How to Walk Away
Author: Katherine Center
Published: May 15, 2018
320 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 15-25, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Book Description:
Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.
In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.
How to Walk Away is Katherine Center at her very best: an utterly charming, hopeful, and romantic novel that will capture reader’s hearts with every page.
Jessica’s Review:
How to Walk Away is categorized as a romance, but I do not see it that way. Yes there is some romance in the novel, but it is not the sole purpose. It is a novel about a woman who starts out having the best day ever and ends up losing everything in an unexpected and devastating course of events. She has to overcome many obstacles through the course of the novel and How to Walk Away is her journey.
As it is also considered chick lit, there is some crazy (almost silly) drama from other characters throughout the novel. You can’t help but like these characters (except maybe Ian when we first meet him). And you can’t help but root for Margaret to become successful through her circumstances. The epilogue is realistic in that we never know what direction life will take us on, but we can still be successful in that journey no matter what it brings.
How to Walk Away is very highly recommended!
Many thanks to St Martin’s Press and The Girlfriend for my copies I was sent to read and review! This is one of my top reads of the year so far!
Blog Tour: The Forever Night Stand
Today I am one of the stops on the blog tour for The Forever Night Stand by Bena Roberts. This is a short novella at just over 100 pages!
Novella Description:
A two hour romance which starts with drama and mayhem!
Sara has her back up against the wall. She is recovering from the side effects of chemotherapy and at her own “cancer free” party, she makes a decision that will change her life forever.
The adventure begins when she leaves her posh lifestyle in Scotland and moves in with her Bollywood loving parents, in West London. Her parents are tragically ashamed of Sara’s actions and her electronic monitor. She decides to make them happy again and considers re-marrying.
Enter Raj, a possible hero who comes with the promise of a huge Indian wedding in Goa!
George, the childhood love of her life who seems to be hanging around every corner. Or should she just go back to her husband? Sara faces the biggest dilemma of her life, after making the colossal mistake of her life. What will she do and whom will she choose?
The Forever Night Stand
Author: Bena Roberts
Published: March 19, 2018
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: May 7-10, 2018
Jessica’s Rating: 3 stars
Jessica’s Review:
The description of The Forever Night Stand had everything in it that would interest me: cancer, a decision that changes everything which includes a court case. And there are also two points of view (George and Sara) in this novella- and by now you know I love multiple points of view.
I liked the acknowledgements section: You know what kind of life circumstances will be occurring with this novella. Roberts’ lets you know that she experienced chemotherapy and obviously took her personal experience and added it to Sara’s.
Roberts does pull you in from the beginning with the court case which did interest me! I love a good court case! Once the court case ends is when the story gets moving. Sara ends up moving back home with her Indian family and begins trying to move on. It gives you some insight what Indian families can be like!
The Forever Night Stand ended up not being for me. It was nothing on Roberts’ end, it really was me: I just did not connect with the characters. If you don’t connect with the characters the story won’t work for you. At the end where the meaning of the title comes in would have been an “Awww!” moment if I had connected with Sara. Though not for me, The Forever Night Stand could be for you. I would also be willing to give Bena another chance and read another one of her writings!
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo
Nook
About the Author:
Bena Roberts was a journalist and analyst. Now she prefers the title novelist and romance adventurist. She graduated in England 1994 and then with a Masters in 1997.
Born in 1973, Bena lived in West London until she was 24. Then she lived and worked in Budapest, Bruges, Prague, Amsterdam, Vienna, Hamburg and Munich. She currently resides in Germany, between Heidelberg and Frankfurt. Although she still refers to London as ‘home.’
Bena successfully created a technology blog which gained funding, had lunch with Steve Ballmer and was ‘top 50 most influential woman in mobile.’ Her blog also won several awards including Metro Best Blog.
Bena has two children, loves small dogs and always writes books with a cup of Earl Grey.
Bena’s favorite literary style is black humor, and she hopes to offer a unique voice in this area. Her books aim to confront the darkest of life experiences, with levity. Most of her writing is heavy hitting yet also entertaining.
Contact Bena:
Twitter @benaroberts
Amazon Author Page
Goodreads
Also written by Bena Roberts:
Available Now: My Cake! A short story
Pre-Order Tammy&Lisa – How far would you go to protect your teenage son? Publication Date is May 31st.
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The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland
Author: Rebekah Crane
Published: December 1, 2016
272 pages
Reviewed By: Kim
Kim’s Rating: 4 stars
Book Description:
According to sixteen-year-old Zander Osborne, nowhere is an actual place—and she’s just fine there. But her parents insist that she get out of her head—and her home state—and attend Camp Padua, a summer camp for at-risk teens. Zander does not fit in—or so she thinks. She has only one word for her fellow campers: crazy. In fact, the whole camp population exists somewhere between disaster and diagnosis. There’s her cabinmate Cassie, a self-described manic-depressive-bipolar-anorexic. Grover Cleveland (yes, like the president), a cute but confrontational boy who expects to be schizophrenic someday, odds being what they are. And Bek, a charmingly confounding pathological liar.
But amid group “share-apy” sessions and forbidden late-night outings, unlikely friendships form, and as the Michigan summer heats up, the four teens begin to reveal their tragic secrets. Zander finds herself inextricably drawn to Grover’s earnest charms, and she begins to wonder if she could be happy. But first she must come completely unraveled to have any hope of putting herself back together again.
Kim’s Review:
This book was another one of those with a group of teenagers being overly dramatic about almost everything. I understand that these kids actually have problems, and I appreciated that fact to no end, after all these contemporary books I’ve been reading lately. However, there were also times when I wanted to grab one of them, shake them, and tell them to grow up! I don’t have patience with whining, with “woe is me” attitudes or with temper tantrums. Y’all already know my views on teenage suicide, so I won’t get back into that. I felt so much for Counselor Madison, for Carey, the head of the camp, and their plight in having to try to help all these teens at camp. Everything was constantly “me, me, me” and that got really tiring, really quick. But as I said, the fact that these were all truly troubled kids made this read a little more genuine. I think I would recommend this book to teachers, and occasionally to a teenager who is have attitude problems.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
