Colloquium

Book Review: Leaving Before It’s Over

Thursday, September 2, 2010

In her latest book, Leaving Before It’s Over, Jean Reynolds Page explores the true meaning of “family.”

Is a family defined by genetic components and shared DNA? Or is a family about community? Can a family be forged from love by people who share a common, painful background and, at least on the surface, absolutely nothing else in common? And just because your DNA is substantially similar to someone else’s, does that mean that you are alike in the ways that matter most? And that you must behave as though you are part of a family? Or is our true family comprised of the people we should to surround ourselves with?

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Leaving Before It’s Over

Synopsis:

The Vines family is struggling. Rosalind is ill and, because business has been slow at her husband, Roy’s, auto repair shop, he let their health insurance coverage lapse. Now Rosaline needs to see specialists who will determine a treatment regimen, all of which, even in 1976, will cost far more money than Roy can possibly scrape together.

Roy has no choice but to return to his home and the family of origin he hasn’t even spoken to in eleven years, including his identical twin brother, Mont, in the hope that they will help pay for Rosalind’s care. Roy chose Rosalind over his family and inheritance, and told his two daughters, Lola, 16, and little Janie Ray, 4, that his parents were dead, because he figured that would be less painful for them than the truth. He and Rosalind moved to Linton Springs, North Carolina where they have happily raised their girls, even though their small home is “half of a half-empty duplex” and they have never been financially well-off.

Roy is reunited with his father, Taylor, and mother, Lydia, for the first time in well over a decade. He also meets Luke, the seventeen-year-old who looks just like him. He learns that Luke has been living with his parents since Luke’s mother, Sherry — who was also Roy’s ex-wife — died unexpectedly eight years ago.

When Luke gets into trouble, Mont and his father devise a plan. Mont will give Roy the money he needs, if he takes Luke home to live with Roy and his family for the summer. Luke is scheduled to graduate from high school in two weeks, but Mont has even bigger plans. He is running for office and can’t afford a scandal. Roy reluctantly agrees because Luke believes Roy is his biological father — and that he abandoned him years ago. Now Roy has to convince Rosalind to let Luke stay with them and their girls in a house that is so small Roy has to convert the porch into a sleeping room for Luke. And Luke has to adjust to living with a family he never knew he had — and isn’t sure he wants to get to know.

Review:

Jean Reynolds Page

Page’s brilliant exploration of identical twins grew out of her childhood fascination of the “evil twin” plot device that was frequently employed on the popular television programs we watched as we were growing up. Her favorite was I Dream of Jeannie. Jeannie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, “changed her hair color and you suddenly had yourself a villain.”

In the case of Roy Vines and his identical twin brother, Mont, they look more alike than any other twins that folks around Gray’s Hollow have ever seen. Even as grown men, they can still fool their parents into believing that they are having a conversation with the other brother. As a boy, Roy wanted to feel close to and a connection with Mont, but before the two boys reached puberty, Roy knew that, despite their physical similarities, they were very different. He was saddened even then by the fact that they lived completely separate, detached lives. Matters did not improve when Roy married his first wife, Sherry, and Mont married Della.

Roy knows just how lucky he was to subsequently meet and marry Rosalind, even though their relationship cost him not just his family members, but his inheritance, family legacy, and home. Still, he has never regretted leaving Gray’s Hollow and establishing a simple, but happy home with Rosalind and their two daughters. And Roy cannot bear the thought of not being able to properly care for her now that she has been diagnosed with a serious blood disorder. As the story opens, Roy has swallowed his pride and done the one thing that Rosalind knows he would only do in the case of absolute desperation. He has returned to Gray’s Hollow to ask his family for money to pay for the medical care she needs to survive. Roy is a principled, ethical, hard-working man for whom nothing is more important than his wife and children, including his dignity. A man of few words who generally thinks before he speaks, Page’s descriptions of Roy conjure up images of Gary Cooper or Gregory Peck.

“I’ve often experienced the feeling of escape when reading a novel, but fiction can also serve as a way to engage, as well – to connect the dots from past realities to present ones.”
~~ Jean Reynolds Page

Page deftly showcases the distinctions between the family from which Roy came with the family he and Rosalind have created. And indeed there are a few villains in this story. Mont’s character flaws are gradually revealed as the story progresses and more details about his history are revealed. Page does an excellent job of keeping her readers guessing about Mont’s motivations until the very last few pages of the book. Things are not always as they seem, and Roy is forced to come to terms with the fact that Mont has kept many secrets over the years, some of which were always known to folks Roy thought had no idea about the truth. In fact, Roy eventually learns that the fundamental assumptions upon which he has shaped his life were erroneous as Mont’s true nature simultaneously becomes apparent to Roy and the reader.

But it is Lola who is the heart, soul, and spirit of this story. At 16, Lola is wise beyond her years — an elderly neighbor woman calls her an “old soul.” She is opinionated, as well, and wants answers from her parents about what is happening to her family. She frequently speaks up, to the delight of her mother, Rosalind, who loves her husband deeply, but also has her own voice — something not all married American women, particularly in the South, had yet developed in 1976. After all, the Women’s Movement was ongoing, and Betty Ford had recently shocked Americans by declaring that she slept in the same bed as her husband in the White House. At first leery of her new-found older brother, Lola cannot deny the kinship that she feels with Luke and finds herself wondering if their deep connection has always existed, even though they have only just met and are in the process of getting to know each other.

And what if they aren’t really brother and sister, after all? Lola has to determine whether a genetic connection is what binds her to Luke or if it is actually something deeper. Does it matter, anyway? Either way, in her eyes, he is still family.

Luke is nearly a man, but, as Rosalind discovers, still very much a little boy, too. One who has never felt unconditional love and acceptance from his father’s family, and is trying to hold onto and honor his memories of his mother, even though they are slipping further away with time. He finds himself drawn to his new family, especially when his father treats him as an individual worthy of respect and acknowledges Luke’s kind and helpful spirit. Luke begins to see Roy as the father he always wished he had, even though he feels loyalty to his grandfather and grandmother who provided him with a home after his mother’s death. In their home, though, he perceived himself to be a burden or obligation. With Roy and his new-found family, he senses that he is valued and loved, but Mont threatens to destroy Luke’s new-found security and his chance to be happy. When Roy insists that Luke must make his own decisions, he, like Lola, must decide what matters most to him: Familiarity and his life-long connection to his paternal grandparents and Uncle Mont or the relationships he is forging with the father and siblings he thought he would never get to know?

Mysteries abound and as the end of the book is near, the action picks up speed and clues begin to take on meaning. Shocking revelations place the various characters at crossroads, making decisions about their futures and, in some instances, devising mechanisms to protect other characters’ futures.

Page expertly sets the scene with salient references to life in 1976 that will make readers old enough to remember oil embargoes, bell bottom pants, and Chevy Novas wax nostalgic. I had the urge to pop in a few eight-track tapes of my favorite ’70’s tunes while reading, and when the character of Duncan, the somewhat troubled young man to whom Lola is drawn, describes how he spent two years restoring a classic Ford Mustang, I found myself wishing I could still take my 1968 Mercury Cougar for a spin.

Leaving Before It’s Over is the first work by Jean Reynolds Page that I have read, but it won’t be the last. Although in many ways, life seemed to be much simpler back in 1976, before we forgot how to live without the internet, iPads, iPods, iPhones, and Wii’s, that wasn’t always the case. Family dynamics and relationships have always been complicated — and always will be — which is what makes reading about them so thought-provoking and enjoyable, especially when an author as skilled as Jean Reynolds Page crafts an absorbing tale like Leaving Before It’s Over.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Leaving Before It’s Over free of charge from TLC Book Tours as part of the TLC Book Tours review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington

Saturday, August 28, 2010

During World War II, women played an integral role in the fight for freedom, not on the battlefields where their fathers, brothers, husbands, sweethearts, et al. were fighting, but back at home. Women left their roles as wives and homemakers, and took jobs that directly supported the war effort.

In Seattle, the Boeing Plant 2 was large enough for eight football fields to fit inside it. The plant was camouflaged by a residential neighborhood constructed on its roof, designed to fool any Japanese bombers who might navigate into the airspace over Seattle. During the War, as many as sixteen B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were produced there daily — around 7,000 total — largely due to the efforts of the “Rosie the Riveters” who worked on the assembly line for $.65 per hour.

Ironically, the old plant is set to be demoished this year, given that no planes have been manufactured there for over 40 years. But history will never forget Boeing Plant 2 or the “Rosie the Riveters” who toiled there with the hope that their contribution would help bring America’s soldiers home safely.

Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss have memorialized that time, place, and some of the actual events that transpired there in a charming new work of Christian historical fiction. I’m delighted to host Litfuse Publicity’s Blog Tour for Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington .

Synopsis:

Ocieanna Fleiss & Tricia Goyer

The year is 1943 and America is at war. Rosalie Madison was engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Vic, but did not marry him before he was called into battle. Now she feels extremely guilty about having hesitated, especially since the chance to marry him has been forever lost to her. She is determined to assuage her guilt and honor Vic’s memory by working at the Boeing Plant 2 in Seattle as a riveter.

En route to work at the plant, Rosalie stops at Victory Square and literally runs into an ambitious local newspaper reporter who has been dispatched to get candid photos of movie star Lana Turner as she takes the stage during a personal appearance there. Rosalie has a very low opinion of journalists — that was her estranged father’s profession. Her father’s habit of abandoning his family to chase after the next big story, leaving broken hearts and promises in his wake, has left Rosalie determined never to trust a reporter.

Real “Rosie the Riveters” at work in Seattle Boeing Plant 2 riveting skin onto the tail section of a B-17 bomber.

But Kenny Davenport is charming and kind-hearted, and Rosalie is definitely attracted to him. When Turner spots the two of them in the crowd, arguing loudly, she assumes that they are quarreling lovebirds. Spurred on by Kenny’s friend, Nick, the bassist in the band performing with Turner, she pulls Rosalie and Kenny on stage. The moment is captured in the local newspaper, and Kenny’s editor decides that a whole series of articles about the beautiful young riveter are in order. Or else. If Kenny doesn’t get publicity-shy Rosalie to agree to be the subject of the articles, not only will he not get a chance to write the meaningful story he has been pitching to his boss, he will be fired.

Meanwhile, Rosalie and some of her fellow riveters face homelessness. The apartment building in which they live is about to be torn down and they have 30 days to find a new home. Miss Tilly, proprietor of The Golden Nugget coffee shop, owns a dilapidated old house in Victory Heights. If Rosalie and her fellow riveters can build B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, Miss Tilly figures they should be able to tackle dry rot, peeling paint, broken windows, and the house’s other problems in order to save it from condemnation. If the women can fix the house up, she will let them make it their new home. But money is tight and supplies are being rationed. Can they save the old house where Kenny spent so much time as a young man, including during his college years when he stayed there with the woman he calls Aunt Tilly?

Can Rosalie learn to trust Kenny, despite his profession, and give in to her feelings for him? Can Kenny understand what it means to engage in work that will make both one’s family and oneself proud and fulfilled?

Review:

Rosie the Riveter

Against the backdrop of actual events, Goyer and Fleiss have created a cast of fictional characters that are convincingly authentic. Painstakingly researched and accurate to the last detail, Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington draws the reader back through the decades to a time when Americans were united in a common goal and everyone was called upon to do his/her part to bring about victory.

Some historians refer to those days as a “simpler time” in U.S. history because, unlike during subsequent conflicts, there was no anti-war sentiment, and demonstrations against America’s war efforts were completely unheard of. But as members of my generation — children of the men and women who lived through and fought during World War II — know from the stories we heard growing up, those days were anything but simple. My own father — Kenny Hickok — was drafted in 1942 and served in Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines while my mother waited for his return on her family’s farm in South Dakota. My father spoke little and infrequently of his days in the U.S. Army Air Corps, but my mother told many stories about what it was like for her, waiting for his letters to arrive as she heard news reports about the various battles, wondering where he was and if he was safe.

President Roosevelt toured the plant in September 1942, an event that is discussed in the book.

Rosalie is motivated by powerful past events in her life, including her own father’s disregard for his family. And she has been emotionally damaged by the deaths of the other two important men in her life: Her brother was killed during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and her fiancee, Vic, died flying a mission in a B-17 that bore her name and likeness. She is understandably full of pent-up anger, resentment, regret, and wracked with guilt about the fact that she could not bring herself to marry Vic before he left — and planned to break off their engagement when he returned. She feels very much alone, even though she lives among a lively group of plant coworkers, and believes that she can overcome her fears and sadness by working hard at the plant, building planes that will help defeat the enemy so that no other women need to suffer the kind of losses she has endured.

Kenny, meanwhile, is dealing with his own share of guilt. His father, a chaplain, has been injured while serving and his family knows only that he survived, but is not yet aware of the magnitude of his injuries. Kenny promised this father that, rather than enlisting, he would get a job in a big city where he would have an opportunity to write important newspaper stories that “make a difference.” Instead, he has been reduced by his editor, Mr. Bixby, to writing fluff pieces. He is driven by his desire to write a story that will expose the need for contractors to be accorded the same benefits and assistant as veterans, but it looks like the story might be assigned to his arch rival at the newspaper unless he can convince Rosalie to be the subject of articles focused upon “Seattle’s Own Rosie the Riveter.”

My parents, Kenny & Ethel, in Lodi during WWII.

Goyer and Fleiss expertly examine the emotional struggles their characters are facing by revealing their inner dialogue, as well as their silent prayers. The story is told from a distinctly Christian viewpoint — not only is Kenny revealed at the outset to be a man with a deep and abiding faith, Miss Tilly is responsible for leading Rosalie back to her faith through a conversation in which Rosalie feels safe enough to reveal her tumultuous feelings to the kindly older woman. The narrative is also replete with references to the main characters’ desire to see their friends and coworkers become believers. Changes that come about in Kenny and Rosalie’s lives are attributed to God having led them in a particular direction and toward a specific result. Thus, lacking in this story is some of the introspection and self-focused analysis of the main characters’ motivations and the rationale underlying their decisions that epitomizes secular fiction. Rather, the characters in Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington tend to react to situations and events, agonize about their conduct, and then find resolution through adherence to their faith, just as they find forgiveness from each other in the same manner.

The story is mesmerizing because the characters are intriguing and relatable, whether or not the reader shares their religious outlook. Kenny and Rosalie are earnest, well-intentioned people confronting obstacles and challenges that are peculiar to the extraordinary time in which they live.

Goyer and Fleiss have exquisitely captured the culture and mood of the period by injecting details pertaining to actual events, such as Rosalie’s first meeting with Kenny in Victory Square: Lana Turner did, in fact, appear there in support of the war effort. The characters discuss the fact that President Roosevelt toured the plant and Rosalie proudly tells Kenny that, although she did not actually see the President, she worked on the plane that the President viewed. And there is a very poignant moment when Rosalie looks at the poster of Rosie the Riveter and ponders her own status as Seattle’s local version of that icon. Goyer and Fleiss also set the tone by describing the characters’ jaunts to a couple of the actual nightclubs that were popular in those days and the way they dance to some of the most recognizable music of that era.

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington is a delightful look at the young lives of fictional representatives of what Tom Brokaw termed “the greatest generation.” It is not only an entertaining tale of how two people overcome past hurts and regrets and, through grace, forge a life together, it is also an informative glimpse into how the residents of one region of this country contributed their time and talent in support of U.S. troops who were fighting on various battlefields around the world. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction written from a Christian perspective.

I read Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington free of charge from the authors as part of the Litfuse Publicity review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

{ 3 comments }

Book Tour: The Devil In Pew Number Seven

Thursday, August 26, 2010

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief biography of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non-fiction, for young, or for old … or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:

Rebecca Alonzo

And the book is:

The Devil in Pew Number Seven

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 2, 2010)

Special thanks to Christy Wong of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. for sending me a review copy.

About the Author

Rebecca Nichols Alonzo

Becky Alonzo never felt safe as a child. Although she lived next door to the church her father pastored, the devil lived across the street. This tormented man terrorized her family with rifle shots and ten bombings. When these violent acts didn’t scare them away, he went even further. During dinner one evening, seven-year-old Becky and her younger brother watched as their parents were gunned down. Today Becky speaks about betrayal and the power of forgiveness. She is a graduate of Missouri State University and has been involved in ministry, including a church plant, youth outreach, and missions, for thirteen years. She and her husband, along with their two children, live in Franklin, Tennessee.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 2, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1414326599
ISBN-13: 978–1414326597

And now … the first chapter:

Walking, Crawling, Dead or Alive

I ran.

My bare feet pounding the pavement were burning from the sunbaked asphalt. Each contact between flesh and blacktop provoked bursts of pain as if I were stepping on broken glass. The deserted country road, stretching into the horizon, felt as if it were conspiring against me. No matter how hard I pushed myself, the safe place I was desperate to reach eluded me.

Still, I ran.

Had a thousand angry hornets been in pursuit, I couldn’t have run any faster. Daddy’s instructions had been simple: I had to be a big girl, run down the street as fast as my legs could carry me, and get help. There was nothing complicated about his request. Except for the fact that I’d have to abandon my hiding place under the kitchen table and risk being seen by the armed madman who had barricaded himself with two hostages in my bedroom down the hall. I knew, however, that ignoring Daddy’s plea was out of the question.

And so I ran.

Even though Daddy struggled to appear brave, the anguish in his eyes spoke volumes. Splotches of blood stained his shirt just below his right shoulder. The inky redness was as real as the fear gnawing at the edges of my heart. I wanted to be a big girl for the sake of my daddy. I really did. But the fear and chaos now clouding the air squeezed my lungs until my breathing burned within my chest.

My best intentions to get help were neutralized, at least at first. I remained hunkered down, unable to move, surrounded by the wooden legs of six kitchen chairs. I had no illusions that a flimsy 6 x 4 foot table would keep me safe, yet I was reluctant to leave what little protection it afforded me.

In that space of indecision, I wondered how I might open the storm door without drawing attention to myself. One squeak from those crusty hinges was sure to announce my departure plans. Closing the door without a bang against the frame was equally important. The stealth of a burglar was needed, only I wasn’t the bad guy.

Making no more sound than a leaf falling from a tree, I inched my way out from under the table. I stood and then scanned the room, left to right. I felt watched, although I had no way of knowing for sure whether or not hostile eyes were studying my movements. I inhaled the distinct yet unfamiliar smell of sulfur lingering in the air, a calling card left behind from the repeated blasts of a gun.

I willed myself to move.

My bare feet padded across the linoleum floor.

I was our family’s lifeline, our only connection to the outside world. While I hadn’t asked to be put in that position, I knew Daddy was depending on me. More than that, Daddy needed me to be strong. To act. To do what he was powerless to do. I could see that my daddy, a strong ex–Navy man, was incapable of the simplest movement. The man whom I loved more than life itself, whose massive arms daily swept me off my feet while swallowing me with an unmatched tenderness, couldn’t raise an arm to shoo a fly.

To see him so helpless frightened me.

Yes, Daddy was depending on me.

Conflicted at the sight of such vulnerability, I didn’t want to look at my daddy. Yet my love for him galvanized my resolve. I reached for the storm-door handle. Slow and steady, as if disarming a bomb, and allowing myself quick glances backward to monitor the threat level of a sudden ambush, I opened the storm door and stepped outside. With equal care, I nestled the metal door against its frame.

I had to run.

I shot out from under the carport, down the driveway, and turned right where concrete and asphalt met. The unthinkable events of the last five minutes replayed themselves like an endless-loop video in my mind. My eyes stung, painted with hot tears at the memory. Regardless of their age, no one should have to witness what I had just experienced in that house—let alone a seven-year-old girl. The fresh images of what had transpired moments ago mocked me with the fact that my worst fears had just come true.

I had to keep running.

Although I couldn’t see any activity through the curtains framing my bedroom window, that didn’t mean the gunman wasn’t keeping a sharp eye on the street. I hesitated, but only for a moment more. What might happen gave way to what had happened. I had to get help. Now, almost frantic to reach my destination, I redoubled my efforts.

I ran on.

To get help for Momma and Daddy. To escape the gunman. To get away from all the threatening letters, the sniper gunshots, the menacing midnight phone calls, the home invasions—and the devil who seemed to be behind so many of them.

But I’m getting ahead of the story.

Review:

My review of this chilling true story will be published soon!

{ 4 comments }

Book Review and Two Giveaways: Licensed for Trouble

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Susan May Warren’s third and final installment in her series about wanna-be private investigator P.J. Sugar, Licensed for Trouble, stands on its own. Even if you have not read the first two volumes, Nothing But Trouble and Double Trouble, you will find it hard to put down once you start reading. But die-hard P.J. Sugar and Warren fans will tell you that if you don’t read the first two books, you will be missing out on a very special reading experience.

Synopsis:

P.J. Sugar wants to be a private investigator. But a series of prior mishaps endangered, among others, P.J.‘s nephew, Davey. So P.J.‘s sister, Connie, an attorney with whom P.J. had been living, threw P.J. out of her house.

So private investigator Jeremy Kane, P.J.‘s boss, is allowing her to sleep, temporarily at least, on the couch in his office. Jeremy has a unique “horizontal” filing system which translates to … Jeremy keeps files on his clients all over the floor and furniture. Tjus, P.J. knows two fundamental truths: She may end up sleeping in the Crown Victoria she has borrowed from her brother-in-law, Sergei, if Jeremy’s business picks up and his filing system finally overtakes the couch. And she really needs to get on with her life now that her relationship with Boone, a local detective, has ended, even though she still has strong feelings for him — not to mention that tattoo of his name on her arm.

P.J. has always been fascinated with the old Kellogg mansion on the lake. As a child, she would imagine what it might be like to live in such a grand house. Shockingly, she learns that the family matriarch, Aggie Kellogg, has died and left the mansion to her!

P.J. embarks on a quest to learn the Kellogg family history and figure out why Aggie would choose her to inherit the now-dilapidated home that P.J. cannot afford to renovate. Electrical, plumbing, and structural problems are just the proverbial tip of the Kellogg mystery iceberg. There is also the matter of an unsolved Kellogg murder: Years ago, Joy Kellogg Barton was found floating in the near-by lagoon.

At her church, Connie meets a handyman in need of work. Max Smith was pulled from the lake by Murph, the local hobo who lives beside the water, with no fingerprints or memories. For reasons he doesn’t recall, Max understands Arabic, knows how to pick locks, and has an intriguing red tattoo of a phoenix. Max wants to know who he is and where he comes from, so he strikes a deal with P.J. He will undertake renovating and restoring the Kellogg mansion in exchange for P.J.‘s efforts to “find” him.

In the midst of all of those complications, P.J. and Connie’s mother, Elizabeth, seems to have gone missing.

So begins P.J.‘s journey to piece together the murky clues about Max’s past, her own future, and, perhaps, love that lasts a lifetime and beyond, if only she and Jeremy can each come to terms with and leave their pasts behind.

Review:

Susan May Warren

In the tradition of Janet Evanovich, Susan May Warren sets into motion several intersecting story lines involving P.J. “Nothing But Trouble” Sugar, who is back in her Minnesota hometown after ten years running from place to place. As with Evanovich’s series featuring Stephanie Plum, another would-be private investigator, two men care deeply for P.J. Boone, with whom she grew up, has long held her heart, but P.J. knows that their relationship needs to be confined to friendship, not romance. After all, Boone is in large part responsible for her being known as “Nothing But Trouble,” a moniker she has internalized to the point that her self-image tempts her to resume running when challenges threaten to overtake her. But P.J. really wants to free herself from the mayhem that has characterized her past and settle down.

And then there is Jeremy, her handsome, secretive employer. He obviously returns P.J.‘s feelings, but he is afraid to let go and love another woman because of the devastating losses he previously suffered. Ever so slowly, he begins to trust his feelings for P.J. and believe her when she reminds him, yet again, that her relationship with Boone is really in the past. Jeremy struggles, though, with the fact that Boone, like him, constantly appears on scene, ready to rescue P.J. from whatever pickle she has gotten herself into. The two men’s testosterone-filled fight for supremacy in P.J.‘s heart and life is realistic and nearly as much fun as watching Stephanie Plum try to decide between Morelli and Ranger.

Warren expertly reveals small clues to the multiple mysteries that P.J. must solve at perfectly timed intervals. She provides just enough information to make it impossible to put the book down with reading just a few more pages to see if your hunch was right. And in the tradition of the best mystery writers, she teases her readers with details that may — or may not — ultimately be relevant to the mystery’s resolution.

And Warren surrounds P.J. with a host of colorful characters who, again, may or may not be one of the pieces to the puzzle. Whether they are or not, they are vibrantly drawn so that their likeness is easily visualized.

But P.J. is the star of Warren’s story and her misadventures will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page. From the outset, when P.J. tries to her best to nail raccoon costume-wearing bail-jumper while she is dressed as a hot dog through a couple of near-death catastrophes, the predicaments in which Warren places P.J. make for unpredictable, but enjoying reading.

Interspersed amid the action are a few conversations between P.J. and Jeremy about faith. There are references to P.J. owning and reading a Bible, although not often enough by her own standards. But the few references to God are subtle and serve only to further define and shape the characters, providing a foundation that allows the reader to understand and appreciate their value systems and beliefs. Unlike Evanovich’s characters. P.J., Boone, and Jeremy are chaste. But their voices are never preachy or overtly bent on proselytizing, so Warren’s trilogy will appeal to readers from all or no faith backgrounds.

Nothing But Trouble is, at its core, about starting over — moving forward by learning about and from the past, but not allowing the past to weigh one down to the point that the future becomes infinitely elusive. Warren is clearly sending her readers a message when Max becomes disheartened, wondering aloud, “Why did I ever decide to track down my past?”

“Because … it matters.” Jeremy glanced away, the edges of his mouth tight as if his words had leaked out beyond his control. “Because knowing who you are gives every choice you make relevance.” He stared at P.J., tenderness in his eyes. “Because if you know what you’ve been through — th things you’ve done, both good and bad — the choices you make today have merit. Resonance.” He touched her face, ran a thumb down her cheek. “Not knowing your past steals meaning from your future.”

The action bogs down just a bit with a few too many “will they or won’t they” moments, and it seems that P.J. and Jeremy have the same conversation about faith a couple of times more than is necessary, but those are minor criticisms. When all of the clues begin to make sense and the answers to all of the reader’s questions are about to be revealed, the pace picks up, leading to a climactic resolution, with some rip-roaringly surprising details revealed.

Susan May Warren, a Christian, says that she just tries to “to write the best story I can.… Writing is work, but in the end, it should give the author a deep satisfaction that she/he is working out the gift God has given them.” With Licensed for Trouble, as well the two previous P.J. Sugar adventures, Warren has put her gift to very good use and should be deriving great satisfaction from that fact. I highly recommend all three volumes, but especially Licensed for Trouble.

Enter to win a copy of Licensed for Trouble

The author has graciously provided me with a copy of the book to give to one lucky Colloquium reader who will be selected at random.

NOTE: This giveaway is open only to readers who follow Colloquium on Google Friend Connect. In order to be entered in the giveaway, leave a comment, making sure to include both your Google Friend Connect name and your email address (for notification purposes)!

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Books can only be shipped to United States addresses (no P.O. boxes).

Entry Deadline:

Sunday, August 29, 2010, at 11:59 p.m. (Pacific time)

The winner will be selected at random and announced on Monday, August 30, 2010!

Enter P.J. Sugar’s “Sweet” Giveaway

One grand prize winner will be announced on September 2, 2010! The lucky winner will receive a A SWEET Kindle prize package that includes:

A brand new Kindle (Free 3G, 6”, Latest Generation)
The entire PJ Sugar series by Susan May Warren

To enter, simply click on the icons below to fill out the entry form, then tell 5 or more friends about the contest.

I read Licensed for Trouble in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Licensed for Trouble free of charge from the author in conjunction with the Litfuse Publicity Group review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Book Review: Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It takes a really funny book to get me to laugh out loud — actually guffaw and even snort a couple of times — when I’m sitting on my patio, enjoying a cool evening breeze wafting in from the Delta through my oak trees, sipping a glass of fine Lodi wine as I read.

But that’s exactly the kind of evening I was in the mood for … and precisely the kind of relaxing, thoroughly enjoyable evening I savored as I read the first novel from Maya Jax, a self-described “author, aspiring super hero, closet ninja,” Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me!

Welcome to Pump Up Your Book’s Virtual Book Tour for Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me

Synopsis:

Lelaina Zane does not want to be a lawyer. Her parents, both attorneys, want her to take over the firm that they built and nurtured just for her.

But for the past three years since she graduated from law school, Lelaina has been living in Los Angeles and attempting to launch her career as a screen writer. So far, all she has amassed is one completed script … and piles of rejection notices. As one agent reminds her, “Ninjas and spies are out. Vampires are in.” Others, like Tom Edwards, are less kind: “I read your screenplay. If I could only get those three hours back.”

Her first love, Conner, lives in their hometown, practicing medicine. He’s the last person she wants to see. So naturally, she runs into him as soon as she is called home when her father suffers a heart attack.

The Bar Examination is four weeks away, and her parents are determined to see her pass it, join their firm, and settle into a responsible, respectable life. But there may be one last hope for her burgeoning career as a writer, if she can just get back to Los Angeles long enough to meet with a potential agent.

And if the meeting goes well, what will she tell her parents? Will her feelings for Conner compel her to give up on her dreams?

Review:

Maya Jax

I have one major complaint about Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me: It ended, as they say, “just when it was getting good better.” I certainly hope that Maya Jax is already hard at work drafting the sequel, because I am not going to be satisfied until I find out what happens to Lelaina next.

Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me is a perfect summer book. Jax’s crisp writing is fresh, witty, and fast-paced. From the first page, Lelaina’s self-deprecating frustration plays out as she finds herself in one hilariously inappropriate, expertly paced situation after another. Along the way, she manages to encounter a varied and intriguing cast of supporting characters ranging from her caring but needy parents to her roommate, Travis, who supports her unconditionally while encouraging her not to abandon her dream.

“I love Lelaina because I feel her pain. Many of my friends became doctors and lawyers, and you start to question your sanity as a struggling writer when your friends are buying homes, designer clothes and luxury cars, while you’re still eating peanut butter sandwiches for every meal.”

~~ Maya Jax

Of course, there’s Conner, the impossibly charming first love who broke her heart three years earlier. He does not appear to have changed much, even as he swears that he never stopped loving Lelaina. Their mutual friend, Joe, does not want to be placed in the uncomfortable position of having to choose between his two best friends, and offers Lelaina unique and surprising insights into the dynamics of her relationship with Conner. But the lure of that first big love, even years later, is powerful. Lelaina has to decide whether she wants to or can resist Conner’s charm. Settling down with Conner in their hometown could offer comfort and predictability, but where Conner is concerned, that’s precisely the problem.

Amid the fast-paced action, Jax sagely injects moments of tenderness and irony, as when Lelaina finds it impossible to heed the direction given her by the director of the preschool where she has returned to work while studying for the Bar Examination. She morphs into an amateur sleuth in order to aid one of her students and his family, even though she risks losing her job by doing so. Her compassion and determination reveal that, if she focused her efforts, she could be a very effective attorney because Lelaina can also be resourceful, resilient, and stubbornly zealous.

Jax has deftly crafted a subtly complex and nuanced character with whom women readers can readily identify, regardless of their age, because Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me is ultimately about a woman faced with critical choices about her life and how she will live it. Lelaina must decide whether to compromise in order to make the people she loves happy or focus on her own goals — in her own manner, in her own time, and in Los Angeles, the city she has adopted.

In her first published novel, Jax has delivered a clever, entertaining examination of a classic literary dilemma that never seems to grow stale or boring: Can — or should — Lelaina go home again? Summer doesn’t officially end until September 21, so you still have time to find out before autumn sets in.

I read Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me in conjunction with the 2010 Read ‘n’ Review Challenge.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one copy of Escapades of Romantically Challenged Me free of charge from the author in conjunction with the Pump Up Your Book review and virtual book tour program. I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. This disclosure complies with 16 Code of Federal Regulations, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Winner: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey

August 23, 2010

Aik Friends and Family Thank you to all who participated in the contest!

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Book Review: Paula Deen’s Savannah Style

August 18, 2010

Paula Deen’s life story is a classic American tale of unprecedented success earned after years of struggling against adversity. A Georgia native, in just over twenty years she has parlayed a $200 investment and a few modest dreams into a multi-national empire that produces hit television shows (she has four running on the Food Network […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Book Review and Giveaway: Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey

August 16, 2010

When the opportunity to read and review Healing with Words — A Writer’s Cancer Journey arose, one of my best friends had just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Since meeting her in 1977, she has been one of the people in my life who has always stood by me, offering unconditional love and support, as […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Book Review: With Friends Like These

August 11, 2010

How important to you are your long-time friendships? How well do you think you know your friends? Are you sure that you know just what kinds of behavior your friends are capable of? Do you trust them? Are you sure that they have your best interests at heart? How well do you know yourself? How willing […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Teaser Tuesday: The Opposite of Me

August 10, 2010

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Each week participants open to a random page in the book they are currently reading and share two (or three) “teaser” sentences from that page, being careful not to include spoilers, i.e. too much information that would ruin the experience of reading […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Sunday Salon: Peaceful Summer Evenings

August 8, 2010

We have had a delightful summer here in the little village of Lodi. The temperatures have been uncharacteristically mild. Usually, by mid-August, we have endured many days when the temperature has soared past 100 degrees, with the average being in the mid to upper 90’s. Air conditioners chugging throughout the neighborhood, there can sometimes be […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

Book Review: The Perfect Family

August 2, 2010

What do you do when the life you have so carefully constructed begins to fall apart? How do you react when you learn that the future you envisioned for yourself and your loved ones is not going to materialize? How do you respond when your children’s expectations for their lives are not in alignment with […]

{Click here! You know you want to keep reading . . . }

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