Saving Saffron Sweeting - Book Review

Ever since I can remember I've been fascinated by England, which is a tad bit weird,  I was raised in Mexico with little to no British influence on TV or my surroundings, so no clue how I got to be an anglophile. I haven't visited the country yet, but when I do I'll be right at home thanks to books like "Saving Saffron Sweeting" by Pauline Wiles.

The story begins with Grace Palmer, a down-on-her-luck interior designer, she's a Brit living in San Francisco with her husband James. Before you can say "Keep Calm and Carry On", Grace finds out James cheated on her with her - only - client, confronts him, packs up her bags and goes back to England.

My initial reaction was "Wait a sec, let the man talk! Don't be hasty!" but as soon as Grace arrives in England I thought "James Who?". The way Pauline describes her home-coming is like an insider re-discovering her roots. The narrative is so detailed and intimate that I felt like I was experiencing things, like the chaos of Heathrow, as an every day occurrence.

Grace decides to live in the country for awhile and by chance ends up in a small town called Saffron Sweeting - I Googled it, the town doesn't exist, darn - nevertheless, this place will turn out to be exactly what she needed!

She begins to form a life, get a place to live and work, meet new friends and she finds her niche. Turns out, the town is full of extremely homesick American ex-pats and Grace is the bridge between the Americans who want to spend $$ and the English who wouldn't mind the ££ to keep their business afloat and thriving.

Here is where I get conflicting emotions, as an ardent anglophile I want her to stay in England, describe more of her life and sigh while I imagine myself there. As a romantic, I get worried she is being too hard on James and I feel for him, during the course of the story he keeps popping up. He's very sorry and truly wants her back, my heart breaks for him and I get concerned because Grace is trying to move on and actually begins dating!

The story is full of nuggets of interesting details, adorable characters and a plot that will keep you guessing what will Grace decide at the end. This is a great debut novel by Pauline Wiles, I am very grateful for the advance copy I received and be assured that my love for this book is truly my own.

I have a few more questions about England and Saffron Sweeting on the Interview with the Author.

You can find the book at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Saving-Saffron-Sweeting-ebook/dp/B00C6CB3DS/

Or visit her website for more information:
http://www.paulinewiles.com/

Sophie's Turn by Nicky Wells - Book Review

Once upon a time, in Mexicali, Mexico, I was newly single and went to a metal show featuring a thrash metal band from Tijuana. I was among my friends when I spotted this super cute long-haired guy, we made eye contact, smiled and flirted from across the room. The band line-up was OK and eventually it was time for the main band to perform, to my surprise, the super cute long-haired guy was the drummer. He looked at me and he smiled at my surprise.

When the show ended he came to me and we talked, I got autographs from the band members all over my jeans with magic markers (I still have that autographed pair of pants) and the more I talked to the drummer, the less I wanted to go back home. I was invited to the after-party and I can't remember exactly how, but we ended up inside a hotel room all by ourselves. We did hug, kiss and explored with our hands, but we didn't went further than that, it was kinda innocent. I wasn't a virgin at the time, but I didn't want it to go too far and he was OK with that. It was almost 5 AM when he and the manager took me back home only to see my Dad waiting for me outside the house. My Dad was not happy.

The drummer and I kept in touch via romantic letters in the faraway time before the Internet and I'm talking Mexican postal service in the early 90's! To this day I'm amazed all our letters reached each other, eventually things ended when I decided to go back to my ex-boyfriend (another drummer). I kept all his letter, small gifts and photos he sent me, once in a while I would read them and wonder what if...

Fast-forward 16 years and thanks to MySpace I bumped into the band, contacted them and was told where I could find him. We got in contact and I went to see him perform at a bar in Tijuana. I was nervous, after all I wasn't the 20 year-old size-3 super-hot girl anymore, I was a 36 year-old size-12 super-hot woman. The reunion was bitter-sweet, he still has my letters and has thought about me but he wasn't the man in my fantasies. He was too skinny and had heartbreaking sad look in his eyes, eventually we said Good-Bye and I haven't seen him since.

Why am I telling you my personal story instead of diving into a book review? Well, I always suspected my life was like a chick-lit novel and Sophie's Turn has confirmed it! Of course, in the case of Sophie Penhalligan, the adventure was in a much more grand scale. While I had street tacos, 2 star hotel, a ride in a pick-up truck and a guitar pin, Sophie had food in the best restaurants in Europe, suites, private jets and diamond rings....ah damn, I wanna be Sophie!

In her debut novel, Nicky Wells brings us the story of Sophie, a very likable young woman with a good head on her shoulders. In the prologue we see the proposal from super-hunk, bad-boy, rock-star Dan, unfortunately Sophie can't get too excited since she is already engaged to another man. We go back to where everything began and we get to met the official fiancee, Tim, after a few chapters with him it seems like the logical choice to totally go for Dan. After all, Dan and Sophia already have a cute and romantic story together, at a concert in Edinburgh where things almost went to far in the tour bus.

The relationship between Sophie and Tim is deeply flawed. Tim is possessive and selfish, he is trying to make Sophie into his ideal of the perfect wife. While the relationship looks awful in black and white it's not hard to empathize with Sophie. I think most of us have at one time or another been in a similar relationship, and why do we stay? Sometimes not even we know. So when Tim proposes, it seems like a dream come true for Sophie and things would have run its course if it wasn't for a chance encounter with a band member from Tuscq, the band Dan used to play in. This chance encounter led Sophie to sneak out (again!) to see the band and there she re-connected with Dan.

Dan shows her the rock-star life with all the fine things money can buy and thanks to him Sophie ends up in the band tour where she gets to know Dan better. In the meantime, Tim, feeling Sophie slipping away becomes the boyfriend she always wanted, but is it too late? Eventually we come to the million-dollar question: go for the bad boy or stay with safe and secure?

I wish I could tell you my views on her ultimate decision, but I can't. I'm bound by book blogging common law not to give spoilers and ruin other readers enjoyment of the story. What I can tell you is that Sophie's Run is the second installment in the Rock Star Romance Trilogy and as soon as you finish Sophie's Turn you will get Sophie's Run (or at least that's what happened to me!)

Shades of Gray - Book Review

This is the type of story that I like, even if a person lives its entire life in a world of black and white, one small step towards light gray turns into a leap that ends up in dark gray. In his first novel Shades of Gray, Andy Holloman takes us into the lives of John, Wanda and Travis whose decisions take them little by little into situations where there is no way out.

The story begins in March 2002, when we are introduced to John and his 6 year-old daughter Lucy. The relationship between them is a loving one. As the two talk we learn that Lucy's mom is no longer in the picture and we are introduced to Wanda and her daughter Tonya.

Wanda is African-American and this fact leads to the topic of Uncle Travis, John's half-brother. Travis is a police officer with racist tendencies and a temper. John and Lucy spend a pleasant time at Chuck E Cheeses, when its time to go and they're on the road, something happens to the car and they crash.

The car crash scene is very hard to read, so real and haunting. Even writing about it is hard, you'll just have to read it.

All of the above happens in Chapter One! There are so many questions once the chapter ends. What happened to John and Lucy? What happened to the car? Was it accident or sabotage? Is there something going on between Wanda and John? I became engrossed in the story and devoured it in days!

The next chapter takes us back to 1975, where we have a sneak peak in the lives of young John, Wanda and Travis. Certain events in this period of their lives will forge the adults they will become. Then we fast-forward to July 2001 when the events that lead to the car crash began.

The characters are very believable, flawed and human. For example, Travis, he may be racist, a bad cop and temperamental, but he truly loves his family. Would he have turned out differently if his upbringing was different? In his current actions, we see his father's teachings. So maybe he really is not a bad person, only misguided? Or is that his true nature? Nothing is black or white, there are many Shades of Gray.

The scenes are very well researched and described. The plot mainly deals with drug trafficking, not only the illegal nature of it, but with the morals behind it. In a post 9-11 world, even drug traffickers and dealers need to be more creative if they are to keep in business.

The worst part once all is said and done is hindsight. What if they did this? What would have happened if they said that? What if...? What if...? But by then it's too late.

Magnificent first novel by Andy Holloman, I truly hope to see more from him!

Haunted by Maria Savva - Book Review

In the first chapter of Haunted by Maria Savva we meet Nigel, a shell of a man in his fifties. Everything he does, says, thinks or touches is tainted by his private hell. Nigel Price killed a woman 20 years earlier and got away with it.

That is it, the whole story revolves around those facts. Yet, it is not tedious, a psychological thriller like this one, if handled incorrectly, can be boring and seem like whining, not in this case, it is easy to feel the burden of regret, bad memories and the loss of the will to live.

As Nigel's shell of a life starts unraveling, we get to think: Is his private hell an appropriate punishment or should he go to jail to pay for his crime? Even though he's not in jail, he's not breathing the air of a free man, it is hard to be sympathetic to a murderer, yet Maria Savva did it in a masterful way. I kept wishing he didn't get caught, then had to remind myself he killed a person in a moment of rage and should pay. This is my inner dialogue as I read the book:

Me: Poor guy
Other Me: What do you mean poor guy? He killed Emily!
Me: But he didn't mean to
Other Me: Little consolation for her at this point
Me: And he's suffered for it
Other Me: Not enough in my opinion
Me: I wish he could forgive himself and start living life again
Other Me: Seriously???
Me: I'll just keep on reading and see what happens
Other Me: Yeah, let's do that

The story takes us back to that fateful day on the cliff, then it comes back to Nigel's life before, during and after the event ending with something hauntingly mysterious happening to him. We also get to know about Emily's life leading up to that terrible day when her life and the life of her unborn child was cut short.

The beautiful book cover conveys the story perfectly, there is Emily Baxter walking away to another world yet looking back with eyes that will follow Nigel Price as long as he lives.

Our Favorite Jamaican Recipes - Book Review

I love reading and with this blog writing reviews has been a treat, but in this case the review was very yummy. I formatted "Our Favorite Jamaican Recipes" by Trudy Hanks nee Pilliner, Maureen Tapper nee Pilliner, and Rebecca Marshall nee Tapper and I was so interested in the recipes that I decided to cook several of them and invite friends over.

"Our Favorite Jamaican Recipes" was created by three Jamaican daughters remembering their Mothers' cooking. The book is filled with family anecdotes, cultural tidbits, and traditional recipes. The recipes themselves are explained very clearly and, in my case, even though I knew nothing about Jamaican food, I was able to follow the instructions and make delicious food.

My favorite anecdote is the one that accompanies the pig trotter's recipe:

The only son in the Tapper family was very mischievous and cunning as a boy. He somehow convinced his youngest sister that pig's trotters were not good eating, and that he would "help her" by eating her share.

Sister was happy that he was so nice to her, and it was almost a year before she wised up and noticed how much he enjoyed this food that he claimed was neither delicious, nor good for her. She decided to make the sacrifice and try a piece herself...and that was the day his double portion of pig's trotters ended!

A Tapper Family Memory

The cookbook contains Soups (beef soup, pepper pot soup, red peas soup), Entrees (curried shrimp, callaloo and salt fish, oxtail and butter beans, and many more), Side Dishes (corn fritters, macaroni and cheese, fried dumplings, and more), Desserts (bread pudding, egg custard, sweet potato pudding, and more), Beverages (ginger beer, sorrel drink, rum punch, and more), Misc (jerk seasoning, solomon gundy) and Notes. The notes section describes the uncommon ingredients like ackee, bammy, breadfruit, etc.

Each recipe and note has a photo, which came in very handy when I went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients. I live in San Diego, which doesn't have a large Jamaican community, but I was able to find all the ingredients at my local Mexican grocery store.

I went wild making eleven recipes, most of the ingredients were inexpensive and easy to find at a good price. I selected recipes that my guests and I would be able to recognize and one of my guests is very sensitive to spicy food so I went light on the scotch bonnet pepper. Now let me show you my cooking:

Crayfish (Janga) Soup
Made with crayfish - I used large shrimp for this recipe - chicken, vegetables and dumplings. I made the recipe early that day and put it on a crockpot to keep it warm until dinner time.

Cook-Up Rice with Bully Beef and Cabbage
Made with cabbage, white rice, corned beef and vegetables. This was one of my favorites! Very easy to do and satisfying, after the dinner party I had this dish for lunch, super yummy.

Escoveitch Fish
Made with red snapper - yellow tail and flounder can also be used - the fried fish is marinated with onion, juliened carrots, allspice seeds and vinegar. The acidity of this dish complemented the other ones perfectly.

Fricassee Chicken (brown stew chicken)
Another favorite! The chicken is marinated in soy sauce, scallions, tomatoes, and more. The dish has a very rich savory flavor, this is a recipe I know I will be doing more than once.

Jerk Chicken
This was last minute - as if I wasn't cooking enough things! - I made the jerk seasoning, marinated the chicken and roasted it. So good!

Banana Fritters
So easy to do! I was fortunate to have eaten one when I made them, by the time I served my plate there was only one left. No leftovers here.

Cabbage, Carrot and Tomato Salad
One of my guests made the comment that this salad was very refreshing to the palate. I forgot to take a photo of this salad, the image below is from the cookbook, but mine looked just like it!

Rice and Peas
Made with red kidney beans, bacon, coconut milk, veggies and white rice. The red coloring comes from the red kidney beans. Very tasty side dish!

Gizzadas
Coconut with sweet spices baked on top of pastry dough. I cut these in half so more people could try them.

Plantain Tarts
I thought this recipe would be hard, but even though it was a little time consuming, it was very simple to follow and the tarts came out great!

Ice-Box Cake
Super easy to do. Layers of pound cake and a buttery fruity mixture. The whipped cream on top wasn't sweetened so it balanced out the sweetness of the bottom making it taste just right.

Nine of us ate that night, everyone had seconds and I still had some leftovers to eat during the week. This is an excellent cookbook done from the heart.

You can find "Our Favorite Jamaican Recipes" at Amazon.com in print and digital format.

Mystic series - Book Review

Jo Michaels, author of Yassa and The Abigale Chronicles, now gives us the Mystic series, a young adult paranormal tale geared towards finding strength from within. I read Mystic: Bronya (book 1) and Mystic: Lily (book 2), the series will include five novellas and one novel that will bring everything together.

The premise behind the Mystic series touches upon the paranormal. Markaza, a teen-aged tattooed blue hair girl has visions of a powerful being trying to destroy the Earth. Markaza has one year to go all over the U.S. recruiting specially selected women with powers they don't even know they have. From the first book in the series Mystic: Bronya, we learn who are these women, though I've only read the first two and can only guess at the story behind the rest of them:

• Bronya Thibodeaux from Houma, LA, she has physical strength and as a Lesbian suffered prejudices in her small town. 
• Lily Conyers from San Diego, CA has the ability of sight control, her glamorous life was destroyed by a car accident.
• Sheila Morgan from Chattanooga, TN - Mood control - Child abuse.
• Melody Acworth from Atlanta, GA - Sound control - Anorexic.
• Coralie Meyers from New York, NY - Cunning - Abortion.
• Markaza Turner from New York, NY - Future seer - Depression.

The series aims to give positive messages emphasizing themes like how cruelty can hurt people, the dangers of drinking and driving, and how beauty and strength come from within. The situations the heroines face are not sugar coated and the characters themselves have flaws that make them relatable.  

In the case of Bronya, her problems come from being a Lesbian in a small town in Louisiana  where she suffers ridicule and a humiliating heartbreak. On the other hand Lily is on top of the modeling world, beautiful with great life and handsome boyfriend. It all ends when she decides to drive drunk, crashes her car and her face is disfigured.

In both cases Markaza appears at just the right time, her mission is to befriend them and in some way convince them to leave their current lives and move to New York, where they unknowingly join WSTW - Women Save The World.

As the stories unfold we get to see glimpses of the future, in Mystic: Lily we see the terrible danger Sheila is in, as well as the reason why all these women are being recruited. The women all have a special ability they don't even know they have and they will need to dig very deep down in order to find it...plus the clock is ticking because the danger has a due date, Markaza'a 18th birthday.

The novellas are written in a way that you will read them in one to three sittings, the stories have a way to keep your interest and the description of each hometown is dead on - at least I know it is with San Diego since I live here!

In a way this review is incomplete because the series is just starting, there are many questions, character and plot development to look forward to in the months to come. Mystic: Bronya is available on Amazon and will be free from 10/27 to 10/31 in celebration of the publishing of Mystic: Lily on October 30th.

You can read the interview with author Jo Michaels or connect with her through the following sites:

Website: http://www.writejomichaels.com/#!home|mainPage
Blog: http://jomichaels.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/writejomichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writejomichaels
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5833874.Jo_Michaels

Dangerous Waters - Book Review and Giveaway

Some of my favorite stories have to do with people starting a new life in a new city or country. In the case of Dangerous Waters Jeanne Le Page starts her new life by coming back to her hometown of Guernsey.

Jeanne left the island at age 16 after her parents died in a boating accident which she survived and can't remember. The death of her Grandmother and a painful break-up brought her back to Guernsey where she began to reconnect with childhood friends. Her initial intention was to settle her Grandmother's estate, sell a property she inherited and get back to London.

Jeanne is in deep need for healing, and the process began as she approached Guernsey and had a panic attack. Once she was back at her Grandma's cottage, Le Petit Chêne, she began to re-introduce herself in Guernsey's way of life and made the decision to stay, renovate the cottage and confront the biggest mystery in her life: the amnesia regarding the accident.

During the renovation Jeanne discovers documents that will change her life. Some of them are old traditional French recipes and something she never expected: love letters between her Grandma and someone other than her Grandfather. This part of the story touches on a romantic and sad love story that happened in the time when Guernsey was under German occupation during WWII. It is fascinating to join Jeanne as she slowly uncovers the truth.

Le Petit Chêne is a distinct character in the book, the renovation goes very deep into its foundation and its a metaphor for the self-discovery Jeanne is going through. Cottage and person are gutted and renovated, coming out at the end looking almost the same but with an inner strength that will get them through anything coming their way.

Another important character is Guernsey itself, a tiny island in the English Channel. The descriptions give a great sense of what is like to live there, and at least personally, the more I read about it, the more I want to visit it.

And before I forget, there is romance in the air for Jeanne, but won't comment on that part, it will be a treat for the readers to find out more about it!

Now for the giveaway, Anne Allen is providing a free copy of Dangerous Waters to two lucky winners. Leave a comment before October 17 telling us a little something about your hometown and you will be entered in the giveaway. Best of luck!

Check out interesting tidbits about Dangerous Waters in an Interview with Anne Allen and if you're interested in more information about the book or author, please visit:

Website: www.dangerouswaters.co.uk
Amazon.com:  http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Waters-Mystery-Guernsey-ebook/dp/B007P1EIAU
Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dangerous-Waters-Mystery-Island-Guernsey/dp/1780882300
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13632950-dangerous-waters
Twitter: @AnneAllen21

Demon Vampire - Book Review

Some stories are like appetizers, others are like lunch and my favorites are like desserts. In the case of Demon Vampire, I can easily say its like a Thanksgiving Dinner with every single fixin' you can think of!

The first thing that struck me as I read this story was the Anne Rice feel to it. But I made the initial mistake of treating it like an Anne Rice novel, in which I can easily skip pages and not loose the thread of the story. Not with Demon Vampire, there is vital information everywhere! This brings me to the second thing I noticed, this book re-taught me to be patient, relax and enjoy the story. I 'm very used to reading books that are 250 pages or less where the plot and dialogue is developed very quickly. In this case, especially at the beginning, the characters get there when they get there, in this book there's no rushing.

First we are introduced to Zack, an awkward teen, who, even though has weird blood-filled dreams, he doesn't feel like he's anything special. Then we meet David and his daughter Kyli who are plotting to kill Zack because of what lives inside him, an ancient, evil Demon Vampire, one that can and will destroy civilizations with its uncontrollable power. At this point I thought I could predict the main plot, but I was so wrong!

As the story unfolds we meet Orhn Damascus, a vampire/vampeal that comes out of the blue to torture Zack. This torture teaches us important things about Zack and Kyli, who comes to rescue him, and we get to know Orhn's fascinating story of love and loss later on in the book. As new vampires and vampeals are introduced, we learn about their stories and relationships with each other. As it is with people, there are "good" and "bad" vampires and the thing about immortality is that if a vampire has a grudge, it will fester and grow for centuries and so far I didn't see any of them wanting to forgive and forget or move on.

While I enjoyed all the back stories, among my favorites where Del Marin's who learned how to exist among humans and even work for a living as a tax accountant before becoming an artist. We also meet Malio, who has serious anger issues! And my favorite: Salas, THE Demon Vampire. The rest of the vampires are united in wanting to kill Salas or the very least delay his return for another 300 years by killing his current unsuspecting host, Zack.

Throughout the story, the other vampires mention how evil Salas is and in this story we meet three of his hosts: Moira, Love and Zack. Each one deals with Salas in a very different way, but each one of them knows they are doomed no matter what path they take. At least in my case, I found Salas seductive and bad-ass, if I was the host, I'm pretty sure I would give in to what he wants very quickly!

Demon Vampire introduces new concepts to the vampire mythology, or at least they are new to me. We have Redgold which is the crystallized blood from a vampire taken thanks to a specific ritual during an eclipse. Vampires are categorized depending on their gifts into Focus, Psychics or Alteration. There is the ancient story on how Vampire Elders created the Demon Vampires and so much more.

The story goes from the present day where Zack is trying to figure out what the hell he is, to the past, where we get to find out the stories of the different vampires and vampeals surrounding Zack. There are several centuries-old relationships in this story, but the main one is between Zack and Kyli.

Poor kid, he never stood a chance with Kyli. Here is this super hot goth girl making the first moves, of course Zack would fall for her! Though I'm sure she didn't anticipate her eventual feelings for him. At times I found Kyli very annoying, she would get angry and hurt Zack as a way to teach him lessons, but even I never could anticipate what would make her happy or angry. Zack had to learn everything the hard way. As the story progresses, Zack will grow - literally. There will be a mental and physical transformation as he realizes what he is and what is inside him.

The ending of Demon Vampire seemed to me like the ending of the Fellowship of the Ring, you can tell there will be more, a lot more. Even in the last chapter, Kyli is still explaining things about the Vampire Elders. I'm sure all this wealth of information will be needed when the next books in the series come along. When you finish the book, one thing I can almost bet is that you will go back and re-read Chapter One!

To read my interview with author Virgil Allen Moore, please click on this link.

Traffic - Book Review

I read Hardit Singh's short stories Crossroads and Fast Lane, before reading his novel Traffic and I have to admit at first it was a hard story to read. Traffic deals with the white slave trade, women who are kidnaped and forced to work in brothels.

I've read other stories that deal with sex trafficking, but they mostly show the detective side, in this story you will see in-depth the lives the women are forced into. The story follows Melanie Swift, a woman kidnapped by a man she trusted and thrown into a world of brothels with no way out.

In the first part of the story we see Melanie's inner and outer life. Melanie is a bright, confident woman with a great will to live who just happens to be very beautiful, therefore marketable. We see her day to day activities which include very graphic and disturbing sex scenes. We also get to see her inner struggles to remain sane and hopeful in spite of it all. Her strength of character does get her in trouble and punished more than once.

During this time Melanie meets several women with different attitudes towards their enslavement. Some accept it and thrive, moving up the ladder to become call girls while others will do anything to escape. Theresa is one of those women who refuses to accept that lifestyle and will be Melanie's reminder of what their lives should be. Time and time again freedom seems so close and by the end of the first part of the story, Melanie's situation does seem hopeless.

Now comes the second part in which we're introduced to Carla Fontaine, a detective who meets Melanie and Theresa thanks to an unorthodox personal matter. Carla will become the rope that helps them climb from out of the hole and the shovel that will help them bury all the bad guys from the brothel and the police department.

I particularly enjoy the way Singh creates detectives, they have deep issues from their past, they are very smart and they don't act like a stereotype. Carla Fontaine has a lot to offer with problems with her ex-husband, her partner and ex-lover, her convict sister and still manages to solve a few cases while uncovering the corruption deep within the human trafficking unit in the police department.

For me the story was entertaining and gripping, but it also made me think and shudder. When I pass massage parlors I wonder if they have a basement with kidnapped women. Customers would never know if they're dealing with kidnapped women since they have to act like its just a job. How could they get away if their families are being threatened? Is death the only way out for some of those unlucky women?

I wouldn't consider Traffic an erotic novel, but there is a lot of graphic sex scenes as well as a very thoroughly researched inside look at the sex industry. With three very strong female characters, Traffic is a great book to read!

You can read an interview with author Hardit Singh and if you're interested in purchasing his books visit his Amazon page.

Author Hardit Singh

Sign of the Times - Book Review

Even though I'm a big fan of Chick Lit, it's always a hit or miss; sometimes the cliches are so blatant that I just want to throw the book away and other times, like in the case of Sign of the Times, it's a gem that's a pleasure to read.

I have a habit of reading at least 3 or 4 books at the same time, reading one chapter here and one chapter there. But once I was hooked with the Sign of the Times, I stopped reading everything else - including my obsession: "Game of Thrones" - and just concentrated on this story. Something like this only happens when I read Marian Keyes (Rachel's Holiday, Angels) and Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse - The Southern Vampire Mysteries).

In the Sign of the Times, author Susan Buchanan, introduces a character with the characteristics of the different zodiac signs, they all have something to do with each other either directly or indirectly. One thing I liked was the fact that none of the characters were evil, even the ones that were making mistakes were likable and I didn't want anything bad to happen to them.

What got me hooked was how the story was told. Each character was introduced, their story was told and each chapter ended in a cliffhanger. But I didn't have time to dwell on the cliffhanger because the next chapter brought another interesting character I wanted to know more about.

I will be honest and admit I was concerned as to how the story would wrap up, since it took over 3/4 of the book to introduce all twelve zodiac signs - which meant twelve cliffhangers! But the final chapters gave a very nice wrap up that didn't feel rushed and answered all the questions.

I think everyone will have their own favorites and I was prepared to dislike Taurus since I've had several bad relationships with Taurus men (I'm Scorpio, totally not compatible) but Oscar, Taurus, was such a sweetheart! I really fell for Tom, Capricorn, and loved Lucy, Gemini and Czeslawa, Scorpio, is very strong, smart and bad-ass like a good Scorpio!

The story covers many different topics, like lust, love, cheating, parenting, immigration, work struggles and many more. All the characters have believable lives that anyone can relate to and maybe even find a mirror to their own lives.

Another huge treat was that the story locations were in Scotland and Italy, in places I wasn't familiar with, so I Googled them and got a better feel for the story and how the characters live.

The story is very professional, well written and something I can truly recommend. Susan Buchanan's debut novel, The Sign of the Times, can be purchased at Amazon.com and to check out an interview with her, click here.

Blog: http://susancbuchanan.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/susan_buchanan
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.buchanan.author
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4216164.Susan_Buchanan