Jen in Bookland

Landline Synopsis: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point. Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her. When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything. That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . . Is that ...

Synopsis: There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee. This is a full-length novel, can...

The Language of Flowers: A Novel Synopsis: The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in her life. And when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. Review: The Language of Flowers was a very interesting read. Victoria is unlike any character I have read before. Sure she ha...

Banded Synopsis: In dystopian Manhattan, society is divided into six zones, with each one representing a citizen’s benefit to society: Stalwart (strength), Astute (intelligence), Collusive (greed), Radiant (beauty), Quixotic (no life direction), and the Altruistic (willingness to help others). On a citizen’s sixteenth birthday, a computer suggests a new zone for them based on their inherent benefit to society. When Kalenna Slater is sorted out of her home zone Quixotic and into Altruistic, she thinks things can’t get worse. Life looks dismal until she meets Gavin, a boy also just sorted into Altruistic who becomes the light needed on her cloudy days. During sorting she receives a device known as ‘The Band’. It’s a large watch-like device that never comes off, and it measures a citizen’s karma on a scale from one to one hundred. If a citizen does good, they gain points. If a citizen does bad, including breaking laws, they lose points. When your number reaches zero, the ban...

A Knight in Shining Armor (The Montgomery/Taggert Family Book 15) Synopsis: Once upon a time... ...as a fair maiden lay weeping upon a cold tombstone, her heartfelt desire was suddenly made real before her: tall, broad of shoulder, attired in gleaming silver and gold, her knight in shining armor had come to rescue his damsel in distress.... A Knight in Shining Armor  Jude Deveraux's beloved bestseller has captivated readers the world over; now in a special edition featuring new material, this timeless love story greets a new generation. Abandoned by her lover, thoroughly modern Dougless Montgomery finds herself alone and brokenhearted in an old English church. She never dreamed that a love more powerful than time awaited her there...until Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, a sixteenth-century knight, appeared. Drawn to him by a bond so sudden and compelling that it defied reason, Dougless knew that Nicholas was nothing less than a miracle: a man who would not s...

Out of Sight Out of Mind (Choc Lit) Synopsis: Everyone has secrets. Some are stranger than others. Madison Albi is a scientist with a very special talent – for reading minds. When she stumbles across a homeless man with whom she feels an inexplicable connection, she can’t resist the dangerous impulse to use her skills to help him. J is a non-person – a vagrant who can’t even remember his own name. He’s got no hope, until he meets Madison. Is she the one woman who can restore his past? Madison agrees to help J recover his memory, but as she delves deeper into his mind, it soon becomes clear that some secrets are better off staying hidden. Is J really the man Madison believes him to be? Evonne describes J, the hero, in terms of chocolate: J would be the last perfect liqueur in the battered box at the back of the fridge. The contents is a mystery, but on biting into it there is a breathtaking rush of fire, spirit and power. Review: Out of Sight, Out...

Synopsis: **Finding Eden is the continuation of Becoming Calder. Both books will release simultaneously, October 5, 2014** Review: *Note I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.* Finding Eden is the second book and a continuation of Becoming Calder . While I enjoyed Becoming Calder , I did have a few issues with it (my review here ). I thought I would enjoy Finding Eden  more based on the first chapter of Becoming Calder and I was right. I did enjoy this story a lot more, but still it wasn't my all time favorite. It is not bad or anything, it was a good read, but it was a bit too mushy romantic for me. See I am not really romantic romantic. I read romances, but I don't like them if they are too sappy and mushy and lovey dovey. This book is lovey dovey. They characters are just soooo in love and they cannot live without the other and will never find anyone else they can only be with each other! It is not my thing, and they are lik...

The Marquess of Cake (Redcakes) Synopsis: Coffee…tea…or a pastry chef sweeter than any confection… Scotch trifle fit for Queen Victoria, scones with clotted cream…Alys Redcake knows the way to a man’s heart. Yet she is unaware that with each morsel—and flash of ankle—she is seducing the handsome marquess frequenting her father’s tea shop. Unmarried at twenty-six, Alys’s first love is the family business. But thoughts of the gentleman’s touch are driving her to distraction… With his weakness for sugar, the Marquess of Hatbrook can imagine no more desirable woman than one scented with cake and spice. Mistaking Alys for a mere waitress, he has no doubt she would make a most delicious mistress. And when he finds himself in need of an heir, he plans to make her his convenient bride. Yet as they satisfy their craving for one another, business and pleasure suddenly collide. Will Hatbrook’s passion for sweets—and for Alys—be his heart’s undoing? Review: The Marquess of Ca...

Hero of Her Heart Synopsis: From the moment Bethany Warner was born, Sheriff Tanner Montgomery was on the run. And he was only four at the time. Their mothers’ matchmaking efforts finally ended when Bethany’s family moved away. Now, ten years later, she’s coming back to Ruby Creek and his mother is up to her old tricks again. Tanner is happy with his life just the way it is. No emotional entanglements. No wife or child to worry about leaving behind if something should happen to him in the line of duty. Then Bethany returns, all grown up and sexier than sin. Now he’s on the run for a whole new reason. Growing up, Bethany idolized Tanner. He was the HERO OF HER HEART. But to him she’d been nothing more than a tag-a-long little kid. Too tall, too thin, with unruly curls and teeth she could whistle through. That was then. Now she’s coming back to Ruby Creek, a successful, confident businesswoman, and no longer the ugly duckling she had once been. Can Bethany convince ...

We Were Liars Synopsis: A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island. A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy. A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive. A revolution. An accident. A secret. Lies upon lies. True love. The truth. We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart ... Review: Wow. We Were Liars really left me a bit stunned. Stunned by the story, stunned by how much I loved it, stunned at how amazing it was. I remember when it came out and I read a few things and they all said you shouldn't know anything going into the book, so I stopped reading things about it. I think it is true, you don't want to know what happens as it would just ruin the story. The beautifully written story. So this will probably be short as I don't want to ruin anything. Besides the story what did I love about this book? The writ...

Becoming Calder Synopsis: There is a place in modern day America with no electricity, no plumbing, and no modern conveniences. In this place, there is no room for dreams, no space for self-expression, and no tolerance for ambition. In this place, there is a boy with the body of a God and the heart of a warrior. He is strong and faithful and serves his family honorably. But he dares to dream of more. In this place, there is a girl with the face of an angel and a heart full of courage. To her family, she is the vision of obedient perfection. But she dares to want that which she has been told can never be hers.  Becoming Calder is the story of good versus evil, fear versus bravery, and the truth that the light of love has always found its way into even the darkest of places... From the beginning of time, to the end of the world. THIS IS THE FIRST PART IN A TWO-PART SIGN OF LOVE SERIES INSPIRED BY AQUARIUS. THE SECOND PART, FINDING EDEN, WILL RELEASE SIMULTANE...

Love by Deception: A harrowing true story of love and betrayal. Synopsis: Meet K.C. a gregarious, fun loving woman in her thirties. With an abundance of friends, and an enviable position as a jet-setting stewardess in the prestigious world of private aviation, she seems to have it all....but does she?  Love by Deception is a compelling read of how meeting the wrong person can bring not only heartache, but real devastation in the most brutal of ways. We follow K.C.’s turmoil, as we unravel her disastrous relationships where she becomes the unwitting victim to four extremely cruel men.  Throughout K.C.’s journey she is determined to never allow anyone to break her spirit. Review: Love By Deception could have been an amazing book, but unfortunately the writing is just not that good and the story not fleshed out enough. Instead of feeling for the main character I just kept thinking how is this thirty something world traveler so naive? Why does she stay with t...

Juliette and the Monday ManDates: The Gustafson Girls Book 1 Synopsis: Juliette Gustafson is heart-broken after waiting nearly ten years for a proposal from her boyfriend that never came. Determined she isn’t “getting over Mike” quickly enough, her three sisters devise The Monday ManDates; an intervention plan requiring Juliette to endure what turns out to be a series of remarkably disastrous blind dates: TheraPaul, Frisky Frank, TAZ the rock star, and the stoic Tim Larsen, among others. Then there’s Victor Jarrett, the police officer with an affinity for pulling Juliette over when she’s at her very worst. But no one is more surprised than Juliette when she meets the one man who can right the wrongs in her past and change her future, if she will only let herself fall in love with him.  MEET THE GUSTAFSON GIRLS  When Paul and Simone Gustafson are killed by a drunk driver, the lives of their daughters change irrevocably. Although raised by loving grandparents,...

Take Synopsis: When FBI special agent Joss Dubois discovers that her best friend’s life is being threatened, she volunteers to be the Vegas dancer's official protection. Determined to solve the case before she loses one of the only people she loves, Joss becomes caught up in terrorism, attempted murder, and life behind-the-scenes of the seedy nightlife of Sin City. Joss is forced to partner with the security manager at the Desert Casino, former Intel Marine, Ethan Gallagher. Despite her resistance to his charm, and her stubborn insistence on controlling the investigation, Ethan finds himself drawn to the smart, beautiful, tempting FBI agent. But Joss isn’t so eager to risk heartbreak after the tragedies of her past and her job has become the only thing she can count on. When the threats against the people they’re protecting turn deadly, Ethan and Joss have to find a way to trust each other to track the hunter who lies in wait for the Desert’s dancers. But trust is ...

Kiss a Girl in the Rain (Take a Chance Book 1) Synopsis: In this sexy, humorous contemporary romance, a lost dog brings together a wealthy drifter and a small town doctor and changes all their lives forever.  Evan Chance is a man out to complete the bucket list he made as a kid, starting with ride a motorcycle across America. Caitlyn Sorenson is the sexy country doctor standing in his way. Or is she the dream he’s been searching for?  Evan's Amazing Life List  1. Ride a motorcycle across America  2. Kiss a girl in the rain  3. Swim in every ocean…  When Evan Chance gives up a successful corporate law career to tackle the bucket list he wrote when he was twelve, he has no idea where the road will lead him.  Caitlyn Sorenson is a happily settled small town doctor. When a sexy drifter rolls into town after a motorcycle accident leaves him stranded in Miller's Pond for a few days with the homeliest dog ever, she can smell tr...