Sunday, May 26, 2019

Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews - Reshelved Books

Hello there Dewey Readers!  What are you reading this Memorial Day Weekend!?  

I just finished Mary Kay Andrews' latest novel Sunset Beach.  This novel follows the story of Drue Campbell, a 36 year old bartender who was recently fired from her job.  Not only is Drue jobless, but her mother also recently passed away.  In her mother's will, a family beach house was left to her (one that Drue thought was sold many years ago) in a town near her estranged father who now wants to be back in the picture.  In a way to make amends, he offers Drue a job at his law practice (think about the injury commercials you see on t.v.).  Toss in the fact that Drue's new stepmother was her grade school friend, numerous missing person newspaper clippings found in Drue's new attic dating back to the 1970s, and a young woman who was murdered in the hotel down the street, and you get a perfect summer mystery!

While I devoured this book, I wasn't a complete fan of the twisty turns and conclusion of the mystery itself within the last 100 pages or so.  It seemed to be a little too fast, but is also something that I have felt while reading other mysteries. So Dewey Readers, I leave you with a rating of 4.5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.  Add this novel to your summer TBR! 

Until the next read!
~Jessica   

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Maid for Love by Marie Force - Reshelved Books

Hello Dewey Readers! 

At last year's Book Con, Jillian and I received signed copies of Marie Force's novel Maid for Love.  Because this novel is a mass-market paperback, I brought it with me on my recent romantic vacation to Cape Cod.  I didn't read much of on vacation...actually this book took me about 2 weeks to finish, which is not my usual reading pace. 

While I love a good love story, I'm not usually into the heavy romance genre.  Judging by the cover of this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.  This book is not raunchy or overly sexy.  But it IS light and fluffy.  It's a meet-cute, rich boy saves poor and innocent misunderstood girl story that's definitely kept PG-13.  Basically, it's a great book to throw in your beach bag.  

So if you're looking for a book to read pool side, give this one a try, I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 Coffee Beans. (The last line sort of irked me.) I guess we can't always judge a book by it's cover.

Until the next read! 
~Jessica 

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Murder Knocks Twice (Speakeasy Mysteries #1) by Susanna Calkins- Reshelved Books

Image result for murder knocks twice
Amazon posting for the book

I am happy to announce that I am moving on from my interest in the romance genre was now been replaced with an interest in the mystery.

I am also happy to say that this book was one that I enjoyed far more than The Glass Ocean (in case you're curious in knowing how I felt- that review can be found here)

This book is the first book in the series called "Speakeasy Mystery" by Susanna Calkins; the title of the book for this post is Murder Knocks Twice.  (I must admit, I'm excited for the next book to come out)


Set in the West Side of Chicago, during Prohibition (January 1929 to be exact), Murder Knocks Twice follows Gina, a young woman who just hired as a cigarette girl for the Third Door (which is a speak easy).  The timeline for this story happens VERY quickly.  I would be hard pressed to say that this entire book took place over the time frame of a month (and even that is a generous assumption!)

Lulu was already working at the Third Door asked Gina if she would be interested in working as a cigarette girl.  Against her better judgement and due to present circumstances, Gina accepts the position, without having to audition for the position (this makes sense later on), Gina is hired on the spot. 

Gina knew that she was hired to replace the space left open by Dorrie.  Unfortunately, Dorrie was tragically murdered right before the new year.  The circumstances surrounding her death were mysterious and something that *no one* at The Third Door was interested in talking about.  Gina also comes to find out that she is working with Marty Doyle, the photographer at the Third Door who happens to be her late mother's cousin.

Unintentionally, Gina witnesses the murder of fellow employee Marty.  In an effort of desperation, Gina takes and hides Marty's camera when he asks her to hide it to protect the information that he has.  In a series of twists and turns, Gina is able not only to solve the murder of Marty but of Dorrie too (plus a third person!).

According to a post that I found on Calkin's blog, she had originally written part of story featuring Gina as a supporting character.  She had placed the draft away to work on another project.  After years of sitting in what Calkins refers to as the "drawer", she removed the draft and read it.  Calkins discovered that Gina worked better as a main character and she re-worked her story. To read her blog post for yourself, click the link right here.

So, what did I think? 

I liked it! I liked the book.  I give it 4 coffee beans out of 5 coffee beans hands down. It was a fast read but it held my interest.  The back story of Gina's family history didn't overpower the story for me.  I liked more characters than others (I'm looking at Nancy and Roark). 

I really like Roark! I don't know why but I kept wishing that Gina would let him know what she had saw and what was going on earlier.  I feel like the idea of them together would be fun. I really didn't care too much for Nancy.  I thought she was a rather sour character, mainly because of her attitude toward everything.

If you're in the market for a new series that falls under mystery, I recommend this little gem!

~ Jillian

Thursday, May 16, 2019

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Karen White and Lauren Willig- Reshelved Books

Hey everyone!


Amazon Book Listing

Here is a quick review of The Glass Ocean by Beatrix Williams, Karen White and Lauren Willig.


Now. You might be asking yourself: "Why a quick review?"

Well.  It's going to be a quick review because I don't have much to say about the book.  I didn't care for the book. 

I know, I know.  Why even bother posting about it, right? 

(Because if I only posted about the books I did like, we would have a very biased blog here!)

I give The Glass Ocean 2 coffee beans out of 5 coffee beans.  It should be known that I'm giving it an extra boost because I did finish the book! 

I felt like this book had a lot of promise in the beginning.  As it went on, it just got so slow. The slow speed then turned into boredom. 

Then Sarah became boring and she started to annoy me.  Then Tessa started to annoy me with Ginny. 

Robert Langford was really the only character that I did like. 

If the story didn't lose momentum then it probably would have held my interest better?

I am happy to point out that three separate authors wrote this book and I didn't feel like I could tell it was written that way.  It was seamless. (Props for that!)

See ya at the next review!

~ Jillian

PS: Jessica said that she also felt let down by this book! 



Monday, May 13, 2019

The Rift Between Us by Rebecca Marsh- Reshelved Books (ARC) *Updated 6/25/19*

I hope everyone had a lovely week(end) (depending on when this gets posted!)
Image result for the rift between us rebecca marsh
https://www.rebeccalmarsh.com/

I would like to tell you about an ARC that I just read.  The book is called The Rift Between Us and it was sent over by the author, Rebecca Marsh for review.  Like always, any book we're sent is done in ex-change for an honest review. 

This might just be one of the best stories I've read all year.  I honestly mean that; I 110% mean that.  

I highly recommend this book.  I was told a few days ago that the book will be released July 8th 2019!! 

Hey guys! I wanted to let you all know that The Rift Behind Us is available for pre-order now on Amazon!! :) 


The Rift Between Us brings the reader into the rift between sisters Maria, Lauren, and Avery.  Long standing tensions and personal secrets are driving the sisters apart.  Unexpectedly, the girls lose their father, Arthur; Arthur who is the cornerstone of the Anderson family. 

In order to receive the inheritance from their father, the girls must spend two weeks with each other at a lake house.  The hope was that the girls would come together and sort their differences.  (We learn later on that one of their mother's wishes was that the girls would be there for each other- that they would never be there for one another).  In the process of sorting their differences, they have to tackle their own personal battles. 

Marsh didn't let it be known right away what their personal battles were right away.  Those were revealed in time.  I liked this!  In a way, as the reader you were piecing together the clues that were given to figure out what was going on.  I was able to figure out Lauren's battle first, Maria's came next and last was Avery.  


One of the big things I noticed in this book was that there was character development. (We should have caught on by now that I do enjoy a story where the characters grow over the course).  Which got me thinking... So I reached out to Rebecca Marsh and asked if she would be willing to answer a few short questions for this review. 


Rebecca was awesome for answering the three questions I had sent over.  

1. What was your inspiration for this book?
"If you asked me this question about anything else I've written, I would probably tell you that I really have no idea where it came from. However, In this case, I can tell you that the idea for this story stemmed from conversations with my mother. A few years ago she shared with me her concern that, one day when she was gone, her children would drift apart, and it was from those conversations that the idea for this story bloomed."

2. Did you find one character more enjoyable to write? If so, why?
"No, I really enjoyed all three of the sisters in this story. Someone I know once said that he likes being a writer because it gives you permission to talk about your imaginary friends. And he's right, as characters grow in your mind, they can begin to feel like people you really know."


3. There was a lot of character development, did you feel that one woman grew more so than the other two? 

"That's a though one. They all had to step out and grow in different ways. Avery may not have gone as far as the others, but I think her road, in some ways, was a bit harder."

As mentioned above, all three women have their own stories (battles, maybe?) and from this, they are able to grow with the help of each other. (I could tell you what their stories were but then I would ruin the book for you.  What's the fun in that? There isn't any!)

The story that Marsh wrote was beautiful and packed with emotion.  I was happy, sad, and hopeful. The ending of the story made sense.  It didn't feel incomplete; it wrapped up in a way so it was complete (on all fronts - the stories of the 3 women and the book in general).

I would give this 10 coffee beans out of 5, if I could!  Since that's not possible, I'm going to give it 5 coffee beans out of five.  I highly recommend it!

~ Jillian


Wednesday, May 1, 2019

The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib - Reshelved Books

Hello Dewey Readers!

Do you know what time it is!? That's right, it's book review time!  I recently finished  Yara Zgheib's novel The Girls at 17 Swann Street. This novel is fantastic.  

The Girls at 17 Swann Street tells the story of one young woman's struggle with anorexia. 
Anna is 25 years old and used to be a dancer.  Although Anna is happily married now to a wonderful man, her past relationship was controlling, especially when it came to her weight.  Coupled with the pressure of being the best and thinnest dancer, Anna began to restrict her food.  She would compromise with herself, if she were to go to the movies with her husband in the evening and eat popcorn, she would fast the day before.  After suffering an injury, Anna was unable to dance and was thus replaced.  Her husband was also transferred from France to America for work, causing Anna to uproot her life both in terms of where she lived and her career.  Her anorexia only became worse.

Anna's husband and family chose to ignore the signs, until her disease escalated to the point where if she didn't get help she would die, and so Anna enters a treatment facility for girls who suffer from eating disorders at 17 Swann Street.  This novel tackles the mental and physical aspects of anorexia, the struggles, the triumphs, and the setbacks.  Zgheib uses short chapters and short paragraphs to tell the story allowing for a quick pace, which compliments how the reader is immersed in the story and lives of the characters, wanting and needing to read more.       

This novel is a haunting and necessary read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.  I leave you with a rating of 5 out of 5 Coffee Beans.

Until the next read!
~Jessica