THE NINTH STEP by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Published by Author
ASIN: B005KDCOCE
At the request of the author, a digital edition was supplied, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon): Livie Saunders is fluent in the language of flowers; she taught the meanings to her fiancé, Cotton O’Dell, but then Cotton vanishes without explanation on their wedding day forcing Livie to learn the language of desolation. Heartbroken, she buries her wedding gown beneath a garden pond and resolves to move on, but there are nights when she slips . . . into a sequined red dress and a pair of stiletto heels, a stranger’s bed, a little anonymous oblivion that is not without consequence. Still, she recovers a semblance of ordinary life and imagines she is content. But then, six years later, Cotton returns and her carefully constructed world shatters. The old questions bite like flies. Questions that Cotton O’Dell prays he can answer. He prays that Livie, whom he has never stopped loving, will be moved to forgive him. But there is more than Livie to be concerned about. There is Cotton’s act of cowardice that caused him to become a fugitive in the first place . . . that crime he committed for which the legal clock is still ticking. That thing he did that will shock Livie to her core once she learns of it. Livie is desperate to trust Cotton, but then he goes missing again. Time telescopes, avenues of escape close, and as lives hang in the balance, choice dithers between mercy and revenge. And a decision that will take only a moment will carry the consequences of a lifetime.

THE NINTH STEP is a story of redemption, of being brought to your knees in the sober light of day to face a monstrous error and yet somehow finding the strength to stand up, to try and make it right. Even if that decision breaks your heart, endangers your freedom and ultimately threatens your life.

  My Thoughts and Opinion: The 9th step in AA’s 12 step recovery program is to make amends to those that you have hurt while in the throes of one’s alcohol addiction period.   But just think how hard it is to ask forgiveness when we do things that may hurt others by our words or actions when sober.   And then magnify that because of what alcohol does to the mind and body.

I enjoy reading books that have realistic relationship dynamics between characters, characters that are created by the author and then brought to life by the dynamic writing skills.   Characters, whereas, you feel that you know them personally, feel their emotions, become their friends and turning the pages to see what happens but then not wanting the book to end because so does the friendship.   One of the main characters, Cotton, after being gone for 6 years returns, wanting to make those amends for what he had done.   (Vague begins here to avoid spoilers).   What he did was awful, however, it is hard to despise this character.   The same goes with other characters in the book.   They are all flawed in some ways, all need to make amends, alcohol induced or not.   The suspenseful portion of the book also had me turning the pages, would he, could he admit to what he had done? What were the consequences going to be?   Definitely (again vague for omission of spoilers) not what I thought!!   The ending was disappointing in a way that I felt it was left with a cliff hanger because of the connections I made with the characters.   Maybe a sequel?   I hope so!!!   An engrossing read!!

(2012 Challenges: EBook, Off The Shelf, Just For Fun, Free Reads, Where Are You, A-Z, 52 in52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

Calico Joe by John Grisham
Published by Doubleday
Publication Date: April 10, 2012
ISBN-10: 0385536070
ISBN-13: 978-0385536073
At the request of Doubleday, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from Amazon): A surprising and moving novel of fathers and sons, forgiveness and redemption, set in the world of Major League Baseball…

Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.

In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen. The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.

Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes CALICO JOE a classic.

My Thoughts and Opinion: I feel that I need to start with a caveat.   I am not a sports fan!!   However, my husband and sons are and I have hosted many of sports related parties and witnessed many of, at times somewhat loud, discussions at the dinner table.   I live in New England and my guys are die hard fans, of all sports, but of different teams.   My husband and youngest son are Red Sox fans and my oldest is a true NY Yankee fan, even naming his dog Bronx.

That’s as much as I know about sports.   So I was leery of reading a “sports related” novel.   But the first page pulled me right into the story.   There was some “baseball lingo and statistics” but it was the premise that hooked me.   Masterful writing, as always, with a John Grisham novel but also had a lighter and emotional prose that I enjoyed.   I connected to the characters, even those that were not likable, but in true sports fashion, I was rooting for the under dog.   The emotional slant of the book was gripping and tugged on the heart strings.   Even though it had a predictable plot and was a very quick read, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.   It was much more than a “sports related” book, it was about making amends, truth and coming to terms with a relationship between father and son.   I recommend this book, not only for sports’ fans, but for anyone who enjoys seeing the truth and winner prevail.   Very good read!!

(2012 Challenges: ARC, Off The Shelf, FreeReads, Where Are You, A-Z, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

THE PROPER CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF FRIENDSHIP by Lisa Verge Higgins

Published by The Hachette Book Group
ISBN-10: 044656351X
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (from Amazon):
What makes a wife a lover?
For Kate, the spark went out of her marriage long ago but her husband doesn’t seem to notice. Their role as parents consumes their lives so they need to rekindle the romance they once shared.

What makes a woman a mother?
For Jo, a high-powered career has led her to believe that she doesn’t have a single maternal instinct. When an orphan unexpectedly enters her life, she is forced to confront her own unhappy childhood and the walls it has built around her heart.

What makes a man the love of your life?
For Sarah, home is the steamy jungles of Africa while the man of her dreams waits in the air-conditioned confines of Los Angeles. Her longing for this man from the past is blinding her to a new love standing right in front of her.

What these women all have in common is a friend with a generous soul, an irrepressible spirit- and a serious illness. In her final letters, Rachel raises one last question: What makes a friend live in our hearts forever?

  My Thoughts and Opinion: This book, unfortunately, has been sitting in my “review TBR” pile for quite some time, not because I didn’t want to read it but due to getting lost during a year that was full of personal turmoil, much like the characters, and a year where I fell behind.   I saw a review a while back written by Vicki at I’d Rather Be At The Beach, that motivated me to pick it up at this time.   Personally, I found this book to be so enjoyable, that I wish I had read it sooner.

Do you like books with relationship dynamics?   Writing that makes you feel that you know the characters?   Books that are engrossing to the point that you are unaware of your surroundings?   Books that are full of emotions?   Books that you might see a little of yourself in the characters?   Books that you don’t want to end because you have made a connection with the characters, that are so life like, that you want the story to continue to see what happens to your “new friends”?   Books that are a great Chick Lit read?   Then I suggest you read this book!   A great read!!

The Good Father by Noah Hawley
Published by Doubleday
Publication date: March 20, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-385-53553-3
At the request of Doubleday, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from publisher):
An intense, psychological novel about one doctor’s suspense-filled quest to unlock the mind of a suspected political assassin: his twenty-year old son.

As the Chief of Rheumatology at Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Paul Allen’s specialty is diagnosing patients with conflicting symptoms, patients other doctors have given up on. He lives a contented life in Westport with his second wife and their twin sons—hard won after a failed marriage earlier in his career that produced a son named Daniel. In the harrowing opening scene of this provocative and affecting novel, Dr. Allen is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and Daniel is caught on video as the assassin.

Daniel Allen has always been a good kid—a decent student, popular—but, as a child of divorce, used to shuttling back and forth between parents, he is also something of a drifter. Which may be why, at the age of nineteen, he quietly drops out of Vassar and begins an aimless journey across the United States, during which he sheds his former skin and eventually even changes his name to Carter Allen Cash.

Told alternately from the point of view of the guilt-ridden, determined father and his meandering, ruminative son, The Good Father is a powerfully emotional page-turner that keeps one guessing until the very end. This is an absorbing and honest novel about the responsibilities—and limitations—of being a parent and our capacity to provide our children with unconditional love in the face of an unthinkable situation.

My Thoughts and Opinion: Outstanding!   This may be the book of 2012!!   Could not put it down!!
This novel was written in a first person narrative through the eyes of a father about unconditional love, guilt, pain, denial and looking in every corner for that glimmer of hope.   Moving!!!   The author interweaves into the story real life events, that at times, I felt I was so caught up in the story that it read like a non-fiction.   Engrossing!!   When or can a parent stop loving unconditionally?   The novel had me asking myself how I would feel if this was to happen to my family?   Thought provoking!   This author writes an emotional yet disturbing story about today’s culture and fate of families.   The research was phenomenal, bringing in past real life incidents that mirrored the fiction of the story line.   When does a parent finally accept the truth?   Are parents to be blamed?   Are they victims too when the unimaginable is brought upon a family? Emotional!!!   Until reading this novel, I never gave any thought to one incident that occurred in real life.   But after reading the facts, my thinking changed, and that was quotes from a book written by one of the Columbine shooter’s mother.   This book will stay with me for a long time, one that will not be forgotten.   Well written, character development superb, suspense extreme and a page turner.   Brilliant!!   As a parent, touched me to my core.   Heart wrenching!!   A powerful read!!   This book, at least my opinion, is off the charts!!   Piercing!!

THE SECOND TIME WE MET by Leila Cobo
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Division of The Hachette Book Group
ISBN-13: 9780446519380
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (from publisher): Asher Stone grew up in an idyllic California family. His mother Linda made sure of that. She never wanted her son to feel different from other kids, just because he was adopted. She was a loving, devoted mother, and Asher a happy, healthy boy. So when a life-changin accident causes Asher to question his identity, he suddenly announces that he needs to learn about his roots, Linda is caught off guard. Asher doesn’t want to hurt his mother, but something inside him is driving him to find out exactly where he came from. And so he takes off on a journey to Colombia in search of his birth mother.

Interspersed throughout Asher’s story is that of his mother’s, Rita. Moving back in time we watch as a young Rita begins a clandestine affair with a revolutionary soldier–a guerilla warrior who loved her deeply but couldn’t leave the cause to care for her, not if he wanted to keep her safe. Rita is left alone and pregnant, with no support from her family. And though it breaks her heart, she makes the agonizing decision to give up her baby.

How can Asher, a young man who has never known hardship understand her decision? Can they have any kind of relationship–and where does that leave Linda if they do?

My Thoughts and Opinion: Musing, a word that this debut author penned many times in this story. Ironically, when the last word was read and the book placed in my finished pile, I was left with several thought provoking musings of my own.

As I mentioned, this was Ms. Cobo’s debut novel, which surprised me in the manner of her writing style.   Especially since it alternated between the times of 1989 to present and then in between but it all flowed smoothly.   She had a flair to bring the characters to life, to feel their emotions, to root for some, to not like others.   To feel their frustrations, expectations, fears, anxiety, guilt and so much more.   Even though the story line was predictable, the lives of the characters, their actions, and decisions they made,  kept me turning the pages.   An impressive and poignant read.

LOVESICK by Spencer Seidel
Published by Publishing Works, Inc.
ISBN-13: 978-1-935557-20-3
ISBN-978-1-935557-51-7
At the request of Meryl L. Moss Media, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon):   Late one night out on the Eastern Promenade Trail in Portland, Maine, the police discover an incoherent teenager sitting in a pool of blood, holding the body of his best friend and the murder weapon. The girl they both love has been missing for weeks.

The kid’s jealousy clearly drove him to murder. He says the missing girl is the love of his life. She also happens to be the girlfriend of the murder victim.

It’s an open and shut case, or so most of Portland thinks.

Dr. Lisa Boyers, forensic psychologist, receives a call from an old friend, a connection to her troubled past. Attorney Rudy Swaner wants her to interview the young killer Paul Ducharme, who is claiming he doesn’t remember the events leading up to the murder.

In her jailhouse interviews, Lisa helps Paul to recover his memories. But something about Paul’s disturbing love story shakes Lisa to the very core of her being. To understand Paul, she is forced to confront her own ugly violent secrets.

Media attention mounts. Reporters stream into Portland. All eyes turn to the psychologist who seems intent on exonerating the vicious teen killer. Soon Lisa finds herself the focus of an over-zealous reporter with a knack for digging up dirty secrets.

But the killer who has Lisa in the crosshairs already knows them all.

  My Thoughts and Opinion:   I was introduced to this author in May of 2011 with his debut novel, Dead of Wynter,  in which I had stated at the time to put this author on your radar.  So when I was approached to read his latest novel to read and review, I jumped at the chance.  There is always a bit of skepticism, I find, when the debut book is extraordinary, is the 2nd one going to be too?  Or was it a one hit wonder.

Lovesick draws you in from the first few pages.  A deep, dark psychological thriller with a cast of characters that are interwoven with each other, having their own secret demons, in which they were all trying to live a normal life.  Even those that were in positions of trying to investigate a murder of a  teenage boy, his missing girlfriend and a best friend found at the murder scene but who doesn’t remember anything.   So many parallels between those investigating the case and those that were the victims.

Engrossing!!  Spencer Seidel’s writing style transports you right into the book.  To the point that a few times, I would be reading while waiting to pick up my husband after he got out of work and I was so absorbed, that I did not see nor hear him approach the car and when he knocked on the window, I let out a scream.  Definitely a white knuckle, thriller read!!!  Even though I had figured out the “whodunit”, the details surrounding the why’s, what’s, details, and secrets of the other characters were surprising.  This was a couldn’t put down book.  Looking forward to Mr. Seidel’s  future works.

(2012 Challenges:  Romantic Suspense, ARC, Mystery/Suspense, Off The Shelf, Serial Killers, Free Reads, Where Are You?, A-Z, Merely Myster, I want More, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

THE GOOD FATHER by Diane Chamberlain
Published by Mira Books
Publication Date: April 24, 2012
ISBN-10: 0778313468
ISBN-13: 978-0778313465
At the generosity of the publisher, Mira Books, an ARC Digital Version was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

    Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon):   A beloved daughter.    A devastating choice. And now there’s no going back.
Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own.   While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table.       But he’s never regretted his decision.   Bella is the light of his life. The reason behind every move he makes.And so far, she is fed. Cared for.  Safe.
But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he’s worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble….
Then a miracle.    A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around.    It has to.    But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.
With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter’s sake.

   My Thoughts and Opinion:  I feel I need to start this review off with a caveat and a huge THANK YOU to author, Ms. Diane Chamberlain.   A few weeks ago, we became “friends” on GoodReads.   And it started me thinking.   Last year when my husband and I went on vacation, one of the books that came along with us was The Midwife’s Confession, which I reviewed for Meryl L. Moss Media and gave it a 5/5.   I had become a fan of her’s when I read The Lies We Told, which I also rated a 5/5.   Since we are going away again, same time, same place, I have already started a mental priority packing list, which is, what books will be packed this year.   So I garnered up the courage, emailed her, and asked if she had a new book coming out and would it be on an ARC tour?   She responded saying she would check with her publisher, but in the meantime, much to my surprise, honor, and delight, her publisher sent me a copy. Unfortunately, knowing it was in my possession, I could not wait until our vacation to read it.

The prologue steals your heart with the introduction of a 4 year old little girl, Bella, in which the other main characters are brought into the story line and come to life. There is so much to this book, and I apologize for being vague at times, but I do not want to include spoilers.   There was suspense, relationship dynamics, betrayals, grief, guilt, desperation, good, evil, secrets, lies, friendships, innocence, terror, blame, and above all a parent’s unconditional love.   The author writes in such a way that is so brilliant, detailed and descriptive, what I call a “transport” read, where I was so engrossed that I actually felt that I was part of the story and could create such realistic imagery of the entire book.   Each chapter alternates and is told through the perspective of 3 main characters, which made this reader want to read ahead to find out the outcome of the previous chapter’s situation the author leaves you with.   It was a page turning read.   I could not put this book down and read it in 2 days.   This is a book that will stay with you long after reading the last word.   A powerful, compelling, heartfelt, and passionate read.   Highly recommend, matter of fact, preorder it!!

LITTLE GIRL GONE by Drusilla Campbell
Published by Grand Central Publishing,
Division of The Hachette Book Group
ISBN-10: 0446535796
ISBN-13: 978-0446535793
At the request of The Hachette Book Group, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

An intensely emotional and provocative story, Little Girl Gone explores the secret hopes and fears that drive good people to do dangerous things . . . and the courage it takes to make things right.

  My Thoughts and Opinion:  Unfortunately, this story reminded me of some real life stories that we hear on the news too often.  And because of that, the characters, the settings, the emotions, the “brain washing” techniques, read like a true story by the writer’s descriptive words.  I read this book in a matter of days because it felt so real and I HAD to know how it would turn out.   There is also a psychological subplot of parallel lives, that have similar beginnings, damaged psyches and different outcomes.  This is the second book I have read by this author, the first being, The Good Sister, and she is a master at writing about relationship dynamics that grips the reader from deep within the heart and mind.  A poignant, heart wrenching, disturbing at times, read.  Definitely recommend!!