November - food family and fun

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November was the first month in a while where I felt like I had some great quite nights worth of reading!  I met my yearly reading goal in November and can't wait to just exceed my goal during the month of December!

1. Food Whore by Jessica Tom
2. A Paris Affair by Tatiana de Rosnay
3. Life and Other Near Death Experiences by Camille Pagan
4. The Crescent Spy by Michael Wallace
5. Forsaken by Ross Howell, Jr.
6. Fishing with Rayanne by Ava Finch
7. Sweetheart Deal by Linda Joffe-Hull
8. Whistling Women by Kelly Romo
9. The Word Game by Steena Holmes
10. The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G Hall
11. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
12. Anchored by Brigitte Quinn
13. Plan Bea by Hilary Grossman 
14.  All in Her Head by Sunny Mera
15. The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells
16. Put a Ring On It by Beth Kendrick
17.  The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum
18. The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge by Charlie Lovett
19. Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trilivas
20. Where Women Are Kings by Christie Watson
21. Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz

Total pages read, clicked, and flipped: 5,878

Where Have I Been Reading?:

New York City, NY (2)
Paris, France
New Orleans, LA
Hampton, VA
Minneapolis, MN
Mexico
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Long Island, NY
New Hampshire
Louisiana
Delaware
London (2)
Washington

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A holiday weekend which was full of family, food and shopping!  I didn't get all the reading done I had hoped for, but I did tackle my to do list!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge by Charlie Lovett
Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trilivas
Where Women are Kings by Christie Watson
Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz

Currently Reading:

The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene

Next on the TBR pile:

The Christmas Bridge by Ellyse Douglas

Review: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

The Grownup

by Gillian Flynn

Publisher: Crown

Pages: 64

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A keen observer of human behavior, our unnamed narrator immediately diagnoses beautiful, rich Susan as an unhappy woman eager to give her lovely life a drama injection. However, when the "psychic" visits the eerie Victorian home that has been the source of Susan's terror and grief, she realizes she may not have to pretend to believe in ghosts anymore. Miles, Susan's teenage stepson, doesn't help matters with his disturbing manner and grisly imagination. The three are soon locked in a chilling battle to discover where the evil truly lurks and what, if anything, can be done to escape it.


Kritters Thoughts:  A very fun "ghost" story that has the twist that Gillian Flynn is known for.  This story starts in a interesting setting and ends in a totally other one and I wasn't sure at the beginning if I would like it, but by the end I was sold.

Our main character has been promoted at her "job" and finds herself reading palms and has an interesting customer come in who has been "haunted" by her stepson and the home her family moved into.  So she goes to their home to help and the tables turn!

I liked it.  I am not a huge fan of short stories, but I would like to read more and I am glad I started with an author I have already read.  It was fun to read a short story bound in and of itself.  I would absolutely recommend reading this one more in the October time frame with its fantastic creepy!


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Blogging for Books.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I hope today is a day where your heart and home are full of family and friends!  Our home is full of family and our fur family!  It is a holiday where my husband and I always host and love having our house just full.

Review: Plan Bea by Hilary Grossman

Plan Bea

by Hilary Grossman

Publisher: BookTrope

Pages: 241

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  How well do you really know the people in your life? 

Annabel O’Conner has the perfect husband, two adorable children, an amazing job, and the mother from hell! Annabel doesn’t like it but has come to terms with the fact that her relationship with her mother, Bea, deteriorated to the point of forced and strained communications. However, an unscheduled call from Bea turns her world around and makes Annabel question everything she believed about her life.

Despite the fact secrets, lies, and misplaced blame have destroyed the women’s relationship; Annabel reluctantly agrees to help Bea plan her wedding. Little does Annabel know the impact of her decision.


Kritters Thoughts:  Beatrice and Anna are a mother daughter pair and they aren't the closest of pairs.  Although Anna doesn't know why her mother has distanced herself she has just let it be that way.  Through some interesting turn of events these two end up planning Beatrice's wedding and learning more and more about each other and the past.  

This one started out rough for me, but once it got moving I was sold.  I had a hard time reading it at moments because the mother is so awful.  I came from quite the idyllic upbringing and it is hard to read when mothers and daughters don't have relationships, but about halfway through I got to know the stand offish mother more and more and could understand why she may have put her daughter at arm's length and I fell in love with the story.  

There was a line and I am paraphrasing, but it said something like you think you know those around you, but sometimes you don't know everything.  And I agree completely.  You can't know someone unless they let you in and some people are very open and easily let others in to see all their feels, but others are more closed off and never fully reveal themselves to you.  I am in the open camp and am pretty open quickly to anyone, so it was interesting to read a character (Beatrice) who hadn't even let her daughter in close to see all her true colors.

This book made me think and I love it when something that seems like a light read still makes me think about life and things!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 49 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Book Trope Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G. Hall

The Black Velvet Coat

by Jill G. Hall 

Publisher: She Writes Press

Pages: 350

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Twenty-eight-year-old struggling San Francisco artist Anne McFarland is determined to get a one-woman show, even though no one, including herself, believes she can do it. But when she buys a coat at a thrift shop with a key in its pocket, strange, even magical, occurrences begin to unfold, and she is inspired to create her best work ever. Fifty years before, the coat’s original owner, young heiress Sylvia Van Dam, is headed toward a disastrous marriage with a scoundrel. In a split-second reaction, she does the unimaginable, which propels her destiny out of alignment and forces her on a trip of self-discovery to nature-filled Northern Arizona. When Anne and Sylvia’s lives intersect, they are both forced to face their fears―and in the process, they realize their true potential.


Kritters Thoughts:  With two women characters taking their turns telling their story with a coat connecting them.  A modern San Francisco artist is barely making ends meet and finds a beautiful coat in a thrift shop and she has to make it a part of her wardrobe.  Once she finds out the previous owner - a former heiress she is inspired to create new art.  The heiress is the other character and her story weaves in and out of Anne's as the reader finds out what happened to her.

The one thing that I would have loved to change were the short chapters, they felt very choppy and it went back and forth from Anne and Sylvia too fast as soon as the chapter was starting too get good it switched to the other, I would have loved if more chapters for each character had been grouped together.

Beyond this one change, I enjoyed the stories.  I loved how they quickly overlapped and you knew how they were connected early on.  I also loved how as Sylvia's story was unfolding Anne was getting inspired and she was learning the details of Sylvia's life along with the reader.

I definitely liked this one and would recommend it.  


Rating: enjoyable but didn't leave me wanting more

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 48 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

A busy week and a busy weekend didn't make for a ton of reading.  We are hosting Thanksgiving next week with 12 adults, 4 kids and 3 dogs - next week's reading time is looking like it will be limited.  Thankfully the books I am reading and have on deck should be good!
A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Plan Bea by Hilary Grossman
All in Her Head by Sunny Mera
The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells
Put a Ring On It by Beth Kendrick
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum

Currently Reading:

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore (audiobook)
Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trilivas

Next on the TBR pile:

The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene

Review: Anchored by Brigitte Quinn

Anchored

by Brigitte Quinn

Publisher: Curtis Brown Unlimited

Pages: 305

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  How do you stay anchored when you’re attracted to your co-anchor? 

Barbara King’s dream is to become the next Barbara Walters. But for now, she’s anchoring at the fledgling Phoenix news channel, covering car chases and interviewing drunken showbiz has-beens. If she can just out-fox the conniving anchors at her cable channel and move up to its prime-time line-up, she’ll be able to fly the coop and ascend to a real news network. 

Enter Jack Stone, Barbara’s dynamic, witty—and did she mention sexy?—new co-anchor. Another potential competitor, Jack’s attitude is chilly toward Barbara at first, but it’s not long before a genuine friendship forms. Soon they find themselves finishing each other’s sentences, discovering all they have in common and, ultimately, attempting to ignore how wildly attracted they are to each other. Meanwhile, on the set, under television’s bright lights, they sit just inches apart, their chemistry even apparent to the quirky cast of characters in the gossiping newsroom. 

Will Barbara give in to her attraction to Jack and betray her husband, Ben, her sweet-souled moral compass? When a life-altering news event propels the Phoenix to the #1 news channel in the nation, will Barbara sell her soul to become a prime time star? 

How do you stay true to yourself when you’re being seduced by stardom—and your co-star? 


Kritters Thoughts:  First, you know I love the behind the scenes book and this one is fantastically behind the scenes!  A set of news anchors deal with the ups and downs of news bulletins and the ups and downs of producers and network executives and it was interesting to see how many people it takes to get a news show up and running each day.  I had no clue!  

I rated it down just a little because I am not a fan of the cheating books, but if you don't mind a little affair action, this one wasn't completely horrible and I could handle it because it was a sub plot to the real plot of her professional career.  I don't condone it and don't love to read it, but since it wasn't the full plot of the story, it was bearable.

I would absolutely read this author again and am excited to hear what could be coming next for her.  


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Word Game by Steena Holmes

The Word Game

by Steena Holmes

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 207

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  For overprotective parent Alyson Ward, any time her daughter, Lyla, is out of sight is reason to panic. So it’s a big step for her when she lets Lyla attend a sleepover at her cousin’s house. Comforted by the knowledge that her sister, Tricia, is the chaperone, Alyson does the one thing she never thought possible: she lets go and trusts that her daughter will be safe.

But Alyson’s sense of peace is short lived. When Lyla comes home the next morning, she reveals something that could tear apart not only their family but also the entire community. Now, Alyson and Tricia must confront their painful shared past as they come together to help a little girl who they fear might be harboring terrible secrets similar to their own. Will the sisters be strong enough to face their demons in order to protect the child, even if it means telling their most private truths? 

Kritters Thoughts:  Steena Holmes is by far one of my favorite authors.  She writes books across genre and just cranks them out, but they are all so unique and satisfying.  I couldn't tell you where to begin, but instead to just say start now!  

Ok now after gushing.  The Word Game.

Told through 4 women's points of views, all mothers and all confronted with a hard subject and all want to deal with it in their own way.  What started at a harmless girl sleepover after a great dance recital ends in the principal's office with Child Protective Services involved.  One of the girls makes statements that can be taken out of context or put right where it belongs and the mothers must decide what daughter is telling the truth and how to deal with it.

I am not a mother and not sure I plan on being one, but I loved this book.  I loved the gut check it made me do.  It boils down to the simple statement - when do you say something to an authority figure or when do you let a family deal with it internally.  

Each woman was dealing with it and other secrets that were slowly but surely revealed.  I read this book in two sittings, I was flipping page after page and couldn't put it down until I knew how it was all going to get resolved.  

If you want to start with Steena Holmes, this is a great one to start.  If you have been reading her from the beginning like me, this one will meet or exceed your expectations!


Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Ebook 2015 Challenge: 47 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BookSparks PR.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Whistling Women by Kelly Romo

Whistling Women

by Kelly Romo

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Pages: 

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Life went terribly wrong for Addie Bates in San Diego, and she’s been running from dark memories ever since. For fifteen years, the Sleepy Valley Nudist Colony has provided a safe haven for Addie to hide from the crime she committed. But when the residents pack up to go on exhibit at the 1935 world’s fair in San Diego, Addie returns and must face the thrilling yet terrifying prospect of reuniting with her estranged sister, Wavey.

Addie isn’t the only one interested in a reunion. When her niece, Rumor, discovers she has an aunt, Rumor is determined to bring her family together. But it’s not so easy when the women are forced to confront family secrets, past and present.


Kritters Thoughts:  A historical fiction that is told through two very different points of view a woman who has ended up in a nudist colony and the other view is a young girl who finds out she has more family than what she has always known - her mother, sister and "father," this discovery sends her on an adventure to find out who she really is.

I loved the few chapters at the beginning that set up these two characters separately and then the reveal came early - which I loved!  It gave the author the bulk of the book for these two to interact and to have a real full story.  

The setting was great, not just the time, but the place.  The World's Fair in San Diego.  I had not read a book centered around a World Fair, although I know they are out there and may even have a few on my shelf, I enjoyed learning about this family, but also with the backdrop of the World Fair was very fun to read.

There are not a ton of books that focus on an aunt/niece relationship and I enjoyed that part of this book.  Being only an aunt and not a mom, it was fun to see it in print and to see the appreciation a niece/nephew has about having an aunt in their lives.  On a personal note, being an aunt is one of my favorite parts of my life.  

I loved this debut book.  I loved that yes, it was historical in its point in time, but if you enjoy family stories, you can enjoy this without it being in your face historical.  I will definitely be looking out for Kelly Romo's next book.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Ebook 2015 Challenge:  46 out of 100

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Sweetheart Deal by Linda Joffe-Hull

Sweetheart Deal

by Linda Joffe-Hull

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Pages: 312

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Now the star of her own reality show, The Family Frugalicious, Maddie Michaels heads south of the border with her family to cover bargain destination weddings at a swank, but budget friendly, Mexican resort. Things get a little too real when timeshare sales manager Alejandro Espinoza makes a play for Maddie one evening and ends up floating dead in the pool the next. Was it an accident or a preplanned part of the Mrs. Frugalicious storyline?

When the show's producers extend the trip so she, her all-but-ex Frank, and the kids can investigate—not to mention get enough footage for a two-part, Emmy-worthy episode—Maddie fears she's in way more agua caliente than she ever bargained for.


Kritters Thoughts:  A perfect combo of chick lit and who dun it mystery.  I absolutely adore this combination and wish I read more of it, especially after reading this one.  The third in a series and I wish I had started at book one, so before you keep reading, stop and go pick up book one and start at the first book in this series.

Mrs. Frugalicious is "married" at this point all in name and still participating in a reality tv show that helps viewers save money in various times in their lives - in this "episode" at a destination wedding.  So far Mrs. Frugalicious and her family have also encountered murders each time and so goes the same in Mexico at this resort and they must extend their stay to help solve the crime.  

I loved the cheesiness of it.  It was chuckle funny and roll your eyes at the same time and I loved it.  

Start at book one and let me know what you think about!

I know it seems weird to put this as a perfect beach read in the middle of November, but I think this series would be perfect to relax with on the beach!


Rating: perfect beach read

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from Roger Charlie.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading?

After getting back from a vacation, I was feeling under the weather and spent more time this weekend curled up pretending it was colder than it really is!

A meme hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. 

Finished this past week:

Sweetheart Deal by Linda Joffe-Hull
Whistling Women by Kelly Romo
The Word Game by Steena Holmes
The Black Velvet Coat by Jill G Hall
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Anchored by Brigitte Quinn

Currently Reading:

Plan Bea by Hilary Grossman

Next on the TBR pile:

The Wedding Tree by Robin Wells