*****5 stars
I absolutely fell in love with this book. It was frustrating at times, but I couldn't put it down and loved the whole of it!!! If you are a romantic or a complete rom-com movie goer, this is totally the perfect read for you! My only complaint was it ended ::)))
Book Jacket Summary:
‘Is there really such a thing as a perfect proposal?
Over the next hundred days I intend to find out. I will find one hundred ways to propose to our Chief Proposer Suzie McKenzie and post the results here for your enjoyment. One thing’s for sure, not one of my proposals will be on top of the Eiffel Tower with a dozen red roses.’
Best friends Suzie and Harry are partners in romance. That is, they run the.PerfectProposal.com, coming to the aid of would-be grooms to create the ultimate marriage proposal.
But when Harry decides to catapult the business into the big leagues with a PR stunt all Suzie can see is a hundred days of heartbreak stretching ahead of her. But however exotic the location, or breath-takingly romantic the setting, Suzie has to keep remembering that ‘Marry Me?’ is the one question she can’t say yes to.
This business proposal should come with one hundred broken heart warnings...
One hundred proposals, one hundred chances to say yes.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Story of You by Katy Regan
****4 stars
This was a great book. One of my favorite parts of this book, other than the content would be the great suspense. This book begins and you are given glimpses of the past. Because the main character doesn't fully tell the whole story until much later you are left assuming and wondering the true nature of the past and how it brought her to this point in life, having the reactions to life she has. I know that sounds all stealthy as well, but I don't for one minute to give the game away....Just read it ;)
Book Jacket Summary:
Your past will always be part of you, but does it have to define your future? Or can you rewrite your story?
I want to explain it all to you. How this happened. How that summer – the summer I was 16 – made me the person I am today.
I want to share my memories with you: the happy memories are like sunbursts, sparkling on the sea. But then, like a current dragging me under, there's that summer of 1997.
The summer my life exploded.
The summer I had to grow up.
The summer you came into my life.
And so this is the story of you.
This was a great book. One of my favorite parts of this book, other than the content would be the great suspense. This book begins and you are given glimpses of the past. Because the main character doesn't fully tell the whole story until much later you are left assuming and wondering the true nature of the past and how it brought her to this point in life, having the reactions to life she has. I know that sounds all stealthy as well, but I don't for one minute to give the game away....Just read it ;)
Book Jacket Summary:
Your past will always be part of you, but does it have to define your future? Or can you rewrite your story?
I want to explain it all to you. How this happened. How that summer – the summer I was 16 – made me the person I am today.
I want to share my memories with you: the happy memories are like sunbursts, sparkling on the sea. But then, like a current dragging me under, there's that summer of 1997.
The summer my life exploded.
The summer I had to grow up.
The summer you came into my life.
And so this is the story of you.
Friday, September 5, 2014
New Orleans Series by Lisa Jackson
****4 stars
So this summer I wanted to shake things up a bit and read outside my normal genre. I have a friend who adores Lisa Jackson books and said that the "New Orleans Series" would be right up my alley. I was skeptical but she was right. They were great. I chewed through these books all through the month of July, so when you didn't see posts from me, now you know why. Instead Of reviewing each book, I am going to review them as a whole. Along with a star so you can see my favorites. I do want to say though that you should really read them all, not that you will be too terribly lost if you don't but I think that gives you the full effect for each book. Also, I would like to say that I downloaded this series to my Kindle where they had the entire series as a collection, unfortunately they did not put them in order on your kindle, so be sure you are starting with the first book.
Hot Blooded
**** 4 stars
First One Dead Body...
A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on the sultry shores of Lake Ponchartrain, popular late-night radio host Dr. Samantha Leeds receives a threatening crank call. All in a day's work for a celebrity. Who would think to link the two?
Then Another...
A second hooker's corpse turns up. Samantha's ominous caller persists, along with a mysterious female claiming to be a woman from her past -- a woman who's been dead for years. With Detective Rick Bentz convinced that the serial killer prowling the shadowy streets of New Orleans is somebody close to Samantha, she doesn't dare trust anyone. Especially not Ty Wheeler, her seductive new neighbor who seems to know more about her than a stranger should.
...And Another
Somebody has discovered Samantha's darkest secret. Somebody is convinced that lives must be sacrificed to pay for her sins. So far, the victims have been strangers. Prostitutes. But as a cunning, cold-blooded killer grows bolder, Samantha wonders in dread if she will be the next to die...
Cold Blooded
**** 4 stars
Set in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Lisa Jackson's novel is a masterpiece of suspense - with a paranormal twist that surprises even the hard-boiled policemen trying to stop a killer before he takes his next victim. A woman's slashed, incinerated corpse is found in a seedy apartment. The killer is sure there were no witnesses. Yet his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger, from her bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town ...Weeks later, another violent vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced she has seen a serial killer, Olivia turns to the police, but jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her even when a second body turns up, killed in the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described. As the city panics in the icy grip of a merciless killer, Olivia's dreams are invaded by images of another murder. One that has not yet happened. One where she recognizes not only the victim's face - but also the murderer's.
Shiver
*** 3stars
The Crimes Are Unthinkable
A serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground. The victims are killed in pairs--no connection, no apparent motive, no real clues. It's a very sick game, and it's only just begun.
The Fear Is Real
Abby Chastain left New Orleans long ago and for good reason. Now she's back where she feels watched, as if the devil himself is scraping a fingernail along her spine. It doesn't help that Detective Reuben Montoya is convinced she's somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes--a mystery that has something to do with Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, a decaying old asylum where unspeakable crimes were once committed, and a human predator may still wait.
The Truth Is Deadly
As more bodies are found in gruesome, staged scenarios, Montoya and Abby are in a desperate race to stop a killer whose terrifying crimes are bringing them ever nearer to a shocking revelation. For the past is never completely gone. Its sins must be avenged. And a twisted psychopath is getting close enough to make them. . .
Absolute Fear
**** 4 stars
Every Serial Killer...
A serial killer is stalking the streets of New Orleans. The victims are killed in a ritual fashion, a series of numbers tattooed into their bodies. There are no clues, no connections except one: a crumbling old asylum that was once the scene of unspeakable madness--and is now the calling card of a new kind of fear.
Is Searching For...
Eve Renner knows Our Lady of Virtues Hospital well. As the daughter of one of its doctors, she spent her childhood exploring its secrets chambers, hidden rooms, and forbidden passageways. Now, somewhere in the decaying asylum lies the key to a betrayal from the past whose echoes are being felt with a vengeance--a crime beyond imagining that seems to lead to Eve herself.
The Perfect Victim...
As each new body is found and forgotten, memories surface, and Eve must race to put together a deadly puzzle, one terrifying piece at a time. A killer is watching, planning, luring her back to the ruins of Our Lady and the shocking truths hidden there. For the sins of the past must be revealed, and the price paid--in blood...
Dark Souls
**** 4 stars
Kristi Bentz wants to write true crime. All she needs is that one case that will take her to the top. She finds it when she enrolls at All Saints College after learning that four girls have disappeared in less than two years.
All four girls were "lost souls"--troubled, vulnerable girls with no one to care about them, no one to come looking for them if they disappeared. The only person that believes Kristi is her ex-lover, Jay McKnight, a professor on campus. The police think they're runaways, but Kristi senses there's something that links them--something terrifying. . .
As Kristi gets deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she's being watched and followed--studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up, and Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a special club from which there will be no escaping death. . .
Malice
****5 stars
The scent is unmistakable – gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he’s recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn’t have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago...
Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere. Could she still be alive? But it was Bentz who identified Jennifer’s body after her horrible car wreck, and there had been no question in his mind that it was her crumpled form behind the wheel, her clothes, her wedding ring. He’s never doubted it – until now. He can’t tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings or his secret fear that he’s losing his mind. But Olivia is also hiding a secret...
When a copy of Jennifer’s death certificate arrives in the mail, emblazoned with a red question mark, Bentz follows the postmark trail to Los Angeles, returning to the painful memories he’s tried so hard to forget, and straight into a killer’s web.
Someone’s been waiting patiently, silently. Someone who knows exactly what happened that night twelve years ago and has been anticipating Bentz’s every move. Soon it will be Bentz’s turn to suffer for his sins. But he won’t be the only one made to pay the ultimate price. For a diabolical killer has now made Olivia the prime target...
Devious
****4 stars
The crime scene at St. Marguerite’s cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth. Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister’s death. For weeks, she’d begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite’s, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices — she joined the convent in part because she’d fallen for Val’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade. Convinced the police aren’t doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val’s inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite’s is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O’Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille’s past — and Val’s, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite’s of all its sins — before she becomes the next victim…
So this summer I wanted to shake things up a bit and read outside my normal genre. I have a friend who adores Lisa Jackson books and said that the "New Orleans Series" would be right up my alley. I was skeptical but she was right. They were great. I chewed through these books all through the month of July, so when you didn't see posts from me, now you know why. Instead Of reviewing each book, I am going to review them as a whole. Along with a star so you can see my favorites. I do want to say though that you should really read them all, not that you will be too terribly lost if you don't but I think that gives you the full effect for each book. Also, I would like to say that I downloaded this series to my Kindle where they had the entire series as a collection, unfortunately they did not put them in order on your kindle, so be sure you are starting with the first book.
Hot Blooded
**** 4 stars
First One Dead Body...
A prostitute lies strangled in a seedy French Quarter hotel room. Miles away, in a rambling plantation house on the sultry shores of Lake Ponchartrain, popular late-night radio host Dr. Samantha Leeds receives a threatening crank call. All in a day's work for a celebrity. Who would think to link the two?
Then Another...
A second hooker's corpse turns up. Samantha's ominous caller persists, along with a mysterious female claiming to be a woman from her past -- a woman who's been dead for years. With Detective Rick Bentz convinced that the serial killer prowling the shadowy streets of New Orleans is somebody close to Samantha, she doesn't dare trust anyone. Especially not Ty Wheeler, her seductive new neighbor who seems to know more about her than a stranger should.
...And Another
Somebody has discovered Samantha's darkest secret. Somebody is convinced that lives must be sacrificed to pay for her sins. So far, the victims have been strangers. Prostitutes. But as a cunning, cold-blooded killer grows bolder, Samantha wonders in dread if she will be the next to die...
Cold Blooded
**** 4 stars
Set in the vibrant city of New Orleans, Lisa Jackson's novel is a masterpiece of suspense - with a paranormal twist that surprises even the hard-boiled policemen trying to stop a killer before he takes his next victim. A woman's slashed, incinerated corpse is found in a seedy apartment. The killer is sure there were no witnesses. Yet his every move was seen by a beautiful stranger, from her bed in a bayou cottage on the outskirts of town ...Weeks later, another violent vision shatters Olivia Bechet's sleep. Convinced she has seen a serial killer, Olivia turns to the police, but jaded detective Rick Bentz doesn't believe her even when a second body turns up, killed in the same bizarre, ritualistic manner Olivia described. As the city panics in the icy grip of a merciless killer, Olivia's dreams are invaded by images of another murder. One that has not yet happened. One where she recognizes not only the victim's face - but also the murderer's.
Shiver
*** 3stars
The Crimes Are Unthinkable
A serial killer is turning the Big Easy into his personal playground. The victims are killed in pairs--no connection, no apparent motive, no real clues. It's a very sick game, and it's only just begun.
The Fear Is Real
Abby Chastain left New Orleans long ago and for good reason. Now she's back where she feels watched, as if the devil himself is scraping a fingernail along her spine. It doesn't help that Detective Reuben Montoya is convinced she's somehow the key to unlocking these horrible crimes--a mystery that has something to do with Our Lady of Virtues Mental Hospital, a decaying old asylum where unspeakable crimes were once committed, and a human predator may still wait.
The Truth Is Deadly
As more bodies are found in gruesome, staged scenarios, Montoya and Abby are in a desperate race to stop a killer whose terrifying crimes are bringing them ever nearer to a shocking revelation. For the past is never completely gone. Its sins must be avenged. And a twisted psychopath is getting close enough to make them. . .
Absolute Fear
**** 4 stars
Every Serial Killer...
A serial killer is stalking the streets of New Orleans. The victims are killed in a ritual fashion, a series of numbers tattooed into their bodies. There are no clues, no connections except one: a crumbling old asylum that was once the scene of unspeakable madness--and is now the calling card of a new kind of fear.
Is Searching For...
Eve Renner knows Our Lady of Virtues Hospital well. As the daughter of one of its doctors, she spent her childhood exploring its secrets chambers, hidden rooms, and forbidden passageways. Now, somewhere in the decaying asylum lies the key to a betrayal from the past whose echoes are being felt with a vengeance--a crime beyond imagining that seems to lead to Eve herself.
The Perfect Victim...
As each new body is found and forgotten, memories surface, and Eve must race to put together a deadly puzzle, one terrifying piece at a time. A killer is watching, planning, luring her back to the ruins of Our Lady and the shocking truths hidden there. For the sins of the past must be revealed, and the price paid--in blood...
Dark Souls
**** 4 stars
Kristi Bentz wants to write true crime. All she needs is that one case that will take her to the top. She finds it when she enrolls at All Saints College after learning that four girls have disappeared in less than two years.
All four girls were "lost souls"--troubled, vulnerable girls with no one to care about them, no one to come looking for them if they disappeared. The only person that believes Kristi is her ex-lover, Jay McKnight, a professor on campus. The police think they're runaways, but Kristi senses there's something that links them--something terrifying. . .
As Kristi gets deeper into her investigation, she gets the feeling she's being watched and followed--studied, even. Then the bodies start turning up, and Kristi realizes she is playing a game with a killer who has selected her for membership in a special club from which there will be no escaping death. . .
Malice
****5 stars
The scent is unmistakable – gardenias, sweet and delicate, the same perfume that his beautiful first wife, Jennifer, always wore. Opening his eyes in the hospital room where he’s recovering from an accident, New Orleans detective Rick Bentz sees her standing in the doorway. Then Jennifer blows him a kiss and disappears. But it couldn’t have been Jennifer. She died twelve years ago...
Once out of the hospital, Bentz begins to see Jennifer everywhere. Could she still be alive? But it was Bentz who identified Jennifer’s body after her horrible car wreck, and there had been no question in his mind that it was her crumpled form behind the wheel, her clothes, her wedding ring. He’s never doubted it – until now. He can’t tell his new wife, Olivia, about the sightings or his secret fear that he’s losing his mind. But Olivia is also hiding a secret...
When a copy of Jennifer’s death certificate arrives in the mail, emblazoned with a red question mark, Bentz follows the postmark trail to Los Angeles, returning to the painful memories he’s tried so hard to forget, and straight into a killer’s web.
Someone’s been waiting patiently, silently. Someone who knows exactly what happened that night twelve years ago and has been anticipating Bentz’s every move. Soon it will be Bentz’s turn to suffer for his sins. But he won’t be the only one made to pay the ultimate price. For a diabolical killer has now made Olivia the prime target...
Devious
****4 stars
The crime scene at St. Marguerite’s cathedral in New Orleans is shocking, even to seasoned detectives like Rick Bentz and Reuben Montoya. A novice nun named Sister Camille has been found dressed in a yellowed bridal gown and viciously garroted, her body covered with an altar cloth. Valerie Houston is devastated by her sister’s death. For weeks, she’d begged Camille to leave St. Marguerite’s, where she seemed determined to live as some kind of martyr. But Camille had a knack for making bad choices — she joined the convent in part because she’d fallen for Val’s soon-to-be ex-husband, Slade. Convinced the police aren’t doing enough, Val begins to investigate. Slade, on a mission to repair their marriage, is determined to help her. But the deeper Val’s inquiries go, the more twisted the case becomes. St. Marguerite’s is far from the tranquil retreat many believe, and everyone, from handsome Father Frank O’Toole to the mysterious Mother Superior, has their own agenda. Despite their closeness, even Camille had a hidden life Val never suspected. But someone knew about Camille’s past — and Val’s, too. Now she has no choice but to catch a devious, depraved killer intent on purging St. Marguerite’s of all its sins — before she becomes the next victim…
The Unfinished Symphony of You and Me by Lucy Robinson
***** 5 stars
What a great book! This book had everything as a reader I loved. The characters were great, it held a bit of suspense, and it wasn't predictable. I will be passing this one along to my friends and I am sure talking about as well. Can't wait to read another one of Robinson's books, hope it is endearing as this one.
Book Jacket Summary:
Sally is an incredible singer but she sings only in her wardrobe where nobody can hear her. She'd rather join a nudist colony than sing in public.
That is until she ventures to New York where a wild and heady summer of love and loss changes her forever. No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfill a promise she cannot break - to share her voice.
But just as she's about to embark on her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally's doorstep bearing a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message.
How did he find her? Why is he here? Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York? And, with him back on the scene, will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?
What a great book! This book had everything as a reader I loved. The characters were great, it held a bit of suspense, and it wasn't predictable. I will be passing this one along to my friends and I am sure talking about as well. Can't wait to read another one of Robinson's books, hope it is endearing as this one.
Book Jacket Summary:
Sally is an incredible singer but she sings only in her wardrobe where nobody can hear her. She'd rather join a nudist colony than sing in public.
That is until she ventures to New York where a wild and heady summer of love and loss changes her forever. No longer able to hide in the shadows, Sally must return home to London to fulfill a promise she cannot break - to share her voice.
But just as she's about to embark on her new life, a beautiful man turns up on Sally's doorstep bearing a sheepish smile and a mysterious hand-written message.
How did he find her? Why is he here? Does he hold the truth to what happened back in New York? And, with him back on the scene, will she still have the courage to step into the spotlight?
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