Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin - Review

Published: June 3, 2014

Number of pages: 336

Synopsis:

Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mother's warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.

Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.

Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.

In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.

What did I think of this book:

I just finished listening to this yesterday at first I was not sure if I would like this book or not and it was not the story line but the narrator. It is not to say the narrator is bad but I have a hard time listening to some voices. I am glad that I kept listening to it as I ended up liking the book as well as the lady reading it. At first I liked Valerie and felt sorry for her and her son but then I did not like her because of what happened between her and Charlie's doctor. I did Tessa from the beginning and felt bad for her at times. The end of the story was good but I am not sure I would be able to do what Tessa did with her husband. I liked how the author told the stories from both Valerie's and Tessa's points of view. All of the characters were very believeable and real. I am going to look for books by this author. 

About the author:

Emily Giffin is a graduate of Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. After practicing litigation at a Manhattan firm for several years, she moved to London to write full time. The author of seven New York Times bestselling novels, Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Baby Proof, Love The One You're With, Heart of the Matter, Where We Belong, and The One & Only, she lives in Atlanta with her husband and three young children. Visit www.emilygiffin.com.

Bane by Brenda Jackson - Review

I received this book from TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: December 1, 2015

Number of pages: 240

Genre: Romance

Series: Westmoreland

Synopsis:

After five years, navy SEAL Brisbane Westmoreland is back home on his ranch and ready to reclaim the woman he left behind. But when he tracks her to Dallas, he’s in for a shock.

Crystal Newsome isn’t ready to forgive Bane for saying he loved her then vanishing from her life. Only now the beautiful chemist needs his protection. As their own irresistible chemistry takes over once again, can Bane keep Crystal safe and convince her they can have the second chance they both deserve?

Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

What did I think of this book:

This is the first book I have read by this author and I thought it was a good book. This is a part of a series and I have not read any of the other books in the series but I was not lost at all. For me this was a quick read and one that you can finish in a weekend. I thought the author's writing was nice and made the story flow right along. There was even a little bit of suspense in this story which I thought added to it. I also thought the author did a good job in developing the characters and making them seem very real.

About the author:

A New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who divides her time between family, writing and traveling with her husband.

Connect with Brenda
Website | Facebook |Twitter

Brenda Jackson’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Friday, October 23rd: Let Them Read Books
Monday, October 26th: Black ‘n Gold Girls Book Spot
Wednesday, October 28th: Griperang’s Bookmarks
Friday, October 30th: The Sassy Bookster
Monday, November 2nd: Read Love Blog
Wednesday, November 4th: Smexy Books
Thursday, November 5th: Romantic Reads and Such
Friday, November 6th: Addicted to Romance
Monday, November 9th: From the TBR Pile
Tuesday, November 10th: Books & Spoons – review
Wednesday, November 11th: Arms of a Sister
Friday, November 13th: Romancing the Readers
Monday, November 16th: Griperang’s Bookmarks – review
Wednesday, November 18th: Book Binge
Friday, November 20th: Written Love Reviews

Backstabbing in Beaujolais by Jean-Pierre Alaux & Noel Balen - Review,

I received this book from Le French Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: November 19, 2015

Number of pages: 140

Genre: Mystery
Series: Winemaker Detective #9

 Website | Goodreads

SYNOPSIS

A business magnate calls on wine expert Benjamin Cooker to kickstart his new wine business in Beaujolais, sparking bitter rivalries. Can the Winemaker Detective and his assistant keep calculating real estate agents, taciturn winegrowers, dubious wine merchants and suspicious deaths from delaying delivery of the world-famous Beaujolais Nouveau?

WHAT DID I THINK OF THIS BOOK

I am so happy that I got to visit the Winemaker Detective series again. In this book you will not find a lot of bloody graphics but what you will find is great characters, a murder, suspense and a whole list of suspects. You may also learn a little about wine and the area where it comes with, as with each of these books they are titled after a wine. It is nice to enjoy the descriptions these authors use in their story as it really makes the book come alive. I also like that they are shorter and quicker to read. In fact you could read this book in one sitting. This book is a part of a series but you should have no problems reading it as a stand alone. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen, wine lover and music lover respectively, came up with the idea for the Winemaker Detective series while sharing a meal, with a bottle of Château Gaudou 1996, a red wine from Cahors with smooth tannins and a balanced nose.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Anne Trager loves France so much she has lived there for 27 years and just can’t seem to leave. What keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book to translate some of those books into English. The company’s motto is “If we love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and detective novels.

***
Follow Le French Book on Twitter | on Facebook
Sign up to receive their latest news and deals.

Buy the book | on Indiebound | Amazon | on Barnes & Noble
***

Global giveaway open internationally: 2 participants will each win a copy of this book. Choice of print or digital format for all Be sure to follow each participant on Twitter/Facebook, for more chances to win 

Entry-Form

Visit each blogger on the tour: tweeting about the giveaway everyday of the Tour will give you 5 extra entries each time! [just follow the directions on the entry-form] 

CLICK ON THE BANNER TO READ OTHER REVIEWS AND EXCERPTS 

EXCERPT

Picking up his boss’s silent cue, Virgile changed the subject. “What’s this Périthiard guy like?” he asked, turning the key to the ignition.

“To be honest, I’ve never met him. We exchanged a few e-mails, and I spoke to him on the phone this morning, when he asked us to meet with him. Other than that, I only know what I read in the papers.”

“He’s the one who founded that DIY chain, right?”

“Yes, Guillaume Périthiard is a self-made man. According to his PR people, he came from a modest family in Lyon. He didn’t even graduate from high school. He took a job in a tile factory as a teenager and worked his way up to general foreman in just three years. Afterward, he landed the coveted job of inventory manager, then acquisitions, and then sales. When the plant manager had some cash-flow problems and considered closing, Périthiard presented him with a plan to save the company. The bankers liked it. Périthiard took over management of the company and then bought a majority share.”

“He must be some kind of business genius.”

“That or charming, shrewd, and not much of a stickler for scruples. In any case, he was soon perceived as a visionary and natural leader. Once the business was his, it prospered, and at the age of twenty-five, he sold the tile factory to open a large-scale DIY store outside Villefranche-sur-Saône. From there, he built his own brand.”

“Do you think he was the one who came up with that kitsch logo—red letters on the yellow background?”

“Maybe. In any case, you see it all across France. The chain has ninety-three stores, and last year Les Échos named him entrepreneur of the year.”

“I will not leave Versailles,” Bérangère said in a tone closed to appeal.

Périthiard slipped his phone into the pocket of his dressing gown and gave his wife a cold look. She had shrugged when he bought the Maison Coultard négociant business and even smiled in a pinched-lip upper-class way that said: “A whim, my darling, not unlike the other whims you’ve entertained since your retirement.”

Now she was standing in the doorway, wearing her cream-colored skirt, light blue blouse, double-strand pearl necklace, and no smile.

He knew he should try to appease her. “You liked my cousin Sylvain when we’d go there on holiday, before the kids were born. I was almost jealous of him. Remember how we hiked up Mount Saint Rigaud? The country was so gorgeous, and the view was spectacular. We attended that village dance in Sarmentelles de Beaujeu and ate so much grilled sausage and local cheese on that rustic bread, you complained that you’d gain ten pounds.”

She looked away and began to walk slowly across the room. Bérangère was a master of the silent treatment.

“You didn’t think I would just play around with the business, did you?” Périthiard said, fully aware that this was going to be a hard sell—if not impossible. “I’d never be happy running it from a distance. And I’m going to be more than a négociant. It’s not enough to buy other people’s grapes and wine and bottle it for sale, as if it were my own. I’m planning to buy a wine estate in the Côte de Vaux or perhaps Saint Amour. I’ll be a real winemaker.”

“You know nothing about grape growing.”

TOUR SCHEDULE

Tuesday, October 27

Spotlight + Giveaway at Words And Peace

Wednesday, October 28

Review + Giveaway at The Discerning Reader

Wednesday, November 4

Review

+ Excerpt + Giveaway at Queen of All She Reads

Thursday, November 5

Review + Giveaway at An Accidental Blog

Saturday, November 7

Review + Giveaway at LibriAmoriMiei

Monday, November 9

Review + Giveaway at I’d Rather Be At The Beach

Wednesday, November 11

Review + Giveaway at It’s A Mad Mad World

Sunday, November 15

Review + Excerpt + Giveaway at Griperang’s Bookmarks

The Five Times I Met Myself by James L. Rubart

I received this book from Litfuse and Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: November 10, 2015

Number of pages: 400

Synopsis:

What if you met your twenty-three-year-old self in a dream? What would you say?

Brock Matthews’ once promising life is unraveling. His coffee company. His marriage.

So when he discovers his vivid dreams—where he encounters his younger self—might let him change his past mistakes, he jumps at the chance. The results are astonishing, but also disturbing.

Because getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn’t know how to let go . . . and his greatest fear is that it’s already too late.

What did I think of this book:

This was an interesting book and that is why I wanted to give it a try. I thought this story was enjoyable. How many times have we all wanted to go back and meet ourselves at a different time to give ourselves a little bit of advice we have learned. While reading this book you will stop to think about what you would do if you did meet yourself. I thought the author's writing style was very nice and seemed to just flow. Even though this is a longer book it seemed to read very quickly. I will have to check out the other books that this author has written. 

About the author:

James L. Rubart is a professional marketer and speaker. He is the author of the best-selling novel "Rooms" as well as "Book of Days," "The Chair," "Soul's Gate," "Memory's Door," and "Spirit Bridge." He lives with his wife and sons in the Pacific Northwest.

Reef Libre by Robert Wintner - Review and Giveaway

I recieved this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: February 1, 2015

Number of pages: 272

Synopsis:

Cuba reefs host apex predators and coral cover at optimal levels. While Cuban reef vitality may be linked to economic default and no shoreline development, no agricultural pesticides or fertilizers and limited human population growth, the Castro regime is aggressively developing its reef potential.

Seas to the south are now 100% shark protected.

Most Cuba travelogues advise “getting off the beaten path,” but Reef Libre examines that path, to see where it might lead as things change. Will Cuba reefs remain protected? Or is this perilous age of natural decline a last chance to see a healthy reef system?

Robert Wintner and the Snorkel Bob Jardines de la Reina Expedition herein provide narrative insight with photos and video. First stop is the baseline: Havana urban density. Down south at Cayo Largo, reef collapse seems imminent with 600 guests changing daily, and the phosphate-laden laundry water flowing directly to the deep blue sea. Will Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism step up with the Jardines de la Reina paradigm? Rising from the Golfo de Ana María, Jardines is a thousand square miles of mangrove estuary, for ages compromised by constant extraction of its biggest predators, taken as food. Protected, it now rises on the world reef stage.

A DVD comes with the book in a paper sleeve glued to the inside cover. Reef Libre, the movie, runs about an hour.

Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble

What did I think of this book:

This was an interesting book and video. The pictures in this book are amazing and very interesting to view. I thought they were all very vivid and thought provoking. Both the book and the DVD were packed full of information about Cuba. This would be a good informational tool to teach kids what can happen if we all take a part in protecting our coral reefs. You can share this book with all the members of your family as it is suitable for all ages. I am not sure which I liked better the book or the DVD. Watching the DVD you felt as if you were snorkeling yourself. This book and video did give me a whole new look on Cuba. I did not know what I expected from this but it did pass those expectations. All in all an enjoyable experience in a book and DVD. 

About the author:

Best known as Snorkel Bob in Hawaii and around the world, Robert Wintner captures Cuba above and below the surface with urgency and hope. As a pioneer in fish portraiture, Wintner demonstrated social structure and etiquette in reef society. Reef Libre goes to political context, in which human folly will squander Cuba’s reefs as well—unless natural values can at last transcend political greed. As pundits joust over who did what to whom and why, Wintner ponders reef prospects in view of political changes.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook

Watch the Trailer:

Giveaway:

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR SCHEDULE:

Oct 19 - T's Stuff - review / giveaway

Oct 19 - Essentially Italian - book spotlight / giveaway

Oct 20 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway

Oct 21 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - book spotlight / guest post

Oct 21 - Kimberly's Bookshelf - review / giveaway

Oct 22 - She Treads Softly - review

Oct 23 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review / giveaway

Oct 23 - Creating Serenity - review / giveaway

Oct 23 - Lavish Bookshelf - review / author interview

Oct 26 - One Frugal Girl - review / giveaway

Oct 26 - The Bookish and the Romantic - review / giveaway

Oct 27 - Bless Their Hearts Mom - review / giveaway

Oct 28 - Vic's Media Room - review 

Oct 28 - Vic's Media Room - DVD review

Oct 29 - Blooming With Books - review / giveaway

Oct 30 - Heidi's Wanderings - review / giveaway

Nov 2 - Life as Leels - review

Nov 2 - #redhead.with.book - review / giveaway

Nov 5 -I'd Rather Be At the Beach - review / giveaway

Nov 5 - Freda's Voice - review / giveaway

Nov 6 - Thoughts in Progress - review / giveaway

Nov 6 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review / giveaway

Nov 9 - A Simple Life, really?! - review

Nov 11 - Room With Books - review / giveaway

Nov 12 - Griperang's Bookmarks - review / giveaway

Nov 13 - Create With Joy - review / giveaway

Nov 16 - misty103 @ HubPages - review

Nov 17 - Jorie Loves a Story - review

Nov 17 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway

Nov 18 - 3 Partners in Shopping - review / giveaway

Nov 19 - Reading Authors - review / giveaway

Nov 20 - Bluerose's Heart - review / giveaway

Win or Lose, I Love You by Lysa Terkeurst

I received this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: September 29, 2015

Number of pages: 32

Genre: Childrens

Synopsis:

Win or lose, one thing that’s true . . . No matter what, I love you!

Competition can bring out the worst in us, but it can also be an opportunity to learn impactful life lessons. That’s why it’s so important for kids to understand how to handle winning and losing!

Join Lulu and Max as they help Bear-Bear, Goosey, Coyote and the rest of their animal friends in the Field Day contests determine who will be the leader of Lulu’s forest.

But as the animals soon find out, not everyone can win. Sore losers, unkind winners, flaring tempers, and a few tears are taking the fun straight out of Field Day!

Just like Lulu and Max help the animals navigate the ups and downs of the day, with Win or Lose, I Love You parents will be equipped to help children:

• Replace the selfish characteristics of competition with an understanding of how to treat others fairly
• Overcome the tendency to display poor sportsmanship by using Biblical truths to develop a Christ-like attitude
• Reject the labels of winning and losing and embrace that they are loved no matter how they perform.
• Win or Lose, I Love You will show your child that, no matter what, their value is tied to who they are, not how they play!

What did I think of this book:

I just received this book in the mail this afternoon and had to read through it right away. I love Lulu in a Tuto and Max. They are some cute little kids. All the animals characters were cute as well, even if some did not act so cute all the time. The story in this book is a good way to teach your little one learn how to be a good sport and to know that even if you do not win you are still loved and a good person. The illustrations were very cute and done with a nice range of colors to make them come off the page. I can't wait to share this with my little niece and nephew. Especially now that my nephew is in kindergarten and playing hockey. I think it will be a good book for him. 

About the author:

Lysa TerKeurst is the New York Times bestselling author of The Best Yes. She is president of Proverbs 31 Ministries and writes from her sticky farm table in North Carolina where she lives with her husband, Art, five kids, three dogs, and a mouse that refuses to leave her kitchen.

Helen in Love by Rosie Sultan

Published November 26, 2013

Number of Pages 256

Synopsis

The astonishing and imaginative debut novel about Helen Keller and the man she loved

What comes to mind when you think of Helen Keller? Is it the deaf-mute wild child at the water pump outside her Tuscumbia, Alabama, home portrayed in The Miracle Worker or the adult activist for the rights of the disabled and women, the socialist who vehemently opposed war? Rosie Sultan’s debut novel imagines an intimate part of Keller’s life she rarely spoke or wrote about: her one and only love affair.

Peter Fagan, a reporter from Boston, steps in as her secretary when her companion Annie Sullivan falls ill. The world this opens up for her is not the stuff of grade school biographies. Their affair meets with stern disapproval from Annie and from Helen’s mother, and when the lovers plot to elope, Helen is trapped between their expectations and her innermost desires. Sultan’s courageous novel insists on Helen’s right to desire, to human frailty—to be fully and completely alive.

What did I think of this book

I enjoyed this book from the first page. The writing style made it very quick to read and easy to follow. I have been a fan of Helen Keller's for a long time so I was not sure if I would like a book written about here that is not 100% fact. But I have to say I did enjoy it and thought it very interesting to see a different side of Helen then what you usually hear about. I felt bad at times for Helen when Anne and her mother kept trying to push Peter away and tell Helen that he was not good for her. At the same time I understood why they were doing it. I liked how the story showed the relationship between Helen and her family including Anne. 

About the author

Rosie Sultan is a former fellow at the Virginia Center for the Arts and has taught writing at Boston University, the University of Massachusetts, and Suffolk University. She lives outside Boston.