Books I Review

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

the things we keep

Photo Credit: St. Martin’s Press 1/19/16

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Things We Keep

Anna is 38 years old. Too young to face the idea of Alzheimer’s. And yet- that is exactly what is happening. As this wretched disease begins to take it’s toll on her mind and memories, the idea of Rosalind House is not  the best- but the best of the worst case scenario plans.

At Rosalind House, Anna meets Luke. Around Anna’s age- he also has Alzheimer’s.

While Anna and Luke have trouble remembering things- they form a connection and fall in love. They may not “know” each other. They may not have the happily ever after life  that both of them deserve. But for reasons that only love and maybe fate can understand- they found each other and bring each other happiness- and as their memories fade- the allure of happiness is like a sweet melody. Continue reading →

Come Away With Me by Karma Brown

come away with me by karma brown

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Come Away With Me

Summary from Goodreads:

One minute, Tegan Lawson has everything she could hope for: an adoring husband, Gabe, and a baby on the way. The next, a patch of black ice causes a devastating accident that will change her life in ways she never could have imagined.

Tegan is consumed by grief, not to mention her anger toward Gabe, who was driving on the night of the crash. But just when she thinks she’s hit rock bottom, Gabe reminds her of their Jar of Spontaneity, a collection of their dream destinations and experiences, and so begins an adventure of a lifetime.

From the bustling markets of Thailand to the flavors of Italy to the ocean waves in Hawaii, Tegan and Gabe embark on a journey to escape the tragedy and search for forgiveness. But they soon learn that grief follows you no matter how far away you run, and that acceptance comes when you least expect it.

Heartbreaking, hopeful and utterly transporting, Come Away with Me is an unforgettable debut and a luminous celebration of the strength of the human spirit.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ll admit- a blurb about this book referencing EAT PRAY LOVE almost turned me off this book ( I didn’t care for the movie at all and the reference made me think that Tegan was going to give me a major case of the bummers.)

Luckily for COME AWAY WITH ME- it had a book fan to bend my ear and let me know how fabulous it is (shout out to Helen at My Novel Opinion 🙂

When I began read Tegan and Gabe’s story- their story, basically in the first ten pages, went to a dark place. A sad place. So, I thought I had it figured out- their life is crap now and the jar of spontaneity is all about them, together and separately, learning to deal with the craptastic stuff that happened and find a way to move on.

But Karma was sneaky. And that’s all I have to say. #nospoilers

And yes, COME AWAY WITH ME does have an EAT PRAY LOVE feel in the sense of the travel and maybe even some of the lessons that Tegan learns about life, love and forgiveness.

I thought long and hard as I was reading this book- could I forgive Gabe? Because while it’s an accident, it’s also his fault (if that makes sense). I ached with Tegan about her choices, what she lost. #Kleenex

I’m doing a terrible job of explaining why this book should be on your TBR list. Just trust me- read it.

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

 

Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T

traveling with t sign off picture

Thicker Than Blood by Jan English Leary

thicker than blood

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Thicker Than Blood

Summary from Goodreads:

Andrea Barton is single but wants a child. When an infant is abandoned at a church on the north side of Chicago, Andrea first becomes a foster mother and then adopts her. Andrea believes that love and her experience as a social worker will see her through the challenges of raising an African-American child in a white world. During Pearl s childhood, Andrea is able to protect her daughter from many of societys blows. But when teenaged Pearl starts to seek her own identity, their relationship is threatened. Both mother and daughter face situations that force them to confront the possibilities and limits of love.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Andrea wants a child very much. She’s considered many of her options- but when a child is abandoned, it seems that fate wants them to be together. Continue reading →

Food Whore by Jessica Tom

Food Whore

Photo Credit: William Morrow 10/27

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Food Whore

Summary from Goodreads:

Food whore (n.) A person who will do anything for food.

Fresh out of college, Tia Monroe has every intention of taking the New York City restaurant scene by storm. But after a coveted internship goes up in smoke, Tia’s suddenly just another food lover in the big city.

Yet everything changes when Michael Saltz, a legendary New York Times restaurant critic, lets Tia in on a career-ending secret: he’s lost his sense of taste. Now he wants Tia to serve as his palate, ghostwriting his reviews. In return he promises her lavish meals, a boundless cache of designer clothing, and the opportunity of a lifetime. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Tia agrees.

Within weeks, Tia’s world transforms into one of glamour and luxury: four-star dinners, sexy celebrity chefs, and an unlimited expense account at Bergdorf Goodman. Tia loves every minute of it…until she sees her words in print and Michael Saltz taking all the credit. As the veneer of extravagance wears thin and her secret identity begins to crumble, Tia is faced with what it means to truly succeed. In a city where “making it” is the ultimate goal, Tia will have to decide: how far is she willing to go for the life she craves?

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

Confession: I’m not a real “foodie”. I like food. I can talk about flavors and I can usually pick interesting tastes/spices out. I love a simple home cooked meal and I enjoy dancing on the wilder (for me) side of sushi. Continue reading →

All Dressed in White (Under Suspicion #2) by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

All Dressed in White by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Photo Credit: Simon and Schuster 11/17

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

All Dressed In White

Amanda Pierce was about to marry the love of her life when something happened. Was it cold feet or something more nefarious? 5 years later, no one can actually say. Her body has not been discovered and Amanda has not contacted her family to let them know that she is ok.

For a mother, this limbo is the worst kind of life. When Amanda’s mother contacts Laurie about choosing the Amanda White story as the next Under Suspicion story, Laurie is initially unsure. But the more she listens to the mother talk- the more that she knows this is the story. Continue reading →

The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan

The Good Neighbor by Amy Sue Nathan

Photo Credit: St. Martin’s Press 10/13

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Good Neighbor

Izzy Lane- recently divorced, recently moved back to her childhood home with her child Noah. Izzy is looking for some normalcy in her life- but it’s hard to find.

When her ex-husband gets a new girlfriend, it’s so easy to tell the little white lie that she has a new boyfriend. After all, who has never told a white lie? At night- when Izzy blogs behind closed doors- stories of dating, of life after divorce happens and thus “Mac” was born. Continue reading →

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter

Photo Credit: William Morrow

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Pretty Girls

Summary from Goodreads

#1 internationally bestselling author Karin Slaughter returns with a sophisticated and chilling psychological thriller of dangerous secrets, cold vengeance, and unexpected absolution, in which two estranged sisters must come together to find truth about two harrowing tragedies, twenty years apart, that devastate their lives.

Sisters. Strangers. Survivors.

More than twenty years ago, Claire and Lydia’s teenaged sister Julia vanished without a trace. The two women have not spoken since, and now their lives could not be more different. Claire is the glamorous trophy wife of an Atlanta millionaire. Lydia, a single mother, dates an ex-con and struggles to make ends meet. But neither has recovered from the horror and heartbreak of their shared loss—a devastating wound that’s cruelly ripped open when Claire’s husband is killed.

The disappearance of a teenage girl and the murder of a middle-aged man, almost a quarter-century apart: what could connect them? Forming a wary truce, the surviving sisters look to the past to find the truth, unearthing the secrets that destroyed their family all those years ago . . . and uncovering the possibility of redemption, and revenge, where they least expect it.

Powerful, poignant, and utterly gripping, packed with indelible characters and unforgettable twists, Pretty Girls is a masterful thriller from one of the finest suspense writers working today.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I’ve been living under a rock apparently. I know of Karin Slaughter (and now have actually met her at BEA 15) but I’d not read any of her books, despite numerous recommendations to read her books. Continue reading →

The Marriage Pact by M.J. Pullen

the marriage pact mj pullen

Photo Credit: St. Martin’s Press- 11/3

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Marriage Pact

Marci Thompson, like many women, had her life envisioned for what it would look like by a certain age. Marriage, kids, happy career.

But on her 30th birthday- not only has she not achieved any of her dreams- her life path is so far from what she wants- it’s not even funny.

She’s a temp. She lives in a small apartment. Her best friends live in another state. She is in love- but he’s married. And one of her bosses.

On her birthday, though, a reminder from the past comes fluttering through her email- a pact that she and her best friend, Jake, made on a night long ago. A marriage pact! Continue reading →

Along The Infinite Sea by Beatriz Williams

Along The Infinte Sea

Photo Credit: Putnam Books 11/3

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Along The Infinite Sea

Pepper Schuyler is trouble. She’s got a nose for it. A figure for it. Pepper and trouble love to tango.

Pepper thinks she has found a way out of her recent troubles, though. Discovering a Mercedes, she secretly has it restores and plans to sell it an auction- thereby earning a tidy sum- maybe enough for an unmarried woman to go with the baby she’s carrying and live a life- free from people who might find the child an inconvenience.  Continue reading →

Night Blindness by Susan Strecker

night blindness by susan strecker

Photo Credit: St. Martin’s Press 9/29

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Night Blindness

Jensen at 16 experienced a life event that haunts her to this day. When she was 16, she was young. In love. Happy.

After one fateful night, though, life changed for Jensen. She wasn’t young. She wasn’t happy. She was changed.

She gave up her dreams, left her hometown, and moved on. Running from her past, marrying a man that loved the Jensen she was currently.  Continue reading →