REVIEW: Practical Passion by Elizabeth Delisi

Title: Practical Passion
Author: Elizabeth Delisi
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing
Publication Date: April 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN

Description: Julie Preston worked hard raising her younger sister, Emily, after their parents died, and creating a career. She gave up simple pleasures like love and relationships. So when a friend drags her to a singles bar, Julie’s ready for anything. She meets a gorgeous guy and they spend several passionate hours together. There’s real chemistry there, but Julie regretfully sticks to her promise: a one-night stand, no strings.

When Julie hires a tutor to help Emily pass English, she’s shocked to find Douglas Dean is the man from the bar. Seeing him in her house makes it hard to keep her hands off him, but he isn’t looking for a long-term relationship since he’s a singles bar patron. Right?

How many miles can Julie jog before she gives in and jumps him?

My Thoughts: Short story about a woman who learns that having responsibilities and working hard doesn’t mean you can’t have a life and find a little something for yourself along the way.

Julie Preston doesn’t know what it’s like to have a life, to pursue her dreams or to love and be loved in return. All of that changed when Julie’s parents died and she stepped in as guardian for her younger sister, Emily. Over the years, Julie’s primary focus has been building a career to support herself and Emily. Julie finally agrees to go out with a friend to a singles bar and even agrees that a one-night stand with no strings would be a good respite from her current day to day routine. At the bar, she meets a man who stirs up feelings she didn’t think she would feel. They have a passionate night, but Julie sticks to her guns that it will only be one night.

When Julie hires a tutor to help Emily, I was NOT shocked, though Julie is, the tutor, Douglas Dean, is the man from the bar. If you are going to have a one-night stand with a stranger, Doug is the kind of guy every woman should be lucky enough to find. A man who is attractive, smart, attentive and kind, Doug is exactly the kind of man Julie needs in her life. Now here is where I had an issue with the story. Julie fights her attraction and feelings for Doug, thinks if she takes off jogging every time he comes over, she will somehow purge those feelings from her. Yeah, right… Julie also decides that since she met Doug in a bar and they had a one-night stand, he can’t possibly be looking for a long-term relationship. Who cares, Julie? Up until you met Doug, YOU weren’t looking for a long-term relationship! You weren’t looking for ANY term relationship! Luckily for Julie, Doug has a plan and isn’t a quitter and Emily, isn’t a baby and thinks its way past time for Julie to have a life.

My Final Verdict: Despite Julie almost ruining this book for me, Emily and Doug save the day and Julie gets her happily ever after. I don’t like “big misunderstanding” plot devices that drag a story into boring blah blah blah and though it appeared that this was going to happen, thankfully, it didn’t. I recommend this story to fans of contemporary romance who enjoy seeing good people get their happily ever after, no drama and no long-suffering Wuthering Heights tragedy.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Practical Passion from the author in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The 1st Victim by Tami Hoag

Title: The 1st Victim (Kovac and Liska #3.5)
Author: Tami Hoag
Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: May 2013
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska return to investigate the death of a Jane Doe in New York Times bestseller Tami Hoag’s short story The 1st Victim.

New Year’s Day is a time for new beginnings, but Minneapolis homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska are focused on endings: specifically, the tragic end of their latest murder victim, an unidentified young woman discovered on the side of the freeway. Believed to be the victim of a serial killer, Kovac and Liska are determined to do the girl the small justice of returning her body to her family as they investigate her case, but it is no simple task matching the broken corpse to any of the scores of missing persons reports, especially when no one seems to be looking for her.

Meanwhile, recent widow Jeannie Reiser is frantic when she is unable to get in touch with her daughter, Rose, who, as an eighteen-year-old, is a legal adult rather than a missing child in the eyes of the law. Jeannie’s desperate attempts to get the police to believe her child is in trouble lead her closer and closer to the New Year’s Doe and to an evil even Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska may be unable to stop.

My Thoughts: The 1st Victim is a short story that introduces us to Doc Holiday, the serial killer who we get to know better in The 9th Girl and whose actions are a direct catalyst for Cold, Cold Heart.

As with most short stories, there isn’t a lot of time spent fleshing out or otherwise developing the characters and I normally don’t read short stories for that reason. But when they are part of a series, they are more a filler story, bridging a gap between books where the character development really happens. With some series, it’s a treat for the readers; a fix to get them through their DT’s of waiting for the next book.

I can’t say I loved this story but I did enjoy it and spending time with Nicki and Sam are always a treat. This story was more of a preview, of sorts, of what is coming down the road for Nicki and Sam. As homicide detectives, they have seen their share of the heinous and horrendous. They work perfectly as a team, always there for one another and having each other’s back. Their partnership is the kind we should all strive to have with our workmates. Tami Hoag does a brilliant job of creating characters that readers easily connect to and empathize with. Even the characters that the readers do not like are able to grab the attention of the reader, keeping them engaged throughout the story.

Unfortunately there are no happy endings or justice for the victim’s family in this book. The killer is just getting started and his reign of terror is far from over. I recommend this book to readers of mysteries, thrillers and police procedurals. The suspense isn’t as nail-biting as the author’s earlier books, but this is a short story and a good segue into the next book.

REVIEW: Hello From The Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Title: Hello From the Gillespies
Author: Monica McInerney
Publisher: NAL Trade
Publication Date: November, 2014
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways....

My Thoughts: Ah, yes the annual Christmas letter that we have all sent and/or received. Filled with news of how lovely our year has been, focusing and, often, exaggerating on the positive bits. For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has done just that. Until this year, after a conversation with her best friend, Joan, Angela unloads her thoughts and feelings about her family, marriage, life, everything into this letter. The good, the bad, and the ugly all go in, like an episode of Jerry Springer. Angela has no intention of sending it, but it feels so good to get it off her chest. In a way, it’s therapeutic. Without judgment, Angela can vent her fears and frustrations. Angela doesn’t count on her son having an accident and rushing him to the hospital, where she forgets about the letter sitting on her computer. Her husband, trying to be helpful and thinking he is doing a good thing, clicks send for her and Angela’s moment of truth goes out to over 150 recipients.

What ensues is a story of a family trying to come to terms with what has been revealed about them and the fallout they fear will happen as a result. It’s also a story about forgiveness and healing, making mistakes and being human and living life the best way we can with what we know and how we feel.

I really enjoyed this story. Ms. McInerney writes a story that flows smoothly with characters that are vibrant in their different personalities and lives. I was very curious for what would happen next and hoping for a happily ever after for all of them. Every single member of this family experiences a loss and I enjoyed how they each overcome it and grow from it.

My Final Verdict: I highly recommend this book to readers who like stories of imperfect people living their best lives, the best they can, holding on to love and hope.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Hello From the Gillespies from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins

Title: Left Behind (Left Behind #1)
Author: Time LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Publication Date: September 2000
Genre: Christian Fiction / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible

Description: An airborne Boeing 747 is headed to London when, without any warning, passengers mysteriously disappear from their seats. Terror and chaos slowly spread not only through the plane, but also worldwide as unusual events continue to unfold. For those who have been left behind, the apocalypse has just begun...

My Thoughts: Very enjoyable story, though very frightening too. This was a re-read fifteen years after reading it the first time.

This story centers on the Rapture and the effect it has on four major characters who have been left behind. Rayford Steele is an airline pilot with a wandering eye who is frustrated with his wife's Christian beliefs and feels she puts her faith in Jesus ahead of her marriage. Chloe Steele is Ray's oldest daughter. Like her father, she doesn't share her mother's faith and has more important things to worry about than the tension brewing at home. Bruce Barnes is one of the pastors at New Hope Village Church, where Ray's wife worships. Cameron "Buck" Williams is a journalist for a weekly news magazine. After the Rapture, these four characters band together as born again Christians and form the Tribulation Force to prepare others who were left behind for the seven years of trials and tribulations that will come before Jesus's Glorious Appearing and the final defeat of Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet.

Regardless of one's faith or belief, this story is a real nail-biter of intense suspense. The introduction of the Antichrist and the power he commands was frightening. I thought this story was very realistic too, as evidenced by the reactions and explanations people had regarding the disappearance of millions of people at the same time.

I highly recommend this story for people of all faiths and beliefs, as the Rapture and the rise of the Antichrist will affect everyone, one way or another.