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...