Upcoming  BOOK TOUR
 "A Seaside Christmas" by Sherryl Woods

Friday -     September 20th - PJ's Book Nook

Saturday - September 21st  -  A Book Addicts Musings

Sunday -    September 22nd - My Recent Favorite books

Monday -   Sept. 23rd - Creative Madness Mama

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
by Beth Hoffman (Goodreads Author)

Aug 24, 2013   

3 of 5 stars

Read from August 10 to 23, 2013

This is not the type of book I usually read but decided to go ahead with it because of the good reviews. This southern charmed book touches on mental illness and its impact on families,
a child's loss of a mother and an unsympathetic father and a renewal of life. The vivid setting takes place in Savannah, Georgia during the racial tension of the 1960s. The author uses plenty of metaphors in this book which makes it easy to picture everything. The characters are stereotyped for the time period and location. Some of them are eccentric which brings quite a bit of humor to the book.

***Spoilers***
Cee Cee is only 12 years old but goes through a lot of different emotions and experiences for her age. Her experiences include worry, happiness, embarrassment, guilt, wonder, revenge, fear, grief, sadness, humor, forgiveness and delight. She learns to see the world through different characters which helps her deal with her life.

There were parts of the book that went kind of slow for me. I am glad I finished it though. I like how it ended for Cee Cee. She finally found peace with all her issues.

6 Rainier Drive (Cedar Cove, #6)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Aug 22,20 13  ·  

4 of 5 stars

This is my 6th book read from The Cedar Cove Series. I honestly feel like all the characters are my friends. I am learning more and more about each of their lives as I move on through the series. Some are happy moments that I am pleased with and some I am not pleased with. There were marriages, births, reunions, heartache and a scandal in this book. Mysteries were being solved with some surprises for sure. There was a new character introduced into this book which we will learn more about in the next book. Macomber always leaves us with cliffhangers so we can look forward to reading the next book which I will be doing.

Rose Harbor in Bloom (Rose Harbor, #2)
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Aug 20,20 13  

5 of 5 stars

Read from August 17 to 20, 2013

This book is the second book in The Rose Harbor series which is a spinoff from the Cedar Cove Series. Some of the CC characters are revisited in this book.

Rose Harbor in Bloom allows the lives of three women to cross paths. One,Jo Marie, has lost her husband while he is in Afghanistan, but she fears he is still alive. The next woman is Annie who throws a wedding anniversary party for her grandparents and is disappointed when they start fighting like an old married couple. Last but not least is Mary who has cancer and should have married the man of her dreams long ago, but she chose to leave. She now comes back in hopes of settling things before she possibly dies of Cancer.

I found this book to be a quick, touching read. There were emotional parts as well as comical parts.
I enjoyed reading about Mary and George the most. Even though their story was emotional, I was compelled to read about it. The next storyline I liked was Jo Marie's. I was anxious to see if her husband was alive and if not how her life was going to change and if it includes a relationship with Mark who seems to have a past worth looking into. Annie's storyline was the least interesting to me.

Debbie Macomber definitely left some cliffhangers at the end so I am assuming there will be another book in this series. I just hope I don't have to wait a year before it comes out.

The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)
by Robyn Carr

Aug 09, 2013  

5 of 5 stars

 

Read from August 04 to 09, 2013

I really enjoyed this second book in The Thunder Point Series. I like how Robyn concentrated on the developing relationships from book one. I am happy to see how Mac/Gina and Coop/Sarah's relationships progressed in this book. I felt bad for the teenage relationship between Ashley and Downy. He was nothing but a louse. What Ashley went through was so sad and humiliating. All I can say is that as a parent, I am very fortunate that I didn't have any issues like hers when my kids were teenagers. Teenagers can be so cruel to one another.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the third book of the series which will be out in a few weeks. I am curious as to which way Coop and Sarah's relationship will progress. Also I am interested in finding out how Spencer, Austin and Eric affect the lives of Coop/Sarah and Gina/Mac/Ashley. I am sure that Robyn will introduce more characters as she does in her other books.

Speaking of Robyn, I love her style of writing. She really draws you into the lives of her characters. She brings out all sorts of emotions for the reader as well. I love her book settings. She makes the reader feel that they wished they lived in the small town settings of her books. I especially love the setting of Thunder Point since it is near the ocean.

The Wanderer (Thunder Point, #1)
by Robyn Carr

Aug 06, 2013  

4 of 5 stars

Read from July 17 to 28, 2013

SYNOPSIS:

From Robyn Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the popular Virgin River novels, comes Thunder Point-the highly anticipated new series that will make you laugh, make you sigh, and make you fall in love with a small town filled with people you'll never forget. Nestled on the Oregon coast is a small town of rocky beaches and rugged charm. Locals love the land's unspoiled beauty. Developers see it as a potential gold mine. When newcomer Hank Cooper learns he's been left an old friend's entire beachfront property, he finds himself with a community's destiny in his hands.

Cooper has never been a man to settle in one place, and Thunder Point was supposed to be just another quick stop. But Cooper finds himself getting involved with the town. And with Sarah Dupre, a woman as complicated as she is beautiful.

With the whole town watching for his next move, Cooper has to choose between his old life and a place full of new possibilities. A place that just might be home.

MY THOUGHTS:

I think this new Robyn Carr series is going to be a good one. There were many subplots where all the characters in the series are introduced. It tells about their present lives in Thunder Point and touches on what their earlier lives were like and how it molded them into what they are presently like in the book. There are likeable characters with their promising relationships. I feel like they are friends of mine already. There is one family in particular that I detested and I feel they are going to get what they deserve. I was surprised that we find out in the first book the ending to a mystery that was introduced in the beginning of the book. I thought it would come out later on in the series.

I like the setting of the book because it takes place by the beach and I love the beach. While reading it, I could smell the ocean water and feel the ocean breezes. It also takes place in a small town which I seem to be reading in my choice of books lately.

In a way I was able to connect with this book. One of the characters is in the Coast Guard and my son-in-law is too. He doesn't deal with the search and rescue aspect of it though. When it was mentioned that they get reassigned every few years, I definitely wasn't surprised since I knew that already. One of the ranks that was mentioned was Lieutenant JG and I knew exactly what the was since my son in law was that rank at one point.

I am looking forward to reading The Newcomer which is the next book in the series. I have already started it and am loving it so far.

BOOK TOURS:

I was asked by a friend to be part of a book tour. I had no idea what that meant. After it was explained to me, I said,"sure, why not." A book tour is when a group of people read the same book within a period of time. Each member writes their own review of the book and shares it on their own blog. In turn, all the members' reviews get shared on one another's blog. It's a way to introduce an author and promote their style of writing and the book. By the way, one of the member's of this book tour is the one responsible for getting me hooked on Robyn Carr's books. Thanks Angela!
Speaking of Angela-- she was fortunate to do an interview with Robyn Carr. Lucky her. Read about the interview on her blog.
http://griperangsbookmarks.blogspot.com/

ABOUT ROBYN CARR:

From the Author
|
From Wikipedia

Robyn Carr is a RITA® Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of almost fifty novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River series. Her highly anticipated new series, Thunder Point, will be released March 2013. Robyn and her husband live in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can visit Robyn Carr's website at www.RobynCarr.com.

                                 Please join my friends on our Book Tour
                                        for "The Wanderer"!

August 5th  http://griperangsbookmarks.blogspot.com/

August 6th - http://readingnks.blogspot.com/

August 7th - http://p-j-630.blogspot.com/

August 8th - http://www.create-with-joy.com/

50 Harbor Street
by Debbie Macomber (Goodreads Author)

Aug 02, 20 13  

4 of 5 stars

Read from July 30 to August 02, 2013

Debbie Macomber is a good storyteller who creates characters that are real and that readers care about. Although the book focuses mainly on the McAfee's, there are numerous subplots going on as she has done with all the previous books in the series. Macomber will focus on one set of characters in one chapter, another set in the next chapter, yet another set in the next and so on throughout the book which can be confusing. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for which character is featured. I often had to flip back to see what had happened several chapters back. There is a character guide in the front of the book, which is helpful. With so many characters, Macomber does an amazing job of continuity through all the books (this is the fifth in an ongoing series), even referencing things in past books.

In this book, 2 new characters are introduced and I found them both to be trouble and obnoxious. I was happy to see that the mystery that was plaguing Roy and Corrie McAfee in the previous book was finally solved. I had a feeling who the mysterious person involved was and I was right.

I felt sorry for Maryellen and Jon with all the troubles they were having but hopefully the solution to them will help Jon reunite with his parents in the next book.

I felt so bad for Justine and Seth because all their dreams were destroyed by a punk. To think Allison, who is in high school, was in love with this loser. What is wrong with her?

I was happy to see that Grace and Cliff finally got their heads together and got married.

I can go on with my thoughts about the other relationships but I think I will stop here. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.