ESCAPE (BARBARA DELINSKY)

Story Description : 

Emily Aulenbach is thirty-two, a lawyer married to a lawyer, living and working in Manhattan.  An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse.  Now she spends her days in a cubicle talking on the phone with victims of tainted bottled water – and she is on the bottler’s side. 

But it isn’t only work.  It’s her sisters, her friends, even her husband, James, with whom she doesn’t connect in the way she once did.  She doesn’t connect too much in her life, period. 

Acting on impulse, Emily leaves work early one day, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off.  Groping toward the future and following her gut rather than her mind, she heads north toward a New Hampshire town nestled in the mountains.  She knows this town.  During her college years she spent a watershed summer here.  If she were to map out the turns she’s taken in life, this would be the spot where she had first gone wrong.  Painful as returning feels, she knows that if she is to right her life, she has to start here. 

My Review: 

Thirty-two-year-old Emily Aulenbach was a lawyer living in Gramercy Park, New York with her husband, James, who is also a lawyer.  They don’t have pets or kids because they’re trying to work to put in their hours now so they can eventually take things a bit easier later.  Emily was tired of her job and tired of her life so she ups and leaves work one morning within an hour of arriving.  Once home, she packs a bag, hops in the car and begins driving.  She has no idea where she is headed as long as it is away from New York and the busyness that is her life there. 

Emily spent a couple of nights in some small town motels and tried to think “where” she wanted/needed to go and then it struck her.  If she wanted to figure out who she was, then she needed to “… go back to the place that had set me on this course” and it wasn’t New York.  It was “Bell Valley”, nestled in a valley in the state of New Hampshire.  It had been ten years since Emily had been there and her last memory of the place was “…breaking up with Jude,” her first love.  As Emily thought of Jude, she began to cry and wondered if she was crazy for coming? 

Everyone is worried:  James, her boss, her Mom, her Dad, friends, co-workers and anyone else who has also known the same-routine Emily.  This was totally out-of-character for her, but she really needs to find out who she is and what it is that she really wants.  

Just prior to her arrival in Bell Valley, Emily received a letter from Jude telling her that he is returning to Bell Valley as well.  Will Emily be able to resist her first deep love, will she return to James or divorce him, and what about her well-paid lawyers’ job? 

As painful as it feels to be back in Bell Valley, Emily knows that if she is ever to make her life work, then she has no choice but to start here where it all began.

HANDLE WITH CARE (JODI PICOULT)

Story Description:

Things break all the time. Day breaks, waves break, voices break. Promises break. Hearts break. Every expectant parent will tell you that they don't want a perfect baby, just a healthy one. Charlotte and Sean O'Keefe would have asked for a healthy baby, too, if they'd been given the choice. Instead, their lives are made up of sleepless nights, mounting bills, the pitying stares of "luckier" parents, and maybe worst of all, the what-ifs. What if their child had been born healthy? But it's all worth it because Willow is, well, funny as it seems, perfect. She's smart as a whip, on her way to being as pretty as her mother, kind, brave, and for a five-year-old an unexpectedly deep source of wisdom. Willow is Willow, in sickness and in health. Everything changes, though, after a series of events forces Charlotte and her husband to confront the most serious what-ifs of all. What if Charlotte should have known earlier of Willow's illness? What if things could have been different? What if their beloved Willow had never been born? To do Willow justice, Charlotte must ask herself these questions and one more. What constitutes a valuable life? Emotionally riveting and profoundly moving, Handle with Care brings us into the heart of a family bound by an incredible burden, a desperate will to keep their ties from breaking, and, ultimately, a powerful capacity for love. Written with the grace and wisdom she's become famous for, beloved #1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult offers us an unforgettable novel about the fragility of life and the lengths we will go to protect it. 

My Review: 

I’ve only read one other Jodi Picoult novel and hated it.  It’s been years since that first book so I thought I’d try reading her work a second time.  I think I hated it more this second time round and definitely won’t be reading any future Picoult books.  Not only was the story terrible, the ending horrific, but it was too long and drawn out at almost 500 pages!  Sorry, this gets 2 thumbs down from me.

STARS COLLIDE (JANICE THOMPSON) BOOK ONE IN THE "BACKSTAGE PASS SERIES"

Story Description:

Kat Jennings and Scott Murphy don't just play two people who are secretly in love on a television sitcom--they are also head over heels for each other in real life. When the lines between reality and TV land blur, they hope they can keep their relationship under wraps. But when Kat's grandmother, an aging Hollywood starlet with a penchant for wearing elaborate evening gowns from Golden Age movies, mistakes their on-screen wedding proposal for the real deal, things begin to spiral out of their control. Will their secret be front-page news in the tabloids tomorrow? And can their budding romance survive the onslaught of paparazzi, wedding preparations, and misinformed in-laws? From the sound stage to a Beverly Hills mansion to the gleaming Pacific Ocean, Stars Collide takes readers on a roller-coaster tour of Tinseltown, packing both comedic punch and tender emotion. 

My Review:

Twenty-seven-year-old Kat Jennings is a Hollywood actress and star of the t.v. sitcom “Stars Collide.”  Her character, Angie, has fallen in love with her co-star, Jack, played by Scott Murphy.  However, in real life, Kat has also fallen head over heels for Scott Murphy. 

Lenora Worth is Kat’s hilarious Grandma, a former Hollywood actress herself who loves to dress up in garb from her illustrious past.  With her mind sliding toward Alzheimer’s, she lives in the past most of the time and has Kat stop the car during outings so she can wave to “her fans.”  But, Lenora also thinks Jack’s marriage proposal to Angie on the t.v. show is real and spills the beans to the press! 

Not only is ‘Stars Collide a hilarious book, it also touches on some other more serious issues.  I can’t wait for Book 2 in this series to hit the store shelves. 

“Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

MARTHA: A NOVEL (DIANA WALLIS TAYLOR)

I've been reading like crazy over the past few days.  I was reading one book during daytime hours and then reading this story of Martha, on my KOBO e-reader in the evenings.  That's what happens when you've got insomnia at night.  Thank goodness there are so many books!

Story Description:

She has spent her life caring for others--will she ever find someone who will cherish her? 

Martha's entire life is marked by her responsibilities to her family. In the absence of her mother, she runs the household, makes the meals, cares for her father, and attempts to keep her absentminded younger sister on task. In the midst of her duties, will she ever find time to live her own life--or find her own love?

This touching, well-researched portrayal of Martha of Bethany, sister of Mary and Lazarus, unveils the woman within the Bible character. Through Diana Wallis Taylor's lush descriptions and inspired fusion of imagined and recorded dialogue, Martha's world--her trials, triumphs, and loves--vibrantly comes to life. 

Follow Martha as she navigates the complicated worlds of family, faith, and love . . . and you'll never read her story the same way again.
My Review:

Martha lives with her father Ephraim, her sister Mary, and her brother, Lazarus in Bethany.  Being of the marriage age, Ephraim has been approached by Gera and his wife, Rhumah about their son, Phineas marrying Martha.  Phineas is an only son and Martha is excited and is anxious about the waiting time until Gera and his wife make their decision. 

Martha is a tall young woman and taller than most of the other girls in Bethany.  She lost her mother, Jerusha two years ago and did the best she could for her father, her 12-year-old brother, and 10-year-old-Mary. Martha herself is only fifteen-years-old. 

The house they lived in was made of brick reinforced with straw and plastered over with lime and clay.  Ephraim was a brick maker and was teaching Lazarus how to make strong bricks out of clay and straw.  The roof of the house was made of reeds and sticks that were coated in thick clay. 

Little Mary often goes to help a neighbour, Adah, a woman too old to help in the fields, so she asks Mary to come and help her look after two or three small children who are too young to help harvest. 

With all the duties Martha must perform will she ever find time or happiness for herself?  Everyone else around her has their needs met by Martha, but who is there to meet Martha’s needs? 

I enjoyed this book so much.  The story is compelling and the attention to detail proves the level of research Mrs. Wallis-Taylor has done on this period in history.  The story of Martha was captivating and I felt as though I was there.  I could picture myself walking along the dusty road from Bethany to Jerusalem with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  This was just a beautifully written story that you’ll fall in love with.

FLIGHT OF THE DRAGONFLY (MELISSA HAWACH)

Story Description:

During the summer of 2006, Melissa Hawach lived through every mother’s nightmare: her daughters, six-year-old Hannah and three-year-old Cedar, were kidnapped by their father and swept away to Lebanon in a desperate attempt to force a custody agreement. In this brave and gripping true-life account, Hawach narrates the extraordinary details of the kidnapping and the remarkable lengths to which she went in order to get her daughters back. From her home-turned-command-post in Calgary, to Sydney, Australia, to dangerous Hezbollah territory in Lebanon, Hawach and her hired security team plotted a reclamation strategy that relied on stop-watch execution, incredible amounts of cash and luck.  Flight of the Dragonfly is a book written with courage and candor, bravery and passion. It will resonate with any parent who has lost a child if only for a moment.

My Review:

Melissa Hawach and her husband, Joe, lived in Calgary, Alberta and had been separated for just a few months.  Their separation didn’t come with the usual knock ‘em down drag out fight, but instead they separated with harmonious agreement.  Due to this amicable separation, it came as a bomb-shattering shock to Melissa when she received a phone call on July 19, 2006 from her brother-in-law informing her that her two beloved daughters were gone and weren’t coming back.

Joe’s family lived in Australia and he had taken six-year-old Hannah and three-year-old Cedar to visit for 3 weeks, but when Melissa stopped hearing from them after only 2 weeks into their holiday, she was told Joe had actually taken the girls into war torn Lebanon, his original home.  Melissa was told that Joe had no intentions whatsoever of bringing his daughters back to Canada.  Melissa was shocked, devastated, and rocked to her core.  Once in Lebanon, Joe was attempting to force a custody agreement.

Melissa’s strength and courage defied the odds even though the obstacles thrown in her path would deter anyone else Melissa was never prepared to give up on Hannah and Cedar.  With no money in the bank, thanks to a spending spree by Joe, Melissa turned to family and friends and eventually to private investigators to diplomatic and legal resources.

This young woman went through any mothers’ worst nightmare but was willing to do anything to get her daughter’s back.  She even travelled to both Australia and the very dangerous Lebanon. 

This is Melissa’s story.  It will make you laugh and it will make you cry but most of all, it will make you want to hug your kids a little more each day.  An absolutely amazing story!!

STUCK IN ESTROGEN'S FUNHOUSE (SHAYNA GIER)

Story Description:

Martina “Marti” MacCale, bartender extraordinaire at Flash Point, the best bar in town, is happily married to her best friend, Spencer and having the time of her life… until without warning, her own body rudely sets out to destroy her happiness.  Pregnancy tests negative, she becomes a whirlwind of emotion and confusion. And amidst the unexplained mood swings and strange food cravings, she finds herself craving someone who is not her husband… What’s a girl to do when not even a good old-fashioned Sex on the Beach can soothe the ache?

 My Review:

Marti and Spencer are a happily married couple.  Marti is a whiz of a bartendar at the local bar, Flash Point.  She mixes up drinks with exotic names quicker than you can turn a page in a book.

Lately, Marti just hasn’t felt herself and being off the pill she thinks she might be pregnant but all the tests she takes turn up negative.  What in the world is causing her naseousness and vomiting?  Marti visits her doctor who also concludes that she is not pregnant so sets out to perform some hormone testing.

Meanwhile, Justine, Marti’s boss at work has hired a new employee, Erik, and wants Marti to train him.  Soon Marti is having ‘feelings’ for Erik and visualizing all sorts of scenarios with Erik that’ll make you blush.  But she’s a married woman, how can she feel like this?  Of course, Erik is encouraging their flirtatious relationship and soon the two of them are dancing together at the bar.  More and more Marti is thinking about Erik, even when she’s not at work.

During a pool party at friend, Crystal’s house, Spencer notices that there is something between Erik and Marti and he confronts her when they return home.  With Marti unable to give Spencer a quick and adamant “no, we’re not having an affair”, Spencer leaves the apartment.

What is Marti going to do?  How will she explain Erik to Spencer and is she pregnant or not?  Guess you’ll have to read the book to find out!

This was a beautiful, cute, and well-written novella and I look forward to reading more of Shayna Gier’s work.

****Preview copy courtesy of the author, with thanks!****

The Baker's Wife (Erin Healy)

Story Description:

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, so why is Audrey weakening day by day?

It's been a tough year for Audrey's family. Her husband Geoff, a pastor, lost his job after a scandal rocked their congregation.

Audrey hasn't lost faith. She's held her family together. Their attempt to resurrect a failing bakery is an effort to heal the family wounds and restore their place in the community.

Late to the bakery one dim, foggy morning, Audrey turns into the intersection in front of the shop and strikes a vehicle that she can't see even after the collision settles. Emerging from her car into the fog, she discovers she's hit a motor scooter. There's no rider in sight. There's blood, though, so much that she slips in it, injuring her wrists.

The absence of the scooter driver is a mystery, especially to Sergeant Jack Mansfield, the detective and church member who drove Geoff from his pulpit. The scooter belongs to Jack's wife, Julie, a teacher at the local high school. She has vanished like morning fog.

Though there is no evidence to support Jack's growing suspicion that Audrey and Geoff were involved in Julie's disappearance, the detective is convinced of their guilt. Jack's ability to reason slips as the leads on his wife dry up.

When Jack takes the tiny bakery and its patron’s hostage, Audrey must find Julie and unravel the secret of her own mysterious suffering before Jack comes undone.

My Review:

Geoff Bofinger has been ex-communicated from his church.  A Congregationalist by the name of, Jack Mansfield has convinced the elder board that Pastor Geoff had violated his promise to be their spiritual leader and should be sent away.  Now Geoff, his wife Audrey and their teenaged son, Ed, are running the old ‘Yummy Crumb’ bakery who filed for bankruptcy.  They had been known for their weak coffee, dry pastries, and tough loaves of bread.  Audrey and the woman she hired, Estrella, bake the most wonderful tasting bread that Audrey ‘gives away’ to deserving members of their community.  They decided to try and resurrect the old bakery in an effort to heal the family wounds and restore their place in the community.

Audrey is a deeply religious woman and felt called by God to be a “comforter” and she is glad for the job.  She sat with her friend, Cora Jean Hall, who was dying of pancreatic cancer and believed that: “…people who suffer shouldn’t be left alone…”

Driving to the bakery early one morning with her son, Ed, Audrey’s car hit a motor scooter but the driver seems to have disappeared.  There was a lot of blood so the person on the scooter was obviously hurt, but where did they go?  Then Ed recognized the scooter and said: “That’s Julie Mansfield’s scooter.”  It was Julie’s husband who was responsible for having Geoff thrown out of his Pastoral job at the church!  Julie’s husband was none other than “Sergeant Jack Mansfield”, a city detective, and Julie was a math teacher at Mazy High school.

Jack is accusing Geoff Bofinger and his wife Audrey of killing Julie and hiding her body somewhere to get back at them for having Geoff tossed out of the church.  So, Jack takes some hostages at the bakery in a stand-off and has given Audrey a couple of hours to either produce his wife Julie, or her body.  If she’s not back in time, he will kill everyone he’s taken hostage and has already shot through the foot of the high school coach.

Can Audrey find out what happened to Julie and locate her before she loses her husband and her son?

What I thought was going to be a quick, light read turned out to be a wonderful suspense novel that kept me turning page after page.  I was completely engrossed in this story to the point that I didn’t even want to stop long enough to make a cup of tea!!!  This is the first novel of Erin Healy that I’ve read and will definitely be looking up more of her books in the future.

***PREVIEW COPY COURTESY OF NETGALLEY, WITH THANKS!***