Sophia Rose Reviews: I Hate Everyone by Michelle Franklin

It's once again time to turn the blog over to the very capable hands of Sophia Rose, today she's reviewing a non-fiction about how an introvert handles humanity and is a sequel to I Hate Summer.
Take it away Sophia Rose!

I Hate Everyone:  An Introvert’s Miserable Adventures With Mailmen, Children, Chocolate, The Outdoors, and The Human Condition by Michelle Franklin

Non-Fiction

Publisher:  Self

Published:  1.30.18

Pages:  351

ASIN:  B079HB53X1

Format: eARC

Source: Author

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads

GoodReads Blurb:

This is a book about how one introvert tries to understand humanity.

It is also about chronic illness, biscuits, tea, strangers, metal, and death.

While the previous book in this series was about my war with the seasons, this book is about my trials in trying to relate to people and how I brook the nonsenses of humankind more than it deserves. The world has become a cacophony of complaints, a morbid symphony with too many untuned notes, and though I might not understand why the orchestra plays the way it does, I still listen, trying to decipher some sort of purpose in the upper notes.

Review: In The Midnight Hour - Flatiron 5 #3 by Deborah Cooke

Deb Cooke is one of my all time favorite authors and I eat up everything she writes, In the Midnight Hour is #3 in her fabulous Flatiron Five series set in Manhattan featuring a very cosmopolitan fitness club and the enigmatic owner operators. I've been waiting a long time to learn where the enigmatic, mysterious Damian goes every Friday at Five and it was worth the wait.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9781988479248
Publisher: Deborah Cooke
Release Date: 01-25-2018
Length:238
Flatiron Five #3
Source: Author
Buy It: Amazon/B&N/Kobo/IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

Damon has a secret…

Every Friday night, the F5 partner who is the quiet powerhouse leaves on the dot of five without explanation. Where does Damon go? What does he do? His partners want to know, but Damon can’t bring himself to share the truth about his mom’s battle with cancer. She’s the anchor in his life and he doesn’t know how he’ll go on without her. In the middle of the night, when he’s most alone, he wants to control all the variables for someone, to prove he’s not completely powerless. He doesn’t expect to find such a willing, or seductive, volunteer.
Haley loves solving mysteries…
Especially ones like the gorgeous guy who visits her favorite patient every Friday night. He must be Natasha’s son, but is he also the model on the billboard for that fitness club downtown? Where did he learn therapeutic massage? Even though she’s a nurse, Haley’s interest in him and his skill isn’t just professional. She wants to feel those hands on her own skin, for as long as possible. One night, she takes a chance and asks for a lesson from him, only to discover that she has a hunger for the sensation only Damon can satisfy.

#GIVEAWAY Happy 7th Blogoversary to The Reading Frenzy

#Giveaway Showcase: The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth

Sally Hepworth is a fantastic author, in fact I chose her The Things We Keep for my Library in-person book club April read. So I'm so excited to be showcasing her latest St. Martin's Press release The Family Next Door. Sally's publisher is also sponsoring a #Giveaway, details below.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13: 9781250120892
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: 03-06-2018
Length: 352pp
Buy It: Amazon/B&N/Kobo/IndieBound/Audible

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

America's next favorite Australian author!

"With jaw-dropping discoveries and realistic consequences, this novel is not to be missed. Perfect for lovers of Big Little Lies." —Library Journal, starred review

Small, perfect towns often hold the deepest secrets.
From the outside, Essie’s life looks idyllic: a loving husband, a beautiful house in a good neighborhood, and a nearby mother who dotes on her grandchildren. But few of Essie’s friends know her secret shame: that in a moment of maternal despair, she once walked away from her newborn, asleep in her carriage in a park. Disaster was avoided and Essie got better, but she still fears what lurks inside her, even as her daughter gets older and she has a second baby.
When a new woman named Isabelle moves in next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in the neighborhood. Why single, when everyone else is married with children? Why renting, when everyone else owns? What mysterious job does she have? And why is she so fascinated with Essie? As the two women grow closer and Essie’s friends voice their disapproval, it starts to become clear that Isabelle’s choice of neighborhood was no accident. And that her presence threatens to bring shocking secrets to light.
The Family Next Door is Sally Hepworth at her very best: at once a deeply moving portrait of family drama and a compelling suburban mystery that will keep you hooked until the very last page.

St. Martin's Press is offering
One Print Copy of
The Family Next Door US ONLY
Please use Rafflecopter form to enter
Good Luck!

Audio Review: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

When the opportunity arose to review the latest novel in audio of one of my favorite authors I jumped at the chance. #1 NYT Kristin Hannah always delivers a remarkable and unforgettable tale and The Great Alone her latest offering is one of the best books I've read ever.
Enjoy this showcase, my review and an audio sample!

ISBN-13: 9781427287540
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: 2-06-2018
Length: 15hrs-20mins
Source: Macmillan Audio
Buy It: Amazon/B&N/Kobo/Audible

ADD TO : GOODREADS

Overview:

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.
At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.
But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.
In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska—a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night audiobook about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

Showcase: The Sheperd's Calculus by C.S. Farrelly a Partners in Crime Tour

Welcome to my stop on The Shepherd's Calculus blog tour learn a bit about the book then be sure and scroll down to enter the #Giveaway.
Enjoy!

The Shepherd's Calculus

by C.S. Farrelly

on Tour February 1 - March 31, 2018

Synopsis:

When journalist Peter Merrick is asked to write a eulogy for his mentor, Jesuit priest James Ingram, his biggest concern is doing right by the man. But when his routine research reveals disturbing ties to sexual abuse and clues to a shadowy deal trading justice for power, everything he believed about his friend is called into question. With the US presidential election looming, incumbent Arthur Wyncott is quickly losing ground among religious voters. Meanwhile, Owen Feeney, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, is facing nearly a billion dollars in payments to victims of sex abuse. When Feeney hits on a solution to both men’s problems, it seems the stars have aligned. That is until Ally Larkin—Wyncott’s brilliant campaign aide—starts to piece together the shocking details. As the election draws closer and the stakes get higher, each choice becomes a calculation: Your faith, or your church? Your principles, or your candidate? The person you most respect, or the truth that could destroy their legacy?

When the line between right and wrong is blurred, how do you act, and whom do you save?

March #LibraryLoveChallenge - American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin

The March edition of the #LibraryLoveChallenge is another non-fiction, this time about the Patty Hearst kidnapping; her "alleged" crimes and trial. It's not my favorite type of non-fiction as it doesn't read as a story but a journaled detail heavy account of a tumultuous time in our country's history. I did enjoy it and I know that tonight's discussion will be a lively one.
Enjoy! 

ISBN-13: 978-0345803153
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Release Date: 08-02-2016
Length: 480pp
Source: Library - Book Club Read
Buy It: Amazon/B&N/IndieBound

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin

A National Bestseller

From New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of The Nine and The Run of His Life: The People v. O. J. Simpson, the definitive account of the kidnapping and trial that defined an insane era in American history

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, a sophomore in college and heiress to the Hearst Family fortune, was kidnapped by a ragtag group of self-styled revolutionaries calling itself the Symbonese Liberation Army. The weird turns that followed in this already sensational take are truly astonishing—the Hearst family tried to secure Patty's release by feeding the people of Oakland and San Francisco for free; bank security cameras captured "Tania" wielding a machine gun during a roberry; the LAPD engaged in the largest police shoot-out in American history; the first breaking news event was broadcast live on telelvision stations across the country; and then there was Patty's circuslike trial, filled with theatrical courtroom confrontations and a dramatic last-minute reversal, after which the term "Stockholm syndrome" entered the lexicon.

Ultimately, the saga highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. American Heiress portrays the electrifying lunacy of the time and the toxic mic of sex, politics, and violence that swept up Patty Hearst and captivated the nation.