I received a complimentary copy of Summer Camp: A Memoir in exchange for my review.
This brutally honest account of three children who grow up in abject poverty where both parents are alcoholics and their mother’s fight with mental illness is one of the most powerful memoirs I have ever read. It is written with a grace that not many writers possess. Diane’s recollection of what life was like growing up pulls you in over and over, even when you feel like your heart can’t possibly handle one more sad recollection.
It is a definite “must-read” for anyone. While most readers may not be able to relate, they will, however, feel compassion for Diane and her siblings.
I received a complimentary copy of Pink Slipper in exchange for my review.
Leesa Winsom is not having a good life. First she gets pink slipped, then her kitchen goes up in flames during a home renovation, and she’s forced to move in with her father and older sister. Her godmother, Alice, talks her into going to a “Breakthrough to Greatness” seminar where she meets Roger and Bud, head of the Job Camp Group {JCG for short}, and Ryne…who invented the BtG seminar and happened to save her at a Starbucks moments before – where Leesa happened to say she wasn’t buying into the whole “greatness” thing, not knowing who he was. Oops.
Through Roger and Bud she meets Candy, Hank, Jean, Sean, and several others who become dear friends. There’s also the Street Guy who makes random appearances and is quite the character. Throughout the book Leesa keeps goals for her Unemployment requirements and applies for numerous jobs.
I loved this book…it was a light, enjoyable read that had a lot of funny moments included. Ms. Robinson definitely knows how to hold a reader’s attention and keep them coming back for more. I’d definitely recommend this as a beach read, or sitting on the porch enjoying the peaceful breeze nights when you just want to relax with a good, lighthearted book.
I received a complimentary copy of Past Imperfect in exchange for my review.
First and foremost, this is NOT really a romance novel; it reads more like a mystery or suspense.
Diana was in a nasty car crash that disfigured her face. After having surgery, she buys a cabin in the mountains of Pennsylvania and spends several years there recovering. Diana is an avid aviator and writes horror novels for a living. She’s obsessed with her former boyfriend {if you can really call him that} and sets out to win his heart by entrapment. Diana also suffers from horrifying nightmares, whom her best friend, Logan, always seems to come rescue her from.
The plot was satisfying, but not great. At times you could pretty much tell what was going to happen next; other times you’re a bit creeped out by how…stalkerish Diana seems to be. Towards the end it gets a bit frustrating because there was a lot of mystery without any real clues as to what was really going on. While that’s not a bad thing, it can be a bit frustrating when you have no idea what’s really happening.
However, it was a good read and easy to finish in a few hours or a day. I would definitely recommend it.
I received a complimentary copy of Dating My Vibrator in exchange for my review.
I won’t lie, I asked to be a reviewer based on the name of this book alone – it made me giggle! The short stories in this book are amusing, yet sometimes very confusing. Ms. Tyrpak’s foray back into the dating scene after her husband tells her that their marriage is over due to a part of her anatomy – I swear I spit sweet tea reading that – and consequent divorce made me glad that my own marriage is secure and in no jeopardy of breaking up.
I didn’t really see all of the stories as being stories, some of them read more like essays. The Christmas one – I think it’s the third – had me laughing so hard I cried. But there’s one towards the end that is so out of place, it just doesn’t belong. Although, to be honest, I wanted to keep reading and find out who the people were and what their story was.
I definitely recommend this book if you’re having a bad day and want a good laugh. I was able to get through it in two hours, making it one of the lightest stories – and probably most humorous – I’ve read in a long time.
I received a complimentary copy of My Sister’s Keeper in exchange for my review.
Overall this book was cute. You could pretty much figure out the entire plot and subplot from the very beginning. Heck, even from just the name and description you could figure out what this was going to be like.
I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t excited about it. The writing style was not my favorite {incomplete sentences, sentences that just didn’t make sense or could have been joined with the previous, and even some word choices made me…giggle} by any means, but I did appreciate the fact that Ms. Curry does her best to keep you reading by giving you just a hint of what was to come…even if you already knew it was coming.
I would recommend this for light reading or something to occupy your time while waiting in a doctor’s office or elsewhere.
I received a complimentary copy of Sleight in exchange for my review.
I wasn’t very keen on reading this at first – it just didn’t sound like something that I’d really like; but in the interest of fairness and being open-minded, I decided to give it a try.
Oh how happy I am that I did!
I absolutely adored Gemma as a main character. She wasn’t overly brave or annoyingly cowardly…she was just the perfect balance between strong and weak, in my opinion. In fact, I liked all of the characters that are introduced in this book, even the ones you’re not sure you should like because there’s just something about them that doesn’t sit right.
I was drawn in nearly immediately as Ms. Sommersby knows how to capture your attention just by picking a quote that tugs at your heart or maybe just makes you think. Yes, there were parts of the book that were rather wordy and made me slightly anxious as I was holding my breath to find out what happened next, but overall I just really loved this book and can’t wait to read the follow-up. She tugs at your heartstrings, she makes you think and wonder and hold your breath in anticipation.
Especially with the end. Oh, I totally did not see that coming, but was happy all the same.
Also, I wonder why no publishing house wanted to take a chance with this book; as noted above, it’s cleverly written and isn’t your run of the mill young adult fantasy book. No matter, I’m glad Ms. Sommersby published this book on her own.
