Book Review: Intimate Strangers by Anne M Strick- Blog Tour

Title: Intimate Strangers
Author: Anne M Strick
ISBN: 1453776257
Genre:Social issues
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Review copy- RABT

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Summary:
Rich. complex, compassionate story of a contested adoptionand the two women lawyers who join hands to save a small boy's life...

Review:
Georgie Allcheck and Dru Cunningham " the princess and Pauper" duo are attorneys with adoption as their area of expertise... Their work leads them to work closer to pregnant woman, promising possible adoption, prospective couple ,they also represent adoption disputes...Timothy Janus is a two year  boy adopted by Lara and Theo Janus, with the biological father emerging out of blue claiming for his paternal right there starts a tale of battle of legal right, responsibility, love, care , hope and despair....Though initially reluctant to take up the case they do everything to get justice to the child...

Human complexities are unveiled by every layer being dissected in the tale where Anne Strick explores the extremities of humans can subject themselves upon...Depredation of Janus' upon losing their adopted son who has become their soul reason of survival is strikingly portrayed..You can't help but be involved through the tale of loss and hope....Apart from the emotional instincts , the legal, and ethical side of adoption and the nuances involved are depicted in an enlightening way....The plot is powerful though the character slip a wee bit at times , yet Strick revives them into a new horizon adding to them new life for a better reading...The additional plot captured are quite captivating...The characters of that of attorneys and the Janus' family were so well done that at no point the reader can render a string of sympathy for the biological parent...The compassion with which Georgie and Dru fight the case unfolding many other vantage about the adoption and the clairvoyant approach to it only builds the plot very constructively...Many a times ideology takes up  a personal preference that may not go by the regular bench mark, that is truly presented well all through the novel....

The passion for work lead Georgie and Dru to wade and surf beyond the  line...The language is flawless with its elegant portrayal taking special care of each and every angle all through... I loved the way Georgie and Dru came up together to stand up for the Janus all through the twists and turns...They put in every effort  bringing in detail to the argument ... Theirs is a well balanced partnership complementing each other..Their mental agony dealing with emotional moments during  case, their internal struggle to to keep work all away from heart yet somehow getting it all mixed up in the middle are all done well..Even when things went complex with its strange shades, the realist characters questioning the moral side of life very practically makes it a wonderful read..I would recommend this for anyone looking for a serious read with some real stuffs..Being that said the book has a slight smear of romance too, so all in all it would make a good read...

About author

Anne M.Strick has spent over twenty years in the movie industry. She has worked for Universal, Warners, Paramount and EMI, as a Unit Publicist, Project Coordinator and National Publicity Director,  and  with such Hollywood legends as Jack Nicholson, James Earl Jones, Sean Penn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Lynch, Sting and Dino De Laurentiis, among many others.  She has published theater reviews, articles in Parents Magazine , Frontier and The Nation, and six books: two novels, two self-help books, one memoir (a best-seller in Italy); and a non-fiction, scholarly critique of our adversary trial system. (”remarkable”) . Born in Philadelphia, and educated at Bennington College and UCLA, she lives in Los Angeles

website 

Book Review:The Mistaken by Nancy S.Thompson-Blog Tour

Title:The mistaken
Author: Nancy S. Thompson
Publisher: Saphire Publisher
Genre: Psychological thriller
Rating 4 out of 5
Source: Review copy- RABT

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Summary:
Tyler from a perfect life slips down to a life with nothing to look forward..His brother Nick with his Mafia affliction is only driving things in to a wrong end..Through various twists and turns in heavily entertaining tale Tyler goes to save his brother his only family and his own self from loss and remorse... 

Review:
Tyler Karras  Ty is a perfect man in every sense, going by the rules,hard working ambitious with a zest for life, hard core romantic with a peace and calm surrounding him..Leaving behind London his dream was to go for bring which he does in time..But this was never the case with his younger brother Nick, drunken, drug addict he always needed Ty brother ( he chose to call him ) for rescuing him from every trouble he gets into..Though Ty tried his level best to get him on track, that never seemed to be enough...First losing his parents and his baby sister in a tragic accident, Ty is rid by the grief of letting Nick to drive the car ...In spite of all this Ty pulls himself together with the help of Jillian , Jill his fiancee and the love of his love...Ty best effort doesn't stop Nick from getting into  San Fransisco Russian Mafia, finally accepting his life and getting on his own...Cherishing and relishing every moment with his newly wed wife and the child yet to be born everything falls apart as she is killed with their unborn child also dead...Just before her death they the couple had been dealing with a credit card fraud which Ty had asked Jill to ignore..Now he realizes if only had he paid more attention to his wife's need and pain she may not have died..Ridden by guilt, self remorse and a racing vengeance to get to people who stole away everything from him he also turns to alcohol and Nick helps him to pursue everything Ty wants..But here they make the fatal mistake , they go for the wrong person the new victim Hannah, now wait there is more to the tale ,Nick's life is at stake as Ty had a pact with the Russian Mafia to let him lose after their kill, but now Ty feels responsible pulling Nick and Hannah into this...From then on starts the higher power thriller that goes through various twist and turns...

Ty comes across as a wonderful guy too good that at times the goodness irritates lol, he lives his dream, but  his major problem is he always chooses to be defensive about everything still he carries out every responsibility well..Ty and Jill share a wonderful life together, their moments together are real treat to read...

As the story unfolds,the darker side of human feelings are  explored well.. When struck by grief the internal demon takes over, clouding on the logic and reasoning turning a person driven by anger with extreme side of behavior..Nick and Ty share a weird yet a warm relationship, their love for each other, the disappointments surfaces well..After the death of Jill their relation reconstructs for good...Hannah's life is thrown apart with a stranger running after her and the way she handles her otherwise worse life is also quite convincing...As the characters fill through the novel giving less space for the overall plot I missed further details of the their lives, but nevertheless as the book was thoroughly entertaining, I had nothing much to complain...The book sprints away after the first half and I left the depth of the novel ebbing away..Yet the twist and turns really made up for it..The book is an apt for a travel and for a quick suspense thriller, thoroughly convincing read...

Excerpt

Tyler dropped my hand and turned away from me, sitting straight along the edge of the sofa. With his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers steepled between his nose and upper lip, he struggled to find the right words. Unable to sit still, he stood and paced the floor.

“Hannah, I’ve explained that you—by proxy, of course—have a price on your head, that you’d been sold already. I’ve been trying to get you out of this deal, but these people Nick and I are mixed up with are reluctant to renegotiate. They’ve already received payment from their client and are just waiting for me to deliver you to them. I’ve explained to Nick’s boss, Alexi, that I’d made a mistake, that I had misidentified you, that I had the wrong girl.” 

Ty shook his head and kept his eyes pinned to the floor.

“From the beginning, Alexi knew I was intending retribution against Erin, and since he would directly benefit from it, he was only too willing to accommodate me, but essentially, he doesn’t care about the reasoning behind the plan. All he cares about is that I owe him his, uh…merchandise. Merchandise he’s already sold and been paid for. He only cares about closing the deal. I told him I would repay the price his boss, Dmitri, had accepted, with interest, and he could refund the money to his client. But he’s not willing to do that. Nick said it’s not about the money for Dmitri, it’s about power. They can’t allow themselves to be screwed with, to look weak.”  

He stopped pacing, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and stared out the window.

“I told Alexi I would never turn you over—an innocent girl—to be used that way. At this point, I couldn’t even do that to Erin.”  

Tyler’s focus wavered and he choked up. He looked down at his feet and continued, his brow knitted tightly together.

“We argued over this point for some time without coming to an agreement, so Alexi felt…  He felt it…necessary to secure some kind of...insurance policy—leverage, you might say—to compel me to complete the deal by our prearranged deadline.” 

Tyler dropped his hands to his sides and tightened them into fists. He glanced over his shoulder and looked me in the eye.

“Hannah, Alexi has my brother, and he will kill him if I don’t comply.”

Book Review:Just this once by Rosalind James- Blog tour

Title:Just this once

Author: Rosalind James

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: 4 .5 out of 5

Source: Review copy -RABT

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Summary  

Everyone needs to be rescued sometimes.  Everyone but Hannah Montgomery, that is. She just needs a vacation. Three weeks in New Zealand to sort out her life, figure out what she wants, seems just right. Oh, and to relax. She should definitely put that on the agenda. She certainly isn't looking for a fling with a professional rugby player, no matter how attractive he is. Hannah doesn't do casual. But maybe just this once. . .

Drew Callahan is happy to help Hannah find all the fun she's been missing. But as much as he's shared with her, he's kept one very big secret. And learning the truth, now that she's back home again, has made Hannah warier than ever. Drew knows that she's right for him. But how can he convince her to let down her guard enough to explore what they could have together?

Review:
Losing her father at an early age of twelve and a mother slipping down into a web of grief,  Hannah Montegomery had to step on the shoes of a mother and be a father figure growing up too quickly for the sake of her younger brother Matt and sister Kristen...Working hard into a career she is gown to be comfortable, she loves orderliness and high end responsibility..With all the towering work  with wonderful colleague, friends and family she spends little time for herself..With her long overdue of a vacation she has never taken,  she decides on New Zealand going by the landscape through the movie Lord of Rings...Out of blue enters Drew Callahan in to her life ,whose overwhelming presence and manners intimidate her , having spend three weeks of a dream come reality with her fantasy man she is unable to shake off her dream against the reality..But to her surprise the dream follows her, Drew taking every opportunity to be with her... There is more in the store as she embarrassingly discovers him to be a star Rugby player and  "All Black" , the national team captain...With her siblings moving away into their own shelf of independent life, Hannah is left all alone again, but now Drew comes filling in wrapping her up through all...But her insecurities surfaces vividly just as Drew wants to take step ahead to make their relationship more concrete beyond dating, dinner and lovy dovy talks...With the reality striking and the situation demanding her quick decision Hannah finds very things slipping away...

Rosalind James has worked her way to allure the reader into New Zealand, with its exotic beaches, picturesque island and exquisite cuisine...I wanted to grab my bag  for a long vacation...The romance is beautifully done, there were times when  I looked away from the screen to smile upon the beauty that love can only bring in...Its just not the romance that would appeal the reader, a lending ear of a friend through Sussanah, love and care of Hannah's colleague Emery and Beth, frantic sibling issues all make it a good read... Hannah's reserved and adventurous spirit definitely went well with me and of course who wouldn't like the dashing and debonair Drew!!!...This one would be a great pick for anyone who love a short and sweet romantic flick...

About author:

Rosalind James is the author of three romance/women’s fiction novels in the "Escape to New Zealand" series, and is hard at work now on the fourth book. A marketing professional and publishing industry veteran, she has lived all over the United States and in a number of other countries, traveling with her civil engineer husband. Most recently, she spent several years in Australia and New Zealand, where she fell in love with the people, the landscape, and the culture of both countries.
Rosalind self-published the first three books in the “Escape to New Zealand” on August 31, 2012, and offered the first book, “Just This Once,” as a free download through Amazon’s Kindle Select program on September 7. The book was downloaded over 14,500 times in three days, reaching #2 in Women’s Contemporary Fiction, #7 in all Romance, and #23 among all free Kindle books. Within four days of the promotion, James had sold over 800 books, and “Just This Once” had reached #82 in Women’s Contemporary Fiction in the Amazon store. James credits the book’s overnight success to the fact that “everyone would like to escape to New Zealand! I know I did!
Author's website 

Excerpt

“I have a commitment in Auckland tomorrow,” Drew told her when he had docked at the marina and they were back in the ute again. “But I’ll be here the next day. Can I take you to dinner?”

“Sure. I’ll be here four more days, and I’d like that.”

He frowned. “Where are you off to next?”

“Rotorua. Not sure I’m pronouncing it right. That seems to be someplace I need to visit. Where they have the geothermal area. But I wanted a week here first. My beach vacation.”

“Yeh,” he smiled. “I know Rotorua, a bit. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty, then, day after tomorrow.”

“What should I wear?” 

“Noplace too posh on the Coromandel. What you had on yesterday was good.”

“Good to know. I’ll look forward to it. And thank you for today. I loved it. That was one of the best adventures I’ve ever had.”

“Led an exciting life, have you?” he asked drily. 

“Not so much,” she admitted. “Making up for it a bit now, I guess. Almost drowning yesterday, and going for my first snorkel today.”

“Glad to help with your adventures,” he assured her as he pulled up to her motel.

By the time he came around to help her out of the tall vehicle, she had already opened the door and hopped down.

“You’re disappointing my mum again,” he sighed. “Here I was, ready to show you my manners, and you didn’t give me the chance.”

“Tell your mother I’m very impressed, so far. And thanks again,” she said as she turned at her motel door.

And that’s as far as you’re getting today, boy, he told himself. Never mind, he had a fair bit of determination. And every intention of using it.

“I’ll see you day after tomorrow, then.” He took her by the shoulders and kissed her gently, his mouth moving over hers, keeping it soft. And felt the zing of the contact straight down to his groin. Oh, yes. There was chemistry there, no worries.

He stepped back and saw her smiling up at him, pulled her closer, and kissed her again with a bit more heat, giving into temptation and letting his tongue briefly touch the deep bow of her upper lip. He’d been staring at that bow all day, and he was only human, after all. He let her go at last, and watched as she unlocked her door and stepped inside.

Four more days. Good as gold.

Book Review:Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner

Title: Hotel du Lac
Author: Anitha Brookner
Publisher:Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Pages: 192
Price: Rs 450
ISBN:0679759328
Genre: Woman's Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Source: Personal



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Summary
Hotel du Lac tells the story of Edith Hope, who writes romance novels under a psudonym. When her life begins to resemble plots of her own novels, however, Edith flees to Switzerland, where the quiet luxury of the Hotel du Lac promises to restore her to her senses. But instead of peace and rest, Edith finds herself sequestered at the hotel with an assortment of love's casualities and exiles. She also attracts attention of a wordly man determined to release her unused capacity for mischief and pleasure.

Review
Edith Hope is an English author whose genre is romance , now she is on a self imposed exile at a Swiss hotel, during off season ..There she meets fellow guests majority being women...These are array of people whom she meets include Mrs Iris Pussey, widow ,she is rich and glamorous  accompanied by her devoted daughter Jennifer , she is too thin which is amusingly put in, Lady Monica and her dog, Madame de Bonneuil, she sent out of her home by her sister in law, hence she carries an aura of that of a depressed soul being ..Initially Edith's decision to come over to this old fashioned hotel is a mystery..She composes letters to David that describe her day today affair in the hotel with immense details of the people she has been meeting..But David is a married guy , and thankfully this is not the main focus of the book then enters Mr Neville rich and single , guest of the hotel and they slip into a relation which you can't define ii to be very romantic..

She discovers the true nature and feelings of these illustrious lives of these people, which in turn makes her to contemplate upon her life, her decisions, her mistake and the life she has been living so far...People are pretending to hide away from their unhappiness, disdain and self- melancholy...The more she gets closer to these women the more she reflects upon things finally getting a clear cut vantage...Through the novel we also feel a change in the way Edith sees things, her judgement on people that her rich experience has brought in her...Through the first half Edith spends much time guessing the age of mother daughter duo, later she lets things be..There are some eccentric , whimsy, funny moments all along...

The specialty of novel is that it is not the magic of the plot that drives you ahead but the characters ., their complexities and shedding up of the layers that they seem to carry around...Puseys's relationship with each other was weird and good at the same time ., as the novel progresses their true feelings for each other unfolds well and sound.. At times I felt the characters were under expressed revolving into an orbit of lethargy as I read through...The hotel itself carries an aura of old , yet not being classic about it and the residents somehow reverberated that spirit even more...I loved the overall calm, slow, steady pace of the book...The mix and match of words and sentence were simply brilliant to me...I would have loved it even more if the spirit of writing could transcend to the novel itself...Although I liked the book I couldn't figure what was so special about this book to win a Booker Prize...

Book 4 for TBR challenge

www Wednesdays

It is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be reading ...To play along , just answer three (3) questions..

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish?
• What do you think you'll read next?

And here I go...

Current read

My current read include two non fiction Joseph Anton by Salman Rushdie its a memoir which looks promising so far...Pax Indica is a late bloomer my feeling have been mixed for now...

Recently finished

Though I finished couple of others books my very recent reads were the above ..These were all in the shortlist of Man booker prize....

Next  I plan to re- read

These are the two books that I am planning to re- read....

Book review: These is my words by Nancy E Turner

Title: These is my words
Author: Nancy E Turner
Publisher:Harper Perenial
Pages:384
Price: Rs 862
ISBN:0061458031
Genre: Historic fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Borrowed



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Summary:
Sarah Prine, a woman of spirit and fire who forges a full remarkable existence on a harsh, unfamiliar frontier.Scrupulously recording her steps down the path Providence has set her upon- from child to determined young adult to loving mother - she shares the turbulent events, both joyous and tragic, that molded her, and recalls the enduring love with cavalry officer Jack Elliot that gave her strength and purpose...

Review:
Set in towards the end of 19th century the novel is the journal entry of Sarah Prine spanning  for about 20 years...The journal entry begins at the age of seventeen with the start of her journey from New Mexico to Texas by wagon..Tragedy strikes early and hard upon her and the family, her younger brother is killed by a snake bite while her father is killed by the Indian attack...Early events in her life shapes her character..Rather becoming a soul struck by fear., she grows up into a headstrong girl with a high survival instinct that is the reason the zest for life makes her through the going..Early in the novel she showcases her strength while saving her Lawrence girls from Indians and others....Savanaah Lawrence Sarah's sister-in law teaches her to read and write so the self taught Sarah slowly goes up the ladder  into a girl who can read and write fluently...The early journal entry has many grammatical and word errors but it slowly evolves into a poetic prose with lyrical notes..Her family decides to move to San Angelo to raise horses but they are only glad to be alive..Albert and Ernest her older brothers on whom the family responsibility reside decide to move back to Arizona which is almost equivalent to square one, there she feels at home ..Sarah was a sharp shooter a trait that I loved along  her many other positive traits...Her girly feelings are vividly portrayed as she pens down her inclination for two men she comes across..Jack Elliot the Cavalry officer enters her life giving her a taste of romance and love..But many times I felt that her early life hardship didn't let her be open to the relationship creating many unhappy moments through her married life..The pain of childbirth and further years of family life fills up journals, through all these Jack stands out as a man of strength and  endurance..Many a times their life gives a odd picture of frustration and irritability, yet they hang on moving parallel to each other not really merging up...Later as a sign to make up for a better life together Sarah moves to Tucson with children while her heart remains back at home @ ranch...

There are dramatic stroke, adventure that I loved to immerse ..The wonderful capture of Arizona will stay in heart for sometime.. Turner explores all character in depth , but the expanse of historic accounts is on a low note through the later part of the novel..The novel hold on to the reader's emotion well and creates a curiosity for the plot lying ahead..I loved the novel for Sarah and for showcasing a power of people to stand up for themselves during the difficult time in order to live and dream for better...

Book 3 for TBR challenge

Booker Prize winner 2012

And the Man booker prize for the year 2012 goes to Hilary Mantel for her Bring up the bodies..She was my personal favorite too but that wouldn't be fair as I have only read two other books apart from Bring up the bodies.

She becomes only the third author after Peter Carey and J.M Coetzee, to win the prize twice, which puts her in the empyrean..But she is also the first to win the sequel Wolf Hall won in 2009 and the first to win with such a brief interlude between books. Her resusciatation of Thomas Crowell- and with him the historical novel.There is the last volume of her trilogy still to come so her Man booker tale may yet have a further chapter..You can also read long list nomination here and short list nomination here.