Book Review: The Seduction Expert

Title: The Seduction Expert
Author: Saya Lopez Ortega
Genre: Romance
Publisher: VSP Publishing
Publication Date: June 26, 2019
Pages: 174
Format Read: Ebook
Standalone or series: Series (Book One of The Seduction Expert)
Where I got the book: NetGalley ARC
Date finished reading: June 2, 2019

Goodreads Description: She’s the seduction expert.

Women contact her to take over their love lives. She steps in when they’re lost, she’s supposed to succeed where they failed. She handles their single status, their relationship, their breakup, and very often their partner’s affairs. Her job is a life priority, she spends most of her time at the office or between two flights in business class and the fact of having a sports car that can reach one hundred kilometers in less than six seconds often make her feel like a super-heroine in service to women.

Anyway, take her card.

You’ll see, it’s much better than spending holidays in St Barts.

My Review: I was really excited to get this book from NetGalley. It looked like it could be a fun, short read to enjoy as we head into the summer months. Short it was. Fun? Not for me.

One of the things that intrigued me about this book was the fact that the main character was a powerful, successful and ambitious woman, called the Baroness. By the description, I thought she was really helping a lot of women have successful relationships. However, I was immediately turned off by her cold demeanor. The Baroness was harsh to her clients (who often are going through difficult marital problems and possibly divorces), her employees (who work very hard) and her fiancé (whom she appears to only be marrying for money and status). She seemed incapable of sympathy and/or love. I disliked her future mother-in-law a lot, and yet I almost cheered her on for trying to destroy the Baroness’ business and relationship with her son. I almost always have to like at least one of the main characters to really like the book, and I just didn’t with this one. I don’t understand why a female character has to be cruel and manipulative enable to have her success and power.

Also, how is this classified as a romance? Is it a romance just because the main character got engaged? I felt no love or passion in this book unless the love and passion was for obtaining money and power.

This book should be out at the end of the month. While some of the early readers gave it some love on Goodreads, this one fell flat for me. The author did have an intriguing transition to the next book in the series, but I just don’t think I want to continue with these characters

My Rating: ♦ ♦ 

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WWW Wednesdays – June 5, 2019

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

I spent this last week finishing up my May Kurt Vonnegut reads and am getting ready to start reading one of my favorite authors of all time, Agatha Christie (see Focus on Authors). I feel that Christie is the best way to start the summer!

Currently Reading

Finally got the Harry Potter audiobook back from the library! I wasn’t able to finish it in time before, and I was getting to some really great scenes with Fred and George that I always enjoy.

Finished Reading

Focus on Authors Reading Challenge: Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut – book = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦
NetGalley ARC: The Seduction Expert by Saya Lopez Ortego – ebook = ♦ ♦
The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

*Click on the title of the book for my full review. I will continue to put up more reviews later today and tomorrow for the above books.*

Reading Next

What have y’all be reading? Let me know in the comments or include your WWW link if you have one.

HAPPY READING!!!

WWW Wednesdays – May 29, 2019

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

If you are located in the USA, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I had a great weekend with family and friends and was even able to catch up on some housework and get in some quality reading time by the pool.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading

Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen – audiobook =♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ½
NetGalley ARC: Smitten by the Brit by Melonie Johnson – ebook = ♦ ♦ ♦ ½
Focus on Authors Reading Challenge: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut – audiobook = ♦ ♦ ♦

*Click on the title of the book to read my full review. All Kurt Vonnegut reads will be covered in a full Vonnegut review sometime next week.*

Reading Next

How was your week of reading? Post your WWW link in the comments section below if I haven’t already visited.

HAPPY READING!!!

Book Review: Park Avenue Summer

Title: Park Avenue Summer
Author: Renee Rosen
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: April 30, 2019
Pages: 368
Format Read: Audiobook
Standalone or series: Standalone
Where I got the book: Library Libby app
Date finished reading: May 24, 2019

Goodreads Description: Mad Men meets The Devil Wears Prada as Renée Rosen draws readers into the glamour of 1965 New York City and Cosmopolitan Magazine, where a brazen new Editor-in-Chief–Helen Gurley Brown–shocks America by daring to talk to women about all things off limits…

New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big city dreams and unexpectedly lands the job of a lifetime working for Helen Gurley Brown, the first female Editor-in-Chief of a then failing Cosmopolitan Magazine.

Nothing could have prepared Alice for the world she enters as editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller, Sex and the Single Girl. While confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands, someone tries to pull Alice into this scheme to sabotage her boss. But Alice remains loyal and becomes all the more determined to help Helen succeed. As pressure mounts at the magazine and Alice struggles to make her way in New York, she quickly learns that in Helen Gurley Brown’s world, a woman can demand to have it all.

My Review: I enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting to. It is a glimpse into the life of Helen Gurley Brown and her ideas to revamp Cosmopolitan magazine to a magazine that was geared more toward everyday women’s issues. Her story was told through the eyes of a fictional character, Alice Weiss, Helen Gurley Brown’s secretary. I had an immediate connection to Alice Weiss – more than just the fact that we share a same last name (my maiden name at least). She represented the type of intellectual, self-assured and independent woman that Helen Gurly Brown wanted to reach with her magazine, and she did.

Park Avenue Summer was intriguing from the very beginning and continued to hold my often distracted attention. I was never much of a reader of Cosmopolitan, but I really enjoyed learning about Helen Gurley Brown. She wanted to make huge changes for Cosmopolitan, including switching from depressing/stuff stories written by famous male authors to stories told by the likes of Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan and Nora Ephron and also covering a wide variety of sexual topics that might interest women but were shocking for that time. It seemed that the odds were against her and yet she still managed to do the impossible with Cosmopolitan and be a powerful woman in a man’s world. This story is one of inspiration. Alice Weiss may be a fictional character, but she represents many women who were directly touched and inspired by Helen Gurley Brown.

I highly recommend this book. It will make a wonder summer/beach read. If you are listening to the audiobook, don’t skip the extra Author’s notes at the end, where the author describes the scenes throughout the book that really happened.

My Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ½

Book Review: Smitten by the Brit

Title: Smitten by the Brit
Author: Melonie Johnson
Genre: Romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication Date: May 28, 2019
Pages: 384
Format Read: ebook
Standalone or series: standalone
Where I got the book: NetGalley
Date finished reading: May 26, 2019

Goodreads Description: English professor Bonnie Blythe expects her life to play out like her favorite novels, especially now that her long-term boyfriend has finally proposed. So when a shocking discovery leads Bonnie to end her engagement, she decides to close the book on love. But the plot thickens when a brand-new character enters the scene—and quickens Bonnie’s heart.

With his brilliant blue eyes, sexy accent, and irresistible charm, Theo Wharton is like a romantic hero straight out of a Jane Austen novel. When fate places Bonnie in England for a summer—conveniently close to Theo—she realizes a hot friends-with-benefits fling is exactly what she needs to start a fresh chapter. Just as Bonnie begins to believe she’s falling in love, an eye-opening revelation into Theo’s life makes Bonnie feel like she’s wandered into one of her favorite books. Will Bonnie have the courage to risk her heart and turn the page with the dashing Brit to find her true happy ending after all?

My Review: Sometimes I’m just in the mood for a feel good romance and this definitely fit the bill. You are rooting for the main character, Bonnie, right from the start. You want her to have her happy ending after her she catches her fiancé cheating on her. I love the cast of girlfriends. Their interactions are so amusing. The perfect thing for a romantic comedy. The reader feels the ongoing steamy attraction between Bonnie and Theo with an added bonus of an English countryside setting and quotes from Shakespeare, Austen and other English authors. Unfortunately, even when I just want a good romance story, I can’t just turn off my realistic sensibility. Is it really a good idea to have a main character go immediately from one long term relationship to jumping so quickly into spending the rest of her life with someone else? Seems too soon, even though Bonnie appears to be very mature and confident in herself. Maybe I could have overlooked that if the end was a bit stronger. Theo had his own family obligations and responsibilities that prevented a long term commitment to Bonnie, and yet in couple pages those obligations and responsibilities just disappeared and all was good. I would have liked further development in Theo’s family dynamics, especially since his family was full of interesting characters. Overall this was a quick and enjoyable read.

My Rating: ♦ ♦ ♦ ½

WWW Wednesdays – May 22, 2019

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Time for another WWW Wednesdays, which is brought to you by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. If you too want to participate, answer the above questions and post that link on Sam’s page.

Last week I participated in the Bout of Books Readathon. Unfortunately, it was a tough reading week, since I had multiple house repairs and renovations done (the joys of home ownership) and family was staying with us until yesterday. However, I still managed to read more than 1,000 pages, which was really good for me. I always want to read more than.

Currently Reading

Finished Reading 

The Man from the Train by Bill James and Rachel McCarthy James – audiobook = ♦ ♦
Focus on Authors Reading Challenge: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut – book = ♦ ♦ ♦ ½

*Click on the titles to view my review. All Vonnegut reads will be reviewed at the end of the month.*

Reading Next

Have you read Kurt Vonnegut? If so, what are your thoughts on his writing? What are you reading lately? Please feel free to share your WWW posts in the comments below, if I haven’t already visited.

HAPPY READING!!!!

Book Review: The Man from the Train

Title: The Man from the Train
Author: Bill James & Rachel McCarthy James
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: September 19, 2017
Pages: 464
Format Read: audiobook
Standalone or series: standalone
Where I got the book: Library Libby app
Date finished reading: May 20, 2019

Goodreads Description: Using unprecedented, dramatically compelling sleuthing techniques, legendary statistician and baseball writer Bill James applies his analytical acumen to crack an unsolved century-old mystery surrounding one of the deadliest serial killers in American history.

Between 1898 and 1912, families across the country were bludgeoned in their sleep with the blunt side of an axe. Jewelry and valuables were left in plain sight, bodies were piled together, faces covered with cloth. Some of these cases, like the infamous Villasca, Iowa, murders, received national attention. But few people believed the crimes were related. And fewer still would realize that all of these families lived within walking distance to a train station.

When celebrated baseball statistician and true crime expert Bill James first learned about these horrors, he began to investigate others that might fit the same pattern. Applying the same know-how he brings to his legendary baseball analysis, he empirically determined which crimes were committed by the same person. Then after sifting through thousands of local newspapers, court transcripts, and public records, he and his daughter Rachel made an astonishing discovery: they learned the true identity of this monstrous criminal. In turn, they uncovered one of the deadliest serial killers in America.

Riveting and immersive, with writing as sharp as the cold side of an axe, The Man from the Train paints a vivid, psychologically perceptive portrait of America at the dawn of the twentieth century, when crime was regarded as a local problem, and opportunistic private detectives exploited a dysfunctional judicial system. James shows how these cultural factors enabled such an unspeakable series of crimes to occur, and his groundbreaking approach to true crime will convince skeptics, amaze aficionados, and change the way we view criminal history.

My Review: As an avid true crime reader, I was intrigued to hear about this book on an episode of the My Favorite Murder podcast. However, this book did not at all come close to meeting my expectations. The details about why it is believed that all these murders were connected is fascinating. The authors did a good job of mentioning all the similarities in the crime scenes, but that is really the only credit I can give this book. It was poorly written and disorganized.

One paragraph in the book that represented why I disliked this book so much is when the author stated that he was going to hold off on telling a story until later and for now was going to give that story the back of his hand. What???!!! First of all, if a book is well organized, an author or authors should never have to put stories on the back burner. I care about that story at that moment not 15 chapters later. Second, who says that they are going to give a story “the back of my hand.” I am not even sure what the authors were implying by using this phrase, but I found this phrase offensive, and it had no place being in this true crime story. When I read nonfiction, I want facts put intellectually. I don’t want silly comments or phrases. Those just take away from point of the story and the seriousness of the murders. It almost felt disrespectful.

Along the same lines as the disorganization of this story, it dragged on and on. It felt like I was reading about the Wilkerson character for a decade. There should not have been more than 10 pages dedicated to that horrible character. So much of this book was a struggle to get through. After so much pain and effort, you finally read about the man from the train, but you can’t help but feel like it wasn’t worth the reading time invested.

So many people were brutally murdered by the man on the train. So many innocent people were put to death for these murders. The authors did not do all those people justice.

I just want all true crime to be as intelligently told as in the writings of Ann Rule and Michelle McNamara. Is that too much to ask? So just in case it wasn’t clear, I do NOT recommend this book.

My Rating: ♦ ½