The Trophy Wives Club by Kristin Billerbeck

Avon Inspire

Genre: Inspirational

At the young age of 20, Haley Cutler married handsome movie producer, Jay Cutler. Haley lived the life of a princess, she shopped at the best places, lived in a beautiful home and drove an expensive car. It all came to an abrupt end when Jay tossed Haley out of the house for a young starlet. Haley had no job skills and her friends dropped her quicker than she ever thought possible.

Haley tries to get Jay’s attorney, Hamilton Lowe, to get more alimony from her soon-to-be-ex-husband, but all he offers is a suggestion for her to attend a Bible study group called “The Trophy Wives Club”. He’s convinced they will help her learn to re-build her life, but all Haley wants is to make Jay pay.

This is a heartwarming story of a woman who has to learn to live on her own and survive the tough breaks that life sometimes throws in our way. The reader watches as Haley’s faith in people grows and she learns to open herself to new possibilities and possibly new romances.

I found this book to be fast-paced with well-developed characters and an interesting storyline. There is a sequel to this book called Back to Life. I’m looking forward to re-visiting this very interesting group of women.

I saw this on J. Kaye's Book Blog and thought it was cute. Check and see what your blog is rated!

Scandal by Julie Kistler

Genre: Romance

Harlequin Blaze #268, August 2006

Jordan Albright teaches the course Scandalous Women 101. She’s doing her dissertation on one of the scandalous women of 1893, Isabella Tempest, who sculpted an arch filled with sexual content. A woman who had defied the beliefs of her time and stood up for herself. Something Jordan didn’t do in her own life, but praised women who took a stand.
Jordan’s fiancé Daniel liked Jordan just as she was. A woman who never made waves and always did what society felt was proper.

As Jordan researched her project, she found herself fantasizing about Isabella’s handsome older brother, Nick. Jordan’s dreams took on a life of their own to the point where she couldn’t stop thinking about him. She even kept pictures of him in her desk. She was falling in love with a man who had been dead for a 100 years.

During Jordan’s research, she discovered Isabella’s arch and suddenly found herself transported to Chicago. Chicago in 1893! She lands at Nick’s feet. He’s beyond shocked at this woman who was dressed in a short skirt and wasn’t wearing a corset. Her toes were even showing and they had paint on them. When Jordan started to speak, it was even worse. She was talking about odd devices like television and was openly discussing sex with him. Women just don’t do that in 1893.

Nick quickly found himself attracted to Jordan and she kept remembering her fantasies. Now, they were coming to life, much to her shock and happiness. However, she didn’t belong in 1893. She simply could not conform to society and wanted to go back to her own time. Talk about a long distance relationship. How could they survive a 100 year time difference?

This story was fun and sassy. There were several very hot scenes. I fell in love with these characters almost immediately. Julie Kistler never disappoints me and this book was no exception. It’s a fast read that leaves you feeling tingly all over.

Booking Through Thursday

Question:

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.

Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.

Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

My answer:

Sure, I did it with the Diana Gabadalon Outlander series. I heard so many raves about them and went out and bought the first three (I'm not sure if there were more after this) and I couldn't even finish the first one. It just wasn't for me. I did the same thing with the Meyer's Twilight books, but I haven't even tried them yet. The good thing about thos is that I recently read Meyer's The Host and loved it. So, I'm hoping I'll have the same results with the Twilight books.

I do think it's important to keep up with the current trends, but I also feel it's important to read what you like and not what you think you should like. There are too many books and not enough time for that. It's taken me a long time to realize that.

Murder Passes The Buck by Deb Baker

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Gertie Johnson is suspicious when her neighbor, Chester, is shot. The shooting is chalked up to a hunting accident, but Gertie isn’t having any of it. She begs Sheriff Blaze Johnson to investigate before writing this off as an accident, but he wasn’t paying any attention to her. Her own son wouldn’t listen to her! What’s a mother to do? Conduct her own investigation, of course!

Gertie rounds up her own investigative team. Her best friend Cora Mae and a local citizen Kitty who demands to be Gertie’s bodyguard. The three sixty-something women begin searching for clues and it’s not long before they realize that Gertie was right. Chester was murdered, but who would have done such a thing and why?

Blaze is still not convinced. In fact, he’s sure his mother has really lost her mind. He takes her to court to try and have her declared unfit to care for herself. Gertie isn’t taking this lightly. Between solving a murder and fighting her son in court, she has her hands full.

Gertie reminds me of Janet Evanovich’s Grandma Mazur from the Stephanie Plum series. She has spunk and doesn’t take anything from anyone, not even her own family. I was laughing out loud from page one. Deb Baker creates a very vivid picture of a backwoods community in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula sprinkled with a cast of characters that are unique and fun to read about.

The mystery itself wasn’t very complex and I usually prefer more twists and turns in the books I read, but this was a light, fun read. The humor scattered throughout the book made up for it. This is the first book in Baker’s Yooper Mystery series and was a good introduction to all the characters. I will definitely read the next one, I already have it in my TBR.