Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 155

The Blighted Troth by Mirella Sichirollo Patzer

This is a novel about forgiveness intertwined with jealousy, revenge, love, and the difficulty of keeping vows, be it because of everyone else's actions or your own inner turmoil.. 

The setting is New France and the time is the 18th century. Emilie and Robert are excited to be getting married finally. However, a wealthy land owner with a lot of clout has other ideas.. He wants Emilie for himself. He has the money, the reputation, and thugs lined up to do his dirty work and he enlists numerous people to help him stop the wedding. Enter an intriguing cast of characters, all either aiding or hindering Robert and Emilie in some way. A simply wedding suddenly goes awry.


There's a selfish and very frightened priest. (He's in the wrong profession) There's a mother who wants to see her daughter wed bad enough that she is willing to trick a priest. There's another man of the cloth who desires to help Robert and Emilie, but the Bishop (under the influence of the wealthy landowner's uncle who in turn is being influenced by the landowner's cousin) has him removed from the area. There's a shunned wife/novice nun with a very kinky sexual appetite. There's bread in the streets, rioting, false accusations, small pox.. and it seems the entire world is out to keep Robert and Emilie apart, even at one point, Emilie herself... as she is faced with a difficult decision.. Which vow to follow? This is not your typical regency romance. 


Do not be intimidated by that long cast of characters. I am very impressed with how well this author introduced everyone gradually and made each person memorable. I never had to "flip" back pages to re read and figure out who was who or who had done what and I never felt the urge to begin writing names down either. Very well done.


As a matter of fact, I only have one quibble with this novel. The last half began to "pound" the repentance and forgiveness issues into my head too much. It began getting to religious for my tastes at times, especially when the men of the cloth began going on and on about forgiveness, repentance, and god. And in the end, everyone forgave too easily and everything tied up too wonderfully. 


I was thoroughly entertained, however, as all the characters run to and fro, thugs threaten, cut off ears, and abduct innocent ladies, and at one point, I even laughed my butt off. "Carrots are necessary for men. They're long and hard and the more carrots a man eats, well, the more he will become just like them."


Favorite quote: "If those who commit injustices were obliged to give us their reasons, the world would not be as bad as it is."


Four stars. I received this in ebook format from the author.

Dog Tails, Ride for Rights Updates

[image error] It's been a month since my first ebook release, Dog Tails: Three Humorous Short Stories for Dog Lovers was made available on Nook, Kindle, ipad, and Sony Reader. It's not doing too bad for my first book and considering I haven't been able to promote it much at all. I'm pleased to say it's been featured on two blogs in the past month:


At Home With A Good Book And The Cat

Book Reader's Heaven

As for Ride for Rights, it's still scheduled for February 2012 release. I am going to be talking about it further on June 7th on Teen Word Factory.

Ride also now has a foreword from Mr. Robert Van Buren who not only enjoyed the book, but was kind of enough to provide a few words. He is a descendant of the real Van Buren sisters whose story so inspired me.

My nonfiction/memoir is tentatively scheduled for end of July/early August release with Untreed Reads. It is yet untitled.

So... be watching for my works and spread the word! Word of mouth is the best promotion. Thanks, all!

Set in Stone: The Life and Death of Medusa by R.C. Berry

I recommend this to anyone who ever had an interest in Mythology in their school days. I remember being fascinated and when others in school whine and complained, I immersed myself in stories of Apollo, Zeus, and Athena, my favorite.

This is a cross between a historical novel and Mythology. Berry tells a story of Medusa very thoroughly and in an engaging manner. There's so much more to the "monster" than simply snakes for hair and the ability to turn men into stone. What made Medusa?


The novel tells of her birth from two sea monsters and why she was made beautiful and mortal. As a teenager she is as lovely as the goddess, Aphrodite. A trip to Mount Olympus sets her in the gods' sights. Three of them want her and two of them will see her dead before they are denied her. She becomes the latest "plaything."


AthenaEnter Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. She desires the beautiful Medusa just to spite Aphrodite and to have an amorous follower. 
Poseidon, the god of the sea and a known womanizer simply wants to bang her.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty simply wants her love and affection and sweet kisses.


PoseidonThey all want her, however, and only one can have her or none at all and a war of sorts ensues. Medusa is too naive to save herself. Athena ends up extremely angry thanks to something Poseidon does and Aphrodite attempts to save Medusa, but can undo all of the damage... and Medusa finds herself with snakes in place of her hair and a curse over her head. Every man she looks at will turn to stone. This is all fine and dandy when men begin coming to her exiled island to kill the new "monster," but when she wishes to have love with a young man who will literally follow her the ends of the earth, it's rather inconvenient.


So... Medusa is exiled and alone except for a lover she dare not look at and a surprise on the way... while men keep showing up to kill her... and Athena is still wanting her dead... and that's all I'm saying.

AphroditeMinor annoyances: It could be an ebook malfunction, but there were dashes (-) in the middle of words when they had no business being there. This grew irritating at times as it occurred on almost every page. Ex: be-stowed, consort-ing, obvi-ously, ad-mired, and so on...


There was one instance when three young men entered Medusa's cave to kill her and this one fellow had a sword drawn one minute and the next minute was strangling her instead and drawing his sword again. ?


Deep thought: Who's the real monster here?


Four stars.


I received this from Touche Publishing.

Settling by Shelley Workinger

Settling is a sequel to Solid and picks up where the first one left off very well. Even though it's been MONTHS since I read Solid, I immediately remembered who was who and who had done what and the author didn't have to detail it all. That's hard to do. Too often, I pick up a sequel and get play by play detail s of what happened in the previous book. Settling handled this really well.
Summary: A corrupt military doctor installed a special extra chromosome in pregnant women. Their children now have "super powers" and are gathered on a military base to find out more about themselves, their powers, and the whole deal behind it. There are "stealths" (Miranda and Clio), the kids who disappear. There are "stars" (Bliss), kids who literally glow so bright it knocks you senseless. There's the" jocks" (Garrett)  who are amazingly athletic and fast. There are the "heavies" who seem to have an invisible wall around them (Alexis). And there's Jack, Clio's boyfriend whose super power seems to be his ability to observe.
This installment adds two new characters to the group, a girl jock (That's a first) and a guy named Xavier who is a "heavy" of sorts, but draws people to him instead of pushing of them away..
And as these new kids enter the picture, so does a killer… Two people are stabbed.. and Clio is beginning to feel nervous about it all. On top of searching for the base killer and suspecting her friends, she discovers that she may be a heavy as well as a stealth AND she is sorta having feelings for an Officer… So where does that leave Jack?
Very good story with interesting characters. I actually even liked Miranda a bit this time. The only thing I didn't like about it was the ending.  The conclusion, the whodunit revelation, didn't work for me. It seemed to come out of nowhere and part of it didn't make sense. I can't say much here without revealing important information. However, one thing I did like about the ending is it brought up the fact that throughout the novel, Clio only talks about her immediate friends. She doesn't seem to pay attention to anyone else on campus. The ending teaches her a lesson of sorts.  It also left me, the reader, hanging with one huge question: Are these people really her friends after all?
Four stars and I received this in ebook format from the author. I'm pleased to say that on July 13th, Ms. Workinger will be answering a huge question here on Book Babe as part of her blog tour and I will be hosting a giveaway. So stay tuned!

A Young Wife by Pam Lewis

I think this story has a good plot and wraps up well in the end, but I didn't like any of the characters. They were a very hard group to like. Seems everyone except the heroine, Minke, is nasty and cruel.

In the beginning, Minke is a "nurse" for an invalid, skeleton like woman addicted to morphine. The rest of the household consists of Sander, a man old enough to be her father that seems to care not a whit about his dying wife, a daughter that steals her mother's drugs and wishes her dead, and a humpback boy.

Minke marries Sander just three days after the wife dies.. she is only 15 years of age so it comes as no surprise to me really that she kept morphing from child to woman and back again until the last quarter of the novel. A boat to Argentina introduces more characters. Sadly, the most likable character dies.

In Argentina, Sander gambles everything away. Minke's best friend is a homosexual "doctor" who seems to just prescribe morphine for everything. There's a fat woman with a parrot obsession who has a multiple personality disorder it seems, nice on min, mean the next. There's sister Fenna, promiscuous and hateful, always screaming about something.

And these are the main players for the rest of the book. Minke grows into womanhood only to have her son disappear and this is where the story gets good.. but upon traveling to NY, again, most of the characters are cruel, the housekeeper, for example.

And Minke.. I liked her but could she really be that stupid??? You really let that sister of yours travel alone with your husband all the way to America? I knew what was gonna happen. Duh.

So.. I had some quibbles. However, I really like the "child abduction" bit and how it played it out. I didn't see that coming.

Laugh out loud moment: (When Minke's mother is trying to explain about sex) "Oh, the shudders, and so red in the face. The bed makes a terrible racket, too, and the doors shake... All at once he collapses like he's been shot through the heart." 
Three stars and I received two ARCs of this book, one from goodreads swap, one from the publisher. Oops. My fault. 

Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts

Yes, I just finished reading a "romance" book, but this not a damsel in distress romance book. This is a true ball busting heroine. This being a Nora Roberts book, I'm sure 5000 other people have already reviewed it so I'm going to keep the summarization short. Keywords: woman smoke jumper, Missoula, Montana, sexy rookie, hot sex, murder, arson, and throw in a jealous, crazy bitch and you got Chasing Fire.

What I loved: The heroine, Rowan. She takes no crap from anybody. She's brave and tough and when the male smoke jumpers challenge or tease her, she holds her own. The dialogue throughout the novel, the joking, the bantering was terrific. I laughed, chuckled, and nodded my head numerous times.


[image error] The smoke jumping was great and Roberts obviously did her research. I learned a LOT about jumping from airplanes and into fires that I certainly did not know before.


What I didn't like: The mystery involving the jealous bitch, Dolly, was kinda lame. I was expecting a bit more substance, less soap opera. I also knew whodunit from the get go and I was disappointed that I knew whodunit. When it was revealed in the book, I declared, "I knew it! Oh why couldn't you surprise me?"
[image error]


Something else that bothered me.. And I get this is a romance, but the story is contemporary, not historical and you have a woman smoke jumper. This is a male dominated field that consists of fighting fires, extreme physical fitness, jumping out of planes, using a chainsaw, and handling big hoses (he he he) so why is this chick who loves her career above all else risking losing it all by possibly getting knocked up? Not once in this novel when the main players do the horizontal mambo, does it address them using protection. I would think pregnancy would be a huge issue for a female smoke jumper. Hello?

The smoke jumping, the strong heroine, and the entertaining dialog more than made up for those quibbles, however, and overall, the book rates a four and I got it from the library.

Negligee Behavior by Shelli Stevens

How many of you ladies married that safe, boring man and sometimes just look at him as he is watching television and think, "what if...?" 

What if you had walked out of your own wedding and jumped on the back of some sexy bad boy's motorcycle and rode away with him?


That's what Brandy does! Brandy is about to marry Gordon, a dentist/reality tv show star and she is having serious doubts... Here's the 411 on Gordon:


"Gordon wasn't really the type to inspire such sinful thoughts. He was more like the granola bar you ate to help you stay regular." And later, "Gordon breezed by the erogenous zones on a woman's body and made love like her was trying to beat the clock." And "Gordon's butt was so flat it was almost inverted, not to mention so white it nearly glowed."
No wonder Brandy runs out on Gordon and hops on a sexy guy's bike!!! 


[image error] The sexy guy is Marco and he's a bar owner/bartender with a secret past he would prefer to keep a secret. He has no clue that the matronly chick on the back of his bike is really a rich lingerie line heiress. See, Brandy's grown up in the shadow of lingerie models so she feels like she can't live up to that so why try? Fate, Marco, a job in a bar, a waitress named Val, and just plain desire to stay away from Gordon has Brandy turning over a new leaf and getting a makeover.. including a wax!!

And there's love and sex. Seriously. Think about it.. If this Marco guy can handle all that horsepower between his legs, imagine what else he can handle. 


Really, really fun read. It takes place in Vegas, has enough mystery regarding Marco and his past to keep readers guessing, has steamy sex, and one has to root for Brandy as she "comes out of her shell" and cheer as she learns to strut her stuff.


"You don't think I look like a whore, you think I look hot. And it pisses you off... And you know what else pisses you off? The idea that other men are going to be hitting on me tonight. So here's the deal, buddy. Either step up to the plate or accept the fact that others will."


So will choir teacher, cat tee shirt wearing lingerie heiress Brandy maintain her new badass, sexy persona and get Marco in the bargain or will she revert to her shy, no self esteem ways and go back to the dentist? Did I mention the dentist has some serious issues..? Another suspenseful twist to the story. There's a lust for money, desire to rise in society, and a gambling addiction.....and a gun.


Loved it. No complaints. It was just what I needed. Five stars and I received this egalley from netgalley.

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

This has been a thought evoking book. It's about the life of a tiny French island and its people and how their troubles, passions, and growing pains go on despite the fact its under German occupation during WWII. 

Vivienne's husband is a soldier who is gone fighting. They had a troubled relationship before he left and one has to wonder if they will have a relationship at all when he gets back. See, Vivienne has taken up with the enemy. This is the passionate part. Germans have taken over the house next door as most of the islanders left for England before the Germans arrived. Vivienne at some point (it's not clear where) fell in love with Gunther and proceeds to take him secretly into her bed each night. This was supposed to be passionate, but I didn't really feel this romance between them. It was implied more than experienced.


I was in a turmoil over this aspect of the novel. I couldn't help but think that what Vivienne is doing would be the equivalent of me bedding down with the Taliban whilst my own soldier husband was over in Afghanistan.. However, I also seen the moral behind it: Soldiers are just doing their jobs and you cannot hold the actions of a country against a single man.


Troubles arise with the building of labor camps.. Many islanders wish to help the starving, beaten prisoners but to do so puts one's own family at risk...


Despite the Occupation, Vivienne's daughters still grow up. Her teenage daughter disobeys Vivienne to consort with the enemy herself before seriously stopping to think of what she is doing. The younger daughter makes a special friend and inadvertently causes her own mother to "grow a pair" as I like to say and stand up for what is right.


A couple issues I had: 1) The lack of passion in the romance department. It came from nowhere and all of a sudden. 2) The heroine is a wimp until the end. When her little daughter hurts her leg, Vivienne doesn't even have the balls to poor medicine on it. Throughout the entire novel, her daughters have her "whipped." 3) WAY too much description. Everything from the flowers to the sea to her bedroom is described in detail. If I won't remember it once I turn the page, please don't waste my time describing it.


What I liked: 1) The mother in law's dementia added an interesting and sad twist. 2) The book is very well written despite being overly descriptive. I was entertained. 3) The moral I mentioned above about soldiers. "You do your job. You do what you have to do. You don't always look around you. You don't always think about everything..."


I received two ARCs of this book (oops), one from the publisher and one via Amazon Vine. My bad. 


Three stars.