review: multiple exposure by ellen crosby

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Multiple Exposure opens with photojournalist Sophie returning to her London home from an assignment in Iraq.  She is horrified to find blood and signs of a struggle.  Her husband, an operations officer with the CIA, is missing.  Sophie believes Nick was abducted, but others believe Nick’s on the lam after killing the boss of an oil company with interests in Russia.  Sophie doesn’t believe Nick’s a murderer, but eventually she leaves London for Washington, D.C. where she takes a job as a photographer with a private company that gets hired to work an event displaying Faberge eggs.  That’s where Sophie overhears an assassination plot.

The first book in Ellen Crosby’s new Sophie Medina series is full of intrigue, but the separate plots mean Sophie has a little too much going on given her amateur sleuth status.  Even so, Sophie was believable in her ability to piece so much together due to her tenacity and the skills she developed while working in warzones.  The pacing of the story was excellent until the end when everything wrapped up very quickly.  It was a less than satisfying ending to a story that had all the key elements of a great political suspense novel.

4/5

Review copy provided by the publisher, Scribner.

review: summer state of mind by jen calonita

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Summer State of Mind is Jen Calonita’s second book to take place at Whispering Pines summer camp, but it works great as a standalone because the characters of the first book, Sleepaway Girls, have become minor characters as they are now the counselors and there’s a new group of campers.  This time around the focus is on Harper McAllister, a rich girl who gets deemed “Camping Barbie,” due to her numerous hair products and extensive designer wardrobe.  Harper gets sent to camp as punishment after racking up a huge credit card bill.  She had big plans to spend the summer with her snobby friends, but now she’s forced to spend a month without her phone.  Her twin brother and a boy from school are there too, but it’s her newfound friend Lina who makes camp tolerable when all the other girls in their cabin make fun of her.

Summer State of Mind was a super-fun read.  The camp really comes alive through Calonita’s great descriptions of the lake, cabins, and activities.  The characters were painted well too; I could really picture Harper, Lina, Ethan, and Kyle plus some of the minor characters.  The slow changes that Harper experiences through the novel were developed nicely with her making some missteps along the way rather than being immediately embraced.

About the audiobook:  Eileen Stevens sounded exactly like I thought Harper McAllister should!  Stevens read with the mixture of excitement and dread that seemed perfect for Harper’s character.  Jen Calonita’s Summer State of Mind was published in April 2014 by Blackstone Audio and runs 7 hours.

5/5

Review copy provided by Audiobook Jukebox.

review: cure for the common breakup by beth kendrick

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After an air disaster lands flight attendant Summer Benson in the hospital, her pilot boyfriend breaks up with her! She soon checks herself out of the hospital and heads to Black Dog Bay, DE which has been dubbed “the best place in America to bounce back from your breakup.” The entire town is into the theme with business names like Retail Therapy (clothing boutique), The Whinery (bar), and the Jilted Café. Summer is immediately welcomed by the residents with the exception of a notable few, such as the gorgeous, unattached mayor whose roses she mows down while swerving to avoid a turtle. That scene sets the stage for the hilarity that will surround Summer as she recovers in Black Dog Bay, a town that is so fun I hope it really exists somewhere.

All of the characters in Cure for the Common Breakup are outstanding, but I seriously want Summer to be my best friend. Especially after she told town curmudgeon Hattie and her estranged sister Pauline, “This is like the plot of a Sweet Valley High novel.” I was thinking the same thing. Summer has her flaws and sometimes overreacts (that’s how she ended up in Delaware in the first place), but she’s also got a fantastic mix of snark and spunk that makes her worthy of a book of her own (Summer was previously introduced in The Week Before the Wedding).
5/5
Review copy provided by BookSparksPR.

review: one flight up by susan fales-hill

India, Esme, Abby, and Monique went to Silby together although Monique was not part of the group due to her hostility toward India, who is biracial. Race plays an important role in One Flight Up though the focus is on relationships and infidelity. Fittingly, India is a divorce lawyer and the only group member who isn’t married though she is in a serious relationship with a Frenchman. Or at least it was serious until Monique reintroduced India’s ex-fiancé to her life. India split from Keith when he cheated on her, but now that he’s marrying someone else she can’t help but remember what a great lover he was. This is where One Flight Up derailed. It was easy to understand the motives behind everyone else’s infidelity, but the intelligent and rational India wound up falling for Keith’s lies even though he proved himself to be a jerk many times over.
3/5 Review copy provided by the publisher, Washington Square Press.

review: s.e.c.r.e.t. by l. marie adeline

Even before her alcoholic husband died, Cassie knew it was time to move on with her life. Despite finding a new place to live and getting a waitress job, Cassie was stuck romantically. Feeling she wasn’t ready, she turned down her attractive boss, who took up with another one of the waitresses. Now 35, Cassie hasn’t had sex in five years and it’s time she does something about that. When one of her regular customers accidentally leaves behind a diary, Cassie discovers an organization called S.E.C.R.E.T. which helps women like her fulfill their fantasies. From there, L. Marie Adeline takes the reader into an erotic world as Cassie gains some much needed self-esteem.

Although Cassie’s sexual adventures are a big part of the novel, the story is more about her awakening and self-discovery. With S.E.C.R.E.T. forcing her to spell out her fantasies, Cassie actually has to start making decisions instead of just allowing her life to go along passively. It’s a coming-of-age tale that nicely incorporates steamy sex into a well-written plot with great characters.
4/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Broadway.

review: the here and now by ann brashares

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After a plague devastates her time, Prenna, her mother, and a number of others time travel back to 2010. Now in 2014, Prenna is a high school student who likes to push the rules set by the community of time travelers. For reasons that aren’t initially explained, Prenna’s father didn’t come with the group and that makes her a bit of an outcast. The community leaders come down on her, which only causes her to question their motives even more, especially after an encounter with a homeless man who seems to know a lot about her circumstances. The man insists she must stop a murder that occurs in a few days. Of course, Prenna needs help to do that and that’s where Ethan comes in. Ethan also knows more about Prenna than he should and soon the two are working together to stop the foretold murder and change the course of history. The Here and Now is a quick, engaging read with a thought-provoking plot though the ending is predictable.
4/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.

review: love and other foreign words by erin mccahan

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Love and Other Foreign Words follows uber-smart high school student Josie who is so smart she’s enrolled in college classes as a sophomore. Josie is well-versed in translating language, not just the Spanish and French that she studies in school, but other “languages” like teenage girl; love, though, is not one of those languages. When Josie’s older sister introduces her fiancé, Josie cannot understand the attraction and immediately sets about splitting up the pair. Meanwhile, Josie is working on her own first love story.

Josie is definitely the sort I would’ve wanted to hang out with back in high school. She gets things wrong, but her heart is in the right place. The friendships and family dynamics are great with a diverse group of personalities. It was also fantastic to see a young adult novel with parents who guide Josie without being overbearing. And because of that, the message of Love and Other Foreign Words comes through beautifully.
4/5
Review copy provided by BookSparks PR.