Summer Reading Challenge 2014: The Curse of Van Gogh by Paul Hoppe #SRC2014

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

The thirteenth book on our schedule is The Curse of Van Gogh by author Paul Hoppe.

About the book:

Tyler slides into a simple life of bartending in New York City, living his life day to day. And then at the hottest art opening of the season he meets Kommate Imasu, a Japanese billionaire and famed art collector, who seems to know more about Tyler than his own mother does.  With serious threats against his family and friends, Tyler has to decide how much risk he’ll take to protect them. He quickly learns that gambling against a billionaire is never a good idea. Tyler plunges headfirst into a world of art forgers, hit-men, Yakuza, a femme fatal named Chanel No. 5, and the legendary curse of Van Gogh, in order to pull off the greatest art heist in history.

Well, if you are looking for a boring book, with absolutely no intense action to just pass the time, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK.  However, if you are looking for a really fun book that involves an art heist, Interpol, an Asian mobster, and an expert counterfeiter then, READ THIS BOOK! 

This book follows the life of Tyler, who has just been released for good behavior serving his second felony jail sentence.  He is a thief, particularly dealing with high dollar art.  Tyler works as a bartender in New York and is given a ticket to a very big art exhibit.  The person that has invited him is Kommate Imasu.  He is a very rich man who wants Tyler to steal one of the most famous paintings of all time, A Starry Night by Van Gogh.  Tyler decides to think it over and weigh the consequences of this job.  If he gets caught, then it is his third strike and would go away for life in prison.  He is prepared to tell Imasu no, but Imasu has other plans for Tyler and his family.  For the safety of his family, Tyler decides to pull off an even bigger heist for Imasu in the hopes that he will say no.  This backfires and Tyler must follow through with his proposal.  

I won't give anymore of the book away, but it was a lot of fun to read about how Tyler trains and plans for this job.  He meets (or should I say re-meets?) someone along the way that means a lot to him, but he has to keep his focus on the job.  The people that Tyler contacts and meets along the way are funny and important to his plan.  You learn that Tyler is not a bad guy; he is just trying to do things that are right for his family in order to keep them safe.  

I couldn't put this book down.  It was a lot of fun to read.  Guys will really enjoy this book, but so will women.  As a girl that enjoys action movies, this book was right up my alley.  I thought it was really well written and I cared about what happened to the characters.  If you are looking for a fun read before the school semester starts (one week away!!  EEEK!!) then check out this book.  You won't be disappointed!

About the author:

Paul Hoppe worked as a lobbyist in Washington DC, a stockbroker on Wall Street, and a screenwriter in Hollywood before writing his first novel.  He has lived on four different continents and currently splits his time between the High Sierras and the beaches of Australia.

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook:  on.fb.me/1r1MpWH

·         Twitter: @authorpaulhoppe

·         Website: http://abdaddy.com

·         Goodreads:  bit.ly/1meoP2I

Praise for the book:

'Hoppe offers a crime thriller about the difficulty of stealing famous art….an inviting story of a modern-day gentleman thief.' ----Kirkus Reviews

'We think of an art thief as Pierce Brosnan, rich, handsome, too cool to come within miles of arrest. In The Curse of Van Gogh, Paul Hoppe gives us a more credible character: recently out of jail, burdened by family problems, forced to commit the world s biggest art heist by a billionaire who plans to kill him as soon as he delivers. Oh, and there s a curse. This is a nail-biter.' ----Jesse Kornbluth, HeadButler.com

'I blazed through Paul Hoppe's fun, fast-paced, and thoroughly entertaining, The Curse of Van Gogh, knowing after only a few pages, that I should save it for some transcontinental flight. But, caught up in the perfectly drawn world of the high stakes, high commerce, and high egos of the international art market and its surrounding riff raff of forgers and thieves and wannabes, I was unable to stop myself. Dive in yourself. You won't come up for air until you reach the last sentence.' --Pete Fromm, author of As Cool As I Am and How All This Started

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: Ghosting by Edith Pattou #SRC2014

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

The twelfth book on our schedule is Ghosting by author Kris Edith Pattou.

About the book:

On a hot summer night in a Midwestern town, a high school teenage prank goes horrifically awry. Alcohol, guns, and a dare. Within minutes, as events collide, innocents becomes victims—with tragic outcomes that alter lives forever, a grisly and unfortunate scenario that’s all too familiar. But victims can also become survivors, and as we come to know each character through his/her own distinctive voice and their interactions with one another, we see how, despite pain and guilt, they can reach out to one another, find a new equilibrium, and survive.

Told through multiple points of view in free verse and stream of consciousness, Ghosting is an unforgettable, haunting tale.

Wow, okay, where do I even begin with this book??? This book centers around a group of teenagers from Illinois.  A few of the characters are friends, some are old friends, some aren't friends at all and one is a sibling.  They all happen to be together the night before school starts.  At first, they were meant to go to a party at a friends house, but when some of them decide they don't want to be at the party anymore, tragedy strikes.  One of the characters, Chloe, suggests that they go look for ghosts.  The decide to to go to this particular run-down house near a cemetery.  Unfortunately, this house does not have ghosts and nothing is the same after this point.  I'm not going to give away what happens, but every character has their own struggle to deal with after this point.  Some of the characters have losses of different kinds to deal with, anger, what-ifs, guilt, and realizing they can't go back.  This book really shows how each character did something minor that led up to the event that forever changed all of their lives.  

This book was a little dark (usually that happens with a tragedy involved), but was very enjoyable.  Each chapter was written from a different character's point of view.  I liked this a lot.  It gave you different points of view and made you see how each character was coping.  Plus it made for a very fast read.  I think the different perspectives show that even though it looks like people are happy or have everything looking on the outside, that is not always the case! Two of my favorite things about the book were that one character had to make a parent come to terms that things were not alright and another character had to tell a parent what they really wanted out of their own life.  In the end, they all cope different ways and learn something from it all.  It shows that sometimes the best things come from the worst situations!

About the author:

Edith Pattou has found acclaim as a writer in middle-grade fantasy with such award-winning books as East, which received starred reviews in Booklist and School Library Journal; was selected as a Top Ten Book for YA, an American Library Association Notable Book, a School Library Journal Top Ten YA Book, one of the 100 Best of the Best YA Books for the 21st Century by the Young Adult Library Services Association; and was nominated for numerous state awards. It’s a nominee for NPR’s all-time Best YA Novels list.

Connect with the author:

·        Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1qg9bMx

·        Twitter: https://twitter.com/epattou

·        Website: http://edithpattou.com/

·        Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1rhAA0n

Buy the book:

·        Amazon Hardcover: http://amzn.to/1rNzM3c

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: Gravel on the Side of the Road by Kris Radish #SRC2014

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

The eleventh book on our schedule is Gravel on the Side of the Road by author Kris Radish.

About the book:

A woman who worries about carrying a .38 special in her purse, nearly drowns in a desert canyon, flies into the war in Bosnia, dances with the FBI, tells Geraldo he shouldn't put guests in hotel rooms with rats and spends time with murderers, has more than a few stories to tell. Gravel on the Side of the Road-True Stories From a Broad Who Has Been There is a daring and revealing adventure itself. Beloved novelist Kris Radish returns to her non-fiction beginnings with her first book of autobiographical essays. Her writing career has spanned four decades and has included award-winning newspaper work, magazine features, a national syndicated column, eleven books and enough stories and adventures to fill up many more. Radish s talent for telling it like it is, sharing the wit and wisdom of a life lived mostly on her own terms and her keen sense of humor are highlighted in these stories some of them previously published, all of them offering a glimpse into worlds many never dare to enter. Kris is definitely a broad who has been there.

I am not normally a fan of anthologies or a collection of stories.  I guess I just always enjoy full books that tell one story.  With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed Kris Radish's (she is also a journalist) book.  None of the stories are more than ten pages long, but you sure do get a great story out of them.  Some of them are hilarious, some paint beautiful pictures and some of them show you that your life might not be too hard and will break your heart.  Kris tells stories from her everyday life that are hilarious.  She also tells stories of the stories that she covered from being a journalist.  For instance, there is a story in this book about her going to war zone for a story.  Three women end up coming aboard and they do not speak English.  However, she is able to relate to them as a mother.  They somehow find common ground and build a connection over that plane ride.  She shares pictures of her son with them.  Kris always wonders about them and she makes you wonder about them.  Did they survive?  If they did, what are they doing now?  If they didn't, how are their kids?  All sorts of questions are raised.  
She tells tales of heartbreak from kids being killed.   I think my favorite story in this book was funny and scary at the same time.  It is titled "The Day They Sliced Me Open."  It is about the day that she gave birth to her son Andrew.  This story was hilarious because of some of the things that were going through her mind (why she'll never use a male doctor again, talking about running off with a nurse because she never wants to touch a man again or the discussion of which way her c-section scar will be cut).  This short story also shows all the things that go through your mind when you have a baby (at least I think so, since I've never had one before).  She wonders if the doctor got enough sleep the night before, are they going to harm her son when they cut her open?, or if his medical degree is legit or not.  I laughed out loud a couple of times but also saw the scary side of the beforehand of motherhood and worrying about being a mother.  In this book, Kris makes you wonder how you would handle situations and really makes you put things into perspective.  Like I said before, I am not usually a fan of short stories, but I enjoyed these.  I think since the stories were short and made you think or were funny, it made me eager to get to the next story.  They didn't drag on and were very enjoyable.  This book may have opened up a whole new genre for me!  Thanks Kris for making me laugh and almost cry at the same time!

About the author:

Kris Radish is the author of nine novels and two works of nonfiction. A former award-winning journalist, magazine writer, nationally syndicated columnist, waitress, worm picker, and university lecturer to name just a few of her past lives Radish is also co-owner of a wine lounge, the Wine Madonna, in downtown St. Petersburg Florida where she hosts books clubs and special literary events with groups from across the globe.

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1rRAURb

·         Website: http://www.krisradish.com/

·         Goodreads: http://bit.ly/WQuvep

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: Serenade by Emily Kiebel #SRC2014

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

The tenth book on our schedule is Serenade by author Emily Kiebel.

About the book:

Suddenly the voice she prized is now dangerously seductive.
Lorelei Clark’s only concern was her future as a classically trained soprano, that is, until the day her father was tragically killed. Shattered by his death, she hesitantly accepts an invitation from a mysterious aunt to visit her lavish oceanside home in Cape Cod. She quickly discovers that her aunt and the two women who live with her are harboring a frightening secret – they are sirens, terrifying mythical creatures responsible for singing doomed sailors to their deaths. Even more astounding, Lorelei is one of them.

In this new world where water comes alive at her touch and an ancient power pulses beneath the tide, the most important rule Lorelei must learn is that a siren never interferes with fate. When she breaks this rule by rescuing a handsome sailor who should have died at sea, the sirens vow she must finish the job or face grave consequences. Finding herself inexplicably attracted to him, she must fight to keep him safe from the others, even if it means risking her own life – and her heart – in the process.

Serenade centers around Lorelei from Colorado who is currently in college pursuing music.  Her dad has just recently died and her mom does not think that Lorelei should go back to school in Maine.  Lorelei is of course devastated about the loss of her dad and finds that it is hard to return to her old life.  One day she receives a letter from a great aunt that she did not know that she even had.  This aunt, Helen, invites her to her house in Massachusetts for a visit.  At first Lorelei is unsure if she should go, but decides to take a break from her studies and heads to Helen's house.  When Lorelei arrives, she finds that not only does Helen live there but that she has two cousins (Calliope and Deidre) that live there as well.  She finds out that they all have the gift of Song in common.  One morning Lorelei witnesses something strange and when she confronts Helen about it, Helen tells Lorelei that she is a Siren just like the three of them.  Their jobs as Sirens are to help people die, nothing evil and not to kill them, but to help with their suffering.  Of course, Lorelei has a problem coming to grips with this, but she decides to try and harness her gifts through the help of Helen.  After some practice, Lorelei is given a job of helping two individuals pass through after they are involved in a shipwreck.  However, Lorelei has a hard time trying to guide one of the shipwrecked members, Tyler, into death.  She instead decides to help him to one of the rescue boats.  Because of this act, a balance has been thrown off and Helen and Calliope inform her that this act must be reversed.  They tell her that she must guide Tyler to death or there will be consequences.  After Calliope threatens to do the deed herself, Lorelei reluctantly agrees to follow through with finding Tyler to guide him to death.  Once she meets Tyler again, there is a connection and she decides to take fate into her own hands.  When this happens, Lorelei learns that there is not only good people with this gift, but also evil.  Lorelei decides to make a very tough decision that is not necessarily what she wants, but what needs to be done.

This book has a lot of interesting characters that support Lorelei and people like her.  Some of the people that are there to help are a complete shock to her.  She still has a lot to learn about herself, the people around her and this new gift.  She learns about her family and why everyone is the way they are.  Why wouldn't her mother tell Lorelei about these three women in her family?  You will have to read the book to find out!  The ending is a definite cliffhanger and you will want the next book in the series to already be written! :)  

About the author:

Emily Kiebel was raised in Colorado and went on to study classical music and English at Concordia University. She found a love for singing early in life and now sings professionally and directs a local church choir. In her spare time, she can be found exploring the natural beauty of the great outdoors with her beloved dogs, Ginny and Diggory, cooking for friends and family, traveling or dragging her friends along to obscure historical sites. Serenade is her debut novel.

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1plaRTH

·         Website: http://emilykiebel.com/

·         Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1n6yXwD

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: Elly in Love by Colleen Oakes #SRC2014

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

The ninth book on our schedule is Elly in Love by Author Colleen Oakes.  

About the book:

Curvy wedding florist Elly Jordan has had quite a year. First, she had to design her ex-husband’s wedding to the mistress who split them up, and then she broke up with the hottest musician this side of St. Louis. Three months have passed since then, and now Elly is primed for what promises to be the best wedding season of her life.

Helped by her loyal friends, Elly is on the verge of opening a chic flower boutique uptown when BlissBride, a popular wedding reality show, asks her to design the wedding of a famous—make that infamous–celebrity. Elly is about to get everything she’s ever wanted, when a stranger shows up at her store with a request that changes every aspect of her life–including her budding relationship with deli owner Keith. As she struggles to stay calm in the midst of growing chaos, Elly will learn the true meaning of love and sacrifice.

Elly in Love is the second book in a series.  However, if you did not read the first book, Elly in Bloom, you will not be completely lost.  This book is about Elly Jordan who is a florist living in the St. Louis area.  She does not have any family left after the death of her mother.  However, she does have a great set of friends and a too-good-to-be true boyfriend that make up for that.  Elly has a great business opportunity when the producers of BlissBride seek her out as a possible vendor for a celebrity wedding.  With this opportunity, the Snarky Teenager (that's her name in the book, I'm not being mean!) that works for Elly has an idea for opening a second, but different, location.  Elly agrees that with the money and exposure from the show this would be the perfect time to open another business.  Things seem to be going smoothly  for Elly (who is actually very clumsy herself!) until a stranger turns up at her door.  It turns out that this stranger is a half-brother that Elly never knew existed.  Elly accepts him into her home hoping to connect with the only family she has left.  Things start off rocky for the two and eventually there is something hard that happens that they must both decide how to deal with.  As if the celebrity wedding, "reality" show, new brother and second business aren't enough to deal with, it seems that Elly's too-good-to-be-true boyfriend is hiding something very important from her.  Elly has to learn to juggle all of these things and be happy with her life.

This book was very funny at times.  Elly was hysterical.  I loved how she tried to be funny, was not very graceful, but she also had a really good heart.  The relationship with her employee, Snarky Teenager, were very comical as well.  I found myself wanting to know more about how the relationship with Elly and her half-brother grew.  Elly was always encouraging the people around her, even when she was super stressed and bone tired. (Isn't it great to have a friend like that??)  I think that when I have time (after the Summer Reading Challange), I would like to go back and read the first book in this series.  I was very happy to see that there would be another book in this series.  I cannot wait to read about how Elly and her friends (and brother!) turn out!

About the author:

Colleen Oakes is the author of the Elly in Bloom series and the YA fantasy Queen of Hearts Saga, both published via SparkPress, a BookSparks imprint. She lives in North Denver with her husband and son. When not writing, Colleen enjoys swimming, traveling, and immersing herself in nerdy pop culture. She is currently at work on the last Elly novel and her second YA fantasy series, Wendy Darling.

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook:  http://on.fb.me/1hJGIL6

·         Twitter: https://twitter.com/ColleenBlooms

·         Website: http://colleenoakes.net/

·        Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1jl5CvV

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal #SRC2014

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

The eighth book on our schedule is My Last Kiss by Author Bethany Neal.  

About the book:

What if your last kiss was with the wrong boy?

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend.

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss

This book starts off with Cassidy's first kiss with her boyfriend, Ethan.  After that point, Cassidy is stuck in between life and death.  Seeing her dead body is a shock to her.  She doesn't know how she has died.  Was it an accident, suicide or murder?  She can't remember anything about what happened in her life in the few weeks leading to her death.  That's what this book revolves around.  Cassidy observes her friends and family to find out what happened to her.  The only person that can see her is her boyfriend Ethan.  At first he thinks he is just imagining her due to grief, but he accepts that she is a ghost.  Something bad besides Cassidy's death happens that night and they work together to find out what happened to her. Cassidy's memory starts to come back to her in bits and pieces as she's observing.  Cassidy finds out she isn't who she thought she was and neither were the people she was closest to.  Everyone has their own lies that unfortunately lead to Cassidy's death.  

This book was great!  This book was written very well and was highly entertaining.  There were twists to the book that kept you engrossed in the book.  I wanted Cassidy to find out what really happened, but at the same time it was sad knowing if she did that her and Ethan really wouldn't be together anymore.  The characters were fun and they always kept you guessing if they killed Cassidy or if she killed herself.  I enjoyed seeing the point of view from the other characters and finding out that Cassidy didn't always know what was going on in their lives even if they were close friends.  She also finds out who was truly her friends and who wasn't.  Cassidy realizes that she did some things that she isn't proud of in the few weeks before her death, but you find out she is still a good person.  Seeing her family without her hurts her and so does seeing their grief.  However, she knows that if she finds out what really happened to her, she can help them and Ethan.  I can't wait to read another book by Bethany Neal!

About the author:

Bethany Neal writes young-adult novels with a little dark side and a lot of kissing from her Ann Arbor, Michigan home. She graduated from Bowling Green State University and is obsessed with (but not limited to): nail polish, ginormous rings, pigs, pickles, and dessert. My Last Kiss is her first novel. 

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1jIueTb

·         Twitter: @BethDazzled

·         Website: http://www.bethanyneal.com/

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!

Summer Reading Challenge 2014: The Walk-In Closet by Abdi Nazemian #SRC2014

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

The seventh book on our schedule is The Walk-In Closet by Author Abdi Nazemian.  

About the book:

Kara Walker has never found much glamour in her own life, especially not when compared to the life of her best friend Bobby Ebadi. Bobby, along with his sophisticated parents Leila and Hossein, is everything Kara always wanted to be. The trio provides the perfect antidote to what Kara views as the more mundane problems of her girlfriends and her divorced parents.

And so when the Ebadis assume that Kara is Bobby’s girlfriend, she willingly steps into the role. She enjoys the perks of life in this closet, not only Leila’s designer hand-me-downs and free rent, but also the excitement of living life as an Ebadi.

As Kara’s 30^th birthday approaches, Leila and Hossein up the pressure. They are ready for Kara to assume the mantle of the next Mrs. Ebadi, and Bobby seems prepared to give them what they want: the illusion of a traditional home and grandchildren. How far will Kara be willing to go? And will she be willing to pull the Persian rug out from under them when she discovers that her own secret is just one of many lurking inside the Ebadi closet?

Kara has just celebrated a milestone birthday (30) and she's living a pretty good life. She lives in a great apartment, wears designer clothes (that are given to her), receives a new car, all thanks to the Ebadi's. Leila and Hossein Ebadi are the parents of her best friend, Bobby. Bobby is non-working screenwriter and party boy. The Ebadi's love Kara and they pay for her and Bobby's lifestyle in hopes that they will soon marry. Kara and Bobby have a great relationship but there is a serious problem with their relationship: Bobby is gay. Bobby being gay is apparent to everyone except to his parents. Bobby and Kara have an agreement to keep the charade going until the other person meets someone.  However his parents are trying everything to get them to marry and are pressuring for grandchildren.  It becomes all too much for Kara to keep up the act.  Kara starts to question whether what they are doing is right and she tries to find her own life.  She meets a stranger in an usual way and tries to keep it to herself.  However the relationship with this stranger starts to affect her relationship with Bobby, her friends and the other Ebadi family members.  The past of the Ebadi's starts to affect her future and all of it finally comes to blows.  

I enjoyed this book because of the characters and their Persian culture.  The Ebadi's are Persians that have immigrated from Iran to Los Angeles.  It is funny at times when Leila tries to find out what certain words in the English language mean.  However throughout the story you learn how each family member has tried to adapt (whether for good or bad) to the new culture.  I think people can relate to the main message of the book.  It seems like all of the characters struggle with acceptance and what will happen if their true selves come to light.  There is another message of seeing what you want to see due to pride and the Ebadi's are faced with a challenge when a major plot twist happens.  Will Kara continue to coast through life or will she finally live her own life?

About the author:

Abdi Nazemian is the screenwriter of The Quiet, Celeste in the City, Beautiful Girl, and the short film Revolution, which he also directed.  He is an alumnus of the Sundance Writer’s Lab, a mentor at the Outfest Screenwriter’s Lab, and has taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension.  He lives in Los Angeles with his two children, and his dog Hedy Lamarr. The Walk-In Closet is his first novel.

Connect with the author:

·         Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1jkYO07

·         Twitter: @abdaddy

·         Website: http://abdaddy.com

·         Goodreads: http://bit.ly/QC54K1

If you want to find out more about the Summer Reading Challenge click the image above!