#FRC2016: Hindsight by Mindy Tarquini

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Contemporary Fables

Department: Magical Realism

About the book:

EUGENIA PANISPORCHI LIVES WITH HER MOTHER, TEACHES CHAUCER, AND REMEMBERS ALL HER PAST LIVES. SHE IS DESPERATE TO CHANGE HER FUTURE.

Born this time around into a South Philadelphia Italian-American family so traditional, she and her siblings are expected to marry in birth order, Eugenia lives a simple life―no love connection, no controversy, no complications. Her hope is that the Blessed Virgin Mary (who oversees her soul's progress) will grant her heart's desire, the option to choose the circumstances of her next life. But when a student reveals he shares her ability, Eugenia suddenly finds herself setting up a Facebook page and sponsoring a support group for others like her, an oddball odyssey, during which she discovers she must confront her current shortcomings before she can break the cycle and finally live the life of her dreams.

A layered contemporary fable, Hindsight reminds us to live this life like it's the only one we'll have.

Hindsight is different than any book I have read in the past.  It follows Eugenia who has lived several lives and who crosses paths with people she has met before.  She tries to live a simple, uncomplicated life, but when you are living life that is not really possible.  She also feels weighted by all the lives she has lived in the past.  Eugenia soon learns that she is not the only one that has these gifts.  She even starts a support group for others like her and soon learns more about herself and what kind of life she wants to live.  This book was very interesting and had some very funny parts associated with it!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Raised by traditional people in a modern world, Mindy Tarquini is a second-generation Italian American who grew up believing dreams are prophecy, the devil steals lost objects, and an awkward glance can invite the evil eye.

She’s served as assistant editor with the Lascaux Review, also Spinetingler Magazine, and is a member of the Perley Station Writers’ Colony. Her work has won recognition from the Philadelphia City Paper, the Maui Writer’s Conference, and the Oklahoma Writer’s Federation.

A native Philadelphian, Ms. Tarquini packed up her pizza stone and westward-ho’d. She now resides in Phoenix, where she divides her time between writing and wrestling with her pasta maker.

She does not have hindsight

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#FRC2016: In the Heart of Texas by Ginger McKnight-Chavers

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Pop Culture Conversations

Department: Women's Fiction Studies

About the book:

Named a “Top Pick” by RT Book Reviews 

Named a “Fall Must-Read” by RedbookMag.com * PopSugar * Parade Magazine * Brit + Co * SoulCycle

Hailed as a “Best Fiction Book by Women of Color” at Bustle.com

Pitched as “a poor man’s Halle Berry,” forty-one-year-old soap star Jo Randolph, has successfully avoided waiting tables since she left Midland, Texas at eighteen. But then, in the span of twenty-four hours, Jo manages to lose her job, burn her bridges in Hollywood, and accidentally burn down her lover/director’s beach house―after which she is shipped home to Texas by her agent to stay out of sight while she sorts out her situation.

The more Jo reluctantly reconnects with her Texas “roots” and the family and friends she left behind, the more she regains touch with herself as an artist and with what is meaningful in life beyond the limelight. The summer of 2007 is cathartic for Jo, whose career and lifestyle have allowed her to live like a child for forty years, but who now must transition to making grown-up decisions and taking on adult responsibilities. In the Heart of Texas is a wry, humorous commentary on the complexities of race, class, relationships, politics, popular culture, and celebrity in our current society.

In the Heart of Texas is full of interesting characters and a great plot line.  Jo has been living in Hollywood as a soap actress after escaping from the town that she grew up in, Midland, Texas.  She isn't an A list star, but she is making do with her work.  However, after an affair with her (married) director goes bad, she is forced to head back home in order to escape the backlash.  While she is at home, she becomes a drama teacher and tries to sort out her life.  She has a lot to think about and has plenty of attention from the locals.  The interactions between Jo and her family and friends are some of my favorite scenes!  This is a great story about reexamining one's life and gives you plenty of laughs along the way!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

A native of Dallas, Texas, Ginger McKnight-Chavers is a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and Harvard Law School. She was a Kathryn Gurfein Writing Fellow at Sarah Lawrence College, and her debut novel, In the Heart of Texas, will be released in Fall 2016 by She Writes Press. McKnight-Chavers currently blogs for The Huffington Post and The TexPatch, and she lives in Westchester County, New York, with her husband, daughter, and an overweight West Highland White Terrier.

Connect with the author:

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#FRC: Found by Emily Brett

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: International Nursing

Department: Medical Adventure

About the book:

Twenty-seven-year-old ICU nurse Natalie Ulster has a desire to see the world, in case she dies young like her mother, and a need to heal, which is compensation for her own damaged heart. Armed with an independence and self-reliance that stems from her father’s emotional abandonment―and wanting to separate herself from a deranged nurse whose husband just died under suspicious circumstances on Natalie’s watch―Natalie grabs life by the globe and accepts successive assignments in Belize, Australia, and Arizona. 

When Natalie meets Dr. Joel Lansfield, a physician who is also familiar with grief, she finds that Joel sees her for the strong woman she is, and loves her for all she has yet to figure out―but she’s not sure she’s ready to make room in her heart for love.

Desperate to maintain her emotional distance with Joel, she continues to travel. In each country, however, she finds herself confronted with near-death accidents, from a poisoned drink to a severe food allergy to being thrown overboard in the Great Barrier Reef. Too many coincidences force her to ask herself a frightening question: Is someone trying to kill her?

Natalie, an ICU nurse, has the urge to travel the world.  She wants to feel like she is living a full life since her mother passed away from cancer at such a young age.  She ends up signing up for a nursing job that allows her to travel multiple countries for short bursts of time.  This affords her the opportunity to see the world and find joy in her life.  Before she leaves, she has an encounter with another nurse whose husband passes away under very sketchy circumstances  while Natalie is on duty.  This run-in stays with Natalie throughout her travels when she has more than one brush with death.  Natalie starts to wonder if these are accidents or events with purpose.  Natalie starts to realize that she has to face the demons of her past in order to move on to her future.  Natalie looks into why she became a nurse and what she really wants out of life.  It was interesting to read about the different areas she visited and to watch her grow as a person.
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Emily Brett received her first bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in Kinesiology, after which she went on to Arizona State University to receive a bachelor’s degree in nursing. While working as an ICU nurse, she earned a master’s degree in nursing at Arizona State. She is board-certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner and has been in the nursing profession for over ten years. Presently she serves on the Advanced Practice Committee with the Arizona State Board of Nursing, and shares a medical practice with her husband, a physician. She has been published in a number of medical journals, including The Journal for Nurse Practitioners and the Online Journal of Nursing Scholarship. She is also a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Emily currently resides in Scottsdale Arizona with her husband, three kids, and their rescue dog, Farley.

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#FRC2016: Unexpected Love by Kristy Kryszczak

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Sex and the City 101

Department: Women’s Fiction Studies

About the book:

As a young woman living in the wondrous city of New York, Inez Champlain has always aspired to be like Carrie from Sex and the City, sans the tulle skirts and poor financial decisions, of course. Inez has it all: great friends, her dream job as a notable beauty writer, a studio loft on the Upper East Side, and no messy romantic drama to get in the way. But life takes a surprising turn when Inez catches the eye of the charming and handsome Jason Parkson, who fearlessly introduces himself the moment he sees her. Romance is the last thing on Inez’s mind, but there is something about Jason she can’t resist, and before long she’s hooked—that is, until she’s introduced to his brother, Jimmy, and the two share an instant connection she can’t quite understand. Inez tries to resist Jimmy, but there’s no denying the feelings growing between them. Her mind and heart are at odds—will she stay with the man she thinks she loves, or surrender to a more precarious yet alluring fate? When Inez is pulled away from New York, the balance of her life shifts yet again. Soon she is caught in a web of confusion and heartache while trying to do the right thing. Could the love Inez never set out to find cost her everything she cares about?

Unexpected Love follows Inez as she is living a full life in New York.  She has a great career as a beauty writer, a great apartment and great friends.  She also does not have any relationship complications...well, until she meets Jason.  He is very handsome and she is attracted to him.  However, she meets his brother Jimmy and that is where the complication comes into play.  She is instantly attracted to Jimmy and they have a really great connection.  She has to figure out if she should be listening to her mind or following her heart when it comes to her love situation.  She has to figure out where are feelings are and if her feelings for Jimmy are just an infatuation.  

This was a very enjoyable, short read.  I don't want to give anything away but you will be dying to know how things turn out for Inez.  Inez has some tough decisions to make and it is great to see her growth throughout the book.  This book was a lot of fun and I can't wait to see what is next from this author!
  

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Kristy Kryszczak is the author of Unexpected Love, a debut novel about one woman’s journey navigating through life in her thirties and the complicated romances she gets pulled into along the way.

A former actor and beauty publicist in New York City, Kristy relocated to Naples, Florida, to enjoy all that the Gulf Coast has to offer. When she isn’t creating captivating fictional love triangles, Kristy is busy working as a director of special events and communications. She also blogs about her adventures living on Florida’s Paradise Coast, the writing life, marathon training, and always aspiring to live with gumption. She is a dog mom to her cockapoo, Maisy Mae, and enjoys cooking and hosting get-togethers for family and friends.

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#FRC2016: The Witch House of Persimmon Point by Suzanne Palmieri

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Southern Witchcraft 401

Department: Gothic Literature

About the book:

“It's rare to find a novel that sends shivers up your spine. The Witch of Persimmon Point not only leaves you spooked, it'll give you chills whenever you see it on your bookshelf.” – Redbook

This house is a whole other ball of wax. I’m sure its feelings are hurt as I write this. It fancies itself a horror house. Home of witches and murderesses. Of death and decay and destruction. And here I am calling it comforting…

When Byrd Whalen returns to her family’s ancestral home to uncover secrets threatening to destroy a legacy she holds dear, she gets more than she bargained for. Over the course of one harrowing weekend, the dark haunted histories of the Amore women reveal themselves, leading Byrd to question everything she's ever believed about herself.

In 1890, Nan, the Amore family matriarch, was sent away to America with little more than a baby and a rocking chair, quickly finding work on the sprawling estate of the wildly eccentric Green family. This new life is one she wanted: loving and free with a family that understands and shares in her magic. But when tragedy strikes, destroying the mansion and the precious lives inside, Nan is left alone and pregnant with Reginald Green’s child. With nothing more than the deed to the property, she builds a house from the rubble and a new, pragmatic life. It would become a haunted life that would lead to other haunted lives. It would become a house both terrible and wonderful. It would become known as “The Witch House.”

An unforgettable family saga in the Gothic tradition, Suzanne Palmieri’s The Witch House of Persimmon Point is her most powerful novel yet.

The Witch House of Persimmon Point is a story about secrets hidden over several generations.  Byrd is forced to uncover family secrets that are threatening to harm her reputation (with the whole world watching).  In order do this, she needs to travel to her old family home.  Because this book offers multiple viewpoints, we find out about Nan.  She is the matriarch of the family and we learn that she was banished to live in American in 1890.  She is able to find work with the Green family and learns that they understand the magic that she has.  However, Nan's happiness does not last for long when some disturbing events take place in the house.

This book has some very dark experiences and are sometimes difficult to read.  However, the understanding of the past is very essential to this story.  Every person has a purpose in this book and it was entertaining to see this family's story unfold.  Once you start this book, you will not be able to stop!                                                 

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

I've always wanted to be a writer, but life got in the way. At 22, I was a struggling, unwed mother on welfare who moonlighted as a cocktail waitress. My daughter and I collected food stamps and other social entitlements for several years. There never seemed to be enough money, and knowing I had to finish college I hustled to make ends meet. Education, and writing whatever I could, saved me.

I wrote everywhere: in journals, on napkins, on the inside of matchbook covers. After graduating from college, (walking across the stage with my baby on my hip!), I was awarded a Presidential Scholarship to Fordham; this scholarship allowed me to exit the welfare system for good. Also, being a single mother living alone in the Bronx would become the impetus for my debut novel THE WITCH OF LITTLE ITALY, which hit shelves in March 2013. I am also the co-author of I'LL BE SEEING YOU (writing as Suzanne Hayes). THE WITCH OF BELLADONNA BAY and EMPIRE GIRLS will be released in May, 2014. I have another contract for two more novels with St. Martin's Press and am currently hard at work meeting deadlines!

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#FRC2016: London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middlteon

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Theatre Writing 101

Department: British Literature

About the book:

Alex Sinclair couldn’t jump on a plane fast enough. Broken from an unexpected betrayal, she flees sunny Florida for the Britannia cool of London—home of her favourite TV shows, plays, and fangirl heroes. Alex believes London is where she belongs, where she’ll heal old wounds, and chase her dream of writing for the theatre. Staying with her British friend Harry with barely a year’s rent money in her pocket, the clock is ticking. But when a wealthy rival fueled by ambition and jealousy threatens her career and a fledgling romance, Alex once again questions her self-worth—and is left wondering if London is where she truly belongs.

Alex is an aspiring playwright who is leaving Florida behind after graduating in order to pursue her dreams in London.  She is also leaving her cheating ex in the review mirror.  Alex thinks this new move will be good for her fresh start.  Unfortunately, not everything goes as Alex plans (as does life...).  Her roommate is not very nice (to put it mildly) and her room is as big as my bathtub.  Alex is determined to not let all of these obstacles keep her down.  Alex goes through so many trials to discover how much she is really capable of.  She finds out how much she can handle and has a great group of supporting friends and family to help her along the way.  This book is a great example of personal growth and how to navigate life when it tries to beat you down!                                                     

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author (taken from the author's web site):

Hello! I’m an award-winning freelance writer with articles published by several of the most popular magazines, newspapers, and websites in North America including Canadian Living, Best Health, National Geographic Travel, the Toronto Star, Reader’s Digest, Chatelaine, Today’s Parent, and Flare. I previously worked in television broadcasting for Chum Television (Citytv and MuchMusic), and Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting (Discovery Health Channel, Slice and National Geographic Channel), and live in Toronto.

When I’m not writing, you can find me hanging out in London, waiting in a comic con line with my husband, or chasing after my bossy Schipperke. LONDON BELONGS TO ME is my first novel.

I’m a member of the Professional Writers Association of Canada, and the Canadian Authors Association.

Check out my freelance writing portfolio featuring articles on health, fitness, travel, pop culture, and pets.

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#FRC2016: An Address in Amsterdam by Mary Fillmore

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Jewish Studies

Department: Historical Fiction

About the book:

Rachel Klein hopes she can ignore the Nazis when they roll into Amsterdam in May 1940. She’s falling in love, and her city has been the safest place in the world for Jewish people since the Spanish Inquisition. But when Rachel’s Gentile boyfriend is forced to disappear rather than face arrest, she realizes that everything is changing, and so must she―so, although she is often tired and scared, she delivers papers for the underground under the Nazis’ noses. But after eighteen months of ever increasing danger, she pushes her parents to go into hiding with her. The dank basement where they take refuge seems like the last place where Rachel would meet a new man―but she does.

An Address in Amsterdam shows that, even in the most hopeless situation, an ordinary young woman can make the choice to act with courage―and even love.

Rachel Klein is living in Amsterdam during WWII.  The Germans are moving towards Amsterdam and Rachel hopes that she can avoid them at all costs.  However, this is not possible and times get harder.  Rachel starts to fall in love with a boy that must disappear.  This forces Rachel to accept that everything is changing and she decides to deliver papers for the underground resistance.  After doing this for some time, her family must go into hiding after something very horrible happens.  They find refuge in a basement and despite their circumstances, Rachel's family becomes even stronger.  Rachel even falls in love during the most unlikely situation.  

This book is very descriptive of the time and makes you feel the horrors that happened.  I loved how this book was also a coming of age story for Rachel.  She shows you how resilient people were during this time.  You will feel tugs on your heart strings for sure while you read this book!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

After a lifetime of private creative writing, I was seized by a subject too important to hide in my journal or a letter to friends. Living in a house where Jewish people were hidden inspired my novel, An Address in Amsterdam, to be published by She Writes Press in October 2016. Since my first lengthy stay in Amsterdam in 2001, I have been visiting, researching, writing, and talking about the Holocaust and resistance in the Netherlands. No, I'm neither Dutch nor Jewish, just a lover of the city of Amsterdam and its people, living and dead. I would have been a neighbor of the deported citizens had I been alive at that time, and I will always wonder whether I would have colluded passively, collaborated, or resisted as I would hope. 

To develop my craft as a writer to be worthy of this topic, I earned my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2005. I like giving talks which explore the many shades of grey in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, and the wrenching choices which good people face, then and now. The Vermont Humanities Council Speakers’ Bureau sponsors my presentation of “Anne Frank’s Neighbors: What Did They Do?," and I am always looking for ways to spread the message that action is always possible against persecution and oppression.

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#FRC2016: Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale

This fall, members of the Vise Library are going back to school by participating in a Fall Reading Challenge (it's our Junior Year!)  We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!

Course Title: Funerals & Lies

Department: Suspense

About the book:

A luminous debut with unexpected twists, Everything We Keep explores the devastation of loss, the euphoria of finding love again, and the pulse-racing repercussions of discovering the truth about the ones we hold dear and the lengths they will go to protect us.

Sous chef Aimee Tierney has the perfect recipe for the perfect life: marry her childhood sweetheart, raise a family, and buy out her parents’ restaurant. But when her fiancé, James Donato, vanishes in a boating accident, her well-baked future is swept out to sea. Instead of walking down the aisle on their wedding day, Aimee is at James’s funeral—a funeral that leaves her more unsettled than at peace.

As Aimee struggles to reconstruct her life, she delves deeper into James’s disappearance. What she uncovers is an ocean of secrets that make her question everything about the life they built together. And just below the surface is a truth that may set Aimee free…or shatter her forever.

What would you do if you had to bury the person you loved on the day that you were supposed to get married?  That's what Aimee has to do.  Her fiancé, James, is in a boating accident while he was on a "supposed" business trip.  and Aimee is devastated.  She has known James for her entire life and they were childhood sweethearts.  She is having a very hard time believing that he is gone and starts to question if James is really who she thought he was.  Suddenly, Aimee's life is not planning out in the way that she had always imagined.  It turns out that James may have had some secrets and those secrets could destroy Aimee even more.  Aimee has to decide if she willing to let go or if there is more to James' "disappearance."  

Man, was this a good story!  It was a good suspense novel.  I wanted to know what really happened to James the entire time and what his secrets were.  This book really intrigued me when one of James' paintings goes missing and turns up in Mexico!  (I can't tell you why or who!)  This is a definite page turner and ends with a sequel planned.  You will not be disappointed!

Find it: | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

About the author:

Kerry Lonsdale is the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Kindle bestselling author of EVERYTHING WE KEEP. She believes life is more exciting with twists and turns, which may be why she enjoys dropping her characters into unexpected scenarios and foreign settings. She graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and is a founder of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, an online community of authors located across the globe. She resides in Northern California with her husband, two children, an aging golden retriever who’s convinced she’s still a puppy, and a tabby kitten quite adept at catching flies. Her second novel ALL THE BREAKING WAVES publishes December 6, 2016. Connect with her at www.kerrylonsdale.com.

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