Hooked by Liz Fichera

"The boys had expected me to fail--wanted me to fail. I'd sensed it. And I wasn't about to give any of them an ounce of satisfaction."


This novel is about a strong young Native American girl (Fred) who loves to play golf. She's good, so good that the high school team coach practically begs her to be on the team...but the boys don't like it.

HUGE class difference. She lives on a reservation. Her mother works in a restaurant. Her father tends the very grounds her teammate's fathers pay to play on. She's the only girl on the team. She replaced a loser kid named Seth... There's a lot of animosity aimed her way, but this girl lifts her chin...well, she does stare at the ground a lot and I wanted to tell her stop it, but I also understood...and plays a damn good game, even when  her arm is about to fall off due to a little sabotage incident.

I expected more struggling to be accepted in a male dominated industry than romance, but I got more romance. I don't mind a good teen romance at all, but I really don't care for the love interest in this.

This guy, Ryan, is a wuss. He just sits there and lets his friends bully Fred, talk smack about her, call her names, make fun of her, and he doesn't have the balls to do anything. He sits there and smiles. I don't care if it's a half smile, if you just sit there and let your friends be nasty, you are no better than them. And yet Fred likes this guy? I get he has a rough home life, but so does 75% of the country. It doesn't give you a free pass to be a jackass.

Not until 82% does this guy show any promise and even then, he refuses to snitch on his evil best friend bugged the heck out of me. If he had said something the first time, his friend wouldn't have a second chance to go after Fred...or a third. Even as the book ended, I questioned just where this guy's loyalties lay. I felt he should have told the truth to prevent what happened next.

That's my only complaint besides I would have liked the mother's issues explained. She's hateful, mean, bitter, and I wasn't sure why. Felt I was missing something there. I did not like Ryan and to enjoy a romance, you sorta need to like the hero. But the golfing, the reservation, and the heroine herself I really liked. I also felt the switching back and forth in narrative was well done, not jarring as it could have been. Fizchera knows how to write. Though I didn't LOVE this one as I did her other two, I did like it. She's still on my watch and read list. I must commend her for for tackling all the different issues and story lines she does.

There were other characters in this novel I liked. Trueblood, Hank, Sam. I'd like to read more about Sam. Something really drew me to him. Matter of fact, I was honestly hoping Fred would choose him, not Ryan. LOL

Three bikes. Very entertaining YA read. I received this from Netgalley.

Freaks & Freebies with Hayley Lawson-Smith

Years ago a distant relative researched our family tree. Scattered on the various branches were the usual 'Ten Pound Poms', farmers and sheep-stealers; people many Aussie families can boast about.

But there was also a gentleman with a more unique claim to fame. He was a Londoner named Charles, born with no arms, double-jointed legs and six toes on each foot. Times being what they were, poor Chuck didn't have a whole lot of prospects, so his older brother placed him in what was politely called a 'side-show' once he was in his teens. Despite being stuck in a cruel situation, my ancestor became successful, performing tricks such as pouring tea with his toes, even playing the piano, and I couldn't help being fascinated, and fairly proud, that there was a 'freak' in our family.

Particularly when I went on to read that Charles married young and fathered twelve healthy children. Not a bad effort.

Being a theatre person myself, I’ve always loved the arts, artists, extroverts and performers. I was intrigued by the idea of being part of a world of colourful characters; a romanticised story of life in a freak-show formed in my head and it was a story I wrote for myself. It's a trick I’ve done since being a kid; creating a character I can live through, someone who has outlandish adventures, meeting eccentric and off-the-wall folk. For this story, I chose a bearded girl. I took the idea of a child running away to join the circus and twisted it a little; it occurred to me that my ancient relative hadn't so much 'run away', but he was 'given away'. The Julius Romeros Extravaganza, Part 1 covers Abigail’s childhood, into her teens and young adulthood. Basically, I had a lot of fun writing this book, always with the goal of writing Parts 2 and 3, where things grow a little darker and grittier. My fondest wish is that my audience enjoys reading this novel as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

The book Hayley speaks of is at the moment FREE on Kindle! Download your copy today from Amazon.

Blurb: Abigail has been born into a wealthy, upper-class family. Good breeding is essential to her upbringing. But Abigail has been born with a beard and the prudish housekeeper, Mrs Hiffeltrimp, along with her stuffy butler husband, aim to veil this whiskery problem from the rest of the world. While Abigail's mother hides herself in an expensive health spa and the master of the house is away at war, Mrs Hiffeltrimp will go to any lengths to be rid of the offending whiskers. Even if it means being rid of the little girl from whose chin they sprout.

The Ambassador's Daughter by Pam Jenoff

This was a very unique read. I'm surprised by what happened within its pages and I'm surprised by the ending.


I walk away from this novel very enlightened on the Treaty of Versailles. WWI and its consequences sadly seem to go largely unnoticed in history and in school. Ms. Jenoff does a remarkable job educating while entertaining.

The setting is France. A young woman who'd been rather...coerced into agreeing to marry a man when war hit is trying to postpone her impending marriage by staying with her ambassador father for the conducting of the treaty. She's German in a country that at the moment, hates Germans.

There's so much going on here... there's duty. Does she do her duty because it's the right thing to do or does she follow her heart? Is it wrong to just want to LIVE for a while before typing oneself down? When does doing the right thing really become doing the wrong thing? There's information falling into the wrong hands. Betrayal: the act of committing and the act of being betrayed. There's the after effects of war, how people are treated. There's politics. And above all it's the story of how lies...no matter how small...often have the most dire of consequences.

There's spying, intrigue, romance, and history.

I really enjoyed it thought at times I struggled with the heroine and her decisions. I'd like to have seen her handle some things differently, namely her fiance Stephan, but had t his story not gone the way it did, the moral would not have been as strong.

Wonderful writing. It really planted me in France during the signing of the Treaty. I didn't find the love was all that passionate as in a previous book I read by Jenoff, but I could feel the heroine's guilt and turmoil just pop off the page.

Four bikes. Brace yourself for lots of surprises. And that's hard to do nowadays, what with every plotline being done over and over and over. Ms. Jenoff really pulled this off. I received this from netgalley.

Spotlight: Player by Laura DeLuca

Player

Laura DeLuca

Joshua Handover had it all. He was handsome, rich, athletic, and had always been popular with the ladies. Yet, until he gets paired up with his beautiful but shy lab partner, Rosa, he never allowed himself to fall in love. As the chemistry between them grows, Josh realizes that his player days have come to end. But it seems his change of heart has come too late. Not only is Rosa leery of his bad boy reputation, he has four vindictive ex-girlfriends who are on a rampage. At first he doesn’t take their threats seriously, but then his tires are slashed, someone tries to poison him, and one of the girls turns up dead. Josh doesn’t know who to trust, but one thing is certain. It definitely isn’t worth the price he’s paying to be a player.

Buy links: Amazon / Smashwords

Excerpt:

Someone else came over to offer Nadine their congratulations, so Josh said goodbye and went to his locker to get his backpack. He figured he would meet up with Andrea and Rosa in the parking lot. He fumbled with the combination before finally getting the door to swing open. Something glittered on the top shelf and caught his eye. He reached for it, and a small scrap of paper fluttered to the floor.

 At first he wasn’t sure what he was holding. It was a pink plastic tiara with some big gaudy plastic jewels. It was the type of thing he had seen in dollar stores for little girls’ birthday parties. It was practically broken in half, and the edges were sharp. Josh pricked his finger on the jagged point, and a few drops of blood welled from the small wound. He put his finger in his mouth as he bent to pick up the paper that had fallen. When he read it, the broken crown suddenly made sense and he wondered how he could have been so naïve. He should have realized from the instant he saw it what it meant.

“Josh decided to play around

Now one of his girls is under the ground.

Another has a big bump on her head.

And by the end of the dance, the queen will be dead.”

About the Author:

Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart.  In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years.  Her current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan and Player.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

Bloggers Wanted!

Seeking bloggers to post a huge and fun announcement on Feb 12th. Announcement includes a giveaway and participating bloggers will have either their FB Page, their blog, or their Twitter account listed as an entry option. So in exchange for hosting me, you pick up some new fans. One lucky host will also receive a $5 Amazon gift card. I will randomly choose a name. If interested in being a host, please email me at tchevrestt(at)yahoo.com

**Blog announcement does not contain any sexual content or excerpt. It is rated PG.**

The Last Telegram by Liz Trenow

At first this book felt like a coming of age story, then it became a love story and a tale of war, prejudice, and how it can destroy people. Then it began to feel like a moral...karma gets you. Retribution. Guilt. And finally, letting go and forgiveness.

I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions with this. As the story changed, so did my emotions. I had feelings of anger and disgust. Sometimes I hated the heroine, wanted to slap her silly, sometimes I gasped. By the end, I had tears on my cheeks.

It's a silk factory in a time of war. They make silk for parachutes. The entire factory was an educational read for me. I learned a lot and was intrigued. When they take in German refugees to help, the heroine falls in love with one, but the town begins to show animosity toward the Germans in light of the war. (WWII) Stefan is deported to prison in Australia, merely because of his nationality. Lily is forced to take over the running of the silk factory, a task she is and yet, isn't quite ready for as we see when she makes a very poor decision in a stressful moment. All the while she pines for Stefan and their moments together are all the sweeter for there being so few. Their love radiates off the page.


As a mechanic, I know how deadly some choices can be and could not forgive Lily for something she does. But can Lily forgive herself? Can she forgive herself for how she treats another woman, Gwen? Sometimes we use people and don't realize it until it's too late.

There are tons of morals within the pages. Tell your parents you love them. Don't let yourself be bullied. Take care not to use others. Make choices you know you can live with. I got a lot more than I expected. It truly surpasses majority of WWII novels I've read.

I was riveted to this book. There's forbidden love, teen angst, growing up, war, jealousy, using people, living with guilt. There's death, sadness, heartache, and joy.

Five bikes. I received this from netgalley.

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Eloise

Book: Eternal Envy
Author: Paloma Beck
Heroine: Eloise

Eloise has been cursed to live her life with the soul sin of Envy. With six sisters, she suffered dreaming to be more like them, to have the things they had and even to look like them. Despite the obstacle, she carved out a life for herself. She turned her envy of beautiful things into a successful business designing high-end women's shoes. When finally she meets Caedon and her sin is cast aside by her mate, Eloise is free to reach her true potential. And she doesn't waste a minute allowing anyone else to take care of her. Instead, she insists on helping in the search for Caedon's missing parents. Learning to use her new-found powers, Eloise reigns in her magic to provide the final healing. Her magic is powerful but its her spirit -and her strength- that are sexy to Caedon. Eloise is his perfect equal despite Caedon being used to calling the shots.

Watch out, world, Eloise has come into her powers!

BLURB:

Seven sisters are entwined in a legacy, one originating back from the time of the Italian Wars in the 1500s. One by one, they will find their mates from the immortal Valendite Breeds and secure their place in history. 

Eloise has lived with bitter envy her entire life until the moment she fell into the arms of Caedon. Once claimed by her mate, she will covet nothing more for eternity, especially now that she has it all. Caedon plans to fulfill her every need if he can just keep her safe. With their secret so close to being exposed and a mate who finds herself in the midst of the drama, Caedon has enough to keep his hands full. 

Then Caedon’s parents, believed dead for a century, come across the Terrorist Elimination Unit’s (TEU) radar. Can he save his parents while protecting his new-found mate?

Are you an author with a strong heroine in your book? Want to see her featured? Find out how here.