Crazy Thing Called Love by Molly O'Keefe

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Crazy Thing Called Love
By Molly O’Keefe
Published by Bantam Books
February 2013
ISBN: 978-0-345-53369-2

Book provided by Random House and reviewed for LibraryThing.com


Surprise!



Two high-school sweethearts marry and prepare for a life together. Billy Wilkins is a rising star in the hockey league with a bright future playing his dream, but the cost he ends up paying is his wife, Madelyn. They grow apart until one day Madelyn decides to divorce him. Over the next 15 years, Madelyn builds her dream in a journalism career and Billy succeeds as a famous hockey player. Fifteen years later, Billy Wilkins has reached the end of his career and agrees to a guest spot on Madelyn’s popular morning show, much to Madelyn’s dismay.

This is the first of Molly O’Keefe’s books that I have read, and I must confess, I had thoughts of not reading another as I read the first half of this book. I was bored with story of lost-ex-husband-chasing-popular-and-self-sufficient-yet-pathetic-ex-wife. I found the characters to be flat and uninteresting, and the continuing self-imposed prison Madelyn put herself into due to the pain Billy put her through 15 years ago was tedious. I wanted to scream “get over it already”.

I felt this until, midway through the book, Ms. O’Keefe threw her readers a little curveball. This little curveball (which would be a spoiler, so I won’t divulge) brought a plot to the book that I then found myself liking the characters and the growth I was now seeing. This situation change seemed to give the author more to work with and opened up doors for Billy and Maddy to evolve and become more interesting. I began to wonder what was going to happen next, which kept me turning the pages.

All in all, I would say don’t judge this book by the first 100 pages. The author is setting a scene, which is valuable, however, I do believe it could have been accomplished in fewer pages. How the author wraps up this story does make the book worthwhile. I believe I will read another of Ms. O’Keefe’s books.

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Sweet Romance


In the 1850s, Joe Denton had a wife and planned to settle in Seattle. He acquired a considerable amount of land through a deal with the government. His wife died before she could join him, and the judge in town tells Joe he has to give up half his land due to the stipulation in the deal that he must have a wife. Either produce a death certificate for his dead wife, or produce another wife. That was the order. Joe couldn’t produce a death certificate due to a records fire, so his only other option to save his land – and the last 10 years of his hard work – is to produce a new wife. Asa Mercer is arranging marriages, and Joe Denton begrudgingly signs up to be a groom.

Anna Ivey is tired of working for a letch and living alone in post-Civil War Maine. She decides to travel by sea to Seattle and become a cook. Asa Mercer, her means of travel, allows her to believe she is travelling to take on the job as cook, not as a bride. All is well until Joe and Anna meet and Anna refuses to marry.

A Bride in the Bargain is a captivating historical romance which follows the typical boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl can’t be together for whatever reason, and all ends well. However, Deeanne Gist is able to create characters that draw you into the tale and invest your emotions in their lives. The secondary characters are just as endearing as the hero and heroine, and there is no surprise that the couple and their friends must stay together in order not to disappoint the reader. The author does break from the traditional mold and adds a little twist, just when you think the story is coming to an end. An unforeseen complication arises and takes hold of the reader until the close of the book. A enjoyable, romantic read which I highly recommend.

And the winner is....

Sunday, July 19, 2009

I recently advertised a book giveaway on FrugalReader to give away my ARC copy of Gloria Mallette's "Sassy", which I loved!

I completed the drawing this morning, and here is my post to the forum over at FrugalReader.


Ok, ladies and gentlemen, the drawing is over...
The list of contestants is (in order of comment):
1. icedream
2. JoanneR
3. dmbuffy
4. mama2skyjax
5. Lenda
6. JDobs

And the winner is.....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 3 Powered by RANDOM.ORG


dmbuffy!!! Congratulations Dayna!!

And, to thank everyone for participating in my very first ARC giveaway (which helps me get more ARCs:-), everyone (including ConnieJ) will get to choose either a book from my shelf or a credit from me. Dayna -- choose another book in addition to Sassy, or a credit to go with it.

Thanks again everyone!!

Review: Sassy by Gloria Mallette

Monday, July 6, 2009

Sassy by Gloria Mallette
Published by Gemini Press
May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9678789-3-5

Romance, Suspense...Whodunnit?



Sassy Davenport writes successful romance novels for a living, but what she writes comes from her imagination, not her experience. Her current relationship is unremarkably bland and unfulfilling. Then, she meets a handsome architect at her latest book signing and her love life begins to take on a more interesting appeal. After falling head over heels, she is forced to ask herself if she has made a horrible mistake – is this wonderful man truly the brutal murderer he is accused of being, or is this a terrible case of mistaken identity?

Gloria Mallette has succeeded in writing a book so captivating this reader didn’t want to put it down. From page one, the author plunges the reader directly into the crux of the story and grabs her attention. On page ten I ask myself rhetorically, “how is this going to play out?” The suspense is constant, and just when you think the author has given herself away, it’s time to think again – or is it?

Ms. Mallette has included a wide range of feelings and emotions in her characters: hate, anger, love, compassion, jealousy. Some of her characters have them, and other characters evoke them. She’s used shock, suspense, romance, mystery, sympathy and even repulsion to draw in the reader to abandon the lukewarm attitude of a moderate novel, to the eager, anticipating climax of an intense story.

Review: Pack Your Bags...Go U.S.A. by Kimberley Weaver and Allyson Murphy

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Pack Your Bags...Go U.S.A. by Kimberley Weaver and Allyson Murphy
Illustrated by Maria K. Holdren
Published by Sorella Books (www.sorellabooks.com)
ISBN-13: 978-0976735106
ISBN-10: 0-976735105




Travel the States!


Each of the 50 United States is represented in the colorful and simply organized pages of Pack Your Bags…Go U.S.A. Presented in alphabetical order, each state has a page dedicated to its picture, capital city, nickname, state flag, state flower, state bird, and an additional little tidbit about that state. In California, you could visit the Golden Gate Bridge; in Maine, you could go canoeing on the Allagash River.

This is a beautifully compiled tribute to the United States of America. The authors have done a fantastic job of piecing together the various facts about each state and putting them into a very well organized and illustrated book for children and adults alike. Each page is filled with color to engage young readers, as well as vibrant photographs to enhance the journey your child will take while turning these pages. The layout of the information is kept simple and basic, and does not overwhelm the reader with too much information, while providing many interesting facts at the same time.

Intended for young children, adults interested in learning more about the U.S. and each state would also benefit from this fact-filled book.

Review: Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

Friday, February 20, 2009

Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn
Published by MIRA Books
ISBN-13: 978-0778326144
ISBN-10: 0-778326144
Available March 2009

Lady Julia does it again!


Lady Julia Grey is at it again. Nicholas Brisbane tells her to stay away, but she ignores his request and heads with her sister to his newly-inherited estate. She arrives to find the previous family still inhabiting the grounds, with Brisbane maintaining a discreet distance. Not long after her arrival, Lady Julia is asking questions and wondering why Brisbane chose this estate, with this family, when both are succumbing to the ruins that can only come from a fallen fortune and neglect. What Lady Julia discovers is that she has insinuated herself in the middle of a mystery, and she continues to unravel the threads to understand the man she has come to love.

Silent on the Moor is the third book of Ms. Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey mysteries. I must confess that I haven’t read the first two installments, so I was a little disappointed when I realized this novel had less romance than it did mystery – I was expecting lots of romance. I was wondering why Nicholas had such a bit part, and when he was in the story, it wasn’t very in-depth. I found it difficult to believe in their relationship because there wasn’t any chemistry between the two characters, and the author didn’t seem too concerned with developing the romance. It wasn’t until I started looking for the first two books did I realize their history has already been established and I had missed the boat. I highly recommend reading the first two books first if you’re interested in the development of the relationship, but it isn’t necessary if you’re more interested in a very intriguing, keeping-you-guessing, mystery.

Ms. Raybourn kept me guessing through this book and I really enjoyed the character of Lady Julia. I found myself looking forward to my time reading when this book was waiting for me, and I began looking for books one and two as soon as I finished the last page.

Review: The Tutu Ballet by Sally O. Lee

Thursday, January 1, 2009

The Tutu Ballet
Story and Illustrations by Sally O. Lee
Published by Booksurge Publishing
ISBN: 978-1439209165
A special thank you to ijustfinished.com

Embrace the Differences


The Tutu Ballet is a delightful story of Ms. Berry and her four young ballet students who are preparing for their class ballet recital. Ms. Berry’s students are Mirabel the mouse, Fillippo the fox, Belinda the bear, and Harriett the hare. During the classes, Ms. Berry finds that each of her students has his or her own interest in one particular area of the ballet, and is not particularly talented in the other areas. Ms. Berry is able to overcome this dilemma by organizing the recital in such a way that each student is able to use his or her own talent to play a special part, and the play ends in a grand success, much to the parents’ delight.

As you may have guessed, The Tutu Ballet takes place in the forest where the resident animals send their children to Ms. Berry’s class to learn the ballet. Each student is a different type of animal represented in the forest, and each of these characters displays a strength in one area, and weaknesses in others. Ms. Berry is presented with the daunting task of preparing these students for the recital where they should all be performing the same ballet moves and following the same instructions. Unfortunately, Ms. Berry must improvise as not all of her students are able perform all of the same moves. Ms. Berry develops a format where each individual may remain an individual, perform his or her talents, and still emerge with a wonderfully successful ballet recital.

Ms. Lee writes an endearing tale that teaches young children the beauty of keeping an open mind and embracing the differences of others. Allowing others to excel where they do best and combining each individual’s strengths can result in a spectacular result. Not everyone can do everything perfectly, and not everyone must do everything perfectly in order for a project to be a success. Working together and bringing your own talents to the table, no matter how different they are, makes everyone involved a winner. This lesson is simply told, and beautifully illustrated, by Ms. Lee herself.