Familiar Ties Blog Tour: Review & Character Interview

Author: Naya Nikki
Title: Familiar Ties
Publication: May 21, 2012
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Pages: 250 pp.
Rating: 4 out 5
Source: Author via Blog Tour
Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Purchase:Amazon| BN| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Max West is a widower raising Phoebe, his four-year-old daughter. Phoebe has to live with the fact that the day she was born is also the day of her mother's death. As her fifth year without her mother approaches, Phoebe finds solace in her godmother, Amy Riley, and her daughter, Grace Crawford, another single parent family.
Amy Riley is a successful fashion designer who spends most of her days raising her four-year-old daughter, Grace, while her wayward boyfriend is travelling the world making the next best film. As the fifth year without her best friend looms she finds comfort in her ex-boyfriend, Max, and his daughter, Phoebe.
These two “broken” families have a tough week to face as the dreaded day approaches. However through their past, present and debatable future will their choices affect the outcome both parents clearly want and are simply denying? Or will Phoebe and Grace lose the only “whole” family they have ever known?
My Thoughts:
This is a sweet romance and I loved the way it unfolded. It's a great story of about how time  doesn't matter when you are in love, you can fall in love in matter of seconds or in just seven days. That is exactly how much time Max and Amy have to figure out if they will let this chance pass them by again or seize the moment and admit they have feeling for each other. My favorite characters are the little ones, Grace and Phoebe, who are absolutely precious and beautifully written. The author does a great job of capturing their voices and intelligence. They are so innocent and smart enough to know that their parents belong together and that blood is not the only thing that makes someone a parent. The chemistry between Max and Amy is so rich and inviting that I found myself cheering for them to figure it out already. The  narrative is told from the present but also has bits of flashbacks from moments in Max and Amy's lives, which I liked seeing which circumstances got them to the point they are now and how just one thing done differently would have made all the difference. Now, though the description says that it is seven days before a tragic incident happened but the story really isn't about that, at least not really but the romance that could blossom or wither in those seven days.
Interview with Max, Amy, Grace & Phoebe
Max & Amy,What did you dream your future would be like? How has that changed since then?
Amy: I always dreamt life to be like a fairy tale, you find your prince, fall in love, get married etc. But as I grew up I learnt that life was never that easy. Especially after my parents divorced I learnt a lot about heartache. However one thing that never changed was my desire to be a mother.
Max: If I’m being honest I never wanted a family, I was happy enough to live the bachelor life without having to settle down. Then I met Anna and Amy, that’s when I learnt what love was and I never wanted to lose that feeling. When Phoebe came along I knew that I was in love but this time it was a different kind of love.
Max you lost someone dear to you, how do recover from something like that? Does the pain ever ease?
Max: You can never regain that feeling after you lose someone because something always triggers their memories to come back. However you can try and cover it and even though I have Phoebe, Amy and Grace...they know Anna will always have a place in my heart. The pain will never go away completely but it does get easier as time goes on.
Phoebe, how are you feeling about the loss of your Mom? When you close your eyes at night what do you dream she would be like?
Phoebe: Daddy says that I’m a lot like Mommy and I’ve seen loads of photos. I think that she’s me just bigger. I do miss having a Mommy like Gracie has Aunty Amy but Aunty Amy and Aunty Cassidy are like my Mommies so I don’t mind so much.
Amy, Max is your ex-boyfriend but what do you find appealing about him now compared to then?
Amy: He was and still is the most caring person I know. He always looks after his family and friends, but now it is great to see him interact with his daughter. They have such an amazing relationship and I have been blessed to see his grow and blossom from that shy teen to this amazing and compassionate father.
Max what is your greatest fear?
Max: Losing Phoebe, Amy and Grace. After losing Anna if I lost anyone else it would kill me.
Grace & Phoebe, what do you think will happen with your parents? Do you hope to be sisters someday?
Grace: I do love my daddy but he’s never here. I love Uncle Max he’s the bestest and I am going to marry him some day.
Phoebe: I really want Aunty Amy to be Mommy. I love my Mommy but now she’s in heaven I need a new Mommy and Daddy needs a wife. Gracie is already my sister but it would be more fun if she was my proper sister.
Amy, when did you realize that you or Max still had feelings for each other? How do you feel about this?
Amy: I’m not sure, Max and I have always had chemistry and I suppose we never stopped loving each other. He really helped me with Grace especially when Jack wasn’t there and I suppose that was when my feelings came back. I’ve never stopped loving Max and I don’t think I ever will; he was my first love and you never forget those right?
Phoebe & Grace….If you were granted three wishes, what would you ask for? Max & Amy feel free to jump in on this question.
Phoebe: I wanna be like Aunty Amy!!
Amy: Aww sweetie I’m sure there are better wishes than that!
Phoebe: Nu-uh!! 
Grace: I wanna write stories like Uncle Max
Max: Well what are the odds, your kid wants to be like me and my kid wants to be like you...care to swap?
Amy: *laughs*
Phoebe: I know what our third wish should be *whispers in Grace’s ear*
Grace: Yeah
Phoebe & Grace: We want you to get married!!

 

Review: Little Did I Know by Maxwell Mitchell

Author: Mitchell Maxwell
Title: Little Did I Know
Publication: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Prospecta Press
Age: Adult
Length: 336 pp.
Rating: 4 out of 5 
Source: Book Tour/Author/Publisher
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Amazon| BN | Book Depository

About the Book
Here is the story of an unforgettable summer. Set in Plymouth, MA in the late seventies, Little Did I Know is the tale of a young man with an outsized dream ? to refurbish a dilapidated but historic theater and produce a season’s worth of vibrant musicals. A recent college graduate, he fills his cast and crew with people he has come to love and trust in his university life, and with others whose talents and personalities prove undeniable. Yet, while the productions drive his ambitions, a local woman drives his passions, and their romance is fateful, star-crossed, and ultimately more than either of them expected. Told with with, compassion, and the kind of insider’s access to the theater that only someone like Mitchell Maxwell can provide, Little Did I Know is a novel about coming of age in the spotlight and embracing one’s entire future in a single season.

Review: This work is full of drama and excitement, it was a good read though the pace for me was slow. But in the business of show business you have to finish big, keep them coming back for more and this book is full of life lessons. It's about young Sam August becoming a man and pursuing his dreams and in the process teaching others how to do the same. He is great character with a quick temper, but a big heart and passion. It is that passion that gives him a hot head but also brings about his growth, as he comes to realize to think before he reacts to a situation regardless if he feels it is right, and for the good of everyone involved. He has some interesting antagonists in Dr. Barrows and his precocious wife Lizzy Barrows who are out to kill his dream with their corruption and deceit. Now, it's not all seriousness and there times I giggled from the humor that Maxwell so craftily weaved within the text. My favorite scene has something to do raccoons, and that is all I'm going to say...there are other moments that made me laugh but that one truly stands out. This book is full of very colorful characters that each have a different level of depth, and circumstances. Overall, a good read about growing up, overcoming obstacles and following your dreams.


Note: This book contains some sexual content, drugs, violence and profanity. 

Excerpt:The Choice Blog Tour

Author: Lorhainne Eckhart

Title: The Choice

Publisher:CreateSpace

Publication: February 5, 2012 

Age: Adult
Subjects in the choice:psychics, spirit world, crime world, DEA, drug trafficking 
Amazon | Smashwords | BN |Goodreads

Summary:

Marcie Hollis is a Wiccan, who’s always played by the rules. That’s until she meets Dan McKenzie, a man who she believes to be the knight in shining armor she’s been searching for all her life. However, Dan’s not who he appears to be. He lures Marcie into his world of lies, greed and high-grade marijuana. But fate intervenes on Marcie's illicit trip for Dan to New Orleans, when she's robbed in a crowded airport. The thug not only makes off with her suspicious backpack, he knocks her down, her head slams on the concrete floor, and she loses her memory right in the path of DEA agent, Sam Carre. 
After a six-month investigation into the activities of a big time drug dealer crumbles, the same day damming evidence is found stuffed in Sam’s locker – evidence suggesting he’s the notorious leak on the team, Sam jumps on the first plane home. Arriving in a crowded airport in New Orleans - his reputation and loyalty are in question. But even though Sam’s tired, disillusioned and haunted by a past that gives him no peace, he stops to help an attractive stranger when she falls in front of him. Then in an act of chivalry, he takes her to his home until the police can identify her. When questions arise about Marcie, and what she’s involved in, the answers lead them to the exact felons Sam investigated in the Pacific Northwest. 
When her illusive memory returns, this complex case pushes them both to explain the unexplainable, and leaves Sam with a haunting question. Was she set up, or was this a game she played? Sam’s forced to make a choice, walk away from the attraction that connects them, or risk losing everything. 

About the Author 
Website |Blog | Twitter | Facebook

Lorhainne Eckhart began her writing career in 2008, when she published her first novel, The Captain’s Lady, a Contemporary Military Romance through The Wild Rose Press.

Lorhainne Eckhart is a member of the RWA, Sisters in Crime and Victoria RWA. She makes her home on beautiful Vancouver Island, and lives in the country with her three children. The mother of a special needs child. And one her greatest gifts was having to learn, organization, structure, and how to stay focused on what’s really important in life. She lives by simple rules, the same she teaches her children. Stay honest, be impeccable with your word, never take advantage of anyone, and treat everyone with respect. She’s an advocate for children with special needs. Passionate about preserving our environment, wildlife, and protecting what natural resources we have left, so there will be a future for our children.

Lorhainne is the Author of two contemporary romances, The Captain’s Lady and The Forgotten Child, a romantic suspense, The Choice, and a young adult holiday historical.

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Review: Blue by Lou Aronica

Author: Lou Aronica
Title: Blue
Publisher:Fiction Std
Publication: January 16, 2011
Format:Paperback
Length: 400pp
Source: Author


Synopsis

Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.

Review: Blue is magical, the relationship between Chris and Becky was so sweet. It's amazing how love and belief can create miracles. This story will make you feel anger at times at Polly, Becky's mother, sadness, hurt and a bit of joy. I liked the concept of this imaginary place Tamarisk, that started as a way to help Becky get through her cancer treatments and as a bonding experience between father and daughter. I didn't really connect to Polly, mainly because I couldn't relate to her anger towards Chris, and her stubbornness to be open-minded about Tamarisk. It was like she felt she would lose Becky, if she allowed herself to believe. I say give Blue a chance, and you may just walk away with a touch of the magic. Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to more by this author.

In My Bag #7

Here's what was in my bag this week, these are items for review, purchase and from the library ....

What's in your bag?
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For Review                   

Adult books for Review

Library Books

Purchase & Kindle Freebies

 

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

 

In My Bag #4

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren where book bloggers can share what books came into their home this week. 

Here's what was in my bag this week, these are items for review, and the library ....
What's in your bag?

Click on book cover to view more info.

From the Library....                                                            For Review....