At work the other day someone described a friends personality as you would describe a fine wine. You know “she’s bold with an undertone of ripe raspberry’s growing on the coast of California, with a hint of salt”. It got me thinking, I have been following many of you for a few years and after reading some of your reviews, can almost provide my own Book-Blogger Mashup.
First, I’ll start with myself. because why the heck not?
THE READING CHICK: She is as inquisitive as an In Death novel, has an undertone of snarky Hating Game dialog, and is rounded out by her From Lukov with Love of romance.
That was so much fun! So, ladies (Marie, Bree and Jill) I challenge you to create your own Book-Blogger Mashup!
Here are the rules: 1) You have to Mashup up your own blog, 2) pick three of your fellow bloggers to Mash and please tag them, and 3) tag me because I want to read them too!
Of course, if you don’t want to do the Book-Blogger Mashup, you don’t have to but I thought it was fun and kind of a neat exercise. I really got to know your blogs and reading style’s better!
If I didn’t tag you but you think this sounds like fun, feel free to join in! Please tag me so I can have fun with you and read your own mashups.
Claire and Poppy grew up in the social media limelight. Their mother blogging about their lives until the three of them became household names. Now in high school Claire discovers her history isn’t all as it was blogged and as she researches past facts she realizes her life’s ambitions may not be the same as her sister’s. When she meets Rafael and learns his story he helps her realize that her definition of family may not be as pretty as the blog posts but her feelings and ties to her sister are real.
Even though Claire and Poppy were internet stars they had the drama and emotions of normal high school teenagers. Claire was the more introverted of the two sisters and so felt each emotion and comment cut deeper. That sensitivity made her afraid to speak her feelings until they grew so large in her own head they overwhelmed her. I’ll admit I grew frustrated with most of the characters in this novel because a little communication would have allayed so many of their fears, but then I guess we wouldn’t have had much of a novel to read!
Rafael ended up being my favorite character, yet, he too was not 3D. Having lived all over the world with his father with Doctors without Borders should have given him a broader frame to draw his experiences from, yet he never got past the drama and his own teenage insecurities. My expectations may have been set a little high, but I was really looking for a reason to love this novel and instead never got past like.
As a blogger myself, I thought I should have found this plot more interesting. Their life as bloggers was actually kind of fun and I’d have liked to see more of that. Part of the problem was that some of the subject matter, while deep, was written with a lighter touch that seemed to de-emphasize the importance of what was happening in that scene, so the tone of the novel was too light for the drama it was trying to represent. It kept me from connecting with these characters in a way that I needed to do to enjoy their journey. ❤️❤️❤️❣️
I received a free copy of the ARC for my honest review and it was honest.
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
” …read this in a day and enjoyed it SO much. It feels really timely, with how many mommy bloggers and instagrammers there are in the world- it makes you think about their kids and how they might grow up to view everything (including invasion of their privacy).” the bookish beagle
“Overall, this was a fascinating read with an insightful look into the private lives of social influencers and I think it’ll be quite enjoyable to younger readers. I think it’s a great debut attempt which could have done with better execution.” My World of Books
Fall is the third novel in VIP, a rock star romance series by Kristen Callihan. Having had the story of two previous members in this band (well, #2 was about their Manager but..) we already know Jax Blackwood’s history. He was the catalyst to Killian’s escape from reality in VIP. Jax is the best friend who tried to kill himself and sent the band whirling into despair and confusion. Knowing this, I wondered how Ms. Callihan was going to inject a lightness into this troubled man’s story. That injection came in the form of Stella, a funny “free spirit” who dares to knock down Jax’s mental blockade and make him feel again. She does this through humor, but also provides Jax with someone who needs him emotionally. That is a truly scary thing for a mentally depressed individual, but he is willing to take that chance and be that person for Stella.
We knew all about Jax (or thought we did), but we, the reader, knew nothing about Stella until she meets him over Mint Chip ice cream at the grocery store. A scene that sets the stage for some pretty funny shanigans between these two characters. Stella doesn’t have a clue who Jax is, and Jax loves the independence of being himself instead of being the rock star. When they meet again, she is living next door to him in Killian and Liberty’s apartment, pet sitting for them while they are on vacation overseas. This closeness provides many opportunities for Jax and Stella to interact and get to know each other. Both of them are truly surprised by what they find out.
I loved that Kristen Callihan took on mental illness in this novel. It would be so easy to make Jax the tortured misunderstood hero and Stella be the light that brings him back from the dark. They both are those things, but they are also so much more. After having viewed the effects of Jax’s attempted suicide on his band members, it was really eye opening to hear his viewpoint on what is and was going on in his head. The way this is portrayed is very true to life and only the romance in this novel is lighthearted. The characters have depth that scratches despair, and only by being together, loving each other do they have the strength to face the future. Stella needs this love just as much as Jax, maybe even more.
This was not a lighthearted novel. Yes, I did laugh, but I also cried a bit and stopped to think about how this portrayal could parallel a lot of people’s lives that read it. Not that we’re all rock stars, well at least outside my own head, but the fact that we all have moments of darkness and that dream that being needed and loved can help us overcome despair.
Am I reading too much into this novel? I mean it is a rock star romance and is meant to be fun. I know other people haven’t loved this novel as much as the other two in the series, but I’m going to say this is my favorite so far. Fall had a perfect balance of light and dark, love and hate, despair and hope. To me, that balance made it pretty much perfect. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“I’d say Fall was a great romance that also managed to handle the important topic of mental health and depression with such realism and grace. I would highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the other books of the VIP series.” A Lovely Book Affair
“Fall is an intense, emotional, funny, and sexy slow burn. Kristen Callihan created and developed flawed but endearing characters in John and Stella who will keep you engaged throughout their rollercoaster of a relationship.” Harlequin Junkie
“Don’t live to please the starfish, especially when their happiness is at the expense of yours. That is not love. That is narcissism. There’s an entire ocean out there, Kiko–swim in it.”
Kiko Himura has a narcissistic mother who has consistently beaten down her self confidence until she can only see herself through her mother’s eyes. Her only escape is through her art, something that she excels at and enjoys. Against her mothers wishes she applies to Prism, an art school, and sets all of her hopes and dreams upon getting in.
Despite her social anxiety Kiko’s best friend Emery talks her into going to a party where she runs into Jamie, the boy who was her best friend from childhood. He and his family had moved to California and their friendship had not survived the distance. Pretty quickly their friendship resumed but Jamie could see that this Kiko was not the same happy, friendly girl he had left behind years ago.
OK, I’ll be honest. This was a really difficult novel for me to read. Knowing a little bit about narcissistic relationships I recognized those signs immediately. However, my own relationship was not desperate and hurtful as Kiko’s was, but I could feel her pain because it easily could have been. It’s hard to read about a subject that is familiar and see that character take a different path than your own. I’ll admit that I was really frustrated with Kiko. I wanted her to be immediately stronger than she was but found the patience to keep reading because I wanted to see if she found her happy ending.
Jamie was just wonderful. As soon as he saw Kiko again he knew they were meant to be together. He was infinitely patient and old beyond his years, but then his household had it’s own difficulties. His treatment of this girl who was obviously fragile was to lend her his strength and the knowledge that despite everything he would be there for her, in whatever manner she desired. That is true love.
Although this was a difficult read for me, I did enjoy how the author slowly gave Kiko strength and through that she found her own self. I loved that.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“I think the emotional journey of the characters was the strength of this book; I definitely had a lot of feelings about Kiko and her relationship with her family and her heritage, the latter important because of her mother’s constant undermining of the value of it. I got to the end and was just… emosh. And like I said, I thought the way the romance was handled was really important and sensitive.” Miriam Joy Reads
“I loved the way this story was written, with stunning descriptions that really sparked my imagination. All the descriptions of Kiko’s art actually made me want to start painting again, which I haven’t really done in years. All in all, this book was gripping, emotional, dark, emotional and hopeful. I really liked it, and will definitely be reading future books by this author.” Reading Sanctuary
Investigator Casey Duncan and her boyfriend Rockton Sheriff Eric Dalton again find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. This time investigating a Federal Marshall who tracked his criminal to their small, hidden town. Rockton, a safe haven for victims and criminals who have paid to hide out is not unfamiliar with mysterious crimes. What is unfamiliar is that as Casey investigates she narrows it down to a surprising person.
In the previous novel, This Fallen Prey, one of their townspeople and leader of their militia, Kenny was shot in the back. Casey and Dalton reach out to her sister April who despite their lack of closeness does agree to come to Rockton with them for a brief time to operate and help Kenny in his recovery. Watcher in the Woods shifts focus from Casey and Dalton’s relationship to Casey and her sister April. What Casey finds out about her sister explains their lack of closeness in the past and this opportunity gives them a chance to part on better terms. I thought this sub plot revealed a lot . about Casey’s character in the past and showed her emotional growth. She was in a place where she could “see” her sister clearly and was able to understand her better. I really enjoyed their interactions and added an emotional punch to an otherwise kind of unemotional mystery.
The mystery of who killed the Marshall was interesting but kind of lackluster for me. I don’t know if it was because he was only introduced and then killed in the first couple of chapters and I really didn’t care? Or because a lot of the book was an exploratory into a few newer characters, but the pages didn’t fly by as much as they have in the previous three books. Kelly Armstrong writes a great mystery and I didn’t guess who had done it, it just took a long time to get to the conclusion. I’m sure my feelings are in the minority on this one, but it is how I felt.
Watcher in the Woods is one of those books in a series that you need to read because it reveals things about characters that you will probably need to know in a future book. Despite it’s slowness, I really did like the sub plot between Casey and her sister and am looking forward to seeing where that leads in future novels but the mystery just didn’t knock it out of the park for me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a free ARC of this novel for my honest review and it was honest!
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“In the end, Watcher in the Woods is a lovely and intriguing read. It has action, a bit of romance, murder, and quite a few plot twists and reveals. It tightens the overall series arc and sets things up for the final installment, while still developing the characters and keeping the world-building and setting fresh.” Owls Reads
“All of the Rockton tales are action packed and full of secrets, double backs and, yes, romance. That is what makes them so entertaining to read. This one, however, was a bit slow for me in the beginning and I suspect that it was because there was a great deal of minutia laid out for readers who might be joining here at book four rather than at the beginning.” Macsbooks
The Dead Queens Club takes the historical facts of King Henry VIII and his six wives and translates it into a Contemporary Young Adult novel set in a high school. No, high school Henry is not married to six girls, but he has had six girlfriends in the last two years. Including our main protagonist, Annie Marck “Cleves”, girlfriend number four, and best friend to Henry. When she hears a rumor that Henry is possibly responsible for the deaths of two of his ex-girlfriends, Cleves investigates to help clear his name. Is the most popular boy in school the funny partner in crime she knows? Or is he a guy with anger management issues who takes revenge on his cheating girlfriends?
The Dead Queens Club cleverly names all of it’s characters after their true life namesakes and incorporates familiar places from Tudor history into this small town. I’ll admit to once again using Wikipedia to give myself a quick history lesson on each wife (and if they kept their head or not) and found that I relished watching the mystery unfold more because of that knowledge. Setting Henry VIII’s relationships in a high school certainly had it’s challenges but I thought Hannah Capin did a GREAT job at intertwining and creating original scenarios while still maintaining their historical references. It wasn’t just the names and places that were similar, but each person’s relationship with Henry, down to his advisors who fed him false information to turn him against his wives, were represented in this book. Once you know the history (as I did with my quick Wikipedia exploration) you have a few aha! moments where you stop and admire the machinations and manipulations the author took to make that reference happen.
Lancaster High had all of the drama and gossip you’d imagine from a high school setting and even though the pace was kind of slow I was surprised at how well the political intrigue of the Tudor court translated into the cliques and capers of high school life. Cleves rides on the edge of any clique although her friendship with Henry puts her in the elite circle. She is blinded for a long while by that friendship, his magnetic personality, and his lies, but the other girls, even though catty and mean, help her see the truth.
Even though The Dead Queen’s Club had a contemporary setting I found myself enjoying it like I do historical fiction, yet it was easy to read and didn’t bog down as some historical fiction does. Cleves was probably one of Henry’s least impressive wives, yet in this novel she was the catalyst for the readers emotions to dip and surge. She was so torn between her “best friend” Henry and this other Henry that her friends were trying to make her see. Who was the real boy? Well, if you know your history you know the answer to that question. But there is so much more to this novel than the historical facts. There are emotions, discoveries, and the realization that people just sometimes suck. The story, however, didn’t. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I received a free copy of this ARC for my honest review and it was honest!
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“If you are like me and are a fan of The Tudors and every scheming person affiliated with them, chances are you will love this book. It kept me wanting more and I just didn’t want to put it down. Hats off to Hannah Capin who was able to make me love these characters even more than I already did. ” TBR and Beyond
” I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I’d hoped, but that’s more me than the book. I’m not a big fan of Mean Girls and erratic high school drama, but judging by other reviews, many readers thought The Dead Queens Club was fabulous. This book is scheduled for publication January 29th, 2019.” Books and Such
Anton Petrov, Captain of the Chicago Blaze hockey team, is known for his healthy eating habits, great work ethic, and celibate lifestyle. The first two are what he needs to be a great hockey player but the last is because once he met Mia Marceau he was spoiled for anyone else. Unfortunately, Mia is married to one of his teammates. When he fortuitously runs into Mia tending bar he finds out she and his teammate, while still married, are separated. Wanting to be in her life, even if they are only friends, he starts driving her home when she gets off work late at night and ultimately hires her as caretaker to his uncle. Their attraction catches fire yet she is still married and Anton doesn’t want to cross that line.
Despite the beautiful cover model, Anton is a slow burn novel. Mia’s marriage creates a distance between the two of them and they are both so honorable that until her divorce they remain friends. I loved how their friendship was fully developed before the romance really started. Mia’s marital situation, unsurprisingly has a rather harsh reality so there is plenty of drama in this novel, but it’s balanced really nicely with some humor from Anton’s uncle who is a rather salty old soul.
There were some interesting characters on Anton’s hockey team so if you’re a fan of these romances I think you’ll want to keep track of when the rest of these novels come out. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for you! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I was given a free ARC of this book for my honest review and it was honest!
Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She’s a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.
The second novel in the Cape Charade series, What Doesn’t Kill Her continues the story of our heroine Kellen Adams. After finding out she’d had a daughter while in a coma, Kellen, Max and Rae are trying to ease into a family unit. Suffering from PTSD after her years in Afghanistan, Kellen is having the tougher time bonding with her new daughter. Needing a break, she takes a side job delivering an archeological find to a recluse in the wilderness with a man she doesn’t know. On the way, the man tries to kill her, Kellen evades the kill, and finds out her new seven year old daughter Rae has hidden in the back of the van in the hopes of bonding with her mother. Escaping into the wilderness, Kellen and her pink sparkly daughter find out that they are being hunted by two teams of men. One is out to collect the valuable item they are carrying, and the other is out to kill Kellen. This quick trip has suddenly turned into the run for their lives.
Kellen started off so out of her element as a mom, but as she and her daughter evaded capture Kellen found that she did in fact care deeply for this little girl. Kellen’s maternal instincts are slightly skewed from the traumatic events in her past but she does teach Rae some invaluable lessons in self defense that were dramatic and sweet at the same time. Imagine trying to relay to a seven year old girl that they were being hunted by people who were trying to hurt them without scaring the crap out of her. There were some seriously funny conversations between these two that really added a lot of maternal warmth to Kellen’s character. For Kellen, this trip was a boot camp to motherhood.
I really liked Max in Dead Girl Running and he was even more likable as a dad and love interest to Kellen in this novel. He was alpha male enough to want to sweep in and keep his girls safe, but smart enough to let Kellen use her skills and provide her own safety. That’s not to say that he didn’t want to kick ass and take prisoners, but this was a woman who took charge of her own life and didn’t wait for anyone to save her. The two of them were very well balanced and I really enjoyed watching their relationship grow into a romantic one.
What Doesn’t Kill Her was even better than Dead Girl Running, and I loved that novel! There was some great dialog between Rae and Kellen that provided comic relief to what would’ve been a non stop action novel. Those moments of warmth between mother and daughter allowed the reader to build a deeper connection with Kellen, and I cared even more when she and Max reunited as a couple. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next Cape Charade book, Stranger She knows. It can’t come soon enough for me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I was given a free ARC of this book for an honest review and it was honest!
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“What makes this book a fun read is, for the most part, the non-stop action and diversity of settings: As the plot progresses, readers witness lots of action, near-misses, and pursuers, and assassins in exciting locations such as vineyards, resorts, and mountain-top lodges – and the chase is always on.” Mystery Tribune
I grabbed a copy of Saint Anything off the sale pile at my local bookstore. I had recently read another novel by Sarah Dessen, Once and For All and had really like how much substance and character building she had written into that novel and wanted to try another and see if this was her signature style. Sure enough, Saint Anything matched the depth and her heroine Sydney was complex. Yeah! I know I’m late to discover this author, but I’m excited to find her and will probably quickly get through her backlog of books. 🙂
Saint Anything is about Sydney and her search for a voice and presence in her family. Sydney has always been second to her older brother Peyton. He was charming, good looking, and the apple of her mothers eye. As he grew older, he began to act out until one day he drove drunk, got in an accident and hurt another teenager. Peyton goes to jail and leaves Sydney’s life in pieces. Having to change from private school to public school Sydney has to start all over. In some ways this was a wonderful thing to be among people who didn’t know her past. When she meets Layla Chatham, she gets embraced by her family and finds the support and love from them that was missing at home.
Sydney went through so many emotional ups and downs in this novel. She is angry at her family, feels guilty about the teen that her brother hit, and tries to balance new friends and old friends while still maintaining her own personal identity. Then, of course, she falls in love too, and Mac’s that boy that all mothers should want for their daughters. A prince among teens. LOL.
Sarah Dessen must have gone through every emotion in her teen life to be able to write with such depth and feeling from a teenage girls point of view. Sydney’s self revelations are inspiring for teen girls I’m sure, but also for myself at a (much) more advanced age. I really enjoy how her characters grow into great people and forget I’m reading about 16 year old’s. It does help that the romances are sub plots, at least in the two Dessen books I’ve read so far.
If you haven’t read this novel and are looking for a quick read with depth, look for Saint Anything. It will fill that bucket, for sure. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Opinions from around the Blogosphere
“I’ve read several Sarah Dessen books and always found them perfectly good summer reads. Nothing extraordinary but never a disappointing read, and Saint Anything fell right into that category. There is nothing particularly noteworthy about this book. I enjoyed the characters and their development, something Sarah Dessen absolutely excels at. But in terms of story and romance, it was lacking.” Pagefuls
“I absolutely loved this book! Sydney’s character was very relatable because like her, I also lost touch with some of my friends when I changed schools. The only event that made me uncomfortable while I was reading was Ames’s character because from his first scene I knew he was creepy. It really annoyed me when Sydney’s mother kept encouraging Ames to come around, but by the end of the book I was happy to read about her change of heart.” The Night Owl Book Blog
When Lily’s brother goes missing she turns to ex-husband and Media Mogul Calvin Cabot to help her find him. After their marriage was annulled four years ago after a quick elopement they have done a great job of avoiding being in the same vicinity. When Lily kidnaps Calvin to get him to help her out, they find that the chemistry between them is just as fiery, as is Lily’s personality. When Calvin agree’s to help her he tries to keep her safe, but Lily is determined to be in on the action. Her determination to find her brother is matched by Calvin’s desire for Lily to stay out of the action.
The setting for the Knickerbocker Club series is the Industrial age which makes it these books very unique. Even though Lily comes from money it’s nice to see how men in that frame of time built their fortunes. When Lily and Calvin initially meet and marry he is a reporter, but four years later he owns three papers and is on his way to building an empire. Lily also has grown into her place, taking over for her father as the President of their mining company. Something that is not heard of in that time, and probably inaccurate of what women are allowed to do in that time, but it made for a different kind of romance. They are equals with their brains and with their finances.
The mystery of what happened to Lily’s brother involves a Chinese gang leader and some rather rough characters. You know when you read a piece of fiction and the characters all feel real and not characterizations, you know that the author did their homework. Joanna Shupe did hers and the realistic characters helped me enmesh myself in their story, not stopping to think “yeah, right” as I do in some lighter historical romances.
This is the third book in the Knickerbocker Club series but you can read these novels as stand alone’s no problem. The other men in the club do show up as supporting characters but you don’t need to know who they are to enjoy this or any of the other stories in the series. If you’re like me and like to start at the beginning, then pick up Magnate, which is book #1. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
The Reading Chick 
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