Thursday, January 30, 2014

I Would Crawl Over Ice for a Slim Jim, or How Idgie Survived Snowpocolypse 2014 **

So a few of you may have heard that there was a bit of a traffic situation here in good ol' Atlanta this week.  Perhaps a bit of weather involved.  Nothing too serious  - just the shutting down of entire major area of the country for a few pesky days. 

Usually Idg gets to watch from the sidelines and make amusing comments about events taking place away from her own self.  Well not this time people!  I was smack dab in the middle of the mess, but as usual, I tried desperately to see the bright side of things......like the freedom to eat as many Slim Jim's as I wanted.

It started out as a normal day, heading out to earn a paycheck, getting kids off to school, planning what to eat for lunch by 7:25 in the morning.  (Priorities people!)  By 11:00 my life was in chaos.  Kids were bolting from schools...when the buses could get to them, people were fleeing from work by the bazillions to make it home for the kids shortly to be deposited at home.  By 12:00 I was started to suspect my day was seriously &$^!  

The kids were trapped on the school bus, surrounded by accidents, my older son was still at school because the buses couldn't get to that particular school.  I had not moved more than 3 miles from my work since I left it.

4 hours later the trapped kids finally made it home, starving and desperate to pee.  The older son heard that lunch would be reconstituted for dinner at school and they'd all get to watch Gone With the Wind later as they slept in the gym.  He made the reasonable decision to depart school out a side door with 16 of his friends, hike through 2 - 1/2 miles of woods to a friends house.... without mentioning this plan ahead of time to his parents - or the parents at whose house they all arrived at, and I found myself checking into the last hotel room available in the area (thanks to my awesome hubby) and walking to the gas station to find food. 

I had not moved more than the 3 to 4 mile mark from my office since 11:00 a.m. and I was fried.  But I was safe, I had a place to stay, I could get food............ I was so much luckier than many, many people out there.  I did offer to share my room with a few people that looked safe or I casually knew, but between stranger danger and determinations to get to where they were going, I continued to have the room alone.

I had visions of heading to the restaurants across the street from the hotel for a fine, overpriced, overly fatty dinner taken back hot and fresh to my hotel room.  Instead I found closed doors and darkened windows.  Even McD's was closed.  I suppose I assumed that they were all sitting around saying, "I hear Idgie's in the area, let's wait so we can feed her up.'  Silly me.  :)

So there I was at the gas station.  They had a fine selection of plastic mini wines, Slim Jims, granola
bars and bean dip.  Well, call me party animal stocking up.  By the time I left the gas station it was getting pretty nasty out and I realized, much to my dismay that my hotel was basically sitting in a holler.  Well, that was going to be fun the next day. 

Tuesday night was spent watching the drama on the news, talking to my husband, chewing on junk food, and tippling nicely on the tiny wines.  (We will not say how many tiny wines I had.)  I was also having a group text with all of my co-workers trying to still make it home.  The last texts came in at 1.30 a.m. when the last two either made it home or decided to bunk at a gas station. 

Wednesday morning I stared desolately out the window watching cars and trucks go sliding by my window, close to clipping my car.  I was doomed to not move.  The Holler was a sheet of solid ice.  I found a group of ladies in the lobby of the hotel chatting with the exhausted hotel clerk who had slept at the front desk that night and we decided to haul it over to the gas station again.  On the ice.  I desperately wanted coffee and of course a high protein breakfast of more Slim Jims and Beanie Weenies. 

Well, that was an adventure of it's own.    I can only trust that no awkward camera phone pictures of me make it to someone's Facebook.

I heavily stocked this time as I wasn't sure what the day would bring.  I bought another night at the hotel, just in case.   The family was all accounted for and we were safe, so my job was to sit and continue to be safe. 

Finally, at 3:00 the news announced that the roads were warmer than freezing - but to stay off of them.  Of course I promptly ignored them, packed my foraged food and wine and headed out.  I told the hotel I might be back, I wasn't checking out.  By some miracle, and a drive time of 5 mph I actually made it the 13 miles back to my house by 4.30 Wednesday afternoon.  It got a little hairy at times, but never life threatening.   Of course, so many people were still stuck somewhere else, so my roads were now clear.  The amount of cars off to the side, kissing each other, was frightening. 

But I made it home, held on to the wine, dispersed the foraged meal items to the overly excited kiddos and headed for the shower and clean clothes.

I was very, very lucky during this Georgia event.  I was safe, warm, fed and my family was all accounted for.  I do NOT take this lightly. 

But one must still see humor in life and yes, I can now say that I will crawl over ice to get to a Slim Jim.  :) 


*Full Credit to Raymond Atkins for the Title of this post.

The Office of Mercy

Idgie Says:
First off, I totally disagree with the Book Description comparing it to The Hunger Games.  Though set in the future, it's nothing like that novel.  If anything, it's closer to Hugh Howey's Wool series.  Once again, there's been an apocalyptic event, intentionally caused to cleanse the world.  The world is now perfect, unless of course you live outside the dome and need to be put out of your suffering and misery. 

This is the story of what happens when a few people don't necessarily agree with this whole life plan for the world.  


Engaging and a quick read.  I wouldn't call it young adult, but it would appeal to them also I think.  

THE OFFICE OF MERCY 
Ariel Djanikian
(Penguin; January 28, 2014; 
ISBN: 978-0143124375; Trade Paper; $16.00)

Originally published in hardback, January, 2013

Book Description:
A thrilling debut of a postapocalyptic world for fans of The Hunger Games

Weaving philosophy and science together into a riveting, dystopian story of love and adventure, The Office of Mercy illuminates an all-too-real future imagined by a phenomenal new voice in fiction.

Twenty-four-year-old Natasha Wiley lives in America-Five—a high-tech, underground, utopian settlement where hunger and money do not exist, everyone has a job, and all basic needs are met. But when her mentor and colleague, Jeffrey, selects her to join a special team to venture Outside for the first time, Natasha’s allegiances to home, society, and above all to Jeffrey are tested. She is forced to make a choice that may put the people she loves most in grave danger and change the world as she knows it.

The Office of Mercy is speculative fiction at its best with a deeply imagined, lush world, high-stakes adventure, and romance that will thrill fans of Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, Justin Cronin, and Kazuo Ishiguro.

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

This Dark Road To Mercy

ThisDark Road to Mercy
Wiley Cash
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (January 28, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062088254
Idgie Says: 
Wiley's first book, A Land More Kind Than Home, bolted out the door like the barn was on fire.  It has garnered high acclaim and I was eager to read his sophomore effort.  I was not disappointed.  The little girls, Easter and Ruby, grabbed at me and it was heart-wrenching to see what they were forced to be put through because of the adults in their lives.  The father and mother both make horribly stupid choices with their lives and not only they, but the girls, are forced to pay for it.  

There were moments in the book of what I might consider unneeded gratuitous violence, but that's simply my opinion and perhaps another might feel it added to the storyline. 

Then ending resolved quickly, without too much fuss - which was surprising to me, but for the girls, it was definitely not "the end", simply a stopping point that left the reader chewing on a fingernail wondering what the future holds.  

Book Description:
The critically acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller A Land More Kind Than Home—hailed as "a powerfully moving debut that reads as if Cormac McCarthy decided to rewrite Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird" (Richmond Times Dispatch)—returns with a resonant novel of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, set in western North Carolina, involving two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins.

After their mother's unexpected death, twelve-year-old Easter and her six-year-old sister Ruby are adjusting to life in foster care when their errant father, Wade, suddenly appears. Since Wade signed away his legal rights, the only way he can get his daughters back is to steal them away in the night.
Brady Weller, the girls' court-appointed guardian, begins looking for Wade, and he quickly turns up unsettling information linking Wade to a recent armored car heist, one with a whopping $14.5 million missing. But Brady Weller isn't the only one hunting the desperate father. Robert Pruitt, a shady and mercurial man nursing a years-old vendetta, is also determined to find Wade and claim his due.

Narrated by a trio of alternating voices, This Dark Road to Mercy is a story about the indelible power of family and the primal desire to outrun a past that refuses to let go.



Friday, January 24, 2014

Trans-Siberian Express - Re-Issue














Trans-Siberian Express
Warren Adler
Originally published in 1977

Warren Adler's Trans-Siberian Express - Stonehouse Productions recently re-released the novel as a special enhanced e-book created for the iPad through Apple's iBooks Author Platform.

The enhanced edition has over 50 images, a photo gallery, fun facts, clickable links and a glossary --- illustrating the historical novel as the Trans-Siberian Express roars onward from one end of Russia to the other.



Go HERE for PREVIEW

__________________________________________

Description:
American cancer specialist, Dr. Alex Cousins is on a covert mission to the USSR. He is tasked with prolonging the life of Soviet Politburo Chief, Viktor Moiseyevich Dimitrov, who is suffering from advance stage leukemia. But the tenuous confidence between the unlikely cohorts is shattered one night as Alex accidentally discovers Dimitrov’s diabolical plans of a nuclear strike on China. Alex soon finds himself dispatched, homeward bound on a 6000 mile journey aboard the Trans-Siberian Express; long enough, Alex realizes, to silence him from alerting the U.S. of the imminent destruction.

Reluctant, at first, to embark upon the journey, Alex is beckoned into the Siberian expanse by the haunting memories of his grandfather, Aleksandr Kuznetzov, who wove tales of magic and mystery breathing an ethereal life into this seemingly desolate place. As the train lumbers east across snow-cloaked mountains, glimmering past the forest glow, a watchful eye rests on the American doctor. Surrounding him are people beaten and broken by life, each drawn to this emperor of trains in search of a brighter future. Most curious is Anna Petrovna Valentinova, the gorgeous history professor, and Alex’s alluring travelling companion. As Anna enchants Alex with the love for her homeland, a passionate romance transcending political implications unfolds under KGB surveillance.

A train attendant yearns for love, a deformed man seeks revenge on an old enemy, and a persecuted Jewish couple runs to a new home as the Trans-Siberian Express roars onward through a cavern of hopes and memories, coloring its tracks with tales of love, loss and nuclear intrigue, from one end of Russia to the other. An epic journey across a land and a people Winston Churchill declared, “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

You can find more rave reviews of the original edition and an excerpt on WarrenAdler.com. Warren discusses the novel on this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXahh7yb84c. Readers can connect with Warren on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/warrenadler and on Twitter @warrenadler.

______________________________

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Why Are You So Sad?

Why Are You So Sad?
Jason Porter
January 28, 014
Plume Original (Penguin)

Idgie Says:
An interestingly slim novel about a man who seems to be surrounded by depressed people.  Are they really depressed or is he reflecting his depression onto them?  Is there a Depression Virus running rampant?   He decides to quiz his workplace with survey questionnaires and this novel revolves around those questionnaires. As we all know, the workplace is filled with individualism and oddities.  This definitely comes out in the questionnaires.

A quirky read. 


Here's an interesting little promo Jason has going on right now: 
 http://thejasonporter.com/pre-order-spectacular

Book Description:
Have we all sunken into a species-wide bout of clinical depression?

Porter’s uproarious, intelligent debut centers on Raymond Champs, an illustrator of assembly manuals for a home furnishings corporation, who is charged with a huge task: To determine whether or not the world needs saving. It comes to him in the midst of a losing battle with insomnia — everybody he knows, and maybe everybody on the planet, is suffering from severe clinical depression. He’s nearly certain something has gone wrong. A virus perhaps. It’s in the water, or it’s in the mosquitoes, or maybe in the ranch flavored snack foods. And what if we are all too sad and dispirited to do anything about it? Obsessed as he becomes, Raymond composes an anonymous survey to submit to his unsuspecting coworkers — “Are you who you want to be?”, “Do you believe in life after death?”, “Is today better than yesterday?” — because what Raymond needs is data. He needs to know if it can be proven. It’s a big responsibility. People might not believe him. People, like his wife and his boss, might think he is losing his mind. But only because they are also losing their minds. Or are they?

Reminiscent of Gary Shteyngart, George Saunders, Douglas Coupland and Jennifer Egan, Porter’s debut is an acutely perceptive and sharply funny meditation on what makes people tick.


Monday, January 20, 2014

Hippie Boy, A Girl's Story

Hippie Boy, A Girl's Story
Ingrid Rick
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (January 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425274004

Idgie Says:
This is a memoir but it does read like a fictional story most of the time, which makes for a nice flow in the pages.  Memoirs are often choppy and abrupt, or overly rambling.  Ingrid does a nice job with this.  An interesting story of a family with a deeply religious Mormon mother at war with and divorced from a father who has been denounced by the Mormon Church for his non-conforming behavior, and how this affected the lives of Ingrid and her 4 brothers and sisters.  An interesting look behind the scenes of  a "traditional" family and how religion can tear it apart.  This book could be based off of any religion, not necessarily just the Mormon one. 

Book Description:
Discover the unforgettable New York Times bestselling memoir about growing up in a dysfunctional Mormon family--and finding escape, adventure, and hard-earned wisdom on the road...

What would you do if your stepfather pinned you down and tried to cast Satan out of you? For thirteen-year-old Ingrid, the answer is simple: RUN.

For years Ingrid Ricks yearned to escape the poverty and the suffocating brand of Mormon religion that oppressed her at home. Her chance came when she was thirteen and took a trip with her divorced dad, traveling throughout the Midwest, selling tools and hanging around with the men on his shady revolving sales crew. It felt like freedom from her controlling mother and cruel, authoritarian stepfather—but it came with its own disappointments and dysfunctions, and she would soon learn a lesson that would change her life: she can't look to others to save her; she has to save herself.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Sweetest Mistake

Sweetest Mistake
Author: Candis Terry
Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (December 31, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062237241
ISBN-13: 978-0062237248
Book Description:
When friends become lovers . . .
Firefighter and former Marine Jackson Wilder has tough guy down to an art, but he’s learned the hard way that promises were made to be broken. Abigail Morgan was once his best friend, his first kiss, his first love, his first everything. He’d just forgotten to mention all that to her and she blew out of his life. Five years later, she’s back and he’s battling a load of mistrust for her disappearing act. But for some reason he just can’t keep his lips—or his hands—to himself.

It can lead to disaster or . . .
When her stint as a trophy wife abruptly ends, Abby returns home to Sweet, Texas, and comes face-to-face with Jackson—her biggest and sexiest mistake. Time and distance did nothing to squash her love for the act-first-think-later stubborn hunk of a man, and when he suggests they renew their old just-friends vow, Abby realizes she wants more. She’d cut and run once. Could she do it again? Or could she tempt him enough to break his promise?

_________________________

Idgie Says:
For the romance reader, this is a nice contemporary story that has it's toes in reality enough so that you can settle in for a good read without the rolling of the eyes.  (Come on, you know what I mean when it comes to romance novels!)  What I like about these novels is that they make you happy at the end. Sometimes just knowing that a book has a happy ending is worth the read.  

Hunky Firefighter, hot girl, big Texas setting - who needs more!?!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

While We Were Watching Downton Abbey

Dew review published in April, but re-posting to join the blog tour for the celebration of the fourth season of Downton Abbey and the Mass Market Release of the book!

__________________________________________

While We Were Watching Downton Abbey
Author: Wendy Wax
Jove Mass Market; December 31, 2013

Book Description:
When the concierge of the Alexander, a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and—even more unexpectedly—with each other...

Samantha Davis married young and for the wrong reason: the security of old Atlanta money for herself and her orphaned brother and sister. She never expected her marriage to be complicated by love and compromised by a shattering family betrayal.

Claire Walker is now an empty nester and struggling author who left her home in the suburbs for the old-world charm of the Alexander, and for a new and productive life. But she soon wonders if clinging to old dreams can be more destructive than having no dreams at all.

And then there’s Brooke MacKenzie, a woman in constant battle with her faithless ex-husband. She’s just starting to realize that it’s time to take a deep breath and come to terms with the fact that her life is not the fairy tale she thought it would be.

For Samantha, Claire, Brooke, and Edward, who arranges the weekly gatherings, it will be a season of surprises as they forge a bond that will sustain them through some of life’s hardest moments—all of it reflected in the unfolding drama, comedy, and convergent lives of Downton Abbey.

Read an excerpt HERE

Idgie Says:
Something I enjoyed about this book is that the characters are generally quite likable.  Often when you read a novel there is on character you like, others you "understand" but you feel no bond toward and a few you just could care less about.  I would love to sit down and join in with these ladies - and Edward - when they have their pizza and wine nights.


The ladies involved in the story all have some issues, but it hasn't left them acidic and bitter towards life - they're still open to new experiences and friends.

They live in fairly posh apartment building (though some live on the very edge of their ability to be there) complete with a concierge service run by the lovely and intelligent Edward.

This story has a simple theme surrounding each woman's issues that they're dealing with.  While trying to solve their own personal problems, at the same time they are finding out that friendship is integral to well-being and provides a strong support system to help deal with life.

The apartment building begins having a Sunday evening Downton Abbey screening where all the ladies show up, eat, drink and bond.  If you enjoy watching that show,  you'll appreciate the little tidbits thrown out from the series - Seasons 1 and 2 only - nothing given away! 

There are also a few fun behind the scenes publishing tidbits included, and I enjoyed how several of Wendy's friend's names appear in the storyline.

This is a nicely told story of friends - making them and then sticking with them. Watch how many Shandies you drink when you're with them though!

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Calling Me Home - now in Paperback

CALLING ME HOME by Julie Kibler, recently selected as the Target Club Pick for January and the Ladies’ Home Journal Book Club Pick for February, comes out in paperback on 1/7/14.

Since its hardcover release, it was also selected as an Indie Next and SIBA Okra pick.

The book is really amazing, with an incredibly backstory. Julie was inspired to write it after learning her grandmother was engaged to a young black man, before their families intervened.
Original Dew Review Below: 

Calling Me Home
Author: Julie Kibler
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (February 12, 2013)

ISBN-10: 1250014522
ISBN-13: 978-1250014528

Book Description:
Sixteen-year-old Isabelle McAllister longs to escape the confines of her northern Kentucky hometown, but after her family's housekeeper's son rescues her from a Newport drunk, the boundaries seem smaller than ever. 

Falling for a black boy in late 1930s Kentucky isn't just illegal, it's dangerous. Signs at the city limits warn Negroes, “Don’t let the sun set on you here.” Despite repeated warnings, Isabelle and Robert disregard the racial divide, starting a chain of events that threatens jobs, lives, and generations to come.

Decades later, black hairstylist Dorrie Curtis agrees to drive her elderly white client cross-country to a funeral. Over the years, Miss Isabelle has become more than just a customer, but the timing couldn't be worse. First, Dorrie's seeing a man she's afraid she could fall for, but one thing is more obvious than ever: Trust is not her strong suit. Second, she knows her teenager's in big trouble; he just hasn’t told her yet. 

When a phone call from home confirms Dorrie's fears, Miss Isabelle's tale of forbidden love illuminates Dorrie’s dilemma, merging the past and present in a journey with unexpected detours and a bittersweet destination.

Idgie Says:

This is a heartwrenching story of love, loss, misunderstandings and straight out lies that combine to form a young girl's entire life.  I want to be careful to not to give away any great secrets that pop out during the telling of the story, surprising and causing sorrow to the reader.  As you saw from the description, it's also a story of strong racial prejudice and outright hatred. 

Dorrie and Isabelle take a road trip of a 1,000 miles or so.  Along the way the story of Isabelle's young life and the choices that she made come out into the open.  Dorrie, who has been struggling with her own issues, comes to realize that perhaps hers aren't quite as horrible as she first thought, when compared to what others have dealt with.

At the end of the book, when so many hidden secrets and lies come pouring out, it makes one realize how a cover should never be the judgement of a book and also, perhaps things should just be let to fall as they will, without everyone trying to do their best to "guide things in the proper way."

This is a debut novel and I have to say that I am impressed and definitely recommend it.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Kids These Days

coming january 2014 from algonquin booksKids These Days
Drew Perry
Algonquin
January 14, 2014

In the spirit of Jonathan Tropper and Kevin Wilson, Drew Perry takes aim at the two sides of a man’s impending fatherhood—abject terror and unconditional love. Walter and Alice are expecting their first baby, but their timing is a bit off: Alice has quit her job, and Walter, once a successful loan officer, has been unexpectedly downsized. They’ve had to relocate to Florida to live rent-free in Alice’s deceased aunt’s condo, and when Alice’s brother-in-law Mid offers Walter a job, he can’t refuse. But the things he doesn’t know—about Mid’s murky dealings and the secret arrangements of his shady small-business empire—are beginning to unnerve him. Tensions escalate until the day Mid’s mysteriously procured bright yellow Camaro becomes the object of a police chase—with Walter riding shotgun.

Drew Perry paints a landscape of weird, strange, beautiful Florida and its inhabitants—all wholly original, hilarious, and utterly believable. And at the center is a wonderfully sensitive portrait of a father-to-be who is filled with trepidation, paralyzed by the thought of taking responsibility for another human life when he won’t even take responsibility for his own. Kids These Days is a novel about a man who finally grows up—and just in time.

Click HERE to read how the story came about.

Idgie Says:
A mildly wacky story about two adults being forced to grow up when real life arrives in full force.  Newly pregnant and newly unemployed, Walter and Alice find themselves having to move into an old woman's fully decorated condo on the beach and Walter taking odd jobs from Alice's Brother-in-Law.  There's a lot of what I call "mild" sarcasm in the story - gentle, not biting.  Theres humor in the confusion Walter feels trying to adjust to the current state of affairs and an amiable likability with the couple.  

A story of two people gently floating toward their newly emerging goals, trying to dodge what life throws in the path.  


Amusing and keeps you interested until the end.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Flowers in the Attic

Idgie says:
Ya'll remember this book from the 1979?  The perverse story that we all HAD to have and were forced to sneak into our book bags so our parents wouldn't find it? Reading about overwhelming love combined with greed, loving mother's turning horrid, abuse, murder.......and of course...........incest!  I think I read half that book with my mouth hanging open.

Do we also remember the horrible movie that came out in 1987? A total shlockfest.  Well here's your chance to revisit both!  The book is being re-released in paperback while the movie is being remade by Lifetime and will be out January 18th.

Now I'm not saying this is quality writing - but it sure is gripping!  I read the entire series - but this is the best of them.     

Sadly, after VC Andrews died, the name was copyrighted and others now write her books.  You can definitely tell.  They just don't have her writing style to take a rather lurid story and make it "un-put-downable". 


_____________________________________

Book Description:

Reprint by Pocket Books,
Release Date January 7th, 2014

At the top of the stairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent, and struggling to stay alive…

They were a perfect family, golden and carefree—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. Kept on the top floor of their grandmother’s vast mansion, their loving mother assures them it will be just for a little while. But as brutal days swell into agonizing months and years, Cathy, Chris, and twins Cory and Carrie realize their survival is at the mercy of their cruel and superstitious grandmother…and this cramped and helpless world may be the only one they ever know.

Book One of the Dollanganger series, followed by Petals in the Wind, If There be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows.
____________________________________________________________

Saying that, there is a new VC Andrews book coming out:

THE UNWELCOMED CHILD!

MY MOTHER HAD LOOKED INTO THE FACE OF EVIL SO MANY TIMES SHE KNEW WHAT IT WAS.  IT WAS ME.  I WAS BORN WITHOUT A SOUL…

Discover V.C. Andrews® THE UNWELCOMED CHILD (Pocket Books; January 21, 2014; $7.99) and follow along with Ellie Edwards, who grew up believing that because of her mother’s sinful ways she was born without a soul; that’s why she was abandoned and left in the care of Grandmother Myra and Grandfather Prescott, who try to ensure her evil will not infect them—by raising her in a virtual prison.  Because her days are occupied with homeschooling, strict religious studies, and vigorous housekeeping in their upstate New York home, Elle knows practically nothing of the outside world, even as she emerges as a young woman with impressive artistic talent.  But when she makes a secret, forbidden connection to vacationers at the nearby lake—a handsome boy and his precocious twin sister—Elle’s world will shatter.  Will discovering the truths about her past send her future plummeting to hell?

_______________________________
Trailer below for the Lifetime movie!

Friday, January 10, 2014

The Last Savannah

   
THE LAST SAVANNA
By Mike Bond
Mandevilla Press; January 15, 2014
$15.99; 253 pages
ISBN: 978-1-62704-008-2

Idgie Says:
As with the previous book of Mike's that the Dew reviewed, Saving Paradise, this novel is a fine combination of realism in life, ecological danger, .and a touch of over the top adventure in the likes of Dirk Pitt!  It shares with the reader the real life danger to our environment and wilderness and how we can lose it all completely if we're not careful.  But he wraps the truth around an adventure story complete with romance and tough guy daring do to keep the reader engrossed - even while learning a few things about their world they may not have been aware of.

Check it out, I think you'll be pleased.

Click HERE for excerpt**

Dew Review of Saving Paradise - his last novel - HERE

Click HERE to read about his Saving Paradise Project

**Excerpted from the book THE LAST SAVANNA by Mike Bond.  Copyright © 2013 by Mike Bond.  Reprinted with permission of Mandevilla Press.  All rights reserved

_________________________________________________________
 
 
Reviewers, booksellers, librarians - click here to request a review copy.
THE LAST SAVANNA
By Mike Bond

At the age of 19 author and former foreign correspondent Mike Bond took off on foot across the Sahara, experiencing the euphoria and terror of wandering across the blazing, uncharted desert mountains from Tamanrasset to Timbuktu. Since then he has traveled and explored many thousands of miles through Africa’s jungles, deserts and savannas, and has participated in military operations with Kenyan rangers against elephant poachers. These experiences have ignited a life-long fascination and involvement with the African continent, which comes blazingly to life in his existential thriller THE LAST SAVANNA (Mandevilla Press; January 15, 2014).
Former SAS officer Ian MacAdam is wearing his retirement like an ill-fitting suit. Uncomfortable at home on his Kenyan ranch watching his wife slip into alcoholism, he accepts an assignment by an old government friend to hunt the one creature that is truly worth hunting—man.
Leading a team of commandos against ivory poachers, he is horrified to learn that these criminals have kidnapped the young archeologist who still has an unexpected grip on his heart. Soon he is on a desperate trek to rescue Rebecca—and perhaps, himself.
THE LAST SAVANNA is an unflinching look at the beauty and violence of Africa, the horror of the slaughter of the great beasts, the delicate balance of tribal life, the growth of terrorism and the timeless landscape. Its insights into how elephant poaching and drug sales are used to fund Islamic terrorist activities by Al Qaeda offshoots like Al-Shabaab are shockingly relevant and little known. And, as Bond points out, “at the heart of the book is the truth that preserving East African wildlife is the best way to fight fundamentalism. The animals are not only essential to the environment; they fuel tourism, which in turn fuels the economy.”

MIKE BOND has been called the “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC and “one of the 21st century’s most exciting authors” by the Washington Times. He is a bestselling novelist, environmental activist, international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent and award-winning poet who has lived and worked in many remote, dangerous parts of the world. His critically acclaimed novels depict the innate hunger of the human heart for what is good, the intense joys of love, the terror and fury of battle, the sinister vagaries of international politics and multinational corporations, and the beauty of the vanishing natural world.

###

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Red 1-2-3

Books like this make Idgie very squeamish and she doesn't read them.  But many people love these "James Patterson" type novels, so therefore, here's one that looks pretty interesting! 

 Red 1-2-3
John Katzenbach
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Mysterious Press; 1 edition (January 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802122051
ISBN-13: 978-0802122056
__________________________________________
 
'One bright fine day Little Red Riding Hood decided to take a
basket of delicious goodies to her beloved grandmother, who
lived on the far side of the deep, dark woods... You undoubtedly
first heard the story years ago when you were small children. But you
were probably told the sanitized version: The grandmother hides
in her closet and Little Red Riding Hood is saved from becoming
The Big Bad Wolf's next meal by the brave woodsman with his
sharp axe. In that re-telling everything ends happily ever after. In
the original, there is a far different and much darker outcome. It
would be wise for you to keep that in mind over the next few weeks.


You do not know me, but I know you. There are three of you. I have
decided to call you:


Red One
Red Two
Red Three


I know each of you is lost in the woods.

And just like the little girl in the fairy tale, you have been selected
to die.'

__________________________________________

Three ordinary women with nothing in common. They are different ages, come from different backgrounds, and lead drastically different lives. The only thing that binds them together is their red hair—and that each of them has been targeted for murder.

When each woman, or “Red,” receives a chilling letter in the mail from a killer known only as the Big Bad Wolf, their lives are upended, as they spend every waking moment in the fear that they could be snuffed out at any moment. The Wolf is stalking them, biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to complete his master plan. Yet the one thing this cunning and devious killer didn’t plan for is the Reds discovering each other.

These three women, using clues left by the Wolf, manage to band together in the hopes of protecting one another from this deadly predator. With law enforcement turning its back on the Reds, their only hope for survival is to turn the tables, to beat the Wolf at his own game. In a riveting novel of suspense that only a master like John Katzenbach could write, the Reds must track down the Wolf himself—before he silences each of them forever.

_____________________________________________

Prologue Link  - Click HERE to Read. 

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

The Memory of Lost Senses

The Memory of Lost Senses
Judith Kinghorn
New American Library
January 2014

Idgie Says:
A nicely juicy, larger sized novel that you can really enjoy for more than a long afternoon.  Secrets and intrigue abound in a time of beautifully cultured people.  This time period is hugely popular is books right now and while this one fits the mold, it's bigger and bolder than the rest.  More along the lines of Roses or The Thornbirds.  The novel pops back in forth in time, slowly telling the story of the mysteriously vibrant, yet secretive and seemingly damaged countess. A good book to lose yourself into. 

Book Description:
When a mysterious countess arrives late in life to live at a large, deserted house on the edge of a sleepy Hampshire village, the local tongues start wagging. No one is more intrigued than Cecily Chadwick, idling away the long, hot summer of 1911 with nothing much to do.

Cecily is fascinated by the exotic elderly lady and, as she gets to know her, is riveted by her tales of expatriate life on the continent, and of whom she once knew. But the countess is troubled: by her memories, her name, and by anonymous threats to reveal a ruinous secret...

It is, she has decided, up to her close friend, a successful novelist who has come to stay for the summer, to put the record straight. For aspiring writer Cecily, the novelist's presence only adds to the intrigue and pull of the house. But it is the countess's grandson, Jack, his unanswered questions about his grandmother's past and his desire to know the truth, that draw Cecily further into the tangled web of the countess's life, and the place known as Temple Hill.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Return to Tradd Street

 
Idgie Says:
Karen claims this is her last book in the Tradd Street series, which means I now have to go to her house, camp out on her lawn and refuse to leave until she changes her mind. 

Her characters are so likable and human, (finally, a woman who doesn't think being pregnant is a beautiful glowy thing) and the ghost stories so gripping that I could turn this into a series I would read for years.  

Karen, are you listening?  :)

This story surrounds Melanie, my paper twin. She's over-organized, tries to schedule her whole day... and life... then finds herself pregnant at 40..... with twins.   And she's NOT thrilled about giving up wine, coffee and grease.  Yep, my twin!

On top of this she's got a very hot author who wants to marry her and take care of the babies, a hot detective that doesn't care she's hugely  pregnant with someone else's twins, a loving family, a giant ramshackle home in Charleston..........and a whole pile of ghosts - a few of them apparently very ticked off about something.  

Did I mention one ghost appears to be a crying baby?  

Oooohh!   


RETURN TO TRADD STREET
Author: Karen White
Penguin/New American Library
ISBN 978-0451240590
On Sale January 7, 2014

BOOK 4 in the TRADD STREET SERIES!

Facing her future as a single mother, psychic Realtor Melanie Middleton is determined to be strong and leave her past with writer Jack Trenholm behind her. But history has a tendency of catching up with Melanie, whether she likes it or not.…

Melanie is only going through the motions of living since refusing Jack’s marriage proposal. She misses him desperately, but her broken heart is the least of her problems. Despite an insistence that she can raise their child alone, Melanie is completely unprepared for motherhood, and she struggles to complete renovations on her house on Tradd Street before the baby arrives.

When Melanie is roused one night by the sound of a ghostly infant crying, she chooses to ignore it. She simply does not have the energy to deal with one more crisis. That is, until the remains of a newborn buried in an old christening gown are found hidden in the foundation of her house.

As the hauntings on Tradd Street slowly become more violent, Melanie decides to find out what caused the baby’s untimely death, uncovering the love, loss, and betrayal that color the house’s history—and threaten her claim of ownership. But can she seek Jack’s help without risking her heart? For in revealing the secrets of the past, Melanie also awakens the malevolent presence that has tried to keep the truth hidden for decades.…

Monday, January 6, 2014

Somewhere in France

http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/1/9780062273451.jpgSomewhere in France
A Novel of the Great War
Jennifer Robson
William Morrow
January, 2014

Idgie Says:
A lovely Harlequin type novel, but bolder in size and in the strength of the heroine. It's a good novel to lose yourself in, and at the same time learn more about the period of The Great War from a female perspective. Perfect reading on the couch in front of a fire during these cold winter months.

This novel centers on a woman who did not subscribe to the thoughts of the day and do whatever her parents told her to.  She ventures out into the world to find love and adventure, putting herself in peril at the same time. 

Book Description
In the dark and dangerous days of World War I, a daring young woman will risk her life to find her destiny.

Lady Elizabeth Neville-Ashford wants to travel the world, pursue a career, and marry for love. But in 1914, the stifling restrictions of aristocratic British society and her mother's rigid expectations forbid Lilly from following her heart. When war breaks out, the spirited young woman seizes her chance for independence. Defying her parents, she moves to London and eventually becomes an ambulance driver in the newly formed Women's Army Auxiliary Corps—an exciting and treacherous job that takes her close to the Western Front.

Assigned to a field hospital in France, Lilly is reunited with Robert Fraser, her dear brother Edward's best friend. The handsome Scottish surgeon has always encouraged Lilly's dreams. She doesn't care that Robbie grew up in poverty—she yearns for their friendly affection to become something more. Lilly is the most beautiful—and forbidden—woman Robbie has ever known. Fearful for her life, he's determined to keep her safe, even if it means breaking her heart.

In a world divided by class and filled with uncertainty and death, can their hope for love survive...or will it become another casualty of this tragic war?


Friday, January 3, 2014

Starter House

Starter House
Sonja Condit
William Morrow Paperback
December 31, 2013

Book Description:
Promising talent Sonja Condit makes her debut with Starter House, an eerie and mesmerizing tale about a young couple whose new house holds deadly secrets from the past, sure to appeal to fans of Heart-Shaped Box and The Thirteenth Tale.
From the moment Lacey sees the house with the beautiful wood staircase, she knows she’s found her dream home. Growing up rootless with her flighty mother, Ella Dane, a self-proclaimed psychic, Lacey is determined to give her unborn baby the stability she never had.

But shortly after she and her husband, Eric, move in, the warm and welcoming house becomes cold and dark. There is something malevolent within these walls that wants to hurt her unborn child—a terrifying presence that only she can sense. And there is Drew, a demanding and temperamental little boy who mysteriously appears when Lacey is alone.

To protect her unborn child and save her family, Lacy must discover the truth about her dream house and the troubled Drew—a decades-old mystery involving secrets, violence, and guilt—and confront an evil that has lingered in wait for years. 

Idgie Says:
A very scary novel, one that while you might "recognize" it from other novels (some fairly well known) it takes enough of a turn in the story to become completely it's own.    I won't say too much about the story itself as I don't want to give away plot, but imagine moving into a house that you adore - only to start to fear it the minute you actually own it?  No real way to back out that late in the game, especially when you and your husband put all of your savings into it. On top of that, your mother, filled with psychic experiences, senses nothing amiss in the house at all, so maybe it's your pregnancy hormones making you a little edgy. 

But everyone wonders who the little boy is that keeps wandering through the house.  The little boy that sits at the table and colors while eating the cookies Lacy makes for him. The little boy who sometimes loses his temper, or suddenly goes away..............the little boy who really doesn't like babies..............

Ooohhh!  

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Undressing Mr. Darcy

Undressing Mr. DarcyUndressing Mr. Darcy
Karen Doornebos
Berkley
December, 2013

Idgie Says:
In the spirit of the overwhelming popularity of Downton Abbey and the lovers of Mr. Darcy,  this is a Rom Com of a book that's takes you on a delightful romp through the world of modern technology........and men in breeches!  Yum.  A fun way to avoid the harsh winter weather and escape into book romance instead.


Book Description:
Taking it off in the name of history…

Thirty-five-year-old American social media master Vanessa Roberts lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen–centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted,” as Jane Austen would say.

Hardbound books, teacups, and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee, and smartphone…

…Until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man claim her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate re-enactor to find out…

Go HERE for an Excerpt.



UNDRESSING MR. DARCY – The Blog Tour

Hello from The British Library!
As an ice-breaker to each leg of the Blog Tour, I’m taking you along for a ride to England, where I traveled during the summer of 2012 to do some research for UNDRESSING MR. DARCY. Where am I on this stop? I’m at the British Library in London, England, where Jane Austen’s portable writing desk is on display. Of course I had to set a scene from UNDRESSING MR. DARCY in the library…a place I could easily spend an entire week.


I thought Dew on the Kudzu readers would appreciate a photo of this book bench that sits in the lobby of The British Library and the sign from café outside of the library called The Last Word.  The café makes its way into UNDRESSING! I couldn’t take a picture of Austen’s desk, but imagine a mahogany box that opens into a slanted writing surface lined in leather, complete with glass inkstand and a drawer. Her father gave it to her for her nineteenth birthday. As I say in my book, it was the original laptop.
 
As you’ll read in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY, in 1798, Austen’s writing desk had been mistakenly put on a coach whose contents were bound for the West Indies. Within the desk were the pages of Northanger Abbey, her first novel. “In my writing box was all my worldly wealth,” Austen wrote. A messenger on horse was sent after the coach, and yes, the writing desk was retrieved…but only after much anxiety, I’m sure! If you enjoyed this snippet of Austen’s life, you’ll get more of that in UNDRESSING MR. DARCY.

Ready to talk…Undressing?!

First of all, I’d like to thank Dew on the Kudzu for hosting me today! Happy 2014 to all!

Taking it off in the name of history…
Thirty-five-year-old American social-media master Vanessa Robert lives her thoroughly modern life with aplomb. So when her elderly Jane Austen-centric aunt needs her to take on the public relations for Julian Chancellor, a very private man from England who’s written a book called My Year as Mr. Darcy, Vanessa agrees. But she’s not “excessively diverted” as Jane Austen would say.
Hardbound books, teacups and quill pens fly in the face of her e-reader, coffee and smartphone…
…until she sees Julian take his tight breeches off for his Undressing Mr. Darcy show, an educational “striptease” down to his drawers to promote his book and help save his crumbling estate. The public relations expert suddenly realizes things have gotten…personal. But can this old-fashioned man find his way into her heart without so much as a GPS? It will take three festivals filled with Austen fans, a trip to England, an old frenemy, and a flirtatious pirate reenactor to find out…

You can check out the first chapter of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY here!
________________________________________

Karen Doornebos is the author of UNDRESSING MR. DARCY published by Berkley, Penguin and available here or at your favorite bookstore. Her first novel, DEFINITELY NOT MR. DARCY, has been published in three countries and was granted a starred review by Publisher’s Weekly. Karen lived and worked in London for a short time, but is now happy just being a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and living in the Chicagoland area with her husband, two teenagers and various pets—including a bird. Speaking of birds, follow her on Twitter and Facebook! She hopes to see you there, on her website www.karendoornebos.com and her group blog Austen Authors.