When The Cypress Whispers | Book Review

STATS:
Author, Yvette Manessis Corporon
Hardcover, 368 pages
Published, April 1st, 2014
Publisher, Harper

SUMMARY:
The daughter of Greek immigrants, Daphne aspires to the American Dream, yet feels as if she's been sleepwalking through life. Caught between her family's old-world traditions and the demands of a modern career, she cannot seem to find her place.
Only her beloved grandmother on Erikousa, a magical island off the coast of Greece, knows her heart. Daphne's fondest memories are of times spent in the kitchen with Yia-yia, cooking and learning about the ancient myths. It was the thought of Yia-yia that consoled Daphne in the wake of her husband's unexpected death.
After years of struggling to raise her child and pay the bills, Daphne now has a successful restaurant, a growing reputation as a chef, and a wealthy fiance-everything she's ever wanted. But across the ocean, Yia-yia can see through the storybook perfection of Daphne's new life- and now she is calling her back to Erikousa. She has secrets about the past to share with her granddaughter- stories from the war, of loyalty and bravery in the face of death. She also has one last lesson to teach her: that security is not love, and that her life can be filled with meaning again.
MY THOUGHTS:
I loved the description of this book and was excited to get started.  I have to say that I was not disappointed. 
I loved the descriptions of the island that were provided by the author.  You could really get a sense of the island life and almost felt like you had been there.  The island is filled with history, mystery, and myth, making it completely magical. There were also great descriptions of the food that was made.  You could almost taste it.
The relationship between Yia-yia and Daphne is wonderful.  Yia-yia knows just what Daphne needs in her life and  the island is calling her back.  Daphne has fond memories of the island life and has decided to get married there.  Yia-yia still has secrets that she wants to share with her granddaughter.
I truly enjoyed this book.  I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet, real written, romance.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 Yvette Manessis Corporon is an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and author. She is currently a senior producer with the syndicated entertainment news show Extra. In addition to her Emmy Award, Yvette has received a Silurian Award for Excellence in Journalism, and the New York City Comptroller and City Council’s Award for Greek Heritage and Culture. She is married to award-winning photojournalist David Corporon. They have two children and live in New York.
Find out more about Yvette at her website, follow her on Twitter, and connect with her on Facebook.

Clever Girl | Book Review

STATS
Author, Tessa Hadley
Paperback, 352 pages
Published, March 4th 2014
Publisher, Harper

SYNOPSIS
Tessa Hadley possesses the remarkable ability to transform the mundane into the sublime—an eye for the beauty, innocence, and irony of ordinary lives that elevates domestic fiction to literary art. In Clever Girl, she offers the indelible story of one woman’s life, unfolded in a series of beautifully sculpted episodes that illuminate an era, moving from the 1960s to today.
Written with the celebrated precision, intensity, and complexity that have marked her previous works, Clever Girl is a powerful exploration of family relationships and class in modern life, witnessed through the experiences of an Englishwoman named Stella. Unfolding in a series of snapshots, Tessa Hadley’s involving and moving novel follows Stella from childhood, growing up with her single mother in a Bristol bedsit, into the murky waters of middle age.
It is a story vivid in its immediacy and rich in drama—violent deaths, failed affairs, broken dreams, missed chances. Yet it is Hadley’s observations of everyday life, her keen skill at capturing the ways men and women think and feel and relate to one another, that dazzles, pressing us to exclaim with each page, Yes, this is how it is.

MY THOUGHTS
I always feel horrible when I receive a book to review and I end up not enjoying it, but that is exactly what happened here.  I started the book a few different times before being able to finish.  I never became engrossed in the story or felt driven to finish.  I was never able to relate to Stella and honestly wasn't sure what the point of the book was. 
Basically, Stella is telling you her history from her adult point of view.  It starts with her childhood in England where she grows up in the 1960s and 1970s.  She She seems to have a fairly interesting childhood, but the remainder of the book is not.  In fact, I was bored.  Stella has an ordinary life of friends, loves, jobs, and then becomes a mother.  I just found nothing remarkable.

It is important to note that I received this book via TLC Book Tours in return for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Please check out the other stops on the tour here for other reviews and opinions.

The In-Between Hour | Barbara Claypole White

Stats:
Paperback, 384 pages
Published, December 31, 2013
Publisher, Harlequin MIRA

Description from Goodreads:
What could be worse than losing your child? Having to pretend he's still alive...

Bestselling author Will Shepard is caught in the twilight of grief, after his young son dies in a car accident. But when his father's aging mind erases the memory, Will rewrites the truth. The story he spins brings unexpected relief…until he's forced to return to rural North Carolina, trapping himself in a lie.

Holistic veterinarian Hannah Linden is a healer who opens her heart to strays but can only watch, powerless, as her grown son struggles with inner demons. When she rents her guest cottage to Will and his dad, she finds solace in trying to mend their broken world, even while her own shatters.
As their lives connect and collide, Will and Hannah become each other's only hope—if they can find their way into a new story, one that begins with love.

My Thoughts:
First, I need to thank TLC Book Tours and Barbara Claypole White for providing me with a free copy of this book to review. And I love the fact that Barbara took the time to autograph the copy before sending it out.
When I started the book, I was hooked.  It is beautifully written and characters and places truly come alive with her writing. 
The had a few themes that I think are really important.  One of those is mental illness.  Will's father is suffering with Alzheimer's.  He remembers the past, but not that his grandson has died in a car accident.  From the descriptions, Will's mother also most likely suffered from being Bipolar.  Hannah's father and grandfather had a history of depression and now her adult son is also dealing with depression and has recently attempted suicide.  It also shows us that what happens in childhood can affect us as adults.
Will has to return to his childhood town to take care of his father due to the fact that his father has been thrown out of the nursing home.  He and his father rent a cabin from Hannah and their lives begin to intertwine.
Will has to face the fact that his son is dead and not only grieve him but also his father that is being lost to disease.  Hannah has to try to help her son after moving him home.  And Will and Hannah soon find comfort in each other.
It really was a wonderful book and I cannot recommend it enough. I look forward to reading more from Barbara Claypole White.

Other stops on this tour:
Find them here.

Barbara Claypole White
Connect with Barbara on her website www.barbaraclaypolewhite, Facebook, or Twitter @bclaypolewhite.

My Favorite Books of 2013

I really enjoyed reading in 2013. I found new authors to love and also new genres that I enjoyed. I signed up with NetGalley and was able to read books that I would have otherwise passed over or never known about. So - I decided to do my favorites of the year.

* A Favorite New Author - Sarah Jio. I read all her books this year. I would be completely happy if she wrote a novel a month. I love her writing that much. The Bungalow, The Violets of March, Blackberry Winter, The Last Camellia, and Morning Glory. They were all wonderful.

* A Surprise Like - Sharp Objects by Jillian Flynn. This is not a genre that I read often. I never pick up horror-thriller-suspense on purpose. I read great reviews on this book and saw it at Target and brought it home. Completely disturbing, but awesome.

* Best Historical Romance - (not to include Sarah Jio novels) The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley. I had read not so wonderful reviews on her The Orchid House, so I was a little hesitant to read this one. But I was able to get it from NetGalley and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved it! It just goes to show that reviews are not all they are cracked up to be at times. Just because someone else doesn't love it, doesn't mean that I won't.

* Favorite Christian Fiction - Forever, Friday by Timothy Lewis. This was the sweetest book. Who wouldn't like a husband that sends them a love postcard every Friday for 60 years?

* Favorite Holiday Read - Mistletoe and Magic by Katie Rose. This was a lovely little Christmas story with a touch of ESP.

And what do I look forward to in the reading world for 2014?

* The next Sarah Jio novel - Goodnight June
* Getting back to reading Diane Chamberlain. She has never disappointed me. In fact, The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes is still a top favorite of mine.

* Reading more Sarah Addison Allen. After reading and loving The Peach Keeper, it is a real nobrainer that I would give her another try.

* Reading the last published Kate Morton novel. I loved all three of her novels when I read them and I can't believe that I have put off The Secret Keeper this long.

* I am also excited about working with TLC Book Tours.