If you, like me, have been seeing The Book of Essie everywhere, it's with good reason. Meghan MacLean Weir's debut novel is a fearless and timely story that's bound to elicit visceral emotional responses in the reader. One can't help but make comparisons between Essie's story and that of a certain reality television show family. Thankfully, there were enough departures to make the story feel fresh ...
Blog Tour: Artful Eating: The Psychology of Lasting Weight Loss
The very first thing I noticed about this book is how absolutely stunning it is! In addition to the gorgeous photos on the cover, the entire book is printed on heavy, quality paper and has a definitely gift-worthy feel. On the inside, the photography is just as beautiful. But if you're expecting page after page of greens salads, you'll be surprised. Yes, there are plenty of ripe, beautiful ...
Review: Every Single Secret by Emily Carpenter
Straight out of the shoot, I knew I was going to like this one. I immediately questioned the reliability of the narrator and I was intrigued by the secrets Daphne and Heath were keeping from one another. What engaged couple agrees to never bring up their past? Not just their relationship past, but ever-y-thing. Living for the present is one thing, but if your finance is telling you they don't want ...
Review: The Widow of Wall Street by Randy Susan Meyers
I'm going rogue here. I'm going to do something I've never done. I'm going to talk about a book without giving it a rating. I'll try to explain. I knew when I began reading The Widow of Wall Street that there would be parallels to the life of Ruth and Bernie Madoff. I didn't realize just how closely related the stories would be. This book is basically a fictionalized retelling of the rise and fall ...
Audiobook Review: The Trauma Cleaner
I've been chewing on this review for days and I'm sure I won't do this one justice. How do you put into words a story that makes your heart heavy with sorrow and full of love, joy, and compassion at the same time? I'd have a hard time formulating an answer the question "what is it about?". I keep ending up with some sort of grammatically incorrect, run-on gibberish that goes something like this: ...
Audiobook Review: West Cork (And Audible Giveaway!)
I seem to be on quite a roll when it comes to audiobooks lately. I'm beginning to know straightaway if it's going to work or not. One of the things I love about Audible is that if it isn't, I can exchange the book, free of charge, for another. Fortunately, I haven't had to do that in a while. West Cork is my third five-star audiobook in a row. I first heard about this book while standing in one ...
Audiobook Review: The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
I'm beginning to learn that audiobooks either work or do not for me. There is no middle ground. I'm happy to report that The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell definitely worked! There are many things I loved about this book but my overwhelming response upon finishing it was Wow, this book was so refreshing! I can't recall the last time I read a book centered around a likable protagonist with an ...
Music Monday: Let Me Clear My Throat by DJ Cool
Music Monday is a meme created by Drew at The Tattooed Book Geek. Every Monday participants pick a song and/or video they’d like to share. I had something darker in mind for this week but I've decided to table it for now. Last week took it out of many of us and I was no exception. So today I'm sharing my very favorite club song of the 1990's. Every time it came on, and it always did, I'd drop ...
Review and Giveaway: The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable
When I first heard about this book, I was very excited because I had read Michelle Gable's I'll See you in Paris and already knew I liked her writing. Like many Americans, I've always been drawn to glamour and glitz as well as the drama and tragedy of the Kennedy family. I somehow had it in my head that this was going to be a very Kennedy-centric book detailing one of his many affairs. I was ...
Mini Audiobook Review: Far From the Tree by Robin Benway
Far From the Tree took me far out of my comfort zone in the most excellent way! It's only the second audiobook I've listen to till the very end and it's YA. Here's what I loved: The Characters - Grace, Maya, and Joaquin were well-developed characters to love. They're all basically good kids carrying more baggage than most adults could bear. Some of their baggage is shared and some is very ...