The Cougar Club, by Susan McBride with Giveaway

February 17, 2010February 17, 201022 Comments

Finished 2-14-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2010

Kat Maguire’s Facts of Life for Women over Forty: The older you get, the harder it is to find a single man your age who isn’t either: (a) married or gay; (b) divorced with insurmountable baggage; or (c) looking for a girl half his age.

preface to Chapter 7

Three best friends since high school are all in the same town again and in need of some tender loving care from each other and, quite possibly, the younger men surrounding them. Kit, Carla, and Elise are 45 year olds living in St. Louis. Kit has just returned home after being fired from her Manhattan job in favor of younger employees. When she goes back to her highrise to lick her wounds she finds her 20 something boyfriend engaging in a little online sex and she hightails it back to Missouri. Cat, wears her cougar title like a badge of honor and as a beloved local newscaster she has many opportunities to take her pick of younger men. She is currently in a relationship with the hot, young sportscaster at her station. Elise, the most settled of the three is an empty nester who fears that her husband is cheating on her.

This books is a fast and fun read. The women are all successful and they make 45 look pretty glamorous. They don’t need men, but they do enjoy them. I don’t know how realistic the stories of these three women are, but it was fun to be a part of their lives for a few hours.

I loved the sharp writing and I was especially drawn to the idea that you can always go home. I loved Kat’s journey back home to her family and friends after 20+ years. It’s a heartwarming thought. Also, this should be where I confess that I’m a baby cougar. My husband is 4 1/2 years younger than me. He was 19 and I was 24 when we went on our first date and here we are, 14 years later, still in love 🙂 What about you? Any cougars out there?

Susan McBride gave away a copy and now it’s my turn. I have one more to share.

Leave a comment with your email address to be entered to win. And tell me, how much older does the woman have to be than the man to be considered a cougar? Open internationally and I’ll draw for a winner on March 6. Good luck!

Other TLC Tour Stops – Cindy’s Love of Books, The Winey Mommy, The Book Zombie, This That & the Other

I received the book from the publisher to review for this tour.

Deadly Desire, by Brenda Joyce

February 14, 20107 Comments

Finished 2-9-10, rating 4/5, romance, pub. 2002

Book 4 of the Deadly series (Book 1) (Book 2) (Book 3)

I’ve now been rereading this series for a month and I am having so much fun. This is the book where it does begin to feel a bit soap opera-ish, but in a good way. The mystery that sets the book in motion is dropped halfway through and not mentioned again until the last page. Another mystery did present itself, as did a surprising declaration of marriage, and a beating that was never resolved. Actually,there was a lot that was not resolved in this book, which is why it is a bit like a soap opera with a big cast of characters and a lot going on.

Francesca’s relationship with Rick reaches a tipping point when she receives a note from his wife and her friendship with Calder heats up. Rick is the good guy out to reform the New York police department and his half-brother Calder is the cad only out for himself…and Francesca.

There is no way to read this one without having read the others and get any enjoyment. I think it would be too confusing. That being said, I love this series, so if you like romances I recommend finding book one.

This came from my personal library.

War. What’s it good for?

February 11, 2010February 19, 201623 Comments

So, do you remember in December when I asked you all to choose 50 of the books I’d read this year? (post here) Well, here’s what happened…

“I’ve had the goal of reading War and Peace since I was 8 years old and saw the Charlie Brown New Year’s Eve special where Charlie Brown was assigned to read that over Christmas break and had to wheel the book around in a wagon. But I’ve never gotten around to read it. Maybe if you read it, I will be motivated to read it as well – a peer pressure kind of situation.” Angie

“War & Peace: This one’s on my “bucket list” of books to read before I die. It’s not about the story, it’s about accomplishing the reading task! I got a new hardback copy & Cliff’s notes for my birthday this year.” Laura

“War and Peace by Tolstoy. I have not read it in English, however, Tolstoy was a genius when it came to literature and this book will provide you with so many things to think about, this book goes beyond simply war, but happiness, life, and what is necessary.” Jennifer

and Hannah added this endorsement, “I almost said you should read War and Peace, because it’s one of my favorite books, but I don’t think a person can read and enjoy the tome without really wanting to read it.” Hannah

As I tallied the votes this was the one book that troubled me the most. Could I make it through such a big (1215 pages), difficult (I’ve never read Tolstoy), and boring (There. I said it. I think it could be boring. Please don’t judge me) classic? And then I received the best email from Molly at The Bumbles suggesting that we read this one together. I was relieved and excited and touched that I’d have such a great blogging friend to get me through 🙂 Molly is awesome and anyone not familiar with The Bumbles should click on over there, as soon as you’ve finished reading this.

So, here’s the plan. Molly and I will post a War & Peace review every Thursday as we make our way through the book. We’ll each be focused on four different characters. I’ve got Natasha, Prince Andrei, Vasily and Maria. And Molly will be covering Pierre, Nikolai, Helene and Sonya. And we’re going to try to make it fun. Don’t ask me how because I’m still working on it, but you know Molly will make it fun.

Wanna read along with us? We’ll be posting about Volume I Part I next Thursday so you have time! Or you can just read our reviews and claim you really read it to all your friends. Either way, I hope you’ll join us for the journey.

Do you want to read Molly’s take on this? And know where the title of this post comes from? Please visit The Bumbles and let her know you’ll be there for us both as we take on this classic.

The Sister, by Poppy Adams

February 10, 201024 Comments

Finished 2-08-10, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“No pictures, no clothes, no photos. I mean, you’ve wiped out every reference to our past. Our family might not have happened. There was no point in its existing for the last two hundred years if it’s got nothing to show for itself.”

It is an interesting view but not one I share. Is it really necessary to record your life in order to make it worthwhile or commendable? Is it worthless to die without reference? Surely those testimonials last another generation or two at most, and even then they don’t offer much meaning. We all know we’re a mere fleck in the tremendous universal cycle of energy, but no one can abide the thought of their life, lived so intensely and exhaustively, being lost when they die, as swiftly and as meaningless as an unspoken idea.

Chapter 3

Ginny is an odd duck and a questionable narrator. Her vivacious sister Vivian is returning to their Dorset, England home after 50 years away and Ginny is nervous, not sure why her younger sister is coming back. Vivian left the house when she was just 15 years old for London where she lived, worked and fell in love. Ginny stayed home to study moths with her father, a famous lepidopterist. When Vivian asks her sister to help her have a child, Ginny said yes, unable to ever tell her sister no.

Vivian’s return home brought into focus that there is more than one way of looking at a childhood spent in the same house, two ways of looking at your parents and their motivations and sometimes even your own. This was a dark look into the thoughts of a woman who seemed to have some struggle with reality. Ginny had become a recluse and I thought at first the years alone may be why she was so strange, but that was not the case. She billed herself as the sensible sister, a genius when it came to moths and keeping the family together, but by the end that is up for debate.

I did not like Ginny and never did connect with her. As Ginny doled out facts, there was always something moving the story forward, so I was always interested, but the pages and pages about moths throughout the book really did slow the story down. The story is strange and an interesting psychological study and the end totally threw me. Actually, I’m still trying to piece together a few things that were purposefully left out and I’m not sure I’ll ever really figure it out. If you can live with that then give this book a try.

This is from my personal library and was chosen for me by Jennifer and Sandee. Here’s what Jennifer had to say…”I listened to this on audio and thought it was marvelous – not as good as The Thirteenth Story, but very, very good.”

Deadly Affairs, by Brenda Joyce

February 7, 2010February 8, 201014 Comments

Finished 1-29-10, rating 4.5/5, romance, pub. 2002

Book 3 in the Deadly series (Book 1 review) (Book 2 review)

Things are heating up for Francesca and the married, but informally separated police commissioner, Rick Bragg. They are barely fighting their attraction to each other, there is a murderer on the loose and, of course, Francesca is vital to the investigation. Two women have been brutally slain and Joel’s mother, Maggie, is in grave danger. Francesca’s mother agrees to let Maggie and her four children move into the mansion, but only if Francesca agrees to be set up by her mother. Calder, Rick’s cad of a brother, is the intended target of this matchmaking and Rick doesn’t like it. Francesca’s sister is having her own man troubles after confronting her husband over an affair with a neighbor.

There is romance, mystery and a wonderful sense of New York City in 1902. The mystery was solid and it wasn’t until all was revealed that it made complete sense, which is a good thing! And while I like Rick, he does have a wife and in 1902 he is really bringing scandal on Francesca by continuing to encourage her. They are perfectly suited, but he is not available. That is the interest in this series for me because it is so true to life. Sometimes there is just no perfect choice and the journey to making a decision reveals so much about your character.

There is so much to like about this series, but I will say the same thing I said last week about the heavy-handed way men sometimes act toward the women, if it bothers you, read something else. And you really do want to read this series in order.

This book came from my personal library.

The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy, by Sara Angelini

February 4, 201013 Comments

Finished 2-2-10, rating 3.5/5 fiction, pub. 2009

On Thursday morning, Darcy woke up bleary-eyed from a night of sex, alternating between lusty and tender. He had been out of control in the billiards room the night before. What was supposed to be a fun romp had turned into an electrifying seduction. He felt that Elizabeth would never have made such a display unless she felt something more than attraction for him. The realization sparked more than physical desire in him; it lit a sort of feral, possessive need to take her, to mark her as his. He was not embarrassed, except that she had no opportunity to take her own pleasure in that episode. He made up for it twice more during the night, once with tenderness and once with mutual hunger. He had never been so sexed up in his life.

Chapter 9

Judge Darcy of San Francisco is well-respected in the courtroom, but longs for his life of a gentleman back in England, Pemberley to be exact. Elizabeth is also well-respected, only she’s still a relatively new lawyer in Darcy’s courtroom. Darcy’s haughty demeanor turns off Elizabeth, but Darcy feels a growing attraction for the saucy Elizabeth. What begins as a short-term fling turns complicated as the professional legality of their personal relationship is questioned.

This was a fun take on Pride & Prejudice. Many things were taken straight out of the classic Austen novel and others gave the story a modern makeover. There’s lots of sex, which is why I chose the excerpt I did above. If you don’t want to read many more pages like that then this might not be the book for you. There was real chemistry between Darcy and Elizabeth and I really liked both of the characters. And I enjoyed the expanded role of Caroline Bingley, even if she was hot after Darcy. My only small complaint was that what was keeping Darcy and Elizabeth apart was not serious enough for it to last as long as it did. The book could have been shorter and been better, in my opinion. But it was light and funny and I enjoyed going back to Pemberley.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Heather and Linda. Here’s what they had to say…

“It’s hilarious, fun, and very entertaining!” Heather

“This one just looks really fun. I don’t have a copy and would love to read it. Feel free to host a giveaway of this one when you’re done!” Linda

The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver

February 3, 201027 Comments

Finished 1-20-10, rating 4.5/5. fiction, pub. 1988

The first was that I would get myself a new name. I wasn’t crazy about anything I had been called up to that point in life, and this seemed like the time to make a clean break. I didn’t have any special name in mind, but just wanted a change. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that a name is not something a person really had the right to pick out, but is something you’re provided with more or less by chance. I decided to let the gas tank decide. Wherever it ran out, I’d look for a sign.

I can pretty close to being named after Homer, Illinois, but kept pushing it.

Chapter 1

Missy was anxious to escape her dead-end life in her small Kentucky town without a baby or a man. Soon after graduation she headed west and made it as far as Tuscan, but somewhere along the way she changed her name to Taylor and was given a toddler in a diner parking lot. In Tuscan she makes a life for herself and baby Turtle with a few close friends, a job at Jesus is Lord Used Tires, and a respect for the desert.

This was told mostly from the eyes of Taylor and while I appreciated her spunk it took awhile for her to grown on me. I did not understand her accepting the baby in the parking lot and then keeping her when she had no home, no job, and no money. One her main points of pride was getting out of Kentucky without getting pregnant so the decision made no sense to me.

I was much more drawn to the insecure Lu Ann whose motivations I could at least understand. Hers is the story that kept me interested until about halfway through. And then a great thing happened. I couldn’t read fast enough. As much as Taylor had a few too many sharp edges for me at the beginning it was exciting to watch her grow as a character and I was surprised to find that she had grown on me. The friends that surrounded her were just as important to the story as she was.

This was beautifully written and a story that will stay with me. I was totally captivated by its honesty and sense of friendship and family. What makes a family? This delightful novel will help you decide.

This is from my personal library and was chosen by Golda and Amanda. Here’s what Golda had to say…”I loved that book.”

Free Books for February

February 2, 2010February 2, 20106 Comments

Leave a comment, tell me which book or puzzle you want and I’ll get it to you for FREE either by mail or personally if I’ll see you soon. The first one to request each book or puzzle wins. Once you’ve ‘won’ I can get your shipping address if I need it. Also, you can come back and get a free book every month if you want. These have all been read a few times.

1. 1500 piece Ravensburger puzzle of Italy’s Dolomites. This puzzle has been done once by me. Measures 23.5 x 33 in. for Margie

2. Midnight on Julia Street by Ciji Ware. Mass market published in 1999. Romance. for Sarah E

3. Los Alamos by Joseph Kanon. Mass market published in 1997. Fiction (takes place during the Manhattan Project). for sheere

4. The Inn at Eagle Creek by Sherryl Woods. Mass market published in 2009. Romance. for Margot

Late Bloomers Quiz

February 2, 2010February 2, 201015 Comments

Answers to last week’s Common Thread Quiz here.

Someday I hope to publish a book. As I see 40 on the horizon I hope to take heart in those authors who published their first novel when they were 40 or older. If you know the late bloomer leave the number and name. No googling – that’s cheating and no fun! Good luck!

1. He retired from the Coast guard before he wrote his first novel, loosely based on his family history, but was dogged by claims of plagiarism. The millions who watched the mini series on tv didn’t care. He was in his 50’s when this first novel was published. Alex Haley (Wrighty)

2. This Chile born novelist penned one of my favorite books, magical realism at its best, in 1982. She was 40. Isabel Allende (Margie)

3. This author was 52 when he penned one of my favorites. The life of rabbits in the warren are forever of interest to me. Richard Adams (Susan)

4. This classic about a man shipwrecked on an island was written when the author was 59. Daniel Defoe (Susan)

5. This author wrote a series of books about her life with her pioneer family when she was in her 60’s, as her family was facing financial difficulty due to the Great Depression. I remember watching Pa and Ma every week when I was growing up. Laura Ingalls Wilder (Wrighty)

6. This author was 42 when his story about Dolores was published. Oprah chose it for her book club five years later. Wally Lamb (Bermudaonion)

7. This author was 51 when he turned to writing after being fired as a vice-president of an oil syndicate. His first private detective mystery was immortalized by Humphrey Bogart on the big screen. Raymond Chandler (Nise)

8. This author was 47 when she wrote this coming of age story about Francie and her family struggling against poverty in New York. Betty Smith (Susan)

9. This author was 74 when she published the National Book Award winner that year for first work of fiction. Harriet Doerr (Margie)

10. This English novelist first published children’s books in her 50’s and her first adult book when she was 71. She went on to write nine more novels. Mary Wesley (Margie)

Is there a late bloomer I’m missing? Leave a comment and further inspire us 🙂

Deadly Pleasure, by Brenda Joyce

January 31, 201014 Comments

Finished 1-23-10, rating 4/5, romance, pub. 2002

This is book 2 in the Deadly series (Book 1 review)

Someone grabbed her arm, hard.

Francesca whirled, knowing it wasn’t either of her parents. A pair of black eyes met hers from beneath a huge gurtimmed hood.

For one instant Francesca stood there, shocked that someone would grab her and unable to to determine whether the person was a man or woman. She was about to demand that she be released when the person said, “Miss Cahill?”

It was a woman. Francesca relaxed slightly. “Yes?”

“Please.” The woman’s single word was an emotionally distressed plea. “Please. Please help me.” she said.

Chapter 1

Beautiful and wealthy heiress, Francesca Cahill, fresh off her success in catching a killer and falling in love with the new New York City police commissioner is now passing out business cards calling herself Crime-Solver Extraordinaire. Life is looking good. Rick asks her out, she has her first paying job, and her parents remain unaware of her college studies and most of her sleuthing. But in the course of her investigation she catches her brother-in-law having an affair with a murder suspect and Rick confesses a devastating secret. The dead body in this book is Calder Hart’s father. Francesca hopes to mend the rift between the two brothers and needs to prove Calder innocent to do it.

I love the relationship between Rick and Francesca and there are so many great supporting chraracters like her perfect sister, snooty mom, and pickpocket assistant.

If you like turn of the century New York, wealthy and powerful men and beautiful and smart women you should give it a try. If you are sensitive to the way alpha males treat the women they love then this may not be the series for you. It’s a favorite series of mine and they really need to be read in order.

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