Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Borrowed Souls, by Chelsea Mueller {ends 10/20}

Callie Delgado needed a soul.

Her brother had been kidnapped, his captors were blackmailing her, and here she was, outside one of the most unusual pawn shops in all of GEm City, about to rent one. She just needed to force herself to walk the twenty steps to the Soul Charmer's front door. The one wedged in a dirty, rundown building on a dirty, rundown street in the dirty, rundown part of town. It was the last place she wanted to be, but the one place she had to go.

Fate was kind of a dick like that. 

Borrowed Souls had been sitting in my TBR pile for a few months now, but the concept of the novel had always intrigued me. I finally had a chance to read it this week when traveling (airplane time = no interruptions reading time!), and if you like dystopian and/or fantasy novels, you will like this one.

Official synopsis:

Callie Delgado always puts family first, and unfortunately her brother knows it. She’s emptied her savings, lost work, and spilled countless tears trying to keep him out of trouble, but now he’s in deeper than ever, and his debt is on Callie’s head. She’s given a choice: do some dirty work for the mob, or have her brother returned to her in tiny pieces.

Renting souls is big business for the religious population of Gem City. Those looking to take part in immoral—or even illegal—activity can borrow someone else’s soul, for a price, and sin without consequence.

To save her brother, Callie needs a borrowed soul, but she doesn’t have anywhere near the money to pay for it. The slimy Soul Charmer is willing to barter, but accepting his offer will force Callie into a dangerous world of magic she isn’t ready for.

With the help of the guarded but undeniably attractive Derek—whose allegiance to the Charmer wavers as his connection to Callie grows—she’ll have to walk a tight line, avoid pissing off the bad guys, all while struggling to determine what her loyalty to her family’s really worth.

Losing her brother isn’t an option. Losing her soul? Maybe.

This is actually "Soul Charmer #1," and the ending definitely leaves things open for a sequel, although there isn't one listed on Goodreads as of this writing.

Callie is trying to save her brother from some mobsters, so to speak, and so she goes into a sort of "indentured servitude" agreement with the Soul Charmer, a slimy guy who rents out souls. By the end of the novel, though, things are still not finished with him, which sets things up for the next book in the series.

Dystopian novels are usually some of my favorite to read. I found the idea of "renting souls" to be fascinating, especially when they talk about how the second soul co-exists (or tries to ...) with the owner's original soul. I don't believe they say what year it is, in the novel, but it's implied that it's sometime within the near future.

There's a bit of a romance angle with Derek and Callie, too, which integrated nicely into the book—it didn't overtake the main story, which was Callie trying to get her older brother out of trouble, but was a side plot.

3.5 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase}

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a paperback copy of Borrowed Souls!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Friday, October 20th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. and Canadian residents only, please.

Good luck!

Borrowed Souls paperback copy

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Book Review: The Outliers, by Kimberly McCreight

Guest review by: Becki Bayley

“Give me your arm,” I say to Jasper without looking at him. He hesitates, then holds a bicep out toward me. I wrap a couple of fingers around his bare elbow, which was supposed to feel less weird than actually holding his muscular arm. But does not. “I just need you to walk me to your car. Don’t ask why, please. I’m not going to tell you anyway.”

And then I close my eyes. Because pretending I’m not actually doing this couldn’t hurt either.

Official synopsis:

It all starts with a text: Please, Wylie, I need your help. Wylie hasn’t heard from Cassie in over a week, not since their last fight. But that doesn’t matter. Cassie’s in trouble, so Wylie decides to do what she has done so many times before: save her best friend from herself.

This time it’s different, though. Instead of telling Wylie where she is, Cassie sends cryptic clues. And instead of having Wylie come by herself, Jasper shows up saying Cassie sent him to help. Trusting the guy who sent Cassie off the rails doesn’t feel right, but Wylie has no choice but to ignore her gut instinct and go with him.

But figuring out where Cassie is goes from difficult to dangerous, fast. As Wylie and Jasper head farther and farther north into the dense woods of Maine, Wylie struggles to control her growing sense that something is really wrong. What isn’t Cassie telling them? And could finding her be only the beginning?

I knew nothing about The Outliers when I picked it up, and wasn’t sure quite what it would be about at the beginning. It was a marvelous psychological thriller, not only with mind games, suspense, and deceit, but even with the basis of the story dealing with psychological research. By a few pages in, some of the back story fell quickly into place.

This was definitely a page-turner, and I can’t wait to read the next book! Not gonna lie, it did take me a few pages to figure out, and then remember, that Wylie was a girl (named after her grandfather, as it turned out). I did end up intrigued by several of the characters, and it sounds like they’ll be back in the next book.

I can’t think of much I didn’t like about this book, and I’m in a hurry to get to the next one. While most of the reading I do is just for my own entertainment and enjoyment, I feel like a 5 star should give me something more than just escaping from a few hours of my life. I’d give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars.


Becki Bayley loves fuzzy slippers, artichokes with butter, and the feeling of contentment that comes from seeing her children safe at home. She’s been blogging in SE Michigan since March 2002 at www.sweetlybsquared.com.

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Her Every Fear, by Peter Swanson {ends 10/17}

Guest review by: Erin Krajenke

Her stomach folded again, starting to cramp. When did I last go to the toilet, she thought, and her panic ratcheted up a notch. It was such a familiar feeling: heart speeding up, limbs turning cold, the world sharpening before her eyes. But she knew what to do. Her therapist's voice was in her head. It's just a panic attack, an accidental surge of adrenaline. It can't hurt you, or kill you, and no one will notice it. Just let it happen. Float with it. Ride it out.

But this one's different, Kate told herself. The danger felt real. And suddenly she was back at the cottage in Windermere, crouched and cowering in the locked closet, her nightgown wet with urine, George Daniels on the other side of the door. She felt almost like she'd felt then, cold hands inside of her, twisting her stomach like it was a damp dish towel. There'd been the gunshot blast, then the terrible silence that lasted for hours and hours. When she'd finally been pulled from the closet, her joints stiff and her vocal cords raw from screaming, she didn't know how she was still alive, how the fear hadn't killed her.

I am not typically a fan of suspense/mystery novels, but I enjoyed this book. It took me about 20% of the way to get into this book but once I got into it, I could not put it down!

Official synopsis:

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life.

Soon after her arrival at Corbin's grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own-curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan Cherney, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard, in the apartment facing Audrey's. Alan saw Corbin surreptitiously come and go from Audrey's place, yet he's denied knowing her. Then, Kate runs into a tearful man claiming to be the dead woman's old boyfriend, who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London.

When she reaches out to her cousin, he proclaims his innocence and calms her nerves--until she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment and accidentally learns that Corbin is not where he says he is. Could Corbin be a killer? What about Alan? Kate finds herself drawn to this appealing man who seems so sincere, yet she isn't sure. Jet-lagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination full of dark images caused by the terror of her past, Kate can barely trust herself, so how could she take the chance on a stranger she's just met?

As I said, I am not typically a fan of suspense/mystery novels (my nerves cannot take it!), but I enjoyed this book. This novel was probably not as suspenseful as most books in this genre, but it held my interest the entire way through which seems to be a rarity for me these days. The book was told through multiple points of view which I always enjoy in a book since it gives you a different perspective or understanding of the various characters.

With that said, I still feel like Kate was the main character and I really enjoyed her, which I think helped me enjoy the book. There were not as many twists and turns as I expected, but I guess that helped to keep the story more realistic. This book was a nice easy read that I might put on par with The Girl on the Train, but better.

To quote Liz: 3.5 stars out of 5, so I will round up to 4.
{Click here to purchase}

Erin Krajenke is a chatty Virgo. She also likes eating, reading, and petting all the doggos.

---

GIVEAWAY:

Three of my lucky readers will win a copy of Her Every Fear!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, October 17th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Her Every Fear book

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Feast of Sorrow, by Crystal King {ends 10/10}

Guest review by: Karen Doerr

“You are wondering why I’m chopping vegetables with you.” It wasn’t a question.

“The thought had crossed my mind, Dominus.”

He pushed the chopped carrot to the side and took up the parsnips. “When I am in the kitchen, making food, it is as though the gods are with me.”

“What do you mean, Dominus?” I was not accustomed to asking my master questions, but Apicius seemed to be inviting conversation.

“I feel a sense of calmness, of true competence, infusing me. The same energy fills me when I am chopping and stirring, or when I discover a new wine vintage. Such culinary experiences bring me great pleasure.”

As a foodie and history buff, I was excited to start Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King. I thought that it would combine my two greatest loves into a story of political ambition with a hint of tragedy. What I got instead was an overly long, complicated and quite frankly, dull story. Such a shame for a concept that had amazing potential!

Official synopsis:

Set amongst the scandal, wealth, and upstairs-downstairs politics of a Roman family, Crystal King’s seminal debut features the man who inspired the world’s oldest cookbook and the ambition that led to his destruction.

On a blistering day in the twenty-sixth year of Augustus Caesar’s reign, a young chef, Thrasius, is acquired for the exorbitant price of twenty thousand denarii. His purchaser is the infamous gourmet Marcus Gavius Apicius, wealthy beyond measure, obsessed with a taste for fine meals from exotic places, and a singular ambition: to serve as culinary advisor to Caesar, an honor that will cement his legacy as Rome's leading epicure.

Apicius rightfully believes that Thrasius is the key to his culinary success, and with Thrasius’s help he soon becomes known for his lavish parties and fantastic meals. Thrasius finds a family in Apicius’s household, his daughter Apicata, his wife Aelia, and her handmaiden, Passia, with whom Thrasius quickly falls in love. But as Apicius draws closer to his ultimate goal, his reckless disregard for any who might get in his way takes a dangerous turn that threatens his young family and places his entire household at the mercy of the most powerful forces in Rome.

As strange as it sounds, I’ve had a keen interest in the dietary habits of Ancient Rome for quite a while. I have to believe that when your god of wine doubles as the god of ritual madness, you know how to have a good time. I admired Lucilius’ mentality and have occasionally referred to solitary meals as dining with myself. It saddens me that Rome has turned away from dormice and garum, as much as I do love modern Italian cuisine. I was hoping that this novel would expound on my knowledge. While the author had clearly done her research on the topic, I think her factoids would be better appreciated by someone with a little less background on the topic.

We discover at the end of the story that one of the main characters was a true historical figure. I think it would have been better to present this at the beginning to give some perspective. It at least would have explained the title. The over-arching story depends on the reader becoming emotionally invested in the main characters. This took much longer to build than I would have thought as so many characters are initially presented. It doesn’t help that the naming traditions leave many key figures with similar sounding names. One also needs to keep in mind that one character may be called many different things depending on who is speaking. It took me a while to sort it all out. It would have been helpful to have a character guide of some sort.

My biggest complaint about the book was how quickly conflict seemed to be resolved. The author would present something that left me wondering how it would be handled, only to have it wrapped up in a neat package two paragraphs later. I doubt that I would have finished the book if I had just picked it up from the library.

2 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase}


Karen K. Doerr is a self-proclaimed glutton with a habit of watching food documentaries while eating take out. She can usually be heard complaining that her jeans shrunk in the wash. 

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below to win a hardcover copy of Feast of Sorrow.

Giveaway will end on Tuesday, October 10th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Feast of Sorrow hardcover book

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Book Review and SIGNED copy giveaway: Class Mom, by Laurie Gelman {2 winners, ends 10/4}

Subject: Getting to know me - your new class mom

Hello, parents of Miss Ward's kindergarten class!

My name is Jennifer Dixon and I have "volunteered" to be your class mom for this coming year. Since this is a thankless job, don't expect warm fuzzy emails like you probably got in preschool. Wake up! You're in kindergarten on the mean streets of William H. Taft Elementary School, and it's time to face a few facts. The main one is that I'm in charge and I have some strong suggestions to make this an easy year for all of us, especially me.

First and foremost, read the school's @#$%& weekly email! It may seem boring, but it actually gives good information and keeps me from having to answer questions like "When is curriculum night?" (See below, by the way, for the answer to that one)

This is Laurie Gelman's first novel, and I found myself laughing out loud while reading it. If you enjoy books written with a hilarious first-person POV, you will enjoy this one.

Official synopsis:

Laurie Gelman's clever debut novel about a year in the life of a kindergarten class mom - a brilliant send-up of the petty and surprisingly cutthroat terrain of parent politics.

Jen Dixon is not your typical Kansas City kindergarten class mom—or mom in general. Jen already has two college-age daughters by two different (probably) musicians, and it's her second time around the class mom block with five-year-old Max—this time with a husband and father by her side. Though her best friend and PTA President sees her as the-wisest-candidate for the job (or oldest), not all of the other parents agree.

From recording parents' response times to her emails about helping in the classroom, to requesting contributions of-special-brownies for curriculum night, not all of Jen's methods win approval from the other moms. Throw in an old flame from Jen's past, a hyper-sensitive -allergy mom,-a surprisingly sexy kindergarten teacher, and an impossible-to-please Real Housewife-wannabe, causing problems at every turn, and the job really becomes much more than she signed up for.

Relatable, irreverent, and hilarious in the spirit of Maria Semple this is a fresh, welcome voice in fiction--the kind of novel that real moms clamor for, and a vicarious thrill-read for all mothers, who will be laughing as they are liberated by Gelman's acerbic truths.

I love books that include emails, and this one included all of the emails from Jen, as class mom, to the kindergarten class. The emails were hysterical, too, and some of the parents didn't know what to make of them, although they were meant to be light-hearted and sarcastic.

Jen is in her mid-40s, so she's one of the older moms in the class; her son, Max, is her third child, and her two daughters are in their 20s and in college. This isn't her first rodeo, but parents these days are definitely more demanding than 15-20 years ago, and as class mom, she has to make sure everyone is accommodated, or at least their children are.

Jen was definitely a funny character, and because the book is written in first-person POV (point of view), we get to see inside her head a bit too. One of her friends asked her to sign up for class mom (a job she would probably not normally sign up for), and Class Mom follows her throughout Max's kindergarten year, and all of the trials and tribulations that pop up along the way.

The supporting characters here were well-written, too: from her husband, Ron, to her friends and trainer, who actually ends up dating one of her friends.

Although I'm fairly certain that this is a standalone book, I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel, as we get a peek of the future (Max's 1st grade year) at the end of the novel, too.

Fun fact, too: if you are a fan of Regis & Kelly (aka Live with Kelly & Ryan in its current incarnation), you might have heard of the producer, Michael Gelman - Laurie Gelman is his wife. I didn't figure this out until I read her bio (she lives in NYC) and remembered Regis yelling "Gelman!" all of the time, ha ... and then when I Googled it, I then put the pieces together.

4 stars out of 5.

{Click here to purchase}

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Two of my lucky readers will each win a signed copy of Class Mom!

Giveaway will end on Wednesday, October 4th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be contacted the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen. 

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Class Mom - 2 autographed copies

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GIVEAWAY: The Welcome Home Diner, by Peggy Lampman {3 winners! Ends 9/20}

The Welcome Home Diner will hit stores on October 10th, but three of my lucky readers have the chance to win a copy beforehand!

It takes place in Detroit, too, which is awesome! (I live in the metro Detroit area)

About the book:

Betting on the city of Detroit’s eventual comeback, cousins Addie and Samantha decide to risk it all on an affordable new house and a culinary career that starts with renovating a vintage diner in a depressed area of town. There’s just one little snag in their vision.

Angus, a weary, beloved local, is strongly opposed to his neighborhood’s gentrification—and his concerns reflect the suspicion of the community. Shocked by their reception, Addie and Samantha begin to have second thoughts.

As the long hours, problematic love interests, and underhanded pressures mount, the two women find themselves increasingly at odds, and soon their problems threaten everything they’ve worked for. If they are going to realize their dreams, Addie and Samantha must focus on rebuilding their relationship. But will the neighborhood open their hearts to welcome them home?

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, September 20th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen.

U.S. and Canadian residents only, please. Prize will be shipped from the author.

Good luck!

The Welcome Home Diner book - 3 winners

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Book Review and GIVEAWAY: All Things New, by Lauren Miller {2 autographed copies! ends 9/14}

"You coming, Jessa?" I hear Hannah say.

I yank the puppet strings, head up, smile, nod, and follow her down the hall.

"Meet you on G at lunch?" she asks when we get to my English class. So casually, like it's not even a question. Like we're already friends. Immediately I have the thought, if only it were that easy. And then I have the thought, maybe it is.

This is the second book I've read by Lauren Miller—the first one, Free to Fall, was more of a dystopian novel, and All Things New takes place in present-day. However, both novels were very good, and I recommend reading both.

Official synopsis:

Jessa has always felt broken inside, but she’s gotten very good at hiding it. No one at school knows about the panic attacks, the therapy that didn't help, the meds that haven’t worked. But when a severe accident leaves her with a brain injury and visible scars, Jessa’s efforts to convince the world that she’s okay finally crumble—now she looks as shattered as she feels.

Fleeing from her old life in Los Angeles, Jessa moves to Colorado to live with her dad, where she meets Marshall, a boy whose kindness and generous heart slowly draw Jessa out of her walled-off shell and into the broken, beautiful, real world—a place where souls get hurt just as badly as bodies, and we all need each other to heal.

ALL THINGS NEW is a love story about perception and truth, physical and emotional pain, and the messy, complicated people we are behind the masks we put on for the world, perfect for fans of ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES and THE FAULT IN OUR STARS.

This book was a little different than your typical YA book—the protagonist, Jessa, ends up in a bad car accident (through no fault of her own, as someone was texting and driving and hit her) and lands in the hospital. That same night, she had found out that her boyfriend of two years was cheating on her, too. Her dad, who lives in Colorado, extends her an offer to finish up high school there and live with him, and she takes it.

Jessa also has anxiety and panic attacks, which makes her a not-so-typical YA heroine. When she moves to Denver to live with her dad, she meets Marshall and his twin sister, Hannah; Hannah is a perfectionist and a student pianist who is obsessed with getting into Interlochen (Michigan shoutout!) and Marshall has had a small hole in his heart ever since he was born.

I enjoyed this book, though I'll admit I liked Free to Fall, the author's other novel, a bit better (though really, they can't be compared, as the subject matter and time frames are completely different). Jessa is a strong heroine although it takes her a while to realize how strong she is—when her strength is needed, however, she steps up to the plate. All of the supporting characters worked well together, too, and Jessa eventually figures out that even though her parents are divorced, her dad has never stopped caring about her.

I could see this being a good movie, as well—I'd have to think about who I'd cast, but I was thinking Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as Marshall and Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall) as Jessa.

3.5 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase}

GIVEAWAY:

Enter via the widget below. Two of my lucky readers will win an autographed copy of All Things New!

Giveaway will end on Thursday, September 14th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

2 autographed copies of All Things New

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