Jen in Bookland

Mid Life Love Synopsis: If you'd asked me what love was two years ago, I probably would've said, 'It's this amazing feeling that obsesses and possesses you; it's what me and my husband currently have.' If you ask me that same question today, I'll say, 'Please get the hell out of my face.’ Claire Gracen's life is picture perfect. Her career as a marketing director is on the brink of being legendary, and her marriage to her high school sweetheart has never been stronger. No, wait. It has. It used to be amazing and fulfilling, but one day Claire realizes that she's been living a lie and her best friend and husband have committed the ultimate betrayal. Broken and depressed, Claire is in need of something new—new city, new job, new friends.  When she happens to attract the interest of the sexiest man she's ever met, a man significantly younger than her, she immediately turns him down—only to later discover that this man is Jo...

Synopsis: Set in the 1920s, intrepid reporter Nellie Bly fakes insanity to gain admission into the infamous Bedlam Asylum. While researching her expose, Nellie meets a young patient, Dorothy, who has delusions of a fantasy land she calls "Oz". Digging deeper into the dark history of the asylum, Nellie uncovers evidence of human experimentations on another inmate, a young girl named Alice, who's "Wonderland" mirrors Dorothy's imaginary world. Nellie is determined not to let Dorothy share Alice's fate as a human guinea pig. But the horrific experiments open a portal to these other worlds. When the dark and twisted inhabitants of Oz and Wonderland clash for control, Nellie realizes that they aren't delusions at all - they are terrifyingly real. Review: This was an interesting read. It was pretty dark and was fun to read a story with familiar characters in such a different way. I actually read the synopsis before starting the...

Rabbit in the Road Synopsis: In 1966, there is a record store clerk who loves her life just the way it is. One night on a train, Bevie Foster meets her soul mate Raymond Hughes. He is the man who is the key to unlocking her latent ESP, something she never believed to be possible. Very quickly, Bevie realizes that Ray isn't quite the man he claims to be, and she will spend the next 14 years of her life trying to get away from him by any means necessary. She will see and experience things she never imagined, and learn not just about who people really are behind closed doors, but also the difference between justice... and revenge. The debut novella of writing team Danika D Potts and Oliver Campbell,Rabbit in the Road is a suspenseful, shocking thriller about just how far one will go in order to preserve their way of life, and is sure to captivate and keep you reeling. Review: This story started off interesting, but then never followed through. The main ch...

Seed Synopsis: In the vine-twisted swamps of Louisiana, the shadows have teeth. Jack Winter has spent his entire life running from something no one else can see. His childhood is his darkest secret, but after a near fatal accident along a deserted road, the darkness he was sure he’d escaped rears its ugly head… and smiles. But this time, he isn’t the only one who sees the soulless eyes of his past. This time, his six-year-old daughter Charlie leans into his ear and whispers: Daddy, I saw it too. And then she begins to change. Faced with reliving the nightmares of his childhood, Jack watches his daughter spiral into the shadows that had nearly consumed him twenty years before.  But Charlie isn’t the only one who’s changing.  Jack never outran the darkness. It’s been with him all along.  And it’s hungrier than ever.  A new breed of dark fiction: the subtlety of Seed will haunt you, and the end will wickedly satisfy. Revie...

The Doctor Synopsis: After the attack at his father’s amusement park, Daniel cannot believe what he’s capable of. He tries to lock himself away and protect those he loves… until he finds out that the monster within did not get there by accident, and the one responsible didn’t stop with him. Sarah remembers the stories her mother used to tell her; of a place where the sun shone brightly and bird songs filled the air; a place where home wasn’t a cramped cell; a place where your own mind didn’t try to torment you. She wants nothing more than to be free of this living hell… even if that means she won’t get out alive. Jack is fed up of chasing the serial killer with no name, whose favourite game is creating monsters out of living people. He just wants to catch him before anyone else gets hurt… but reaching that goal becomes much more dangerous than anyone could have guessed. When these three strangers find their lives colliding on an island from which there is no escap...

The Orphan Master's Son: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) Synopsis: An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Sonfollows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea. Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return. Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in o...

Halloween Is For Lovers Synopsis: Undying love... the scary kind. A lovelorn ghost has one Halloween night to find the girl he abandoned at the altar and get her to love him again. Hugh and Lily.   Truly, down deep, they’re in love.  So what’s the problem?  She won’t forgive him for abandoning her at the altar so she’s moving on and marrying a new guy.  That and Hugh’s been dead for three years.  But this is true love we’re talking about.  The Kingdom of the Dead allows ghosts one Halloween night to cross over to the Land of the Living.  There’s a legend that love conquers all, even death.  If Hugh can get Lily to forgive him and love him again, he just might come back to life.  If he fails?  There are things far worse than death awaiting him. Review: This book was fun to read. I wasn't sure what to make of it at the start, but then it turned into this ridiculous fun over the top silly book. It starts off kin...

Where I Need to Be (B&S Series #1) Synopsis: Spencer Marshall was done moping. After catching her boyfriend cheating with his secretary, she decides to have a girl's weekend in Vegas with her best friend Ryan. Lady Luck must be looking out for Spencer, because that weekend will change her life forever. Despite what people say, not everything stays in Vegas. Review: Wow this book was not good. I'm struggling to think of anything I did like about it, besides the fact that it was short so I was done with it quickly. Everything else was just bad. The writing itself was not good. I am not a writer. Not at all. I write things like this, but it is just written like I think. Well this book is like I write a trip report or something, but turned into a book. It was like an outline with bullet points turned into sentences. And then we went here. Then we did this. Then at 1:00 we did this. And after that we did this. After that we went there. And on and on for the who...

Fatal Transaction Synopsis: Sara, an expert computer hacker, knows better than to trust anyone-certainly not the powerful and crooked business mogul for whom she works. But there is no future for the life of a thief. Determined to find a way out, Sara devises a scheme to double-cross her employer and steal millions through one final fatal transaction. Desperate and on the run, she finds temporary sanctuary with the mysterious Derry Conway. As the FBI closes in and her former associates seek revenge, Sara tries to escape but finds all avenues blocked. Trapped, she sees only one road out-Derry must take the fall and pay for her crimes. But will it work? Is her freedom more important than the life of an innocent man? Or will Sara make the ultimate sacrifice to save those she cares about? Review: This was an interesting read. For the most part I enjoyed it and kept reading trying to see how everything would work out for Sara. I liked Derry as well and how he helped out ev...

Be My Downfall (Whitman University) Synopsis: Toby Wright has always prided himself on being one of the most normal guys at Whitman University. He loves his parents, has a great job lined up after graduation, and with the exception of attempting to cross the unbalanced Sebastian Blair sophomore year, has kept his nose pretty clean. But the rich never have empty closets, and memories long stashed away come spilling free when notorious party girl Kennedy Gilbert almost dies in his dorm room. Nobody really knows how Kennedy manages to stay in good standing at Whitman–she never goes to class, doesn’t pretend to care about her future, and as far as people can tell, is never sober. This isn’t her first meeting with a stomach pump, but it is the first time she’s woken up to Toby’s concerned brown eyes. Despite the fact that she prefers life without friends, he gets under her skin with his insistence on playing her guardian angel. No one knows better than Toby that people...

Waiting for the Storm Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Charlotte O’Dell knows this summer is going to suck. Her mother just died, her sister hates her, and her dad has completely checked out. Fulfilling her mother’s final wish, the family heads to Angel Island for the summer to stay in a beach house her mother once loved.  After a year of being shut away taking care of her mother, Charlotte is numb and practically afraid of her own shadow; she hopes going to the island will give her the time and space she needs to begin healing, and an opportunity to bring her family back together. When she meets her mysterious neighbor, Ezra, it doesn’t take long for Charlotte to confess the issues she’s developed. Ezra begins giving Charlotte assignments to get over her fears, and although she accepts his tasks, all she really wants is to be with him. When she’s with Ezra, she’s able to forget the hollow ache in her heart and the fact that her family is falling apart. But Ezra has sec...

By Referral Only (Whitman University) Synopsis: After being unceremoniously dumped freshman year because of her family’s “new money” status, Ruby Cotton has taken care not to put her heart on the line. No matter how enticing Emilie and Quinn make it look, relationships are scary and hard—while a string of flings is easy and fun. That’s what Ruby wants. Easy and fun. The only problem is, when it comes to satisfaction in the sack, most of the boys at Whitman are nothing but pretty window dressing and false advertising. Ruby takes it upon herself to make campus life more fulfilling, creating a referral database that allows female students to rate their sexual experiences, thereby informing girls of what they’re getting into before agreeing to a date. When her acting partner, Liam Greene, finally shows some interest, Ruby figures she won’t need to utilize the helpful gossip. He’s handsome, fun, and most importantly, not a guy she’d ever fall for hard enough to let him bre...

Broken At Love (Whitman University) Synopsis: When a knee injury ends twenty-year-old Quinn Rowland’s pro tennis career, he’s not only dumped by his hot Russian girlfriend but ordered to attend college by his disinterested billionaire father. A rich kid who’s not used to being disappointed by life, Quinn and his sociopathic half-brother Sebastian create a frat house game intended to treat girls how they see them—as simple game pieces to be manipulated for their pleasure. College sophomore Emilie Swanson knows Quinn’s reputation—after all, he did send one of her sorority sisters into therapy earlier in the semester—but the game and his charm bring them closer together and soon she starts to believe there’s more to Quinn than people think. But what if the more is something darker than a game of toying with emotions and breaking hearts? Quinn and Emilie might be falling for each other, but there are secrets he’s not ready to tell—and lifestyle changes he’s reluctant ...

The Wager: The Bet series: Book 2 Synopsis: Lose a bet, lose your heart... What is it about a junior-high crush that can send an otherwise intelligent woman into a tailspin? TV reporter Char Lynn wishes she knew. Jake Titus is too rich, too handsome, too arrogant: a trifecta that once lured Char into the best night-and worst morning-after-of her life. Now they've been thrown together in a wedding party. It's awkward, but survivable . . . until Jake stops acting like a jerk, and starts acting like the man she'd always hoped he could be. If watching your brother marry your best friend is weird, being attracted to your best friend's other best friend is downright bizarre. Unfortunately for Jake, Char hasn't forgotten how he once tossed her aside. Worse still, Jake's already-nutty grandma is even crazier about Char. Cue meet-cute shenanigans and all manner of meddling, and somehow, Jake's falling. For Char. Now all he has to do is make her beli...

Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy) Synopsis: It is only a matter of time before Gemma's parents find out she traveled through time to bring Harrison back into existence. The fear of being found out is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she refuses to give up on everything she's fought for. Harrison is worth the risk. The couple draws closer together as they battle opposing forces from all sides. They stay strong until Gemma's parents welcome an exchange student into their home. Simeon, a gorgeous Californian, is as smooth as coffee and, supposedly, a fellow time spirit. Gemma's parents expect her to take him everywhere and, of course, fall in love with him. After all, he is the boy they have chosen for her.  No longer able to sneak off alone, Gemma must watch every step as she waits for the inevitable nightmare to catch up to her. Her parents ultimate goal is to get that last necklace and open the box hidden in their safe. If they do, Gemma knows her e...

Black Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy) Synopsis: Gemma's parents have put enough rules around her relationship with Harrison that she feels like she's living on parole. But she wins one battle—a summer job working for Harrison's step-father. It is the perfect chance to spend the steamy, hot Florida days with her boyfriend. It's also a great distraction from the cellphone hiding in her underwear drawer—her only contact with Gabe, the mystery man who's stalking her.  When she confronts Gabe, he tells her that her parents are not who she thinks they are, and Harrison has the gall to believe him. Surrounded by conflict, Gemma doesn't know what to believe, and it takes a trip back in time for her to glimpse the sickening truth.  Thanks to her parents, she returns to the present to find the love of her life no longer exists. His family line was broken and now, so is she. This betrayal forces her to seek out Gabe. Setting aside her fear of the truth,...

Playing For Keeps (A Neighbor From Hell Series) Synopsis: Done with being the world's biggest pushover, Haley decides that things are going to change starting with the aggravating neighbor who has too much charm and not enough restraint. What she didn't expect was to be sucked into his world, but Haley has a game plan and she won't let herself forget just what the bad boy next door is capable of.  The last thing Jason expected was for his little shy neighbor to go Rambo on him over some ruined flowers. After he decides to take her under his wing he can't help but notice that she fits very nicely in his life. Now the only thing left is to convince her that this is anything but a game. Review: Okay so this wasn't like the best book ever or anything, but it was ridiculous and just a cheesy fun easy read. Haley hated her next door neighbor Jason for 5 years. Then when she finally decides she has had enough they instantly become best friends. I didn...

Golden Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy) Synopsis: Gemma Hart never knows when her father is going to whisk her back in time. Her toes start tingling and she has a few minutes to find a secret haven where she can disintegrate and appear in another time and place. While “across the line,” her training and skills are put to the test as she completes a mission that will change history for the lucky few her father has selected.  Gemma's parents are adamant that secrecy is paramount to her family’s safety. If people knew what they were capable of, they could be "used and abused", as her mother always says. Afraid she might accidentally utter the truth and break the ancient oath of her people, Gemma spends her school days as a loner. Only one thing can throw her sheltered life askew... Harrison Granger. Harrison never expected to talk to the strange Hart girl, but after a brief encounter he can't stop thinking about her. He begins a campaign to chisel away her i...