RebeccasReads

Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket

Can love survive years of deception? Can a woman love two brothers? Those are the questions at the forefront of Savings Snowflakes in My Pocket.

Sarah and Michael have both suffered loss and head to cabin retreats to heal. Michael is from a wealthy but altruistic family, but all he has left is his big brother, Jonathon, the protector. Sarah is all alone, her mother and father left her life by choice and the woman who loved and raised her died. Sarah and Michael find each other and form a new family with Jonathon and his adopted son, Lavar.

When Michael discovers he can’t give Sarah the child they both want, he secretly goes to his brother and asks him to donate sperm for Sarah’s in vitro procedure. Sarah gives birth to twins, Julia and Matthew. An odd, but loving, family is formed with Uncle Jonathon and Michael both take on father roles. Everyone is happy until the deception of the twins’ birth is exposed.

" Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket" starts with a beautiful poem about memories. Each chapter is subtitled according to a line in the poem, and it’s beautifully interwoven. Your heart goes out to each of the characters. Even though you question some of their decisions, it’s obvious they are making choices out of love.

“The mystery of love is a jigsaw puzzle. The whole picture doesn’t appear until all the pieces have been fitted together.” Love is complicated, and the author creates several believable love stories the reader can invest in. We see Sarah ultimately loving two men, and it never seems wrong or perverted. The author also showcases the parent-child bond, whether a child is biological or adopted.

I only wish the story didn’t feel rushed at times, the author trying to squeeze so many years into so few pages. The predictable conclusion seems rushed as well. The payoff for investing in these well-developed characters is too soon over. But, overall, the story pulls at your heartstrings and showcases the amazing power of love.


Saving Snowflakes in My Pocket
Barbara Jean Ruther
Outskirts Press, Inc. (2011)
ISBN 9781432773281
Reviewed by Tia Bach for RebeccasReads (12/2011)

Dying for a Dance

If you like the idea of Dancing with the Stars combined with a murder mystery, you’ll love "Dying for a Dance."  Laurel McKay is trying to learn a ballroom dance routine for her best friend’s wedding. She has two left feet, but things only go downhill from there. One of the dance instructors is found dead with Laurel’s shoe heel stuffed in his mouth.
A murder mystery, a wedding, ballroom dancing… what more could you want? How about a hunky detective thrown into the mix? Detective Tom Hunter is Laurel’s ex-boyfriend, but the attraction is still very much alive. This isn’t Laurel’s first murder mystery, and her boss quickly pulls her in deeper when his wife becomes the prime suspect and he asks Laurel to help clear her.

In between learning to dance and playing detective, Laurel is a single mom juggling two kids. She’s also struggling with her mom’s decision to remarry and the hustle bustle of the holiday season. The whole family heads to Tahoe for the wedding, the same location as the ballroom dance competition. Here, the mystery finally comes to an exciting conclusion.

"Dying for a Dance" will leave you guessing until the very end and enjoying the ride while you are trying to figure it out. The twists and turns, no pun intended of course, are fun and the writing is witty and amusing. Cindy Sample makes murder entertaining in all the right ways. It’s a fast, entertaining read.

I only wish I had read "Dying for a Date," the first in this series. I wanted Laurel, as fun as she was, to be more fleshed out. Maybe that was done in the first book, but I don’t know and neither would other readers who picked up this book first. The gap of not knowing is all that kept this from being a five-star read.


Dying for a Dance
Cindy Sample
L & L Dreamspell 2011
ISBN 9781603184274
Reviewed byTia Bach for RebeccasReads (1/12)

Against The Storm

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I agreed to review “Against the Storm” by author Kat Martin but…I certainly didn’t expect to read a romance novel that was as fast-paced, compelling and interesting as one of today’s well-written action / adventure novels. After finishing my copy of “Against the Storm” I can completely understand why Kat Martin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.

The premise of “Against the Storm” is this: Maggie O’Connell is a beautiful and extremely talented photographer who has, unfortunately, managed to acquire a stalker. Maggie has used all of the legal options available to her; she’s even gone so far as to move but she can’t rid herself of this psycho. When the stalking first started Maggie even went to the police but they were absolutely no help; in fact, they seemed to think she was making it all up.

One afternoon while Maggie was having lunch with a friend she happened to witness Trace Rawlins, a private investigator, intercede and handle a bad situation before it turned worse. Impressed by what she saw; knowing she needs more help than what the local authorities are willing to provide Maggie calls Trace’s office to set up a meeting. She hopes that he will be able to help her; that somehow he can make this nightmare that has become her life go away.

Trace Rawlins is an attractive, ex army ranger who has retired and now works as a private investigator. Trace’s instincts are sharply honed and while he can tell Maggie is genuinely fearful about her predicament he can also sense that she’s hiding something from him. If the threats and letters Maggie showed him are real then Trace isn’t sure why the police aren’t more helpful. Against his better judgment he agrees to take Maggie’s case…apparently he’s a sucker for beautiful redheads.

I don’t want to give anymore of “Against the Storm” away; suffice it to say that what follows is an extremely believable and well-written story. Definitely a five-star book and a “must read” for anyone who enjoys sitting down with a great book.

Against The Storm
Kat Martin
a MIRA book / Harlequin (2011)
ISBN  9780778312925
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (10/11)

Free Love: True Stories of Love and Lust on the Internet

I tried Internet dating once, several years ago. I quickly discovered it wasn’t for me. I was totally honest about my profile, but the majority of the men who contacted me were not. They were incorrect about their height, athletic physiques and their employment status.  I decided this wasn’t a good avenue to find a mate. I ended up having to go the old fashioned blind date route!

I do have to admit that out of pure fascination I still find myself lurking on Internet dating sites. I have a student that belongs to just about every free and paid online dating site out there, so I get to access them through her. I am looking for a date? No. Am I looking for a casual intimate encounter? No. I just find the ads absolutely fascinating. Well, some of them are downright entertaining, but I will admit that quite a few are boring and need some work.  This is especially true in the area of photographs. People should never try to post a picture of themselves that they took on their own.

 “Free Love” covers just about every avenue that a person might be seeking to meet someone. This includes men seeking women, women seeking men, men seeking men, women seeking women, singles seeking couples, casual encounters and missed connections.  As I read each ad, and the story behind it, I was absolutely entertained and grateful that I am not single!  I personally have known people to hire marketing people to spruce up their ads, and people who have used this forum for casual encounters.  The casual encounters usually have had more success with getting replies  

Behind each online ad is always true story. I always wonder, “Does the real truth match the ad?” In “Free Love: True Stories of Love and Lust on the Internet,” I had the opportunity to go behind the scenes and find out what was really going on.  The real stories varied greatly; however, there are a lot of married people who anonymously admit that they use the online dating sites to seek sexual encounters outside of their relationships.  To me, this is the sad part.  While many of the ads openly admitted their marital statuses, I found it sad that these people are being more honest with strangers than people that they’ve committed themselves to.

Other than an entertaining read, “Free Love” also teaches some valuable lessons.  One of the biggest one is that a person who is seeking a mate on a dating site, should proceed with caution. The potential replies might be from people who are not who they represent themselves to be.  Should this be a deterrent? No, I don’t think so, because there are genuinely good people seeking real commitment. That is how the author met his wife. It is also how my sister met her wonderful fiancé.  If you are planning on trying online dating, or know someone who is, “Free Love” is a must read! For the rest of us who are happy with our lives, it is a great book to curl up with!

Free Love: True Stories of Love and Lust on the Internet
Thomas Kelleher
East Bay Press (2010)
ISBN 9780984432912
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Rebecca’s Reads (10/11)

The Dawn of Silva

In Olivia Wilde’s novel, “The Dawn of Silva,” Alex and Shari are casting for a movie.  Alex is dead set on having Ashlyn be the lead role in the film.  There is a problem though and that is that she cannot be found.  So, Shari sets out on a mission to track down the elusive Ashlyn to offer her the role.  This search leads Shari out of New York City and deep into the Cascade Mountains.  Not only does the journey take her out of her comfort zone but it also opens her up to new relationships and new experiences.

When I first saw the title and cover art of “The Dawn of Silva,” I expected a fantasy type novel as from outward appearances these two indicators pointed in that direction.  However, after reading the synopsis I saw that I was incorrect and that the book leans more toward romance and contemporary fiction.  As I enjoy all of those genres anyway this had no effect on me, but I think that in a bookstore setting this may potentially cause some confusion.

While I was reading Wilde’s novel I found that at times it lacks a smooth flow.  Some areas seem forced and disjointed, but the story itself does contain interesting characters.  The main players fit into their stereotypical roles quite well, most particularly that of Shari.  In the opening scenes of the novel she exhibits the typical caffeinated, high energy personality that one would expect when dealing with a person in her role.  This is most seen when she is interacting with her assistant in preparation for her journey.  As the novel progresses though, new experiences cause quite a few changes.

I enjoyed watching the transformations of the characters in the book and the relationships that were established.  The ending of “The Dawn of Silva” left an opening for a follow-up novel which I believe is in the works.  It will be interesting to see how the relationships of the characters progress in the future books in the series.

The Dawn of Silva
Olivia Wilde
Xlibris (2011)
ISBN 9781462892471
Reviewed by Kam Aures for Rebecca’s Reads (08/11)