Have Mother, Will Travel

Anybody with a mother will relate to this book. Specifically, any mother/daughter duo will relate to this book no matter your relationship. Love.

Have Mother, Will Travel - Claire Fontaine, Mia Fontaine

Their bestselling memoir, Come Back, inspired readers with the story of Mia Fontaine’s harrowing drug addiction and her mother, Claire’s, desperate and ultimately successful attempts to save her. Now, a decade later, as Mia finds that adult life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Claire realizes that she forgot to plan for life after motherhood. Determined to transform themselves and a relationship that has frayed around the edges, the pair sets off on a five-month adventure through twenty cities and twelve countries: an extraordinary, often hilarious journey that includes mishaps, mayhem, and unexpected joys, from a passport-eating elephant in Malaysia to the lavender fields of France, where they finally make peace with their tumultuous past. Wiser for what they’ve learned from women in other cultures, and from each other, they return with a deepened sense of who they are and where they want to go.

I'll start by saying that I did not read their first memoir together and after reading this book, I feel like I have to go back and read the other one. You can tell immediately that they love each other, they've been through difficult things, and they both communicate the same... but differently. It makes for a challenging relationship at times. But the best part about this book for me is that I could so identify with Mia. Sure, I have never had a drug addiction but I could really appreciate and understand her feelings toward her mothers and her view on their struggles. I think my own mother could relate to Claire as well and I think if my mother and I ever took a trip like this it would be almost an identical experience. 

Just like Mia and Claire, my mother and I struggle with opening up to each other and being vocal on what we need. I don't want to worry my mom and my mom doesn't want to worry me and in turn, we both end up worrying about the other in secret. It's really a terrible cycle to be in. 

Aside from the relationship aspect of this book, their travels? Hilarious. And terrifying. Because I'm going to be honest, I want to be a real virgin, vanilla traveler. I'd like to see the sights but I also don't want to get sick. I don't really want to experience ethnic food, and I don't really want to be scared because I don't know the language. I don't adapt well to situations like that and so as I'm reading this I'm equally excited and captivated by it, but I'm also cringing. Basically their trip is like the Amazing Race and they get points based on the experiences that they have in different areas over several countries. It feels very stressful and you have to be strategic, but you also want to enjoy the trip. And ultimately, they are having to work as a team and it's difficult. I imagine my own mom and I would fight a lot on this because we're both very bossy in our own right. 

In the end, I totally loved this book. It made me appreciate my mom in a different light and if Mia ever has a daughter.. I'd be curious to see what she'd think of her mother then. Perhaps a third memoir? Check out their website or their Facebook for more of their story. 

In preparation of a dream, first you must demo. Again.

I think I've made mention a few times that I'm a bit... impulsive. I am much better than I was a few years ago but still, I have a hard time shutting myself down when I get a bug in my you know what. It gets real dangerous when you throw in a spouse who is equally impulsive as well.

We can get into trouble real quick.

But when we bought this house we knew it was just a starter. Then for a few years there we were playing the "would really need to move" game and thinking maybe we'll just make this house even better and stay here forever and ever. Now that the kids are getting older, and louder, and want to have friends over, and are even louder, I've decided no fucking way. This house is too small for the four of us and it's only going to get worse. I mean, I can't even watching a show of Blood Relatives where family members kill each other without it sounding like a herd of buffalo are coming through the ceiling. So before we end up on an episode of Blood Relatives we've decided we need to move.

It's a big decision that I would be lying if I said didn't cause me anxiety, stomach and bowel issues, and sleepless nights. I'm also very excited when I look at houses in our city and think that we could have a really nice house. That doesn't require us to fix stuff. It's like a dream.

But we can't just sell our house. Oh no. Not with all of Matt's million half finished projects. We've made a list of what we think must get done before we can even list this bitch:

• Finish trim in master bedroom 
• Fix front porch so it does not look horrible and scary
• Finish wall and ceiling in laundry room
• Fix the back porch closet, make it not a weird purple room
• Put on new front steps to match the back deck
• Kitchen... oh what to do with the kitchen
• Paint cubby so you can't see the children's art work all over the effing walls

But you are a visual person, aren't you? I'll show you what our projects are but hold your audible gasps, mmkay?

Front porch, left side. See the drywall cracks? Well a fun little lesson in home ownership. If every other person on your block with identical front porch has the same ugly ass paneling that you have? There's a reason for that. Do not think you can give Mother Nature and her frost heave ways the middle finger because she will show you who is head bitch up in here. 

And force you to realize that yes, paneling IS the way to go and I should never have doubted every other person on this block. Even when they laughed and tried to tell us we were wasting our money. We'll obviously be hauling the paneling in through the back door to prevent them from shaming us. Hilariously enough, the new neighbors next to us that you can see? Putting drywall in. *snicker*

 The laundry room ceiling. Fuck sake. Surely even YOU are sick of hearing about my laundry room and I'm sick of looking at it. But we've decided to just do a drop ceiling because anything else would be a complete nightmare and a drop ceiling at least makes sense should you ever need to get to the plumbing for the upstairs bathroom.

And here is the wall that is still missing even though the new door has been put in for a few months now. It looks so pretty. I still can't get over the fact it actually opens all year round. Like right now? I could open it. A bunch of times if I wanted to. So between the ceiling and the wall? I think this laundry room is going to be in great shape.

 So here is the kitchen dilemma. We are broke. We cannot afford to re-do the kitchen. Our options are fairly limited. We can either re-do these cabinets which has an estimated 40 coats of paint on them which is why nothing shuts. All of the hinges and hardware that is involved with cabinets needs to be removed and replaced. These are literally built into the wall, so if we remove them? We're fixing the wall behind. Nightmare. We could put in the really shitty, paint them yourself cabinets from Menards that look cheap but we'd have to literally eat cereal daily for months. And time is not our friend here. OR, we leave it. And hope that the next buyers are first time home buyers looking to make their stamp on a house. The other issue is that if we put any more money into this house, we aren't getting our money out of it. Know what I mean?

 I would paint the other walls the cream color to match the dining rooms' red/cream scheme since they are connecting rooms. I'm really torn on what to do. Because ideally, I'd like to put the house on the market in July. Our trip to Florida is in June so all of our money is essentially tied into that. Decisions, decisions.  The other thing too is that compared to where this house was when we bought it? TOTALLY different. I wish I had taken pictures of what it was like when we had moved in because it was disgusting and a total dump. Never buy a home while pregnant, you are far more optimistic than you should be.

But today, Matt put the wall in the laundry room up and the mud or whatever is still drying so we hope to sand tomorrow and put another coat on. I'll hopefully be painting this room next weekend. Matt also tore out half of the drywall out of the front porch. He's angry and not looking forward to paneling. Which, I don't blame him. BUT we found this really light colored, almost beach wood paneling that looks really nice. It's also light enough that it makes the front porch bright and pretty, which I think is important when you walk into a house.

So here we go. We're on the path of finishing up our projects around here to list. I'm scared, I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm happy. But it'll be weird to walk away from our first home. Like, super weird and sad. But then I think, I might get a basement with storage. And maybe be able to park in a driveway instead of a street. It's the little things, people.

The Great Escape

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

You hear that? That's the sound of me finishing a book I absolutely LOVED and finding an author I adore. It's like falling in love on a first date. It's love on first read.

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

The dazzling sequel to Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s beloved bestseller Call Me Irresistible

Lucy Jorik is a champ at not embarrassing her family—not surprising, since her mother is one of the most famous women in the world. But now Lucy has done just that. Instead of saying “I do” to the most perfect man she’s ever known, Lucy flees the church and hitches a ride on the back of a beat-up motorcycle with a rough-looking stranger who couldn’t be more foreign to her privileged existence. At his beach house on a Great Lakes island, Lucy hopes to find a new direction . . . and unlock the secrets of a man who reveals nothing about himself. But as the hot summer days unfold amid scented breezes and sudden storms, she discovers a passion that could change her life forever.

Now, even though you didn't read the sequel, you can still love this book. Love it times a million. I didn't read the sequel, I didn't feel lost at all. I didn't feel like I missing key components of the story and you won't either. 

First up, I loved all of these characters. Even though they are all crazy and flawed, I loved them because they were true to real life. I admired Lucy's totally ballsy move and lack of greater plan. I love Panda (the rough looking stranger) because he's scary but adorable and pretty much the dream boat of my fantasies. I love how Lucy finds herself and figures out life and just goes for it. I love how story lines of multiple characters come together and not just Lucy, but everyone figures out their lives. They aren't perfect but they realize that the things that they are focused on are the wrong things. And you can't run away from your problems. From the things that hold you back. Nothing is ever easy and everything can be painful, but the key is just to do it. Face it head on and then enjoy the rest of your life. And you know what? Maybe it's not so awful to open up and tell someone the things that you dislike the most about yourself. 

I basically lived this book and I couldn't put it down. This is one of those times where I've finished the book and it was so amazing, that I don't know where to even start or what I can say to convince you that you have to read it. I just know that you need to bump this to the top of your reading list immediately. Now that I've read this one I feel compelled to read basically everything Susan has written because she is a talent. She writes with honesty and common sense but she pulls a bit of humor into it. She is just so fantastic and you just feel so happy reading her books. I literally squealed from the greatness of this book. I love me some Susan too. 

Check out Susan's website and her Facebook and properly stalk her like I plan to. 

The Loved and the Lost

I'm excited to give you the third and final review in Lory Kauffman's Verona Trilogy.

The Loved and the Lost 

They are three time travelers desperate to return to 14th-century Verona to reclaim their medieval family s shattered lives. It is a mission fraught with danger and the risk of unexpected consequences for themselves and for their worlds. For all three, it is a matter of the heart. For one, though, it is truly the only thing that matters, as the fate of his eternal love and the life of their unborn child is the prize to be won or lost forever. In this, the final book of THE VERONA TRILOGY, Hansum, Shamira and Lincoln go on the boldest adventure of their lives. They will face hardship, tragedy, and threats from sources they couldn't have imagined all in an effort to wrestle a future from the steely grip of an unforgiving past.

I am going to say again that the history aspect of these books was an unexpected highlight for me. I usually steer clear from history books because I hated history in high school. Hated it, but that's for another day. I do like the concept of History Camps and it'd be fascinating to have something like this so that high school kids could experience what it really was like before so they can get a greater appreciation for what they have now. 

The great thing about this book in particular is that it really highlights the dangers of changing history, of changing time. We all know realistically that would be bad because present day is the result of culminating events in history that we build on. It's important. Bad things in the past are important to the current day and even the future. 

I love how the characters found their own. Lincoln got his life together and found his calling. Shamira found a love who has the same interests as her in art and that's a big deal. And Hansum, who I really like and I have liked his character in the other two books, is kind of lost. He was married to a woman in 14th century Verona and he has to leave her behind, he can't save her. It's a very different twist to a Romeo & Juliet love story. It seems particularly cruel that they can go back in time with their teachers to see what they did wrong because it shows them what could have been. It was really hard to remember that essentially, these are still teenagers. They make a lot of mistakes and they have poor judgement and I was frustrated with them and had to remind myself that this is what teenagers do, it's normal. I found it most interesting that for three kids who were so against going to 14th century Verona, they end up preferring that to their home in the future. And I really thought that was great, like they really understood the lesson and they picked up something from it. 

I really liked this book. I do appreciate that the book had an ending that was good that I didn't totally expect. It feels like there could be a fourth book but it wouldn't be unsatisfying if there weren't. I definitely recommend this series to anyone. It is a YA series, but as an adult I really enjoyed it.  I think it's challenging to write a book that is geared toward YA but is still enjoyable to an adult and Lory hit the mark. 

No Greater Illusion

Pump Up Your Book and K. Baskett will be giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Card/Paypal Cash plus an autographed paperback & ebook copy of her book on her No Greater Illusion Book Blast today ! This promotion begins on April 1 ends on April 26.  The winner will be announced on April 27. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

--------------------------------------------------

A number of unacquainted adults, from various walks of life, routinely enjoy the benefits of residing in a nation where liberty and justice are among its chief luxuries. Having different statuses of education, income, and ethnicity, all are suddenly forced to cope firsthand with the "domino effect" of America's violent reaction to the assassination of a promising female presidential nominee, Gov. Ceinwen Jarvis. In a day and time where the advancement of technology allows one's voting status, banking information, and even medical history to be accessed by microchip scan, they quickly realize that America - as well as their own lives - will never be the same.

Purchase your copy:

Amazon       Publisher

--------------------------------------------------

ABOUT K. BASKETT

Jack of all trades, master of none - save for the art of procrastination - K. Baskett lives by the motto, "Never do today what can be put off until tomorrow." K. firmly believes that you aren't really interested in the author's hometown, spouse, children or pets, and has therefore decided to spare you the details.  No Greater Illusion is the author's debut novel.

Website     Twitter     Facebook    YouTube

Pump Up Your Book and K. Baskett are teaming up to give you a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

  Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash, one paperback copy of No Greater Illusion or one ebook copy of No Greater Illusion!

Rafflecopter Giveaway- click HERE

No Great Illusion Book Blast Tour Page:

http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2013/02/19/pump-up-your-book-presents-k-basketts-no-greater-illusion-book-blast-win-25-amazon-gcpaypal-cash/

One Step Too Far

As a wife and mother I know first hand what it feels like to think, "I could just leave. I could just go right now and start all over...". When I saw this book in the NetGalley listing, I knew I had to read it.

One Step Too Far - Tina Seskis

An apparently happy marriage. A beautiful son. A lovely home. So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life to start all over again? Has she had a breakdown? Was it to escape her dysfunctional family - especially her flawed twin sister Caroline who always seemed to hate her? And what is the date that looms, threatening to force her to confront her past? No-one has ever guessed her secret. Will you?

I will start by saying that this was a weird book. It was good, but there were so many parts where I started to really hate Emily not just as a mom and wife but as a person. Even though I can sympathize with wanting to just start all over because it's hard. Life is hard but you add the duties of motherhood and being a good wife into the mix, it's even harder. But she has had a lot of confusion and inner demons her entire life and I guess over time, it just gets to be too much. 

The secret that essentially drives this book, it's what keeps you reading because you want to know what it is, isn't earth shattering. I read it and was like, "Ok. No reason to freak out, totally something you could work out.". But given the personality of Emily, I understand why it would be a big deal for her. 

Things I didn't like about the book- is that she seems really cold. I mean, the thing keeping me back from running away is knowing it would screw my children up forever. Now, she thinks it's doing her son a favor but come on.... does anyone really think that? I mean, somewhere in your mind you have to know this is wrong. Then she moves into the most bizarre living situation with all of these randomly put together flatmates and eventually develops a drug habit along with shoplifting and yeah. How a person thinks this is the way to turn your life around is beyond me. 

I so badly want to give my two cents on how the book ends because I hated the ending. Oh, did I hate the ending. The only thing about  the ending that I did like is that everything had closure. A lot of authors like to leave loose strings and you're left wondering what the characters did after all, but this book ties it all up. Nothing is left to your imagination, you get the answer for everything and I really appreciated that. Especially with this book weaving different points of view and just bizarre topics into the story in general. So overall... I'm a 2/5. I just... I just can't give it more. I really struggled through it and I felt myself irrationally angry through most of it and I just can't give a book more than 2 for that because it's not one I would pick up again and it's not one I would necessarily recommend. 

Reviewed for NetGalley. 

Nowhere but Home

Oh how I love Liza Palmer. I have been a Liza Palmer fan for quite some time so as soon as I had the chance to review this one I jumped on the bandwagon of awesome people who were reviewing it. And yay- it didn't disappoint!

Nowhere But Home - Liza Palmer

The strategy on the gridiron of Friday Night Lights is nothing compared to the savagery of coming home . . .

Queenie Wake has just been fired from her job as a chef for not allowing a customer to use ketchup . . . again. Now the only place she has to go is North Star, Texas, the hometown she left in disgrace. Maybe things will be different this time around. After all, her mother—notorious for stealing your man, your car, and your rent money—has been dead for years. And Queenie’s sister, once the local teenage harlot who fooled around with the town golden boy, is now the mother of the high school football captain.

Queenie’s new job, cooking last meals at the nearby prison, is going well . . . at least the inmates don’t complain! But apparently small-town Texas has a long memory for bad reputations. And when Queenie bumps into Everett Coburn, the high school sweetheart who broke her heart, she wishes her own memory was a little spottier. But before Queenie takes another chance on love, she’ll have to take an even bigger risk: finding a place to call home once and for all.

The thing about Liza Palmer novels is that I never feel like I've gotten enough at the end. I always feel like there should be a sequel and there never is and I'm just always like, what the hell, Liza? Help a girl out here. But really, it doesn't matter and I can't be mad for too long because at the end of the day they are really good books all on their own. And I always really love her characters. They are just so inherently screwed up and need professional counseling but who cares because we really all root for the hot messes, don't we? 

And Queenie is a really great hot mess. How could you not be when you have the name Queen Elizabeth Wake and your mother is the town slut who gets murdered by her best friend once said best friend found her sleeping with her husband? I mean, it's very Days of our Lives and I love it. So Queenie is a hot mess who essentially runs from her home town because the Wake family has a reputation of sorts that the children don't live up to because none of the things said about them are actually true. They are living down the shame of their long dead mother. But after a series of jobs that don't work out in more exciting cities, Queenie finds herself back home. 

Of COURSE she runs into the love of her life who is a hometown hero with a good family name and she is not that. She also has a sister who has stayed behind to make a life in the hometown and just wants to break through the stigma of the family name and she thinks that will happen with her son becoming the star football player because in Texas- if you are a star high school football player you are basically royalty. 

The best part? Oh the best part is the job she gets herself to obviously pay the bills. She is a chef and a great one at that, so she becomes the person who makes the last meal for death row inmates. I know, right? So while you have your regular chick lit novel in there, Liza gets clever with you to put the whole death row thing into the book and you see how it wears on Queenie when she analyzes the meal and tries to figure it out. Which is really well done and I loved that aspect to the book. 

Overall? I loved this book. But I love Liza Palmer and I'm a super fan forever. Please check out her website (so you can see the other books of hers you have missed), her Facebook, Twitter, or her blog.