#WRC2017: It Happens All the Time by Amy Hatvany

This fall, members of the Vise Library are participating in the Booksparks Winter Reading Challenge! We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

About the book:

From master storyteller Amy Hatvany - whose writing has been hailed as "gripping and emotionally honest" (Stephanie Evanovich, New York Times best-selling author) comes a provocative and compelling novel about two friends whose lives are changed by a drunken kiss.

I want to rewind the clock, take back the night when the world shattered. I want to erase everything that went wrong.

Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers - trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she's getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent.

I will have to say that this book is very heavy and it is about a topic that needs to be discussed more often.  Consent and date rape are very real topics in our society that happen "all the time."  This book explores that topic between two people that have known each other their whole lives.  Amber and Tyler have been best friends and Amber trusts Tyler more than anyone else in her life.  She gets engaged and Tyler really hopes she leaves her fiance for him.  However, one drunken kiss leads to something that will ultimately change them and their relationship forever.  This book shows us both Amber and Tyler's points of views after the rape and revisiting their past friendship together.
  
This book is not just for women, but for men as well in order to understand what "no" really means, no ifs ands or buts.  I think this book sheds light on the fact that rape can happen to literally anyone and that it can happen from the person you least expect or the person you trust the most.  It is very heart felt and really hard to read at times.  However, in order to confront issues and understand them, hard things need to be taken head-on.  I think Hatvany does just that and should (hopefully) make a difference into this everyday nightmare!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Amy Hatvany graduated with a degree in Sociology only to discover most sociologists are unemployed. Soon followed a variety of jobs - some of which she loved, like decorating wedding cakes; others which she merely tolerated, like receptionist. 

In 1998, Amy finally decided to sell her car, quit her job, and take a chance on her passion: writing books. Her background in sociology inspires and informs much of her writing as she tackles timely and controversial issues in her novels including mental illness, domestic abuse, and alcoholism. She is the author of BEST KEPT SECRET, OUTSIDE THE LINES (a Target book club pick in 2012 and a Costco Pennie's Pick in 2013), THE LANGUAGE OF SISTERS, HEART LIKE MINE, SAFE WITH ME (a Good Housekeeping pick), and SOMEWHERE OUT THERE (a Target Recommended Read).

Amy lives in Seattle with her husband and children. You can learn more at www.amyhatvany.com.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

#WRC2017: The Housekeeper by Suellen Dainty

This fall, members of the Vise Library are participating in the Booksparks Winter Reading Challenge! We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

About the book:

“I am the housekeeper, the hired help with a messy past who cleans up other people’s messy lives, the one who protects their messy little secrets.”

When Anne Morgan’s successful boyfriend—who also happens to be her boss—leaves her for another woman, Anne finds herself in desperate need of a new job and a quiet place to recover. Meanwhile, her celebrity idol, Emma Helmsley (England’s answer to Martha Stewart), is in need of a housekeeper, an opportunity which seems too good to be true.

Through her books, website, and blog, Emma Helmsley advises her devoted followers on how to live a balanced life in a hectic world. Her husband, Rob, is a high profile academic, and her children, Jake and Lily, are well-adjusted teenagers. On the surface, they are the perfect family. But Anne soon finds herself intimately ensconced in the Helmsley’s dirty laundry, both literally and figuratively. Underneath the dust, grime, and whimsical clutter, everyone has a secret to hide and Anne’s own disturbing past threatens to unhinge everything.

For fans of Notes on a Scandal and The Woman Upstairs, The Housekeeper is a nuanced and nail-biting psychological thriller about the dark recesses of the human mind and the dangerous consequences of long-buried secrets.

Anne is having a bit of a rough go at the moment: her boyfriend cheats on her and leaves her.  To add insult to injury, her former boyfriend was also her boss.  So needless to say, Anne needs a new job and a way to get over the whirlwind that is her life.  One day while stalking her favorite celebrity homemaker, Emma Helmsley, Anne comes across a post that will change her life.  It turns out Emma is in need of a new housekeeper.  Anne thinks this is just what she's been looking for and becomes Emma's employee.  Anne really loves the Helmsley family and will do anything for them.  However, Anne soon learns that everyone has a level of deception and also finds out that Emma's husband could be the key to unlocking the secrets of her past.  This book was a fun read when Anne is learning about the Helmsleys and it was interesting to find out who Anne's father was!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author (taken from the author's website):

Thanks for visiting. My new novel, The Housekeeper, will be published in February 2017 by Atria/Simon and Schuster. I hope you read it and like it.

My first novel, After Everything, was published in 2014, again by Atria/Simon and Schuster. Soon after, Target selected me as one of their 2015 Emerging Authors.

I grew up in Sydney, where I worked as a journalist and television reporter before moving to England two decades ago. I’ve worked for Sky News as a producer and director for the original series of The Book Show.

I’ve also run a B and B, worked as a cook, a gardener and a carer. I live in London, where I like writing in the London Library, walking the Thames River towpath and going to the theatre as often as possible.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook

Book Review: Choosing Forever by Mia Kayla

Choosing Forever (Torn Duet #2) by Mia Kayla

Cover Design: Perfect Pear Creative Covers

Release Date: February 13, 2017

 

Synopsis

Life is made up of choices. Single choices like bricks laid out in a path. A path that leads to your future. At twenty four years old, I would have never guessed I would be stuck between two men—two men from opposite spectrums of the universe. Their lives, their worlds, their demeanor is as different as the darkest of nights and the lightest of days. I love them both, but I have to choose. There is only one choice I can make. And I choose forever.  

Review:

This book ends where Torn Between Two left us off. There was a major cliffhanger in the first book so I can't get into the specifics of where the second book begins. Sam has a really hard time throughout the book. She is torn between Hawke and Sam. Hawke's lifestyle reminds Sam too much about her mom's choices growing up. That is hard for Sam to get past. Meanwhile, Josh is determined that he and Sam belong together. But, of course, Hawke has to the potential to get in the way of all of that. This book takes you through a roller coaster of a story and all the emotions that go along with it. There is some MAJOR that happens that threatens to crumble everything that Sam holds dear. This has a satisfying ending to this duet! 

Goodreads

 

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2kCxO8F

Amazon International: myBook.to/ChoosingForever

 

   

Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0cba4250447/?

   

Torn Between Two (Torn Duet #1)

On Sale for 99¢!

 

Purchase Links

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2j2cEfz

Amazon International: myBook.to/TornBetweenTwo

 

   

About the Author

Mia Kayla is a New Adult/Contemporary Romance writer who lives in Illinois. Most of the time, she can be caught on the train with her nose in a book sporting a cheeky grin because the main characters finally get their happily-ever-after at the end. She loves reading about happy endings but has more fun writing them.  

Connect with Mia

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/b91btT

Website: http://bit.ly/2jnGgFA

Facebook Author Page: http://bit.ly/2a1nfnv

Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/2alzxsN

Instagram: http://bit.ly/2jnAzav

Twitter: http://bit.ly/2jAfXuV

Goodreads Author Page: http://bit.ly/2jIbURw

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2iopiIt

BookBub Author Page: http://bit.ly/2jbzV2l

#WRC2017: Sweet Lake by Christine Nolfi

This fall, members of the Vise Library are participating in the Booksparks Winter Reading Challenge! We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

About the book:

Linnie Wayfair knows just how many people are counting on her. But knowing doesn’t make doing any easier.

Everyone in Sweet Lake, Ohio, wants her to muster all her business sense and return the Wayfair Inn to its former glory. Her parents hope she’ll forgive her scoundrel of a brother and reconcile the family. The eccentric Sweet Lake Sirens want her to open the inn—and her heart—to new possibilities. And her hilarious lifelong friends Jada and Cat are dropping none-too-subtle hints for her to ignite a romance with Daniel Kettering, the sexy attorney who’s been pining for her for years…

Now a shocking turn of events will open old wounds and upend the world Linnie has carefully built. She has to make changes quickly—and the results, though not entirely what she expected, might be what she’s been yearning for all along.

Linnie has been taking care of the family business (managing an inn) ever since her father had a stroke.  Linnie has made several improvements since she has taken over and believes that the inn will eventually be handed over to her.  However, the family has always been in the care of the first son in the family.  This is where some hostility with her brother comes into play and to top it off, he does something pretty terrible that makes things even worse.  Not only is their personal relationship in ruins, but Linnie wonders if the business will still continue to thrive with Freddie in the picture.  There is a group of women called the Sweet Lake Sirens that have taken on the task of repairing Linnie and Freddie's relationship.  Linnie has to decide if she can ever forgive Freddie in order to move on.  There is plenty of real-life family drama to this story and a great group of side characters.  Linnie has an admirer in Daniel that makes you want to root for them throughout the entire story.  This book was such a wonderful read!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Some writers are gifted with an unusual life and I’m certainly one of those. I’ve lived in Ohio, Virginia, California, Utah and now South Carolina. In college I was featured on the front page of the Houston Post for a lark that erased all my debt. I first met my four adopted children in the sweltering heat of the tropics. I helped build several companies and was lucky enough to earn a living doing what I love best—writing—in a PR firm I owned.

If you’re wondering about beginnings, here they are: I’m the middle child in a litter of six kids raised in Cleveland, Ohio during the psychedelic 60s. My late mother swore I taught myself to read at the age of two. While this claim stands unsubstantiated, I can tell you that I spent most of my childhood toting a book in one hand, and pen and paper in the other. I’ve been writing ever since.

In 2004, I made the wisest and most irrational decision of my life, and began writing fiction full-time. The five books in the award-winning Liberty Series have all reached bestseller status, and are “highly recommended” by The Midwest Book Review. I’ve also begun releasing the Heavenscribe series, and have several other works as well.

In February 2017, look for Sweet Lake, the first installment in the new series I’m writing for Amazon Publishing’s Lake Union imprint. The second book in the series will release in July 2017.

All the years of hard work pay off daily in sweet notes, comments and reviews by readers. Please continue the mail, tweets and comments on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. I cherish your support and love chatting with readers.

Connect with the author:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Database of the Month : Flipster

If you've been in a library instruction session or had to do any research during your time at CU, then you know that the library subscribes to research databases to help you find sources. But did you know that the library subscribes to 110 databases? With that many, it's easy for some of our resources to get overlooked and underutilized. To help showcase some of our underused resources, as well as any brand new ones we subscribe to, we're starting a Database of the Month series.

Our February 2017 database of the month is Flipster, which is described as "a next-generation digital magazine solution that makes it easy for you to read your favorite magazines on your computer or mobile device."

Flipster has Apple and Android apps available. Once you have downloaded the app, there are three steps to complete before you can read your first magazine.

First, open your device's browser, then visit your library's website to see if your library has subscribed to Flipster. Obviously, since we're writing this, we subscribe to Flipster! ;) You will need to visit the Articles and Databases link, then go to the letter F, and click on Flipster.

You will also have to log in on the white screen by using the same username and password you use to access CAMS, Canvas, etc. Okay, so that's basically four steps in this first part, but I promise the next two steps are shorter!

Second, browse the Flipster website for digital magazines. Tap on a magazine to open it in your browser.

Third, go to the menu in the top left corner and select 'Open in App' for offline reading.

The magazine you have selected will be downloaded into the app where it will remain "checked out" for seven days. You can always check it out again after that time period if you don't get to read it.

The library's Flipster subscription has 28 titles, including Cosmopolitan, Essence, Glamour, GQ, and Sports Illustrated.

If you'd like more information or help using Flipster, check out some of the tutorials available or contact the library!