Tag: writing

REVIEW: Plot Twist by Bethany Turner

REVIEW: Plot Twist by Bethany Turner

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

On February 4, 2003, Olivia was minding her own business at a crowded coffee shop, working on her screenplay. Annoyed after several interruptions, she shared space on a couch with a handsome actor. When yet another “interruption” wouldn’t take no for an answer, Olivia’s couch-mate came to her rescue with an outlandish story about their undying love for one another. It was a meet cute made for movies.

And then it was over. The actor left for an audition after extracting a promise that they would meet up at the same coffee shop in 10 years when he would be a famous actor and she would have a screenplay. Olivia never even got his name.

The next year, on February 4th, Olivia finds herself at the same coffee shop to meet her boyfriend – and everything about their relationship changes. A year later, on February 4th, she discovers the name of her mystery actor. A year later, she is grieving a break up.

As the years march by, February by February, bringing Olivia ever closer to February 4th, 2013, her life and her work twist and turn in ways she never expected. And everything seems to hinge on the magical 4th and that long ago conversation in a coffee shop.

Review

My thoughts and feelings on this one are mixed.  This is an author I have enjoyed for several years now. And the first and last chapters of this were as delightful as the previous books of hers that I love. But in some ways, the 2003 and 2013 chapters feel like a different book than the middle chapters. Unlike the main character, Olivia, I love rom-coms, and these chapters deliver all the fun, flirty banter and meet-cute moments I adore.  Those chapters are right up my alley.

The rest of Olivia’s journey, though, while interesting and engaging, wasn’t “fun.” I was committed to seeing the story through. But I didn’t love any of the characters, and I pushed through to the end somewhat out of obligation. I prefer stories and characters that drive me to frantically flip pages to see what might happen next. The final chapter was so spectacular, though, I exclaimed out loud and even several days later I feel like it made all the rest of the reading worthwhile. I just wish the rest of Olivia’s story had been as fun.

Fans expecting a faith story in this book published by Thomas Nelson may be surprised to find no mention of faith in this one whatsoever. Readers looking for a romcom may have mixed feelings like I did. Romance fans who enjoy the ups and downs of a complicated journey may be a better fit for this story as a whole. And that closing chapter is *chef’s kiss* perfect.

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

* ♥♥♥½ = Good +

 

REVIEW: Beach Read by Emily Henry

REVIEW: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Berkley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

January Andrews is a romance writer who believes her own stories – perfect couples, happy endings – even in the face of ugly truths. But after the hits she has taken in the last year, while her brain still wants to conjure happily-ever-afters, her heart is struggling to write any that would feel believable. Her foundations have been shaken. And she has a book due at the end of the summer.

After losing her boyfriend – and therefore her home – January has moved into the cottage on Lake Michigan that her father left her recently when he passed away. The cottage he shared with the mistress January found out about when he died. It’s an act of desperation to be sure. The cottage is a constant reminder of her father’s lies, her disillusionment, and the fact that she can’t get any answers out of a dead man.

January’s neighbor at the cottage is a grump whose friends throw loud parties late into the night. The loud music and his crappy attitude are bad enough. But then January realizes she KNOWS this guy. Augustus “Gus” Everett. Best-selling author of literary fiction and January’s college rival.

After a few days of snapish comments and bickering, the two writers let down their guard over a box of donuts and horrendous coffee. After admitting they are both struggling with their next books – and could each use a quick and lucrative sale – Gus issues the challenge. January will spend the summer writing his sort of serious, angsty literary fiction, and he’ll write something hopeful with a romantic happily-ever-after. Whoever sells their book first, wins.

Let the writing begin!

Review

This was good! More serious than I was expecting. Each of the main characters has personal baggage to deal with. And that baggage also impacts the relationship between them.

I loved the writing/storytelling pieces of this. January and Gus come at storytelling from different world views and with different personal goals. I found the differences fascinating.

The romance is an enemies-to-lovers that didn’t feel like one. I didn’t even notice that this fit that trope until I was thinking over the book as a whole once I had finished. The fact that January is the only POV character has a lot to do with that, also. The hostile feelings are more on her side than I think they ever were on his, so they weren’t truly “enemies,” really.  But the initial hostility between them fits the trope, too. The camaraderie over their writing made for a nice bit of neutral ground for the story to develop.

I wanted more from the bet/contest. It’s there as they write, as they try to expose one another to the sort of research that goes into the kind of writing they usually do and what the other has been challenged to try. But it moves to the background as January falls into the rhythm of a new story and as January and Gus’s relationship develops. I think that piece would have been stronger and more present if January and Gus had both been POV characters. We don’t get to see the contest from Gus’s perspective, which I would have enjoyed.

While the book I was expecting and the book I read didn’t line up precisely, this was a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging story of love, personal growth, family, grief, and writing. Don’t miss it! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Going Off Script by Jen Wilde

REVIEW: Going Off Script by Jen Wilde

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Bex is finally in LA. She has put everything towards this for the last few years. She’s saved money, put up with crummy jobs, and researched and applied for jobs and internships. She’s done everything she could conceive of to make this happen. And now she’s here. She has an internship on her favorite TV show, Silver Falls, a show about werewolves and those hunting them down. She’ll be in the writer’s room, learning everything she can to eventually break into TV writing and production.

The showrunner is supposed to be writing a script for an upcoming episode, and so far he’s produced nothing. And this episode needs to be BIG – it needs to turn things up a notch. So Bex writes a script. The showrunner probably won’t use it – he’s been a jerk since Bex showed up on the lot. But she can show some initiative and some of her ideas. Bex’s script shows the female lead of Silver Falls getting a new love interest. A female love interest.

Bex is still wrapping her mind around her own sexuality and trying to figure out how to come out to her family and friends. But she understands how to write this relationship. And she knows Silver Falls, so she knows how to write well for these characters.

The showrunner decides to use Bex’s script. But when he “straight-washes” her storyline, Bex will have to decide how much she is willing to risk to see her story – and characters who share her sexual identity – on television.

Review

This story really came alive for me when everything started to fall apart. When Bex and her friends – both on and off the show – band together to fight the system and the individuals who want to silence them, I couldn’t read fast enough to see how it would all play out. It was fantastic!

There’s a thread of the story that’s about Bex’s personal development – her sexuality, her upbringing in a home with lots of love but little money, and her decisions about what to do with her voice and her opportunities in LA and on Silver Falls. The other thread is the “we’re not going to take it any more” rebellion. For me, that was the stronger thread. Since both have to work together, of course both were good. But the rebellion left me cheering and talking back to the characters of the book. I love when the underdog fights back.

I’ve read several books lately with gay romantic story lines in an effort to build my understanding of people and groups outside my own frame of reference. It’s been intentional. I think my faith calls me to love everyone, and I can’t do that well if people who are racially or ethnically different from me, or those with a different sexual orientation feel “foreign” or “other.” I strongly believe that my empathy and compassion grows as I know and understand people who think or live differently from me – and reading helps me do that. It helps me make better book recommendations, too, when I read widely.

If you love Hollywood stories, don’t miss this one. Even more, if you like stories where the oppressed/maligned stand up for themselves, be sure to check this one out.  If you are curious to try a gay romance (F/F), this one is fairly mild as far as descriptions of the couple’s physical relationship go (kissing, descriptions of romantic feelings, and a physical encounter that takes place off-page) – pretty standard stuff for YA heterosexual romances. (Language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Foul Play on Words by Becky Clark

REVIEW: Foul Play on Words by Becky Clark

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Midnight Ink in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Charlee has traveled to Portland, Oregon to speak at the Stumptown Writer’s Conference run by her friend Viv. But when Viv shows up at the airport to  get Charlee, she announces her daughter Hanna has been kidnapped.

Viv says she can’t call the police or Hanna will be killed. And she refuses to cancel the conference. She wants Charlee to help her save Hanna. But Charlee knows she’d be way out of her league on that. So Viv drops Charlee at the conference hotel where Charlee says she’ll help with the conference. Then Viv races off, leaving Charlee to muddle through on her own because, “oh, by the way,” all the volunteers have food poisoning.

Food poisoning isn’t the only issue with the conference. The hotel is doubled booked with a dog show. The registration site is glitching and over charging people thousands of dollars. Charlee’s “tech support” is a guy who knows how to use a spreadsheet and is proud of his 12 friends on Facebook. The three volunteers she has seem unfamiliar with what might need to be finished to kick off the conference. Oh – and the hotel chef has been fired.

Charlee has her hands full with the conference itself, but she can’t help picking up clues about what might have happened to Hanna. Soon, she agrees to help Viv find her daughter. But the clues won’t be easy to sift through.

Review

I have mixed feelings on this one. On the positive side, I loved the writer’s conference pieces. Charlee gets thrown into some new territory due to the countless disasters with the conference. I loved how she handled them. And I really like Charlee as a protagonist. I’ve read both books in this series so far, and she’s great. I enjoy her voice and her general attitude toward the various situations she finds herself in.

The disasters at the writer’s conference were pushing the boundaries of reasonable for me. It felt like too much – I didn’t even list them all in my summary.  I had a hard time believing that Viv would dump everything on a conference guest knowing ALL of her usual volunteers were sick, and then disappear. It feels more likely that she would show up but be distracted. Maybe throw herself into conference things and become a drill sergeant and at other times be in a distracted stupor. There were ways to have her there and have the kidnapping impact her. Her total disappearance felt odd to me. I had a similar feeling  – it was all TOO much – in the first book. This may just be the author’s personal style – pile on the problems to the point of overwhelm.

The mystery seemed to be whether there even was a mystery for most of the book. Was Hanna really kidnapped or was she hiding or in rehab or trying to fleece her mom for money? And at times, Charlee seemed to forget herself and her uncertainty and lack of solid evidence. Her behavior in those moments undercut some of the strengths I like about the character.

I will probably stick with the series to see how the style continues to develop with a third book.

Rating: ♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Deadly News by Jody Holford

REVIEW: Deadly News by Jody Holford

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy from Netgalley and Lyrical Underground in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Molly was eager to start her new life in Britton Bay. She had a new job as the editor for the Britton Bay Bulletin. The Bulletin had been struggling to keep up with the times, but her boss, Alan, thought Molly was just what they needed to change that. One of the staff on the paper wasn’t so sure.

Vernon was a sour, grouchy, disagreeable person – with everyone. He was resistant to change and resistant to any of the improvements Molly wanted to make. He had a reputation for being awful to nearly everyone. But it was still a surprise when Molly found his dead body.

Who could have hated Vernon so much they’d kill him? Could it be Molly’s boss, Alan, or one of the staff, Elizabeth? They seemed awfully cozy, and Alan was married. Vernon sure thought something was going on because he threatened to tell Alan’s wife. Or was it the other guy at the paper – Clay? Molly saw evidence he was at the scene. What about Vernon’s angry poker buddy? Or his ex?

Molly’s curious nature as a reporter means she won’t back off this case. She has to figure out who killed Vernon.

Review

This was terrific! This is an excellent kick off for a new series. Molly is a great character. She’s skilled at her job and genuine with other people. She makes some great friends in this small town and even mentors a young writer. She has great chemistry with the romantic interest, too. I loved that he isn’t a cop or a detective! They are very sweet together. The dog was a great addition to the story, too – so cute!

The mystery was terrific. The reader has enough time to get a feel for Vernon before he is killed. And there’s ample time and space to consider the various suspects and motives. The wrap up was solid and satisfying.

This is a series I will definitely keep following. The characters and the town are engaging and enjoyable. I would be happy to spend more time in Britton Bay!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar and Michelle Schusterman

REVIEW: The Pros of Cons by Alison Cherry, Lindsay Ribar and Michelle Schusterman

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Vanessa is attending the We Treasure Fandom con where she is hoping to enjoy some fanfiction with her fellow Wonderlandia fans. It will also be her first chance to meet her fanfic writing partner – and online girlfriend – in person.

Phoebe is attending the Indoor Percussion Association convention with her percussion team from school. While they don’t have the resources that their competition does, the team is really talented. They have a chance to perform really well this week – until a mishap in the hotel lobby with a xylophone.

Callie and her dad are at the World Taxidermy Championships. Things have been rough since Callie’s mom left.  But Callie keeps hoping that by working together her dad will remember she’s his daughter and not just his assistant.

All three conventions are happening in the same convention center at the same time.

When the convention week becomes a disaster for each of the girls, they find each other. And when their relationships from their regular lives are at their worst, this new friendship  may be what each girl needs to redeem her convention experience.

Review

What a fun story! I loved the three girls. Each one was distinct and yet all were endearing in their own ways. Their interpersonal issues – Vanessa with a “girlfriend” who is flirty online but distant in person, Phoebe whose friendships are changing, and Callie who wants to feel like she matters to her dad – are rich and complicated and realistic. I can’t even pick a favorite. I loved each of them for different reasons.

My favorite feature of the book was the way each of the girls found her voice or her place. Vanessa found the confidence to confront the mixed messages. Phoebe’s injury early on opened up an opportunity to find out she’s gifted in a way she never recognized before. And Callie asks for what she wants and needs (after trying a more passive-aggressive approach first). And when each girl finds her voice, she has something to contribute to the new friendship that is developing between them.

Con stories are my new favorite theme in books for teens and young adults. Our family loves going to cons, and I felt at home in the setting the author created for this book. There’s a fourth con interwoven in the story which made for a fun ending. I love what these authors created with these three characters!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Crime and Punctuation by Kaitlyn Dunnett

REVIEW: Crime and Punctuation by Kaitlyn Dunnett

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this from Netgalley and Kensington in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Widow Mikki Lincoln has bought her childhood home in Lenape Hollow, NY for her retirement years. But the work needed on the old house is going to be extensive – and expensive. So Mikki takes her experience as a language arts teacher and turns it into a freelance editing business.

Tiffany Smith finds Mikki’s business online. Excited to find an editor in her own community, she shows up on Mikki’s doorstep with her manuscript in hand. She’s written a 1930s mystery based on a true story from Lenape Hollow. Mikki agrees to take Tiffany on as a client, but before she can dig very far into the book, Tiffany is found dead.

The Lenape Hollow grapevine is full of rumors. Maybe it was suicide. Maybe it was her husband whose business maneuvers have thrown the town into a tizzy. Mikki has to wonder if Tiffany’s death has anything to do with the book she wrote, but the police confiscated it right after Tiffany died. But Mikki’s curiosity kicks into high gear when multiple people accuse her of having something else from Tiffany. Then her house is ransacked. Mikki will need to put all the pieces together soon before the murder sets his or her sights on Mikki next.

Review

I love books with reading or writing-related storylines, so I have been looking forward to this for months. While the book is solid, it was slow paced for my preference. It was too easy to set the book down and forget about it. The characters didn’t quite click for me, either. Mikki is fine, but I didn’t connect with her in a way that made me want to keep reading until the story wrapped up. Usually the characters will push me to keep up with a series. In this case, the plot of the next book will really have to grab my attention for me to give the next book a try.

The mystery was well crafted. We didn’t even know what happened with Tiffany for a long time. Then Mikki had to dig into family, colleagues, and the book pieces, all while adjusting to her new community and picking up relationships with old friends. But I felt like the murderer was a little more obvious than I like in a mystery. I like to have to work to puzzle it out. There were lots of other things going on in the book; sometimes that is an asset when it helps diffuse the tension of the larger story or helps develop the characters. This time, for me at least, it was a distraction that kept me from really locking into the story.

I enjoyed the old relationships that kept sneaking up on Mikki. Since this was the first book in the series, that happened a lot, but they were good reminders of Mikki’s context and age and experiences. It was interesting that in many of these old relationships Mikki felt she needed to apologize for abrupt or abrasive behavior with people who were younger that she saw as annoyances as a teen.

For mystery readers who love digging into the community and people around the central mystery, or a slower placed story, this might be a great fit for you.

Rating: ♥♥♥½

REVIEW: The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

REVIEW: The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Chloe Daschle is tired of playing characters who die. But death scenes have sort of become her bread and butter – all anyone wants her to do, it seems. But not this time. Chloe has read an amazing new script, and she is determined to be the lead. Bound by Love takes place during the American Revolution. It’s based on a letter from the screen writer, Jesse Gates’, ancestor. In the letter, Hamilton asks an old flame if their love might have a second chance after both of their beloved spouses have passed away. Chloe, a big believer in True Love, longs to play the role of Esther in this fictionalized version of the love story represented by the letter.

Hamilton and Esther were very real people in 1781. While Esther was part of British society, she and her father lived in South Carolina where her father managed the land and assets of a wealthy British businessman. Hamilton lived on a nearby farm with the aunt and uncle who raised him after he lost his family. While the two young people are in love, circumstances put them on opposites sides of the growing hostilities in the colonies.

Hundreds of years apart, the stories of Hamilton and Esther and Jesse and Chloe are tied together in ways they can’t begin to fathom.

Review

This is a lovely story of family, forgiveness and faith. This formula of connecting stories in different time periods has been used to great success by this author before, and it works again this time.

The historic pieces from the Revolutionary War are solid. The events of that time period really work against the characters of Hamilton and Esther. The reader gets to see how things develop in the community and threaten to pull the young people apart.

I enjoyed the contemporary story more than the historical one for this book (whereas I enjoyed the historical part more in The Writing Desk.) This isn’t an especially deep or tortured love story, but each character has baggage to overcome. I really enjoyed Chloe and Jesse, and I was cheering for them from the start.

The faith pieces were okay. There are some slightly “mystical” moments that felt out of place to me with the rest of the story. But I loved the conversion stories that explored faith and surrender and unconditional love for some of the characters.

I found a book by this author on my TBR shelves and another on my e-reader. Both are now on my summer reading wish list. I really enjoy Ms. Hauck’s work and I’m looking forward to reading more from her.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Breakout by Kate Messner

REVIEW: Breakout by Kate Messner

Posted on by Jaymie

[Thanks to the folks at Netgalley and Bloomsbury Children’s Books for the opportunity to read an electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Nora is breaking out her journalism skills for the Wolf Creek Time Capsule project. Five letters for the time capsule will get her extra credit for 8th grade English class in the fall.

Elidee and her mom just moved to Wolf Creek from New York City to be closer to Elidee’s older brother who is in the prison at Wolf Creek. Elidee hates being the new kid for the last two weeks at school. If that doesn’t make her stand out enough, she’s also only the second African American in her grade. It doesn’t take long before the whispers start following her down the school halls.

All of Nora’s expectations for writing about Wolf Creek Traditions like the Middle School field day vanish when two inmates break out of the maximum security prison that employs most of the folks in town.

The prison break changes everything. Nora’s dad, the prison supervisor, is under a lot of pressure to explain what happened. Elidee and her mom are cut off from her brother when the prison goes into lock down. The whole town is on edge, afraid the inmates are still in the area, armed and dangerous. The break out shows Nora, her friend Lizzie, and Elidee things about the “quiet, friendly town” they never experienced before.

Review

This was exceptionally good! The three main characters were a delight. Elidee has a great perspective on life in her new town. Her affinity for Hamilton and poetry was a great piece of the story. I loved Lizzie’s humor and her satirical news articles. But I connected the most with Nora. The “stages” she goes through regarding the racial issues in the story – oblivious to questioning to wanting to change – felt a lot like my own experience over the last couple years. It’s honest, and I loved it.

The time capsule is the vehicle that makes the story possible. It gets the kids writing – something else I loved about this story. The whole story is told in letters and transcripts of conversations or news reports. It’s such a fun format! The escaped inmates are hardly in the story, but they impact every character as well as the town’s sense of self.

This is the perfect sort of middle grade book for me. There are fantastic characters learning and growing through challenging life experiences. There’s an emphasis on writing as well as great pop culture tie ins. And the story makes me think.  This would be a great fit for any 5th to 8th grade classroom and school library as well as home collections. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner

REVIEW: The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck by Bethany Turner

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Sarah Hollenbeck seemed to have it all. Her husband was handsome and successful – her high school sweetheart. From the outside, their life looked perfect. But the love was gone. Patrick was sleeping with anyone but his wife. Sarah hadn’t worked since college because she got married and focused on helping Patrick with his business and his image. Without him, what does she have?

The decision to write came a little out of nowhere, and her early poems were horrible. But over the course of 6 weeks, she poured herself and her angst over her marriage and divorce into a steamy story of love. And it was a hit! Two books later “Raine de Bourgh” is famous for her graphic, saucy romances.

Then Sarah meets Jesus. A conversation with a friend turns into a prayer to Christ. And Sarah’s life is suddenly on a new track. But how will she reconcile her old life – and current book contract – with her faith? And how can she tell the sexy widowed pastor at her church that she’s the author of these scandalous books?

Review

This was excellent from start to finish! The transformation of Sarah from the shallow, needy woman at the beginning to the strong, centered woman she becomes is inspiring. Her desire to do right by her new relationship with Christ is sincere. She’s still figuring things out, but she’s determined.

The characters in the story are people I would want as friends. Well, most of them. And the chemistry between Sarah and Pastor Ben is terrific. He’s not perfect, but he is devoted to her, to honoring God in their relationship, and he’s compassionate when the newness of her faith is apparent in the things they are working through.

The story was excellent. I cared about what happened to the people in the story. This is everything I want Christian fiction to be. Strong story, characters I care about, and a faith at the core that feels natural and authentic. Highly recommend!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥