review: elvis and the underdogs by jenny lee

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Following a seizure at school, 10 year old elementary school outcast Benji is told he’s going to have to wear a helmet to protect his head from potential falls unless his parents agree to get him a service dog. Benji’s mom (who is the ultimate helicopter mom and incredibly annoying) immediately says no to the dog citing Benji’s allergies and her white rug. But after the helmet results in a(nother) bullying incident, Benji’s mom relents. Elvis arrives shortly thereafter, but Elvis is no regular service dog—he’s actually intended for the president to thwart attacks and Elvis is able to speak in English to Benji. Although Elvis is disappointed not to be at The White House, the pair soon bond and Benji makes a few friends at school.

Elvis and the Underdogs is a very cute, entertaining story although it sometimes reads more like a script than a novel which is likely due to author Jenny Lee’s employment as a writer for the Disney Channel. Lee also makes a few mistakes that young readers are unlikely to pick up on, but could be important for them to know the difference about. For example, she uses “therapy dog” and “service dog” interchangeably and fails to have the children follow Epi-Pen protocol (understandable that the children wouldn’t know, but the nurse they had on the phone should’ve instructed them to call 911 and go to the hospital following the injection).
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Balzer + Bray.

review: the lesser bohemians by eimear mcbride

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Written with a non-standard, disjointed sentence structure, I found The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride to be nearly incomprehensible. Had it not been for the description provided by the publisher, it’s unlikely I ever would’ve figured out the main character is 18 and attending drama school. Here’s an example:

Empty flat, only for us. Loll at the windows studying buses, guessing what ages Blustons has seen. Hang those dresses for a hundred years. On the sofa, he flicks through the flatmate’s Stage that’s been circled, re-circled for telemarketing jobs but peace in the bright, bright sun.

Such writing works for the sex scenes (and that’s what the novel is primarily about—the relationship with a much older man rather than the actual goings-on of the drama school), but the choppiness makes it difficult to muddle through all the rest. It felt like the author was trying be literary and poetic, but it came off as pretentious.
1/5
Review copy provided by Blogging for Books.

review: lucky bastard by deborah coonts

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After a major breakup in So Damn Lucky, Lucky Bastard finds Lucky getting back in the saddle; of course, she has to deal with a murder too. This time it’s death by Jimmy Choo. The unlucky victim is found stabbed with a stiletto inside a Ferrari dealership that should’ve been impossible for her to gain entry to… unless she had the code from the owner. While the cops run their investigation, Lucky does some interrogating of her own as she happens to have connections to many of the people potentially involved in the crime.

Lucky may have lost her way a little bit in the third novel in the series, but she is back on her snarky game in the fourth. Deborah Coonts builds on all the well-known characters which prevents them from feeling stale now that they’ve become so familiar. The conspiracy that surrounds what becomes multiple murders keeps the reader guessing while also heightening the stakes for Lucky, who can’t seem to help herself from always getting involved.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publicist, Kate Tilton.

review: a fatal twist by tracy weber

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Yoga instructor Kate has once again found herself at the center of a murder mystery—only this time the suspect seems all too clearly to be the dead man’s wife who Kate witnessed fleeing the scene. Kate refuses to believe the woman, one of her yoga students, killed her husband. Kate’s boyfriend is adamant she stay out of the investigation, so she enlists her onetime nemesis Tiffany. In a tale with more than a few twists and red herrings, Tracy Weber does an excellent job of weaving the subplots into the main plot. It was also great to see Tiffany in a larger role where she had to work with Kate rather than against her even as Weber kept up some of the established contentiousness. The fourth book in the series builds nicely upon previous plot points (Kate’s now studying to be a doula in preparation for her best friend giving birth), but is self-contained enough to work as a standalone.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publicist, MM Book Publicity.

review: untethered by julie lawson timmer

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Untethered ripped out my heart. With her second novel, Julie Lawson Timmer created a remarkably touching story about family. College professor Char Hawthron had a pretty great life with her husband and teenage stepdaughter, who was never really a “step,” but a true daughter. Unfortunately, that “step” becomes very important when Char’s husband dies and Allie’s mother decides to move her across the country. Allie doesn’t want to move and not just because she likes living with Char; Allie is a tutor/mentor to a young girl named Morgan who was adopted out of foster care and still struggles with abandonment issues. The writing was passionate and the plotting was spot-on with some unexpected twists that illustrate how familial bonds can be made without a blood relation.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publicist, Book Sparks PR.

review: at close range by laura griffin

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The 11th book in the Tracers series kicks off with a double homicide that brings the San Marcos Police and Delphi Center together once again. This time the stakes are very high for one Delphi Center employee—the recovered weapon has his fingerprints all over it. Fortunately for Scott (who first appeared in Unforgivable), the lead detective on the case doesn’t believe he’s guilty, especially when new evidence turns up that points to a conspiracy. Soon Dani and Scott are teaming up (despite Dani’s protests) in more ways than one as the body count continues to rise.

At Close Range is fast-paced with a number of twists before the conspiracy unfolds. As the pieces come together, the plot becomes even more riveting. As usual, Laura Griffin does the romance part of the romantic suspense just as well as the suspense—Dani and Scott are hot together and make for a fairly evenly matched pair although Dani is a little insecure regarding Scott’s past liaisons.
5/5
Review copy provided by the author.

feature: meg cabot

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Back in 2011 and 2012, I wrote about book signings held by Jen Lancaster (twice), Meg Cabot, and Ally Carter for a now-defunct site. Since those posts are no longer available, I'm sharing them here. Below is the one about Meg Cabot visiting the Seattle area. It first appeared July 2011.

After a signing event at the University Village Barnes and Noble in promotion of her new paranormal romance for adults, Overbite, Meg Cabot had a second full day in Seattle. She first appeared on New Day Northwest, a daytime talk show airing on the local NBC affiliate, before heading to the gorgeous Woodmark Hotel for their Words @ The Woodmark author series. While waiting for Cabot in the Great Room of the Woodmark, we enjoyed complimentary hors d'oeuvres while taking in the view of Lake Washington.

Before the event officially got underway, Cabot sat down in the audience and started chatting; she commented that the food was a great touch as none of her other signings had food. She asked a few people questions about things like what grade they would start in the fall and if Seattle is always so cold in the summer (especially when most of the rest of the country is having a heat wave). Then it was time for Cabot to take the microphone to talk about her books, the inspiration behind many of them, and a bit about her personal life. As it turns out, things from her personal life frequently inspire her books whether it be working in a dorm after college (the Heather Wells series) or moving in the 4th grade (the Ally Finkle series).

Given how funny books like the Queen of Babble ones are, it was little surprise that the stories Cabot shared were beyond hysterical—she even cracked herself up, such as when she talked about her brother, the 6’8” bald police officer with tribal tattoos! But probably the best moment came when a man suddenly appeared at the window just as Cabot spoke of the Interview with the Vampire craze that occurred during her tenure as an assistant residence hall director at New York University. As Cabot interrupted herself to interact with the man at the window (who she invited into the room), she joked about his timing (could he be a vampire?) and commented that of course he’s stop to check out a room full of ladies. At the end, Cabot answered everyone’s questions, signed copies of her books, and posed for pictures.

When asked which of her books was her favorite, Cabot responded that she feels the book one is currently working on has to be the favorite otherwise it’d never get finished. She’s currently writing the sequel to Abandon, which will be called Underworld and released next year. Then Cabot shared that she once went to an author signing where the author shared her favorite book, which was one Cabot didn’t like. So Cabot said she would lie to all of us so we didn’t think her stupid for liking a book we hated.