From the author's website:
A story of food and love, injury and healing, Keeping the Feast is a memoir of nourishment and restoration in Italy after a long period of tragedy, and a contemplation of the extraordinary sustaining powers of food, family, friendship, and grace. It’s the story of my family, and what happened to it after a single bullet, fired by a sniper two days before Christmas 1989 in the brief mayhem of Romania’s overthrow of its Communist dictator, nearly killed my husband, John Tagliabue of The New York Times. It’s the story of the reverberations set off by that one bullet up and down the generations of our entire family, and how we fought for nearly twenty years to find the new place in the world to which that bullet sent us all.


Don't read this book while hungry. Paula's got the gift of describing something so that it becomes multi-dimensional, and her descriptions of her dinners and food in general will have you salivating. Her heartache is told in a matter of fact way that had me compelled to find out the ending, but the memoir didn't pull me in as much as I had hoped. A beautifully crafted memoir centering on picking up the pieces after tragedy, I'd recommend this to fans of Julie and Julia.

Brilliant, reclusive author JD Salinger whose work, Catcher in the Rye affected generations across the world passed away yesterday at 91 years old in his home in New England.

Much about Salinger is a mystery, but what is known is his massive talent which has been and surely will remain, missed since he put his pen away years ago.

Rest in peace Mr. Salinger, may you find the peace that seemed to elude you here.

Side note: I think Bret Easton Ellis has effectively cured me of any desire to read any of his work ever again with his lovely Tweet regarding Salinger's death.

Charlaine Harris has generously posted the first chapter to the highly anticipated Dead in the Family. Fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series will be delighted by this mouthwatering first chapter. Click here to enjoy!

The Book
Watson and Gane reproduce the Bohemian Paris of the early 1950s, where Juliet, a penniless American art student, shares a flat with Paulette, a revolutionary with an extensive lingerie collection. To make ends meet, Juliet paints portraits of wealthy debutantes. One of her subjects is Deborah, a young woman trapped in the old social order of her wealthy family. Juliet herself has felt confined in the rigid academic structure of her art education and finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Deborah. And though Juliet wasn't expecting romance, this is Paris after all, where both inspiration and love abound. Juliet and Deborah's love for art bring them together, even as their friends and family try to drive them apart.

The Review
This graphic novel was largely superficial. I found the relationships to be unbelieveable, and underdevloped. That being said, I did like the artwork, and the story idea was interesting. Unfortunately, I think it was unispired and fell flat. I would say pass on this book.

A Look Inside

The Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals comes a new middle-grade series featuring Ever’s younger sister, Riley.

Welcome to the Here and Now

Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she’s summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can’t quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he’s never met Riley. . . .

The Book
20 year old college student Janet lives a quiet life in with her spectral roommate Paul. And the more she tries to withdraw, the more the world pushes back. Freya, Janet’s pushy friend, is always setting her up on blind dates, and the most recent (successful) date creates far more turmoil for Janet than happiness. Strangely, it’s the things the fledgling couple have in common that keep them apart. Will their pasts haunt them forever or will they find a way to heal their festering romance?

The Review
This book made me laugh out loud a couple of times. I found it to be very charming and I loved watching the festering romance develop over the course of the story. The characters have ghosts in their closets (literally) and find that it is impossible to move forward until they can get rid of what they are holding on to. I thought this grapic novel was very well done. I really enjoyed the artwork, and the insight into 20-something dating was spot on.
The Characters
Janet: A 20-year-old college student majoring in Illustration at the local art university. Somewhat neurotic and reclusive.
Paul: Janet’s best friend. Paul has known Janet since they both were kids. Oh yeah, and he’s a ghost.
Freya: Perhaps Janet’s closest female friend. AKA The Thorn in Janet’s Side.
Derek: Janet meets Derek through a blind date set up by Freya. He seems like a pretty normal and easygoing guy at first, but things never end up being that simple for Janet.
Carol: An intimidating girl from Derek’s past. What exactly was their relationship?

All images were taken from Renee Lott's awesome website dedicated to the book. You can check out pages from inside of the book there and find out more about other works by Renee.

For fans of The Immortals series (who isn't?) Alyson has posted the summary and the cover to the fourth book in the series!

The Book
In this eagerly awaited continuation of the bestselling "Immortals" series, Ever struggles to help her best friend Haven transition into life as an immortal—trying to keep her from doing anything that puts them at risk, while attempting to gain control over her enemy Roman, so she can finally obtain the antidote that will allow her and Damen to be together. But when the spell she casts backfires, resulting in a strange, foreign pulse that binds her to Roman instead, Ever turns to Jude and dark magick, desperately attempting to break free of the curse, and ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including her beloved Damen.

Want to learn more about the series? Click here to read the Series Spotlight!

The Review
While I have heard that some people were disappointed by the second in the trilogy, I was more than pleased with Catching Fire. Delving deeper than its predecessor, Catching Fire makes a sticky situation into an impossible situation. A cliffhanger of sorts at the end left me absolutely dying to get my hands on the as of yet unnamed third and final book in the series.

I had no idea how after The Hunger Games the series could continue. The first book wraps everything up in a neat little bow. Unfortunately, the capitol is raging angry in the second book over a particular stunt that Katniss pulls during the Hunger Games. Just when she thinks she is safe, she finds out that her situation is even more perilous than she could have imagined.

Catching Fire moves a bit slower than Hunger Games, but the reader gets to know a lot more about the Capitol and the people that reside in the ultra lush area that rules Panem. At one point Katniss remarks on the fact that the people in the Capitol like to throw up their food, so that they may eat more and taste everything. All the while people in the districts are starving to death, Katniss finds the Capitol to be utterly disgusting.

Even though the book starts out slow, the pace picks up about halfway through and again (if you are anything like me) you will be staying up all night to find out what happens. Don't say I didn't warn you, this book is a drug.

Very well written, oozing creativity, this series is an instant classic. I am really looking forward to the conclusion of the series, and I plan pre-order The Hunger Games: Book 3 so that I know I will have a copy! If you are one of the few people that has yet to start the series, there is no time like the present. Enjoy!

The Book
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

The Review
I can finally say that I now know what all the hype was about. Quite frankly I wasn't drawn to these books at all, mostly because the cover's didn't grab my attention, and based on reading the book jacket it seemed like something I would never be interested. That being said, I value the opinion of my fellow book bloggers, and you guys have been raving about the series for the longest time! I got the book, I stayed up all night reading it, and my mind is officially blown.

The Hunger Games had me on the edge of my seat, flipping pages like a mad woman. I found the plot to be completely unpredictable, I was guessing until the very last page and I love that about this book.

The Hunger Games is unlike anything I have ever read before. It is a young adult book, yet it appeals to people of all ages because of the depth and quality of the writing. The Hunger Games manages to tackle some lofty ideas in a way that young adults can understand. A thought provoking book that leaves the reader contemplating how they would handle themselves in a similar situation.

I have read that this book will be made into a movie. I would be really interested to see that when it comes out, although I highly doubt that they can capture the heart of this novel and I know they won't be able to do it justice with anything lower than a PG-13 rating. The story would lose some of it urgency and desperation if they were to cut out some of the more graphic scenes.

Dare I say that I enjoyed this a bit more than the Twilight series? Hmm..

The Book
Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Since birth, Truly has been well acquainted with death and loss. Since infancy, she's been well versed in being ostracized. She is the antithesis of her beautiful blond sister, Serena Jane. Where Serena Jane is small and slight, Truly is big and bulky. When they lose their father, Serena Jane is taken in by the Pinckertons, who will never accept Truly. They shuttle her off to the Dyersons' farm, a family as down on their luck as Truly herself. Later, in adulthood, Truly accepts another disaster as part and parcel of her life and moves into the house of the man who's made her life miserable since she was a child and who's delighted in doing so. But what can she do? The only family she has left is his son, and he's the only part of Serena Jane she has left.

This was a story unlike any I've read before and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Truly's voice rang clear throughout, and through all the trials and tribulations of being Truly, I didn't find myself feeling sorry for her or finding her whiny, but rather feeling empathetic and rooting for her. The cast of characters are rife with details and multidimensional. Tiffany Baker's debut novel has left me eager for many more to come from her. Thanks to Hachette for my review copy.

Sarah Carrier is nine when The Heretic's Daughter begins. Quiet, watchful and willful, there is little doubt to anyone, but to Sarah herself, that she is her mother Martha's daughter. Falling upon hardship, her family moves from their home in Billerica to Martha Carrier's mother's house in neighboring Andover. Unbeknownst to them, smallpox has made itself a traveling companion, affixing itself to son Andrew. This, together with a feud within the family, Martha's steely resolve and unwavering belief in right and wrong, as well as her acid tongue when wronged will lead to much devastation and agony of the Carrier family a the hands of vengeful young girls who accuse Martha of witchcraft at the height of Salem hysteria.

I have an avid fascination of the Salem witch trials and leapt at the chance to read this book with my book club. While interesting from the start, I had a hard time plodding through the first third of the book at more than a slow clip. That changed quickly and I could not put the book down from then to finish. Sarah's voice grasped me and the pain and agony of her family, not the least of which was the troubles and pain of her brother Andrew, brought tears to my eyes. Martha's proclamations of innocence throughout were a testament to her strength. Author and descendant of Martha Carrier, Kathleen Kent has woven a beautifully told, moving story on the framework of fact. Many thanks to Hachette for my copy.

The Review
Honestly, as much as I wanted to connect to this novel, I found it hard. It was a fun, enjoyable novel but some of the dialog felt contrived and stiff. I did love the story and the characters, the book felt whimsical and airy. While I wouldn't put it on my loved list, I will be looking for the next chapter. I think part of my difficulty with the book may have been that it will be a three parter and the back story will be revealed piece by piece but the references to it left me feeling frustrated because I couldn't get the full story yet. I've always been a bit impatient like that. I would absolutely recommend this book to fans of Jennifer Crusie, Hailey North and Dixie Kane. Ms. Bodine captures the flow of a story well and left me wanting more.

The Author
I’m sure growing up in my grandmother’s house, taking care of my developmentally disabled mother, forged who I am, but I don’t believe any one thing defines me. My philosophy of life is that we are all in this together—and we need to embrace one another with as much grace, humor and compassion as we can muster. I see life as big, bigger, biggest, and I want to take everyone along with me on the journey. I not only attend black-tie affairs and work on charity board projects, but I am also just as likely to be taking a grandchild to lunch and a movie. I’m happily married to John, with whom I eloped when I was an 18-year-old freshman in college. It was quite the scandal. We have four beautiful children and 11 grandchildren.

I won my first writing award in the seventh grade in a statewide essay contest about a television broadcast of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. Instead of Silver Skates, they sent real skates, which I enjoyed immensely. I’m only sorry I don’t still have them so they could hang in my office.

While moving 22 times across the country and rearing our children, I sold stories to Fate Magazine, Home Life Magazine and True Confessions. In 1988, I sold my first novel and a week later received a two-book contract from Fawcett. Sixteen novels later, I’ve seen The Other Amanda win the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers’ Award and Talk of the Town chosen by Cosmopolitan magazine as its “Red Hot Read” for February 2009.

The Idea
The idea for A Black Tie Affair came to me after my friend, a curator of the costume collection at the Chicago History Museum, told me about being poisoned by a black Dior dress!

What an original tale, and how could I resist—especially after he shared with me the existence of a top-secret, fall-out shelter designed solely to house historical textile treasures? My friend gave me the grand tour of the storage vaults, but only after I promised to suit up with a lab coat and gloves and not to touch (so very difficult for a woman known for “talking with my hands”). They don’t let many people into the collection vault, so it was quite the experience for this author.
And a story was born!

The Video


More Info
Sherrill Bodine has a great website that you can visit here.
Follow @SherrillBodine on Twitter.

Talk about a page turner! I was a bit taken aback by the sheer heft of this book, but once I got started I was able to finish this book in record time!

The romance of the book wasn't in the love stories so much as it was in the time period. There is such extravagant beauty in 1899 New York City society. From the costumes to the home decor to the language, this book is steeped in glamor and scandal.

New York high society in 1899 is more concerned with saving face, than facing their issues head on. Because of this they end up in over their heads in a web of drama. The lies and scandal they sew are enough to kill.

An excellent story with twists and turns in every chapter. This is a true page turner that will be hard to put down. Once the last page has been turned it will be an all out race to get hands on the next book in the series. An absolute must read.

Visit the Series Website here.

Read about the cast of characters in The Luxe here.

You can preview the book here.

You can watch the trailer here.

This little book 101 Glam Girl Ways to an Ultra Chic Lifestyle: A Cheeky Book with Tidbits of Advice for a Glamorous Lifestyle is going on the top of my gift list for all of my girlfriends. Its an awesome little book full of quick tips to live an ultra chic lifestyle, and each tip has a pretty illustration to go along with it.

The tips are in all sorts of categories such as personal maintenance, self betterment, fashion tips, makeup tips, day to day activities, and social tips.

A well rounded little book with excellent tips! A perfect gift, have a few copies of this wrapped and ready to go for last minute gifts.

Be sure to check out the Bella Dawn Boutique for the latest fashion items at excellent prices. Seriously I spent and hour at this site! You can also check out Dawn's Blog for the latest fashion trends and information.

Evanovich kicks up the screwball level in her fourteenth installment in the Stephanie Plum series, leaving fans questioning their dedication to the series. This book was all over the place, and not necessarily in a good way. I found myself bored at times, and not laughing as much as I usually do during her books. The pop star and the monkey were a hard pill to swallow. This is low on my list of favorite plum novels, but a true fan should absolutely read this book.

The book blurb reads:

Personal vendettas, hidden treasure, and a monkey named Carl will send bounty hunter Stephanie Plum on her most explosive adventure yet.

The Crime: Armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars

Dom Rizzi robbed a bank, stashed the money and did the time. His family couldn't be more proud. He always was the smart one.

The Cousin: Joe Morelli

Joe Morelli, Dom Rizzi and Dom's sister Loretta are cousins. Morelli is a cop, Rizzi robs banks, and Loretta is a single mother waiting tables at the firehouse. The all American family.

The Complications: Murder, kidnapping, destruction of personal property, and acid reflux

Less than a week after Dom's release from prison, Joe Morelli has shadowy figures breaking into his house and dying in his basement. He's getting threatening messages, Loretta is kidnapped, and Dom is missing.

The Catastrophe: Moonman

Morelli hires Walter "Mooner" Dunphy, stoner and "inventor" turned crime-fighter to protect his house. Morelli can't afford a lot on a cop's salary, and Mooner will work for potatoes.

The Cupcake: Stephanie Plum

Stephanie and Morelli have a long-standing relationship that involves sex, affection and driving each other nuts. She's a bond enforcement agent with more luck than talent, and she's involved in this bank-robbery-gone-bad disaster from day one.

The Crisis:

A favor for Ranger

Security expert Carlos Manoso, street name Ranger, has a job for Stephanie that will involve night-work. Morelli has his own ideas regarding Stephanie's evening activities.

The Conclusion:

Only the fearless should read fourteen.

Thrills, chills and possible incontinence may result.

At her very core, Lily is a spontaneous, impetuous, passionate headstrong beauty who wants to experience life and love and all it has to offer. To the world in Toccoa, Lily is a refined, kind, demure beauty who has been married to the love of her life for three years. The war is over and Paul is coming home. Yet she can't shake the feeling that she's changed. Everyone married so suddenly at the start of World War II and she did love Paul and, on paper, he was perfect. But she was 17 when they married and she's no longer the girl she was. Will Paul love who's she become? One day, while coming home from shopping, Lily sees fireworks and stops to enjoy their beauty. Getting too close to the dangerous falling mortar, she's tackled to the ground and safety by Jake Russo, the fireworks man. Their feelings for each other are fast and real, and it's a crash course in reality, tragedy, and reawakening feelings within each other both thought they'd lost long ago.

This story tugged at the heartstrings and was beautifully written. Fans of Nicholas Sparks will enjoy Mr. Stepakoff's beautiful novel. There was a twist which brought the tears to my eyes swiftly a couple of times without the standard love and loss plot many novels like this have used.

The fifth in the Womens Murder Club series wasn't my favorite. That being said it was very interesting. The series loses a bit of steam with this book and leaves me not anxious to pick up the next in the series. Hopefully things will pick up again in the 6th book, otherwise I might give the series the ol' heave ho! The plot was interesting and original at least, otherwise I might have abandoned the book before finishing it. Is anyone else a fan of this series?

The book blurb reads:
A young mother is recuperating in a San Francisco hospital when she is suddenly gasping for breath. The call button fails to bring help in time. The hospital's doctors, some of the best in the nation, are completely mystified by her death. How did this happen?

APOCALYPSE NEARS.

This is not the first such case at the hospital. Just as patients are about to be released with a clean bill of health, their conditions take a devastating turn for the worse.

Accompanied by the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, Yuki Castellano, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer probes deeper into the incidents. Could these cases just be appalling coincidences? Or is a maniac playing God with people's lives? When someone close to the Women's Murder Club begins to exhibit the same frightening symptoms, Lindsay fears no one is safe.

I can honestly say that I have never read anything quite like I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to be Your Class President.

Dr. Evil meets Jimmy Neutron might be a good way to describe Oliver Watson, the genius of unspeakable evil that wants to be class president at Gale Sayers Middle School.

Oliver Watson flies totally under the radar, until one of his classmates nominates him for class president. He strikes down the idea at first, but then changes his mind and decides to run just to put a thorn in his “daddy’s” side.

Daddy thinks he is a great man destined to do great things. Oliver knows that he is a genius (of unspeakable evil) and that his father must be brought down to the reality of his mere mortal status on earth. Because his daddy won class president in his middle school, Oliver sees it as a perfect way to level the playing field without revealing the fact that he rules the free world.

Unspeakable evil genius aside, Oliver is quite normal. Despite denying it, he seeks his fathers approval and praise. Each time he is shot down that only propels him further into his diabolical plan.

A cast of characters that could be found at any middle school in the country make this book relatable. At its core a book about the underdog having his day, and proving everybody wrong, this is an excellent book that will entertain readers through the very last page.

Very well written, this book is smartly hilarious. Easily appreciated by adults and young adults alike. I plan to give this to my 14 year old brother to read now that I am done with it.

Ten Big Ones is chock full of hot Ranger action. That may be a big reason as to why this is one of my absolute favorite Plum novels. The plot is actually believeable, and really quite thrilling. Stephanie finds herself in a really tough spot and moves into Rangers condo while hes away on business. Shes not sure if he knows shes there or not and dreads him coming home and finding out. Its really exciting stuff, and at times is quite funny. Ranger actually bursts out laughing at one point in the book, which fans of the series know, never happens. An excellent installment in the series.
The book blurb reads:

She's accidentally destroyed a dozen cars. She's a target for every psycho and miscreant this side of the Jersey Turnpike. Her mother's convinced she'll end up dead...or worse, without a man. She's Stephanie Plum and she kicks butt for a living (well, she thought it would sound good to put it that way...)

It begins as an innocent trip to the deli-mart, on a quest for nachos. But Stephanie Plum and her partner, Lula, are clearly in the wrong place at the wrong time. A robbery leads to an explosion, which leads to the destruction of yet another car. It would be just another day in the life of Stephanie Plum...except that she becomes the target of a gang. And the target of an even scarier, more dangerous force that comes to Trenton. With super bounty hunter Ranger acting more mysteriously than ever (and the tension with vice cop Joe Morelli getting hotter), Stephanie finds herself with a decision to make: how to protect herself and where to hide while on the hunt for a killer known as the Junkman. There's only one safe place, and it has Ranger's name all over it-if she can find it. And if the Junkman doesn't find her first. With Lula riding shotgun and Grandma Mazur on the loose, Stephanie Plum is racing against the clock in her most suspenseful novel yet. Ten Big Ones is page-turning entertainment and Janet Evanovich is the best there is.

Between the adventure and the adversity there's attitude and Stephanie Plum's got plenty in TEN BIG ONES.

First impressions are great with a cover as beautiful as this. The image is pulled straight from the pages of the book, a very memorable scene that the entire book builds up to.

I started reading The Last Will of Moira Leahy without knowing much about it. I was very quickly swept into the story and found it to be quite engaging.

The story centers around Maeve Leahy who lost her identical twin sister Moira one unfortunate November in their teens. The book splits time equally between the story leading up to Moira's demise and the story of Maeve's life a decade after she lost her twin.

This book will keep the reader guessing until the very end. The story is intricately woven, and details reveal themselves at an ideal pace, keeping the reader engaged and interested. There is a slight supernatural element that adds an exciting bit of mystery to the story that plays out very well.

By the end of the book I was very emotionally invested in the characters. The climax of the story had me shedding a few tears. It was an emotionally charged scene that will not soon be forgotten.

A powerful story that is beautifully written, The Last Will of Moira Leahy will have you turning pages at record speed. Not to be missed, add this book to your to be read list, you will not be disappointed.

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Check out my detailed review of Evermore here.