Please join Joanna Hershon, author of A Dual Inheritance, as she tours the blogosphere with TLC Book Tours.

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Reviewed by Jax Kepple

Spanning the course of fifty years, A Dual Inheritance covers jealousy, wealth, love, longing, family and friendship as it affects the lives of first Ed Cantowitz and Hugh Shipley, and then their daughters Rebecca and Vivi. Author Joanna Hershon sets up the story right at the moment Ed and Hugh meet, and the story progresses chronologically through the ups and downs of their lives in the early 1970s, and then switches over to the entwined lives of their daughters, who meet at boarding school and bring the story up to present day.

When Ed and Hugh meet at Harvard while they are undergrads, they quickly become friends; the perfect compliments to each other. Hugh comes from old money, and his future is planned out for him but he can’t deny that deep down he wants to do more with his life. So he goes to Africa to start medical clinics and along the way marries his high school sweetheart, Helen. Ed has always resented and is extremely jealous of old wealth and how Hugh always has had everything given to him so easily, and decides to do whatever it takes to achieve immense wealth. After going to Helen’s parents’ house for a weekend getaway, Ed meets Helen’s father, who offers him a summer job and Ed begins his high profile career on Wall Street. After a chance encounter with Helen before she is due to leave for Africa, Ed becomes very bitter about everything and cuts Hugh and Helen off. He winds up marrying another motivated, high achieving woman, Jill, and together they become a New York City power couple.

Vivi and Rebecca’s story is not as intense until after an existential crisis that leads Rebecca to quit her job and break up with her boyfriend. Suddenly, Rebecca finds herself in Africa alone with Hugh and has an epiphany. I felt as though Vivi’s character was a tad underdeveloped, and she was clearly the least likable out of everyone, even though Hugh and Ed do some very questionable things. I liked how, while Rebecca and Vivi both portrayed aspects of their fathers, they were able to get past it and form a lasting friendship.

I truly enjoyed Hershon’s writing style – she is able to convey what each character is thinking and their motivations without being too simplistic. The story was a bit unpredictable but had a satisfying ending, after each character has gone through the ringer, personally and professionally. The result is a rich, layered story about how life is imperfect but it’s important to keep those you care about close.

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Jax is in an accountant at a hedge fund. She resides in NYC with her husband.

Review and giveaway copies were provided free of any obligation by Ballantine Books. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Colleen Turner

His Majesty’s Hope, the third book in Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope mystery series, begins with our favorite American ex-pat, Maggie Hope, completing spy training and preparing to drop into Berlin as the first woman spy to go behind enemy lines during WWII. While she is nervous at the unknown that lies ahead she is also excited for this new adventure and ready to finally prove that she can do her part to try and end the German war machine. So off she goes, leaving all of Maggie Hope’s life behind and immersing herself in the life of her cover identity, German Margareta Hoffman.

When Maggie’s initial mission – to deliver materials to a resistance group and infiltrate and bug Commandant Clara Hess’s office (Clara Hess being Maggie’s mother who she believed until recently was dead) – is completed she discovers she has a unique opportunity to get even more information for the English and decides to stay in Berlin undercover a bit longer. But circumstances beyond her control begin to unravel fast and Maggie not only discovers how truly heinous the actions of the Nazis have become but information of a more personal nature – she has a half-sister named Elise she never knew about, a half sister who is doing her own part from within Germany to help bring down the Nazis. When Maggie must seek Elise’s help to escape Berlin when her cover threatens to be blown, she also discovers that one of the people Elise has been hiding out in her attic is a man from Maggie’s past, one that will stir up her heart and change her personal life in ways she didn’t expect.

As Maggie fights to get out of Germany alive she must use all of her skills as a trained spy and a pragmatic thinker to do so. But her own well-trained and scheming mother isn’t about to make her plans easy and no one, not even brilliant Ms. Hope, will be prepared for what comes next.

I say this after reading each book in this series, but I just love Maggie Hope! She is brilliant, snarky and capable in so many more ways than many of the men surrounding her give her credit for. While His Majesty’s Hope has much of the same humor sprinkled in amongst the serious issues of war, loss and evil, I found this book to be much darker than the previous two. The reader is not only reintroduced to the many terrifying Nazi actions most of us already know about, such as the horrific and brutal treatment of the Jews, but told of the disgusting Children’s Euthanasia Program which saw German children deemed unfit for life (those that were blind, deaf or mentally or physically deformed) being gassed to help ultimately purify the German race. I had not heard of this practice before and let me tell you I was as disgusted as the characters when they found out. Getting an inside view of the German people during this time – both those that supported the Nazis and those that worked to try and stop them – was fascinating and a new viewpoint for me.

The other aspect that I found interesting was the subtle underlying idea that evil was, and is, everywhere. While what the Nazis were doing was utterly putrid, the references to the American treatment of American Indians and blacks throughout history and the disdainful treatment of homosexuals in all countries discussed helped highlight that no country or person is perfect and everyone has their demons to shoulder.

While not wanting to give anything away, His Majesty’s Hope ends with many plot lines left unresolved and ready to be picked up when the next book in the series comes out, which I hope doesn’t take very long! While Ms. MacNeal does a stellar job of getting a new reader to the series caught up on what occurred in the previous books, I would definitely suggest starting at the beginning of the series. By this third novel our brilliant Maggie has grown up quite a bit and is a little more cynical and haunted than previously, something that is inevitable when you read what she has gone through. You will want to meet the young, ambitious and slightly naïve Maggie in order to appreciate the more mature and driven woman she becomes.

No matter what you decide to do, however, I can’t see how you could not fall in love with Maggie Hope and all the wonderful people she has around her (especially her flat mate David!). There is so much to love with this series I would recommend this to just about anyone who likes history, mysteries or just a lively, admirable female character.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Colleen lives in Tampa, Florida with her husband, son, their dog Oliver and their fish Finn. When not working or taking care of her family she has her nose stuck in a book (and, let’s face it, often when she is working or taking care of her family as well). Nothing excites her more than discovering a new author to obsess over or a hidden jewel of a book to worship.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bantam. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Jax Kepple

Marnie and Nelly have just buried their two deadbeat, drug addicted parents in the backyard of the Scottish housing projects. Now what? The Death of Bees begins with this interesting kick off, and takes us through the crazy life of these two sisters trying to fend off questions about their missing parents from friends, drug dealers and the authorities, and their elderly neighbor who has noticed that they’re all alone and craves some companionship.

Lisa O’Donnell keeps the pace moving with short chapters told from three points of view: Marnie, the brilliant 15-year-old who tries to keep it together while experiencing her first true love and taking care of her younger sister; Nelly, the violin prodigy who doesn’t communicate well with others and who bonds easily with father figures; and Lennie, the old neighbor who is lonely after his partner dies and loves to cook and entertain. The girls and Lennie form a family of sorts, with Lennie both making dinner and disciplining the girls, until out of nowhere, the girls’ maternal grandfather shows up and tries to make amends for years of neglect.

The crux of the book is: who do we count as family? The people who gave you life or the people who gave you a reason to live? You see how the pattern repeats itself with the girls’ selfish grandfather, who tries to force piety and obedience onto two girls who have been left alone to fend for themselves their entire lives and have their own way of coping.

I would have liked to see the story about the girls adjusting from the chaotic life with their parents to the stable life they built for themselves more fleshed out; at times the story seemed to skip over the details of how they fared with no money. Sex and relationships are also touched upon, with Nelly and Marnie both experiencing wanted and unwanted attention from the opposite sex, but no resolutions were made in that aspect, which was frustrating. Closure of those story lines would have helped me adjust to the ending, which also left a bit to be desired – you see the girls getting better and getting more acclimated to life and then pulled away. However, it is an excellent story about resilience and perseverance, and I enjoyed the unique setting. A quick, satisfying read.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Jax is in an accountant at a hedge fund. She resides in NYC with her husband.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harper. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Melanie Kline

Drop 7 foods. Lose 7 pounds. In just 7 days. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. Food intolerance is the real cause of weight gain? Yeah, sure! Sounds great – where do I start? Sign me up!

Not quite so fast. The Virgin Diet is jammed full of testimonials. I wound up skipping about half of the book because frankly, if I don’t personally know you and believe that I can take you at your word, then your testimonial is just a waste of my time. I want to see it for myself and since I already have the book in my hands, I’m not going to bother reading what other people have to say.

Overall, The Virgin Diet provides some good points to ponder and that make a whole lot of sense. For example, food intolerance creates inflammation. Not so good if you are trying to get that lean, flat stomach you had when you were young. You have to eat fat to burn fat. Even this makes sense once you read the explanation and examples.

Basically, The Virgin Diet gives you a list of 7 problem foods to remove from your diet. Not as easy as it sounds though. Sure you can quit eating corn on the cob, canned corn, frozen corn, etc., but corn is also found in corn fed chickens and the eggs they lay, and so on. After you eliminate these foods, you slowly start adding them back into your diet so that you can tell which ones you are intolerant to and viola, you lose weight after getting rid of all the problematic food.

This is a great concept, but I did not lose one ounce and people really looked at me funny when I ordered “grass-fed beef tenderloin” and “pasture-fed pork tenderloin” at the grocery store meat counter. Can’t say I had much luck with ordering “wild fish” when I went out to eat either.

This concept might work extremely well for some, but since I have neither the time nor money to research out and purchase all of the “pure” foods necessary to truly follow this diet in the way it is designed, I guess I’m stuck with my muffin top.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Harlequin. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Krystal Larson

Readers will be happy to be reacquainted with Rory, the main character from the first book in the series, The Name of the Star. Rory was nearly a victim of the Jack the Ripper copycat and helped to bring about his downfall. She is still suffering from the ill effects of being in the horrible murderer’s presence. She sees a therapist and frequently highlights her fear and doubts to the reader. Rory discovered a lot about herself after the first book’s ending and she matured as well. The reader will love this new, open Rory.

The plot of The Madness Underneath is much like the first book’s. Around halfway through the book, Rory stumbles upon a murder that occurs near her school. Clearly, Rory must help track down and eliminate the culprit. She discovers that the murder has a supernatural hint to it and ends up learning about yet another ability that she possesses. The story continues with Rory acting as a sleuth.

Overall, The Madness Underneath was a good book, however, the reader has to appreciate the slow pace of the novel. This book felt like one of those winding brooks, where the plot slowly develops and unravels and the characters delve into the mystery bit by bit. This book reminded me of a Poirot or Agatha Christie novel; the suspense is built up ever so slowly and the author takes the time to acquaint the reader with every aspect of the novel. There might not have been constant action (though there is plenty towards the end!), but this book is sure to leave readers satisfied.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Krystal is a young college student who loves meeting new authors and finding great books! Her favorite place to read is the Botanic Gardens.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Putnam Juvenile. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

Reviewed by Amanda Farmer

A Stranger in Wynnedower opens up with Rachel Sevier going to Wynnedower Mansion in Virginia to find out why her brother has stopped taking her phone calls. What she finds at the mansion is a lot of mystery and Jack, the owner of the home. Jack is bad tempered, has a short fuse, and has multiple personalities that Rachel soon meets. Rachel takes it upon herself to stay at the mansion until she hears from her brother; she does inventory on the house’s belongings, many of which are antiques. Along the way, Rachel and Jack develop a type of friendship. Rachel also meets the family cook, May, who has secrets of her own, as well as Helene, the reclusive sister of Jack. Throw in the legend of Wynnedower treasure and Rachel has a nice little mystery on her hands to solve and find a way to save the home from being sold.

After reading A Stranger in Wynnedower I was left feeling let down and disappointed. I was hoping for so much more from the story but it was way too drawn out and way too predictable. The characters had no depth to them and I felt no attachment to them as I was reading the story. I was hoping for a modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast and this story was definitely not it. I found myself wanting to stop reading this story multiple times and eventually ended up skimming some of the paragraphs in order to finish, which I hate to do. The only redeeming thing about the story was the descriptions about Wynnedower Mansion and I felt like I was there at the house. I would not recommend this story to others to read.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

Amanda loves spending time at home with her husband and their dog, Oreo. She loves reading, playing puzzle games, beading and watching movies. When she’s not reading, she’s working on her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Grace Greene. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.

As

Colleen Turner!

Please post a comment here with your item selection. Remember, you can now pick any item from Amazon.

The contest started over on May 10th. I will be announcing the new winner on June 10th. There is no limit to how many times you can win and remember, you can comment on any post, not just new ones.

Remember, frequency of commenting counts, but so does the quality – a creative and relevant comment will get you more points than something like “sounds great”. Every month, I will pick a winner and post their name, as well as send them an e-mail.

Get commenting!

Reviewed by Meg Massey

No one seems to understand strange governess Eliza Sumner, who makes a fool of herself at a party where a majority of New York society is in attendance. But what no one realizes is that Eliza is really Lady Eliza Sumner, a woman that has lost her family, her fiance, and her faith. She is in America to find Lord Southmoor, the man who took advantage of her family and stole her fortune.

Unfortunately, Eliza’s ideas don’t go as planned, and her mishaps lead her straight into the arms of Hamilton Beckett, a young man that every woman in New York is hoping to marry. But widower Hamilton has no plans to marry again, as he is busy taking care of his two children.

When the two of them discover that they share a common enemy, they join forces. With the help of Eliza’s friend Agatha and Hamilton’s brother Zayne, they may stand a chance at catching those who have wronged them. But are their enemies too powerful and dangerous? Could their quest for revenge cost them their lives?

Jen Turano’s debut novel, A Change of Fortune, is an often hilarious and sometimes very poignant look into the the lives of two people who have given up on happiness and love. Lady Eliza has set her sights on revenge, and in the process, may overlook the most important relationship of her life. Despite her faults, you’ll love Lady Eliza, and root for her to overcome her past and embrace a new love and a new future. You’ll also find yourself falling for heroic and loving Hamilton, and hopeful that the two of them will survive their quest to find the happy ending they deserve.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Meg lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, Ryan. Library professional by day, freelance writer by night, Meg writes about life, entertainment and everything in between on her blog.

Review copy was provided free of any obligation by Bethany House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.