Romance

Romance Author Jill Shalvis Talks “Alpha Males”

/ Linda / Leave a comment
Jill Shalvis

Jill Shalvis

New York Times and USA Today bestseller Jill Shalvis is the award winning author of over four dozen romance novels, including her sexy contemporary and award winning Lucky Harbor series.  Forever and a Day was one of Amazon’s Top Romances for 2012). She won a Rita for Simply Irresistible and is a 3-time National Readers Choice winner as well.  She also has one of the best author websites that includes her wonderfully entertaining and hilarious blog.  She posts everyday and it is well worth your time to check it out.

On October 16th, Ms. Shalvis was a guest contributor to the Huffington Post’s Book section with her list of her favorite “alpha males” in fiction.  Of course her number one alpha male is her husband, but her list includes some good picks.  How many do you agree with!

1.  Roarke – From JD Robb’s In Death series

2.  Jamie – Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

3.  Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4.  Hawk from Mystery Man by Kristen Ashley

5.  Wrath from Dark Lover by JR Ward

6.  Wolf from Mackenzie’s Mountain by Linda Howard

7.  Piers Yelverton from When Beauty Tamed The Beast by Eloisa James

8.  Archangel Raphael from Nalini Singh’s “Angel” series

9.  Nick Allegrezza from Truly Madly Yours by Rachel GIbson

10.  Ranger from Janet Evanovich’s “Stephanie Plum” series.

Today Show Book Club Picks Its Second Book

/ Linda / Leave a comment

The Today Show announced on October 16 their new selection for their book club, Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. 

In a triumphant return after fourteen years of silence, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is timely, tender, touching, page-turning, witty, wise, outrageous, and bloody hilarious.  Bridget Jones stumbles through the challenges of loss, single motherhood, tweeting, texting, technology,and rediscovering her sexuality.

Helen Fielding

Helen Fielding

The “Today” selections, chosen every four to five weeks, will have stickers on their covers indicating their inclusion in the club. The books, chosen by a team of producers and the show’s co-hosts, will include both fiction and nonfiction, newly released titles and classics. Discussion groups and excerpts will be featured online.

 

On Our Shelves: New Audiobooks

/ Louise / Leave a comment

Who says you can’t read and drive? Here are some new audiobooks available at CPL that can help liven up a dreary commute…

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood, read by Bernadette Dunne, Bob Walter and Robbie Daymond. The conclusion to the dystopian trilogy that includes Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood.  Months after the Waterless Flood pandemic has wiped out most of humanity, Toby and Ren have rescued their friend Amanda from the vicious Painballers. They return to the MaddAddamite cob house, accompanied by the Crakers, the gentle, quasihuman species engineered by the brilliant but deceased Crake. At the center of this novel is the extraordinary story of Zeb’s past, which involves a lost brother, a hidden murder, a bear, and a bizarre act of revenge.

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara, read by Arthur Morey , William Roberts, and Erin Yuen. In 1950, a young doctor signs on with an anthropologist for an expedition to a remote island in search of a rumored lost tribe. They succeed, finding not only that tribe but also a group of forest dwellers they dub ‘The Dreamers,’ who turn out to be fantastically long-lived but progressively more senile.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, read by Robert Glenister. A brilliant mystery in a classic vein: down-on-his-luck private detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel’s apparent suicide. The Cuckoo’s Calling is a crime fiction novel by J. K. Rowling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

Mistress by James Patterson and David Ellis, read by Kevin T. Collins. After the beautiful Diana Hotchkiss is found murdered outside her apartment, an obsessive man, Ben, discovers she was leading an illicit double life.

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton, read by Judy Kaye. Wasted lives, wasted time, and wasted opportunities are at the heart of this twenty-third entry in the long-running Kinsey Millhone series, which reveals how the deaths of two very different men impact Kinsey’s life.

True Love by Jude Devereaux, read by Tavia Gilbert.  Jude Devereaux launches the brand-new Nantucket Brides series. The story follows young Alix Madsen, a brokenhearted architect student, who unexpectedly becomes the owner of a quaint little Nantucket property, and she soon starts falling for the charming architect living in the guest house. But even with all the romance in the air, she becomes aware that Kingsley left the house to Alix in order to help solve an old family mystery.

Still Foolin’ ‘Em  : Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell are My Keys by Billy Crystal, read by Billy Crystal. Hilarious and heartfelt observations on aging from one of America’s favorite comedians as he turns 65, and a look back at a remarkable career.

 

Linda Reads: Deadline by Sandra Brown

/ Linda / Leave a comment
sandra

Sandra Brown

Sandra Brown is an award winning author of romance novels and suspense thrillers of which sixty have made it to the New York Times bestsellers list.

She is a lifelong Texan and attended Texas Christian University where she majored in English.  In 1968, she married her husband, Michael Brown, a former television news anchor.  Before starting her writing career in 1981, she worked as a model, did TV weather casting and was a feature reporter on “PM Magazine”.   Her episode on truTV’s “Murder by the Book” premiered the series in 2008 and she helped launch Investigation Discovery’s new series, “Hardcover Mysteries”.

Ms. Brown recently received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University.  She was name Thriller Master for 2008 – the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association.  She also received the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Deadlineis a mystery/thriller/romance that is well-written with a lot of twists and turns that keeps you thoroughly entertained.

Dawson Scott is a well-respected journalist recently returned from Afghanistan. Haunted by everything he experienced, he’s privately suffering from battle fatigue which is a threat to every aspect of his life. But then he gets a call from a source within the FBI. A new development has come to light in a story that began 40 years ago. It could be the BIG story of Dawson’s career one in which he has a vested interest.

Soon, Dawson is covering the disappearance and presumed murder of former Marine Jeremy Wesson, the biological son of the pair of terrorists who remain on the FBI’s Most Wanted list. As Dawson delves into the story, he finds himself developing feelings for Wesson’s ex-wife, Amelia, and her two young sons. But when Amelia’s nanny turns up dead, the case takes a stunning new turn, with Dawson himself becoming a suspect. Haunted by his own demons, Dawson takes up the chase for the notorious outlaws. . .and the secret, startling truth about himself.

A stimulating multi-layered story with great characters, sharp dialogue and a few surprises thrown in!

Sharon Reads: Splintered by A.G. Howard

/ Sharon Tyler / Leave a comment

[Cover]

Splintered

Splintered by A.G. Howard is a young adult novel that blends a girl’s search for herself, redemption for her mother, and the Alice in Wonderland story. Alyssa Gardner is said to share a curse of madness with her mother. This is because they are descendants of Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The curse has put her mother in a psychiatric facility with declining health, and Alyssa now shares some of the symptoms.  Alyssa comes to believe that Wonderland is real, and that she must fix her ancestor’s mistakes in order to free herself and her mother from the curse. Alyssa will face betrayal, tests of affection and memory, and her own belief in herself as she works to save her mother. Will she find love as she searches for the truth, or will she get lost in the dark and twisted world she only knows from childhood dreams.

Splintered is much more than a retelling of Lewis Carroll’s stories about Wonderland. It is an emotionally deep look at a girl lost in her efforts to turn away from a part of herself she wants to ignore. Alyssa has channeled all that she wants to ignore about herself into her art and skating, to things that her best friend, Jeb, and her father understand and support. She worries for her mother, and that she will end up just like her. Even teens with parents that seem perfectly normal to outsiders often have these fears. The family curse, and Alyssa’s discovery of its root origin, and he efforts to free her family are tightly woven with a mentor from Alyssa’s childhood dreams. Jeb’s accidental journey to join Alyssa could be a blessing or a curse, cementing their friendship to something more or destroying them both. Morpheus could be her greatest ally, a treacherous foe, out for only himself, or possibly all of the above. The journey through a Wonderland we might recognize from Carroll’s tales, is twisted and darker than expected, as are the characters we met. The character development and the story itself are fast paced, often take unexpected turns, and were perfectly explored.

I highly recommend Splintered to readers that want something that shakes up the preconceived notions we have about classic stories, and the worlds they involve. Readers that enjoy deep looks at the emotional state and development of characters facing huge problems on top of the normal stresses of school, social life, and family will also find great value in this book. The world of Wonderland is not rehashed, rather it goes beyond anything that readers might expect, as do the characters that enter its borders. the sequel, Unhinged, is scheduled for release in January of 2014. I gave this book a full 5 stars on Goodreads.

This review was previously published on Sharon the Librarian.