In the Garden trilogy

Someone the other day asked if I was a fan of Nora Roberts and I have to answer that with an emphatic yes! I have several of her books and she's another summer time author for me. I find I read a lot of her stuff in the summer. One of my favorite trilogies of hers (I have a few, maybe I'll spotlight those another time) is the In the Garden series.


Recently widowed Stella Rothschild has found a new love in Logan Kitridge. But there is someone who isn't happy about Stella's growing feelings for Logan: the Harper Bride, an unidentified woman whose grief and rage have kept her spirit alive long past the death of her body.


A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

At forty-seven, Rosalind Harper is a woman whose experiences have made her strong enough to bend without breaking--and weather any storm. A widow with three grown sons, she survived a disastrous second marriage and built her In The Garden nursery from the ground up. Through the years, In The Garden has become more than just a thriving business--it is a symbol of hope and independence to Roz, and to the two women she shares it with. Newlywed Stella and new mother Hayley are the sisters of her heart, and together the three of them are the future of In The Garden.

But now the future is under attack, and Roz knows they can't fight this battle alone. Hired to investigate Roz's Harper ancestors, Dr. Mitchell Carnegie finds himself just as intrigued with Roz herself. And as they being to unravel the puzzle of the Harper Bride's identity, Roz is shocked to find herself falling for the fascinating genealogist. Now it is a desperate race to discover the truth before the unpredictable apparition lashes out at the one woman who can help her rest in peace... 

Three women learn that the heart of their historic home holds a mystery of years gone by, as number-one bestselling author Nora Roberts brings her In the Garden trilogy to a captivating conclusion, following Blue Dahlia and Black Rose. A Harper has always lived at Harper House, the centuries-old mansion just outside of Memphis. And for as long as anyone alive remembers, the ghostly Harper Bride has walked the halls, singing lullabies at night...

Hayley Phillips came to Memphis hoping for a new start, for herself and her unborn child. She wasn't looking for a handout from her distant cousin Roz, just a job at her thriving In the Garden nursery. What she found was a home surrounded by beauty and the best friends she's ever had-including Roz's son Harper. To Hayley's delight, her new daughter Lily has really taken to him. To Hayley's chagrin, she has begun to dream about Harper-as much more than a friend...

If Hayley gives in to her desire, she's afraid the foundation she's built with Harper will come tumbling down. Especially since she's begun to suspect that her feelings are no longer completely her own. Flashes of the past and erratic behavior make Hayley believe that the Harper Bride has found a way inside of her mind and body. It's time to put the Bride to rest once and for all, so Hayley can know her own heart again-and whether she's willing to risk it.

All three books are really great, but I think Blue Dahlia is maybe my favorite. Nora always develops characters really well and the characters in all three books are really fantastic. We have Stella who comes to town looking for a fresh start. She soon meets Logan, who comes off as a pain in the ass, but a sexy one. We have Rosalind (Roz) who owns the garden center Stella is hired to manage but she also owns the Harper House, which has been haunted for as long as anyone can remember. The problem is that things are certainly more active as far as haunting activity, so Roz hires an investigator (Mitchell) to sort things out. Except Mitchell and Roz basically fall in love which sends the Harper Bride ghost over the edge. Cue book three, where Roz's son Harper falls in love with Hayley. Hayley is new to town and literally rolls up pregnant and in dire straights. We meet her in book one, but she doesn't get her story until book three. But Hayley and Harper fall in love which sends the ghost into overdrive because of the unborn child. It's like the ghost sees herself in Hayley. 

If you love traditional romance novels without obscene or vulgar language, with a good story line? Easily this trilogy will fit the bill, but anything by Nora Roberts will. Truly. But I love this series for the summer because the stories all take place in the summer and with the garden theme running throughout, it's a nice set of books to read while relaxing in your own garden. 

These books have been out for awhile so you will be able to find them at online discount stores for very cheap, otherwise if you like to have them all at once and on your e-reader, Barnes & Noble and Amazon has those sold together. 

Olivay

A book that is so bizarre, I truly have no idea how to tell you about it.

Olivay - Deborah Reed

We don’t believe that our lives can change in an instant—until they do.

Olivay, widowed for a year and sleepwalking through life, meets Henry by chance. She takes him to her Los Angeles loft, thinking it will just be for the night. But the following morning, bombs detonate across the city; mayhem and carnage fill the streets; and her loft is covered in broken glass and her own blood. Henry is skittish, solicitous, and strangely distracted. Who is this man she’s marooned with as the city goes on lockdown? Why is she catching him in lie after lie? Is he somehow connected to her husband’s death and the terrorist attacks outside?

With eloquent and suspenseful prose, Olivay explores the wreckage of loss and the collision of grief, desire, and terror in its aftermath. As the characters get pushed outside their comfort zones, forced to walk the thin line between destruction and salvation, Olivay keeps readers guessing what will become of Olivay and Henry until the very end.

Initial thoughts on this book is that it's bizarre. It's written in a way that the writing feels lyrical almost? But it's so incredibly slow and drawn out that many would give it up before anything worth reading started happening. 

The basics are that we have Olivay, who essentially watched her husband die in her arms. She goes through a tenuous grieving process and by the time she ventures out, she meets Henry. Henry seems nice enough,  and he turns into what she thinks is possibly a one-night stand. When he comes back later in the day, she learns that he hasn't totally been upfront with her, but before she can really delve into that, explosions happen, rendering them trapped in her apartment for days. Throughout that process Olivay becomes more suspicious of Henry and his actions. But while keeping her suspicions to herself, they both tell each other weird, sometimes disjointed pieces of information from their pasts. 

There are times while reading this book where I felt like we were really  moving towards something epic, and then... then we start hearing about a cat. It's really strange. I have to admit, when I started the book I really liked Olivay's character. Something about her seemed so endearing. Then as the story goes on I really started to hate her. She comes across as a very angry (maybe rightfully so) and kind of mean person. 

I also didn't find the ending to be a "twist". I know that some readers are going to disagree with me, but I kind of felt it coming the entire time. Oh, can we also talk about how it feels odd that amidst all of the chaos and devastation just outside the door, these two are constantly on the brink of sex, having sex, thinking about sex, etc? It just feels... misplaced. Are we aiming for a weird love story, or are we supposed to be focusing on loss and grief? I wasn't sure but neither avenue felt right to me. I really struggled with this book to the end, but I stuck with it because I wanted to see if I was right about the ending and I was. 

Overall, I'd have to give it 3/5 stars. It really was just OK to me. I didn't hate it, it is exceptionally written. It just didn't pull at me like I had hoped it would based on the back cover description. Olivay is available on Amazon for purchase. The author, Deborah Reed, also has a Facebook page that you can connect with her on. 

How do you know if you're done?

Years ago, I thought we were done having kids. Granted, I didn't want to be done but Matt said he was very done which meant I was having to go through a forced realization that this was it. I wasn't going to have any more babies and I have to just get right with that.

But then I got pregnancy despite three forms for birth control and I ended up with a miscarriage. That felt especially cruel because while initially devastated because we had basically resigned ourselves (mostly I did this) to no more kids, here I am, pregnant. Right as I was moving past the feelings of anger and are-you-effing-kidding-me-universe feelings, I started to get really excited about the baby, and then I lose it.

It felt especially cruel because it should have been my sign of, "see, we're officially done" instead though, it made me lobby hard for a third baby. Surprisingly, Matt was completely on board so I jumped while he was still willing. And now I have a really wonderful, beautiful baby Penelope that I literally cannot imagine my life without. The fact that I could have gone through life and never have had her? I can't fathom it. Not at all. Best decision I have ever made.

And now I'm back in familiar stomping grounds: contemplation of just one more.

Now, I'm not itching to be the next Michelle Duggar. I know that no matter what, if we had another one we would absolutely, 100% be done. I couldn't do a fifth, no matter what. I couldn't. Normally I'd give myself some time and really wrap my head around what that would be like and if it's something I feel like we can do. The only reason I feel rushed in this is that we have clearly met our medical deductible for the year. With that into consideration, if Matt were to get a vasectomy, it would be covered. Otherwise we'd have to pony up quit a bit of money to pay for it ourselves next year or beyond.

Basically, the talking points that keep going in my head are:

• I am a fan of even numbers. I like the idea of everyone having a buddy. 
• My fear is I'll end up with twins and then I'm back at an odd number. Not to mention twins. 
• I'd like to be done having kids fully by the time I'm 35. I'm turning 34 in March which means I really need to get cracking if four is a go. 
• Now that I have Penelope, I really miss the ability of getting up and going. The hassle of having a baby is all coming back to me now. 
• Finances also come into play. Realistically, could we handle four kids? 
• Certainly, if I knew I'd have a boy, I would be all over it. We're back to my even numbers of things. 

Some days I look at Penelope and think YES. Yes to it all over again. Even though pregnancy was a bit tougher this go around, with all things considered, I would do it again. But then.. do I want two kids under two? Holy buckets, that seems scary. And then I think, there are so many places I want to take my kids and show them and with Olivia and Jackson getting older, I feel like I don't have a lot of time. Having a fourth would limit my ability to do that, and that's something that was always very important to me as a parent. I knew I couldn't give my kids things, but I wanted them to have experiences. I wanted my kids to look back on their childhood and remember the trips we took together. 

Matt tells me we're done having kids, but then he tells co-workers we're talking about another. I feel like if push came to shove, he'd do whatever I wanted to do, so I feel a lot of pressure about this. 

Some days I want more. And some days I just feel completely done. And exhausted. I just really wish I would have had a more definitive feeling of being done. All of my friends just knew when they were done and I just don't have that. I flip flop and I hate it. I wish I knew what I was supposed to do. 

How did you know you were done?

Faking It

I have a bunch of reviews for you this week, so if you are looking for some new reading, stay tuned! 

Faking It - Pam McKenna

Britt Munro faces seven days of sexual servitude at a swanky Hamptons beach house, being shared by the hottest two men she's ever met. It's either that or prison after she tries to sell millionaire art collector Garrett Harvey a fake nineteenth-century masterpiece she painted herself. Garrett's art-expert buddy Jack turns her weeklong punishment into a m nage trois-his reward for spotting the forgery. Both men are inventive, energetic lovers, but only one touches her heart. Only one makes her yearn for something...real, even after she discovers she's not the only one keeping secrets. When the week is up, she'll never see him again. Months later, Britt's past returns with a vengeance, testing both her courage and the depth of her ex-lover's feelings. 

So let me start by saying I have read other books by Pam McKenna, and I enjoyed those. I know from experience that she can write a short erotica novel and it's good. This one? Is kind of meh for me. The book is rather fast paced considering it's only 79 pages, so admittedly there isn't much of a story. It's kind of like a porn video script. 

We have Britt, who is basically a painter who hocks fake paintings and sells them as legit, original pieces of art. Unfortunately for Britt, she does this with a guy who has a friend who is an expert in the original artist and calls her out immediately. In order for them to not turn her into authorities, or her boss, she agrees to essentially be their sex slave for a week. 

Cue three way sex with two attractive men and Britt. 

Meanwhile, they are all scamming each other, mind you. 

Oh yes, and then Britt kind of falls for one, but it's not destined to last until (dun, dun, dun) she has to reach out to one of the men long after she was to have moved on. 

Cheese factor? Oh it's there. It's a ridiculously, over the top, never going to happen scenario. It really is a porn movie turned into a short book. Are there steamy scenes? Absolutely. One thing this author doesn't skimp on are steamy scenes that are very descriptive. Descriptive enough that you can turn this into a movie in your head. Overall? I can really only give it 2/5 stars. It felt too cheesy for me, especially given what I've read from Pam McKenna in the past. I know she can do better so I think that's why this fell flat for me. 

The Bookworm Box: REVIEW

A few months ago I heard about The Bookworm Box on a Facebook page I follow. The premise is pretty amazing: for a fee, you receive a monthly box subscription where you are promised books (signed by the author/s) along with some author swag. The contents of the box are a surprise until you get them and 100% of the proceeds goes towards charity. So all of the money you pay for this box, aside from the shipping costs, is going to worthy charities. The entire program is organized by Colleen Hoover, a popular author in her own right, so you know that the books and contents of the box would be pretty decent considering her connections already.

So I obviously jumped right in.

Now, I debated long and hard between this and Lit-Cube, which is a similar service however they are a profit based business versus charity. Of the two, Lit-Cube is hands down almost half the price. Their boxes contain a t-shirt (most months) and far more "goodies" than The Bookworm Box does. The downside to Lit-Cube is that the books you get are more of what I would consider indie-published books versus The Bookworm Box where these are more developed authors, usually under larger publishers. But for that difference, you are paying for more. My first month subscription cost me $52. They have since changed the shipping service they use, so I believe my next box will cost me around $47. Not a huge price cut, but it helps. The Lit-Cube subscription is about $30 a month. The other thing? The Bookworm Box has a cap on how many subscriptions they can take because their items are collected by donation, so if you want to sign up, you have to check their website to see if they still have openings. Lit-Cube does not have that kind of cap so you can sign up whenever you want. Which is why I bit the bullet and signed up for The Bookworm Box a few weeks ago, they were close to being full.

Now with all of that, you want to see what I got, don't you?

Well this is what shows up in your mail. A cute little box that honestly is the perfect size for mailing gifts, so I'm saving that. I'm doing a lot of swaps in the next few months so I'll use this for that.

When I open it up there is a small note from Colleen Hoover talking about new things happening, etc.

Here are all of the contents. I got TWO books (which was nice because I thought I'd only be getting one), two pens (which both write very nicely), two bookmarks, a worm magnet, and two other magnets.

 Both books were signed, as promised.

Overall? The "swag" is kind of lame. If I had to choose a box subscription based on swag alone, given the pictures I've seen of Lit-Cube boxes, that's the subscription to go with. Based on books, which is the point of your subscription, The Bookworm Box had better books. I haven't read these yet, but based on covers and back cover descriptions, these both sound like books I would enjoy.

Do I feel like I got $52 worth of stuff? No, not even close. Both books together would cost me maybe $30 at a bookstore, less if I ordered online. The pens are nice, but are we getting pens every month? That will get lame real quick considering all my pen cups are full. Magnets? Meh. I don't really care for them and the one shaped like a heart was so badly printed I just tossed it out.

I've already paid for my July box, so I figured I would give it three months to see if I'll continue. To be honest, I'm interested in the Lit-Cube subscription as well because for the cheaper price, it might be the way for me to go.

Aeromancist

Woo-hoo, book review time!

Aeromancist - Charmaine Pauls

Passion always comes with a price.

All he could offer was thirty days of passion.

He condemned her to a terrible fate instead.

Now he’ll do everything in his power to save her.

He is known as the Weatherman. Lann Dréan is the last of his kind. A price on his head, chased for a power he should not possess, he can’t promise any woman forever. All he can offer Katherine White is thirty days of passion. But his uncontainable desire comes with an unforeseen price. Lann’s lust will cost Kat everything. Now he’ll do anything to save her from the fate he has brought upon her.

***

While technically this book can act as a stand alone novel, I would have preferred to read the first one before I read this. I missed the entire thirty days of Lann and Katherine's relationship which is kind of crucial to understanding why Katherine is so hard on him. But that aside, I really enjoyed this book. 

It's a paranormal romance and quite honestly, I can't say that I have ever read a book where the paranormal element isn't the person turning into something but more being able to control a worldly element. In Lann's situation, he can control weather/storms. Katherine is just a regular ol' human gal who stupidly falls in love with a guy who can't possibly give her normal, but she doesn't care, she jumps at the opportunity of the 30 days. Except now the 30 days is done and she finds herself in a really horrible predicament, one that involves her contacting Lann, expressly violating the terms of their agreement. 

Of course when she explains to him her situation, he doesn't believe her, and she's rightfully upset yet stupidly determined. She ends up doing what all heroines do in romance novels, and puts herself in ridiculous danger because she's stubborn and refuses to just do what she's told. Cue Lann being the testosterone fueled hero determined to save her at all costs. 

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. The romance scenes were erotic enough to be entertaining yet not over the top. I can't say I've read books with breath play, which sounds absolutely terrifying yet the author makes it erotic enough that your curiosity is piqued. It is a paranormal romance so while we are heavy on romance we are also heavy on a paranormal story line, which is absolutely fascinating and so well written- I really enjoyed them. It's like having a whole new world open up to you beyond vampires, weres, demons, fallen angels, etc. It's refreshing to have a whole new paranormal society out there for us to enjoy. I really enjoyed this book. I'm going to have to go back to read book one and keep my eye out for the rest of this series- I want to know where the author is taking us. 

The great thing is the author has several books available and you can learn more about Charmaine on her website. You can catch up with her on Facebook and Twitter as well! Looking to order Aeromancist for your very own? Easily done on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! 

That Chesapeake Summer

Every summer I inevitably read two authors for sure: Dorothea Benton Frank and Mariah Stewart. They are summer time authors for me, always have been, always will be.

That Chesapeake Summer (Chesapeake Diaries #9)

Jamie Valentine is the wildly successful author of self-help books advocating transparency in every relationship. But when her widowed mother passes away unexpectedly, Jamie discovers her own life has been based on a lie. Angry and deeply betrayed, she sets out to find the truth—which may be in a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. Cutting her most recent book tour short, Jamie books a room at the Inn at Sinclair’s Point, just outside St. Dennis.
The death of Daniel Sinclair’s father forced him to take over the family inn, and his wife’s death left him a single parent of two children, so there’s little room for anything else in his life. His lovely new guest is intriguing, though, and he’s curious about the secret she’s clearly hiding. But in the end, Jamie and Dan could discover the greatest truth of all: that the search for one thing just might lead to the find of a lifetime—if you keep your heart open.

Although this is book nine in the series, these are all stand alone. Whatever book your local book store or library has in the series, just grab it up and I promise you won't be disappointed. That Chesapeake Summer is yet another knock out hit by Mariah Stewart who makes you want to skip whatever vacation you had planned and instead travel to St. Dennis. She does such a fantastic job at writing about this sleepy little small town that you feel like you not only know everyone there already, but that you're practically a local reading the latest gossip of the area. It's so great and I always feel like I'm catching up with old friends when I pick up Mariah's latest books. 

But let's talk about the story. 

It begins with Jamie who has recently lost her mother. While trying to reconcile her mother's death and essentially being an orphan now that both parents are gone, she is dealt a shocking blow while cleaning out her mother's (and previously her father's) desk. While I can't tell you what that is, let's just say it's a pretty damning thing to find once your parents are gone. It calls into questions your entire life, which is exactly what Jamie starts doing. After some basic investigation, Jamie decides the only way to get the rest of the answers she needs is by traveling to St. Dennis to basically unearth old secrets, even if it means disrupting other people's lives for the sake of her own. So she books a room at the Inn at Sinclair's Point where she meets Daniel. Daniel has reluctantly taken over the inn after his father's death, but he's also grieving the loss of his wife while trying to navigate parenthood on his own. Jamie and Daniel don't make the best first impression on each other, but somehow it all kind of works out. 

What? It's a romance novel after all, surely you know what happens! 

I absolutely loved this and really enjoyed this as my right-before-bed evening read. I love this series (all of the books are really solid class romance novels) and it's a guaranteed good read. You really can't go wrong with Mariah Stewart, that's for sure. That Chesapeake Summer is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. You can also connect with Mariah on her website as well as Facebook!