Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
♥♥♥♥♥♥: Lethal Dreams by Anne Patrick
Release Date: January 11th, 2010
Publisher: Whimsical Publications
Page Count: 214
Source: Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Dr. Erin Jacobs is making a name for herself in the sports world. Drawing on her own life experiences, she encourages and inspires athletes to recover from career ending injuries. So why would someone want to hurt the good doctor?
Detective Logan Sinclair is determined to find that answer. He’s been mesmerized by Erin from the moment she found him and his partner shot in an alleyway. Since that night their lives have never been the same. Will Logan be able to solve the puzzle of who wants Erin out of the way before it’s too late? And if so, what impact will those answers have on their lives?
What Stephanie Thinks: Chaste romance lovers will delight in Anne Patrick's Lethal Dreams. An inspirational romantic suspense story that elaborates on the power of God and the light after loss, this book is all of sentimental, sweet, and hopeful.
Ever since the devastating loss of Erin Jacobs's husband, Ben, her heart has been guarded and her mood low. She has no sights to date men again, even years after the accident, and certainly not Logan Sinclair, the handsome and polite police officer who is involved in the case of his attack for which she is the only witness for. Ben was a police officer. She doesn't need another lost love and another broken heart.
I feel some parts are overly detailed and mundane (i.e.: phone conversations are all displayed, including the hello?s and see ya later!s that hold no certain significance). Patrick isn't necessarily a exquisite storyteller, but her thoughts are so organized and planned, that it makes for a good plot. Though I found the actual content boring, I am pleased by how the book ends with a riveting bang. I'm all for Christian romance, but this one is a bit too preachy for me. It seems every other page mentions God or how God is looking out for the characters or characters' relationships with God. The devotional truth as a whole, is that the last thing to do is give up on Him, which is more than clear in the novel.
Still, the book itself is fast paced and a satisfying mystery. The suspense isn't the life-threatening, heart-pounding type, and there are no love scenes whatsoever (booo), but it's still a nice, clean romance for all ages to enjoy.
Ever since the devastating loss of Erin Jacobs's husband, Ben, her heart has been guarded and her mood low. She has no sights to date men again, even years after the accident, and certainly not Logan Sinclair, the handsome and polite police officer who is involved in the case of his attack for which she is the only witness for. Ben was a police officer. She doesn't need another lost love and another broken heart.
I feel some parts are overly detailed and mundane (i.e.: phone conversations are all displayed, including the hello?s and see ya later!s that hold no certain significance). Patrick isn't necessarily a exquisite storyteller, but her thoughts are so organized and planned, that it makes for a good plot. Though I found the actual content boring, I am pleased by how the book ends with a riveting bang. I'm all for Christian romance, but this one is a bit too preachy for me. It seems every other page mentions God or how God is looking out for the characters or characters' relationships with God. The devotional truth as a whole, is that the last thing to do is give up on Him, which is more than clear in the novel.
Still, the book itself is fast paced and a satisfying mystery. The suspense isn't the life-threatening, heart-pounding type, and there are no love scenes whatsoever (booo), but it's still a nice, clean romance for all ages to enjoy.
Stephanie Loves: "'My husband was a hero for what he did, and I'm very proud of him. But I don't want another hero in my life. My heart can't take it.'"
Radical Rating: 6 hearts: Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Blood & Water by Ephraim Rodriguez
Release Date: July 7th, 2011
Publisher: CreateSpace (self-published)
Page Count: 180
Source: Complimentary copy provided by author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Blood & Water chronicles the life of an American lobster-fisherman haunted by his father's ghost.
Henry Michael Fischer wanted nothing more than to be like his forefathers; become a lobster-fisherman, get married and have a son of his own to carry on the family tradition. But when Henry suspects he is being haunted by his father's ghost, he must lay the past to rest, even if it means digging up his father's grave to return what has been taken—his identity.
What Stephanie Thinks: Rodriguez's debut novel is a haunting and poignant addition to the literary world. His story follows the trials and tributes of Henry Michael Fischer, who's inadvertently living the life of Henry Elliot Fischer (his father), as well as that of Henry Daniel Fischer (his father's father). This eerie and questionably coincidental occurrence is shocking to the stranger, but even more jarring for the victim.
The author writes simply in style, yet manages to make his words sound elegant and poetic. There are definitely some examples of awkward sentence structure in this book, however. Nothing major—mostly comma splices and run-ons—but nonetheless, they do make the story difficult to read.
A story that is plain in nature, but compelling in message, Blood & Water is a read that's bound to make your spine tingle. If you enjoy concise prose with a powerful punch, I recommend you try this one.
The author writes simply in style, yet manages to make his words sound elegant and poetic. There are definitely some examples of awkward sentence structure in this book, however. Nothing major—mostly comma splices and run-ons—but nonetheless, they do make the story difficult to read.
A story that is plain in nature, but compelling in message, Blood & Water is a read that's bound to make your spine tingle. If you enjoy concise prose with a powerful punch, I recommend you try this one.
Stephanie Loves: "He took one last look at his father, held a shallow breath, put both free hands on his father's casket lid, closed it and said, without saying, good-bye."
Radical Rating: 7 hearts: Not without flaws, but overall enjoyable. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Saturday, August 6, 2011
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥: Once in a Lifetime by Ariel Tachna
Release Date: July 8th, 2011
Publisher: Dreamspinner
Page Count: 182
Source: Complimentary copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Offered a yearlong medical research fellowship in France, Shane Johnson has many hopes for the experience: a chance to improve his French, an opportunity to hone his research skills before starting his PhD at Baylor, and the freedom to live life as an openly gay man for the first time. He'll chronicle his year abroad with its challenges, victories, and setbacks as he struggles to balance his faith with his sexuality.
As he navigates the shoals of a first kiss, a first relationship, and perhaps even lasting love, Shane will have to balance his newfound emotions with his long-term plans, and he'll face the decision of how his once-in-a-lifetime experience will fit into the life he wants to lead.
What Stephanie Thinks: This gay romance is unlike anything I've read before. I could almost classify it as Young Adult because it is a coming-of-age story that introduces heart-pounding firsts and nostalgic lasts. It's an extremely intimate journal that accounts Shane's overseas life—one that is an unpredictable adventure, always.
Shane, even in his private journal, sounds insecure; there are lots of "I guess"es and "I think"s in his writing that, while I personally find annoying, actually serve as powerful characterization, showing how unsure of his sexuality and how socially vulnerable he is. His innocence makes me feel really protective him, like I want to shield him from the inevitable heartbreak he will experience. But I'm also very proud of him by the end of the story, of how cooperatively he learns his life's lessons and how he accepts who he truly is and what his heart truly wants.
Tachna details the beauty and breathtakingness of France well. A lot can happen in a year—so much, that one's entire life can change—and this warm novel, told by the young, inexperienced voice of an uncertain gay student, speaks loudly about the journey of self-discovery. Sometimes, new environments are just what we need to really feel that sort of realization, and this is demonstrated by the lovable Shane as he describes his gay lifestyle and longing, making the book much more than a romance.
Shane, even in his private journal, sounds insecure; there are lots of "I guess"es and "I think"s in his writing that, while I personally find annoying, actually serve as powerful characterization, showing how unsure of his sexuality and how socially vulnerable he is. His innocence makes me feel really protective him, like I want to shield him from the inevitable heartbreak he will experience. But I'm also very proud of him by the end of the story, of how cooperatively he learns his life's lessons and how he accepts who he truly is and what his heart truly wants.
Tachna details the beauty and breathtakingness of France well. A lot can happen in a year—so much, that one's entire life can change—and this warm novel, told by the young, inexperienced voice of an uncertain gay student, speaks loudly about the journey of self-discovery. Sometimes, new environments are just what we need to really feel that sort of realization, and this is demonstrated by the lovable Shane as he describes his gay lifestyle and longing, making the book much more than a romance.
Stephanie Loves: "He didn't answer me then because he was afraid it was the wine talking, not my heart, and that I didn't know what I was saying or that I'd regret saying it in the morning.
The only thing I regret is being blind for so long."
The only thing I regret is being blind for so long."
Radical Rating: 8 hearts: An engaging read; highly recommended. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Friday, August 5, 2011
♥♥♥♥♥♥: Stories from a Lifetime by Hugh Aaron
Release Date: September 27th, 2010
Publisher: Stones Point
Page Count: 288
Stories from a Lifetime carries readers through a widely diverse series of life's peaks and valleys with poignant, clear-eyed vision and understanding that is only gradually gained across the course of a lifetime through endurance and honest appraisal of the emotional rollercoaster that we all ride.
These stories form a welcome, and increasingly rare, honest, grounded, and beautifully written collection that will touch nerves while sympathizing with what it means to be human.
What Stephanie Thinks: As a fan of memoirs, I enjoyed reading Aaron's short story collection that spans the soaring highs and times of his eight decades. Each of the stories are captivating and nostalgic in their own familiar way, and each of them has something to say about the human life.
I had trouble getting into it (and finishing it) because the style of writing, while flowy in almost a poetic way, is often redundant and confusing. I love the idea of how life is described via short stories, but the narrative voice just isn't for me. Aaron has a detailed knack of explaining occurrences, but nothing is particularly gripping or profound.
The book as a whole, is an interesting concept, so I am not completely disappointed by this one. Aaron is profound with memories and spins a lifetime of stories that captures his wise, loved voice.
I had trouble getting into it (and finishing it) because the style of writing, while flowy in almost a poetic way, is often redundant and confusing. I love the idea of how life is described via short stories, but the narrative voice just isn't for me. Aaron has a detailed knack of explaining occurrences, but nothing is particularly gripping or profound.
The book as a whole, is an interesting concept, so I am not completely disappointed by this one. Aaron is profound with memories and spins a lifetime of stories that captures his wise, loved voice.
Radical Rating: 6 hearts- Satisfying for a first read, but I'm not going back ♥♥♥♥♥♥
♥♥♥♥: The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe by Sandi Gelles-Cole
Release Date: April 22nd, 2011
Publisher: Gelles-Cole Literary Enterprises
Page Count: 178
Source: Complimentary copy provided by author, via Pump Up Your Book Promotions, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review (thank you!)
Marilyn Monroe is 85, the victim of a fire set purposefully to destroy her. This is the memoir she writes of what really happened from the night she was rescued in August, ‘62 until June 1st, 2011 when the book starts, her 85th birthday.
Told in her own voice and propelled by the various lifestyles she tries on in her search to dig beneath the character that she created for the movies to the real woman inside, the book is two stories. While we read to learn what caused the horrible accident that ruined her face, she writes of her recovery from the addictions that subsumed her in Hollywood, her life as an average woman traveling with a young lover in Europe; her final goodbye to DiMaggio. As a senior citizen, Marilyn’s face is recreated she tells what happened to her fortune and then how she supported herself, how it felt when her face and body aged, how lust continued into her late years and how she fell in love when she thought all of that was behind her.
The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe is a mix of fiction, myth, and Marilyn history.
What Stephanie Thinks: The concept of a fictionalized memoir is interesting and intriguing. It's like fan fiction, only it's based off reality, and it's fueled by the mystery and sketchy details surrounding a tragic event that our country has suspected multiple conspiracies about.
I wanted to enjoy this book so much. Marilyn Monroe is personally one of my favorite actresses of all time. Aside from the scandals and success that followed her around, she was beautiful in the most genuine, remarkable way. She wasn't a perfect size 00 and had acknowledged body image issues; yet she still managed to retain her image as America's sweetheart and most famous sex symbol. She died a legend, and with The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe, this legend is inverted. Because Marilyn didn't actually die. Marilyn actually faked her death, with the help of her ex, the infamous Joe DiMaggio, and spent the rest of her life regretting it. She became a normal person, a nobody, and is finally able to tell her story—the real story.
Unfortunately, this book is everything but the initial "interesting and intriguing" I hoped it to be. The writing is very bland and ill-structured; I wonder if Gelles-Cole had an editor. Most of the book seems to focus on Marilyn's alcoholism and recovery (or lack thereof), as well as the various romps and roadtrips she had as she aged, but I can't find an actual aim to this book. It's entirely pointless, and I still can't figure out why the author chose to ramble on and on about Marilyn's supposed life after death, because it ends abruptly and without a climax. Heck, there isn't even any rising action at all. Things happen, people speak, but nothing really crafts together to make a good novel.
I finished the book because the vocabulary is easy and font is large. At less than 200 pages, I read this in a few sittings. However, the writing is difficult to follow, and I found myself skimming a lot, because most of the text doesn't contribute to the main issue (not that there really is any main issue, in the first place). I really had to trudge through this one, and can't say I recommend it.
Stephanie Loves: "I started to understand that a person could be happy for herself, that you did not need an audience to smile. It was awakening."
I wanted to enjoy this book so much. Marilyn Monroe is personally one of my favorite actresses of all time. Aside from the scandals and success that followed her around, she was beautiful in the most genuine, remarkable way. She wasn't a perfect size 00 and had acknowledged body image issues; yet she still managed to retain her image as America's sweetheart and most famous sex symbol. She died a legend, and with The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe, this legend is inverted. Because Marilyn didn't actually die. Marilyn actually faked her death, with the help of her ex, the infamous Joe DiMaggio, and spent the rest of her life regretting it. She became a normal person, a nobody, and is finally able to tell her story—the real story.
Unfortunately, this book is everything but the initial "interesting and intriguing" I hoped it to be. The writing is very bland and ill-structured; I wonder if Gelles-Cole had an editor. Most of the book seems to focus on Marilyn's alcoholism and recovery (or lack thereof), as well as the various romps and roadtrips she had as she aged, but I can't find an actual aim to this book. It's entirely pointless, and I still can't figure out why the author chose to ramble on and on about Marilyn's supposed life after death, because it ends abruptly and without a climax. Heck, there isn't even any rising action at all. Things happen, people speak, but nothing really crafts together to make a good novel.
I finished the book because the vocabulary is easy and font is large. At less than 200 pages, I read this in a few sittings. However, the writing is difficult to follow, and I found myself skimming a lot, because most of the text doesn't contribute to the main issue (not that there really is any main issue, in the first place). I really had to trudge through this one, and can't say I recommend it.
Stephanie Loves: "I started to understand that a person could be happy for herself, that you did not need an audience to smile. It was awakening."
Radical Rating: 4 hearts: So-so; reading this book may cause wrinkles (from frowning so much). ♥♥♥♥
Thursday, August 4, 2011
calling, calling
Who wants to be my pen pal?!! I'm talking about serious, old-fashioned, pen-and-paper, let's-do-lunch-via-post pen pals. You get cool postcards from Korea, and I get to keep in touch with American friends! Yes yes yes! Email me (thestephanieloves at gmail dot com) so we can exchange addresses if you're interested.
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