iRead Book Tours:Two Hearts by James Eric Richley & Guest post

Book Title: Two Hearts: When I Said I Do, I Meant Forever 
Author: James Eric Richey
Category:  Adult Fiction, 426 pages
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: JER Books/2014

I have been reading a lot of romance and I grabbed this chance to read this too. It is big novel for a romance but I liked it. Two childhood sweethearts marrying young appeals to me. However, the path of living together is not smooth. They face hardships and challenges in the following years. Jason is a very nice person, very likable. Annie is shown to be good but she turns out to be jealous, suspicious and very insecure.

In real life, it is like that in any relationship. One has to deal with all kinds of emotions. The author has made us do that in this novel. I liked the vivid descriptions of the mountains. It made the place come alive for me. 

Such a beautiful love story which touches the heart. I like the ending where we see hope. That is real life.

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GUEST POST BY JAMES ERIC RICHEY


What Am I Becoming

Do you ever stop and ask yourself, “What am I becoming?”  Are you doing what you need to do, to become what you want to become?

Success in life is definitely a journey and a slow process. I think there are three things successful people do differently than others. First, is their attitude, second their resolution and determination to achieve goals, and third is the mind set of never giving up.

Our mind and our thoughts are so powerful! Thinking negatively limits opportunities to succeed. Our thoughts determine who we are and who we will become. We are going to become what we are constantly telling ourselves. In order to succeed, it is so important to think positive, uplifting thoughts rather than degrading ourselves and our abilities.

A positive attitude is key to achieving the goals we set.

The second quality of successful people is their resolution to pursue goals and their determination to achieve the goals they set. Someone once said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of knowledge, not a lack of strength, but rather a lack of will.”

Self-discipline is vital in order to achieve goals.

The third characteristic of successful people is the mind set to never give up. Throughout history there have been people that did not give up. Thomas Edison failed two thousand times before inventing the light bulb. Without his continuous efforts we would probably still be using candlesticks for light. Another more recent example would be Michael Jordan, the famous basketball star. Michael Jordan missed 9,000 shots in his career. He lost almost 300 games. 26 times he was trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. He has failed over and over again in his life, and that is why he has succeed.  

He never gave up.

The three most important mannerisms people need in order to succeed in life are: attitude, goal achieving, and never giving up. If we work hard to do these things, we will lead a successful life.

iRead Book Tours

Friday 56: Tennessee Bride by Rosanne Bittner

He held her more firmly. "You will not die, Emma. I will not let you die."

Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Title: Tennessee Bride
Author: Rosanne Bittner 
ISBN: 9780445206342
Publisher: warner books/1998
Pages: 384

Sixteen year old Emma Simms, born in a small village in the Tennessee mountains. Her mother dies in childbirth and Emma is now all alone with her cruel stepfather, Luke Simms.

Tommy Decker, a lecherous neighbor attempts to rape Emma, but she manages to escape and gives Tommy the beating of his life. Tommy is angered and swears she will pay for it. Meanwhile, Luke decides to sell Emma to Sam Gates, a man who uses the women he bought to service men in his saloon in Knoxville. 

But Emma has always been under the watchful eye of River Joe, a white man, who was taken in by the Cherokee when he was only five years old after his parents were attacked by a band of white marauders- his mother raped and both parents killed. By the time he comes for her, Emma has been sold to Hank Toole, and is on her way to Sam Gates. River Joe manages to rescue Emma, and they return to his people's village, at the top of the mountain.

However, their problems are far from over. Sam Gates is anxious to retrieve Emma and Tommy Decker is even more so. Emma and River Joe are afraid of their past coming back to haunt them, and the Cherokee people. Will they ever be free from their past?

It paints a realistic portrait of what women had to go through in those times, and how life was hard for the Native Americans. They were treated unjustly, which is well depicted in this novel.

Tuesday Intro: The Truth Will Out by Jane Isaac

Every Tuesday Diane from Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where participants share the first paragraph (or a few) of a book they are reading or thinking about reading soon.

Eva Carradine’s foot tapped a staccato rhythm as she sat back in her chair and waited for her computer to connect. Green velvet curtains shrouded the window beside her. An umbrella lamp and gas fire combined with the light of her laptop to produce a soft hue in the room, just enough for her to view the buttons on her keyboard.

Naomi’s face appeared on the screen in front of her. No pleasantries were exchanged. No gestures made. “I can’t do this anymore.”

Eva’s stomach fisted. She stared at her friend’s crumpled face. “Naomi, don’t… We said we wouldn’t talk about this. We promised.” 

Title: The Truth Will Out
Author: Jane Isaac
ISBN: 9781909878556
Publisher:  Legend Press Ltd/2014
Pages: 256

Eva witnesses Naomi being attacked via skype and knows that it is her turn next. She calls the ambulance and without letting them know about identity, she runs away to safety. Eva is not aware that Naomi has been murdered. Enter DCI Helen Lavery. For her it is a difficult case to solve. There are no leads and the only witness has disappeared.

DCI Helen Lavery knows that they have to find the person, who called the ambulance, to get a breakthrough. Drug smuggling, murder and a psychopath, these make it a very engrossing novel. Helen has her own set of problems, what with two teenaged boys and a relationship on and off. Yet she comes out to be strong character, knows what she is doing professionally. 

Set between the Midlands and the Scottish Highlands, The Truth Will Out is a wonderful psychological crime thriller. The combination of plot and characters are very good. A very engrossing police procedural, where blood, gore and violence is not so apparent. However, the drug thing cannot be ignored.

iRead Blog Tour : To Sleep...Perchance to Die by Donald R. Grippo

Title: To Sleep...Perchance to Die
Author: Donald R. Grippo
ISBN: 9781938501128
Publisher: Turn the Page Publishing/2013
Pages: 222

Two people set out to destroy another. Why? Now that is complicated. Jake and Brett are oral surgeons. Mia, unknown to Jake, chooses him to be in her life. He is much in love with her and kills for her. So much so that he traps his best friend, Bret Manley in their plotting. Mia seduces Bret, marries him. She and Jake carry on with their affair behind his back.

With surgical precision, they destroy his life. Bret ends up in jail for murder he did not compete. However, his uncle Hubie Santos is a well known criminal attorney. He sets out to find out the truth by hiring a private investigator. For more than a year, there is no breakthrough. Then the PI hits the jackpot....

It works well as a psychological thriller. Mia and Jake are evil. The way he uses his medical knowledge to kill is very scary. For Mia, he is prepared to die. And Mia? 

It might not appeal to all but for crime fiction readers, I would say go for it, if you like deception, passion, betrayal and murder, all thrown in good measures.

Do check out the Tour Schedule for To Sleep...Perchance to Die. Some bloggers are having giveaways. 

Teaser Tuesday: Murder Strikes a Pose by Tracy Weber

Michael spoke slowly and sternly, as if scolding an obstinate child. 

“Kate, let me be very clear about this. You will not continue this murder investigation, under any circumstances. I forbid it.” 

Michael’s words were unequivocal, not to be challenged. He was man. He was in charge. He expected no argument. 

He was an idiot.

Title: Murder Strikes a Pose
Author: Tracy Weber
ISBN: 9780738739687
Publisher: Midnight Ink/2014
Pages: 274

Kate Davidson is a Seattle yoga instructor. She is struggling to keep her yoga business intact. She is also fending off matching efforts by her best friend. One fine day she finds a homeless man selling newspaper in from of her yoga studio. It wouldn't have been so bad but his horse-sized German shepherd Bella scares everyone away. She befriends the homeless alcoholic George, and his best friend, Bella. The three of them form some kind of camaraderie and she learns that George has more to what he appears to be.

Then one day she stumbles over his body in the studio’s parking lot. Police treat it as just another drug related street crime but Kate knows that George was no drug dealer. She is determined to find his killers. Also she wants someone to adopt that big dog! No one willing and the dog has already adopted her.

Meanwhile the killer is moving on to her. She knows if she doesn't do something, she will end up as a permanent yoga pose of death!

The novel moves forward in a good pace. The relationship between Bella and Kate is very good. She wants the dog to be adopted but the dog wants Kate to be her master. The story has elements of murder, mayhem, humor, a bit of a romance and understanding and makes for a good cozy mystery. 

The characters are well developed and quite likable. The detailing is very good. And the dog is lovable! As I am an Indian and do yoga, I understood the yoga terminology and poses too well....

Musing Monday: ten poems to say goodbye by Roger Housden

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

As most know, I am a poet and avid reader of poetry. I can read all kinds of poetry. Today I will discuss a poetry book where the author has taken ten poems by well known poets. Reading these poems help us letting go. That is what Roger Housdon has detailed here.


ten poems to say goodbye by Roger Housden covers 10 poems by well known poets which are steeped in spirituality. 

Each of the ten poems is followed by an essay where he analyses the poem, explaining its importance and meaning. The poems tell us how to go about saying goodbye. With our mind, heart and soul. 
My favourite poems in the book are "The Lost Hotels of Paris" by Jack Gilbert  and "How It Will Happen, When" by Dorianne Laux.   There are poems by Ellen Bass, Gerald Stern, Rilke, and few others which make such a pleasurable read. The explanation by Housdon at the end of each poem takes us to another world.

I quote from the closing lines of Jack Gilbert's poem:

". . . We see the memory
of when they were, once upon a time.
And that too is more than enough."

If that isn't goodbye then what is?

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Catching up with my 2013 Reviews....

Mangled Hearts by Felicia Tatum

“Francesca…there was an accident. You need to get dressed.”
“Who, Daph?”
“Your mom and dad need to tell you,” she said, her eyes welling in tears.
“Daphne,” I demanded, my eyes pleading with hers.
Her face scrunched as the tears fell freely. I don’t know how I knew, but I did. Something happened to my sister. I hugged the pillow tighter. “Is Josie going to be ok?”
She looked at me pitifully, and I knew in my heart that my sister was gone. I had to hear it, though. I stared at her, my heart thumping against my chest.
“I don’t think so,” she barely choked out.

Mangled Hearts by Felicia Tatum

Posted for The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice. 

Francesca Taymon is young, successful lawyer with a broken past. She is assigned a case. That turns out to be Cade Kelling, who has wasted his life since he was 10. He has drinking problem and has always been bailed out by his parents. He knows he cannot have a future with her unless he reveals what really happened 5 years ago. But is she going to believe him?

This is a contemporary romance. The flawed characters make this very real. Told in alternate voices of Francesca and Cade, it moves back and forth from past to present. Cade knows only Francesca is capable to make him a better person. And he is prepared to go to any length to achieve that. 

The secondary characters are endearing too. Daphne, Zander and Reid make the story very interesting. For those who like a good romance, I would say, go for it. It is available free!!

Tahoe Trap by Todd Borg

"He doesn't like smelling dead people, either. Makes him sad."
"Likes to find them alive, huh?"
"Yeah. That makes him happy."

Title: Tahoe Trap
Author: Todd Borg

• ISBN: 9781931296205
• Publisher: Thriller Press/2012)
• Pages: 351

Private detective Owen McKenna gets an early morning call from a ten year old boy who says he has been kidnapped. Own informs the local police and goes looking out for the boy along with his Great Dane, Spot. They find the boy in a forest near the mountains near the Lake Tahoe. Paco, has escaped from the two hired killers.

He had watched his foster mother Cassie being killed by them. Now they are looking for him to kill him. No one knows why anyone is after Paco who is an illegal immigrant. 

Owen McKenna meets everyone with whom Paco's foster mother Cassie had business relations. He gets insights about the boy. But can't fathom who could possibly want to kill him. McKenna decides to set Paco as bait to trap the killers. That means Paco might get killed before the killers get caught. 

Paco is shown to withdrawn and unable to accept friendly overtures. But Paco slowly bonds with Owen's dog, Spot. Paco might be withdrawn but no one wants him to sent back to Mexico. 

Tahoe Trap has that human element which touches the reader. The descriptions of the place is very vivid. The  characters are well drawn out. The pace is good and the plot keeps us hooked.

Tahoe Trap is book 10 in the Tahoe series but stands alone.

Tomorrow City by Kirk Kjeldsen

"Brendan Lavin woke up with a start to the metallic crash of an empty trash dumspter being slammed to the ground. He looked over at the radio alarm clock, which was blaring some grating Matchbox Twenty song. The time was 6:17 AM, which meant that The alarm had been going off for almost three hours. The bed next to him was empty. Maureen was still at the hospital, working another shift."

Title: Tomorrow City

Author: Kirk Kjeldsen

ISBN: 9789881554215
Publisher: Signal 8 Press/2013

Pages: 197

Brendan Lavin, an ex-con, tries to be straight person doing what he has learnt in prison--baking. However much he tries, he is unable make ends meet. He goes back to his cohorts for a last job. The robbery goes horribly wrong with four fatalities. Now he is a murderer. He has to escape New York City. He steals his cousin's passport and escapes to Shanghai.

Twelve years later, we see him having a flourishing bakery, married to a local woman and has a two year old daughter.  He keeps a low profile as he does not want his conman friends to find him. Somehow without his knowledge, his photograph is published in the public domain and when he learns about it, he is very afraid. Before he can plan to run from Shanghai, his robber friends find him and want payback. They think he turned them in before escaping to Shanghai. They want him to join them for a diamond heist. He is reluctant but he knows that his family will be harmed if he does not go along with them.

The action is full of tension and fast paced. It is an sitting read and very riveting. The action seems to hit hard and streets  of Shanghai come alive. Even with a criminal past, Brendan knows right from wrong. The characters come out vivid. Brendan gains the sympathy of the reader and we want him to go back to his family and his bakery. Those who love dark literature, it is a must read. It is one of the best crime fiction I read in a long time. 

The 12th Victim by Katia Lief

Title: The 12th Victim 
Author: Katia Lief
ISBN: 9780091944780
Publisher: Ebury Press/2012
Pages: 368
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Back Cover:

The police call him the working girl killer. But no woman is safe…

The 11th victim is found only a short distance from Karin Shaeffer’s house. At the crime-scene she discovers a local prostitute stabbed to death, the knife left embedded in her body.

It is the signature of the ‘Working Girl Killer’ – a serial killer who has terrorised New York City for the last three years. The police are clueless but when Karin’s best-friend becomes the lead investigator, she finds herself drawn into the investigation as a consulting detective.

But as she struggles to understand the dark twisted mind of a murderer, next time the killer is going to strike all too close to home…

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My views: 

The 12th Victim is the second novel featuring Karin Schaeffer. She seems to have recovered from the dark phase of her life with her second husband, Mac and son Ben. 

A local prostitute is killed with a knife, Karin finds the body and then the body count keeps adding up. When her son's part time nanny too is found murdered, it is too close home
for her. She is not new to murders or serial killers. 

When her best friend becomes a suspect, Karin cannot keep still. She has to find the killer at any cost. And unravels something sinister which involves children. She makes it her goal to protect Dathi, her son's nanny's child. 

Just when one thinks that the killer has been identified, there is a twist. With a good, racy pace, the novel takes us into a roller coaster ride and keeps us totally engrossed. We also like the single minded way of Karin to achieve her goal to nab the killer. 

Katia Lief gives us great moments too despite the grisly murders and grim situations. She also tries to tell us about cultural differences and the common thread running between those. I am going to read more of her novels....

Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend

Title: Tempest in the Tea Leaves
Author: Kari Lee Townsend
ISBN: 978-0425242759
Publisher: Berkley/2011
Pages: 304

Sunny Meadows, 29 year old amateur sleuth  leaves her parents place in NYC for a small town called Divinity, New York. She is a psychic and wants to make a niche for herself, away from her well known parents. Her first customer is the librarian Amanda Robbins. Sunny uses tea leaves to give a reading for Amanda, which turns out to be a bad omen for Amanda, where she sees Amanda being murdered by a man. Soon after, Sunny informs the police of her reading, hoping to prevent the crime from  happening. but she is too late. Amanda is murdered within half hour of leaving Sunny's place. Detective Mitch Stone is assigned to investigate the murder. He does not believe her and accuses her as the prime suspect. (she is the only suspect). Sunny has to make use of her powers in order to find the murderer and clear her name. And discovers that Amanda had many suitors and any of them could have killed her.

Sunny is a quirky character. Half the time she does not know what she is doing. But she is determined to find out the murderer. Her way of doing detective stuff is very different. She does not hide anything from anyone and that kinda gets her in trouble.  Detective Stone and Sunny rub each other the wrong way but we do see some kind of attraction between them. Then there is this almost human cat Morty, who comes into Sunny's house from nowhere...Here we see a bit of supernatural element.

Tempest in the Tea Leaves is an enjoyable cozy mystery, with well etched characters. It is first in the Fortune Teller mystery series and I look forward to more....

Teaser Tuesday: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

"Henry appears, doing up his cuff links. He's wet, dirty, and unshaven. He looks about forty. But he's here, and he gives me a triumphant smile as he walks through the doors of the church and down the aisle." ~~Page 102,  The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger


Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger
ISBN:  978-0156029438
Publisher: Vintage Books
Pages: 615

The Time Traveler’s Wife' by Audrey Niffenegger is an unconventional love story story, between Henry and Clare. Henry is a Time Traveler who has no control over it. He travels in and out of any of his chronological age. But Clare is a normal person. They meet unconventionally and the decision is already made for them that they will marry, which they do. Henry waits for Clare to grow up before he can even think of having a relationship with her. Clare does seem impatient at times, to have a physical relationship with the man she fell in love when she was only a child. 

Henry De Tamble is suffering from a rare genetic disorder called Chrono Displacement. This is what makes him time travel and he meets his future wife in one of those travels. From there, their love story starts. Clare is aware that Henry can't be there for her always. But she loves him and they do manage to live an amazing life. They do have problems but love is so strong that they survive.

It is written as short diary entries, going back and forth, which can a bit confusing initially but falls into place after a while. One might find it a little confusing in the beginning but soon the pieces fit together, and it is easy to get lost in the world of Henry and Clare. 

This is not a novel which goes from one point to other. It takes off tangentially. And everything fits together well. Not a novel to be taken lightly. And not for everyone. Those who like different kind of novel, will love it. As I did.

Therapy by Sebastian Fitzek

"The blood was definitely female."
"Female...What age?"

~Page 125

Title: Therapy
Author: Sebastian Fitzek
ISBN: 9780330453158
Publisher: Pan Books/2008
Pages: 293

It is as if 12 year old Josephine did not exist. She disappears without a trace from her doctor's clinic without a trace. Her father, a well known psychiatrist Viktor Larenz, searches for her and leaves his practice, goes to live in a remote North Sea Island. It is the only way he can deal with his loss. And he is also drifting apart from his wife.

A beautiful woman, Anna Glass, a writer of children's fiction, come to visit him and wants him treat her for her  rare form of schizophrenia. Her characters in her novel come to life for her and she does not understand that. Dr Larenz finds her story intriguing and reluctantly agrees to treat her as he somehow finds resemblance between one of her characters with Josie. He has to know more, and only by knowing the ending of her story, he might get to know about her disappearance.

Viktor's grief, his obsession to know more, keeps us hooked to this novel. The enigmatic Anna, we want to know more about her. She appears real and yet unreal. Viktor is warned against her but he can't let her go as he can't let go off Josie. Listening to her story, he believes Anna is somehow responsible for her disappearance.

The reader feels for Viktor, his desperation to find anything about his much loved daughter. The interaction between Anna and Viktor keeps the reader wanting more. And when we finally get to the end, it leaves us completely blown out of our mind. Therapy is a novel one can't put down without finishing from start to finish. I would definitely recommend this and look forward to read more by the author.

The Tale Of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

"I just want to be sure. If you think you know who the ghosts are, it helps. Whenever possible, it's best to try to contact specific people on the other side."
~Page 277

Title: The Tale Of Halcyon Crane

Author: Wendy Webb

ISBN: 978-0-8050-9140-3

Publisher: Holt/2010

Pages: 326

It is modern a Gothic story which has all the right elements to sustain the interest of the reader. When Hallie James discovers that her mother was very much alive after three decades, she doesn't know what to believe. He dad is lost to her as he has Alzheimer's. Now both her parents die within a few weeks of each other. So she has no answers for all her questions.

She travels to an island in the Great Lakes to seek answers for her questions. However, the islanders are antagonistic towards her for what her father had seemingly done 30 years ago. Hallie doesn't believe that her father could do anythibng wrong. And she knows that she has to unravel the truth. And only the islanders can help her in that. She moves into her mother's house, which she has inherited and finds herself seeing small girls calling her to play, her mother's hug engulfing her and certain visions she can't understand.

When an old housekeeper Iris offers to tell her family's story, she is only too eager to learn it. And then in the midst of her narration, finds herself having clear visions of what happened.

Now she has an inkling of her father's reason for taking her away from the island and also knows that it is her home and she has come to stay. And only she can help the ghosts to leave the house.

With a setting in a island in Great Lakes, amongst old house, graves, ghosts and witches, the reader is completely enthralled by the narration. And is as eager to know about what propelled Hallie's father to leave the island along with Hallie, that too, by meticulously planning their own demise, and then getting a new identity for both of them. . Especially when we see him being a loving father, who doesn't ever remarry, as he still loves his wife, Madlyn Crane.

We are as pleased as Hallie when she is finally accepted by the islanders and also finds a love, which she had not expected. The best part is, suspense is maintained throughout. Once I started it, I simply couldn't put it down.

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My telephone lines were down for two days, due to which my internet wasn't working. Hence, I couldn't visit anyone in the last two days. Will try to remedy that soon. My Google reader is overflowing!

The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley

Title: The Tricking of Freya
Author: Christina Sunley
ISBN: 9780312378776
Publisher: St. Martin Press/2009
Pages: 352

Told in the voice of Freya, we take a journey from Gimli, a village in Canada, to Iceland. She is writing all her thoughts, her experiences for her unknown cousin. She doesn't even know if her cousin is a male or a female. But she knows she has to write it all down for that person, whom intends to find out in her lifetime.

She and her mother have always lived in Connecticut. She speaks about her mother, Anna and her aunt Birdie, her grandmother, Sigga and various other relatives, Icelandic as well as Canadian. After Birdie dies on her 14th birthday and also when her mother dies, a few years later, she is not keen to visit Gimli again. But she does go back for her very old grandmother, who wants to preserve the family history.

Again we see Freya travelling from Gimli to Iceland to learn more about her cousin. And finally when she does learn the untold secrets, she can't believe how much injustice was done to herself, her volatile aunt and her gentle mother.

It starts with Freya being seven years old and takes us through more that two decades. We too are affected when we learn the enormity of Freya being tricked. With beautiful scenics and interesting characters, the reader is moved beyond words.

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I liked the following words from the above reviewed book:

1) Kenning (page 3): Word-Meadow is a Kenning for tongue, "she explains. "And I suppose now you will want to know what a kenning is."

A kenning is a much-compressed form of metaphor, originally used in Anglo-Saxon and Norse poetry. In a kenning, an object is described in a two-word phrase, such as 'whale-road' for 'sea'. Some kennings can be more obscure than others, and then grow close to being a riddle.

2) Elskan (Page 6): "Come here, elskan, and kiss your rotten aunt."

Elskan is an icelandic word meaning, honey, sweetheart or darling

A-Z Wednesday: Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

Title: Tallgrass
Author: Sandra Dallas
ISBN: 978-0312360191
Publisher: St. Martin's Press/2007
Pages: 320

Book Blurb:

During World War II, a family finds life turned upside-down when the government opens a Japanese internment camp in their small Colorado town. After a young girl is murdered, all eyes turn to the newcomers. Rennie has just turned thirteen, and until this time, life has been predictable and fair. But the winds of change are coming and with them, a shift in her perspective and a discovery of secrets that can destroy even the most sacred things.

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My views:

Told in the voice of Rennie, Tallgrass takes us right into the middle of small Colorado town. When Japanese start arriving, people have mixed feelings. Most people don't want the Japanese there but they can't go against the Goverment. Anything goes wrong, the people at the camp are blamed. Only Rennie's family seems to sympathise with the Japanese. Her father hires a few Japanese men, to help with his beet farming and he too faces antagonism.

Rennie's sister has gone away and her brother has joined the army. o she turns to Japanese people for friendship. When things seem to have settled down a bit, a body of a young girl is found, all eyes turn to the internship camp. Rennie learns her lessons in the hard way. Nothing is what it seems, even her parents have kept some secrets from her.

Tallgrass coovers the dilemma in a young girl's mind, and the bigger picture of what is right or wrong. Did the government do the right thing by opening up internship camps for the Japanese people? I wasn't aware of this and this book made me look up more material on the subject.

Teaser Tuesdays: Tomorrow River by Lesley Kagen

"Pay Attention." Grampa taps the back of my head, hard. "Sam Moody's been arrested for murderin' your mother in the first degree."

~Page 274

Title: Tomorrow River
Author: Lesley Kagen

ISBN: 9780525951544

Publisher: Dutton/2010

Pages: 342

I like books about twins. Tomorrow River is one such book. Based in Virginia, the Blue Ridge Mountains as its backdrop, it also has beautiful atmospheric feel to it.

Shenandoah and Woody Charmody, both 13, are twins. Their mother has disappeared and they are trying to cope with that. Their father, a well known Judge, too seems to have changed, for the worse. He doesn't want them to mix with anyone else and virtually keeps them prisoners. Woody has not spoken a single word since their mother disappeared.

Shenny kind of takes care of her twin, who tags along with her. It appears that their father is going to remarry and Shenny knows she has to find her mother's whereabouts. Woody is no help and anyone she tries to talk to, considers her just a kid. The fact is no one wants to get in the bad side of their father.

Yet Shenny is determined to find out the truth. With the help of their coloured housekeeper she embarks for the same. And plunges right to family secrets, which have been very well guarded. When she faces Woody's secret, she can't believe that it is her twin , who has been protecting her all along, not she.

I liked Shenny and Woody too, who doesn't speak a word. Their father comes out somewhat evil, although Shenny can't see it. With a surprising ending, this novel was a pleasure to read. I had to keep on reading to know what is going to happen. The starkness and darkness merges yet there is light at the end. A beautiful book, well worth the effort.

Thanks to the author, for my copy.

Poetry Book Review: Taste of Cherry by Kara Candito

Title: Taste of Cherry
Author: Kara Candito
ISBN: 9780803225237
Publisher: University of Nebrasaka Press/2009
Pages: 66

The following poem hit me hard when I started to read this short book of poetry. Even though I have never been to an ancient city, I connected to the feelings depicted here:

POSTCARD / I’ve Been Meaning to Write --

because it’s August in an ancient city and I want to
tell you about this heat that hangs like the mind

of a landscape in which everything is still and irritable
as the stray cats that nap on the ruins of Pompey’s theatre.

Because the man whom served my espresso this morning
looked like you. In a certain light, I peered through

the bronze keyhole and saw the Basilica framed by fire.
Because I miss you even as I try to efface you,

like the lunatic who smashed David’s genitals with a hammer.
Beauty is an anesthesia here. It dulls the brain. I write;

it’s called memory, then story. It never resembles the real
things I want to say when the wind is still and fountains

rush around the night. My apartment is dark and laundry
hangs in sad heaps on the balcony. There are chicken bones

in the sink. Below, in the Piazza, a gelateria. At night,
families arrive – men holding their sons high, like props;

women blowing smoke in imperfect circles and whispering
behind manicured hands about their husbands’ affairs.

So many minor betrayals (the urge to sleep through church bells).
The Triumph of Galatea, on the reverse, is short and coarse.

Recall that it ends in bloodshed. I think Raphael understood
that no one wants to be Polyphemus, the one who sees

her eyes as little spurs in his sides and suffers and hides.
We all want to be Galatea, laughing sidelong, smirking

over her shoulder at a suitor’s clumsy song. Such a small
offense. And doesn’t it make her beautiful? So, grief becomes

the punishment for ridicule and justice is its own rapture –
a boulder hurled, a river pounding a hollow cave in the head.

I can’t forget your studio, the one on the side street,
with sealed windows. Everything inside cheap and new

or abandoned and broken. On the wall, a still life of overripe
fruit in a wooden frame. How you envied the voluptuous grapes,

the way they burst over the rim of the bowl –

I loved the titles of the poems. Those only enhanced my reading pleasure. As a poet I believe that titles are important and should be such that they suck the reader into the poem in its entirity. Candito has done just that and I was totally enthralled by her titles. You can see for yourself by these examples: "Self-Portrait with an Ice Pick", "Notes for a Novice Flaneur", "Floristic Elegy for the Year I Lived with You in Coconut Grove", "Girl in the Grass", "Barely Legal: Upon Finding My Father's Porn", "He Was Only Half as Beautiful," and "On the Occasion of Our Argument During a VH1 Best Power Ballads Countdown". These simply jump out and the imagery is too good to be ignored.

These poems are so beautiful despite sometimes speaking of harsh things. My mind rolled with her tapestry of words. In Taste of Cherry the poems take place in ancient cities to very modern ones, taking us into a journey beyond imagination.

Every poetry and every poet ought to get a copy of it. It is well worth it.

Thanks to the poet for my copy of Taste of Cherry. This one is a keeper.

Teaser Tuesdays: To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

"He knew from looking in the mirror---once and only once---that his back was a mass of scars. Thin white ones carved through the tan of his skin. Thicker, reddened scars, the ones she'd felt before, roped from midback to his right hip."

~Page 257, To Desire A Devil by Elizabeth Hoyt

Title: To Desire A Devil
Author: Elizabeth Hoyt
ISBN: 9780446406949
Publisher: Vision/2009
Pages: 340

1765, London. England. Reynaud St. Aubyn, son the late Earl, arrives at his own home, unrecognisable, with a raging fever and half-mad. He has been taken for dead for the past seven years. The drab tea party thrown by Beatrice Corning, the niece of present Earl's niece becomes a hot-bed of gossip after his unceremonious arrival. Reynaud has come from the dead to claim his title. He has somehow escaped from the captivity of the Indians, with scars both in his soul and body.

Beatrice recognises him from the portrait and doesn't know whom to support, her Uncle or Reynaud, who wants to regain his title. Reynaud knows that he can't do it without Beatrice's help. The gentle English lady is able to sway his body as well as his mind. Beatrice too is not immune to his charms. She is already half in love with his portrait.

Reynaud, along with his few friends, who had been in the war before his capture, learns that someone deliberately set them up to be caught and killed by the Indians. Who is that person? It has to be someone with influence. When several attempts are made on Reynaud's person, he knows he has to get into the bottom of it. When Beatrice gets almost killed, he knows he has to expose that person, no matter at what cost.

The interaction between the savage hero and the very proper heroine is good. Initially it does seem Reynaud is using Beatrice for regaining the title. But he also knows that after so many years of captivity, she only she is home for him. There are good many love scenes between the two but that doesn't seem out of place. It a very readable historical romance. I am going to check out more books by Hoyt.

Tender Triumph by Judith McNaught

Title: Tender Triumph
Author: Judith McNaught
ISBN: 9780671742560
Publisher: Pocket Books/1983
Pages: 375



Katie Connelly is the daughter of wealthy grocers. She is somewhat pampered, spoiled and lives in a world of her own. She is also slightly bored with her life. She doesn't know what to make of the tall, dark and handsome Puerto Rican man who rescues her from the harassment of a drunken ex-boyfriend outside a bar one night. Ramon Galverra is very much a sensual male. Physically, he reminds her of her cheating, abusive ex-husband. Despite that she feels attracted to him. She also senses that Ramon is hiding something from her. Ramon is a powerful tycoon on the verge of bankruptcy and he has nothing to offer Katie other than a simple life in a small cottage in Puerto Rico. Also Ramon is not afraid to express his true feelings for Katie.

It isn't one of the better books by McNaught but it isn't boring either. I finished in three hours while travelling. And that's not a bad thing.

This book does feel racist at times. Tender Triumph is written in the early eighties. Considering that, it is in no way politically correct for the present times. I think the racism is more due to ignorance on the author's part. Although I like Judith McNaught novels, I too have felt her writing is racist. In One and Always, she is disparaging towards India and it customs. I felt that she wrote what she had read or heard about India, without researching it.

I also feel that she does much better writing historical novels than contemporary ones.

Thanks to Stacy for the book.