Book Reviews – Page 3 – Cindy's Love Of Books

Review & Blog Tour/ The Supreme Macaroni Company

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Cindy

The Supreme Macaroni Company Format: Hardcover
Published by Harper Collins USA on November 2013
Pages: 352
Goodreads

In The Supreme Macaroni Company, Adriana Trigiani transports readers from the cobblestone streets of Greenwich Village to lush New Orleans to Italy and back again while exploring the tricky dynamics between Old World craftsmanship and New World ambition, all amid a passionate love affair that fuels one woman's determination to have it all.

For over a hundred years, the Angelini Shoe Company in Greenwich Village has relied on the leather produced by Vechiarelli & Son in Tuscany. This ancient business partnership provides the twist of fate for Valentine Roncalli, the schoolteacher turned shoemaker, to fall in love with Gianluca Vechiarelli, a tanner with a complex past . . . and a secret.

But after the wedding celebrations are over, Valentine wakes up to the hard reality of juggling the demands of a new business and the needs of her new family. Confronted with painful choices, Valentine remembers the wise words that inspired her in the early days of her beloved Angelini Shoe Company: "A person who can build a pair of shoes can do just about anything." Now the proud, passionate Valentine is going to fight for everything she wants and savor all she deserves—the bitter and the sweet of life itself.

Romantic and poignant, told with humor and warmth, and bursting with a cast of endearing characters, The Supreme Macaroni Company is a sumptuous feast of delights: an unforgettable narrative about family, work, romance, and the unexpected turns of life and fate.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I just quickly want to thank Laura (Library of Clean Reads) and Italy Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this tour. I actually received The Supreme Macaroni Company late last year and I never got around to reading it until now.

I first heard about The Supreme Macaroni Company last year when I was lucky enough to go to BEA and get invited to Adriana’s house for a breakfast with a few other bloggers. I was thrilled to have been invited because I am a huge fan of her books. I just have to say that Adriana is amazing both as a person (who invites complete strangers into your home? Thank you Adriana) and as an author. I was in complete aw of her before meeting her and more so after meeting her. She is completely genuine what you see is what you get. She opened her home to us and made us all feel completely welcome like we were her dear friends. I have enclosed a photo that was taken that morning.

The Supreme Macaroni Company is the third book in the Valentine trilogy (Very Valentine and Brava, Valentine).

I have read the previous books but I think you could read this as a stand alone if you haven’t read the previous two. I found there to be enough information to get you through the book. Plus for me it was a while ago that I read the previous two so I forgot alot about the books but reading this I didn’t feel like I was missing anything.

While I was reading the book I felt like I was a part of the story because Adriana can transport you right into her book world. The way she rights literally makes you feel like you there. She describes it all so perfectly.

The Supreme Macaroni Company begins almost where Brava, Valentine has left off. Gianluca (who is 54, lives and works in Italy) has just proposed to Valentine who is 36. Valentine pulls every story out of the book not to accept his proposal but Gianluca manages to convince her. You can see that he truly loves her and would give her the world.

Their engagement is short and within a few months they are married. Her family is thrilled because she is the last one to get married and its a big deal in the Italian community and family.

Now if you are expecting a day at the beach and everything is peachy then you are wrong. They go through ups and downs and that is very common in marriage. The only thing that bothered me was how Valentine and Gianluca never had any discussions before getting married about where they would live, working, family etc. If your married you know how important that is.

I don’t want to spoil the book too much if you have yet to read this and want to and its always hard when you review the second, third etc book in the series.

So all I will say is will the age difference impact their relationship? What happens when Gianluca yearns to go back to Italy? Will Valentine make the move or demand they stay in NYC?

After reading the book I wish I was in NYC.

Sheila from Book Journey, Adriana and myself

Meet the Author:

Adriana Trigiani is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. Her books include the New York Times bestseller The Shoemaker’s Wife; the Big Stone Gap series; Very Valentine; Brava, Valentine; Lucia, Lucia; and the bestselling memoirDon’t Sing at the Table, as well as the young adult novels Viola in Reel Life and Viola in the Spotlight. She wrote the screenplay for Big Stone Gap, which she also directed. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Connect with Adriana here: adrianatrigiani.com
Twitter: @adrianatrigiani
Facebook: facebook.com/adrianatrigiani

Book Tour Schedule:

Aug 4 –   Suko’s Notebook – review
Aug 4 –   Ivory Owl Reviews – review
Aug 5 –   I’d Rather Be At the Beach – review
Aug 5 –   One Frugal Girl – review
Aug 6 –   Studentessa Matta – review
Aug 7 –   Cindy’s Love of Books – review
Aug 7- Savings in Seconds – review
Aug 8 –   Moonshine Art Spot – review
Aug 11 – Il Mio Tesore – review
Aug 11 – Cherry Blossoms – review
Aug 12 – PIX Me! Photography – review
Aug 12 – Lady in Read – review
Aug 13 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – review
Aug 13 – Celticlady’s Reviews – review
Aug 14 – View From the Birdhouse – review
Aug 15 – Melina’s Book Blog – review
Aug 15 – Library of Clean Reads – review

Review/ Guardians Inc The Cypher

Posted on July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 by Cindy

Title: Guardians Inc.: The Cypher
Author: Julian Rosado-Machain
Publisher: Julian Rosado-Machain
Pages: 239
Genre: YA Fantasy Adventure
Format: Paperback, Kindle

Source: I was provided a ebook copy of this book for review.

GUARDIANS INC.: THE CYPHER is two stories in one. A glimpse into a multinational company that is in reality the oldest of secret societies, one that spans close to seven thousand years of existence, weaving in and out of history, guiding and protecting humanity from creatures and forces that most of us believe are only mythology and fairy tales.

The other is the story of Thomas Byrne, a young man thrust into secrets he shouldn’t be aware of and dangers he shouldn’t face but, that he ultimately will, for he is a Cypher. The only one who can steer humanity’s future.

The ultimate conspiracy theory is that Magic is real. Kept in check by technology but, every five hundred years the balance can shift and, if it does, technology will fail and those creatures we’ve driven into myth will come back with a vengeance.

To protect the present, Guardians Incorporated needs to know the future, and to unlock the future they need a Cypher.

This is the first book of the Guardians Inc Series.

When I first saw the email for this I wasn’t quite sure if I would want to read this or not but I did because I was looking for something a little different to read and perhaps to get back into the reviewing groove again and this kind of peake my interest.

I am so happy that I did read this because I did enjoy this and I think this might be something that Michael might possibly enjoy as well. He doesn’t want to read it right now because I think the cover scares him and I did tell him that its not scary but I think he will have to decide that on his own.

Trust me the cover is scary then the book itself is.

The story in itself was really good and I think the tweens will enjoy this because the story is interesting and moves at a really good pace that will suck you in and want to continue reading it. This is a really good fantasy book and I will tell you that because I am not a huge fantasy fan or reader.

Thomas is a 15 year old boy who just discovers that the cruise ships his parents were on has vanished. His grandfather, MOrgan has taken him in. My heart broke for Thomas because not only was he dealing with the news about his parents but he is also getting bullied at school. This breaks my heart because I hate hearing about kids who get bullied by others. So in this situation Thomas ends up getting suspended from school which could be a life saver for him. During his suspension Thomas stumbles up an ad for an assistant librarian with a very odd company.

Accepting this job changes everything Thomas ever thought he knew about life and the world. What magical things could possibly happen?

I think my favorite part was when Thomas got to work in the Guardians Inc library. Its the biggest library in the entire world that has every book know to man in there and the Guardians have kept it hidden. How much fun would it be to get locked in there? Its a dream of mine.

I can’t wait for book two to come out.

Review/ Serenade By Emily Kiebel

Posted on July 14, 2014July 15, 2014 by Cindy

Serenade by Emily Kiebel
Format: eARC
Published by Spark Press on July 15, 2014
Pages: 358
Goodreads

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This is book number 9 in the Book Sparks Summer Reading Challenge. I am really enjoying the book selections so far. Its nice that they mixed up the selection so that you reading a mix of genres. Today’s book is a young adult book.

Serenade is Emily’s debut novel. I love discovering new authors. Don’t you?

I have to start off my review by saying that the book begins really slow at first but then gradually builds to where you literally can’t put the book down. That was what happened to me. I took my time reading it in the beginning because I really wanted to read it because it sounds so good and I am happy I stuck with it.

When Lorelei decided that she wanted to leave Colorado to go to Maine to study music at an elite school this caused a rift between Lorelei and her mother Cassandra. Thankfully her father, Andy supported her along the way. I have always wondered why or how a parent could resent their child from pursuing a dream or passion? I don’t think I could every resent my child and it would probably break my heart if we ever got to a point of never speaking.

Things are going good for Lorelei until tragedy strikes. Her father is involved in a car accident on the way to visit her. Things don’t look good and as Lorelei sits with her dad she has an overwhelming urge to sing to him. I can only image what she must sound like.

I think this is where Emily’s love of music comes into play and you can tell she writes from experience and knows what she is talking about.

After Andy dies, Lorelei gets a mysterious letter from Helen who is a great aunt from her mother’s side that she didn’t know about. In the letter Helen invites Lorelei to come visit her at her Massachusetts home. Lorelei decides to take her aunt up on it and goes to visit.

Things are going great with the visit until one night Lorelei in shock to see her aunt Helen, Calliope (Helen’s niece) and Deidre (a distant cousin) emerging from the fog and hovering over the water singing in unison. Lorelei isn’t quite sure what to make of it and questions her aunt. Helen is very open and honest with her and tells her that they are sirens.

What are sirens you ask? Well they are mythological women that will sing to the sailors and lure them to their deaths. I have never read anything like this before so this was one of the reasons I wanted to read and review the book. Have you read any books on sirens before? If so please leave me a comment below so that I can go and check the books out.

Lorelei discovers that she has this ability and that this could possibly be the reason for the rift between her and her mother. The ladies help ease her into this transition and its one that makes her feel uncomfortable in. Will Lorelei be able to control herself? Is there more to this then she realizes?

I am sure this is the first in an upcoming series because I was left with alot of questions and concerns.

Buy the book

Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1sOHlVf

About the author:

Emily Kiebel was raised in Colorado and went on to study classical music and English at Concordia University. She found a love for singing early in life and now sings professionally and directs a local church choir. In her spare time, she can be found exploring the natural beauty of the great outdoors with her beloved dogs, Ginny and Diggory, cooking for friends and family, traveling or dragging her friends along to obscure historical sites. Serenade is her debut novel.

Connect with the author:

Review/ Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader For Kids Only!

Posted on July 1, 2014July 1, 2014 by Cindy

Uncle John's Bathroom Reader For Kids Only Series: Uncle John's Bathroom Reader

Format: Hardcover
on April 8th 2014
Pages: 288
Goodreads

Here is an exciting chance to own the very first Uncle John's Bathroom Reader For Kids Only! in a hardcover edition with all new illustrations! When our younger readers demanded a Bathroom Reader of their own, Uncle John put together this brain-boggling easy-to-read collection of facts, fads, quotes, history, science, origins, pop culture, mythology, humor, and more! Plus it's full of wacky and fun illustrations and Uncle John's famous "running feet" — those fun and fascinating facts on the bottom of every page. Curious young readers will learn about the real Dr. Seuss, baseball superstitions, the birth of The Simpsons, how carnival games are rigged, the history of dining on scorpions and tarantulas, shocking truths about thunder and lightning, and disgusting bodily functions like ear wax production and digestion (and why they're important), and much, much more!

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Get a Copy:
amazon | Uncle John’s Online Store

I have read a few of the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader books over the years and have always enjoyed them so when I saw that Kismet Book Tours was looking for hosts on this tour stop I had to jump on board because I knew that Michael would get a kick out of reading this book.

It was so cute to see Michael all curled up on the couch reading the book. I was trying to get a picture but every time I tried to take one its like he knew and would put the book down. When it comes to cameras he has a sixth sense about them.

Michael said he loved how the book was divided up into sections. I told him that he didn’t have to read it like a book but he said he wanted to read it like that from cover to cover the first time and then perhaps after that he would go back and read it all over the place.

Michael said he also loved that on the very bottom of each page there was a piece of useful information such as did you know that the Statue of Liberty’s eyes are 2 1/2 feet part?

Did you know that an average 2,220 popsicles are eaten in the US every minute so by the time I am done this review there will have been an average of 66,600 popsicles consumed.

I think this is a great book to pick up for your children because they will get a blast out of reading it. There is so much jammed packed that it will keep the kids entertained for hours with jokes, game ideas, facts, quotes, faniliar phrases, tongue twisters,trivia, and so much more.

Michael has decided that he is going to keep this in the car so that when we are out and about he can pick this up to read.

I know one evening after Michael went to bed I picked it and was reading it. Its just like the adult ones but geared towards kids. Some of my favorite were the movie bloopers (did you know that in the movie Aladdin, Aladdin and Jasimine sing “A whole New World” they pass in front of a full moon but when they near the water the reflection is of a crescent moon), the Uncle John Brain Ticklers ( these made you really think), I want my MTV (do you remember the first video that was ever played on MYV?), the tongue twisters, and so much more.

You literally could spend hours reading and rereading this book and I am sure we will be. This definitely makes for a great traveling book and I am sure with our two upcoming short trips planned that we will be reading and laughing over this book in the car.

Thanks Kismet Book Tours for allowing me to be on the tour to promote this book.

About The Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Google+
The life of Gordon “Uncle John” Javna, editor-in-chief and publisher of the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series, reads like one of his books. There’s a lot of fun, intriguing—often odd—information lurking around every corner. He went to art school, and then went on to become a musician, real-estate developer, writer, restaurateur, president of a pre-school, brew pub owner, and editor—not all at once, mind you, but he has been all of these things.
Eventually, though, he realized that because of his love of fascinating facts (and being a bathroom reader himself), he was naturally suited, perhaps even destined, to bring the joy of trivia to the world in a fun, informative way. He assumed the pseudonym Uncle John for the Bathroom Reader series and since then, Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader has become the longest-running, most popular series of its kind in the publishing industry. To date, there are more than 15 million Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers in print and his fanatical flock of followers span from Australia to the United Kingdom and beyond.

Guided by their obsession with unusual trivia, amazing origins, and forgotten history, Gordon “Uncle John” Javna and his staff at the Bathroom Readers’ Institute have made Uncle John’s Bathroom Readers a must-have for book and gift stores worldwide for over two decades. Gordon continues to expand his porcelain province from his throne room in Ashland, Oregon.

Tour Details

Gordon Javna and Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader For Kids Only! Collectible Edition will be on a 3 weeks Tour with lost of funny post and interviews with Gordon Java! Don’t miss to join this tour!
Monday, June 30th – Candace’s Book Blog
Wednesday, July 2nd – Proud Book Nerd
Thursday, July 3rd – Bumbles and Fairy-Tales
Friday July 4th – Cassandra M’s Place

Monday, July 7th – Sweet Southern Home
Tuesday, July 8th – Confessions of a Book Addict
Wednesday, July 9th – Little Red Reads
Thursday, July 10th – Me, My Shelf and I
Friday July 11th – Bewitched Bookworms

Monday, July 14th – Kindle and Me
Tuesday, July 15th – Snowdrop Dreams of Books
Wednesday, July 16th – Hott Books
Thursday, July 17th – alwaysjoart
Friday July 18th – Captivated Reading

Review/ After I Do

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Cindy

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Format: eARC
Published by Simon and Schuster on 2014-07-01
Pages: 352
Goodreads
Genres: Contemporary, Contemporary Women, Family Life, Fiction, General, Romance

From the author of Forever, Interrupted—hailed by Sarah Jio as “moving, gorgeous, and at times heart-wrenching”—comes a breathtaking new novel about modern marriage, the depth of family ties, and the year that one remarkable heroine spends exploring both.

When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes. Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage.

These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?

This is a love story about what happens when the love fades. It’s about staying in love, seizing love, forsaking love, and committing to love with everything you’ve got. And above all, After I Do is the story of a couple caught up in an old game—and searching for a new road to happily ever after.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Its hard to believe that I am almost half way done with the Book Sparks Summer Reading Challenge. This is book number seven of the challenge.

Are you enjoying your summer so far? Reading any good books? Well if your looking for another fun one to read to your pile let me suggest After I Do.

This is my first time hearing and reading Taylor’s books and I have to say that after reading this I am curious about her other book. Have you read it? What do you think?

After I Do is the story of Lauren and Ryan. The beginning of the book gives us some before insight such has how they met, how they feel in love and finally their marriage. Which is really nice because you begin the journey without a million and one questions.

Like in every marriage there is a honeymoon stage where everything is bliss and then bam comes reality so to speak where everything that Lauren and Ryan envisioned turns up side down and happily ever after isn’t always the real world.

With so many people getting married so quickly and then divorcing even faster its sad that they don’t take it more seriously. I think growing up I learned from my grandparents that it will never be easy and you have to work for it. I agree with them. Marriage isn’t easy and I admit at times I am sure we wanted to throw in the towels but we didn’t and we worked through it.

For Lauren and Ryan its almost like divorce isn’t the option and I wish more people would have that kind of mentality. Don’t you agree?

So instead of divorcing right away they agree to spend a year apart from each other with no communication from each other. In hopes that they perhaps could fall back in love with each other.

As I sat and read this book I can honestly say at times I agreed with Lauren and I could relate to what she was going through and her emotions I am sure as married women can relate to them. No marriage is one hundred percent perfect. I was sitting there nodding my head. I have been married for almost 14 years and I love him dearly but I have to admit there is things that really annoy me that make me cringe (such as when he cuts something its like he is sawing wood agh) but would I change anything? No, I agree its not always perfect but hey if he can put up with me then he is a keeper 🙂

Lauren is a strong woman and isn’t afraid to ask for help when needed and she sought advice from friends and family along her journey that at times made her question things. It was nice to see Lauren come out being stronger then when she went in and she learned that she could stand on her own two feet and that it would all be okay.

I could go on and on about the book but all I will say is if you are looking for a little something different to read this summer then I highly suggest this. I am sure this will be a book I will reread again.

Thanks Book Spark for allowing me to be a part of this summer reading challenge.

Review/ Caught In The Crossfire

Posted on June 28, 2014 by Cindy

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Since I already posted my promo earlier I thought I would just do this post with my review. You can find out more about this book in my previous post today.

When I got the tour invite from Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours I quickly had to hop on board. The book sounded amazing and I have to tell you it was. I really enjoyed reading this and its nice to see finally see more LGBT coming out.

After reading the book I had to sit down to write my review and its hard for me to do because I have so much to say but I want to be professional about it. Don’t worry its nothing bad about the book but its my feelings. I am 150% for people being who they want to be and for loving who they want to. What gives me the right to say that its wrong?

Over the course of my life I have some amazing friends and family who are gay/lesbian and I care about them as a person. They are no different from you and I. Its 2014 why are we still shaming them? Bullying them? This needs to stop.

I applaud anyone who has the courage to come out. It takes a very brave person to do that because of all the hate that is going on in the world. You know what you don’t like seeing them, turn you head and ignore them. They are human too and deserve to be treated like a human.

Caught In The Crossfire is very realistic and a page turner. It was a super quick read that I managed to read in about two hours.

For the eighth year in a row Jonathan is attending bible camp at Spirit Lake. Jonathan is awkward and confused about his feelings towards boys and he prays to God to help him and to take away those feelings. As the mother in me I just wanted to reach into the book and comfort Jonathan. He was struggling because he was raised a devoted Christian. He was worried about how people would react. He knew what the world was like and that scared him.

Enter Ian who is attending the camp for the first time. I loved Ian. Ian is a tell it like it is person and he isn’t afraid of the outcome of his actions or voice. This is the perfect person that Jonathan needed during the camp. He gives Jonathan the courage to be who is.

Will Jonathan be able to come to terms about himself?

Review/ Crafty Dolls

Posted on June 26, 2014June 30, 2014 by Cindy

Crafty Dolls by Jane Bull
Format: Hardcover
Published by Penguin on 2014-06-30
Pages: 128
Goodreads
Genres: Crafts & Hobbies, General, Needlework, Stuffed Animals

Make adorable dolls and discover inspirational ideas for designs and outfits with DK's new title, Crafty Dolls. In this book, you'll find pretty patterns and basic templates. It's full of ideas for how to make rag dolls, knitted dolls, and doll clothes. Learn basic skills to knit and sew an amazing collection of clothes for a rag doll's wardrobe.

I received this book for free from publisher/pr firm in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

You might recall a few weeks ago I hosted the Jane Bull author stop here on my blog ( read about it here ) and it was so much fun taking part in her tour.

Jane Bull knitted a doll of herself and sent it out across Canada on a blog tour to promote her newest book Crafty Dolls. Which reminds me I need to go and check the other blog stops on her tour to see what kind of fun things Jane has done.

The doll was beautiful and I have to say I wish I could knit because I would make a doll. Isn’t that doll cute?

Since getting the book I have looked at it numerous times. Wondering what kind of doll I should make because there is so many to choose from. There are Lottie rag dolls, with all kinds of clothing and accessories, there are ballerinas, a fairy doll, a night time doll, Shelly the Mermaid, Cinder/Cinderella, yarn dolls, lavender girls, doodle dolls, little Lottie’s made with felt and pillow dolls.

I have actually spotted a few things that I am going to make perhaps as gifts since they seem simple and easy and a non sewer like me probably could do. I have to say that I can sew with just a needle but when it comes to a sewing machine…ya thats a whole other story. I guess I should have paid closer attention when I was in home ec at school.

If you ever picked up a DK book you will say they are probably one of the best craft books (and actually any of the books in their line) out there because they always include beautiful photos to go with practically each step, the instructions are simple and easy to follow, the items you need to make the item is in your local store, they include tons of handy tips and so much more.

With Crafty Dolls they have included all of the above plus patterns you will need to make the dolls and in the back Jane shows you how to stitch (the various stitches you will need to complete the dolls) and knit. Which is perfect if you are picking up the book and I no clue on how to do it. Thankfully I do some cross stitching so I am getting good at that part.

If your looking for the perfect gift for some who is crafty then I highly recommend this.

Thanks Chris for sending me this.