Christmas At Harringtons, Melody Carlson

Publishers Copy:

Christmas is approaching, and Lena Markham finds herself penniless, friendless, and nearly hopeless. She is trying to restart her life after false accusations landed her in prison, but job opportunities are practically nonexistent. When a secondhand red coat unexpectedly lands her a job as Mrs. Santa at a department store, Lena finally thinks her luck is changing. But can she keep her past a secret?

My Review:

Full of the Christmas spirit, this book had me humming Christmas carols in October!  This book is slim, but full of charm.  Hard times are found in her small town, just as they are all over the country today, but Lena is trying to keep a secret, a big one.

Big secret, small town, yeah, you can see where this is going.  What's different about Christmas at Harringtons is that it's a feel good book, that really does make you feel good.  Redemption is available if you know where to look.  I'm hoping Melody Carson will revisit Lena Markham in a future book.
If you're feeling a bit "bah humbug", pick up Christmas At Harringtons, you won't be sorry!

Thumbing Through Thoreau, Compiled by Kenny Luck

Publishers Copy:

Author Kenny Luck has thumbed through Thoreau’s voluminous journals, correspondences and other publications to make this the most comprehensive collection of Thoreau aphorisms available.


Illustrators Jay Luke and Ren Adams lend their talents to artistically interpret Thoreau's vision. Each quote is accompanied by an original drawing.

A collaboration of three individuals breathes new life into the immortal words of Henry David Thoreau.

My Review:

This was the first time I have been sent a book to review in PDF format.  Even though this wasn't a book I could hold in my hands, I can tell you that this is a beautiful book of quotes and illustrations.

Flip to any of the over 300 pages and you will find something that inspires you, moves you, or just makes you think.

This coffee table style book would make an excellent gift for any reader or thinker.  Tribute Books really has a winner on it's hands with this one.

As an added bonus for Read, Review, Repeat readers, Tribute Books have offered free e-copies of this book.  Please leave a comment with your e-mail address if you are interested in this offer.

I Can't Read Anymore

My entire life, reading has been my refuge.  As an only child I would read my summers away as we camped all over Michigan.

Reading is what I threw myslef into when my ex-husband left, how I got thru my hospital stays, and how I passed the time when I was too scared to step into the world.

Now my medications have been adjusted, helping to keep my bi-polar in check, but I can't read anymore.  I can't read for more than 3 or 4 minutes before I have to jump to something else.

I'm going to talk to my Dr. tomorrow about this tomorrow morning.  I need my reading back.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite

Publishers Copy:

Eve Brown's dream is to join the Peace Corps…and maybe solve world hunger and win a Nobel Peace Prize along the way. But she secretly fears she isn't tough enough to survive the bug-infested jungle, much less live without toilet paper and decaf cappuccino. Then she falls head-over-little-black-heels in love with John – a dashing Peace Corps recruiter whose do-gooder passions outshine her own. She becomes more determined than ever to get into the Peace Corps – and to win John's heart in the process.


Assigned to Ecuador, she years for warm showers and cold beers (instead of the other way around!). And though she occasionally finds herself overwhelmed by her work reuniting homeless children with their families, she learns to delight in small successes. But a year into her service, a tragedy befalls one of her fellow volunteers, which unearths troubling memories from Eve's past and causes her to return, rather unceremoniously, to the United States. Back home, Eve attempts to settle down with John and get reacquainted with the joys of sushi and supermarkets. But faster than she can say "Pass the malaria pills," John accepts a job with CARE in a remote corner of Africa, and Eve gets a second chance to test her mettle in the Third World.

With uproarious wit and candor, Eve Brown-Waite details the (mis)adventures that ensue. From intestinal parasites and guerrilla warfare to culture clashes and unexpected friendships. FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MALARIA captures the thrills and absurdities of global humanitarian life in a story that any globetrotter - armchair or otherwise - will love.

Review:
This was the best book I've read in a long time.  Brown-Waite is so honest and so relatable.  She doesn't gloss over her failures or make foreign service seem like a cake walk.

What she does do is bring it to a level where you could acutally imagine yourself in her shoes.  The danger of living in Africa are handled with honesty and candor.  Getting used to having staff, communicating with family only rarely and living without a working telephone are the small things compared to her illness and pregnancy struggles.

This is a great book, check it out for yourself.

My Fake Wedding, Mina Ford

Publisher's Copy:

When Katie Simpson discovers her boyfriend boffing "Fishpants Fraser," she vows to eat toenail clippings before getting involved again. Life as "the ginger spinster of Pelham Parish" will be lonely, but bearable as long as she shags lots of strangers and hangs tight with her friends.

Unfortunately, Katie has the unerring ability to hit on the only gay man at the party (not again!). And her pals are somewhat preoccupied. Mover-and-shaker Janice has started scoping funerals for doddering sugar daddies. George, Katie's gorgeous, flamingly gay best friend (yes, she's tried it), is madly in love with an Aussie heartbreaker (struck out there, too) who needs some speedy nuptials to stay in the country. What better opportunity to plan a fake wedding more elaborate than a ten-tier cake?

My Review:

Light & fluffy like good frosting, this is somewhat of a throwaway read - not one that you will remember too much when you finish it, but fun none the less.

A smart little book that ends up with all the pieces falling into place, you'll enjoy Katie's journey with all of her quirky friends. This is pretty close to a perfect beach read, well maybe a watch-the-leaves-fall read, so pick it up.

Clearing The Aisle, Karen Schwartz

Publisher's Copy:

They're getting hitched.

When Rachel Silverstein and her longtime boyfriend Dan Gershon decide to get engaged, they hardly expect that planning a wedding will be more difficult than any life changes they've braved in the five years they've been dating. After all, they already live together. But suddenly everyone from parents to friends to cousins to caterers seems to be losing their minds completely. Surely it can't all be in Rachel's head. Can it?

My Review:

I didn't get it. This book took me nowhere. I kept waiting for it to be worth my time, but it never got there. Don't bother!

Mennonite In A Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen

Publisher's Copy:

Not long after Rhoda Janzen turned forty, her world turned upside down. It was bad enough that her husband of fifteen years left her for Bob, a guy he met on Gay.com, but that same week a car accident left her injured. Needing a place to rest and pick up the pieces of her life, Rhoda packed her bags, crossed the country, and returned to her quirky Mennonite family's home, where she was welcomed back with open arms and offbeat advice. (Rhoda's good-natured mother suggested she get over her heartbreak by dating her first cousin—he owned a tractor, see.)

Written with wry humor and huge personality—and tackling faith, love, family, and aging—Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is an immensely moving memoir of healing, certain to touch anyone who has ever had to look homeward in order to move ahead.

My Review:

I had trouble understanding why this woman who moved so far away from the Mennonite faith of her youth, yet put up with an abusive husband, but this memoir is worth the read.

Reading about how Janzen went back to her family, who are big-wigs in the Mennonite faith, after her life fell apart leads her to re-examine the faith she left behind. He results are surprising and I found them really interesting.

I love a good biography with a twist & this one has several. Pick it up!

This is available for Kindle for only $9.99 (I don't have a Kindle, but I figure maybe enough of you out there do!)

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart, Deb Caletti

Publisher's Copy:

Ruby McQueen is a sixteen-year-old high school student with the name, she thinks, of a rodeo cowgirl porn star, or, maybe worse, a Texas beauty queen runner-up. Ruby, ordinarily dubbed the Quiet Girl, finds herself hanging out with gorgeous, rich, thrill-seeking Travis Becker. With Travis, Ruby can be someone she’s never been before: Fearless. Powerful. But Ruby is in over her head, and finds herself risking more and more…



My Review:

As usual, Deb Caletti does not dissapoint her YA readers.  These are characters you can relate to with situations that seem like they could really happen.

All My Patients Have Tales, Jeff Wells, D.V.M

Publisher's Copy:

All My Patients Have Tales is a charming, funny, and engaging collection of stories in the great tradition of James Herriout's All Creatures Great And Small.

Jeff Wells describes the first scary cases he takes on at the start of his career, right after graduating from the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, and as he becomes a seasoned and beloved vet, we watch him grow and flourish over the years. Wells works in a "mixed practice," treating farm animals and house pets, with the occasional exotic thrown in.

The many life-altering, life-threatening, uplifting, and hilarious episodes Wells relates feature a turkey attack, a pregnant male cat, porcupine-quill-covered terriers, a heavy-metal Chihuahua with road burn, an ornery pygmy donkey, a giant hog, a constipated cow, and many others.

Each of these cases reveals not only Wells's wisdom and great sense of humor - without which he surely couldn't do his job - but his sensitive and caring approach to both his charges and their owners.

This perfect little gem of a book will appeal to animal lovers, "pet parents," and anyone who has ever toyed with the idea of becoming a vet.

My Review:

This book of animal stories just didn't do it for me.

Even though I'm an animal lover (my schnauzer has his own blog, for Pete's sake) I found most of these stories a little flat & just kind of boring.

My opinion is this one is only for vet-wannabes and those who really like pet stories.

See by Mary Beth Chapman, co-authored by Ellen Vaughn

I was contacted by Revell books and sent a copy of the amazing book Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman and Ellen Vaughn.

Here's what Revell has to say about it.

Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman, and co-authored by Ellen Vaughn. In this compelling book, Mary Beth shares a clear message of hope, in spite of her struggles with disappointment, tragedy and grief. Mary Beth’s first-hand story will have you alternately laughing and crying and wishing you lived next-door to the Chapmans.

This book is not an easy book to read, yet I didn't set it down until I had finished it in one setting.  We have very close friends who lost their daughter 2 years ago and as a mother myself the sheer honesty about the raw pain they felt is stunning.  I read most of this book through tears, but it is just an amazing book. 

Not only did the Chapmans lose their daugter, but it was in an accident involving their teenage son, who was driving. 

The faith the Chapman family has and the way they have loved each other & been loved by the Christian community is awe inspiring. 

I really don't think I can honestly convey how moving this book is, I'm actually somewhat at a loss for words on how good it was.  How much anyone who lives in God, doubts God or is unsure of God can actually see faith revealed on the pages of this book. There but for the Grace of God go I.

But this is not just a book of tragedy, it is also a book of celebration of life, family & God.  Head out & pick this one up, you will not be sorry.

America's Boy: A Memoir, Wade Rouse

Publisher's Copy:

Growing up in the Missouri Ozarks in the 1960s and ’70s, Wade Rouse was always a bit of an outsider. While some of his roughneck peers wore Wrangler jeans and had stylish crew cuts, Wade feathered his golden hair and sported a handmade leatherwork belt bearing his unfortunate childhood nickname, Wee-Pooh.

Taunted by his classmates, Wade finds comfort in his offbeat but lovable family, but when a tragic motorcycle accident takes his brother’s life, Wade buries his sexuality along with his brother, vowing to be the son he believes his family wants.

America’s Boy is Wade Rouse’s tale of self-denial and self-discovery, and a tender tribute to the eccentric family that carried him through it all. Wade’s battle with himself—and the long road back to self-acceptance—forms the heart of America’s Boy, an arresting and utterly moving memoir about a boy learning to live (and love) in his own skin. Told with humor, courage, and boundless joy, America’s Boy is a love letter to a singular time in America’s heartland, to family, and to the growing pains that accompany self-discovery.

My Review:

Since I read one of his later books first, At Least In The City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, this book was not quite as good, but still full of great stories.

Realizing that he is a homosexual in a small Missouri town is hard enough, but when his brother dies tragically as a teen, Rouse feels that he can't let his family down by admitting the truth about himself. He eats through his pain and avoids relationships all together until he's in his 30's. Finding true love & coming out to his family saves him.

This book is set up in small chapters of individual stories, some only a page or two long, making it an easy book to set down & pick up again later. This book of self discovery and homey memories is worth your time.

Driving Sideways, Jess Riley

Publisher's Copy:

Driving Sideways tells the story of Leigh Fielding, a twenty-eight year-old kidney transplant recipient who—six years, hundreds of dialysis sessions, and a million bad poems after being diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease—finally feels strong enough to pursue a few lofty goals she’s been mulling for years: find herself, her kidney donor’s family, and the mother that abandoned her over twenty years ago. And what better way to do just that than a solitary road trip across the country? Well, maybe not entirely solitary, because Leigh suspects she may have inherited more than just an organ from her deceased donor. It’s this sneaking suspicion that takes her trip down some unexpected detours—and the juvenile delinquent who blackmails Leigh into giving her a ride is only the beginning.

My Review:

Let me say unconditionally that I loved this book! Jess Riley has a great way with words and everytime I thought that this story was about to zig it zagged, and in a good way.
I find that so many times when I read a book you can telegraph what is coming a mile away, but this one kept me guessing, laughing, and entertained the whole time. One of those books that you don't want to end.
This book was published in 2008 and according to www.JessRiley.com she doesn't have anymore out yet or even on the way, which is a disappointment.
With lines like "Maybe he's roasting in hell with Goebbels, Pol Pot, and Falco, who ended up there for unleashing 'Rock Me Amadaeus' on an unsuspecting public" and "I'm playing Marco Polo with normalcy" the writing really had me.
I have several books waiting to be posted, but I loved this one so much I wanted to publish this one right away.
It's available from Kindle for $9.29 and probably can be ordered through your local library network.
Don't miss this one, it's a gem.

If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend, Alison Pace

Publisher's Copy:

Jane Laine used to know a lot about art. But that was before she started managing a prominent gallery, and long before she met "it" artist Ian Rhys-Fitzsimmons. Jane can't seem to put a finger on what exactly is so "it" about his work. In fact, as far as she can tell, he's a big fraud and his fifteen minutes of fame should be over by now. Which could be kind of a problem --since Jane is the one who has to accompany him on a five-month international art fair tour.

To get through it all, Jane figures she'll be a good sport and keep her critiques to herself. Until, traveling with this alleged genius from London to Rome and beyond, she starts to understand the connection between art and love --and the fact that, in both, perspective is everything...

My Review:

This books was a fun diversion. The New York art world gets a little poke as Alison Pace questions what makes art amazing as opposed to just art. As her character Jane Laine follows the newest hot artist around the country she gets an opportunity to ruminate on her life and why she doesn't "get" the art of her superstar client.

The side story about her mom's miniature schnauzers is a little too far fetched for my tastes, but this book made me want to read the rest of Pace's works which all have a dog theme. I'll let you know how they are.

This ended up being another book that doesn't stick with you for too long after, but it's a fun diversion.

Orange Is The New Black, Piper Kerman

Publisher's Copy:

When Piper Kerman was sent to prison for a ten-year-old crime, she barely resembled the reckless young woman she’d been when she’d committed the misdeeds that would eventually catch up with her. Happily ensconced in a New York City apartment, with a promising career and an attentive boyfriend, she was suddenly forced to reckon with the consequences of her very brief, very careless dalliance in the world of drug trafficking.


My Review:


This book should have been really great. An educated woman who ended up in a woman's prison, but it was just OK for me.


Maybe it was because Kerman had a fairly easy time of it or maybe there just wasn't enough drama for me.


It did shine a lot of light on the plight of women in prison. The lack of educational opportunities and the absence of ways to reform themselves is really astonishing. I understand that prisoners are there to be punished, but if we don't teach them ways to succeed on the outside the cycle will never be broken.


All in all I thought this was worth reading.

Diary Of A New Mum, Jools Oliver

Publisher's Copy:

Being pregnant for the first time changed Jools Oliver’s life. Having longed for children as far back as she can remember, she was suddenly faced with an array of unfamiliar, unexpected, and sometimes downright embarrassing emotional and physical reactions. So when Poppy (and a year later, Daisy) was born, she had to learn a whole new set of skills.

From "minus nine" (her first positive pregnancy test) to "one" (Poppy’s first birthday), Jools takes you through the worries, surprises, excitement, miracles, and very hard work that she -- and all new moms in their own different ways -- had to face along the way.

Down to earth, personal, and very very funny, this is the book no aspiring mother will want to be without.

My Review:

Even though my baby-making years are long behind me, I enjoyed this look at Jools Oliver's pregnancys. Wife of celebu-chef Jamie Oliver, this book shows the stuggle many people face in conceiving, dealing with the true emotions of pregnancy, and struggling through that first year.

When she finds herself pregnant when her first daughter is only 4 months old, life truly turns upside down. Part instructional guide, part memoir, this book includes resources for new moms, recipes for feeding young children in a healthy way, and even terms and definitions for those who aren't familiar with pregnancy terms.

While obviously more helpful for those who are new moms or hope to become new moms, this is a great read.

Miracle On The Hudson, written by the Survivors of Flight 1549

Publisher's Copy:

In this heart-stopping, page-turning tale of fear, heroism, and redemption, the passengers of the Hudson River crash landing tell their remarkable stories.

Millions watched the aftermath on television, while others witnessed the event actually happening from the windows of nearby skyscrapers. But only 155 people know firsthand what really happened on U.S. Airways Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009. Now, for the first time, the survivors detail their astounding, terrifying, and inspiring experiences on that freezing winter day in New York City. Written by two esteemed journalists, Miracle on the Hudson is the entire tale from takeoff to bird strike to touchdown to rescue, seen through the eyes and felt in the souls of those on board the fateful flight.

Revealing many new and compelling details, Miracle on the Hudson dramatically evokes the explosion and "smell of burning flesh" as both engines were destroyed by geese, the violent landing on the river that felt like a "huge car wreck," the gridlock in the aisles as the plane filled swiftly with freezing water, and the thrill of the passengers' rescue from the wings and from rafts—all of it recalled by the "cross section of America" on board.

Jay McDonald, a thirty-nine-year-old software developer, had survived brain-tumor surgery just two years earlier and now faced the unimaginable.

Tracey Wolsko, a nervous flier, suddenly became other people's rock: "Just pray. It's going to be all right." Jim Whitaker, a construction executive, reassured a nervous mother of two young children on board, only later admitting, "I was pathologically lying the whole time." As the plane started sinking, Lucille Palmer, eighty-five, told her daughter to save herself: "Just leave me!"

Featuring much more than what the media reported—moments of chaos in addition to stoicism and common sense, and the fortuitous mistakes and quick instincts that saved lives that otherwise would have been lost—Miracle on the Hudson is the chronicle of one of the most phenomenal feel-good stories of recent years, one that could have been a nightmare and instead became a stirring narrative of heroism and hope for our times.

My Review:

This story really put the reader in the seats with these survivors. What was really only seconds becomes riveting when relayed from so many passengers personal recollections.

Everybody in the story wasn't a saint, there was some pushing and shoving, but quick thinking and an amazingly clear headed captain made the story truly a miracle.

This short read is uplifting and life affirming. The story of strangers coming together to help one another when it really counted, is a great, true life story.

The Department Of Lost And Found, Allison Winn Scotch

Publishers Copy:

It didn’t start out as the worst day of Natalie Miller’s life. At thirty, she is moving up the political ladder, driven by raw ambition and ruthless determination. As the top aide to New York’s powerful female senator, she works hard, stays late, and enjoys every bit of it, even if the bills she’s pushing through do little to improve the lives of the senator’s constituents. And if her boyfriend isn’t the sexiest guy alive, at least he’s a warm body to come home to.

Then he announces he’s leaving. But that news is barely a blip compared to what Natalie’s doctor tells her: She has breast cancer. And she can’t cure it by merely being headstrong. Now the life Natalie must change is her own.

All her energy, what little of it she has left, must go into saving herself from a merciless disease. So when she’s not lying on the sofa recovering from her treatments and indulging in a curious addiction to The Price Is Right, she realizes it’s time to take a hard look at her choices. She begins by tracking down the five loves-of-her-life to assess what went wrong. Along the way, she questions her relationships with her friends, her parents, her colleagues, the one who got away, and, most important, with herself: Why is she so busy moving through life that she never stops to embrace it?

As Natalie sleuths out the answers to these questions, her journey of self-discovery takes her down new paths and to unexplored places. And she learns that sometimes when life is at its most unexpected, it’s not what you lose that makes you who you are ... it’s what you find.

My Review:

Try finding a book that tackles breast cancer seriously while being funny and warm at the same time...not that easy.

I was blown away by this book & it's ability to keep things funny and interesting without being morose and sad. The characters are engaging and the book is really well written.

I have already read Time Of My Life, by Allison Winn Scotch & am awaiting her third book from the library. Totally worth your time.

At Least In The City Someone Would Hear Me Scream, Wade Rouse

Publishers Copy:

In this rollicking and hilarious memoir, Wade and his partner, Gary, leave culture, cable, and consumerism behind and strike out for rural Michigan–a place with fewer people than in their former spinning class.

There, Wade discovers the simple life isn’t so simple. Battling blizzards, bloodthirsty critters, and nosy neighbors equipped with night-vision goggles, Wade and his spirit, sanity, relationship, and Kenneth Cole pointy-toed boots are sorely tested with humorous and humiliating frequency.

And though he never does learn where his well water actually comes from or how to survive without Kashi cereal, he does discover some things in the woods outside his knotty-pine cottage in Saugatuck, Michigan, that he always dreamed of but never imagined he’d find–happiness and a home.

My Review:

If Jen Lancaster, Augusten Burroughs & David Sedaris had a love-child, Wade Rouse would be the result. A committed gay couple moving to Sagatuck, Michigan (a widely gay area) is not a surprise. To find them making their way in the forest, previously foreign to these city slickers, is hilarious!

These short, autobiographical stories had me laughing so hard I was crying. (I may have peed my pants a little too, but let's not dwell on that!)

If you like Lancaster, Burroughs or Sedaris, you will love this book, I promise you. Pick it up today!

The Spinster Sisters, Stacey Ballis

Publishers Copy:

With a radio show, speaking engagements, and two bestselling books, they've built a thriving cottage industry helping other single women find happiness and empowerment. Their futures have never been brighter. And that's when Jill turns out the lights - by announcing her engagement.

Jodi's in a tailspin. How can they be the Spinster Sisters if one of them if married? Complicating things is her own love life, involving three vastly different paramours offering three different kinds of happiness - none of which Jodi is sure she wants. And her ex-husband, backed by his nighmarish manipulative new girlfriend, may be angling for a piece of the Spinster Sisters empire.

Now Jodi must make some tough decisions, keep the buisness afloat, and get to the altar to stand by her sister - even if it means that from now on she'll be single all by herself.

My Review:

Stacey Ballis is a fiction author, with a bent towards chick-lit, but with more substance. The story of Jodi & Jill is one of the love and sacrifices we make for family, even when we don't necessarily want to.

I found the book a good read that kept me interested and guessing, even if a couple of the characters (the ex-husband & his girlfriend) are a little overblown.

Ballis is an author that I will follow & read any time I get the chance!

I'm Down, A Memoir, Mishna Wolff

Publisher's Copy:

Mishna Wolff grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her single father, a white man who truly believed he was black. “He strutted around with a ...more Mishna Wolff grew up in a poor black neighborhood with her single father, a white man who truly believed he was black. “He strutted around with a short perm, a Cosby-esqe sweater, gold chains and a Kangol—telling jokes like Redd Fox, and giving advice like Jesse Jackson. You couldn’t tell my father he was white. Believe me, I tried,” writes Wolff. And so from early childhood on, her father began his crusade to make his white daughter Down.

Unfortunately, Mishna didn’t quite fit in with the neighborhood kids: she couldn’t dance, she couldn’t sing, she couldn’t double dutch and she was the worst player on her all-black basketball team. She was shy, uncool and painfully white. And yet when she was suddenly sent to a rich white school, she found she was too “black” to fit in with her white classmates.

I’m Down is a hip, hysterical and at the same time beautiful memoir that will have you howling with laughter, recommending it to friends and questioning what it means to be black and white in America.


My Review:

Although I read tons of Young Adult books, I had no idea I'm Down was classified as a YA book. I wonder if my library didn't label it wrong.

Anyway, this was a book I was excited to read, it seemed right up my alley, but it just never grabbed me. It's not a bad book and Mishna's stories and situation are interesting, but something didn't click for me.

I wouldn't tell you not to pick it up, you probably need to try this one out for yourself!

A Desirable Residence, Madeleine Wickham

I am thrilled to be able to review this book from Madeleine Wickham, who also writes as Sophie Kinsella and is responsible for the Shopaholic series. I also have 5 copies of the book to giveaway to my readers!

This book was originally released in 1996, and has just been re-released for the first time in hardcover.

Publishers Copy:

Liz and Jonathan Chambers were stuck with two mortgages, mounting debts, and a miserable adolescent daughter. Then Marcus Witherstone came into their lives - and it seemed he would solve all their problems.

He knew the perfect tenants from London who wold rent their old house: a glamorous PR girl, Ginny, and her almost-famous husband, Piers.

But soon Liz is lost in blissful dreams of Marcus, Jonathan is left to run their tutorial college, and neither of them has time to notice that their teenage daughter is developing a passion for the new tenants.

Everyone is entangled with everyone else, in the most awkward possible way. And as events close in, they all begin to realize that some deceptions are just a bit too close to home.

My Review:

As one of the famous chick-lit authors early works, this one lacks a bit of polish that her later works do, but is still a great read.

As life gets more complicated, Liz gets more lost in her exciting new fling, leaving her husband and daughter to fend for themselves. A large real-estate deal, a new business, a potential television star and an fun supporting cast of characters makes it a perfect summer book.

Whether writing as Kinsella or herself, Madeleine Wickham has a gift for fiction & you won't be dissapointed, especially since I have 5 copies of the book to give away to my readers.

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post. 1 entry. If you don't do this entry, any others won't count.
(You must include your email address in your comment. If I can't find you, you can't win!)

2. Follow Read, Review, Repeat. 3 entries, leave 3 comments.

3. Follow my Screaming Mimi blog. 2 entries, leave 2 comments.

4. Follow Oskar's blog. 2 entries, leave 2 comments.

5. Leave a comment on an of the book reviews on this blog, Read, Review, Repeat. Any comments left after this post is up will count as one entry as long as you've left a comment on this post. One entry per comment.

6. Blog about this giveaway & leave me the link in the comments. 3 entries, leave 3 comments.

7. Add the Read, Review, Repeat button to your blog. 2 entries, leave 2 comments.

Due to shipping, this contest is only open to U.S. residents. Contest ends at 12:00 midnight, on Saturday 8/7/10.

*Since I was in the hospital for 9 days this contest has been extended until 8/7/10 at 12:oo midnight. Thanks.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner, the review.

Sometimes all you can do is fly away home . . .

When Sylvie Serfer met Richard Woodruff in law school, she had wild curls, wide hips, and lots of opinions. Decades later, Sylvie has remade herself as the ideal politician's wife—her hair dyed and straightened, her hippie-chick wardrobe replaced by tailored knit suits. At fifty-seven, she ruefully acknowledges that her job is staying twenty pounds thinner than she was in her twenties and tending to her husband, the senator.

Lizzie, the Woodruffs' younger daughter, is at twenty-four a recovering addict, whose mantra HALT (Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired?) helps her keep her life under control. Still, trouble always seems to find her. Her older sister, Diana, an emergency room physician, has everything Lizzie failed to achieve—a husband, a young son, the perfect home—and yet she's trapped in a loveless marriage. With temptation waiting in one of the ER's exam rooms, she finds herself craving more.

After Richard's extramarital affair makes headlines, the three women are drawn into the painful glare of the national spotlight. Once the press conference is over, each is forced to reconsider her life, who she is and who she is meant to be.

Written with an irresistible blend of heartbreak and hilarity, Fly Away Home is an unforgettable story of a mother and two daughters who after a lifetime of distance finally learn to find refuge in one another.

-----------------------------------------------------------

I've been fortunate enough to read every Jennifer Weiner book published.  I've yet to be disappointed!  Fly Away Home is a wonderful story and such an easy read.  Jennifer (who confirmed this at her book read on Friday) played into the events that we are so familiar with in the news -- the extramarital affairs of the rich and politically famous, and even some imfamous... including a certain Ex-husband of an Oscar winner.

I will say that, there is a lot more SEX in this one.  None of the sex is particularly related to the point of the story, so (to me) it was fluff, but it's in there.  I managed to read it in a day and a half, and save the "scenes", I'd highly recommend this!!

xoxo,

Gilding Lily, Tatiana Boncompagni

OK, this doesn't happen often, but I hated this book. Lily, the main character, throws away everything to pursue what she claims to hate, being a New York socialite.

She starts her writing career by making terrible decisions like doing an in-depth review of the tennis club where her husband & his family have been members for years, costing her husband his membership. Not too terrible.

Then she writes a piece about a "wanna-be" socialite, even after finding out that this woman is unstable & unhealthy. The woman commits suicide. Lily has doubts about her choices all along, but goes ahead with them & then blames everyone else for her choices and ends up getting everything she ever wanted.

The author Boncompagni, is married to an heir to the Hoover vacuum cleaner family and is herself somewhat of a socialite, but tries to play herself as an outsider in the Q & A at the end of the book.

Just leave this one on the shelf. It really has no redeeming qualities.

Undress Me In The Temple Of Heaven, Susan Jane Gilman

Publisher's Copy:

Undress Me In The Temple Of Heaven is a riveting, funny, but harrowing true story -- a modern-day heart of darkness full of Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes. In 1986, Gilman and a friend planned an ambitious trek across the globe starting in the People's Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent backpackers for roughly ten minutes. Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche and Linda Goodman's Love Signs, the two young women plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads -- hungry, disoriented, stripped of everything familiar, under constant government surveillance, and ensnared in rural China. What began as a journey full of humor, eroticism and enlightenment grew sinister -- becoming a real-life international thriller that changed them forever. Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven is a powerful, inspiring story for our times –a tale of being thoroughly humbled and helpless, yet
surviving. It is also a flat-out page turner told with Gilman's trademark compassion, lyricism, and wit.

My Review:

The idea of two young girls backpacking through China in the mid-1980's, when tourism was limited at best and communication was very difficult once you got there, is such a stunningly bad idea, that I couldn't get past that.

I found this true story un-even and didn't come to like the 2 main people involved. As one would expect in a tale like this very, very many things went wrong and seemingly only turned out well by the kindness of strangers.

I wouldn't bother with this one. It was o.k., but not really worth the time in my humble opinion.

Cooking Dirty, Jason Sheehan

Former chef and kitchen rate, Jason Sheehan owes this book & his success as a writer, in part to Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain, the original drug-riddled, swashbuckling memoir writer. While Jason's story feels really similar to Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, it's interesting enough to be enjoyable and Sheehan is a good writer.

If you've never spent any time in the back of the house in the restaurant industry, this might not appeal to you, but my history leads me to laugh at the extreme nature of this crazy business and be relieved that while I remember it, I never got in that deep.

Insatiable, Erica Rivera

In Insatiable, Erica Rivera tells her story of striving for perfection, falling, and turning to anorexia so she could feel control over something. An interesting twist is that she's a worker at a eating disorders clinic herself while all of this is happening.

Ending up a young, single mom with 2 daughters, Rivera sinks so low into her disease that she even leaves her 2 & 4 year old daughters at home, alone, in bed to run to the store & get a food fix for a binge.

Dark, but moving and real this one is a really good read.