Tag: overdrive

This Chick Read: The Simplicity of Cider by Amy E. Reichert

Sanna Lund lives on her family’s apple orchard with her father in Wisconsin. She tinkers all day with ingredients to make cider, seeing the flavors as vivid colors in her mind. Her father hires Isaac Banks and his ten year old son Sebastian to help out around the farm for the summer. Sanna isn’t excited to share her space with a child but her blunt straightforwardness and his childlike exuberance are the perfect pairing opening Sanna’s eyes to things outside the box of her farm. When her father has an accident, Isaac’s steadfast assurance and helpful hands enables them to keep the farm running while her father heals. When her brother comes home to help out, he tries to convince them to sell the land to developers and Sanna has to deal with more change in her little world.

Unlike the previous novel of Amy E. Reicherts that I have read, The Coincindence of Coconut Cake, there was a sad undertone to this story that held me back from giving it a 5 rating. Isaac was running away from troubles at home and keeping a huge secret from his son Bass. Their relationship had such a great father son dynamic that I really didn’t look forward to his secret being revealed which made me a little uncomfortable.

Sanna was a very blunt, straightforward young woman and when her world is threatened by developers she got more stubborn, missing some clues that someone was sabotaging her farm. I was a little frustrated that she stuck her head in the sand for so long! However, I also could identify with her need for her world not to change too fast or too much. Change is hard! When she and Isaac started to work together to help the farm move into this century it gave me hope that both of their characters would grow, and they did, but the pace of the novel remained pretty slow which confused me. Those contradictions of pace and plot made me a little hesitant to commit myself to the outcome of their relationship.

The best part of The Simplicity of Cider was how family was such a huge part of both plot points. Isaac’s relationship with his son meant the world to him. He knows the secret he is holding is going to destory his son, and it does, but they are able to overcome his actions through love. Sanna’s family too was at odds, but as the novel went on her family joined together to save their farm. Sanna, too had to forgive and move on, becoming healthier and more ready to accept the changes life may have for her.

If you are looking for a romance novel this may not be the right fit for you. Yes, there is a romance but it takes a back seat to the conflicts in both Isaac’s and Sanna’s families. I will say that after all was said and done I did go grab an apple out of my fruit bowl and relish taking that first bite. ❤️❤️❤️❣️

Simplicity of Cider

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chicks Sunday Commentary: Book to Movie- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

In July of last year I read one of the books that had been on my TBR for quite awhile, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Well, I actually listened to the narration and really loved the story. Netflix just released the movie adaptation of this book and I got a chance to watch it last night with my husband. Did I like it as much as the book? I didn’t, however it was a very good adaptation and I was able to get caught up in the story without overthinking the few changes they had made to make it fit in an hour and a half.

When I re-read my review this morning I was surprisingly pleased that I decently expressed my overwhelming feelings for the novel at that time and wanted to include that review in this post and then give my thoughts on the movie.

Review of the BOOK:

I listened to this audio book and was immediately immersed in all of these characters individual stories. Told through a series of letters, we really get a feel for the era, post World War II, and the city of London. The inhabitants of that city struggling to begin their lives again after living through the atrocities of war. Juliet, who the novel revolves around, is a writer and had a very successful column in the paper under a pen name, about a soldier at the front. As she begins her life after the war, she is struggling to find a subject to write about when she receives a letter from a man on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, off the coast of England. This letter starts a pen pal relationship with him and his impromptu book club named the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society and ultimately an idea for a novel.

We are voyeurs of Juliet’s life hearing her inner thoughts and dreams. The excitement of being courted by a wealthy man vs the more simple life she leads on Guernsey and the happiness she finds as a surrogate mother to a young girl whose mother was taken away by the Germans to a concentration camp.

Through letters, we hear these characters individual thoughts and stories about living on an island occupied by the Germans. Their stories were touching, funny and very personal, and for a person who lives in a world full of emails, I really felt the loss of letter writing in our generation. Through letters, friendships were made, foundations for relationships were laid and an unforgettable story ripe with emotion was told.

The audio book was read by a whole cast and they really gave me the flavor of living in Europe during this time in our history. It was an unforgettable experience.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Guernsey MOVIE Notes:

It would be hard to pack in all of the details of this book into a 90 minute movie but I thought there were a few glossed over points at the beginning that I missed and thought further explanation was needed. I’ll admit I did pause the movie and explain those points to my husband. He was patient and not too annoyed!

As the movie starts, we see Juliet as an author at a book signing answering a couple of questions about her book that had become popular during the war as a series of articles from a man at the front. The book, of course goes into more detail about that novel and through those details really gives you a feeling for London during the war that was a little lacking in this movie. The other part of this novel that I felt was glossed over a bit was her relationship with Mark, the rich American. Their few scenes together at parties and bars dancing does give a rather stark contrast to the lives of the people on Guernsey and in particular Dawsey Adams, the farmer who wrote to her and started a pen pal relationship between she and the islanders. The depth of she and Mark’s relationship in the book made that contrast even more pointed and gave the choice she made at the end of the novel more impact.

I really like how the movie portrayed Juliet when she landed on Guernsey and started to sift through the inhabitants experiences and in particular what happened to Elizabeth McKenna, the absentee mother of young Kit. Lily James, who plays our lead, Juliet was magnificent. Her emotions played on her every expression and I thought she was perfectly cast. Her two love interests were also well cast. The American Mark, played by Glen Powell had that Jimmy Stewart boy next door good looks. Michiel Huisman, who played Dawsey Adams is worth sitting in front of the tube for 90 minutes with still photo’s rolling across the screen and no sound. The setting, costumes, and cast really made for a beautiful movie and I found myself wishing for a pastoral vacation with fabulous clothing minus the war.

Overall, I think leaving out those few details didn’t faze my husband or probably any other movie viewer who had never read the book. I do think those details added a sense of mood to the book that was a little lacking in the movie, but in the end I really liked the movie anyway despite that lack! I am a sucker for a good historical movie and this one hit all my hot buttons.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Friday YA: Ruin of Stars (Mask of Shadows #2) by Linsey Miller

When Mask of Shadow ended Sal had won the elite position of Opal, one of the Queen’s assasins. This enabled them to legally bring down and kill those responsible for the demise of Sal’s own country. As Sal investigates, they reveal the truth behind the missing children and uncover a surprising betrayal.

What I liked: Just as in Mask of Shadows, I really enjoyed Sal, a gender fluid individual and his romance with Elise. The battle for their country almost seemed to be about not only equality but also for gender rights. There was one scene where Elise describes how another Elena helped her tell her father that she was attracted to both boys and girls and that her feelings were normal. Sal was offended because they don’t think they’re either boy or girl, and Elise was simplifying the issue. I think this is the first time I had read a POV quite like Sal’s and it was eye opening and interesting.

What I didn’t like: Everything else. I LOVED Mask of Shadows. It was new and fresh, the competition to become Opal kept the story moving forward and the action was exciting. Ruin of Stars is an intrigue filled gloom fest. Too much political machinations and not enough character building emotion. Sal felt really flat! Sal’s PTSD from the childhood horror of losing their family came off as depression, lacked emotional depth, and bogged down the story. There were very few highs for Sal and a ton of lows. I don’t know, this one was really difficult for me to get through and I so wanted to love it!

I know there were a LOT of people who did love Mask of Shadows as much as I did. I gave it a five rating! Unfortunately, I can’t do the same with this sequel. I can only give it a three rating and I may be a little generous with that number. ❤️❤️❤️

Did you read this book? Did you like it? Please let me know because I’m feeling really let down.

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Ruin of Stars

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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This Chick Read: Through the Fire (Rocky Mountain K9 Unit #4) by Katie Ruggle

Kit Jernigan is the newest member of the K9 Unit having arrived in town after the unit’s police department was blown to bits by the previous novel’s bad guy. Needless to say, her male counterparts are a little gun shy to trust the new girl in town. The day she arrives she is called to the scene of a fire with her bloodhound Justice to track a potential killer. When that trail points to a seemingly innocent person, Kit is the only one to believe that her story may not be true. Until Wes comes along. Wes, the local fire-spotter who works for the National Park, did his job and spotted the fire. When Kit goes to interview him, their chemistry sizzles and as they get to know each other, Wes is on hand to help her investigate her suspect.

This is the final book in the Rock Mountain K9 Unit series and it wraps up the series story arc very nicely. It was refreshing to have Kit’s perspective as the only female officer in town. Don’t let that book cover fool you, that should be Kit next to the dog not Wes, since she is the officer in the unit. (The guy on the cover is handsome, but Wes was described as a huge mountain man with a lot of hair and I’m not seeing it at all on that cover!) Kit was smart, and her inner dialog made me like her even more. I also liked how she was attracted to Wes’s personality. It is obvious that he is borderline autistic or at least severely uncomfortable with person to person contact of any sorts. Katie Ruggle wrote his character as if that was totally normal and didn’t explain his peculiarities at all, which was really refreshing in an age where “diverse” characters are celebrated. She didn’t draw attention to it, it was just who he was.

Wes was completely charming! He was a hot mountain man with a brain. He was also willing to face his fears of being around people socially to be a part of Kit’s life. That is romance! My only critique is that she wrote him a little too well? I liked his personality with Kit, but because of his awkwardness the reader may have had to work a little harder to connect with him.

If I had to classify this book’s genre, I would classify it as romantic suspense or an action novel. There was a lot going on and the mystery definitely took center stage. However, I really liked Kit and Wes and was happy with the romance sub plot. This series started off flat but slowly built up steam and I liked Through the Fire the best of the four novels. You definitely must read the other books before reading this one since there is an overlying plot that runs through all four novels, sorry! Reading a Katie Ruggle book isn’t a hardship so even with the slow start I’d recommend reading this series. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest.

Through the Fire

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Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights reserved

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This Chick Read: Ghosted by Rosie Walsh

While on her annual visit home to England Sarah meets Eddie and they immediately hit it off. A one day meeting at a pub turns into a magical seven days spent in his home falling in love. Or so Sarah thought. As she leaves at the end of those seven days, they exchange all information, including phone numbers and friending each other on Facebook, and Sarah never hears from him again.

Ghosted def

OK, let’s be honest here, we have all been Ghosted. Did I know there was actually a term for what has happened in the past? Nope! When it happens to you, it’s very easy for that worry to turn into an unhealthy anxiety. In Ghosted, the novel, Sarah knows this happens to people but she can’t help wonder if something had happened. After all, she knew their feelings were true and couldn’t be one-sided. 90% of this novel is from her POV, so we only feel what she’s feeling and even though she gets kind of crazy you just know there is more to Eddie’s story.

This novel was part love story, part mystery and every bit of it fascinating. As I learned more about Sarah’s life, I really wanted this happiness to be real. I wanted her to be allowed to have this one thing that was wonderful. Her restless energy imbued me as I was reading the novel making it hard for me to sit still and finish it. Two thirds of the way through the novel the author took a sharp turn that enabled us to FINALLY get Eddie’s POV. My feelings about him shifted dramatically when I got to see what was inside his head.

I really liked this story. I will admit that as a woman, it’s hard to read from Sarah’s POV because it brings back all of those moments of uncertainty from my single days, and that was before we had all of the technology we do today. Then it was just unreturned phone calls. Now there are so many other forms of torture available! I am so glad that I stuck with this novel to the end. The ending was fabulous, but more because by living through Sarah’s pain and uncertainty her resolution became the reader’s own. It was a great feeling! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Click this link to purchase!* Ghosted: A Novel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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Friday YA: The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum

Carter’s whole future rely’s on her getting into and winning a cooking competition, a la Top Chef for high schoolers, and getting a full scholarship into cooking school. Carter grew up poor. She learned to cook out of desperation because her parents were just awful at it. Something that was kind of a burden became her joy and she wants to follow her dream to someday open her own restaurant. When she wins entrance into the competition she’s overjoyed and is determined to do anything to win. She meets cute fellow chef Reid Yamada on day one where he chooses to play unfairly in their first competition. They are immediate adversaries, but are they really?

The Art of French Kissing was a really fun, lighthearted novel. The author painted the landscape with diverse characters with varying personalities. I wasn’t sure how Carter and Reid were going to go from enemies to friends, but it seemed to take a natural course and through the pairing in the competitions they soon had to rely on each other to win instead of looking over their shoulder for sabotage. If I had one tiny bit of criticism, I’d say that I wish Carter had been a little more confident and less hateful? I felt like she was the reason they weren’t friends sooner and it irritated me a bit. That was a pretty minor point though and I did move past it.

I really need to mention that even though these are teenagers there are VERY adult topics and the two main characters do have sex. It is not graphic or anything but I was surprised because I didn’t think this story needed to go down that road. If they were in college I don’t think I would have thought twice. I am not the targeted age for YA and am not sure if this is ok or if my feelings are the norm…

I do love a good novel with food and this one definitely had me taking a trip to the kitchen for some snacks. The Art of French Kissing hit all my YA Contemporary buttons, food, fun and friendships so with the exception of that moment of “wha?” I liked this book. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Art

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This Chick Read: The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

The Kiss Quotient is one of the most talked about contemporary romance novels to date this year. It’s the story of a young woman, Stella Lane, who has Asberger’s, a form of autism that makes it really difficult for her to interact socially. Her mother wants to be able to stop worrying about her living on her own and pushes blind dates on Stella constantly hoping she’ll find a match. This makes Stella feel awkward and a failure, but she really wants to please her mom by finding a boyfriend, and even more she wants to alleviate the feeling of being “different” by doing something so normal. However, her approach is a little abnormal. She hires an escort to teach her how to have sex and be in a normal relationship.

Michael Phan is half asian, half Swedish and 100% gorgeous. Every Friday night he moonlights as an escort, who, yes, sleeps with strange women. Never the same one twice. However, there is something about Stella that draws him in. She is obviously awkward, but they have a chemistry that intrigues him. Stella asks to hire him for a few weeks and he breaks his rule and accepts.

THE LOVE STORY: I really enjoyed their relationship with each other. Stella was charmingly awkward and even though she managed her Asberger’s very well, she had obvious tells; the rhythmic tapping, the affinity for numbers and formulas, and the problem with hearing multiple sounds at the same time, just to name a few. Michael was somewhat oblivious to all of those tells, being too caught up in his surprising feelings for someone who had hired him. He also had his own secrets and issues, but those are a really big turning point in the story and I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that even though on the outside he seemed to have it all, there was a reason he was hooking. Yes, I am going to call it hooking because if he was a woman that is what he would be called.

MY CONFLICT: It was so hard for me to overlook that Michael slept with other women for money. That’s not a romantic trait. At all. He was charming, sensitive, good looking and very caring towards Stella and that did go a long way towards taking away that hooker taint, but still…

I loved Stella. She was so human with all of our frailty’s and issues. Why did her hero have to be so flawed? Why couldn’t an autistic woman be loved by a “normal” man? These were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I was reading this book. I know I am in the minority on this one, but these were my feelings and those thoughts took me out of the story and lessened my enjoyment.

MY CONCLUSION: I had to sit on this one for a couple of weeks before writing my review and I’m glad I did. Looking back on my feelings I realized that in the end I really did like these two characters and did root for them to fall in love. He was the person she needed and it didn’t bother her one bit that he’d slept with hundreds of women. (just an estimate!) He was IT for her. It’s only a fictional novel, but if this were someone in my family I think I could overlook that for her. So, I gave this novel a four rating. It was very well done and really made me think.

The Kiss Quotient will probably not fulfill most women’s fantasy’s but it is striking a chord for a lot of people who may or may not have eccentricities and character traits that make them different. It was a story well told.

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Click this link to purchase*! The Kiss Quotient

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This Chick Read: Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley

Bellewether tells the story of two women living in different times. Lydia Wilde lives with her family during the war in the colonies between the French and the English. During that time if a battle was lost and soldiers surrendered, they would be billeted in homes until they were exchanged for their own soldiers that were being held. Lydia, her father and two brothers “hosted” two French Lieutenants. Charley is in present time and has been hired as historian and curator of the house Lydia lived in with her family. that will soon be a museum. As Charley unearths historical facts about the family that lived in that house, Lydia’s story is told. When Charley hears about a forbidden love story between Lydia and one of the French Lietenants, she wants to make their story part of the museum.

I loved the back and forth between Charley revealing a new item and Lydia’s history playing out. It was so easy to fall in love with both of these women and watch them live through very similar emotions. Susanna Kearsley writes as a historian. You read the descriptions of the clothing they are wearing and can fell the weave of the cloth running through your own fingers. She has a real talent. Both heroines had stories unfold in a very loving and gentle manner, dealing with grief in different ways. Charley’s story was more humorous as she is helped along by a spirit and Lydia’s a little more stoic as being the only female managing a family of men. What they had in common was heart, each defined by their own circumstances but at their core very similar.

I love the flow of a Susanna Kearsley novel. They’re not something you speed through, but savor slowly. The language unfolds and every sideways look has a meaning. She has a deft hand with description and doesn’t get bogged down with the details in a sewing basket. You are able to enjoy the story without needing to skim through pages. I was enmeshed in the story and actually wanted a few more chapters of Lydia’s story to end the book. That is the sign of a good book! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was given an ARC of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

Bellewether

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Friday YA: The Tower by Nicole Campbell

The Tower is a YA Contemporary novel that deals with friendship, love for your best friend, and the difficulties of being different in High School. The story revolves around three friends, Rowyn, Rose, and Reed who are approaching their Senior year in high school. The three of them have been best friends since birth growing up together in their small community, their mothers best friends. Reed has been in love with Rowyn since the fifth grade, and in the way of boys, he has hinted at his feelings but has never declared them, instead playing it safe and biding his time. Rose is the glue that binds their friendship together, sweet, fairy-like, and the voice of reason. This year of their lives is a time of change, the relationships between them tested. Will they end the year stronger for the challenges they face?

The Tower 2

The first thing you should know about this book is how great the characters have been developed. Each of the three main characters have a reason for being a part of the story. Having grown up in the witch community they are used to facing adversity. Name calling, hatred, and bigotry are a part of their daily lives, but each of them chooses to face it differently. Rowyn’s looks match her personality. She is the bold, forthright, doesn’t give a crap about what anyone thinks female heroine with the long black hair that is stereotypical of a Halloween witch. Rose is fairy-like, the peacemaker with a backbone, whose blonde looks and nice demeanor fool people into thinking she is a victim of circumstance. Reed is the charming, handsome guy who even though a witch, is non threatening and likable. Their friendship is what binds this story together.

The Tower 1

I found the fact that they were witches fascinating. They are not “magical” and don’t ride brooms or hover in the air or anything, although they do read tarot cards, make spells, and can heal spiritually. Each of them having a different talent. These talents are just a part of their characterizations and while their spirituality is within the story, the story does not revolve around witchcraft. I found that really refreshing in a book world where people having magical powers and saving the world is totally common. This story revolves around friendship, love and acceptance.

This novel was heartbreaking, heartwarming and heart filling. I probably went through a pack of tissue trying to deal with all of the emotions I was feeling as I read the story. The majority of the novel centered on Reed and Rowyn’s budding romance, but it was not all rainbows and butterfly’s. They had to overcome obstacles to somehow get to the point where they could be together, even though it seemed at the beginning of the book that it would be too easy. It was not.

Don’t let the idea of their being witches keep you from reading this book. It is a wonderful story about love and acceptance and I’d wish for each of you to pick this one up and give it a shot. Sometimes, I think I love a story because I’m in the right mood at the right time. I can honestly say that I didn’t know what to expect from The Tower and had zero expectations and it exceeded all of my imaginings.

I received an ARC of this book by the author for my honest review and it was honest.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Tower

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This Chick Read: Every Little Kiss (Sequoia Lake #2) by Marina Adair

It’s been two years since the death of her husband and single mom Liv Preston is ready to live again. She does have some challenges, her six year old son hasn’t talked to anyone since he was rescued with his father from a mountain cave. Liv is ready to prove life is worth living to her son, but in order to do that she has to start living it. Up for a promotion at work Liv’s boss gives her a challenge. Show that you are committed to our community and you’ll be considered for this job. Liv jumps in head first and with the help of Search and Rescue leader Ford Jamison takes the first step to proving to her son and herself that life is full of challenges, but also it’s full of rewards.

There’s something about romance novels with children and dogs that always touches my heart. Liv’s son Paxton is so shy and disconnected from everyone, but when the dog that rescued him off the side of a mountain shows back up in town he gains confidence. Those two were a dynamic du0 and a great tool to help the reader connect with this story.

Ford has his own baggage, haunted by not knowing what happens to those he saves. He see’s Liv and Paxton struggling and can’t help stepping in to lend a hand. The attraction he feels for Liv has his head spinning and even though he knows it’s a bad idea he lets their connection deepen. This novel deals so well with the struggle of loss, life and moving on. You can’t help but root for everyone to overcome their sadness, grow and live life to their fullest. Of course, this is a romance novel, so you know it will end happily, but they do have some hills to climb and conflict to overcome. Marina Adair has a deft hand at building characters that really connect with the reader and Every Little Kiss was no different. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Every Little Kiss

Click this link to purchase! Every Little Kiss (Sequoia Lake)

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

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