Review - Ghost For Sale by Sandra Cox

TITLE:    Ghost For Sale
AUTHOR:   Sandra Cox
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 178 pages
PUBLISHED:   Lyrical Press, 2015
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS: Caitlin King can't believe that her shopaholic cousin actually bought two ghosts off of eBay. But she can't ignore the truth when she starts seeing sexy Liam O'Reilly, who's been dead for over a hundred years. He's a fascinating specter, and the more time Caitlin spends with him, the closer they become - sending them both spiraling into a star-crossed tailspin. No matter how desperately they long for each other, there's just no future with a guy who's already stopped breathing. 

In order to help Liam and his twin sister, Anna, leave their earthly limbo and cross over into the light, Caitlin must find the ghost of Anna's fiance. But a malevolent spirit is dead set against Anna moving on. Now Caitlin will have to unravel the mystery surround the twins' past lives in order to keep Liam's spirit safe - even if it means sacrificing her heart in the process. 

MY TAKE:    I had high hopes that this book would be a fun, quick read. The premise sounded entertaining. Unfortunately it just didn't live up to what I had thought it would.

The biggest issue I had would have to be the characters. I just could not get enthused about or warmed up to Caitlin. I just really didn't care for or about her. She's a spoiled little rich girl with way too many men in her life. She, along with the men and other characters were simply one dimensional. I didn't connect with a single one. 

I did score it a little higher than "just OK" because my curiosity was peaked by the mystery of why Liam and Anna were being held here. That part of the story is interesting.
  

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

Ghost for Sale can be found at

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Tyler by C.H. Admirand

TITLE:    Tyler (The Secret Life of Cowboys)
AUTHOR:    C.H. Admirand
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 337 pages
PUBLISHED:   Sourcebooks, 2011
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for review

FROM GOODREADS:    Faced with a mountain of bills, rancher Tyler Garahan takes a night job with a lot of trepidation. But being a male performer at a strip club does come with at least one beautiful compensation-and feisty red-haired bookkeeper Emily Langley seems to understand Tyler even better than he understands himself...


MY TAKE:    I have come to a realization that I shouldn't read books that are about things that I have a deep personal knowledge of.  Even though it's fiction where the writer has complete artistic license, I get distracted when the subject matter is way off mark from what I know.  Real-life working cowboys are one of those subjects.  For those of you that don't already know, I grew up on a cattle and horse ranch.  Around dozens and dozens of true life, high-def working cowboys in all of their dust, manure and glory. I am still surrounded by many of these same guys to this day. This fact and my own realities of ranch life made it really hard for me to get into a book like this.  I find myself trying to picture even one of these guys I know in these situations and I fail miserably. 

In this story, Tyler is a cowboy, who along with his brothers owns a ranch that they are in danger of losing.  He decides to take a job as a male stripper in order to make ends meet.  The opening scene of the book is Tyler applying for a job and being sexually assaulted by several women.  (There is really no other description for it, sorry.)  While that sounds sexy and I'm sure really appealing to most men, I guarantee that any of the cowboys that I grew up with and around would have run screaming for the hills, even if it meant no paycheck. 

The romance aspect between Tyler and Emily was enjoyable, quite steamy.  In fact, I liked her character quite a bit.  She was funny and warm while the rest of the women, including Tyler's ex, came across as piranhas and other not so nice creatures.  Even with Emily being sweet and Tyler being sexy, I just couldn't really dig up enough feeling to care about all of these characters and their story.

I do want to say that I like the author's writing style.  Her words flow and she isn't overly-descriptive when it isn't warranted. You move quickly through the pages without being bogged down by extraneous information.  I think if the cowboy portrayal didn't annoy me, I would have really enjoyed the story.  Maybe if it had been a pilot as the main character?  (Even though I worked at an airline for a few years, several of the pilots I knew would have loved being pawed at and mauled by overly-amorous women :) 

I do think fans of western romance and romance in general, should give the book a try. Like I said above, the romance part is good, the cowboy and ranch part just wasn't a fit for me personally.  I AM looking forward to reading some of the author's medieval stories with swords and men in kilts!!  These sound good:

        

The Saxon Bride & The Lord of Merewood Keep

Find out more about the author at:
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Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

It was OK

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon and The Book Depository

 
~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Threads West by Reid Lance Rosenthal

TITLE:    Threads West: An American Saga
AUTHOR:    Reid Lance Rosenthal
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 215 pages
PUBLISHED:   Rockin' SR Publishing, 2010
HOW I GOT IT:   Received from Author and Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  USA Book News National Best Book Awards ... Threads West is a WINNER in the Fiction & Literature: Western category and FINALIST in the Fiction & Literature: Romance category.

The romance of America, her people, her spirit, and the West. The ongoing story of us. This first book and namesake of the six-novel series is being compared by reviewers and authors to Lonesome Dove and Centennial. The tale bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America and the West. The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1855 with the first of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent women are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. They are swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit. Their turbulent journeys are heartbreaking quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph. This is not only their story. It is our story. It is Threads West, An American Saga.



MY TAKE:    I started this book with high hopes as I absolutely love Larry McMurtry's stories which some have compared this series to.  Unfortunately I had a couple of issues with it.  First and foremost, there is a graphic rape scene that took me by surprise and pretty much colored my reading experience.  While I'm not opposed to sex scenes, I don't go for those that are graphic and gratuitous, especially involving rape.  While this act may have been an important point in the story, I could have done without the detailed account. 

The majority of the book was spent telling us about the characters and their backstories.  The action didn't really start until they were either on their way to or already in St. Louis.  Unfortunately that is also where this book ends.  It might have been a better idea to not cut this saga into so many volumes.  Six books are planned where I think three larger tomes might have been preferable.  Especially if the reader is going to be left with a cliffhanger five times.

All of that being said, I DID enjoy meeting the characters and think there is a lot of promise in this journey.  The author has created some interesting and memorable players that I will be curious to see what happens to.  As this book progressed, their lines or threads, if you will, began to intersect.  With all of this starting to finally come together, the ending was a bit abrupt, leaving me frustrated. But I do still want to check out the next installment: Maps of Fate when it becomes available.

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

(It would have been closer to a 3 if not for the rape scene.)

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon and The Book Depository

 
~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress

TITLE:    Georgia Bottoms
AUTHOR:    Mark Childress
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 278 pages 
PUBLISHED:   Little Brown & Company, 2011
ISBN#:   978-0-316-03304-6
HOW I GOT IT:   Received from Hachette Books for Review

FROM GOODREADS:    Georgia Bottoms is known in her small community of Six Points, Alabama, as a beautiful, well-to-do, and devoutly Baptist Southern belle.

Nobody realizes that the family fortune has long since disappeared, and a determinedly single woman like Georgia needs an alternative, and discreet, means of income. In Georgia's case it is six well-heeled lovers-one for each day of the week, with Mondays off-none of whom knows about the others.
 But when the married preacher who has been coming to call (Saturdays) decides to confess their affair in front of the whole congregation, Georgia must take drastic measures to stop him. In GEORGIA BOTTOMS, Mark Childress proves once again his unmistakable skill for combining the hilarious and the absurd to reveal the inner workings of the rebellious human heart

MY TAKE:    Adultery, quasi-prostitution, racism and various illegal activities are just a few of the things taking place in this story set in the South.  Miss Georgia Bottoms is what we are led to believe is a typical Southern belle.  She is a gracious hostess, she cares for her ailing mother, she defends and enables her worthless Brother and she loves her friends and neighbors.  She also just happens to sleep with six of those different male neighbors for money - money that is gifted to her, not to be considered or confused with pay for services for rendered - on a regular weekly basis.

I couldn't make myself like or care a bit about Georgia.  She was completely vapid and self-absorbed at times, while at the same time very conniving.  Her choices and her justifications for them were too much for me.  I don't have patience for the superficial "Scarlett O'Hara" type of women and must admit I was hoping for her consequences to catch up to Georgia.  My complete irritation with her got in the way of the story for me.

I do want to state that I think fans of Southern fiction will get a kick out of this story. It has garnered several great reviews on Goodreads and elsewhere.  Mark Childress is a very popular writer with a large following.  He does a good job of writing the Southern female POV where his own quirky sense of humor comes shining through.

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

 WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, The Book Depository, Powell's Books, IndieBound

 
~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.