Asylum by Isobel Blackthorn

Asylum

Isobel Blackthorn

Ratings and Recommendations

Rating:4 teacups

Recommended:Yes

Book Club Worthy: Hampton Roads Book Club 
                  July 2015 

Review

When life does not go the way the Yvette Grimm plans, she seeks asylum in Australia knowing the only way to stay is to get married; as she will not qualify under family unification laws to reunite with her mother and sister. What will happen if she overstays her holiday visa? She is free to roam the country against the backdrop of “legitimate” asylum seekers who have no other place to go and are running for their lives instead of just heartbreak and disappointment in Malta are kept in penal colony like conditions on smaller outer islands from the mainland…?

This book rated a 4 for a few reasons. While it was humorous in a sad way at times, it seems that Yvette is destined to stay the same throughout. There is hope that she may do more growing as a character a few times in the book, but she chooses to be herself and remain self-centered and resist change that could be for the better. She chooses to buy into a prediction made by a fortune teller that makes the choices she makes easier for her and lessen what might have been some responsibility at all in her life. I am not sure this is what the author was going for, but, I am hoping this is not the case. 

Another aspect that bothers me about the subject matter is that Yvette makes all the right noises about caring for the boat people and their actual need for asylum and seeing her own plight as not quite as deserving, however, gets her dander up when she is treated like an “illegal” for not having a state issued medical insurance card. She feels guilty about having the freedom of being on a holiday visa while the boat people are detained and never even see the mainland of Australia on one hand. Then she get quite angry when she is treated the same as any other person with no insurance would be treated by the medical system, so even she sees herself as the same but somehow different.

Even with the two exceptions above, the book is quite comical in the way that Yvette acts and sees others and herself. She easily overlooks the log in her eye and is willing to point out the splinter in someone else’s eye. She seems quite willing to overlook the amount of people willing to help her out while feeling quite sorry for herself also, but rallies just in time to let someone else help take care of her. It is a fast read because you cannot wait to see what else she is going to do to further herself from her goals.

Is this the novel for you? Do you like your serious subjects with a large grain of salt and a serious side of funny? Do you like to look at topics from a wickedly twisted way that puts normal on its head? Can you watch the main character pass up a number of humorous chances to change for the better and just say not gonna do it? Then this is the one for you.

Disclosures

*I would like to thank Odyssey Books via NetGALLEY for giving me an unreleased copy for an honest and fair review.

* If you buy this book through the above link money is generated, however, donated to the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

                                                                 www.auww.org

AAUW works empowering women, since 1881, standing up for causes in the areas of educational, social, economic and political issues especially important to women. Marie Currie was one of the first beneficiaries of the group that would become AAUW receiving monetary help to attend college. I am a proud member and believe that the profit from books seems a fitting donation.

Super Job Search IV by Peter K. Studner

Super Job Search IV

Peter K. Studner

Rating and Recommendation

Rating: 5 teacups

Recommendations: Yes, Yes, Yes!

Book Club Worthy: No 

Review

Need a job? Parents dream of an empty nest?

A 5 star rating for a book about finding a job? I can hardly believe it myself. I actually enjoyed and was fascinated by the thought process and the procedures that are laid out to find jobs that are not advertised. 

College Grads if you are looking for a way to break into your chosen field this book takes you all the way from which part of the work force you should be in and whether your dream job really exists in this market through your final interviews. Those of you later in life who have been downsized or laid off due to the economy, at any level up to executive, this book has the advice to you also. Each of the sections are laid out so the parts that apply to your situation are easily identifiable. 

Mom or dad if you are worried about your adult offspring finding a job, this book is the perfect present, Perhaps you can even help them with interviews and decide you might want a better job yourself. The information for that is clearly presented in there to help any job seeker. It even has the answers for those tricky questions that some employers ask that are just on the verge of legal about your private life, if you do not wish to answer them. Studner has thought of everything and almost makes me want to come out of retirement to use his book to get a job. Well, almost, but this book is still getting a solid 5 from me and I recommend it to everyone in the job market if you think you could get a better job or a job. I wish there were a 10 out of 5 as I could not praise this book as much as it deserves.

Disclosures

I would like to thank Jamenair Ltd. for allowing me via NetGALLEY to read an unreleased copy for a fair and honest review.

* If you buy this book through the above link money is generated, however, donated to the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

www.auww.org

AAUW works empowering women, since 1881, standing up for causes in the areas of educational, social, economic and political issues especially important to women. Marie Currie was one of the first beneficiaries of the group that would become AAUW receiving monetary help to attend college. I am a proud member and believe that the profit from books seems a fitting donation.

Color Me Crazy by Carol Pavliska

Color Me Crazy

(Entangled Select Contemporary)

Carol Pavliska

Rating and Recommendations

Rating: 5 + teacups

Recommendation: Yes, Yes, Yes!!!

Book Club Worthy: Yes, in genre

Review

Does Julian’s comeback bring everything he and Cleo want from life or only turn into the fears they both harbor about being and being with a rock star…

This was a fast paced book that had me from the unique beginning. The plot’s premise was unique and fun with some decidedly downward spirals. I would give it more than a 5 if I could and will give it a 5 + on my blog. I think the adult situations were dealt with pretty realistically, as in rehab for drug abuse, to mention a downward spiral. I love that Pavliska makes the reader work for the end of the plot twists until the very end, and I think you, the reader, will too. 

It is definitely an adult novel with both mature themes and some super-hot sex scenes between the covers. So parents, be aware and make the decision. It was a great read that I did not want to put down for anything. It has all kinds of snakes and curves in the plot, but they are so beautifully written that they flow seamlessly throughout. I felt like I knew everything about the characters that were necessary and even some that were secondary. It read like a true story that I got completely lost in, which is how I like my fiction. The ending is priceless. The last couple of chapters had me laughing out loud. I ran the gamut of emotions from crying to laughing to absolutely spitting mad while reading this book. I hope you do also. 

Is this novel for you? Yes, if you like a great romance novel with some spicy adult features. If you can handle some serious downturns such as drug addiction in your romance. Are ready to be emotionally vested in your characters, this one is worth it. 

Disclosures

*I would like to thank Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGALLEY for giving me an unreleased copy for an honest and fair review.

* If you buy this book through the above link money is generated, however, donated to the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

www.auww.org

AAUW works empowering women, since 1881, standing up for causes in the areas of educational, social, economic and political issues especially important to women. Marie Currie was one of the first beneficiaries of the group that would become AAUW receiving monetary help to attend college. I am a proud member and believe that the profit from books seems a fitting donation.

Delicious Temptation (Delicious Desires) by Sabrina Sol

Delicious Temptation

(Delicious Desires)

Sabrina Sol

Rating and Recommendations

Rating:   5 teacups

Recommendation:   Yes, Yes, Yes!

Book Club Worthy:   In genre

Review

Can neighborhood bad boy, Eric Valencia, come back and keep his promise to not lay a finger on his best friend’s sister while remodeling the family bakery? Will said sister, Amara Robles, allow Eric to keep that promise while she decides to try for the boy she always wanted and watched slip away…

Sol has a serious page turning 5 star, at least, novel that is so hot it practically burned my fingers off as I read it. Definitely full of steamy and delicious sex scenes. Great plot where both Eric and Amara have difficulties they must deal with to feel successful in their own lives. Whether that happens remains for the reader to find out as I give no spoilers. Win, lose or draw, this story is worth the time. Sol keeps you on tinder hooks to see which way the story will go to the very end of the book and I go so lost in it that I lost all sense of my surroundings. That is the sign of a great book in my hectic house. 

Is this book for you? Yes - you like adult romance, you love hot and sexy sex scenes, you like when both parties have things that are standing in their way for true romance, and you want your ending to be in suspense all the way to the very end.

Disclosures

*I would like to thank Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGALLEY for giving me an unreleased copy for an honest and fair review.

* If you buy this book through the above link money is generated, however, donated to the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

www.auww.org

AAUW works empowering women, since 1881, standing up for causes in the areas of educational, social, economic and political issues especially important to women. Marie Currie was one of the first beneficiaries of the group that would become AAUW receiving monetary help to attend college. I am a proud member and believe that the profit from books seems a fitting donation.

Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance by Danielle Younge-Ullman

Lola Carlyle's 12-Step Romance

Danielle Younge-Ulliman

Ratings and Recommendations

Rating: 4 1/2 teacups

Recommendation: Yes

Book Club Worthy: Yes in Genre

Review

Rehab like a spa? Lola is unsure what her friend is telling her, but to help her first crush and old friend Wade, she decides to fake an addiction to go to the same Rehab. Will Lola find a spa vacation or a little more reality than she wants?

Younge-Ullman handles a tough subject in a romantic wrapping and does a good job. If I could give this novel a 4 ½ I would. It will be getting the deserved rating on my book review blog. There were only a couple of things that kept me from giving it a 5. One issue I have is possibly because I have a Psychology degree.  I see transference as the series legal issue it is and the damage it can actually do to a patient, especially an addictive personality. I will give in on this to some degree as Lola admitted to Adam from the beginning that she lied about her problem, although he does not believe her and they cross the line a couple of times. She was found in the end to be free of alcohol addiction and told a reason that she faked her addiction. Lastly, he does not have a license to practice Psychology and is working under a corrupt Program.  The other thing I found unsettling is the way the celebrity cases were treated. I suppose that could actually happen, it is just a distressing aspect of the novel. I would have like to see more repercussions for this behavior and the correct behavior exemplified before the story ended. 

This novel is a very good and appropriate teen romance with the exception of the above issues. Depending on the age of your teen or you, the teen, might wish to address those two issues with someone you trust to talk about them. If one or both of you are not sure, you could look up online the American Psychological Association (APA) rules on transference, unethical behavior, and investigate a possible career in Psychology. Who knows Lola and Adam may lead you to your future career. Just visit the above link to the APA website.

This is going to be for the teen that is mature enough to handle actual situations that may occur in a rehabilitation facility for various disorders a teen/young adult would face and like romance novels.

Disclosures

*I would like to thank Entangled Publishing, LLC via NetGALLEY for giving me an unreleased copy for an honest and fair review.

* If you buy this book through the above link money is generated, however, donated to the non-profit American Association of University Women (AAUW). 

www.auww.org

AAUW works empowering women, since 1881, standing up for causes in the areas of educational, social, economic and political issues especially important to women. Marie Currie was one of the first beneficiaries of the group that would become AAUW receiving monetary help to attend college. I am a proud member and believe that the profit from books seems a fitting donation.