“The Little French Bistro”–Review

After 41 years, Marianne is fed up with her loveless marriage. For years, she’s felt so unworthy, so unloved because of her husband’s controlling ways. Finally realizing her life has passed her by, Marianne decides life is no longer worth living—until she is saved. Finding herself in Brittany, the northwestern part of France, she is swept up by a new life at Ar Mor (the Sea) restaurant, where she meets Yann, the handsome painter; Genevieve, the restaurant owner; Jean-Remy, the heartbroken chef; and many others.

While she takes in her new surroundings, along with getting to know the locals, Marianne starts to find a forgotten version of herself.  Even though she’s often afraid, she learns what it means to truly live again. However, her past still beckons her, and that’s when she needs to decide if she’s meant to return to her old life or to push it aside for a better future.

Although I liked the storyline, the book was leaving me in a bit of a slump. I felt I couldn’t really connect with the characters. I’m less than halfway through with the book, so I just might finish it to see if it may change my perspective. No matter, I don’t discourage anyone from reading a book I didn’t really enjoy. Perhaps you’ll feel differently. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Nina George is the author of the bestselling international phenomenon, The Little Paris Bookshop, as well as numerous other books that have been published around the world. She also works as a journalist, a writer, an advocate for author rights, and a storytelling teacher. She lives with her husband in Berlin, Germany, and Brittany, France.

FTC Disclosure: I received this copy from Blogging for Books, in exchange for an honest review.

“The United Continuums”–Review

Hello, bloggers! I can’t believe this trilogy has come to an end. I was so excited to read all of the books in the Continuum trilogy, so here’s my review of the final installment.

Aero Wright, of the outer space Second Continuum, must lead a group of insurgents to overthrow his rival, Supreme General Vinick, and to unite his space colony’s military forces. Seeker, from the underground Seventh Continuum, embarks on a secret mission back to her colony to reinforce Earth’s defenses and protect the First Continuum against an even greater threat. Meanwhile, Myra Jackson, from the underwater 13th Continuum, is anxiously preparing the fight against the Dark Thing that is approaching Earth with the threat to eradicate the planet’s fledgling populace if the secret of the Doom isn’t handed over. The only way the three Carriers, including their armies, can avoid another coming of the Doom is to stand together and destroy the Dark Thing and save the remaining colonies.

I’m sad to see this superb trilogy come to an end, but it was definitely worth reading. I enjoyed the suspense, the dialogue, and how it all left me wanting more. The characters were amazing, as well. Many scenes made me sad, some angry, and some happy. What I also like about the idea behind the stories is that, no matter how badly things have turned out, there’s always a chance of hope. The author did a wonderful job. If you haven’t read these books, I encourage you read them. Honestly, these books will be on my mind for a while. Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Jennifer Brody lives and writes in Los Angeles. After graduating from Harvard University, she began her career in feature film development. Highlights include working at New Line Cinema on many projects, including The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Golden Compass, and Love In The Time of Cholera. She’s a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She also founded and runs BookPod, a social media platform for authors. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and her website.

“Swann’s Way Out”–Review

Good evening, all! I finally had the opportunity to read the fourth Henry Swann novel. If you haven’t read the first three, I highly encourage you to do so, especially if you like some good detective fiction.

The story begins with skip tracer Henry Swann, at a poker game, who is trying to figure out what he’s supposed to do with his life. After all, he’s spent years taking on cases involving delinquents, runaways, thieves, etc. He wasn’t quite sure if being a skip tracer was actually his calling. After the game, however, Swann is offered a case which sends him to Hollywood in order to find Rusty Jacobs, the man responsible for embezzling $1,000,000 from his client. All Swann has to do is get the money back and all will be okay. Swann does find Jacobs, but learns that this wannabe film producer is convinced his movie project will make it big in the Christian market. As for the $1,000,000 that was used to make the movie trailer? It seems to have disappeared. While Swann’s client claims the money was stolen, Jacobs claims it was used as an investment. Although Swann’s motive is to just get the money back—he couldn’t really care less for the reason for the so-called investments—he can’t help wondering who’s telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Swann has another job thrown at him—thanks to his business partner, Goldblatt—where he has to help another client in the New York City art world who may have been defrauded on the purchase of a valuable painting that may or may not be a fake.

While it all seems to be one thing after another, Swann gets a call regarding his estranged teenage son who has run away from his grandparents’ home in Minnesota and has possibly joined a cult. Now a guilt-ridden Swann must take time out from his paying cases to find the son he hasn’t seen in years.

This installment is definitely worth reading. Henry Swann is the best! Like the first three books, this one also has excellent narration and dialogue. Everything just gets right to the point. I enjoyed the quirky relationship between Swann and Goldblatt. Great humor, sarcasm, and Swann doesn’t take BS from anyone.

Feel free to post your comments. Happy reading!

About the author: Charles Salzberg is the author of the Shamus Award-nominated Swann’s Last Song, as well as the sequels, Swann Dives In and Swann’s Lake of Despair. He is also the author of Devil in the Hole, which was chosen as one of the Best Crime Novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine. He lives in New York City and teaches writing at the Writer’s Voice and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is proud to be a founding member. For more info about the author, click here. You can also follow him on Twitter.