The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell

 

Summary:

 

Gina Gallo is a gemologist who would like nothing better than to run her little jewelry shop. Unfortunately she's also "the Goddaughter," and, as she tells her new friend Pete, "you don't get to choose your relatives." And you can't avoid them when you live in Hamilton and they more or less run the place. When Gina bumps into Pete at the Art Gallery Gala, sparks fly. So do bullets, when her cousin Tony is taken down by rival mobsters from New York. It turns out Tony was carrying a load of hot gems in the heel of his shoe. When Gina is reluctantly recruited to carry the rocks back to Buffalo, the worst happens: they get stolen. Pete and Gina have no choice but to steal them back, even though philandering politicians, shoe fetishists, and a trio of inept goons stand in their way. It's all in a day's work, when you're the Goddaughter.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 134 pages (Paperback)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Available Formats: Print/E-book

Publication Date: September 1st 2012 by Raven Books

 

Back in March I had the opportunity to hear Melodie Campbell read at a local event and was lucky enough to find that the Toronto library had one of her books in the system when I looked  a couple of days later, and finally had the time to read it last month.

 

This was everything Melodie said her books would be. It was funny, quirky, had a mix of romance and a touch of mystery with good characters and a funny plot. This one had me laughing at least ninety percent of the time that I was reading it but I had a smile on my face the other ten percent.

 

I really liked Gina, she's the Goddaughter of a mafia boss and along with her love interest Pete got roped into helping "the family" do a job that involved border crossings, prostitutes, diamond smuggling, hot shoes and a little bit of murder. It might seem like there was a lot going on in this slim 134 page paperback and there was but the author did a good job of putting everything together to make a pretty damn good story.

 

I thought it was fast paced and well written but I like how the book didn't take itself to seriously. If you want something that will make you think as you read, this one might not be fore you because it was so fun. You aren't going to find a lot of character depth, or an iron clad plot but I've read much, much worse, and consider this one of the best little novellas I've read.

 

It was my first time reading a book by Melodie Campbell and it won't be my last because I loved how part of the story is set in Canada and that Melodie is a Canadian writer. I had so much fun reading this one that I'm adding her to my auto-buy list and I can't wait to read more from her.

 

I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a quick and fun read. Whether you need a break from reading a heavier tome, or you just need something to read at the doctors, on vacation or just something to get you into reading or back into reading. It has a little something for everyone and reminds us that there are great authors out there using humour to make us readers love their stories.

 

 

Really Liked It!
★★★★

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Saturday Snapshot #9

 

To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on West Metro Mommy Reads' Blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

 

 

This is one of my favourite spots at the cottage. The tree you see in the water (the birch not the stump) was where I spent many, many hours just sitting over the water, and thinking, or reading as a kid and teen. This was taken last summer and I can't wait to get back to those trees this summer.

 

Daughter of the Gods: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by Stephanie Thornton

 

 

 

Summary:

Egypt, 1400s BC. The pharaoh’s pampered second daughter, lively, intelligent Hatshepsut, delights in racing her chariot through the marketplace and testing her archery skills in the Nile’s marshlands. But the death of her elder sister, Neferubity, in a gruesome accident arising from Hatshepsut’s games forces her to confront her guilt...and sets her on a profoundly changed course.

Hatshepsut enters a loveless marriage with her half brother, Thut, to secure his claim to the Horus Throne and produce a male heir. But it is another of Thut’s wives, the commoner Aset, who bears him a son, while Hatshepsut develops a searing attraction for his brilliant adviser Senenmut. And when Thut suddenly dies, Hatshepsut becomes de facto ruler, as regent to her two-year-old nephew.

Once, Hatshepsut anticipated being free to live and love as she chose. Now she must put Egypt first. Ever daring, she will lead a vast army and build great temples, but always she will be torn between the demands of leadership and the desires of her heart. And even as she makes her boldest move of all, her enemies will plot her downfall....

Once again, Stephanie Thornton brings to life a remarkable woman from the distant past whose willingness to defy tradition changed the course of history.

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 448 pages (Paperback)

Source: Toronto Public Library

Available Formats: Print/E-book/

Publication Date: May 6th 2014 by NAL Trade

Last year I read Stephanie Thornton's debut novel The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora and it was so good that I read it in a single sitting so when my hold of this one came in I settled in for the long haul and polished it off in one sitting as well.

Hatshepsut's story was just as well written as Theodora's and made me appreciate the real gift I think that Stephanie Thornton has for bringing history's most powerful women back to life in the pages of her books.

I really loved her take on Hatshepsut in this novel and how real she made her. She was not always a self assured woman, she struggled with her life both publicly and privately and had to deal with more than her fair share of heartache and betrayal. She had many obstacles to over come and I really felt for her. She could come across as being a bit spoiled sometimes, yet others she was so informal it seem like it was so easy for her to turn off her public face.

 

Her brother/husband though, him and I didn't see eye to eye. I'm not sorry about his death one bit even though it put a ridiculous amount of stress on Hatshepsut, I just couldn't handle his cruelty, even though his strings were being pulled by someone else. He was just one of those characters that I never liked which is why I'm such a fan of how the author creates her characters. They make you feel, whether you love them, hate them or just plain tolerate them all of them have a purpose and are wonderfully humane for better or for worse.

 

The whole cast of characters really brought this novel of ancient Egypt to life. There were the royals and the other elitists along side slaves and servants and foreigners. I appreciated that I got more of a glimpse into this ancient world because there was more than one type of character to round things out.

 

The overall telling of the story was written beautifully. Like The Secret History, Stephanie Thronton created a rich, captivating tale of the first noted woman of power. There was action, adventure, political intrigue, murder, mystery and romance all in this 448 page novel. It took me from the royal palace, to the blood soaked sands where battles raged to tender moments with those she held dear. I thoroughly enjoyed being transported back in time and thought this was the perfect story for me. There was a little something for everyone in this one and was wonderfully descriptive without being over done and had fantastic characters. I loved reading this fictional account of Hatshepsut's life and can't wait to read Stephanie's next novel. She's gone on my auto-read list and I'd say she's on her way to being a powerhouse of historical fiction but she's already arrived.

 

I would recommend this to all fans of historical fiction especially those who want strong characters, especially women, an excellent plot, and a fantastic setting that offers a refreshing glimpse into the ancient world.

Loved It!
★★★★★

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Feature & Follow #13

 

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

 

Post a photo of your favorite coffee mug

(or mugs if you can’t choose just one)

 

 

My 28 oz. Tea Mug

(I've also been known to fill it up with coffee in the morning).

 

Friday 56 #27

This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56 

 Rules:

 

 *Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it

 

Summary:

 

Out of Africa is Isak Dinesen's memoir of her years in Africa, from 1914 to 1931, on a four-thousand-acre coffee plantation in the hills near Nairobi. She had come to Kenya from Denmark with her husband, and when they separated she stayed on to manage the farm by herself, visited frequently by her lover, the big-game hunter Denys Finch-Hatton, for whom she would make up stories "like Scheherazade." In Africa, "I learned how to tell tales," she recalled many years later. "The natives have an ear still. I told stories constantly to them, all kinds." Her account of her African adventures, written after she had lost her beloved farm and returned to Denmark, is that of a master storyteller, a woman whom John Updike called "one of the most picturesque and flamboyant literary personalities of the century."

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 399 pages (Hardcover)

Publication Date: September 5th 1992 by Modern Library (first published 1937)    

 

My 56:

 

I drove one morning from the farm to Nairobi. My mill on the farm had burnt down a short time before, and I had to drive into town many times to get the insurance settled and paid out; in this early morning I had my head filled with figures and estimates.

What's your 56?

 

*[Cover Reveal & Giveaway] Gone by Amy Bloom

 

 

Title: Gone

Author: Anna Bloom

Genre: Mature YA (intended for readers ages 16-19)

Publication Date: July 28th, 2014

Rebecca Walters harbours a dark secret, and as the fifty-three bangles she wears on her wrists as a self-imposed sentence of guilt remind her, she can’t even begin to consider moving on. Not after what happened on that night six months ago… a night which she can’t remember and yet managed to change her life forever.

When Rebecca comes across Joshua Adams, man equally haunted by past tragedies, on a moonlit beach, both of their lives are destined to change forever, and when the girl made out of the sun meets the boy made out of the moon and sea, anything can happen… but will the knowledge of their murky pasts bring them together or drive them apart?

Will Rebecca finally be able to claim her freedom? Will she stay and fight to be the girl she found on the sandy beaches of Cornwall or is she destined to keep running and hiding from a past that won’t stay Gone? One thing’s for certain: either way, nothing will ever be the same again.

Pre-Order on Barnes & Noble!

Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer who writes about life as it happens. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two small children whilst working in a local school and completing The Uni Files series she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys – all in the name of her art.

  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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*Blog Tour Review & Giveaway] Suddenly Last Summer (O'Neil Brothers #2) by Sarah Morgan

Summary:

Bestselling author Sarah Morgan delivers another irresistible hero in her O'Neil Brothers series who's more tempting than dessert and twice as sinful!

Fiery French chef Élise Philippe is having a seriously bad day. Not only have the opening day plans for her beloved café fallen apart, but Sean O'Neil is back in town, and looking more delectable than ever. Last summer, they shared an electrifying night together…and the memories have Élise really struggling to stick to her one-night-only rule! Her head knows that eventually Sean will be leaving, so all she can do is try to ignore her heart before she spontaneously combusts with lust.

Being back in Vermont—even temporarily—is surgeon Sean O'Neil's worst nightmare. For Sean, returning home to the Snow Crystal Resort means being forced to confront the reasons and the guilt he feels about rejecting his family's rural lifestyle years ago. But discovering that Élise has settled in Vermont and still sets his blood racing is a very welcome distraction! Thinking he can persuade her into a replay of last summer is tempting, but remembering how good they are together is going to make walking away more difficult than he could imagine…

Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com

Length: 384 (Mass Market Paperback)

Source: Review Copy

Available Formats: Print/E-book

Expected Publication Date: June 24th 2014 by Harlequin HQN

Why did I wait so long to try one of Sarah Morgan's books? WHY?!?! I'm so angry with myself since this habit of not trying out some wonderful authors sooner is starting to become a pattern. Thankfully though, it's summer and I can't wait to try out her other Harlequin titles because hey, I have the time.

I just loved this book to bits. It had everything I look for in a contemporary romance. There was a hunky surgeon, a spunky leading lady and a perfect setting. Plus as you can guess by the title, it had a perfect summer romance with a lovely small town setting.

Elise was a lovely main character. I loved her passion for her work and how she strove to be so good at her job. She was really spunky, and I liked her fire. She knew what she wanted from her life and she definitely wasn't a push over and I thought it was refreshing to see a female main character with a one night rule for once it added a touch of uniqueness to Elise, and the romance between her and Shawn.

Shawn was great, I really liked that when push came to shove I'm glad he came home when he heard about his grandfather collapsing even though he knew he'd get a bit of an icy welcome. He wasn't that arrogant, hot head who left the town years before and had his fair share of guilt going on about how he left and it was nice to see a softer, less arrogant edge to a male lead. I mean he wasn't a pushover, and could definitely be the boss but at the same time he was easier going than I expected.

As for how he and Elise were together, I loved them. They were so perfect together and while they were opposites in a lot of ways they did have things in common and those were the important things. The chemistry between them was sizzling and I loved it. Their romance was everything a summer romance is supposed to be. It was hot, and full of passion and I loved the love they had.

They did have some issues to work out and they had their fair share of fights but ultimately I saw this a romance for two people thinking they didn't deserve love, or need it until they found each other. It was well paced and just lovely.

While this was the second book in the O'Neil Brothers series I had no problem reading it on its own. Sure I'm curious about characters who were obviously in the first one but they didn't stop me from enjoying this one at all and it made me curious about the first book which I'll be reading soon, and the third book which comes out later this year.

I'd recommend Suddenly Last Summer to all contemporary romance fans. This would be the perfect book to pack for vacation reading or for a nice read in your backyard, the pool or the beach. The story will make you laugh, and get a little misty eyed and will take you for a mental vacation to rural Vermont. 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my free and honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed herein are 100% my own.

 

Loved It!
★★★★★

 

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To purchase the book via Kobo CLICK HERE

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To purchase the book via Amazon CLICK HERE

To purchase the book via AmazonUK  CLICK HERE

To purchase the book via The Book Depository CLICK HERE

To purchase the book via Barnes & Noble CLICK HERE

 

 

Author Bio:

 

USA TODAY bestselling author Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy contemporary romance and her trademark humour and sensuality have gained her fans across the globe. She has been nominated three years in succession for the prestigious RITA© Award from the Romance Writers of America and has won the award twice, in 2012 and 2013. RT Book Reviews has called her ‘a magician with words’ and she has made numerous appearances in their ‘Top Pick’ slot. Sarah lives near London, and when she isn’t reading or writing she loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget the house needs tidying. She loves chatting with readers by email and on Facebook and Twitter. More information can be found on her website.

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Cat Thursday #53

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s) and then link up at the host's site: The True Book Addict. It's all for the love of cats!

 

 

 

 

*[Book Spotlight & Giveaway] The Girl Who Believed in Fairy Tales by Heidi Garrett

 

 

 

The Girl Who Believed in Fairy Tales

Sub Genre: Magical Realism

Release Date: June 23, 2014

Heather Baker believes in fairy tales, and she turns to their timeless wisdom whenever life gets difficult. 

Again and again, the playfulness, symbolism, and deeper meaning in fairy tales have filled Heather with hope, nurtured her spirit, and fired her imagination. Sometimes touching, and sometimes humorous, these tales capture the three most transformative experiences in her life: 

—Heather reframes her childhood sorrow in “The Girl Who Watched for Elves” 

—She embarks upon a life imbued with meaning in “The Girl Who Dreamed of Red Shoes” 

—And after taking several wrong turns, she finds the place where she belongs in “The Girl Who Couldn’t Sing” 

The Girl Who Believed in Fairy Tales chronicles the journey of someone who was willing to change the way she viewed the world... and never stopped believing.

Amazon | GoodReads

 

The Archetypal Fairy Tale Journey

Many adults love fairy tales as much as children do. Why is this so? And why are fairy tales and their retellings so enduring?

In every fairy tale, five things always happen to the fairy tale character: She leaves home, she gets lost in the woods, she faces obstacles and/or tests, she overcomes these challenges, and she finds her happily ever after.

That journey, the fairy tale character’s journey, is archetypal because it involves the task of discovering and committing to the true Self. Since each of us yearns to connect with the true Self, the archetypal fairy tale journey is compelling in the tips and clues it offers about such an undertaking.

1.

Leaving Home

Fairy Tale Character’s (FTC’s) leave home. The impetus for the departure varies; curiosity, duplicity, parents who are invasive, stepparents who are envious, a call to duty and/or sacrifice—something—ousts the naive child from their secure, loving environment.

2.

Getting Lost in the Woods

The FTC always stumbles and falls psychologically, metaphorically, and literally in the first stage of her journey. Her naiveté, fear, and inexperience lead her to make poor choices that inevitably heighten her dire situation.

3.

Facing Obstacles and Tests

As more trouble is heaped upon the FTC, she is driven to experiment. She must embrace her innate strength, courage, and/or cleverness; and she must make wiser choices in regards to her relationships and who she trusts. Otherwise, she’ll be fated to eke out a meek/mean/meager/impoverished existence… or die.

4.

Overcoming the Challenges

Once the FTC comes into her own, i.e. once her consciousness has evolved to the point where she has become her own authority, she can achieve mastery over the trials that face her.

5.

Living Happily Ever After

Living in accordance with her true nature, and following her true path, is the FTC’s ultimate living happily ever after. Partnering with the beloved is a function of her matured Self.

Throughout our very real lives, we cycle through these phases again and again and again. Fairy tales, presumably the province of children, can be quite effective in spurring adults toward believing in themselves—and Happily Ever Afters—as well.

That is the enduring power of the archetypal fairy tale journey.

Summary:

She began to meditate upon "The Ugly Duckling” for she'd always imagined herself as a misplaced swan. But with all the changes, and her sadness shedding like the skin of snake, she'd stare in the mirror and whisper, “Perhaps, you're not even a bird."

Heather Baker struggles to find the balance between fantasy and reality in her everyday life. Enticed by Neptune, the planet that rules everything hazy and glamourous--she's desperate to become the next indie singer/songwriter sensation. Dogged by Saturn, the planet that rules obstacles and everything practical--she's confronted with the limitations of her abilities and talent.

Which planet will win?

“The Girl Who Couldn’t Sing” is free on Amazon June 23rd-27th!

 

Author Bio:

Heidi Garrett is the author of the contemporary fairy tale novella collection, Once Upon a Time Today. In these stand-alone retellings of popular and obscure fairy tales, adult characters navigate the deep woods of the modern landscape to find their Happily Ever Afters.

She's also the author of the Daughter of Light series, a fantasy about a young half-faerie, half-mortal searching for her place in the Whole. Heidi's latest project is a collaboration with Billie Limpin. They're cooking up a yummy paranormal romance!

Signup for Heidi's newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/wWKUj for discounts on all new releases!

Heidi was born in Texas, and in an attempt to reside in as many cities in that state as she could, made it to Houston, Lubbock, Austin, and El Paso. She now lives in Eastern Washington state with her husband, their two cats, her laptop, and her Kindle.

Being from the South, she often contemplates the magic of snow.

Website/Blog

Facebook for Heidi Garrett

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Giveaway:

5 lucky people get a signed copy of The Girl Who Believed in Fairy Tales & a happily every after bracelet 

US only

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions