courage to face the demons of his past is worth the tears I shed for him. The shame and embarrassment he feels over his sexuality and his desires is absolutely heartbreaking. George is unable to reveal the worst of what he experienced at his overly religious father’s hands, but the effects are obvious as he struggles with his attraction and feelings for Kenny. George is a tortured protagonist with wonderful qualities and I was eager for him confront the issues that keep him from becoming the partner that Kenny deserves.

Kenny has the patience of a saint to put up with George’s reluctance to fully commit to their relationship. His love and compassion for George override his frustration over the status of their relationship until it becomes obvious that George has serious issues that need professional help to overcome. Kenny’s growing unhappiness with George becomes the catalyst George needs to change, but is it too late to salvage their floundering relationship?

As with the other novels in Tarnished Souls series, there is a spiritual aspect that provides added depth and substance to the overall story. The Jewish holiday celebrating Queen Esther, Purim, plays a pivotal role in George and Kenny’s relationship. The celebration not only demonstrates the changes in George’s life, but it also proves to be turning point for George’s personal growth as well.

Bread, Salt & Wine is a heartfelt and moving conclusion to a refreshing and innovative series. Love gives the characters the strength to make positive changes in their lives. Their journeys are often difficult and filled with strong emotion but I have enjoyed traveling with them as they triumph over adversity.

Fans will be delighted at Dev Bentham’s last heartwarming glimpse of all of the characters in the Tarnished Souls series. I loved seeing all of the men whose paths have crossed in the previous novels brought together for one last time. I am going to miss this series and I highly recommend it to all readers of male/male contemporary romances.

Read my reviews of the other stories in the Tarnished Souls series HERE.

2 Comments

Filed under Bread Salt and Wine, Contemporary, Dev Bentham, Erotic, Loose Id, M/M, Rated A+, Recommended Read, Review, Romance, Tarnished Souls

February 26, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review & Contest: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

Title: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery
Blackberry Island Series Book Two
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Length: 352 pages
Book Rating: A+ & A Recommended Read

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery’s prose has been called “gritty and magical” and “luscious and provocative” (Publishers Weekly). Now she returns to Blackberry Island with the story of three women whose friendship will change their lives forever.

After Andi Gordon is jilted at the altar, she makes the most impetuous decision of her life—buying one of the famed Three Sisters Queen Anne houses on Blackberry Island. Now the proud-ish owner of the ugly duckling of the trio, she plans to open her own pediatric office on the first floor, just as soon as her hunky contractor completes the work. Andi’s new future may be coming together, but the truth is she’s just as badly in need of a major renovation as her house.

When Deanna Phillips confronts her husband about a suspected affair, she opens up a Pandora’s box of unhappiness. And he claims that she is the problem. The terrible thing is, he’s right. In her quest to be the perfect woman, she’s lost herself, and she’s in danger of losing her entire family if things don’t change.

Next door, artist Boston King thought she and her college sweetheart would be married forever. Their passion for one another has always seemed indestructible. But after tragedy tears them apart, she’s not so sure. Now it’s time for them to move forward, with or without one another.

Thrown together by fate and geography, and bound by the strongest of friendships, these three women will discover what they’re really made of: laughter, tears, love and all.

The Review:

With her Blackberry Island series, Susan Mallery brings her readers stories about realistic characters whose lives are far from perfect. The second installment, Three Sisters, is a touching and heartfelt novel that is deeply compelling and full of emotion. The main characters are three very different women who form an unlikely friendship as they cope with some serious challenges in their private lives.

Following the breakup of her ten year relationship, Andi Gordon purchases a run down and decrepit Victorian home on Blackberry Island. Desperate for a new beginning, Andi is renovating more than her house; she is making over her entire life. A fresh start in a new place is just what she needs to recover from her broken heart and she has a strict no dating policy firmly in place. That is until she meets Wade King, the sexy contractor in charge of her renovations.

The homes on either side of Andi are beautifully restored and Andi is a little envious of her seemingly perfect neighbors. But as she gets to know each of the women living next door to her, Andi soon discovers that each of the women are dealing with some very painful issues.

Deanna Phillips is married with five beautiful daughters. Her husband, Colin, is a traveling salesmen who is away more often than he is home. When she discovers what she thinks is incriminating evidence of an affair, her accusations force Colin to reveal his growing dissatisfaction with their marriage. His angry allegations shake Deanna to the core and she will have to come to terms with her ugly and dysfunctional past in order to save her marriage.

Boston King and her husband Zeke are high school sweethearts who have been married for a long time. A devastating and traumatic loss has driven a wedge between this once devoted couple. Their once strong marriage is disintegrating and they have fallen into a very destructive pattern as they try to accept their unbearable loss and move forward.

The three women’s stories unfold separately then slowly converge as their lives begin to fall apart. In the beginning, Deanna is difficult to like but as her self-awareness grows and her past is revealed the more likeable she becomes. Of the three, she has the most to lose and overcome. Boston’s story is the most heartbreaking and her recovery takes the longest to achieve. Andi is the most optimistic and despite her reservations about getting involved with Wade, she is willing to open her heart to love again.

While Three Sisters is mainly a novel about overcoming life’s obstacles, there are romantic elements. Both Deanna and Boston’s marriages are rocky and it is incredibly uplifting watching them fight to save their respective marriages and rediscover their love for their spouses. Andi’s new relationship with Wade is incredibly sensual and while their road to happily ever after is a bit rocky, it is emotionally satisfying when they finally figure out their future.

Susan Mallery’s Blackberry Island series is definitely more serious than her more light-hearted and romantic Fool’s Gold series. She tackles some of life’s more serious moments head on and provides readers with thought-provoking and emotional storylines that will make you laugh and cry as each of the characters triumph over adversity.

Three Sisters is a captivating novel about friendship, facing fears, overcoming tragedy and finding the courage to love again. This installment of the Blackberry Island series can be read as a standalone story, but you won’t want to miss a single book in this delightfully heartwarming series.

Read my reviews of the other novels in this series HERE.

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Filed under Blackberry Island Series, Contemporary, Contest, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, Rated A+, Recommended Read, Review, Romance, Three Sisters, Women's Fiction