Book Review: Christmas At The Mysterious Bookshop Edited by Otto Penzler

Saturday 18 December, 2010 by 3 Comments


Title: Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop
Author: Otto Penzler
Publisher: Vanguard Press
Publication Date: October 12, 2010
Hardcover: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1593156176
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Anthologies

From the Publisher:

Each year, for the past seventeen years, Otto Penzler, owner of the legendary Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, has commissioned an original story by a leading mystery writer. The requirements were that it be a mystery/crime/suspense story, that it be set during the Christmas season, and that at least some of the action must take place in the Mysterious Bookshop. These stories were then produced as pamphlets, 1,000 copies, and given to customers of the bookstore as a Christmas present. Now, all of these stories have been collected in one volume—Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop. Some of the tales are humorous, others suspenseful, and still others mystifying. This charming one-of-a-kind collection is a perfect Christmas gift, appropriate for all ages and tastes. Contributors include: Charles Ardai, Lisa Atkinson, George Baxt, Lawrence Block, Mary Higgins Clark, Thomas H. Cook, Ron Goulart, Jeremiah Healy, Edward D. Hoch, Rupert Holmes, Andrew Klavan, Michael Malone, Ed McBain, Anne Perry, S. J. Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, and Donald E. Westlake.

My Review:

Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop ‘Tis the Season to be Deadly, Stories of Mistletoe and Mayhem from 17 Masters of Suspense, edited by Otto Penzler is a compilation of seventeen short stories commissioned by Otto Penzler, the owner of The Mysterious Bookshop who each year would ask a well known author to write a Christmas mystery incorporating his bookstore into the story. These commissioned short stories where then printed up and given to his clients as Christmas gifts. Penzler’s book includes the short stories spanning the years of 1993-2009 with a wide range of authors including Ed McBain, Anne Perry, Rupert Holmes, and Mary Higgins Clark to name but a few of the fine authors whose works grace the pages of this unique Christmas book. Each story meets the three criteria set up by Penzler; the story must be a mystery, the story must incorporate Christmas, and the story must involve The Mysterious Bookshop in some manner. Each short story is vastly different, with the only similarities being the three requirements. Each short story has a wonderful title and an intriguing twist or angle making for a delightful book to read in one sitting or for leisurely reading by choosing a short story a day. Christmas at The Mysterious Bookstore will make for a delightful Christmas read as well as a wonderful gift for any mystery lover.

About the Editor:

Otto Penzler is the proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop, the founder of The Mysterious Press, the creator of Otto Penzler Books, and the editor of many books and anthologies. He lives in New York City.

I received a complimentary copy of Christmas At the Mysterious Bookshop Edited by Otto Penzler from Over the River Public Relations. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


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Book Review: Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck

Thursday 16 December, 2010 by 6 Comments


Title: Dining With Joy
Author: Rachel Hauck
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: November 16, 2010
Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN: 978-1595543394
Genre: Fiction, Christian, Romance

From the Publisher:

“Chef” Joy Ballard longs for a simpler life. But when a good-looking outsider arrives and spices things up, life becomes deliciously complicated.

Host of a regionally syndicated cooking show, Joy Ballard has a little secret: she can’t cook. But when her show is picked up by a major network and given a prime time slot, her world heats up faster than a lowcountry boil.

Enter Luke Redmond: handsome, creative, and jobless after having to declare bankruptcy of his Manhatten restaurant. When her producers ask him to co-host the show, Joy sees Luke as her way out. But Luke sees much more than just a co-host in Joy.

Their relationship begins to simmer on and off set. Until Joy’s secret is revealed and her reputation is ruined on national television by her rival, Wenda Devine.

But could Devine’s cruelty be a divine gift? Losing Luke–and her sister–forces Joy to consider where her worth really comes from. Could God be cooking up an even bigger adventure from the mess? And will Joy hang on long enough to find out?

My Review:

Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck is a fun, witty, and whole-heartedly charming book about Joy Ballard, host of Dining With Joy. As Joy’s popularity gains, so do the stakes when a major network picks up her show and she is worried her secret will be exposed. Thankfully, the timing could not be better since chef Luke Redmond can indeed cook, unlike Joy, and after closing his restaurant, he has been asked to co-host Dining With Joy. At first, Joy and Luke hit it off about as well as oil and water, but everything is about to change. Dining With Joy is part of Hauck’s Lowcountry romance series, but the first I have read and is a definite stand-alone book. Hauck’s characters are clever, witty, delightfully flawed, and adaptable. I found myself enjoying Dining With Joy far more than I envisioned, it is extremely well written with enough going on throughout the story to keep the reader’s attention and interest. I should mention the book is indeed Christian fiction, but in a non-preachy manner and I did not even realise it was classified as such while I was reading the book. I would recommend Dining With Joy to any reader who likes a charmingly witty plotline with delightful characters and a clean romance.

About the Author:

Rachel Hauck is the bestselling author and award winning of Sweet Caroline and Love Starts With Elle, and numerous other fiction titles.

She lives in sunny, though sometimes hurricane plagued, central Florida with her husband and their ornery pets.

Rachel earned a degree in Journalism form Ohio State University and is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

She is the past President of American Christian Fiction Writers and now sits on the board as an Advisor. Visit her blog and web site at www.rachelhauck.com, follow on Twitter, and Facebook.

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

I received a complimentary copy of Dining With Joy by Rachel Hauck 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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Book Review: Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis

Saturday 2 October, 2010 by 3 Comments


Title: Simply Irresistible (A Lucky Harbor Novel)
Author: Jill Shalvis
Publisher: Forever
Publication Date: September 28, 2010
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-0446571616
Genre: Fiction, Romance

From the Publisher:

Maddie Moore’s whole life needs a makeover.

In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother-a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won’t be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career-if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes-and mouth-are making it hard for her to remember that she’s sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie’s struggles to overcome the past, though she’s about to discover that there’s no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

My Review:

Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis is the first in her Lucky Harbor series. Maddie leaves Los Angeles and presumably all her troubles and mistakes behind to move to Lucky Harbor, Washington where her aunt has left her and her two half-sisters, Tara and Chloe, with a dilapidated old inn, Lucky Harbor Resort. Maddie believes this shall be a wonderful new start but she must work on convincing Tara and Chloe that fixing up the inn and running it is the best thing to do with the inheritance. Shalvis’ novel is fun, light-hearted, witty and filled with flawed characters and in a fun, lighthearted storyline, which I truly enjoyed sans the romance. However, this is indeed a romance novel, which I did not quite gather by the title or cover, meaning I did not entirely enjoy the novel which means romance fans should adore Simply Irresistible. Shalvis’ characters are quirky and fun to read about, the novel is very descriptive and quick to read and I enjoyed the addition of the boyfriend scarf pattern at the end of the story. Had this been a work or fiction sans romance I would have enjoyed the book a lot more. Her second novel in the Lucky Harbor series, The Sweetest Thing, is due out in April 2011. While this was not the perfect genre for me, I suggest those who enjoy fun, quirky and charming romance novels to give Simply Irresistible a try.

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author JILL SHALVIS lives in a small town in the Sierras also run by quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books are, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website at JillShalvis.com for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountain adventures.

I received a complimentary copy of Simply Irresistible by Jill Shalvis from Hachette. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.


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Book Review and Tour: Hearts On A String by Kris Radish

Thursday 15 July, 2010 by 4 Comments

Title: Hearts on a String
Author: Kris Radish
Publisher: Bantam
Publication Date: May 25, 2010
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-0553384758
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Bestselling author Kris Radish delves deeply into the emotions of five very different women who are thrown together by chance—only to discover that they have more in common than they ever could have imagined.

Holly Blandeen has always cherished the story her grandmother told her about the thread that connects all women, tying them forever in sisterhood. It’s a beautiful idea, but with all the curveballs life has thrown her way, Holly has often felt isolated, different from other women. That starts to change when she meets four strangers in an airport and they agree to share a luxury hotel suite because a powerful spring storm is barreling across the country, stranding travelers from California to Florida. What begins as a spur-of-the-moment decision becomes an unlikely, unexpected, and sometimes reluctant exercise in female bonding, as these five exceptional women—each at a crossroads—swap stories, share secrets, and seek answers to the questions they’ve been asking about life, love, and the path to true happiness. A storm may have grounded them for the moment, but after this wild adventure in which anything can and does happen, they’ll never have to fly solo again.

My Review:

An endearing novel showing how women are inter-connected, Hearts on a String by Kris Radish begins with a woman explaining to her young great-granddaughter that a string connects all women, some women instinctively know and others eventually find this out.  Flash forward almost thirty years to a bathroom, across from a bar in the Tampa International Airport, where investment banker Nan Telvid drops her iPhone into the toilet and soon four women, Patti, Cathy, Margo, and Holly come to her aid.  While these five strangers are deciding a way to retrieve the telephone, it is announced that the airport will be shutting down due to weather.  These five strangers decide to make the best of a bad situation by sharing a suite in the luxurious Rivera.

While the reasoning behind how these women end up sharing a suite may appear implausible, it serves a greater purpose.  Radish writes a beautiful novel full of emotions that come from five different women in different stages of their lives and from different parts of the United States coming together under stressful circumstances.  It took about 45 pages to really grab my interest as everything appeared so implausible, but then I became curious as to what would happen to these women next and without warning I was nearing the end of a beautiful, heart-warming, endearing and at times painful novel of five women coming into their own and learning from each other.  Each woman is described in detail throughout the novel rather than one at a time, working well with the message Radish offers her readers and by the end of the four days, it feels as thought the reader is connected to these women.   Let me state upfront, had I not been asked to review this book I would have not read past the initial bathroom scene and I would have missed out on a wonderful novel.   If I could change anything about the novel, it would be the ending, and not how the novel ends, as that is brilliant, but rather the formatting; it is simply a personal preference of mine.

Hearts on a String is a remarkable novel of friendship, trust, blind faith, and what it means to be a woman.  I noted some poor reviews and wonder if people gave up in the beginning for the reason I stated above.  Please do not give up, rather keep reading, it is very much worth getting to know these five women and the gifts they offer to each other.  I would recommend Hearts on a String as a wonderful summer read and would be interested to hear of any book groups who have discussed this book. I think the characters would agree this is a book to be shared.

About the Author:

Kris Radish is a nationally syndicated columnist and the author of Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA, The Sunday List of Dreams, Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral, Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn, The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, The Shortest Distance Between Two Women, and Hearts on a String. She lives in Florida, where she is at work on her next novel, which Bantam will publish.

Additional information about the author:

Kris’s website.
Kris’s blog.
Follow Kris on Twitter.
Kris’ Facebook Page.

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

I received a complimentary copy of Hearts on a String by Kris Radish 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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Book Tour and Review: The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion

Wednesday 14 July, 2010 by 1 Comment

Title: The King’s Mistress
Author: Emma Campion
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 6, 2010
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 978-0307589255
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

History has not been kind to Alice Perrers, the notorious mistress of King Edward III. Scholars and contemporaries alike have deemed her a manipulative woman who used her great beauty and sensuality to take advantage of an aging and increasingly senile king. But who was the woman behind the scandal? A cold-hearted opportunist or someone fighting for her very survival?

Like most girls of her era Alice is taught obedience in all things. At the age of fourteen she marries the man her father chooses for her, dutifully accepting the cost of being torn from the family she holds so dear and losing the love of her mother forever. Despite these heartbreaks Alice finds that merchant Janyn Perrers is a good and loving husband and the two settle into a happy life together. Their bliss is short-lived, however, unraveled the dark day a messenger appears at Alice’s door and notifies her of Janyn’s sudden disappearance.

In the wake of this tragedy, Alice learns that her husband kept many dangerous secrets–secrets that result in a price on her own head and that of her beloved daughter. Her only chance to survive lies in the protection of King Edward and Queen Philippa, but she therefore must live at court as a virtual prisoner. When she is singled out by the king for more than just royal patronage, the stakes are raised. Disobeying Edward is not an option, not when her family is at risk, but the court is full of ambitious men and women, many of whom will stop at nothing to see her fall fron grace. The whispers and gossip abound, isolating Alice, who finds unexpected solace in her love for the king.

Emma Campion paints a colorful and thrilling portrait of the court of Edward III–with all of its extravagance, scandalous love affairs, political machinations, and murder–and the devastating results of being singled out by the royal family. At the center of the storm is Alice, surviving by her wits in this dangerous world where the choices are not always of her own making. Emma Campion’s dazzling novel shows that there is always another side to the story.

My Review:

Alice Perrers, born Alice Salisbury has historically been categorically vilified and author Emma Campion decides to take a different look at the life of Alice in her novel, The King’s Mistress. Campion takes a completely different approach from other accounts I have read and makes Alice out to be a charming and sweet woman beginning in 1355 with a desire to be a good daughter and marry well to help her father, a successful merchant. At the age of 13, she pledges to marry Janyn Perrers, but at the extreme displeasure of her mother. A good portion of the novel focuses on her marriage to Janyn as well as textiles, which makes sense, as she is the daughter of a wealthy merchant. The fabrics and styles add to the time period, yet I would have preferred less fabrics and more depth into the characters. Janyn mysteriously disappears and Alice soon requires the assistance of King Henry III and Queen Philippa. Those familiar with this time period know approximately what will occur, those not will be surprised, so I shall not divulge anything other than that this novel contains mystery, intrigue, love, scandal and dangerous secrets. Campion goes to great lengths to reshape the public’s opinion of Alice. Campion’s writing style is fluid, descriptive, mysterious as well as entertaining, yet I could not quite buy Alice as she is written in this novel. The King’s Mistress is an interesting read and for those, like me, interested in historical fiction, this is another take on King Henry’s mistress, Alice Perrers. I would suggest reading other novels about this complicated woman to get a more complete sense of this infamous woman. I found The King’s Mistress to be a delightful read and as wrong as this may sound, I discovered I prefer the more scandalous version of Alice Perrers than the version Campion offers, yet I would recommend The King’s Mistress to those who enjoy historical fiction. I would have liked to have been discussing this book while I read it, so I would recommend it as a discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Emma Campion did her graduate work in medieval and Anglo-Saxon literature and is the world’s foremost scholar on Alice Perrers. She lives in Seattle.

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

I received a complimentary copy of The King’s Mistress by Emma Campion 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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