Book Review: Cold Lonely Courage by Soren Paul Petrek

Wednesday 25 August, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: Cold Lonely Courage
Author: Soren Paul Petrek
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Publication Date: December 3, 2009
Paperback: 232 pages
ISBN: 978-0982582374
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Madeleine Toche races to the front only to find her brother mortally wounded during the German Blitzkrieg attack on France at the outset of World War II. His death and her rape at the hands of an SS Stormtrooper cast Madeleine down a path of terror and violence as her desire for revenge reaches a crescendo.

My Review:

Cold Lonely Courage by Soren Paul Petrek is an exceptional work of fiction, based loosely on quite real events during WWII in France and reads more like a non-fiction novel.  The fast-paced action and realistic battle scenes, inhumanities suffered and the tipping of the balance of justice make Cold Lonely Courage a captivating story of the actions of a courageous young woman.  Madeleine Toche works in her parents restaurant, is present when her brother Yves die from wounds sustained on the front, and is brutally violated at the hands of the SS.  While most would understandably break from such traumatic events, Petrek’s heroine, Madeleine, fights back by becoming a trained assassin.  Cold Lonely Courage is a riveting action adventure novel and while set in WWII, this novel stands apart from others through the justice that is sought out in the story and through the strength of Madeleine’s character.  Madeleine makes a fabulous heroine and the story is written with exceptional attention to detail and represents a unique look at women’s roles during WWII.  Cold Lonely Courage is a definite page-turner, but due to some mature content I would recommend this book to any adult reader looking for an exceptional and unique look at WWII.

About the Author:

Soren Petrek is a practicing trial attorney with a passion for studying World War Two. He lived in England and France listening to people’s stories of struggle and sacrifice during the darkest periods of the war. Soren’s debut novel, Cold Lonely Courage was inspired by the true story of a young Belgian woman who helped countless Jewish children escape from the terrors of the Nazi regime. Soren lives with his wife, Renee and sons, Max and Riley, in central Minnesota. Cold Lonely Courage is Soren’s debut novel.

For more information visit Soren Paul Petrek’s blog.


Soren Paul Petrek’s COLD LONELY COURAGE VIRTUAL BLOG TOUR ‘10 will officially begin on July 6 and end on August 27 2010. www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of July and August to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of Cold Lonely Courage by Soren Paul Petrek 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: Finny by Justin Kramon

Tuesday 24 August, 2010 By 5 Comments

Title: Finny
Author: Justin Kramon
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Publication Date: July 13, 2010
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0812980233
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Justin Kramon’s debut novel, Finny, is a sweeping, enchanting voyage, an insightful story about a young woman’s complicated path to adulthood.

We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can’t make sense of her family’s unusual habits: Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old socialite; her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes. Finny figures she’s stuck with this lonely lot until she meets Earl Henckel, a boy who comes from an even stranger place than she does. Unhappy with Finny’s budding romance with Earl, her parents ship her off to Thorndon boarding school. But mischief follows Finny as she befriends New York heiress Judith Turngate, a girl whose charm belies a disquieting reckless streak.

Finny’s relationships with Earl and Judith open her up to dizzying possibilities of love and loss and propel her into a remarkable adventure spanning twenty years and two continents. Justin Kramon has given us a wickedly funny odyssey with a moving and original love story at its core. Finny introduces us to an unforgettable heroine, a charmingly intricate world, and an uncommonly entertaining and gifted young novelist.

My Review:

Through bizarre circumstances, eccentric characters, and extraordinary events lies an undercurrent of deep sadness in Justin Kramon’s debut novel Finny. The novel chronicles Finny Short’s life beginning at age 14, and for the next 20 years, the story is told in a straightforward manner and the reader may easily be taken aback at first by Finny. Finny is not an average 14 year old and the events surrounding her life are anything but dull. I will admit I did not enjoy the first section and a half of the novel, for reference the novel is written in three sections, but I am glad I read the novel through to its completion. Finny, at first glance, is a 14-year-old brat and her boarding school experience did not make me care for her more, but as I mentioned, the novel picked up for me and by the end I truly was glad I chose to finish it. Why? I cannot say without spoilers, however, Finny is a beautifully crafted novel of a unique girl who learns how to become a woman. I believe Kramon has the potential to become a name in the literary field, as his approach to his characters is refreshing and decidedly not dull and he writes brilliantly. I recommend Finny to anyone looking for a completely different type of literary story filled with humour, wit, an eccentric cast of characters and profound sadness and love. Finny is a book that will stay with the reader long after the story has ended. I highly recommend Finny to book discussion groups.

About the Author:

A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Justin Kramon has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and others. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden International Writers’ Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation. He teaches at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City and at the Iowa Young Writers’ Workshop. Now twenty-nine years old, he lives in Philadelphia.

Visit Justin Kramon’s website.
Watch the book trailer for Finny.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of Finny by Justin Kramon from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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Teaser Tuesdays-The Last War

Monday 23 August, 2010 By 40 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“The paper made an elegant sound as I unfolded it. How sumptuous it sounded that first time, and how benign.”

~Page 27, The Last War by Ana Menendez

Please check back for my review.

What are you reading?
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Book Review: She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter

Monday 23 August, 2010 By 3 Comments

Title: She’s Gone Country
Author: Jane Porter
Publisher: 5 Spot
Publication Date: August 23, 2010
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0446509411
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he’d fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves.

My Review:

She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter is filled with drama, romance, and a hint of mystery. Shey Darcy, a model in New York has it all; three sons, a wonderful home and a fabulous marriage, or so she thought until John decided he was in love with another man. Shey and her sons return to her childhood family ranch in Texas to pick up the pieces and Shey is reacquainted with an old love of hers, Dane Kelly, an extremely handsome cowboy. If this sounds like a faintly familiar plot, it is for the most part similar to many books of this genre released this summer. She’s Gone Country does add in elements of mystery and a lot of drama, making this novel different from some of the others I have reviewed similar to this book. Shey’s boys, Hank, Bo, and Cooper must get used to life on a Texas ranch when all they have known was the fast-paced life of New York, meeting relatives and learning to accept their father’s new life. Shey must come to terms with her husband’s betrayal, living close to her devoutly Baptist mother, and the recent death of her brother. Porter writes a fast-paced, descriptive novel, with well thought out characters diverse enough for readers to identify with at least one, if not several. Porter’s novel is a quick read and for those looking for an ultimate feel-good book, She’s Gone Country is an excellent choice.

About Author:

Jane Porter lives in Seattle, Washington, with her two children. You can find out more about her at www.janeporter.com.

I received a complimentary copy of She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter from BookSparks PR. Receiving a review copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning

Monday 23 August, 2010 By 6 Comments

Title: Darkfever
Author: Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: August 28, 2007
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0440240983
Genre: Fiction, Paranormal, Romance

From the Publisher:

MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

My Review:

Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning is the first book in The MacKayla Lane series. Mac’s life is forever changed on July 9 when she learns her older sister Alina was murdered in Dublin. Determined to find out who could have done such a thing, 22-year-old Mac quits her job, drops out of college, and cashes in her savings and heads to Ireland where she hopes to learn what her sister meant in her last message about being deceived and about the Sinsar Dubh. Darkfever chronicles the year Mac spends in Ireland and the knowledge she learns through Fiona and Jericho Barrons. Moning writes a fast-paced novel which is easy to read and oddly compelling, especially considering I do not believe in any sort of magic, otherworlds and the like. Typically I have no interest in this subject matter and yet toward the end of the book I found myself wanting to read the second book, Bloodfever in hopes of having some of my questions answered about Fiona and Barrons. Mac makes an unfortunate heroine, as she is an extremely immature 22 year old. As the book opens, the reader is not aware of her age and I had guessed she was a spoiled and pampered 14 year old. It is my hope that as the books continue I will hear less and less about the various shades of pink she paints her fingernails and toenails and more about her. Aside from her petulance for all things pink and the oddities of the Unseelie, Moning does write an intriguing story of good verses evil and the possible extinction of humankind, so much so that I am indeed looking forward to reading Bloodfever in hopes of gaining insight and answers. I was delightfully surprised that I was pulled into the story, and thrilled there is a mini-glossary of terms for those of us who do not typically read this genre. I would recommend Darkfever to anyone intrigued by the world of the Fae.

About the Author:

Karen Marie Moning graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Society & Law. Her novels have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and have won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA Award.

Visit Karen Marie Moning’s website.
Follow Karen Marie Moning on Twitter.
Karen Marie Moning’s Facebook.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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It’s Monday What Are You Reading?

Monday 23 August, 2010 By 31 Comments

It’s Monday What Are you Reading is the perfect way for me to begin my week and allows me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs.

I am working on slowly my pace down, wish me luck!

I Read and Reviewed (click the title to be taken to the review):

  • The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
  • The Human Bobby by Gabe Rotter
  • Ashes to Water by Irene Ziegler
  • The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
  • In the First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn *favourite book of the week
  • With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow
  • I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
  • Todos Santos by Deborah Clearman

    • This week I am planning to read: Some of these are huge, so I doubt I shall get through this list.

  • The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy Translated by Cathy Porter
  • She’s Gone Country by Jane Porter
  • Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
  • Finny by Justin Kramon
  • One Child by Lee Buick
  • Cold Lonely Courage by Soren Paul Petrek
  • The Last War by Ana Menendez
  • What We Have by Amy Boesky
  • A Small Death In the Great Glen by A.D. Scott
  • Alexis by Alexi Singer
  • Vanishing Act by Liz Johnson
  • The Doctor and the Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
Visit next Monday to see if I managed to accomplish my reading goals.

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The Sunday Salon (TSS: 8/22)

Sunday 22 August, 2010 By 10 Comments
The Sunday Salon.com

Life: Today is out dear friend Terry’s birthday!  While I am not in tip-top shape today is not about me, rather him.  Terry is very ill and we want to make what may indeed be his last birthday to be a fun one.  There shall be plenty of balloons, streamers, decorations, presents, cake and ice-cream to make anyone cheery.

Family Update: The week started out quite well and ended with me spending, at current count 4 days in bed, which is not how I expected the week to end.  The first two days I was to ill to care what was going on around me, then I slowly was able to read and post wee bits on Twitter and answer some email.  The rest of my family is well.  School shopping has been accomplished, new clothing and fresh haircuts and now the guys are ready to begin on Wednesday.  My oldest son’s senior pictures look fabulous and now I need to decide which to use for his announcements.  I am leaning toward the most casual one, as it looks most like him.

Saturday Night: My family decorated for Terry’s party while I was in bed (feeling sorry for myself) and watching DVDs of Jeeves and Wooster and Inspector Morse.

Read and Reviewed: My reading really slowed down this week due to being ill and family needs. I read 8 books (7 of which I reviewed) which totaled 3, 223 pages.

Do not want to wait until Monday to see the entire list?  All my reviews are up and as usual I love comments.

Today I will be reading: The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy Translated by Cathy Porter. This is another tome, which I cannot wait to slowly devour.  I am certain I shall be sharing bits of the novel with readers throughout the coming weeks.

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

Visit the The Sunday Salon.

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Book Review: Todos Santos by Deborah Clearman

Saturday 21 August, 2010 By 6 Comments

Title: Todos Santos
Author: Deborah Clearman
Publisher: Black Lawrence Press
Publication Date: September 1, 2010
Paperback: 280 pages
ISBN: 978-0982520406
Genre: Fiction

About the book (from Little Bird Publicity):

TODOS SANTOS follows the story of Catherine Barnes, an artist and children’s book illustrator, who travels with her teenage son Isaac to Guatemala to stay with her fiery sister-in-law Zelda, after she discovers her husband, a professor, has been doing more than teaching his students. Catherine leaves Isaac in Zelda’s care and travels to the village of Todos Santos, to work on illustrations for her latest book. It’s a remote village, bound by legends of the ancient, vengeful gods of the mountains and fears of black magic, and while there, Catherine learns of a more recent history that plagues the town: the civil war or Violencia. Still fresh in the villagers’ memories, this violence seems to fuel the newest threat—rumors of foreign baby-snatchers and devil-worshippers on the way to the village.

As the tension in the town grows, Catherine receives word that Isaac is missing, and that the kidnappers are coming to her in Todos Santos to collect their ransom. Panicked and desperate for help, Catherine is forced to face the danger alone, and in doing so she finds Isaac, and herself.

My Review:

Todos Santos by Deborah Clearman is an extraordinary debut novel about how a country helped to transform a young teen and his mother.   Catherine Barnes’ marriage is rocky at best, her son Isaac is doing poorly in school and not knowing what to do, Catherine rings up her sister-in-law Zelda for advice. Within no time, Catherine and Isaac land in Guatemala, Zelda will teach Isaac responsibly and Catherine is headed into regions tourists do not often visit, in this instance, into the village of Todos Santos to gather information for her book and ultimately to clear her head. Clearman writes of Guatemala and its people with extraordinary breadth and depth. The reader is transported to another culture and it is easy to see why Catherine and Zelda have become so enamored with Guatemala. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the villages and the stories told to Catherine.  Catherine herself was not a character I was endeared to yet without her the reader would not see Isaac’s character nor the peoples of Todos Santos, which are quite endearing.   The history of violence the villagers have witnessed or what has been passed down through the ages, spiritualisms, black magic, and folklore lend to making this a brilliantly written novel. The history of the villages is quite vivid and evokes the reader to continue to turn the pages and to learn more about this fascinating country, its rich history and varied cultures. Todos Santos is a remarkably beautiful story filled with tense moments and a tremendous amount of emotions. I would recommend Todos Santos to any reader looking for a good story to get lost in for a few hours.

About the Author:

Author Deborah Clearman’s love of Guatemala and Mayan culture is prevalent throughout TODOS SANTOS. Since her first visit to Guatemala in the late 1970s, she’s been many times, recently living there for over a year. Now, between visits back to Central America, Deborah lives in New York and works as Program Director for NY Writers Coalition, a nonprofit organization that offers creative writing workshops to people traditionally deprived of voice in our society.

To learn more about Deborah Clearman and her writing please visit her website.

I received a complimentary copy of Todos Santos by Deborah Clearman from Little Bird Publicity. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Spotlight: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Friday 20 August, 2010 By 5 Comments

Title: I Am Number Four
Author: Pittacus Lore
Publisher: Harper
Publication Date: August 3, 2010
Hardcover: 448 pages
ISBN: 978-0061969553
Genre: Fiction, YA, Sci-Fi

From the Publisher:

Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books—but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

About the Author:

Pittacus Lore is Lorien’s ruling Elder. He has been on Earth for the last twelve years, preparing for the war that will decide Earth’s fate. His whereabouts are unknown.

Learn more visit the I Am Number Four website.

I received a complimentary copy of I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore from Mammoth. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow

Friday 20 August, 2010 By 2 Comments

Title: With Friends Like These
Author: Sally Koslow
Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition
Publication Date: August 10, 2010
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-0345506221
Genre: Fiction

About the Book:

When Quincy, Jules, Talia, and Chloe become New York City roommates in the early nineties, they become fast friends despite their drastically different personalities. Now, nearly twenty years later, their lives have diverged as much as they possibly can within one city: Quincy is mourning a miscarriage and lusting for the perfect Manhattan apartment; Jules, a woman with an outsize personality, is facing forty alone; Talia, married and the mother of a four-year-old, is her family’s reluctant breadwinner; and Chloe faces pressure from her hedge fund manager husband to be more ambitious. As these women grapple with the challenges of marriage, motherhood, careers, and real estate, they can’t help but assess their positions in life in comparison to each other–leading them to envy and disillusionment. Honest and entertaining, and written in Sally Koslow’s trademark wry, vivid prose, With Friends Like These asks serious questions about what makes female friendship endure, and to whom a woman’s loyalty most belongs.

My Review:

With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow chronicles the lives of four women; Quincy, Jules, Talia, and Chloe from their first meeting then jumping ahead to their adult lives as wives.  The four women once lived together in a Manhattan apartment and for ten years were best friends until life and circumstances changed them.  Can these four women regain what has been lost with life changes and time and do they want to?  The chapters alternate so that the four women narrate the entire story, which is a style I enjoy in a book about many main characters, unfortunately I found these four women to be annoying at best and would not care to know any of them.  Koslow references Quincy as a Minnesota girl and frequently uses statements such as “… Minnesota girl… “, so apparently growing up as a Minnesota girl I missed the handbook of how to behave.  I do not live in Manhattan; I am neither wealthy not have I ever employed a nanny so it is quite possible the issues I found ridiculous truly are serious issues for some women, yet these four never seem to have gotten over cattiness of the young.  Three of the four friends are quite wealthy, the forth is not wealthy, her husband is “only” a teacher and she does not have a nanny.   It is quite fair to say I was not a fan of With Friends Like These, but on the flip side, Koslow’s writing style is fresh, upbeat, keeps the four story lines flowing and ultimately creates characters that the reader will either relate with or not depending on circumstances.  I continued reading with the hope there would be some epiphany, some brilliant ending making me ponder life or friendships, yet I found none.  With Friends Like These is filled with beautiful descriptions and full character development, for better or worse I just wish I had cared for the characters, unfortunately I just wanted With Friends Like These to end, however, I am not a huge fan of this genre of writing.  I would encourage my readers to look at other reviews before ultimately deciding whether or not With Friends Like These is the book for you.

About the Author:

Sally Koslow is the author of The Late, Lamented Molly Marx and Little Pink Slips. Her essays have been published in More, The New York Observer, and O, The Oprah Magazine, among other publications. She was the editor in chief of both McCall’s and Lifetime, was an editor at Mademoiselle and Woman’s Day, and has taught creative writing at the Writing Institute of Sarah Lawrence College. The mother of two sons, she lives in New York City with her husband.

Learn more about author Sally Koslow by visiting her website.


Sally Koslow’s WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR AUG ‘10 officially began on August 2nd and ends on August 27th. You can visit Sally’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com during the month of August to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary copy of With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow 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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