Cheryl's Book Nook

With the Summer Olympics 2012 fast approaching, this is the perfect time to get to really know a past olympic superstar, Dominique Moceanu in Off Balance. Readers will remember Dominique as she was a member of the 1996 Women's Olympic Gymnastics team known as the "Magnificent Seven". People know Dominique as one of the greatest gymnastics but what people probably don't know about Dominique is the person, mom, wife, sister, and daughter. In Off Balance Dominique shares a personal look at her life growing up, how she discovered her passion for gymnastics, making the olympic team and finding out she had a sister. This is a great memoir. I tend to usually stay away from memoirs, only because I don't really want to read about other peoples lives unless it is omeone that I really like. Only because if I find out things I do not like or find the bookk to be dry, then it takes away some for me on that person. None of this was the case with this book. I liked that D...

Review by Nancy When you’ve grown up in Philly, the Southwest is a long ways away. Will had heart-broken that he had qualified for the Eastern Pennsylvania Skateboarding Championships. Not the qualifying part, but the part where he finds out that Mom and Dad have scheduled the same time to volunteer at a reservation Clinic in Arizona. He has to go. Imagine your 13-ish kid in a total pout. Not fun. But Will’s life is about to change in ways he’d never imagine and skateboarding has just a bit to do with that. Waiting to meet them with his Jeep is Pastor Roger Feathers, in charge of the Clinic and the small reservation church. He has also drummed up a lot of interest in Will giving skateboarding demos in the evening! Meeting Pastor Roger helps Will loosen up and, when he meets the Pastor’s kids, Jake and Kate who are skateboarders, too he fits right in. There is a friend of Will’s father doing a dig at the place the tribe used to winter and they have found some amazing things, es...

Review by Nancy In a thriller that rivals anything Dan Brown ever wrote, The Messiah Matrix threatens to take all your beliefs and toss them into the wind. A priest is murdered in Rome. His assassin is also shot and killed while with another priest. A message was delivered. An artifact is found on the floor of the sea. A Jesuit questions his faith and the history of his Church. An archaeologist uncovers the find of a lifetime and loses it. A connection between Christ and Augustus Ceasar? The wise men following a star in 17 BC? Curiouser and curiouser! Although you know what they say about curiosity. The Monsignor searching for the ashes of Christ – which he was killed before explaining. Does the Holy See condone murder? Damn Skippy it does! This book is amazing! The two main characters of Ryan and Emily are the perfect pair of detectives. Will they be more? You’ll have to read the book! Emily’s coin is vital to the history of Christianity in the world, but will they get it bac...

  Book Excerpt He wanted his kids to place a long-distance phone call to him and pay for it. Besides taking an extra-heavy course load, so that he could graduate in three and a half years, Michael had a number of business enterprises on the side. Through his father, he had made a deal with a garment manufacturer in the city to make A E Pi fraternity jackets, which he sold at a nice profit to his fraternity brothers. It worked well enough that he branched out and started doing business with Psi U and Delta Epsilon, and, eventually, his jackets were so in demand around campus that he subcontracted work to guys in other fraternities. On this Friday in November, a week before Thanksgiving vacation, Michael was trying to clear the lunch dishes early so that he could get over to Psi U and deliver the jackets that had arrived from the city yesterday. My review Meet the Perl family...Nathan, Lillian, Jacob "Jackie", Michael, Elaine, Steven, and Bobbie. The day i...

Revuew by Nancy After the death of her philandering husband, Eva saw no reason to stay at home while his relatives glared at her. She had never fit in their circle and, while packing up Stephen’s things, she had found a ticket to Brazil for an expedition in search of a topaz stone. Why not? It’s not as if she had a good reason to stay. At the airport, she spies a good-looking man who stops her breath. Then she is met by a taxi driver and hurried on to the next leg of her journey – the small town where the expedition will begin. She is dropped off in front of a house where the housekeeper doesn’t speak English – nor do the neighbors. After walking the entire village, she ends up where she started, hot, dehydrated and a bit angry. Turns out this is the right home, after all. Eva and her companions soon meet their leader, Roberto de Carvalho, the mysterious man at the airport! She wakes up in his bed with him kissing her. Not the tour introduction she had imagined! Maria ha...

Ruth Saunders lives with her grandma. Ruth is a writer. She has been writing a script for a television show titled The Next Best Thing. Ruth gets the call. The one that will either make or break her. Ruth scores! She and her grandma are moving to Hollywood. Ruth has gotten the green light to produce her television series. While Ruth is busy trying to make her dreams a reality, her grandma is getting paid as an extra. I was not one of the viewers that watched State of Georgia , Mrs. Weiner's short lived television series. However, after reading Mrs. Weiner's latest release, The Next Best Thing, I have to say that I do feel sorry for anyone who has written and piloted a television series to a major network. It is not an easy task. Us the viewers only see the finished product and don't really know all the grueling details that it takes to make and produce a television series. Only to have the network exectives want to mold the writer's vision into what they feel we...

Gus Carpenter is enjoying a beer with Soupy his fellow hockey team mate after their win at the bar, when there is a knock on the door. It is the police. Something has happened. Gus is escorted to his mother's house where the cops and an ambulance are. It seems that Mrs. B. a good friend of Gus's mother was found dead in Gus's mother's kitchen. It appears to be a break in. The worse part is that Mrs. B. is Gus's ex, Darlene's mother. Gus has a vested interest in solving Mrs. B.'s death. The Skeleton Box is the third book of the Starvation Lake novels. This book can be read as a stand alone novel. Which is a good thing as I have been wanting to check out this series since the first book but just have not found the chance to until now. There is just one down fall you might encounter like I did by not starting with Starvation Lake, the first book. This for me was that I had not built up a connection with the townsfolk and thus this might have had to do a l...

Madeline, Avery and Nicole are back. The ladies have been recruited to star in a reality television show called Do-Over. The show is based around house remodeling. This is just the opportunity that Nicole needed. Especially after her brother, Malcolm's ponzi scheme. Nicole needs a Do-Over. The reality show is a nice way for the three women to spend the summer together. If only the cameras could but out of their private lives. I have read several books by Wendy Wax now. I have liked them enough to read more books by this author. Ocean Beach is the follow up novel to 10 Beach Road. It is in 10 Beach Road that readers are introduced to Madeline, Avery, and Nicole. I fell in love with these ladies and was excited to reconnect with them again in Ocean Beach. For some reason this time, I just was not feeling this book as much as I had hoped. While, I like Madeline, Avery and Nicole, the drama that they had was just too much for me. This book read too chick it for me. Which is n...

The story of Glenna and Gordon is lke any other typical couple. Boy meets girl...boy falls for girl...boy and girl breakup. However, how many people can say that they got a second chance at love. Not as many as some would like or hope for. Flash back to thirty five years ago. Gordon Meyers is an aspiring writer. Gordon's first assignment is to interview one of the medical students involved in the organization for New York Medical Students for the Repeal of Abortion Laws. The medical student that Gordon is interviewing is Glenna Rising. Glenna and Gordon hit things off. Soon, they are hanging out with each other and becoming more then just friends. Gordon and Glenna's relationship is going well until one day Glenna and Gordon have a fight and Gordon walks away. Gordon has not stopped thinking about Now years later, Gordon walks back into Glenna's life for second chance at love. It has been a little while since I had had the joy to sit down and just read a book. I...

Deirdre Griffin has the job that lots of women would kill for. Deidre is manager for her brother, Tag. Tag is a famous guru. Women all over are falling for Tag and his words of wisdom. Deirdre is meeting with an event manager for her brother, Tag. While at the hotel, Deirdre receives a unexpected surprise. A man walks into her hotel room, whie Deirdre is in a stage of undress with her granny panty style under wear, brushing her teeth, looking like a rabid dog foaming at the mouth. As if things could not get worse, the man is drop, dead handsome. The man is none other than Tag's friend, Steve Moretti and he is standing right in front of Deirdre. I never read Must Love Dogs but I did see the movie adaption from the book and thought the movie was funny. I knew that I had to give Ms. Cook a chance but just never found the time until now. OMG...Wallflower in Bloom will have you laughing and crying at the same time. The words of wisdom that Tag would impart was hiliarous. It would ma...

I live about four hours away from Denver, Colorado. I can rightfully say that I am not familiar with the Rocky Flats nuclear plant. I mean that I know of it but did not hear the warnings as other children may have heard from their parents who lived close by to the area like don't get the snow, beware strange glowing rocks (ok, so maybe not this particular warning) but you get the idea. I got a little more out of reading this book than I thought I would. What I found the most fascinating was the nuclear plant and the last half of the book, where the government and the DOE were held responsible for the after effects of the nuclear plant. Reading Kristen's story about growing up near Rocky Flats nuclear plant and losing friends was sad. I did like getting to know Kristen. Although. I felt like this book was more about the people who lived near the nuclear plant, worked there, and the nuclear plant itself versus really a memoir about Kristen and her family. Not that I am comp...

As the presidential elections are in the fore front of everyone's mind this year, this is the perfect time to get to know one of the strong contender's Mitt Romney and his family including one of the important family members...Seamus Romney aka the family dog. Mitt decides to pack up the family and travel across the USA. Everyone is going including Seamus. Only Seamus has a front row seat on top of the family car. The family travels to South Dakota, to California, to every place in between and finally Washington, D.C. I liked the illustrations. They were colorful, detailed, and really helped portray the story. Seamus really stole the show for me in this book. The comments and expressions he made were priceless. Each state's talent or famous landmark that the state was known for was featured. Of course, why Mr. Kluger and Mr. Slavin had great fun pocking at different aspects in the book like rhyming, you can not help but pick up on Mr. Romney's pollitical views in...

David Sloane is having some issues with his step son, Jake. Sloane's friend, Tom Molina suggests that Sloane, Jake, Molina and his son, T.J. all get away for a guys weekend. Things go well until Jake and T.J. are arrested, tried and sentenced all by Judge Earl Boykin. Judge Boykin is a man not to be messed with. Jake and T.J. have been sent to Fresh Start, a jevenile facility. Only the facility is more like a boot camp and the guards like to break down the children because they can. Sloane and Molina will have to pull out the big guns if they want to save their sons. I have not read a book by Mr. Dugoni. After reading Conviction, I will be checking out Mr. Dugoni's prior novels. I was hooked. Sloane and Molina make a great team. They bothn have brains and fight for justice. Sloane had guts, which is why I liked him a lot. Neither he or Molina were afraid to get their hands dirty. Some of the characters surprised me. I admit that I did not see the signs of which sides...

My Review Lanore and Luke are back. They are attending the much anticipated museum exhibit titled "Lost Treasures of the Nineteenth Century". The exhibit is courtesy of Lanore. She is the mystery donor. While attending the exhibit, Lanore experiences a sharp, tingling pain. She knows instantly that it is Adair. This is not good news for Lanore as she was the one that put Adair away for what she thought was a very long time. Adair escapes his prison, only to learn that the world his once knew has changed a lot. First off people use computers to communicate with each other and two to purchase anything plastic as in credit card is the way to go. Adair has to learn to navigate the new world, while trying to find Lanore. It won't be eary but that is ok as Adair has time. Once Adair finds Lanore, he will make her pay dearly for betraying him. The Reckoning is book two in The Taker trilogy. I would suggest starting with The Taker. This is a trilogy where it is char...

like each of my writing projects to provide new challenges. I find myself significantly more engaged if I'm doing at least one thing with a new book that I haven't done before. For DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS , the novel I just published with Julian Iragorri, that one thing was substantial -- and therefore endlessly interesting. DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS is the story of four people from four different times whose stories converge in a way that has a profound effect on the protagonist. Writing a novel with multiple viewpoints wasn't the challenge. My last novel, BLUE, had three main characters. What was going to prove difficult here was that all four stories needed to remain completely separate for most of the novel. How were we going to move four stories forward at once? More important, how were we going to do it in a way that felt cohesive and interesting to the reader? One way was to draw connections between the characters. All of them came from the fictional South Amer...

It is 1663 in New Amsterdam. If you an orphan, then most likely you have met the orphanmaster. He is the one that all the children know. Blandine van Couvering grew up an orphan herself. She has done pretty well for herself these days. Having been an orphan, Blandine has a soft spot for the other orphan children. This is why when some of the orphan children go missing, Blandine takes it upon herself to lead a group and go hunting for the missing children. Blandine is joined by Edward Drummond, a British spy. Suspicions first lead to the orphanmaster but as Blandine and Edward draw closer tothe truth, they learn there is something more evil at work. This was quite an interesting book. Although, the first half of the book does move slowly. However, if you stick with it, it does get better. I liked the historical aspect surrounding this story, especially regarding the Native Americans and the witika. The idea that a beast could have that much power to make people turn into cannib...

Dr. Norman Wilfred is a guest speaker at the Fred Toppler Foundation. He will be talking about his theories in science. Oliver Fox is traveling to the island of Skios for a hook up. While at the airport, Oliver has a freak out moment. He wonders what it would be like to be someone else. When Oliver gets the opportunity, he runs with it but will he make the most of it. While, I was expecting to laugh a lot more then I actually did, there were still some funny moments. My favorites scenes involved Norman and what was happening on his side of the island. It was like watching an Greek tragedy (sopa opera). After one antic would end the next would begin. First with Norman getting a suprise bed mate, to him meeting a goat, to the cleaning lady tossing all the clothing into the pool. It was surpising comsidering Norman's age that he did not have a heart attack from all the stress and excitement. Our course, deep down, I think he enjoyed the drama and different people that he met. ...

Ivorie lived with her parents until their death. Now it is just her and her dog, Sally. This is on for Ivorie as she does not need a man as she is doing just fine on her own, despite what everyone else may think. Things are going well, Ivorie has started a garden. Ivorie starts to notice beans, tomatoes and other veggies missing form her garden. At first Ivorie thought it was Sally but then Ivorie catches her bandit in action. It is a little boy. Ivorie takes the boy into her home. Soon the whole town learns of Ivorie and the boy. Where did the boy come from and who are his parents? Can Ivorie gain the family that the dreamed of. Donna VanLiere is a new to me author. After reading this book, I plan to go back and check out Donna's prior novels. The Good Dream has heart and soul. The characters in this book are ones that readers will come to love. Ivorie is strong and has a good heart. She is approachable and this is just the type of person I look for in a story like this..cha...

Orion cane not wait for his fiance, Joycelyn to return from her work with the Peace Corps. Once she returns then Orion and Joycelyn aka Uberjoy will be married. Things take a bad turn for the worse, when Orion learns that his Uberjoy along with the rest of the Peace Corp group has been taken. As if things could not get any worse, Orion discovers that the group who took his Uberjoy is part of a sex trafficking ring. Orion travels halfway across the world to save his Uberjoy. Questing for Uberjoy is book three in the Post-Lux Trilogy. I have not read the first two books in this trilogy but have to say that I did not feel like I was missing anything. The only thing I could see possibly missing was Orion and Joycelyn relationship. Althought, I thought it was pretty evident in this book by Orion's determination to find his Uberjoy. Orion was a man on a mission and he would not let anyone oe anything stand in his way. I liked this. He was a man of action. This book surprised me in ...

Mary is the daughter of a ship builer. Mary has just celebrated a save return of her father from one of his trips. Everyone has settled down for the evening, when Mary is kidnapped. She is rescued but ever since her safe return, she has not been the same. She keeps having nightmares. As the years pass, the nightmares get worse and Mary even experiences seizures. Her family fears for her. It gets to bad that Mary's husband has to lock her in her room. Things change when a rabbi named Jesus travels to Mary's town. Jesus heals Mary and from that point on, she promises to follow Jesus. This is the second book I have read by this author and the second story about women from the Bible. Diana really protrays the women from the Bible as the strong women they truely are. I am embarrassed to admit that I kind of remember Mary but am vague on the details surrounding Mary. Mary was amazing. The stuff she had to endure with the nightmares and being spawned by her family and f...

Nathan was at home with Steve, his mother's boyfriend. Steve was mean. It was still going to be a long time until Nathan's mother returns home. Nathan decides to cook himself dinner. Suddenly, Steve comes marching into the kitchen and burns Nathan's arm. Nathan ends up in the hospital in the burn unit, where he will receive skin grafts. Steve is about to meet his worst nightmare. The Lizard men. The Lizard men are judge, jury, and executor. This book was full of gruesome, gut-wretching moments. Even I who can read one after anotehr of serial killer books and I mean the dark stuff, had a weak moment that surprised even me. It was the first time when the Lizard men were ripping into Steve and tearing out his intestines. After that, I was fine but this jsut goes to show you that I was really into this book. When Nathan would be in the Lizard men's world, I could see it so real. It was like I could smell the fear, piss, metallic smell of blood and feel the dirt under...

My Review Catherine has a compulsive disorder. Although lucky or unluky for Catherine, she has met a guy. His name is Lee. What started out as a good relationship, soon turns violent. Lee beats Catherine to an inch of her life and leaves her for dead. Lee is sent to prison. Catherine starts a new life and changes her name to Cathy. Cathy gets a new tenant in her building. His name is Stuart and he is a doctor. Stuart is trying to help Cathy with her disorder. In the meantime, Stuart would like to start a relationship with Cathy. This will be hard as Lee has been released from prison and is coming for Cathy. I have seen this book making its way across the world wide web. I knew I had to check it out. The opening scenes with the court room script was good. I thought with this that the story was going to so somewhere good. Unfortunately for me the characters did not do much for me. I felt the story was slow to get going in the beginning and the flashing back and forth was not ...

Saba Tarcan is a singer. She leaves home and auditions for ENSA aka Entertainments National Service Association. Saba becomes the newest member of ENSA. ENSA travels all over entertaining wounded soldiers with their shows. This is a big opportunity for Saba as she has never traveled the world. Dom Benson is a fighter pilot. Dom is recovering in a hospital after being wounded in combat. It is in the hospital that Dom first meets Saba and hears her voice. She was filling in for a fellow singer. Dom and Saba share a instant connection. Although, Saba starts off their relationship slow. As time passes and with each new location, Dom and Saba's relationship blossoms. Saba gets an exciting opportunity to assit the British Secret Service. There will be danger. I liked this book. I thought that Saba and Dom made a cute couple. I do mean cute. Their relationship to me seemed more on the sweet side then the spicy side. While, I don't always have to have spicy, I would have liked...

I never read Mr. Halpern's Sh*t MY Dad Says. After reading this book, I am going to check it out. I was laughing my head off at this book. I barely picked it up to start reading and already I found hilarous lines by Justin's father. I was reading them to my husband. It took like forever to get to page six because I would stop and read a line or a conversation that Justin had with his father. The things that would come out of Justin's father's mouth, had me wanting to crack a beer or two with him and bring up random topics to get his opipions. He gave you the uncensored life lessons. I feared that things would not be as funny when Justin grew up and went away to college but never fear as the laughes still kept coming. Justin's experiences with the opposite sex was sad. I felt for him. I am surprised that he did not get chewed up and spit out. Luckily for him, he found his perfect match with his wife, Amanda. From what I did get to learn about her in this book...

Freya's twin brother, Freddie has returned from prison. Freddie believes that Freya's beau, Killian is the one that caused Freddie to be sent away. Freya wants so bad to ask Killian if he had anything to do with her brother's punishment but she can't. This in turn has caused Freya to withdraw from Killian. Then there is Ingrid and Matt. They are finally going out on a date. It is about time. These two move like molasses. In addition, there is some strange happenings in the house. Tyler's mother believes the hosue is haunted and will not return with Tyler until the problem is fixed. Things are getting interesting. I missed Tyler. He did not make much of an appearance in this book. Tyler is entertaining and has a bubbly personalility. Even though I can not eat Joanna's baking of sweet treats, I do feel like when I read about them that I am gaining ten pounds. They all sound so yummy. No wonder Tyler can not get enough. Ingrid deserves to have a guy in he...

Now, inspired by the life of mega pop-star Britney Spears, comes Between You and Me (Atria Books, June 2012, $25), a fictional examination of the life of a pop icon. We’ve all watched as famous people we adore—or despise—have broken apart on the national screen. But what if you weren’t judging from the sidelines? What if life had put you in the getaway car, the hair salon, the hotel hallway right along with them? Taking aim at the most insidious kind of “stage-parenting” and an industry that ‘produces’ their clients’ adolescences, McLaughlin and Kraus’ latest novel questions what -- and who – is responsible for a celebrity’s destruction. Between You and Me gives a sympathetic portrayal of the implosion of a beloved and promising talent, Kelsey Wade, as her saga unfolds on the pages of every tabloid magazine for the world to judge. Twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade is trying to build a life for herself far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. Until she gets an offer she can’t r...

The year is 1975. Laurie is looking for girl power, even if it means she has to find it at University of Los Angeles's sorority house, Beta Pi. Karen is a prim and proper lady. She does what her mother wants her to do. This is why she joined Beta Pi. Her mother felt she should have lots of friends. Ellen was meant to be a sorority girl. She lives for the parties and drinking. Finally there is Diane. Diane is in ROTC, besides being a Beta Pi. This is because, she almost flunked college and her father told her that he was no longer paying unless she found a way to pay for college. Thus this is part of the reason why Diane is so popular with the guys. The other reason is her looks. The four women form a bond. Not only just through college but even after college. The women laugh, cry, and help each other raise families together. I have never been in a sorority. After reading this book, I can understand what the appeal might be to join one...the girlfriends you make for life. ...

In Croatia, Luka is being born. He comes into this world a small, fragile boy. Unlike, Dora, who comes out screaming to the world that she has arrived. Luka grows up a quiet boy. He likes to paint. Dora was born to mark and leave her makr in the world. The first day of school is the day that she first saw Luka. He was watching her. Suddenly, he fainted. Dora knew just what to do. She marched over to Luka, kissed him and whispher, "You are my sleeping beauty, only mine, wake up, my prince, you are my prince, only mine." From that day forward, Luka and Dora were inseperatable. That is until Dora and her family moved. Years passed before Dora and Luka would see each other again during Luka's art exhibit show in Paris. Dora and Luka was to be together but there are other forces tearing them apart. I really, liked this book. It was like watching a tragic, love poem. Play out in a movie. Dora and Luka were made for each other. Just like the towns folk, I was in awe...

My Review Slade Barlow is sherriff in Parable, Montana. This is a big deal. Slade was born out of wedlock. This is why, when his father dies, he does not expect to be mentioned in his will, let alone inherit half of Whisper Creek Ranch. This does not make Hutch, Slade's half bother too pleased. Hutch offers to purchase Slade's half of the ranch. Joslyn Kirk used to be the town's beauty queen. She and Hutch used to date. Although Joslyn had eyes for Slade. Only Slade would not have known it as he thought she was a spoiled rich girl. Joslyn is only in town to make mends to all the people her step father burned and than she is leaving again. Joslyn's friend, Kendra tells Joslyn that she is not responsible for her step father's actions. The longer that Joslyn stays in town the harder it is to resist Slade. It has been a while since I have read a book by this author. Seeing that Linda Lael Miller had a new series coming out, starting with Big Sky Country, I t...