Jenn's Review: The Goodbye Witch

Author: Heather Blake
Series: Wishcraft Mystery #4
Publication Date: May 6, 2014
Publisher: Signet
Pages: 299
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  cozy mystery, paranormal
Rating: 4.5
Bottom Line: ...
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab it!

Blurb:  As Enchanted Village’s resident Wishcrafter, Darcy Merriweather has the power to make other people’s wishes come true, but what she really wishes is that she had the power to uncloak the invisible man who’s stalking her best friend....
 
Darcy’s closest friend and fellow witch, Starla Sullivan, hoped she’d never see her ex-husband, Kyle, again. Two years ago he tried to kill her, and he has been a fugitive ever since. Now Starla claims to have seen him back in Enchanted Village, but it seems she’s the only one who can see him. To everyone else, her ex is invisible.
 
Darcy only wishes his motives were as transparent as the rest of him. Since the police can’t arrest someone they can’t see, it’s up to Darcy to find the secret behind Kyle’s latest disappearing act—before he does something they can’t see coming….


Review:  Heather Blake is my go to author when I need a book that I know I'm going to love.  The Goodbye Witch definitely fits the bill.  Her characters are so fabulous that it's like spending time with friends you haven't seen in a while.

I don't recall Starla's ex-husband ever being mentioned before, but that made him no less terrifying. Darcy gets pulled into the middle of the investigation again, this time at the request of the Elder which helps keep Glinda from further complicating Darcy's and Nick's relationship by insisting Darcy stay out of investigations.  I don't understand Glinda and her jealousy and rigidity, though I think I came to understand her a little better in this book.  She looks at the world as black and white absolutes and it seems to prevent her from moving forward. 

As for moving forward, Darcy and Nick finally seem to be on the same footing, thanks mostly to being able to work together on the investigation. I loved the progression of Darcy's relationship with Mimi, as well. It was also nice to see Darcy soften a little and step back and reflect a little more. 

As for the mystery, Heather Blake stumped me again, and although the solution wasn't all that complicated, it was excellent. I started to unravel things with Darcy, but I had no idea what really happened until she did.  I also loved all the little surprises at the end; yet another reason why I love Heather Blake's books. 

If you haven't checked out her Wishcraft series, I highly recommend it... If you haven't checked out any of her series, what are you waiting for???

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ArmchairBEA: Favorites

Today's an open topic day and it's my day for reflection.  We don't do that very often around here; we mainly review, but I did this last year and I found it rather cathartic.  I like to look back over the years at some of my favorite reads.  As you can see, I do have favorite genres.  Obviously YA is featured pretty heavily, as are crime novels, food-lit, and magical realism.  But there are some things that really don't fit any of my usual genres... and I love looking back and seeing that.

JennJustReading's Favorites

Jennifer's favorite books »

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Armchair BEA: Giveaway - Say What You Will

There is a lot of buzz going around about Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern.  While I must say that its subject matter is a little too serious for my tastes, I know this is a book that will make a difference for a lot of people with it's diverse characters and realistic subject matter.

From Harper Teen:

 SAY WHAT YOU WILL by Cammie McGovern follows Amy – a girl born with cerebral palsy who cannot talk, can walk only with a walker, and has difficulty controlling her facial expressions – who has decided her senior year is the time to make friends. So she hires students to be her helpers at school, including Matthew, a boy struggling with OCD. As they both help each other through their individual difficulties, a friendship begins to blossom into a romance story unlike any other.

SAY WHAT YOU WILL already has people buzzing – in the May 16 issue ofEntertainment Weekly, they named the book one of the “5 YA Novels to Watch Out For.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly raved: “readers will be surprised, moved, amused, worried, hopeful, and grateful to have spent time with them [Amy and Matthew],” and Kirkus called it “a deeply engaging and rewarding story.” Booklist also gave a starred review saying: “Exhilarating and heartrending, McGovern’s YA debut has a similar odd-couple camaraderie as Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park (2013) and the raw exploration of disability in R. J. Palacio’s Wonder (2012). With a smart, proud, and capable protagonist eager to take her life by the reins, this novel is stunning.”
 To learn more about Cammie’s Whole Children organization, the girl with cerebral palsy that served as the inspiration for the book, as well as an excerpt, be sure to head over to USA Today’s “Happy Ever After.”  

For a chance to win it, enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Armchair BEA: More than Just Words

When I saw the topic for today what immediately came to mind is The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  I'm sure I won't be the only one to bring it up in this context but it is such an amazing piece I couldn't let the opportunity to share it pass.

If you've seen the movie Hugo, which is wonderful, it can't even begin to do justice to this magnificent work of art. This is a concept book, part picture book, part graphic novel, with almost 300 pages of original art work, photographs, and film stills. It's fantastical and enchanting, and you never know what turning the page may bring.  Parts of the story are told through pictures and some through prose; some pages are filled with drawings; some pages are almost blank save for a paragraph on them.  The pictures progress the story at times better than the words.  The plot is mysterious while not being overly complicated, and it is full of scope for the imagination with automata and gears and magic... Not only is the story amazing, and incredibly well researched, but Brian Selznick's artwork is fabulous. 

Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's follow up piece, is sitting on my shelf begging to be read, but I've been saving it to read with my daughter so that we may discover its the magic together.  I highly recommend this to anyone, not just readers of YA or MG. It is truly an experience not to be missed. 


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Armchair BEA Introductions

Design by Amber of Shelf Notes

Girls Just Reading is a shared blog by four book lovers, Lisa (our founder), Julie, Alice, and me, Jenn.  Oddly enough we're all internet friends. We met on a fan site for one of our favorite TV shows of all times, ALIAS. We kept in touch when the show closed and ended up here.  

Sharing a blog helps keep things flowing around here. None of us has time to run a blog on her own, but together we maintain an active blog.  Each of us read different genres and we also split the responsibilities of blog maintenance.   I think it's a formula that works well as we've been on the blogging scene for seven years now. 

If you've participated in Armchair BEA before, you've probably visited our blog before, so I thought I'd select a few of the more unusual questions to answer this time around.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 books would you bring? Why? What 3 non-book items would you bring? Why? 

I would totally cheat and bring my Nook. To this day it floors me that I can carry over 600 books around with me in my purse. 

But if I had to pick three, it would be novels by Sarah Addison Allen, Heather Blake, Cassandra Clare, Meg Gardiner, and Ally Carter. They are all authors whose work I cannot do without. Ok, that's five authors and I can't even narrow it down to which of their books I pick, so can I please just bring my Nook?

As for non-literary items, it'd have to be my daughter, hubby...and coffee.  Girls gotta have her priorities. 

What book would you love to see as a movie?

I think Ally Carter's Heist Society would be fabulous on the big screen, as long as they could do it justice.  I love a good con, and Ally Carter writes amazing ones. Plus, it'd be refreshing change to the current dystopian trend in teen movies. 

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We won't be able to post every day this week, but we love Armchair BEA and we're glad you stopped by and we hope you visit us again soon. 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GirlsJustReading

Twitter:

Alice

Jenn

Julie

Don't forget to visit the other blogs participating in Armchair BEA this week! 

Julie's Review: Love Life

Author: Rob Lowe
Series: None
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Hours: 7 Hours, 33 Minutes
Obtained: Audible
Genre:  Memoir
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: An intimate look at some significant milestones in his life
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: ROB LOWE IS BACK WITH STORIES HE ONLY TELLS HIS BEST FRIENDS. When Rob Lowe’s first book was published in 2011, he received the kind of rapturous reviews that writers dream of and rocketed to the top of the bestseller list. Now, in Love Life, he expands his scope, using stories and observations from his life in a poignant and humorous series of true tales about men and women, art and commerce, fathers and sons, addiction and recovery, and sex and love. ~amazon.com

 Review: Love Life is another peek into Rob's life but this is more about his personal journeys and stories than his life as an actor like Stories I Only Tell My Friends was. In Love Life, we get a better sense of Rob as a father, son, and husband.

It is his stories about his sons that made me tear up and have a glimpse into my future when my kids leave the nest. It is obvious that he has sheltered his sons from the spotlight but choosing to raise them outside Hollywood with people who weren't necessarily in the "business". He wanted his sons to have more experiences than just a Hollywood one. It is also evident that he loves both Matthew and John Owen fiercely and played a big part in their lives.

I loved hearing about how he worked on Schwarzenegger's Governor campaign. I loved hearing that he has a passion and fascination about politics and history. It is his passion for those two subjects that made him so convincing as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and Robert McAllister on Brothers and Sisters.

It is the last couple chapters that moved me to tears though. It is crystal clear that ever since he met his wife, Sheryl, he's never looked any further. It is also clear that she was instrumental in getting him to realize he would get more out of life sober than drunk. Staying sober has been all Rob but she's been the rock to keep him strong.

It is his confession in the final chapter of the book that had me in shock and then awe because it wasn't what it seemed. I loved how he wrote it and revealed the truth. I admire him for that and how he's constantly trying to better himself.

People interested in entertainment memoirs will find this one interesting but it's more of his personal journey than his professional one. Although, they do often go hand in hand.

I loved listening to Rob perform the audio. It was like sitting at a table with him and hearing him tell me what he's learned in life. Rob isn't afraid to try something new, to put himself out there. In Hollywood and in life, this is rare. It is rare for people to gamble what they are comfortable with or in, to take a risk.

 If Rob was to write another book, I'd be right there listening to it or reading it.

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