Book Review: One Perfect Lie

By Jami Deise

Years ago, when my baseball-playing son was in the eighth grade, he was recruited by the coach of a well-known private high school. We left the meeting unconvinced that changing schools for the sake of a better baseball program was the right choice. Even so, the coach advised us as we left, we should be very careful of the people we let near our son. Everyone would want a piece of him, and not everyone’s motives would be pure. Sure enough, years later our son’s former tennis coach was arrested for having sex with a 13-year-old player, and his former travel baseball coach was arrested for a relationship with a teenage student. We had dodged the worst bullets… but others got him.

Prolific author Lisa Scottoline has set her latest thriller, One Perfect Lie, in the world of high school baseball. As soon as we meet Chris Brennan, as he’s applying for a job as high school government teacher and assistant baseball coach, we know that every word out of his mouth is a lie. He sees the boys on the team as pawns in his plan. And his plan involves fertilizer bombs and hate against the government. At the same time, Scottoline introduces us to the mothers of the three players whom Brennan has targeted – Susan, whose son Raz is struggling to keep his position as the team’s pitcher while dealing with his grief over his father’s death; single mom Heather, whose son Jordan is a junior with a hard fastball and worries about taking Raz’s job; and wealthy Mindy, who rarely worries about spoiled son Evan, the catcher, because she’s so concerned that her husband is cheating on her again.

Despite careful research, Scottoline gets some of the baseball details wrong (she seems to think that a high school team has only one starting pitcher, and he starts all their games, for example). And her narrative voice is simplistic, almost James Patterson-ish. But the tension she creates while detailing the mind games Chris plays in order to infiltrate the team and choose the best player to manipulate is masterful. To me, that was the true horror in the book – how easy it is for someone with these skills to turn friends against each other for his own purposes. I was also very impressed about how Scottoline got into the mind-set of folks who think that the federal government is the country’s true enemy, and how she used current political issues to create a plot that feels both timely and timeless.

During the first third of the book –but late enough that revealing any details would constitute a spoiler—Scottoline pulls the rug out from under readers, revealing things are not as she led us to believe. For me, this made the book more enjoyable, as it allows a true hero to emerge. (Yet a hero who is just as skilled at mind games as the villains of the piece, which gave me great pause.) Still, I also wondered how the book might have turned out had our initial impressions been true.

Thanks to the direct language and quickly moving plot, One Perfect Lie is a very quick read. My Kindle clocked me in at under two-and-half hours. It was a great read on the plane, as I was traveling to attend what will be one of my son’s final competitive baseball games ever, as his thirteen-year career is weeks away from ending. While I enjoyed Scottoline’s portrayal of a manipulative baseball coach as fiction, it couldn’t help but remind me of all the other manipulative coaches out there, and how they destroy kids’ dreams as they so easily replace one hopeful player with another.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Lisa Scottoline:

Book Review: Playing House

By Sara Steven

She's a work in progress . . .

Bailey Meredith has had it. As an assistant at a prestigious interior design firm, she’s tired of making coffee and filing invoices. She’ll do just about anything to get out from under the paperwork and into the field for real experience. Then she sees an ad for a job that seems too good to be true.

He's a fixer upper . . .


Wilder Aldrich knew she would be perfect for the crew the moment he saw her. His hit home improvement show only hired the best, and Bailey had potential written all over her. It isn’t just her imaginative creativity and unmatched work ethic that grabs his attention. There’s just something about her.

With chemistry on screen, it’s only a matter of time before sparks fly behind the scenes as well. But with Bailey’s jaded views on romance and a big secret that could destroy Wilder and everyone he cares about, are either of them willing to risk it all for love? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

I’m not nearly as skilled as I’d like to be with a hammer, and have no clue how to decorate, but I love home improvement shows. Which is why the premise of Playing House appealed to me as much as it did. Yet, as often is the case with anything you read by Laura Chapman, there’s more to it than that. So much more.

When it comes to the small screen, we’re only privy to the scenes that are given the green light. How much of it is real can be a toss up. Bailey can only imagine what might be in store for her, in choosing to work for a show that only showcases successful outcomes, never the work that goes on behind the scenes. Given her situation, however, there’s not much choice in the matter. It’s either that, or continue to feel undervalued with her current employer.

And for Wilder, Bailey is like a breath of fresh air. He’s been locked inside deadlines and contractual obligations for so long, he has a hard time imagining what life was like before the show. Before he’d been thrust into a spotlight. Those things don’t apply to Bailey and don’t mean much to her, which only makes her all the more attractive. And, she’s feeling him, too, yet she knows picturing any sort of future with Wilder is totally off-limits. No ifs, and’s or but’s about it.

I really appreciated the honest look at what might potentially go on behind the scenes of a home improvement show. Given some of what I’ve seen in the headlines as of late, I’m guessing it’s not far off. There are plenty of smiles and cordial attitudes to go around, and we can often forget that the people we see on the television are still real people with lives that go on behind the scenes. And sometimes, a scenario is created in order to not only project a certain look or feel to the outside world, but to protect the people we love. I really felt that when Bailey and Wilder are at a loss on how to proceed in their own lives. On finding a way to skirt the line of what’s morally right or wrong.

I’ve read nearly all of Laura’s novels, and while I love them all, there was something particularly special about this one. I really felt a deep emotional connection to the characters and the rough situations they find themselves in. Maybe because I’ve gone through my own tough times, too, and I could relate and identify with Bailey, with Wilder, and even with a few of the others who make life hell for everyone around them. Playing House deserves every single one of the five stars I’ve given it.

Thanks to Laura Chapman for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Laura Chapman:

What's in the mail

Melissa A:
Every Last Lie by Mary Kubica from Harlequin (e-book via NetGalley)
Memories of May by/from Juliet Madison (e-book via NetGalley)
White Sand, Blue Sea by Anita Hughes from St. Martin's Press
Everything We Left Behind by/from Kerry Lonsdale
The Blackbird Season by Kate Moretti from Atria (e-book via NetGalley)

A Comfortable Madness by/from Francine LaSala (e-book)
The Good Widow by/from Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke (e-book via NetGalley)
The Act by/from Nicole Waggoner (e-book)
You're the One that I Want by Giovanna Fletcher from St. Martin's Press
The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green from Berkley (e-book via NetGalley)
The Little Old Lady Who Struck Lucky Again by Catharina Inglelman-Sundberg from Harper

Sara:
Motherhood Martyrdom and Costco Runs by/from Whitney Dineen (e-book)
Confessions of a Domestic Failure by Bunmi Laditan from HarperCollins (e-book via NetGalley)
One Wrong Turn by/from Deanna Lynn Sletten (e-book via NetGalley)

Jami:
One Perfect Lie by Lisa Scottoline from St. Martin's Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Getting comfortable with Francine LaSala...plus a special giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

The last time I saw Francine LaSala in person was in 2015. First at Book Expo, when we had dinner out with a group of wonderful authors and bloggers. Then a few weeks later, when she and our Chick Lit Cheerleader were out in my neck of the woods. Francine is so genuine and easy to get along with. She has a great sense of humor too (which is evident from the first book of hers that I read, Rita Hayworth's Shoes-reviewed here). However, she's taking her writing in a new direction this time around with her latest novel, A Comfortable Madness. To celebrate the recent publication, Francine has a $20 Amazon gift card for one lucky reader!

Francine LaSala has written nonfiction on every topic imaginable, from circus freaks to sex, and edited bestselling authors of all genres. She is now actively taking on clients for manuscript evaluations, editing services, copy-writing (covers, blurbs, taglines, queries, and more), website and blog creation, and developing kickass social media campaigns, all through her creative services business, Francine LaSala Productions.

Her other novel is The Girl, The Gold Tooth & Everything (reviewed here). She is also the creator of The “Joy Jar” Project. Francine lives in New York. Visit her at her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Synopsis:

When Annie and Hugh first meet in a Long Island cemetery, they’re each dwelling in their own darkness. Hugh is a “serial monogamist” whose romantic fervor ruins every relationship he gets into, and Annie is still reeling from a dark secret from her past involving her dead ex-husband--one she’s been drowning in alcohol and quick, failed relationships for years. That, and the terror that love may push her over the edge... Again…

When they run into each other at a party in Manhattan later that night, they are surprised at how easily they connect. Despite their insistence to remain “just friends” to protect each other – and themselves – their chemistry is intense and their attraction soon becomes impossible to deny. Can they see beyond the damage they're convinced they’ll do to each other and finally give in to the love they so desperately crave? (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What was the inspiration behind A Comfortable Madness?
I started writing A Comfortable Madness at the end of 2001 after two consecutive heartbreaks. It was the first real fiction I ever tried to write – except that I started writing it to right... (see what I did there?) those two messes. Suffice it to say, this is an absolutely terrible reason to write a book. The first draft was over 100K words of emotional vomit. Eventually I scaled it back. I saw the big strength in all of it was the dialogue and as I am generally more, well, comfortable, with script writing, I made it into a screenplay – and a great one, actually. Except I had no connections to sell a screenplay, so back to a novel it went. A process that itself took about seven years post-script. (I started writing and published both Rita Hayworth's Shoes and The Girl, the Gold Tooth & Everything in the first three years of that slog.) What I realized in the process of creating ACM was that I wasn't just dealing with romantic heartbreak. That deep down inside, there was also considerable pain over elements of my childhood and the way Catholicism had strangled me, for want of a better way to say this, instead of empowering me. I had all these crazy ideas about a lot of things, and went along with them for years because that's what one does. Because that's easier than facing the crazy and ironing it all out. That's really the essence of the concept of “a comfortable madness” - that you swirl in the spiral of these things because it can be easier to do that in some ways than taking a step back, being honest, and pulling out of it. In any case, I am delighted, relieved, and at peace that the book is finally done.

What was the most rewarding and most challenging parts of writing A Comfortable Madness?
For me, writing starts with emotion and dialog; out of there, a story forms. ACM is the product of that process. The challenge is to actually make a story out of the mess, and a good one. It was challenging for me to find a way to make readers like and sympathize with Annie. Hugh was always easy – he's a doll. But Annie's anger, especially, has made her unlikable. When I first wrote her, I wrote her very close to me, and people would come back to me and say “Wow, I really can't stand her!” You can imagine how much that hurt. :-) When I released her from me and let her be Annie, let her tell me who she was and what was going on with her, she started to become likable and relatable to others – so this element of telling this story is both the most challenging and most rewarding.

What is the best compliment you've received on your writing? What is some constructive feedback (from a review) that you've applied to your current novel?
The best compliment I ever received for my writing was in a text from a writer whom I deeply admire, Jen Tucker, who read this just before it was published. She called me a "master storyteller." That's when I knew I did my job. As far as reviews, as my writer friends will attest to, I don't normally read them. I have, but they aren't always constructive. Example: A common criticism of Rita Hayworth's Shoes is that there's too much dialogue and not enough narrative. A common criticism of The Girl, the Gold Tooth & Everything is that there's too much narrative... Sigh. Hopefully this time I got it right? Who knows. Every story is different, and needs to be told differently. In this story, the balance feels right for me. We'll see!

Side note from Melissa A: For those of you who don't know Jen yet, you'll meet her in a few weeks. ;)

If you could cast A Comfortable Madness as a movie, who would play the lead roles?
When I started writing this, it was Reese Witherspoon as Annie and Paul Rudd as Hugh. I think they may be too old now. :-) How about Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt? Emily Rossum recently stood out for me as a good Charlotte. I can see Jason being played by Jared Leto. Maggie, Walter, and Phillip weren't in the story in the beginning. In fact, Father Phillip wasn't in the story until about a month ago! Maybe Kristen Bell as Maggie? Ryan Gosling as Walter? Jake Gyllenhaal as Father Phillip? I do have a Pinterest board made.

What is the most comfortable item you own?
I have a ratty old gray zip-up hoodie I bought in Santa Cruz the first year I went to the beach with the "Beach Babes." It's really vile but I freaking love it and will never throw it away.

What is the last thing you got really mad about?
In the context of this story, the "madness" is not technically anger, but craziness. I did recently go batsh*t nuts over a bag of Tate's Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. :-) I try not to get really "mad-angry" about anything, though, because it never leads to anything productive. I'm not always successful, but I am the "Joy Jar" girl after all and I do try my best to keep it "sunny."

Thanks to Francine for chatting with us and for sharing an Amazon gift card with our readers.


How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends April 13th at midnight EST.

Book Review: It Happens All the Time

By Melissa Amster

Ever since I picked up Safe With Me and found myself glued to the pages, I have been a fan of Amy Hatvany's writing. Even with my full TBR, I have managed to read all but two of her books so far. (I still plan to!) Having said that, I was eagerly awaiting her latest novel and devoured it in a short amount of time. Once again, she didn't disappoint!

"I want to rewind the clock, take back the night when the world shattered. I want to erase everything that went wrong."

Amber Bryant and Tyler Hicks have been best friends since they were teenagers—trusting and depending on each other through some of the darkest periods of their young lives. And while Amber has always felt that their relationship is strictly platonic, Tyler has long harbored the secret desire that they might one day become more than friends.

Returning home for the summer after her college graduation, Amber begins spending more time with Tyler than she has in years. Despite the fact that Amber is engaged to her college sweetheart, a flirtation begins to grow between them. One night, fueled by alcohol and concerns about whether she’s getting married too young, Amber kisses Tyler.

What happens next will change them forever.

In alternating points of view, It Happens All the Time examines the complexity of sexual dynamics between men and women and offers an incisive exploration of gender roles, expectations, and the ever-timely issue of consent. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Hearing that this novel was personal to Amy Hatvany made the impact of the story even more powerful than it already was to begin with. I found it so interesting that she chose to write from two perspectives. Not only does she use them to build up to the situation at hand, but also to share their thoughts on the aftermath. This gives the story a Jodi Picoult feel, as some gray area begins to trickle in. The reader feels awful for what Amber went through, but then Tyler tries to plant that seed of doubt by also sharing what he thinks happened. He even makes the reader feel sorry for him, as well. (Yes, Amy is that incredible with her writing.)

I really have no complaints over this novel, but I would like to point out that it is not told in a linear fashion, so what happens is revealed before it actually occurs. Even so, there's an adrenaline kick during the build-up and when the actual situation happens. Both Amber and Tyler seem so genuine that it's hard to dislike either of them, while sometimes you'll also want to be mad at them in equal measures.

I do want to warn readers that there are triggers, in case they have ever been in an unwanted sexual situation of their own. I would be remiss to not give such a warning, as some parts do get intense and upsetting.

With It Happens All the Time, Amy has outdone herself once again and I am already awaiting her next novel.

Movie casting time!
Amber: Vanessa Marano 
Tyler: Max Thieriot 
Daniel: Justin Baldoni
Helen: Maura Tierney
Liz: Katherine LaNasa
Jason: Neal McDonough
Mason: Joe Manganiello

Thanks to Atria for the book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to BookSparks for sharing a copy with one lucky reader!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends April 12th at midnight EST.

Spotlight and Giveaway: If Not For You

Last year, Melissa A read and fell in love with A Girl's Guide to Moving On, which was the first book she has ever read by Debbie Macomber. So she was thrilled to find out that one of the characters is making an appearance in Debbie's latest novel, If Not For You. Not only does this story also sound really interesting, but the cover is gorgeous and just evokes the feeling of Spring. Thanks to Penguin Random House, we have TWO copies to give away!

If not for her loving but controlling parents, Beth Prudhomme might never have taken charge of her life and moved from her native Chicago to Portland, Oregon, where she’s reconnected with her spirited Aunt Sunshine and found a job as a high school music teacher. If not for her friend Nichole, Beth would never have met Sam Carney, although first impressions have left Beth with serious doubts. Sam is everything Beth is not—and her parents’ worst nightmare: a tattooed auto mechanic who’s rough around the edges. Reserved and smart as a whip, Beth isn’t exactly Sam’s usual beer-drinking, pool-playing type of woman, either.

But if not for an awkward setup one evening, Beth might never have left early and been involved in a car crash. And if not for Sam—who witnessed the terrifying ordeal, rushed to her aid, and stayed with her until help arrived—Beth might have been all alone, or worse. Yet as events play out, Sam feels compelled to check on Beth almost daily at the hospital—even bringing his guitar to play songs to lift her spirits. Soon their unlikely friendship evolves into an intense attraction that surprises them both.

Before long, Beth’s strong-willed mother, Ellie, blows into town spouting harsh opinions, especially about Sam, and reopening old wounds with Sunshine. When shocking secrets from Sam’s past are revealed, Beth struggles to reconcile her feelings. But when Beth goes a step too far, she risks losing the man and the life she’s come to love. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Debbie Macomber, the author of Sweet Tomorrows, A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, Twelve Days of Christmas, Dashing Through the Snow, Silver Linings, Last One Home, Love Letters, Mr. Miracle, Blossom Street Brides, and Rose Harbor in Bloom, is a leading voice in women’s fiction with more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide. Ten of her novels have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller lists, and five of her beloved Christmas novels have been hit movies on the Hallmark Channel, including Mrs. Miracle and Mr. Miracle. Hallmark Channel also produced the original series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, based on Macomber’s Cedar Cove books. Visit Debbie at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway ends April 9th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Super 40

By Sara Steven

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Super 40. Sure, I was aware that it was a super-heroine novel, an ordinary woman who ends up with a radioactive tampon and the ability to shoot cramp-inducing lasers from her fingers. That premise in and of itself is entirely unique and unusual. But little did I know that in essence, the story of Shannon Johnson and her ability to change and save the world would have so many layers to it, a message for every woman who feels as though she’s getting lost behind the shuffle of society.

Shannon is nearing forty, an age she’s trying desperately to avoid. She thought she’d be farther ahead in life. Not living with her parents, divorced, childless. There’s so much she wanted to accomplish, an entirely different person she wanted to be when she grew up. So, when she finds herself with new superpowers, this creates a new outlook on life, or so she thinks. She could never have anticipated the amount of responsibility that comes from being a super-heroine, the choices she’ll have to make to save others, or save her own pajama-clad skin. It’s enough to drive any normal person insane.

While figuring it out, Shannon discovers an inner strength she never knew had been there. And while having the ability to bring a full-grown man down to his knees writhing in pain may have a little something to do with it, ultimately, she finds out that she’s had a lot of power inside her the whole time. It’s an affirmation for most of us who think we’ve passed our prime in life.

There are a whole slew of interesting superhero characters. Like Dolly Poppin’, Shannon’s telekinetic teleporting partner in fighting crime.Or Karma Kameleon, the hottest crime fighter in town. Even an anti hero, aptly named Antihero, gets in on the game, making this novel an incredibly interesting read. There was never a dull moment, full of action and suspense from start to finish, giving me an enlightened look at what it’s like to feel down and out, and doing what it takes to change that perspective on life.

Thanks to Lucy Woodhull for the book in exchange for an honest review.

More by Lucy Woodhull: