December 2010

Book Review: Happy Hour

December 31, 2010

Synopsis: As the story opens, four women are standing on the precipice. Kat McClintock, a divorced mother of two sons, is interviewing for a position as a sommelier with a new, trendy San Francisco restaurant. The interview takes a surprising turn. Alyssa Johnson teaches art in Soho. She is engaged to marry Terrell Henley, but […]

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

Book Review: The Opposite of Me

December 31, 2010

Synopsis: It’s hard to imagine any relationship more complicated than that of sisters, except possibly that of twin sisters. Author Sarah Pekkanen’s debut novel, The Opposite of Me, is the story of Lindsey Rose. Now twenty-nine years old, Lindsey believes that she is about to be promoted to the position of creative vice president of […]

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

Book Review: J’adore New York

December 30, 2010

Synopsis: Catherine Lambert loves fashion and the law. One of only three applicants, out of a pool of thirty, selected to transfer from Edwards & White’s Paris office to its Manhattan headquarters, and the only one assigned to the corporate group, Catherine is determined to continue impressing her bosses with her diligence and legal prowess. […]

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

Book Review: The Perfect Christmas

December 30, 2010

Synopsis: Cassie Beaumont is, at the age of thirty-four, an accomplished woman. A biochemist for a plastics company, she has achieved professional success, but her personal life has not kept pace. Holed up in a laboratory eight to ten hours per day, she has little opportunity to meet new people — more specifically, men. The […]

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

Book Review: The Wife’s Tale

December 30, 2010

Synopsis: Mary Gooch is forty-three years old, stands five feet, six inches tall, and weighs more than three hundred pounds. For most of her life, save one too-brief interval, she has been overweight. As a child, when she overheard the doctor explain to her mother that Mary was morbidly obese, she thought he said “obeast.” […]

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

Book Review: Leaving Rock Harbor

December 29, 2010

Synopsis: Frankie Ross is fourteen years old and World War I is about to erupt when the story opens in 1916. Her father recently attempted to take his own life, so her parents are moving from Poughkeepsie, New York in search of a new beginning in Rock Harbor, Massachusetts. There, her father begins working as […]

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

Book Review: Every Last One

December 29, 2010

Synopsis: Anna Quindlen has long been one of my favorite writers. She is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of three of my all-time favorite books, Object Lessons, Black and Blue, and One True Thing. Her latest novel, Every Last One, not only matches, but exceeds the quality of her previous work. The Lathams are a typical […]

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

Book Review: A Dog Named Christmas

December 28, 2010

Synopsis: Todd was born to George and Maryann McCray late in their lives, after they thought their child-bearing years were behind them. Now 20 years old, Todd lives with them on the Kansas farm that has been in George’s family for several generations. The four older children, their spouses and children, visit frequently. When Todd […]

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

Book Review: Stay With Me

December 28, 2010

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for Stay With Me Synopsis: In 1979, five toddlers ranging in age from two to four years, were abandoned aboard a luxury yacht named “For Tuna” on the coast of Puerto Rico. The vessel had reportedly been lost during Hurricane David. Healthy and apparently cared for, even though one bore […]

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

Interview and Book Giveaway: John Herrick, Author of From the Dead

December 27, 2010

Today it is my pleasure to welcome John Herrick, author of From the Dead to Colloquium! Not only has John graciously allowed me to interview him, he is also providing an autographed copy of the book to be awarded to a lucky reader who will be selected at random (entry details below). Click here to […]

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

Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

December 26, 2010

Synopsis: Cora Crowder isn’t really feeling the Christmas spirit. The child of two alcoholics, Cora grew up in an abusive environment which she survived by immersing herself in her studies. When her mother threw her out of the house, Cora was fortunate to secure a college scholarship and a Christian family with whom she could […]

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

Book Review Blog Carnival

December 26, 2010

Welcome to the 59th Edition of the Book Review Blog Carnival! Fiction Heather reviews Amy Inspired at Proud Book Nerd. Zohar reviews Room by Emma Donoghue at Man of la Book. Kerrie also reviews Room by Emma Donoghue at Mysteries in Paradise. Kerrie recommends it, noting that it was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker […]

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

Fall Into Reading 2010: Wrap-Up

December 23, 2010

Winter arrived on December 21, 2010, signalling the conclusion of the Fall into Reading 2010 challenge. I read all of the books I planned to read, as well as a few additional ones. I have not had time to draft and publish a review of each, but will be doing so in the next few […]

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

Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop

December 21, 2010

Welcome to the Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop! Today is not just the first day of winter. It is also my birthday so it is time to celebrate the fact that I just keep getting better every year, but never older! The Midwinter’s Eve Giveaway Hop is hosted by Inspired Kathy at I am a Reader, […]

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

Book Review: Talismans

December 20, 2010

Welcome to the WOW! Women on Writing Virtual Book Tour for A Whisper to a Scream Synopsis: Two photographs, and a pea coat passed from her grandfather to her father. That’s all Elise has. In one of the photographs, taken at home, she is a baby and he is swinging her in his arms. He […]

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

Book Review: From the Dead

December 19, 2010

Synopsis: Things are not working out the way Jesse Barlow planned. He grew up “the son of a preacher man” — that Dusty Springfield recording was the author’s inspiration for the story — in a small Ohio town, but has been toiling in Los Angeles for eleven years since graduating from high school and coming […]

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

Book Review: The Clouds Roll Away

December 18, 2010

Welcome to Litfuse Publicity’s Blog Tour for The Clouds Roll Away Synopsis: Raleigh Harmon, F.B.I. agent, has just survived a disciplinary transfer to the Bureau’s Seattle, Washington field office. Happily back home in Richmond, Virginia, she is willing to suffer the humiliation of being assigned a dilapidated K car, assigned to monitoring phone calls between suspecting gang […]

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

Book Review: The Cougar Club

December 17, 2010

Synopsis: Kat Maguire is having a very bad day. She is late for work, where she is scheduled to make a presentation to an important client. It’s raining, and she has forgotten her umbrella. When she finally arrives at the office, wilted but ready to proceed, she sees that the presentation is already underway in […]

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

Book Review: The Remains

December 16, 2010

Welcome to Pump Up Your Book’s Virtual Book Tour for The Remains Synopsis: There is nothing more disconcerting than the feeling that someone is watching you. Nothing will bring a chill up your spine faster than the sense that someone is lurking — around a corner, behind a door — and they can see you, […]

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

Book Review: Ethan’s Chase

December 13, 2010

Welcome to Pump Up Your Book’s Virtual Book Tour for Ethan’s Chase Synopsis: Etan Phillips, owner of Phillips Advertising, survived a disastrous engagement and the worst kind of betrayal. Although it has been five years since he extricated himself from his relationship with Phoebe and managed to save his company, he remains distrustful of women […]

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

Book Review: The Alchemist

December 8, 2010

Welcome to the TLC Book Tour for The Alchemist Synopsis: Santiago is an Andalusian boy who spent 16 years in seminary before earning his father’s blessing to become a shepherd so that he could travel. As he sets out, his father tells him to “travel the world until you see that our castle is the […]

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

Guest Post: Writing a Linked Short Story Collection

December 8, 2010

Today I am privileged to welcome author Sybil Baker to Colloquium! Sybil’s linked short story collection, Talismans, was released yesterday and, in conjunction with the publication of Talismans, her WOW — Women on Writing blog tour has just gotten underway! Writing a Linked Short Story Collection Linked Collections: Best or Worst of Both Worlds? by […]

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