Throwback Thursday: The Mall by Richie Tankersley Cusick

Author:  Richie Tankersley Cusick
Publisher:
First published in 1992 by
Re-issued in 2011 by Open Road Media

A tale of terror from the author of Vampire and Fatal Secrets. At first Trish thinks the guy hanging around Muffin Mania, where she works at the mall, is just a creepy customer. But suddenly he's everywhere, the man with a thousand faces, tormenting her day and night. There's no place to hide. How can she escape a madman willing to kill to make her his forever?

The Mall is part of the Point Horror Series that started in the late 80s  and has run through this year. The YA series is written by several authors.  Each book takes place in the town and features teens in horror story situations.  The Mall was a fun and creepy read.  While not the best written book, I did enjoy the book. I was happy to see that it wasn't updated with cell phones and computers. That would have changed the dynamics of the story.  

Trish works at the mall with her  best friends.  It seems that someone has started to stalk her.  No one seems to believe her, instead they all think she is acting crazy.  The stalker begins to threaten her friends if she doesn't cooperate.  There are a few creepy guys hanging around, so it's not clear who the stalker is or how he gets around the mall.  The author adds in a few twists in the end.  I really was creeped out by the mannequin scene, then again those things have always creeped me out!

Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman

by:  David Zimmerman
published by:  Soho Press
publish date:  April 3, 2013

Fifteen-year-old Lynn Marie Sugrue is doing her best to make it through a difficult summer. Her mother works long hours as a nurse, and Lynn suspects that her mother’s pill-popping boyfriend has enlisted her in his petty criminal enterprises. Lynn finds refuge in online flirtations, eventually meeting up with a troubled young soldier, Logan Loy, and inviting him home. When he’s forced to stay over in a storage space accessible through her closet, and the Army subsequently lists him as AWOL, she realizes that he’s the one thing in her life that she can control. Meanwhile, her mother’s boyfriend is on the receiving end of a series of increasingly violent threats, which places Lynn squarely in the cross-hairs.

Lynn Marie lives with her single mother that doesn't seem to notice that her daughter spends all her time drinking, smoking and messing with people's heads online.  Lynn Marie's mom is getting both of them involved in a narcotics deal that's going to go terribly wrong.  However, Lynn has plenty of problems of her own.  She hooks up with a soldier online and meets him in person.  When he decides to go AWOL, Lynn takes him in and realizes that he has some serious problems and she likes taking care of him a little too much.

This book is one of the more seriously messed up stories I've listened to this year.  That said, it was a pretty great book, if you like that kinda thing.   Lynn Marie and her friends are weird and do crazy things.  Her mom is a mess and is never around.  Logan is suffering from some kind of mental breakdown and the idea of Lynn holding him captive in her closet is so bizarre.   Listening to the audiobook, I kept thinking it sounds like a really freaky Joshilyn Jackson book, like that real good Southern fiction, but dark in a Gillian Flynn kinda way.  Like if those two got together and had a book baby.

Obviously this book won't be for everybody.  It's dark and really weird, but if that's what you're into, this book is for you.  

Review: The Best Man by Kristin Higgins

Author: Kristin Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin
Date of publication: February 2013
  
Faith Holland left her hometown after being jilted at the altar. Now a little older and wiser, she’s ready to return to the Blue Heron Winery, her family’s vineyard, to confront the ghosts of her past, and maybe enjoy a glass of red. After all, there’s some great scenery there....

Like Levi Cooper, the local police chief - and best friend of her former fiancé. There’s a lot about Levi that Faith never noticed, and it’s not just those deep green eyes. The only catch is she’s having a hard time forgetting that he helped ruin her wedding all those years ago.

The Best Man is a sweet and hilarious romance about finding out that the love you thought you wanted isn't what you really need.  The story waffles between the past and the present.  As Faith navigates her return to the Blue Heron, the reader is slowly told in flashbacks how Faith came to be jilted at the alter, how her fiance came out of the closet and how Faith comes to despise/love the man who ruined her wedding.  

I thought this was one of the funniest books that I have read all year.  I just loved Faith.  To start, she isn't a super skinny model type.  She is always meaning to lose that extra 15lbs, she just never gets the time. She loves her family and only wants the best for them.  How can you not love her and the situations she gets herself into?  I don't ever think I will look at an automatic flush toilet the same way again after reading this.  That scene was just too funny!  Levi is just a man who will melt your heart.  I love what he did for Faith to help her move past the hurt and guilt over the car accident that killed her mother.  His relationship with his sister was very endearing.

Along with the great romance, there are a whole cast of characters that make you want to smile.  Goggy and Pops were always up for some comic relief.  Faith's sister and her husband's sexting was just too funny!  I could go on...  I definitely recommend this book!  It's sweet, funny and will leave you with a smile.

The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed

Author: K. B. Laugheed
Publisher: Plume
Date of publication: September 2013

The thirteenth child conceived of miserable Irish exiles, Katie O’Toole dreams of a different life. Little does she know that someone far away is dreaming of her.

In 1747, savages raid her family home, and seventeen-year-old Katie is taken captive. Syawa and Hector have been searching for her, guided by Syawa’s dreams. A young Holyman, Syawa believes Katie is the subject of his Vision: the Creature of Fire and Ice, destined to bring a great gift to his people. Despite her flaming hair and ice-blue eyes, Katie is certain he is mistaken, but faced with returning to her family, she agrees to join them. She soon discovers that in order to fulfill Syawa’s Vision, she must first become his Spirit Keeper, embarking on an epic journey that will change her life—and heart—forever.

The Spirit Keeper is a wonderfully written story about about one woman's journey through the wild frontier.  Katie O'Toole is taken by 2 "savages" because they believe she is special.  Being abused most of her life by her family, she chooses to go with the men on their journey.  Syawa is a Seer and Hector his closet friend.  As she travels with them, she slowly learns their language and their way of life.  Along the way, she learns more about herself and finds love.

 The book was really interesting and kept my attention.   It was actually a very quick read, but probably because I couldn't put the book down.  I really enjoyed reading Katie's story.  Despite her young age, she was a strong, smart woman who had a will to survive.  I also loved Hector's character.  The way he takes care of Katie was very endearing.  I loved what Katie realizes in the end about her "gift".  It was very fitting.

There were only two things that I didn't enjoy about the book.  I kind of wish that we got more than just Katie's point of view.  I know she was writing her story, but I would have liked Syawa or Hector's point of view.  Also, at times, I felt like the dialogue was a bit too modern for the 1700s and a little juvenile.  But, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story.  There was one open question that I had in the end.  I never found out where Syawa and and Hector are from.  I would have liked to know where the journey was going to end. I definitely recommend this debut book.  This isn't my normal type of story and I'm glad I gave it a try.

About the author:

K.B. Laugheed is an organic gardener and master naturalist who has spent a lifetime feeding the earth.  Her efforts have culminated in The Spirit Keeper, her first novel and largest contribution to the potluck so far.

For more info on K. B. Laugheed and her work, visit her website, kblaugheed.com.

Tour Stops:

Wednesday, November 20th:  Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Tuesday, November 26th:  SusieBookWorm

Wednesday, November 27th:  Book Drunkard

Friday, November 29th:  WV Stitcher

Saturday, November 30th:  Book-alicious Mama

Tuesday, December 3rd:  Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, December 4th:  Books Without Any Pictures

Thursdya, December 5th:  Book Marks the Spot

Monday, December 9th:  From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, December 10th:  Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Wednesday, December 11th:  No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, December 12th:  Ageless Pages Reviews

Friday, December 13th:  Reading Reality

Monday, December 16th:  Let Them Read Books

Wednesday, December 18th:  Must Read Faster

Friday, December 20th:  A Novel Review

Monday, December 23rd:  Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

3:59 by Gretchen McNeil

by:  Gretchen McNeil
published by:  Balzer + Bray
publish date:  September 17, 2013

Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend, Nick, has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse. Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Due to some kind of rift in the space/time continuum or something like that, Josie's and Jo's worlds are connecting everyday at 3:39 am/pm.  They are essentially the same people living the same lives in parallel worlds, but some kind of nuclear reaction happened and now their worlds are connecting and bad things are happening.

As you can tell by my description, much of this explanation was far beyond my comprehension and all of it could have been total BS and I wouldn't have known any different.  However, the rest of the story beyond the technical jargony stuff was pretty good.  It was an interesting YA sci fi book with some memorable twists and turns.  

If you like YA and sci-fi is your thing, I'd definitely recommend it.  If you aren't into all the parallel universe and quantum physics kind of things, it might be a little over your head.  I found myself tuning out those parts, because it was like another language.  

Review: An English Bride in Scotland by Lynsay Sands

Author: Lynsay Sands
Publisher: Avon
Date of publication: June 2013

Annabel was about to take the veil to become a nun when her mother suddenly arrives at the Abbey to take her home… so that she can marry the Scottish laird who is betrothed to her runaway sister! She knows nothing about being a wife, nothing about how to run a household, and definitely nothing about the marriage bed!

But from the moment Ross MacKay sets eyes on Annabel, he is taken with his shy sweet bride… and the fact that she's blessed with lush curves only makes him utter his own prayers of thanks. But when an enemy endangers her life, he'll move the Highlands themselves to save her. For though Annabel's not the bride he planned for, she's the only woman he desires…


I really enjoy Ms. Sands historical romances.  Who doesn't love a sexy highlander?  An English Bride in Scotland was a fun read.   It was the perfect mix of romance, intrigue and humor.  Having grown up in an abbey surrounded by nuns, Annabel isn't exactly knowledgeable in the ways of men and women.  This made for some very funny scenes in the book.  I just love how Ross got around the "Wednesday" rule!

For the most part, Annabel and Ross were great characters.  Ross was very protective of Annabel from the start and with good reason.   I did have to roll my eyes at Annabel a few times as she does have some TSTL moments.  If you know someone is trying to kill you, why would you insist on leaving the safety of the keep?  Not too bright in my opinion.  I liked the solution to the mystery as well as the justice that was done in the end.  Talk about getting what you deserve!   The peripheral characters were a lot of fun as well, especially Ross's uncles.  They inserted a lot of humor into the story.
 
 I know fans of this author will enjoy this book.  It was just the right thing to escape for a little while.  

Seven For a Secret by Lindsay Faye

by:  Lindsay Faye
published by:  Amy Einhorn Books
publish date:  September 17, 2013

Six months after the formation of the NYPD, its most reluctant and talented officer, Timothy Wilde, thinks himself well versed in his city’s dark practices—until he learns of the gruesome underworld of lies and corruption ruled by the "blackbirders,” who snatch free Northerners of color from their homes, masquerade them as slaves, and sell them South to toil as plantation property.

Timothy, as one of the NYPD's first detectives, gets involved with the kidnapping of a woman's family.  Through his investigation the dark side of the Fugitive Slave law is revealed and the huge industry of kidnap for profit comes to light for Timothy.   Once again he is drawn in to the politics of New York and draws the ire of the Democrat party.  

Gods of Gotham was one of my favorite books in the last couple of years so I was really excited to read the sequel.  The story was a good follow up.  As usual, Lindsay Faye has a tremendous command of New York City history.  Her attention to the small details are what make her books so fantastic.  I really enjoy the "flash-patter" sprinkled in throughout the book, she does a good job controlling the colloquialisms some are good, too much gets annoying.  She has a nice balance.  

Seven for a Secret and Gods of Gotham are great historical fiction.  They're thrilling mysteries set in a really interesting time in American history.  I highly recommend both.  They'd make great holiday gifts if you're still looking.

Author Interview: Isabel Cooper

Enjoy our interview with author Isabel Cooper.  She is promoting her latest book,  Legend of the Highland Dragon.

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Date of publication: December 2013

He Guards a Ferocious Secret…

In Victorian England, gossip is often as precious as gold. But the Highlanders are a more mysterious bunch. And if anyone found out that Stephen MacAlasdair really was, he'd be hunted down, murdered, his clan wiped out. As he's called to London on business, he'll have to be extra vigilant—especially between sunset and the appearance of the first evening star.

Mina just wanted to find out more about the arrogant man who showed up in her employer's office. Some might say it was part of her job. She never thought the stranger would turn into a dragon right in front of her. Or that he'd then offer her an outrageous sum of money to serve as his personal secretary. Working together night and day to track a dangerous enemy, Mina comes to see a man in love is more powerful and determined than any dragon.

Kari& Autumn: What inspired you to become a writer?

Isabel:  As far as making up stories in my head, I’ve always done that. (My sister and I, playing with Barbies, alternated between Gossip Girl-style plots involving jealousy over friendships and attempted murder by jet-ski-tampering, and having the Dreamhouse be attacked by giant plastic dinosaurs. As you do.) I took a lot of car trips, had one of those post-hippie educations where they make you take a lot of nature walks, and had a fair amount of math class: it was bad mental novels or “accidentally” setting fire to something.

Somewhere along the line, I started writing things down. (Generally during class, yes.) (I wrote No Proper Lady while at my day job, so no, I have not grown any semblance of a Puritan-style work ethic between sixth grade and now.) Somewhere a lot further along the line, they started getting better. I hope. J At least they don’t involve me developing violet eyes and getting one of about fifty fantasy heroes as my avid-and-kinda-pathetic suitor. (And no, these heroes were not always from good fantasy novels, and yes, many of them had names with apostrophes in them. I WILL SAY NO MORE.)

Kari& Autumn: Where do you come up with the ideas for your books?

Isabel:  For me, sort of the same way I mix drinks when I’m at home. I’ve got tea, I’ve got milk, I’ve got sugar, I’ve got inexplicably cake-flavored vodka—why not see what happens? Likewise, I like fantasy and horror, I like romance plots and sexual tension, I like snappy banter with flirty overtones, so I tend to think of a lot of plots that are “X meets Y”, where “Y” is generally some vaguely classic romantic work and “X” involves explosions and holes in the fabric of space-time and maybe killer robots.  “Because what the hell?” is sort of my motto—for a lot of things, really.

Kari& Autumn: What exciting projects are waiting in the wings?

Isabel:  I’m currently working on the third novel in this series, about Stephen’s sister Judith. She’s hanging out in Scotland, being responsible and extremely world-weary,  when someone nearby starts doing a number of highly antisocial things. This attracts the attention of Her Majesty’s Government, who sends one of their best and coincidentally handsomest men to look into the situation. At the moment, he and Judith are doing the dance of you’re-hot-but-I’m-not-entirely-sure-you’re-not-some-kind-of-creepy-deathgod, as is so frequent in these situations.

Kari& Autumn: Who is your favorite literary character and why?

Isabel: Favorite ever? Hard to say. I have a strong vote for Susan Sto Helit or Granny Weatherwax. Both are from the Discworld novels; both are extremely practical; neither one is trying to hear anything about whatever drama you’ve got going on, buddy. I approve of that sort of thing.  Also, “If I catch you being twee again, I will knot your arms behind your head,” is a line that needs to see more use in today’s world. 

Kari& Autumn: Just for fun, if you could be any animal, what would it be and why?

Isabel: My inclination is to say a dog. But a really unhealthily pampered dog, the kind that gets way too many table scraps: that sounds like a good, relaxing sort of a life. Lots of sleep, lots of food,  mindless entertainment, no need to work for a living. (Not much in the way of romance, guests’ legs aside, but honestly, the animal kingdom kinda sucks that way in general unless you go bonobo, and…apes, meh. You *really* don’t want to be one of the big cats, from what I hear. Or poultry of any sort.)  Friends who know my eating habits would probably say “hummingbird”, so that’s likely valid too.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isabel Cooper is the author paranormal historical romances No Proper Lady, a Publishers Weekly and a

Library Journal book of the year in 2011, and Lessons After Dark. Both titles were also nominated in the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Awards. During the day, Isabel maintains her guise as a mild-mannered project manager working in legal publishing outside of Boston. For more, visit www.isabelcooper.org.

To Purchase Legend of the Highland Dragon
Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Books-a-Million

Chapters/Indigo

IndieBound

iBookstore

Sourcebooks

Discover a New Love

Throwback Thursday: The Last to Know by Wendy Corsi Staub

Author: Wendy Corsi Staub
First published in 2006 by Zebra
Re-issued by Harper October 2012

Townsend Heights is the perfect small town. The sort of peaceful, suburban existence Tasha Banks dreamed of living when she left her fast-paced career for full-time motherhood. But now, Tasha's perfect dream is turning into a terrifying nightmare. Someone is targeting women in Townsend Heights -- and not just any women. A serial killer is looking for a particular kind of prey...young, stay-at-home mothers...exactly like Tasha. One by one, Tasha's friends are disappearing, only to die in horrific ways. Suddenly, terror is transforming Townsend Heights into a sinister place of fear and foreboding -- a place where evil lurks behind every corner, hiding behind the mask of a familiar face -- a face that may be the last one Tasha ever sees.

 The Last to Know was actually a pretty good mystery.  I wasn't liking it so much in the beginning because I felt there were too many characters to keep track of and I was having problems following it.  But, eventually, everyone fell into place.  It seems that all of the characters involved have secrets.  The trick is to figure out which ones are relevant to the murders and which ones aren't.  I liked that part of the book because it kept me guessing.  I was pretty sure I had it figured out who the killer was about halfway through, but because of some twists and turns  thrown in, I doubted myself a couple of times.  In the end, I was happy to see I was right.  

The storyline is a little convoluted and I would hate to give anything away.  My only complaint is that the Stay at Home moms came across as extremely whiny.  I'm not sure if this is how the author perceives SAHMs or if she was making a comment on suburbia.  But, I know a lot of SAHMs and they aren't like that. 

I listened to the audio book.  Even though it was 14 discs long, I felt like it went really fast. If you missed this one by Ms. Staub, I definitely recommend it.  Give this throwback a shot!

Blog Tour: I'll Sleep When You're Dead by E. A. Aymar

Author: E. A. Aymar
Publisher: Black Opal Books
Date of publication: October 2013

Tom Starks has spent the three years since his wife's murder struggling to single-handedly raise their daughter, Julie, while haunted by memories of his dead spouse. When he learns that the man accused of her murder, Chris Taylor, has been released from prison, Tom hires a pair of hit men to get his revenge. But when the hit men botch the assassination, Tom is inadvertently pulled into their violent world. And now those hit men are after him and his daughter.

I'll Sleep When You're Dead is a book about vengeance and revenge.  Tom's wife is murdered leaving him with his adopted daughter to raise alone. When his wife's killer is let out of prison, he decides to kill him. When he cant go through with it, he tries to hire someone to do it.

I wanted to like this book.  Unfortunately, it ended up being a DNF book for me.  I just couldn't connect with the story.  While I could understand Tom's motivation for wanting vengeance, I just couldn't get behind him on it.  I also didn't understand the secret in the dark sex meetings with Allison. I thought that was just weird. I think the story lost me when Tom looks at his daughter and decides vengeance for his wife is more important than his child.  I'm not saying it's a bad story, it just wasn't for me.  Give it a try and decide for yourself.

Check out the rest of the tour stops to see what others are saying:

Wednesday, December 4th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, December 5th: Jen’s Book Thoughts

Monday, December 9th: BoundbyWords

Tuesday, December 10th: Tiffany’s Bookshelf

Thursday, December 12th: The Reader’s Hollow

Monday, December 16th: Book Reviews by Elizabeth White

Tuesday, December 17th: Peeking Between the Pages

Thursday, December 19th: Sidewalk Shoes

Thursday, December 19th: Book-alicious Mama

Friday, December 20th: My Bookshelf

About the author:

E.A. Aymar studied creative writing as an undergrad and earned a Masters in Literature. He was born in Panama but has lived throughout the United States and Europe. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers of America, the Mystery Writers, SinC and his short fiction has been published in a number of publications. I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead will be his first published novel. For more information about his novel, and to read his blog, visit www.eaymar.com. For a good time, ask for E.A.

Joint Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

by:  Jennifer Lynn Barnes
published by:  Disney-Hyperion
publish date:  November 5, 2013

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

Cassie was raised by her fortune-teller mother to read people.  She
got to be so good at it that the FBI came knocking on her door for help with cold cases.  Because her mother had been murdered, and Cassie still needed clues she jumped at the chance to work on her case. 

I really liked this book.  It was kinda like a YA version of the television show Criminal Minds.  It was nice to have a different YA story that wasn't post-apocalyptic, dytopian, or contemporary romance.  I think fans of The Game by Barry Lyga would like this book or Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff.

I'm with Autumn on this one.  I enjoyed the book as well.  It really sucked me right in and kept up my interest all the way through.  For me it was kind of like Criminal Minds mixed in with a little bit of Alphas. Each teen contributed a certain kind of gift that they were natural at.  My only problem was I had a little bit of an issue with the reality that the FBI would recruit kids under 18 for this type of work. At any rate, I did like the mystery and was surprised at the ending.

I don't know if this one is planned as a series or not.  I kind of hope it is because I would love to read more about the team.  I just hope there is no love triangle.  I saw the potential for one and it would ruin it for me.