Dry Ice--Review by Kelsey G.

Dry Ice
By: Bill Evans

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About the book:

In the frozen heart of Antarctica sits TESLA, a secret weather "research" station designed by Greg Simpson for Flint Agro-Chemical, a world-spanning agribusiness. Only a few people know that TESLA is creating weather all over the globe, granting Flint huge harvests and punishing the company's rivals with hailstorms and drought. Even fewer know that from time to time, Flint and TESLA help the Pentagon by providing just the right weather for a military operation. When Greg strikes a secret deal with the Pentagon, Flint executives decide to replace him with the beautiful and ultra-intelligent Tess Beauchamp. Arriving, Tess is surprised to find that Greg's second-in-command, Nik Forde, is even better looking than he was when they had a brief affair, ten years ago.

Review by Kelsey:
To be blunt, Dry Ice is a compelling plot inhabited by less than compelling characters. The concept of weaponized weather is fascinating and as the driving force behind this novel, works rather well. Mr. Evans' writing is steeped in scientific accuracy. While at times this does cause the narrative to read more like a scientific textbook, I appreciated the realistic grounding. I only wish the characters were less predictable, and more relatable. The heroine, Tess Beauchamp, is a super-intelligent, beautiful woman who is facing down a madman's revenge. In fact, the madman, Greg Simpson, is rather fascinating in and of himself. I have to comment though on the gender issue. While a strong female is of course wonderful and fascinating to read, unfortunately Mr. Evans made all his females strong and sympathetic, while the males carried the brunt of antagonism. Basically all the women were good and all the men were, if not bad, then at the very least annoying. However, despite my issues with the characters, the plot itself is thrilling and thoughtful, and any weather/science-fiction fan will probably enjoy the premise.

Review - THE TABA CONVENTION by Stephen W. Ayers

THE TABA CONVENTION
The Jordan Kline Series. Book 1.
By Stephen W. Ayers

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About The Book:
Two deadly adversaries, one horrific conspiracy against peace.

A deadly conspiracy to blow up The Taba Convention, a peace signing ceremony to be held at the Taba Hilton complex in Egypt.

Disillusioned with the continued killing in the Mossad agency, Jordan Kline resigns to take up hotel management studies. Now the General Manager of the Sands Eilat hotel, Jordan enjoys life with his girlfriend Irit in the Red Sea resort town.

However, there are multiple assassinations, one of which Jordan witnesses. An ex colleague is taken out in the Arava, the long desert road leading from the Dead Sea to Eilat. On his way back from a business trip to Tel Aviv, Jordan witnesses the dying man’s last words. They are words that will push Jordan reluctantly back into the violent world he turned his back on.

Jordan unravels a deadly conspiracy that threatens to once again engulf the Middle East in war. He becomes the most hunted man in Israel. Forced to use all his cunning, Jordan must stay one step ahead of men that kill to fulfill their deadly ambitions. The only problem is that Jordan does not know who they are, and time is running out as the historic date of The Taba Convention approaches.

The Taba Convention is filled with surprising twists and turns, and interesting insights into the world of hotels interspersed in the suspenseful action. The future of the Middle East is in doubt right up until the climax at the Taba Hilton Hotel in Taba Egypt.

Review By Lynda:
I had a few misgivings about reviewing this book since I'm not fond of 'blood-and-guts' style thrillers. And while there is violence in this political thriller, it's not the primary focus. The mystery, intrigue, cat-and-mouse maneuvers, and life-and-death decisions are what makes this story a 'THRILLER'. It's very well written. The main character, Jordan Kline, is likable but with enough flaws to make him believable. It's an edge of you seat  read with an ending that is different than what I expected, which was enjoyable. Jordan Kline is a seasoned warrior who is sick of the smell of death, he wants a life separate from all he previously knew. He's scared, he's vulnerable, because the woman he loves doesn't know his complete history. He has so much to lose. One mistake can end everything. In the wrong place at the wrong time lands Jordan smack in the middle of a complex terrorist threat. And that's as much as I'm telling you. You'll just have to read the book to get the rest of this story.

Review of - A Death For Beauty, or an Immortal by Alberto Rios Arias

About The Book:
Set during the Civil War, a troubled young woman struggles with her conscience after the suspicious death of her unfaithful husband. When her dreams of a new life seem hopeful, she ventures across the western plains with her sickly daughter in tow and an unscrupulous businessman who promises her a pot of gold. But the seeds of this dangerous venture—sown in blood—yield the unexpected and what she encounters along the fringes of the Oregon Trail in the dark corners of the prairies, will change her life forever.

Lynda's Review:
Where to begin? There is no doubt that this story is intricately written with extraordinary attention to historical detail and characterization. And while some readers will find it to be up-lifting in it's culmination, the ever present dark side of tragedy, despair, hope, and realization drained much of the pleasure for me. As a piece of historical fiction, I found it enlightening. But, as a reader who loves to connect with the characters of a story, I found that difficult, especially in the case of the story's protagonist, Virginia Mae Mercy. Every story hits some cord in a reader's heart, mind, or conscience, and I'm always hoping that it will be an enjoyable experience, but sometimes that's just not the case. For that reason, I give this book Three Stars.

If I Tell - Book Review by Kelsey G.

If I Tell

By: Janet Gurtler

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About the Book:

IF ONLY...If only I hadn't gone to that party, I never would have seen what I did. Jackson wouldn't have driven me home. I wouldn't have started to fall for a guy just out of reform school. I could go back to pretending everything was normal. I wouldn't be keeping a secret from my mom that could blow our family apart...

Review by Kelsey G.

What's your pleasure? Racism? Infidelity? Substance Abuse? Alcoholism? If I Tell is a coming of age novel that covers nearly every issue an adolescent can possibly face. Jasmine is a biracial teen being raised by her grandmother. Her mom is still around, just busy starting a new family of her own with Jaz's almost stepdad Simon. When Jaz uncovers a secret she simply cannot bring herself to share with her mother, their already strained family equilibrium is in danger of erupting into full-blown chaos.

This is a study in dysfunction, and was a smidge daytime TV for my taste. The themes though, are admittedly very current, and many teenagers today are living the circumstances around which this story revolves. The pain of ostracism, the grief of losing a loved one, it's all here, and told with a light storytelling style that moves quickly from scene to scene.

I did enjoy the side characters, Jackson, I found particularly interesting, as Jaz's rumored drug-dealing love interest. Jaz's grandmother was also a force to be reckoned with. By the story's end, Jaz comes to terms with her family situation, even as she continues to handle situations way above her maturity level. I enjoyed this story as a brief afternoon read. Not much in the way of deep, intellectual fare but an entertaining tale nonetheless.

Review - Taken Away by Patty Friedmann

Taken Away

By Patty Friedmann

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About the Book:
What does young Summer Elmwood do when her little sister disappears during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and everyone blames her?
 
When Summer Elmwood’s hot, bedraggled, exhausted family arrives unannounced at the door of her aunt’s elegant Houston house, her mother explains. “We’ve had a disaster. Not the hurricane, a real disaster.”

It is one week after Katrina laid waste to the Elmwoods’ hometown of New Orleans, and like most residents, they were too close to the tragedy to see its scope. Besides, they were coping with a possible tragedy of their own, and only because their city has closed down have they evacuated. Summer’s baby sister disappeared the day the storm hit.

Two-year-old Amalia Elmwood had open-heart surgery three days before the storm, and in the chaos—breaking windows, loss of power, rising water, departure of doctors and nurses—Amalia has disappeared from Intensive Care. The Elmwoods find themselves helpless to find her in an abandoned city.

When her parents start to suspect Summer—who aches for some positive attention—might be the culprit, Summer musters all her resources to track her sister down. With parents who don’t like technology, she must sneak to use computers and cell phones, but with the help of a friend, Haydn Glade, who also is exiled in Texas, she picks up clues that the FBI ignores and eventually figures out what happened. Haydn, whom she “would be in love with if I didn’t love him so much,” seems a much more romantic boy in Texas. Summer has to decide how much.

Review by Lynda:
Author Patti Friedmann's writing style and voice are gripping within themselves, but when paired with an exceptional story, the experience becomes a feast of delectable dialog, introspection, description, etc., etc.

I was enthralled by the honesty with which this story is told. That honesty took center stage through gut-wrenching fact and description, sometimes it gushed forth in desperation and misery. A Heartless disaster, heartless circumstances, and heartless individuals all band together to form a almost unbeatable foe in TAKEN AWAY. This story is REAL in every sense. You can't read it and come away untouched. I'm thrilled to have had the chance to read and review this work by author Patti Friedmann. I give this book 5 STARS!

  
PLEASE CONTINUE THE TOUR: 

Friday, October 21

Guest blogging at Motherhoot

Monday, October 24

Book reviewed at From the TBR Pile

Book reviewed at Stuggles of a (Maybe) Teen Author

Tuesday, October 25

Guest participant at Literarily Speaking October Book Panel

Wednesday, October 26

Book spotlighted at Book Marketing Buzz

Thursday, October 27

Interviewed at Blogcritics

Friday, October 28

Interviewed at American Chronicle

I'm Not Her - Review by Kelsey G.

I'm Not Her
By: Janet Gurtler

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About The Book:
Tess is the exact opposite of her beautiful, athletic sister.
Tess is the smart one, and they each have their place. Until Kristina is diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly Tess is the center of the popular crowd, everyone eager for updates. There are senior boys flirting with her. But the smiles of her picture-perfect family are cracking and her sister could be dying. Now Tess has to fill a new role: the strong one. Because if hse doesn't hold it together, who will?

Review by Kelsey G.
This was a very emotional book for me to read as both a mother and a sister. Of course, being a flaming hypochondriac didn't help, either. When someone young and vibrant is suddenly diagnosed with a disease like cancer, it is terrifying, for everyone involved. Janet Gurtler has very touchingly captured all the raw emotions and unpredictable changes just such an event sparks. The heroine of this story is Tess, the sister of Kristina, a beautiful young woman who is completely blindsided by a bone cancer diagnosis. Tess is instantly likeable as the underdog of a mix-matched family. Intelligent to her sister's athleticism, shy to her sister's popularity, Tess is used to blending in. But when Kristina is suddenly the vulnerable one, the changes Tess must make both in her life, and in her own personality are drastic. This book is not without its moments of predictability, but overall it is an extremely well-executed glimpse into the effects of terminal illness in an adolescent life. There is romance, tragedy, and personal growth, and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Review - Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry

Coming Up for Air
By Patti Callahan Henry
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About The Book:
On the coast of Alabama, there is a house cloaked in mystery, a place that reveals the truth and changes lives...

Ellie Calvin is caught in a dying marriage, and she knows this. With her beloved daughter away at college and a growing gap between her and her husband – between her reality and the woman she wants to be – she doesn’t quite seem to fit into her own life.

But everything changes after her controlling mother, Lillian, passes away. Ellie’s world turns upside down when she sees her ex-boyfriend, Hutch, at her mother’s funeral and learns that he is in charge of a documentary that involved Lillian before her death. He wants answers to questions that Ellie’s not sure she can face, until, in the painful midst of going through her mother’s things, she discovers a hidden diary – and a window into stories buried long ago.

As Ellie and Hutch start speaking for the first time in years, Ellie’s closed heart slowly begins to open. Fighting their feelings, they set out together to dig into Lillian’s history. Using both the diary and a trip to the Summer House, a mysterious and seductive bayside home, they gamble that they can work together and not fall in love again. But in piecing together a decades-old unrequited-love story, they just might uncover the secrets in their own hearts…

Coming up for Air is the story of one woman’s search for truth – and what happens when love steps in along the way.  


About the Author:
NYT Bestselling author of eight novels: Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, and Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song. Her latest novel, Coming Up For Air will be published by St. Martins Press on August 15th, 2011.

Patti has been hailed as a fresh new voice in southern fiction. She has been short-listed for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and has twice been nominated for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Fiction Novel of the Year. She is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs and women’s groups where she discusses the importance of storytelling and anything else they want to talk about.

After earning her Master’s degree in Child Health, Patti worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist until her first child was born. Patti is a full time writer, wife and mother living with her husband and three children in Mountain Brook, AL where she is working on her next novel.

Review by Lynda 

Being a girl of the South, I always enjoy stories set in those areas. In ‘Coming Up for Air’, we get to spend time in Georgia and Alabama with a protagonist, Ellie Calvin, who is truly ‘Southern’ in most aspects of her life. Her life is not that different from many others, but watching her perspective change as she faces a point of change, and watching her take the time to evaluate and determine who she is and who she wants to become, is interesting. 

I can’t say that I really loved this read, primarily because of the rather slow pacing. While I could connect with Ellie, I couldn’t get into most of the supporting characters. This was one of those books that half the time I was fully enjoying, and the other half, I was wondering where I lost the story thread, or why the characters suddenly seemed so shallow when earlier they were sympathetic and complex.  

If the storyline interest you, I suggest you give this book a chance. Some days I think I’m just too picky and a little testy. I really shouldn’t read when I’m in a mood… :(

Review; The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

The Rose Garden
By Susanna Kearsley

Read Chapters One and Two (or) Buy The Book
Author Bio
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About The Book:

Time and Destiny Await No one...

When Eva Ward returns to the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking the happiness of her chilhood summers, she hears mysterious voices that sweep her into the intrigue and danger of the eighteenth century.

Review by Lynda:
This one is going on my favorite's list. I enjoyed every scene, conversation, and pictorial description. Time Travel plots are one of my favorites, and when paired with a sweet, believable romance...what's not to enjoy? The pacing of this story is exceptional. The author doesn't rush through the process of getting us there...but builds a platform of reality that will have you suspending your disbelief in favor of following Eva Ward on this delicious journey into time and love. The elements of intrigue, history, danger, and irrevocable choices adds the tension that will keep you reading. Wonderful writing!

A Snippet:
     'I haven't arrived anywhere,' I corrected him. 'You're the one who keeps turning up, and you're not even real.'
     'Am I not?'

Review - Dael and the Painted People

Dael and the Painted People 
(Book Three in the Zan-Gah Series)
By Allan Richard Shickman
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About The Book:
"A prehistoric adventure, this is the third of the Zan-Gah young adult books. When Dael, guilty and tormented, came to live with the tribe of the painted people, he longed for peace and restoration; but without knowing it, he made a powerful enemy. Luckily, Dael had friends-including a troop of crows-and his own mystical powers. The disturbed and violent hero learns from the Children of the Earth, and from his submissive wife, a new way of life that is peaceful and generous. Dael and the Painted People is a story of conflict, healing, hate, and love..."

About The Author:
Allan Richard Shickman conceived Zan's adventure after thousands of miles of travel through mountains, deserts and forest land. The idea for this exciting story was born in a cave deep beneath the earth— in the company of hundreds of bats.

Allan is an artist, teacher, actor, author, historian, gardener, and former Boy Scout. He has published articles in The Art Bulletin, Art History, English Literary Renaissance, Studies in English Literature: 1500-1900, Notes and Queries, and Colby Quarterly. He was also Art and Music Bibliographer for Shakespeare Quarterly. He has had many letters in various newspapers, including a dozen in The New York Times. Allan taught the history of art at the University of Northern Iowa for three decades. He now lives and writes in St. Louis."

Review by Lynda:
I have followed this series with great interest and have thoroughly enjoyed each story. All the characters are unique and are guaranteed to find a place in the heart of the reader. In the 3rd book of the series, 'Dael and the Painted People', we are once again connected to a character we've met before, but through the machinations of the author, this character didn't give us many reasons to like him much. But we did perceive that there might be more to Dael than what showed on the surface. Through the trouble-woven story of Dael's abduction and life thereafter, author Allan Richard Shickman takes the reader on a journey that will shock and amaze you. The strength and persistence  of the human spirit to survive and heal is thoroughly explored through adventure, reflection, and loving relationships. Dael and the young woman, Sparrow, who makes a profound difference in his life, will blaze a path of change. It's not always painless to read and follow this metamorphosis, but I promise, you'll be glad you did.

Review: Fires of Winter by Roberta Gellis

Fires of Winter 

by Roberta Gellis

About The Book:

A Sparkling Prize of War...
The beautiful, cherished daughter of Scottish nobility. Melusine of Ulle had all the privileges of rank. But her family and her life were destroyed by the ravages of war. And her novle name made her a threat to the king...
A Loyal Vassal's Reward...
A bastard son of an English lord, Bruno of Jernaeve was born with nothing. But through loyalty, cleverness, and brute strength, he carved out a spot at the right hand of the king. And to remain in favor he would do anything, even accept the hand of his enemy...
They have nothing in common and every reason to hate each other, but even in the coldest of winters one spark can ignite a fire too hot to tame.

Review by Lynda:
Fires of Winter is very interesting in the fact that it seems to be about real people more so than fictional ones. But I'm sure that's not an accident since the author, Roberta Gellis, can write characters who really do come alive between the pages of her books. Melusine and Bruno are two such characters who, if there were any justice in the world, should never have crossed paths. Justice, being a fickle fellow the majority of time, throws them together in the least advantageous way. But I'm sure that's just what author Roberta Gellis intended all along. And I was very pleased that she did, because the story that follows is funny, exciting, and full of adventure. I love a romance that compliments a complex storyline, giving it emotional substance. If you're already a fan of Roberta Gellis, or are looking for a new author to read, look for this book in November 2011.