Sunday, May 24, 2015

Once Upon a Cowboy... a book review

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Once Upon a Cowboy

A Whisper Creek Novel, #3
Random House Publishing Group
Available: June 30, 2015
ISBN: 9781101884966
Contemporary Romance



Publisher's Description:
 
Yoga instructor Jessalyn Alcott radiates peace, calm, and serenity—on the outside. Inside, she still feels like the broken, desperate girl from the trailer park. She's got dark secrets she can't share, which is why she never lets her relationships go beyond the third date. But when she travels to the Whisper Creek dude ranch for a friend's wedding, Jess is enchanted by a cowboy whose deep blue eyes, dimpled smile, and rock-hard body make it tough to remember why she keeps running scared.

Cole Driscoll has struggled to find his place on a family ranch where he's always played second fiddle. His future might be uncertain, but he's sure of one thing: He wants Jess by his side. Easier said than done. When it comes to getting close, she's full of excuses, and he longs to fix the hurt he sees in her eyes. Now that she's at Whisper Creek, there's nothing he wants more than to break down the walls around her heart and heal her pain with the power of love.

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Maggie McGinnis has outdone herself in Once Upon a Cowboy.  In this third book of the Whisper Creek series, we come alongside Jess, the last of the three college friends who are slowly marrying off to Whisper Creek men.  We meet all three in Accidental Cowgirl; but Jess' story in Once Upon a Cowboy brings home what many women survive: abuse from the ones who should be protecting them. 

Maggie has penned a heart-felt story of how the past not only affects your past, but also your present and future.  As Jess' story unfolds, she realizes she must face her demons from the past if she is ever going to move forward.  Unfortunately, I could relate to the emotions Jess was reliving.  I laughed with my character "friends," felt my heartbreak as Jess' story slowly unfolded, and cheered her on as she began trusting others.

Thank you, Maggie McGinnis, for bring these characters to life in your Whisper Creek series!

I received a complimentary e-copy of Once Upon a Cowboy from Random House Publishing and NetGalley for my honest review.

Happy reading,

     Ellen

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Inside the O'Briens... a book review

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An amazing and heart-rending read....
an insider's look showing how to live well, and die honorably, with Huntington's Disease.


Publisher: Gallery Books
Available April 2015
ISBN 9781476717777
Medical Fiction




Publisher's Description:


Joe O’Brien is a forty-four-year-old police officer from the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Charlestown, Massachusetts. A devoted husband, proud father of four children in their twenties, and respected officer, Joe begins experiencing bouts of disorganized thinking, uncharacteristic temper outbursts, and strange, involuntary movements. He initially attributes these episodes to the stress of his job, but as these symptoms worsen, he agrees to see a neurologist and is handed a diagnosis that will change his and his family’s lives forever: Huntington’s Disease.


Huntington’s is a lethal neurodegenerative disease with no treatment and no cure. Each of Joe’s four children has a 50 percent chance of inheriting their father’s disease, and a simple blood test can reveal their genetic fate. While watching her potential future in her father’s escalating symptoms, twenty-one-year-old daughter Katie struggles with the questions this test imposes on her young adult life. Does she want to know? What if she’s gene positive? Can she live with the constant anxiety of not knowing?


As Joe’s symptoms worsen and he’s eventually stripped of his badge and more, Joe struggles to maintain hope and a sense of purpose, while Katie and her siblings must find the courage to either live a life “at risk” or learn their fate.

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Never having read any of Lisa Genova's previous books, I was totally unprepared for the open and honest portrayal of a family living with Huntington's Disease... the ups, the downs, the anger, the fear.  We have been given a gift to not only learn about the disease itself, but also the challenges and unknowns for families living with this horrendous diagnosis.


Lisa Genova graduated valedictorian, summa cum laude from Bate College with a degree in Biopsychology and has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from Harvard University.  With her training in the neurosciences and her wonderful storytelling, she has crafted a story with characters who could very well be our neighbors.  We are given an "insider's" look into the devastating physical and emotional challenges of families living with Huntington's Disease.


I look forward to reading Still Alice about a Harvard professor who suffers early onset Alzheimer's Disease.  Then, just maybe, I will see the motion picture created from the book.


I received a complimentary e-copy of Inside the O'Briens from NetGalley and Gallery Books for my honest review.


Happy reading,


    Ellen
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