Book Review – Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge (ARC)

Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge (Book 2)
Written By: Donna Lea Simpson
Published By: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Date: August 2009
Pages: 368
Format: Mass Market Paperback
ISBN: 978-1402217920
(*Publication has been delayed…future publication date unknown*)

“Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge is a lightly romantic, adventure-filled historical romance.”

Product Description - Back of the book
“A FASCINATING AND EXASPERATING YOUNG LADY…
After the Marquess of Darkefell offers her the most inopportune marriage proposal, Lady Anne Addison flees to the Cornwall coast for a bit of sun and rest. But the place is anything but restful, with smugglers on the beaches, ghostly apparitions in the night, and the obsessively passionate marquess in hot pursuit of her…
A COMPELLING AND MASTERFUL MAN…
Even if she doesn’t want his help, Lord Darkefell is determined to assist Lady Anne in uncovering the secret of the mysterious-and apparently dangerous-goings-on. When a murder takes place, Darkefell is the prime suspect, and now he needs her help even more then she needs his…”

Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge is the continuing story of Lady Anne, as she tries to distance herself from Marquess of Darkefell and ends up in more trouble then she’d bargained for. The Marquess is darkly handsome and very intense; his devotion to Lady Anne, though sometimes misguided, is very sincere and heartwarming. The story itself is fast-paced, has some interesting plot twists full of intrigue and a sprinkling of g-rated romance. I found many of the names of the people and places just a little bit silly; it seemed to me anyhow, that many of the names were just random one-syllable words mashed together. This is book 2 of 3 in a series (as far as I can tell) and it is different from many traditional Romance formats in that the relationship between these two strong-willed characters takes place over the 3-book span; there isn’t a conclusion to their relationship until book 3 (at least I hope it ends there). This particular format isn’t my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be yours.
I recommend this book for readers who are looking for a historical romance that is heavy on adventure and light on the romantic.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Author’s Profile:
http://bookblogs.ning.com/profile/DonnaLeaSimpson

Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.sourcebooks.com/

A special thanks to Sourcebooks Inc. for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – Frenchman’s Creek

Frenchman’s Creek
Written By: Daphne du Maurier
Published By: Sourcebooks Landmark an Imprint of Sourcebooks Inc., 2009 (Originally Published in 1941), 284 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-1402217104

“Frenchman’s Creek starts out slowly but quickly picks up speed; a story of a spoiled english woman who craves freedom, love and adventure.”

Product Description – From Amazon.com
“Jaded by the numbing politeness of Restoration London, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape.
But when chance leads her to meet a French pirate, hidden within Cornwall’s shadowy forests, Dona discovers that her passions and thirst for adventure have never been more aroused. Together, they embark upon a quest rife with danger and glory, one which bestows upon Dona the ultimate choice: sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him.”

Frenchman’s Creek started out rather slowly. Instead of making me pity the Lady Dona St. Columb, I rather disliked her at the beginning of the story. Perhaps the author intends for the reader to make the emotional journey with Dona as she changes and explores her freedom and that’s exactly what I did. With lyrical prose, this smoothly-flowing story will take you along on some wild adventures and dangerous escapades full of adrenaline and G-rated romance. Though I found Dona to be spoiled and self centered, there was a part of me that could identify with her need to escape, especially when you consider the time in which she lived; women were repressed and usually had to follow the rule of their husbands regardless of their own hopes and desires. Dona however, was able to work around some of these constraints because of her lenient and somewhat careless husband. When Dona arrives at Navron House with only her two children and their nanny, she is looking for peace and serenity; a break from the stench and artificial decorum of London. When Dona finds strange inconsistencies with her hired help and other odd items around the home, she begins to explore the grounds of Navron House with purpose; searching for an adventure that she feels unlikely to find. Dona and a French Pirate meet and begin a whorl wind friendship that shows Dona how to be “real” and how to feel alive for the first time in her life; her thirst for adventure is whet as she spends more and more time with the Pirate. As danger and intrigue swirls and time starts to catch up with them, what will Dona do? Can she go back to her tedious, dull life as a mother and wife or will she throw caution to the wind and embrace a life of exhilaration and independence?
I recommend this book.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Author’s website:
http://www.dumaurier.org/
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.sourcebooks.com/

A special thanks to Sourcebooks for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – The Angry Smile

The Angry Smile,
The Psychology of Passive-Aggressive Behavior in Families, Schools, and Workplaces
Written By: Jody E. Long, Nicholas J. Long and Signe Whitson
Published By: PRO-ED Inc., 2008, Second Edition, 166 pages, perfect paperback
ISBN 978-1416404231

“The Angry Smile is an excellent reference tool that is insightful, accurate and very informative; it examines passive-aggression like never before.”

Product Description – From PRO-ED Inc.
“Learn the Powerful Skills of Benign Confrontation!
Step 1: Recognize the patterns of passive-aggressive behavior
Step 2: Refuse to engage in the Passive-Aggressive Conflict Cycle
Step 3: Affirm the anger
Step 4: Mange the denial
Step 5: Revisit the thought
Step 6: Identify areas of competence
What is passive-aggressive behavior? The authors of this three-part book have studied the psychology of this behavior for over four decades in both clinical and educational settings. They offer real-world examples and empowering, practical strategies for working with or when confronted with individuals who exhibit any of the five levels of passive aggressiveness.”

The Angry Smile is a fantastic resource for Psychologists, Behavioural Therapists, Counsellors, teachers, spouses and parents who have to deal with passive-aggressive children, teens and adults. This edition is useful and very easy to understand; with in-depth, carefully researched and documented studies that explain the progression of passive-aggressive behavior in children and adults, and it gets right to the point. At the end of each chapter there is a brief summary that sums up the topics that were discussed. Included in the second edition are: real life case-studies and examples, charts, diagrams, an appendix and a list of references. At times I found the content a little dry and I wouldn’t suggest this book to anyone who is looking for some light reading material. While reading this book you might be surprised by how many of these behaviors you have witnessed within your own family or in the workplace; this book will educate you and suggest some coping mechanisms to use while dealing with passive aggressive people.
I recommend this book to those who work in a professional capacity and to everyone who wants to understand more about passive-aggression.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.proedinc.com/Customer/default.aspx

A special thanks to Bostick Communications for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – Private Pleasures

Private Pleasures
Written By: Bertrice Small
Published By: New American Library a division of Penguin Group Inc., 2004, First Edition, 266 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-0451212030

“Private Pleasures is a vibrant, fast-paced story full of explicit eroticism; this book is not for the faint of heart!”

Product Description – Amazon.com
“Nora Buckley’s worst nightmare has just come true. After years of being a devoted, dutiful housewife, she’s found out her husband is leaving her for a younger woman. Her only comfort comes from her friends-the women of Ansley Court, who meet every Monday morning for coffee and gossip.
Seeing Nora’s desperation, her friends decide it’s time to let her in on their delicious and dirty little secret. It’s called The Channel… and it lets every woman unleash passions beyond her wildest dreams. Suddenly Nora is living out her most intimate and sensuous fantasies- and before long, she realizes she can have everything she ever wanted…”

Private Pleasures is filled with promise, but it did not satisfy as I had hoped. I will start with The Channel; it is an absolutely fabulous idea and the Author has really outdone herself! With this inventive escape, Nora and her friends are able to live out their most secret, intimate fantasies. Just imagine the possibilities in real life?  It’s every woman’s dream come true!
I think that some of the difficulty I had with this book was how deep the Author takes the fantasies and how dissimilar certain parts are from what I would call erotic and arousing. I really enjoyed the ‘outside The Channel’ part of the story and I was very happy to see Nora standing up for herself. At several points in the storyline though, I felt a disconnection from the book; I lost interest for a few pages. I understand that it is Nora’s dream world and her own private settings, but I was a little grossed-out by some of the sex-play. Some of the love scenes are very erotic, filled with incredible sexual tension and spicy lovemaking, while other love scenes are somewhat cheesy and reminiscent of a poorly written porn video. There are 3 more books in The Channel erotica series and I have high hopes for them; I’m looking forward to some variation and some other types of sexual experimentation. It was an interesting read and eye-opening too. I encourage you to pick up a copy to read if you are into some varied and graphic erotica that breaks boundaries and makes no apologies.
**If you don’t want to read any potential spoilers, please don’t read past this point in the review!**
I was really turned-off by the anal play and anal sex…not that there is anything wrong with it, it just isn’t something that I find sexy or arousing. The man on man action was a little icky too; yes, it’s another thing that doesn’t appeal to me, sad to say.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Author’s Website:
http://www.bertricesmall.net/
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://us.penguingroup.com/

A special thanks to Penguin Group (USA) for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – I Like You

I Like You,
Hospitality Under the Influence
Written By: Amy Sedaris
Published By: Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group USA Inc., 2008, First Edition, 304 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-0446696777

“I Like You is an outlandish cookbook with lots of recipes, zany entertaining ideas and heaps of unique pictures.”

I Like You is NOT an everyday, run-of-the-mill cookbook and entertaining guide. This book contains more then 200 interesting recipes and some very unique thoughts and ideas on how to amuse guests of all kinds. I was a little overwhelmed with the scrapbook-type layout and I was hoping for something a little easier on the eyes. This cookbook is full of old-fashioned photographs, but I found that the photographs overpowered the typed recipes and craft ideas. This book is geared towards women, though some men might enjoy the recipes and other parts of this book. I feel that this cookbook will likely spend more time as an entertaining coffee-table book, rather then being in the kitchen with the rest of the cookbooks; this is probably what the author has intended, all along. I will admit to laughing out loud at some of the crazy pictures and the little conversations that the Author has with the reader, but over all I would say that this book is not what I was hoping for.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Author’s website:
http://www.amysedarisrocks.com/
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/

A special thanks to Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review – Border Moonlight (ARC)

Border Moonlight
Written By: Amanda Scott
Published By: Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, 2009, First Edition, 432 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-0446541350
(Available NOW!)

“Border Moonlight is an interesting and historically-rich, border romance novel”

Product Description - From Amazon.com
“Lady Sibylla Cavers is ripe for marriage, yet she’s rejected the first three suitors her father brought. When one of these suitors, the dashing Lord Simon Murray, rescues both Lady Sibylla and the small child she was trying to pull from the churning River Tweed, Sibylla begins to see Lord Simon in a new light. As he cares for her and the child until both are recovered from their near-deaths, she finds admirable – even lovable – qualities in Lord Simon. But political intrigue surrounding the powerful governor of Scotland will throw obstacles in the path if Simon’s and Sibylla’s budding love. Simon will fight for his inherited estate, while Sibylla will use all of her wits to protect their future together.”

Border Moonlight is a historical romance novel that gives you a fairly realistic sense of border life. The Author’s attention to detail and the authenticity of the time period is a nice treat. I have to admit that the use of Scottish some language and their way of speaking is a significant interruption to the flow of the story and I found it necessary to stop frequently and re-read sentences so that I could figure out a particular word’s meaning. The pacing is fairly good, other then the ‘language’ issue. The characters are very likable and well developed. I really enjoyed the interactions between Sibylla and Simon, they are a feisty couple.
I would have liked this book to have had a more romantic feel and I really think that the author could have marketed this book, with a little more development, as historical fiction, not as a historical romance novel. 

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it
 

Link to the Author’s website:
http://home.att.net/~amandascott/

Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/

A special thanks to Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy to review.

Copyright ©  Book Reviews By Bobbie — Bobbie Crawford-McCoy

Book Review of ‘Rage, The True Story of a Sibling Murder’

Wednesday, September 3, 2008 – original post

Rage,
The True Story of a Sibling Murder
Written By: Jerry Langton
Published By: Wiley, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd., Mississauga, Ontario, 1st Ed., 2008, 179 pages, softcover
ISBN 978-0470154410

“Rage, The True Story of a Sibling Murder is a grisly account of how untreated mental problems, caustic outside influences and lack of supervision can lead to murder.”

Johnathon Madden was a fun, boisterous and active 12 year old boy. Like many other boys his age he loved sports, throwing snowballs, playing video games and hanging out with friends. Despite Johnathon’s cheerful external appearance, he knew dark secrets within his own home that had him living in fear of his older brother.
Johnathon’s older brother Kevin was 16 and very big for his age. Kevin had a long history of violence, mental issues and a major problem with authority. Having failed two grades and been kicked out of many schools because of his behavioural problems, Kevin was on the raged-edge and had lots of hatred and violence building in his 250 lb. frame.
On the evening of November 25th 2003, Johnathon was heading home to get a roll of quarters so he could go back to the cyber café and play some video games with his buddy. Because he shared a room with is older brother, Johnathon had to endure repeated and frequent beatings in his daily life.
On this particular chilly evening in November, Johnathon would make his very last, lonely walk home.

Rage, The True Story of a Sibling Murder is a genuine account of siblicide in Toronto, Ontario. This book has opened my eyes a lot and made me thankful that I am quite vigilant with watching over my family and taking care of issues until they are resolved.
I recommend this book to read, but there are points in the book, where descriptions of the murder, number of wounds, etc. that are extremely graphic, but necessary all the same.
As a parent myself, I wonder how Kevin, an older brother who was a ticking time bomb and an obvious psychopath, could be left alone with his younger, smaller brother…I simply can’t fathom it.
Rest in Peace Johnathon Robert Madden, you poor little sweetheart.

♦♦♦♦♦♦ (6 out of 10 Diamonds) – I enjoyed it

 
Link to Memorial Website set up for Johnathon by his mother:
http://www.johnathon-madden.memory-of.com/About.aspx
Link to the Publisher’s Website:
http://ca.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-300012.html
This book courtesy of Mini Book Expo.com:
http://www.minibookexpo.com/