Tag: books

Come Undone by Eddie Huang

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I’m beginning to believe Eddie Huang can do it all! He wrote a book years ago called Fresh Off the Boat which chronicled his crazy family life growing up. This became a hit TV series. He also had a show on Vice TV called Huang’s World in which he traveled all over the world looking at countries people and food. If that wasn’t enough, he also owns and is the chef in a restaurant called Bao Haus in New York City and get this…he’s only in his forties!

Come Undone is an extraordinary satirical look into the life of someone who you think must have it all, but in reality, his childhood and adulthood have begun to merge, and he realizes his fear of commitment just might be his downfall.

Ready to settle down, Hubie is rich, loves his freedom and loves to get laid. The problem seems to be that when the relationship begins to progress, Hubie panics, finds reasons to let go and then regrets his decisions no matter how hard he tries. Of course, his friends are always there to pick him up!

Until he meets Anastasia, a woman who seems to have quite the laze faire attitude, just as he does. She loves to enjoy life, travel and sex. And she has never been able to commit to a life of monogamy. Sound familiar?

But as they get to know each other and delve deeper into the reasons for their fear of “commitment” in their own ways, and suddenly when a crisis occurs, Hubie seems to begin to discover what he has been holding him back for all these years. Now he must somehow find the courage to face his past and recognize that the future he wants is right in front of him.

Come Undone is funny, heartbreaking yet heartwarmingly beautiful. Is this part memoir/part fiction? I really don’t know. I am happy he wrote it as Huang certainly poured his own heart and soul into this sharp and clever story!

Thank you #NetGalley #OneWorld #EddieHuang #ComeUndone for the advanced copy.

Come Undone: A Novel: Huang, Eddie: 9780399591907: Amazon.com: Books

https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/241715934-come-undone

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Somebody Worth Killing by Jessica Payne

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Welcome to the world of the coolest assassin ever! She’s smart, funny, can multi-task, and oh, she’s married, with two little girls and belongs to the PTO club. I said she was able to multi-task! Somebody Worth Killing is a seriously hilarious, smart story with thrills that will give you chills, about a normal mom and wife who adores her family but has a secret. Her passion in life is killing people who have done something wrong, like stolen from the elderly, or scrimps on medications to people who really need it, etc. Of course, no one knows what she really does for a living, except her handler, and another assassin, a male who have known each other for years. But when she decides she wants a job more like what the men get, with way more money well, be careful what you wish for!

Nadia Davis is a suburban mom happily married to Brian who is a management consultant. But, when her family goes to bed, she opens up a secret room in the bouse and becomes “the assassin”. And she’s very good at her job. Ever since in high school when she discovered her sister was being abused by her boyfriend and she well, made sure he could never do that to anyone again, the urge has never left. Is she a psychopath? Probably. But the apple does not fall far from the tree…she and her grandmother seem to think alike.

But after her latest kill she is talking to her male assassin friend only to discover that some of the men assassins are paid much better than she. What? So, she places a call to her handler and through very secret channels gets a hit on someone. Now she’s really in the big leagues! Although from the start this hit is different. She must figure out a poem in order to find the bad guy. Wow he must be really terrible!

Then she finally figures out where he is and when she sees him as he is getting out of the car with another woman and she’s all set to do her job he moves a certain way and… oh dear God…it’s her husband! This is impossible! Brian has a nine to five job. Yes, sometimes he travels, like he is supposed to be right now, but seriously?

So now, Nadia must figure out why Brian has a hit on him and what on earth bad things he has been doing. In the process she must evaluate the situation, her life as she knows it and her life if and when she has to kill her husband.

Somebody Worth Killing is such a fun read with wonderful twists and turns. Yes, there is an intensity, but the story is filled with so much mystery, surprise and shockingly a whole lot of love!

Thank you #NetGalley #Berkley #SomebodyWorthKilling #JessicaPayne for the advanced copy.

Somebody Worth Killing: Payne, Jessica: 9780593954706: Amazon.com: Books

Edit Review – Somebody Worth Killing | Goodreads

Beach Thriller by Jamie Day

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Grab your beach chair, cooler and towel. Go sit near the ocean and get ready for the read of your life! Two thrillers for the price of one in this incredibly suspenseful, story, Beach Thriller! Part mystery, part nail biter this has it all! With twists you will not see coming, and so many secrets and lies your head will spin. Told in chapter form by the three main characters, a flailing writer, a runaway teenager and a mysterious watcher who seems to know too much. How much more could you want?

Holly Sinclair is a writer who is going back to Beauport, MA to fix up the home her late mother, dead sister and herself lived in. She did not want to come home because of the memories but with no money and an eviction notice from her apartment, well, she had no choice.

Not only is she anxious about coming home but she knows if she doesn’t come up with a great book idea, she’s going to not only be in trouble with her agent, but she’s so much in debt she will be living on the street. But their house has not been lived in for so long it has become dilapidated, and she has to hire someone to fix it up. But unfortunately, she is still waiting for her mother’s estate to go through probate.

What she did not expect was for someone to take up residence in the attic! Jade is a runaway who has come to the town with a necklace she thinks comes from here. She’s trying to figure out what it’s meaning could possibly be. Jade discovers an unfinished manuscript in the attic Holly had begun years ago. It chronicles what was going on at the time of her sister’s disappearance. This prompts Holly to delve into her sister’s death and begin to ask questions.

Holly takes a liking to Jade and allows her to stay but when Jade gets a job at the powerful Carmichael family mansion, Holly is angered and scared for Jade. This family destroyed her family’s life! Matriarch Maeve Charmichael ruined not only her Holly’s life but put her sister on a path to death! Jade decides to keep working for Maeve and help with a beach party which years ago was held every year and a must attend! For some reason Maeve feels at her age, this may be the last of this type of party she will ever attend.

To Holly that party was the beginning of the end of her sister’s life. Then Jade suddenly disappears and it’s up to Holly, her realtor Gail and local psychic Serena to find out what happened to her. But unfortunately, there have been so many secrets and lies and deceptions throughout the years will they find her in time. Once again, it seems the Carmichael’s are bent on wrecking lives!

Beach thriller will blow your mind! If you love deception, greed and plot twists, this is certainly the book for you! Two incredible mysteries for the price of one! Relax and enjoy! Oh, and don’t forget the sunscreen!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #JamieDay #BeachThriller for the advanced copy!

Amazon.com: Beach Thriller: A Novel: 9781250358233: Day, Jamie: Books

Edit Review – Beach Thriller | Goodreads

The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh

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The One Day You Were My Husband is another terrific psychological thriller from Rosie Walsh. With her adept handling of shocking twists, turns and surprises you will be kept on your toes while reading this amazing story.

Carrie is studying to be a surgical doctor and Johan is a diver. They met when he assisted an injured woman to the hospital Carrie was training at. It was instant attraction for both of them. But in her position, she was unable to date someone who was remotely close to a patient. But Johan made sure she did not forget him!

They end up going on a date and basically never leave each other. Johan sometimes has to go on work trips; Carrie gets anxious as sometimes he is unable to contact her but, in the end, they fall deeply in love. So much so that when they are on a vacation in Thailand, Johan proposes to Carrie even though it has been a few short months into their relationship and Carrie immediately says yes. They decide getting married on the beautiful beach in Thailand would be perfect. Even though no one would be able to come to the wedding.

But what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives ends up being the end of their relationship. While enjoying the food and drink on the beach after the ceremony, a group of officers come down and arrest Johan and take him away. For what? Carrie has no idea! How could this happen. She is confused, then heartbroken after finding out she will never see him again.

Fast forward to a little over a decade later, with the help of therapy and her family Carrie has healed, married a wonderful man named Robin who she knows she is the apple of his eye. They have six-year-old twins, and she has been a stay-at-home mom this whole time.

Carrie though is beginning to miss her job. She wants to get back to doing surgeries. With her husband’s backing she decides to begin the process of going back to work. The first step is going to Stockholm to meet with a former mentor. As she is planning her visit, she comes across a picture of a man living in Stockholm, an architect. The picture is Johan.

Of course, this begins to stir up memories and emotions which she thought had been laid to rest. If he had been released, why had he not gotten in touch with her? Without telling Robin what she has seen she ends up going to Stockholm and to her surprise sees Johan in person where she leaves with more questions than answers.

What happens next will throw Carrie’s life into a turmoil of shocking lies, betrayals, secrets and awful mysteries. You will not only devour this story but enjoy ever last second of The One Day You Were My Husband.

Thank you #NetGalley #PamelaDormanBooks #RosieWalsh #TheOneDayYouWereMyHusband for the advanced copy.

The One Day You Were My Husband: A Novel: Walsh, Rosie: 9798217060450: Amazon.com: Books

The One Day You Were My Husband | Goodreads

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity by Rachel Linden

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Rachel Linden’s latest book A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity is well…just delicious! The story is about a single mother who must come back home to help her ailing parents and keep their fudge shop afloat all the while trying to keep her head above water and not being able to fulfill her own dreams let alone find a companion. But as the women in her family know it’s only when on their birthday, just once they will be given a glimpse of what their future will hold. In her thirties she is still waiting for her vision. Be careful what you wish for!

Emmie had a wonderful life in Paris, just beginning to create a name for herself as a chocolatier until suddenly her world came crashing down. Six years ago, she found out she was pregnant, discovered her father was very ill and her mother could not take care of him and their chocolate store where they served a very special fudge created by her father.

Now, years later her father has passed away, and her mother is now having medical issues, so Emmie has become immersed in taking care of her son Gus who is still mourning the passing of his grandfather, and her mother’s limited ability to help at the store and making all the chocolate.

But her birthday is coming up, and she just hopes this year will be the year she will get her magical vision of her future. All the other women have gotten their visions and what they have seen has come true. But for Emmie the wait is becoming unbearable! She needs a bit of good news!

And this year, well let’s just say she gets the vision of a lifetime! She will be able to make her own chocolates, as well as fall in love with no other than a celebrity. This can’t be real… until said celebrity walks into the shop!

Things seem to be going well until the shop begins to fall apart, literally! She sees an old friend from high school who unfortunately she hurt back then and the building the shop is in now must be upgraded to code which means she needs even more money! With no way near the amount of cash and very little time Emmie feels like her vision was just a magical joke! But she refuses to sell the family business no matter what.

But although Emmie can’t see the light of day yet, she will learn many valuable lessons, and soon she will discover what she wants for her future may not be exactly what was planned for her. What should she do? Who knows better the vision or Emmie? She just wants to find a balance and more importantly some time and happiness!

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity is an uplifting, adorable, charming, should I actually say it?…sweet story about those who do for so many being able to finally find not only their own voice, but realizing you must be able to take care of yourself before you can attempt to take on those you love so much.

Thank you #NetGalley #Berkley #RachelLinden #ASprinkleofSweetSerendipity for the advance copy.

Amazon.com: A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity: 9780593816660: Linden, Rachel: Books

A Sprinkle of Sweet Serendipity | Goodreads

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick

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The Time Hop Coffee Shop is an uplifting dare I say magical, imaginative story! For those of us who wonder or perhaps wish their lives could be different or they had made other decisions years ago, a character actually gets that chance. What if we could get go back? Would we take it? This wonderful novel will give you a glimpse at someone who gets the chance in this truly delightful novel!

Gerta Perks is an actress a bit past her prime. Her whole family including her teenage daughter are famous for their Maple Gold coffee commercials which actually chronicled their lives together. But for years there have been no family commercials and Gerta’s acting career has faltered. Her daughter who Gerta knows is a good actress will have nothing to do with the industry and that seems to be what the two of them fight about each day. And her husband, who still gets worked has moved out of their house so they can make the decision whether to stay married or not. In other words, her life is falling apart.

One day as Gerta once again has failed at her attempt to get her career started again, she finds a flyer on a sidewalk with a bunny logo. It’s directions to a coffee shop she has never heard of. She ends up going. As the owner explains she blends special brews for each client, you drink the coffee and make a wish.

Gerta decides to make the wish that life go back to being simple again when they were just a happy family living together and enjoying each other. Just like the time years ago when they were making Maple Gold commercials.

And just like that, she wakes up in a town called Mapleville where it is always sunny, everyone is friendly and everyone is happy. Oh, and everyone drinks a lot of coffee! As she begins to enjoy her time in Mapleville and to make friends, she hates the fact that she must go back to her reality.

Gerta wants to stay in Mapleville but realizes it’s not her life, but someone else’s. When she gets back to her real life, things seem to be getting worse. More fighting with her daughter and she feels her husband slipping further away.

Now she is given one more chance. Should she stay in Mapleville or stay and fight for the family she is barely hanging on to?

The Time Hop Coffee Shop is an exceptional read with so many lessons to be learned all the while rooting for a family who seems to be coming apart at the seams. There is also an incredible mystery element which I certainly did not see coming!

Park Row

The Time Hop Coffee Shop: A Novel – A Charming Magical Realism Story of Second Chances and New Beginnings: Patrick, Phaedra: 9780778310907: Amazon.com: Books

The Time Hop Coffee Shop by Phaedra Patrick | Goodreads

Take Me with You by Steven Rowley

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Take Me with You is such a beautiful story about how sometimes spouses, siblings and family can get lost in all the minutia life throws at them and forget that once upon a time before life became difficult, it was the strength of leaning on those who we love which can somehow help solve any problems. But sometimes it just might take a problem out of this world to put life back into perspective.

Jesse is a college professor and Norman an architect. Married, they met and fell in love over thirty years ago. Norman is a bit older than Jesse. Married and living in Joshua Tree they seem to have gotten into a rut. Both are bored, snippy and a bit sarcastic towards each other. And Jesse is now beginning to feel Norman’s age from all those years ago.

And then Norman leaves.

In the most peculiar way. One night Jesse wakes up to find Norman in the backyard staring up at a bright light. Jesse yells to Norman to not go. But Norman looks back at Jesse and goes into the light leaving Jesse alone.

Bewildered and knowing he can’t tell anyone what he saw as they would put him in a hospital, he must now handle all the responsibility in their lives as he waits and hopes for Norman’s return. In the meantime, Norman’s sister Lally a flight attendant comes around not only looking for Norman, but also to ask them for a favor. As Jesse tries to hide the fact that Norman is clearly nowhere to be found, he begins to become angrier at Norman for going to…well he doesn’t know.

Jesse begins to change while he waits for Norman’s (hopeful) return. He becomes friends with their neighbor who lives in a camper, gets close to the students in his class and in his own way begins to search for answers as to where and why Norman left. Oh, and he begins to dig up his backyard.

As time goes by and chaos ensues Jesse misses Norman but realizes life must go on. And so, it does until the inevitable happens. What is it that happens? Well, you must read this extraordinary story, Take Me with You to discover how sometimes the secrets to happiness and love and forgiving may be closer than a light year away.

Thank you #NetGalley #GPPutnam’sSons #StevenRowley #TakeMewithYou for the advanced copy.

Amazon.com: Take Me with You: 9780593851494: Rowley, Steven: Books

Edit Review – Take Me With You | Goodreads

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson

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It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a can’t put down thriller with many twists and turns. Part psychological drama, part mysterious history the story will come together with an explosive ending no one will see coming. What starts out as a story about a woman trying to reclaim her life after she leaves her boyfriend, turns into some being fascinatingly eerie and ghostly.

Sarah Carpenter is on the run. She’s finally gotten the courage to leave her abusive boyfriend. With a mother who could care less about her and friends her boyfriend made sure she distanced herself from, Sarah has no one to help her. But she discovers an artist retreat called Tranquil Falls in Georgia. A pottery maker by trade until he met her boyfriend, she decides this would be the best place for her since he would never be able to find her. With no cell service, and deep in the woods, she will be able to not only hide for the next weeks but get her creative juices flowing again. Until she opens the door to her cottage and discovers a dead possum on the bed!

Although there is an old 1900’s dilapidated hotel on grounds, that is the one place no one is allowed. So strict are the owners of the retreat if found breaking this rule you must immediately leave. Of course, this piques all the artist’s interest, especially the photographer who has enrolled.

She, of course is not the only resident at the retreat. There is a young boy who is a musician, a calligrapher, a maker of stained-glass artifacts, a sculptor and a metalsmith. What an incredibly diverse group. Sarah can’t wait for them to all get to know each other. But it seems they are all carrying some kind of baggage.

But it is only when Sarah discovers a century old casket with a dead woman inside deep in the woods that it seems all their worlds begin to change. Sarah begins to find nails from the coffin in strange places. And she thinks the dead woman could be associated with the hotel.

After the discovery, strange occurrences begin to happen. Sarah begins to have vivid dreams at night, and the main character is a woman who seems to be trapped in some sort of institute. The young musician is found sleepwalking in the hotel where he seems to be endlessly playing the piano. One by one the artists seem to become affected.

Sarah along with Ingrid the photographer decides to break the rules and visit the hotel. The hotel is not very tranquil at all but seems dark and evil. What is going on at this artist colony? What happened at the hotel? And who is this woman who keeps visiting Sarah while she sleeps.

It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is an intense haunting story which will have you reading well into the night, (if you dare), as somehow the past merges with the present and no one is safe from the wrath and/or anger which seems to have bubbled up to the surface.

Thank you #NetGalley #DelRay #DelilahS.Dawson #ItWillOnlyHurtforaMoment for the advanced copy.

Amazon.com: It Will Only Hurt for a Moment: A Novel: 9780593156674: Dawson, Delilah S.: Books

Edit Review – It Will Only Hurt for a Moment | Goodreads

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

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Put your tennis gear on and enter the poshest social club in the 1950’s, The Island Club. The story will not disappoint and the characters lovingly damaged. With a feel of “back in day” the story revolves around three women whose lives begin to fall apart in very different ways. One, in her marriage, one in her wealth status and the last an embarrassing secret she has kept for decades which is about to be exposed. And the gossip…oh my goodness!

The Island Club is the place to be and be seen on Balboa Island in California. It’s all about the status. Anyone who is anyone is a member. There is pool life, dinner life and even tennis life played mostly by men. But of course, everyone wants to know everyone’s business! People go there to play tennis, swim, eat and learn all the chatter!

So, when Milly Kinkaid began to feel her marriage slipping away, she decided the family needed to move away from Hollywood where her husband worked and where all the beautiful women there seduced them. She honestly thought Balboa Island would fix all their problems. But unfortunately, her husband Lloyd still was staying in Hollywood, and she was now in Balboa Island alone with their two young children. So, she decides on her own, something very unlike any woman of the time, to sign the family up as members of The Island Club. She also decides to take tennis lessons. Lloyd is not happy.

Sylvia Johnson and her husband Walter own the fancy, enviable Island Club. The Club does well and with their investments they have more money than they know what to do with. They are the envy of all the members as well as residence on Balboa Island. Until something happens which not only puts their lifestyle into jeopardy, but also their life savings. As their lives begin to fall apart Sylvia knows she must step up and figure out what in the world to do before they lose the Club.

Resident of Balboa Island, Adele Lambert just wants to be left alone. Her past a humiliation she has never recovered from she moved to Balboa to disappear. She rarely goes out, only to her small job, or to her garden and she will sometimes hit a tennis ball in her backyard at the dilapidated unoccupied house next to hers. Suddenly Adele finds herself in a new position but with that position comes the possibility of her past and present merging. And then her worst nightmare comes true.

Three women from different walks of life with very different problems begin to become friends. With that friendship a bond is formed. With that friendship each are given strength and courage they never in their wildest dreams thought they would ever have. They also work together to help each other and become a power to reckon with.

Enter The Island Club at your own risk and you will discover an amazing story, not only of a particular lifestyle, but deep dark secrets with many twists and turns and three women you will begin to root for as they try and make better lives for themselves and their families, they love dearly.

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #NicolaHarrison #TheIslandClub for the advanced copy.

Amazon.com: The Island Club: A Novel: 9781250277404: Harrison, Nicola: Books

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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You will absolutely fall in love with Ms. Mebel, a sixty something woman in the prime of her life, even though she doesn’t know it yet in this empowering, imaginative and very funny story.

You see, Ms. Mebel is married but has been sheltered most of her life. Her husband, very rich…not her it seems but him… has pampered her with anything and everything her little heart has desired. Designer clothes, shoes, fancy restaurants and let’s not forget the jewelry! But Mebel expects it because that is how it is in their culture which is Chinese Indonesian. The husband takes care of the family. Until…

Said husband decides to fall in love with their very young chef who cooks for them and asks her for a divorce. Excuse me? Mebel is the only trophy wife in this forty-year marriage. But he has made up his mind.

Angry, embarrassed and lost, Mabel against her sons wishes, who feels she should just divorce his father, decides to fix the situation. She will win back Henk, her husband by going to a prominent culinary school in England. So what if she can’t cook. She will learn, he will fall madly in love again with her and dump trophy wife number two!

Mabel applies and gets into the school. She along with her beautiful jewelry, clothes and shoes schlep to the school. It’s….not what she thought it would be. It’s in a small village near Oxford not at Oxford which seems to be the first mistake. But she is determined.

The oldest student in the bunch, Mabel begins her experience by trying to pull her privilege card. Unfortunately, that does not seem to work with the other students, or the teacher.

As Mabel begins to understand how her young classmates seem to be determined to succeed, she herself with their help starts to appreciate them as well as herself. The better she does the more confidence she seems to exude. She becomes the other students’ advisor on life and problems, something she was never asked to do her whole life.

Mebel will begin to learn and understand how people can seem one way and be another. She becomes good at cooking and communicating (for the most part) with others. And she begins to grow in so many other ways. For herself, but for others as well. She now is determined to succeed not for anyone else but Mebel. Well, maybe for her family also whom she begins to understand in a way she never had.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block is such a humorous special story, in which there are so many lessons to be learned. You can change not matter what your age. You can absolutely do whatever you set your mind to. And it’s never too late to learn about love and humanity. A trophy wife? Well, I don’t think so!

Thank you #NetGalley #Berkley #JesseQ.Sutanto #Ms.MebelGoesBacktotheChoppingBlock for the advanced copy.

Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block: Sutanto, Jesse Q.: 9780593953051: Amazon.com: Books

Edit Review – Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block | Goodreads