Meeting the Author Rebecca Strong

This month we read Who Is Mr. Plutin? by Rebecca Strong. Since this month had school starting and a lot of changes, a few of us didn't quite finish the book. But, with kids now at school, we are all hoping to have it completed soon.

So, we talked with Rebecca Strong over Skype. She has a beautiful, subtle Russian accent, and an array of stories to tell from her well-traveled life. She explained that she came up with the concept of the story when, after years living abroad, she returned to Russia and found herself a little confused by the changes that had occurred since she left not long after the fall of the Soviet Union. So, she devised the concept of a Russian woman waking up lost and confused in St. Petersburg and how she overcomes the struggle.

We learned that there will be a sequel, and we're quite excited to see that when it comes out. We also discovered that Rebecca Strong writes non-fiction under her normal name, since Rebecca Strong is a pen name. We will be checking those out!

Mostly, we enjoyed listening to Rebecca's stories about her travels and experiences in foreign lands. She's definitely an interesting person to hear speak, with so many wonderful tales to tell.


This month we will be reading Deceptive Cadence.

Team Reviews of Who Is Mr. Plutin? by Rebecca Strong

From Goodreads:
Yesterday Vika Serkova was in New York, eating takeout alone in her closet-sized apartment. Today she wakes up with a wedding ring on her finger, next to a man who claims to be her husband. In a designer flat in St Petersburg, Russia. Huh?

Her new reality is full of surprises. She owns only stilettos but can’t take a step in them without falling. People around her seem to think she’s lived in Russia her entire life. Her daily routine includes thousand-dollar spa visits with caviar and Dom Pérignon. And her husband is a handsome oligarch who buys her jewelry without any occasion. This new Russian life seems to be as different from the old American life as two countries’ views on Crimea. 

Has reality blown a fuse? Vika won’t worry about it now that she is a living Cinderella story. At least not until her husband drops an ultimate bomb about why she’s forgotten everything, about the work she does with her father, and about her current assignment for the Russian President. The assignment, which, as she discovers a day later, sets her against her husband in a conspiracy big enough to cost them not only their Breguets but very possibly their lives. To save herself and the family she is beginning to remember Vika needs to fool them into defecting. A perfect plan but only if she can manage it with her Russian memory MIA and her opponents set on destroying each other even before Vika’s manicure dries.

Fun and fast-paced, WHO IS MR. PLUTIN? is set in modern day St. Petersburg, Russia where your chances in life are only as good as the car you drive, the clothes you wear, and the people you stay away from.

Team Reviews:

Katie:
What a fantastic book! From the very first page I was completely hooked. Vika has such a wonderful voice, and as a reader, following her discovery of who she is after the hypnosis wiped her memories is mesmerizing. There are so many twists and turns, intrigues, complications, the book kept me turning page after page to find out what was going on.
Each character has their own agendas, and their personal twists and interactions with Vika are fantastic. Vika's conflict between her husband and father is truly a difficult one, and shows her strength and courage.
I loved this book so much that when it ended I literally said "no!" out loud, and flicked through for just a hint of more. I just Loved it! 

Jackie G:
Interesting political plot

Interesting behind the scenes spy story. I wonder how often hypnosis is used in the spy world? Russia is an interesting setting.

Team Reviews of Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren

From Goodreads:
A popular, young royal couple can't produce an heir? INCONCEIVABLE!

When Ozarks native Hatty goes “whole hog” during karaoke, she catches the eye of Prince John. He isn’t what she expects the heir to a small European nation to be: he's affable, witty, and isn’t put off by her tell-it-like-it-is demeanor. Their flirtation should be short lived, but a force stronger than fate—Hatty’s newspaper editor—assigns her to cover the royals. After spending time together, she and John soon begin dating, and Hatty finds herself making headlines instead of writing them. 

But challenges loom that are even more complicated than figuring out how to mesh Hatty's journalism career with life at Belvoir Palace. Hatty and John soon find themselves embroiled in an unusual sex scandal: they can't produce an heir. Tabloids dub Hatty a “Barren-ess,” and the royals become irate. Hatty politely tells them to shove it. But beneath her confident exterior, she struggles to cope with a heartbreak that invades her most intimate moments with John. Pressured to choose between invasive medical procedures and abandoning John’s claim to the throne, the couple feels trapped until a trip to Ethiopia shows them happy endings sometimes arrive long after saying “I do.”

Team Reviews:
Katie:
This is a fun, light read. It has a cute romance, but also has a powerful message that comes through in the second half of the books.

A couple of nit-picky things first: I felt like the political system was poorly set up. It came across like an Americanized presidential system, rather than a monarchy. With the countries supposed origins in England, moving away from the three tier parliamentary system, especially while still in Europe where this system grew to be the major political set up for Monarchies, felt off. 
Also, all the Australian references bordered on offensive with how cliche and stereotyped they were.
There were parts that were so cheesy I literally cringed.
Those things aside!
The story itself is kind of two stories coming together as one. In the beginning you have a great romance, well written, with a solid voice, even a little cheesy at times. The writing is good, with some telling, but not enough to be distracting.
Then the second part hits. The pace is... it feels like I'm skimming over things. Hatty and John are married, and suddenly their relationship is no longer important. Yes, she's struggling with concerns about infertility, but I have fertility issues, and although my husband frustrated me at times with his lack of understanding, our relationship remained central to our lives. The writing here didn't help it; it's almost like a different author stepped in to take over. The scenes became very clinical and moved in the blink of an eye. It was like I'd start reading a scene that I wanted to move me, and it ended a second later. I don't want to criticize, because the topic is something that's near and dear to me and I believe should be discussed, but the execution came up short in places. 
Then Hattie hit rock bottom and the writing and pace returned to how good it was in the beginning. It's probably debut author "jitters." But the last portion of the book definitely improved.
I will admit, going in I was very concerned about how the succession would be handled with throwing adoption in the works, since an adopted child cannot be next in line. Without giving out spoilers, Wren handled this very well, and I appreciated it enormously.

Quote that says it all for me:
To tell the truth, it was a punch in the gut... By rote, I squashed my grief, longing, and heartache, making them compact enough to bury in the recesses of my heart.
And:
Another punch. The grief threatened to erupt, but I suppressed it. At least... I wouldn't have to watch her body bloom into fertile fullness... But my line of thinking wasn't about them; it was all about self-preservation.

Those quotes are pretty much the anthem of infertile/limited fertility women. I have felt EXACTLY THIS while struggling through my own limits and fight with my body to conceive baby #2, and I've seen so many women I love feeling exactly this. I've seen it in their eyes when other women seem to glance at their husbands and fall pregnant. When teenagers fall pregnant. It's this deep pain that tears at the heart and makes it impossible to even LOOK at a pregnant woman without the pain resurfacing, or hear a pregnancy announcement and have to hide to cry your eyes out.

All up, this was an enjoyable read with a message that should definitely be talked about more. I wouldn't call it a "clean read" as there is some sex scenes, but they're not explicit, but rather tastefully handled.

I recommend it to all women, especially those who know someone who is struggling with having children, not just those in the throws of infertility.

Jackie G:
Easy read
This book reads like a fairy tale dream I would have as a little girl. Tegan has expanded on that idea and brought a very real problem that many people struggle with everyday to light. A very good easy reading book that will help to educate you on infertility.

Meeting the Author: Tegan Wren

This month we trialed a new meeting time on a Wednesday rather than Saturday. Since we have a lot of young mothers in the group, children and family time were clashing, plus a lot of us want to get out of the house during the week so we don't go crazy! At first I was worried no one would show up, but we actually picked three new people! So I'm excited to say we will be doing Wednesday meetings now.

Today, we had the privilege of speaking to Tegan Wren about her novel, and our book of the month, Inconceivable!

Will there be a sequel? Well, it looks like it! Tegan is apparently brainstorming a sequel right now!
Tegan drew a lot of Hattie's experiences from her own with the infertility, although she explained her husband never struggled with supporting her like John did Hattie! Tegan has found happiness with adoption, and we are happy for her too! We're all mommies, so we know how wonderful children are in all varieties.
We discussed how Hattie gave up her education to marry John. Tegan asked us about this because she has had negative feedback about it, but we all believed it wasn't a big deal. A husband is someone to share life with, an education is always there when you're ready to go back to it. Sometimes sacrifices are for the better in the long run. We each explain how we made some kind of sacrifice to marry, and none of us regret it. I know I myself gave up my own degree and moved across an ocean to marry, but I don't regret it because I have a wonderful family and I can finish my degree when I'm ready. We felt Hattie didn't lose anything for making a similar choice.
We touched on the political system and how it felt more congressional rather than parliamentary, which only bothered little Aussie raised under parliamentary system me haha!
All up, Tegan was a delight to talk to, and we're all glad to hear about plans for a sequel.

Next month, our chosen book is:

Meeting the Author Sharon Bayliss

Today we got to speak with Sharon Bayliss, author of our read this month, Destruction. Personally, I'm a huge Bayliss fan and have read all her books, so I was pretty excited about this.
Sharon had her cute boys "helping" her out, which as moms we appreciated!
Sharon shared some great insight with us, like how she originally planned to tell the story through Amanda's perspective, but ultimately David took over, which worked out better in the end because he doesn't come across as the ultimate bad guy, which, understandably, Amanda's perspective would portray.
We discussed favorite scenes, asked about certain scenes, and had great questions which are totally spoiler-y so I'm not going to share!
We did agree that Patrick is our favorite character and Sharon's not allowed to hurt him, or kill him. There was some threats... But we all agreed that he's just the nice guy that deserves to win and be happy in the end. Crazy family and all...

Sharon was lovely to talk to, and we had a really positive experience, and are snapping up book 2 and the recently released book 3.

Our book for this month is Inconceivable! by Tegan Wren. We will be meeting on the second Wednesday of the month now, instead of the Saturday, in hopes that more of our group and possibly some new people, can make it.

Team Reviews of Destruction by Sharon Bayliss

From Goodreads:
David Vandergraff wants to be a good man. He goes to church every Sunday, keeps his lawn trim and green, and loves his wife and kids more than anything. Unfortunately, being a dark wizard isn't a choice.

Eleven years ago, David's secret second family went missing. When his two lost children are finally found, he learns they suffered years of unthinkable abuse. Ready to make things right, David brings the kids home even though it could mean losing the wife he can’t imagine living without. 

Keeping his life together becomes harder when the new children claim to be dark wizards. David believes they use this fantasy to cope with their trauma. Until, David's wife admits a secret of her own—she is a dark wizard too, as is David, and all of their children. 

Now, David must parent two hurting children from a dark world he doesn’t understand and keep his family from falling apart. All while dealing with the realization that everyone he loves, including himself, may be evil.

***We're still waiting on a few members to post reviews due to the craziness of summer. Thank you for your patience!***

Team Reviews:

Katie:
***Full Disclosure: I was the Acquiring Editor for this book***

Sharon is an awesome storyteller. What I love most about this book is that the characters are so alive and even kind of nuts. They are dark wizards that want to be good, and so struggle with all their might to be good.

Destruction follows David, husband of Amanda, and father of teenagers Jude, Patrick, and Emmy. It's starts when David is called to tell him his long lost children, Xavier and Evangeline, have been found, but their mother, Crystal, has been murdered. He is to take custody of the two teens, that his wife knows nothing about.
When he brings them home, the expected hell breaks loose when his wife is furious about his affair from years before, and their children are furious at his betrayal. But the two new siblings reveal something about them which they didn't know; they are all dark wizards and witches.
The children all start acting out and using their new found powers recklessly.

Jackie G:
When I first started this book I was very confused. I got about 2/3 of the way through and said I was done. Being one to not give up I decided to give the book another try. I started over at the beginning and I am glad I did.
This is a family that has gone through a lot. I really enjoyed the book. I am glad that I did not give up. I recommend this book to all who have an open mind as to what a family is. Good read. 

Meeting the Author Katie Hamstead

This month we read Princess of Tyrone by Katie Hamstead. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

We talked about Apolline the most. Everyone loved how strong she was, but still had a sense of naivety since she'd lived a sheltered life on her isolated planet. Despite her sheltered existence, she was strong, brave, and independent.

We enjoyed how in the end Apolline and Allard worked together to conquer their opposition. It wasn't about one giving way to the other, but it was a team effort, using both their strengths to get through.

The side characters were fun and interesting too. Some secrets about the fairies may have been spilled, and also the future of the store keeper Charlie.

We discussed how each book features one of the seven deadly sins as a source of dark magic, the book titles for all seven books were revealed and explained that they create a palindrome format.

We briefly talked about the books to come, and that book 2, featuring Hansel and Gretel, is in the pipeline in edits.

Swag was handed out for the book; stickers and postcards. Left over swag was put out and other swag that I have accumulated.

We followed up by talking about sequels of the books we've already read. Some have their sequels out, some have sequels coming out soon. We showed recent covers, including one that follows our selection for this month.


On that note, this month we are reading Destruction by Sharon Bayliss.