Hollywood Savage by Kristin McCloy
Published by Washington Square Press
A division of Simon & Schuster
ISBN 978-0-7432-8647-3
At the request of Simon & Schuster, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (from back of book): “Meet me at five,” the voice said on the answering machine, Four ordinary words yet, when heard by the wrong person, enough to change the course of a marriage.
  Marooned in Hollywood while writing a screenplay based on his latest bestselling novel, Miles King, records in his journals his escalating conviction that his glamorous wife, a New York-based journalist named Maggie, his having an affair.
  Amidst the un-buffed egos and the longing for connection and fame he encounters at every cocktail party and no-name bar in Hollywood, Miles finds unexpected comfort in an affair if his own with Lucy, a young mother whose open, eager mind sparks an irresistible passion in him. Miles’s constantly shifting emotional state-a potent brew of lust, guilt, anger and betrayal- is only one of the perils he must navigate as his fantasies become increasingly hard to distinguish from reality.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: When I first accepted this book for review, I thought it was going to be the typical Hollywood life style that is the basis of many books, the gossip in magazines and on entertainment TV shows. The following opinion is mine and only mine. I read 50+ pages, and at that point, I still had not been pulled into the story. I found the narrative of first-person very wordy, that at times, I would have to reread sentences to process what was really being said. I felt that the storyline was slow paced in the pages read. Unfortunately, this book had to be put aside in the DNF pile.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Jeff exhaled, shoving his hands in his pockets and finally turning toward her. “No. It’s…I mean, you were going to tell me eventually, right?”

page 229

Hosted by Katrina from Callapidder Days

Today’s question (#6)
This week’s question:

Where do you love to read? Note: I don’t mean where do you actually do most of your reading, because that might be the carpool line, the work cafeteria, or even the bathroom (if you have to escape from a few small children in order to read a chapter of your book). I mean, what are a few of the places where you LOVE to read?

  I have answered this question on many different occasions and many different memes but am going to add a few more locations other than my daily reading sites.
  Every day reading depends on the time of year.  I am usually in my favorite recliner, with afghan when it’s cold out.  During the summer either by or sitting on a “chair” float in the pool. 
  Now for all the other occasions.  While on vacation, which our favorites are Aruba or a cruise.  When on a plane, helps take my mind off flying and the time we are in the air, since I am a very nervous flyer.  If hubby and I are driving to a destination that takes approx 1 hour or more, I will read in the car, in between conversations. And now that I have the thought of these places in my mind, I think hubby and I will be having a discussion tonight at supper, that we are overdue. 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Jeff exhaled, shoving his hands in his pockets and finally turning toward her. “No. It’s…I mean, you were going to tell me eventually, right?”

page 229

Hosted by Katrina from Callapidder Days

Today’s question (#6)
This week’s question:

Where do you love to read? Note: I don’t mean where do you actually do most of your reading, because that might be the carpool line, the work cafeteria, or even the bathroom (if you have to escape from a few small children in order to read a chapter of your book). I mean, what are a few of the places where you LOVE to read?

  I have answered this question on many different occasions and many different memes but am going to add a few more locations other than my daily reading sites.
  Every day reading depends on the time of year.  I am usually in my favorite recliner, with afghan when it’s cold out.  During the summer either by or sitting on a “chair” float in the pool. 
  Now for all the other occasions.  While on vacation, which our favorites are Aruba or a cruise.  When on a plane, helps take my mind off flying and the time we are in the air, since I am a very nervous flyer.  If hubby and I are driving to a destination that takes approx 1 hour or more, I will read in the car, in between conversations. And now that I have the thought of these places in my mind, I think hubby and I will be having a discussion tonight at supper, that we are overdue. 

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Published by Atria Books (Division of Simon & Schuster)
ISBN 978-0-7432-9427-0
At the request of Simon & Schuster, a HC was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (from book’s jacket): Sometimes all you can do is fly away home… When Sylvia Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician’s wife-her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.
  Lizzie, the Woodruffs’ younger daughter is at twenty-four a recovering addict, whose mantra HALT (Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired?) helps her keep her life under control Still, trouble always seems to find her. Her older sister, Diana, an emergency room physician, has everything Lizzie failed to achieve-a husband, a young son, the perfect home-and yet she’s trapped in a loveless marriage. With temptation waiting in one of the ER’s exam rooms, she finds herself craving more.
  After Richard’s extramarital affair makes headlines, the three women are drawn into the painful glare of the national spotlight. Once the press conference is over, each is forced to reconsider her life, who she is and who she is meant to be.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: This storyline was written with the old adage, “No one knows what goes on behind closed doors”. But then taken a step further since the family behind those closed doors could not see what was happening. The Woodruffs were the ideal family to outsiders but each family member was living their own solitary life, each with their own secrets. The plot was relatable since it mirrored what we frequently see on the news with politicians and sports figures. I was also able to identify with the characters in this family because of a general age recognition within my family. The writing style was smooth and descriptive. Even with a serious and emotional theme, the author was able to add some humor into some of the scenes. Without including any spoilers, I found it to even include personal thought provoking questions, such as, “what would I do in this situation”?, “are we true to our self”?, are we really who we think we are”?, “who or what makes us happy”?, “are we true to our self”? This book could be put down, but not for long, because this reader wanted to know how it ends.