Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 144

Hospice Tails: The Animal Companions Who Journey With Hospice Patients And Their Families by Debra Stang

This is, so far, the most touching book I have read in some time. I had to dab my eyes on numerous occasions. It's a short read at 100 some pages, but it is loaded with touching stories and moments... It contains enough in those 100 pages to touch your very soul, especially the souls of pet lovers/pet parents.

Like dogs? Cats? Horses? Snakes? There's something for everyone.

There's the man who is afraid to go to sleep for fear he will miss the last dying breath of his loved one. Finally, in the throes of exhaustion, he falls asleep. His little dog wakes him just in time...

There's the woman who reaches out to touch the spot her dog (now dead) had always lied and says, "There you are" before she dies herself.

There's a snake that gives comfort, a cat that helps a woman move past her husband's death, a hamster that brings together a mother and son. And though each one of these stories is sad because someone dies, they are also moments of joy caught in a book forever.

Our pets do so much for us and understand so much more than we give them credit for. This book is a tribute to that. Wonderful. Five stars.

Also, unlike a lot of memoirs that tell and not show, Ms. Stang had a very engaging voice that transported me into the story. A huge thumbs up.

I received this in ebook format from the author in exchange for an honest review.

A Waltz at Midnight by Crista McHugh

What a lovely read. It was short, but I feel it was the perfect length for what it was: a historical romance began through letters, involving deceit, high emotions, the baring of souls, and secrets.

It's after the Civil War and Susanna is a former southern belle now housemaid in a school for ladies. When one of the ladies obtains an unwelcome suitor via mail and her father's wishes, she pays Susanna money to write the letters and maintain the correspondence as she has eye and her heart elsewhere. However, whereas Susanna is supposed to convince the young man, Teddy, to look elsewhere, instead, she falls in love with him and the letters continue.


The letters start off funny.


Teddy's view on women and what they want: "Should I promise her the world only to be nagged into eternity when I don't deliver it on a silver platter?"


Susanna is feisty: "If many women have narrow interests, it's because we are confined to the homes of our parents until we are plucked from them by our husbands. We are denied the liberties men are insured."


Through letters, banter and insults turns into baring of their hopes and fears. But when Teddy desires to meet whom he believes in Charlotte, the you know what is going to hit the fan. Or will he forgive her upon finding out the truth?


Delightful, well done, and despite all the letters, it didn't do as many letter writing stories do and be all telling, no showing. It was done artfully. I enjoyed it.


Five stars. I got this from netgalley. 

Never Coming Home by Evonne Wareham

Wow. I love Choc Lit. It's a publisher whose books just work for me. Their latest is not disappointing, and just as good as I hoped it would be.

It's a thriller following a man with a shady past as some kind of secret agent and a woman who believes her daughter is dead, that she died in a car crash. The hero, Devlin, was with her daughter when she died...so they think. When he travels to England wanting to tell the girl's mother about her daughter's last moments, sparks fly between them and together, they uncover one twisted horrific fact after another as she, Kaz, tries to find out what really happened to her daughter and who did it.


Very well told. The love between the hero and heroine grows gradually even though the attraction is instant. Both of their "narratives" have funny, sarcastic, and honest bits. Both characters are extremely likable. The mystery... I confess I had the "whodunit" part figured out early in the story, but there's a lot more twisted and gruesome details than I anticipate and I was still surprised by a lot of things in the outcome.


Laugh out loud moment: (What does Devlin think when faced with a five year old girl?)


"He could do this. It was female. Pint-size but still female. Although the usual passwords, Manolo Blahnik, diamond earrings, weekend in Paris, weren't going to work here. He'd just have to go with charm."


Loved this book. Perfect blend of sex, suspense, horror, mystery, passion, and warm-hearted moments. 5 stars.


I received this as an egalley from the publisher.

The Right to Vote by Dee S. Knight

Another book I accidentally ran across and had to have due to its Women and the Vote theme. 

A little novellette at 30 or so pages, it was a treadmill book. Olivia believes women should have a voice, but her father doesn't, and him being a senator, she must keep her suffragette activities a secret. Her father is a firm believer that "women should be wives and breeders of children, not breeders of social causes" and that "women should leave running the world to the men." So when a handsome reporter threatens to tell her father her secret, she ends up paying some attention to him.


One thing leads to another, and they partner up to prevent her father from marrying her off to another senator. Olivia feels she should choose who she marries, and she decides she wants Hunter, the reporter.


A good story with a feel good ending. Not a whole lot about the movement, but how can there be in 30 pages? I read it's accompaniment the other day, Speak Easy to Me and liked that one more. Why? I love the hero in that book. This one, not so much. His taking her to bed the way he did and some of his ways of love making such as telling her what he was going to do was a bit weird. 


Four stars. I bought this on Amazon Kindle.

For the Sake of Sin by Suzie Grant

This was a short, erotic, historical tale involving a courtesan, an assassin, and a corrupt mayor. I think it's a good way to sample Suzie Grant's work. I read her Wrong Kind of Paradise recently and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. 

For a short story, it was good. I did find the falling in love and opening up to each other with their dark secrets be a bit abrupt and sudden, but again, it's a shortie. Ava is a courtesan who wants to hire Gabriel to kill her lover. Why? Because her lover killed her family... Well, Ava is a lusty woman who enjoys her job. I'm not into whores, myself, but I appreciated that this heroine enjoyed sex. It was a pleasant change from the frightened, simpering whores you often find in historical romances. Ava uses sex to her advantage and likes it. 


I also liked that the sex scenes had some unique language/descriptions. Suzie Grant has a unique style and a good writer's voice.


I downloaded this free on Amazon Kindle.

Speak Easy To Me by Christine DePetrillo

I only found this book because I was browsing the publisher's "calls for submissions," and you know that saying, "Everything happens for a reason?" I figure the reason I haven't heard squat back on my latest story submission is because then I wouldn't have been browsing publishers submissions still seeking a home for the darned thing, and I wouldn't have run across this awesome little story.
It's 2012, but I'm a suffragette. I love reading about them. I guess this publisher did a series type thing about suffragettes cause I found two titles and this was one of them. I read it while on the treadmill. It's only 30 pages and whereas it doesn't really go into the right to vote, the fact that the heroine is a suffragette plays cutely into the tale.
You got a suffragette who thanks to her brother, has to somewhat submit herself to the pawing hands of a speak easy owner...and when the piano player/former WWI soldier helps her avoid her face, the love bells go ringing. It's sweet and cute and thoroughly enjoyable. 
It's only 30 pages so I really didn't expect it to delve too deeply into the Right to Vote, but I sure did enjoy these little parts:
"Will spun on her booted heel and rejoined her fellow demonstrators. She wanted to change her sign to read, Brothers Are Morons. She was more convinced than ever that women needed to run the country. Hell, women needed to rule the world."
And after making love to the gorgeous piano player, our tough, ballsy heroine says, (and this is the best part!)"I still want the vote for women, but perhaps men aren't totally useless."
For what it is, a short historical romance, I loved it. It's a perfect treadmill/lunch break book. Five stars. (I bought this on Amazon Kindle.)

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

The story of Robin Hood has been done over and over again, but never like this. This is not only from a female POV, but the heroine of the tale isn't a pretty fox who play crocquet on the lawn,  nor is it a damsel in distress waiting in a castle. There are those, just not the heroine. 

This heroine is a part of Robin's gang and often mistaken for the Hood himself when she wears a hood. (She pretends to be a boy.) He's good with a bow and arrow. She's a master with knives, and she uses them as she robs people in order to get tax money for the poor and food to feed them. See, the sheriff is taxing people so highly, they can't pay it, and if they can't pay, they not only go hungry, but their children get hung one by one till the tax is paid... Their homes are being burned... 


Loved how tough this chick is.


"I turned to see three men on  Rob, and I felt the sting of insult. Honestly, I were just as much a threat as him. Why did I only get one?"


None of this.. No, ma'am."Never would I have a man saying what or who were best for me, and that were all there were to it."


Notice the "weres?" No, I didn't mis type. The heroine speaks and narrates throughout the entire novel in that manner. She never uses the word "was." This was a minor irritation that I soon was able to ignore. At first, it was a distraction.


In between robbing people and trying to avoid the clutches of a foul thief taker who has her on his radar for some interesting reasons, Scarlet is torn between two men. Both love her, but show it in different ways. She's confused. Meanwhile, her past is catching up with her, and it could lead to the downfall of all her and the Hood's crew have been working for.


My major quibble is I got confused often. Some things they crew did didn't make sense. I mean, okay, in once scene, if the guy was able to help Scarlet get out, why didn't he take Robin too? Why go back? Some things here and there just had me scratching my head. And the ending.. was NOT satisfying. It left me feeling, "What??? Your problems aren't over at all..." Ack! Despite the terrible ending, I really enjoyed the book and I give it four stars.


Favorite moment: "I stopped running and took a deep gulp of air. Then I spat out every foul curse word I'd ever learned, even knowing I'd have to confess them all on Sunday. Rob looked a little shocked. "Don't you look at me like that," I snapped at him. "Just because I can't trim a beard don't mean I can't swear."


LOL moment: "I wouldn't never bathe with him or pass water when he were near. He got suspicious quick. Seems real boys are awfully eager to parade their bits around."


I got this from netgalley.

The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen

This is not about the ruins of just "us." It's about the ruins of a family. Who'd have thunk that taking on another wife could lead to so many problems? (sarcasm)

Abdullah is the head of the family and rather than fix his relationship with his longtime American wife, Rosalie, he takes another wife and sets her up in a house down the street. According to Saudi law, this is okay. According to Rosalie, it is not. When the secret is revealed to the rest of the family, everything comes to a head.


Abdullah must slowly admit that he fell out of love with Rosalie because she no longer acts American. Rosalie admits that she fell in love with Saudi Arabia more than Abdullah. She struggled to fit in and be loved in a foreign country.. thus the loss of her Americanism. The children, Mariam and Faisal have their own issues. Faisal has been shunned and treated like crap overseas since 9/11. He comes home and finds acceptance in a group of extremists and replaces his unhappy home life with religion.. that he takes a bit too far. Mariam.. I wish there was more about Mariam. I loved her character, what little there was of it. she's a revolutionary, arguing for the rights of women and starting a blog.


Very good story with lots of hidden messages about how things we do or say have a domino effect. But I didn't care for the characters much at all. (Quibble number one.) Rosalie stays with that jerk??? Ugh. Abdullah isn't there for his family at all. When one woman displeases him, he goes to the other's bed. Faisal is a little terrorist. (Will he see the error of his ways? I'm not saying.) Dan is obsessed with his ex wife and read more into Rosalie's actions than is there. I think had there been more of Mariam, I would have been more pleased. Also wouldn't have minded seeing things from the "other wife's" POV too.


Quibble two: Bit drawn out as it gets into the characters' pasts. 


Favorite quote:


"There should be some sort of training before you got yourself mixed up in such things-marriages and divorces and children and second marriages. He had trained for every part of his life, football as a youth and then business and economics as an adult. Even driving required training. Yet when you are married, what advice did people give? Only congratulations, and what good does that do anyone?"


Very true. (That quote could be changed before publication.)


Three stars. Good look at modern day Saudi life and times and how a family can crumble under one person's mistake.


I got this from netgalley.

Deaf Isn't Dumb Has a Cover

Here it is. I haven't really wrote a blurb about this one yet.. I mean, how does one wrap up their life in a paragraph? I don't know what to say....


Coming April 27th from Breathless Press

The Flowers of War by Geling Yan

Imagine a church, the attic full of Catholic schoolgirls, the cellar full of whores, and toss a few men in between them to feed them and maintain order...and you get chaos!

What I liked: Tell of the rape of Nanking in a better fashion than Nanjin Requiem did, IMO. Nanjin was far too brutal, like a listing of brutality after brutality... This story, though it rarely left the church walls, told what was going on inside and out. Inside, you got a bunch of ungrateful whores that have bullied their way into the church and expect it to be a 5 star resort and though it wasn't conveyed very well, there are romances flourishing.


And the girls upstairs are dealing with conflicting emotions, growing pains, and petty bickering.


The soldier and his scene at the mass execution... WOW.


What I didn't like: Something was muddled in the translation. Badly. Lots of telling, little showing, and a ton of head hopping. Also came off a bit cold. And I sure did hate those whores. 


In the end, it felt like a bunch of selfish people who didn't care that they were endangering other people. And sadly, that seems to be humanity.


Three stars. I got this from netgalley.