ROCK, RATTLE & ROLL

ROCK, RATTLE & ROLL                    TARYN ELLIOTT & CARI QUINN
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

Loving in fast forward...

Love on the fast track has been the definition of Harper and Deacon McCoy's relationship. In between studio sessions with Deacon's band, Oblivion, and building a new clientele for Harper's catering business, the newlyweds haven't had time to sleep let alone have a honeymoon.

Deacon convinces Harper that they need a week alone together before her business as well as a new album and tour swallows them whole. Since Texas has always held special meaning for them, they head to Galveston to recharge and remember what it's like to just be a couple.

A beachfront cottage, hours of alone time, and plenty of skin on skin action is just what the rock star ordered. Until the future once again comes much quicker than they expected, threatening to crumble not only their perfect honeymoon but also their brand new marriage. 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Deacon is a bass player for a band that is up and coming getting ready to make a big tour, but is wanting to spend time with his with his wife since they have not been able to go on a honeymoon or spend any time together in a while since she is starting a new business. Finally he shows up at her last job and tells Harper that it is all worked out for them to get away for a week. At first she is not wanting to leave but after a few minutes she is calm and realizes that she does need time off as well. They both need to be away and just be together skin on skin. Once they reach their destination that is what happens for the next four days barley taking a break for food and for a couple of nights at a local bar. On the fourth day Harper is not feeling good and she talks to a waitress that she meet at the bar. She finds out she is pregnant but does not tell Deacon for one full day and he knows the entire time that something is wrong with. Once she tells him he is frustrated that she waited to tell him, trying to get her out of always doing things by herself. They talk and she talks that night to the female member of the band, Jazz, to let her know and to voice her fears and concerns. The next morning after they talk he tells her though this was not planed everything will work out and she starts to feel better and they enjoy the last two days of the trip. One they get back into town they break the news to the band and everyone is happy except for one member who throws a fit and storms. The rest of the band is cool and Deacon says they will make the tour work. Then the book ends once again the same author as another book I read, you have to wait for the next book or who knows how many books to find out what happens and you have to wait months before the next book comes out. I really enjoyed the story and the characters once again from this author. I am just not a big fan of waiting for book after book for a story to finish. I know that for some people that is okay, but for me it is not. Too many people ask me to read their books so I can’t remember to look for a book months down the road. Other than that it was a good book. I got this book from net galley. (less)

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TO DIE FOR

TO DIE FOR                                                  PHILLIP HUNTER
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

A broken man.

A broken city.

A ray of hope.

A poignant thriller a damaged ex-boxer in London's ganglands. This powerful debut is a surprisingly empathetic read, dark but redemptive.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Joe, is an ex-boxer, ex-military, who is now doing small jobs with other guys in crime nothing to big. They decide to rob a casino and after a few days go by and he does not hear from anyone about his cut he tracks down one of the guys. He finds out that one of the other guys on the crew ended killed two days after they had finished. He then goes on to explain that another job he did with someone else a guy on that crew ended up killed afterwards also. Being a big guy this guy did not want to bring it up to him, but now Joe is figuring that he is being set up as the fall guy for something bigger and must get to the bottom of it. He has nothing to lose for his life is over either way. A good book with strong characters and you get caught up in the story as well. A great job really enjoyed the book. I got this book from net galley.

THE POLARIS PROTOCOL

THE POLARIS PROTOCOL                         BRAD TAYLOR
Posted:  Nov.  29, 2014

Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill are used to putting their lives at risk, but in The Polaris Protocol it’s Jennifer’s brother and countless more innocents who face unfathomable violence and bloodshed.

Pike and Jennifer are in Turkmenistan with the Taskforce—a top-secret antiterrorist unit that operates outside US law—when Jennifer gets a call from her brother, Jack. Working on an investigative report into the Mexican drug cartels, Jack Cahill has unknowingly gotten caught between two rival groups. His desperate call to his sister is his last before he’s kidnapped.

In their efforts to rescue Jack, Pike and Jennifer uncover a plot much more insidious than illegal drug trafficking—the cartel that put a target on Jack’s back has discovered a GPS hack with the power to effectively debilitate the United States. The hack allows a user to send false GPS signals, making it possible to manipulate everything from traffic signals and banking wire transfers to cruise missiles, but only while the system’s loophole remains in place.

With the GPS hack about to be exploited and Jack’s life at stake, Jennifer and Pike must find a way to infiltrate the cartel’s inner circle and eliminate the impending threat. The price of failure, for both the Taskforce and the country, is higher than ever.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Frist time that I have read Brad Taylor. The story is about Jennifer’s Brother Jack being kidnap after following through on a lead for a story. He is a reporter and is taken by a drug cartel, thinking that he has stumbled onto something about drugs routes he realizes that they are talking about taking out our GPS system on the drones flying by the border cannot detect them. Jennifer, leaves their mission and so after Pike follows and then the discover the bigger picture and must rescue her brother but also find the person who is behind the taking control of the GPS, for now national security is at stake. Plenty of action and fast paced story of trying to find who has what and how it happened while still trying to stay alive. Overall a good book. I got this book from net galley.

FLIRTING ON ICE

FLIRTING ON ICE      VERONICA FORAND & SUSAN SCOTT SHELLY
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

Mr. Perfect has found his kind of trouble...

Professional hockey player Zac Elliott is in top form. He's having the best season of his career, the local fans can't get enough of him, and he's in the middle of the most successful contract negotiations of his career. When the sexy little spark between Zac and the team owner's daughter blazes to life, no matter how forbidden, he can't resist.

Philanthropist Heather Ryan can't keep her hands off of Zac. If her father finds out, it could end Zac's career and ruin her reputation. What they share is deeply passionate and intensely private...until the press exposes their illicit relationship.

Now the fans have viciously turned against Heather, Zac's game is faltering, and even his team has deserted him. The only way out of the penalty box is for Zac to play hockey like life—and love—depends on it...

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This was a fast read but the story was full of emotion between the two main characters, Heather and Eric, and her father. Eric is the star hockey player for the team that her father owns and he does not want any one of the players to be dating his daughter. That was not a problem for Eric or Heather, who had just seen each other from a distance. Now things were changing in Eric’s life he was tired of dating the same type of women who was just after the glamor of lights and money. One of his off days is walking on the boardwalk in Atlantic City, and he happens to run into Heather and they spend the rest of the afternoon talking and eating pizza. After some time goes by they realize that they need to see each other and that is when the story takes off. The two of them getting together is effecting both of their lives and they feel it shouldn’t, but other people won’t stay out of their lives. The rest would be me giving away too much. This is a good book and like I said a fast read. I read it in one night. I got this book from net galley.

ANYTHING BUT MINE: WHEN YOU'RE GONE #1

ANYTHING BUT MINE                                TARYN ELLIOTT
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

BOOK 1 in an all new TRILOGY.

Rock star Logan King has come home to Winchester Falls for the annual Summer Festival. Only this time he's hauling a helluva lot more baggage than a few suitcases and vintage guitars. His closet contains more than the usual skeletons…and if he doesn't keep the door firmly locked, someone might get harmed. The specter of what haunts him forces him to turn away from anything more than one-night-stands.
Until Izzy and her topaz eyes finally give him a reason to try again.
Since moving to town Isabella Grace has found friends and a place to belong for the first time in her life. Running the Summer Festival is the perfect way to show how important her new community is. She just never planned on a whirlwind fling with a man too used to saying goodbye. Or to fall for a guy who has as many secrets as he does hit songs.
Logan is used to protecting himself, but protecting Izzy is all new territory. With everything that matters to him at risk, he refuses to let her get hurt—even if that means he has to walk away. For her own good.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a good story and is fast paced between the two main characters Logan a rock musician, star and Isabella Grace, who owns the book store in the town that he is doing a concert or many small ones for charity that he does every year in this town. This year she is one of the main people in charge of the shows, and she is also new to the town. They have an instant attraction for each other but he does not want to do anything about it and she agrees. Then the night before the first show they decide they can’t hold out and decide for the next five days let’s see if we can make this work. They both want to so much each not having success with past relationships, but she is still worried about him being a rock star. Everything is going good for a couple of days until the person that has been stalking him, Aimee Collen, shows up and Logan freezes and has a panic attack but still cannot do anything to protect Isabella, so she find s a friends place to hide until the reporters and Aimee leave. The story then goes along with them trying to pick up their lives and move on and then the book ends. Saying wait for more of the story in January of 2015, I have problems remembering things from last month. Maybe it is just me but I don’t get having to wait for the rest of the story. I enjoyed getting out of my reading history, spy, and sports books and now I have to remember the characters. I was drawn to this story because of the rock music part. Anyway, this is still a good don’t mind me the writing was excellent. I got this book from net galley. 

U. S. MARSHALS

U.S. MARSHALS                                            MIKE EARP
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

Blending history and memoir, retired U.S. Marshal Mike Earp—a descendant of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp—offers an exclusive and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the most storied law enforcement agency in America, illuminating its vital role in the nation’s development for more than two hundred years.

Mike Earp spent his career with the U.S. Marshals Service, reaching the number three position in the organization’s hierarchy before he retired. In this fascinating, eye-opening book, written with the service’s full cooperation, he shares his experiences and takes us on a fascinating tour of this extraordinary organization—the oldest, the most effective, and the most dangerous branch of American law enforcement, and the least known.

Unlike their counterparts in the police and the FBI, U.S. Marshals aren’t responsible for investigating or prosecuting crimes. They pursue and arrest the most dangerous criminal offenders on U.S. soil, an extraordinarily hazardous job often involving gun battles and physical altercations. Earp takes us back to the service’s early days, explaining its creation and its role in the border wars that helped make continental expansion possible. He brings to life the gunslingers and gunfights that have made the Marshals legend, and explores the service’s role today integrating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the hunt for the most notorious criminals—terrorists, drug lords, gun runners.

Setting his own experiences within the long history of the U.S. Marshals service, Earp offers a moving and illuminating tribute to the brave marshals who have dedicated their lives to keeping the nation safe. 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

For the most part I really enjoyed this book and it gave a greater appreciation for the job that the U.S. Marshalls do. It also brought me back to my beginnings of when I first began in law enforcement and the lack of equipment and then how over the years the training actually got much better. In this book you get to see the growth of the agency and how through their unique way of tracking down a suspect that they are able to get their man or woman faster than anyone else because of the way they are made for investigation and surveillance, just to name a few. The stories are interesting but by the last third of the book they seem to be repeated, and that is the only part of the book that I have a problem with. Everything else in the book is good and is very interesting to know. Overall not a bad book.

SHINING STAR: EARTH, WIND, & FIRE

SHINING STAR: EARTH, WIND & FIRE     PHILIP BAILEY
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

A revealing and heartfelt memoir from the lead singer of the legendary Earth, Wind & Fire

With more than ninety million records sold and eight Grammy awards throughout its forty-year history, Earth, Wind & Fire has staked its claim as one of the most successful, influential, and beloved acts in music history. Now, for the first time, its dynamic lead singer Philip Bailey chronicles the group’s meteoric rise to stardom and his own professional and spiritual journey.

Never before had a musical act crossed multiple styles and genres with a quixotic blend of astrology, Universalism, and Egyptology as Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF) did when it exploded into the public’s conscience during the 1970s. The group’s shows became sensory experiences with their dramatic staging, shimmering costumes, elaborate choreography, baffling magic tricks and a thumping backbeat. At the center of it the group was its charismatic founder Maurice White and Bailey, with his soaring multi-octave range and distinctive falsetto. After being signed by recording titan Clive Davis, EWF went on to produce a remarkable series of platinum and gold albums and headline stadiums around the world. As Philip and Maurice were profoundly influenced by genius producer Charles Stepney, as well as famed arranger David Foster, EWF elevated Sly Stone’s multiethnic “I Wanna Take You Higher” message to an even higher level.

Bailey hit the wall due to fame, fortune, and the excesses of global succes. The constant touring and performing took its toll on him publicly and privately. While White and Bailey’s relentless work ethic shot the band into the stratosphere, it also exhausted and emotionally gutted the group. In 1983, White abruptly dismantled the band, leaving Bailey and the rest of the members to fend for themselves. As a solo act, Bailey recorded “Easy Lover,” a worldwide smash duet with Phil Collins, launching the next stage of his career until EWF reunited later that decade.

Shining Star is the true story of what happens when real life exceeds your dreams, when the power and pain of building a legacy brings both joy and faith-testing challenges.

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This is a look into the behind the scenes of one of the most popular bands from the 70s and into the 80s. I have to say that my wife and I still listen to their music to this very day and I think the album Gratitude is not only their best, but one of the live records ever recorded. Also being able to say that we saw them in concert at the forum in 1977 with my high school sweetheart and wife of 36 years is something. They put on the BEST concert, for they put on a show. This book takes you behind the scenes of the total show from costumes, the set they used, Philip Bailey, gave credit to all of the behind of the scene people saying, “They could not have done everything if it was not for the road crew”. I thought it was great how he gave a lot of people credit for how big Earth, Wind & Fire had gotten. He takes you to his childhood in Colorado and how he got into music and then his way to California and eventually meeting Maurice White and his brother and the formation of the band. He goes through some of the changes of musicians and their reasons for leaving. He even goes into the engineers of the records getting the sound right once they all knew what they were going for. He gives a chapter to a man named Charles Stepney, and says if had not joined as producer, writer, musician, and engineer, there might not have been Earth, Wind, & Fire. He had worked with Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, and Ramsey Lewis, to just name a few. Their next album they had their first of many hits but Shining Star, crossed over #1 on both top 40 and R&B they had arrived. He goes on to how he would write songs and he also goes into his shortcomings as a husband. He makes no excuses just admits he was wrong for what he did. he also goes into the reasons why they broke up which was very surprising to me that Maurice White did all that he did, but they say the music business is rough. He goes into his difficulties as a solos artist and his struggles to find the right song to finally make it back onto the charts. Then he ends with how he is back with EW&F, now that Maurice White ill and he was asked to take over. Overall for me this was a good book and I don’t sweat the writing that much, for me it is the story. Plus like I said I still enjoy the music that they created. A good read overall. 

SECRETS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

SECRETS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE             SANTA MONTEFIORE
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014

Ellen Trawton is running away from it all - quite literally. She is due to get married to a man she doesn't love, her job is dragging her down and her interfering mother is getting on her nerves. So she escapes to the one place she know her mother won't follow her - to her aunt's house in rural Ireland. Once there, she uncovers a dark family secret - and a future she never knew she might have.Meanwhile, Caitlin Macausland is mourning the future she can never have. She died tragically in what the village thinks is suspicious circumstances, and now she is stuck in a limbo, unable to move on.

And between the two of them is an old lighthouse - the scene of so much tragedy. Can each woman find the peace she so desperately longs for? And can they find the way to live again?

HUBBY'S REVIEW:

A book that is a love story but it is also has a ghost in it. But I went with it for it was Ireland and I wanted to see how this story would play out. Catlin, who is the ghost is has also left behind two children and the love of her life. She is hoping for two things that she can see or appear to her children and that her husband does not fall in love with someone else. This fine until Ellen Trawton, is tired of her over bearing mother, a job she hates and a man she does not want to be engaged to any more. She leaves London, for Ireland does not tell anyone and she is not looking for any type of romance. Well then you know the story takes off from there and is really a good story with the different characters that give it a twist along with the description of the landscapes of Ireland set for a nice story. I got this book from net galley. 

THE MOTHER COURT

THE MOTHER COURT                                 JAMES D. ZIRIN
Posted:  Nov. 29, 2014


This is the first book to chronicle the history of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the most influential District court in the United States, from the perspective of a practicing attorney who has argued many cases before some of its most esteemed judges. It gives first-hand insight into the evolution of our justice system where it has been, where it is now and where it is going. It provides an anatomy of what a trial is all about in an American courtroom, featuring the most famous trials of the period in the greatest court in the nation. It gives the reader a taste of what the storied judges of the period Weinfeld, Murphy, Mansfield, Tyler, Motley and Palmieri, to name a few were all about, how they thought, how they judged, and why they were the worthy keepers of our sacred right to justice, as well as the historical traditions of the Court." 

HUBBY'S REVIEW:
This book looks at the cases or some of the more important cases from the Southern District of New York. Which as it turns out is the most influential District Court in the United States. It is also the oldest and has ruled on many notable cases for decades. It seems every possible case has come through this court. Just about every story of some importance seems to have been tried at this court and the Author has argued in front of this court on numerous occasions to give the reader some back ground. He also touches on some of the more prominent Judges that have come from this Court, as well as, some of the more famous cases. He also looks into legal and judicial, from the past and to the future. This for me was not an easy read some of the information was dry, but I am from the legal field and I would have liked stories about more of the cases since this court has been around since 1789, but that is just me. I am more into the history and at times this book got a little to technical. Also it was not a book I could sit down and read all at once I had to take it chapter by chapter, but after saying all of that I still enjoyed this book and think that the subject matter is important. I never realized how many cases of all the different types of crimes went through their court and how a decision from this court affects or can affect all of us in the United States. I got this book from net galley.