Book Review: America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt by Ron Douglas

Tuesday 6 September, 2011 By 4 Comments

Title: America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt: Cut the Calories, Keep the Taste of Your Favorite Restaurant Dishes
Author: Ron Douglas
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: September 6, 2011
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN: 978-1451623314
Genre: Cookbook

From the back of the book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of America’s Most Wanted Recipes comes more copycat recipes from your family’s favorite restaurants–with fewer calories!

Ron Douglas has wowed home cooks across the country by uncovering the best recipes from hundreds of popular restaurants, including Applebee’s, California Pizza Kitchen, Chili’s, Olive Garden, P.F. Chang’s, and T.G.I. Friday’s. America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt once again features delicious restaurant meals that can be enjoyed at home. But with the help of registered dietician and nutrition expert Mary M. Franz, Ron has created more than 150 amazing reduced-calorie versions. Take Bahama Breeze’s Jamaican Jerk Grilled Chicken, which usually contains approximately 960 calories. By using boneless, skinless chicken breasts, the entire family can enjoy generous, flavorful half-pound servings and save 590 calories. Or how about Dave and Buster’s Steak Fajita Salad? A restaurant portion contains a whopping 1,408 calories per serving, but Ron’s home-cooked version has 489. And for dessert? Macaroni Grill’s Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake has 635 calories per slice. Home cooks can easily trim that calorie count down to 435. Ron will show you how! Each recipe includes nutritional details, the number of calories you will save, and easy tips on how to prepare your favorite restaurant food without feeling the guilt. The book also features a section on restaurant alternatives, as well as a nutritional guide detailing the overall dos and don’ts when it comes to healthy eating. Experience the pleasure and satisfaction of cooking fun, delicious food for your family while also keeping them fit! Watch your wallet get fat and your tummy get flat!

My Review:

If you are a fan of Applebee’s, Hard Rock Café or Olive Garden, fasten your seat belt, for America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt by Ron Douglas has many lower kilocalorie, lower fat alternatives to these and many other popular restaurants’ menu items.  It was very helpful to have the caloric and other nutritional information for each recipe and comparative information from the specific restaurant as figuring out recipe calories can be a bit time-consuming.  A couple of things that could have been done differently with the nutrition data however is to include sodium content and to round to whole numbers the grams of fat, protein, etc. as these figures are certainly not known to 10 mg precision and even if they were, it would not be significant for anyone to track.  Douglas supplements his recipes with a Health and Nutrition Guide that offers a level view of eating a balanced diet and does not promote any controversial or fad-type approaches to healthy eating and/or weight loss.  While this section is helpful, what I would have like to see was some listing of authoritative references for readers to further their knowledge in some of the areas of nutritional research.  In short, for anyone looking for good copycat recipes that significantly cut the kilocalories per serving, I recommend America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt.

I received a complimentary copy of America’s Most Wanted Recipes Without the Guilt by Ron Douglas from Atria. to 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: Creep by Jennifer Hillier

Saturday 3 September, 2011 By 6 Comments

Title: Creep
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 5, 2011
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1451625844
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

From the Publisher:

If he can’t have her . . . Dr. Sheila Tao is a professor of psychology. An expert in human behavior. And when she began an affair with sexy, charming graduate student Ethan Wolfe, she knew she was playing with fire. Consumed by lust when they were together, riddled with guilt when they weren’t, she knows the three-month fling with her teaching assistant has to end. After all, she’s finally engaged to a kind and loving investment banker who adores her, and she’s taking control of her life. But when she attempts to end the affair, Ethan Wolfe won’t let her walk away

. . . . no one else can.

Ethan has plans for Sheila, plans that involve posting a sex video that would surely get her fired and destroy her prestigious career. Plans to make her pay for rejecting him. And as she attempts to counter his every threatening move without her colleagues or her fiancÉ discovering her most intimate secrets, a shattering crime rocks Puget Sound State University: a female student, a star athlete, is found stabbed to death. Someone is raising the stakes of violence, sex, and blackmail . . . and before she knows it, Sheila is caught in a terrifying cat-and-mouse game with the lover she couldn’t resist—who is now the monster who won’t let her go.

My Review:

Creep by Jennifer Hillier is an intense debut suspense thriller that will keep even the most reluctant reader entranced until the very end.  Readers are thrown into the deep end as Hillier wastes no time in developing the plot straightaway on page one.  Hillier crafts an excellent and most creepy scenario as the basis for this story involving a college professor, Dr. Sheila Tao and her not-so-willing-to-let-things-go teaching assistant, Ethan.  Hillier introduces readers to Sheila and Ethan while Sheila is revealing to him that she was just engaged and that their own taboo affair would have to end.  With Ethan not seeing why their affair must end, the intensity escalates and threats of blackmail ensue.  And this is all in the first chapter.  Readers will not be disappointed by the early and rapid developments as Hillier maintains the plot progression at an astounding pace.  In this psychological thriller, Hillier has made her first mark in the suspense genre an extraordinarily memorable one.  I highly recommend Creep to adults interested in a fast-paced thrill ride for their next read.

To learn more about author Jennifer Hillier, please visit her website: www.jenniferhillier.org

I received a complimentary copy of Creep by Jennifer Hillier from Gallery Books Publicity to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Snapped by Laura Griffin

Tuesday 30 August, 2011 By 6 Comments

Title: Snapped
Author: Laura Griffin
Publisher: Pocket Star
Publication Date: August 30, 2011
Paperback: 432 pages
ISBN: 978-1451617368
Genre: Romance Mystery, Suspense

From the Publisher:

SOPHIE BARRETT THINKS SHE’S LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. SHE MAY BE DEAD WRONG.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, Sophie Barrett walks into a nightmare. A sniper has opened fire on a college campus. When the carnage is over, three people—plus the shooter—are dead and dozens more are injured. Sophie escapes virtually unscathed. Yet as details emerge from the investigation, she becomes convinced that this wasn’t the random, senseless act it appeared to be. No one wants to believe her—not the cops, not her colleagues at the Delphi Center crime lab, and definitely not Jonah Macon, the homicide detective who’s already saved her life once.

Jonah has all kinds of reasons for hoping Sophie is mistaken. Involving himself with a key witness could derail an already messy investigation, not to mention jeopardize his career. But Sophie is as determined and fearless as she is sexy. If he can’t resist her, he can at least swear to protect her. Because if Sophie is right, she’s made herself the target of a killer without a conscience. And the real terror is only just beginning. . . .

My Review:

Snapped by Laura Griffin is a brilliant suspense novel about a highly specialized forensics team.  Griffin has successfully written a series of tantalizing stories based on a group referred to as Tracers, a specialized and eclectic group of Forensic experts.  Snapped, Griffin’s fourth in this series, reads as a stand alone novel, but I highly recommend her previous three as they are equally suspenseful and intriguing.  Inspired by the true events of the University of Texas at Austin shooting in 1966, events witnessed by Griffin’s mother, Snapped will hold the attention of its readers until the last page as a college campus sniper kills three but Sophie Barrett, who avoids injury, begins to see the shootings as something beyond an impulsive act of violence.  As Jonah Macon becomes involved in the investigation, and with Sophie, will Jonah be able to objectively carry out his investigation?  Held in suspense through much of the story, readers will be compelled to keep reading as the plot unfolds with its many twists and turns.  I highly recommend Snapped to those readers looking for an excellent suspense thriller mixed with romance as Griffin’s fourth in the Tracer series will provide both of these.

To learn more about author Laura Griffin and her books, please visit her website: www.lauragriffin.com

I received a complimentary arc of Snapped by Laura Griffin from Gallery Books Publicity to review. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Dominance by Will Lavender

Saturday 9 July, 2011 By 8 Comments

Title: Dominance
Author: Will Lavender
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: July 5, 2011
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1451617290
Genre: Fiction, Mystery


From the Publisher:

THE PROCEDURE HAS BEGUN . . .

Fifteen years earlier. Jasper College is buzzing with the news that famed literature professor Richard Aldiss will be teaching a special night class called Unraveling a Literary Mystery—from a video feed in his prison cell. In 1982, Aldiss was convicted of the murders of two female grad students; the women were killed with axe blows and their bodies decorated with the novels of notoriously reclusive author Paul Fallows. Even the most obsessive Fallows scholars have never seen him. He is like a ghost. Aldiss entreats the students of his night class to solve the Fallows riddle once and for all. The author’s two published novels, The Coil and The Golden Silence, are considered maps to finding Fallows’s true identity. And the only way in is to master them through a game called the Procedure. You may not know when the game has begun, but when you receive an invitation to play, it is an invitation to join the elite ranks of Fallows scholars. Failure, in these circles, is a fate worse than death. Soon, members of the night class will be invited to play along . . .

Present day. Harvard professor Alex Shipley made her name as a member of Aldiss’s night class. She not only exposed the truth of Paul Fallows’s identity, but in the process uncovered information that acquitted Aldiss of the heinous 1982 crimes. But when one of her fellow night class alums is murdered— the body chopped up with an axe and surrounded by Fallows novels—can she use what she knows about Fallows and the Procedure to stop a killer before each of her former classmates is picked off, one by one?

My Review:

Dominance by Will Lavender is a uniquely designed mystery/suspense thriller that takes the art of this genre to a new dimension. This one is perhaps the antithesis of “cozy” and by no means is it a straightforward murder mystery. The story begins with the news that an infamous literature professor, Richard Aldiss, now incarcerated for murder, will be teaching a night course, a course that will focus on unraveling a mystery surrounding the murders for which Aldiss is incarcerated. Alternating between 1994 and present day where Alex Shipley, a student in that 1994 night class, sees the start of another series of murders, Lavender crafts an incredibly complex series of plot twists that will keep even the best amateur sleuths guessing until the end. Mixing suspense, mystery, flashbacks (which, by the way are essential in the manner in which Lavender has crafted this novel) with a twist of irony, this story will do to readers’ attention what its title implies. The reading is fast, yet the writing is mesmerizingly brilliant and I forewarn that this one will keep readers engaged until the mystery is unraveled in the last few pages of Dominance. I highly recommend Dominance to all mystery/suspense fans as Lavender has broken new ground in this genre.

To learn more about author Will Lavender and his books, please visit his website.

I received a complimentary arc of Dominance by Will Lavender from Simon & Schuster. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith

Saturday 11 June, 2011 By 11 Comments


Title: Queen By Right
Author: Anne Easter Smith
Publisher: Touchstone
Publication Date: May 10, 2011
Paperback: 528 pages
ISBN: 978-1416550471
Genre: Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

From the award-winning author of A Rose for the Crown, Daughter of York, and The King’s Grace comes another masterful historical novel—the story of Cecily of York, mother of two kings and the heroine of one of history’s greatest love stories.

Anne Easter Smith’s novels are beloved by readers for their ability “to grab you, sweep you along with the story, and make you fall in love with the characters.” * In Cecily Neville, duchess of York and ancestor of every English monarch to the present day, she has found her most engrossing character yet.

History remembers Cecily of York standing on the steps of the Market Cross at Ludlow, facing an attacking army while holding the hands of her two young sons. Queen by Right reveals how she came to step into her destiny, beginning with her marriage to Richard, duke of York, whom she meets when she is nine and he is thirteen. Raised together in her father’s household, they become a true love match and together face personal tragedies, pivotal events of history, and deadly political intrigue. All of England knows that Richard has a clear claim to the throne, and when King Henry VI becomes unfit to rule, Cecily must put aside her hopes and fears and help her husband decide what is right for their family and their country. Queen by Right marks Anne Easter Smith’s greatest achievement, a book that every fan of sweeping, exquisitely detailed historical fiction will devour.

My Review:

Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith is a detailed and fast moving look at the York family of the House of the Plantagenets through protagonist Cecily Neville, a powerful woman in her own right, mother to two Kings, and related to the current English Monarch; but I am getting ahead of myself.  Queen By Right takes the reader through Cecily’s life beginning in 1423 and ending in 1461, during those years the reader is allowed to watch Cecily grow, marry, have children and learn what events formed the woman the young girl ultimately became.  I have had the pleasure of reading many versions of the War of the Roses, a time period which intrigues me greatly and I was thrilled to be able to add Queen By Right into my collection.  Anne Easter Smith has crafted a wonderfully detailed look into the fifteenth century and for those who are unfamiliar with this historic time period or need a quick refresher, Smith provides not only genealogy charts to the houses of Plantagenet and Neville, but also the Dramatis Personae of each family, a map, and in the back, a glossary of terms one may not be familiar with.  Queen By Right is exceptionally written and a wonderful guide for those new to this time period as well as an excellent addition to the library of fans of this time period.  I would recommend Queen By Right to all who enjoy historical fiction and those who would like to give it a try, but have not been certain where to begin.

To learn more about author Anne Easter Smith and her books, please visit her website.

For more reviews and information about the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of Queen By Right by Anne Easter Smith from Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours as part of the tour. Receiving a copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: I Wore the Ocean In the Shape of a Girl by Kelle Groom

Tuesday 7 June, 2011 By 4 Comments


Title: I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl
Author: Kelle Groom
Publisher: Free Press
Publication Date: June 7, 2011
Hardcover: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-1451616682
Genre: Memoir


From the Publisher:

At the age of fifteen, Kelle Groom found that alcohol allowed her to connect with people and explore intimacy in ways she’d never been able to experience before. She began drinking before class, often blacked out at bars, and fell into destructive relationships. At nineteen, already an out-of-control alcoholic, she was pregnant. Accepting the heartbreaking fact that she was incapable of taking care of her son herself, she gave him up for adoption to her aunt and uncle. They named him Tommy and took him home with them to Massachusetts. When he was nine months old, the boy was diagnosed with leukemia—but Kelle’s parents, wanting the best for her, kept her mostly in the dark about his health. When Tommy died he was only fourteen months old. Having lost him irretrievably, Kelle went into an accelerating downward spiral of self-destruction. She emerged from this free fall only when her desire to stop drinking connected her with those who helped her to get sober.

In stirring, hypnotic prose, I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl explores the most painful aspects of Kelle’s addiction and loss with unflinching honesty and bold determination. Urgent and vital, exquisite and raw, her story is as much about maternal love as it is about survival, as much about acceptance as it is about forgiveness. Kelle’s longing for her son remains twenty-five years after his death. It is an ache intensified, as she lost him twice—first to adoption and then to cancer. In this inspiring portrait of redemption, Kelle charts the journey that led her to accept her addiction and grief and to learn how to live in the world.

Through her family’s history and the story of her son’s cancer, Kelle traces with clarity and breathtaking grace the forces that shape a life, a death, and a literary voice.

My Review:

I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant memoir by Kelle Groom, reflecting on her battle with alcohol addiction amidst the loss of her young son.  In her autobiography, Groom tells of her discovery of the enabling effects of alcohol as a teen that ultimately lead to her alcohol abuse and an unexpected pregnancy.  Although giving her son up for adoption to her aunt and uncle was the most loving action she could take, as she was deeply dependent on alcohol, heartache was soon to come when she learns that her son has died from leukemia shortly after his first birthday.  Describing how she effectively experienced the loss of her son first in the adoption and now with his death, one can only imagine the pain endured by this young adult, a pain made worse by her own out-of-control illness that was becoming ever more consuming. In an honest and brave confrontation with her addiction, the losses and the unconditional love given her during her darkest experiences, Groom provides hope for those suffering similarly as she draws upon the events that lead to acceptance, healing and her ultimate self-redemption.  Though I cannot personally relate to what Groom experienced, I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl touched my heart and may provide the sort of inspiration for others with similar struggles to begin the path toward recovery.  I would recommend I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl to anyone who enjoys memoirs and for discussion groups.

To learn more about author Kelle Groom and her books, please visit her website.

I received a complimentary copy of I Wore the Ocean In the Shape of a Girl by Kelle Groom from Free Press. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

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Book Review: The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

Friday 13 May, 2011 By 6 Comments


Title: The Sandalwood Tree
Author: Elle Newmark
Publisher: Atria
Publication Date: April 5, 2011
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-1416590590
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction

From the Publisher:

A sweeping novel that brings to life two love stories, ninety years apart, set against the rich backdrop of war-torn India.

In 1947, American historian and veteran of WWII, Martin Mitchell, wins a Fulbright Fellowship to document the end of British rule in India. His wife, Evie, convinces him to take her and their young son along, hoping a shared adventure will mend their marriage, which has been strained by war.

But other places, other wars. Martin and Evie find themselves stranded in a colonial bungalow in the Himalayas due to violence surrounding the partition of India between Hindus and Muslims. In that house, hidden behind a brick wall, Evie discovers a packet of old letters, which tell a strange and compelling story of love and war involving two young Englishwomen who lived in the same house in 1857.

Drawn to their story, Evie embarks on a mission to piece together her Victorian mystery. Her search leads her through the bazaars and temples of India as well as the dying society of the British Raj. Along the way, Martin’s dark secret is exposed, unleashing a new wedge between Evie and him. As India struggles toward Independence, Evie struggles to save her marriage, pursuing her Victorian ghosts for answers.

Bursting with lavish detail and vivid imagery of Calcutta and beyond, The Sandalwood Tree is a powerful story about betrayal, forgiveness, fate, and love.

My Review:

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark is a captivating story of Evie and her husband Martin, who along with their son travel to post-WWII India while Martin is on a Fulbright Scholarship where he is to be writing on the end of rule in India by the British.  While Evie’s main hope with the trip is to work to somehow mend her troubled relationship with Martin, Evie soon finds a distraction in a cache of nearly century-old letters that she uncovers in their residence in India, written by two women, Felicity and Adela, who had previously resided in the domicile.  Masterfully crafted, with smooth transitions between the parallel stories, Newmark weaves an intricate plot filled with mystery surrounding questions Evie has about the women she is discovering in these old letters.  Evie, in her pursuit of answers about these women learns a great deal about life in India in the 1800’s and ultimately Newmark brings forth interesting parallels between the two periods as well as parallels between the lives of Felicity and Adela and her own life with Martin.  I think The Sandalwood Tree would make for an excellent discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Elle Newmark is an award-winning writer whose books are inspired by her travels. She and her husband, a retired physician, have two grown children and five grandchildren. They live in the hills north of San Diego.

For more information about author Elle Newmark or her book, please visit her website.

Elle Newmark’s THE SANDALWOOD TREE VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘11 officially began on March 1st and ends on May 27th. Visit here during the months of March, April and May to find out more about this great book and talented author!

I received a complimentary ARC of The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark 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: The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg

Tuesday 29 March, 2011 By 21 Comments


Title: The Ice Princess
Author: Camilla Läckberg
Translator: Steven T. Murray
Publisher: Pocket
Publication Date: March 29, 2011
Paperback: 480 pages
ISBN: 978-1451621761
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense

From the Publisher:

In this electrifying tale of suspense from an international crime-writing sensation, a grisly death exposes the dark heart of a Scandinavian seaside village. Erica Falck returns to her tiny, remote hometown of FjÄllbacka, Sweden, after her parents’ deaths only to encounter another tragedy: the suicide of her childhood best friend, Alex. It’s Erica herself who finds Alex’s body—suspended in a bathtub of frozen water, her wrists slashed. Erica is bewildered: Why would a beautiful woman who had it all take her own life? Teaming up with police detective Patrik HedstrÖm, Erica begins to uncover shocking events from Alex’s childhood. As one horrifying fact after another comes to light, Erica and Patrik’s curiosity gives way to obsession—and their flirtation grows into uncontrollable attraction. But it’s not long before one thing becomes very clear: a deadly secret is at stake, and there’s someone out there who will do anything—even commit murder—to protect it.

Fans of Scandinavian greats Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell will devour Camilla Läckberg’s penetrating portrait of human nature at its darkest.
My Review:

In her chilling debut release in the US, Camilla Läckberg’s The Ice Princess, released in Sweden in 2002 as Isprinsessan is the first of her seven novels set in the Swedish fishing town of Fjällbacka. Erica Falck returns home after the death of her parents and while going through her parents belongings, she senses something is not quite right in the circumstances surrounding the apparent suicide of her childhood friend, Alexandra Wijkner. In exceptionally well-crafted prose, Läckberg brings to life the relationships among the characters, particularly the partnership formed between Erica and detective Patrik Hedström as they attempt to uncover the truth behind the death of Alex. In an intensely captivating manner, readers are exposed not only to the mystery surrounding suspicious death, but also to recurring relationship problems touching on the general issues of dysfunctional relationships and specific issues of infidelity. The story bears a similar starkness to the Swedish winters, where disturbing secrets surface, revealing the town’s past sins that leave nothing on which to maintain the past, if not misinformed, perceptions of Fjällbacka. I anxiously await the April release of Läckberg’s second novel, The Preacher, originally released in 2004 in Sweden titled Predikanten. I would recommend The Ice Princess to anyone who enjoys suspense thrillers, especially delightfully dark Scandinavian thrillers.

About the Author:

Camilla Lackberg worked as an economist in Stockholm until a course in creative writing triggered a drastic career change. Her novels have all been # 1 bestsellers in Sweden and she is the most profitable native author in Swedish history. Camilla’s books have been published in thirty-five countries. She lives in Stockholm.

I received a complimentary copy of The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg from Free Press to 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 Bird House by Kelly Simmons

Friday 25 March, 2011 By 18 Comments


Title: The Map of True Places
Author: Kelly Simmons
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-1439160930
Genre: Fiction

About the Book:

Every family has its secrets. But when you are suddenly the matriarch, tending the dark fires of memory, and your own mind is fading, who do you dare to share them with? Your diary, or your eight-year-old granddaughter?

Interweaving diaries penned forty years apart, Kelly Simmons’s captivating second novel, The Bird House, blends the fierce voice of Ann Biddle, a woman struggling to bond with her only grandchild, Ellie, while railing against the ravages of early dementia, with her point-of-view as a young wife and mother. We witness the secrets of Ann’s family and her grand-daughter and daughter-in-law’s through every lens — from the clarity of the rearview mirror to the haze of Alzheimer’s. And we see her grappling through the ‘60’s with sleep deprivation, breast cancer, her own mother’s death, a passionate affair, and a tragedy that leaves her stunned until, four decades later, her whip-smart granddaughter unwittingly sheds a burst of light on the family’s shadowy history.

A subtly tense, darkly psychological tug of war between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, present and past, The Bird House is a moving treatise on family, love, and memories—both lost and found. And proves a worthy successor to her book club favorite debut, Standing Still.

My Review:

The Bird House by Kelly Simmons, is the story of an elderly woman, Ann Biddle, who tells of her life and the hardships she had to endure throughout her 70 years.  Simmons, literally gives readers a first-hand experience through the eyes of Ann as Ann currently comes to grips with the onset of dementia and the challenges and strain it can have on families.  In a heart-wrenching story of love, loss, loneliness and infidelity, Simmons captures the emotions Ann experiences as she helps her granddaughter, Ellie, with a school project about her family history; a project that brings Ann and Ellie to explore Ann’s past through items and memorabilia stored away in Ann’s attic.  Teetering on the edge of losing her new found closeness to her granddaughter as Ann rediscovers her past traumas as she helps Ellie, Simmons takes readers through the challenges of keeping past troubles from destroying what is good in present life.  I would not hesitate to recommend The Bird House to any reader and especially to book discussion groups.

About the Author

Kelly Simmons is a former journalist and advertising creative director specializing in marketing to women. She lives with her family outside Philadelphia.

Check out Kelly’s Website,  Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

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

I received a complimentary copy of The Bird House by Kelly Simmons 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: Altar of Bones by Philip Carter

Thursday 10 March, 2011 By 17 Comments


Title: Altar of Bones
Author: Philip Carter
Publisher: Gallery
Publication Date: March 8, 2011
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 978-1439199084
Genre: Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

From the Publisher:

“They didn’t have to kill him…He never drank from the altar of bones.”

Cryptic dying words from a murdered homeless woman in present day San Francisco unlock a decades-buried secret that changed history. Now a pair of ruthless assassins are sent to cut the few living “loose ends.” And a young, resourceful woman on the run encounters a determined man with his own connected past and vengeful agenda. Forced to partner for survival and answers, a fast-paced and deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, taking them across the globe from the winding streets of Paris to the faded palaces of Budapest to the frozen lakes of Mongolia…where destiny, passion, and further betrayal await them.

The Altar of Bones has it all: The Russian mob. KGB spies. Presidential assasination. A doomed Hollywood legend. Deathbed confessions. Corrosive power. Shattered families. Guardians of an ancient religious icon housing a secret others will kill to possess. The dark promise of immortality. And it delivers on its ambitious premise to leave you stunned and breathless at the end.

My Review:

An action-packed adventure mystery novel, Alter of Bones is filled with greed, lust, power and a race, which spans the globe.  Had Alter of Bones been a movie I would have liked it a lot more.  As a book I just did not enjoy the conspiracy theory theme mixed with a magical theme of an ancient tribe of reindeer herders who have a secret cave behind a waterfall on a lake in Siberia, “which is not on a map”, and men have been trying to locate this magical alter, while the Keeper, passed down through generations of women has protected it.  For those who enjoy an action packed adventure mystery, Altar of Bones has something for everyone.  The book opens in present day San Francisco where Katya Orlova is murdered, making her granddaughter, lawyer Zoe Dmitroff the new Keeper, placing her in peril.  The author flashes back to 1937 Norilsk where pregnant Lena Orlova is employed and about to embark on an escape with her lover Nikolai Popov.  As I mentioned the books is action packed filled with NKVD, KGB, CIA, and a dizzying array of people all after the sacred alter.  The two central characters; Zoe, the new keeper, and Ry O’Malley, black-ops hired to protect Zoe and is her lover.  As I mentioned, this book has a little something for everyone, especially violence, a lot of travel, and sex. The book covers a lot of territory. While Alter of Bones kept my attention for the most part, admittedly I skipped the sex scenes as they are really unnecessary to further the plot. The book progressed nicely, but it was simply not a book I was invested in. I felt there was far too much occurring, leaving little room for character development.   For those who enjoy a rapid fire action adventure with a hint of mystery, mysticism, conspiracy theories and a lot of romance thrown in, then Alter of Bones may be the book you are looking for.

About the Author:

Philip Carter is a pseudonym for an internationally renowned author.

I received a complimentary copy of Altar of Bones by Philip Carter from Gallery Books to offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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