Lavina

Mary Jacob grew up as an anomaly. A child of Louisiana in the early sixties, she found little in common with most of the people in her community and in her household, and her best friend was Lavina, the black woman who cooked and cleaned for her family. Now, in the early nineties, Mary Jacob has escaped her history and established a fresh, if imperfect, life for herself in New York. But when she learns of her father's critical illness, she needs to go back home. To a disapproving father and a spiteful sister. To a town decades out of alignment with Mary Jacob's new world. To the memories of Billy Ray, Lavina's son who grew up to be a musical legend whose star burned much too bright.

And to the echoes of a fateful day three decades earlier when three lives changed forever.

A decades-spanning story both intimate and enormous in scope, LAVINA is a novel rich in humanity, sharp in its indictments, and stunning in its resolution.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Lavina is a powerful novel, stretching to fill the empty spaces with a tale of hope that has no chance for a happy ending. The way the book is set up: it's like a car crash -- you can't look away once you realize what's about to happen. Lavina begins slowly with a false sense of security, the reader knows what the end will bring, but somehow, somewhere in the middle, you get lost and all of a sudden, the book is un-put-down-able and you're praying for a way to change the outcome. 

There are three main characters in this novel, with important key players along the way. Lavina was the housemaid in the 1960s (and before) for Mary's family. Billy Ray was/is Lavina's son, who once was a very famous singer and harmonica player. Mary Jacob is a children's book writer, who struggles with remembering her past, returning to Louisiana because her father is dying. Readers will feel a connection to each of these characters, but in quite different ways. Lavina is the mothering type. She worries, warns, and wipes up the mess. Readers know that Lavina is deceased, but not how it happened. Her sweet and loving personality, and the way she treats Mary Jacob, will instantly connect her with readers. 

Readers see both the child and the adult in the novel where Billy Ray and Mary Jacob are concerned. Billy Ray is a little boy who wants to be able to take care of his mother. He dreams of her quitting her job and relaxing all day while he plays music and makes enough money for the both of them. But he has a lot of anger for a young teenager. As an adult, Billy Ray has been through the ringer. He's been famous, rich, drug-addicted, in jail, and at rock bottom. Presently, sober and focused on playing his music once again, readers see the man he's become. Not the best man, but a man who wants to be better. Readers will understand through the novel's details, even if they don't agree with or particularly like Billy Ray's character. 

Mary Jacob is the hub of this story's wheel. She's the outcast of her family, the one nobody cares much about. She's lonely, but intelligent, nice, accepting, and sweet. Mary Jacob clings to Lavina because she is the only one who has ever shown Mary real unconditional love. Readers will experience Mary Jacob's nervousness at seeing her father again, understand her dislike for her snobby sister, and see what happened the summer that Mary's life changed. As an adult, Mary Jacob is a bit more complicated than her pre-teen self, married with children of her own and a career she's proud of isn't always enough to impress people you shouldn't give a damn about. The connection between readers and Mary will be the strongest of the three as she's the focus, but each character has potential, except the snobby sister Kathryn. 

The plot of Lavina is an intense string of events. In the present day, Mary Jacob is traveling to Louisiana to see her father on his deathbed. At the same time, Billy Ray is traveling back to Louisiana to play a show, kicking off his next tour. The two collide and Mary Jacob suddenly has the memories back that she had locked away so many years ago. As the memories return, the readers take the journey back to the 1960s with Mary, reliving the worst summer of her life. Mary Marcus does an astounding job in reaching out to the reader, bringing them into the story as if the characters themselves were sitting beside us, telling us everything that happened, seemingly interrupting each other and filling in details. It's quite an amazing novel, simple as that. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Teaser Tuesday (156)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events) p.11
   - Lemony Snicket

It is useless for me to describe to you how terrible Violet, Klaus, and even Sunny felt in the time that followed. If you ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven't, you cannot possibly imagine it.

While It Lasts - Blog Tour

A loan shark that doesn't bite?


Rachel Beaumont discovers her mother's gambling debt has put their family in danger of losing their money and social status. It's up to Rachel to do anything to maintain the lifestyle she's accustomed to--including hunting down her mother's debtor. But the green-eyed, dark-haired, hunk known
as Rex Greene matches none of the stereotypes of a loan shark. Her spur-of-the-moment plan to make him fall in love with her is a dangerous roll of the dice.

FBI agent Colton McCabe arrived at Callaway Cove with one motive. Play the part of Rex Greene and gather evidence in the Beaumont racketeering
case. He never anticipated the involvement of the subject's beautiful daughter, Rachel. Not only is she unexpected in every way, but she may just be the one to crack the case. Or his heart.

In this second installment of the Callaway Cove series, WHILE IT LASTS delivers a sweet romance, filled with joy, heartbreak, love, and choices.

*Review May Contain Spoilers*

Paige Rion shared the romance, the intrigue, and the drama of Callaway Cove with her first novel, Written on Her Heart. The everyday chaos continues in the sequel, While It Lasts. This time the focus is on Rachel Beaumont, the Mayor's daughter. Hinted at in the first book, the Beaumonts seem to be having some financial trouble, and Rachel is tired of sitting on the sidelines, nothing more than a political prop to her father. 

Rachel Beaumont has always had everything delivered to her on a silver platter. She grew up with money, status, and a housekeeper. Rachel is twenty-two and has no idea what she should, would, or could do with her life. In the first book, Rachel was the villain of Andi and Ford's blossoming relationship. Readers of the first book remember Rachel trying to sabotage her best friend and that doesn't lay an easy foundation to build upon. At the beginning of this sequel, I did not like Rachel. She seemed fake, uncaring, cold, and unbelievably selfish. But, about half way through the novel, I started to change my mind. I think it was around the time she decided to stand up for herself and dare to dream about the life she wanted, not the prop-life her dad expected of her. Throughout the novel, readers are able to see her changing for the better. She becomes loving, warm, understanding, and apologetic for previous actions. All good things. 

The plot of While It Lasts is definitely intriguing. At the beginning, neither Rachel nor the reader know exactly what's going on. Rachel believes that Rex (Colton) is a loan shark that her mother owes an enormous debt to. Readers learn that it's much more complicated than that, but the truth is half-hidden until the end. Readers also get to check in on Andi and Ford in this book -- they're happily living together in Callaway Cove. We also get an update on Carma, Andi and Rachel's best friend who disappears in the end of book one. Her situation is not good, but maybe Colton (not Rex) can help with that... With the ending of While It Lasts a little messy but overall happy, will Rion make the series a trilogy and give Carma the love story she deserves? I guess we'll all just have to wait and see.

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Purchase While It Lasts

Amazon - Kindle / Amazon - Paperback

*Borrow free with Prime or Read in Kindle Unlimited*

Goodreads Book Giveaway

While It Lasts

by Paige Rion

Giveaway ends March 31, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

About the Author

Paige's Website  /  Blog  /  Goodreads  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Pinterest  /  Google+

Paige Rion is a contemporary romance author. She's a mother, wife, blogger, hopeless chocoholic, coffee-addicted, wine-lover. Her debut romance, Written On Her Heart, is the first in the Callaway Cove series. Since her first release, she has completed five novellas and the second installment of the Callaway Cove series, While It Lasts. She grew up in the suburbs outside of the city, and while she will always be a city girl at heart, she now but lives on a farm with her husband and children (and animals).

Read the Review of

Written On Her Heart

Callaway Cove #1

The Psychopath Test

They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy, who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional. The Psychopath Test is the New York Times bestselling exploration of their world and the madness industry.

When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world’s top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he’s sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath—a claim that might be only manipulation, and a sign of his psychopathy. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud, and with a legendary CEO who took joy in shutting down factories and firing people. He delves into the fascinating history of psychopathy diagnosis and treatments, from LSD-fueled days-long naked therapy sessions in prisons to attempts to understand serial killers.

Along the way, Ronson discovers that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their most insane edges. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating adventure through the minds of madness.

**

When I first added this book to my reading list, I thought it was fictional. I know, I know. Silly me. Upon finding it at the library last week, I immediately checked it out and dove right in. And then I realized it was non-fiction and I wasn't reading a mystery novel but a collection of interviews, news clippings, and first hand experience with psychopaths, which sounds more like a slur the more I hear it.

Jon Ronson begins with Being Or Nothingness, a mysteriously packaged book delivered to top scientists/thinkers around the world. And apparently, you can now purchase the book that started it all on Amazon for a steep forty dollars. After being hired to find the author and why it was sent to who it was sent to, Jon finds himself on the cusp of psychopath studies. Being a journalist, he obviously doesn't even think twice about stepping into this new and strange world. The journey he then goes on is an incredibly interesting tale of misuse of mental illness diagnosis, fear, and how the industry determines psychopathy. Though there are no main characters to connect to, readers will have a simple connection with Ronson, who shares his own anxieties and worries as the investigation continues. 

Though the book does have a linear fashion, that doesn't stop it from being confusing at times. As a reader that has no prior in-depth study of psychology, just your basic 101 college course, it was sometimes hard to understand what the interviewees were actually saying. Also, it was a bit difficult to know where Ronson was headed overall. What was his actual goal in doing this? At the beginning I thought he was going to compare psychopathic characteristics to the personalities of company bigwigs and politicians to find out if psychopaths have a greater tendency to gain leadership positions. Then I thought Ronson would just focus on Tony and others who he met while on this journey. But neither was fully the focus, both were the semi-focus with the end being more of an actual conclusion based on evidence presented: the madness industry defines psychopathy by the psychopathic events. Mental insanity is defined by the insane moments. Instead of seeing the blurs, the crossed lines, and the overall picture -- the focus is on the bits and pieces, not the whole picture. The Psychopath Test is an interesting exploration of the psychology world that isn't afraid to peek inside a maximum security asylum to cover all avenues. 

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

WWW Wednesday (149)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. Finishing up this nonfiction maniacal delight. A little confusing at times but an interesting read so far.

02. Recently Finished:
While It Lasts by Paige Rion. The sequel to Written on Her Heart, book two is focused on Rachel Beaumont and her family's financial secrets. Blog Tour this Friday! :)

03. Reading Next:
Lavina by Mary Marcus. When a young woman returns to her hometown in Louisiana, the past and present collide exploring both race and identity.

Teaser Tuesday (155)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



The Psychopath Test (p.169)
   - Jon Ronson

"Usually, as you know, she finds my various obsessions quite annoying, but not this time. In fact, I've taught her how to administer the Bob Hare Checklist and she's already identified lots of people we know as psychopaths."

Fancy Pants Poetry Volume 2

A departure from the original installment, although not so far out that the reader will be blindsided. Volume Two is not just more of the same poetry, yet at the same time it is. It's not as dark and cynical as the original, yet there are still such moments to be had. You'll discover poems showcasing a wider range of emotions, extracting new and fresh colours from the palette of life.

**

Finally had a chance to delve into Agostino Scafidi's poetry with Fancy Pants Volume Two. Having not read volume one, I feel a little at odds. It's strange not to start with the first book, but this poetry collection wasn't reliant on the reading of the prior. I was still able to connect with the poet. 

The collection is written in a mix of first person and second person point of view. Most of the time, the narrator is referring to himself, but a few times it quickly switches and focuses on the reader, either demanding or reminding. The attitude of the narrator is uncertain. That is to say, uncertainty is the attitude of the narrator. The collection of poetry questions the world, and emotions, that it explores. 

Various tones are used throughout the collection. In some poems, the narrator seems confused, as if he's missed the joke and the punchline. At other points, he is sure of what he's saying, no doubt. But just as quickly he shifts into a plague of doubt. The tone of the writing matches well with the focus of each poem. Scafidi writes of the future, the past, regret, uncertainty, fear, death, and more. 

The poetry of this collection was enjoyable. It was a delicate mix of poems that spoke and those that forced the reader to think, to break down the lines. Each poem was fairly short and easy to read. Though the punctuation at some points was a bit confusing. It seemed like there were some misplaced commas throughout the entire collection. Lines that seemed to be one thought were broken in the middle with a comma, adding an unnecessary breath. 

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

The Light Between Oceans

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season and shore leaves are granted every other year at best, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, whose records as a lighthouse keeper are meticulous and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel has taken the tiny baby to her breast. Against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

*May Contain Spoilers*

M.L. Stedman shares an astounding story of choice and consequence with her novel, The Light Between Oceans. Tom, a man who death failed to claim during the war, and Isabel, a shooting star of passion, interest, and love, share a life that is eroding into despair. Their happiness, once full of laughter and hope, has been discovered as a limited resource. But with someone else's misfortune, comes their turn at a saving grace. 

Tom is an upstanding man. He was a dedicated soldier who narrowly escaped the war physically unscathed. Though the violence and loss have changed him, Tom remains a moral man. Readers will connect with him early in the book as they witness him save a young woman from a drunken assault. That combined with his military history, Tom becomes the image of a hero. He's also a quiet man who lives within the rules. He enjoys the stars and running the lighthouse so he can keep others safe in their travels. 

Isabel is first introduced, very briefly, in the prologue. When she is formally introduced later on in the novel, Isabel is a burst of delight, witticism, and happiness. Readers will connect with Isabel and Tom as they quickly fall in love. After all of the darkness Tom journeyed through, a shining light like Isabel is just what he needs. But things change in a blink, especially when heartbreak comes from losing their unborn children. 

Readers watch as Tom and Isabel shift from happiness to despair, delusion, and regret. The writing style of M.L. Stedman is powerful in that it brings the reader into the character's emotions with truth and honesty, laying the facts down beside the feelings, allowing the reader to personally sort them out. The lines of right and wrong are thoroughly blurred as the married couple decide to keep the discovered baby as their own, lying to the world about her origins. And though their reasons are understandable, a woman on the mainland suffers, praying that somehow, someday, her daughter will return home. 

Trouble brews when Tom's conscience refuses to rest and his world is turned upside down with guilt and the desire to come clean. A couple once happy and in love evolve into enemies with more than one life hanging in the balance. 

Rating: 5/5 Cups

Photo Friday

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229120699768557889/
https://www.etsy.com/listing/209752974/hot-date-11x14-art-print-tea-and-books?ref=shop_home_active_10&ga_search_query=book

I would love this to hang above my writing desk.

Or my reading nook. But first, I would need a reading nook.

WWW Wednesday (148)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

               

01. Currently Reading:
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman and Fancy Pants Poetry by Agostino Scafidi. Juggling two books this week, but with one historical fiction and one poetry, I manage to keep them straight. Enjoying Stedman's writing style and Scafidi's symbolic poetry.

02. Recently Finished:
South of Rising Sun by J.D. McCall. A Western that I truly enjoyed. US Marshal Taggert aids a Kansas rancher in an attempt to catch the cattle thieves who have been siphoning his herd.

03. Reading Next:
Into a Million Pieces by Angela Cook. Allison and her twin are what you would call a succubus. Which is all ready unfortunate. Add in a little family curse... and you've got a really tough summer vacation ahead of you.




Note: I know that Should Be Reading has stopped hosting WWW Wednesdays, but I've always enjoyed posting them and reading other lists so The Coffee Pot will continue to post WWW.

Teaser Tuesday (154)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers



The Light Between Oceans (p. 109)
   - M.L. Stedman

Tom felt a shiver creep through him. Just as he couldn't now imagine having lived in this world without meeting Isabel, he realized that Lucy, too, was making her way inside his heart. And he wished she belonged there.

South of Rising Sun

In a Legendary, Forgotten Town, Destiny Awaits . . .

U.S. Marshal Alistair Taggart has spent almost seven years protecting the citizens of Bleeding Kansas from the lawlessness surrounding its push to achieve statehood. Now, Kansas has entered the Union as a free state, but the violence threatens to continue when the Civil War erupts only three months later.

During one of Taggart's regular visits to the former Kansas territorial capital of Lecompton, local rancher James Harper enlists the marshal's help to catch the cattle rustlers intent on stealing his livelihood. But Kansas is just beginning its reign as the wildest state in the Union, and Taggart must also deal with Jayhawkers, highwaymen, unpredictable weather, and those hell-bent on revenge. Taggart finds his job further complicated by a runaway slave and animals gone delinquent, along with his own concerns that age may finally be catching up with him.

Solving the case will prove harder than Taggart ever imagined, and its resolution will cost him dearly. Sometimes, justice only comes with a price...

*May Contain Spoilers*

J.D. McCall takes readers to the past with his novel, South of Rising Sun. Set just before the Civil War, this novel combines the joy of the western genre with crime and the underground railroad. Weaving a complicated tale, McCall intrigues and entertains readers with an accurate representation of Kansas in the 1850s and 60s. 

Alistair Taggert is the main character in this delicate plot. He's a United States Marshal who values morality above the law, and serves both when they happen to coincide. Readers will like his honesty, loyalty, and dedication. These three traits will quickly lead to respect as the story continues. Taggert displays understanding and compassion to those who need it but also takes crime seriously, often treating criminals with more than they deserve. He believes in second chances and thinks the best of people until proven otherwise. Readers will connect with Taggert as a both a friend and a respected community official. Though Taggert sometimes seems too good to be true, the writer does share his past follies with the readers to make him more realistic. 

The plot is quite long and tangled, but the details and side stories are no less entertaining than the main story line. When Taggert is pursued by James Harper in need of aid to stop cattle thieves, Taggert vows that he'll help the man keep his livelihood. In the same town, Taggert comes across a runaway slave. Though the law dictates he should return the slave, his morality pushes him to aid the runaway. Add in some pesky behaving animals and a best friend who likes to blow things up, and readers will surely not be bored in a town South of Rising Sun. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Photo Friday

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229120699768557893/
http://gmhsmediactr.tumblr.com/post/71168848612/delightful

This should keep me happy until Spring.

WWW Wednesday (147)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

          

01. Currently Reading:
South of Rising Sun by J.D. McCall. Set in Kansas just before the Civil War, Al Taggert offers to help a rancher stop criminals from stealing his cattle and a slave escape to freedom. Not quite half way through and it's a good read so far.

02. Recently Finished:
The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy by Julia Quinn. When Richard meets Iris Smythe-Smith, he decides that she'll make the perfect wife. Iris knows there's a reason behind Richard's actions, but she just can't figure it out.

03. Reading Next:
Fancy Pants Poetry by Agostino Scafidi. Going to switch gears a little later on in the week and read a poetry collection that promises humor, sarcasm, and cynicism. (Had a little trouble with the file last week)



Note: I know that Should Be Reading has stopped hosting WWW Wednesdays, but I've always enjoyed posting them and reading other lists so The Coffee Pot will continue to post WWW.