Book Review: A Jersey Kiss by Georgina Troy

REVIEW BY MY NEW REVIEWER ON THE BLOCK WHO IS CURRENTLY MAKING MY INBOX TIRELESS WITH AUTHORS REQUESTING SHE REVIEW THEIR WORK,SANDRA. 

 SYNOPSIS
Imagine this: How would you deal with being left with a house that is tearing down, a mystery that you cant seem to figure out, a nasty divorce with a cheating, greedy annoying  jerk of a husband? And right after the death of your dearest Mum-like Aunt, you lose a child you would soo love to have and cherish through a miscarriage?

And what with falling head over heels, madly in love with a hot sizzling  Adonis contractor, hot as sin Mm hmmm. You just know you cant have because he is trouble, hot as he may be.

Oh, not forgetting you have an annoying Half-Sister who would just not bugger off, and your cruel devil of a stepmother who would stop at nothing to make your life hell. And of all the days to get married she chooses the one day you would be saddest and miserable.

And it turns out that your hot bloke all in control ex-boyfriend/boss who you thought was soo perfect is really a horrible, selfish person. Good looking on the outside total crap on the inside.

When all else is hopeless you can only turn to your closest friends... but it turns out they have problems of their own and can't afford to help in anyway.

And what the fuck could the "Jersey Kiss" be? And why the hell is your Aunt going on and on about it in her will when in your messed-up life you cannot even relax and enjoy a simple kiss? But I tell you, not too simple if the demigod of a contractor is offering it.

All the above pretty much sums up all the drama in Beatrice Potter's life.


              My review
I loved this book a lot, Georgina Troy kicked it off perfectly and I must agree with Christina Jones, it was Enticing, Enchanting and Intriguing. Even though for a million dollars I wouldn't want to be in Bea's shoe's, never. But then if she had that much money she wouldn't be having those problems anyway. And she would have paid that jerk of a husband off, and keep the house she loved soo terribly much.—★

What a way to start a book, very interesting and I loved it, wouldn't fancy being caught in nothing but a towel that barely covered me up, it would be horror for those poor contractors with all I have going on(lol) (Sandra happens to be those thick, beautiful and size 18 types). But it was very interesting how she pulled it off nicely. Very chic thumbs up Georgina—★★

Another interesting part of this book that made it phenomenon are the characters from the jerk of an ex- husband who made Bea's life miserable, to her Cruella--StepMum who pushed up the competition and hatred between Bea and her sometimes annoying sometimes super sweet half sister Mel, to the Funny dramatic gay friend Paul not forgetting Shani with all her boyfriend drama. And who would have thought that Tom the hot responsible bloke was actually a crook,oh the drama queen/model Leillanni and how can I forget sexy Lukey(lol). Soo amazing these characters.—★★★

The suspense was definitely and without question off the hook, Just like Paul, I hate not knowing something and I would never have guessed what the "Jersey Kiss" turned out to be, really nice. Oh and the Leillani and Luke situation, at a point I kind of thought that they were really going out. Sweet suspense loved it.—★★★★

Even though I thought the romance could have been more intense and it could have gone laugh out loud funny, overall I loved the book and I think Georgina Troy did a great job . Awesome book you should definitely read it for yourself.

Rating: four stars/five stars.

 A Jersey Kiss by Georgina Troy, as Sandra called it, soo amazing, is available on Amazon.

Her work not done here. Would convince her to join Goodreads so she can paste her review there. 

Review: Keeping Score by Jami Deise

                                           

REVIEW BY MY NEWEST REVIEWER ON THE BLOCK, Sandra. A Voracious reader like myself.

Her Synopsis
From the very start of our lives we are in a competition. Right from when the sperm has to struggle , swim fast and be the first to reach the ready egg, till the very last breath , even then we are in a  struggle to be the one who lived longer. Sibling competing for the attention of Parents, to be the best athlete to have the hottest boy in school , get married first and the competition continues.

The single mom with her kid is not exempted from this lifelong Competition. What she does not know is that winning all the time has consequences that comes with it. She finds out the hard way that you can't compete with your friend and have your friend back after the competition.

Shannon a very competitive mother of a nine year old , baseball, soccer and basket ball player. It is undeniable he talent of her son but she gets so sucked up in the competition that she loses her friends in the process.

And what with the hot coach she’s crushing on? And oh, her friends wanting to take her down as much as she wants to take them down (with their children).

Pure evil and brilliantly entertaining.

                                        Her Review
I've read a lot of books about divorced mums, and not all of them are worth reviewing but i rather enjoyed reading this book, maybe because I related to it very well . I mean who wouldn’t? At some point in our lives we’ve all gone through Shannon’s predicament, haven’t we? It’s sometimes even so healthy when we involve our kids too. A family of haters. I know a handful of women who’ve been in this position for a while. Including my mum who’s still rooting for me to shed off some pounds faster before the “neighborhood bitch’s” (who happens to be her ‘friend’, bless her heart) daughter does.──★

Life is very competitive and am a very competitive person by nature so (I would lose weight before that silly girl across my house does with her neighborhood bitch of a mother, and) it was easy for me to relate with Shannon. Keeping score is easy to relate to and am not a single mum.──★★

The characters were lovely and fun to read about. Good characterization on the part of Jami Deise.──★★★
 

The suspense was amazing and I could not help myself i just wanted to read more to know what will happen next, what Shannon would do or say, and that’s pretty cool it kept me at the edge my seat wanting more. Amazing.──★★★★
 

Overall, I loved the book but i wished it had more humor which would have made it outstanding.

My rating: Four stars/five stars.

I recommend this book to all the mothers out there (though I’d hold it off my mum for a while before she gets any ideas she’s destined to marry a coach―my dad has quite a belly).

Jami Deise’s Keeping Score is available on amazon.

Her work not done here. I’d encourage her to join Goodreadsand post it there.

Book Review: Conditional Love by Cathy Bramley

Available on: Amazon UK, Amazon.com

Blurb: All her life she has dreamed of a home of her own, so what’s holding her back?

Sophie Stone, thirty-something serial procrastinator, lover of Take That, Tesco knickers and tea with two sugars, rarely steps out of her comfort zone.

So when an unexpected inheritance from a great aunt she’s never met forces her to meet her father, it threatens the very foundations of Sophie’s world.

What did the old lady want her to discover? Was there more to her parents’ break up than she was lead to believe?

Sophie will have to face some startling home truths before she can finally build a future on her own terms.

Cathy Bramley brings to notice unambition, fucked-up gold digging boyfriends, crimes against fatherhood, crimes against motherhood, too much Abba, a few tears and more laughter on the way.

Sophie Stone is complacent where she is. Even though it's mostly in her loser SOB gold-digging boyfriend's arms (Note to readers: He can't afford a bed). Once a girl who loved to dream of achieving, now she's stopped dreaming and achieving. And getting her two roomies, Jess and Emma worried.

Now if you were given an inheritance, not broke but just stable, yet feeling this inheritance could make a big, big difference in your life. Obviously you will sing happily, do a victory waltz over to the solicitor's to claim your inheritance, wouldn't you? But there are slight complications, what if you have so much BMI waltzing with ease becomes difficult? Or what if you manage somehow to get to the solicitor's, you get distracted by his unusual nose, listen to the conditions to be handed your due, then you wonder which/who is more repulsive, the solicitor's nose or the dead aunt you never saw your entire life who wants you to see an alive dad with another family who you've never met your entire life.

What if you can't get over your ex? What if you shag him a bit? What if there's a romantic smooch here and there to keep him on his tippy toes wondering whether breaking up with you had been his wisest decision. What if, said SOB is only exhibiting boyfriend material tendencies (in actual fact the only material he's fit for is the dumpster) because he's heard of the inheritance and would stop at nothing for you to part him his due share for stomaching you, you who doesn't care about protein shakes as much as he does?

What if your mum keeps telling you with all seriousness she doesn't know whose kid you are? And the father you thought was dumpster material was better of having than SOB boyfriend? What if you begin to uncover secrets about your family that would change your perception of its membership forever, and make you discover you've been living a lie?

Your friends won't keep from butting their noses into your business, your boss is never in a good mood (because she's hitting fifty), you are being paid to go on Facebook and Twitter, your SOB boyfriend wouldn't stop bothering you (just because you sometimes stupidly call him over), for your mum it's all bull about loyalty and contemplating on performing Abba or Madonna, and one cute architect thinks he can walk into your life with his dog and inveigle you into liking him a teensy bit.

Sophie Stone's life summed up for your utmost delight.

The storyline is unique. Parts and pieces we've all experienced. Like an inattentive parent, a boyfriend who's just in it for the dough and a job we do not have the joie de vivre for anymore. So I think readers would nod at some points.

There humor in this book is just a tad bit above the chuckling level, at least for me. I'm sure I would have found this book incredibly funny if could get past THIS* situation.

The paramount features in this book I adored had to also be the lessons in it. From an outsider's view, we might read and judge Sophie for some of her actions, but let's face it, break ups are hard, and the fear of going single is daunting. So sometimes we get so vulnerable we take some of the worst decisions in relationships we would come to regret. Following your passion, ditching that boy who's in it for your newly acquired inheritance, loving the one you make a home with, forgiving the dad who abandoned you. These and more lessons you will learn from this title.

The characters in this book were also good. I loved Emma and Jess, but I loved Emma more for she represented the voice I would have used in admonishing Sophie. Sophie's boss also held my attention (I find horrible bosses fascinating), Sophie's mum almost made me gag for anyone who had a mother so aggravating.

Did I love this book? Almost. I wish I didn't spend most time seething over Sophie's actions. By the THIS* situation above, I just didn't love how Sophie could stomach all the people she had to be rid of like her (ex) boyfriend and her mum. I really wished it hadn't ticked me off that much, but I'm sure Cathy might have used that as a tool to allow us understand Sophie and not judge, love her for having too much of a kind soul and a Fix It spirit, for which made her a target for others to take advantage of.

But at the end of the day, if the truly the end justifies the means, Sophie's transformation turned out to be remarkable and would bring some level of fulfilment to all readers. In life, we lose our way, but the most important achievement is finding it.

My rating: Four stars.

Cathy Bramley's debut, Conditional Love is available on Amazon.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a lead they can constantly sympathize and want to smack at the same time. Anyone who needs something with dense themes could also pick this.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads as well as Amazon.

Book Review: Love On The Back Burner By Barbara Oliverio

Blurb:Youngest in an Italian-American family that includes one brother who is a rock singer-turned-priest and another who successfully manages the family business, Alexandria D’Agostino wanted to stand out, so she moved from her small hometown and is enjoying a successful marketing career in Denver.

On the advice of her best friend Keira, as well as office pals Natalie and Elliott, she uses the cooking skills learned from her immigrant grandmother and studies the cuisine of each prospective boyfriend’s background to improve her chances at love.

Alexandria encounters comical mishaps along the way including one unexpected dinner for three and a meat-focused dinner for a vegetarian. After a corporate restructure somehow driven by new office heartthrob Cameron Grayson, she flies back home for counsel.

Will she come back to Denver? Or should she re-evaluate the boy next door from high school? Should she finally admit that being a chef is her true dream? And how does Cameron fit on the menu? BONUS: INCLUDES RECIPES FEATURED IN THE BOOK!

"Alexandria!"

"Oh, no, let me go on. I must state unequivocally that Cam Grayson is the perfect male specimen."

I wheeled my desk chair back and spun directly into the object of my flattery.

"Oh, I wouldn't say 'perfect' necessarily," said Cam, attempting to hide a grin. "But on a scale of one to ten-"

"You are a negative twelve!"

Great debut. Barbara Oliverio thrills readers with a recipe of humor and a crisp storyline.

So Alexandria D'Agostino is having a bad streak of luck with men. In her thirties, a marketing manager, a born and bred Italian with the zeal to cook.

After one date gone horrible with a guy who she'd thought to be 'good on paper' hence her Mr. Right, her best friend, Keira, advices her against her tactic to get men using Italian food. Alex is bent on making the best of every potential suitor that walks into her life so she gives heed to Keira's advice.

Now she's taking cooking trips to the South, India, Middle-east all to perfect one dinner for guys who turn out to be so horrible (-one showing up with his fiancée to enjoy a good meal). As though a dark cloud was right above her, ensuring all these potential Mr. Rights turn out to be frogs, she meets very bizarre dates who either have a problem with her food choices or enjoy her meal with the wrong question choices. Just how many frogs does she have to cook for to gain Mr. Right?

Meanwhile, matters in her professional life are also taking a downward turn. The huge workloads suggest the company might be undergoing a buyout-which means less security for jobs, and there's no telling what marketing direction plan the company is taking because every day comes another marketing plan. To make matters worse, one IT heartthrob is going around adjusting the office chairs of everyone and Alex is always seething to put him in place and out of her space. But Cam Grayson never seems to disappear as he joins Alex's food crowd, workplace best friends Elliott and Natalie, going to lunch with them and coming over for a grub at Alex's place.

When one occupational crisis threatens to dissolve her friendships, ties with her family, romantic involvements and most importantly all she's worked for, Alex must decide whether marketing is really what gives her the joie de beef.

If you want a book rich in humor and sarcasm, you'd love this book. With its there's-more-to-humor-than-meets-the-eye approach, you'd have to reason a little to laugh so hard at some stuff in this book. And who doesn't love a little reasoning. With heavy sarcasm, Barbara Oliverio writes Chick-lit that should get you thinking on your feet in order to laugh. This book supports the adage, "She who laughs last, thinks slowest."

Marvellous story line. The whole cooking thing is a not-done-before, all the reference to cooking to create puns and laugh lines, the inevitable invites of Alex's food crowd to enjoy leftover meals from a disaster date. I loved, loved it. Much like Keri Russell's Waitress, but without the abusive husband.

You should love the stock characters in this book. Well-developed, very active despite the book was written in first person. From the American Idol shunned contestant brother turned priest, to the ever-persistent best friend Keira, Natalie and Elliott-the food crowd, Nonna the granny always concerned about Alex growing so 'thin'. I love the whole cast representing Alex's family, their vibrancy, their frequent involvement in the eating and dating affairs of Alex. You would love this title if you love that constant (as well as bugging yet adorable) interruption of family in a lead's life.

Though this book made me laugh out loud at most moments, I'd have to point out the ending was rather abrupt. From the blurb I would have loved a little more extension from when our lead hit rock bottom.

After the epilogue, Barbara Oliverio dishes out all the recipes of meals featured in this book-recipes passed on by her mother. If you love Italian, a kindle of this book is a good bargain.

So all in all, reading Love On The Back Burner is like dining in a star Italian restaurant.

Love on The Back Burner is available on... (click image to purchase)

In both kindle and paperback.

I recommend this title for just about anyone who loves a tasty Italian meal. Or for whatever reason you hate Italian, there's Southern, Indian and Middle-east dishes to choose from. You should also pick up this title if you enjoy a highly humorous and witty lead with an attitude.

I am always open to emails by readers who'd love to gush about Love On The Back Burner.

My work not done here. Off to post my review on Goodreads as well as Amazon.