Book and Product Reviews by Roundtable Reviews

With an April 5th release date from Chronicle Kids, Leila Sales ' Once Was a Time is almost in stores. This is a time travel novel geared towards the 10 to 13 year old. I found it completely engaging and hard to put down. Lottie Bromley's dad is a scientist with conviction that time travel exists. He just cannot prove his theory. Lottie's best friend Kitty is fascinated by the idea and spends a lot of time at their house listening to his talks about time travel. It's his research that lands everyone in trouble, as Kitty and Lottie are kidnapped and the kidnappers want him to prove time travel exists. When a wormhole appears in her holding room, Lottie finds herself traveling to a new time and place, but a time where there is no Kitty. She knows she left Kitty in danger and also knows she must do the unthinkable and find a way back. One of the things I loved most with Once Was a Time is that Lottie and Kitty were in WWII England, and Lottie finds herself alone i

Imagine getting an invitation to a former friend's bachelorette getaway. It's been 10 years since you've seen this person. You can't imagine why you've even been invited. However, a very pushy bridesmaid insists that the bride-to-be needs you there. That's the scenario Nora, an author, finds herself in. She agrees with another friend that she'll go if that friend goes. Neither are prepared for what is about to happen. Upon arriving at the English country home where the bachelorette getaway is to take place, it's clear this won't be an easy weekend. There's no cell service, there's only one landline, and the home is very remote. When mysterious footprints are found in the snow, terror ensues. Told from Nora's point of view, readers will find the story bounces between past, more recent past, and present. The story begins with Nora in the hospital with little recollection of the events that led to a death. She cannot remember who is d

Lisa Genova released her touching novel last year and in January 2016, Inside the O'Briens came out in paperback. The story follows Charlestown/Boston's O'Brien family as they cope with the recent diagnosis that patriarch Joe, a dedicated police officer, has Huntington's Disease. Given 10 to 20 years left to live, Joe is shattered, but he also feels he must remain strong for his wife, daughters, and sons. The main plot of the story delves far beyond Joe. It goes into each child who has a 50/50 shot of having the gene that causes Huntington's. There's no so much more at stake. Do they get tested and know or avoid it and wait to see if the symptoms ever arrive. The decision is painful for all, especially for Katie, a 21 year old with dreams of owning her own yoga studio and a new romance that she wants to last. Inside the O'Briens is not an easy read. The emotions you encounter for each character will have you laughing, crying, and crossing your fing

Congratulations to Jacqueline Diamond on the release of her 101st book. While many know her as a romance author, she's taking her readers back to Safe Harbor for this latest release. The Case of the Questionable Quadruplet , however, is not a Safe Harbor Medical Romance, this one is a cozy mystery. Dr. Eric Darcy's patient offers him a bit of a surprise. She claims that many years ago, she gave birth to four babies, not three as records show. She's convinced during her delivery that there was a fourth infant that was stolen from her. Her proof is that she's just seen that infant, now a grown woman. She wants Eric to uncover the truth. Before he can even begin to investigate, someone breaks into his home office. Worse, his client is found dead. While he's first concerned that his client may be delusional with her advancing age, her death and a missing medical file convince him there may be truth to her claim. As he begins investigating with the help of his la

Another freebie for you Kindle, Warm Winter Kisses is a pretty satisfying romance and well worth every second. This is a December 2015 release from Joffe Books . Beth Brown never expects her long-time boyfriend to come home, take her out to dinner, and announce he's leaving her. It's a shock and part of the reason she accepts a temporary position as the personal assistant to one temperamental celebrity chef. Rocco di Castri is nothing like Beth expected, though his supermodel girlfriend is unfortunately just as the tabloids make her out to be. The more Beth spends working for Rocco, the more she finds herself falling for him. She realizes she wasn't in love with her boyfriend, but how can she fall in love with a man who is taken? Set in the British countryside, the setting, characters, and writer's sense of humor make this book a winner. I was engaged from the start and ended up reading it from first to last page in the matter of a few hours. I simply loved it

Softcover, Release July 2015 William Morrow Reviewed by Bob Walch The Great War is over and Prohibition is a reality, but that has had little effect on the wealthy enclave of Newport where the rich descend each summer to enjoy their oceanfront “cottages” and the best things money can buy. Attorney Adrian de la Noye knows Newport well, having grown up there, but he has avoided returning to the community until now. A wealthy client, Bennett Chapman, has called Adrian to his home to revise his will. His client plans to add his soon to be, much younger wife to the document and drop his adult children. What’s even more disturbing to the family is that Chapman is reputedly acting on the advice of his departed wife (and the children’s mother) who, via a séance, has urged her husband to remarry. If this isn’t enough of a mess for Adrian with family passions running high, Adrian quickly discovers that Chapman’s fiancée is a woman the lawyer knew quite well in his youth. Uncovering

Anyone with a Kindle or the Kindle app can download Lilian Darcy's The Sweetest Thing without paying a dime. This is the second book in the Montana Riverbend series, though I hadn't read the first and didn't feel like I was missing anything. It's been many years since Tully Morgan's been in Marietta. She fled on prom night after learning some stunning news. In the process of leaving, she also abandoned her prom date, Ren Fletcher. Tully's never told anyone that prom night happened to be the night she learned her older sister was really her mother. Now she's back to care for her mother who is battling cancer. Ren has never understood why Tully disappeared. He moved on and married, though he and his wife are not happy. He's contemplating what to do next when Tully's older sister, Sugar, enters his law practice asking him for help. This throws him into Tully's life again, but he's married now and he's not sure if he should risk every

I'm new to Jenny Colgan's Little Beach Street Bakery books . That said, March 22nd's release of Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery caught my eye. While I enjoyed the story, I have to give one huge compliment to the author. Thanks so much for using metric measurements in your recipes! Things are really looking up for Polly Waterford. Her American boyfriend is sharing her happily ever after in her newly purchased home, a lighthouse, and the orphaned puffin she's befriended is part of their family. The bakery she runs is thriving, and everything is looking up. Of course, nothing good lasts forever. Suddenly, Polly's world crumbles as a newcomer to town threatens to destroy the bakery she's helped restore and turn into a success. This is only the start of the bad times heading Polly's way. In order to start anew, she's going to have to think outside the box and really evaluate what she and her loved ones need most. At first, I envied Polly's

If you know Me and Earl and the Dying Girl , you know Jesse Andrews work. I was eager to read The Haters and now that I have. I'm still trying to decide what to think. Music-centric, that's the first thing that pops to mind about The Haters . There's a bit of a band geek gone wrong aspect. Wes and Corey, best friends for a long time, come from completely different backgrounds. Corey's parents are protective, perhaps overly so. Wes's parents are so focused in themselves that they barely notice he exists. The pair apply and are accepted into a jazz camp, despite their questioning if they're truly good enough. It's at this camp that they meet Ash, the only girl in the camp. Ash hates being told how to play. She, Wes, and Corey end up jamming and think they're pretty good. In fact, Ash suggests they take their act on the road and travel across the U.S. playing in any establishment that will let them. That's the plot in a nutshell, and here c

Back in 2011, I was sent a book that I never had time to fit in. The thing is, no matter how many books I receive and struggle to fit in, I always tuck some away in case I have a moment in the future. That's the case with Susan Page Davis's  Captive Trail . I'm sorry I missed this back when it was released. Susan Page Davis  introduces a young woman, Taabe Waipu who flees her captors, the Comanches. She can barely remember her family as she was stolen as a child, but she dreams of being reunited with them. Ned Bright, a driver for the Butterfield Overland Mail Company, finds an exhausted woman collapsed on his route. He brings her to a mission where nuns agree to help her recover and try to find out who she is. As Taabe speaks no English, this is going to be quite a challenge. Meanwhile, something about this woman draws Ned to her, and he's just as determined to find her identity and keep her safe from the tribe who seems to really want her back. Captive Trail is

Chronicle Kids has a new picture book coming out that's perfect for beginning readers. Not only can children practice their ABCs, but the book also discusses pieces of clothing. D is for Dress-Up is by Maria Carluccio , an award-winning illustrator. Each page includes illustrations and one letter. With the letter are types of clothing, patterns, or fabrics. You'll learn that A is for "apron" and B is for a "bow and bow tie." Illustrations capture exactly what is being introduced, making it an excellent choice for beginning readers. Look for D is for Dress-Up on April 5th.  It's a nice way to teach both the alphabet, colors, and the clothing children wear every day.

ONE OF HONG KONG’S MOST IMPORTANT CHINESE-LANGUAGE AUTHORS ARRIVES STATESIDE WITH A MASTERFUL COLLECTION OF STORIES THAT STRETCH THE LIMITS OF THE IMAGINATION The Kite Family showcases the work of Hon Lai-chu, a wildly creative Hong Kong writer.  The stories, elegantly translated by Andrea Lingenfelter, range from torn-from-the-headlines dystopian anxieties of Notes on an Epidemic to the more surrealistic Forrest Wood Chair , which takes themes from Kafka’s Metamorphosis in an engagingly novel direction.”—Jeffrey Wasserstrom, author of China in the 21st Century “Evocatively written and expertly translated, these Hong Kong stories will draw you into Hon Lai-chu’s surreal yet recognizable world.”—Howard Goldblatt, translator of Mo Yan From one of Hong Kong’s most outstanding young authors comes THE KITE FAMILY , a collection of stories by Hon Lai-chu that pulls us into strange worlds that lie beneath the surface of our own. With an imagination to match Aimee Bender a

The Columbine shootings and murders will no doubt be one of the worst school shootings people can remember. With all of the author proceeds going to charitable mental health organizations, Sue Klebold sets out to share insights into the son she loved and had to come to terms with the horrible acts of murder he took part in. I'll break here and mention that it would be nice if all proceeds, not just the author's proceeds, were being donated. This isn't an easy read, and I agree with her at times but also saw signs of what she missed at others. There's one episode where she talked about being so mad with him that she pinned him against the wall until he told her to move away or his anger would overtake him. That was a big cry for help. I'm a mom of two and I've dealt with anxiety in different forms with both of them, with my mother, with myself, with my aunt, and the list goes on. Maybe I'm a little more in tune with the signs of anxiety, mood disorders,

Fans of British mysteries will thoroughly enjoy Detective Inspector Helen Grace. She's back in A Doll's House facing off against a serial abductor/killer. Detective Helen Grace has just solved one serial killer case that hit a little too close to home. Things don't slow down, however, when a body is found at the beach shortly after a young woman goes missing. When that body turns out not to be the missing woman but instead of a woman who disappeared years ago, Helen is baffled when the family admits they'd had regular texts from the woman and never suspected she was dead. As Helen begins digging, she finds more women who vanished under similar circumstances and more bodies turn up. Helen realizes there is a serial killer on the loose and that killer has had years to perfect the craft. The atmosphere of the Detective Helen Grace thrillers pulls you in. The details are often dark and creepy with characters you root for and killers that put a shiver up your spine