Sandra Nachlinger's Blog, page 57

Five-Stars for I.O.U. SEX

Many thanks to Laurel-Rain Snow of "Rainy Days and Mondays" for her 5-Star Review of I.O.U. SEX. She writes, in part:

I thoroughly related to the characters as they shared their thoughts and feelings. The dialogue was fun, humorous, and took me right into the hearts and minds of each of them. 

What clicked for me most was the friendship that had sustained the passage of time. Kudos to the authors, who earned 5 stars for this one. 

Read her complete review here: Laurel-Rain Snow's Review

Teaser Tuesday - The Storyteller

My two-sentence Teaser Tuesday post is taken from the opening paragraph of Chapter 1 - "Journey of a Soul" from THE STORYTELLER. I'm about halfway through this book, and it just gets better and better. Be sure to allow plenty of time to stop and think while reading this story. The author presents many interesting ideas.

TEASER:
In case you haven't guessed, I am a soul. Oh yes, and perhaps I should mention that I am presently a soul living here on this planet in a rather dense human body/mind.


AUTHOR: Sharon Tillotson
GENRE: Literary Fiction
NO. OF PAGES: Approx 400
AMAZON LINK: The Storyteller

AMAZON SYNOPSIS: 
An ordinary human being finding her life purpose... With a little help from her soul...


Sarah is a Soul who is trying to guide Suzy along her path of rediscovering herself... Or is it redefining? Reinventing? Sarah thinks it might be better defined as remembering, but it's only Suzy who is concerned about the semantics. Sarah just wishes Suz would get on with it. A rather spirited Spirit, Sarah often finds herself rolling her eyes at Suzy's antics and the walls she has built up following the death of her husband. Sarah knows the body/mind/spirit energy who is currently housed in the human called Suzy has faced far more difficult challenges than the one she chose for this reincarnation. 

Storyteller is the most common role this body/mind/spirit has chosen for its human lives and Sarah chooses to tell the story of Suzy's spiritual awakening as it unfolds, interweaving compelling stories of past lives and how these individual energies accomplished their shifts in awareness. There are three such interwoven stories beginning in 10,000 BC in Eastern Europe where a young apprentice storyteller named Luza is thrust into her awakening by the death of her mentor/shaman and a natural catastrophe. The next story Sarah reveals takes us to 5000 BC and the American Southwest, into the life of Chu-Tze, a healer who milks snakes to aid in her treatment of children. Chu-Tze must overcome the unbearable loss of her husband and children and find a way to the ultimate forgiveness. Sarah then tells the tale of Zhumbee, a prince in East Africa at the time of Jesus. Zhumbee's grandmother takes the prince on a journey to meet this mysterious prophet whose words he holds in his heart as he leads his city-state to its glory.
 
Suzy's journey takes the reader from the lush shores of Seattle to the deepest heart of Africa where humanity is said to have made its first appearance.


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - Goodnight Nobody

BOOK BEGINNINGS

      "Hello?" I tapped on Kitty Cavanaugh's red front door, then lifted the brass knocker and gave it a few thumps for good measure. "Hello?"
      "Mommy, can I ring the doorbell?" Sophie asked. She stood on her tiptoes and waved her fist in the air.

FRIDAY 56

      "I ... uh ..." I fumbled through the slurry of broken crayons and juice-stiffened napkins at the bottom of my WGBH totebag and pulled out a notebook with a pink, glittery cover featuring Hello Kitty. It was Sophie's--the only thing I'd been able to find on short notice.

AUTHOR: Jennifer Weiner
NUMBER OF PAGES: 400
Written in 2005

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

      New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner's newest novel tells the story of a young mother's move to a postcard-perfect Connecticut town and the secrets she uncovers there.
      For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia's been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.      When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is one of the most interesting things to happen in Upchurch since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though Kate's husband and the police chief warn her that crime-fighting's a job best left to professionals, she can't let it go.      So Kate launches an unofficial investigation -- from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school -- with the help of her hilarious best friend, carpet heiress Janie Segal, and Evan McKenna, a former flame she thought she'd left behind in New York City.      As the search for the killer progresses, Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's double life. She discovers the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's placid picket-fence facade -- and the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between independence and obligation, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.      Engrossing, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny, Goodnight Nobody is another unputdownable, timely tale; an insightful mystery with a great heart and a narrator you'll never forget.

MY THOUGHTS
I've enjoyed other books by this author (IN HER SHOES, GOOD IN BED, etc.) but this one was not my favorite. However, there was lots of humor and anyone living in suburbia with young children would find plenty to relate to.  




Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (hosted by Rose City Reader.)Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (hosted by Freda's Voice). 
                

Teaser Tuesday - Goodbye Emily

I knew I'd enjoy this book (especially since I'm a Baby Boomer), but I had no idea it would be such a touching and entertaining story. This isn't merely a flashback to the 1960s; it is a story of love, healing, and the power of friendship. The characters felt real and the plot kept me engrossed. I finished reading GOODBYE EMILY in one day. 

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Humor
Author:  Michael Murphy
Number of Pages: 270Amazon Link:  Goodbye Emily

Teaser: He wore a greasy green Transcontinental Transport T-shirt and carried an empty pitcher of beer. His shaved head, shirt and thick toad-like body reminded me of Shrek, without the ogre's charm. To my great relief, he chose a stool at the other end of the bar.
[at 1% on my Kindle - approx Page 4]

GREAT description, isn't it? Can't you just see that guy?
Goodreads Synopsis: Three baby boomers relive their 1969 trip to Woodstock. One final roadtrip. One last chance to say Goodbye Emily.

They met at Woodstock, and the love lasted a lifetime. Then she was gone, and so was his college teaching job. Heartbroken but determined, he calls on his two best friends to help him return to the place it all began.The professor and his Woodstock buddy need the third tripper from back in the day, now in a nursing home with early stage Alzheimer’s. When the home refuses to allow their friend to come along, the professor and the vet bust him out, attracting the attention of the cops and the media, fascinating the public.   The roadtrip turns into a flight from “the man” and not even the professor’s defense attorney daughter can help. In a psychedelic van, the trio dodges cops and prosecutors. Against all odds, they close in on their destination, where thousands of supporters and cops await them.   Goodbye Emily is the irreverantly funny story about a journey of self-discovery for a man who thought he’d left all important journeys in life behind.

NOTE: If you like this, you might also like our book: I.O.U. SEX

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers

Boomers & Books Review

Thank you, Sharon Tillotson, for your kind review of I.O.U. SEX. We're so glad you enjoyed reading our book.

Here's what Sharon had to say: Review of I.O.U. SEX



To get your own copy (in paperback or ebook formats - Kindle, Nook, etc.), click on the "Buy I.O.U. SEX" tab above. It makes a great Christmas gift.

Book Beginnings & Friday 56 - Tangled Ashes

Author: Michele Phoenix
Genre: Women's Fiction
Number of Pages: 384
Amazon Link: Tangled Ashes

Book Beginnings on Friday: 
(Prologue)
Marie stood in the shadow of the grand staircase and held her breath. The lights were out--they had been all evening--but the ochre glow from the flames on the patio illuminated the polished wood and chiseled stone that loomed around her with threatening austerity. Beyond the window, two columns of wide-spaced guards funneled a stream of nurses and maids from the castle's rear entrance to the fire that burned like a funeral pyre, exploding tiny, arcing embers into the warm night sky. 

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
As Beck got to the final cellar that led to the space under the ballroom, he noticed that the stack of old bookshelves he and Jacques had displaced Monday afternoon had fallen. They'd been propped up against the wall when the two men had left, but now they were scattered on the floor. He stepped into the dark and musty room ahead with a little less confidence in his gait, grabbing a two-by-four from the pile near the destroyed wall. 

Amazon Synopsis: When Marshall Becker arrives in Lamorlaye, France, to begin the massive renovation of a Renaissance-era castle, he unearths a dark World War II history few in the village remember. The project that was meant to provide an escape for Becker instead becomes a gripping glimpse into the human drama that unfolded during the Nazi occupation and seems to live on in midnight disturbances and bizarre acts of vandalism.

My Thoughts: The novel is set in France and two plots intertwine--one taking place in the 1940s during World War II and the other in current times. The WWII tale is told by Marie during the Nazi occupation, while the contemporary part is from the point of view of architect Michael Becker who has been hired to restore the castle where both stories take place.  I enjoyed reading a story told from a man's perspective for a change. Although I wish I'd known what was causing Michael's angst a little earlier in the book, both plots held my interest until the end. Overall, I enjoyed this book. (I just noticed that one of the tags on Amazon for this book is "inspirational romance," which surprised me. Yes, the author did mention religious beliefs, but the result was not preachy or overdone.) 




Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (hosted by Rose City Reader.)Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (hosted by Freda's Voice). 
                

Teaser Tuesday - The Samurai's Garden

  I'm about halfway through this lovely book and I'm enthralled. This love story is set in rural Japan when its feudal system ended and rogue samurai (ronin) terrorized villagers, destroying farms and taking lives. The unusual setting, time period (1870s), and strong characters have held my interest from the first page. Beautiful writing and good reading.


Genre: Historical Romance (Japan)
Author: Patricia Kiyono
Amazon Link:
The Samurai's Garden

Teaser:
He hadn't intended to do more than help her make her purchase, but the chance to get acquainted intrigued him. Working on her farm would allow him to pass the time while he decided on his life's course, as well as pay penance for the wrongs done by his former comrades.
[at 5% on my Kindle]

Goodreads Synopsis: 
Hiro Tanaka prepared for a life as a samurai warrior. But his world changed when Japan's feudal system was abolished by the Emperor. Now, he must find a new vocation. Disillusioned with fighting and violence, he travels alone, going north to the island of Hok-kaido. Many other samurai wander through the country and are known as ronin. Some have forsaken their honorable way to prey on the less fortunate.

Hanako Shimizu experienced first-hand the devastation caused by these disreputable wanderers. The previous winter, they raided her farm and killed her husband. Now, she needs to rebuild but has no money and no prospects -- except for the dubious intentions of the town merchant.

When Hiro, tired of his wandering, encounters Hanako in the market, arguing with the merchant, he poses as her late husband’s cousin then offers to help her on the farm in exchange for a place to stay. Working on the land, Hiro finally finds the peace he has been seeking. But the reappearance of the rogue ronin, led by an unscrupulous leader from Hiro’s past, forces him to take up his swords again. But now, the stakes are higher.

This time, he's fighting from the heart.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers

Book Beginnings & Friday 56: Midwives

For today's Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday 56 memes, I'm featuring MIDWIVES by Chris Bohjalian. I read this excellent book several years ago and just picked it up to read again. 

BOOK BEGINNINGS:
Throughout the long summer before my mother's trial began, and then during those crisp days in the fall when her life was paraded publicly before the county--her character lynched, her wisdom impugned--I overheard much more than my parents realized, and I understood more than they would have liked.

FRIDAY 56: 
My mother believed a home birth was an extremely empowering and invigorating experience, and gave fragile women energy, confidence, and strength: They learned just what their bodies could do, and it gave them comfort.

Author: Chris Bohjalian
Genre: Women's Fiction
Number of Pages: 372
Amazon Link: Midwives

SYNOPSIS FROM AMAZON (partial):
The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads and failed telephone lines, Sibyl takes desperate measures to save a baby's life. She performs an emergency Caesarean section on its mother, who appears to have died in labor. But what if--as Sibyl's assistant later charges--the patient wasn't already dead, and it was Sibyl who inadvertently killed her?

As recounted by Sibyl's precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Connie, the ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt except for the fact that all its participants are acting from the highest motives--and the defendant increasingly appears to be guilty. As Sibyl Danforth faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.

MY THOUGHTS:
Published in 1997, MIDWIVES was an Oprah Book Club selection. I have to agree with Oprah -- I love this book! Yes, some parts of it are gritty, but they also reflect reality. I learned a lot about midwifery from this book, which came in handy because a midwife brought my granddaughter into the world!
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts 
(hosted by Rose City Reader.)Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (hosted by Freda's Voice). 

                

Come Fly With Me

Remember how air travel used to be? Then you'll enjoy my post on the Boomers & Books blog. Here's the link:  Come Fly With Me

Teaser Tuesday - Stealing Mercy

For those of you who are new to this meme: every Tuesday a group of readers posts a two-sentence teaser from a book they're reading. Here's mine from STEALING MERCY.

TEASER: She did not have a romantic interest in Miles, although she wondered why not. Tall, handsome and kind, yes, but he had the sense of humor of a toad. 
(at 11% on my Kindle)

GENRE: Historical Romance
NUMBER OF PAGES:  195
AMAZON LINK: Stealing Mercy

MY THOUGHTS:
I've just barely started reading this book so it's too soon to say much about it! I like the idea for the story, especially since I live in the Pacific Northwest where it takes place. 

AMAZON SYNOPSIS:
A girl disguised as a boy.
A villain with a brothel to fill.
A hero wondering why he’s in love with a lad in breeches.
Serving murder, mayhem and pies, Stealing Mercy is a romantic adventure set in 1889—on the eve of the Great Seattle Fire, when more than a city is set on fire.

After a night of terror, Mercy Faye flees New York. Disguised as a boy, she sets sail for a new life in Seattle, but her nightmare, Mr. Steele, follows close behind. Armed with only her chocolates, laced tarts and wits, Mercy sets out to destroy Mr. Steele and his Lucky Island brothel.

Trent Michaels is searching for his missing cousin. He can't afford complications - or romance - yet, at every turn he finds Mercy Faye. The night before the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, flames spark between Mercy and Trent leaving the life they know and the city they love in ashes.

Their story reaches forward through time to Bette Michaels, a genealogist, struggling with grief after the sudden death of her husband. Although generations apart, as Bette unravels Mercy's story, she learns that a life can be rebuilt - even after everything is lost.

Through Mercy, Bette discovers that sometimes the only way to find happiness is to steal it.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) "teaser" sentences on your blog from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.Leave a comment on the Should Be Reading blog post (here), including a link to your post.