The Nightingale #bookclubpick #NYTbestseller

Aug25

The Nightingale

Synopsis
In France in 1939, in the village called Carriveau, Vianne’s husband is going off to war. While he is gone, the Nazis invade France and a German soldier lives in her home.
In the intervening time period, Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is searching for purpose and love in life that has been absent up until this point. Determined to do what she can, she joins the French resistance to oppose the Nazi occupation and risk her life time and time again.
The story tells the narratives of two sisters whose personalities are opposites and describes how each person deals with the challenges in front of them because of the Nazi occupation.

Opinion
I do not usually read historical novels about the effects of war. That being said, I give the author a lot of credit for the book was well written. The story was true to the time period. The story is very similar to the real story of war heroine Andree de Jongh.

The author does not gloss over any of the atrocities that were happening at the time. It demonstrated the insidious way that the Nazis manipulated people to carry out their nefarious agenda.

From the beginning, Isabelle recognized the threat and wanted to do all she could to fight the Nazis.

Vianne did not want to rock the boat. While she finally acted in a way that helped someone other than her immediate family, she seemed to me to be selfish most of the novel. There was a lot of denial based on a naive assumption of what an occupying military force would do. There was a deliberate lack of perception for fear of what she might find.

The difference in upbringing was evident. Vianne always looked for someone to take care of her. On the other hand, Isabelle knew she had to take of herself. She did not have the luxury of depending on others because she had been disappointed time and time again.

In my opinion, the most character development happens in Vianne. Isabelle has her own evolution, but I think it is more drastic in Vianne.

The author did a fantastic job writing this and I think you will enjoy. When reading, I encourage you to think about who you are and what sacrifices you can live with and what you think will break you. Be honest with yourself and confront what you truly fear. This is the type of book that I would suggest that you read with a friend so that you can discuss. Considering what is happening in the world around us, a lot of what was in the story could have been taken from the headlines today.

Trigger warnings: torture, rape

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BUY especially if you like historical fiction set in WWII. Even though I do not read or recommend a lot of books from this genre, I rate this book highly because it spurred a lot of thought.

Book details
Series: N/A
Heat Level: 🔥
Print Length: 449 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (February 3, 2015)
Publication Date: February 3, 2015

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Just One Chance by CA Harms #romance #blogtour @charms0814

Aug23
Title: Just One Chance
Series: Oh Tequila #1
Author: C.A. Harms
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Release Date: August 15, 2017 

Tequila, you failed me. 

You left me in a terrible haze, and I can’t find my god damn wallet.

Or my left shoe.

How the hell does one lose their shoe?

 


I have no f*cking clue.

All I know is that my night started out with one thing in mind…to have a little fun.

The problem with that? I can’t remember a damn thing, except one.

Morgan’s soft and needy moans. It’s a sound I will never forget, and just thinking about it makes my heart race and my pulse quicken. And I want to hear it over and over again…I crave it.

But Morgan’s a mystery. The harder I try, the more she resists. There’s one thing she doesn’t know about me though…I’m not one to give up.

I’ll play her game. I’ll let her think she’s won. But in the end, I will have her.

Because all I need is Just One Chance to prove she’s meant for me…

I love HEA stories, as long as they come packing a little heat. I need some excitement, some angst, and moments that make me fan my face are always good too. I am an Illinois girl, born and raised. Simple and true, it honestly doesn’t take much to make me happy. I love the little things; they truly mean the most. I may have a slight addiction to my new Keurig—oh my, that thing is a godsend. And so fast too. I have two children who truly are my very best friends, and their faces never fail to put a smile on my face. I have been married to my husband for sixteen years, and even though at times I want to beat him with a stick, I would never change the years we have had. We have learned and fallen, only to pick each other up, dust off the ache, and help each other make it right.

I am one of those authors that adore my fans. I love to hear from you. After all, it is because of each one of you that I continue to write. I look forward to your feedback.

Be sure to follow me to stay up-to-date on all my upcoming releases.

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Play Room by LP Dover and Heidi McLaughlin #romance #coverreveal

Aug21
Title: Play Room: A Society X Novel
Authors: Heidi McLaughlin & L.P. Dover
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover Designer: Letitia Hasser at Romantic Book Affairs
Release: September 4, 2017
WANNA PLAY?
The rules of Society X are simple . . . break them and you’re out.

Rule #1 – No names
It doesn’t matter if you want to know, it’s forbidden.

Rule #2 – No exchanging numbers
It doesn’t matter if you want to call, it’s forbidden.

Rule #3 – Everything is to remain strictly anonymous.
It doesn’t matter if you want to tell, it’s forbidden.
Whatever your desire.
Whatever your fetish.
The Play Room is the place to go.
For Alexandria Miller, it’s a chance to express herself, to embrace her hidden passions.
For Kai Robicheau, being in the club brings out who he truly is.
What happens in the Play Room will have you aching for more . . .

Heidi is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont, with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, JiLL and her brother, Racicot.
When she’s isn’t writing one of the many stories planned for release, you’ll find her sitting court-side during either daughter’s basketball games.
Heidi’s first novel, Forever My Girl, will be in theaters on October 27, 2017, starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author L. P. Dover is a southern belle living in North Carolina with her husband and two beautiful girls. Before she began her literary journey she worked in periodontics, enjoying the wonderment of dental surgeries.

She loves to write, but she also loves to play tennis, go on mountain hikes and white water rafting, and has a passion for singing. Her two youngest fans expect a concert each and every night before bedtime, usually Christmas carols.
Dover has written countless novels, including her Forever Fae series, the Second Chances series, the Gloves Off series, the Armed & Dangerous series, the Royal Shifters series, and her standalone novel Love, Lies, and Deception. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense, but if she got to choose a setting in which to live, it would be with her faeries in the Land of the Fae.

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Geek Love #gamerromance #review

Aug20

Geek love

Synopsis
Joel and Sam are gamers attending a science fiction/gamer convention. Once Sam reveals to Joel that she is a woman, it seems that they make the perfect couple. However, another woman will do whatever it takes to claim Joel as her own.

Opinion
The story was okay. Sweet even.

My biggest complaint: explaining the geek sci-fi terms. It was as if the author wanted to write a book for geeks and then decided everyone should be able to understand the jargon.

I know and watched enough Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and Firefly to get all the references without the explanation. I am not even a hard-core geek. Doctor Who is my heart, but I digress. I could understand if she was making obscure references but this is like Sci-Fi 101.

My other reason for discontent is that the villain should have went to jail. Really! The stunt that the villain pulled should not have been brushed aside as if nothing had happened.

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I think this story could have been a lot stronger if the author had developed the characters a little more. This is a novella, so there was not time to flush the character profiles. If possibly the author turns this into a full-length novel, I think she would have more time to make the story stronger and better.

Side note: For once, could an author have a story with a woman gamer heroine who everyone KNOWS is a woman at the beginning? I feel like the female gamer with male sounding name is so overdone these days. It is uninspired. Unoriginal. Boring.

TOW Final Word: Buy, Borrow, Pass?
BORROW. It is okay if you have some time to kill. But don’t expect too much from this book.

Book details
Book Length: 104 pages
Series: No but there is a follow up book Code Monkey
Heat Level: 🔥 🔥

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Italian in Savannah GA #FoodieFriday

Aug4

This Foodie Friday is about a restaurant in Savannah GA.

Cuoco Pazzo
Cucina Italiana
606 Abercorn Str , Savannah GA

To be honest, the only reason why we pick this Italian restaurant in Savannah was because it was in walking distance from our bread and breakfast inn and we were hungry. We looked at their menu before hand. Hubs wanted spaghetti and meatballs and that should’ve been simple. I did not see simple spaghetti plate on the menu and Hubs pointed it out.

I said, “What Italian restaurant does not serve simple spaghetti with meat sauce? That is like Italian 101.”

Well I got my answer.
Cuoco Pazzo does not serve spaghetti and meat sauce or meatballs for dinner. They serve it at lunch, but not for dinner.
Talk about being annoyed.

I asked if we could order a side of spaghetti and a side of meat sauce. They only had marinara sauce. Not meat. Yeah, Hubs would not go for that.
I asked if they had angel hair pasta. The only two pasta options they had were spaghetti and pappardelle.

“Do we need more time before we order?” asked the server.

Absolutely. While my mind was still reeling from the fact that they do not have spaghetti and meatballs, we decided to order Capricciosa flatbread. This had tomato sauce, ham, artichoke, mushroom, and mozzarella cheese. Also to be noted, this was the only flat bread with meat.

At this point, the mood and our table was not good. Neither of us ordered what we really wanted and we were too hungry to go elsewhere.

We had an added complication: it was 7 PM on Christmas Eve. If we got in our car and drove around downtown Savannah who is to say anything else would even be open?

The server told us at the flatbread was “excellent” and “out of this world “. He even said it was the best he ever had because it was cooked in a brick oven.


The reality was that it was not that impressive to me. The middle of both of our flatbreads was soggy. Hubs ate the toppings only. I ate two of the four pieces, leaving some of the crust because it was too soggy and tasted like raw dough. The server asked if Hubs did not like his flatbread, and I told him the crust was soggy.

They offered to make a new flat bread for us to take. We said we did not want it, but they insisted.

TOW Final word: A lot of people were very satisfied with the food, but we wish we had had another option. I wish the kitchen could have been more flexible or at least offered more than the limited options for dinner. Service was great though. Check out their menu online and if it appeals to you EXACTLY as written, you will probably like this place.