Category: Tour-Pump Up Your Promo

PUB DATE: June 2009

Thank You to Dorothy at Pump Up Your Promotion for sending me this book and allowing me to be a part of the July virtual tour of it.

This is Nancy Thayer’s latest book. I just love the cover of it and if this doesn’t say summer then I don’t know what does. How I would love to be there right now.

Nancy Thayer has written several New York Times best sellers. Before signing up for this tour I have to admit that I have never heard of Nancy before and after reading Summer House I am curious at pick up some of her earlier books to read.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

At thirty, Charlotte Wheelwright remains the dreamer she’s always been. But when she begins an organic garden on a portion of her grandmother’s land, Charlotte learns to plant her feet in solid ground and begins to build a new life.

More often than not, ninety-year-old Nona Wheelwright contentedly spends her time reminiscing about days gone by. But with her family’s annual reunion and financial meeting looming, Nona must give up her days of quiet solitude to soothe her easily riled up family.

For decades Charlotte’s mother, Helen, who married into the illustrious Wheelwright family, has been pressured to adhere to their way of life. But when, during the course of the family’s annual summer retreat, she discovers her husband’s betrayal, Helen wonders if she sacrificed her dreams for the wrong reasons.

Artfully written and set on the glorious island of Nantucket, Nancy Thayer’s Summer House is a vibrant and stirring novel about family, love, and daily choices that affect entire lives.

New York Times calls it, “a Nantucket family-reunion story…well-wrought, appealing book will come as a pleasant surprise…packed with literally down-to-earth charm, what with a central character who escapes her family of starchy bankers by lovingly tending her vegetable garden.”

MY THOUGHTS:

This is my first time reading anything by Nancy Thayer and I have to say I really enjoyed reading the book. I am just wondering if this story will be continued as there was alot of open gaps that left me wondering alot of things.

While I was reading it I have to admit that Nona was my favorite. I loved reading about her memories. She seems like a great grandmother to have. It was nice reading them as it made you feel you were actually there with her.

Summer House is about three generations of Wheelwright’s. The Wheelwrights run a very well known bank in Nantucket that has been the family business for many generations.

From the outside it looks like the Wheelwrights have the perfect lives but on the inside its not what it appears.

The three main characters in the book seem to tell the story. There is Nona who is the matriarch of the Wheelwright’s and is 90 years old. She has two grown children, Grace & Worth. Grace is married and has three grown daughters. Worth is married to Helen and has three grown children as well. Their daughter Charlotte is 30 and is living with Nona.

Nona gave us a glimpse into her life from the time she was introduced into the Wheelwright family. She over heard Herb’s(her deceased husband)mother and father telling her they didn’t think she was good enough for the family when she was younger. She tried very hard to fit into this family. She always wondered when and if she would fit in.

Helen is in her 60s and is having to deal with alot of things and basically has alot on her plate. What will she do when she finds out about Worth’s secret life? Will she be able to confide in anyone? Will she be able to forgive him? She wonders when will she be a grandmother. She is very much like Nona trying to fit into the family and basically just goes with the flow.

Charlotte is Helen’s 30 year old daughter who is basically a free spirit. She is a dreamer and that is what the family sees her as. She has no real goals in her life and never sees things through. When she goes to live with Nona she feels as though she has found her calling in life and has set up an organic farm. When the family hears she made a profit they feel as though their is favorites within the family. Is that true? Will she be able to see things through and start a new life? What will Nona have to say about letting Charlotte having that little piece of land to the family? Will she be able to find happiness and be with a man, Coop or Whit?

It was nice to read Summer House because it appears as though this family has it all but when you look behind close doors they aren’t that perfect family the appear to be. Each family has their own secrets and some surprising then others.

Reading Summer House I almost felt like I was there. I love a book like that. I think one day I will have to go to Nantucket.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nancy Thayer is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Hot Flash Club, The Hot Flash Club Strikes Again, Hot Flash Holidays, The Hot Flash Club Chills Out, and Moon Shell Beach. She is also the author of a new June release, Summer House. She is the mother of Samantha Wilde, whose debut novel, This Little Mommy Stayed Home, comes out on June 23. Nancy lives on Nantucket.

You can visit her website at http://www.nancythayer.com/.

PUB DATE: December 2008

Thanks to Dorothy at Pump Up Your Promo for sending me this book. I am sorry for the delay in posting this but this month has been a bad month with being sick.

Jack Thigpen is called into investigate what is believed to be a car insurance scam. Jack gets more then what he bargained for. In the beginning of the book Jack is diagnosed with CJD which is Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease. Its the human version of mad cow. I have to say that this touched a soft spot for me because this disease is very real and you can die from this. The reason I know this is because about 20 or so years ago my uncle died from this. It was very sad to watch such a healthy person die from this.

While Jack is investicating the possible car insurance scam he calls in his best friend Hal in to help him out but Hal ends up being killed. Jack vows to find the people responsible for killing Hal. While Jack is struggling to deal with the lose of Hal he is also struggling to deal with his own uncertain future.

Jack survives numerous attempts on his life from being shot at to surviving an explosion. Through it all Jack never dies. I really enjoyed this book. I found it too be a page turner and the story flowed with enough action, murder, and a kidnapping. Just when you think you figure out who is behind it all it changes so it keeps you on the edge of your seat. Another thing I enjoyed was that it took place in Detroit. A place I visted several years ago. It was the perfect setting for the book.

PUB DATE: September 2008
GENRE: YA Romance

I have to start off by thanking Dorothy at Pump Up Your Promo for inquiring if I would be interested in reading this and to Barry AKA Storyheart for sending me the book. I really enjoyed reading the book. It was such a cute story about love and friendship.

The book starts with Fred who is 15 years old and he is on a plane on his way to America. He is going to go and visit friends of his parents. His parents are away on holiday in Australia. They won a contest for two and were unable to take Fred. Fred had the choice of either going to Scotland to visit his grandparents or to America. He chose America.

Fred has a hard time understanding the American culture and some of the language they use. There is some differences in the words that they use in England and the words used here. For example: Dummy in England is a Pacifier here and Eggplant here is Auborgine there.

Fred is in love with Brittany (the daughter of his parents friends). He sees how quiet Brit gets when Steve shows up and starts threatening them. She confides in Fred about what has happened. They set out to seek revenge for what he has do to her and her friends. He wants to make sure that once he goes back to England that Brit and her friends will be safe and out of trouble.

Brit’s parents take them both to a baseball game. The Mets vs The Braves. During the game Fred catches Chip Evans 500th hit. No sooner has it caught the ball he is hit with offers of how much does he want for that ball. They make a quick getaway. Fred won’t sell the ball for any amount of money. The rep for the Braves makes contact with Fred and Fred makes him an offer he can’t refuse. Fred wants to make sure that Brittany won’t forget about him when he goes home.

There is so many great points to the book that I am dying to share with you but I don’t want to give away too much of the book. Its a really cute book that I suggest you go out and get.