Book Review and Tour: Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello

Tuesday 30 November, 2010 By 5 Comments


Title: Salting Roses
Authors: Lorelle Marinello
Publisher: Avon A; Original edition
Publication Date: November 30, 2010
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-0061443749
Genre: Fiction

About the Book:

A young woman abandoned as an infant on an Alabama porch is horrified to discover that she is the missing heiress to a vast Connecticut fortune—a birthright she is desperate to reject in favor of her Peachtree Lane roots.

Gracie Lynne Calloway—once left in a coal bucket on a front porch in a small Alabama town—discovers on her twenty-fifth birthday that she is the kidnapped daughter of a late New England financier and heiress to a fortune. When the tabloid press and her unwanted greedy relatives descend on her, she has to admit the quiet secure life she’s known and loved is gone for good. As Gracie struggles to stabilize her world and come to terms with her new identity, she learns that belonging is not about where you came from but who you are.

My Review:

Delightful, endearing and insightful, Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello is a lovely work of southern fiction. Marinello crafts a delightful story which takes place in the quaint town of Shady Grove, Alabama, filled with vivid, descriptive characters in which, as is typical in small towns, everyone knows everyone else’s business. While the story is about what defines a person, in this instance Gracie Lynn Calloway, and it is done well, I found myself most intrigued by the characters and their interactions with each other and how these interactions evolved as the story unfolds. Salting Roses takes the reader deep into the south, well for this Northerner, it is deeply south, and I found the dialect helped to help enhance the ambiance of the setting of the book. Marinello has captured a time, place, and topic in a delightfully charming and thoughtful manner and I found Salting Roses to be a truly captivating book and I would recommend Salting Roses to anyone looking for a charming southern book. Salting Roses would also make an interesting discussion book due to the topics and moral issues that arise from wealth and lack thereof.

About the Author:

Lorelle Marinello has won numerous awards for her writing, including the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart for Best Single Title Romance in 2005.

Lorelle received her BA in Fine Arts from San Diego State University. She lives in Southern California with her huband and three children. In her free time she enjoys landscape gardening and researching her family’s Southern genealogy. Her first novel, Waltzing with Alligators, inspired by her Southern roots, debuted in 2008.

For more information visit Lorelle Marinello’s website.

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

I received a complimentary copy of Salting Roses by Lorelle Marinello 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: The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro

Tuesday 5 October, 2010 By 23 Comments


Title: The Debutante
Author: Kathleen Tessaro
Publisher: Avon A
Publication Date: October 5, 2010
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0061125782
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Can the secrets of one woman’s past change another woman’s future?

A gifted artist, Cate has come to London from New York to escape her recent past. Working for her aunt’s auction house, she is sent down to Devon to value the contents of Endsleigh House, the once gracious but now crumbling estate of a former socialite. There, hidden in the back of a dusty bookshelf, Cate discovers an old shoebox. Inside is a strange assortment of objects: an exquisite pair of dancing shoes circa 1930; a diamond brooch; a photograph of a young sailor; a dance card; and a pearl and emerald Tiffanys bracelet.

Intrigued by her find, Cate sets out to solve the mystery of the box, becoming immersed in the story of its owner, Baby Blythe. Bright, beautiful, and reckless, Baby was the most famous debutante of her generation . . . and the most dangerous. As the clues begin to reveal a shocking tale of destructive, addictive love, Cate finds herself being drawn deeper into Baby’s tragic life story—a story that will force Cate to face some dark truths about her own.

My Review:

The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro is a beautiful book about lives interwoven decades apart in Devon, England, in Endsleigh House to be precise.   Rachel, asks for her niece Katie, now calling herself Cate Albion, to work with her assistant Jack, a self professes loner, cataloguing the contents of Endsleigh House after the death of Lady Avalon in preparation for an auction when she stumbles upon a box most intriguing and begins to try and unravel the mystery of the Blythe sisters, especially the 1941 disappearance of Diana Blythe.  Tessaro exquisitely weaves together the modern day lives of Jack and Cate, two people trying to come to terms with their lives alternating back to the lives of debutantes Irene and Diana Blythe through letters, the first one dated 1926. The Debutante is a beautiful and insightful look at society and how people relate to each other and with themselves, secrets, and scandals.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Irene’s and Diana’s experiences being debutantes and seeing London society, and the world, for that matter, through their eyes.  The stories of Cate’s life as well as Jack’s were also quite compelling and while I enjoyed learning more about each of them and their respective troubled paths, my favourite parts were the letters and then of course the mystery.  The Debutante is the first book of Kathleen Tessaro’s that I have read and if this novel is any indication of the depth and breadth of her writing ability, then I shall be reading her previous books.  I would not hesitate to recommend The Debutante to any reader and think this would make an excellent discussion group pick.

About the Author:

Born in Pittsburgh, Kathleen Tessaro emigrated to London where she worked as an actress in films, television, and theater, while training to be a drama teacher and voice coach. She is the author of the novels Elegance, Innocence, and The Flirt. Kathleen currently lives in Pennsylvania.

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

I received a complimentary copy of The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro 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: The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle

Wednesday 1 September, 2010 By 11 Comments


Title: The Life You’ve Imagined
Author: Kristina Riggle
Publisher: Avon A
Publication Date: August 17, 2010
Paperback: 352 pages
ISBN: 978-0061706295
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Is the life you’re living all you imagined?

Have you ever asked yourself, “What if??” Here, four women face the decisions of their lifetimes in this stirring and unforgettable novel of love, loss, friendship, and family.

Anna Geneva, a Chicago attorney coping with the death of a cherished friend, returns to her “speck on the map” hometown of Haven to finally come to terms with her mother, the man she left behind, and the road she did not take.

Cami Drayton, Anna’s dearest friend from high school, is coming home too, forced by circumstance to move in with her alcoholic father . . . and to confront a dark family secret.

Maeve, Anna’s mother, never left Haven, firmly rooted there by her sadness over her abandonment by the husband she desperately loved and the hope that someday he will return to her.

And Amy Rickart—thin, beautiful, and striving for perfection—faces a future with the perfect man . . . but is haunted by the memory of what she used to be.

Kristina Riggle’s The Life You’ve Imagined takes a provocative look at the choices we make—and the courage we must have to change.

My Review:

What if? A key question of The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle as each of her characters takes a long look at their lives and ponders the ramifications of the actions they have taken thus far and the choices they have ignored.  Cami Drayton has returned home to her alcoholic and verbally abusive father, severely in debt due to her gambling addiction.  Maeve is Anna’s mother and harbors several secrets: her store is about to go through foreclosure and she has been in communication with her estranged husband.  Her daughter, Anna, is a successful lawyer who has returned home on forced bereavement leave after the death of her friend and mentor, August.  Amy Rickart is engaged to Paul Becker who happens to be brilliant, gorgeous and wealthy yet Amy may not be truly happy.  She is finally thin and appears to have it all, yet her self-confidence does not quite allow the happiness that one hears comes from being thin, lovely, and with a handsome man. The Life You’ve Imagined is about four women; Cami, Anna, and Amy all went to school together and are catching up with each other while struggling with their own personal demons and Maeve, who has enough issues of her own.  The story is told in first person and the chapters alternate between the four women.  Riggle writes an intriguing and fast-paced story of life and how the choices we make affect where we are today.  Riggle details the lives of each of the women to the point where the reader can easily identify with one, if not all of the characters.  My all time favourite character was Maeve, possibly because I am closer to her age than to Cami, Anna, and Amy and my least favourite character from beginning to end is Amy, to the point that I cringed when I had to read about her.   The Life You’ve Imagined is beautifully written and the characters are strong and witty and at times annoying, each sharing their joys and sorrows.  If anyone has read the book, please leave a comment; I would very much like to discuss this one with someone besides my cat.   I highly recommend The Life You’ve Imagined to any reader and think this would be an excellent discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Kristina Riggle lives and writes in West Michigan. Besides her debut novel, Real Life & Liars, she has published short stories in the Cimarron Review, Literary Mama, Espresso Fiction, and elsewhere. She is also a freelance journalist writing primarily for The Grand Rapids Press, and coeditor for fiction at Literary Mama. Kristina was a full-time newspaper reporter for seven years before turning her attention to creative writing and freelancing. On Mondays, she can be found blogging at The Debutante Ball, a group blog of authors debuting in 2009. As well as writing, she enjoys spending lots of time with her husband, two kids, and dog.

Real Life & Liars is set in Charlevoix, Michigan, a town close to Kristina’s heart as the home of her grandparents where she has visited often over the years. Some recognizable Charlevoix landmarks appear in the novel, as well as fictionalized versions of real places. The home of the Zielinski family on Dixon Avenue is based loosely on the house where her grandmother grew up.

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

I received a complimentary copy of The Life You’ve Imagined by Kristina Riggle 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: Leaving Before It’s Over by Jean Reynolds Page

Tuesday 31 August, 2010 By 6 Comments


Title: Leaving Before It’s Over
Author: Jean Reynolds Page
Publisher: Avon A
Publication Date: August 10, 2010
Paperback: 398 pages
ISBN: 978-0061876929
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

From the author of The Space Between Before and After comes a compelling novel that explores the true meaning of family.

When Roy Vines married his wife, Rosalind, he traded his family and his inheritance for love—a painful choice that has blessed them with years of joy nestled in rural North Carolina with their beautiful daughters, sixteen-year-old Lola and little Janie Ray.

But their happiness is threatened when Rosalind suddenly falls ill. Desperate to get her the help she needs, Roy does the one thing he swore he’d never do—turn to his heartless and bitter identical twin brother, Mont, for help.

The price is steep—and includes opening their home to a teenage boy who believes Roy is the father who abandoned him. As bad blood threatens to destroy her family, Rosalind must make a difficult choice. Should she walk away—like Roy once did—for love, or try to mend wounds that may never be healed? And will the pain of choosing be more than her heart can bear?

My Review:

Family, secrets, and choices, Leaving Before It’s Over by Jean Reynolds Page explores the complex dynamics that make up the Vines family. Lola and Janie Ray Vines grew up believing their father’s parents were dead, and had no idea they had an Uncle Montgomery until the summer their mother Rosalind became ill and money was desperately needed. Roy Vines hitched his way to Gray’s Hollow to beg money from his parents and strikes a deal with his parents and his twin brother Montgomery. He will have financial assistance only if he takes 17-year-old Lucas to live with him. Roy does not know how he will explain this to Rosalind or his girls, especially when it is more complicated than it appears. Roy believes Lucas is Montgomery’s son, but his father and Montgomery are adamant that Lucas is the product of his first marriage, unfortunately Sherry is no longer alive to tell her side of the story. Confused? So are the members of the Vines family. Leaving Before It’s Over is filled with family love, adversity, misunderstandings, mistrusts, loyalty and love. The story is told through various members of the Vines family, which turns out to be an excellent choice allowing the complex emotions of the family members to shine through. Page writes a complicated family drama and clearly details how each family member deals with the dramas as they unfold. Leaving Before It’s Over makes for a quick read and anyone interested in family dynamics or likes a good drama may find Leaving Before It’s Over to be the perfect pick for an afternoon of reading.

About the Author:

Jean Reynolds Page is the author of The Last Summer of Her Other Life, The Space Between Before and After, A Blessed Event, and Accidental Happiness. She grew up in North Carolina and graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a dance critic for more than ten years before turning full-time to fiction in 2001. In addition to North Carolina, she has lived in New York, Boston, Dallas, and Seattle. She and her family recently moved to Madison, Wisconsin.

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

I received a complimentary copy of Leaving Before It’s Over by Jean Reynolds Page 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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