Synopsis:

At thirty-two, newspaper reporter Molly Hacker vows to never attend another wedding until she has had her own. And that’s a problem because Molly’s younger sister, Hannah, is going to be married in one year. Armed with snark, wit, and fabulous good looks, “Picky Molly” embarks on a quest to find Mr. Right in her hometown, Swansea, an elegant bedroom community of NYC.

Things get complicated fast. In no time at all, Molly has four “men of interest” and the memories of a lost love to send her overanalytic, befuddled mind into serious overdrive. Determined not to let her “helpful” girlfriends help her right out of another relationship, Molly tries to keep mum on the state of her love life. Her BFF male coworker, Randy, becomes her closest confidant as he stumbles over romantic issues with his new Mr. Right, Kyle. Meanwhile, Molly’s BFF gal pals aren’t too happy about being left out of the loop.

Tweaking Molly’s last nerve is the town’s most visible socialite, Naomi Hall-Benchley. For self-serving reasons, Naomi is hell-bent on setting up “Picky Molly Hacker,” and she doesn’t care who she has to manipulate or hurt to do it. Just how far will she go?

“Molly Hacker Is Too Picky!” takes the reader on a yearlong romp through Molly’s mind and a joyride through her life. Her dating life, town secrets, a group of quirky, crazy characters, and Naomi’s machinations collide head-on at a holiday gala that will change the social landscape of Swansea forever. As the New Year rolls in, Molly gets earth-shattering news. Can she go on? Will life ever return to abnormal again?

Review:

I loved this book. I tried to think of another way to start this review, but that is the overwhelming thing that comes to mind. Reading Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! is like getting together with an old friend you haven’t seen for a while and catching up on all that has happened in her life during the past year. You know the experience… two friends sitting down over coffee, refilling cups a few times, but then ultimately gabbing as the coffee turns stone-cold. People nearby are muttering because you’ve held down the best table in the joint for hours and show NO signs of moving on. And when you pull out your phone as the conversation winds down, you’re shocked to find that so much time has passed, I mean, really, you only started talking half an hour ago, right?

Molly Hacker, reporter for the Swansea Herald, is very single when the book opens, attending a wedding with her best-friend Tony whom she has always been in love with, but he happens to be married to his high school sweetheart. She is still trying to get over a broken heart from her last relationship with Leo, but is having a difficult time with it. And friends, family, and enemies are NOT helping. In fact, the helping hand of friends, while not responsible for the end of her last relationship, gave it a good shove in that direction. But with her nemesis, Naomi Hall-Benchley, Molly’s single status is a challenge, and she considers Molly’s say in the matter immaterial. As we romp through this romantic comedy, Molly winds up juggling no less than four men, in the small community of Swansea where everybody knows everybody else’s business and considers it their own. That’s not a feat most women (or men) could pull off. *Whispers* And Molly is no different.

Maybe one of the reasons I connected so well with this book is that like Molly Hacker, I took my time to find the right guy. Before I took the trip down matrimony lane, I wanted someone I fully connected with, someone who wasn’t second-best or settled for. Because I knew that was a recipe for a quick trip through divorce court. I also had the pressure from friends and family (although thankfully none from my mother) about when I’d finally settle down. And like Molly, I didn’t give my heart easily, but when I did, it was completely.

Brodey does a fantastic job with the characters, even down to Molly’s cat, Captain Jack. I expected no less because last year I read, Squalor New Mexico, and thoroughly enjoyed Brodey’s character development in that book. Randy was an instant fave and the banter between him and Molly is priceless. The only one who borders on caricature is Naomi Hall-Benchley, and it works and I believe is deliberate… and haven’t we all had a Naomi in our life in one way or another?

My life has been in hyper-busy mode of late, and there appears to be no end in sight on the to-do list, so I thought I’d read Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! a chapter a night before going to sleep. Yes, it’d take me longer to read, but at least I’d feel like I made progress with it since it is something I have been wanting to read prior to its release. Well, as things go, one chapter turned into two, and two into three, and so on. Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! cost me some precious hours of sleep, but it was well worth the resultant bags under the eyes. And before I conclude and tell you that you’ll be missing out on a great romantic comedy if you skip this one, Molly has been blogging for the past year on her website and the posts are just as charming and engaging as the book, with illustrations created for each post. It is well worth a read and a comment or two. Stop by and check it out. And below is Molly as she raps about her experiences. So??? What are you waiting for? Pick up a copy of Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! or put it on your to-be-read list today.

Synopsis:

Amidst the darkness of turmoil, there is hope.

Blake Solomon had never before heard such heart-wrenching stories until now. Jason gang member, Rebecca a child prostitute, Matthew an African refugee, and Felicity a reckless rich kid, make up the newest group at Blake’s Anchor Beach Rehabilitation Clinic.

Each have seen more than their share of tragedy and have reached a point of desperation where all hope seems lost. Leaving behind worlds tainted with drugs and alcohol, violence and abuse, self-harm, and street life is easier said than done. Unexpectedly, these four young lives collide in extraordinary circumstances as they attempt to salvage any glimmer of strength and self-belief they have left.

Blake’s battle to save all four from paths of certain self-destruction is the toughest he’s ever faced. Is a quick-fix all he has to offer before feeding them back to the lions? Or will he keep his promise to help them face their demons?

Review:

Somewhere during the tumultuous years we call being a teenager, I read a book called Voices that impacted me strongly at the time and stuck with me for many years. The concept of the book was the background and letters of teens who committed suicide, and was based on non-fiction cases. Each time I connected with the kid in the current “story” and each time my mind cried out for them to choose life — things would get better. When I ran across Ashley Sanders’ Facing Demons the write up reminded me of the book which had made such a huge impression on me. So I read the preview and decided to give it a try.

I was not disappointed.

Sanders has penned a powerful story weaving five troubled lives together in a beautiful setting. Blake Solomon rescues four teens from the hospital, transports them to his rehabilitation center, and helps them learn to take control of their own destiny and break their patterns from the past. And you may note that I mentioned five troubled lives, and not four. Blake has some troubles which are revealed through the course of the story as well, which help give him a realness he would not otherwise have had.

Each of the kids in the story come to life on the page, and you will feel like you could meet them somewhere in your own home town. Yet, each of them has a reason to want to die, as well as a reason to live — though they may not know it. While each of their stories has some similarities, they are unique to the character and the voices are well-developed. My only complaint, which probably comes from being a writer myself and therefore used to subjecting my own work to extreme critical analysis, is that despite the use of first person present tense (or in the case of Blake third person present tense), I felt distanced from the characters — like they were at arms length. I wanted to feel their pain, yet felt told about it instead. I am not a huge fan of present tense narrative, but the purpose behind it is to bring the reader into the mind of the character, reducing any distance. Toward the end of the book, the distance diminished, which made me wish the intimacy would have been there from the start.

However, despite my pickiness, Facing Demons is a worthwhile read, and one that teens will definitely connect to. The issues that the teens face have an incredible ring of truth about them. And in delving into Sanders’ background, I discovered that he works as a paramedic, so has seen this sort of thing first hand. What a wonderful way to take personal experience and convert it to an amazingly insightful tale. Facing Demons is about some of the poor choices we can make with our lives, or dealing with the circumstances dealt to us from the deck of life. It has a tremendous message of hope and will have you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails with its exciting conclusion. A definite “must read” for troubled teens, but good for all teens and those of us who still remember the emotional upheaval of those times.

Bravo, Mr. Sanders

What’s even better is that Sanders is currently working on the prequel stories of Jason, Rebecca, Matthew, and Felicity, and I for one can’t wait for them to be out.

Synopsis:

For Rose Gardner, working at the DMV on a Friday afternoon is bad even before she sees a vision of herself dead. She’s had plenty of visions, usually boring ones like someone’s toilet’s overflowed, but she’s never seen one of herself before. When her overbearing momma winds up murdered on her sofa instead, two things are certain: There isn’t enough hydrogen peroxide in the state of Arkansas to get that stain out, and Rose is the prime suspect.

Rose realizes she’s wasted twenty-four years of living and makes a list on the back of a Wal-Mart receipt: twenty-eight things she wants to accomplish before her vision comes true. She’s well on her way with the help of her next door neighbor Joe, who has no trouble teaching Rose the rules of drinking, but won’t help with number fifteen– do more with a man. Joe’s new to town, but it doesn’t take a vision for Rose to realize he’s got plenty secrets of his own.

Somebody thinks Rose has something they want and they’ll do anything to get it. Her house is broken into, someone else she knows is murdered, and suddenly, dying a virgin in the Fenton County jail isn’t her biggest worry after all.

Review:

I think I’ve said this before, but I love mysteries. I cut my reading teeth on the cozies of Agatha Christie — I have read every single one more times than I or anyone else can count — and it didn’t stop there. After mastering the entire Christie collection, I moved on to the works of P. D. James and her Adam Dalgliesh series, got hooked by Elizabeth Peters and the capers of Amelia Peabody, Vicky Bliss, and Jacqueline Kirby, love the animal antics of Rita Mae Brown’s books written with Sneaky Pie Brown, and have shivered through many a Mary Higgins Clark, and in recent years have added Linda Welch’s paranormal mysteries to my “must have” list.

While my list is a little less than comprehensive, you get the picture. And now, I must add another to the must have list, and that is the southern mystery of Denise Grover Swank’s Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes and her main character, Rose Gardner. As you might be able to tell from my listed reading selections above, I enjoy the characters as much if not more than the mystery aspect. And I’ll admit to loving the fluffy grandmotherly Miss Marple more than the efficient, symmetrically-driven Poirot — although I enjoy both. And with Rose Gardner, Swank gives us a character to root for. Through the book, we get to watch Rose blossom into the woman she wants to become. After being kept firmly under her mother’s thumb for twenty-four years, Rose has had enough. She’s had enough of the small town of Henryetta pointing their fingers at her until she shrinks into the background, she’s had enough of having to hide the person she is inside, and as with all “breaking out” situations, sometimes it takes a bit of forcefulness to make it happen. And with Rose there is no exception.

Only not everyone chooses to break out and start living their life on their own terms at the same time their mother is murdered. And then there’s Joe, the cute next-door neighbor, who wants to help her through the situation of being accused of murdering her own mother, but can she trust him? And of course, there is the whole having-seen-your-own-death-in-a-vision thing — and Rose is never wrong in what she sees. The list is delightful, and yet sometimes bittersweet, and provides the backbone to the story.

I don’t want to give any spoilers, but will say that Swank gives us a character to identify with and takes us on a ride with more curves and twists than a backwoods mountain trail. I read this on Kindle and it is a rare occurrence, but I purchased it in print, so I can have the author sign it when I see her in person.

About:

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves–fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda–who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne–even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

Review

Epic Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Romance, Angels, Demons, Heaven and Earth. I have been waiting for a chance to read The Fallen Queen for quite some time now. I’ve had the privilege of catching some snippets of the book while playing on Twitter, and the concept intrigued me, so I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book. The Fallen Queen is full of angels and demons, but not in the way you might think. Jane Kindred has taken the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the fall of Imperial Russia and blended it with fantasy, with current day Heaven being a reflection of the happenings of Russia, 1918, down to the rumors of the escape of Anastasia. The result is an engaging tale which takes the reader through a maze of political intrigue, assassinations, and romance.

The book opens in the realm of Heaven with the Grand Duchess Anazakia Helisonovna of the House of Arkhangel’sk, a mere seventeen-year-old, playing against a demon in a game of chance at a wingcasting table in Raqia — a city of the Fallen in Heaven, and home to several dens of iniquity, such as the Brimstone where our Angel gambled her crystals away. And just like that — I was hooked. Raqia, the Brimstone, just the names set the atmosphere for what was to come. And opening with an Angel at a wingcasting table? Superb.

Our Angel, Anazakia, is a rather self-absorbed person at the beginning of the book, looking for fun and adventure, and didn’t realize she had brought on more adventure than she could handle. Using a form of magic, she split her essence, so there was a version of herself left at home to attend balls, or dinners, things that Anazakia herself would find boring, while the real Anazakia would sneak out of the palace and head to Raqia to experience life.

It is during one of these forays to Raqia when she finds herself at the wingcasting table facing the demon Belphagor, and is gambling away her crystals while her family is violently slain by her cousin Kae — including the shade of herself.

And lest you think that since this book is about Angels and Demons there are religious overtones to it — there are not. Angels are the Host and reflective of nobility and the supernal (imperial) family. Demons represent the peasant class. And in this peasant class is Belphagor, The Prince of Tricks, and the hero of the piece. Here is Anazakia’s description of Belphagor upon their first meeting:

Raqia’s reigning prince that night was a dark-haired demon with eyes as sharp as the waxed points of his hair. He played his hand as cool as you please and barely seemed to notice me, but he put nearly card I discarded into play with his own and soon had me hemorrhaging both cards and crystal.
Smoke burned my eyes as the demon nursed his cigar in a deliberate distraction. When he took it between his fingers, I could not help following with my eyes. Beneath the tattered lace of his cuffs, black crosses and diamonds, interlaced with characters of an unfamiliar alphabet, braced his fingers between the knuckles like rings made of ink.

Kindred hooks the reader from the start and takes them on a wild chase from Heaven to the terrestrial plane of man, with the Grand Duchess in the care of two demons as she flees for her life. A brilliantly executed story and one any fantasy lover must read. Jane Kindred is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and would highly recommend you read The Devil’s Garden, a novella by Kindred which I reviewed in August while waiting for the release on December 6th of The Fallen Queen.

Think back in time to when you were young and had lost your first tooth. The excitement of putting it under your pillow, knowing that the tooth fairy would come and retrieve it and leave you some money in its place. And hoping, against all hope, that somehow you’d know when the tooth fairy came, and might sneak a peek at her as she carried away your tooth.

Emily and James are sister and brother and don’t get along that well. But when James disappears, Emily can’t help but wonder where he went, and doesn’t understand why all of the adults seem to have forgotten he ever existed. The situation continues to worsen, as Emily and her friend Sasha get in trouble with the worst teacher of all, Mr. Rotter and are bullied by some boys who threaten the girls to do their homework. When Emily spends the night at Sasha’s house, along with her cat Muffins, the girls ponder what has happened while Sasha readies her tooth which fell out for the tooth fairy. She awakens when the tooth fairy is collecting the tooth and is pulled through the portal with her. And Muffins, who was trying to find something to eat was pulled through the portal, too.

James has landed in the camp of the Candy King and Emily and Muffins have landed on the side of the Tooth Fairies, and the two of them will be drawn into the middle of a war over teeth — which the fairies need for their magic, and the Candy Creatures need to continue living. Will they fight in the war against each other?

Candy Wars: The Tooth Fairies vs The Candy King is an entertaining read. Cordiner has created a world where tooth fairies live in a castle made of teeth, and where chocolate comes to life in the form of archers. The teacher, Mr. Rotter is aptly named as there is nothing good about him. He really is a caricature, and in this case it works. Kids like to read about scary grown ups who have no redeeming features (just as long as the mean, scary grown up doesn’t win in the end. The kids in the book must prevail). And my favorite character in the book was Muffins, the cat. Muffins wanted belly rubs and something to eat… and if it had to be a fairy, so be it. He found out quickly not to stalk a Phoenix with hay fever because it was too easy to get burned.

As a child I think I would have been enthralled by this book and would have overlooked some of the issues I see as an adult. The fairies all had the same personality, and I would have liked to see a little variance in them. I also expected the Queen of the Tooth Fairies to be a bit more impressive. I also would have liked to see a little more character development for Emily and James. This is quite difficult to do in the short number of words the author has to work with when writing for younger audiences, but it can be done. That the candy creatures were not distinguishable one from another didn’t bother me at all because they were merely the creations of the Candy King for his own devious desires.

All of the things I mentioned will be forgiven by the target age-group readers and they will enjoy the escapades of Emily and James. Initially when looking at the book I thought the number of pages was well beyond the range of the target readers, however, the length is due to some double spacing of paragraphs throughout, so don’t let the page count scare you… it is a faster read than it appears.

Enjoy Candy Wars: The Tooth Fairies vs The Candy King, but don’t let the sweet tooth get you.

Originally reviewed for LL Book Review

Remember those humiliating moments during childhood and adolescence when making a public mistake? Or when someone outside the family has been subjected to the dorkiness that is your parents? If so, you’ll have an idea of what it’s like to be Darla McKendrick, who is easily embarrassed by her father’s cliches and suffered a major humiliation because of a lie told to her by Aunt Didi when she first learned of an aunt she’d never met — Rebecca.

As Squalor, New Mexico opens, nine-year-old Darla overhears a conversation between her mother and Aunt Didi about her mysterious Aunt Rebecca, who they only discussed when they thought no one else was listening. This time what captured Darla’s attention was a word she didn’t understand because Aunt Didi described Rebecca as living in squalor, so just as all children do, Darla asked what squalor meant. As her mother hemmed and hawed, Aunt Didi jumped in to answer. “It’s a town in New Mexico, Darla. It’s an Indian name.” Darla had more questions about the tidbits she’d overheard, but the additional questions were squashed and she was sent to finish some homework. But, of course, Darla couldn’t let it go, so a couple weeks later, when having dinner with the Alexanders (Aunt Didi’s family) Darla questioned why they couldn’t visit Aunt Rebecca, and Uncle George took on the answer.

       ”Darla, listen to me,” Uncle George barked. “We don’t see your aunt Rebecca because, well, as your aunt Didi says, she lives in Squalor, and knowing Rebecca, you can be damn sure there’s no way she’ll ever get out. That’s it now!”
       ”She could screw her way out!” I said helpfully.

Which of course caused a family uproar as Darla had only repeated the words Aunt Didi said. And for awhile, that was it, even though Darla didn’t forget about the mysterious aunt who seemed to make her parents edgy every time her name was mentioned. That is until Darla was in the seventh grade, and her enemy Amy Ludwig, whom Darla referred to as Lughead, smugly answered the question of what cities were in New Mexico, but Darla knew she could top her. “I have an aunt who lives in Squalor!” I said proudly, looking right into the Lughead’s eyes. Darla was mortified when she found out that, as her teacher put it, “…you’ll find squalor in the dictionary, not on the map.”

Lisette Brodey takes us on a journey into a family where secrets abound and cause untold pain as Darla is growing up because there are so many things which are kept a secret and she feels she is being blamed for Rebecca’s mistakes instead of her own. And no matter how hard she tries, she can’t seem to get away from the shadow that Rebecca still cast in their lives — even when no one had heard from her or seen her since before Darla was born. Ultimately, Darla and her three cousins, April, May, and June try to piece together the past to help unlock the present.

I’ll be honest, when I saw the number of pages listed for the book, my eyes opened a bit as it would be on the long side for a young adult novel. I do know that the novel originally was not intended as a young adult, but does fit in the young adult mold, although can be enjoyed by all ages from young adult on up. So, in a way, I’m glad I read the book on my Kindle because with a Kindle you simply keep on turning the pages, and there isn’t the physical reminder of the size of the book (unless you watch the little scroll bar at the bottom). This enabled me to read for the pleasure of it, and I found the story kept pulling me along to the point where I didn’t want to stop reading. I wanted to find out exactly what happened in the past and why they allowed the past to cast such a long and all-encompassing shadow over their lives.

Brodey does a masterful job of putting us in the mind of Darla McKendrick and we feel her pain as she is growing and maturing into a young woman. Throughout the book are wonderful characters to meet, such as the detestable Uncle Martin and his latest floozy, Maude. By the time you’re done reading Squalor, New Mexico, you’ll feel as if you are a member of the McKendrick’s extended family, who for all their flaws, really do love one another. Definitely a book to check out.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review

A book’s cover is its calling card and this cover is gorgeous. A lot of times I’ll read a book and go back and look at the cover and realize how the cover didn’t quite capture the story, or how there are bits of the cover which don’t quite fit with the tale inside. But in this case, I couldn’t imagine a more perfect showcase for The Devil’s Garden. Right away there is the flavor of another land, with the promise of luxurious settings, and beautiful women. And you won’t be disappointed. But, as the description for the novella reads, In the Devil’s Garden, appearances can be deceiving…

Cillian Rede put little store in the magic of gods, but devils he believed in. At seventeen summers, he’d seen more than his share. Turn left or right and you would stumble over one in the city of in’La; among the marsh grass and the fragrant trees, intrigue and corruption were as likely to grow.

From the start Jane Kindred paints a picture; sure strokes which let us know we will encounter the magic of gods, and yet devils as well. In fact, returning to this beginning after having read the book, I truly appreciate how well Kindred set up the entire story in those few opening sentences.

We meet Cillian Rede at the start of the story as a seventeen-year-old boy, but he is quickly revealed as the sacred courtesan Maiden Ume Sky. Ume Sky is sure of herself, having earned her status of one of the most elite courtesans in the Garden, while Cillian is uncomfortable with himself as a male. Ume enjoys the power she has over men, knowing exactly what look will elicit the reaction she desires. She has practiced her art for five years and takes pride in her accomplishments. But her position is about to be jeopardized by her most influential patron, and she will be thrust into the middle of political intrigue and corruption.

Jane Kindred weaves a rich tapestry in The Devil’s Garden, lush and full of fine detail. The story is full-bodied, with all the right elements of love, hate, gods, devils, corruption, and even innocence, yet packed into novella length. An excellent read and one I highly recommend.

Originally reviewed for LL Book Review

Not only do you have the opportunity to get a delightful book (see my review of it below), but you have a chance to win prizes as well. You can win an adult AND child’s polo shirt and be entered for a chance to win a NOOK!!!! Just post a comment here and answer a question on Eisley’s blog – That’s it!!

And now without further ado, a review I was very happy to write.

Born To Be A Dragon
Book One in the Dragons Forever Series
by Eisley Jacobs
Release Date: July 20, 2011
$ 6.99 Paperback
140 pages
ISBN: 978-1456360962

It’s not often I have the pleasure of reviewing a book prior to release, so I’m especially honored to have the opportunity to review Born To Be A Dragon the day before it launches.

For someone who loves the children’s through young adult market, books written for a middle grade audience are some of the most fun to read. The target audience is always ready to suspend disbelief and allow their imaginations full reign and yet are looking for some more complex issues to encounter between the pages. As a child, I loved to lose myself in a book. To enter the world the author devised and play the words on the page like a movie in my head… and, I’ll admit it, I still do. For those moments, the characters are friends and foes, and their world becomes real.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup. ~ Anonymous Dragon

I love this quote — it makes me giggle every time I read it. Jacobs has the quote on the title page of the book, and it gives us the flavor for what is to come. Deglan is a ten-year-old hatchling, who has not yet taken part in the Rising Ceremony. The Rising Ceremony causes Deglan some concern because his mark, which every dragon receives at birth, has been changing…and it’s not supposed to. Deglan is afraid because Lord Edric has been searching for the dragon of legend for as long as Deglan can remember, and the dragon of legend has a mark in the shape of a dragon, instead of the more usual crescent or star. Which is exactly what Deglan’s mark has morphed into. Could he be the dragon Lord Edric has been seeking? And if Lord Edric discovers his mark at the Rising Ceremony, will his family be banished… or worse?

Meia, is a ten-year-old foster child who has been bounced from family to family, mainly because of her dreams and nightmares about dragons, until she has finally been placed with a family who take her obsession in stride. The Bensens encourage Meia to talk about her dreams, instead of thinking she is weird. Meia is a daydreamer, and has trouble focusing in class sometimes because her mind takes her on flights of fancy… on the back of a blue dragon.

Deglan and Meia both have their part to fulfill the legend centuries old. An unlikely alliance to say the least, but one that takes us on a roller-coaster ride — exciting from the morphing of the mark to the thrilling conclusion.

Born To Be A Dragon is a delightful read and has almost as many twists and turns as Meia has freckles on her nose. In her debut novel, Eisley Jacobs truly gets into the ten-year-old mindset and has written the book in alternating points of view. So you get the perspective of Deglan and Meia throughout and their different takes on the circumstances as they unfold. This makes it a great read for both boys and girls because they each have a main character to identify with. Each of the characters jump off the page, whether their part is large or small, even down to Philip the garden gnome. In addition, Jacobs has artwork starting each chapter, drawn by satisfied readers who are eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. Charming.

Born To Be A Dragon will be available for purchase July 20, 2011, or you can pre-order, by selecting the link here. A fun-filled story for dragon-lovers everywhere.

Who could resist a title like The Bear In A Muddy Tutu? Certainly not me. Then I glanced at a few sample pages and I was hooked. The beginning of the book was strongly evocative of Peter Hedge’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? with perhaps the characters of Gilbert and Arnie rolled into one. Not that I am saying Alpaugh cribbed anything. I just knew from the introduction of Billy Wayne Hooduk, as he ran away from his domineering, morbidly obese, piece-of-work mother at the age of thirty to become a cult leader (God) in 50 easy steps, I was in for a delightful read full of wonderfully twisted characters trying to muddle through this thing we call life.

Billy Wayne reminds me a lot of my cousin Harold, not really fitting into the world, not understanding the motives of others, underneath it all an innocent, but warped by his upbringing. Billy Wayne suffers a few setbacks in his quest to become God and build a congregation, but his big chance comes when he goes to Atlantic City to try to find members for his congregation there. When the Pisani brothers’ circus rolls into town and there is a mishap when the human cannonball is thrown off course by a flock of birds which causes him to crash into the cages and release the tiger which mauls the Pisani brothers, Billy Wayne rides to the rescue and gains his congregation when he shoots the tiger. The circus is then ordered to leave and Billy Wayne starts issuing directions and leads the caravan out of town.

During the fracas with the tiger, the deaths, and the circus leaving town, Gracie, the dancing bear, wound up being left behind and ultimately ended up on the lam. Of all of the characters in the book, Gracie was my favorite. Sweet disposition, happy to dance because she was no longer with the mean man who trained her, but everyone misunderstood a bear, who by the way had no teeth, on the loose. Each of Alpaugh’s characters are well penned and with a few words he provides the gamut of their experience on this earth. For all of their quirks and faults, most of the characters in the book pull on your heartstrings. Even the bit characters, like the janitor of the Atlantic City hotel Billy Wayne stayed in, come to life on the page and allow you to understand their plight.

While this book takes a dark look at the human condition, it does so in a somewhat humorous way. You can go from feeling sorry about the things the characters have to face to laughing out loud in a manner of moments. Alpaugh has skillfully woven a tapestry of characters together which pull you along – they become people you know and you want to find out what happens to this circus of misfits. Though the premise may sound ludicrous, it becomes believable and immerses you as the reader in the world created. While it starts off with the antics of Billy Wayne Hooduk, The Bear In A Muddy Tutu winds up being primarily about Lennon Bagg and his quest to find his daughter who was kidnapped by his wife five years previously, and is his reason for living. I don’t want to go into too much of the book, as I don’t want to spoil anything for you. It is a must read. I will, however, leave you with a quote from How to Become a Cult Leader in 50 Easy Steps:

You can nudge an elephant all you want. You can get right up behind it and put your shoulder to its flanks. You can push with all your might. But unless that elephant suddenly feels compelled to move, it is just as likely to lift its tail and shit all over your head.

So go get your copy of The Bear In A Muddy Tutu now!! And if you’re participating in the contest by Regan Leigh, comment below. For a peek at the prize, click here.

Upon graduation from college, the road of life stretches in front of us. We have seemingly unlimited potential and just need to hop on the road and start moving forward. At that point in our lives, we see the possibilities, we have hope fueling our desires, but out of sight are the curves life will throw as well as the pitfalls we hope to avoid. Some are driven right from the start, and others need an experience or two to help nudge them in the right direction.

Alyssa Giordano, fresh out of law school, embarked upon her career and wound up interviewing for a job with Kennedy and Price, a somewhat notorious law firm. Alyssa was aware of the less than savory reputation, but her grade point average did not allow for her to receive an appointment from the big firms or the more senior judicial officers. By the time she reached Kennedy and Price she just wanted a job, so she could earn money to pay off her student loans and enable her to save to take the Bar exam.

The reason for the firm’s noteriety was Duncan Kennedy. Duncan started his life with seemingly everything at his fingertips. He had a beautiful wife and daughter, a lovely estate, and a thriving practice. Then rumors about improper practice and financial dealings raised their heads, but were overshadowed by tragedy. Duncan’s house was torched to the ground, with his wife and daughter inside, and he barely survived. Tongues were set abuzz again when he quickly married. And prior to Alyssa coming to work for him, Duncan Kennedy’s butler was found dead on the estate by his second wife.

So when Alyssa begins working for Duncan Kennedy, his life is shrouded in mystery, and the police and reporters continue to investigate the unsolved mystery of his first wife’s death. During her tenure at Kennedy and Price, Alyssa Giordano encounters romance, and finds out first hand that life is not always fair.

Discovering Wounded Justice: Cruel Menace follows the life of Alyssa Giordano from her first meeting with Duncan Kennedy through several years as her life periodically intertwines with Duncan’s. She starts as the fresh-faced graduate, lacking in self-confidence and assertiveness and as she ages and gains wisdom hones her skills, and becomes well-known by senior judicial officials as a formidable legal mind. Duncan Kennedy starts off sleazy and sinks lower as time goes on. While I like the premise of the story, I would have liked for Ms. D’Alessandro to have more fully developed the characters and for more time to have been spent in editing the story.

Originally reviewed for the LL Book Review