Tag: Review

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (Camryn’s YA Review)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)6 Comments

This one sounds like such a great summer read! 

~Sheila

This Lullaby

Remy never really has great relationships with boys. She likes it to be easy, fun, and when it gets to that difficult part of the relationship, she breaks it off. After all, her mother is working on husband number five. Noncommittal relationships run in the family. That’s before she meets Dexter. Dexter is gangly, messy, and in a band. All big no’s for Remy when it comes to dating, but Dexter is different. Remy is can’t seem to get rid of him. He’s not exactly what she’s looking for, but will Dexter make Remy reconsider her standards?

 

This Lullaby is a really cute book. I like this Sarah Dessen book a lot. It is a young adult read, and a great summer read. I recommend you pick this book up right away!

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

Check out Camryn’s other YA reviews here

The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

One tragic night brings Isabel and June to live with their cousin Kat and aunt Lolly in the family owned Matriatch Inn on the coast of Maine. At that time, Isabel and June could not wait to be old enough to go out and live on their own, and when that time came, they left.

Now, years later, just as Isabel’s marriage is falling apart, and June is in search of a man who disappeared from her life seven years before, the girls are again called to the Matriarch Inn, but this time, because Lolly had been diagnosed with late term cancer.  When the two sisters arrive they find their Aunt Lolly, weak but in good spirits and their cousin Kat newly engaged, but for some reason she doesn’t look like a happy bride to be.

As per tradition, each Friday night is movie night at the Inn, and Lolly has a nice selection of every movie Maryl Streep had ever been in.  At first the girls are distant, all caught up in their own troubles, but as each movie is shown week after week, the movies plot and characters bring out deep conversations within the three cousins and Lolly.  Wrongs are brought to light, fears are revealed, and dreams are shared. 

Over bowls of buttery popcorn and delicious homemade cupcakes, this family learns to trust in one another, and eventually… learn to trust in themselves as well.

Why did I want to read this book?  Title.  I am a movie nut and any title with the word “club” in it draws my attention, “book club”, “cooking club”, Movie club”…. after all isn’t a club a gathering of people who all enjoy the same thing?  How fascinating!

The Meryl Streep Book Club at first glance looked like it would be a quick read.  It turns out it wasn’t and here is why.  While I have seen some of the newer movies that Meryl Streep has been in, many of the older titles I had not.  To get the most out of this book, I went and rented the movies to go along with it and found myself enjoying The Bridges Of Madison County, Kramer Vs. Kramer, and It’s Complicated. 

What impressed me about this book is that each of the Meryl Streep movies, held a lesson for what at least one of the girls was going through. The movies themselves become the back drop of the book, and all in all it turned out to be a pretty sweet read.

The movies in the book:

The Bridges Of Madison County

The Devil Wears Prada

Mamma Mia!

Heartburn

Defending Your Life

Kramer Vs. Kramer

Postcards From The Edge

It’s Complicated

Out Of Africa

Julie and Julia

Do I have any complaints?  Yes, to quote my friend Reagan, the relationship struggles these three girls had was a hot mess.  Isabel, June, and Kat’s stories are all so over the top that for me, it took a bit away from the story – too much and all at the same time made it feel a tad unbelievable. 

HOWEVER (and that is a big however), if you do not over analyze the real relationship struggles, the book is extremely enjoyable.  In the beginning I was unsure how I was going to feel about this book, but by the middle I was sold out and fell in love with the story itself. 

This would make for a fun book club read and discussion with a possible hosting of one of the movies mentioned in the book and lots and lots of yummy buttered popcorn!

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (listen to a sample on audio here)

I received this book from review from Simon and Schuster

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)52 Comments

Hazel Grace has never been anything but terminal.  At 16, her cancer has taken away her ability to breath for long on her own without oxygen, so much to her delight (NOT), she travels with oxygen wherever she goes.  Her life is a daily repeat of her parents watching and waiting, afraid to look away from her for fear it will be the last time…. this is no way for a teenager to live, or for a teenager to die…

During one of her Cancer Support Group Sessions, there is a new guy.  The easy on the eyes Augustus Walters shows up with a twinkle in his eye, and a limp in his step, having lost a leg to cancer and still struggling with the amputated one.  Augustus is not terminal, he has an 80% survival rate and therefore Hazel knows they have no chance of being together, after all – who wants to date someone like her, a grenade about to blow out of this world at any moment.

Yes, Augustus is like a drug, his quick wit, and great sense of humor are too much for Hazel and she finds herself falling even as she tried to hold back.  In a different life, in a different body, not one riddled with cancer, he would have been her Romeo…

Why did I want to listen to this audio?  For way too long I have heard the raves of this book and of John Green – yet I succumbed to neither.  I don’t know if the cover did not speak to me or if was the more obvious reason… who wants to read a book about teens with cancer?

The Fault In Our Stars is a book that I wish I would have read when it first came out.  After listening to this book on audio I am left a blubbering mass of emotion – and in a good way.  Like in the way when you know you have just experienced something BRILLIANT and you can not believe you are not surrounded by people so you can SQQQUUUUEEEEEE all about it.


“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

This seven hour audio narrated by the amazing Kate Rudd is a “do not miss”.   Seriously, if I could wrap up a copy of this audio book and had it to each of you reading this review, I would… because audio book lovers, you are in for a listening experience   that is like going to a high-end restaurant, eating a wonderful meal and discovering the bill has already been paid… and non audio book lovers, if you were ever on the edge of trying audio, let me personally recommend you make The Fault It Our Stars your #1 book to try.

“What a slut time is. She screws everybody.”

Where do I began my gushing?  Hazel and Augustus may very well right now be my favorite fictional couple. Hazel is dry and funny, and you can not help but laugh out loud with some of the things she says.  And Augustus, so gets her.  He too is extremely funny and witty.  Now you have heard of the Make A Wish foundation and you hear how many people choose a trip to Disney World?  In this book you will find the great wish to be a trip to see an author of a much beloved book to find out what would have happened next if there had been a sequel. (These… are my people.)

You may think a book about cancer is just too much, but this book is not about cancer.  Cancer is there, sure, but it is merely a back drop on an incredible story of two young people who decide to take a chance despite the odds, and in the end, both are better for it.

Without experiencing great pain, you can never experience great joy.

I don’t think I can rave enough to do this book justice.  If I had a “John Green Rocks!” banner I would wave it. It made me laugh, it made me cry.  It made me think.  John Green has a way with words that sent me full speed hurdling towards another of his books.  I wanted more… I needed more…I may be an addict.

If you have already read this book, I highly HIGHLY recommend you go through it again on audio.  Treat yourself to something spectacular.

Amazon RAVING

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (listen to a sample here)

A few other reviews of this book by awesome bloggers:

Alisons Book Marks

Rhapsody In Books

S. Krishna’s Books

Cares On Line Book Club

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

 

After reading Camryn’s review below… now I want to go to Summer Brain Camp!  Looks to me like Sarah Dessen has done it again!

~Sheila

The Truth About Forever

Macy Queen is looking forward to a quiet, do-nothing summer. Her boyfriend, the perfect Jason Talbot, is away for the summer at Brain Camp, and she’s taking over his boring library-counter job. She plans on studying all summer, and hanging out with her mom. Macy carries a heavy burden in her heart. She feels responsible for her dad’s death. That is, until she meets the Wish Catering crew and gets a taste of the chaos that is catering. Macy, right away, gets a job at Wish for the summer. She meets new friends, and loves her summer job. But the best part of Wish, is not the food, or the chaos, but Wes. Artistic, perfect Wes. Wes and Macy grow closer over the summer, but before they can really be together, she has a hurdle to jump. That hurdle, is accepting that her dad’s death wasn’t her fault. But can she forgive herself? Or will she miss out on Wes because of her denial?

 

The Truth About Forever is a novel by Sarah Dessen. The majority of Sarah Dessen’s novels are great, light and easy summer reads. This is one of them. Recommended for a young adult audience, The Truth About Forever isn’t one you want to miss!

 

Camryn is 13 years old, and enjoys reading YA books of the fantasy and romance genre. A few of her favorite books are “Hourglass” by Myra McEntire, “The Other Countess” by Eve Edwards, “Hush, Hush” by Becca Fitzpatrick, “The Immortals” series, the “Marked” series and the “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” series.  When she’s not reading she enjoys watching Gilmore Girls or going to book sales for more books to add to her ever-growing collection.

 

 

Please check out Camryn’s other YA reviews here!

Total Memory Makeover by Marilu Henner

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

 

Marilu Henner has a gift that is known to only six other people in the world.  She can recall every detail of her life, now just the big events like the day Kennedy was shot, 9-11, or a surprise birthday party…  but also a random Thursday in August of 1980, or a Sunday morning any year since she has been five. 

In Total Memory Makeover, Marilu shares the benefits to having such a memory, and shares exercises we can all do to strengthen our own memories.

 

Why did I want to listen to this audio?  I am a little fascinated with someone who can remember every day down to what they had for breakfast when I can barely remember what I did two days ago.  🙂  I also like that this is read by Marilu herself.

 

Total Memory Makeover is exactly what is says it is.  An audio book (or book) about Marilu’s gift of total recall, and what we can do to strengthen our own skills.  7 hours and 58 minutes long, Marilu takes us through her growing up with this skill, and how it can be used to help us makes better choices in our present day.  I found it interesting that Marilu explains that by remembering moments of great pain in our life (say, like a break up) it can help us see the red flags as we go into new relationships.  And that works for good things too… by remembering how great it felt to fit into a smaller size of jeans 4 years ago can help us say no to bad food choices today.

While the audio was interesting, there are a lot of times throughout the reading that Marilu had tasks for the reader.  We are asked to write down dates like our 21st birthday and remember everything we can about that event (which honestly, I have no recollection of, other than I was married and we had Brad then…) or to do short memory tests.  For me personally, I am an active audio listener, meaning I cook or clean while listening to audio and I did not do the little tests that required hitting pause.

Overall this is an interesting read, Marilu did a wonderful job of narrating, and I think if you are really looking to work on your memory skills she has some wonderful tips for doing so and advice to get you started.  There are times in the audio where Marilu tells personal stories that are both interesting, and at times… dare I say felt like she was bragging?  It was not the best fit for me, but I can see where someone willing to work at this could find it useful.

Because this seems to be almost like a work book in places, I think this is one of those instances where this would have been better for me in book format than audio.

 

Leave a comment here if you would like a chance to win my copy of Total Memory Makeover.  I will choose a winner using random.org on Friday July 6.

 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (listen to an audio sample here)

 

Thank you to Audio Jukebox for sending me this audio to listen to and review!

Marshmallow Madness by Shauna Sever

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Sheila’s definition of marshmallows:  White sticky “globby” things that come from the grocery store and are delicious ONLY if used for making rice crispy bars, smores – or fully melted within a cup of hot cocoa.

While reading blogs a while back I stumbled across this book on Nikki’s site, Notes Of Life.  A book entirely about marshmallows caused me pause and at the end of her post about the book, she had a giveaway for a copy.  Finding it hard to believe there was a WHOLE BOOK about marshmallows, I signed up.  Imagine my surprise when I was the winner of this book!

When Marshmallow Madness arrived I was thrilled with the puffy cover.  Ok that is just fun, I thought, but a cute cover in not going to sell me on this….

then I opened that puffy cover…

Chocolate Malt Marshmallows…..uh…. hello!

It was fun to read that author Shauna Severs relationship growing up with marshmallows was much as mine… so how does one go from there, to the point of making delicious flavored marshmallows for family and friends who anxiously await for holidays to receive one of these gift packages?

Shauna takes us through the simple ingredients that make up a marshmallow:

sugar

corn syrup

gelatin(Knox unflavored)

water

salt

vanilla extract (100% pure)

coating made from powdered sugar and cornstarch

Key Lime Pie Marshmallows

Grab a sauce pan, candy thermometer, measuring cups and spoons, whisk, spatula, stand mixer (heavy-duty mixer is recommended), cooking spray, a bowl for the coating, food coloring, and an 8×8 pan and you are ready to get your mallow on!!!

After the basics for making marshmallows is done, you enter into a section of the books that is all about mastering your new skill with fun recipes and idea…

How about chocolate malt marshmallows?  Key lime pie flavored?  Lemonade?  Apricot?  How about flavored with alcohol to make margarita or Malibu flavored marshmallows?  There is even a recipe for homemade graham crackers so the next time you make smores – you are going to be the hit of the party!

By the time I was done with this book I knew marshmallows went far beyond what I thought they were used for prior to the reading.  The marshmallows in this book are lovely and delicious enough to serve as dessert!  A treat at place settings!  Weddings!  Kids and adult parties! 

In the end there is an entire chapter on gift giving which I am particularly excited about.  I am always looking for that kitchen goodie I can make for party hosts and for holiday giving that isnt what everybody else is doing.  I think I may have found that thing!

Margarita Marshmallows

I have not made any of the recipes in this book yet but I plan to.  And if I were to be asked where I would start I would say the Chocolate malt marshmallows and those delicious looking Key Lime ones are calling my name….

Chocolate Malt Marshmallows (as found on Shauna’s blog, and in the book)

Malted milk powder can be found in most supermarkets either by the hot chocolate mixes, or near the ice cream fixings. That’s right, I said fixings.

For the chocolate shavings, grate bar chocolate on the largest holes of a boxed grater.

The deeper and richer your cocoa powder, the more intense the color and flavor will be, so use the best one you can get your hands on (I like Valrhona).

Makes about 20

For the marshmallows:

2 tablespoons (about 2 packets) unflavored powdered gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup, divided
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup malted milk powder
6 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For finishing the marshmallows:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely grated

Grease an 8×8-inch pan with shortening, using a paper towel to rub it lightly and evenly onto the bottom, sides and edges of the pan. Set aside.

Sprinkle the gelatin over 1/3 cup cold water in a small bowl. Set aside to soften.

Place the sugar, 1/4 cup corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan and stir gently. Clip a candy thermometer onto the pan, and place it over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, checking it occasionally–you are looking for it to eventually hit a temperature of 240-245 degrees.

Meanwhile, place the remaining 1/4 cup corn syrup in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Heat the softened gelatin in the microwave to melt it, about 30 seconds or so on high. Start the mixer on low-speed, and pour the gelatin into the corn syrup. Keep the mixer running on low-speed.

Whisk together the cocoa, malt powder and boiling water in a small bowl until smooth. When the sugar syrup is up to temperature, whisk the cocoa mixture into it, followed by the vanilla. Carefully transfer the syrup to a large, heatproof measuring cup or a similar vessel with a spout for easy pouring. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and slowly pour the sugar syrup into the gelatin mixture. When all the syrup has been added, crank the speed up to medium-high and let it go for about 10 minutes–the candy will become fluffy and the color of a chocolate malt during this time.

Sift together 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder. Set aside, and keep the sifter handy.

Pour the marshmallow into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula spritzed with a bit of cooking spray to nudge it into the corners and smooth the top. Sift the cocoa-confectioners’ sugar mixture evenly and generously over the top. Let sit for about 6 hours, or overnight.

Use a knife to loosen the marshmallow from the edges of the pan and invert it onto a cocoa-confectioners’ sugar mixture-dusted work surface. Cut the marshmallow into squares (a pizza cutter works great here). Dip the sticky edges of the marshmallows in chocolate shavings, and dab more all over the marshmallows. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Be sure to check out Shauna Severs blog, Piece Of Cake for her fun posts and great recipes!  Oh and of course, if you know a marshmallow lover (or even a skeptic like me!) this book would make a lovely gift!

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Posted as part of Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking

Ravens by George Dawes Green

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)22 Comments

 

Shaw McBride was sick and tired of his luck.  Shoot, if he had any luck at all, it was all bad.  Taking off on a road trip to Florida with his buddy Romeo Zderko, he thought things could really only get better. Then sure enough… as they passed through a small town in Georgia they had to stop to fix a leaky tire.

Just like Shaw thought… no luck at all but bad…

But when Shaw enters the gas station he overheard the lady behind the counter talking excitedly on the phone…

“Yes!  The 318 million dollar Georgia Lottery ticket has been sold at this very station!  Yes!  One winner!  Yes, the Boatwright’s, right here in town!  They can really use the money!”

And at that moment… Shaw had a plan that he knew would change his luck forever.

Finding the Boatwrights was easy, and fooling them in to believing he was with the State Lottery just stopping in to give them some advice on what would happen next went off without a hitch.  Once invited inside, Shaw laid out his plan to the family – when the camera people arrive, they say the ticket was purchased by both he and the Boatwrights and therefore, he rightfully receives half.  Meanwhile, Romeo is watching the town, visiting friends and family of the Boatwrights, ready to start killing the moment Shaw says….

but if the Boatwrights cooperate, all will be spared and Shaw and Romeo will be a lot richer. 

The Boatwrights find themselves in a nightmare… what should have been the most exciting time of their life has turned out to be the deadliest.

 

Why did I want to listen to this audio?  I remember about a year ago seeing some reviews on the book.  It sounded interesting but I did not have time to take on another book… audio however, is another story 🙂

 

Ravens is like nothing I have experienced before.  The story of two low life characters like Shaw and Romeo going after lottery winners didn’t seem like it could hold an entire book.  And when so much had happened by the third cd in this 8 cd listen, I wondered what would hold the story up for the rest of the read.

I shouldn’t have worried. 

George Dawes Green does an amazing job keeping this story moving.  Not only moving, but moving in a powerful way that made me wonder “what could happen next, and then…. that did not just happen!” How the whole lottery winner plan plays out is brilliant.  Actually, it was almost spooky how well it is done because I can imagine it actually happening that way. 

The many characters of Ravens are all well-developed which is no easy task.  With narrators Robert Petkoff and Maggie-Meg Reed alternating charters you are in for a treat!  Both narrators do a fantastic job.  I have heard Maggie Meg Reed several times before but this was a first time for Robert Petkoff.  Maggie-Meg taking on the thick Georgia accents was a lot of fun.

I really, really, enjoyed this book.  Fantastically played out, constantly engaging, Ravens comes highly recommended!

Its Audiobook week!  Comment on this review between June 29- July 2 and a winner will be chosen using random.org for a copy of this audio to be sent to you!

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (you can hear a sample here!)

Finding Ultra by Rich Roll (Audio Review and giveaway!)

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)28 Comments

Right around the time that Rich Roll was about to turn 4o, he took a good hard look at his life.  Nearly 50 pounds overweight he wondered if this was his future… more and more tired, no energy and unable to climb a flight of stairs without stopping to catch his breath. 

Rich describes himself as having a very addictive personality… he never did anything half way.  If he sat his mind to something, he was going to do it… in his younger years he learned that the hard way when he decided if he was going to have one beer, he might as well have 10…. (but that is another story….)

Rich immediately took inventory on what he had been eating and how he had been washing his years.  He changed his eating habits overnight, making all processed foods off-limits and made plant nutrition and working out part of his daily plan.  In a few months he had turned himself completely around, now fit and a drive that was unstoppable.

Finding Ultra is all about Rich’s change in his eating and the way he thought about food and exercise.  Once he conquered his eating habits, he then challenged himself by running and biking and eventually the Ultra Man World Championship Competition, which is by invite only, 320 miles of running, swimming, and biking.

Finding ultra takes you through Rich’s life, his strong desire to succeed at a young age, to his fall into alcoholism and out again.  Rich’s story in one of never giving up on your dreams.

Why did I want to listen to this book?  I am fascinated with people who turn their lives around for the better.  Always searching myself for the next big thing to try, Rich’s story was right up my alley.

I really liked that this audio book was narrated by author Rich Roll himself.  After all, who better to tell his story?  Rich’s narration of his life is well told, starting out wanting to be a swimmer even when his school did not have a swim team.  What you learn quickly is once Rich sets his mind to doing something it more than likely is going to happen.

Rich lays it all on the line, leaving nothing back as he shares his battle with alcohol and what it cost him.  I enjoyed most his story of how he became fit again, how he tossed out all foods that were processed from his diet and never looked back.  In the very end chapters Rich goes into great detail about what he ate and how he prepared it, which I found very interesting.   I even tried the coconut water which he swears by for putting electrolytes back into his body after a work out.  He said to freeze it so during your work out you can drink it as it thaws. 

Uh yeah… more power to you on that one Rich, I could not choke down the funny tasting coconut water.  😀

I enjoyed this audio version of Rich’s story and found it inspiring to see that is really is never too late to make positive changes in your life.  I understand that what Rich did was extreme, but even small changes can make a difference.  I picked up some good tips on ordering out and work out habits.

It is audio book week and every audiobook I have reviewed this week has come with a giveaway!  Comment on this review and be entered for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card to  go towards an audio book (or book) of your choosing 😀

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Audible.com (you can hear a sample here)

Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

It started with a droopy eyelid.

Or did it?

Alice Buckle is 44 and for the most part, she has never felt or looked her age.  But this morning is different.  It could be because Alice is about to turn the same age that her mother was when she died.  It could be that after twenty years of marriage there just wasn’t a lot of excitement anymore.  She is constantly analyzing her two children, Peter and Zoe…

was she bored?

Then Alice receives an email offering her to be part of a n online Marriage study.  Alice fills out the basic information and within a few days discovers she has been excepted into the study, and for the purposes of anonymity, she will now be known as Wife 22 for all correspondence.  She is assigned a case worker (Researcher 101) who will coach her through and question she has.  And the questions start coming in.

It’s almost like a double life.  While Alice on the outside appears to be still Alice, she is also Wife 22. As the questions continue Alice strikes up a side conversation with Researcher 101.  Before she knows it, Alice has questions of her own.  Questions that could change her family dynamics forever. 

 

 

Why did I want to read this book?  Curiosity.  By the synopsis, I knew I wanted to know more about this woman who is my age, and suddenly questioning her purpose. It sounded smart and it sounded funny.

Wife 22 is written much like the Bridget Jones books were, except instead of Bridget writing to her diary, Alice is answering questions about her marriage and chatting with Researcher 101.  the book created some realistic scenarios.  Job trouble. worrying about your kids, using the internet, in this case Facebook for escapes… 

When the questions are presented, all we as the reader see are the answers to the questions, not the questions themselves.  Some, by the way they are answered, you can guess what the question probably was… others I had no idea… and some just cracked me up by Alice’s response.  What I didn’t know until the end, was that the actual questions are listed in the back of the book which made it fun to peek through the book again, and think how I would answer them. 

Written mainly in the conversations between Researcher 101 and answers to questions, the book moves fairly quickly.  If you are looking for a book to take to the beach or for sitting with on your deck as I did, summer is a perfect time to sit back and enjoy Wife 22. 

 

 

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

 

This book was sent to me for review by Big Honcho Media

Long Gone By Alafair Burke

Published on by Sheila (Book Journey)12 Comments

Alice Humphrey really could have it all.  After all her father was the famous award winning director, Frank Humphrey.  Alice knew that life wasn’t for her and had insisted that she make it on her own.  After months of struggling financially she can not believe her luck when while visiting an art gallery, she meets Drew Campbell who offers her a job as a new gallery manager.  The owner who chooses to remain anonymous, will leave the details up to Alice, and it will be as though Alice owns the gallery herself!

There is one tiny catch….

At the opening of this new gallery this mysterious owner wants only one artist to be featured and promoted.  Once this artists run is up, Alice is open to choose any other artists to feature in the gallery.  The artist Alice must represent has some pretty far our unpleasant art pieces.  Alice just continues to remind herself that this is only for a time and then she can make the gallery more to her liking… and hey, the paychecks are coming in!

But a group of protesters against the art set Alice’s nerves on edge, and then finding the gallery emptied to the bare bones and Drew’s body in the gallery the morning after the protesters is impossible to wrap her mind around.  Who would do such a thing? 

When the police are involved, Alice soon discovers that Drew is not who he says he was.  And now the art that was displayed and the gallery itself seem to be tied to a missing girl.  When pictures turn up of a woman who looks like Alice in compromising acts, Alice knows she has been set up.  To save herself from being put behind bars she has to get to the bottom of this twisted area of her life.  Who is this girl and how is she tied to the gallery?  As she works to find answers Alice begins to discover long hidden secrets within her own family – secrets that could get her killed.

Why did I want to read this?  The synopsis is fascinating… a mysterious job offer, a murder centered around an art gallery and a protagonist who comes from a life of plenty but chooses to make her own way.  It is funny how those family ties no matter how hard we try to distance ourselves in some cases, can come back when we least expect it.

Long Gone is definitely a page turner.  There is no long drawn out front story to this book – instead we jump into the gallery job offer and things spiral into action from there, which I like it when a book gets to the point.  I liked Alice, she felt real.  I was surprised that the missing girl was not a bigger part of the story.  While that story line hovers around the edges of the book, a small part about it in the beginning and then a few sprinkles throughout the read, it is really more about Alice. 

As you get to the end it all starts coming together and meshes into a fantastic climax.  As I think about the lack of information about the missing girl I can not help but wonder if that was not the author being strategic… after all the girl is missing… it could make sense that she does hover – almost ghost like and not quite there, throughout the read.

Lovers of great suspense and good fast action should definitely check this book out.

Amazon Rating

Goodreads Review

Thank you to TLC book tours for letting me solve the crime with Alice!