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Story of a Secret Heart–don’t waste your time!
Story of a Secret Heart
by Cassi Ellen
I have never written a truly negative review because I appreciate the hard work and time authors put into their writing and because I think it is really important to be kind. In addition, I only read books I think will be good and of interest to me. In the case of Story of a Secret Heart by Cassi Ellen, I was offered a free download and the summary sounded interesting: how a young woman survives heartbreak in a country far from home.
This memoir is supposed to be based on a true story. I soon found myself wondering how much of it is true–all but the names of the people in the book, 50%, 1%? I began to hope, desperately almost, that most of it is fiction. Cassi is supposedly a “small town girl” from the U.K. and on multiple occasions uses that mind set as the reason she wanders (usually jumps) into dangerous behaviors and relationships. She went to University and works (when she hasn’t called in sick) in a hospital. How can someone with that background drink day and night as a response to happiness, sadness, boredom, lack of confidence? How can she engage in promiscuous sex with multiple partners? How can she have relationships with known drug dealers who surround themselves with prostitutes?
There are other head-scratching conflicts in Story of a Secret Heart. One of Cassi’s boyfriends, Ben, is obsessively jealous and displays an outrageous temper if anyone flirts with her. Then one evening he encourages her to have sex with an unknown–and she does! On another occasion he texts a friend of his who thinks she is lovely and sets up a date for them, telling the man he has to give her $1000 to get herself beautiful for the date! This from a man who is jealous of flirting?
Three-fourths of the way through this book, I started doing a little researching on Cassi Ellen and this story. The only thing I came up with online is a great web of promotional posts giving the book away on varying sites. No personal information on the author. Reviews on Amazon were very good and just a little less so on Goodreads. I don’t know if I am breaking a blogger/reviewer code by giving a bad review, but I am floored at the positive reviews. I did understand the two reviewers who said it was like watching a train or car wreck: you knew it was going to happen, but you could’t make yourself look away. As I read, I kept telling Drama Queen Cassi in my head to STOP what she is doing–the drinking until she passes out, waking up in strange beds, going on drug deliveries–and start making good choices. She claims to have gained, through this process, self-confidence in the presence of the “beautiful people,” but the “respect” she gets is not because of anything she does, what she looks like or who she is. It is because she is with a very rich drug dealer and his associates living a dangerous lifestyle.
I would never recommend this book to anyone for any reason, and I’m sorry I spent time reading it. I hope it is mostly fiction and I suspect it is. I assume Cassi Ellen is a pseudonym, and that is certainly the author’s right.
Disregarding numerous typographical errors, I do have two positive things to say about the book. One is that the quotations at the end of each chapter are well chosen to accompany the text. The other relates to one possible use of this book. If you are going through a rough time, feeling mistreated and lonely, you can look at Cassi and see a vivid picture of a variety of inappropriate responses to the hard times in life and choose a better path.
Faithful–a tale of overcoming the past
Faithful
by Alice Hoffman
Recently I have read a number of cozy mysteries and commented on the sacrifice of character development to the attentions of a multi-threaded plot. As a reviewer I need to evaluate a book based on genre expectations. Just as I don’t expect an apple to taste like an orange, I should not expect a cozy mystery to have the same characteristics as a book in the wider class of “novel.”
Faithful by Alice Hoffman is a novel categorized by Simon & Schuster, its publisher, as Women’s Fiction. While I agree that women tend to be more interested than men in following stories of regeneration of damaged individuals, I think many men would appreciate this book as well. It centers on Shelby who is driving when an accident occurs that puts her best friend into a coma. To summarize this story into that one sentence makes the book sound trite, and it is anything but trite. With excellent character development, the novel draws the reader into Shelby’s world of pain and confusion as she struggles to survive a past she can not change.
It is important to participate in Shelby’s pain and the ups and downs of her journey as close to first hand as possible. Therefore, I provide no specifics that would interfere with the relationship of the reader to Shelby. The number of other characters in the book is limited as Shelby holds others at arm’s length, but they are interesting and sufficiently developed according to the part they play in Shelby’s story. Hoffman’s descriptive powers are good–both of physical setting and emotional climate. Her sensitive and realistic treatment of difficult events and her plot development make Faithful a novel worth reading and recommending. It is due for publication on November 1, 2016.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lethal Lifestyles–so many characters!
Lethal Lifestyles
by LynDee Walker
I read and really enjoyed Cover Shot, the fifth cozy in the Headlines in High Heels Mystery Series. Therefore, I looked forward to reading Lethal Lifestyles, the sixth book in the series by LynDee Walker, which is scheduled to be published on September 27, 2016.
I have one problem with Walker’s latest book, and it is a difficulty that sneaks up on many cozy mystery writers. There are so many minor characters, either possible suspects or helpful sidekicks to the sleuth, that few are well-developed enough to be memorable. For once, I was very glad to be reading an e-book so I could search quickly for the introduction of the various characters and thus identify their roles. At first I thought the fault was mine. Late in the book, however, a character named Chad contributes an important clue via a text message to his wife. In searching the name, I confirmed that Nichelle, our crime reporter in high heels, had in fact contacted him earlier in the book, but the reader is given no information about his relationship to Nichelle’s good friend, Jenn. This was probably the most egregious example.
While this overabundance of characters is a problem in Lethal Lifestyles, it is also indicative of what makes this book a really good cozy mystery–an intricate plot with lots of puzzle pieces to keep the reader interested. The story centers around the wedding of two of Nichelle’s co-reporters. Nichelle, as maid of honor, is acting as a wedding planner for the couple and wants the wedding to be perfect. Unfortunately, a man is found dead at the site of the rehearsal dinner, and the groom is implicated. Nichelle has one week to clear the groom’s name by finding the murderer. Clues that are reasonable go off in all directions. The author brings it all together with a very surprising ending.
I do recommend Lethal Lifestyles if you enjoy cozies. In addition to great mystery elements, you will find humor and romance. The only mystery remaining to me is how Nichelle manages to do all that sleuthing in an assortment of stilettos and one good pair of wedges. It makes my feet hurt just to think about it.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Michelangelo’s Ghost–a good cozy in which I expand my cultural awareness
Michelangelo’s Ghost
A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery
by Gigi Pandian
Michelangelo’s Ghost is an interesting cozy. The mystery is good and the characters and setting took me out of my comfort zone, which is good in this case. Jaya Jones is a history professor in San Francisco. She is attractive, feisty, petite, intelligent and adventurous. As Jaya is of Indian and American descent, like the author herself, the book has many authentic references to Indian culture and foods.
In her pursuit of the killer of her former mentor, Jaya, accompanied by her successful brother Fish and his exotic girlfriend, travels to Italy to trace the Renaissance roots of an art find that the mystery is centered around. The little known artist has connections to India and possibly to Michelangelo.
There are twists and turns to the plot, characters who are not really as they present themselves, and a good tying up of loose ends. I recommend this book and am interested in reading others in the series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Pumpkins in Paradise–Great Example of a Cozy!
Pumpkins in Paradise
by Kathi Daley
I love mysteries–the kind you read. Not the kind where you wonder where you hid something so no one else could find it! I love the type of mystery that focuses on the puzzle, not on the actual blood, gore and violence. I’m not interested in the extremities of psychological madness or depravity. When I retired, and before I began reviewing, I sated my appetite by reading all of Agatha Christie’s novels. Although I didn’t care for her mysteries that dabbled in the occult, most of the rest of the works of this prolific writer are excellent.
Having conquered the Christie mountain of 78 mystery novels, I read from a variety of genres and stumbled across a sub-genre developed at the end of the twentieth century, the cozy mystery. While I don’t limit myself to cozies, I do intersperse them with my other readings. Cozies downplay sex, violence, and inappropriate language while providing the reader with a puzzle. The story is usually set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. The amateur detective is usually a woman with some contacts in the law enforcement community. A cozy series may be thematic and there is often an element of humor and a touch of romance. Christie’s Miss Marple books fit into this category as does the television series Murder, She Wrote.
Pumpkins in Paradise is the first novel in the Tj Jensen Mystery Series written by Kathi Daley. There are currently seven books in the series, all set in the little town of Paradise and most with a seasonal theme. Our heroine in this cozy series is Tj Jensen, a single, high school PE teacher and coach who has moved in with her father and grandfather. They run a local woodsy resort and are helping her care for her two newly orphaned half-sisters. Pumpkins in Paradise meets all the criteria for a good cozy and excels in the puzzle category. In order to solve a murder mystery, Tj has to solve a final puzzle created for her by the victim. The story is populated by interesting, colorful townsfolk and visitors. The setting has small town appeal: Paradise is decorated for fall and bustling with pumpkin activities.
I recommend Pumpkins in Paradise as an excellent cozy that you will not want to put down. I plan on reading other books in the series–comfortable excitement in a feel good setting. But don’t be fooled–Pumpkins in Paradise has a healthy dose of suspense as well!
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
DISILLUSIONED–Didn’t Disappoint This Reader
Disillusioned
by Christy Barritt
Disillusioned, a Christian thriller by Christy Barritt, plunges the reader into a tense scene of media pursuit. It then segues before the end of the first chapter into an attempt to coerce Nikki and her brother Bobby, a Navy SEAL, to accompany some armed men. Are their attackers terrorists or feds? The action continues at a fast pace through the whole book with a cast of strong characters.
Interwoven with and integral to the main plot, in which Bobby is accused of being part of a Columbian terror group, are three major subplots. One deals with Nikki’s complicated romantic relationships. Another with spiritual faith and trust issues Nikki has in the aftermath of several traumatic years. The last is the mental state of her brother and the possibility that his years of captivity in Columbia have altered his character.
I strongly recommend this book on two levels. As a thriller I find the ins and outs of the plot to be fascinating. Except for the high stress level I occasionally needed to relieve, it is a book I didn’t want to put down. As a Christian novel, I found the implicit challenge to be personal. If confronted with the extreme difficulties and disappointments Nikki faced, would my faith in God remain strong? Would I remember that “God is on my side even when all seems lost.”?
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Collision of the Heart–good historical romance
Collision of the Heart
by Laurie Alice Eakes
Collision of the Heart is a historical romance set in 1856 in frigid winter in Michigan, the author’s home state. Laurie Alice Eakes gives us a story in which the main characters have to ultimately decide if their love for each other is strong enough. Does Mia love Ayden more than the opportunity to become a professional writer? Does Ayden love Mia more than a successful, secure career surrounded by loving extended family? Just when all seems predictable, the author twists the plot twice with surprises.
In Collision of the Heart, Eakes uses words as brush strokes with her well written descriptions of cold winter nights that draw the reader in to experience the evenings as the characters do. For example, Eakes writes of an upset Ayden that “His footfalls crunched on the frozen snow, loud in the quiet of the night.” The author arouses our senses with “The wind carried the scent of wood smoke with its promise of warm fires, hot soup, and hotter coffee.” In another passage, the author uses repetition of “ached” to good advantage to drive home both the thoughts and emotions of Ayden as he tries to work through his feelings for Mia.
Collision of the Heart is an easy going, enjoyable romance which captures the reader’s interest immediately with a train wreck, leaving passengers hurt and stranded in a small town for many days. We witness the kind and generous responses of most of the townspeople and follow the intrigue of an abandoned child. I recommend this book which will be released by Waterfall Press on August 23, 2016.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Sideline–chick lit for football illiterates
From the Sideline
by Amy Avanzino
From the Sideline is the second book in The Wake-Up Series by Amy Avanzino. Many reviewers praised the first book, Wake-Up Call, as a very funny novel. This is confusing because From the Sideline has humorous notes and certainly moments I can relate to, but they are more than balanced out by the difficulties, past and present, of the main character, Autumn Kovac. In fact, the major problems in the lives of Autumn and her son Zachery are rather dark. My other point of confusion is that Wake-Up Call’s main character is Sarah Winslow, not Autumn Kovac. While it is fine to write a series based on a theme rather than a character, there is a supporting character named Sarah (no last name given) in From the Sideline. I guess I will have to read Wake-Up Call to find out if it is the same Sarah and to read a book with a more generous serving of humor.
From the Sideline combines a number of themes. It focuses on an overly protective single mom, a survivor of several abusive situations, whose awkward, intelligent, and bullied son wants to play football. Autumn Kovac receives an in-depth, rapid introduction to youth football: terminology that seems like a foreign language, coaches who range from caring mentors to frustrated men trying to recapture the glory days of promising sports careers, enthusiastic football moms and dads, and pressured players who are really just kids who want to play.
Another theme is, of course, one that most people experience–the wake-up call. Bad habits and ways of responding to others creep up on us, and Autumn learns to recognize that as well as how to disengage herself and make healthier choices.
Although circumstances vary, most women can probably identify with some parts of this story and engage with the main character who, like all of us, has some difficult choices to make. It’s “chick lit,” and while I enjoyed this book as an entertaining read, I came away with food for thought as well.
I extend my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Henery Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Blood Brothers–a Satisfying Read
Blood Brothers
by Rick Acker
Satisfying. Blood Brothers by Rick Acker is satisfying. That may not sound like much of a compliment, but it really is–the same way that an excellent meal is satisfying. When I finished the book, I found the ending had come at the right time and in the right way without being predictable. Through Acker’s writing I had experienced just the right amount of excitement and intrigue within a framework of our legal and investigative systems and a background of scientific research. There was even a touch of history and the romance of a foreign country.
When I reviewed Acker’s book Dead Man’s Rule, I mentioned that the main character’s wife, Noelle, had only a minor role and was not well-developed. That deficit was rectified in this novel as Noelle is presented as a three-dimensional character adding realism to the novel.
Blood Brothers deals to a great degree with relationships–mainly focusing on two rich brothers, Karl and Gunner, at odds over control of their pharmaceutical company and also on lawyer Ben Corbin and his spouse Noelle. Private investigator Sergei Spassky, who is a new Christian, has to confront his feelings for FBI agent Elena Kamenev, a nonbeliever who shares his Russian heritage. Together they have to face the ramifications of very different religious beliefs.
The intricacies of the lawsuit and countersuit were handled well including the reactions of a fairly new judge and the chosen jury. Insights into the science trials were also interesting and included one loose end (a mistake made by a summer intern) that surprisingly was not included in the book’s resolution. I appreciated the brief afterword containing nonfiction information related to some of the technical aspects of the book. I definitely advise reading it after you finish the book, however, as reading it in advance would spoil the story for you.
Rick Acker has written three legal thrillers for adults and two detective mysteries intended for a younger audience, but as is often the case with a well-written book for youth, several reviewers also recommend them for a fun read for adults. I definitely was not disappointed by Blood Brothers, the second of Acker’s engaging tales for me and certainly not the last.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Waterfall Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Reflections on What Comes Around–with Content Warning!
What Comes Around
by Adair Sanders
In the interest of full disclosure, I need to say that I went to school with the author and I really wanted to like this book as much as I did her two previous books: As Sick as Our Secrets, the first in the Allison Parker Mystery Series and Biologically Bankrupt…Sins of the Father, a sad, autobiographical work. What Comes Around is the second in her mystery series. I think Sanders is a good writer: in terms of plot, characters, etc, I can easily award this book four stars (out of five). The first chapter is particularly well written and drew me into the rest of the tale.
My reticence in wholeheartedly recommending What Comes Around centers on its graphic descriptions of sexual violence. Everyone has a personal tolerance level for various aspects of fiction–horror, violence, even romance. I personally find this level of detail disturbing, but another reader may see its role in What Comes Around as essential to character and plot development.
Kudos to Adair Sanders who completed a successful law career and has jumped into a second successful career as a writer. I look forward to reading more of the Allison Parker Mystery Series.
education pathways 