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.

"He was out there somewhere. By now he'd be an old man. He had worked 'decades' in the White House."

~ The Butler: A Witness to History by Wil Haygood

Lee Daniels' The Butler is in the theaters today. Watch the movie trailer below and post your thoughts of the star-studded movie. The cast includes Forest Whitaker, Oprah, Robin Williams, John Cusak, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrance Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo and David Oyelowo. Stay tuned for my book and movie review soon.

 

The Silent Wife

"Her silence strikes him as dense and purposeful, a barricade." ~ pg. 108

Jodi and Todd have been married for twenty years. Everything isn't peaches and cream anymore. In fact, they are at a bad place. Todd is committed...to cheating; Jodi is forever in denial. He knows that she knows he's a cheater. So the stability and security of a significant other and the everyday freedoms are eroding. The story is about a marriage in dissolution, told in alternating points of view. Todd is debating whether to chuck the deuces and Jodi is willing to do whatever it takes to keep what is rightfully hers.

"It's the daily patterns that make a marriage, the habits you fall into as a couple." ~ pg. 140

I think Psychological Thrillers may be my new favorite subgenre. As most of you bookhearts know, I am a mystery, chick lit, and memoir kinda gal. But ever since reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, I've been chasing the next really good book. Well, I came really darn close.

The Silent Wife gave me the same type of suspense, mind boggling and compulsive page-turning sensation. It was by no means predictable. I really didn't know what was to come next. One of the characters manipulates personal circumstance to the highest drastic degree. It was the type of book I ponder about long after I've finished. You know the kind—you turn the last page, close the book, and just sit there thinking about the characters and ending. Yes, that was The Silent Wife for me. Author A.S.A. Harrison wrote a great novel about how having nothing left to lose changes everything.

If you are still undecided on whether to read psychological thriller The Silent Wife (as if my review isn't reason enough), watch the video below of blurbs. It is sure to persuade you.

 
Title: The Silent Wife
Author: A.S.A. Harrison
Published: June 2013
Pages: 239
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

Series Sunday: 12th of Never

(Women's Murder Club #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. 

My Series Sunday pick is 12th of Never, the 12th book in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson. The novel begins with Detective Lindsay Boxer in labor. After only a week at home with newborn daughter, Lindsay returns back to work and takes on two big cases. A serial killer wakes from a two-year coma ready to reveal where bodies are buried but he'll only confess to Lindsay. A football player is the prime suspect in a murder. A child is missing. Yuki is working on yet another high profile trial prosecuting a disbarred attorney. Claire's position in the Medical Examiner's office is threatened. Cindy is obsessed with reporting a mystery. And an English professor with precognition sees murders in a dream before they happen. Detectives don't believe him until the murders happen, fitting to the last detail of the professor's description. But these cases all take a backseat when Lindsay and husband Joe are faced with a possible loss.

Sound like a lot going on? Well, it was. ADHD much? However, I welcomed the multiple cases and individual story lines. This element was missing from the last couple installments in this series and kept me entertained while reading. While some parts were predictable, I was actually caught off guard by one element toward the end of the book.

Is the old Patterson writing style back? No. It is apparent, now more than ever, that James Patterson no longer writes this series alone. He may write the outline, but I really wish he would stop slapping his name on the covers when we all know Paetro is the one who wrote the past WMC novels. Thriller it is not. But 12th of Never is one of the better recent releases.

Title: 12th of Never
Author: James Patterson & Maxine Paetro
Published: April 2013
Pages: 309
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥

 

First Lines Friday BONUS

 

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.

"Let's see what she has in her medicine cabinet. I mean, as long as I'm here."
 
~ Mistress: FREE Preview of First 15 Chapters by James Patterson 

 

Who Asked You?

"I felt just like a pie. Everybody wanted a piece of me and barely left me with a little crust." ~ pg. 10

Terry McMillan had me at the opening line: "It's my day off and I'm in the kitchen getting ready to fry some chicken." I immediately liked main character Betty Jean (BJ). She is the rock of a family with the world on her shoulders. Her youngest child, Trinetta's life is a continuous emergency. Trinetta disappears with boothang Dante leaving her two sons in BJ's care. Never mind that BJ is already taking care of her ill husband, working room service at a hotel, preparing for her son Dexter's parole, being ignored by her oldest child Quentin, plus dealing with two sisters and a best friend. Whew! I'm just tired typing about BJ's life, let alone living it.

Terry McMillan's signature writing and unforgettable characters are evident in her eighth novel, Who Asked You? The story is told from the perspectives of all characters. Usually I am not in favor of rotating point of views but there is no other way this story could have been told. Each character played a part and it was necessary to read it from their individual perspective. Well done, Terry.

Who Asked You? is dedicated to mothers, who do the best they can. Any mother will appreciate this book and understand Betty Jean's story. Although I am childless, the book made me appreciate mothers even more. You put up with so much, expecting nothing in return. You give your all so effortlessly without complaint. Mothers break their back for family and give their very last. I thank you. And I thank Terry McMillan for penning an excellent story that told the burdens and blessings of a family.

Who Asked You? is expected to publish on September 17. Pre-order your copy now. It is guaranteed to take you away from everyday troubles and get lost in the world of fiction.

"I read every chance I get. Mostly novels because they take me away from all the bullshit that might be going on around me and it's a good way to escape my world and move in with folks I don't know." ~ pg. 12

Another special thanks to bookheart J. Nic for snagging a physical galley for me.

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

Title: Who Asked You?
Author: Terry McMillan
Published: September 2013
Pages: 400
Edition: Galley
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♡

 

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

"Mr. Branch's description of his wife suggested social anxiety, medication-seeking behavior, agoraphobia, poor impulse control, untreated postpartum depression, and possible mania." ~ pg. 175

Bernadette Fox is a genius and legend. She's an opinionated, revolutionary architect, best friend and mom. But Bernadette kind of has an allergy to people. She makes a promise to 15-year-old daughter Bee to go on a family trip to Antarctica. Bernadette can't even make simple trips across town let alone travel to the other end of Earth. She just doesn't like to leave the house. She's even hired a virtual assistant (located in India) to run basic errands and take care of simple tasks.

"TIME-OUT! REALITY CHECK" ~ pg. 235

Then two days before Christmas, Bernadette disappeared into thin air. Nowhere to be found! Bee compiles rambling emails, correspondence and official documents to help find her mother, the misplaced genius.

This is my first book read by Maria Semple. Before writing fiction, she wrote for television shows Mad About You, Ellen, and Arrested Development. I got a very good first impression of Maria Semple's fiction work and look forward to reading more. It was an e-page clicker! Ever since reading Gone Girl I have been on the hunt for a similar good book. Where'd You Go, Bernadette is recommended if you're interested in a psychological suspense story. It would be an even greater movie! Check out the book trailer below.

Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Author: Maria Semple
Published: August 2012
Pages: 306
Edition: eBook
Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

Series Sunday: Entwined with You

(Crossfire #3)

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 Entwined with You, the third book in the Crossfire series by Sylvia Day. Although the book begins exactly where Reflected in You ends, not much happens. We don't find out the demons in Gideon's past. Their relationship barely grows. The erotic scene overload doesn't cover the fact that there is no plot.

When a book is highly anticipated, I expect the author to bring it. When a book's expected publishing date is delayed (by months), I expect a polished plot. I don't expect a lackluster half-ass effort. I have looked forward to reading Entwined with You for about a year. Silly of me to assume the author would take advantage of the extra time between release dates and reread, rewrite, revise and improve the story. The Crossfire series was originally a trilogy. But Entwined with You was nothing but a filler. I cringe at the thought this is how the story of Gideon and Eva would've ended.

The worldwide phenomenon of Crossfire has fizzled. What used to be my favorite dysfunctional couple has now fell down the totem pole. I'm not even excited that the series has been extended to include two more books. Instead I feel like the author is exploiting fans by drawing this series out. It doesn't need five books, ESPECIALLY after this...this...disappointing installment. Yes, I am interested and will tune in to the TV series pilot but only because I am curious to see Eva and Gideon's story unfold on screen.

I'm just really, really disappointed with Sylvia Day (because she's a good writer despite this flop) and Entwined with You. I feel like a teacher who knows one of their star students' capabilities but they fail a research paper. Really, Sylvia?! You're a New York Times bestselling author. I KNOW you could have done better. 

Check out the video below of Sylvia Day discussing the latest Crossfire novel, Toying Entwined with You Fans.

Title: Entwined with You

Author: Sylvia Day

Published: June 2013

Pages: 301

Edition: eBook

Rating: ♥♥