Review: Misbehaving by Abbi Glines

An unexpected affair leads to mind-blowing harmony in this Sea Breeze novel from New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines.

Jason is sick of living in his rock star brother’s shadow. So when he ships off to Sea Breeze, Alabama, he’s looking for a much deserved escape and a chance to blow off some envious steam. Falling for the local bad girl was definitely not the plan. But as the new duo enjoys some naughty fun in the Alabama sun, Jason learns that even though Jax is the musician in the family, he’s not the only brother who can rock someone’s world.

Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Published December 17th 2013 by Simon Pulse 

Genre: New Adult/Romance

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received a copy of this book from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! The original release date was December 17, 2013 but it appears that it is being re-released on August 5, 2014.

Misbehaving is book #6 in the Sea Breeze series but can be read as a stand alone. I have not had the time or opportunity to read the books that preceded this book but was still able to follow along. Each book tells the story of different characters and enough information is given to understand to some degree the story behind these other characters. Having said this, I do think that I will go back to read these books and learn more about the other players in the book.

This book revolves around Jason and Jess. Jason comes from a world of privilege and expectations and Jess from a world of hardship and poverty. He doesn't have time for a relationship and she doesn't think that someone like him can be interested in anything long term with a girl like her. It is a classic case of opposites attract and misguided communication between two people who's chemistry is off the charts.

I liked the fact that the story went back in forth between Jess and Jason's point of view. I thought that it helped the story flow as well as giving us a better understanding of both characters. Each chapter was short which I also liked even though it had me procrastinating and getting nothing but the book done. What I liked most though, was that the story came before the sex. Yes, the pages heat up quite a bit and there are lots of sexy moments between the two of them but it does not overtake the story. Too often I find that some books are filled with so many steamy sex scenes and the story is like an afterthought. This is not the case with Misbehaving. There was just the right balance between the two to keep it interesting and spicy at the same time.

This book was exactly what I was in the mood for on a hot summer day at the lake. It kept me entertained, even if it was a little predictable, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I will definitely be going back and checking out the first five books in the series. Now I need to know more about the secondary characters from this book and want to read more about Sea Breeze.

Terri (the other half of Twin Spin) reviewed book #5 Sometimes it Lasts back in May and you can find her review here.

About the Author

Abbi Glines is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, and Existence series. A devoted booklover, Abbi lives with her family in Alabama.  

When Abbi isn’t locked away in her office typing away she is hauling her kids to and from their many social activities. You could say her second job is the Glines Kids personal chauffeur. It’s a rather illustrious job.

Connect with Abbi

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

Review: The Liar's Wife: Four Novellas by Mary Gordon

In these absorbing and exquisitely made novellas of relationships at home and abroad, both historical and contemporary, we meet the ferocious Simone Weil during her final days as a transplant to New York City; a vulnerable American grad student who escapes to Italy after her first, compromising love affair; the charming Irish liar of the title novella, who gets more out of life than most of us; and Thomas Mann, opening the heart of a high-school kid in America. These stories dazzle on the surface, with beautifully rendered settings and vistas, and dig deep psychologically. At every turn Gordon reveals in her characters' interactions those crucial flashes of understanding that change lives forever. So richly developed it is hard to believe they fit into novella-sized packages, these tales carry us away both as individual stories and as a larger, book-length experience of Gordon's mastery and human sympathy.

Hardcover, 304 pages

Expected publication: August 5th 2014 by Pantheon

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is August 5 2014.  As this is four novella in one I will review each story separately

The Liars Wife

I had a little bit of a difficult time with the opening story.  I found it extremely wordy and that it took a while to get to any real kind of point.  The main character was not really likeable and seemed to have all sorts of emotional issues that stemmed from nothing.

The story did pick up when we were introduce to her ex-husband (the liar) and became a little more interesting.  We learn about his live life to fullest attitude which is a stark contrast to Joss' outlook on life.  We also learn about his lies and that there is no malicious intention behind them.

Ultimately this story was about acceptance of what life throws at you and making the most of it.  While interesting at points it was just an average read for me

Simone Weil in New York

I was hoping I would enjoy the second story more than the first but alas it was not meant to be.  This one provoked more frustration than anything.  I did not understand Genevieve's hero worship of Simone.  I get that she was her childhood hero as her teacher but as an adult I would have felt that if she learned anything from her it was free will and thought.  Instead she went along with everything Simone said like a lost puppy.  There were no characters to identify with or invest in although Joe was as close as it gets.

Again this story was too wordy that the actual story gets lost.  So far it will be tough to see this book through but only two more novella's so I will try my best to keep an open mind and enjoy the last two.

Thomas Mann in Gary, Indiana

This was in my opinion another wordy story about nothing.  The main character talked like he was enlightened when he was in fact not.  I found myself getting annoyed as I proceeded through the story

Overall Impression

I put this book down before reading the last story.  I feel it was doing the author an injustice to continue as I clearly did not enjoy this read and since my rule of thumb is if I read it I review it I simply stopped.  While some people may enjoy this type of read I found it full of eloquently strung together words and lacking any real substance.  None of the characters were interesting nor believable and the stories were simply boring.  I hate to give a not so favorable review however this simply was not for me.

About the Author

Mary Gordon was born in Far Rockaway, New York, to Anna Gagliano Gordon, an Italian-Irish Catholic mother, and David Gordon, a Jewish father who converted to Catholicism. While growing up, she attended Holy Name of Mary School in Valley Stream and for high school attended The Mary Louis Academy in Jamaica, N.Y.. She is Catholic.

She received her A.B. from Barnard College in 1971, and her M.A. from Syracuse University in 1973. Gordon lived in New Paltz, New York for a time during the 1980s. She and her husband, Arthur Cash, live in New York City and Hope Valley, Rhode Island. They have two adult children, Anna and David. Gordon is the McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College. Cash is retired.

In 1981, she wrote the foreword to the Harvest edition of Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own." In 1984 she was one of 97 theologians and religious persons who signed A Catholic Statement on Pluralism and Abortion, calling for religious pluralism and discussion within the Catholic Church regarding the Church's position on abortion.

Novelist Galaxy Craze has said of Gordon, "She loves to read; she would read us passages in class and start crying, she's so moved by really good writing. And she was the only good writing teacher at Barnard, so I just kept taking her class over and over. She taught me so much."


 

Review: Magnolia by Kristi Cook

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

ebook, 336 pages

Expected publication: August 5th 2014 by Simon Pulse 

Genre: Young Adult

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Let me start off by saying that this is a YA book and I am a slightly out of my young adult years. OK, who am I kidding? I am quite a few years out of my teenage years. Did it make it hard for me to enjoy this book or relate to it? Absolutely not! What it did was take me back and remember those times when my future was up in the air, boys drove me crazy and parental expectations were high.

The story of boy and girl who hate (or do they?) each other but who are forced into situations together is not a new one. What makes Magnolia  a little different is the history between the two families and their overwhelming desire and pressure on Jemma and Ryder to finally connect the families on a larger scale. Their families are the best of friends dating back to Civil War. Both families have dreamt of connecting their families through marriage but circumstances and timing have never been on their side until Jemma and Ryder are born only weeks apart. While throwing them in cribs, sandboxes, vacations and Sunday dinners together, their mothers (not so secretly) dream and plan up a future for them together.

But...

Seventeen years later, Jemma and Ryder can't stand each other. They are constantly fighting or ignoring each other and their parents hopes are anything but reality. After an incident in the eighth grade the two can barely stand to be in the same room together. Then something happens to Jemma's sister that pulls the family away unexpectedly forcing Jemma and Ryder to weather (literally) a horrific storm together.

Enough about the plot. Here is what I liked about it...

I loved the southern setting and charm of the book. I could see myself there, feel the environment and the old fashioned morals and traditions. Mostly I enjoyed reading about Jemma's struggles to break the mold with her desire to go to school somewhere other than where expected of her. It is more than just a boy meets girl story as she battles her desires against those that she loves most. There are real teenage problems and decisions to be made.

But I am forgetting something...

The most enjoyable part of this book for me was the storm. I could not put the book down when the storm hit and Jemma and Ryder were struggling through it alone. Forget about my family, work, errands and responsibilities. They all had to wait until I (and the storm) were done before they could get any attention from me. Not only was it the physical description of the storm that had me glued but also the interactions between Jemma and Ryder. I loved every little detail from the snake, flooded road and tornado sirens to the confessions, conversations and togetherness of the two characters.

Magnolia is a cute summer book that I am sure readers of all ages will enjoy. With a little young love, a terrifying storm, high family expectations, a little tragedy and other complications there is a little of everything for readers to enjoy. I certainly did!

About the Author

Kristi Cook also publishes adult titles under the names Kristina Cook and Kristi Astor. Her YA novels include Haven, Mirage, Eternal, and Magnolia. Kristi lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Connect with Kristi

Website/ Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ Pinterest/ Goodreads

Review: All We had by Annie Weatherwax

A poignant and fierce debut novel about the relationship between a teenage daughter and her struggling single mother—from a powerful new voice in fiction.

For Ruthie Carmichael and her mother Rita, life has never been stable. Jobs are hard to find, men come and go. But when a set of unexpected circumstances strands them in Fat River, a small rural town in upstate New York, life takes a turn. Fat River becomes the first place they call home. The modest economic security they gain gives them peace and space for friends. The people of Fat River—Hank and Dotty Hanson, the elderly owners of the local hardware store being driven out of business by the new Walmart; Mel, the flawed, but kindhearted owner of the town diner where Rita finds work; and the cross-dressing Peter Pam, the novel’s voice of warmth and reason—become family. Into this quirky utopia comes Vick Ward, a smooth-talking broker who entices Rita with a subprime mortgage and urges her to buy the ramshackle house she and her daughter have been renting.

Tough and quick-witted, thirteen-year-old Ruthie—whose sardonic voice and plain-spoken observations infuse All We Had with disarming honesty and humor—never minded her hardscrabble existence as long as her mother was by her side. Through it all, the two have always been the center of one another’s lives. But when financial crisis hits, their luck takes a different turn.

All We Had offers an unflinching look at the devastating choices a mother must make to survive and is an achingly funny, heart wrenching tale about love and loss, told with humor and razor sharp vision.

Kindle Edition, 272 pages

Expected publication: August 5th 2014 by Scribner

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher Scribner via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is August 5 2014.

This was a remarkably easy read with a subject matter that isn't as easy to digest.  The synopsis of the book is bang on and I really don't know what I can say that has not already been included there.

This is not a rainbows and unicorn type of story.  The life of Ruthie and her mother is not sugar coated as you read through the pages.  Although a fictional story it portrays the gritty reality of poverty and touches on some sensitive topics such as rape, theft and trading sexual favors for personal gain.  The character of Ruthie at thirteen is also not naïve.  She knows that these things have occurred and her mother is not shy in sharing these things.

The characters in Fat River are endearing although they are not profiled in any great detail.  I particularly enjoyed the vision of Dotty chasing people with her walker.  Who I did not enjoy was Rita.  I felt that a lot of the decisions she made were selfish particularly nearing the end of the story.  While I sympathized with her early on due to the hardships she endured by the latter part I found her simply annoying.  I did not understand the decisions she made in order to better Ruthie's future.  The connection did tie up neatly for me and left me with questions.

Ruthie on the other hand was a joy to read.  A thirteen year old who basically grew up on the streets and was street smart to boot.  Experiencing her transition when she started learning about the concept of family when she settled in Fat river was really heartwarming.  The growth in her character from beginning to end was astounding.

Overall if you are looking for an easy read that has some subject matter that may be offensive to some, then I would recommend this book.  I really enjoyed it.

About The Author

(From Goodreads)

Before turning to writing I had a long career sculpting superheroes and cartoon characters for DC Comics, Nickelodeon, Pixar and others. My short stories have been published in The Southern Review, The Sun Magazine and elsewhere. I was the 2009 winner of the Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction and I have written for the New York Times. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, I am currently a full time painter and writer. I teach writers how to see and to paint pictures with their words in Boston and beyond. My favorite thing to do is walk my dog! Please visit my website to see my artwork, read my stories and essays on writing.

Website: http://www.annieweatherwax.com   

Twitter:  WeatherwaxAnnie

Review: Charlie Glass's Slippers by Holly McQueen

In this delightful, clever spin on Cinderella, Charlie Glass—a heroine as loveable as Cannie Shapiro and Bridget Jones—inherits her father’s shoe empire and snatches up a drop-dead-gorgeous, multi-millionaire Prince Charming. But is he truly the key to her happily ever after?
When Charlie’s beloved father, iconic shoe designer Elroy Glass, dies after a long illness, everyone expects that he’ll leave his business to his glamorous wife and eldest daughters. After all, they’ve been running the company for years. But Elroy surprises everyone from beyond the grave: at the will reading, it’s announced that his fashion empire has been left to Charlie, his youngest—and plumpest—daughter.

Before she can run the company, Charlie decides she needs to make a few changes in her life. After several weeks at a California boot camp, she returns to London a new woman: thinner, blonder, and ready to revitalize the Elroy Glass brand. But as she’ll soon discover, a good esthetician and a killer pair of stilettos can only go so far, and there’s more to reinvention—and running a fashion empire—than meets the eye.

Endlessly entertaining, surprising, and ultimately inspiring, Charlie Glass’s Slippers is a modern-day fairytale about finding your own magic and transforming yourself from within.

ebook, 464 pages

Expected publication: August 5th 2014 by Atria Books 

Genre: Woman's Fiction/ Chick Lit

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

As described in the synopsis, this book has a real Cinderella quality to it as well as Bridget Jones. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Bridget Jones. Although the story is not overly original it is still an entertaining and enjoyable read.

I thoroughly enjoyed Charlie's character and found myself giggling on numerous occasions. I particularly liked her thoughts around all of the "grooming" that she found herself enduring in her efforts to transform herself. She was quirky, clutsy, awkward and totally unaware of her positive qualities which made her relatable as well as likeable. She had me in her corner from beginning to end. Not only was Charlie a pleasure to read about but so were her group of friends from Lucy to Ferdy to Olly.

Of course there are always the characters that you love to hate and this book is no exception. With an evil step-mother and spoiled, self centred step-sisters, Charlie finds resistance around every corner in her effort to bring her father's shoes back to life. It was her family dynamic that brought a modern Cinderella quality to the story. Of course no Cinderella story is complete without a "Prince Charming" and Charlie has one of those too...or does she?

This story is really a story about Charlie coming into her own and discovering who she really is and what she wants out of life. Although told in a fun and quirky way, there is a positive message hidden within the pages about acceptance, self worth and being happy within your own skin. This book is an easy and fun summer read that fans of chick lit will be sure to enjoy. I know I did.

About the Author

Holly McQueen has wanted to be a writer ever since discovering that the nuns at her junior school would let her off maths homework if she wrote a story instead. After unexpected detours via law, magazine journalism, and even musical theatre, she began writing her first novel in 2006. Holly lives with her husband in London. She still avoids math.

Connect with Holly

Facebook/ Twitter /Goodreads

Review: Ride Around Shining by Chris Leslie-Hynan

A provocative debut novel about a young white chauffeur and his wealthy black employer, an NBA player-a twenty-first century inversion of what we've come to expect stories of race and class to look like, and a discomfiting portrait of envy and obsession

Ride Around Shining concerns the idle preoccupations, and later machinations, of a transplanted Portlander named Jess-a nobody from nowhere with a Master's degree and a gig delivering takeout. He parlays the latter, along with a few lies, into a job as a chauffeur for an up-and-coming Trail Blazer named Calyph West and his young wife, Antonia. Calyph is black and Antonia is white and Jess becomes fascinated, innocuously at first, by all they are that he is not. In striving to make himself indispensable to them, he causes Calyph to have a season-ending knee injury, then brings about the couple's estrangement, before positioning himself at last as their perverse savior.

In the tradition of The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Great Gatsby, and Harold Pinter's The Servant-not to mention a certain Shakespeare play about a creepy white dude obsessed with a black dude-Ride Around Shining tries to say the unsayable about white fixation on black culture, particularly black athletic culture, something so common in everyday life it has gone all but unaddressed.

ebook, 240 pages

Expected publication: August 5th 2014 by Harper

Terri's Thoughts

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher Harper via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.  The expected publication date is August 5, 2014.

I enjoy receiving ARC's as it is an opportunity to read stories by authors that are unknown to me as well as the opportunity to discover a story that may not have crossed my path otherwise.  In most cases this pays off however unfortunately it was not the case with this story.

I just didn't get it.  The synopsis describes the storyline as the white fixation on black culture however I just really didn't see that.  What I saw was the character of Jess who really had no redeeming qualities and seemed fixated on destroying and meddling in the lives of the people who had more than him.  There was a twisted sense of entitlement and greed that I never really understood where his motivation came from.

There were quite a few characters in the story of which none drew me in.  I found the story lingered at points that seemed irrelevant or surplus and there was no real flow to it.

If I had to try to summarize the story I would say it was one of greed however I am not really sure that was the point of the whole thing.  For such a short book I really had to work at it to get through it and it took me much longer than it should have.

While this was not for me I think this is one of those reads where people need to decide on their own.  Perhaps someone else can see the brilliance behind the plot that I failed to discover.

Feature and Follow Friday #37

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly meme that allows book bloggers to interact with each other and find new blogs! It has two hosts, Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The rules are...
 
(Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
(Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog.

This week's question is...

Post a funny Youtube video (doesn’t have to be book related).

I just love guilty dog videos!

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