My So-Called Book Reviews: May 2015

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Review ~ Walk on The Wild Side: The Reinvention of Violet Monte + 39 Questions with Suzie Jay

Rating: 5/5 stars
Author: Suzie Jay
Formats Available: eBook
Publisher: Booktrope
Publication Date: 04-18-15              Pages: 122
Purchase - Amazon                           Add to Goodreads

Violet Monte believed her love and marriage would last a lifetime–until she catches her husband in bed with a younger woman.

When she realizes she was nothing more than a trophy wife, Violet decides to chase her own dreams. The only problem is, she has no idea what they are. Violet begins to pursue her own interests which sometime include spying on her mysterious neighbor, who might actually be a lady of the night.

Just as Violet is finding stability–– and the possibility of opening her heart again–– her husband returns not with an apology, but with a signed pre-nuptial agreement, claiming he’ll keep everything and leave her with nothing.

Violet is far from the compliant woman he once knew but she doubts she has the strength to fight and win, until her intriguing neighbor unlocks what Violet has been looking for all along.

Can Violet fight back from a lost love and reinvent herself into the person she always wanted to be or will she forever be just an ex-trophy wife?

Review & Author Interview ~ The Violet Hour

Rating: 5/5 stars
Author: Andrea Wells
Formats Available: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
Publication Date: 05-11-2015 Pages: 324
Purchase - Amazon Add to Goodreads

Still shocked over her mother’s mysterious death, California socialite Logan Keller is handed a one-way ticket to her long lost roots in Wyoming where love, deceit and danger await. Though she could forget everything staring into Luke Callahan’s eyes, Logan is quickly thrust into a fight for survival. Taking fate into her own hands, she begins unraveling the dangerous deceptions that abound at every turn. Her father is keeping secrets and Luke is keeping more. But Logan is keeping the biggest secret of them all.

The Violet Hour is a page-turning captivating twist of young romance and the paranormal

Read-A-Thon ~ Endless Possibilities

I found this awesome Read-A-Thon over at Tina, the Bookworm's blog and decided to join. Good Tales Book Tours is hosting their first semi-annual Read-A-Thon from June 4th thru June 6th, 2015. If you're interested in signing up you can do so right here, there is also a Facebook group to join where there will be a party going on every day between 2pm-9pm CST. There's going to be random giveaways and even authors stopping by to shower us with more books to slap on our TBR lists!

Cover Reveal & Giveaway ~ The Unraveling by Laurel Wanrow

I am so excited to be apart of this cover reveal!! Not only does The Unraveling sound like an amazing story but the cover....... OMG just look at it, it's gorgeous!!

Review ~ Sign

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Author: Lou Rera
Formats Available: eBook & Paperback
Publisher: Netherworld Books
Publication Date: 07-08-14 Pages: 228
Purchase - Amazon Add to Goodreads

Jim Thompson received a phone call from a dead man-a man he watched die one drunken, adulterous night while out of town on business.

Jim's wife, Deirdre, doesn't know his secret. Neither does Detective Frank Gibbons, who is hot on the case of the year-old crime. In this supernatural thriller, Jim's past surfaces through his guilt and lies. As Detective Gibbons closes in on the truth, Jim and Deirdre must run from a malevolent stalker in this terrifying horror tale of deception and murder.

2015 Ultimate Reading Challenge

Back in January 2015 I joined the Ultimate 2015 Reading Challenge group on Goodreads and have not only had a ton of fun working my way through this challenge but also meeting some really awesome fellow readers. Not sure why it hadn't occurred to me until now to track my progress on my blog but ya, still not sure........ Anyways, better late than never right?

So here it is, my official post! To keep track of the books I've read for this challenge I've made an easy (hopefully) to follow list. If you see the same book title listed under more than one category option, I did that on purpose. Many books that I've read can and will fit several of these categories. So until I get closer to the end of this challenge I'll list books under each category it qualifies for :) If you'd like to participate in this challenge please feel free to grab the official category graphic to the left here or go to Popsugar for their official post and to download their printable check-off list!

*Stuck on what to read for a particular category? Check out some of these readings lists on Goodreads for some great ideas!

And remember, this is YOUR challenge and many of these categories are open to interpretation so don't stress! If your hometown is some itty bitty place out in the middle of no-where then find the closest big city where a book took place and use that or use the hometown your mom or dad are from. Your mom hates to read? What about your mother-in-law or your best friends mom? Get creative and have some fun!!

*If your participating in this challenge either through your blog or on Goodreads, leave me a comment with a link to your post so I can check out your list!

Review ~ Mama Cried

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Talia Haven
Format Available: eBook
Publisher: Sheehan & Haven
Publication Date: 01-09-15
Pages: 16
Purchase-Amazon Add to Goodreads

Jenny was enjoying herself on the swings when Azula, one of the guardians of the playground came to take her away. Together they journey to a cinder building where Jenny must make a powerful decision.

Feature & Follow Friday #4 ~ Writing Your Reviews

Welcome to Feature and Follow Friday, a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful bloggers, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The goal of this blog hop is to gain followers, discover new blogs, and make new friends! What makes this blog hop different than others (and the reason I wanted to link up) is that each week both hosts showcase a "Featured Blogger" ~ what a great way to get to know bloggers from different genres and areas!!

Criminal Kind

by Mary Anne Edwards

Series: A Charlie McClung Mystery, #3

Genre: Traditional Mystery
Publisher: Sellem Books
Cover Artist: Michael James Canales

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Guest Review ~ Chess Team Adventure Series

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Jeremy Robinson and Sean Ellis
Format: eBook, Paperback, Audio
Publisher: Breakneck Media
Publication Date: 01-13-14 Pages: 286 (Prime)
http://www.amazon.com/Prime-Chess-Team-Adventure

America's most elite soldiers are about to uncover one of history's deadliest secrets...

When a raid on an insurgent safehouse leads to a clue to decoding one of the world's greatest mysteries--the Voynich manuscript--which may contain a recipe for creating the ultimate biological weapon of mass destruction, Delta operator Jack Sigler must forge a new black ops team to avert catastrophe. While bullets fly, he recruits a group of deadly warriors with dangerous secrets, assigning each member a chess piece callsign and dubbing them Chess Team.

But nothing is what it seems...and no one can be trusted. As the search for the truth about the manuscript moves across Asia and into the darkest reaches of human history, Chess Team must battle enemies beyond comprehension--nightmare creatures of myth and perverse creations of science--to preserve a secret as old as life itself.

In 2009, bestselling novelist Jeremy Robinson launched the adventures of Jack Sigler and Chess Team. Now, learn how it all began! Witness Chess Team's beginning as King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight and the elusive Deep Blue come together to form the only military force smart enough and dangerous enough to face the world's most deadly, most high tech and most monstrous threats.

Daisy Dunlop Mystery Series:
Lost Cause and Lost & Found

by J.L. Simpson

Series: Daisy Dunlop Mystery, #1 and #2

Genre: Humorous Mystery

Release Date: September 13, 2014 & April 6, 2015

Book Blast & Giveaway ~ From Gods by Mary Ting

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Author: Leah Raeder
Format: eBook, Paperback & Audio
Pages: 384
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 04-28-15

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Iris

It only took one moment of weakness for Laney Keating’s world to fall apart. One stupid gesture for a hopeless crush. Then the rumors began. Slut, they called her. Queer. Psycho. Mentally ill, messed up, so messed up even her own mother decided she wasn't worth sticking around for.

If Laney could erase that whole year, she would. College is her chance to start with a clean slate.

She's not looking for new friends, but they find her: charming, handsome Armin, the only guy patient enough to work through her thorny defenses—and fiery, filterless Blythe, the bad girl and partner in crime who has thorns of her own.

But Laney knows nothing good ever lasts. When a ghost from her past resurfaces—the bully who broke her down completely—she decides it's time to live up to her own legend. And Armin and Blythe are going to help.

Which was the plan all along.

Because the rumors are true. Every single one. And Laney is going to show them just how true.

She's going to show them all.

Book Blitz & Giveaway ~ Repossessed by Sandy Parks

Repossessed

by Sandy Parks

Series: Hawker Incorporated, #1

Genre: Action/Adventure, Suspense, Romantic Elements

Release Date: December 18, 2014

Cover Reveal & Giveaway ~ Ensnared by Kriston Johnson

Welcome to the cover reveal of Ensnared by Kriston Johnson! Ensnared is the second book in The Legends of Elyndia series. The first book is Awakened. This is a young adult fantasy and will be available in August 2015.

The Legacy

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Author: Katherine Webb
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio
Pages: 432
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: 06-24-2010
http://www.amazon.com/Legacy

When they were children, Erica Calcott and her sister, Beth, spent their summer holidays at Storton Manor. Now, following the death of their grandmother, they have returned to the grand, imposing house in Wiltshire, England. Unable to stem the tide of childhood memories that arise as she sorts through her grandmother’s belongings, Erica thinks back to the summer her cousin Henry vanished mysteriously from the estate, an event that tore their family to pieces. It is time, she believes, to lay the past to rest, bring her sister some peace, and finally solve the mystery of her cousin’s disappearance.

But sifting through remnants of a bygone time is bringing a secret family history to light—one that stretches back over a century, to a beautiful society heiress in Oklahoma, a haunting, savage land across the ocean. And as past and present converge, Erica and Beth must come to terms with two shocking acts of betrayal . . . and the heartbreaking legacy they left behind.

Feature & Follow Friday #3 ~ Organizing Your Books

Someone Is Watching

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Author:Joy Fielding
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio
Pages: 386
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: 03-24-15
http://www.amazon.com/Someone-Watching

As a special investigator for a hotshot Miami law firm, Bailey Carpenter is smart, savvy, and fearless. When she’s assigned to spy on a deadbeat dad in the middle of the night, Bailey thinks nothing of the potential dangers, only that she needs to gather evidence. Then she is blindsided—attacked and nearly killed.

Now the firm grip Bailey once had on her life is shaken. Her nightmares merge into her waking hours and she’s unable to venture beyond her front door without panicking. A veritable prisoner in her own home, Bailey is uncertain whom she can trust. But old habits die hard, and soon Bailey finds a new use for her idle binoculars: casually observing from her window neighboring buildings and other people’s lives. This seemingly harmless diversion becomes a guilty pleasure when Bailey fixates on the handsome guy across the street—until she realizes that he is also watching her. Suddenly she must confront the terrifying possibility that he may be the man who shattered her life.

Though crippled by fear, Bailey knows she can’t ignore her suspicions and risk leaving a predator at large. With the police making no headway in solving her case, she’s determined to overcome her terror and reclaim the power she lost by unmasking her attacker and taking him down herself. But it’s a harrowing battle that threatens to wreck Bailey’s credibility, compromise an investigation, and maybe even claim her sanity

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Mark Edlitz
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
Pages: 646
Publication Date: 05-29-15
http://www.amazon.com/How-Be-Superhero

How to Be a Superhero: The untold stories behind the great movie and television superheroes from the people who played them Written by Mark Edlitz. Foreword by David Mamet How to Be a Superhero takes the reader behind the scenes of the most popular superhero movies and television shows of the past seventy years. The book includes 35 penetrating interviews with actors and actresses who have played the world's greatest superheroes, supervillains, antiheroes and sidekicks, as well as 70 photographs. This is the first book to explore the superhero phenomenon from the actor's perspective. A must-read for any superhero fan!

The Fragile Fall

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author: Kristy Love

Format: eBook, Paperback

Pages: 275

Published: 08-06-14
Series: Undone Series
http://www.amazon.com/Fragile-Fall

I’ve destroyed everything in my life and now I’m left with nothing.

Alone and scared. Broken and shattered. But I’ve found a way to deal with it. Instead of all the pain being on the inside, I make the outside ache too. Anything to make it easier to breathe. Until one beautiful morning when I look outside and see her.

She tries to help me.... But I’m lost and I’m not sure I can ever be found.

* * *

His gentle eyes watch me from behind the window, the boy shrouded in mystery. I wasn't expecting what happened when our worlds collided.

His storm to my calm......His dark to my light.

I try to hold everything together. To put his life, and mine, back together.

But everything falls apart. My family. Him. Me.

And I'm trying to pick up the pieces.

Feature & Follow Friday #2 ~ Deciding What To Read

This week's featured bloggers are Nicola Reads YA; check out their blogs, see what they're all about, and then give them a follow!

What's Next? ~ You Decide!!

What’s Next is a weekly book meme hosted by Icey Books. For those of you who want to participate, here's how it works:

-Every Thursday, select three-five books (not too many, not too little!) that you want to read but just can’t decide which to read first.

-Post the cover! If you want, add the synopsis or even a random line from the book for each of your selections.

-At the end of your post, ask readers to vote on which one you should read next!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Author: Michael Phillip Cash
Format: eBook, Paperback, Audio
Pages: 212
Release Date: 09-30-14
http://www.amazon.com/After-House

Bit on the Back...........

Remy Galway and her daughter Olivia are rebuilding their life after a failed marriage in a 300 year old cottage in historic Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island.

Little do they know, another occupant is lurking in the haven of their own home. Will the After House be their shelter or their tomb?

Remember Me This Way

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Sabine Durrant
Format: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover
Pages: 368
Release Date: Paperback - 03-12-15, eBook & Hardcover - 05-26-15
http://www.amazon.com/Remember-Me-This-Way

Bit On The Back……..

Everyone keeps telling me I have to move on. And so here I am, walking down the road where he died, trying to remember him the right way.

A year after her husband Zach's death, Lizzie goes to lay flowers where his fatal accident took place.

As she makes her way along the motorway, she thinks about their life together. She wonders whether she has changed since Zach died. She wonders if she will ever feel whole again.

At last she reaches the spot. And there, tied to a tree, is a bunch of lilies. The flowers are addressed to her husband. Someone has been there before her.

Lizzie loved Zach. She really did.

But she's starting to realise she didn't really know him.

Or what he was capable of . . .

Review ~ Forsaken: Book 1 of the Shadow Cove Saga by J.D. Barker

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Author: J.D. Barker
Available Formats: eBook, Paperback, Hardcover, Audio
Publisher: Hampton Creek Press
Publication Date: 11-14-14 Pages: 388

From the witch trials of centuries past, an evil awakens.

Inspired by Actual Events

Excerpt from the Journal of Clayton Stone – 1692 She was examined today without torture at Shadow Cove township on the charge of witchcraft. She said she was wholly innocent of the crime and has never in life renounced God. I watched as they brought her out. A poor, sickly thing, worn by her time behind the walls of her prison. Her bared feet and hands bound in leather, her clothing tattered to that of ruin. Despite such condition, her head was held high, her eyes meeting those of her accusers. She still refuses to provide her name so we remain unable to search baptismal records, nor has her family stepped forward to claim her as their own. We have no reason to believe she is anything but an orphaned child. I find myself unable to look at her directly in the moments preceding her trial. She is watching me though; with eyes of the deepest blue, she is watching me.
Thad McAlister, Rise of the Witch

When horror author Thad McAlister began his latest novel, a tale rooted in the witch trials of centuries past, the words flowed effortlessly. The story poured forth, filling page after page with the most frightening character ever to crawl from his imagination. It was his greatest work, one that would guarantee him a position among the legends of the craft.

But was it really fiction?

He inadvertently opened a door, one that would soon jeopardize the lives of his family.

She wants to come back.

At home, his wife struggles to keep their family alive. Secretly wondering if she caused it all…a deal she made long ago. A deal with the Forsaken.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Bram Stoker Award Nominee - Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Author: Harold Reitman, M.D.

Format: eBook, Paperback

Pages: 240

Release Date: 04-07-15

http://www.amazon.com/Aspertools

Bit on the Back:

If you ask Dr. Harold Reitman, labels are a lousy way to describe a unique human being, whether it's Asperger's, high functioning autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Tourette's or even the so-called neurotypical brain itself. One size does not fit all. Everyone's brain is different. Helping others 'get it' when it comes to dealing with those with so-called learning disabilities is why Reitman has written this book. It's also why he wrote and produced "The Square Root of 2," a movie about a college student who encounters and fights her school's unjust system. The film was inspired by the real events faced by his daughter and contributing author, Rebecca, when she went to college; her seizure disorder and at the time undiagnosed Asperger syndrome posed unique challenges not faced by most students.

After reviewing the scientific community's research, conducted over the last nearly 40 years, Dr. Reitman believes that it's time to not just accept neurodiversity, but to embrace it, and this book will help people do just that. It is the first book to offer simple tools, action plans and resources to help understand and deal with anyone whose brain is a bit different. The astonishing rate of autism births alone (1 in 68) means that society will have to adapt to neurodiversity, just as it has had to adapt to other cultural and racial differences. Our educational system, our workplaces, and society at large will no longer be one size fits all-each individual will have the opportunity to maximize their potential-and we will be the better for it. "

Missing Melissa

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Author: Alretha Thomas

Format: eBook, Paperback

Pages: 312

Release Date: eBook 05-05-15, Paperback 05-01-15

http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Melissa

Bit on the Back:

Twenty-two years old with a journalism degree from UCLA and a promising entry level position at a television station, Madeline Patterson is ready to take on the Universe. Raised by two loving parents, adored by her grandmother, protected by her dog, Pepper, and supported by her best friend—Madeline has it all.

There’s only one thing missing—literally missing—her identical twin, Melissa.

When Madeline and Melissa were three-years-old, their mother was carjacked in broad daylight while taking them to a doctor’s appointment. She was able to get away with Madeline in tow, but the assailants left the scene before she could rescue Melissa. A long and massive search ensued, but Melissa was never found and is believed to be dead. However, a dream Madeline has on her twenty-second birthday, wherein Melissa appears to her as a grown woman pleading for help, convinces her Melissa is still alive. Against her parents’ wishes, Madeline vows to find her twin. However, in doing so, she unknowingly stumbles upon a series of startling clues that point to her parents’ possible involvement in Melissa’s disappearance. Paralyzed by fear, Madeline doesn’t want to face what could possibly be the ugly and grim truth about her parents. However, her desire to find Melissa propels her forward—but nothing could prepare her for what she discovers.

The Sham

Released: 09-03-14

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Author: Ellen Allen
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 248
http://www.amazon.com/Sham

Book Bits:

When love leads to death, be careful who you trust…

Eighteen-year-old Emily Heath would love to leave her dead-end town, known locally as "The Sham", with her boyfriend, Jack, but he's very, very sick; his body is failing and his brain is shutting down. He's also in hiding, under suspicion of murder. Six months' ago, strange signs were painted across town in a dialect no one has spoken for decades and one of Emily's classmates washed up in the local floods.

Emily has never trusted her instincts and now they're pulling her towards Jack, who the police think is a sham himself, someone else entirely. As the town wakes to discover new signs plastered across its walls, Emily must decide who and what she trusts, and fast: local vigilantes are hunting Jack; the floods, the police, and her parents are blocking her path; and the town doesn’t need another dead body.

WARNING: THIS BOOK IS UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER TEENAGE READERS. IT DEPICTS ADULT SITUATIONS, MURDER SCENES, CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SEX AND PROFANITY.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The idea for this book came to me in a nightmare... It was so vivid that I imagined I was 17 again, at school, in the same group of 4 friends that I used to hang around with. We were involved in a murder and cover-up. I started writing partly as a way to get it out of my head and then the characters turned into real people... and Emily and Jack were born.

Feature & Follow Friday #1 ~ Reading Slumps & Hangovers

This weeks featured bloggers are Gizzimomo's Bookshelf and Paperback Opinion Book Reviews, check out their blogs, see what their about, and then give them a follow!