review: spotted by crissy calhoun

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Composing what is primarily an episode guide to the first two seasons of Gossip Girl, Crissy Calhoun takes an almost scholarly approach to the popular show based on Cecily von Ziegesar’s scandalous book series. Spotted includes actor biographies, but the main focus is the episodes. Each episode write-up receives a bit of analysis followed by some interesting tidbits in a section titled “JTLYK” (that would be “just to let you know”). The music and clothing featured in each episode are also detailed. Some of the sections, such as Oops and The Original Gossipverse, are only included for some episodes since they don’t apply to each one. The Original Gossipverse was particularly fun for someone like me who read the series long before the show debuted. While I remembered some book plots, this section reminded me that Georgina actually is a book character though her story has been dramatically changed.

Although I’m a fan of Gossip Girl, Spotted revealed two things I was completely unaware of. Each episode derives its title from a movie. That movie generally has some relation to the episode plot which Calhoun explains. Additionally, the show parallels in many ways another Josh Schwartz show, The O.C. I didn’t watch The O.C., so I didn’t notice. Calhoun points out where the plots of two shows overlap. Teens in New York and California experience the same things when they share an executive producer!

Calhoun gives an in-depth look at Gossip Girl that can be appreciated by those who were fans from the beginning as well as those who have just started watching. Spotted also educates the reader on the many references the show makes to pop culture, historical events, and works of literature.
5/5
ARC Review

review: air time by hank phillippi ryan

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Never question the importance of a good lead. Air Time immediately draws the reader in by opening with, “It’s never a good thing when the flight attendant is crying.” The third in the Charlie McNally series finds Charlie chasing another sweeps piece while dealing with some relationship drama. Josh has realized Charlie puts the job first; needless to say, he’s not exactly thrilled. The work/life balance is particularly hard this time because the counterfeit purse story has Charlie jumping on airplanes and going undercover.

It’s amazing how the details push a book from great to outstanding. Again the characterization of Botox is excellent (she jumps onto the table and knocks over the water which soaks the cop). Then there’s the description of the newsroom. Quite a few people think TV news is all excitement all the time, but chapter seven reveals the truth. Charlie tests out her hidden camera set-up in the newsroom and describes what she recorded: “I got great shots of a producer searching Facebook, the satellite guy doing a crossword puzzle, and the new morning reporter shopping online for red patent Louboutin pumps. If the camera were set to record audio, I could have also provided slam-dunk proof that our noon anchor was making comments to an intern that Nanette in Human Resources would certainly have frowned upon.” I’m guilty of that third one with embarrassing regularity. In fact, I went to Barneys and bought those red Louboutin heels! I’ll be looking over my shoulder for reporters testing hidden cameras from now on. Charlie has definitely made her way into my heart. I feel I know her. I’d love to work with her.
5/5
Review copy provided by the author.

review: the night gardener by george pelecanos

Twenty years after The Night Gardener killings, another teen dies in a manner that fits the profile. This time the victim is an acquaintance of the son of one of the cops charged with the investigation. Though the initial killings went unsolved, Gus Ramone is determined to solve this one even if it means bending the rules.

The first chapter takes place in 1985 and serves to introduce the three men who will take lead roles in the investigation twenty years later. Over the course of the book, Pelecanos reveals the source of the animosity Doc Holiday feels for Gus Ramone. It may not exactly be warranted, but it led them to the uneasy alliance they’ve formed in order to solve the murders. The revelation also allows the reader to know what it must do to Ramone when he elects to compromise the investigation in order to protect some of the people involved.

The dialogue and descriptions are graphic at times, but the grittiness of the language rings authentic for the situation. Asa’s death, which doesn’t happen until a few chapters in, is at the forefront of the book, but there are a number of side plots. These make sense because cops would definitely be investigating more than one case, especially in a major city like Washington, DC. Pelecanos shows his TV series experience by having many of those side plots weave into the main one.
4/5

giveaway: morning sunshine!

After reading my review of Morning Sunshine! did you want to check it out for yourself? Well, here's your chance. Thanks to Hachette for providing five copies for this giveaway.

Here's the publisher description:
"Robin Meade is the poster child for confidence and self-assurance. But the anchor of Morning Express with Robin Meade wasn't always that way. In fact, there was a period in her career when she was plagued with anxiety and panic attacks. In Morning Sunshine!, she tells how she overcame her fear of public speaking to go on and achieve her dream of becoming a news anchor.

Robin Meade offers her own tried-and-true four-step approach to building confidence. Her trademark warm, personal style translates from the screen to the page in this book, which will give readers even more insight into the young woman who came out of nowhere to become one of the most popular news anchors on television today."

The rules: Enter by leaving a comment to this post with your email (if I can't contact you, you can't win). You can gain additional entries by leaving separate comments letting me know that you're a follower or have posted a link to the giveaway on your site. The deadline to enter is 11:59pm Pacific on October 10. Winners will be selected at random. Since this is from Hachette the winners must have mailing addresses in the US or Canada; no PO Boxes.

review: the brutal telling by louise penny

The small town of Three Pines is shocked when a man all of the residents claim not to know is found dead in the bistro. Inspector Gamache and his team start the investigation, which uncovers some interesting facts like his expensive dental work that make them realize The Hermit is not a tramp as they first suspected. Unfortunately, they still have no leads on who the man is or who killed him and why. Gamache and the others interview the citizens, but get nowhere until a newcomer to Three Pines stumbles upon a cabin revealing many of the dead man’s secrets.

Having not read the first four books of the series, I feel I shouldn’t be too critical. Perhaps the things I didn’t like are things I’d enjoy if I had prior knowledge of the characters. I struggled through the parts about characters not directly involved with the plot. I kept thinking that by the end there would be some way to tie it all into the central storyline; instead those characters and stories just seemed to be excess. However, I can see that people familiar with the stories might enjoy these bits if those characters were central to previous plots. Although I put down The Brutal Telling a few times, by chapter 25 I was very interested in finding out who killed The Hermit.
3/5
ARC Review

review: morning sunshine! by robin meade

Writing about her experiences as a newscaster, Robin Meade comes across as the diva anchor type. Fortunately most of my coworkers, past and present (and hopefully future!) have been lovely, but I have encountered a few I’d rather not work with again. I have a feeling Meade’s experience in Chicago of being handed the breaking news script at 30 to air was punishment for her bad behavior. She fumes over not being tracked down to be told about the breaking news as she slides into the anchor chair as the 30 second cue is called. She’s lucky her mic even worked! That sort of thing is completely unacceptable. Meade experiences her first of many panic attacks that night. The panic attacks cause her husband to force her to meet with a doctor. Although Meade resists at first, she eventually recognizes she needs to change (though she makes no apology for her Chicago behavior). Even so, Meade still comes across as braggy throughout the book. My favorite part was when Meade’s doctor told her she was phony; that’s exactly what I thought too.

Morning Sunshine! is written in a conversational style (as one is taught for TV news), but lacks a cohesiveness. In this way it reads less memoir and more “let me give you this great example from my amazing life to illustrate this excellent advice.” Some of the advice is good and there are humorous parts, but the advice is mostly of the “no duh” sort; of course people need to take time out to relax and of course people should strive to be authentic to oneself. This book will likely inspire fans of HLN’s Morning Express, which Meade currently anchors.
3/5
ARC Review

giveaway winners: friends like these and stray affections

Congratulations to Wanda, Lisanne624, Jaime, etriv, and Linna who each win a copy of Friends Like These. Sheila is the winner of Stray Affections. If you haven't already, please email me your address.