Reader Views

Toast With Jelly

Pam’s life has never been easy. Having lost her father early in life, she was then repeatedly raped by her stepfather as a child. It then came as no surprise that, when old enough, she got involved in a sexual relationship with a woman, having lost her trust in men a long time ago. But life did not get much more merciful with her. Caught in a dead-end waitressing job, mostly due to her refusal to be close to her mother, both her personal and her work life are getting less and less pleasant. Her live-in-lover, Faina, is getting moodier and moodier. As for Faina being faithful, it seems that not being lonely ranks way higher on Faina’s list than being faithful. Then Pam meets Darryl, a strangely appealing young man, and starts a whirlwind romance with him. She also gets a different job, which is way better paid, but also way more detrimental to Pam’s sanity and safety. Dealing with her confused sexuality, perennial lack of luck (can you say beating, betrayal, rape and more?) and unresolved feelings towards her badly messed-up mother, Pam is caught in an ill-fated quest for her true self, love, respect and a safe harbor.

E. F. Sheehan’s "Toast With Jelly" is a heart-breakingly sad and scary book. Deeply touching, with a fluid, fast moving storyline that is both relevant and contemporary, dealing with one woman’s pursuit of happiness and her perennial sexual confusion, this is a book without any heroes, just victims and villains. While I cannot say I got particularly emotionally close to any of the characters, I have to say that they were believable, realistic and three-dimensional. E. F. Sheehan’s writing is honest and oftentimes raw, always vivid and hard-hitting. Pam’s utter confusion is tangible, if not completely understandable to me. While I can clearly understand the desire to pile all the ills of the world upon Pam, a part of me was begging for a break for this unfortunate victim of pitiless, clearly male-dominated world. It was just really hard to see the "heroine," who’s anything but heroic, go from a lackluster existence to incredible, nightmarish depths of misery and self-loathing. If this book was written as a catharsis, I sure hope it helped E. F. Sheehan.

If you do not shy from raw and bleak facets of life, if you are accepting of the "alternative" lifestyles and if a happy ending is not a requirement for you to enjoy a book, pick up E. F. Sheehan’s "Toast With Jelly" and get ready for an emotional, dramatic and profoundly genuine book.

Toast With Jelly
E. F. Sheehan
Raular Publishing (2009)
ISBN 9780982056219
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (5/09)

Border Lass

The year is 1389, and Amalie Murray is adamant about never getting married, especially when her family tries to force her into wedding someone who is a total jerk – for political purposes. She finds herself attracted to a knight, Sir Garth Napier, but even then, she doesn’t want to get married. Garth is very attracted to her as well. He is a good man with plenty of integrity. Unlike her unwanted suitor, Garth treats Amalie with respect.

Court intrigue draws the two closer together. There are some very suspicious deaths that put Amalie’s own well-being in danger. Garth finds himself wanting to protect her. Amalie is pretty independent, and has some ideas of her own. This keeps Garth on his toes.

When circumstances force the two to take drastic measures to keep Amalie from being forced into marriage, they really realize how special their connection is to each other. Garth also discovers Amalie’s secrets and why she felt she couldn’t marry. They bond even more, but still have to overcome the treachery that surrounds them.

"Border Lass" was a fun Scottish historical romance. Amanda Scott does an excellent job of drawing you into the Scottish lands as you would imagine them to be in the late 1300s. She brings the characters to life and gives them depth. The politics and intrigue add a great deal of drama and suspense to the story. Historical romance readers should not miss out on this one!

Border Lass
Amanda Scott
Forever (2008)
ISBN 9780446197991
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/09)

Extraordinary Will

It is one week before Brandy Miller’s wedding. However, before she walks down the aisle, she goes off to confront some painful memories and to relive how her impending marriage came to be. The story begins when Brandy is nineteen-years-old. Her life has been somewhat difficult since her father’s death. The family is poor and she works at a job she hates to help with the expenses while she also attends community college. One day she sees a "help wanted" ad in the newspaper for an executive assistant at a real estate office and on a whim decides to apply. Her life soon begins to improve because she is hired for the job and upon leaving the office she encounters a handsome man named Will Cooke and they experience love at first sight. As she grows closer to Will, she begins to notice some things about him that do not add up. When she finally learns Will’s secret, Brandy feels betrayed and must decide if she can trust him.

"Extraordinary Will" is a sad but inspiring story. I enjoyed watching Brandy blossom from a shy and insecure person into one who found the courage to remain strong when circumstances in her life were bleak. This book reveals the true meaning of love and the importance of families standing by each other during trying times. Brandy and Will always wanted the best for each other, even if it meant he or she had to make personal sacrifices. Many people would have abandoned such a relationship because of the difficulties involved, but they chose to support each other.

One issue I did not care for was how Brandy was constantly making jokes about how she was only with Will because of his money. I know it was meant to show Brandy’s insecurity about her background, but it was used too much throughout the book.

"Extraordinary Will" by Trish Edmisten will appeal mostly to female readers. They will experience an emotional roller coaster ride as Brandy and Will venture through life’s ups and downs. They provide a good example of how people should treat others with dignity and respect and to always be there to lend a hand when needed.

Extraordinary Will
Trish Edmisten
Outskirts Press (2008)
ISBN 9781432721381
Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (1/09)

Pocket Piece Cameo: A Love Story

I have always been a sucker for real romance. Not today’s "hook up" or that hot-and-heavy type you get from the curled-edge paperbacks in the lounge, but real melt-your-heart and make-you-tingle-all-over romance. Rob Costelloe has created, in "Pocket Piece Cameo," a true romance that will leave you with a smile on your face.

Hailing from a small town in Pennsylvania, Blake has an idyllic childhood life. He has parents who cherish him, a timeless grandmother with whom he shares a special bond, and many neighboring friends. Next door he has Denise, a beautiful playmate that, even as a youngster, is not the most pleasant of companions. Blake, totally blinded of her many faults, caters to her every whim. He does indeed cherish the ground she walks on but feels he could never be her true love due to the fact that he is husky. As a 12-year-old Blake knows what he wants out of life and feels you should be searching for that "one" you can share forever with instead of just testing the waters as you grow.

As much as Blake dreams of falling in love, Allison is guiding her life in the opposite direction. From the age of ten, she has suffered from seizures making her feel insecure. She lives her life with eyes set for the future, but instead of dreaming of white picket fences, she has a career in mind.

Blake finds his love in the younger sister of a school friend and embarks on a love affair that seems to be one that could withstand anything. Blake and Jill must hide their relationship due to her young age and her parent’s inability to understand that, regardless of age, their daughter has fallen in love. Blake confides his love to Denise, looking for support, but Denise is only concerned about her own happiness. Denise has ensnared Blake’s best friend, Bryan, as her boyfriend, smoothing the waters until the day Jill’s family leaves town.

Heartbroken, Blake turns to his friends again for support. The trio, Blake, Denise, and Bryan head off to college where Blake and Allison cross paths. The two help each other recover from the torture that fills their heart. Will it be true love forever or do the stars have more in store for Blake?

"Pocket Piece Cameo" puts Rob Costelloe on the list for true romance authors. I couldn’t put this beautiful piece of fiction down. From cover to cover you will be drawn into the lives of the characters, and as they grow, see the progression of love.

Pocket Piece Cameo: A Love Story
Rob Costelloe
Saga Books (2008)
ISBN 9781897512203
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (12/08)

Treasures in Clay Vessels

The breathtaking cover of "Treasures in Clay Vessels" had me wishing I were the one standing beside the beautiful lighthouse on the shore gazing out at the rolling sea. The breathtaking story inside the cover made me again believe in the good in mankind and the inner courage that is in all of us waiting to surface.

Nellie had a very wonderful life as a child - loving parents, sibling, and an aunt that loved her more than anything. Then, within a few short cherished years, her entire life spiraled out of control. Losing everyone she loves and alone in the world, Nellie must learn to face challenge after challenge. Raised in foster home after foster home, Nellie finally finds somewhere she can feel safe in and begin to trust. This trust is short-lived. You sometimes wonder if life can get any worse; it can, drastically.

Alone and struggling to rebuild her life, as an adult Nellie opens Aunt Nell’s Antique Boutique. Each day in the boutique she faces new challenges that give her an inner pleasure that makes her feel connected to those she lost. Her life is going beautifully until she meets the esteemed Henry J. Lewiston, a Biblical Archeologist. This meeting makes her realize, all the more, that her life is not complete and with his help she embarks on a life of wonders. Could all of the hurt of her past make her miss out on the opportunity of love?

This inspirational journey of faith in God, and faith in mankind, is beautifully written. A simple woman has a life of awe. The human vessel is so much more that the outer shell; it is the clay that binds the vessel that holds all of the beauty. "Treasures in Clay Vessels" by Angela T. Pisaturo will give you a vivid glimpse inside the soul of one remarkable vessel.

Treasures in Clay Vessels
Angela T. Pisaturo
Xulon Press (2008)
ISBN 9781606478219
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (11/08)

Flint: A Novel

The fertile, lush green garden and tranquil blue clouded sky give you a feeling of peace and beauty when you look at the cover of "Flint." The peace is short lived once you open the book.

Great-Aunt Honey and Onri make quite a pair. Honey is the quirky aunt everyone longs for and Onri is a lost music teacher who has yet to decide what she wants out of life. Onri comes to visit Honey and the two decide it would be a good idea if she stayed for a year to figure out what she wants to do for the rest of her life and exactly where she wants to live. Aunt Honey has her own agenda. She wants Onri to meet and fall in love with Gordon Flint. Gordon is the prosperous town citizen who helps out Honey by buying her farm and letting her live on it and fixing everything she has that needs ‘a fixin. Most everyone in town loves him, and those who don’t….well they really, really don’t. Onri and Gordon meet and as predicted they fall head-over-heels in love almost at first sight.

The loving was predicted but the turmoil that followed was definitely not. Lori McCall is one evil bitch. She is the one in town who really, really does not like Gordon. Every man in town, except Gordon, is drooling at her feet and doing exactly what she says. Gordon is obviously smarter than most and is not entranced by the sexual McCall.

Life goes on through marriage, harvest, and murder, each day being another battle between Onri, Gordon and Lori. "Flint" is a salute to the farmers, the educators, and the small town life. A slow, pleasant, and gripping read, "Flint" by Maryann Davenport is one to savor and enjoy.

Flint: A Novel
Maryann Davenport
BookSurge Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781439211823
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (11/08)

Hungry for More

Was I dreaming? Some of my favorite things--reading, food, sex and Oprah all bound between the cover of a book. "Hungry for More" had me hooked within the first few pages. You should grab a smooth beverage, turn on the table lamp, curl up with a bit of Oprah, delectable food and some real heat, cooked up between one hot chef and a sexy mystical gypsy.

Of course the guy gets the girl; this is a romance novel after all, but you will become entranced from beginning to end with twists, turns, and multiple personalities. Beginning each chapter with a catchy food quote, you may need to have that bowl of chocolates nearby. (NOTE: dark chocolate goes very well with red wine)

Success-driven Chef James LaChance doesn’t really have any time for a relationship; he is too driven in the upscale restaurant business, so what is happening to him? Is he under the influence of the temptress Amy Burnes? Amy is a gypsy with a gift of being able to name a person’s one true love. To keep the power, she can never fall in love herself.

This coming weekend have a fine dinner out, curl up on the couch with this last book in the Burns sisters’ saga, "Hungry for More" by Diana Holquist, and enjoy the dilemma James and Amy find themselves in.

Hungry for More
Diana Holquist
Forever (2008)
ISBN 9780446197045
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (11/08)

Lori, Runaway Wife

"Lori, Runaway Wife" is a book that you can’t put down. Through Dmitriev’s excellent description of the characters and the scenes surrounding them, you can almost feel you are there.

Lori Becker is a battered wife. She never knows from one minute to the next when the attacks will occur or for what. But she does know what she needs to do to stop it.

As an intern in a hospital Lori is working at night when several ambulances roll up to the ER door. One patient is a pregnant, unmarried female who is with none other than the famous author Ian Damion. Francine, his companion, delivers a baby boy that night, but it will be a long time before she can see or bond with him. Ian is desperate, in shock, when Lori comes to his aid. The last thing he needs is an overly adoring fan drooling over him.

Ian frequently argues with his inner-child as he has been abandoned in the past, but something about Lori attracts him. She is secretly in love with his books and him. As Lori rushes home to her husband Boyd, she knows she is in big trouble for being late.

By stroke of luck, Mr. Damion asks her to leave with him and be his son’s nanny. What a perfect time as Lori needs to get as far away from Boyd as she can and this is her chance.

Follow Lori’s journey to a new and exciting world where abuse isn’t a part of her life. Be with her when she and Ian fall deeply in love and she has to confess something.

"Lori, Runaway Wife" is a book I would recommend to my Psychology students as it addresses domestic violence, and what an individual will do at all costs to escape it.

Lori, Runaway Wife
Valentine Dmitriev
PublishAmerica (2008)
ISBN 9781606721735
Reviewed by Carol Hoyer for Reader Views (11/08)

Uncharted Depths

In "Uncharted Depths," Trisha Reilly has returned to the small town where she was raised by the parents of her friends Jennifer and Braden after her family dies in a fire. Ostensibly, Trisha has come back to bury her aunt and then return to the life that she as built for herself as a private investigator; but while she’s in town Jennifer hires her to investigate mysterious letters that her brother Braden has been receiving. Braden is an ex-convict who fell in with a rich crowd and was accused of the murder of his lover’s wealthy husband, has been convicted and has already served the time. Braden says that he doesn’t want anyone snooping around in his past, but Trisha will stop at nothing to help a friend and the only man that she has ever loved.

Taylor Nash has a strong sense of story and she writes a compelling and suspenseful one. Her story is strongly plotted and supported by a relatable and sympathetic main character. Because I was able to connect with Trisha, and wanted to know how her story ends, I turned the pages to find out what was going to happen next. All of the elements of a successful suspenseful romance novel are present in this book: the mysterious ex-love with the shady past, the wholesome heroine with a heart of gold, their brief love affair that ended abruptly and left hurt feelings and misunderstandings, but there are several elements that have been overlooked or that the reader must look through for this to truly be a good book.

Trisha Reilly is a wonderful character; easily Nash’s best. She is warm and compassionate, she has a sense of humor, and you can tell that she has worked hard on herself to overcome what could have been obstacles and limitations and created a vibrant life and career. She still has doubts and issues she is working on, and I loved to see her confront those things throughout the novel. Nash is also very adept at writing the characters in action. The prose flows freely and it is very easy to see the action as the characters are talking and to understand their physical placement and environment.

My biggest complaints with the novel are the lack of description of the characters, the lack of development for the secondary characters, and some key elements going unexplained. I felt that I knew their types and had an idea of who they were, but I never had a real picture of any of the characters, including Trisha. They were tall, with hair or without hair, they were thin or fat; but I didn’t feel that I had enough to see what they looked like- what would distinguish them from others with similar physical characteristics. To some extent all the characters in the novel fit a type, but in the case of Trisha, she was so human and fleshed out that it was easy to see past that. Not so much with the others.

Uncharted Depths
Taylor Nash
Ida Kay Productions (2008)
ISBN 9781601455246
Reviewed by Nicole Bonia for Reader Views (9/08)

Wisconsin Brides: Time for a Miracle/Myles from Anywhere/Lonely in Longtree (Heartsong Novella Collection)

Travel with me as we travel to the Northwoods of Wisconsin! You will visit a most beautiful place with its natural beauty and many unique personalities and their old-fashioned ways. Minocqua, Wisconsin is a beautiful place to visit even if you only have the chance to visit this area through the pages of a splendid book.

"Wisconsin Brides" is historical fiction. To find love again in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is not easy. However, nothing is impossible with God.

First of all, you meet Violet Fairfield whose husband appears to have abandoned her with her three children. This is a sad situation; will God ever send an understanding man her way and open her heart? Next you’ll meet Beulah Fairfield. What can happen when you set your sights on someone other than who your parents want for you? Why would you ever settle for a higher hand rather than someone who is close to your same status? Could true love win out and convince the Fairfields that Beulah knows best what direction her life should take? Surely you have heard of mail-order brides; what about a mail-order husband -- could it work? Marva Obermeier is lonely and decides to take matters into her hands and into the newspaper. She has a two-year-long relationship with a man. Could it be that he is not the man he has made himself out to be during their correspondence?

Jill Stengl has truly captured the true beauty of the Wisconsin Northwoods and what can happen when God is involved in personal matters of the heart. She and her husband live in Wisconsin and she uses her knowledge of the beautiful area to bring it to life in her book. I live in Wisconsin and sincerely love the Minocqua area too. I enjoy having these three delightful stories all in one volume. I hope to read more Jill Stengl books soon. "Wisconsin Brides" is sure to be a treat for readers!

Wisconsin Brides
Jill Stengl
Barbour Publishing (2008)
ISBN 9781597899918
Reviewed by Lori Plach for Reader Views (9/08)