June 28, 2015

Series Sunday: Zoo

(Zoo TV Series)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

"Animals once ruled the world. What if they decided to take it back?"

My Series Sunday pick is Zoo, the soon-to-be television series based on a standalone book by James Patterson. Jackson Oz is a young biologist who witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa. Violent animal attacks start happening all over the world. With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz tries to warn world leaders before it's too late and there is nowhere for humans to hide.

Zoo is not your typical James Patterson read so I skipped it. I am not into supernatural, science fiction, zombie, apocalypse type shit. Though after watching the television series sneak peek below, I plan to watch at least the first episode. James Patterson himself says the CBS series will be better the book.

Zoo premieres this Tuesday, June 30, at 9 p.m. on CBS. Tune in with me!


Title: Zoo
Author: James Patterson
Published: September 2012 / June 2015
Pages: 395 / 60 minutes
Edition: Hardcover / TV

 

June 26, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"They might have been fireworks, the splashes, bursts, storms of color that exploded in front of her eyes. They might have been the northern lights, her own personal aurora borealis. But they weren't, they were just neon lights and streetlights rendered blurred and prismatic by vodka."

~ The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell

 

June 24, 2015

Inside the O'Briens


You may be familiar with the author from her previous book that was recently adapted to movie, Still Alice, starring Julianne Moore. When given the opportunity to read her newest novel Inside the O'Briens for my honest review, I immediately downloaded the galley. It took me a minute to sit down and really indulge in its contents. I have to be in the mood for what I consider heavy novels like this. When I finally settled comfortably in my Cocoa Comfy reading chair, I started reading about the O'Brien family that was faced with handling a serious diagnosis: Huntington's disease.

Joe O'Brien is a forty-something Boston cop. His sharp mind and instinct have seen him through decades of policing Boston streets and raising four children with wife Rosie. It started with simply dropping a glass water pitcher. It slipped out of his hands. Then he messing up during a drill formation. That bad knee of his wouldn't let him be great. His speech slurs. Unbeknownst to him, his temper has changed over the past few years. He's been writing up crime reports for years, but now all of a sudden he has difficulty processing the simplest of reports. And where did he mislay his darn police gun? It must be stress, right?

Joe's police partner, wife and children notice his uncharacteristic errors and behavior. Upon Rosie's persistence, Joe agrees to see a doctor. Unfortunately, after being examined, he is diagnosed with Huntington's disease. The O'Briens lives change forever after Joe's diagnosis and the realization that each of his four adult children have a fifty percent chance of inheriting Huntington's disease is all too real.

Lisa Genova is one of the very few authors that write about the effects of real conditions almost flawlessly. Inside the O'Briens is a story of family crisis, health and resilience. Please do add to your TBR piles, bookhearts.


DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: Inside the O'Briens
Author: Lisa Genova
Published: April 2015
Pages: 352
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

June 23, 2015

I Take You


Lily Wilder is a New York lawyer and blushing bride. Will is a handsome archaeologist. Lily likes Will, but does she love him? Will loves Lily, but does he really know her? The days and nights leading up to the wedding are what I would call "ho shit." Booze, bad decisions, partying, infidelity.

Listen. I am all for sexual freedom but being engaged, like getting married the next day engaged, I cannot condone this behavior by reading it. By page nine, she was cheating with her boss. By page 10, she reiterates that she doesn't deserve him. No shit, skank! By page 33, she admits to marrying him because of great patter. On page 46, she is called a "honky lovah" by one of her friends. Racist dater, much? So on page 51 when a character says to close your eyes, I closed the book and promptly returned it to the library.

If you find yourself bored on a summer day and have NOTHING else to do or read, then pick up ANOTHER book.

Title: I Take You
Author: Eliza Kennedy
Published: May 2015
Pages: 305
Edition: Hardcover
Challenge: Popsugar Started But Never Finished; New Author
Rating: ♥

 

June 21, 2015

Series Sunday: Grey

(Fifty Shades #4)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

My Series Sunday pick is Grey, the fourth book in the Fifty Shades series by E.L. James, told from Christian's point of view. Yes, curiosity got me. I'm doing a buddy read with a couple friends. Review to be posted in my next Series Sunday...or so. In the meantime, I will live tweet and post my thoughts on Goodreads as I read along.

Share your thoughts if you've read or currently reading Grey.

Title: Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian
Author: E.L. James
Published: June 2015
Pages: 405
Edition: eBook
Challenge: TBD
Rating: TBD

 

June 19, 2015

First Lines Friday


First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Grab your current read(s).*
  • Share the first line(s).
  • Include the title and author.

"This book is not for everyone. I have a specific audience in mind—people who care deeply about racial justice but who, for any number of reasons, do not yet appreciate the magnitude of the crisis faced by communities of color as a result of mass incarceration."

~ The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

*With so much going on in our dear 'Merica, I felt the first lines of this book should be featured. I read the Foreward by Cornel West, the Preface and Introduction. Then realized this is a book I have to read only a few chapters at a time, put it down and reflect.

 

June 17, 2015

Remember Me This Way


"No single person inhabits my skin, no simple emotion sets up home in my head." ~ pg. 167

Lizzie is trying to move on from the tragic death of her husband. She struggles to remember him in the proper way. The way that he would want to be remembered. Exactly one year after Zach's car crash, Lizzie goes to lay flowers on the site of the fatal accident. What she finds baffles her. Someone has already been there and left flowers addressed to Zach. The name doesn't look familiar. What is it that she doesn't know about Zach? Is she remembering everything?

"People like me can't relax." ~ pg. 161

Sabine Durrant wrote this book in such a way that it had me questioning if I was losing it. Am I cray cray or is the character really the crazy one? The details were vital to the story so I over-analyzed each part while it unfolded. And oh, what a good read it is. I can't say much more without spoiling the plot and twists. Bookhearts, just take my word for it and add Remember Me This Way to your list of psychological thrillers to read in the near future.

DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: Remember Me This Way
Author: Sabine Durrant
Published: May 2015
Pages: 311
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

June 16, 2015

The One That Got Away


"I remembered when you said that one man's desperate is another man's persistent." ~ pg. 313

New authors excite me. Debut novels are usually some of the best stories. All it takes is a book cover that catches my attention or a blurb from one of my faves for me to read a book by an author new to me. Such is the case for The One That Got Away. Emily Giffin calls it "a warm, witty, and wise novel." Taylor Jenkins-Reid says this love story is "perfectly balanced between sexy and sweet, and settings so vivid and hip they feel like a literary Pinterest board." Goodreads suggests it is perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner. With endorsements like these, I didn't hesitate to pick up a paperback copy of The One That Got Away. I fixed myself a cup of Earl Grey tea, opened my blinds for the right amount of natural sunlight and began reading.

Sarina Mahler has a growing architecture practice and a loving boyfriend, Noah, who is ready to propose any day now. While Noah is on a temporary assignment abroad, an old flame named Eamon Roy comes back to town and requests Sarina's business services. She is careful not to mix business with pleasure but working with him reminds her of why she was first attracted to him back in the day. Like most novels of this genre, a tragedy occurs leaving Sarina to question what she really wants in life and in love.

Love is complicated. We all know this. It is a common theme in chick lit. But a conflicted heart is a deeper different story. With bits of humor and a likable main character, I was all into The One That Got Away. Flipping the pages continuously until there were no more to turn. I heart a well paced story with an engaging heroine.

Bookhearts, this is a great pool read. Book clubs, The One That Got Away is a great summer selection. There are discussion questions at the end of the book for your convenience. The author is also willing to join your book club discussion via webcam. Be sure to visit her website for contact information and freebies.

Bethany Chase, you are now on my chick lit radar.

Title: The One That Got Away
Author: Bethany Chase
Published: March 2015
Pages: 314
Edition: Paperback
Challenge: New Author
Rating: ♥♥♥♥

 

June 14, 2015

Series Sunday: The Ultimate Betrayal

(Reverend Curtis Black #12)


Series Sunday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. I encourage all of my fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.
  • Read an installment of a series.
  • Share your review/recommendation below.
  • Include the title, author and series name.

"To her, no one's sin was worse than anyone else's, even if most people thought so." ~ pg. 34

My Series Sunday pick is The Ultimate Betrayal, the 12th book in the Reverend Curtis Black series by Kimberla Lawson Roby. Daughter of the infamous Reverend, Alicia Black, is dating her first husband Phillip. The man of god, Phillip, has forgiven her for cheating on him and ruining their first marriage. Now it is finally time to jump the broom again. But Alicia feels something is missing, that something is off with her love of Phillip. Yes, of course she loves him. But is she in love with him? Does she yearn for his touch like she does for Levi's? Levi is the drug dealer Alicia had an affair with. He is recently released from prison and still head over heels in love with Alicia. Temptation knocks on Alicia's door once again.

Melanie, Alicia's best friend, is spiraling downhill. She struggles to keep her marriage together with her husband's seemingly reckless financial spending. She is also hell-bent on losing those last ten pounds. Alicia and Melanie's husband try to intervene before her weight loss obsession turns to anorexia.

This 12th installment of the Reverend Curtis Black series is the same 'ole, same 'ole shenanigans within the Black family. New relative, same story. How many times is Kimberla going to prove the apples don't fall far from the tree? By now, I realize infidelity and trust are the series themes. However, I would like at least one book where there is no cheating on spouses. Drama makes the Black family go round but can we get a book with nothing but praises be to God?

I had to mull over the ending of The Ultimate Betrayal. It was so far left field and out of character that it belonged on the big screen. I literally turned the last page of the galley and blinked slow for minutes.

"The biggest lie of the century." ~ pg. 136

When I put aside that the story line was redundant with a twist, I enjoyed this quick read. A do-good character that always rubbed me the wrong way proved my instinct was right. An existing minor character, Alicia's best friend Melanie, was brought to center stage. What a bittersweet treat! I love how Kimberla focused half of the book on Melanie and her issues. The bitter part of Melanie's story line is her mother, who is the literary version of Mama Joyce on RHOA. I'm looking forward to reading an update on her in an upcoming installment and hopefully other new characters. Unless of course this series is sadly coming to an end.

"We were so in sync that not even the best writer alive could properly describe it." ~ pg. 70

I hope my review does not come across as harsh. Despite my dislike for the mundane story line, I really did enjoy The Ultimate Betrayal and recommend fans of the series don't miss reading it.

DISCLAIMER: This book was received directly from the publisher for review purposes only. In no way does it influence my review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Title: The Ultimate Betrayal
Author: Kimberla Lawson Roby
Published: June 2015
Pages: 241
Edition: Galley
Challenge: Diversity on the Shelf
Rating: ♥♥♥♥