The Sunday Salon 28 March

Sunday 28 March, 2010 By 5 Comments

The Sunday Salon.com

This past week was filled with numerous ups and downs. Life is filled with these roller-coaster moments, which usually keep life exciting, but as with all roller coaster there are unpleasant spots.

Our beloved neighbours, our adopted family is moving. Exactly when and where is unknown to date and this is creating a lot of anxiety in my home and theirs.

We are still on the hunt for the college/university that best matches our son’s needs and desires. This should be an enjoyable time and we are trying. Many have offered advise, all of which I appreciate. Our son will need to stay within a reasonable driving distance as he will need to be home when dorms close and there is no other form of transportation we can afford.

This past week I have received some much anticipated books and I cannot wait to share them with all of you.

Today I will be spent nursing my head, I am in a bad cycle of pain, while my DH works with one of the boys on building another section of our new picket fence.

This past week twelve reviews went up:
Today I am planning to read:
  • The Overnight Socialite by Bridie Clark
  • Watchlist based on an idea by Jeffery Deaver

Happy Reading and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

All are welcome to join The Sunday Salon.

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Book Review: A Touch of Scandal by Jennifer Haymore

Saturday 27 March, 2010 By 6 Comments

Title: A Touch of Scandal
Author: Jennifer Haymore
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: March 30, 2010
Paperback: 432 pages
ISBN: 978-0446540278
Genre: Historical Romance

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From the Publisher:

The last thing Garrett, Duke of Calton, expects to find while tracking his sworn enemy is the delectable, mysterious Kate. This beautiful servant girl rouses a longing the battle-scarred ex-soldier had never hoped to feel again. But when she turns out to be the sister of the man he seeks, he’s convinced he’s been betrayed.

Kate knows her duty to her family, yet how can she ignore Garrett’s powerful pull on her heart? Or the heady temptation of his stolen-and sizzling-kisses? Scandal has followed the duke since the war. Now the greatest shock of all is on its way-the one that can separate Garrett and Kate forever.

My Review:

Before A Touch of Scandal, there was A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore, a novel I have not had the pleasure to read, rest assured that will be remedied immediately. A Touch of Scandal is an exhilarating historical romance, which can easily stand on it’s own merits written with a fluidity of prose that renders the reader back to England in the 1820s. Her characters are quite realistic and her descriptions leave little for the reader to imagine as one feels as though one is with the characters. 22-year-old Kate is a lady’s maid for Lady Rebecca whose husband happens do be William Fisk, Kate’s brother, a piece of information that has been kept from Lady Rebecca. Kate does not sleep in the house with the other servants but rather she travels 6 miles by foot each day so she can tend to her ailing younger brother Reggie. One evening Kate sees a man bathing in a semi-hidden pool of a castle ruins and she is drawn to him. She learns his name is Garrett and knows little else of him, but her brother then catches the two together, and holds Garrett hostage back at Debussey Manor. If he is so dangerous and a wanted man, why would he put his mother, sister and brother at risk? Kate does not understand, nor does she realise that Garrett is the Duke of Calton and Lady Rebecca’s brother. Kate as well as Lady Rebecca are sweet and trusting women, innocents caught up in a long-standing quarrel between Garrett and William. Which is telling the truth of events that took place eight years past? The answers and what become of these fabulous characters makes this book a delightful read and a captivating novel that will touch the reader’s heart and mind and keep the reader fully engaged as the plot continues to unwind. A Touch of Scandal is a historical romance novel filled with deep seeded family secrets, deceptions, and scandal and above all, family. I am anxiously awaiting Jennifer Haymore’s next novel, A Season of Seduction, which will be in stores sometime in October.

About the Author:

I’ve been writing since I could pick up a pencil….

Wait, no…that’s what every other writer says! I started writing just before my eighth birthday, and it wasn’t on my own volition. I was sailing with my family in a 42-foot sailboat across the Pacific, and since there were no local schools (except those pertaining to fish) nearby, my mother homeschooled me. She was a strict taskmaster! A veritable slave driver! She demanded a new story every day.

So I’d sit in the boat’s galley and write. And stare out the porthole, and write some more. And doodle, and write some more. By the time we arrived in Hawaii the following year, I had a portfolio of stories, and I was hooked. Since then I haven’t stopped. (Well, much. I did take breaks now and then, for things like college, young kids, and a master’s degree.)

I love to read just as much as I love to write, and actually the reading bug hit me at about the same time my mom was cracking the whip over my head and commanding me to write. What else to occupy your time with when there are no other kids to play with and nothing to do but stare at the endless sea? Some of my most recent favorites: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, River God by Wilbur Smith, and anything by Laura Kinsale and Loretta Chase.

5 Fun Facts Here
Author’s Website
Friend the Author on Facebook.
Follow the author on Twitter.

I received a complimentary copy of A Touch of Scandal by Jennifer Haymore from Hachette as part of the tour. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Spotlight Series: The Singer’s Gun

Saturday 27 March, 2010 By 5 Comments

This review is part of the Unbridled Books Spotlight Series. To read other wonderful book reviews, spot by the Spotlight Series website.

Title: The Singer’s Gun
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Publication Date: May 2010
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-1-936071-64-7
Genre: Fiction

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From the Publisher:

Everyone Anton Waker grew up with is corrupt. His parents deal in stolen goods and his first career is a partnership venture with his cousin Aria selling forged passports and social security cards to illegal aliens. Anton longs for a less questionable way of living in the world and by his late twenties has reinvented himself as a successful middle manager. Then a routine security check suggests that things are not quite what they appear. And Aria begins blackmailing him to do one last job for her. But the seemingly simple job proves to have profound and unexpected repercussions.
As Anton’s carefully constructed life begins to disintegrate around him, he’s forced to choose between loyalty to his family and his desires for a different kind of life. When everyone is willing to use someone else to escape the past, it is up to Anton, on the island of Ischia, to face the ghosts that travel close behind him.
Emily St. John Mandel follows up her electric debut with a spellbinding novel of international crime, false identities, the depths and limits of family ties, and the often confusing bonds of love. Taut with suspense, beautifully imagined, full of unexpected corners, desperate choices, betrayals and halftruths with deadly consequences, The Singer’s Gun explores the dangerous territory between one’s moral compass and the heart’s desire.

My Review:

Upon completion of Emily St. John Mandel’s first novel, Last Night In Montreal, I began reading her second novel, The Singer’s Gun. It was with trepidation that I began the next novel. How could it possibly compare to her first and yet maybe it would be as well written, possibly more so, I had to know. The Singer’s Gun was all I was hoping it would be and more. Often I read passages to my husband simply so I would have someone to discuss the novel with. The Singer’s Gun is written in a heartbreakingly beautiful prose with a heavy dose of extremely well timed and quite clever wit. Told in both past and present, weaving together the lives of an array of characters, The Singer’s Gun becomes real in the reader’s mind. Whether in Brooklyn or the Island of Ischia, the reader is transported there through the lyrical, descriptive prose and held there until Emily St. John Mandel decides to move on to another locale or time. An extremely moving novel that delves into the grey areas that makes up every day life. Through the expertly drafted prose, each character springs to life, from each member of the Walker family, to the mysterious Elena and the ever-persistent Alexandra Broden. For fear of giving any of the plot away, I will say that each character must look into the grey areas of life, to determine what is good, what is worth fighting for and to know when to stop. The Singer’s Gun contains an expertly crafted plot with several surprise twists that will not only keep the reader engaged, but will make the reader crave discussing the issues. I truly cannot praise this novel enough and my only regret is that I had not read this novel with a colleague so I could discuss the key issues and all those delicately woven grey areas.


About the Author:
Emily St. John Mandel was born on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, in 1979. She studied dance at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and lived briefly in Montreal before relocating to New York. She lives in Brooklyn.

I received a complimentary copy of The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel from Unbridled Books. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of the aforementioned novels.

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Book Tour & Review: Savor by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung

Friday 26 March, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
Author: Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung
Publisher: HarperOne
Publication Date: March 9, 2010
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN: 978-0061697692
Genre: Philosophy/Spirituality

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From the Publisher:

Common sense tells us that to lose weight, we must eat less and exercise more. But somehow we get stalled. We start on a weight-loss program with good intentions but cannot stay on track. Neither the countless fad diets, nor the annual spending of $50 billion on weight loss helps us feel better or lose weight.

Too many of us are in a cycle of shame and guilt. We spend countless hours worrying about what we ate or if we exercised enough, blaming ourselves for actions that we can’t undo. We are stuck in the past and unable to live in the present—that moment in which we do have the power to make changes in our lives.

With Savor, world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist Dr. Lilian Cheung show us how to end our struggles with weight once and for all.

Offering practical tools, including personalized goal setting, a detailed nutrition guide, and a mindful living plan, the authors help us to uncover the roots of our habits and then guide us as we transform our actions. Savor teaches us how to easily adopt the practice of mindfulness and integrate it into eating, exercise, and all facets of our daily life, so that being conscious and present becomes a core part of our being.

It is the awareness of the present moment, the realization of why we do what we do, that enables us to stop feeling bad and start changing our behavior. Savor not only helps us achieve the healthy weight and well-being we seek, but it also brings to the surface the rich abundance of life available to us in every moment.

My Review:

Ever pondered why one eats when stressed? Tried dieting only to fall back into the same old routine weeks or months later? If so, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung may be the book to read. The authors, while using an astonishing amount of documented research, point out some rather key functions of why so many fail on their diets, over-eat, or eat while stressed out. The authors suggest that rather than being obsessed with counting every calorie or trying to calculate whether or not enough calories were burned in one’s last workout to allow a slice of cake, one should rather step back and take a look inward. One must consciously make oneself aware not only of how one eats and what one chooses to eat, but more importantly, one must understand one’s innermost needs, desires, and actions. Savor is not only well written and well researched, the authors offer up sound advise, suggestions, substitutions, definitions, and illustrations to get their point across. Savor is a much-needed slice-of-reality book in today’s society where just reading the appendices alone would benefit many readers, this one included. I cannot praise Savor enough.

To learn more about the authors, follow of Facebook or Twitter and to find out more about the book as well as resources check out the Savor website.

Please visit the other tour stops here.

I received a complimentary copy of Savor:Mindful Eating Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr. Lilian Cheung to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the novel. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Aloha Friday 26 March

Friday 26 March, 2010 By 19 Comments


Some of my readers know what I have been going through these past weeks, this last being the longest and most exhausting of my life. So today’s question is going to require as little brain power as possible.

The question for today: Do you have children getting ready for college or in college? If so any advise.

I have a son looking at colleges and welcome any advise .

Visit An Island Life for more fun Aloha Fridays.

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Book Tour & Review: The Big Book of Soul by Stephanie Rose Bird

Friday 26 March, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: The Big Book of Soul
Author: Stephanie Rose Bird
Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing
Publication Date: February 5, 2010
Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN: 978-1571745996
Genre: New Age

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About the Book:

Soul is the essence of African American culture–the ingredient that makes it tick. In The Big Book of Soul, writer and herbalist Stephanie Rose Bird takes us on an amazing journey into the ancient traditions of mysticism, spirituality, and mythology that lie beneath this uniquely African American experience. Bird explores the healing, magic, and divination traditions of ancient African earth-based spirituality, and traces how these practices have evolved in contemporary African American culture. Along the way she offers recipes, rituals and resources that you can use to heal your life.

My Review:

An insightful look into the many facets of the African culture, from spiritual beliefs, folklore, herbal remedies, as well as recipes, Stephanie Rose Bird has assembled a fascinating collection of history in her book, The Big Book of Soul: The Ultimate Guide To The African American Spirit. The book is divided into ten chapters, beginning with Bird’s thorough introduction to the African history and culture with definitions and origins. Next she writes about African American wellness, beginning with Hoodoo, or folkloric practices. Again Bird does a stellar job explaining the origins, usage and beliefs. She segues into the use of African herbs, traditional and modern uses and spends a large segment speaking on this topic, which I found quite interesting. I know a little about Chinese herbalists, but I knew nothing about traditional African herbalists. Bird continues on with childbirth, spa treatments, beauty regimens, and some recipes as well as personal stories. The Big Book of Soul was an intriguing and educational read for me. I found the knowledge to be intriguing, Bird’s definitions and origins to be very helpful and I gained an insight and knowledge about a culture I did not previously have. If one is interested in learning more about the African culture, The Big Book of Soul may be a fabulous place to begin.

About the Author:

Stephanie Rose Bird is a cum laude graduate of Temple University, Tyler School of Art and a MFA graduate of the University of California at San Diego where she was a San Diego Opportunity Fellow. She was assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute, a Fulbright Senior Scholar and has taught at the Chicago Botanic Garden and Garfield Conservatory. Bird is a professional member of the International Center for Traditional Childbearing and the Herb Research Society of the American Botanical Council. She is author of Sticks, Stones, Roots and Bones: Hoodoo, Mojo and Conjuring with Herbs, Four Seasons of Mojo and Herbal Guide to Natural Living, and A Healing Grove: African Tree Remedies and Rituals for Body and Spirit. Bird is a practicing herbalist and aromatherapist who lives with her husband, family and animal friends in the Chicago area. You can visit her at Author’s Den at www.authorsden.com/stephanierosebird or her new website at www.stephanierosebird.com.

Stephanie Rose Bird’s THE BIG BOOK OF SOUL: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN SPIRIT VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘10 officially began on March 1 and will end on March 26 2010. Follow the tourwww.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of March to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of The Big Book of Soul by Stephanie Rose Bird from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop

Friday 26 March, 2010 By 1 Comment

Title: Just Let Me Lie Down
Author: Kristin van Ogtrop
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: April 1, 2010
Hardcover: 272 pages
ISBN: 9780316068284
Genre: Bibliography/Autobiography

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From the Publisher:

Kristin van Ogtrop knows she’s lucky–fulfilling career, great husband, three healthy kids, and, depending on the hamster count, an impressive roster of pets. She also knows she is tired. Always. Using stories and insights from her own life, she provides a lexicon for the half-insane working mom. Anyone who has left a meeting to race to the Halloween parade immediately understands van Ogtrop’s definition of “Kill the messenger” as “The action you must take in order to forget about the office for a time–that is, to remove your Blackberry/Treo/iPhone/whatever from your person and store it as far away as your neurotic self will allow.

My Review:

While I am not a working mom in the sense that I do not work outside the home, nor do I get paid, I believe all moms are working moms and I found Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop to be a delightful and quite insightful look at the challenges working moms face. The author takes examples from her personal, working, and family life to create a witty and thorough dictionary of words and definitions that may just become part of every working moms language. Let me admit upfront that the title drew me in as a mom of three active teens, and I understand the desire to just want to lie down and rest. Kristin van Ogtrop takes the every day actions that can delight and frustrate working moms and creates a Lexicon for all working moms to follow. Kristin van Ogtrop puts into words and gives a name to the highs and lows of parenting, marriage, and work relationships. Just Let Me Lie Down is a fun, witty, and insightful read and a novel all moms will be able to relate with. Just Let Me Lie Down is written in such a manner that it can be enjoyed reading from front to back in one sitting or savored by reading it a little piece at a time.

About the Author:

Kristin van Ogtrop is the editor of Real Simple magazine and has held positions at Glamour, Vogue, Travel & Leisure, and Premiere. She lives outside New York City with her family.

I received a complimentary copy of Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin van Ogtrop from Hachette as part of the tour. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Ramblings From A Migraine Addled Mind

Thursday 25 March, 2010 By 6 Comments

My faithful readers know that I live in chronic pain. Have no fear this in not a post where I whinge about pain. For those new to my rambling posts, I have a very rare form of migraines (only 1% have this type) in addition I have lived through 2 known strokes and several TIAs. My pain usually stays at a faithful 4-5 on the pain scale of 1-10, with my current daily medications. Right now I am at about an 8 out of 10, when if/when it hits a 9 I cave and head to the doctor. Since I am hovering at a pain level of 8 and hoping against hope this additional medication will work (I do try to keep an open mind, granted it is a mind that does not function properly, hence the pain) I decide to blog.
I highly doubt anything I have to write about that is earth; nonetheless, these are the thoughts going through my brain as I wait for the medicine to hit my bloodstream.

What if I passed this genetic fluke to one or more of my sons?

Why are all the colleges my son is looking at between $40,000 and $50,000 a year? My husband is a professor and I can promise all of my readers that he does not bring home a large paycheck. College tuition does not go to the professors no matter what the brochures might say.

Is it possible to eat too many cucumbers? I have given this serious thought and fear looking up the answer. I do so like munching on cucumbers.

To counteract my binging on cucumbers, my DH has taken pity on me and is making peanut butter cookies. What? There is protein in them!

I just received a text stating it is supposed to snow in the valley. Imagine my shock as it has been in the 60s for days now. What has changed?

My husband is replacing the old fencing and then claims he will paint and seal it. Today is the 26th of March. Would any one care to wager on when the fence will be completed? I am not implying my husband is lazy, quite the contrary. He just is not a DIY kind of guy, more the absent professor type and I love him for it. DH, if you are reading this, I really would like the fence up by summer.

Have you read any of my reviews recently? I have been fortunate enough to review some fantastic books from a wide variety of genres.

Speaking of reading, I really need the pain level to lower so I can continue reading; I have some fabulous novels lined up. I am always open to suggestions, if you have read a great book or know of one, leave me a comment or email me.

Finally, why do all of my children (they are teens, but I see them as children) arrive home grouchy? Occasionally I can understand, but today they are arriving to warm peanut butter cookies, which considering they were out running in the rain or working on building a set for the musical, they should be happy.

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Booking Through Thursday – Break?

Thursday 25 March, 2010 By 16 Comments

Do you take breaks while reading a book? Or read it straight through? (And, by breaks, I don’t mean sleeping, eating and going to work; I mean putting it aside for a time while you read something else.)

Not once in my four decades of reading, not even during my college lit/Russian lit years. Usually I cannot put a book down. I do not think I have the skill required to juggle more than one plot line, I have neither tried to nor do I plan to give it a go. I like to complete a book, digest it, and review the book before moving on to the next novel waiting to be read.

Anyone can play along each Thursday with Booking Through Thursday.

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Book Tour & Review: An Axe To Grind by F.M. Meredith

Thursday 25 March, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: An Axe To Grind
Author: F.M. Meredith
Publisher: Dark Oak Mysteries
Publication Date: January 29, 2010
Paperback: 178 pages
ISBN: 978-1892343789
Genre: Fiction

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About the Book:

Detective Doug Milligan and his partner question suspects in the murder of a stalker including the stalker’s target, her boyfriend, father and brother, as well as the stalker’s step-father. The investigation leaves little time for Doug to see his fiancée and fellow officer, Stacey Wilbur.

Stacey handles a molestation case which involves the son of a friend. She and her mother talk wedding plans, though all must wait until Doug’s renter, Officer Gordon Butler finds another place to live.

When Doug disappears while tailing a suspect, Stacey sets out to find him, hoping she can reach him time.

My Review:

An Axe To Grind, A Dark Oaks Mystery, by F.M. Meredith has quite a clever plot filled with delightful and interesting characters and enough suspects and plot twists to keep the reader quite engaged. The story opens up at the scene of a homicide; the victim of which the police later learn is a man who has been stalking Rachel Rivera. However, An Axe To Grind is far more than a mystery, it is a story about the families of the Rocky Bluff Police Department and how their work affects their personal lives and how their personal lives affect their work. Meredith has created an absolutely delightful cast of characters for her novel. From levelheaded to quirky and from demure to downright scary, Meredith takes the reader to Rocky Bluff and makes the reader feel as though the characters are quite real. I was extremely delighted to learn this novel is the 6th in the Rocky Bluff PD series, which means I can read backwards to learn more about Navarro, Butler, Marshall, Mulligan, Wilbur and the rest. The good news for any mystery fan is that An Axe To Grind reads well as a stand-alone book, so do not hesitate, jump in and meet the officers of the Rocky Bluff Police Department, you just may find yourself delightfully entertained for an hour or two.

About the Author:

F. M. Meredith who also writes under the name Marilyn Meredith is the author of nearly thirty published novels including the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, An Axe to Grind is the newest from Oak Tree Press. No Sanctuary was a finalist the mystery/suspense category of the Epic best in e-books contest .

She is a member of EPIC, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years, served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. For over twenty years she lived in a beach community similar to Rocky Bluff.

You can visit the author online at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog.

F.M. Meredith’s AN AXE TO GRIND VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR officially began on March 1st and will end on March 26th. You can visit F.M.’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of March to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of An Axe To Grind by F.M. Meredith from Pump Up Your Book Promotion as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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