Cilla McGowan, washed-up star, comes to Virginia to restore her famous grandmother's house. But someone doesn't want Cilla around, determined to do anything to drive her out of town. But she's not alone; her hot and quirky neighbor, Ford Sawyer, a comic book author, is close at hand to help...And to keep her in Virginia.


What makes this book (if you saw the TV movie, the book is way better, even though you know who did it) memorable is Ford Sawyer. He deserves five stars all on his own. I love the guy. What's not to love after all. He was nerdy, quirky, hot, protective, loyal, deceptively laid back and relaxed and so damned in love it made me want to go out and find me a Ford of my own.
Compared to him, Cilla, the heroine, paled and I must say I didn't really know her, not even in the end. It's not every day the heroine plays such a second fiddle to the hero. She was rather formulaic, a pretty standard NR heroine with a chip on her shoulder and an independent streak. But she was rather bland and generic.
Heck, Spock the dog had more personality than she did. The supporting cast was more interesting than she was. I don't know how to explain it, she left me quite cold and disinterested.

The suspense was good, even though I knew who the villain was. If I didn't, the identity would've been a huge surprise, something I wouldn't have seen coming, which is always a plus. The big bad was pleasantly twisted, wearing a perfectly innocuous mask, which made the big reveal that more coldly shocking.

The book started off rather slow and I didn't much care for the flashback/dream scenes, but it picked up the pace toward the end, creating a nice feeling of anticipation. The hero was adorable, the supporting cast provided a nice backdrop to the story and the shop talk, though rather abundant, didn't deter from the overall enjoyment.

Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.

 

The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion—and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain.

 

In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned.

 

At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all- black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college—and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University.

Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.

I agreed to read an ARC copy of C.H.U.D. Lives even though I honestly couldn’t remember if I had ever seen the movie. I didn’t think it would matter too much if I hadn’t. (I know, I know. That was a horrible idea. But I thought “Its a book with stories about a cheesy monster movie. How much background info do I need?”) About halfway through the anthology, I rented the C.H.U.D. movie. I’m very glad I did, as some of the stories just really didn’t make sense with nothing to base them upon. The very first story, for example, D.O.G. W.A.L.K.E.R. from Robert E. Waters seemed really tame actually left me a little leery of the rest of the book. I’d even given it an initial rating of 2 out of 5. However, after seeing the movie, (specifically its opening scenes), I knew what the story was referring to, and suddenly I appreciated it a lot more. There’s a story that continues the story of George, Lauren, and Bosch after the end of the movie that you need the background for as well, I think. Gives the movie a bit of an alternate ending, if you will.

 

My favorite story from the C.H.U.D. Lives!: Tribute Anthology  was T.H.A.T.S. E.N.T.E.R.T.A.I.N.M.E.N.T. by Mort Castle. It doesn’t really fit in well with the rest of the book, given the way things are going today, it was a very fitting piece to include. I think they timed the inclusion right as well, as things had reached sort of a natural climax in the preceding stories and needed a bit of a breather.  And the stories section of the book ends on an explosive note with the story from Jonathan Maberry and Eugene Johnson, called Y.O.U. W.I.L.L. N.E.V.E.R. L.E.A.V.E. H.A.R.L.A.N. A.L.I.V.E. While I’ll admit I expected something a little bit more from this story, I couldn’t deny that the ending felt pretty good!

 

This is an anthology jam packed with names that most readers will recognize. For the most part, the A-Game is definitely brought on the stories. The introduction by Dave Drake is lovely, and Eric S. Brown does a great job with the interview with Andrew Bonime at the beginning, and the interview at the end with Parnell Hall. One of my favorite things about the  C.H.U.D. Lives!: Tribute Anthology  was the flow. It’s obvious that a lot of work and thought went into this book, and it paid off in a big way. While I might not be a fan of every story in the book, I’m definitely a fan of the book as a whole.

 

I think that for true C.H.U.D. lovers, the  C.H.U.D. Lives!: Tribute Anthology  is a must-read. Other readers will enjoy it as well (especially once you’ve seen the movie!)

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.

Trilogy – three sets of 43 poems each – opens by painting an impression of London after the Blitz, an experience which she likens to the destruction of Pompey, and she looks to the ancient world to help interpret this modern catastrophe. The work evolves, though, into an exploration of the importance of poetry (not omitting a brief assertion of the Imagist manifesto) and the distinctive contribution of women as interpreters of our world. She seems to veer into a recognizably Christian perspective, but this impression fades as she concentrates instead on the status of Mary Magdalene and challenges the male values that have had too much weight and for too long. Her system is ultimately pagan, polytheistic and inclined toward matriarchy and the achievement of her writing is to make this system credible, appealing. She has come close to constructing something mythical. For anyone aspiring to invent a new religion from the scraps of the old, a really good poet is worth a dozen theologians.

This is book #8, in the Porthkennack series.  This title can be read as a standalone novel.  For reader enjoyment and understanding of the series, I always recommend reading the series books in order.

 

Mack & Nathan have a hot history.  One that they agreed they would keep private.  Mack is already under the weather and needs to recuperate without added stress.  Only he wants to be more with Nathan and does not know how.

 

Nathan is really needing to move on.  For right now, he helps a man who he wants to keep.  Only he promised to keep things simple.  Can he convince his new roomy that complicated is better?

 

This was such a sweet story.  Unexpectedly light in some parts, I really felt the story deeply.  I sure hope we see these characters again.  Compelling for more than one reason, this book is a sure win!  I give this story a 3/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

 

 

***This ARC copy was given by Netgalley and its publisher, in exchange for an honest review.