ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

Title:   Black Dog Summer by Miranda Sherry Publisher: Highbridge Narrator: Jilly Bond Format: Audio Book through Audible Length: 9 Hours 36 minutes Genre: Mystery - fiction Synopsis:  Black Dog Summer  begins with a murder, a farmstead massacre, in the South African bush. Thirty-eight-year-old Sally is but one of the victims. Her life brutally cut short, she narrates from her vantage point in the afterlife and watches as her sister, Adele; her brother-in-law and unrequited love, Liam; her niece, Bryony; and her teenage daughter, Gigi, begin to make sense of the tragedy. Focusing on marriage and fidelity, sisterhood, and the fractious bond between mothers and daughters,  Black Dog Summer  asks: In the wake of tragedy, where does all that dark energy linger? The youngest characters, Bryony and Gigi, cousins who are now brought together after Sally's murder, are forced into sharing a bedroom. Bryony becomes confused and frightened by the violent ene...

Title:   Sober is the New Black: A Then and Now Account of Life Beyond Booze (giving up drinking alcohol, giving up drinking wine) by Rachel Black Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Format: Paperback Pages: 146 pages Genre:  alcoholism, self -help Synopsis:  Wine is a normal part of life, isn't it? It is usual for thirty-somethings to collapse in the evening with a glass or two of something sophisticated to diffuse the stress of the day and calm their buzzing brains, whether they be professionals, mothers, wives or homemakers. Rachel was no different. She juggled her many roles and responsibilities well and rewarded herself with wine at the end of each day; after all, she deserved it. But, gradually her wine intake began to increase each night and soon it had gone from being a little treat to an absolute necessity. As wine invaded more and more areas of her life, it became harder to cope. In turn it meant she drank more wine, firmly believin...

Title:   The Book of Speculation: A Novel by Erika Swyler Publisher: St. Martin's Press Format: advanced e-galley from the publisher through netgalley.com Pages: 352 pages Genre: Fiction This title is due to be released June 23, 2015 Synopsis:  Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival. One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's ...

I am happy to have Steven Rappaport guest post to ReadingGrrl.com! I posted a review of If Jack Had on June 2, you can find the review here . Steven Rappaport, age 68, has been a stock trader, pot dealer, itinerant hippie peddler, cab driver, retailer, and is currently a successful commercial real estate salesperson in Manhattan. If Jack Ha d , is a book very much born of personal experience. My eldest son Jack, died at forty from a mysterious, undiagnosed, progressively debilitating neurological disorder. He was a brilliant guy, but his health robbed him of the life he should have had.  He struggled from his teens until he passed away. He was a brilliant guy, but his health robbed him of the life he should have had.  He struggled from his teens until he passed away at age forty. Each year, bit by bit, he lost more of his mental and physical abilities. I decided that I wanted to give Jack a life that he missed through fiction.  That is how the book was ...

Title:   The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau Publisher: Recorded Books Format: Audio book Length: 11 hours 12 minutes Narrator: Elizabeth Morton Genre: YA Dystopian Synopsis:  The story in which a 16-year-old is chosen by her government to undergo The Testing, which decides if she gets to go to The University. The University is for the country’s best and brightest teens and puts the rebuilding and future leadership of the United Commonwealth in their hands. During The Testing, extreme psychological and physical trials pit them against one another to determine which teens have what it takes to become a leader.  (36) Review: With similarities to  The Hunger Games  and the  Divergent Series  this seems like the next new dystopian trilogy to watch and read, according to many reviews and websites. I thought the book started a out a little slow but picked up as they start the testing. The testing is filled with sick min...

Title:   In The Air Tonight (Sisters of the Craft) by Lori Handeland Publisher: St. Martins Paperbacks Format: advanced e-galley from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review Pages :352 pages Genre:  paranormal romance This book was released June 2, 2015  Synopsis:  Four centuries ago, in a small Scottish village, three baby girls escaped the wrath of a witch hunter. Today, one young woman will learn about her secret history, her heart's destiny, and the sisters she never knew she had... With her blue-black hair and dark eyes, Raye Larsen has never fit in with the Scandinavian community of New Bergin, Wisconsin. Being adopted is part of the reason she feels like an outsider, but what really sets Raye apart is her ability to see dead people. Everywhere. She's learned to keep her visions to herself...until she stumbles onto the ghost of a murder victim who needs Raye's help. Enter Bobby Doucet, a distractedly handsome homic...

Title:   Mayhem in Margaux (Winemaker Detective) Jean Pierre Alaux & Noel Balen Publisher: Le French Book Format: advanced e-galley received through netgalley.com from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Pages: 164 pages Genre: Mystery This book was released May 14, 2015 Synopsis:  It’s summer in Bordeaux. There’s a heat wave, the vineyards are suffering, vintners are on edge, and wine expert Benjamin Cooker’s daughter is visiting. A tragic car accident draws the Winemaker Detective and his assistant Virgile into a case where the stakes are very personal, and they uncover some dirty secrets hiding behind some of Bordeaux’s finest grand cru classé wines from Margaux. (34)Review: This book made me wish I could drink wine, unfortunately a sulfite allergy destroys that ability.  So with little to no knowledge of wine but feeling mighty thirsty at the end of the book I learned a lot (like the merits of a traditional cork over a screw top in wi...

Title:   If Jack Had by Steven Rappaport Publisher: Black Rose Writing Format: Advanced Paperback - ARC received from publisher in exchange for a fair review Pages: 211 pages Genre: Fiction This title will be released June 4, 2015 Synopsis:  Jack is a New York Times journalist with a second job as a contract killer for the Russian Mob. “What’s the difference between a serial killer and an assassin? A pay check.” The events occur mainly in Manhattan, Miami, Tel Aviv, and Greece. The book begins at the end, with the protagonist preparing to kill his final victim; himself. (33) Review: Dark and funny this book is the dark tale of getting old, and trying to reconcile your life.  Its also about family.  Jack is a NY times journalist who realizes when he is in college that he also has a knack for killing people and getting away with it.  So he hooks up with the Russian Mob to start his second job as a hit man for the Mafia, his secret life isn't known...