Book Review: Poet of the Wrong Generation by Lonnie Ostrow

Poet of the Wrong Generation 

by Lonnie Ostrow

Paperback: 470 pages
Publisher: Harmony River Press (November 10, 2016)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 2709 KB
Print Length: 455 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Harmony River Press (November 10, 2016)
Publication Date: November 10, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Lonnie Ostrow. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


My thoughts:

When this was first offered to me for review, I turned it down. The pitch email didn't really impress me mainly because I was enjoying reading my recently bought books. You know that feeling of a book blogger having new books bought in bulk lol so anyway the author sent me some marketing materials and saw the music video. Wow! It was really good, made me admit to the author I was wrong about saying no to him. The book also turned out sooo good, loved it so much!

I have so many good things to say about the book but I'll make this brief to avoid giving out spoilers. Poet of the Wrong Generation is an inspirational read about love, friendship and the ups and downs of life. I fell in love with the characters especially the main one, Johnny. He was just a simple guy who is into music and poems, happy and contented with his life. He never thought a nasty break-up would lead to his success in the music industry. The story is pretty well written and I liked that the dialogue felt authentic.

As for Megan, I can relate to her. Doing things she doesn't like/does not approve of, just to make other people happy. My heart ache for her, so heartbroken thinking about the choices she made that led to her unhappiness. 

I highly recommend this book, without a doubt, you'll enjoy reading this too!

About the book:

One of those rare novels that grabs you by the heartstrings and doesn't let go until the very last page.

Johnny Elias is a fictional rock star for the ages. His story of how he came to be inspired to write his songs is both heartbreaking and inspirational. Megan Price is the girl whose betrayal caused Johnny to pen the music that quickly becomes the soundtrack of a generation of music fans hungry for songwriting substance during the early 1990s.

Katherine Price is Megan's talented and cunning mother. She will stop at nothing to get her way, no matter who might be standing in her path. This is at the quintessential New York 1990s nostalgia trip. It's also an open love letter to the singer-songwriter greats of yesteryear. But best of all, it's a timeless love story of two tortured souls seeking redemption and lasting harmony.

Touching and original, this story will break your heart, uplift your soul and leave you shouting for an encore. The ultimate rock & roll love story.

Book Review: Loving Ellie by Lindsey Brookes

Loving Ellie

by Lindsey Brookes

Kindle Edition
File Size: 2349 KB
Print Length: 273 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1494785072
Publication Date: May 5, 2015
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Ratings: ★ ★ ★   

My thoughts:

Girl got pregnant by a friend.
Friend is Boy's younger brother.
Girl is broken, wants to give up baby for adoption. 
Boy wants to adopt the baby because baby is his only living relative.
Girl doesn't want Boy to adopt because she is broken. 

Too many emotions reading the story: good, sweet, intense to meh. It was good, a sweet story of finding true love the second time for  Lucas, first for Ellie. Points for Lucas for being caring, sweet, and how he loves his brother, he truly got me there. Meh, I was constantly bored and annoyed reading Ellie's struggle to accept people loving her. You know that kind of friend that's always so negative? *sigh* Her story is predictably monotonous. 

I survived 'Loving Ellie' because of Blaine and Victoria. I was deeply interested, so absorbed in their story that I actually forgot that the book is about Lucas and Ellie. I don't understand why the author can write excellent story for minor characters but not for the major ones? 


About the book:

Ellie Sanders is pregnant and alone. Carrying a child she’d conceived the one and only time she’d lain with her closest friend, Jarrett Tanner. A man she’d agreed to marry for the sake of their child. A man she’d loved, but not as he’d deserved. And now he was gone. 

Lucas Tanner returns home to settle his younger brother Jarrett’s estate only to discover his brother left behind a very pregnant fiancée. Having lost his own wife and their baby she’d been carrying years before, he’s bound and determined to stick around and make sure Ellie’s child makes it safely into the world. Even if it means facing the ghosts of his past. 

Struggling financially and emotionally, Ellie is torn between keeping her baby and giving it up for adoption. She wants to give her child the chance she never had - to be raised by two loving parents. If only she could make Lucas understand. And, if only she wasn’t falling for a man with no heart left to give. 

Lucas finds himself wanting more. Wanting Ellie. But what if he gives in to his deepening feelings and loses her, too? 

One fears abandonment. The other fears loss. Can Ellie and Lucas put their painful pasts behind them and finally find true happiness? Or are the emotional walls they’ve built up around their hearts too strong to tear down? 

About the author:

Romance author Lindsey Brookes is a four-time RWA Golden Heart finalist as well as a past American Title III finalist and winner of Harlequin's Great American Romance Novel contest. She writes for Kensington Publishing, Amazon Publishing, and has indie-pubbed several of her young adult and adult contemporary romances. She is represented by Michelle Grajkowski with 3 Seas Literary Agency. 

Check out her website: www.lindseybrookes.com

Book Review: When She Smiled by Ritoban Chakrabarti

When She Smiled

by Ritoban Chakrabarti

Paperback: 232 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (December 4, 2014)

Kindle Edition
File Size: 1002 KB
Print Length: 234 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Ritoban Chakrabarti; 1 edition (November 30, 2014)
Publication Date: November 30, 2014
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.


Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


My thoughts:

When She Smiled reminds me so much of my child hood. I was thinking the author must have been born in the 80's as I could truly relate to the things (wrestling, cartoons, gadgets, etc.) mentioned in this book. I had a good laugh reading Mrityunjoy's journey. I've seen reviews that some readers could not understand nor believe the characters' attitude towards life. I, myself, have been exposed to that kind of life, having strict parents and teachers (blogger is from the Philippines). Maybe if you are from the east, this is totally relatable. Mrityunjoy's struggle is real for me even the joy and pain of his first love with Akansha. 

It was beautifully written although I note the author tends to over-describe things. Often, when the description's too much, say like a place, I forget the last thing the character is doing. Other than that, I still enjoyed reading the story. Looking forward to reading more from this author.


About the book:

Mrityunjoy Roy is a fifteen year old Bengali who has spent the last ten years of his life growing up in Shimla. While his family is completely academically oriented, he wants something more. Finally he meets Akanksha in school, who turns his world upside down with her gorgeous looks and mind boggling smile. As fate would have it, she joins his Physics tuition, and thus begins the torrid year of puppy love, romance, heartbreak, tragedy, and self discovery. Set among the scenic Shivalik hills of Shimla when mobile phones and internet were non-existent, this is a story of how an average young teenager comes to terms with his destiny.

About the author:

Ritoban Chakrabarti is an entrepreneur who started his first internet marketing company right after college. Since then he has self-taught himself programming, designing, marketing, and management. His first novel, When She Smiled, a young adult romance, was first published on 30th November 2014.

He is an avid traveller, and believes in a life without boundaries.

Book Review: Making Memories by Georgia Evans

Making Memories: 
Book One Extended Family Series

Author: Georgia Evans
Series: Extended Family Series
Paperback: 270 pages
Publisher: AuthorHouse (November 26, 2013)
Amazon Links: Hardcover / Paperback / Kindle Edition 

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   

My thoughts:

Awww. I love this book so much! Brought back high school memories. So many of us are familiar with this teen love story, loving best friend but you don't want to admit because 'it could ruin everything'. I am now a mom but it was still nice to read this kind of story, oh I miss and love that feeling. 

The book is well-written, characters and dialogue are realistic. Highly recommended to those who went through/going through i-love-my-bestfriend-but-couldn't-tell syndrome. I look forward to reading more from Georgia Evans! 

About the book:

“Let’s go to Myrtle Beach together, Mel …” 

It has been over four years since Devin Gage spoke those words to Melanie Bates—four years with barely a word passing between them. Of course it was just a high school student’s fantasy. So why was he at her house now—telling her it was time for them to go? 

Friends since birth, Devin and Melanie set off on their dream vacation. Their first stop is to visit quirky Aunt Bert near the lovely town of Mount Airy, North Carolina, where they spend days visiting Andy Griffith’s Mayberry. When they reach Myrtle Beach, they get some long-awaited sightseeing in and meet new people. From the boy-crazy teenager with her heart set on Devin to the identical twins who could be Melanie’s Malibu Ken doll come to life, Dev and Mel see it all. 

Along the way, the two of them reminisce about their past and catch up on the past four years. Nothing is off limits—except Devin’s rich and beautiful fiancée, Roxie Newcomb, and those pesky phone calls he keeps receiving. That’s all right though, because Melanie is determined to make as many special new memories as she can during their vacation, even at the risk of her own heartbreak. It seems somewhere along the way, her feelings for Devin have grown into something stronger than friendship. 

Regardless, Mel knows that once Devin is married, Roxie will put a stop to his and Melanie’s relationship. This vacation is her last hope for making memories. 

About the author:

Georgia Evans has been married to her childhood sweetheart for over thirty-four years and has acquired three great children and six wonderful grandchildren in the process. She makes her home in the lovely, small town of Beecher City, Illinois, where she grew up. When she's not writing, she's reading, walking, or watching Dateline. She likes to go camping as long as her laptop can go along with her. She has taken Devin and Melanie's "dream vacation" and enjoyed every moment of it.

Book Review: Jagged (Colorado Mountain Series Book #5) by Kristen Ashley

Jagged 
Colorado Mountain Series #5

Author: Kristen Ashley
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Amazon Paperback link
Goodreads link

Ratings: ★ ★  

My thoughts:

This was a DNF. The book started out likeable, or even sweet, but it went down just before I got into half of the book. I loved Zara and Ham's story, problem is, only their story. Author threw some 'family problems', (Zara's) that I found totally dull. Also, the fact that even though Ham loves Zara, he is still inlove with Feb, from the other book in another series. So why would I LOVE that man? I skipped the book often and even with the skipping, I decided to DNF the book. It felt like this is not from KA. ;( 

Read other positive reviews here. 

About the book:

An old flame rekindled . . .

Zara Cinders always knew Ham Reece was the one, but he wasn't interested in settling down. When she found someone who was, Ham walked out of her life. Three years later, Zara's lost her business, her marriage, and she's barely getting by in a tiny apartment on the wrong side of the tracks. As soon as Ham hears about Zara's plight, he's on her doorstep offering her a lifeline. Now, it will take every ounce of will power she possesses to resist all that he offers.

Ham was always a traveling man, never one to settle down in one town, with one woman, for more time than absolutely necessary. But Ham's faced his own demons, and he's learned a lot. About himself, and about the life he knows he's meant to live. So when he hears that Zara's having a rough time, he wants to be the one to help. In fact, he wants to do more than that for Zara. A lot more. But first, he must prove to Zara that he's a changed man.

About the Author

Kristen Ashley grew up in Brownsburg, Indiana, and has lived in Denver, Colorado, and the West Country of England. Thus she has been blessed to have friends and family around the globe. Her posse is loopy (to say the least) but loopy is good when you want to write.

Kristen was raised in a house with a large and multigenerational family. They lived on a very small farm in a small town in the heartland, and Kristen grew up listening to the strains of Glenn Miller, The Everly Brothers, REO Speedwagon, and Whitesnake.

Needless to say, growing up in a house full of music and love was a good way to grow up. 

And as she keeps growing up, it keeps getting better.

You can learn more at:
KristenAshley.net
Twitter @KristenAshley68
Facebook.com/pages/Kristen-Ashley/83283039199

Book Review: Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller

Letters to Katie

Author: Kathleen Fuller
Series: A Middlefield Family Novel
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (May 7, 2013)

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Booksneeze.com. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Letters to Katie is the third book to the Middlefield Family Series. This book centers to two Amish young couples, Katie and Johhny + Sawyer and Laura.

Initially, it was a little dragging. Didn't like Cora's (Sawyer's grandmother) ways of showing love to Sawyer and I admit there's sometimes a feeling of unease to Sawyer's constant mention of his faith to the Lord. As for Johnny and Katie's story, liked it better than Sawyer and Laura's. The conflict seems better/real to me. I liked their story, painful to very sweet ending. If you are into clean romance books, go out and grab yourself a copy of this book. 

About the book:

Everything changed between them the first time he called her Katie.

Katherine Yoder has loved Johnny Mullet since the two were children, but he’s never returned her affections.

Now Johnny is trying to forge a new life for himself by purchasing a farm and building a business of his own. But times are tough, and he soon learns that he can’t take anything for granted—especially Katherine.

Before Johnny has the opportunity to tell Katherine his true feelings, she’s struck by a serious illness. While Katherine struggles to recall recent memories of Johnny, a surprise visitor comes back into her life, claiming that his letters speak of a history and a future for the two of them.
With the two men vying for her attention and her memory still elusive, Katherine has never felt so torn. But will the solutions to both Johnny’s and Katherine’s problems lie in places neither one has ever considered?

About the author:

I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and currently live in Geneva, Ohio. I've been married to James for 20 wonderful years (really, they have been wonderful!) We have three terrific children, two dogs, and have raised cattle, pigs, and chickens at various times over the years. We would have gone into the goat business, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I started writing in 2000, and published my first short story a year later. Since then I have authored several short stories, novellas, novels, and have done a lot of freelance non-fiction work. I have also worked as an editor. I have a Masters degree in Special Education, emphasis on teaching the blind and visually impaired, and a Bachelors in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. I have taught all age groups ranging from age 4 to age 18. A few of my favorite things: my relationship with Christ, chocolate (of course!), autumn, a satisfying book, good friends, a sense of humor, people who don't take themselves seriously, haunting melodies, NFL football, and did I mention chocolate?

Book Review: The Memory of Love by Linda Olsson

The Memory of Love

Author : Linda Olsson
Roughcut: 240 pages
Publisher: Penguin Books; 1 edition (February 26, 2013)
Amazon Link

Note: I received a review copy of this book free from the publisher, Viking/Penguin Books. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

I first picked up this book mid March but got, sort of, disconnected with the story due to the main character's overly long paragraphs in narrating her story. Picked it up again last week thinking it could get better the second time, only read about 10-15 pages. For the third and last time, today. And I was still struggling in reading the book. 

The Memory of Love is written in alternating POVs, first person for Marion (main character) and third person for Michael's story. Usually, I find the first person POV better than any other POVs. Though, this one is different. It was difficult for me to follow Marion's life story because she narrates her experiences in a very detailed manner that it got too wordy for my taste. I actually managed to get into the first quarter of the story. However, after a few more pages, I finally gave up. 

The book just didn't work for me. There are a lot of readers who loved the book, though. Click HERE to read their positive reviews.

About the book:

Fans of Astrid & Veronika and Chris Cleave's Little Bee will be thrilled to read Linda Olsson's third novel. Here is Olsson doing what she does best: illuminating the terrain of friendship and examining the many forms that love can take.

Marion Flint, in her early fifties, has spent fifteen years living a quiet life on the rugged coast of New Zealand, a life that allows the door to her past to remain firmly shut. But a chance meeting with a young boy, Ika, and her desire to help him force Marion to open the Pandora’s box of her memory. Seized by a sudden urgency to make sense of her past, she examines each image one-by-one: her grandfather, her mother, her brother, her lover. Perhaps if she can create order from the chaos, her memories will be easier to carry. Perhaps she’ll be able to find forgiveness for the little girl that was her. For the young woman she had been. For the people she left behind.

Olsson expertly interweaves scenes from Marion’s past with her quest to save Ika from his own tragic childhood, and renders with reflective tenderness the fragility of memory and the healing power of the heart.

About the author:

Linda Olsson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1948. She graduated from the University of Stockholm with a law degree, and worked in law and finance until she left Sweden in 1986. What was intended as a three-year posting to Kenya then became a tour of the world with stops in Singapore, the U.K., and Japan, until she settled in New Zealand with her family in 1990. In 1993 she completed a bachelor of arts in English and German literature at Victoria University of Wellington. In 2003 she won the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Competition. Linda's first novel Astrid & Veronika became an international success, selling hundreds of thousands of copies in Scandinavia, Europe and the United States. It was followed by the heartbreaking and moving Sonata for Miriam. Olsson divides her time between Auckland, New Zealand and Stockholm, Sweden.