Kissing Games of the World by Sandi Kahn Shelton

About the Book:

Jamie McClintock, an artist who already has a precarious life caring for her asthmatic little son and struggling to pay the bills, doesn’t have time for love or romance. She and her son live in an old farmhouse with an elderly widower who is raising his grandson—but when her beloved elderly landlord dies of a sudden heart attack, her life is thrown into chaos.

When the late landlord’s estranged son Nate arrives in town to settle his father’s affairs and claim his son, Jamie discovers that the spirited old gentleman devoted to raising his young grandson was actually a philandering, deadbeat dad in his day. At least, according to Nate, a widower whose late wife’s accident left him bereft and entirely incapable of caring for the boy.

Jamie and Nate can’t stand each other from the beginning. He’s a self-absorbed, charismatic, world-traveling salesman who thinks being a dad means just letting his five-year-old son come along with him on his many business trips until he can convince his business partner girlfriend to marry him. He’s sure Jamie is just the latest of his dad’s girlfriends, and he’s only too happy to kick her and her son out of the house so he can sell it and get back to his life.

But then he discovers that being an instant dad isn’t so easy after all, especially when he’s blindsided by feelings of grief over the death of his father whose transgressions he never forgave. And even while he and Jamie are fighting over everything from children’s nicknames to Jamie’s odd-ball fashion choices to Nate’s home renovation methods, they discover that they have two little boys looking to them to ease their grief and loss. It’s not long before Jamie’s defensive self-preservation and Nate’s blustery bravado crumble under the laws of attraction.

In a story that is as much a humorous, poignant contemporary romance as it is the tale of a man coming to terms with his father’s desertion, readers will discover new twists to the modern-day mating dance. Sometimes, Jamie and Nate discover, the person you can’t stand is also person you also can’t stand to live without.

About the Author:

Sandi Kahn Shelton is the author of three novels, all contemporary novels about relationships and family, including What Comes After Crazy, A Piece of Normal, and the latest, Kissing Games of the World. She’s also the author of three nonfiction humor books about parenting, and is a feature reporter for the New Haven Register. For years she wrote the “Wit’s End” column for Working Mother magazine, and she has been a contributor to Redbook, Salon, Reader’s Digest, and Woman’s Day.

She’s been a writer for longer than she can actually remember—but she does remember her first sale. When she was 6 years old, her mother wouldn’t give her money for the ice cream truck, so she ran home and wrote a story and sold it to the neighbors for 20 cents. It was called “The King Who Slept For Three Hours and Forty-five Seconds” and she saw this as the beginning of a promising career path that would keep her in frozen desserts for the rest of her life.

You can visit her website at www.sandishelton.com,and her blog at www.sandishelton.com/blog.

WIN PRIZES:

KISSING GAMES OF THE WORLD VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '09 will officially begin on January 1 and end on January 30. You can visit Linda's blog stops at http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in January to find out more about this talented lady!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available.

Wicked Game by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush

About the book:

ONE BY ONE, THEY’LL DIE…Twenty years ago, wild child Jessie Brentwood vanished from St. Elizabeth’s high school. Most in Jessie’s tight circle of friends believed she simply ran away. Few suspected that Jessie was hiding a shocking secret—one that brought her into the crosshairs of a vicious killer…

UNTIL THERE’S NO ONE LEFT…Two decades pass before a body is unearthed on school grounds and Jessie’s old friends reunite to talk. Most are sure that the body is Jessie’s, that the mystery of what happened to her has finally been solved. But soon, Jessie’s friends each begin to die in horrible, freak accidents that defy explanation…

BUT HER…Becca Sutcliff has been haunted for years by unsettling visions of Jessie, certain her friend met with a grisly end. Now the latest deaths have her rattled. Becca can sense that an evil force is shadowing her too, waiting for just the right moment to strike. She feels like she’s going crazy. Is it all a coincidence—or has Jessie’s killer finally returned to finish what was started all those years ago?

My Review:




20 years have passed since the disappearance of Jezebel “Jessie” Brentwood, but the case is back in the news after bones are discovered at St. Elizabeth’s school. Detective Sam NcNally is hoping that he will finally get the break he deserves, and prove to all of the skeptics that she was murdered all those years ago.

Becca Sutcliff is shocked when she receives a phone call from her ex-boyfriend and true love Hudson Walker. The group of friends that hung out with each other at the time of Jessie’s disappearance is meeting to compare stories. The common belief is that the remains will be identified as Jessie, but they want to make sure that their stories haven’t changed. There seems to be a dark cloud hovering among the members of the group, and when tragedy starts to strike, Becca feels it’s only a matter of time before she’s next.

This paranormal romantic suspense thriller was well thought out and it was impossible for me to tell that it was written by two sisters. I have a feeling I know where the added romance came in, as this isn’t common in most of Lisa’s books. I felt it added nicely to the storyline, and made it appealing to a more diverse crowd.

2009 TBR Challenge

Well, here I go with my challenges. I have them all picked out (of the current ones)...at least I think I do. The first one I joined was the 2009 TBR Challenge. This one sounded like a lot of fun, and seeing how my to be read pile seems to never stop growing I thought it was appropriate to pick this one to start.

If you are interested, here are the rules:

* the challenge is to read 12 TBR books in 12 months -- you can read those all in one month if you want, or one a month, or however you wanna do it.
* you need to have a list posted somewhere for others to see (even if it's in a comment here)
* you CANNOT change your list after January 1st, 2009!!!* you can create an Alternates list of MAXIMUM 12 books, if you want, in order to have options to choose from (you can read these in place of books on your original list).
* audiobooks and e-books ARE allowed
* re-reads are NOT allowed, as they aren't TRUE "TBRs"* you CAN overlap with other challenges
* OPTIONAL: you can join the Yahoo! Group created for participants of the TBR Challenge, if you want to have a place to keep your list, or just to share with others about how you're doing! :)

Ok so here's my list and my alternate list:

1. A Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
3. 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult
4. A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey
5. Sucks to Be Me by Kimberly Pauley
6. True Evil by Greg Iles
7. Hide by Lisa Gardner
8. All the Numbers by Judy Merrill Larsen
9. I Am Legend by Richard Mattheson
10. Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi by Nanci Kincaid
11. Roads to Quoz by William Least Heat-Moon
12. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire

Alternates:

1. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
2. Duma Key by Stephen King
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
4. House of Leaves by Mark Danielwski
5. Heartsick by Chelsea Cain
6. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
9. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
10. The Little Friend by Donna Tart
11. Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
12. Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

Booking Through Thursday

The question:
“Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?”

Honestly, my reading habits don't change too much. I ALWAYS try to grab a book whenever I have time, which seems more limited now than ever. With the move and starting work for an awesome company (Pump Up Your Book Promotion) I am dealing with books all day, just not always getting to read them, lol!

As far as types of books, I usually just grab whatever book is nearest to me. I really am not one to pick books by seasons.

Down to a Sunless Sea by Matthias Freese

About the Book:

Down to a Sunless Sea plunges the reader into uncomfortable situations and into the minds of troubled characters. Each selection is a different reading experience-poetic, journalistic, nostalgic, wryly humorous, and even macabre. An award-winning essayist and historical novelist, Mathias B. Freese brings the weight of his twenty-five years as a clinical social worker and psychotherapist into play as he demonstrates a vivid understanding of-and compassion toward-the deviant and damaged.

Review:

I have really come to appreciate the short story the more I read. It takes a lot to say enough in a short period of time and really get your point across but Matthias Freese has done just that.

Down to a Sunless Sea is a collection of fifteen short stories. Most stories are fairly short in length, but certainly not in emotion. Each of these stories exposes a certain dilemma or paranoia faced by the occupants. And, the results are not necessarily pleasant. I really enjoyed this book, but agree that it may not be for everyone. If you are looking for some joy or a light and easy read, steer clear of this one. If you are looking for something quick and easy to read but something you can sink your teeth into, then pick this up.