Audio Review: Unwritten: A Novel by Charles Martin

If I gushed, I would gush over this audio book.
Unwritten: A Novel
Charles Martin (Author)
Kevin Stillwell (Narrator)

· Listening Length: 10 hours and 24 minutes
· Program Type: Audiobook
· Version: Unabridged
· Publisher: Hachette Audio
· Audible.com Release Date: July 9, 2013
· ASIN: B00DUHT9WK
Genre: Fiction, Inspirational
My Rating: 5.0 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
An actress running from her past finds escape with a man hiding from his future.
When someone wants to be lost, a home tucked among the Ten Thousand Islands off the Florida coast is a good place to live. A couple decent boats, and a deep knowledge of fishing and a man can get by without ever having to talk to another soul. It's a nice enough existence, until the one person who ties him to the world of the living, the reason he's still among them even if only on the fringes, asks him for help.

Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all too familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. But there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself.

He will show her an alternate escape, a way to write a new life. But Katie still must confront her past before she can find peace. Ultimately, he will need to leave his secluded home and sacrifice the serenity he's found to help her. From the Florida coast, they will travel to the French countryside where they will discover the unwritten story of both their pasts and their future.

Review:
Katie is a world famous actress sometimes known as the “ice queen”. She has many fans but few real friends. Father Steady, a Catholic Priest, became her true friend when she was a lonely teen newly arrived in America. Now he is not sure how to help her when he suspects that she has reached a point of no return.

Another of Father Steady’s lonely friends is ‘Sunday’. Sunday dropped out of society nearly ten years before after a shattering loss. He has been living a secluded life on his boats, fishing in the Florida Keys and Everglades. Father Steady hopes that this pair of broken souls might find a way to help each other pull out of their own despairs and return to live productive lives.

Sunday arrives on the scene just in time to help Father Steady ‘rescue’ a reluctant Katie. Sunday offers her the choice of disappearing from society as he did. She accepts but then insists on traveling to her homeland in France. Although Katie is not the easiest person to like, Sunday reluctantly travels with Katie and becomes her support for the ordeal she faces as she tries to make peace with her past.

At first Sunday thinks he has helped pull Katie from the worst of her depression, but when he fears she is still on the edge he realizes he will have to give up his own secrets. Then Sunday will have to face his own demons as well and hope that both he and Katie can return to share peace with their staunch friend, Father Steady, if not to completely release their self-imposed isolations.

The story is a beautifully woven mix of human emotions. The author, Mr. Martin, had me wrapped into the emotions as the painful pasts of these characters is revealed. I found myself sharing the sorrow and small joys but mostly wishing for their recovery as the pair struggle to find meaning in the pain they have experienced. Although most of us will never know the fame that Katie deals with, most readers can relate to a time when we wonder about the purpose of our life. The story also makes us realize how intertwined our lives can be with those we come in contact with, sometimes intimately and sometimes casually without even knowing the impact made.

The writing is wonderfully descriptive with prose that flows and breathes. (I did love the Florida descriptions of areas somewhat familiar to me.) This is one of those stories where I wanted to reach the ending but didn’t really want the story to end. It was the first I have read by this author but will not be the last.

Audio Notes: The narration by Kevin Stillwell was remarkable. He managed the character inflections so well I had to look to make sure there was not a female narrator too. More impressively, he conveyed the emotional depths of the characters with appropriate whispers and sometimes wrenching pain. The narration enhanced an already awesome read.

I feel blessed to have received this audiobook as a free download through NoiseTrade.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway October 31, 2014

[** If you are new to Friday Pick Giveaway - Welcome!  Scroll down a bit (below book group #19) for instructions on how to enter.]

We have had a nice quiet week in Maryland and we are enjoying our visiting with our son, d-i-l and granddaughter. I have been busy the last couple of days on the computer doing work that was a little unexpected. I have mixed feelings about driving home next week. :-)

[UPDATED NOTE - US entrants I prefer, please, that you pick a book as that is the first purpose of this giveaway - to find new homes for books. The GCs are for the international entrants because postage has jumped up.]

Thank you to all who entered the October 24 Pick. There was one automatic wins again this week.  (Automatic winners are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.) There was one title blocked.
Anita gets Out of Darkness 

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from October 24 Pick:
Elizabeth gets a GC

Mary P gets a GC 

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Don't you love to have a book handy? 

Ha Ha - couldn't resist with this creepy picture.

Happy Halloween to those who celebrate.

Image found at Literary Duck Blog.

New Book Group #52 October 10, 2014
(Links to be added.)

PAIRS:
Richard Paul Evans, The Looking Glass and The Carousel
Mary Higgins Clark, A Cry In the Night and You Belong to Me
SINGLES
Duo Book: Yesterday's Memories by Tara Taylor Quinn and Amanda Stevens
Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
Destiny's Daughter by Rebecca Brandewyne
At The Stroke of Madness by Alex Kava
She's Got the Look by Leslie Kelly
Reliquary by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Behind a Mask by May Alcott
Here on Earth by Alice Hoffman

New Book Group #51 September 12, 2014
10/10 - I just realized I never posted the image for this group.

PAIRS:
Elysa Hendricks, Star Crash (personally autographed copy) and The Sword and the Pen
Anne Stuart, Hidden Honor and The Devil’s Waltz
SINGLES:

Intrepid Encounter by Rebecca Ashley

The Reckoning by Jeanette Baker

Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America by Thomas Bell Reprint Edition

Taylor's Temptation by Suzanne Brockmann

A Painted House A Novel by John Grisham 

Scandalous Virtue Mass by Brenda Hiatt 

Viking Heat by Sandra Hill 

Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie and Gennaro Book 2) by Dennis Lehane

Missing Susan by Sharyn Mccrumb

Pandora's Clock by John J. Nance - AUDIO CASSETTES

A Stranger's Wife by Maggie Osborne

The Short Forever (Stone Barrington Novels Book 8) by Stuart Woods - AUDIO CASSETTES

New Book Group #50! August 8, 2014

PAIRS:
William J. Coughlin: The Court and The Judgment
Phyllis J. Whitney: The Ebony Swan and Woman Without a Past
SINGLES:
Maybe This Time by Victoria Barrett
The Commander by Kate Bridges
So Hard to Forget by Evelyn Crowe
The Cinderella Plan by Margaret Daley
Whirlwind Affair by Jacquie D'Allessandro
Let Darkness Come by Angela Hunt
Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione 
ChiefTain by Nan Ryan
A Place Called Home by Lori Wick
The Mr. & Mrs. Happy Handbook by Steve Doocy
True Believer by Nicholas Sparks
A Garden of Friends by Penny Pierce Rose

New Book Group #49 June 27, 2014

PAIRS:
Sandra Brown:  The Thrill of Victory and Temperatures Rising
Beverly Barton: The Last to Die and Raintree: Sanctuary
SINGLES:
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
Down by the Water by Caroline Upcher
Hawkes Harbor by S.E. Hinton
Savage Thunder by Cassie Edwards
Miracle by Deborah Smith
Desperate Alliances by Cory Daniells
Never Walk Alone by Paula Detmer Riggs
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin
Running Blind by Lee Child


New Book Group #48 May 30, 2014

SINGLES:
Dangerous by Debra Dier
First to Fight Anthology

New Book Group #47 April 25, 2014

SINGLES:
Trey's Secret by Lois Faye Dayer
Once Upon a Honeymoon by Julie Kistler
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy

New Book Group #46 March 15, 2014

SINGLES:
Sweet Talking Man by Betina Krain
The Last Heiress by Bertrice Small (spine creases)

New Book Group #45 January 31, 2014---(All gone)
Out of Darkness by Lynn Erickson

New Book Group #44 December 14, 2013---(All gone)

New Book Group #43 November 1, 2013 ---(All gone)

New Book Group #42 September 27, 2013 ---(All gone)

New Book Group #41 August 2, 2013

Singles:
Cattle Rancher, Secret Son by Margaret Way

New Book Group #40 June 28, 2013

Singles:
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)

New Book Group #39 May 31, 2013 - Plenty of "summer" titles!
Singles:
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford

New Book Group #38 April 20, 2013
Awaken the Senses by Nalini Singh

New Book Group #37 March 22, 2013
Singles:
Anthology: Something Borrowed, Something Blue - this book has spine creases and minor water damage...I thought I had read it and liked it but now I realize it was another anthology I read with Elaine Barbier.

New Book Group #36 February 15, 2013

The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe

New Book Group #35 January 11, 2013 (All gone)
New Book Group #34 December 7, 2012--- (All gone)
New Book Group #33 October 27, 2012---(All gone)

New Book Group #32 October 5, 2012
NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one - A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley

New Book Group #31 August 31, 2012
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)

New Book Group #30 July 27, 2012
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Dancing on Snowflakes by Jane Bonander

New Book Group #29 June 29, 2012
Magic: The Gathering Distant Planes, An Anthology

New Book Group #28 May 18, 2012--- (All gone)
New book Group #27 April 13, 2012--- (All gone)
New book Group #26 March 2, 2012--- (All gone)
New Group #25 January 12, 2012---(All gone)
New Group #24 Pick Books November 25, 2011---(All gone)

New Group #23 Pick Books October 14, 2011
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser

New Group #22 Pick Books September 2, 2011---(All gone)
New Group #21 of Pick Books July 29, 2011---(All gone)
May, 2011 New Group of Pick books Group #20---(All gone)
3/25/11 Group #19---(All gone)
2/19/11 Book Group #18- Pairs!---(All gone).

I have finally updated the intro and Entry paragraphs here:

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in four years I have posted 43 groups of 16 (688) books to find new homes! (as of November 2013).

I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want! I am happy to say that so far about 724+ books have found new homes! YAY. I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed.

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $5.00 $7.00 and $6.00 $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.
CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 10:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up past midnight to do the winner post!
I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.
Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times and I did not note other people asking for that book during those weeks.
WINNERS PLEASE CHECK THE WIN POST ON FRIDAYS AND fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads@gmail.com. [I will confirm receipt of the addresses- well I realize I haven't always done this. But if you filled out the form and don't get the book within two weeks nudge me with an email please!] If I have the winners e-mail I will send a reminder in a week or so....

Thanks for helping these books find new homes!!

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

1/14/11 New List #17--- (All gone)

12/3/10 Book Set: #16
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown 

List #15---(All gone)
List #14---(All gone)
List #13 of Used books! ---(All gone)
Group #12---(All gone)

Group #11
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

List #1
Circle of Stars by Anna Lee Waldo

Pick #2---(All gone)
Pick #3---(All gone)
Pick #4---(All gone)
Pick #5---(All gone)
Pick #6---(All gone)

Pick #7
Prey by Michael Crichton - Audio Tape

Pick #8
The Jury by Steve Martini - Audio Tapes

Pick #9
On Treacherous Ground by Earl Murray

Pick #10---(All Gone)

Book Review: The Kindness of Neighbors (A Short Story) by Matthew Iden

This is a short, gripping mystery with a punch at the end. Well done!

The Kindness of Neighbors (A Short Story)
by Matthew Iden

• File Size: 1372 KB
• Print Length: 50 pages
• Publisher: StoryFront (April 9, 2014)
• ASIN: B00IPT3FNM

Genre: Mystery
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: April 9, 2014
No one likes Jack. His wife is gone and his neighbors avoid him. He's a recluse and a creep, and that's just the way he wants it; he can ignore what they say behind his back if they leave him to his work and his daily walks. But when ten-year-old Emma goes missing in the nearby woods, the eyes of his neighbors turn toward him, their fear and accusations escalating as the days go by. Jack proclaims his innocence, but what the neighbors--and the reader--find out is the last thing anyone would suspect.
Previously published as Finding Emma.

Review:
Jack lives alone and secluded as a single man in a family neighborhood. Even before his wife, Susan, left him they were not really part of the 'family with kids' group. Jack works at home on his computer as a freelance illustrator. This allows him time to run chores on his own schedule when he can avoid crowds and neighbors. He can also go out for solitary walks in the nearby wooded preserve.

Jack realizes that neighbors perceive him as a recluse and maybe even creepy. This perception really hits home when a small girl, Emma, goes missing. At first Jack reluctantly joins the search. He is a little annoyed by the resentment he feels when some families treat his dinner time knock as an intrusion. Then neighbors, and especially Emma’s parents, become suspicious of him when they find Emma’s bike and dark chalk drawings on the sidewalk near his house.

Jack tries to cooperate with the police questioning but he is tense and offended by their accusatory attitude. He becomes more estranged when his offer to help in the continued search is rejected as it is clear that he is becoming a suspect. Jack ends up having a fight with Emma’s rampaging and trespassing father but his actions afterward were puzzling to me as I thought “This could really look bad for him later. What is he thinking?”

Matthew Iden’s writing includes descriptions which I enjoy as being crisp and natural to the setting and circumstance. I was pulled into the eerie, creepy sensations and the awkward difficulty that Jack faced as a suspect trying to prove he wasn’t involved with Emma’s disappearance. It made me wonder how many of us know our neighbors and how we are perceived in our neighborhoods.  It made me grimace and smile at the same time when I hit the ending which has a surprise (think Edgar Allan Poe eerie) twist!

This is a fast, gripping and entertaining read. I recommend it to mystery lovers, and others, who enjoy a quick read, good writing and an ironic ending. This is the second story I have enjoyed by Mr. Iden and I will be glad to read more.

I received this title from the author for an honest review.

Book Review: Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 1) by Kathi Daley

This is an easy read, cozy mystery with a light romance element.
Pumpkins in Paradise 
(Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 1)
by Kathi Daley

• File Size: 2124 KB
• Print Length: 293 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• ASIN: B00FGCV3JY

Genre: Cozy Mystery
My Rating: 3.75 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: January 17, 2014
Between volunteering for the annual pumpkin festival, and coaching her girls to the state soccer finals, high school teacher Tj Jensen finds her good friend Zachary Collins dead in his favorite chair. When the handsome new deputy closes the case without so much as a “why” or “how,” Tj turns her attention from chili cook-offs and pumpkin carving to complex puzzles, prophetic riddles, and a decades’ old secret she seemed destined to unravel.

Review:
Tj Jensen is pretty well settled into her home town of Paradise Lake, working as a high school teacher and coach. She occasionally dreams of finding the right man and, in spite of prior attachments and the hopes of some in town, she knows that she will not get back together with her old high school flame.

As a teen Tj took a dare to inspect the home of the town recluse, Zachary Collins. Over the past ten years or so they had developed a nice friendship even though Zachary never revealed the secrets of his past that led to his bad scars - burn scars on the outside and guilt and regret on the inside. When Tj discovers Zachary dead she also sees evidence that leads her to think that it was other than natural causes or suicide as the local Sheriff is willing to quickly rule. First, there were two glasses so it is clear that had been a visitor. Second, the prized bottle of Scotch is missing.

Tj finds a gift addressed to her and uncovers a puzzle box that is part of a puzzle and code game that she and Zachary would play. She must uncover the clue to one box to find the next clue. As she unravels her clues she thinks perhaps she didn’t know Zachary as well as she thought. Yet she persists, revealing more evidence that Zachary may have been making ‘end of life’ plans but not ones that included suicide.

Tj enlists the help of Dylan, the rugged and handsome new deputy in town. Dylan helps Tj put together the pieces of puzzle while she continues her usual, uncomplicated duties at school, helping at her family’s lodge and in her volunteer activities. One of these duties includes heading a newly formed school choir.

I did enjoy several of the other quirky characters who came to the lodge as strangers but ended up being friends and part of Zachary’s mystery. I also liked the puzzle and code aspect of the story. Some of the background activity is rather mundane and unnecessary to the story. I never was sure of the purpose or direction of the school choir she was roped into leading. Perhaps it is just a set up to other stories in the small town series.

The pumpkin portion of the title seems to be a draw to the time of year as it was not really a special part of the story. The romance is a sweet early friendship for the characters that has not yet moved into a relationship. The plot and characters are not gripping but it is an easy read and I would like to see how the relationship between Tj and Dylan develops in other stories. I recommend this to those who enjoy a light cozy mystery with a light, clean, romance element.

I won this book from the author’s facebook in September.

Mailbox Monday October 27, 2014

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday.
Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and Vicki of I'd Rather Be at the Beach.
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I received five review titles: four through NetGalley, one for an upcoming Book Tour, and one audio review book.
I didn't purchase any kindle titles this week but I listed the two Audible titles I realized I forgot to list at the end of September.

(Although I have gotten to a couple, I still have many author requests to consider and reply to.)

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

I received this title through NetGalley at invitation of Forever Romance (Hachette/Grand Central Station) for blog tour and giveaway.
My review will post 10/30 or 11/3 - I am awaiting the assigned date.

Unleashed (Love to the Rescue)
by Rachel Lacey
 This is a sweet and fun sounding contemporary romance.

These titles I selected through NetGalley:

This title I requested because I love
Mary Balogh and enjoyed the last title in this series.

Only Enchanting, A Survivors' Club Novel

by Mary Balogh

 (Releases 10/28; Penquin Group)

These two I requested to read during Sci Fi Month in November:

The Genome

by Sergei Lukyanenko

(Releases Dec 2; Open Road Integrated Media)

A science fiction thriller by the author of Night Watch, the hit novel that inspired two major motion pictures

Exodus 2022

by Kenneth G. Bennett

Booktrope Publishing; Pub Date May 20 2014

Mystery & Thrillers, Sci Fi & Fantasy

I also received one Audio book through Audiobook Jukebox.
This is another title I plan to listen to for Sci Fi November:

Ravenhill Court 
by David R. Beshears, Narrated by Karen Krause

Won

None

Purchased

I didn't purchase any Kindle titles this week.
However I noted I never listed my Audible titles selected with my subscription at the end of September:

The Witch with No Name: The Hollows, Book 13
Written by: Kim Harrison
Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
The conclusion to a great series.

The Maze Runner: Maze Runner, Book 1

Written by: James Dashner

Narrated by: Mark Deakins

Free

I downloaded another 50 free Kindle titles this week. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.