Articles

Aug 01 2016

Book Review: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

Author: Bibliowhore • Discussion: No Comments

IT ENDS WITH US

BY COLLEEN HOOVER

“Colleen Hoover reminds readers that love is a fragile thing, built from courage, hope, and tears. Every person with a heartbeat should read this book.”
– Kami Garcia, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Visit www.ItEndsWithUsBook.com for teasers, tour dates and more.

ABOUT IT ENDS WITH US:

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, but that’s never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She’s come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up—she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily’s life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He’s also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn’t hurt. Lily can’t get him out of her head. But Ryle’s complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his “no dating” rule, she can’t help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan—her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. Combining a captivating romance with a cast of all-too-human characters, It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, This Girl, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Ugly Love, Maybe Not, and Confess. She lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Please visit ColleenHoover.com

FIND COLLEEN ONLINE:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Book Review

*This was an ARC provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

Wow. I feel like I preface every Colleen Hoover review with that simple word yet it’s generally the best way I can describe how I feel immediately following my “CoHoma” (aka the Colleen Hoover induced haze/shock that immediately follows reading one of her books). This was super complex and deeply personal. I cried a lot of ugly tears…mostly toward the latter part of the book, but definitely not surprising because her books always get to me somehow. I don’t know this woman, I’ve never met her, I know her the way most readers do, through her words and let me tell you if you follow anything about her, you’ll know just how kind and generous she seems. Reading this book made me feel as though I knew a deeper part of her and it may sound weird, but I saw some of the best in her through this one book. She manages to make you question everything you ever think you knew by simply making her characters so human. You fall in love with them, you take journeys with them, your heart is sometimes broken by their actions, but in the end you have a better understanding of not only them, but yourself. This is what It Ends With Us does to the reader, it allows you to not only engage in a wonderfully complex journey, but it also makes you do some soul searching.

I’ve followed her work since Slammed and have been an avid fan ever since, I go through the same process with every release…asking questions like, “is this my new Colleen favorite?” and then grunting or sighing because I know rating or ranking any of her work is pointless because everything she writes is golden. There has never been a bad Colleen Hoover book and I’m convinced there never will be. Her books are generally very poignant, thought provoking, usually witty and always ; her characters are perfectly flawed, they have depth and their stories generally shock you into a “CoHoma” (this is my new word and I’m sticking to it because her books are spellbinding). It Ends With Us is different in that it pushes limits, makes you question yourself and what decisions you would make if you were any of these characters. This isn’t very different from most of her books because she always shocks me, but her voice and the plot twists combined are completely unparalleled. This was a tough read in so many ways for me because it was so relatable. For many who pick this book up you might have been through something similar or chances are you know someone that has. You may have even judged, commented or witnessed something similar, regardless of the how, I’m betting that you will relate in some way. When you realize how easily black and white can turn to grey it is then that you will understand what it truly means to unravel the mystery that is a Colleen Hoover read. She finds a way to make even the most difficult situations real and creates a challenge for the reader by daring them to confront ugly truths or in this case naked truths.

Lily is an incredibly strong character that will both inspire and transform you. I’m afraid to say this was Colleen Hoover’s best work yet, but because of how personal it is I have to applaud her for sharing such a difficult yet brilliant story with her readers. There are a handful of books I’ve read with similar storylines and they’ve never gotten to me to this degree. I hate to be so vague, but this story is worth withholding the plot, the summary does not begin to explain what you will go through reading this, but it is worth every second. Although the end seems final and complete (and totally perfect) somehow I hope she somehow is inspired to continue this as a series or at least a novella. I hope you all will take a chance on this one it is probably on my top 5 best reads of all time and might be my favorite book published in 2016. This book is heavy at times, but if you pick up one book this year please please please let it be It Ends With Us. I promise you won’t regret it.

It Ends With Us releases Tuesday, August 2, 2016 (that’s right less than 24 hours) get your pre-orders in now and be sure to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed copy!

~ Happy Reading Lovelies ~

Grab your copy of IT ENDS WITH US:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | B-A-M | iBooks | IndieBound | Kobo | GooglePlay | Nook

IT ENDS WITH US

BY COLLEEN HOOVER

http://www.itendswithusbook.com/

Atria Books Paperback | 384 pages | ISBN: 9781501110368 | August 2, 2016 | $16.00

eBook: 384 pages | ISBN: 9781501110375 | $7.99

Now for the fun….the #ItEndsWithUs Contest!

Enter the Rafflecopter to win a signed copy of IT ENDS WITH US and a limited edition Everything’s Better in Boston magnet (trust us, you’ll get it after you read the book)! (3 prize bundles in total) Contest is open until August 26^th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don’t miss Colleen on tour for IT ENDS WITH US:

BOSTON, MA

Tuesday, August 2^nd

BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH

7:00 PM

279 Harvard Street

Brookline, MA 02446

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1765869680321385/

MADISON, NJ

Wednesday, August 3^rd

SHORT STORIES COMMUNITY BOOK HUB

7:00 PM

23 Main Street

Madison, NJ 07940

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1816436548588340/

NEW YORK, NY

Thursday, August 4^th

STRAND BOOK STORE

7:00 PM

828 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1266828406680888/

CINCINNATI, OH

Friday, August 5^th

JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS

7:00 PM

2692 Madison Road

Cincinnati, OH 45208

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/277088292641430/

CHICAGO, IL

Saturday, August 6^th

ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP

2:00 PM

Meiley-Swallow Hall

On the campus of North

Central College 31 S Ellsworth Street

Naperville, IL 60540

http://www.andersonsbookshop.com/

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/260878437616737/

LOS ANGELES, CA

Sunday, August 7^th

CHEVALIER’S BOOKS

6:30 PM

126 N. Larchmont Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90004

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/260712770964176/

PHOENIX, AZ

Monday, August 8^th

CHANGING HANDS BOOKSTORE

7:00 PM

6428 S. McClintock Drive

Tempe, AZ 85283

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1188482081195713/

HOUSTON, TX

Tuesday, August 9^th

BARNES & NOBLE – Town & Country

7:00 PM

12850 Memorial Drive

Houston, TX 77024

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1755063464713808/

DALLAS, TX

Wednesday, August 10^th
HALF PRICE BOOKS

7:00 PM
5803 E. Northwest Hwy
Dallas, TX 75231
www.halfpricebooks.com

RSVP and details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1714556692137769/

Apr 05 2016

NEW RELEASE: What I Told My Daughter by Nina Tassler

Author: Bibliowhore • Discussion: No Comments

What I Told My Daughter

Lessons from Leaders on Raising the Next Generation of Empowered Women

NINA TASSLER

with Cynthia Littleton

WHAT I TOLD MY DAUGHTER (Atria Books; on sale April 5, 2016) is a collection of timely and timeless wisdom for the next generation of empowered women, solicited and edited by former CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler, with journalist Cynthia Littleton. From Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Olympian Mia Hamm, from Oscar winners Whoopi Goldberg and Mary Steenburgen to women’s healthcare pioneer Dr. Susan Love, more than fifty of today’s achievers from all politics, science, business, the arts, sports, and public service offer reflections on the messages they have conveyed—or hope to convey—to their daughters about shaping their lives and bettering their world.

“Working on this book has been nothing less than a revelation for me,” Tassler writes. “I never fully appreciated the strength of the emotional and intellectual foundation provided by my mother’s teachings until the essays collected here gave me insights into the challenges that others have faced. The order of presentation in this book seeks to both accentuate that diversity and reinforce the universality of motherhood. Underneath the divisive labels that are often affixed to our jobs—working mom, tiger mom, helicopter mom, soccer mom, et. al.—we are all simply women trying to do our best to raise the next generation of empowered leaders….The common thread in all of these tales is the extra layer of responsibility that mothers have to guide their daughters to be empowered, to be confident and to make the right choices for them regardless of societal pressures.”

The essays cross ideological, class, and racial boundaries, emphasizing each woman’s singular experience, but also underscoring their commonalities. Many of the women of a trailblazing generation—such as Justice Ginsburg, United Farm Works co-founder Dolores Huerta, and U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi—write of the struggle to balance motherhood with career at a time when women had fewer choices. Whoopi Goldberg, model Beverly Johnson, and Dr. Marcia McNutt talk about how difficult it can be to allow your daughters to make their own choices—even when those choices are not the ones you yourself might make. Mia Hamm and Christine Baranski address persistence.

The contributors come from all walks of life—writers and activists, a rabbi, a rock star. Gloria Estefan writes of allowing her daughter to make her own spiritual discovery, while Pat Benatar recalls the rigors of trying to be a “normal” mother on the road. Brooke Shields talks of trying to protect her daughters from public scrutiny, only to unwittingly make things worse, while Debora Black, one of the first female police chiefs of an urban police force, teaches her daughter about danger, safety, and courage. A number of mother-daughter combinations have contributed—Nancy Pelosi and her documentarian daughter Alexandra, and physicians Karen Antman and Amy Antman Gelfand—as well as sisters, actress-director Joanna Kerns and Olympic athlete-broadcaster Donna de Varona. And Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards draws on the advice and example of her colorful, groundbreaking mother, the late Texas governor Ann Richards.

Indeed, the through-line of generations takes on great importance as many of these women have drawn on the examples and advice of their own mothers and grandmothers when pursuing their own successes and now imparting wisdom to their daughters. As Marie Osmond writes, “The wisdom my mother gave to me that I want to pass on to my four daughters is to know they always have the right to change their minds, especially when it comes to their personal happiness, whether it involves friendships, potential partners, and even career choices.”

A portion of the proceeds from WHAT I TOLD MY DAUGHTER will be donated to two organizations devoted to nurturing leadership skills in young women: Girls Inc. and the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign.

BUY IT NOW:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Simon & Schuster | BAM! | IndieBound

About the Author

Nina Tassler recently stepped down as the chairman of CBS Entertainment. She has nurtured some of the most popular shows in television, including The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, ER, and the critically acclaimed The Good Wife. She also helped shepherd the global phenomena CSI and NCIS to the screen. Tassler serves on the board for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation and is a member of the Board of Trustees for Boston University. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jerry Levine, and two children, Matthew and Alice.

Jan 19 2014

Love Water Memory Book Review

Author: Bibliowhore • Discussion: No Comments

Publisher: Gallery Books

Cover: Jae Song

Synopsis:

If you could do it all over again, would you still choose him?

At age thirty-nine, Lucie Walker has no choice but to start her life over when she comes to, up to her knees in the chilly San Francisco Bay, with no idea how she got there or who she is. Her memory loss is caused by an emotional trauma she knows nothing about, and only when handsome, quiet Grady Goodall arrives at the hospital does she learn she has a home, a career, and a wedding just two months away. What went wrong? Grady seems to care for her, but Lucie is no more sure of him than she is of anything. As she collects the clues of her past self, she unlocks the mystery of what happened to her. The painful secrets she uncovers could hold the key to her future—if she trusts her heart enough to guide her.

Review

Love Water Memory is an excellent read and I’ve discovered a new author in the process. This book is a bit different from my usual reads. It covers a wide range of issues, focusing primarily on mental illness and self discovery.

Lucie Walker experiences amnesia prompted by an initially unknown event — traumatic in nature. She can’t remember much about her life prior to being found knee deep in the San Francisco Bay waters. As she begins to unravel the mystery that is “Lucie” she finds out she has a fiancée — Grady Goodall. They begin working on Lucie’s recover, but soon also begin to work on rekindling their relationship. All Lucie is sure of is she feels a sense of comfort around Grady and this comfort is the closest feeling to love Lucie can imagine. She takes a chance and begins to rediscover who she was and who she is now. The differences are night and day.

Grady Goodall is everything a woman would want, but he has trouble expressing himself. His frustrations, his anger, his love, everything — he bottles his emotions. Lucie soon discovers that before the amnesia she behaved in a very similar fashion. She shared very little information about her past and rarely discussed her feelings. She was content with Grady’s companionship but the new Lucie was seeking a partner someone to share her feelings, someone she could trust. Her uncertainty of Grady’s feelings and bashfulness prevents them from moving into intimate territory but for most of the book the reader experiences what it’s like to love, lose and how things can be different when given a second chance at love.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt the ending fell a little short — mostly because I wanted more. I understood why it ended in that manner though which in a way made it perfect especially for the pace and tone of this book. There were a lot of beautiful parts. The dynamic between Grady and Lucie is interesting as well as the interactions with other characters. The book is told from three character perspectives and gives you a look at the person experiencing the illness as well as two others who are both affected by her diagnosis and recovery.

This book is thought provoking and carefully crafted, creating a beautiful and powerful love story while unearthing the mystery of mental illness and how it affects all involved. This book moves slowly at times, but I was never bored. It isn’t action packed, erotica or a book filled with cliché lines. It’s fresh and well written providing you the ability to think and reflect. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend this read to my women’s fiction/adult fiction/contemporary romance/chick lit fans.

About the Author

Jennie Shortridge has published five novels: Love Water Memory,When She Flew, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe,Eating Heaven, and Riding with the Queen. When not writing, teaching writing workshops, or volunteering with kids, Jennie stays busy as a founding member of Seattle7Writers.org, a collective of Northwest authors devoted both to raising funds for community literacy projects and to raising awareness of Northwest literature.

Blog | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sep 07 2013

Painted Boots by Mechelle Morrison Tour

Author: Bibliowhore • Discussion: No Comments

Synopsis

When her father drags her to a new life in Wyoming, Aspen Brand doesn’t expect to fall for a cowboy named Kyle Thacker—but she does. At seventeen, Aspen and Kyle share unexpected ground: guitar, running, physics. And guilt. Aspen blames herself for her mother’s car accident, while Kyle can’t find a way past his brother’s suicide.
On their first date they open up to each other, forging an unbreakable bond between them. But Kyle has spent two years living with a vicious secret—one his ex-girlfriend will do anything to protect—and sharing his truth with Aspen makes her a target. Now if Kyle is to be her love story, Aspen must first win the fight of her life.

Giveaway

Up for grabs:
2 Signed Copies of Painted Boots
3 ebook copies of Painted Boots

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OR link to the giveaway if you cannot post javascript: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NGE1MDEyNTkzNmEzMjcwYWY1N2NlODA1YWVlMmE3OjI1Mw==/

My Review

Painted Boots is a sweet book with some painstakingly frightening moments.

Aspen Brand’s father uproots their life and heads to Wyoming to start fresh after the loss of his wife, Maddy, Aspen’s mother. While Aspen is grieving her father also struggles with the loss of his beloved wife. He’s lost without her and navigating his role as a parent isn’t easy. He loves Aspen fiercely but it seems his wife was their anchor. She was the glue that held them together. Although this book has a beautiful romance. I loved the dynamic between the parents and the children. I would’ve liked to know more about the parents pasts and their own stories…perhaps in another book (hint hint Mechelle lol)

Aspen’s first day at her new school starts off on the wrong foot. She encounters a group of girls and acknowledges them kindly only to be met with sneers and rude comments. She notices Kyle Thacker immediately, she’s drawn to him and she wants to know more about him, but Em Harrelson, his ex girlfriend wants no part of it. She’s determined to keep Kyle at any cost and if she has anything to say about it Aspen won’t be on his radar. Em’s efforts borderline obsessive and downright terrifying at times. Kyle wants nothing to do with her but she won’t leave him alone. Kyle has a secret one he’s afraid to share with anyone, until Aspen. She has breathed life into his world again. He opens himself up to her and opens his heart but after sharing this secret he fears for her own safety.

This book covers a really serious topic but one that generally doesn’t get presented in such a harsh, violent manner — bullying. Em Harrelson is probably the meanest of the mean girls. She’s downright mental but Kyle and Aspen cling to one another as they open up and share their secrets hoping that Em will allow them a happy ever after. Aspen and Kyle’s story is inspiring and truly beautiful. I loved the honesty between these two. Their relationship, though they are young is a relationship many people search a lifetime for. It is a sweet story but their are some alarmingly violent moments that shake you to your core. I felt for Aspen and Kyle but I also felt for their parents. The parents who were so very supportive and loving throughout everything both their families had endured. This was a good read especially if you’re a fan of cowboys.

I’d recommend this book for those interested in mature Young Adult books.

*This book was an ARC provided to me for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.*

Buy Painted Boots for Kindle | Nook | Kobo | Paperback

About the Author

Mechelle Morrison loves language–she’s always wished she could speak and write them all. She lives for chocolate, lazy summer days, spontaneously funny things . . . and family. She’s sort of scared of dogs.

When she’s not reading or writing or wandering the world, she can be found in her backyard in Utah with her husband, their daughter and the bevy of quail that live behind their garage.

If she didn’t write she’d make stop-motion animation shorts. So she does that anyway.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Jul 01 2013

July BOTM

Author: Bibliowhore • Discussion: No Comments

One Pink Line by Dina Silver

Synopsis

“Can the love of a lifetime be forever changed by one pink line? Dina Silver’s tender, absorbing novel, One Pink Line, is the warmhearted, wry story of love, loss and family, as seen through the prism of one singular, spirited young couple who find themselves in a predicament that changes the course of their lives, and those closest to them. With heart, humor and compassion, this debut work of women’s fiction is certain to stir anyone who relishes a good laugh, can stand a good cry, and, above all believes in the redemptive power of love.

This unique, contemporary story gives readers a dual perspective. Sydney Shephard, a sweet-tempered, strong-natured college senior is young, in love with an exceptional man, and unexpectedly pregnant. Faced with a child she never planned for, she is forced to relay this news to her neurotic mother, relinquish her youth, and risk losing the love of her life. Then there’s Grace, a daughter, who believed she was a product of this great love, grows to realize her existence is not what she assumed, and is left with profound and puzzling questions about who she really is.

Spanning generations and every imaginable emotion, One Pink Line reveals how two points of view can be dramatically at odds, and perhaps ultimately reconciled. Simultaneously deeply felt and lighthearted, One Pink Line deftly mines how the choices we make are able to alter so many lives, and how doing the right thing and living honestly can bring unexpected, hard-won happiness. It’s a must-read for anyone who relishes a great love story, absorbing characters, and plenty of laughs along the way.”