The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)30 Comments


Book Journey traveled to:  Delmarva Peninsula, Cape Charles

When in Cape Charles, the place to be is the Cape Charles Coffee House

241 Pages

Cover Story:  It fits, although one of the girls in my book club pointed out that our main character Melody never used a suitcase…

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After 20 years in the Federal Witness Protection Program (WITSEC) and eight aliases, Melody Grace McCartney hardly knows who she is. On the run since she and her parents stumbled on a gruesome murder by mobster Tony Bovaro when she was six years old, Grace saw WITSEC’s promised protection fail her mother and father when they were killed 12 years later. Now she feigns personal danger to be relocated just because she’s bored and wants a change. But before her new case officer can move her from suburban Maryland to rural Wisconsin, Tony’s son, Jonathan, tracks her down to present an alternative: protection from his family and a life of more safety and freedom than she has ever known. While federal officials pressure her to stay in WITSEC and show her Jonathan’s violent side, her attraction to him grows, and she must decide a course for the rest of her life.


As this book opens, Melody is bored with her current life as Sandra Clarke.  Having spent 20 years being tossed through the Witness protection program from place to place and name to name.  Melody has made no connections in her current surroundings and calls the agent in charge of her case with a claim that someone has identified her and she needs to be moved again.

Turns out – Melody really does have someone from the mafia following her and this is where this fast paced book gets interesting.  Between Sean the good-looking Witness Protection Agent and the mysteriously handsome Johnathan who is the son of the mafia family who wants her dead, Melody learns how to grow up fast.

The book is a fun light read.  I personally never really warmed up to Melody.  Time and again she causes others to be put in dangerous situations including the role she even plays in the death of her parents.  (My book club was easier on her character than I was).

Overall I enjoyed this book.

BOOKIES REVIEW

This was our book club read for May.  The Bookies for the most part enjoyed the book.  We had a potluck at my house around the foods that were in the book which made for a delicious variety of Italian treats.   We discussed the witness protection program and how far it has come.

The group had more sympathy for Melody than I did.  I found her actions to be annoying and childish.  While many in the group found her to be  a victim of circumstance.  By the end of the book we all agreed that Melody was on her way to being a better and more secure adult.

In a suitcase I had everyone drop in their new witness protection name and where they would be located.  Then we drew them out and guessed who was who.  There were some great ideas in there.  Amy in our group had found a website that generated mafia names and that was interesting too.

I received my copy of this book from Hachette Book Group

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments


Early post here.  This may very well even be a pre- coffee post.

NAH!  Just kidding – of course there was coffee!  😀

IT is early though.  It is before the sun (or white cloud cover most likely) is even a thought.  My regular subscribers will probably be in for a shock when they log on to their computers this morning and see that I had already meandered.  Current time:  4:30 am.

Now before you spit coffee all over your computer screen in  horror of why (WHY?) would I be up this early…. I will tell you.  I have an out-of-town meeting and we are car pooling and meeting up at 5:30 am to get to destination by 7:30/8:00 am.  That’s the plan.

At this hour I am unsure if it is a good plan…. but it is a plan non the less.


There were a few inquiries yesterday about my business cards that I posted on my Morning Meandering.  I said I would answer them today so here it is:  😀

I used Overnight Prints for the business cards ( no other reason then I googled business cards and they popped up)

I liked that you can select from their templates or upload your own pictures.

*I have no idea how great these will be (or not).  My order is due byt he 20th and I will be sure to post what I think of the finished product.

Have a good day everyone – I am taking a book or two with me today and hoping that does not come across as rude while we car pool…. there are 8 of us in the vehicle….

Love In Mid Air by Kim Wright

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

A chance encounter with a stranger on an airplane sends Elyse Bearden into an emotional tailspin. Suddenly Elyse is willing to risk everything: her safe but stale marriage, her seemingly perfect life in an affluent Southern suburb, and her position in the community. She finds herself cutting through all the instincts that say “no” and instead lets “yes” happen. As Elyse embarks on a risky affair, her longtime friend Kelly and the other women in their book club begin to question their own decisions about love, sex, marriage, and freedom. There are consequences for Elyse, her family, and her circle of close friends, all of whom have an investment in her life continuing as normal. But is normal what she really wants after all? In the end it will take an extraordinary leap of faith for Elyse to find–and follow–her own path to happiness. An intelligent, sexy, absorbing tale and an honest look at modern-day marriage, Love in Mid Air offers the experience of what it’s like to change the course of one’s own destiny when finding oneself caught in mid air.

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I had seen a few reviews on this book and was excited to have a chance to review it for myself.    What drew me to this book was the strong friendships which has always been a draw for me – and I did really enjoy this part of the book.

I struggled with Elyce’s extra marital affair and while this is largely what the book is about, and Kim writes it with a flair and a good sense of humor, it wasn’t a topic I typically enjoy or read and stumbled a bit into a genre and language I typically do not read as well.

Going back to the friendships, that is what made the book for me – I enjoyed the conversations between the women.   I liked how honest and real they could be.  Since the women relationships was what I enjoyed, I asked author Kim Wright how important these characters were in the process of writing the book.  Here is what Kim said:

One of the things that always frustrated me about divorce books is that they focus almost exclusively on the couple splitting up, the lover if there is one, and perhaps the kids.  It’s like the whole drama goes down in a very limited environment and rarely is any attention paid to something that I think is huge, i.e., the effect that the split up has on the couple’s friends.  I certainly found this in my own divorce, which was now almost 15 years ago….my husband and I were in many regards a lucky couple, with a nice home, beautiful kids, a wide social circle.  When I moved out it shook up everyone, especially my girlfriends who were in similar situations.  I think quite a few of them began questioning their own marriages – asking themselves exactly how happy they were, how you define “good enough,” wondering if the little cracks in their own marriage were capable of becoming the yawning chasm that had developed between my husband and me.
I remember one time in particula about six months after my separation when I was out to lunch with a good friend who happened to live a very affluent lifestyle.  I guess I was fretting out loud about money a little bit because when I moved out I left the house, went to an apartment, and started the challenging task of expanding what had been my part-time, supplemental writing income into enough money to support me and my kids.  All of a sudden my friend looks across the table at me and says “You think I’m a complete coward, don’t you?”  I didn’t think that at all but as we talked it out I began to see just how much my friends were projecting on my decision to walk out and this friend – who it turns out had many more marital doubts than I ever knew – was wondering if she could make it on her own.  To be honest, I was so absorbed with my own problems during this period of my life, I was hardly thinking about anyone outside myself and my kids but this friend was convinced I was standing in judgement of her, thinking she was too materialistic or weak to make the choice I’d made.

It got me mulling over how much women live through each other’s lives and I wanted that to be in the book.  Showing that Elyse’s unhappiness is a bit contagious and makes all the other women take stock of their own situations.  And of course with her best friend Kelly the bond is especially strong since they’ve known each other since high school and have always seen each other as sort of the “path not taken.”  There’s a point in the book where Elyse is remembering something that Kelly went through years earlier, a man who left her abruptly and broke her heart.  Elyse thinks.  “She was my best friend.  It happened to her and so, in a way, it happened to both of us.”  And I believe this is very true of female friendships.  We talk more.  We share things.  We are entwined in each other’s destinies in a way male friends rarely are.

Of course when the book came out I was a little nervous since the women in the book club are based on women I know – women who were in my own book club years ago, in fact.  They’re amalgamated and changed and reimagined but fiction always contains little shards of real life so I was worried that a couple of people might feel I betrayed their confidence or represented their position on marriage and motherhood unfairly.  But so far only one person has gotten upset and she was mad because she didn’t see herself anywhere in the book!

Currently I am working on the sequel to Love in Mid Air, and this time it’s told from Kelly’s point of view.  As a writer I’m having a lot of fun exploring how Kelly’s memories and interpretations of events differ from Elyse’s.  So in the new book she is the main character going through a crisis and Elyse is the sidekick, the loyal friend who is running around trying to keep her out of trouble.  The epigraph is a line by Elie Wiesel that goes “Friendship, in the end, marks our life even more deeply than love.”  I so much believe that.
I received this book from the author



Kim Wright has been writing about travel, food, and wine for more than 25 years and is a two-time recipient of the Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Writing.

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments


Hey all – good morning!  😀

Thank you to everyone who left me well wishes and great comments on yesterdays meandering.  I had one of those rare days that kept me so busy I did not make it back on-line until 9:30 pm last night after I had cleaned up my house from a very awesome book club meeting.  Logging on and seeing so many comments really made me smile.  Thank you for that.

I stayed up way too late last night trying to design a new business card for myself and this bloggy thing I do here.  I am still not sure if I love it – love it, but I got it done at around 1 am so we shall see.  Here is what I came up with:

Front Side

I like the creamy orange color and think it will stand out a bit.  I also was trying to stay with recognition and connection to this blog and this is the new coffee cup logo I have been using and am planning to stick with.

Back Side

I like the chocolaty back of this and like that there is information on both sides of the card – almost making it reversible.  I wanted to use a picture with more books but found my lettering then because lost in the picture.

Well it’s a start.  Now I just cant wait to get them and see them.  I had ones for this blog before that I had made myself and I like that one too, but needed to have the correct name on the ones I am taking to BEA with me.  Thoughts on this?  Advice?  Do you have a card for your blog?

I am really getting behind on reviews with my crazy life style as of late so I am putting up the book club one today and possibly even a second one later today.

Have a great day everyone – I am enjoying Coffee cup #3 this morning and listening to House Rules by Jodi Piccoult while I get ready for work.

Morning Meanderings…

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)77 Comments


Good morning!  Another rainy day here in central Minnesota but for some reason I can not stop smiling.  Why is this?

I just found out last night that I was one of the winners that will have tea with Adriana Trigiani while I am in New York on May 26th for BEA (Book Expo America).  Adriana is the author of Viola in Reel Life, Very Valentine, Brava Valentine (all which have been reviewed here) and many more best selling books.  Seriously I can’t stop grinning.  The email I received said that I would be picked up from the Jarvis Center and will ferry me to the tea in Manhattan!

So… because of this…. I leave you with this video this morning because this is a little illustration that keeps popping in my head to go with the way I am feeling right now.


So I am now skipping my way out the door to a day of work and then tonight I have book club here at my home.  We are reviewing The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano and we are potlucking around the food in the book.  This means…. Italian!  Yum!!!  I hope to have pictures for the meandering and for the review.  🙂

Have a super awesome day everyone!!!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)106 Comments

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.  I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment.  You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.


Last weeks winner (using Random.Org) was:

Michelle from The True Book Addict

Congratulations!  Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX (new items added!) and email me your choice with your mailing address as well!   journeythroughbooks@gmail.com


Another whirlwind of a week.  I completed a second bike tour, have book club in two days already and can not believe BEA (Book Expo America) is in two weeks and I will be going to New York for the first time ever!!!  *Squee with excitement!

Everything seems to be happening so fast and as I sit here making this post I admit… I am a bit overwhelmed.


Here is what took place here in the last seven days


Caught by Harlan Coben (review of this one on audio and I think I may have goofed and should have read the book!)


Life In Spite Of Me by Kristen Jane Anderson – 2 copies to give away!


A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin (Review)


I have a wee bit of Gilmore Girls attack…

Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden ( a look into the lives of the Vanberbilt’s as told by a granddaughter)


The Arrival by Shaun Tan ( my first graphic read and I highly – HIGHLY recommend!)


The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano (Review will be posted after our Tuesday book club)


Would you believe everything I said I was finishing last week I am still working on?


Kite Runner on audio…. I thought I would finish it easy with my trip to the cities and back and I did listen to it all the way but am on cd 8 of 11……


House Rules I am listening to while cleaning house and while I get ready in the am and thought for sure I would be done… but even listening to it today for hours, it is not complete.


Columbine by Dave Cullen – I was going to finish this my night in the hotel before the bike ride and forgot to bring it!

But… they are almost complete so I do have a few things on brew for this week…

A little Minnesota mystery is in store this week and I am excited to dig into John’s book!

The next book out of the library sale treasure box.  This one will be read and then passed on to its new owner, Jackie (Ever Expanding Library)!  Looks spooky doesn’t it?

And finally – I am making my way to book three in the Michael Sullivan series and will then give my review of these amazing books as well as chat with author Michael Sullivan with what is to come.

So that’s the plan – I am excited to see what you are reading as well so please be sure to use the Linky and connect your Monday What Are You Reading post!  😀



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In My Mailbox

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

Another week, another mailbox.  This is where I record the books that came into my home this week.  They are books that came for review, from the library, and purchased.  Thanks to Kristi at Story Siren for hosting this weekly meme.

I had a light mailbox this week.


For review I received:

Yes I received this book for review last week and then this week two more came.  This means – GIVEAWAY!!!

A new one for review!

Library Loot

I have already completed this one.  So interesting to read about why people think books should be banned.  Review will be up later this week.

Last week I received Tom’s new book, The Secret Speech.  I wanted to read this one first as it was recommended by a friend last year.

Purchased

If you follow this blog on a regular basis you are probably aware that this time of year I participate n quite a few bike tours.  This morning I participated in a very cold one for MS in Maplewood Minnesota…. my treat to myself on the drive home was a stop at my Mother Ship – Barnes and Noble.

I haven’t read Mary Jane Clark in years.  Today I seen this lovely book an B & N for 6.99.

This was also at B & N on the bargain tables.  A beautiful journal that I am going to use for my book club notes.  I just love to write!  😀


Thats my mailbox!  What did you get in yours this week?

Morning Meanderings

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)32 Comments


Good morning all.  This morning Coffee Cup and I are in Maplewood Minnesota and I am up and about as prepared as I am going to be for the MS bike ride this morning.

Current temperature:  36 degrees (weather man says it feels like 27 degrees)

Chance of rain this morning with 15 to 20 MPH winds.

Percentage of  craziness I am feeling right now:  about 92% and rising.

I drove up to Maplewood last night and once I arrived I realized the book I was planning on finishing last night (Columbine) is still sitting on my kitchen counter at home.  Right where I put it when I was packing the car to go.  I never am without a book so last night was odd and I finally just went to sleep.

Current time is 6:52 am and the ride starts at 7:30.  I had better take off and see if I can find my team.  I am seriously going to need other crazy people to motivate me to ride today.  At this point I am planning on doing the 30 unless there is a real gung-ho group that encourages me to do the 60.  I think the weather is going to knock me on my butt on this one.

Anyway – I will post an update tonight when I post my In My Mailbox post…. after I am back in Brainerd…. home… and safe…. and WARM.  🙂

Have a great day everyone.  If you are planning on doing anything crazy (even tackling cleaning out a closet works), let me know so I can feel as though I am in good company.  🙂

The Arrival be Shaun Tan

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments


My first graphic read and I have Angie at By Book or by Crook to thank for putting this one in my sight.

I have been a little leery of graphic novels.  I have wanted to try one but when I would flip through them at the book stores they had a comic book look to them, many times being a large series that I didn’t want to start with.  When I seen this one on Angie’s blog it looked…. like a story.  And that is what it was…



This novel, told completely in pictures, is the story of an immigrant family.  It opens with the father leaving and prepping a place for his family to live in a new country. Through the pictures, Shaun Tan has shown how maps, and food, and even pets can look to someone who is unfamiliar with these things.


Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words.  From page one, through the graphics, and even the neutral colors of the pages, I felt a lump in my throat as the story unfolded.  Shaun Tan created an incredible work here that gave me eyes to see how someone from another country can possibly perceive a new life.  It is so hard to describe the book and all I feel I can tell you here is that emotion welled up inside of me, much like it would if you were in an art gallery and seen a particular piece of art that spoke to you.


This book, spoke to me, and in a way, has changed me and how I look at my world. While marketed for Young Adults, I think the some of the subtle could be missed by anyone not fully absorbing and appreciating what they are seeing.  Shaun Tan has created a master piece here and I am so glad I had the opportunity to experience it.

I picked up this book from my local Library

Winner of My Next Read

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments


Thank you to everyone who participated in my Choose The book I Read Next post.  This has turned out to be a great way to read the books I purchased at the library sale and then to pass the book on to one of you.  This is the second time I have listed the book sale books.  Ryan at Wordsmithonia won the first time around and picked Titanic 2012 which turned out to be a wonderful read!

Now…. using random.org, a new winner had been chosen:

Jackie!!!

Jackie’s comment was:  Phew! What a list…  I narrowed it down to about 10 in my head, lol. I think after your review of The Bride Collector that The Boneman’s Daughter would be a good pick :-)


So There it is.  Boneman’s Daughter comes out of the box and will be read as soon as I get a chance to and then sent to Jackie.  Once I have this book complete I will post the books again and we will go for round three!

Thanks everyone who participated and congratulations Jackie!  Please email me your shipping address  (journeythroughbooks@gmail.com) and I will prepare the envelope for the book to be shipped!  😀