Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

Release Date - June 24, 2014 Stacy Henrie Grand Central Publishing Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth During WWI, some states set forth laws banning the use of the German language or teaching German in schools. That's the premise in Hope at Dawn .  Anti-German sentiments run strong in Iowa, and it's those sentiments that land Livy Campbell a teaching job in a small community not too far from her parents' farm in Hilden. When the current teacher is fired and jailed for teaching German to her German-American students, Livy takes over and is unaware how untrusted she will be with the area families. Her only saving grace is the friendship of Friedrick Wagner, a German-American man who is the older brother to a couple of her students. Friedrick is in a tough spot. His father is dying, his step-mother is doing all she can to care for him, and Friedrick had to give up college to return to the family farm to keep things running. As his feelings for Livy develop, he finds hi

Release Date - July 2014 Taylor Jenkins Reid Washington Square Press Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Taylor Jenkins Reid burst onto the scene with her very poignant Forever, Interrupted . Now she's back with a book that I found equally touching. In this one, I found a little more of myself, and that one made it even more memorable, enjoyable, and occasionally brought on the tears with its touching prose. After I Do takes a look at a marriage more than a decade after the couple marries. Lauren and Ryan had instant chemistry and the beginnings of a very happy marriage while they were still very young. Now, 16 years later, they fight all the time, can never agree on anything, and neither is happy. They decide to separate for an entire year, with one rule, they cannot communicate during this year apart.  While Lauren first questions what on earth they are doing, she soon begins to find that she is her own person. Her journey of self-discovery is clearly what she needs and

Release Date - June 24, 2014 Heather Gudenkauf Harlequin/MIRA Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Ellen Morse, a social worker who has helped remove many children from neglectful parents. Rushing to help two girls whose mother is being assaulted, she makes a tragic mistake that leaves her reeling and puts her future on the line. Jenny Briard's grown up moving from location to location as her father finds new jobs and loses them just as quickly. Something happens and Jenny ends up alone. She winds up miles from her hometown, scared, and struggling with this new environment. One thing is for certain, Jenny will not go back to foster care. When a kindly woman takes her in and presses Jenny to reveal the truth, Jenny is terrified of what will happen. When she falls under Ellen's radar, both Jenny and Ellen face the consequences of choices they've made and the realities of the world around them. Little Mercies grabs the reader's attention and never lets go. I was d

Release Date - June 17, 2014 Linda Francis Lee St. Martins  Press Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth If you only read one book this year and are a fan of women's fiction, The Glass Kitchen is the book to buy. This book is earning its well-deserved spot on my keeper shelf. After her husband gets her best friend pregnant, divorces her, and then drags his feet on paying her the money he owes, Portia Cuthcart finds herself moving all the way from Texas to New York City. It's in Manhattan where she finds herself becoming entangled with the widower who lives upstairs. Portia spent many years as a politician's wife, hiding her special powers that come to life when she cooks. Now that she's single, it may be time to focus on the one thing she excels at - cooking. Gabriel Kane's wife died, leaving him to raise his two daughters. When his younger daughter pushes him into hiring Portia to cook their meals, he hesitates, but burned oatmeal is a bit of a wake-up call,

Release Date - June 2014 Lynne Branard Berkley Trade Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth The Art of Arranging Flowers is really all about time. It's about time passing, often more quickly than we like. Add into that a memorable heroine who left law school for a complete career change after the death of her sister. Ruby is a florist with amazing skill at transforming flower arrangements into the words the sender most wants to say. With 20 years under her belt, her friends really want to see Ruby stop focusing on saving or kick starting others relationships and find true love for herself. As months pass and seasons change, Ruby's town also sees much change, and there is hope on the horizon as Ruby finds herself attracted to the town's new veterinarian, a precocious young boy enters her life, and a former astronaut begins showing Ruby that there is more to her life than the town and her florist shop. Nothing about The Art of Arranging Flowers moves quickly. But, that

Release Date - May 2014 Pia Padukone Harlequin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Karom Seth should have been with his entire family on Poompuhar Beach when a giant wave took their lives, but he'd stayed behind to finish his college exams.  On the tragic day the Twin Towers collapsed due to an act of terrorism, he'd claimed he was sick in order to skip class. Since then, Karom takes great risks in order to escape the guilt he feels for surviving while everyone else he loves died. His girlfriend, Gita, is scared for him, but uncertain how to help him move on. Gita and Karom travel to India to visit her grandmother. Her grandmother hides her own secrets, and it is her wisdom that may be the answer Karom has been seeking. The detail that went into the writing in Where Earth Meets Water is almost poetic. The vivid imagery and strong characters drew me in. At the same time, I did struggle a bit at first because I couldn't figure out what was going on with the grandmothe

Release Date - August 2013 Mike Bond Mandevilla Press Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Ten years ago, there were hundreds of thousands of elephants in Africa. Today, there are approximately 5,000. The number of rhinos have also plummeted from thousands to just a few, and the western black rhino was declared extinct in 2013. All because the value of their tusks or horns are valuable to poachers. Those are real facts, and they play a big part in The Last Savanna .  Ian McAdam, a former SAS officer, joins a friend who has been asked to form a team to hunt down poachers who are killing the last of Africa's elephants. McAdam's friend has helped him numerous times, so he agrees. As they set off to find and stop the poachers from more senseless killings, they learn archaeologist Rebecca Hecht, a woman McAdam once loved, has been kidnapped by the same Somalian poachers. Now, McAdam must save both the woman from his past, keep his team safe, and stop the poachers from killing

Release Date - May 2014 Jacqueline Diamond Harlequin Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Anya Meeks, a surgical nurse at Safe Harbor, never expected to end up pregnant. It's the last thing she wants. She practically raised her siblings for her parents, and parenthood is definitely not in the cards. Yet, one night of passion with Dr. Jack Ryder, despite her being on birth control pills, leads to an unexpected pregnancy. When Jack learns Anya is pregnant, he wants to convince her that they'd make great parents. He's always been drawn to her, and he just needs her to realize that he's serious. He wants to make her part of his future and raise their baby together. Getting through to her isn't as easy as it seems. I've been reading the Safe Harbor series by Jacqueline Diamond since the beginning. This town feels like home, and I love seeing where each character is now. Jack is one of my favorites. Despite his childhood, he is convinced he can be a better par

Release Date - May 2014 Stephan Talty Ballantine Book Review by Bob Walsh   Serial killer Marcus Flynn sent chills through the residents of North Buffalo as he preyed on their teenage daughters. Nicknamed “The Hangman”, Flynn was caught and sent to prison. Now he’s escaped during a prison transfer and the reign of terror has started again. Detective Absalom “Abbie” Kearney has been assigned the case and leads the manhunt to find and again put The Hangman behind bars. Matching wits with the crafty and elusive predator is going to be a challenging task. As Abbie soon discovers, it may be necessary to step outside the law to stop Flynn.    First introduced in Talty’s Black Irish , homicide cop Abbie Kearney has captured the attention of a group of avid readers who enjoy fast paced crime thrillers. She’s been lauded as “the most intriguing new suspense protagonist” to come along in recent memory.    This second novel featuring the fetching cop is as goo

Release Date - June 3, 2013 L. Alison Heller NAL Trade Book Review by Tracy Farnsworth Paige Reinhardt, a marriage counselor, is finding herself in a spot many of her clients face. Her husband, a lawyer, has been suspended and he claims he has no idea why. As days progress, he becomes more and more secretive, and Paige becomes concerned that he is lying to her. Where does that leave their marriage? Meanwhile, Paige is thrown another dilemma. After two decades away, her sister Sloan has returned. Paige hasn't seen her sister since Sloan was shipped off to rehab at the age of 16. Paige must stumble her way through the hurt she felt when Sloan went away and never returned, all while trying to figure out what  is going on with her marriage. The Never Never Sisters is told from Paige's perspective, but her mother's diary entries also fill chapters. I enjoyed Paige's story and really enjoyed watching her grow through the story. Perhaps it is me, but I wasn't