Character Quiz: Lost in Starlight by Sherry Soule
Lost in Starlight
(Starlight Saga, #1)
By: Sherry Soule
Publisher: Disenchanted Publishing
Release Date: June 26, 2014
Genre: YA Sci-fi Romance
High school reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind.
Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his secret: he’s an alien hybrid.
They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away. Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and crazy dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.
Now Sloane’s dealing with creepy government agents, über snobby extraterrestrials, and a psycho alien ex-girlfriend out for revenge. After a crash course on the rules of interstellar dating, Sloane must decide if their star-crossed romance is worth risking her own life….
Review: Treasures on Your Doorstep by Julia Lynam
Treasures On Your Doorstep: The Other National Parks of the USA
By: Julia Lynam
Publisher: Seventh Circle Enterprises
Published: May 16, 2013
Genre: Guide Book
Rating:
Looking for a grand day out? Or an inexpensive nearby destination for your next weekend jaunt? Your search is ended! In every State in the Union you’ll find often-overlooked National Park properties – over 400 of them – waiting to delight you. This beautifully illustrated little book will open your eyes to the Treasures On Your Doorstep and give you an insider’s-eye view of what they can offer you and your family.
When you think of National Parks, your first thoughts are Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite but there are over 400 units (parks, monuments, historic sites, etc.) that are overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Julia really opens your eyes to the fact that with so many places out there, there’s a good chance that we have a unit in our backyard and may not even know it.
I will be honest, I am not a non-fiction reader. I like to read to escape life. So when I was asked to review the book I was a little nervous on whether or not I’d enjoy it. However, by the 3rd page, all my fears were gone. Julia really does have a way to not only give information but she does it in a way that’s entertaining with little quips mixed in.
This book is perfect for a guide into the National Parks Service. She gives the reader all the tools they will need for not only a successful trip to the national parks but a safe one as well. She links to websites that will come in handy when doing research prior to your vacation. She offers guidance on what to do if you are lost in a park. She even offers some preventative advice on how not to get lost in the first place. She also gives one good piece of advice
“Tell someone who cares where you’re going and what time you expect to return”
Not only did I get a good chuckle out of the “tell someone who cares” bit but it’s sound advice. It’s advice that I give to visitors all the time. (Yes I work at a National Park)
Maybe I’m being biased here but I love that not only did Joshua Tree National Park get a page in the book but the National Parks Association (who I work for) got TWO pages! It was really cool seeing the places that I work for mentioned in the book.
There were subjects in this book that Julia touched base with that I was unfamiliar with. She covers everything from planning a trip, doing research, finding bargains with entry prices and merchandise prices, how to become a webranger (v.s. the Junior Ranger program which is an activity booklet that kids do while in the park), she even touches base with how to apply for a job in the NPS as well as volunteering.
Even if you are not planning on visiting a National Park in the near future I still highly recommend this book. It not only gives you great insight to the “treasures on your doorstep” but you never know, you could find yourself checking out one of the sites listed in the book and planning a vacation before you know it.
Julia talks about the codes for the units. For instance anything we do at work pertaining to Joshua Tree NP is shortened to “JOTR”
“This system has some charming anomalies. Carlsbad Caverns, for instance, would be CACA, which is a rude work in Spanish, so they use CAVE instead – neat, eh?”
Review: The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street by Susan Jane Gilman
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street
By: Susan Jane Gilman
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: June 10, 2014
Genre: Fiction
Rating:
In 1913, little Malka Treynovsky flees Russia with her family. Bedazzled by tales of gold and movie stardom, she tricks them into buying tickets for America. Yet no sooner do they land on the squalid Lower East Side of Manhattan, than Malka is crippled and abandoned in the street.
Taken in by a tough-loving Italian ices peddler, she manages to survive through cunning and inventiveness. As she learns the secrets of his trade, she begins to shape her own destiny. She falls in love with a gorgeous, illiterate radical named Albert, and they set off across America in an ice cream truck. Slowly, she transforms herself into Lillian Dunkle, “The Ice Cream Queen” — doyenne of an empire of ice cream franchises and a celebrated television personality.
Lillian’s rise to fame and fortune spans seventy years and is inextricably linked to the course of American history itself, from Prohibition to the disco days of Studio 54. Yet Lillian Dunkle is nothing like the whimsical motherly persona she crafts for herself in the media. Conniving, profane, and irreverent, she is a supremely complex woman who prefers a good stiff drink to an ice cream cone. And when her past begins to catch up with her, everything she has spent her life building is at stake.
Before Lillian was the Ice Cream Queen, she was a Russian immigrant named Malka. A little girl who had been dealt one crappy card in life. Not only does her father abandon them when they get to America, but her mother blames her for their misfortune in America. So when Malka gets trampled by a horse, leaving her crippled, her mother turns her back on her and washes her hands on Malka. Luckily for Malka, the man who was steering the horse takes pity on Malka and welcomes her into his house where she becomes part of the family. The family runs a frozen ice business but soon take on the task of gelato, which is where Lillian is born.
“I had entered the church Malka Treynovsky Bialystoker. I emerged, however, Lillian Maria Dinello.
The Legend of my American life had begun.”
This was an interesting tale of a young immigrant who becomes a huge ice cream mogul. She overcame everything in her life and became successful in the one thing she set out to do, make ice cream. There were a lot of bumps in her life but in the end, that’s what shaped her into the woman that she is today.
I liked that the story was mixed between past and present time. In the present time, Lillian is in court for tax evasion and a few other things. So she recollects her life leading up to that moment. The fact that the story would go back and forward in time helped break up the story. There would be times when I’d start to get bored with the storyline and then all of a sudden we’d go back in time and there would be a change of pace. Even so, I did feel like the story was a tad bit too long. If it wasn’t for those time jumps, I’d probably have put the book down. It just seemed like there were parts that would drag on for a while.
This was a good story that could easily be true. There were no crazy plot twists or embellishments that made you think that this was all make believe. The fact that when I finished the story, I sat back and thought, “Huh. So this really wasn’t based on a true story?”, really earned the author points.
“WPIX was only a local station, for God’s sake. And we aired at 7:00 A.M. on a Sunday-a Sunday! And maybe I had had a few drinks. But darlings, you try hosting a kiddie show for thirteen goddamn years.”
Review: Crushing by Elena Dillon
Crushing
By: Elena Dillon
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: May 24, 2013
Genre: YA Thriller Romance
Rating:
As a pampered and adored daughter of a wealthy Southern family Rory’s life was seemingly perfect until her troubled childhood crush moves back in across the street forcing her to choose between him and the life that has been chosen for her.
As if that isn’t enough, her quiet island town has turned dangerous. A good friend has gone missing, lending truth to the rumors of a serial kidnapper. In her quest to help she becomes a target and will have to make choices about love, friendship and the inevitable sacrifice that they both require.
When Rory was a little girl she had a best friend named Gage. They got into all sorts of trouble when they were kids. One night Rory was preparing the best hiding spot ever when she saw a guy loading what looked to be a body into a vehicle. Of course, the excitement caused her to have an asthma attack and the guy soon found her hiding spot. However, it was because of her friend Gage that she was able to escape the clutches of the killer and run to safety. But a couple week later Gage moved away, never to be heard from until he returns for their senior year of high school. Now Rory’s life is flipped upside down. Not just because her childhood crush is back, but because the abductions have started up again.
This was not the story that I thought it would be. You don’t really get the sense that it’s a YA thriller/romance from the cover. The synopsis doesn’t really help matters anyways. However, the fact that it was a YA didn’t really bother me. It just took me a few chapters to start picturing a young girl instead of a woman.
The author did a great job balancing the romance with the suspense. Once the reader would start getting comfortable, something would happen, and you were thrown back into the fray. The author gives you tiny clues as to who it could be but she also leads you to dead-ends as well.
For being teenagers the characters of this story were really mature. There really was no pettiness, no cliques, or crazy drama. That’s very rare in a young adult novel. So, I was happy that I could just focus on suspense and romance without all the stupid dramatics.
My one and only gripe with the story was the convenience that any time Rory was in any sort of trouble, Gage was there to save her. Didn’t matter what/where/who, he was there every time. Either the boy was stalking her or he was just always at the right place at the right time when none of her friends seemed to be. I don’t know, I just felt like once there should’ve been a time where Rory either handled the issue herself or got saved by someone else.
Regardless this was a great story. This is mature enough to be enjoyable by adults and yet it’s appropriate for teens as well. There is mention of drinking but there is no sex and virtually no swearing. There could’ve been absolutely no swearing. If you’re looking for a good no-drama, romantic suspense, then this is a good one.
Rory’s father dislikes Gage. However, one day while talking about golf, it comes up that Gage can’t got kicked out from his school for fighting. He reveals that the fighting was due to the fact that he attacked a fellow student who was beating up him girlfriend. The moment Gage reveals the reasoning behind the fight, Rory’s father lightens up around him, saying his actions were admirable.
“What in the world just happened? Had my dad and Gage just bonded over beating people up?”
Top Ten Books That Will Be In My Beach Bag This Summer
Since we will be moving to a new base in a month, one that’s on the beach, I definitely needed to come up with my beach bag list of reads. It was pretty hard to do but I think I have a good mix going.
Kat Scratched
By: D.T. Dyllin
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NIt’s tough being a cat in a dog eat dog world. Something that Katrina Walker learned the hard way being a were-cat raised by a pack of werewolves. And after her taboo love affair with the future Alpha is discovered, Kat has no choice but to leave the only home and man she’s ever loved behind for good. Or so she thought…
Seven years later Kat is forced to return to pack lands and the man she left behind. But Jason Benson has changed, and so has she. Will she find her way back into the arms of her first love, or will James, the mysterious were-cat wriggle his way into her heart?
Taking Chances
By: Molly McAdams
Genre: New Adult Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NEighteen-year-old Harper has grown up under the thumb of her career marine father. Ready to live life her own way and to experience things she’s only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father’s unit, she’s on her way to college at San Diego State University.
Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family, and emotions. She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with both her new boyfriend, Brandon, and her roommate’s brother, Chase. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both men adore Harper and would do anything for her, including taking a step back if it would mean she’d be happy.
The Culling
By: J.C. Andrijeski
Genre: New Adult Sci/Fi
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NJet is a 19-year-old skag, one of the humans still living free on Earth following an invasion of creatures called the Nirreth. Squatting in the ruins of Vancouver, Jet and her family eke out an existence underground, hiding from culler ships and fighting off raiding humans.
No one knows where the alien ships take the people they steal, but they never return. When a culler finds Jet, she may discover the truth the hard way…and end up living among the very creatures that have enslaved her.
Red Stone Security Series
By: Katie Reus
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NMiami, Mistletoe & Murder:
Fierce and sexy, former Marine Travis Sanchez has always held himself back from the rest of the world, using his tattoos and piercings as armor. But when the woman he’s wanted for months is in danger he steps in to handle it. Unfortunately the threat to Noel is far from over. Can this sexy and mysterious warrior protect Noel, or will he be the one to shatter her heart?
His to Protect:
No woman ever affected Red Stone Security expert Kell Malone quite like Charlotte Bastien. It’s been a year since that intense night they spent together and he still can’t get her out of his head. When he discovers she’s in Miami-with their three-month-old son-he’s stunned. He’s also determined to make a life with his son and the stubborn woman who has sworn off love. When she witnesses a murder, Kell steps up to protect her and their son, but winning her love proves to be the hardest mission he’s ever undertaken.
Breaking Her Rules:
Iris Tarango is a small-town girl from the wrong side of the tracks; she’s also a decorated former Marine who fought hard to become one of Red Stone Security’s most respected agents. But her perfectly ordered life is turned upside down when she’s assigned to guard the sexy, dominating tycoon she shares a secret history with.
After an attempt on his life, business magnate Wyatt Christiansen calls in major favors to hire Iris as his bodyguard. He knows she’s the best, though he has another motive, too. He sees this as his final chance to win her heart. But when danger spins out of control, all Wyatt can think of is getting Iris out of harm’s way-even if it means losing her love in the end.
Pieces of Olivia
By: Melissa West
Genre: New Adult Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NOlivia Warren used to be a normal girl with a bright future.
But on one fated night, everything changed.Hiding the scars of her past up her sleeves, Olivia transfers her enrollment from Columbia University to The College of Charleston, determined to pursue her own dreams for the first time in her life.
She intends to allow herself a bit of alone time to heal… that is, until she meets Preston.
Preston is best friends with her roommate, completely hot, and off-limits. But the chemistry between them is instantaneous—and as the pair begins to spend more time with one another, their feelings for each other build into something undeniable, something powerful enough to heal Olivia’s deepest scars.
Olivia tries to put her own past behind her and trust Preston, but she discovers that his past might be more present than she ever bargained for…
Shelter Me
By: Catherine Mann
Genre: Contemp. Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NStaff Sergeant Mike Kowalski wants only one thing after he gets home from Iraq: to sleep in a king-sized bed with clean sheets. But first, he has to hand off his fallen commander’s dog, Trooper, to his family without handing off his heart to Sierra…
Sierra McDaniel needs a break. Her family life is crazy, and when she’s not mucking out kennels, she’s slogging through grad school. Sierra certainly doesn’t want another dog, especially one that reminds her of her father. And she definitely doesn’t want to see Mike with that charming smile of his…
But Trooper has a mission of his own. Before too long Mike is moving to the ranch to lend a hand—and hoping for his own second chance with Sierra.
Hopeless
By: Colleen Hoover
Genre: New Adult Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NSometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…
That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.
Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.
Remember When
By: T. Torrest
Genre: New Adult Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NYears before Trip Wiley could be seen on movie screens all over the world, he could be seen sitting in the desk behind me in my high school English class.
This was back in 1990, and I cite the year only to avoid dumbfounding you when references to big hair or stretch pants are mentioned. Although, come to think of it, I am from New Jersey, which may serve as explanation enough. We were teenagers then, way back in a time before anyone could even dream he’d turn into the Hollywood commodity that he is today.
In case you live under a rock and don’t know who Trip Wiley is, just know that these days, he’s the actor found at the top of every casting director’s wish list. He’s incredibly talented and insanely gorgeous, the combination of which has made him very rich, very famous and very desirable.
And not just to casting directors, either.
I can’t confirm any of the gossip from his early years out in Tinseltown, but based on what I knew of his life before he was famous, I can tell you that the idea of Girls-Throwing-Themselves-At-Trip is not a new concept.
I should know. I was one of them.
And my life hasn’t been the same since.
The Ranger
By: Monica McCarty
Genre: Historical Romance
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NEmbedded deep behind enemy lines, Arthur “Ranger” Campbell is prized for his razor-sharp senses and his ability to blend into the shadows. But when Arthur infiltrates the clan of the chieftain who murdered his father, his heart is locked on revenge. Inside he faces unexpected resistance from the sweetest of obstacles—a honey-haired siren who is his enemy’s daughter.
Intrigued by this ruggedly handsome newcomer to her father’s forces, the vivacious, enchanting Anna MacDougall is a woman whose skill at uncovering deception rivals Arthur’s own. Though yearning for a quiet life with a good man to love, Anna is drawn to this mysterious knight whose eyes devour her but whose words push her away. As danger, treachery, and the threat of looming war draw them closer into each other’s arms, a warrior made of steel must make a choice from the heart: love or revenge.
From Baghdad With Love
By: Jay Kopelman & Melinda Roth
Genre: Non-Fiction
Goodreads | Amazon | B&NWhen Marines enter an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq, and hear a suspicious noise, they clench their weapons, edge around the corner, and prepare to open fire.
What they find during the U.S -led attack on the “most dangerous city on Earth,” however, is not an insurgent bent on revenge, but a tiny puppy left behind when most of the city’s population fled before the bombing. Despite military law that forbids the keeping of pets, the Marines de-flea the pup with kerosene, de-worm him with chewing tobacco, and fill him up on Meals Ready to Eat.
Thus begins the dramatic rescue attempt of a dog named Lava and Lava’s rescue of at least one Marine, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman, from the emotional ravages of war.
From hardened Marines to war-time journalists to endangered Iraqi citizens, From Baghdad, With Love tells an unforgettable true story of an unlikely band of heroes who learn unexpected lessons about life, death, and war from a mangy little flea-ridden refugee.
Review: Played by Liz Fichera
Played
(Hooked, #2)
By: Liz Fichera
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: May 27, 2014
Genre: Contemp. YA
Rating:
This Game Is Getting All Too Real
He said: I like to keep under the radar and mostly hang out with my friends from the rez. But when I saved Riley Berenger from falling off a mountain, that rich suburban princess decided to try to save me.
She said: If I can help Sam Tracy win the heart of the girl he can’t get over, I’ll pay him back for helping me. I promised him I would, no matter what it takes.
It’s not that this book is a roll over from the previous book in the series. However, the two main characters in this story were also in the last story. Plus, Fred and Ryan from Hooked are in this story a lot. So even though it’s not 100% necessary to read the first book, I highly suggest it.
Sam and Riley live on two separate ends of the teen sceene. Sam is a boy from the Reservation who keeps to himself. Riley is Ryan’s (the popular boy in school) younger sister. However, when on a camping trip, the two get paired up for a scavenger hunt and find themselves stranded in the middle of a thunderstorm. With Sam’s quick thinking, he’s able to get them through the freezing wet night. Sam tell’s Riley about is love for Fred (Riley’s brother’s girlfriend) and Riley gets it in her head that she’s going to cause a rift between the two love birds and find a way to get Fred to fall madly, deeply in love with Sam instead.
I will admit that even though the premise of the story is rather juvenile, the content of the story is not. Not only was the story interesting with the two becoming friends and getting into all sorts of trouble, but there some heart stopping moments as well. I like that the author could’ve just made the store one dimensional and had it based on only the romance the entire time, but she added little surprises that kept me flipping pages faster and faster to see what would happen next.
Even though the story is predictable, the author added in a few twist and turns to keep the reader glued to the book. I hope that in the future books we get more Sam, Riley, Fred and Ryan. I wonder who Liz will bring to the forefront next.
“In all the chaos of the past few weeks, I had come to realize that he had been the only constant. He saw me and that crazy ninja alternate-personality who lived inside of me and didn’t run away – well, not totally. He saw me at my worst and found a reason to still be my friend.”
Previous reviews from Hooked
Hooked
Review: Ghouls Rush In by HP Mallory
Ghouls Rush In
(Peyton Clark, #1)
By: HP Mallory
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: May 20, 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:
Do you believe in love after life?
Looking for a fresh start, Peyton Clark becomes the proud owner of a piece of New Orleans history: an Antebellum-era two-story house in the Garden District. It’s going to take time and a fat wallet to restore the fixer-upper to its former glory, but after her recent divorce, Peyton could use the distraction.
It’s not long before Peyton discovers she’s moved into the haunted home of a flirtatious paranormal prankster. She’s receiving kisses from unseen lips and caresses from a ghostly hand, and soon she begins to have vivid dreams, bringing her face-to-face with the incomparably handsome ghost of Drake Montague.
When Peyton grows closer to her general contractor, Ryan Kelly—who is as charming as he is alive—the chill in the air could only suggest Drake’s jealousy from beyond the grave. But even though she’s definitely attracted to and interested in Ryan, Peyton also can’t get Drake out of her dreams, or her heart, as she begins to uncover the frightening truth behind his death a century ago…
