#BookReview: Housewife Chronicles by Jennifer Snow

Fun Tale Told In A Possibly Unique Way. In some ways, this was a typical light-ish, women’s fiction level mystery involving a dead husband, a separated wife, and the mistress who caused the separation. It ultimately becomes a feel-good tale of friendship and bonding between female neighbors with a bit of a dark undertone, which was very well executed – darker than the Hallmark Romance level romances Snow typically writes under this name, but nowhere *near* as dark (and *far* funnier) than the depths Snow plumbs as JM Winchester. But what truly makes this book so rare and possibly unique is the decision to tell the tale from the perspectives of both the wife… *and* the mistress. Excellently told story that will ultimately have you guessing until very nearly the last word. Very much recommended.

This review of Housewife Chronicles by Jennifer Snow was originally written on October 23, 2020.

#HypeTrain: The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

With this post, we’re looking at a book that marks the first time I’ve ever been invited to be a part of a blog tour. The book featured in this tour is The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister, and in general it starts out feeling like The Giver… and then becomes more than even that award winning best selling book ever dreamed of. As of this post, it releases in just under a week on May 21, 2019 – and is available for preorder, which I very much recommend.

Here’s my Goodreads/ Amazon review of the book, to give an idea of my own thoughts:

Observe the World. Unlock the World. This book starts out feeling like The Giver – and considering how long-beloved that book is, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But then it morphs into a tale of a young woman finding herself and becomes so much… more. Truly a spectacular work that ends on the same kind of note as another highly successful pop culture phenomenon – Avatar. Amazing work, very much recommended.

And below the jump we feature the excerpt that this blog tour allowed me to publish here. This particular scene is deep into the book – in the 80% done range – but doesn’t feature any major spoilers (just a minor if somewhat expected one). So consider this a SPOILER WARNING for any who are particularly sensitive to even the most minute of spoilers. I specifically chose this selection because it contains my singular favorite line of the entire book – which I’ll bold – and specifically asked for this exact snippet of the chapter to avoid more significant spoilers. (One interesting note: The chapters of this book are not numbered. They are named. This particular one is called “Cocktails”.)
Continue reading “#HypeTrain: The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister”

#BookReview: Trophy Life by Lea Geller

What Is A Trophy? In this tale by debut author Lea Geller, we get an interesting tale of an orphan who seemingly wins the jackpot while working as a preschool teacher after college – she randomly meets and marries an older wealthy man and through him obtains a life of ease. Maybe too easy. But as is to be expected somewhat, things are not as they seem and our new mom is sent across the country. Along the way, she finds herself and rediscovers just how strong she truly is. Overall a solid story with a few interesting twists, and I look forward to seeing more from this author.

This review of Trophy Life by Lea Geller was originally published on April 20, 2019.

#BookReview: Flight by K’Anne Meinel

Take Flight. This was a very interesting character driven book centered on Jessica Penn. We follow Jess over the course of nearly a decade as she is awoken to the news that her wife has died in some form of plane crash and we follow her through all that is revealed in the aftermath. The story has a major swerve about 50% in, as the narrative of the first half changes and a new villain emerges – with direct ties to the original. Great story excellently written.

This review of Flight by K’Anne Meinel was originally published on April 5, 2019.

#BookReview: Everything We Give by Kerry Lonsdale

Epic Conclusion. In this conclusion to the Everything Trilogy, we follow up shortly after the ending of the 2nd book and get an Ian-centric story this time. In it, we struggles as a kid trying to deal with his mother’s Dissociative Identity Disorder and how the issues that it caused have played out in his adult life. Humourous with inside jokes for the reader at times, particularly when Aimee follows up some thought with “but that is [Insert James or Ian Here]’s story to tell”. Overall this is probably the heaviest of a heavy trilogy, but it is a fitting conclusion that wraps up the last unresolved thread from the first two books. Read the first two books first, but you’ll want to have this one handy when you finish Book 2. 🙂

This review of Everything We Give by Kerry Lonsdale was originally published on November 20, 2018.

#BookReview: Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale

Don’t Leave This Behind. Wow. If the first book in this series was a gut punch, this one was a roundhouse to the face. Picking up several years after the events of the first book, we continue the story of one of the first book’s characters and the impacted families. Amazing look into a phenomenon introduced in the first book, and some surprising twists to some of the plot lines introduced in the first book and greatly expanded upon in this one.

This review of Everything We Left Behind by Kerry Lonsdale was originally published on November 18, 2018.

#BookReview: Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale

This One’s a Keeper. Maybe not the smartest idea I’ve ever had to read this one on a Bahamian cruise, as it is extremely emotionally intense. But an amazing story that I’m glad to have finally read, and presents an interesting twist that I had never seen a story really delve into. Very much looking forward to finishing out this trilogy and seeing where the author takes it.

This review of Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale was originally published on November 18, 2018.

#BookReview: The Comfort of Secrets by Christine Nolfi

Are Secrets Really Comfortable? In this tale, we meet Cat and Ryan. And Ryan… both has secrets and has people holding secrets from him. In at least some ways, I can certainly identify with Ryan due to at least *some* similar situations (though to be clear, not an abusive parent myself). In this tale of family triumphing all, the more pessimistic among us might be tempted to label it as much fantasy as any swords and sorcery book, but aren’t romance books supposed to take us out of the real world and give us a happily ever after? And in that, Nolfi does a great job. The Sirens may be a bunch of wacky old biddies, but they do form a memorable cast of supporting characters – ones who almost steal the show from the central couple. Very much enjoyed this book, and very much looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy. (Yes, I started in the middle. :D)

This review of The Comfort of Secrets by Christine Nolfi was originally published on August 24, 2018.

#BookReview: The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie

Let’s put it this way: I finished this 41 chapter book in less than 24 hours. The summary had intrigued me, and the story itself didn’t let me down. I was 20% through the book without realizing it and felt like I had barely scratched the surface (and at that point, knowing what I do now, you really *have* barely scratched the surface). Easily one of the best of the now 25 books I’ve read in 2018, which is saying quite a bit.

This review of The Good Liar by Catherine McKenzie was originally published on April 3, 2018.