Tara Chevrestt's Blog, page 72

My Reading Radar 12//2013

What hit the radar and wishlist this week?

Heads in the Clouds by Amber Polo. It is a revised edition of a previous title and after the reading the reviews and old blurb, I've decided to get my hands on this one eventually. It promises an interesting cast of characters and a lady learning to fly, oh, and a flying community, which sounds cool.

Love is in the air…

Can a meat-eating Texas advertising woman find love with a vegetarian Buddhist and get her pilot’s license despite interference from her wacky Arizona airpark neighbors and a high flying Alaskan Malamute?

All they have to do is conquer the fear of flying and their fear of love.

***
WAY too expensive right now (20 bucks on kindle) and sadly, not available in PB form over here, this one will probably take a while for me to come by, but I can't resist the blurb. 
A superbly written novel offering an intriguing interpretation of one of the world's greatest aviators, the glamorous and mysterious Jean Batten.

Jean Batten became an international icon in the 1930s. A brave, beautiful woman, she made a number of heroic solo flights across the world. The newspapers couldn't get enough of her; and yet she suddenly slipped out of view, disappearing to the Caribbean with her mother and dying in obscurity in Majorca, buried in a pauper's grave.

Fiona Kidman's enthralling novel delves into the life of this enigmatic woman, exploring mysteries and crafting a fascinating exploration of early flying, of mothers and daughters, and of fame and secrecy.


***
I've "met" this author on twitter and like her very much. This is her first adult book and as it's a historical featuring two tough women and a mystery, I scooped it up. Diamonds & Dust by Carol Hedges.


When a horrific murder takes place on a dark night in 1860's London, it changes two women for ever. New light is cast upon past lives they thought they knew so well, and suddenly their futures become intertwined. The death of her uncle will leave eighteen-year-old Josephine King an orphan, an heiress and the owner of a priceless diamond, The Eye of the Khan. For Lilith Marks, a chance finally arises to end her life as a highly paid prostitute and to prove herself as a serious businesswoman. Set against the backdrop of the great gas-lit city, the two women are drawn together in their quest to discover just who killed the man they both loved. Diamonds & Dust is a page-whizzing narrative, with an intricate and absorbing plot that entices you through the teeming streets of Victorian London. If Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle all washed up on a desert island, they might have come up with something like this.

Author Interview with Tawdra Kandle, Author of Best Served Cold

Sometimes revenge is your only choice. . .

Julia worked for weeks planning the perfect surprise birthday party for her boyfriend, Liam, but that night, she was the one who got the biggest shock. He broke up with her in front of all their friends, humiliating her in the process.

Clearly revenge was in order.

The plan is simple. Make him jealous, win him back, and then crush his heart. Fair is fair. However, there is one little hiccup and he has curly brown hair and dimples.

Jesse is everything she wants. With him, she could almost forget her bruised heart. Almost. Julia has one choice: let Liam walk away after everything he did, or lose a chance at love in pursuit of payback.

AVAILABLE NOW

Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Smashwords

Book Babe: Most authors have a moment of "inspiration", when a story idea hits them and they say, "I must write this!" How did this story come to be? What was your moment?

Tawdra: Most of my inspiration comes from music. In this instance, it was Miranda Lampert's song My Mama's Broken Heart, particularly the line "Sometimes revenge is a choice you gotta make." I started thinking about a girl who decided to seek revenge on an ex. At first, it was set in a small town, but eventually, it morphed to the college setting. Some of my own personal experience seeped in, and then. . .there it was.



Book Babe: Have you ever planned revenge on an ex?

Tawdra: Oh, I wish I could have some fascinating story about that . . .but no. The closest was probably once when I decided I would date an ex's friend in order to make him jealous and/or mad. That's about as much revenge as I plotted.

Book Babe: How did that go? 

Tawdra: It didn't work right away, but later the ex admitted that it bothered him and made him regret breaking up with me. But it was too late! 

Book Babe: Is there any of you or your personal traits in the heroine Julia?

Tawdra: Not as much in Julia as in some of my other female leads. Julia loves college, threw herself into the whole experience. . .I myself did not love college. I was seriously dating the man who would later become my husband, and so I took a train every weekend up to his college. Julia and I share a love of journalism and of sports (but NOT wrestling!), but other than that, she's pretty much her own person.

Book Babe: Sometimes authors base their characters on people they really know. Do you have a friend like Ava in your life? 

Tawdra: I have a lot of friends who have my back no matter what. Ava is probably an amalgamation of those women in that way. Ava is also a bit like my oldest daughter, in that she is very driven and focused, though when her book comes out, we'll learn more about what made Ava that way--and it's not particularly like my daughter.

Book Babe: Have you ever been humiliated in public? Dish.

Tawdra: Hmmm. . .probably not humiliated, but embarrassed, for sure. I was in our town's "Miss" pageant, a feeder for Miss New Jersey and Miss America, about a hundred years ago, and my talent was dancing. It was great except that my costume apparently didn't have as much support as I might have hoped during certain moves. Oh, well. . .but that was no one's fault save my own.

Book Babe: *chuckling but trying not to* I've had a *clears throat* wardrobe malfunction myself. So, is Liam secretly based on an ex in your own past?


Ava?

Tawdra: He did start out that way. The whole basis of his break-up with Julia came from something that happened to me, though I made some big changes to protect the guilty. And I am pretty sure Liam will turn out to be a slightly better guy than my ex, who was really a jerk. However, the whole concept of Julia's 'I didn't even want to date him!' is definitely true-to-life; this guy asked me out while I was secretly crushing on his best friend. I said yes and lived to regret it. As I said. . .a hundred years ago.

Book Babe: A common question, but I honestly love to know. Who would you cast if this was made into a movie or TV show? 

Tawdra: This is a tough one. Okay, I needed help, so I reached out to fans. According to the Pinterest boards, Shailene Woodley would be an awesome Julia. Robbie Amell is nominated for Liam, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Jesse. Or maybe a younger Josh Duhamel? Ava? Hmm, need an Italian actress! How about Alessandra Mastronardi? And for Giff. . .maybe Jake Abel?

Book Babe: Growing up, what authors did you enjoy reading and who would you credit for your interest in the writing profession?

Tawdra: Laura Ingalls Wilder was hugely influential, as was Madeleine L'Engle. I read anything I could get my hands on. Margaret Mitchell was one of my first big inspirations, too. Gone With The Wind. . .does it get any better?

Book Babe: Not writing related, but I always asks this... Do you have pets? Please feel free to share photos as well as details.

Tawdra: Oh, do I? I have a sweet Malti-Pom named Kaipo (Po Po for short) and FIVE cats. Yes. I am the crazy cat lady. They are Della, Dixie, Calypso, Chessie and Lenni. We almost had a sixth, but I managed to convince my daughter and son-in-law to adopt her, and now I have a grand-kitty named Stormy.








Tawdra Kandle has been a writer since pens were invented. Her first published story appeared in Child Life magazine when she was 13 years old. She took a brief hiatus of about thirty years to hone her craft, get married and have four children before publishing the young adult quartet The King Series. She has since published books in both the adult and new adult romantic genre. Tawdra lives in Florida with her husband and children, both skin and fur-types. Oh, and yes--she has purple hair.


Follow Tawdra Kandle:

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Pinterest / Literary Addicts / Goodreads /Amazon

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Bree Robinson

Book: Desk Jockey Jam
Author: Ainslie Paton
Heroine: Bree Robinson

Bree Robinson is a totally kick ass heroine because she knows what she wants in her career and she’s worked hard to get it on the fast track, despite the kind of prejudice that can make it hard to succeed in the world of high finance which – no surprises – is dominated by men.
The kind of men who’d suggest a girl might be getting ahead because of equal opportunity practices rather than her talents.  The kind of men who think good legs gets you favours.

But she’s also on another fast track – the flat track roller derby one.  And while it’s tempting simply to say all roller derby dolls are the boss, (well they are!) because derby is one heck of a rumble, one hell of a ride, the real reason that Bree is a great character is because she’s not prepared to let what other people think of her determine her choices in life.
Blurb:
Whip it meets Wall Street

Anthony Gambese thought he had life sussed. Happy family, good mates, the freedom of surfing, a new career, and enough action in the bedroom to keep him well satisfied. He had no idea. But two chicks were about to show him the error of his ways, trashing his love-life, stealing his promotion and challenging his honour. And that was before he discovered what a roller-derby doll could do by skating over his heart.

Like a roller derby jam, this novella is tight packed, fast and furious. It can be read alone or as a follow up to Grease Monkey Jive. It tells the story of Ant Gambese, the last of Dan’s mate’s not felled by a girl who was exactly what he needed, and didn’t see coming.
Excerpt:
She was The Senior Analyst. Which meant dancing in the tea room on her first day as The Senior Analyst was probably inappropriate. But it was 7am and no one else was in yet, so Bree turned the jug on and had a little boogie, shaking her tail feather and shimmying her other assets while it boiled.

This was her favourite part of the day. The office was library quiet, emptied of the ego and testosterone that usually drove it, the competitive spirit that made it the most exciting and exhausting job she’d ever had. When it was empty like this, she felt completely in control. In thirty minutes, the peace would be shattered, as would her belief she knew what she was doing. First to arrive would be the big boss, Bryan Petersen, grandson of the founder, and the smartest man in the room, any room. He scared the heck out of her.

Fortunately senior analysts had very little to do with the big boss and she only had to worry about her smaller boss, Doug, and the other analysts in the equities research team. That meant Anthony. 

She had to worry more about Anthony Gambese now that she was The Senior Analyst, because if pissed off had skin and could walk around, it was a tall, thick set, dark eyed, swarthy complexioned, sharp suit wearing, booming voiced, hunk of ridiculous, brooding man-boy of Italian origin.

She did a quick spin because it would be a cosmic joke if he was standing behind her. All clear. He rarely came in this early. He tended to slog through the other end of the day. Bree was turn the office lights on, Anthony was turn them off. They knew this about each other because on occasion the pattern got messed up and he came in early, but rarely as early as she did or she worked late, but rarely as late as he did.

On the whole this was a useful thing. It was easier to avoid Anthony when the entire team was in the office. Not that he was a bad guy. He was almost exactly the kind of guy she was attracted to, except he was a bit too intense, a bit too loud and confident. Unless he was mad about something. And then he was a lot too intense, incredibly loud and confident and scarily surly. Plus he was different to the other guys. He made working hard look easy.

And Bree had long ago sworn of tall, dark and surly men to whom things came too easily.

They’d been doing the almost territorial morning-evening ownership thing since they were hired, both of them keen to get through the traineeship, the probationary period as analysts and make it to senior analysts without getting bounced out of the program. Maybe a better word for what they were both like was determined. Though in Bree’s case her doggedness was based on being shit scared of failing and in Anthony’s... Ah, she had no idea, what drove Anthony to work like he did. He was the one everyone thought would get the senior analyst job.

She made a plunger full of coffee, filled her personal milk jug, grabbed a mug and danced her way to her workstation. When she next lifted her head out of weekend market reports the office was beginning to wake.

“So what happened at the track?” said Chris.

Christine Mason was the only other girl in the team of six, the only other girl in the whole office who wasn’t an admin assistant, and most definitely the only person of any sexual persuasion in the office who knew about Kitty Caruso and what she did on a flat track most weekends in summer.

Being in a Roller Derby League team called the Big Swinging Tricks wasn’t the kind of thing an up and coming Senior Analyst at Petersens did. An up and coming Senior Analyst at Petersens went to the art gallery or a foreign film on the weekend. She didn’t belt around a track on wheels aggressively trying to knock people over.

“We smashed ‘em.”

Chris laughed. She didn’t get Bree’s enthusiasm for roller derby but she was heartily amused by it.

She’d been threatening to come to a bout for the last six months, since the day she’d cornered Bree in the bathroom, grilled her about her bruises and found out about it. Bree knew there was very little risk of Chris giving up time with her new husband to attend a jam though and she was pleased about that.

Roller Derby and Petersens were like Aerogard and mosquitoes—mutually repellent. And it was best it stayed that way, and since Chris had never seen Bree as her derby doll alter ego it was kind of like a big joke between them, as though it wasn’t real and Bree was making up amusing stories about characters with outrageous names to entertain Chris on Monday mornings when they’d both rather still be in bed.

“Body count.” Chris always wanted to know the gory bits.

“One broken nose, a couple of dislocated fingers.” It’d been a surprisingly easy win against the Hurley Burleys, especially since they’d crushed the league table leaders, The Weapons of Mass Production, the week before. And everyone knew the Weapons were the team to beat.

Chris’ eyes went down to Bree’s hands still on her keyboard. “Not yours.”

“No, thank goodness.”

“What are you going to do if it’s your bits that get broken?”

“I’m that good, it won’t happen.”

Chris poked her index finger towards her open mouth and made a gagging sound. Bree laughed and gave a more realistic response. “I’ll lie.”

“And say what? You walked into a door?”

Bree opened her eyes wide and sucked in her cheeks, trying for the picture of innocence. “Do you think anyone will buy that?”

“Absolutely,” Chris deadpanned. “Not.”

“Let’s stick with answer A then.”

Chris said, “Whatever you reckon, Kitty,” and ducked the pen, Bree chucked at her. She knew damn well the name Kitty Caruso wasn’t for office consumption.

It’d probably been a mistake to tell Chris, but once she’d seen the bruises, it’d been hard to avoid it. She didn’t need anyone else jumping to conclusions or being in on the story. Fortunately, Chris was good fun as well as a heck of a talented analyst. She had a memory for facts and figures Bree was envious of and a way of expressing herself that made her reports interesting even when the spot price of rare minerals in Zambia was as boring as the conservative black suits she wore.

Pretty close to the same conservative black suits Bree wore, and nothing like Kitty Caruso’s roller doll uniform with its hot pink, butt grazing, tartan pleated skirt and skin tight fitted black singlet. Both of which were currently scrunched up in Bree’s sports bag, with her pink knee highs, fishnets and black sports pants with Bite Me printed across the bum. All of which needed a wash before next week’s bout.



Are you an author with a strong heroine in your book? Want to see her featured? Find out how here.

No Place Like Rome (Lexi Carmichael Mystery #3)

I love Lexi. She's one of the most likable and fun heroines I've discovered in a mystery series. She's a geek--smart, loves math, and is a bit awkward in social situations.

In this latest installment of her life, she goes to Rome with the uber-hot and super-secretive Slash to help clear his uncle's name. Computers, hacking, pharmaceuticals, art, and secret agents all come together to form one interesting mystery with in-between munching on Italian food.

As always, the book follows Lexi and is punctuated with her witty and sarcastic thoughts and humor.

I'm reminded of the Stephanie Plum series again, only in this case, Slash is Ranger, Fin is Joe, and Lexi is stuffing her face with croissants instead of donuts, and Basia is far stretch from Lulu. LOL I enjoyed this story though, whereas I became quite tired of the Plum series a long time ago. Moffett knows how to keep us interested and doesn't tell the same story over and over.

At first, I was disappointed that Lexi brought the Zimmerman twins into the case. I was hoping she would save the day on her own, but she surprised me in the end, proving to be the case-cracker and heroine. I loved this!! I also like that unlike most heroines in books today, Lexi isn't throwing herself into a man's bed on page five. (She's also very realistic; any of us women can relate to her.) We're still skirting around Fin, Slash, and Elvis and I suspect things are getting there with Elvis. I'm dying to know for sure, so I'm looking forward to the next book already.

My only disappointment: I didn't find this as rip-roaring, bust-a-gut funny as I have found the previous two titles. With the other books, I rolled on the floor laughing two or three times. This time, I only did once. I was expecting more humor. I'll never forget Lexi and the stripper scene, though I did have a good laugh at the first scene on this one.

I received a digital ARC of this title from CLP blog tours.





***
Julie Moffett is the award-winning author of thirteen published novels in the genres of historical, paranormal fantasy, and time travel romances, and action/adventure mysteries.

She grew up as a military brat (Air Force) and has traveled extensively. Her more exciting exploits include attending Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan, backpacking around Europe and Scandinavia for several months, a year-long college graduate study in Warsaw, Poland and a wonderful trip to Scotland and Ireland where she fell in love with castles, kilts and brogues.

Julie has a B.A. in Political Science and Russian Language from Colorado College, a M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and is nearly finished with her M.Ed. Able to speak Russian and Polish, she worked as a journalist for the international radio station, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Washington, D.C. for eleven years, publishing hundreds of articles. She now works as a proposal writer and research advisor for a defense contractor in the Washington, D.C. area.

Julie is a single mom with two sons, who keep her quite busy. She belongs to Romance Writers of America and Washington Romance Writers where she served six years on the organization’s Board of Directors. She was also the Market News Columnist and Feature’s Editor for the organization’s monthly newsletter, Update, for eleven years.

Connect with Julie!
Website: www.juliemoffett.comBlog: I blog occasionally at http://notyourusualsuspects.blogspot.com/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Moffett-Author/123804877633091
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/190485.Julie_Moffett
Twitter: @JMoffettAuthor

Tangled Vines by Kay Bratt

I have one complaint right off the bat...this is part of a trilogy. Trilogy means there is only THREE books. I want a book for every single daughter!!

That being said, as you can see, book two of the Scavenger's Daughters did not disappoint me. I will admit to having a harder time with Dahlia's story because I can't stand women who allow themselves to be victimized by men...but, and it's a big but, the ending revealed some things about her life that made me understand her a whole lot better and she displayed amazing strength when I believe I would have crumbled. She is truly a phoenix rising from the ashes, this woman. She surprised me. I didn't like her at first, at all, but by the end of the book, I "got it".

Ms. Bratt once again lives up to her "brand" with this title. Capturing the heart of humanity. So many people in this book are horrid and cruel but each one is counteracted with a person who cares, who loves, who wishes to help, and we need to be reminded of that, especially nowadays. We need to remember for every bad, there's a good. This book should serve as a reminder to anyone who reads it that there is both good and bad in the world and also that there is always HOPE. I think the strongest theme this time was hope. Just when you think you've hit rock bottom...

The story in a nutshell: A continuation from book one, Linnae is running her own successful business now, the family is very proud, everything is fabulous, but her adopted parents still have a whole in their lives from the daughter they lost thirty years before. This is HER story, and it's one of heartache. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Linnae is determined to find Dahlia and reunite her with her biological parents. The story goes back and forth between Linnae and the family and Dahlia's tremulous situation. There's suspense, tears, and many a moral. Linnae realizes that "money, success, looks--all along she'd been thinking she needed all of it to be taken seriously, but now she was just wondering if maybe those were just icing on the cake."

And as I said above, from bad, from horror, often something good can be born. Perhaps we just have to open ourselves up to it? Not dwell on the negative. Take Dahlia for example. She could have chosen to hate the child born to her, due to the circumstances of its conception, but instead, she ended up with the best thing in her life.

Anyway, this story just gave me many deep thoughts such as that. I cannot wait to find out what happens to the other daughters. I wish they all had a book. Ms. Bratt, any way I can convince you to like, write nine stories? LOL

And I'd especially enjoyed the glimpses into Chinese life, the fortune teller, the food, some of the laws. I found this educational as well.

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

A Grandmother's Story. Why Lorraine Nelson Believes in Miracles.

Lorraine isn't just stopping by to share her new Christmas story with you, though I've added that data below. Today she's here to talk to you about miracles and how all year long, not just at Christmas, she has faith they exist, and why. I specifically asked her to share this story on Book Babe when she first told me. 'Cause I, too, need to be reminded there are miracles. Happy Holidays, everyone.
On January 22nd, 2010, my first granddaughter was born. My goodness, she is such a precious child. Alexis was born with blond hair and blue eyes. Just an itty bitty little girl, but she was perfect. I was so proud. So was my son, Josh, and his girlfriend, Julie.
The day they were scheduled to come home from the hospital, I was ecstatic. Although I had managed to go see her, was even there at her birth, my health sometimes dictates what I can do or not on a daily basis. So I waited, and waited.
Finally, my son called me. He was all choked up. The pediatrician had been in to see Alexis and it was discovered that she’d been born without an eardrum in her left ear. She couldn’t hear from that side. The doctor had gotten no response at all. The news was heartbreaking.
We were devastated for her, but she is our baby and we love her. We all did our very best to protect her good ear from cold and infection. Several trips to speech and hearing were on the agenda that first year. And because she couldn’t hear properly, her speech, even her walking was delayed, because she was off balance.
When she was about a year old, our family doctor checked her ears. She saw an eardrum! Our doctor said she might have developmental delays, and that the drum might continue to grow, but we didn’t have much hope of her being able to hear from that side.
Alexis has continued to grow and to learn. Always a happy and affectionate child, she’s brought us great joy on a daily basis.
Then came a time, just this past summer when I was away and called home. Alexis is three now and wanted to speak to grandma, so Josh passed her the phone. Imagine my surprise when Josh told me that she’d listened with her bad ear and responded.

Her hearing has improved by leaps and bounds and we feel it’s nothing short of a miracle. She sings and dances around and always has a smile and a hug for everyone. And of course, she likes to spend time with her grandma. She sits on my knee and tells me stories while she types on the computer. Another author in the family? At this point, I feel that anything is possible. Never give up hope.
Alexis being able to hear is our family’s Christmas miracle.God bless you all! I wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years.

Thanks, Lorraine, for sharing that. Readers, below I've taken the liberty of adding the data for Lorraine's new Christmas book. 

Can an organic grower and a cattle rancher find common ground?

When the acreage next door comes up for bid, Dustin Granger attends the auction hoping to obtain the property for his growing herd. Along with the creek running through the property, his cattle need more grazing land. What he doesn’t need or want is a city girl outbidding him to establish an organic farm.

Meredith McRae inherits a small fortune from a distant uncle and decides to invest in her future. The estate she’s come to bid on has everything she needs and no neighboring cowboy was going to thwart her…regardless how handsome.


Lorraine Nelson was born in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. She's a multi-published author of romantic suspense who shares her living quarters with an independent yet affectionate tomcat. When not at the computer crafting stories of romantic suspense, she can be found spending time with family, gardening, baking and, of course, reading.

Lorraine loves to hear from readers.
Weblog - http://lorrainenelson.wordpress.com
Website - http://lorrainenelson.weebly.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/LorraineNelso...
Twitter - @lornelca

HerStory Special Holiday Sale

21 Days of Solstice - Day 8 - HerStory on Sale for $2.99!


On the 8th Day of Solstice PWP gave to me, a bargain price of HerStory





In ancient times, women were regarded as sacred. They were thought to hold the mystical power of creation—responsible for the continuation of our species. With the rise of Science and Religion, these myths were dispelled and their plight began.

HerStory: Fiction Honoring Women’s History Month is a collection of Flash Fiction and Short Stories from today's top authors featuring female characters that exemplify strong strength of mind, body, and character. Some of these tales are based on real people while others are purely fictional. However, all are standing up for themselves and what they believe in.

Grab yourself a glass of wine or favorite hot beverage and get comfortable as you read about the lives of women who will light the fire in your soul.

Buy links:
Barnes & Noble
Smashwords

My Reading Radar (12/7/2013)

What hit the wishlist this week?

The Outlaws by Jane Toombs. I think it used to be co-authored as I found an old PB on Goodreads, same title, same author with another writer, but can't be certain. I found this whilst browsing a romance author site for a contest.


After Billy the Kid and Mark Halloran rescue what’s left of the Nesbitt family from an Apache attack in the New Mexico Territory, the fate of the young daughter and the teen-age boy are sealed. Tessa’s attracted to Mark and Ezra suffers a severe cause of hero-worship over Billy, wanting to be just like him. Soon all of them are involved in the cruelest range war in the history of the West--the bloody Lincoln County war. How can Tessa protect her brother from trailing after Billy? And how can she be drawn to a man who is on the opposite side of this range war?

***
Found on Amazon and decided to read for certain after the author sent in a SSHW post. (Can't wait to share it with you!) Women's Work by Kari Aguila. Just read they synopsis and you'll see...
"So when most of the men were dead, women saw their chance to take over?" Kate searches her son's eyes as he asks this. "Not take over," she says. "Fix things." It wasn't hard to justify what the women had done since the end of the Last War. They rebuilt their bomb-out neighborhoods as best they could and tried to establish peace and gender equality. But small groups of men roam the country, viciously indicating that the pendulum may have swung too far. When a bedraggled man shows up on Kate's doorstep one night, will she risk everything to help him? Does he deserve her help?

Women's Work is set in a dystopic world in the Pacific Northwest, where women struggle to survive through sustenance farming, clever engineering, and a deeply rooted sisterhood. Kate and her family are lead through a journey from anger and fear to forgiveness and hope. It is a compelling story that challenges all of us to question traditional gender roles and to confront the fragility of love.


***
Because I'm a huge fan of the TV show Isabel and I'll most likely see this girl "born" any day now during season two, this def hit the wishlist when I spotted it on NG. Granada Gold by S A Carney.


Granada Gold is based on the true story of young Juana Trastamara. During the Granada War, she befriends Lord Edmund Sales, commander of the English longbow archers fighting for Christian Spain. In 1492, Juana’s parents – Queen Isabel and King Fernando – defeat the Moors, expel the Jews, and send Columbus sailing across the Atlantic. These events shatter her tight-knit family. Rich with Moorish gold, the Trastamaras confront their deadly rivals, the Habsburgs. Juana’s arranged marriage to the womanising Habsburg duke, ‘Phillipe the Handsome’, is a personal disaster. Trapped in an increasingly abusive marriage, Juana has only one place to turn: England. Through Lord Sales, Juana meets Tudor King Henry VII, who falls deeply in love with her. The stage is set for international royal passion, betrayal, and death. Based on real historical characters, Granada Gold takes readers inside the world of the legendary Alhambra palace. SA Carney – an investigative historian – reveals newly-discovered twists in the Trastamara-Tudor-Habsburg family saga. This book will appeal to readers captivated by the Tudor era, fans of historical fiction, and lovers of adventure stories in exotic places.

La Zorra Ciega by David Gerald King

This is a terrific concept, one I wish I'd thought of myself. In a nutshell: a blind girl goes away to college and upon encountering extreme prejudice against homosexuals in the form of slander as well as physical abuse, decides to become "Zorro" on campus and protect the beaten and bullied gays.


BUT.
There were some issues, at least in my opinion.

1. I don't know why she's blind. The book makes being blind seem SOOOO easy. I was emailing a friend of mine who also read this and expressed my disbelief at how very easy this chick's life is. Except for the fact she can't see a computer screen, you wouldn't know she is blind. My friend suggested the heroine was like a bat and could tell where things were by their echoes against the wall. Or like a dolphin maybe? Don't they use sonar waves?

Regardless, it's a bit much. She can even tell when someone is pointing at her.

Nina could feel that his hand had been extended toward her. There was no explanation as to why she felt it, how she could tell that his fingers were uniformly pointed towards her, and the exact distance between her and him, as though there were palpable heat pulsing off it.

So there you have it. The book can't even at times explain how Nina knows someone is looking at her, pointing at her. It's too good to be true, honestly. As I said, you wouldn't know she was blind except the book keeps reminding you of it. Why make her blind if it doesn't add anything to the story? Hold up, hold up. Yes, I get it's the same as making a character whatever race you want them to be. 'Cause the author wanted her this way... I get it; I do, but when you give a character a disability, you should also show the struggles they deal with, educate people about that life. Perhaps what was needed here was some flashbacks or something showing us how this girl trained herself, how she adjusted. When one has a disability, and I can vouch for this, life is not quite this peachy and easy! And trust me, we have bad days with our disabilities, days we wish we were "normal". This girl...is like some kind of saint and I didn't buy that either. In a nutshell: the book made being blind seem a piece of cake.

2. It head hops. I had to turn editor Tara off real fast. At first I was like, "This girl is blind! How does she see the color of this or that; how does she know his facial expression? No wind there!" Then I realized the author was not staying in her POV. If you can pick up an older, nineties book or something and not have difficulty adjusting to the head hopping, you'll be fine. It just took me aback at first. In this case, having tackled a blind heroine, I'd have avoided head hopping. I kept wondering how she could see that.

3. I found much of it preposterous, not just how easy it was to run around NYC blind as a bat and never run into anything or anyone or fall over, but also jump around and sword fight people with utter ease thanks to bat-like hearing, but the relationships. There was no build up whatsoever. After exchanging two sentences about religion with a group of young students, she suddenly blurts out she's gay and after that they're her BFFs? Julia...she's in love with Julia and knows NOTHING about her except she smells like strawberries and maple syrup and gets knocked around by a dude name Bryan. Yet, after one meeting, Julia crawls into her bed to cuddle? They haven't even had an insightful discussion about anything.

4. Julia. What gives? What's the story behind this crybaby who keeps running back to an asshole who treats her like crap? Does she love him? I don't think so. What's the history here? What's keeping her with this guy? What has made her so pitiful? ***possible spoilers begin here*** I didn't buy that a woman would want to hide her sexual orientation from her parents so much that she'd be with a man who beats the daylights out of her everyday. Um, like, why not just find a straight man who won't beat you? Duh! You can hide your orientation just as well that way.

5. More preposterous stuff. A college dean sicking thugs on his gay students? Seriously?? ***Spoilers end*** In NYC, probably one of the most tolerant cities as far as sexual orientation and different races? At least 36% of the population is foreign born and that's not counting those born to immigrant parents. Can I see this happening in Texas? Yep. NYC. No. LOL And when the heroine runs around exacting justice, she throws her cane around as a distraction and we're supposed to believe nobody makes the connection? Nobody notices she's blind? A bandanna on her head completely hides her identity?

I think the author obviously knows his sword-fighting stuff and I think he had a great idea, but perhaps should have gotten a co-writer for the implementation of it. With the above issues ironed out, it could be one cool story.

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Gina Gallo

Book: The Goddaughter
Author: Melodie Campbell
Heroine: Gina Gallo

Strong? Her mouth can stop a thug at thirty paces. And she's always the one to bail out her mob family 'on account of her brains.' 

Hot? Just ask new flame Pete, who will risk getting scorched by the Family, to be with her .
Zany? Okay, this is broad comedy, and the ‘broad’ is no joke.

Gina Gallo is a gal with a mission: elude the clutches of the police while at the same time bailing out her inept mob family. And make some ‘time’ with new flame Pete. But Pete thinks she's quit the mob. Another damned secret to worry about…


Blurb:
Gina is a gemologist who would like nothing more than to run her little jewelry store. Unfortunately, she is also ‘The Goddaughter’ of the local Italian mob king, and as she tells new flame Pete, “You don’t get to choose your relatives.”

When her cousin Tony is shot by rival mobsters, Gina is brought in to bail the family out. Smuggling hot gems over the border in the heels of her shoes is all she is prepared to do. Then the worst happens – they get stolen! By a complete amateur. It’s embarrassing, that’s what it is. Now she has no choice but to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists and inept goons get in her way.

It’s all in a day’s work when you’re The Goddaughter!




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