Cheryl's Book Nook

Laura Loss used to be the bass player for Second Class Citzens (SCC). A band that Laura’s brother, Anthony and his friends formed. That was years ago before the fans turned on them. Now, Laura works at a coffee shop and bassist for the Cooler Heads. It was during one of the Cooler Heads shows that Laura first met Sean and Nathan. Laura tells Sean and Nathan that if they ever want to get serious about their music than give her a call. Months go by before Laura receives that call. Soon afterwards, Laura, Sean and Nathan are a band. They call themselves The Mistakes. This is because they kind of were a mistake. The band rocket to instant fame but than an unfortunate incident transpires and the band is torn apart. I have to admit that this book is not something that I would have typically picked out of a bookstore to read. Though, when the publisher emailed me and was raving about this book, I decided to take a chance. Again, not that I usually base what type of books I will read based on ...

Second in an all-new series! Cloudburst, from the creator of Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews® Fate swept Sasha Porter into the lap of luxury, and into a torrent of bitter lies and shocking betrayals—all revealed in the riveting new novel CLOUDBURST (Pocket Star Books; October 25, 2011; $7.99) from bestselling author V.C. Andrews®. Since being taken in by wealthy Mrs. Jordan March and living in her exquisite home like a daughter, Sasha Porter’s traumatic past—destitute on the streets, and the shattering accident that killed her mother—seems like a fading nightmare. Beautiful and sophisticated, as bold and daring as her “sister,” Kiera March, Sasha still keeps her mother’s wise words close to her heart: never fully trust anyone. Inside her privileged new world, it’s advice that will prove more precious than gold. Against the wishes of Jordan’s husband, Donald, Sasha attracts the attention of Ryder Garfield, a shy, handsome athlete, and maneuvers her way into his heart. But Ryder’...

Review by Nancy The White Mountains of New Hampshire hold more than beautiful trees, universities and other delights. They also hold things best left unspoken. When Claire meets Lukas at the college bar on her twenty-fourth birthday, she was immediately smitten. He was nice, good looking and obviously swept away by her. What more can you ask for your birthday? A bit more, as it turns out. Lukas is so in love/lust that he gives Claire a birthday gift she can’t return. He makes her like him – a werewolf. Not only a werewolf, but one who takes justice into his own….well….fangs. He sees people who are cruel, unlawful and otherwise goodness-impaired and takes them out. Claire can’t understand the whole thing for awhile, but then realizes she can’t go back to the beginning and get a “do-over” so she goes along. Their time together is full of love and love making. Claire learns more about her new abilities and then, right in the middle of it all; Lukas’ professor enters the picture. A looker ...

It is that time of year again. Time for Marnie’s annual Christmas Cookie Club. There are eight rules but the most important one is number 7. Which states: It’s always on the first Monday in December (referencing to the annual Christmas Cookie Club). Put it on your calendar and count on it. There are several new ladies joining the group this year. Marnie can not wait to visit with her friends, share memories, eat food, and of course munching on cookies. The only thing that would make this day perfect is hearing from Marnie’s older, daughter Sky and her having good news. Sky and her husband have been trying to have a child. Sky has had several miscarriages. She is currently four months pregnant and hopefully this time, she will have her baby. Each woman had a good story to tell. I could see the strong, bond that Marnie and the rest of the ladies from the club had. They knew almost all of each other’s secrets; they have been there during life, death, marriage and divorce. I have to admit ...

Author, Chandra Hoffman's first novel, Chosen is being released in paperback on November 8th. You have got to check it out. I read this book when it was first released on hardback and loved it. You can read my review here. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chandra Hoffman has truly led a fascinating life. She has been an orphanage relief worker in Romania , a horse trainer in the Caribbean, a short order cook in a third world hospital, the director of a U.S. adoption program, and an event planner for Philadelphia ’s Main Line elite. A graduate of Cornell University and Antioch ’s MFA program, after living in eleven international cities, she has settled back in her hometown outside of Philadelphia with her husband, three young children, and an ever-changing menagerie. For more on Chandra Hoffman, including a video trailer for CHOSEN , a Q&A with her, and other writing, visit her website:

Recalculating: A Short Story By Jennifer Weiner Tommy had been dead for six months when Maureen found the box he’d left for her in the attic. She’d gone up there to retrieve the Halloween decorations, the glow-in-the-dark eyeballs and fake spiders that she’d twine around the front gate, the witch’s hat she’d perch on her head when she stood in the doorway, handing out candy to kids who looked less and less familiar each year, and the candy bowl itself, with a plastic claw perched on the edge (the claw would open and shut dramatically, grasping for a trick-or-treater’s hand when Maureen pressed a button underneath). The Halloween stuff was where she expected to find it, in a lidded plastic storage bin with the word Halloween written in Tom’s clear, firm handwriting on a sticker on top. The box was next to it, wrapped in silvery paper, tied with a gold bow. A small white envelope was slipped underneath the bow, and her name, again in Tommy’s handwriting, was on it. For Ma...

Review by Nancy Jack Dempster grew up in a small place with friends and, of course, a “best” friend. He did all right until he got caught after robbing a bank and went away for five years to pay for his sin. You’d think that reading as many books as he did for those five years, thinking about becoming a priest, really wanting to change it would have worked for him. Fate had other plans. The first thing Jack does upon release is go visit some old friends. They talk him into one more heist in New Mexico. He gets three “assistants” who can barely assist themselves to the john but, you take what you can get. They plan on robbing a hotel/casino in Santa Fe. Meanwhile, Jack has met his old friend and also a young woman whom he is attracted to but has serious conscious issues about. She doesn’t have – much of a conscious, I mean! As always happens his past comes back in spades and life suddenly isn’t as simple as it was yesterday. This was my first Zelanzy book, but I doubt it will be the las...

Review by Nancy New Orleans has always had its share of oddities. Some say vampires, we all know about voodoo and those wonderful cemeteries just have to have some ghosts floating about. It seems one has landed in the newly rented apartment of Jade Calhoun. Worse than that, being an empath, she can see him! Moving to the South from Idaho was enough of a culture shock, but ghosts! Plus the hunk landlord has her bothered enough without someone staring her from the ectoplasm world all the time. Her ex-boyfriend (7 years!) basically told her she should be committed when Jade explained to him about the empathetic powers. To add wounds to an already bleeding pain, her best friend, the only one who was ever really trusted with Jade’;s secret is now living with the ex. In New Orleans! Kane, the landlord; his pal Pyper and others try to make Jade welcome but there is always something holding her back. She meets a “ghost hunter” who wants to date her but only to take her to ghostly sites ...

Product Description Here is the story of an unforgettable summer. Set in Plymouth, MA in the late seventies, Little Did I Know is the tale of a young man with an outsized dream – to refurbish a dilapidated but historic theater and produce a season's worth of vibrant musicals. A recent college graduate, he fills his cast and crew with people he has come to love and trust in his university life, and with others whose talents and personalities prove undeniable. Yet, while the productions drive his ambitions, a local woman drives his passions, and their romance is fateful, star-crossed, and ultimately more than either of them expected. Told with with, compassion, and the kind of insider's access to the theater that only someone like Mitchell Maxwell can provide, Little Did I Know is a novel about coming of age in the spotlight and embracing one's entire future in a single season. You can read my review here Excerpt from book Excerpt: “Promise,” they all said in unison. That was...

Review by Nancy Running through the forest, mad as hell, hurt more than mad; Marlow saw the old dock and did what her heart told her to do. She jumped. The water wasn’t cold, even with the snow on the ground. It welcomed her and made her feel loved. Not so much when she woke up on Lena’s sofa with people staring at her. Kids she knew from school in a “Hi, what’s up?” kinda way. Not close friends at all. Then she gets news she hadn’t planned on. She’s dead. This isn’t a simple thing at all. Her bones are a lovely bronze color and she can see them when she goes into the lake. Skeleton Lake – the one you can’t see – the one everyone thinks is a cornfield; except for a select few. And this isn’t the worst. There are Others in the forest called Hallows and all they want is Marlow and Lena because the girl Hallows can’t have children. A great story with a new premise. The characters are very well-written and the lake is an entirely new concept of which I completely approve! Hopef...

Jake Lassiter is in the middle of court when he sees her. A pretty brunette. She is watching him. After the trial is over, the brunette comes over to Jake and introduces herself. Her name is Amy Larkin. She shows Jake a picture of some guys and some strippers. It seems that one of the girls in the picture is Amy’s sister, Kristi and she has gone missing. Jake was the last person to see her. Jake may be a lot of things but he is no murderer. In addition, he does not like that his reputation is being slung through the mud. Jake decides to investigate the disappearance of Kristi. That is the only way he can clear his name. Whatever good that is worth. This is the first book I have read by this author. Lassiter is the latest Jake Lassiter novel. Though, I had no problems jumping right in and enjoying this book with out having read all the prior books in the series. What really made this book for me was Lassiter’s persona. He did not use ethical ways when investigating and this is what I li...

Bonjour 40 is the end product of author, Karen A. Chase’s trip to Paris. She spent forty days visiting everything and doing everything there was to do and see in Paris. This is because someone asked Karen what she was going to do for her upcoming forthwith birthday. This was asking only after Karen had just had her thirty-ninth’s birthday. Karen had a whole year to plan and save for her trip to Paris. I am jealous that Karen spent forty days in Paris. Now, this is what I call really celebrating your fortieth birthday. The picture of Karen when she was only fourteen-months old, sitting on a chair playing on the typewriter was precious. The picture of the Eiffel Tower through the Wall of Peace was great. Also the macaroon photo had my mouth watering. I have eaten these before but never the fresh, French kind. Guess, I will have to go to Paris one day myself to eat one. This book is set up to read like a journal. Each chapter is marked by Day 1, 2 and date versus an actual chapter number....

Review by Nancy Three brothers, Dwayne, Emmett and Andrew Davis are affected by the Civil War in various ways. We see Dwayne wanting so badly to go into battle but, being a lawyer and appointed to serve the South by visiting France and England to gain support for their cause he just wishes. Emmett is a leader and very well thought of. A prior merchant he begins a plan to outrun the Union blockade to get supplies for his Southern brothers in war. Andy is wounded immediately but his fascination with the telegraph system gives him a chance to serve in a different way after his recovery. Frank Stone is a New York City Detective who is drafted by President Lincoln to oversee investigations into why Union arms are ending up in Southern hands. He works with the Pinkertons and has made a friend for life in the person of Lincoln. He is also smitten with the widow Jenkins, who leaves him to return to Ireland. How these men interact in the respective positions in the 1860’s is the stuff of gre...

Review by Nancy In the world of art forgery Laila Cambridge was Queen. Her artwork seemed to come from the original artist (and, actually did, kind of) and NO ONE who didn’t know could tell hers from the original one. They sold for millions. A part-time tour guide she takes groups through the Met now and throws her own comments in as well. A man she had met the evening before comes there and mentions he knows her father. Wait – KNOWS! The man has been missing for over 5 years! John Bolingbroke knows that, he also knows he promised the man that he would protect Laila. Protecting is a lot harder when you fall for your charge. It’s also harder when she falls back. They are charged with finding a painting by Botticelli and Da Vinci called Coming Forth by Day. Quite a few people (and other things) are interested in this painting as it supposedly shows a cure for vampirism. Laila, John, roomie Fern and many more join in the hunt for the painting. It turns out that not only is is wanted but p...

Judy McFarland works as a kindergarten teacher at Waldorf School. Judy is currently working on organizing the school’s Christmas bazaar. Judy receives some extra pair of hands. One of her son’s friends needs some extra credit and his mom has volunteered him. His name is Zach Patterson. He is sixteen. At first Judy thought Zach was an impolite boy. Surely not someone that Judy would ever think about having an affair with. Though as time passes and Judy’s husband is occupied with obtaining his PhD, Judy feels neglected. The relationship between Judy and Zach sounded like the relationship that I imagine Mary Kay Letourneau and Vivi had. Only, Judy did not marry Zach. I could not feel sorry for Judy. Which to me is a good thing, as it would mean that I forgave Judy for her actions. The only thing that I felt sorry for when it came to Judy is that she was weak. She gave in to her impluses and did not care who got hurt or used in the process. When it came to Judy and Zach, the sex scenes wer...

My Review I am not familiar with Crohn’s disease. So to read what Mr. Reiner went through dealing with this disease, it was disheartening. I can not imagine having to live with Crohn’s disease. Always having to worry about what you eat not because you want to lose weight but because you never know when some type of food could be like a time bomb towards your body. Reading about the stool blockage that formed in Mr. Reiner’s small intestine and tore a perforation in his intestinal wall, which caused a rupture was horrible. I could just envision the horrific pain that he was in, while he lay on his kitchen floor waiting for his wife to come home. Luckily, the doctor was able to stabilize Mr. Reiner but in order to heal and avoid further surgery; the doctor informs Mr. Reiner that he will have to have a PICC line for total parenteral nutrition (TPN). Mr. Reiner will be receiving food intravenously. The way Mr. Reiner described food was better than some food writers. I swear I could almost...

This is a cute, quick, inspiring read. The Crown on Your Head is a book to share with your children and grandchildren. Ms. Tillman states that the message she wants to convey with her books to children is that they are loved. I agree that Ms. Tillman hit her mark. This book does tell that message. The illustrations are beautiful. Each picture was like a watercolor photo. Because each page is short and the words are not too big, a child could read this book. I know that I will be sharing this book with my nephews. The Crown on Your Head is a masterpiece that should be cherished with all.

Sixteen year old, Naomi Knapp has been courting with Bishop Yodder’s son, Jacob. They have only been seeing each other for four months but Naomi knows that she wants to marry Jacob. Unfortunately, Naomi’s dreams come crashing down on her when Jacob tells her that he is leaving. Jacob promises that if everything goes well that he will return in two years and ask Naomi for her hand in marriage. That was three years ago. Abram Knapp has been married to Eunice for a long time. They have four daughters. While, Abram loves his daughters, he wishes that he had sons. That is why when Eunice informs Abram that she is pregnant, he is displeased. He has given up the idea of ever having a son. In fact, he is mad at Eunice for being pregnant. Bishop Yodder tells Abram that there is a young man who is looking for work and he thinks that it would be a good idea if Abram hired him. The first moment that Abram sees Ted Tyler, he is brought back to the past and a woman that he was in love with. Her name...

I took parts of this article from Tor.com by Natalie Zutter. You can read the full article here Don’t be afraid to make her masculine. One of the most fascinating questions was whether the ladies consider their characters intrinsically female, and what makes them so. “Aoife does have a lot of masculine traits for when the story’s set,” Kittredge admitted. “She’s good at math, she’s athletic… She’s actually socially awkward and doesn’t have very good manners. I think with her character traits, if Aoife had been a guy, she would’ve come off as a jerk. Her desire not to be pigeonholed and to go out and seek adventure outside of the roles she’s been told she has to play, is intrinsic to her character.” Grin and bear it when it comes to hypersexualized heroes. However, there’s a big difference between Chicks in Chain Mail and the scantily clad superheroes that NYCC attendees saw every day on the show floor. To this relevant question, Pierce answered, “I grind my teeth a lot, I speak against...

My Review The year is 1976. Sam has just graduated college. Now it is time to pave his way in the real world. So the million dollar question is “What are you going to do now Sam?” Sam already has a plan. He shows his friends an ad for the rental of a theatre. This ad is the perfect answer to Sam’s dreams. Sam applies and receives a letter from The Barrows Foundation, who is managing the Priscilla Beach Theatre. The Barrows Foundation is pleased to offer Sam the theatre. Sam can live out his dreams and he will finally get to produce and direct musicals. I thought this book read a little like the Great Gatsby. This is a good thing. It was zany and the characters were not to be taken too serious. I had mixed feelings about Sam. On one hand I thought he was chauvinistic, especially when it came to women and this turned me off but on the other hand, he did have some great ideas. Sam would describe the women in great detail about what their breasts looked among other details. There are also ...

My review Reagan Truman has grown since; she first came to Harmony, Texas. She is now a young woman has a grandpa, friends and a place to call home. Ronelle Logan works for the post office. Her first delivery is to Mr. Marty Winslow. Ronelle was not prepared for Marty’s abrupt attitude. This would explain why on her first meeting with him, she called him a cripple. Tyler Wright is the local funeral director. He is finally ready to make the leap from friends to more than just friends, with Kate. Though, is she ready for the same thing? Everyone in Harmony is friendly and people that I want to hang out with. Well most of the people. There was Marty. I could not believe how grown up Reagan was. She now had to contend with boys and prior she was just happy sitting on the front porch with her grandpa. It was nice to see Noah again. I do believe that he and Reagan belong together. Ronelle became an instant hit with me. She was shy but around Marty she opened up and could be herself. Even if ...

Katherine Elliot is a music journalist for Think Louder. Though, she is at the bottom of the totem pole. This is because she does not kiss ass. Her co-workers disrespect her and so does her room mate. As if it could get worse, Kat’s ex-friend, Lauren Anderville reappears. The last time that Kat saw Lauren was when Lauren was ditching Kat for popularity. Lauren is pretty, rich, hangs with the coolest people and has a successful job. Lauren tells Kat that she wants to start over with Kat. In fact, she is willing to break one of the rules of the Popularity Rules book by sharing her secret. The Popularity Rules book is based on the simple, psychological truth that nobody ever recovers from high school. In reality, this actually makes sense. While, we all strive to better ourselves, there is a small part of us that still reverts back to our former self in high school. I liked Kat. She showed spunk, however I also felt like she needed to take a stronger and louder stand for herself. She left...

Review by Nancy In 1991, Elizabeth Van Liere lost her husband and her entire life for a little while. She regained faith in a very humorous way and took up something she has enjoyed all her life – writing. Her ability to take an event and turn it into a lesson is wonderful and I hope there are more books coming from her soon. This collection of Christian thoughts is a must read! The stories are timely, the thoughts make YOU think as well and the questions are for soul-searching. My very favorite was near the beginning and titled: “A Crown of Grey Hair.” I’m certainly getting my own and reading her thoughts on greying made me feel a bit better inside. A book of stories, devotions and Scripture quotes for everyone – even if you aren’t a Senior Citizen. Chocolates Are Yummy, But God Is Sweeter (from Dare to Live, Devotions for Those Over the Hill, Not Under It) So then whatever you eat or drink or whatever you may do, do all for the honor and glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31 (Amplified) ...

Welcome to Jeremy Robinson’s Great Kindle Giveaway and Blog Tour. “Hurray for free Kindles!” you say, but who the hell is Jeremy Robinson? Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the author of eleven mixed genre novels, published in ten languages, including the popular fantasy YA series, THE LAST HUNTER, and the fast-paced Jack Sigler series (also known as Chess Team—not nearly as nerdy as it sounds), PULSE, INSTINCT and THRESHOLD from Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press. I’m the co-author of an expanding series of novellas deemed the Chesspocalypse, which take place in the Chess Team universe. If that doesn’t wet your whistle, I’m also known as Jeremy Bishop, the #1 Amazon.com horror author of THE SENTINEL and the controversial novel, TORMENT. For more about me, or my books, visit http://www.jeremyrobinsononline.com/ . I have watched for years as my fellow authors held online events called blog tours. Some would visit ten blogs. Others, as many as ninety. And every day they would bring so...

OMG. This book had me laughing so much. I can not remember the last time that I had such a fun time reading a book. I love Mrs. Rave. She is a sweetheart and knows all the right things to say. Of course, Mr. Rave is priceless. Like when Robert was going to get waxed and his dad gave an analogy about how he did not see a problem if his son wanted to get some things waxed as when he and Mrs. Rave first moved into their home, the back yard was over grown and they did not want anyone to come over until they had cleaned it up. Thus this classic line from Mr. Rave “I’m saying Robert needs to trim his tree and bush before anyone spends time in his backyard.” Another favorite chapter of mine was when Robert was teaching his mom about the “gay glossary”. As you can imagine words can carry different meanings in the “gay glossary”. I have to say that one that really stuck with me and had me almost in tears from laughter was “Flagger” Flagger Mrs. Rave’s Definition: Someone in a gang or rough arou...

When Caitlin was just twelve years old, she disappeared. Since that time, Tom and Abby Stuart have tried to hold on to hope that Caitlin might still return to them one day. Though, with Caitlin gone, their marriage has fallen apart. Abby is finally ready to let go of Caitlin but Tom is not. Tom and Abby receive “the call”. The one that they never thought that they would ever receive. The police ask Tom and Abby to come down as they have Caitlin. Tom and Abby are happy but Caitlin has changed. She is withdrawn and acting like a teenager. Tom and Abby can not figure out why Caitlin does not want to identify her kidnapper. What is Caitlin hiding? I had been seeing this book popping up on different sites that I was visiting and the more and more that I kept reading about it, I thought ok, this is a book I have to check out sooner rather than later. I have to say that I am glad that I did. It was not so much the characters that did it for me but the story. The only person I really felt for ...

A tour guide for the Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa finds a young woman’s body. She has been mutilated. Her name is Kosigo and she is the daughter of a rich family and known as the Rain Goddess. Linda Van Wyk has traveled to Rustenburg, her home town for a visit. While in Rustenburg, Linda bumps into an old friend. It is Chief Detective Inspector Arnie Swart. Arnie has a lot of pressure to solve the death of Kosigo, so when Linda offers to assist, now that she is a legal licensed private investigator, Arnie accepts. The police determine that Kosigo’s death was an unfortunate one due to a rogue elephant and close the case. Linda believes that the police have it wrong and that Kosigo’s death was an act of man and not animal. The police do not want to listen what with the upcoming World Cup. Linda won’t rest until she solves Kosigo’s murder. Luckily for Linda, she won’t have to do it alone. She is joined by George. George works as an archaeologist. It was nice to see Linda agai...

Edward and his brother Allard can remember their father telling them stories of Canada and the polar bears. He would talk for hours and they would go over a map. It got to be to the point that Ed and Allard decided that they could state from one frozen river to the next, until they made their way to Canada. On the day that Allard and Ed set out , they came upon a girl in trouble. The girl had fallen though the ice into the icy water. Ed and Allard saved her. The girl is named Sarah. From this day forward, the three were inseparable. Though, Sarah and Allard became just a little closer. Sarah even declared that one day she and Allard would marry. Every thing changed, one day, when a tragic event took place. The World As We Know It is the first book I have read by Mr. Monninger. Wow. Wow. Wow. This book is breath-taking, glorious and a wonderful story of life, love, friends and family bonds. I started this book and literally a few hours later, I had finished it. Allard, Sarah and Ed were...

Jane Kaufman went from being a journalist in Canada to being a producer for the hit reality show, The Purrfect Life with Lucy Lane. Don’t mistaken the title of this show to be about cats or kittens, unless you are interested in the sex kitten variety. Yep, Jane’s first role as a Hollywood producer is for a show about superficial, rich people and stuck up models. Jane’s first episode that features DJ, MC Toke (yeah I know but this is really the name he goes by). Even after this disastrous event, Jane still is willing to stick out all the catiness and give Hollywood another chance. Besides, how many people can say that they were a producer for a reality show? I had mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I liked the humorous banter but on the other hand I could not stand the fake characters and stereo typicalness. There was no one that I could really cheer for. At times it was Jane but not in the beginning. She was so naïve to the game that I wanted to shake her and tell her that sh...