Review: The Weight of Blood By: Laura McHugh

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I stayed up all night reading this, lost within it's pages, refusing to put it down. I grew up with that understanding that blood is thicker than water, and I also grew up knowing that only blood comes from wounds. The weight of blood is a heavy thing. Where the landscape of the Ozarks hold caves as deep as the secrets as the people that make their home upon it's land, secrets that go deep into families and flow faster than the river to escape the light of day.
Told from different points of view, spanning across different points of time, yet all working to an apex that will balance everything out. The book begins with Lucy missing her neighbor, Cheri. Cheri was a girl nobody would miss, a forgettable "special" girl from a troubled home that most figured ran away - until her dismembered body was found in a tree by the river a year later. Lucy can't get over this, especially since the mystery of her mother who went missing over ten years ago has never been solved, so she starts asking questions she might never want the answers to. Flashes to Lila (Lucy's mother) and all those years ago are just part of the mystery, and both stories are interwoven.
I can't believe that this is the author's first novel - intense, haunting, jump at the shadows type of book, filled with amazing characters. Although the ending did seem a bit rushed, it was good and worth the read - this is an author to look for, a book to be a must read and enjoy (you will not put this one down).


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Review: The Admirer’s Secret :A Novel By: Pamela Crane

The Admirer's Secret by Pamela Crane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**** This is A First Reads, Thank You Goodreads ******
Haley Montgomery has had her share of tragedy and loss, yet when she begins to receive letters from an admirer a new hope within begins to swell. The letters know her so deep, so well, but who could be sending something so intimate.
Her dream of being a screenwriter seems even closer when famous Hollywood screenwriter Allen Michaels comes to the small town of Westfield offering courses. Allen takes a special interest in Haley even if his intensity is a bit extreme and what sent him running to hide away in a small town is a bit darker than anyone suspects.
Haley is caught between the possibility of the career of her dreams and the man of her dreams, Marc Vincetti. Marc, who she has the most important conversations with, whose handwriting seems to match that of her admirer…
Thing about all this, sometimes not everything is as it seems. A story that not only surprises you but also has a great message (not preachy), with some nailbiting fear provoking moments this is a great thrilling novel.


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Review: Take A Chance On Me By: Jennifer Dawson

Take a Chance on Me by Jennifer Dawson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

****** This is A First Reads, Thank You Goodreads ******
Sneaking out on her wedding isn’t the beginning of Maddie Donovan’s problems, hiking miles in her wedding shoes in the dark from a broken down car isn’t either, no, it’s the bartender that is all too hot and kind in the dive that brings the electricity to the air. Mitch Riley thought he was safe from the big city in the small town dive, that he was living and all was well, thing was, he was hiding and running from feeling alive until she came in.
From the moment Mitch saw her, she got under his skin and he wasn’t going to let her go. From moving her under his roof, to paying his friends not to work on her car for a week, he is looking to keep her. Maddie is looking at Mitch and wants so bad to no longer be good and not only begins to find a connection with him, but one that she had lost with herself long ago.
A story of two broken people that have a connection and whether they are willing to take the chance on each other. Sometimes the scariest thing to do is to love and trust another, and with their histories compounded with the histories of their families, there are a lot of hurdles in front of them.
The main characters have a great heat to them and some scenes will leave you breathless, secondary characters so well rounded that you can’t wait for them to have their own books (this is part of a Something New series), and the town of Revival that you want to move to. I don’t think that this is the last connection between Donovan’s and Riley’s (sneak peek of next novel) and I look forward to the rest of the series.


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Review: Mr. Maybe By: Jane Green

Mr. Maybe by Jane Green
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Libby Mason decided Mr. Right might not be here, but Mr. Right Now in Nick and his hot body and fear of commitment was. Choosing to keep it casual, something deeper soon grows, until the feelings are too much and too serious for Nick to handle. With a broken heart, Libby makes a list of her perfect man, and soon Britain’s wealthiest bachelor Ed is checking off the boxes of her list – from flowers and gifts to the luxurious mansion in the perfect neighborhood. Even as the list is being fulfilled, she finds she is compromising herself more and more, and just why is it that at her engagement party all she thought of was Nick who sat across the table.
This was okay, felt a little Bridget Jones, but not quite. I wanted to like Libby but couldn’t, I found her superficial, whiny, lacking likability. I loved her friends and questioned their sanity and dimensional qualities simply for being a friend with someone so one dimensional. Very predictable storyline, somewhat unfortunate dialogue – especially internal. This is a beach read, a bit of fluff.


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Review: Shotgun Lovesongs ( Audio ) By: Nickolas Butler

Shotgun Lovesongs: A Novel by Nickolas Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A unique voice telling the tale of small town Americana as told from different points of view. The intertwining of lives through the years, the complexity of the relationships each one holds with the other, the secrets, the pains, and the triumphs. Welcome to Little Wing, Wisconsin.
Henry, AKA Hank, is the strongest link of this group. A farmer, married to Beth, a father, generally happy with his hometown life…his life. The simple sunset, the milking of the cows, he has a sense of happiness and gratitude, a man’s whose treasures are not measures in gold, but who is truly rich.
Beth, married to Henry, mother, holds a secret, sometimes loses sight of what is for the road that wasn’t traveled. She knows how lucky she is and feels guilt because of this. Motherly to everyone within the group.
Leland, AKA Lee, the famous musician that made it big but always comes home. No matter what in life, Lee makes his way home, after a tour, making a new record, dating a movie star – it’s his and only his. He feels the emptiness of not having someone to share a life with, not having children, envious of the happiness he sees in his friends having in the simple things and he wants it, he thought he had it years ago once.
Ronnie, former rodeo star, alcoholic, and living with a brain injury. Currently in recovery, having a great sense of life, living, and perspective. He has Lee as a benefactor, best friends that watch after him, yet feels caged in and trapped and feels the need to be free.
Kip, the small town boy who went to Chicago made it big and returned. He was never that popular within the group, yet came back home to buy The Mill, make it into something. He tends to be more worried about how things appear to others, but over time and a few stories (especially Harvey Bunion) you see a deeper complexity.
The town itself is also a character and a metaphor for each one of the characters. Symbolic as each one speaks and shares a moment, a story, a secret – and as the words unfold, so does the town, as a separate entity each time.
I really enjoyed the tone of the story, the weaving of tales, the characters that were so well developed. The only thing, there was so much jumping around – so much, back and forth, that sometimes it felt a little whiplash and that you missed something, but you didn’t. Really good, take your time with this one, I think this is an author’s voice that has been missing in novels lately.



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Review: Can I Get An Amen? By: Sarah Healy

Can I Get An Amen? by Sarah Healy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ellen Carlisle wakes one morning to find not only have her prayers for a child have gone unanswered but her husband has left her and by month's end she is out of work and living back at home with her parents. Her born-again parents don't necessarily provide the right sounding board she needs, her gay brother hides in the city making the obligatory visit and has the compassionate ear, and her foul mouthed independent sister is pained by her own past. Coming home to the haves and bigger haves of the old high school crowd doesn't make it any easier, nor does the slow seeping darkness that begins to enter her parents home with hushed voices and plastered smiles.
A great, easy read, filled with interesting characters, some wonderful conversations (even some amazing humor that had me laughing so hard aloud I was getting looks). This is not a book about religion, or one that pushes Christianity into the pages, this is one about a person, a family, the fragility and sometimes hypocrisy of faith, and all the bonds that make us who we are. This is the author's first novel and I really enjoyed it.

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Review: The Diet Trap By: Jason Lillis PhD, JoAnne Dahl PhD, and Sandra M Weineland PhD

The Diet Trap: Feed Your Psychological Needs and End the Weight Loss Struggle Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Jason Lillis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. A way to get to the root of your eating or dieting trap, change it and develop a healthier way of thinking, thereby a healthier way of life. Written in a way that is very comfortable, informative, fun, compassionate, and therapeutic you will learn self- compassion, mindfulness, how to identify your thinking patterns, and values. There are deep and helpful exercises (to do at your own pace). Meet yourself within these exercises, your goals, your values, you'll even meet your emotional T Rex - if you are willing to let the barriers down.
I really liked this approach to work in inner before thinking the outer was the answer, to get to the root, but in a gentle honest way. I think that the ACT approach would be great in all parts of your life.

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