Review: PIVOT POINT by Kasie West (HarperTeen, 2013)

From Amazon:  Knowing the outcome doesn't always make a choice easier. . . .

Addison Coleman's life is one big "What if?" As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It's the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie's parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the "Norms," or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it's not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback's girlfriend. When Addie's father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she's unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she's willing to live through . . . and who she can't live without.

Review: WORKING IT OUT by Rachel Anderson (HEA Publishing, 2013)

From Rachel's Blog: 
A chance encounter . . . 
Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . . 
 Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.

Review: LONGING FOR HOME by Sarah M. Eden (Shadow Mountain, 2013)

From Shadow Mountain: Twenty-six-year-old Katie Macauley needs to convince the influential Joseph Archer to hold true to his word and keep her on his payroll as his housekeeper—despite her Irish roots. When Joseph agrees to keep Katie as his housekeeper, the feud between the Irish immigrants and frontiersmen in the 1870 Wyoming Territory erupts anew, and Katie becomes the reluctant figurehead of hope for the Irish townsfolk. As the violence escalates throughout the town, Katie must choose between the two men who have been vying for her love—though only one might be able to restore hope to her own heart.

Review: A MOST PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCE by Jen Turano (Bethany House, May 2013)

Publication Date: May 2013

From BakerPublishingGroup.com: Miss Arabella Beckett, defender of the down-trodden women of America, is returning from her travels in support of the women's suffrage movement when she makes a simple offer of assistance to a young woman in need. But things go sadly awry, and both ladies soon find themselves in dire need of rescue. Arabella, always loath to admit she needs help, is particularly reluctant to receive assistance from the arrogant, narrow-minded knight in shining armor who shows up just in time.

Private investigator extraordinaire Mr. Theodore Wilder is on an assignment that began as a favor to his good friend Hamilton Beckett, but swiftly evolved into a merry chase across the country. He is already in a less than pleasant mood, and when Hamilton's sister turns out to have radical ideas and a fiercely independent streak, he's at his wit's end. 

Much to their chagrin, Theodore and Arabella's paths continue to cross when they return home to New York, but the most unusual feelings beginning to grow between them certainly can't be anything serious. When the trouble Arabella accidentally stirred up in her travels follows her home and threatens her very life, the unlikely couple must face the possibility that they might have landed in the most peculiar circumstance of all: love.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Historical Romance

Length: 353 pgs

Rating:  *** (Liked it)

Review: I sort of hate myself for giving this a three stars. It was a pretty fun book and I enjoyed it. Had it been set in contemporary times I would have certainly given it four stars. I'm pretty open to non-realistic things happening in historical fiction. I'm a fan of absurd stuff. (Have you guys read A CONTEMPTIBLE AFFECTION or A LADY AND A SPY? Check out this review; she thinks the ending of ACA is absurd too... ;) ) And THE GRAND SOPHY is one of my favorite Georgette Heyer books and it's completely absurd. But...it has to be a least 75% based in fact for me to accept absurdity, and there were just too many characters doing too many unbelievable things. It seemed like a plot better suited for maybe somewhere in the West where manners and expectations would have been a lot more relaxed.

Okay, that aside, it was terribly fun with some really fun characters. I saw the word "madcap" used to describe it in a review, and it really fits. And all in all, I'm really a fan of madcap books. :D

Disclaimer: Nothing

Source: I was given an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Try this Do you like fun historical fiction? Read FRIENDS AND FOES by Sarah M. Eden

Check Out Some of Jen Turano's other books.

Review: RULES OF MURDER by Julianna Deering (Bethany House, Aug 2013)

Publication Date: August 2013

From BakerPublishingGroup.com: 

Introducing Drew Farthering 

From The Tip of his black Homburg to the crease in his stylish cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered. 

Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate. 

With the help of beautiful and whip-smart Madeline Parker, a guest from America, Drew proposes to use the lessons he's learned reading his mysteries to solve the crime. Before long, he realizes this is no lark, and no one at Farthering Place is who he or she appears to be--not the butler nor blackmailer, the chauffeur nor embezzler. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer--and trying harder to impress Madeline--Drew must decide how far to take this dangerous game.

Audience: Adult (Clean)

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Inspirational

Length: 336 pgs.

Rating: ***** (Loved It)

Review: YES. I have read quite a few books that Bethany House publishes and loved them. I can count on them to be good, clean fun. This one surprised me by how good it was! The best way I can think of to describe it was a cross between Georgette Heyer and Anne Perry Lite. So, so fun. Lots of great lines, lots of hilariousness, cute romance, and intriguing mystery. Awesome historical details and so well researched. I'm an absolute sucker for this time period. I raved to my mom (who loves both Gerogette Heyer and Anne Perry), telling her she needed to pick this one up as soon as it was available. You should too! And I'm thrilled that there will be many more Drew Farthering mysteries! (I will probably read every one produced.)

Check it out at the publisher's website.

Review: THE RELUCTANT BLOGGER by Ryan Rapier (Ceder Fort, Aug 2013)

Publication Date: August 2013

From Amazon: Blogging was the last thing Todd Landry expected his psychiatrist to recommend in dealing with his wife's death. But his aversion to therapy demands drastic measures, and Todd soon finds himself writing about his sometimes-humorous struggles with single parenthood, dating, and shattered expectations. With each blog entry, Todd lets his guard down and discovers that perhaps he can find love once again.

Audience: Adult (Clean)
Genre: LDS, Romance, General Fiction
Length: 432 pgs.

Rating: **+ (It was okay and some)

Review: I struggled with how to rate this one. I hate giving under 3 stars, but I also have to be honest about how I felt about this book. As an author myself, I know what  two-star rating feels like. Let's just say, it wasn't my kind of book and that's why, not because it's badly written. (I don't review badly written, one- or two-star books here. If I give a low rating, it's because of a personal preference, not because of writing.)
I read a lot of books from Cedar Fort and I picked out this one because it seemed like an interesting twist. Told in the form of blogs and from a guy's point-of-view. Which, the rating is not because of that. I think that the writer did a good job of telling it through blogs and I liked seeing a romance from a guy POV. I'm a fan of that. This book dealt with some heavy stuff, which, we all know, that's not really up my alley, so that might contribute to the lower rating. It did, however, move me. Seriously moved me to tears multiple times. It compelled me to the end, and I always think a book that does that is well written. I found a few things hard to believe. The MC had two best friends and between all three of them they each had MAJOR trials to work through pretty much at the same time, which doesn't seem realistic to me.

Check out Ryan Rapier's blog
Find more books from Cedar Fort.

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.