Cheryl's Book Nook

Victoria Rose left Nagog years ago with dreams of making it big in Hollywood. Fortunately no matter how far you go, you will always have a place to go back to to call home. Heather Bregman is a columnist. She has traveled all over the world. Her boyfriend is her publicist. After returning from her latest travels, Heather realizes that she wants more out of her life and she would like to go some place quieter. So she packs up and leaves and heads to Nagog. I thought that this book was a sweet one. It did start out slow for me. Also, I felt somewhat disconnected with Victoria and Heather in the beginning. More Victoria then I did Heather. With Heather I knew what she was about and why she was wanting a new start. Which by the way kudos to her. She needed to get away from her boyfriend. Victoria it took me a little longer to get attached to. This is because I was trying to learn what she was all about. Why she left and why all her friends were not talking to her. As I got furth...

During the 1930s in a small town fighting for its survival, a conflicted new wife seeks to reconcile her artistic ambitions with the binding promises she has made Fans of Richard Russo, Amor Towles, Sebastian Barry, and Paula McLain will devour this transporting novel about the eternal tug between our duties and our desires, set during in New York City and New England during the Depression and New Deal eras. It’s 1935, and Desdemona Hart Spaulding has sacrificed her plans to work as an artist in New York to care for her bankrupt, ailing father in Cascade, Massachusetts. When he dies, Dez finds herself caught in a marriage of convenience, bound to the promise she made to save her father’s Shakespeare Theater, even as her town may be flooded to create a reservoir for Boston. When she falls for artist Jacob Solomon, she sees a chance to escape and realize her New York ambitions, but is it morally possible to set herself free? About the Author Maryanne O’Hara was the longtime associat...

SYNOPSIS: From the author of The Book of Lost Fragrances comes a haunting novel about a grieving woman who discovers the lost journal of novelist Victor Hugo, awakening a mystery that spans centuries. In 1843, novelist Victor Hugo’s beloved nineteen-year-old daughter drowned. Ten years later, Hugo began participating in hundreds of séances to reestablish contact with her. In the process, he claimed to have communed with the likes of Plato, Galileo, Shakespeare, Dante, Jesus—and even the Devil himself. Hugo’s transcriptions of these conversations have all been published. Or so it was believed. Recovering from her own losses, mythologist Jac L’Etoile arrives on the Isle of Jersey—where Hugo conducted the séances—hoping to uncover a secret about the island’s Celtic roots. But the man who’s invited her there, a troubled soul named Theo Gaspard, has hopes she’ll help him discover something quite different—Hugo’s lost conversations with someone called the Shadow of the Sepulcher. ...

About Spartacus: Rebellion Publication Date: May 14, 2013 St. Martin's Press Hardcover; 464p ISBN-10: 1250012775 Spartacus has already done the impossible—not only has he escaped from slavery, he and his seconds have created a mighty slave army that has challenged Rome and defeated the armies of three praetors, two consuls, and one proconsul. On the plain of the River Po, in modern Northern Italy, Spartacus has defeated Gaius Cassius Longinus, proconsul and general of an army of two legions. Now the road home lies before them—to Thrace for Spartacus, and to Gaul for his seconds-in-command, Castus and Gannicus. But storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. One of Spartacus's most powerful generals has defected, taking his men with him. Back in Rome, the immensely rich Marcus Licinius Crassus is gathering an unheard-of Army. The Senate has given Crassus an army made up of ten legions and the authority to do whatever it takes to end the slave rebellion once and...

After hearing of his daughter’s death, Victor Hugo starts communicating with the dead. Hoping to bring him closer to his daughter. However the dead are not just satisfied with talking. They want more. Particularly one known as the Shadow of the Sepulcher. Jac is contacted by a friend. Her friend has found some Celtic ruins. Jac travels to the Isle of Jersey. There Jac uncovers the secret behind who the Shadow of the Sepulcher was and what he wanted with Victor. It was great to see Jac again who appeared from book four in this series, The Book of the Lost Fragrances. I enjoyed reading The Book of the Lost Fragrances. Seduction is a nice tie in from the prior novel. However if you have not read the prior novel, don’t despair as you can still read Seduction as a stand alone novel. One thing that I can always count on with M.J. Rose is her storytelling. She makes all of her characters and their stories come alive. She is like one of the only authors that I can think of that can fin...

JD Fiorella is a former private investigator. JD also was part owner in a high end car rental company among a few other jobs. JD has alcohol to thank for his life now. JD is currently living back home with his mother and just started a god as a used cars salesman for “Rhett Butler”. JD’s life gets turned upside down quickly when he finds a body. His private investigator side kicks into full gear. Another new author to me in Dan Fante. Mr. Fante really brings the grittiness and pure sinister evil in this book and the characters. If you are looking for a new author to read then you should check out Point Doom. JD is a flawed character but this is what I liked the most about him. What I mean by this is what JD has a temper and been knocked down and is currently down on his luck. However this is all of the things that make him more personable and I can connect with him in this book. Be warned if you are easily offended by language and gruesome dismemberment. There is a fair share...

Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened. Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...     A CON...

Eve Angelotta works at her family’s restaurant, Miracolo. She is the chef. However this does not mean she gets full control. She is constantly at odds with her grandmother, Maria Pia Angelotta. No matter how much Eve and her grandmother might argue she would never imagine her grandmother would have it in her to kill, especially her grandmother’s boyfriend. You Cannoli Die Once is the first book in the Miracolo mystery series from author, Shelley Costa. I thought that this was a fun, good cozy mystery. I have a co-worker that is Italian and she is one of the nicest people I know. Having said this, I am glad that I don’t have to get familiar with the Italian side too much when they get upset or really animated while talking. This is what I liked the most about this book was the Italian side of the characters. They kept things entertaining. As well as the other characters. They were eccentric. My only issue is that there were so many characters coming at me all at the same time and ...

A lush, involving novel set in the early years of the 20th century, The Age of Desire is the story of writer Edith Wharton’s illicit affair and sexual awakening at the age of 45 with journalist Morton Fullerton. Her liaison impacted many lives, including Edith’s well-meaning but feckless husband Teddy, and her loyal secretary and dearest friend, Anna Bahlmann. Set mostly in Paris, it recaptures an era of literary salons, chauffeured motorcars and veiled meetings in secret cafés, the devastating Paris Flood of 1910, and the dark beginnings of World War I. I have 2 copies to giveaway. US only. Just leave a comment with your email address. Contest ends June 5th .

Peter Byerly has just lost his wife, Amanda. Still grieving over her death, Peter stops in at Hay-on-Wye bookstore. Peter picks up An Inquiry into the Authenticity of Certain Miscellaneous Papers, As Peter is flipping through the book he finds a picture tucked between some pages. He flips it over only to drop the picture. It is a picture of his wife. Only this picture is about a hundred years old. What is Amanda’s connection to this picture? I did find this book to be a good one. Nonetheless it was a little hard to navigate with all the jumping around from the different time spans. There was like three time periods. The one where Peter met Amanda, the present, and the past. It was not so hard to get it all straight when the beginning of each chapter told you what time period. It was during the middle of the chapter for example when it would start with Peter and Amanda and then stop and go to the present for about another page or page and a half and then jump back to the past. Afte...

Lucy Silchester is receiving notes from someone that she would rather avoid. It is Life. Yes, Life keeps sending Lucy notes. One of the notes says ”Dear Lucy Silchester, you have an appointment for Monday, July 27, 2011. Yours sincerely, Life.“ Lucy avoids meeting with Life until she can not avoid him any longer. Yep, Life is standing at Lucy’s front door. I never read Ms. Ahern’s popular, P.S. I Love You book that was turned into a movie. I did see the movie and liked it. So I decided to give Ms. Ahern a try with this book. Who would not want to know what “life” has to say to you. I can think of pros and cons to this question. The pros: Life could tell me where I am failing at and correct me. Life would be like my personal fortune teller. Life and me would get to be better friends. The cons: Having Life around all the time telling me things could get annoying. Sometimes it would be nice to have some mystery. Who wants Life staring at you all the time. ...

Stories in Uniform is an excellent anthology of heroic stories. Stories of people who fight and survived and those who gave their lives for freedom. I have read the Reader’s Digest on and off. I like the stories featured in this magazine. Even though these stories were short by just a few pages, they are still very emotional. I have to say one of my favorite stories not that it is easy to have a favorite when they are all good but still one that really put a smile on my face was a story featured in the Korean War. It is called 1000 men and a baby. It just goes to show you that even when there is a war going on that people can band together to save the innocent ones. Who grow up to never forget the ones who saved their lives. There were many times when I found myself teary-eyed. For anyone who like to read military stories then Stories in Uniform would make the perfect gift.

Now Abby does what any woman in her position does…she moves back home with her parents. While back Abby wanders around town trying to pick up the pieces of her life and figure out her next steps. Mick O’Malley lost his wife a little over two years ago. They got into an argument and she was drunk. Mick lives next door to Abby’s parents. He is working on fixing their roof. This book sounded like a charming read. I need these types of books every once in a while to break up my routine of reading mysteries. Sadly this book did not jive with me. I got about three chapters in and then put this book down and walked away from it for a long time. I did pick it back up to give it a second chance. As much as I wanted to like this book I just could not get into it or the characters. Abby was a little too boring and complaining too much. Mick did not even come off as the good guy next door. Even when he was trying to push Abby’s buttons it did not come off as fun banter.

Yael Azoulay works for the United Nations. Her job involves negotiating with the bad guys. Her current mission is with Jean-Pierre Hakizimani. Yael is making a deal with the devil. After her mission, Yael returns to visit a friend only to learn that she is dead. Yael learns that Jean-Pierre is involved. Yael decides to take matters into her own hands. I like these types of books of espionage/international thriller. However I have strayed away from these books for a while. Only because the last few I read were just ok. Mr. Lebor has renewed my faith in this genre. Yael is one of the coolest people that I have met. She really can kick butt. I like her take charge attitude. While I did like the other storyline involving the news reporter that was tying into the whole overall story, I did not connect with the other characters as much. None the less, I still enjoyed reading this book. There was lots of fast moving action to keep me interested until the end. This book is a fast read. ...

Dikeledi’s sister Lesego has not come home from school. It has been hours. Dikeledi fears something has happened to her sister. She tries to get the police to search for her but they think that Lesego is a runaway. No one takes an interest until another girl goes missing and her father gets involved. Detective Kudu and his new partner, Samantha Khama investigate the disappearances of the two girls. What they find is a witch doctor that is making muti out of human remains. Deadly Harvest is my first introduction to a detective Kubu mystery and the writing duo of Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip as Michael Stanley. I have to say that after reading this book I am very impressed by this duo. This book was way better then I thought it would be. Mr. Sears and Mr. Trollip have developed a good formula for their writing. I could not tell where one left off and the other one began. I like detective Kubu. However another person I was drawn to was his new partner, Samantha. Samantha hel...

In the first book Maria’s boyfriend, Joe was killed and their son, Christopher taken. Christopher was taken so that he could fight for the other side. Maria will do everything in her powers to get Christopher back. First she will need some help. She tracks down Michael, a friend of Joe’s that is fighting in the war. Children of the Underground is the second book in the Children of Paranoia series. I absolutely loved the first book, Children of Paranoia. So I was really amped to read the second book. While I was not in love with this book I still enjoyed reading this book. The way this series is developing as the war rages on is really exciting. I got to know more about the each side and why and what they were fighting for. Maria became a front runner in this book. She was strong and became a fighter. I have a warning “ Don’t mess with a mother and her child.” The excitement level was high however it did start out a little slow for me. Some of this might have had to do with I h...

Book Description: When successful publisher Liz Michaels’ marriage to blue blood, Addison Tiffin Payne, fails after the loss of their baby and his growing alcoholism, she pours all her creative energy and passion into her work and finds comfort in her friendship with the co-owners of her company as well as the appearances of the spirits of her Polish mother and grandmother, who never speak except in dreams she cannot remember. Only her feelings from those dreams linger. When Liz’s ex-husband plans to stage her suicide by pushing her off the balcony of her high-rise home in order to collect on a life insurance policy, he topples to his death instead. When the police arrive, Liz, the potential victim, becomes the prime murder suspect. She meets Pittsburgh Police Detective Jim Shannon, who may threaten her freedom or possibly gain her love. Her swirling feelings are complicated by the simultaneous appearance of a talented, familiar-looking intern at her workplace. Although Liz is ...

Helen and Rachel McCallister are sisters. They only have each other now that their parents are gone. For years Helen has been jealous of Rachel and her beauty. Due to Rachel’s blindness, she can not tell any different what Helen is telling her when she tells Rachel that she is ugly. Helen’s lies grow when she creates this world around Roam filled with flesh eating birds and other monsters. However Helen could never know what her story was actually doing to Rachel until Rachel makes an announcement that will change both of their lives. I was curious about this book. I thought I would give it a chance. Wow, I am so glad that I did. I almost missed out on a great book. I found myself not reading this book fast enough. What with life getting in the way! I can not imagine depending on someone like Helen. She was so bitter towards Rachel. However I am glad that as the story went on Helen did turn a new leaf and became a better person and one that I actually liked. Due to Helen’s me...

Philip Kennford is an attorney so you can imagine that he has made some enemies over the years. Nonetheless when his wife and one daughter is found murdered in the home is it one of Philip’s enemies or does he have a motive for getting his wife out of the way. Or is his other daughter have a jealous streak? All the clues point to an inside job…no forced entry and both Philip and his other daughter home but no one hears anything. The Last Girl is my first time reading what author, Jane Casey has to offer. I have to say that she does offer some good things. While I was not over the moon with this book, I still found it an enjoyable read. It is because I was not that excited about the characters. So I did not really care who the murder was and what their motive was for committing the crimes. Also, the pace of the story was steady which did translate to a little slow at times. I like Maeve. She can hold her own with the guys and she is smart. The way she investigates a case is good. ...

Dr. Spencer Black was a good doctor. His colleagues all respect him. That is until Dr. Black started his own experiments. This book is about Dr. Black and his experiments all the way leading up to his disappearance. In this book are all the pictures of the creatures that Dr. Black was researching. This book is creepy but memorizing at the same time. It was like I was really reading the journal of a mad but brilliant man. I say brilliant because Dr. Black although he may have turned into a monster in the name of science he still was trying to further investigate and research all that science had to offer. When Dr. Black started creating his own blend of monsters in his lab and the results that was scary. However I was also intrigued by them as well. As you can tell I can not say enough great things about this book. This book needs to be turned into both a big screen movie and television series. Mr. Hudspeth holds nothing back with his first book. I anxiety await his next book. Th...

Andrey Belaretsky gets caught in a rain storm. His carriage takes him to the castle of Marsh Firs. There Andrey meets Nadzeya Yanovsky. It seems that Nadzeya is being stalked by sinister phantoms that go on a hunt at night. Andrey decides to stay and help Nadzeya. Andrey gets an up close and personal look at the Wild King’s Hunt. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have never heard of Uladzimir or that this book was made into a movie. This book is not something that I would typically read but I decided to give it a chance. To be perfectly honest. I did find it different in an odd, good way. However I was not feeling it in the beginning and put the book down and gave up on it. It was only after I read some of the other reviews on this book that I decided to give it another chance. The book did get better once I was into it a while. The Wild King’s Hunt party is one scary hunting party. I sure would not want to be the hunted. This book is character driven and is very descrip...

Up for grabs is all 4 books. US Only. Ends tomorrow, Monday night. Leave a comment with your email address as to whihc if all books you want to win. A father for ten years, a mother for eight, and for a time in between, neither, or both ("the parental version of the schnoodle, or the cockapoo"), Jennifer Finney Boylan has seen parenthood from both sides of the gender divide. When her two children were young, Boylan came out as transgender, and as Jenny transitioned from a man to a woman and from a father to a mother, her family faced unique challenges and questions. In this thoughtful, tear-jerking, hilarious memoir, Jenny asks what it means to be a father, or a mother, and to what extent gender shades our experiences as parents. "It is my hope," she writes, "that having a father who became a woman in turn helped my sons become better men." Through both her own story and incredibly insightful interviews with others, including Richard Russo, Edward ...

I am not a hard core fan of everything Titanic however I do find this subject matter to be fascinating. Thus a reason I wanted to check this book out. I liked the concept that Mr. Brewster brought with this book by focusing on one type of class of passengers. However I think that I might have preferred to read about the third class passengers more. Only because I think that there lies more history in their story and I would have felt the more human aspect then I got from reading about the first class passengers. After a while I did grow bored of the first class passengers and their stories. What I did like about this book was learning about the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Mr. Brewster did a good job of describing the ship from the large state rooms, the ship captain’s daily walks to check each deck and the engine room to the fact that the crew was pretty much sailing blind without any binoculars so the look outs could not see that far ahead of them for any signs of danger.

Steel Magnolias meets The Help in this Southern debut novel sparkling with humor, heart, and feminine wisdom Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille-the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town-a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the 1951 Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself. To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell. In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah's perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie's all- knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violene Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary-yellow peignoir, the women of...

Hannah Gregory is worried about what she is going to do after the death of her parents. It is up to her to care for her younger sisters. Hannah just may have found the answer to her prayers when she spots an advertisement in the grocery store. The ad is for a switchboard operator. Lincoln Cole works for the bank. He pays a visit to the Gregory homestead. It seems that Hannah’s father took out a second mortgage on the house and defaulted on the loan. The bank is foreclosing on the home. Luckily for Hannah she meets Rosie. Rosie is also a new switchboard operator. Her mother has a cottage that just became available. She offers it to the girls. Lincoln may be handsome but Hannah remembers that he is the enemy. I loved Hannah. She has lots of spunk. She is a free thinker and the type of woman I would imagine myself to be back in these times if I was living in them. Hannah’s two sisters are just as entertaining. I can not wait to read their stories. Lincoln is easy on the eyes....

About the Book: Jake Wilkerson, a disillusioned young pastor who is an expert at hiding his fears, takes on a new assignment at a small rural church in Coudersport, Pennsylvania. It's a far piece from anywhere and full of curiously odd and eccentric people, including Emma Grainger, a single woman and a veterinarian who dismisses all Christians as "those people," and Tassy, a young runaway with a secret. His first day on the job, however, Jake is adopted by Petey - a cat of unknown origins and breed - but of great perception. Petey believes that he is on a mission from God to redeem Jake and bring him and his quirky friends back to the truth. The Truth About Sleeping Cats Hey. I’m Petey. From the new book, The Cat That God Sent.(Of course, I’m the main character. I’m a cat. You think I would be a walk-on? Get serious. We’re talking a cat here. A Siberian cat, to boot. Of course the book is about me.) They asked me to do a blog. Actually, this whole thin...