Domestic Violets

Author: Matthew Norman
Genre: Fiction
Source: HarperCollins
Length: 368 pages
Format: Kindle
Buy the Book: Amazon


Summary (from Goodreads): 

Tom Violet always thought that by the time he turned thirty-five, he’d have everything going for him. Fame. Fortune. A beautiful wife. A satisfying career as a successful novelist. A happy dog to greet him at the end of the day. 

The reality, though, is far different. He’s got a wife, but their problems are bigger than he can even imagine. And he’s written a novel, but the manuscript he’s slaved over for years is currently hidden in his desk drawer while his father, an actual famous writer, just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His career, such that it is, involves mind-numbing corporate buzzwords, his pretentious arch nemesis Gregory, and a hopeless, completely inappropriate crush on his favorite coworker. Oh . . . and his dog, according to the vet, is suffering from acute anxiety. 

Tom’s life is crushing his soul, but he’s decided to do something about it. (Really.) Domestic Violets is the brilliant and beguiling story of a man finally taking control of his own happiness—even if it means making a complete idiot of himself along the way. 

My Thoughts:

To see my thoughts go to Books to the Sky.

 

(I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.)

For more book reviews check out Books to the Sky.

Megan's Way

Author: Melissa Foster
Genre: Fiction
Source: Author
(We received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.)
Format: eBook
Length: 304 pages
Buy the Book: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads):

What would you give up for the people you love?

When Megan Taylor, a single mother and artist, receives the shocking news that her cancer has returned, she'll be faced with the most difficult decision she's ever had to make. She'll endure an emotional journey, questioning her own moral and ethical values, and the decisions she'd made long ago. The love she has for her daughter, Olivia, and her closest friends, will be stretched and frayed.

Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Olivia's world is falling apart right before her eyes, and there's nothing she can do about it. She finds herself acting in ways she cannot even begin to understand. When her internal struggles turn to dangerous behavior, her life will hang in the balance.

Megan's closest friends are caught in a tangled web of deceit. Each must figure out how, and if, they can expose their secrets, or forever be haunted by their pasts.

Our Thoughts:

We both (Jenny and I) read this book for review. We were going to do our own separate thoughts, but the more we discussed the book, the more we realized that our thoughts aligned on the book and how we felt about it.

Megan's Way is a tear jerker, no way around it. So if you read it, be prepared to have a box of kleenex next to you.

Megan is a single mother (to Olivia) and is dying of cancer.  Their mother/daughter relationship was incredibly close, and some of the dialogue felt almost unnatural between the two of them. Olivia doesn't appear to act like a typical 14 year old in that she doesn't seem to have any friends besides her mom. 

She was also incredibly whiny towards her mother, but this is mostly due to the fact that her mother is in fact dying and not saying anything to her about it.

We also felt like some of the scenes were very drawn out and overly long, thus dragging out the sadness.

What really kept us reading was the mystery surrounding Olivia's father.  As the book progressed it became clear that there were a lot of secrets between the friends and a lot of unexpected twists.

Our Rating:

 Enjoyed this book but most likely wouldn't re-read it.

The new book review blog that Jenny and I started is finally up and running!

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"Welcome to Trenton, New Jersey, home to the wiseguys, average Joes, and Stephanie Plum, who sports a big attitude and even bigger money problems (since losing her job as a lingerie buyer for a deparment store).  Stephanie needs cash -- fast -- but times are tough, and soon she's forced to turn to the last resort of the truly desperate: family.

Stephanie lands a gig at her sleazy souzin Vinnie's bail bonding company.  She's got no experience, but that doesn't matter. Neither does the fact that the bail jumber in question is local vice cop Joe Morelli.  From the time he first looked up her dress to the time he first got into her pants to the time Steph hit him with her father's Buick, M-o-r-e-l-l-i had spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e.  And now the hot guy is in hot water -- wanted for murder.

Abject poverty is a great motivator for learning new skills, but being trained in the school of hard knocks by people like psycho prizefighter Benito Ramirez isn't.  Still, if Stephanie can nab Morelli in a week, she'll make a cool ten grand.  All she has to do is become an expert bounty hunter overnight -- and keep herself from getting killed before she gets her man."

I recently finished reading One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, No. 1) by Janet Evanovich.  I couldn't put it down.  Stephanie just draws you in with her personality and her awful bounty hunter skills.  And I think I might be a little in love with Joe Morelli (shh, don't tell my husband).

Everytime Stephanie sees her mom she's complaining about her awful job as a bounty hunter and suggesting some other easy job she could get.  Grandma Mazur is always mentioning something that she saw on television.  And her father is a man of few words.

From the first page I was hooked.  If you're looking for an easy to read series with some good laughs then I definitely recommend this series.  There are still some series moments, like when Benito Ramirez is on the hunt to rape and torture Stephanie.  But all-in-all, I really enjoyed it.

Coming up next: Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, No. 2).

"Bullets rain down upon a packed football stadium, killing dozens, and triggering a panic stampede which leads to a thousand more deaths. A police marksman kills the sniper, a mentally unbalanced Desert Storm veteran holding a smoking assault rifle. It's an open and shut case, or so America is led to believe...

In the aftermath of the stadium massacre, an outraged public demands an end to the threat posed by assault rifles, and Congress passes emergency legislation banning their private possession. American gun owners have one week to turn in their semi-automatic rifles, or face mandatory five year federal prison terms.

Jimmy Shifflett, the alleged stadium sniper, is linked to a shadowy "gun club" in southeastern Virginia, which the FBI believes is a cover for a secret right wing militia terror group. Those who knew Shifflett the best don't believe he was a member of any militia, or that he was guilty of the horrific mass murder.

But if he didn't fire the "assault rifle" into the stadium, who did, and why?"

I just finished reading Enemies Foreign and Domestic by Matthew Bracken.  Hubs actually read this book first. He really enjoyed it and told me he would love it if I read it as well.  I wasn't sure at first, but Hubs eventually talked me into it. It took me awhile but I finally finished it.

This book felt so real.  At times when I would take a break from reading it I expected to turn on the news and see some of these events actually taking place.

They're a bit eccentric, but my Hubs is a gun nut.  So it's nothing new to me.  These books aren't for the feint of heart.  But if you're looking for something new I strongly recommend this series.

There are two more books to this series; Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista and Forgein Enemies and Traitors.  I also plan on reading these once I take a break and read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

Go to Matthew Bracken's website and read the excerpts.  They're really good!