My first read for 2011 will be… oh, and winners!

 Posted by  Contests, Special Features
Jan 052011
 
My first read for 2011 will be…
Courting Miss Lancaster!

Now that you’ve seen the five books I was considering, do you understand my dilemma in trying to choose which book to read first? If I could I would read them all at the same time!

However, Courting Miss Lancaster was the overwhelming favorite, and after everyone’s comments about how wonderful it is, I’m going to start reading it immediately after announcing winners of the bookmarks. So, let’s do this thing!

Since we were right at 20 comments (if you count mine, which I will, just not in the drawing) I’m going to give away three bookmarks, because I want to and I can do whatever I want on this blog, ha ha!

Okay, the winners of the amazingly handy stretchy bookmarks that stay in place and don’t fall out are (we’ll pretend my shaking the can of folded papers is a drumroll):

  • Leslie Mackey
  • Natalie Palmer
  • Kimberly

Congratulations! Email me at ldswbr(at)gmail(dot)com with your addresses and I’ll get you set up with your new bookmarks!

Didn’t win this time but still want a bookmark? Keep watching the blog because we’re celebrating FIVE YEARS of LDS Women’s Book Review all month long. And since I’m so in love with these bookmarks I’m looking for opportunities to give them away.

Thanks, everyone! Keep checking back for more chances to win. :)

What should I read next? (And a super easy contest!)

 Posted by  Contests, Special Features
Jan 032011
 

I am in a wonderful (or horrible) place right now – a reader’s heaven (or Hades) – surrounded by so many wonderful books I want to read RIGHT NOW that I have no idea where to start.

So I’m letting all of you decide what my first read in 2011 will be from the choices below.

Also, because I appreciate your thoughts and opinions, everyone who comments will have their name entered into a drawing for a really cool and useful-to-us-readers prize! If I get one vote/comment, lucky you- WINNER! If I get more than ten, I’ll draw two names. More than 20, I’ll draw three. :)

(Only one vote/comment per person counts. Hurry! Contest closes Wednesday at 12:00 noon MST.)

THE PRIZE
(Inspired by whimsy-girl.blogspot.com)

An awesome elastic bookmark!
(See the little heart charms? Cute, huh?)

I made a bunch of these bookmarks (see mass of charms and elastic above) as Christmas gifts for my reader friends because they are so darn cute and handy. Just loop the elastic around the front or back half of the book with one side marking your place inside the book and that baby isn’t going anywhere. Shake the book, drop the book, shove the book in your bag- your place won’t be lost.

Pretty neat, huh?

So tell me, from the list below, what do YOU think I should read next?

  • Cross My Heart by Julie Wright
  • Courting Miss Lancaster by Sarah M. Eden
  • Meg’s Melody by Kaylee Baldwin
  • The Legend of Shannonderry by Carole Warburton
  • Winning Mr. Wrong by Marie Higgins

There are several books I could add to this list but I thought I should keep it at five. Can you tell I’m in the mood for a romance?

Don’t forget to voice your choice in the comments!

My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions by Becca Wilhite

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Shanda's Reviews
May 032010
 

Title: My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions

Author: Becca Wilhite

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published Date: Feb 2010

ISBN#: 978-1-60641-596-2

Paperback; 181 pages

I was waiting for weeks on hold to get this book from the library. As soon as I brought it home, I couldn’t help but “peek” by reading the first few pages, which then turned into the first few chapters. I snuck in more reading every time I found a few minutes and quickly finished it up the next day.

I enjoyed Becca Wilhite’s first novel, Bright Blue Miracle, a Whitney Award Finalist for 2009, so I was really looking forward to My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions. I wasn’t disappointed.

Sarah is a college student who decides to start attending the same school as her friend, Chel, after learning about the amazingly gorgeous TA in the History of Western Art class. She doesn’t consider herself the kind of girl that anyone would be interested in dating, a belief she formed after a heartbreaking experience in high school, but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying the scenery, as it were. Sarah also has a secret she hopes nobody ever discovers – she reads paperback romances.

Certain people and experiences become part of Sarah’s romantic imaginings as she moves through the story, yet Sarah is never the leading lady in those fantasies. She turns around after class the first day and comes face to face with one of the hottest guys she’s ever seen. She’s surprised when he takes her photo with his phone to put with her number as they gather contact information for study group. His interest in her continues to baffle her, especially when he’s still interested after several nerve-induced embarrassing moments for Sarah.

When Ben (the hot guy) asks Sarah to accompany him to his sister’s wedding, Sarah agrees. While dancing, Ben and Sarah experience an “almost kiss” that had my toes curling- definitely appropriate but oh-so-nice. Ben works hard to show his interest in Sarah, but she’s still afraid and unbelieving, just waiting for the time to come when Ben realizes she’s all wrong for him and leaves. Sarah learns something about Ben that breaks the “perfect” image she has of him, and she isn’t quite sure how to deal with it.

Unfortunately, her reaction to his struggle combined with her reserve toward him because of fear and her feelings of unworthiness, convince Ben that Sarah isn’t as interested in their relationship as he is. When he confronts her, Sarah is unsure what to do or say, and Ben leaves. By the time Sarah realizes how she hurt him and what needs to be done, it isn’t easy getting Ben to trust her again. In fact, it’s very nearly impossible. Sarah must face the fact that she might have ruined what she had with Ben forever.

Before romance lovers panic, there is a happy ending, but Sarah has to really work for it, which I found both realistic and frustrating (I really wanted a happy ending). The romantic tension was very nice. I found myself relating to Sarah’s doubts about being “girlfriend material,” though at times I wanted to reach through the pages, shake her and say, “Don’t you realize how men feel about red-heads? And look at those natural curls!”

If I had realized how much I would like My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions, I would have bought it instead of waiting so long for it at the library. I highly recommend this book to all those who love a good romance.

My Rating: 4 stars (really liked it!)

Would I-

  • read it again? Yes. I’m already looking forward to that, in fact.
  • recommend it? I have and do.
  • read more by Becca Wilhite? Definitely! I hope to see My Ridiculous, Romantic Obsessions as a Whitney finalist next year.

Daughter of Mine: A Novel by Laura Fabiani

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Apr 212010
 

Title: Daughter of Mine: A Novel

Author: Laura Fabiani

Publisher:iUniverse, Inc.

ISBN# 978-0-595-47857-6

paperback 190 pages

I have seen a great trend in romance books lately. More authors are writing what they are calling, “Clean Romances”. This basically means that you can read a Romance without having to read graphic sex scenes, that usually are not needed. I recently read a feel-good romance, with a great mystery that needed to be solved by the heroine. Here is what it says on the back cover:


“Tiziana Manoretti is an only child in her late twenties blessed with loving parents, a promising career, and a best friend who fiercely protects her. When her mother falls seriously ill and the relationship between her parents becomes suddenly strained, a carefully hidden family secret is revealed and Tiziana’s seemingly idealistic world is turned upside down.

After discovering she was born in a Naples orphanage and subsequently given up for adoption, Tiziana sets out for the small town of Gaeta in an attempt to find her birth parents. Meanwhile, her best friend Christopher is sending her mixed messages, causing her to wonder if there is more to their relationship than just companionship. As she becomes intertwined with a handful of interesting characters who help her uncover her past, Tiziana needs to decide whether her feelings for Christopher are deeper than she realizes. She discovers herself and others all while her family’s resilience and love for one another is tested when confronted with a shocking truth.

The answers lie in a box found in a closet in Italy, and Tiziana must determine if she wants to embrace the heartache and the pain from her past in order to learn forgiveness and find peace in the future”


The Romantic setting in this story grabbed me from the start. Most of the story takes place in Naples, Italy. The place I want to travel to the most is Italy; specifically, Rome, Venice and Naples. The other thing that drew me into this story was the fact that Tiziana, the main character, was adopted and she is Italian. Guess what? I was adopted and I am Italian. I could relate to the character very easily. Even though there was some predictability in the storyline, I didn’t care, because I liked the characters so much. I also enjoyed watching Tiziana figure out things that the reader already had guessed. Laura has one of those writing styles that the words seem to flow easily across the pages. This is a wonderful quick read, and you feel very happy when you are done reading it.

I also loved the descriptions of Naples in the story as she brought to life the beauty of the Neapolitan mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It made me want to go there even more. Most importantly about this novel are the themes of family relationships, forgiveness, friendship, and enduring love.

I recommend this book to any person that loves a good, clean romance. This would be a great book to read while lazing around on a Saturday in your p.j.’s or a hot, Summer day while sipping lemonade.

My Rating: 4 stars

Read it Again? Yes

Recommend it? Yes, to all of you that want to read a clean romance/mystery

Read more of Laura’s books? Yes, I look forward to reading more from Laura.


You can purchase this book at these places:



I want to thank Laura for the review copy of, “Daughter of Mine”. I did not receive any compensation for giving this review.


Today I want to introduce to you Laura Fabiani.

Education and Current Activities

Laura Fabiani has a degree in Special Care Counselling and a diploma in Writing for Children and Teenagers. She also translates documents from the French language to English for the medical community since 2000. She is founder of NouveauWriter.com, an online resource for new and aspiring writers. She blogs about books at Library of Clean Reads, where she reviews books and offers promotional services to authors. Fabiani currently teaches creative writing workshops in English and French.
Interests and Inspiration

Laura Fabiani has been writing as far back as she can remember, making use of poetry and short compositions throughout her youth to express her ideas and feelings. One of her early goals in life was to write a novel. She began several of them, but never brought them to completion… until one day her sister asked, “Laura, when are you going to finish that book you once talked about writing?”

That’s when Fabiani finally sat down and began to write where she had left off more than eight years ago, when the idea for Daughter of Mine was sparked listening to her mother-in-law’s stories of her youth in her native Naples.

Italy has always held a special place for Laura Fabiani because her parents are Italian immigrants. Her father is from the beautiful mountainous region of Pescara in Abruzzo and her mother from the romantic city of Rome. In addition, Fabiani’s maternal grandmother came from a noble family in Gaeta, Naples. Fabiani has traveled several times to Italy and stayed in her ancestral home in Rome with her relatives.

When not writing or immersed in study, she divides her time between taking care of her family and sharing in a volunteer worldwide Bible education program. Of all the literature Fabiani has read, the Holy Scriptures have shaped her life the most. She has deep respect for this book that has influenced some of the world’s greatest art, literature, music and has had a significant impact on law. “It teaches us how to live the best life now and in the future,” she believes.

She is currently working on her second novel. She lives with her husband and two children in Montreal, Quebec.

Counting the Cost by Liz Adair

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Apr 072010
 


Howdy friends- It’s me Hillary-

Another serious book to tell you about today. A bit unusual for me to do :)

I read “Counting the Cost” by Liz Adair. If her name rings a bell, it is because she has written a few other books including, “The Spider Latham Mystery” series, which we reviewed in our debut year of podcasts.

Liz’s dedication page gives a little bit of insight of where the story idea comes from, which looks like it is based on a true story. The story tells of Heck, a hard-working, salt-of-the-Earth cowboy, who meets and falls in love with the then married, East coast socialite, Ruth Reynolds.

The story starts off really quite slow. In areas that I found interesting, they were down played such as when Heck was struck by lightening. Though Heck’s brother gets that moment to tell his brother how much he loves him, it really isn’t that pivotal to the story. So I say either leave it out, or make it more interesting. What was expounded upon was the daily duties of a cowhand, which quite honestly was a bit boring. I did see how there was value in doing it- as it showed the love Heck had for the country, his life style, and his overall character, but it could have been shortened a bit.

The real crux of the story is about the trouble caused by Ruth leaving her husband for Heck. She is still legally married when she is assaulted by her husband, and Heck literally whisks her away. Remembering that this is the 20’s, beating your wife, though frowned upon, wasn’t prosecuted, or even in some cases cause of divorce. Heck saw it differently and the two left together for a new life. Once she was free from her husband, the two were married. But that is not the end of the story.

Though I really enjoyed watching the two of them really get to know each other, I was saddened by how important it was to Heck to obstain from consumating the relationship before they were legally married, only to let it go so easily. He didn’t even really try to refrain. Others I have spoken with are also disappointed with this. Though there is no detail of the act, it is still disappointing when Heck hardly hesitates. I still had moments of frustration in what I would consider pivotal points down played in the book, *SPOILER ALERT* when he finds out she is barren. Though there is clearly love between the two, it is really hard to watch such huge barriers in communication. I also had some frustration with how much I liked Ruth at the beginning and by the end, I really didn’t like her much.

The book ends very strange for me. Not that I need everything tied neatly up and everyone happy, but it felt like it just ended abruptly, with no apparent reason for the ending. Just loose ends…

As a whole, I would say the book is thought provoking, and unique, however I was just not terribly fond of it. Shanda put it perfectly when she told me “It’s the kind of book you pick up when you’re visiting someone on a farm, who doesn’t own a t.v., so you start purusing the book shelf and you come across it.” Me personally, I would say read it if you like a non-traditional, non-conforming romance, then give it a read. Otherwise, it may not be your “cup of tea.”

ps- Shanda did have a different opinion of this book. You can find her review on this blog.

Until next week-

HIllary

FTC_FYI – purchased

I’ll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Hillary's Reviews
Mar 312010
 


Hello dear friends- Hillary here-

Today my post may have more serious overtures as I read a more seriously overtured book this week:) If you haven’t read “I’ll know you by Heart”, you really should take some time out and read it.

I was fortunate enough to be at the Valor Publishing debut a few weeks ago, and was able to meet and chat a bit with Kimberly Job, the author (you can soon, if not already, listen to our podcast interviews with the authors there). At any rate, I spoke with Kimberly and I opted to buy her book because a) I like romances and b) I hadn’t read anything from her and was curious about the book.

If you have ever read anything by Tristi Pinkston, you will recognize her hand in editing this book because it begins with an INTENSE and dramatic gut-wrenching first chapter and doesn’t really slow down. Kimberly took a very tender, terrible subject- one that I think instills anger, frustration and maybe even a bit of fear in every woman- that being the subject of abuse. Though I’ve never being the victim of any type of abuse, physical or verbal,I was so drawn in to Stephanie, the main character, that I felt like I was her, experiencing that type of violence first hand and whenever I put the book down (which wasn’t often) I had to basically put myself back in reality and remember that my husband isn’t an abuser.

The story tells of Stephanie, a 40 something semi-overweight housewife, married to Mark, a physically abusive (when it suits him, which is frequent) husband. After she endures a particularly violent beating that her oldest son, Tyson unfortunatley becomes a part of, Stephanie decides late into the night to pack up her 3 children and leave him. What follows is a tale of pain, anger, growth and love. The love in this book tales of the loss of love, almost a mourning, and the newness of a new love and what it is supposed to feel like.

The love story I liked because it felt very realistic. She wasn’t this perfect woman. She was insecure, scared and dependant upon others to help her. With the help of her extended family, the church and Heavenly Father, she was able to slowly get over her husband, and make room for love worthy of her. The only part that didn’t feel totally authentic to me was how she felt her heart had known Jared (the new interest) all along. I guess that seemed a bit fairy tale to me, but then again, a little fairy tale never hurt anyone either, and it wasn’t constantly mentioned or over done, so overall, not a bad thing.

I would have to say that I made a good purchase. The story is unique and authentic. It has a way of drawing you in and making you forget that it is a story. Though it is her freshman novel, I would say that Kimberly does a fabulous job!

FTC-FYI- purchased

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