Chick Lit

OCTOPUSSam Israel, The Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest ConBY GUY LAWSONABOUT THE BOOK:Octopus is a real-life thriller that tells the inside story of an audacious hedge fund fraud and the wild search, by a colorful cast of rogues and schemers, for a “secret market” beneath the financial market we all know. Sam Israel was a man who seemed to have it all – until the hedge fund he ran, Bayou, imploded and he became the target of a nationwide manhunt. Born into one of America’s most illustrious trading families, Israel was determined to strike out on his own. So after apprenticing with one of the greatest hedge fund traders of the 1980’s, Sam founded his own fund and promised his investors guaranteed profits. With the proprietary computer program he’d created, he claimed to be able to predict the future. But his future was already beginning to unravel.After suffering devastating losses and fabricating fake returns, Israel knew it was only a matter of time before his real performance would be discovered, so when a former black-ops intelligence operative told him about a “secret market” run by the Fed, Israel bet his last $150 million on a chance to make billions. Thus began his year-long adventure in “the Upperworld” -- a society populated by clandestine bankers, shady European nobility, and spooks issuing cryptic warnings about a mysterious cabal known as the Octopus. Whether the “secret market” was real or a con, Israel was all in – and as the pressures mounted and increasingly sinister violence crept into his life, he struggled to break free of the Octopus’ tentacles. AN EXCERPT FROM OCTOPUS:Chapter One: TrustAll Sam Israel ever wanted to be was a Wall Street trader. For generations, the men of the Israel family had been prominent and hugely successful commodities traders. For nearly a century they and their cousins the Arons had been major players trading in coffee, sugar, cocoa, rubber, soy, precious metals-the substance of modern American life. Along the way, the family became fantastically wealthy. Long before the term was coined, the Israels were real-life Masters of the Universe.But it was Wall Street that attracted Sam, not the commodities market. As a boy growing up in New Orleans he'd sat on the lap of his legendary grandfather, Samuel Israel Jr., watching the ticker tape from the New York Stock Exchange and imagining what life was like in that distant place. When the Israels moved to New York and his father took a senior position in the family business, which had grown into a multi-billion-dollar multinational conglomerate named ACLI, Sam dreamed about trading stock in the skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan.In the summer of 1978, at the age of eighteen, Sam got the chance to try his luck. At the time, he was a newly minted graduate of Hackley, an elite prep school outside New York City. Although the Israels were very rich, Sam was expected to earn his own pocket money. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:GUY LAWSON has traveled the world reporting on war, crime, politics, and sports. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Harper's, GQ, and Rolling Stone. He and his live in upstate New York.PRAISE FOR OCTOPUS:“Lawson [has] found gold…This is a fantastic story, in both senses of the word, with a freshness that recalls Liars Poker.”—Bryan Burrough, New York Times“Read this book to understand Wall Street…Someone is going to Octopus into a movie. By this time next year, Lawson will have a fat deal…The reason for that is that Octopus is an incredible dark comedy with one of the craziest true-life ironic twists you can possibly imagine."—Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone"Lively...turns a lens on the fast and loose ways of Wall Street...would make an excellent gift for a regulatory complicance officer...or a shrink."—Bloomberg Businessweek"Lawson's spellbinding account of Sam Israel's rise and fall is a phantasmagoric trip through the larcenous outer reaches (as well as the dark heart) of the world of

Reviewed by Claudia Robinson “I lie on my bed for a time until all the light goes out of the day and I begin to write. I’m desperate to finish now, I need to finish this before I leave, so that these stories and people remain here in the desert, perhaps where they belong, among the stones, and rocks, and cracks, to rest here, so that they reside somewhere at least; and maybe with time they will become less sharp, less glaring, kinder and more forgiving.” - Avi Avi Goldberg fills the long hours of his jail term, earned for refusing to fight for his country in the Military, by writing about his Israeli friend, Saleem, eager to share the tale of his friend’s life, the loss of their home, and the broken heart of his Grandmother. Through Saleem and based as well, on his own past, Avi is all too aware of the pain and resentment that living in the past, ruminating on it, can bring. Both men share a desire to move forward, to extricate themselves from the hurts and experiences of their families, to create new lives, new spaces in the world where the past no longer casts long, dark, cold shadows, and despite their differences, cultural, and otherwise, they manage to forge a fierce bond and strong friendship. When War breaks out, and Saleem is lost to Avi forever, their lives become fused and intertwined, in ways Avi never could have expected, thanks to one very special woman. Between Avi’s poetically penned narrative of Saleem’s life, and letters exchanged between Avi’s estranged parents, about him and his life, readers are given a detailed portrait of the life of two very different men, their worlds, their loves, their cultures and moral compasses. Set in the Mountains of Galilee, unfamiliar territory to most readers, Emma McEvoy skillfully manages to immerse her readers in to the land. The tastes, the scents, the customs, feel vibrant and alive penned by her hand. The Inbetween People is an expertly woven story of life, the search for belonging somewhere, finding a forever home, and family, and the similarity of the heart’s true desires, underneath different skin, of all mankind. The Inbetween People is a small book that packs a powerful punch. Not a quick read, ironically, despite it’s thin spine, but deep, intimate and decadent, and fleshy with personality, rich characters, heartfelt scenarios, and lush landscape descriptives. A perfect balmy beach day read for anyone seeking substance over length. Rating: ★★★★★ Claudia lives on beautiful Cape Cod with her husband and two children. Review copy was provided free of any obligation by The Permanent Press. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received. Pin It

I found this story of two dogs on Facebook."Both at separate times walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail, while the other comes out growling. A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise, she finds a room filled with mirrors. The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him, while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him. What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are." KikiKiki was startled by the mirrored closet wall when we moved here, but she soon approached it, plopped on her side, extended her paw behind the open door, and looked at me as if to say, "See, I know there's no cat behind here." After that, Kiki would occasionally stare at herself in the closet mirror from where she slept on my bed, but most of the time she ignored it.SammySammy still fights the cat in her mirror. She usually pauses to get up her courage before entering her room (she and Donna share the other bedroom in our apartment), then Sammy either marches past "that other cat" without looking or stops to hiss and growl at it. Sometimes she stands on her hind legs to do battle. She obviously can't stand that other cat."What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are." The last sentence in the story adds a new thought. Mirrors reflect who we are, but so does the world. Now I must ask myself, what do I need to change to make my world a better place?

Hello Internet! Today I am part of the cover reveal for Leigh T. Moore's next book in her Dragonfly series, Undertow. This cover makes me think of summer and long for a time when I could just spend my days on the beach. Well, in the shade on the beach as being part albino (Irish, English & Polish DNA) the sun and I don't really get along. What do you think of this cover? About UNDERTOW: Book #2 in the DRAGONFLY series, coming July 18, 2013! "Falling in love will pull you under..." Three friends, three dreams. One of them will end up dead. Two will be forever shattered. Recovering from her broken heart, Anna decides to spend the semester break diving into the three journals Bill Kyser gave her to read--the journals that hold the secret and that Bill says will help her understand his need for silence. But the more Anna learns about the tragic events behind the powerful developer’s seclusion, the more she’s convinced silence is a mistake. Anna has to decide if she’ll keep the secrets or tell him the truth about a past that’s been buried for decades. The only problem is the more she knows, the more Anna realizes either choice could cost her the boy she's starting to love. About Leigh T. Moore: Leigh Talbert Moore is the author of the popular young adult romantic comedy The Truth About Faking, its companion The Truth About Letting Go, and the mature YA/new adult romantic suspense novel Rouge, a Quarter Finalist in the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. She is an award-winning journalist and editor, who has also worked in marketing and public relations for many years. Her writing has appeared in newspapers and magazines across the southeast and Midwest U.S., and she runs the popular writing-craft blog That’s Write. A southern ex-pat and beach bum, she currently lives with her husband, two young children, and one grumpy cat in the Midwest. Connect online: Facebook | Amazon Author page | Twitter | Tumblr | Goodreads Read excerpts of her books on Wattpad and Figment!

I fell in love with the title of Lian Dolan's sophomore novel the moment I read it in the email pitch. Then I read on to find out there was Shakespeare. It was a done deal at that point. Honestly, all you have to do is dangle a little Shakespeare in front of me and I am on board. This was my first encounter with Ms. Dolan's work. I had never heard of either of her novels before, and I have to say that ratcheted up my anticipation a bit. It's summer. And I am in the mood to be entertained. By all means, bring on the new-to-me contemporary fiction with a side of Shakespeare and a touch of romance on the side! As far as covers go, I really like these sort of retro chick lit covers both Elizabeth the First Wife and Helen of Pasadena have going on. The're attractive and light, perfect to slip in your bag and pull out as needed on a sunny summer afternoon.Elizabeth Lancaster has made her peace with her past. What's done is done. She divorced her movie star husband when he cheated on her approximately two seconds in to their ill-fated marriage, and she is now (years down the road) happily installed teaching literature at Pasadena City College. So her ex-husband was her first, possibly final love. So her father is a Nobel Prize-winning scientist she hasn't really talked to in ages. So her mother is the most exhausting of perfectionists. So what? Life is simple. And uncomplicated. And . . . nice. But then her ex walks into her classroom, with that same charming smile and those same alluring shared memories, and tries to talk her into accompanying him to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to spend her summer making sure he doesn't fall on his face doing live theater for the first time in a decade. And she's really not going to go. She isn't. But it would be live theater, A Midsummer Night's Dream no less. It would mean being a part of a serious production. Elizabeth's life has become just small enough that, in the end, she can't quite resist FX's offer. And so against the better judgement of pretty much every sane adult in her life, she heads off to Ashland and that adventure she's been looking for.What a smart, thoroughly enjoyable read! In the same vein as Liza Palmer's Seeing Me Naked and Liane Moriarty's What Alice Forgot, Lian Dolan weaves together a lovely mosaic of a woman in need of inspiration and revival, of complex and family dynamics that reach into the daily moments of her life, of new possibilities and old mistakes. Elizabeth herself is extremely likable. The history and the current status of her relationship with FX are both presented in a way that reveals two very young, very human people who fell apart but who remain lodestones, of a sort, in each other's lives. I like that no one in the story is demonized, that Elizabeth is allowed to work out her feelings for her ex at the same time as she hesitantly embarks on a somewhat unexpected long-distance relationship with the man running her brother-in-law's political campaign. I enjoyed watching both arcs unfold simultaneously, the one bittersweet, the other exciting in its newness. Elizabeth's nighttime Skypes with the man squatting in her home for the length of the campaign were both humorous and charming. You can't help but root for them. Add to that Elizabeth's hilarious modernized Shakespearean dating advice, and you have the elements of a very good time indeed. Having attended regional Shakespeare festivals in the past, I thoroughly enjoyed Dolan's portrayal of Ashland and the antics of the colorful cast and crew of this racy adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Elizabeth's family, from her overbearing mother to her seemingly perfect and driven sisters, provided an excellent backdrop for her professional and personal quandaries. I finished Elizabeth the First Wife in two satisfying sessions and will be checking out Helen of Pasadena soon.BuyLinkageDazzled by Books - "Cute, fun, romantic, and witty."

Rating: 3/5 Publisher: Five Star Sleuths Publish Date: March 15, 2013 Origins: From Publisher for Review Format: Trade Paperback Order Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble Synopsis: WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?The year is 1923, and Richard Wikki, a former detective from Scotland Yard and now a professor at the prestigious Yale University in New Haven, CT, misses his days of crime solving. Maize Judson has enrolled at Yale with hopes of becoming an investigative journalist. When Maize and her friend find a skeleton buried in the sand at the beach with a mysterious amulet wrapped around its fingers, she and Richard set out to solve a murder. But Richard soon finds himself following well-planted illusionary clues, and as he continues to investigate, a series of events shake the depths of his philosophical, religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as his perspective on life... forever.WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK UNIQUE?Although a fictional mystery, The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares by E.K. Prescott, Ph.D., is filled with historical facts and events that were very real in New Haven, CT in the 1920's. The book explores the truths about the ruling class of the United States and gives the reader a sense that there is a lot more to the world than what is actually seen. Prescott brilliantly weaves together the threads of New World Order, metaphysics, witchcraft, conspiracy, and good and evil into this first installment of The Ivy League Chronicles series. Review: Richard Wikki, a former Scotland Yard detective and current professor at Yale is drawn into an ancient mystery by Maize Judson, a budding investigative journalist. When Maize and her friend discover a skeleton, Maize takes an amulet which was buried with the body and this kicks off the descent into the web of intrigue for both Maize and Wikki. Set in the 1920s, ‘The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares’ takes you into a world you never imagined. ‘The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares’ blends secret societies, metaphysics, occultism, politics, mystery, and intrigue. I liked the story, but I wish there was more character development and linear plot. There seemed to have been forgotten pieces of the puzzle and a lot of loose ends. I wish we were given more history about some of the mystical and secret society aspects introduced. I am interested to see where this series will go and if the author will close some of the loose ends. The Ivy League Chronicles series: 9 Squares (1) Author Goodreads Author Twitter The Ivy League Chronicles Author Facebook

Greetings and Salutations Internet! Once again I am happy to work with InkSlinger PR and bring you a fabulous guest post from a new author with a book that sounds pretty darn good if you ask me. As always, when asked about hosting a guest post I love to hear about a books setting. Why did an author chose to set a book in small town America when they could have chosen Eastern Mongolia or the restaurant at the end of the universe? Authors have so many options in front of them when they sit down in front of a blank computer screen. Hopefully, you like hearing all these stories as much as I do. How did you choose your setting for One Tiny Secret and why? Well, I’ve always been slightly obsessed with small towns, suburbs, and college towns that are located in the North-East. I especially love these areas during the fall (hands down my favorite season) because the leaves change color, the temperature actually drops (unlike in Florida, where I live), and the decorations are out of control. Halloween is actually my favorite holiday, which is the very one that One Tiny Secret’s story revolves around. I’ve always envied people who get to experience the fall up North. When I was finally able to visit some Northern states two years ago in October, I fell in love with fall even more than I could have ever imagined. So, when I started to write One Tiny Secret I knew I wanted to not only have it take place during this season (particularly during Halloween), but I also wanted the setting to be a small town like I just mentioned above. I did go back and forth on whether or not to make the story take place in an actual locale/town or to make one up, but I ultimately decided to go with the latter. Creating a place from scratch, but have it still grounded in reality by making it resemble many of the small college towns in North America, was a lot of fun. This allowed me to mold Holden Ridge into whatever kind of place that I wanted it to be, instead of operating within the confines of a “real” town that already exists. Since One Tiny Secret is a mystery/thriller, I knew immediately that a small college town would be the perfect setting for the story. I love the idea of taking a place that might normally be viewed as “safe” and “secluded” from danger, but then introduce a crazy murder mystery scenario and see how everything plays out. Also, having a sheriff’s department that hasn’t dealt with crime on a scale that the town of Holden Ridge sees was fun to play around with. I also decided to have some of the characters attend the local college, Blackburn University, and to have some of the characters be seniors at the high school. My intention with this book was to write a YA/NA cross-over novel, and by having characters that represent both genres in the story, I feel I’ve achieved this goal. I really enjoyed going back and forth between the high school, Dani’s house, her job at the town’s bookstore (which would all be considered young adult genre territory), and the college housing, along with a couple of local bars (which would be considered more new adult genre territory). The setting of a book is always very important to me. It’s actually so important to me, that I treat it like a main character in the novel. I try to write what I know, or what I know I love, and I LOVE everything about One Tiny Secret (I may be a little partial about this though). This book represents my love of many things, but in terms of setting, that means small towns like Holden Ridge, the fall, and the North-East. ONE TINY SECRET Synopsis: **Mature Content Warning** Recommended for 17+ due to language, violence, and sexual content. Just one tiny secret has the potential to ruin everything. Being the daughter of the sheriff in a small town like Holden Ridge means that eighteen-year-old Danielle “Dani” Marks’ life is under constant surveillance. She’s made a habit of staying under the radar by being a floater among

Looking for an action-packed dystopian that's different than what's already out there? You'd do well to pick up PROXY then. The synopsis: Knox was born into one of the City's wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own. Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.My thoughts:It's sorta funny that I read this right after putting up my post about animal death in fiction, because PROXY kills off a bunch of zoo animals and some poor horses. I was able to keep reading though, because although the animal death wasn't entirely justified, it was understandable in the context of the brutal setting. The action flows really well and Syd is relatable and someone worth rooting for.Even if I didn't 100% buy it from a characterization standpoint, the ending is a great example of poetic justice and sets up some interesting questions for the sequel.And now, here's the author to talk about the book!Proxy excerpt: “‘…why else do you think I hired you?’‘Because I have small hands and I don’t steal.’‘These things are all true,’ Mr. Baram answered. ‘But that doesn’t make them my reasons. Perhaps not even I know my reasons.’‘I’m sure your reasons are as noble as your visage.’ Sydney joked.‘My visage, eh?’ Mr. Baram chuckled. ‘You’ve been reading through my library.’‘You should password protect better if you don’t want readers.’‘Oh, I want readers, my boy.’ Mr. Baram sighed. ‘A world of readers, I want, and yet, all I have is you. You want information, mere data, just like everyone else. That’s not reading. Wisdom? Inspiration? Phfft! Their time has passed, eh?’ He waved his hand in the air. ‘You cannot nourish the soul with data!’” – page 35, PROXYAlex London on the best aspect of the society in Proxy: I suppose the technology they have in Proxy is pretty great, but it is also that technology that isolates people from each other and from the context in which they live. If you can afford it, you can do or get or be anything you want anytime you want it. Some might say that kind of freedom is ideal. There are no laws-- only corporate regulations, agreements and contracts. It's an entirely free market, where you get whatever you can pay for...and nothing more. None of this sounds very good does it? I suppose the good side of that is, that in that society you are free to be awful and to exploit your neighbors and abuse your proxies--no laws will stop you--but you are also free to be kind, to be generous, to be a boon to those less fortunate than you. Of course, one of my main characters chooses to be like that and one most decidedly doesn't, but they are both free to change. Exploring that, how much of what they think and know comes from the society around them and how much they can defy its expectations is the crux of the Syd and Knox’s journey. I suppose that's true of everyone growing up, in a bleak imaginary future, or now, in our society, in our time. We all have to decide who the best version of ourselves is and how much we are willing to do to become it. So the best aspect of the world of Proxy? The people in it, just like our world. About Alex London: Alex London writes book for adults, children and teens. At one time a journalist who traveled the world reporting from confli

DUEL WITH THE DEVIL The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder MysteryBY PAUL COLLINS ABOUT THE BOOK:Duel with the Devil is acclaimed historian Paul Collins’ remarkable true account of a stunning turn-of-the-19th century murder and the trial that ensued – a showdown in which iconic political rivals Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr joined forces to make sure justice was done. Still our nation’s longest running “cold case,” the mystery of Elma Sands finally comes to a close with this book, which delivers the first substantial break in the case in over 200 years. In the closing days of 1799, the United States was still a young republic. Waging a fierce battle for its uncertain future were two political parties: the well-moneyed Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, and the populist Republicans, led by Aaron Burr. The two finest lawyers in New York, Burr and Hamilton were bitter rivals both in and out of the courtroom, and as the next election approached—with Manhattan likely to be the swing district on which the presidency would hinge—their animosity reached a crescendo. Central to their dispute was the Manhattan water supply, which Burr saw not just as an opportunity to help a city devastated by epidemics but as a chance to heal his battered finances. But everything changed when Elma Sands, a beautiful young Quaker woman, was found dead in Burr's newly constructed Manhattan Well. The horrific crime quickly gripped the nation, and before long accusations settled on one of Elma’s suitors, handsome young carpenter Levi Weeks. As the enraged city demanded a noose be draped around the accused murderer’s neck, the only question seemed to be whether Levi would make it to trial or be lynched first. The young man’s only hope was to hire a legal dream team. And thus it was that New York’s most bitter political rivals and greatest attorneys did the unthinkable—they teamed up. At once an absorbing legal thriller and an expertly crafted portrait of the United States in the time of the Founding Fathers, Duel with the Devil is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:PAUL COLLINS is the author of eight books. An assistant professor of English in the MFA program at Portland State University, Collins is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and the founding editor of the Collins Library imprint of McSweeney's Books. His work has appeared in Slate, New Scientist, and the New York Times, and he is regularly featured on NPR's Weekend Edition as their "literary detective." To read more about Author Paul Collins, visit his website "Bio" HERE. PRAISE FOR DUEL WITH THE DEVIL:“Lively, immediate and dishy in the style of a top-notch tabloid columnist…fizzes with the energy and irreverence of an infant republic…Collins provides a saucy breakdown of the twisty and interlocking interests behind Weeks’ case. This is New York politics in all its gritty glory.”– Salon“Collins not only skillfully squeezes the maximum juice out the combined history and mystery of his story, but may even have solved the crime.” – Christian Science Monitor“NPR's "literary detective" once again applies his skills as a historian to a now obscure crime that was a cause celebre in its day…Using the court transcript as a primary source, Collins makes the most of the inherent drama of the case, and goes one step further to unearth convincing proof of the identity of the real killer.”--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)“This tautly constructed narrative, infused with period atmosphere, holds the reader’s attention…Collins delivers fine true-crime verisimilitude.”--Booklist“The author’s New York is a fascinating place [and] once the trial begins, the narrative truly takes off, as Collins reveals the immense talents of the three attorneys…A rousing tale of the longest murder trial to that date in Manhattan…the author’s conjecture as to the true vill

Reviewed by Lauren Cannavino Eleanor Amore has a promising life ahead of her on paper. She attends Yale, has a famous mother, a chance to study abroad in Florence and a great boyfriend. Underneath that picture perfect life lies so much more. Eleanor, or Elly as she is affectionately called, has a baby on the way with that very perfect boyfriend who happens to abuse her, her mother is dramatic and detached and she quickly learns that life and people are not always what they seem. When Elly decides to leave the life she has somehow stumbled into and doesn’t exactly belong to and head to the Bronx to stay with her mother Carmen’s estranged family, the Amore women, the novel takes a magical turn. Carmen doesn’t speak to or of the Amore women to Elly. It also comes out that Elly has no memory of her early years whatsoever. When she arrives in the Bronx, she is hit hard with immediate love, fleeting memories that remain just out of reach of her grasp and magic. Elly soon sees that this isn’t a typical house and the women who inhabit it are not typical women. The Amore women that Elly moves in with are Mimi, Itsy and Fee, each a bit eccentric, wise and full of their own quirks. Her three family members have been waiting for and expecting her return, as has the handsome neighbor Anthony who Elly met as a child but is part of her hazy memories. The longer that Elly is in the Bronx, her memory begins to unfold and her own skills at “the Sight” begin to improve. As memories of Amore family secrets and tragedies begin to spill out and her family history takes shape, Elly is further reminded of how nothing in life is often what it seems. This realization also encompasses Elly herself and as the action and mystery picks up in the book, so much truth is pushed to the surface.Suzanne Palmieri blends the characters past with the present effortlessly and the result is a clear, fun and interesting read. Even though The Witch of Little Italy is a perfect, light beach read, the material is heartfelt, introspective and interesting. The magical elements of the book are not too far fetched to be relatable, and the magic adds a certain something to the text rather than becoming the main focus. I also enjoyed how the chapters were broken down into character viewpoints; it provided for a fresh prospective to the story, but also organized and outlined the plot. Emotions run rampant, yet contained, in Palmieri’s book, and each emotion, good or bad, lays the groundwork for growth and revelation for Elly who is truly a character that the reader can get behind from start to finish. Rating: ★★★★☆ Lauren Cannavino is a graduate student, freelance writer, wine lover, and avid reader. Random musings can be found over at www.goldiesays.com. Review copy was provided free of any obligation by St. Martin’s Griffin. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received. Pin It