Review: A Woman of Fortune by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Product Description:
Texas socialite Claire Massey is living the dream. Her world is filled with designer clothes, luxury cars, and stunning homes. But her Neiman-Marcus lifestyle comes crashing down when her charming cattle broker husband is arrested for fraud. Suddenly, she finds herself facing attorneys, a media frenzy, and a trail of broken hearts. Betrayed and humiliated, Claire must start over against incredible odds to save her family--and discover a life worth living.

Poignant and emotionally gripping, A Woman of Fortune reveals the many ways we deceive ourselves and how resilience of the heart is essential to authentic living. Drawing on her experiences as a legal investigator, author Kellie Coates Gilbert delivers emotionally gripping plots and authentic characters. Readers will love Claire's unbending determination as she strives to keep her family from falling apart and learns to embrace the kind of fortune that lasts.

My Thoughts:
This one really sucked me in at the beginning. The prologue was so powerful that I just kept reading and reading until I got a little more than halfway. At that point I could clearly see what was coming and I lost a little interest. The characters were too shallow and their actions just seemed a little too overdone and I wasn't rooting for anyone anymore. The rest of the story from then on was just blah with an awkward ending. 

Overall I would still say that I did like it just not as much as the beginning made me thought I was going to love it. Being Christian fiction it was really light and a little change of pace for me but wasn't over the top religious. 

Recommendation: 
I recommend this for anyone who loves Christian romance. 

Review: A Woman of Fortune by Kellie Coates Gilbert

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/07/review-woman-of-fortune-by-kellie.html

Review: Witch Ball by Adele Elliott

Product Description:
Truly Moore loves to spend time with her Great Aunt Fleur, a larger than life, quirky old lady who makes a living selling magic charms. The townspeople know Fleur is “different”, a sin in this “Buckle of the Bible Belt”, and many suspect that Aunt Fleur is a witch. The serenity of the town is shattered by the murder of a respected high school track coach, and as the murder becomes more and more difficult to solve, a witch hunt begins. But not all demons have pointy horns and tails, and not all angels have wings. 

Witch Ball asks us to be careful who we deify, and who we vilify.


My Thoughts:
The main reason I didn't like Witch Ball was because I felt the story was a too choppy. There were major reveals that were just passed over like if nothing extraordinary just happened. When one plot point reveals a major family secret, Truly thinks to herself, "Mom must have thought I already knew this. I didn't." then the story rolls on like nothing shocking was just shared. 

In another chapter Truly learns the real story behind her parents marriage and instead of wanting to talk about it, after her mom finishes her story and says, "Let's go to bed. It's Sunday morning." the chapter ends. What?!? You can be darn sure that if that were my family I would be all over that story with questions. Maybe I'm just too curious?

There were a few more of these instances throughout the book that just had me shaking my head. 

My Recommendation:
I understand that this is a YA book but there is plenty of YA out there that is very enjoyable for adults and this isn't one of them. I do honestly feel that a teen would be able to overlook what I couldn't and they would possibly enjoy it more.

Review: Witch Ball by Adele Elliott

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/07/review-witch-ball-by-adele-elliott.html

Review: Inkslingers Ball by Sheila Lowe

Product Description:
A teenage girl, brutally murdered and left in a trash dumpster; a young man, killed in a firebombing attack; a soccer mom, shot in the living room of her home; vicious thugs whose job is to protect a suspected criminal. Just another week on rotation for LAPD detective Joel Jovanic...until he uncovers a connection between the disturbing series of vicious crimes and Annabelle Giordano, who is in the temporary custody of his soulmate, Claudia Rose. 

Annabelle is a troubled and traumatized teen who suffered the tragic loss of her mother and later witnessed the brutal murder of a beloved mentor. Neglected by a father who scarcely acknowledges her existence, it’s little wonder the girl makes some disastrous life choices. 

But she has one staunch ally in Claudia, a highly regarded forensic graphologist who digs into the darkest of human secrets through the study of handwriting. When Annabelle involves herself with a questionable tattoo artist she re-opens a door to the grim side of life and goes down a path that could get her killed. A distraught Claudia will do anything to save her, even if it means jeopardizing her relationship with Jovanic. 

My Thoughts:
After reading and loving the first three books in the series, I somehow missed the next two books but happily it didn't matter. Inkslingers Ball had the same familiar characters and even though aspects of the stories from the books I missed were referenced, I don't feel that I lost anything by not reading them. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to go back and greedily read every last word because I love a fresh, well planned mystery. 

What I also love about the book is that the characters have progressed. There's nothing more frustrating in a series than the characters doing the same things over again. I'm talking to you Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum)!  There's been growth for Annabelle and movement in the relationship between Claudia and Joel. It's perfect. 

My Recommendation:
I highly recommend series or even just this book for anyone who loves mysteries that are a step above cozies.  

Review: Inkslingers Ball by Sheila Lowe

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/07/review-inkslingers-ball-by-sheila-lowe.html

Review: The Wizard of Oz FAQ

Product Description:
The Wizard of Oz FAQ is a fact-filled celebration of the beloved 1939 fantasy masterpiece starring Judy Garland. Its all here from L. Frank Baum and his Oz novels to the complete background story of the movies conception, development, and shoot, with special attention given to the little-known parade of uncredited directors, casting difficulties, and on-set accidents and gaffes, as well as more than 75 sidebars devoted to key cast members, directors, and other behind-the-scenes personnel. You'll find a wealth of fun facts: How MGM overworked Judy Garland before, during, and after Oz; why director Victor Fleming had his hands full with the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy's other friends; what it was about Toto that really bothered Judy; the physical horrors of filming in Technicolor; the racial Oz gag that was scripted but never shot; when the Wicked Witch was going to be beautiful; why The Wizard of Oz owes a lot to silent-screen star Mary Pickford; the story of deleted scenes, and a full two weeks of shooting that had to be scrapped; why MGM star Mickey Rooney was part of the movies traveling publicity blitz; how the Wicked Witch was literally blown off her broomstick one day; the place where lions, tigers, and bears really do live together; singers you hear but never see; the day MGM fired Judy Garland; and much more. Just follow the yellow brick road!

My Thoughts: 
Thanks to my aunt Nora, my family has always been a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz so I was pretty excited to read this book and it didn't disappoint. The book included lots of well known facts like Margaret Hamilton getting burned and the tin man's makeup being toxic for Buddy Ebsen but I also learned lots of interesting tidbits like the fact that Toto was paid more than the munchkins, Jello was used to color the horses in the Emerald City, Shirley Temple was considered for Dorothy and that there were several different directors for the movie before Victor Fleming finished it. 

Some of the book tended to drag on in parts going on and on about other movies released by MGM around the same time and just an over load of names but overall I enjoyed reading these FAQ and look forward to watching the movie again with this extra knowledge. 

My Recommendation: 
I recommend this book to anyone who loves our cherished American classic, The Wizard of Oz.

Review: The Wizard of Oz FAQ

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/06/review-wizard-of-oz-faq.html

Review: Beauty by Frederick Dillen

Product Description:
As a corporate “undertaker” for a mergers and acquisitions firm in New York, Carol MacLean travels from factory to factory, firing blue-collar workers who remind her of her father and the kids she grew up with. She hates her job. But Carol has been biding her time: her boss has promised that one day, after she has paid her dues, Carol will get to run a company instead of having to bury it.

On what is supposed to be her last assignment, Carol travels up the coast of Massachusetts to a desperate fishing town where the late lobster and day boats cluster around the inner harbor, the blue steeples of the Portuguese church stand tall on the horizon, and the last remaining fish processing plant is in its death throes. That’s when she learns that she’s about to be fired.

To save the town and herself, Carol becomes determined to rescue the factory she’s under orders to shut down. With the help of the townspeople and a roughly charming local fisherman, and by the force of her own resolve, Carol throws herself into transforming the company—but is soon faced with increasingly difficult decisions. Must she choose between the job she has always wanted and everything else?

Beauty explores the ways in which one woman will risk everything—her savings, her reputation, and even a chance at love—in pursuit of her dream.

My Thoughts:

I really wanted to love Beauty. The premise that Carol goes from firing people and shutting down factories to pulling a small town together to run her own sounds like it would be an inspiring story but unfortunately Beauty was too confusing and unbelievable. 

While the writing was very descriptive sometimes it just became too much. It was almost as if Dillen was trying too hard and sentences made no sense until I read them several times. The storytelling also got very choppy at times. There were jumps from one scene to another that just didn't flow well and it confused me for a few lines. 

Then you have the story itself. It's way too over the top. (MINOR SPOILERS IN WHITE FONT - HIGHLIGHT TEXT TO READ) Within days Carol scrapes together hundreds of thousands of dollars from this small fishing community, that seems like they're barely scraping by themselves. Then she makes an obscene amount of money selling illegal fish, has an unlikely love story and the book finishes with an the over-the-top, too convenient ending. It was all too much for me and I finished the book unsatisfied.

My Recommendation: 
I personally wouldn't recommend this unless you're already a Dillen fan.

Review: Beauty by Frederick Dillen

https://www.readingwithmonie.com/2014/05/review-beauty-by-frederick-dillen.html