Book Club Reporter Book Reviews

Astounding Debut Novel!

Alone In The Light is brilliant story-telling at its best!

• Benjamin Bass has written an astounding debut novel. Alone In The Light is much more than a book...it's a deeply moving, personal experience from which you must recover.

• Benjamin Bass brings to his readers, complex characters of depth.

• I believe Alone In The Light has the magnificent potential (and dare I say, the power) to bring the characters, as well as the readers, “together in the light!”

• The story of Alone In The Light is told from the perspective of characters, Josh Carpenter and Mary Fischer. Josh is affectionately referred to by the men in his National Guard unit as, “Big Sarge.” Mary is also in the military and meets Josh in Indiana. Everything is pretty much copesetic. Then Josh’s unit, and Mary, are moved from Indiana and stationed in Camp Wolf, Kuwait.

• Let's not minimize the strong message in Alone in the Light. Our VA has failed our military veterans for decades. If our veterans don’t deserve our help, then who does?

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Beginning is a beautifully well-written story. And it has the potential to affect readers emotionally. The characters have strengths and weaknesses with which many readers may identify.

In Nora Edington’s novel, Beginning, we learn Jenny was sheltered by her parents. Now she is a lovely nineteen year old woman. Jenny is an intelligent young woman. At nineteen years old she is diligently studying to take exams for medical school. Yes, Jenny possesses both beauty and brains! Yet, other than one boy who she does not like, Jenny has virtually no experience with boys, never mind men.

But Jenny’s friend, Leah, has invited Jenny to spend the summer with her at a lakeside cottage. Out by the lake, Leah and Jenny meet two handsome brothers, Gary and Ray. Gary is a bit rough around the edges, which makes him a pretty good match for Leah. Ray, however, becomes instantly taken by the sweet and lovely Jenny.

When Jenny meets Ray, her life as she knows it begins to change. The shadow of naivety begins to disappear as a stunning array of light begins an awakening. This older man, Ray, is not only gorgeous, smart, and successful. He is smitten with Jenny. He quickly recognizes her inexperience. Ray begins to woo Jenny. Jenny is receptive to Ray's advances.

The characters in Beginning are well-drawn and engaging. At times you may dislike Gary, but then he may redeem himself by letting his guard down and allowing us to see another, better side of him.

Edington provides us with just the right amount of conflict/resolution/conflict to keep this story moving and on track. Edington skillfully paces the progression of Jenny’s carnal education with Ray. While the author has developed Ray as a sexy hunk of man, we get to see who he really is through his growing love for Jenny. I thoroughly enjoyed Beginning.

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Looking for a fun little romance, you just got lucky!

In this chick-lit short story, Lucky Suit by Lauren Blakely, twenty-something Kristen Leonard, doesn't have a significant man in her life right now. Kristen has had the misfortune of agreeing blind dates arranged for her by her grandmother. Needless to say, none of the dates turned out to be winners.

Kristen is a confident and intelligent woman. Math is Kristen's strong suit. At night, she enjoys peering at the stars and constellations through her telescope. Kristen lives in a condo next door to her grandmother, who's still looking marvelous in her skinny jeans! While they have a great relationship, Kristen is not interested in any more setup dates arranged by Grandma. But not so fast! Grandma still has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Lucky Suit, began as an Audible Original Only short story. But now Lucky Suit is Book One of Lauren Blakely's Sexy Suits Book Series, and in addition to audio book, Lucky Suit is now also available in Kindle, paperback, and audio CD.

Lucky Suit is a quick, fun romance read. The relationship between Kristen and her grandmother is refreshing. But now Kristen has to sort out her feelings between Mack and Cameron. And that might turn out to be a bit tricky indeed.

For the full book review and/or to buy the book: Click here

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My Way To You - Creek Canyon Book 1 - Author: Catherine Bybee

Book Club Reporter - Book Review

My Way To You is the spectacular beginning of a new book series by Catherine Bybee, Creek Canyon, Book 1. This book is a women’s fiction novel about college age, Parker Sinclair. A devastating wildfire wreaks ruin upon her family’s land. And the passing of their parents, has left Parker to take on the responsibility of raising her younger siblings.

My Way To You is a fascinating novel highlighting the inner strength of a young woman who leaves college in order to raise her younger siblings and manage her parents’ property. This is also the captivating story of a young woman’s inner strength, in the face of seemingly unsurmountable obstacles, to accomplish more than she ever dreamed. To paraphrase from the publisher’s description: “The last thing Parker needs is a mudslide destroying everything she has worked so hard to maintain.”

Parker has her work set out for her. As the reader, we are gripped by Parker’s admirable determination to succeed. But soon we are dismayed Parker’s obstinacy might be her undoing, as she is steadfast in her ways. Colin Hudson, the public works supervisor, tries diligently to lend a hand to Parker. Yet, she is distrustful and doesn’t make it easy for Parker to help her.

My Way To You is an absorbing story of a young woman’s determination to succeed. However, the story of Parker also brings something important to the forefront. There are times when accepting help from others, may be the wrong thing to do. However, sometimes it is the only right thing to do. And knowing the difference is essential, if not crucial.

I highly recommend My Way to You as a fabulous women’s fiction novel. I am greatly looking forward to the next book in this series.

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The Grace Year - Author Kim Liggett - Book Review Podcast

The Grace Year - YA Fiction Novel. Kim Liggett has written a completely absorbing young adult, YA fiction novel with an amazing feminist story! I was completely absorbed by The Grace Year, which is set to become a film.

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One Little Secret Book Review

One Little Secret is a murder mystery thriller novel of suspense and reminiscent of the popular Peyton Place series from way back when. Susan decides to invite her new neighbors to join her and her husband, Nadal for a short summer getaway in the Hamptons. Susan is hopeful that she and Nadal will become closer friends with the two couples joining them at the beach house. Unfortunately, Susan’s balloon will land pretty quickly when one of the women in the group is found murdered.

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Book Club Reporter, Laura Jay, Special Message to Listeners/Readers

Hello fellow readers. Thank you so much for listening to my book review podcast. Today I began a book review of Cate Holahan's book, One Little Secret. But then, I guess the spirit hit me and instead this podcast episode is a special message from me to you all.

Not to worry, my book review podcast episode 13 - One Little Secret has been published.
-Laura Jay

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Murder She Wrote - Murder In Red

This is my first ever reading of a Murder She Wrote novel. While I am life-long fan of Angela Lansbury’s film career, I have only watched a couple of Murder She Wrote tv episodes. I very much enjoyed those Murder She Wrote tv episodes. However, I wasn’t sure, without the delightful Angela Lansbury performing on my tv screen, how reading this book would pan out.

But as it turned out, just like a great Murder She Wrote tv series episode, I very much enjoyed Murder She Wrote, Murder In Red. Jon Land’s writing in Murder In Red, brought Jessica Fletcher and all the other characters to life for me in living color. I can’t tell you how many times I smiled while reading, as I felt like I could literally feel the character of Jessica Fletcher, coming to life…and to me, she looked just like Angela Lansbury. The dialogue for Jessica and the rest of the cast of characters was written so expertly by Jon Land, I felt as though I was watching a great Murder She Wrote tv movie.

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The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax is a women's fiction novel. The story provides us with an inside view of the lives and careers of four women writers. Wendy Wax touches on the seriousness of how authors must sacrifice and work hard to succeed in the highly competitive book publishing arena. However, regardless of the seriousness of the subject matter, The Accidental Bestseller turned out to be a nice summer read for me.

The Accidental Bestseller is about four women writers who met some years ago at a writer's conference. Each woman is from a different part of the country, and their lifestyles are diverse as well. Regardless of their differences, these four women, Kendall, Tanya, Mallory and Faye became fast friends and have remained so over the years.

Wendy Wax captures the real-life struggles experienced by many aspiring writers. The Accidental Bestseller storyline revolves mostly around the life of Kendall Aims. While Kendall has enjoyed a fairly successful writing career, she is now struggling with a bad case of writer's block. And as if that isn’t enough to make any writer miserable, Kendall's marriage is sinking fast! And she fears her writing career is going down with the ship.

I really enjoyed The Accidental bestseller. First and foremost, it is a story of women supporting women. And that in itself makes this a timely story of how a group of diverse women, each acting according to their own belief system can change the life of another woman. In the case of the Accidental Bestseller, I believe the actions of the four friends changed all their lives for the better. However, they each learned a hard lesson from the experience. Let’s face it, by its very definition, sacrifice is not easy.

If you are curious of what Kendall, Tanya, Mallory and Faye actually did together. And if you want to know how it all turned out, I suggest you read The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax.

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Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen – Book Review

Suspense mystery thriller, Lying Next to Me, is a page turner right from the start! Anxious to figure out what happened to Sophie, a woman with a husband and a three-year old daughter, I rock 'n rolled right through this book.

Author Gregg Olsen opens his novel, Lying Next to Me, with a short, but interesting and foreboding, tale of the female giant Pacific octopus. I actually read the octopus tale twice to try to figure out why I needed to know about this octopus.

Adam and his wife, Sophie, were spending Memorial Day weekend in a cabin by the beach. Sophie was relaxing alone on the beach while Adam and their little girl, Aubrey, were out on the water crabbing from a row boat. All was tranquil and calm until Adam heard Sophie screaming. Adam looked toward the shore to see a man dragging Sophie across the sandy beach as he and Aubrey watched helplessly from the row boat.

Only one elderly man, with failing eyesight, saw what happened to Adam’s wife. Sophie was kidnapped in broad daylight. She was taken right out in the open on the beach where her husband and daughter had watched helplessly from the row boat.

The local law enforcement arrived on the scene, but there wasn’t much to go on. Detective Montrose and his female partner, Lee, began working the kidnapping case. We learn that Adam and Lee had actually known each in the past. Adam had been a buddy of Lee’s older brother when they were all kids growing up in the same small town. Lee felt a strong desire to solve Sophie’s case. She was driven because of her connection to Adam, and she had another reason as well.

When I reached the end of Lying Next to Me, I went back and re-read the part about the giant octopus. This time, I only had to read about that scary octopus one time. Now, it all made sense. This is my third Gregg Olsen mystery thriller book and it did not disappoint. Lying Next to Me provided plenty of twists and turns to keep the momentum of the story moving forward at a quick pace. If you've read other Gregg Olsen books, you'll love Lying Next to Me. If this is your first Gregg Olsen book, you'll love Lying Next to Me.

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