Monthly Archives: December 2023

Dec29

First Date Prophecy- By Kate and Danny Tamberelli- A Review

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What a fun book this was. I read it on a car trip back in September and kept thinking I’d already reviewed it when I realized the other day that I hadn’t posted the review. I did receive this book from Kensington Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review. I thoroughly enjoyed it as a light read that made a long car ride very enjoyable. 

When your first date with someone ends in a prophecy about you as well as the death of an old lady, you wonder what else might go wrong in the potential relationship. No matter how interesting the date was, is there an inherent risk in trying to go out again with this person?

This book was written by a husband and wife team. The husband was a real life child star and was one of the two brothers in the Pete and Pete show that was popular on Nickelodeon Channel. The male protagonist in the story was also a child star and that forms part of the challenges he has in the dating world. Wondering if he’s liked for himself or for his former role and fame. His older brother is a big movie star now and our hero, Rudy, also has some angst about that success of his brother—making for an edgy relationship between them.

The female protagonist, Lucy, is witty, klutzy, and has a plethora of crazy date stories and failures.  She works at odd jobs which find her in all kinds of scrapes. I have to confess, I wasn’t too sure about this book in the first chapter as she seemed so over the top and silly. I wasn’t convinced I was going to like her but I pushed on and, after Chapter one, I found her to be quite a charming character and someone I could root for. 

This was such a cute story and read. It also had some deep messages about forgiveness and finding ways to make life work when expectations don’t quite come to fruition. 

Humorous and engaging, yet full of wisdom. I recommend this one. 

Dec14

South of Sepharad- A Review

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This book will be released on February 20, 2024- Mark that date on your calendar as you are going to want this one. Many thanks to History Through Fiction for the pre-release copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

When most of us initially think of 1492 and Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, we think of Christopher Columbus and his journey to the new world (which is a whole other problematic tale). We might also think about their daughter Katherine of Aragon who married two Tudor princes. What we might not think about is the edict this king and queen sent out in 1492 to require all the Jewish citizens of Spain to leave the country or convert to Catholicism. Under penalty of death.

The story of Vidal and his family, South of Sepharad, by Eric Z. Weintraub, takes us past these better known happenings affecting Spain in 1492 to something sinister and evil. The expulsion of a whole population of people from the country of Spain.

I had heard of the horror of the Inquisition, of course, and seen films and read other books about it. This story from Mr. Weintraub was so well-written and had characters so vividly drawn that the absolutely horrific events were brought home in a way that, while hard to read, made the journey of these Jewish people who had to leave with what few possession they could haul on a wagon really hit hard. They didn’t do anything wrong to warrant expulsion except practice their religion.

I’ve always been shocked and saddened at the number of deaths and amount of torture inflicted on others in the name of God. And this story didn’t shy away from the Inquisition and what those so-called holy men were capable of. If they wanted you dead, they would plant words in the mouths of the person they were interrogating. They would also twist what the person said to match their own agenda.

This book hit all the harrowing parts of the journey out of Spain for the Jewish people. From having to sell homes that had been in their families for generations, and selling their possessions and heirlooms, to leaving people behind, and the way their feet hurt and boots became full of holes on that journey. It also covered the food shortages and lack of water. I felt as if I was on the journey with them.

Even the few who stayed behind and converted to Catholicism weren’t really safe as they were always suspected of converting for purposes that weren’t sincere. And it was a forced conversion so how sincere could it have been? To betray the religion of your people must have been very difficult to decide to do. In short, these poor people were in a no win situation.

This book is an important one for us to read in these times. This horror of disliking or even hating people of other religions seems to have never gone away, but it seems to be coming back to the forefront of being acceptable to treat those who do not share certain beliefs as less than human.

The story in this book is obviously fiction and it’s well told. The author has a beautiful way with prose. Even though it’s hard to read in places, it’s an important and captivating tale (with moments of heartbreak) of one family’s life and the changes they are forced to make by a king and queen who were absolutely vile human beings.

The author did meticulous research and immersed us in the world of Spain in 1492. He gives some excellent resources at the end as well. The cover is so vivid and attractive too.

I give this one five stars

Dec5

The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

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I came to this book with a white woman’ perspective because that’s what I am. Before I posted this review, I read some reviews on Reddit and Goodreads as I was afraid my being white had colored (forgive the pun) my perception of this novel. But it appears it did not. Many people of other races seem to agree with the thoughts I have on this book which gives me comfort that my perceptions were not skewed by my own race.

I picked this book up as the premise sounded intriguing and also because I’m trying to read more diverse fiction to try to educate myself more about how Black and other People of Color move through the world. I think that’s an important thing in our current climate.

I enjoyed the book in the beginning, but it did have some issues as it went on. There were two subplots that initially added to the story but eventually were disappointing. They were tossed in and never resolved or were not explained well or were ultimately not necessary.

The protagonist was kind of meh. She had some good points, but she seemed ashamed of her background—she came from a wealthier background than her best friend—the best friend who was the best character of the book. I did root for the protagonist as I wanted her to succeed. But the ending made me feel betrayed by the author. There was no real resolution and I wanted the villains to get their comeuppance. They didn’t. Which leads me to the subplots that weren’t resolved.

There was a “resistance” to the villains but they didn’t actually do any resisting. They watched and listened but were ineffective other than that.

The other subplot was about two women, one a writer and one an editor who had a hugely successful book launch in the 1980s. There was some sort of scandal (not really explained) and one (the editor) went into hiding and the other (the writer) became a sell out in her work—betraying what she initially stood for in her writing—or at least that’s what I gleaned from the disjointed flashbacks. The story skipped to them off and on, but the book would be okay without that subplot- maybe even better. All the subplot did was set up the work of the villains. It didn’t really add much to the tale as it was muddled and never really explained or resolved.

In short, this book didn’t seem complete. It dragged on too long for about 250-270 pages. Then there was a big rushed ending. Like there was a page count the author wanted to get to and then she stopped writing even with lots of parts hanging and not completed.

The protagonist betrayed the reader as well as herself with the way this book ended. Certain expectations are built in to a story as the reader gets to know the characters and when they don’t stay consistent with expectations, at the end, it leads to disappointment.

When I was in high school, we had to read ‘The Good Earth’. I hated the ending so much, I threw the paperback across the room. I wanted to do that to this book but it was a hardback and I was afraid of what I might hit. 🙂

I’m giving it 3 stars as I did enjoy parts of it and the writer is definitely talented. I just can’t get behind a higher rating for it.

I understand this is a mini-series on Hulu as well. I’ll be giving that a pass as I don’t want to get mad all over again at the ending.

Dec1

Cover Love: Twelve Days of Christmas

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This is my upcoming new release blurb and cover.

Just imagine…Imagine if the twelve days of Christmas weren’t about Christmas at all.  What if the Partridge in a pear tree was actually a chef named Otto Partridge who found a pear orchard to pick some fresh pears for his restaurant? Imagine the two turtle doves as a pop duo? What if the eleven pipers piping were bakers on a baking challenge show? And what if the six geese a-laying were sassy birds full of advice for a young girl looking to earn money for a prom dress?

A mixture of stories sure to appeal to a variety of readers. Some are set in historical times, some are modern, some fantasy and some romantic. All of them fun and mostly light-hearted. Something for everyone. And none of them Christmas…except for the last one, which involves the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade… the traditional kick off for Christmas festivities.