Madison's Library

PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Tag: Review (Page 4 of 6)

Review: Chance of Loving You

April 20, 2015 / / 0 Comments

chance of loving you

Chance of Loving You – Terri Blackstock, Candace Calvert, Susan May Warren – Tyndale House Publishers – Published 1 May 2015

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

An anthology by three bestselling romance authors

For Love of Money by Terri Blackstock
Trying to launch her own design firm while waitressing on the side, Julie Sheffield was drawn to the kind man she waited on at the restaurant last night . . . until he stiffed her on the tip by leaving her half of a sweepstakes ticket.

The Recipe by Candace Calvert
Hospital dietary assistant Aimee Curran is determined to win the Vegan Valentine Bake-Off to prove she’s finally found her calling. But while caring for one of her patients—the elderly grandmother of a handsome CSI photographer—Aimee begins to question where she belongs.

Hook, Line & Sinker by Susan May Warren
Grad student Abigail Cushman has agreed to enter the annual Deep Haven fishing contest. She’s a quick learner, even if she doesn’t know the difference between a bass and a trout. But nothing could prepare her for competing against the handsome charmer she’s tried to forget since grief tore them apart.

One chance for each woman to change her life . . . but will love be the real prize?

My thoughts

This anthology is a great way to be introduced to three very talented writers, or for fans to enjoy a small sample from each.

Continue reading

Review: Hover

April 17, 2015 /

Hover

Hover – Anne A. Wilson – Forge Books – Published 2 June 2015

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Helicopter pilot Lt. Sara Denning joins a Navy battle group with little fanfare—and that’s just the way she likes it. After her brother Ian’s tragic death, her career path seemed obvious: step into his shoes and join the Naval Academy, despite her fear of water. Sara’s philosophy is simple—blend in, be competent, and above all, never do anything to stand out as a woman in a man’s world.

Somewhere along the way, Sara lost herself—her feminine, easygoing soul is now buried under so many defensive layers, she can’t reach it anymore.

When she meets strong, self-assured Lt. Eric Marxen, her defenses start to falter. Eric coordinates flight operations for a Navy SEAL team that requests Sara as the exclusive pilot. This blatant show of favoritism causes conflict with the other pilots; Sara’s sexist boss seems intent on making her life miserable, and her roommate and best friend, the only other woman on the ship, is avoiding her. It doesn’t help that her interactions with Eric leave her reeling.

The endgame of the SEALs’ mission is so secret, even Sara doesn’t know the reason behind her mandated participation. Soon, though, the training missions become real, and Sara must overcome her fears before they plunge her into danger. When Sara’s life is on the line, can she find her true self again and follow the orders of her heart before it is too late?

My thoughts

Fantastic. Hover is a book that just gets better and better.

I initially read a sample of the first 100 pages of this book. I was highly intrigued from the very first page. In fact, I loved every one of those 100 pages. But the question is, having now read the whole book, do I still love it? Yes. Resoundingly, YES! In fact this book only gets better and better. My previous comments stand: I was blown away with how great it was. I was sucked in from page one. I was laughing, intrigued, excited. I wanted more. I wanted to know what happened next.

Continue reading

Review: Saint Anything

April 17, 2015 /

saint anything

Saint Anything – Sarah Dessen – Penguin Teen – Published 5 May 2015

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Peyton, Sydney’s charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion’s share of their parents’ attention and – lately – concern. When Peyton’s increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac: gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

My thoughts

I have been privileged enough to now read the full copy of this upcoming release by the great author Sarah Dessen. Having initially read a sample of the first three chapters I knew this was going to be oh so good.

Continue reading

Review: The Summer After You And Me

April 15, 2015 /

Summer after you and me

The Summer After You and Me – Jennifer Salvato Doktorski – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Sunbathing, surfing, eating funnel cake on the boardwalk—Lucy loves living on the Jersey Shore. For her, it’s not just the perfect summer escape, it is home. And as a local girl, she knows not to get attached to the tourists. They breeze in over Memorial Day weekend, crowding the shore and stealing moonlit kisses, only to pack up their beach umbrellas and empty promises on Labor Day. Lucy wants more from love than a fleeting romance, even if that means keeping her distance from her summertime neighbor and crush, Connor.

Then Superstorm Sandy tears apart her barrier island, briefly bringing together a local girl like herself and a vacationer like Connor. Except nothing is the same in the wake of the storm. And day after day, week after week, Lucy is left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and broken home. Now with Memorial Day approaching and Connor returning, will it be a summer of fresh starts or second chances?

My thoughts

Lucy and her family live on Seaside, an island where holiday makers migrate for the summer. As a local, she and her family were hit hard when Superstorm Sandy destroyed the New Jersey coastline. The town is rebuilding, but Lucy remembers that fateful stormy day for another reason. Connor. The boy whose family owns the house next door and who summers there every year. A gorgeous boy who quickly moved his way through a long line of girls and who has always captured Lucy’s eye. But the aftermath of that day didn’t go quite as expected for Lucy and so she moved on, trying something more with her long-time best-friend Andrew. But Connor’s return to the Island will have drama swirling up in Lucy’s life quicker than you can say superstorm.
Continue reading

Review: Conspiracy Girl

April 14, 2015 /

Conspiracy girl

Conspiracy Girl – Sarah Alderson – Simon & Schuster – Published 12 February 2015

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Everybody knows about the Cooper Killings – the Bel Air home invasion that rocked the nation.
There was only one survivor – a sixteen year-old girl.
And though the killers were caught they walked free.

Now eighteen, Nic Preston – the girl who survived – is trying hard to rebuild her life. She’s security conscious to the point of paranoia and her only friend is a French Mastiff bulldog, but she’s making progress. She’s started college in New York and has even begun dating.

But then one night her apartment is broken into and the life Nic’s worked so hard to create is shattered in an instant.

Finn Carter – hacker, rule breaker, player – is the last person Nic ever wants to see again. He’s the reason her mother’s killers walked free from court. But as the people hunting her close in, Nic has to accept that her best and possibly only chance of staying alive is by keeping close to Finn and learning to trust the person she’s sworn to hate.

Fleeing across a snowbound New England, frantically trying to uncover the motive behind the murders, Nic and Finn come to realize the conspiracy is bigger than they could ever have suspected. But the closer they get to the truth and the closer they get to each other, the greater the danger becomes.

To survive she has to stay close to him.
To keep her safe he has to keep his distance.

My thoughts

What an action-packed book. For some reason I put this book down just after starting it to read some others. Which is strange, because once I picked it up again it was un-put-downable. Fantastic action and suspense and great romance.

Continue reading

Review: A Love Like Ours

April 12, 2015 /

A love like ours

A Love Like Ours – Becky Wade – Porter Family #3 – Bethany House Publishers – Published 28 April 2015

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Former Marine Jake Porter has far deeper scars than the one that marks his face. He struggles with symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.

When Lyndie James, Jake’s childhood best friend, lands back in Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake pairs her with Silver Leaf, a horse full of promise but lacking in results, hoping she can solve the mystery of the stallion’s reluctance to run.

Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake’s will, Lyndie’s sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he’s built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he’d thought he’d lost returns, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

My thoughts

You know from the very first line that this book is going to be a romance. A toe-curling, glee-inducing romance. A romance based on friendship. A romance that suffers hard times. A swoon-worthy, quote-worthy, I-wish-that-was-me romance. And it delivers.

Continue reading

Review: Halfway Perfect

April 9, 2015 /

Halfway Perfect

Halfway Perfect – Julie Cross and Mark Perini – Sourcebooks Fire – Published 5 May 2015

♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Eve’s time as a fashion model nearly destroyed her-now she’s determined to build a career behind the camera lens. But landing a coveted photography internship brings her face to face with her dark past-and her ex.

While Eve is snapping pictures, up-and-coming male model Alex is launching his career-which, for him, involves maintaining a fake relationship with his (secretly) underage co-star, Elana.

But Alex is falling for Eve, and Eve won’t let herself get hurt again. If Alex can pull off a fake love with Elana, can he convince Eve to risk a secret affair with him?

My thoughts

Julie Cross has once again written a beautiful book that is equally touching and swoon worthy. In Halfway Perfect, Julie Cross has teamed with Mark Perini whose writing style and experience in the fashion industry brings an honesty to the characters and a depth to the story. 

Continue reading

Review: The Truth About Jack

April 7, 2015 /

The truth about jack

The Truth About Jack – Jody Gehrman – Entangled: Crush – Published 14 April 2015

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Dakota McCloud has just been accepted into a prestigious art school. Soon she’ll leave behind the artists’ colony where she grew up―hippie dad, tofu since birth, yurt―and join her boyfriend and best friend on the East Coast. It was the plan…until Dakota finds out her boyfriend and best friend hooked up behind her back.

Hurt and viciously betrayed, Dakota pours out her heart on a piece of paper, places it in a bottle, and hurls it into the ocean. But it doesn’t quite go where she expects…

Jack Sauvage finds the bottle washed up on the shore and responds to Dakota’s letter. Except what if his straight-laced life doesn’t jive with the free-spirited girl he’s only seen from afar? As Jack creates a persona he believes she’ll love, they slowly fall for each other with each new letter. Now Jack is trying to find a way to make this delicate, on-paper romance happen in real life…without revealing his deception.

 

My thoughts

“There’s beauty out there and we’re going to find it”.

When Jack first saw the mysterious and intriguing girl in the coffee shop, he didn’t know how hard it would be to gather the courage to reach out to her. Finding her on a beach and later discovering her message in a bottle gives him the opening he needs.

Continue reading

Review: Taken

April 6, 2015 /

Taken

Taken – Dee Henderson – Bethany House Publishers – Published 28 April 2015

♥♥♥♥♥

Synopsis

Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time.

When Shannon contacts private investigator and former cop Matthew Dane to help her navigate her reentry into society, she quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn’t mean her troubles are over. For one thing, her brother is the leading candidate in the race for Illinois governor, and news of her escape will create a media frenzy. For another, the ransom her family reportedly paid years earlier appears to have been a scam; no one knows what happened to the money. And then there’s the fact that Shannon’s escape involved faking her own death. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they’ll stop at nothing to silence her.

If justice is to be done, and if Shannon’s life is ever to get on track again, Matthew will need to discover exactly what happened to her–even if it means stirring up a hornet’s nest of secrets.

Continue reading

Review: Love At Mistletoe Inn

April 5, 2015 /

Love at mistletoe
Love At Mistletoe Inn – Cindy Kirk – A Year of Weddings 2 #1 – Zondervan – Published 25 November 2014

♥♥♥

Synopsis

They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

An owner of a Victorian inn and charming rustic barn is used to creating the perfect setting for other couples’ nuptials. But when she falls head over heels for the new man in her life, will she be prepared to walk down that aisle?

 

My thoughts

And so begins another year of weddings. In this second series, the couples will come from a range of professions dedicated to creating the perfect weddings for others – and who may just find some romance of their own.
Continue reading

« Older posts Newer posts »
Madison's Library

© 2024 Madison's Library

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑