review: the lake house by marci nault

When travel writer Heather Bregman buys a home in Nagog, she causes quite a stir. The long-time residents fear a young newcomer will disrupt their lives. But the disruption she causes is not nearly as must as the one Victoria Rose's return creates. Victoria grew up in Nagog and was headed toward marriage with a Nagog boy when Hollywood called her name. Many of the Nagog residents resent her and are as mean to their old friend as they are to Heather which causes the two women to bond despite their age difference.

With two narrators and a number of flashbacks, The Lake House was a bit uneven. The story likely would've held my attention more if it'd been from just one perspective. It was also difficult to understand the hatred and resentment held by many of the residents; they simply seemed like wretched people. The main characters of Heather and Victoria were compelling enough to hold my interest though.
4/5
Review copy provided by Kelley & Hall Book Publicity.

review: promise me, cowboy by c.j. carmichael

Sage and Dawson had a hot romance until his seven months pregnant estranged wife burst in on them with a shotgun. Sage never saw him again. Now after five years have passed, Dawson wants to make things right. He tracks Sage down at the chocolate shop she owns and operates, but she's none too pleased to see him. It'll take a lot of explanation and the cuteness of Dawson's daughter to win Sage back in C.J. Carmichael's excellent family drama, Promise Me, Cowboy. Carmichael made good use here of the backstory she created for Sage to explain Sage's reluctance to accept Dawson's apology. And despite Promise Me, Cowboy being a short novella, the characters are fully realized.
5/5
Review copy provided by BookSparksPR.

review: mirror, mirror off the wall by kjerstin gruys

As a graduate student in UCLA's sociology department, Kjerstin Gruys was well-versed in body issues especially since she struggled with an eating disorder herself. When Gruys began shopping for a wedding dress, it triggered something that caused her to embark upon living for a year without mirrors. She began blogging about the experience and eventually turned it into a book. Gruys's experiences in her year without mirrors made for an interesting read. I was pleasantly surprised that she discovered few noticed the difference in her pared down makeup routine (which makes me rethink my own bathroom counter), but the book really doesn't go beyond her experiences. Although the note at the beginning states this is not self-help, I expected a Ph.D. candidate to have some concluding statements. Instead Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall ends with Gruys noting how lovely she looks as she sees herself in a mirror for the first time in a year.
4/5
Review copy from LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

review: the wisdom of hair by kim boykin

Set in the 1980s, The Wisdom of Hair follows Zora Adams as she leaves her alcoholic mother to attend beauty school. Although she has no money, one of Zora's high school teachers arranges for her to live in a garage apartment in exchange for making meals for the handsome widower who owns the property. The story is a slice-of-life look at the friendships a young woman makes and the struggles she has as she severs ties with the family she once had and the one she now creates. Every second spent with Zora was a pleasure. Zora's story of triumph was amazing.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Berkley.

review: justice for sara by erica spindler

When Kat McCall found her sister/guardian brutally beaten to death, she was the primary suspect. Although everyone in their small town was confident of her guilt, Kat's trial was moved and the "liberals" there acquitted her. Kat fled to the northwest, but someone continued to torment her with letters demanding justice for Sara. After 10 years, one of those letters taunted her into returning to her hometown where Kat finds she's still hated. Kat's determination to finally find her sister's murderer puts her life in danger, but also leads her to an unexpected love.

Justice for Sara is powerfully written with strong characters who were so easy to visualize in all their situations. The many twists and red herrings kept me guessing as to who really killed Sara while the intensity of the plot was maintained throughout. I loved how Erica Spindler used flashbacks to allow the reader to discover the truth when so many in Liberty, LA had so much to hide.

About the audiobook: Tavia Gilbert was an excellent narrator. Her use of different voices really made Justice for Sara come alive. It was like listening to a radio drama despite being read by only one person. I was tempted to sit in the parking lot so I could listen to more. Justice for Sara by Erica Spindler was published by Macmillan Audio in 2013. It runs 10 hours.
5/5
Review copy provided by Audiobook Jukebox.

review: you know what you have to do by bonnie shimko

You Know What You Have to Do was a twisted surprise. High school student Mary-Madgalene (called Mary by adults other than her mother and Maggie by her peers) has grown up as a social outcast living in a funeral home owned by her stepfather. Although her biological dad was gone before she was born, everyone in their small town knows exactly who he is as he’s in prison for killing his mother. Maggie believes his genes are responsible for the horrible secret she’s keeping—a voice in her head tells her to kill and she acts on it. Although she’s been sent to a therapist for her nightmares, Maggie is determined not to reveal anything.

A 15 year old girl who loves her dog is not who you expect as a serial killer—especially as one who brilliantly gets away with it. The premise was incredible and strong, but other elements made the plot weak. There were inexplicable jumps in the timeline despite the story taking place in one academic year. Furthermore, issues like abusive parents and date rape were introduced without going anywhere.
3/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Amazon Children’s Publishing.

review: playing dirty by jennifer echols

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Playing Dirty takes place about two years after the first book in the Stargazer series from Jennifer Echols. The focus this time is on Sarah who has just gotten a makeover after splitting with her husband. After bad boy Nine Lives went to jail on Sarah’s watch, she’s got one chance to save her career by working with a country band led by the very sexy Quentin who is reportedly a coke addict about to break up the band because his on/off girlfriend and bandmate has taken up with another member of the band. But Sarah soon learns that not everything is as it seems with this band. To start, Erin only pretends to get drunk, Martin never removes his shirt during strip poker, and she catches the supposedly uneducated Quentin and Owen watching Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment on DVD. Sarah is determined to not only figure out what’s going on with this band, but get them to finish the album for the record label. The band, on the other hand, is determined to keep Sarah out; and Quentin isn’t above seducing Sarah to keep her distracted.

Every member of the band has a secret which is revealed by the end and those secrets kept me reading so that I finished Playing Dirty in just over a day. I loved the band (I kept picturing them as sexy characters on the show Nashville) and Sarah. Although Sarah’s been hurt and is definitely vulnerable, she was almost always in control. And the über-intelligent Quentin is pretty much the sexiest man ever. With excellent characters and a compelling plot, Playing Dirty is one of the best romances around.

As a side note, Stargazer is not a company I’d ever want to work for as apparently your job is always in danger. Sarah went through quite an ordeal with Nine Lives (which is slowly revealed through Playing Dirty so I won’t spoil it), but she receives the threat of being fired rather than praise. In the first novel, Wendy was also in danger of being fired. Sounds like a terrible company!
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Pocket Books.