Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie Grazer

Been There, Married That by Gigi Levangie Grazer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Review:

   Although I hated this book (and I mean 'throw against the wall' hate) for the first quarter, I'm glad I decided to try to go at least half-way because the book did pick up and fully hold my interest for the last three quarter's.

This was a quick beach read, that while a frustrating (and that's being kind) read especially about an intelligent woman in her middle decades, it is understood able because of being written about the film industry and it is a satire.

The first quarter is written in a sloppy, choppy, difficult to understand, mess that seems to smooth out later into something more intelligent (sort of---I sure did love Fin and her belligerence). Although I did not have any great belly laughs or even chuckles, I did have a few giggles.


*ARC supplied by the publisher.


A hilarious new novel full of Hollywood glitz, glamour, and scandal.

When he changes the locks, she changes the rules.

Agnes Murphy Nash is the perfect Hollywood wife – she has the right friends, the right clothes, and even a side career of her own as a writer. Her husband Trevor is a bigshot producer, and from the outside it looks like they’re living a picture-perfect celebrity life, complete with tennis tournaments and lavish parties.

The Spinster Diaries by Fattore, Gina

The Spinster Diaries by Gina Fattore
My rating: 1 of 5 stars


"Our heroine, a moderately successful TV writer in L.A., wants her life to be as sunny and perfect as a Hollywood rom-com: a cool job, a wacky best friend, and lots of age-appropriate hot guys just dying to date her. Instead, she’s a self-described spinster who is swimming in anxiety and just might have a tiny little brain tumor. So she turns to an unlikely source for inspiration: the eighteenth-century novelist and diarist Frances Burney, who pretty much invented the chick-lit novel.

A semi-autobiographical unromantic comedy, The Spinster Diaries is a laugh-out-loud satire of both the TV business and the well-worn conventions of chick lit―as well as the true tale of the forgotten writer who inspired Jane Austen to greatness. It's an endearing and refreshingly honest testament to how one person’s life can reach out across the centuries to touch another’s."

Review:

I don't think that this was a cute book, nor did I find it humorous (actually, it was very depressing most of the time).
Written in the first person (diary form), this was supposed to be a semi-autobiographical book. If this is true, then I really feel sorry for this author.
If you like books that drone on about author Miss Francis Burney (Google--->"Frances Burney, also known as Fanny Burney and later as Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and (sic)playwright.") and her unending history (actually most of this book was about her). Also, the fact that this supposed "spinster" rambles on about her health, especially her brain tumor, and has no end -no conclusion whatsoever...then this book will be to your liking.
ARC supplied by the publisher.

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Wife After Wife by Olivia Hayfield

Wife After Wife by Olivia Hayfield
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"If Philippa Gregory and Jackie Collins went out for cocktails and wrote a book, they'd come back with Wife After Wife.

A wickedly entertaining and utterly absorbing modern take on the life and marriages of Henry VIII...if he were a twenty-first-century womanizing media mogul rather than the king of England.

Master of the universe Harry Rose is head of the Rose Corporation, number eighteen on the Forbes rich list, and recently married to wife number six. But in 2018, his perfect world is about to come crashing to the ground. His business is in the spotlight--and not in a good way--and his love life is under scrutiny. Because behind a glittering curtain of lavish parties, gorgeous homes, and a media empire is a tale worthy of any tabloid.

And Harry has a lot to account for."

Review:

Updated review after finishing the book:
I see that I am in a very tiny minority about how I feel about this book, but I just have to tell the truth as I see it. I am having such difficulty getting through this book, maybe because I don't know anything about King Henry the VIII (except for Anne of a Thousand Days -the movie!). You don't need to know your British History to read this. However, this book is a frustrating and disgusting look at a man who can't keep it in his pants, ruined so many lives and the spineless, heartless women who couldn't "resist" him *ugh*. I can see the parallels between Harry's life and Henry's life and I do understand British history enough to know that Henry did what he did for an heir. It is just difficult for me to have compassion or even care about a man in recent past history to behave the same way. Unfortunately, the way this book reads, Harry didn't do it for such a reason he did it because he was a horny, uncaring bastard.
I haven't quite finished this book (I did finish it) ...and I'm not so sure that I care to know what will happen to Harry in the last quarter of the book, but I'm close and I will update this review and the rating as needed if curiosity gets the best of me and I do finish. ( I finished the book and it does get a bit compelling towards the end...a bit of a page-turner to see if Harry will get his comeuppance -well he does and he doesn't if you can understand what I mean. I do need to say that the author did pick a perfect time in history to make this parallel- the" Greed is Good" era.
ARC Supplied by Publisher

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Death in a Budapest Butterfly (A Hungarian Tea House Mystery #1) by Julia Buckley

Death in a Budapest Butterfly by Julia Buckley
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I want my money back and I want to buy the book that the other reviewers read! I obviously got the wrong book because this was one of the most horrible cozies I have ever read.

The crime itself and wanting to know who did it kept me skimming; also learning about my Hungarian heritage kept me skimming and those are the ONLY reasons I kept reading this book.

Here is one issue I had: the main character is in her mid-twenties....what person in their mid-twenties would know the term "sock it to me"??? I'm 62 and I barely remember Laugh-In!

Hana is truly an annoying character one minute young and frivolous and the next minute acting like she is in her 70's and the fact that this crime is on their tea house property is trite, cliche and boring. Actually ALL of the characters seemed to be out of place, stilted in their conversations and not described very well. Some things are overly described, some things that need more get nothing.

The romance seems to appear out of thin air and should have gone a little more slowly, like maybe wait until the second book for "making out"(another expression that I don't think modern young people use) sessions.

You need to stretch your imagination muscles to the nth degree to believe that the cop in charge of the murder (and Hana's love muffin)needs three generations of the same family to helo him with his case without his bosses approval.

I was so happy to see a book about my heritage that I ignored the fact that EVERY review is glowing, I read the preview and went for it...I very nearly bought the upcoming books too. I am so glad I waited.

Oh, I did learn a little about Hungarian cuisine (nothing I didn't know being a second-generation) but will be interesting for a non-Hungarian. I did learn more than I ever wanted to know about porcelain.

But to each his own and you may love all the things I hated so happy reading!


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Bears Behaving Badly (BeWere My Heart #1) by MaryJanice Davidson

Bears Behaving Badly by MaryJanice Davidson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These social worker bear shifters give the term "mama bear" a whole new meaning! Bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson is back with this brand-new paranormal romance series featuring a foster care system for at-risk shifter babies and teens.
Werebear shifter Annette Garsea is a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. When a selectively mute and freakishly strong teen werewolf is put in her custody, Annette has to uncover the young girl's secrets if she's to have any hopes of helping her. And not even the growling of a scruffy private investigator can distract her from her mission...
Bear shifter David Auberon appreciates Annette's work with at-risk teen shifters, but he's not sure if her latest charge is so much a vulnerable teen as a predator who should be locked up. All that changes when he, Annette, and her motley band of juveniles find themselves dodging multiple murder attempts and uncovering a trafficking cartel that doesn't just threaten the kids, but risks discovery of the shifters by the wider world of homo sapiens.
BeWere My Heart series:Bears Behaving Badly (Book 1)

Review:

I liked this book a lot. I didn't quite find it gut-busting funny, but I did get quite a few giggles. MaryJancie follows her tropes and long-time readers are pretty comfortable with this fact. As far as first-time readers of MJD...I think they are going to like this book a lot.

I do wish there had been more backstory-so we could have understood better, what was going on. It took quite a while for me to understand totally what was going on.

I also wish there had been some better editing as I found some inconsistencies. but that may be fixed before release.
*ARC provided by the publisher.

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No Fixed Line (Kate Shugak #22) by Dana Stabenow

No Fixed Line

(Kate Shugak #22)

by 

Dana Stabenow (Goodreads Author)

... though there is no fixed line between wrong and right,There are roughly zones whose laws must be obeyed.
It is New Year's Eve, nearly six weeks into an off-and-on blizzard that has locked Alaska down, effectively cutting it off from the outside world.
But now there are reports of a plane down in the Quilak mountains. With the National Transportation Safety Board unable to reach the crash site, ex-Trooper Jim Chopin is pulled out of retirement to try to identify the aircraft, collect the corpses, and determine why no flight has been reported missing. But Jim discovers survivors: two children who don't speak a word of English.
Meanwhile, PI Kate Shugak receives an unexpected and unwelcome accusation from beyond the grave, a charge that could change the face of the Park forever.

Review-

I finished ARC/book -need to re-read to absorb more -review to come. At least the author didn't insult baby boomers again, sort of. But she is trying really hard to get rid of the boomers (and older) in the Park. I wouldn't be surprised to see Bobbie and Bernie bit ethe big one soon just for Ms. Stabenow's new audience.

Okay, I re-read this yesterday, and I'm finding I have at least one if not more issues with this book.

Issue number one -- while this is NOT a cliff hanger, it is going to be a recurring them since we really don't get rid of the 'bad guy,' and since he threatens Kate, we surely can expect him back.

The baby boomer rants---well, I expect the author wants to get a younger audience but is this really the way to do so?


However, all in all, I found this book to be very, very satisfying. The storyline is delightful, and the mystery is quite challenging to figure out (at least it was for me)and people we've come to dislike, get their just desserts. I enjoyed seeing a lot of past character's, I LOVED seeing Jim come out of his funk. I truly enjoyed the storyline, and I learned a lot more about Alaska that I didn't know.

The storyline well I can say that if you are extremely sensitive to some narrative about pedophilia, then you may want to skip over some of the early dialogue. Fortunately, once discussed, it is not vividly dwelt on later in the book.

An excellent read with some things I personally dislike makes this a five-star read.

*ARC supplied by the publisher.


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