The synopsis: Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

Have you checked out the One for the Money fan page on Facebook yet? Its full of exclusive updates and sneak peaks into the movie and the books. This fan driven Q&A was featured on the page this week. Check it out and then head on over to Facebook and join the page for more updates.


Mellissa Feijoo Viro: I'm so glad that we will see these characters finally come to life on the big screen, so my question is with so many books in the series did you ever think about making these into series like on HBO, Showtime, Encore, Starz, or Cinemax? 

Janet Evanovich: I've thought about it from time to time, but I always wanted to see it on the big screen first ...mostly because of the car explosions! I think the car explosion in ONE is awesome!

Nancy Gorman: Hi Janet, after this year, will you be writing two books a year for the Stephanie Plum series or is it just this year only? 

JE: This was something special just for this year. Next year I'll publish WICKED BUSINESS in June and then the next PLUM in the fall.

Tabitha Dietz Engel: Can you gauge how absurd and hilarious a passage is when you write it? Do you ever start laughing out loud at parts of your work as you write/re-read them, for instance, when Lula's boob falls out her shirt while she's hanging out a speeding car's window shooting a gun? Does something that seems really funny to you ever fall flat for your editors, and if so, do you tell them to stick it? 

JE: Every now and then I write something that makes me laugh (like the scene in ONE where Grandma shoots the roast chicken), but my editors usually think my stories are funnier than I do. Lots of the absurd stuff in the books seems normal to me. I guess that tells you something about my life!!

Susan Ferrera Busardo: Do you see a conclusion to the series? 

JE: As of this moment ...no! I'm having too much fun. 

Abby Eskridge: Will we ever get to hear about the real "bat cave"?

JE: It's very possible! :-) 

Anna Bryant: Janet, where do you see Stephanie headed?

JE: I don't have a long term plan for Stephanie. I think she's like most of us who just put one foot in front of the other every day and try to move forward in a responsible, positive direction. 

Ruthann Cassleman: Would you/have you considered writing a book from Morelli's perspective and one from Ranger's perspective?

JE: No. I would never presume to know what's in a guy's head. I think it might lean heavily to football, sex, hotdogs, sex, and The Godfather movies. 

Suzanne Boisvere: Will we ever find out more of Ranger’s personal life? 

JE: I try to feed a tiny bit more of Ranger's personal life and motivations into each of the books, but for the most part I like that he's the mystery man. 

Phyllis Hargrave: Which character do you enjoy the most? 

JE: I love Lula. I love that she's such a survivor. And I've given her all my diet issues! 

Dianna Maxwell: Are any of the characters based on someone you know? 

JE: Most of the characters have bits and pieces of someone I know. Grandma Mazur, for instance, is a composite of my Grandma Fanny and my Aunt Lena.

The synopsis: A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning about language, love and loss, as their lives intersect in surprising ways.

Josie, Riley, and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons: Josie, a young high school teacher, arrives in hopes of healing a broken heart. Riley, a spirited but lonely ex-pat housewife, struggles to feel connected to her husband and her new country. And Jeremy, the reserved husband of a renowned actress, is accompanying his wife on a film shoot, yet he feels distant from her world.

As they meet with their tutors—Josie with Nico, a sensitive poet, Riley with Phillippe, a shameless flirt, and Jeremy with the consummately beautiful Chantal—each succumbs to unexpected passion and unpredictable adventures. Yet as they traverse the grand boulevards and intimate, winding streets, they uncover surprising secrets about one another—and come to understand long-buried truths about themselves.

My thoughts:  The stories within this novel are quietly powerful, and rotate around sadness, thriving on the sorrows of the characters each novella features.  But the Americans within the story aren't the ones I got swept up in.  The main character for me was Nico and to a lesser degree Chantal.  While I didn't get swept up in the stories, they did resonate and the ending was quite surprising for me.  A good, provocative novel which will make people feel; be it anger, sadness, sorrow or disdain - Sussman did an amazing job in creating a story which could divide where peoples' loyalties lie within.  (So it really would be a good book club pick)

About the book
Unable to survive in the kingdom of his beloved due to his supernatural nature, a warrior prince sets out to turn himself human. But first he must cross deadly lands and overcome nightmarish obstacles before reaching the fabled testing grounds, where he will endure a series of challenges. He is joined on his quest by a team of fantastical creatures, each with an agenda of their own—one, a faery prankster whom the prince has vowed to kill for past misdeeds; another, a wise-speaking cat who claims to be a truthful guide; the third, a legendary and villainous beast pulled right from the fairy tales; and finally, the last, a seer who appears to be the resurrection of the prince’s former love, long thought dead but now restored to life and as beautiful and tempting as ever. With these dubious allies by his side, the prince sets off to achieve his ultimate prize, but to do so will require overcoming the greatest challenge of all in his quest for a human soul—himself.

When exiled faery prince Ash swears an oath to his love, Meghan Chase—the half-human ruler of the Iron Fey realm—to return and be with her forever, he knows what that promise entails. Her Iron Kingdom is anathema to a fey creature such as himself, and in order to survive in it he must renounce his powerful supernatural nature and acquire a mortal soul. Only then will he be able to return and be with his love. But even as a prince of the fabled Winter Court, Ash knows only rumors of how an immortal can become human. Ash needs help, even if that help comes from the last set of creatures in the entire Nevernever realm that he would ever want to join him.

 The first to join Ash on his quest is his best friend and fiercest, most annoying rival, Robin Goodfellow—better known as Puck the mischievous prankster. Despite their friendship, a bitter chasm exists between them—Puck is also in love with Meghan Chase, and Ash has vowed to one day kill his friend as payback for a past action. To aid them on their quest, they turn to one of the wisest creatures in the mythical realm of Nevernever—Grimalkin, a talking cat who agrees to help in exchange for a future favor. They set out to find a seer to show them the route that they must take, but on the way they encounter a legendary monster—the Big Bad Wolf. The Wolf is perhaps the most dangerous creature ever to walk the wilds of Nevernever, but now it seeks to join them on their journey so it can increase its own legend and power. The last member of the quest, however, is the most shocking of all to Ash. The very seer they have been seeking turns out to be Ash’s first love, Ariella, a fey princess long thought dead. Not only is she not dead, but Ariella is now an oracle who promises to aid Ash on his quest to be with his new love. But can Ash trust Ariella or will she sabotage their mission in order to win him back for herself?

Ariella advises the party that they must follow the treacherous River of Dreams to the final barrier at the End of the World. There, in an ancient place known as the Testing Grounds, a guardian who holds the key to becoming human awaits. But in order to claim it from him, Ash will first have to endure a deadly series of tests.

As Ash gets closer and closer to fulfilling his quest, he finds it more and more difficult to go on. He is being pulled in many directions—by his two loves, by visions of a deadly future, and by indecision that could destroy him, his allies and all of Nevernever. Ash is under oath to Meghan to complete his quest, but can he do it? After all, in some fairy tales, the hero gets eaten by the monster and doesn’t get to live happily ever after.

My Thoughts
I was nervous to read a book in the series from anyone other than Meghan's perspective but it ended up being wonderful! I got to know so much more about Ash and getting a peek inside his head answered some lingering questions that I had. I loved the addition of Ariella, unexpected and really exciting! Read this book, I promise you will love the action packed finale to the series.


Excerpt
“And I know who you are, son of Mab. What would you have of me? Be quick about it.” “We’re looking for someone,” I said. “He was rumored to be traveling through here, through the Bone Marsh. We thought you might know where he is.” “Oh?” The witch cocked her head, giving me a scrutinizing look. “And what makes you think I know where this person is?” “Not a person,” I corrected. “A cat. A cait sith. In some tales he’s known as Grimalkin. And in some tales he’s been rumored to keep company with a powerful witch out in the swamps, whose house stands on chicken legs in a fence made of bones.”

Q & A
For you, what was the hardest part in writing this series or writing in general?
Lately, it’s been making myself turn off the Internet and not check Tweetdeck every time I get stuck, lol! I get distracted very easily and “checking email” can turn into an hour of doing nothing but playing around online, very bad for the writing day. Sometimes I’ll unplug the modem or disconnect myself from the internet or I’d never get anything done.

Did you always know you’d be writing a spin off series and can we expect to hear more of Meghan, Ash and Puck’s story in the future?
Actually, I was approached by my publisher when The Iron Fey series was wrapping up and asked if I had any more Iron Fey stories floating around my head. Which got me thinking of Ethan, Meghan’s little brother. He was the one who started the whole adventure, in a way. What would it be like growing up, able to see the fey? And the more I thought about it, the more I realized Ethan had a story to tell, too. As for Ash, Meghan, and Puck, I’m sure there will be a few cameos in the new series. ;-)

Where did you come up with the idea for the Iron Fey series?
Faeries, the old, ancient fey, not the glittery winged sprites, have always fascinated me. But I wanted to write a book that was different than other faery books. So I began thinking: what are the fey afraid of? The answer, in most ancient mythos, is iron. Faeries can't stand the touch of iron and steel. So, what if there was a new type of fey that had evolved with progress over the years? What if they weren't only immune to iron, their existence was slowly poisoning and corrupting the lands of the traditional fey? And I realized we already have "monsters" in machines: gremlins, bugs, viruses, ect. And from that thought, the Iron fey were born.

Are any of the characters based on someone you know?
Not really, though there is a bit of myself in each of the characters. Except Grim. I’m nothing like Grimalkin, as he would tell you himself, I’m sure.

Check out Julie Kagawa's website for all things Fey.

My reviews of the previous books in the series in order
The Iron King
Winter's Passage
The Iron Daughter
Summer's Crossing
The Iron Queen 

Be sure to check out the next stop on the blog tour tomorrow Books By Their Cover

The synopsis: Annie Adams is days away from her thirty-second birthday and thinks she has finally found some happiness. She visits the world's most interesting places for her syndicated travel column and she's happily cohabiting with her movie director boyfriend Nick in Los Angeles. But when Nick comes home from a meeting with his therapist (aka "futures counselor") and announces that he's taking a break from their relationship so he can pursue a woman from his past, the place Annie had come to call home is shattered. Reeling, Annie stumbles into her neighborhood bar and finds Griffin-a grounded, charming chef who seems to be everything Annie didn't know she was looking for. Within three months, Griffin is Annie's husband and Annie finds herself trying to restart her life in rural Massachusetts.

My thoughts:  One of the first things I do is judge a book by it's cover.  With Laura Dave though,  I judged by her book's title.  When I saw London is the Best City in America on BN's annual clearance sale two years ago, I had to have it.  The synopsis sounded vaguely enticing but the title, and the cover (the hardcover edition with the girl in a dress standing pigeon toed-love it!) are what sold the book for me.  It sat on my shelf for entirely too long before I picked it up.  The end result upon completion of the novel?  1)  I could kick myself for waiting so long to read something so eloquent and compelling.  2)  D is one of the first sections I go to now to see if she's written anything new.  The First Husband, her third novel has it all:  her as the author, the intriguing title, an awesome and quirky cover, and an enticing synopsis.  I loved it, was upset when I finished it, read it again, was upset again.  Lather, rinse, repeat.  All told,  I've had this book now for three months and I've read it 5 times.  It's on my nightstand because I love it so much that I probably will read it again soon.  I fell in love with each and every character.  From Nick to Annie to Griffin's brother.  I don't see that I'll ever fall out of adoration with this book, though I think it probably would like a break from me.  For me, Laura Dave has done something very hard to do.  While I can watch movies that I love forever, it's very rare that the element of happiness that comes with a surprising twist or conclusion in  a novel can stay with me through more than a couple of reads.  The story and characters are so effusive and charming in this novel that I can pretty much guarantee that this book will not become one that just sits on my shelves collecting dust.

Fun note:  It looks like London is the Best City in America has not only been optioned with movie rights, but they've cast Reese Witherspoon as the lead (not surprising since her production company bought it).  The Divorce Party, her second novel, has also been optioned and purchased by Jennifer Aniston's production company.  It looks like Gwyn Lurie will be adapting both to screenplay.  I hope she stays true to the novels, they were so beautifully written.  Here's hoping they're in talks for The First Husband also!

The synopsis: Clementine Lord is not an orphan. She just feels like one sometimes. One of triplets, a quirk of nature left her the odd one out. Odette and Olivia are identical; Clementine is a singleton. Biologically speaking, she came from her own egg. Practically speaking, she never quite left it. Then Clementine’s father—a pediatric neurologist who is an expert on children’s brains, but clueless when it comes to his own daughters—disappears, and his choices, both past and present, force the family dynamics to change at last. As the three sisters struggle to make sense of it, their mother must emerge from the greenhouse and leave the flowers that have long been the focus of her warmth and nurturing.
For Clementine, the next step means retracing the winding route that led her to this very moment: to understand her father’s betrayal, the tragedy of her first lost love, her family’s divisions, and her best friend Eli’s sudden romantic interest. Most of all, she may finally have found the voice with which to share the inside story of being the odd sister out. . . .


My thoughts: This was a harder book for me to love right away but one that was so interesting that even though I found the characters more than a little unlikeable, I wasn't ready to give up the story.  There was a lot to tell in this novel and Gross really nailed weaving a story that transfixed and overcame a cast of characters that garnered no sympathy or feelings of endearment. 

The synopsis: