Merry Wanderer of the Night:
blog tour

Saylor Oz is a Brooklyn-based sex therapist. She spends her days curing couples of their sexual woes. But when the brother of her long-time friend gets arrested and convicted of serial murders, Saylor feels obligated to put on a detective hat and hunts for the true killer.

The murder victims were all models found around New York City. Each victim has a lock of hair missing. Saylor, a connoisseur of films of a sexual nature, realizes that she's seen this somewhere before: an old movie entitled Bad, Bad, Babydoll. Saylor immediately begins investigating the cast of this movie and discovers some startling similarities to the crimes. She vows to stop at nothing, even putting herself in harms way, to help find the true killer.

Readers of Jenn's Bookshelf know that I can't stand when one author's writing is compared to another. However, in the case of Babydoll

, I can't help but compare it to Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels. Saylor has the same no-holds-barred attitude as Stephanie Plum. I It's not Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction, but an excellent read nonetheless. Several times I found myself laughing at loud. The emotions the reader experiences ranges from sorrow and hatred to tears-rolling-down-your face humor. The characters are stellar. Each has their own faults, but you can't help but love them. And if that's not enough, the storyline is very suspenseful. Just when you think you've solved the case, Roy throws in something from left field and forces you to reconsider.

While Babydoll is technically the second in a series of books, you lose nothing by not reading the first of the series, Aphrodisiac

. Obviously, since the main character is a sex therapist, there is a good deal of sex in this book. It's not overly graphic or raunchy in any way and completely appropriate for this book.

I highly recommend this one! A steamy thriller for your steamy summer evenings!

About the author:
Allyson Roy translates into Alice & Roy, husband and wife collaborating authors. Roy, a graduate of the University Of The Arts in Philadelphia, has a background in theater, art and standup comedy. Alice, dancer/choreographer/teacher, double majored in dance and philosophy at the State University of New York. They spent many gypsy years living and working in the different neighborhoods of New York City and Philadelphia. Aside from being marriage and writing partners, they are also best friends, which is reflected in the heartfelt, go-the-distance friendship of their two main characters.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to take part in this tour. And thanks to the publisher, Penguin, for providing a copy of this book for review.

Check out the other blogs participating in this tour:

Tuesday, August 18th: The Eclectic Book Lover
Wednesday, August 19th: Jenn’s Bookshelf
Tuesday, August 25th: Jen’s Book Thoughts
Wednesday, August 26th: Cheryl’s Book Nook
Thursday, August 27th: Reading With Monie
Monday, August 31st: Bookluver-Carol’s Reviews
Wednesday, September 2nd: Chick With Books
Thursday, September 3rd: Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-a-holic
Tuesday, September 8th: GalleySmith
Wednesday, September 9th: Bookgasm
Thursday, September 10th: I’m Booking It

Now to the giveway! To enter, comment on this post. To earn extra entries, blog and/or tweet about it. Please include a direct link to your tweet or blog post in your comment. All comments must contain an email address. Comments received without email address will be automatically removed. Open to US and Canadian residents only. Winner will be announced on this blog on Friday, August 28th.

Set in Sri Lanka, A Disobedient Girl

tells the story of two women, Latha and Biso. Latha is raised in the priviledged household of the Vithanages. As a young child, her role is that of a friend to their only child, a daughter named Thara. As young girls, their status appears to be the same, but as Latha grows older she discovers that her destiny is that of a servant. She sees and experiences the difference in class and must come to deal with this painful realization. Biso is a mother of three, desperately attempting to get her and her three children away from her alcoholic and abusive husband. The reader follows Biso on her several day long journey to her mother's family in the north.

Freeman's writing is vivid and honest. The characters come alive on the pages of this debut novel. Freeman introduces us to two extremely strong women, attempting to survive in a world that attempts to oppress them. I have to strongly disagree with other reviews that indicated these two characters aren't deserving of sympathy, that they deserved the lives they were forced to live. They couldn't exactly rise up and overcome their oppressors. The lives they were leading were once forced upon them. They were born into this horrid system of ranking. The lengths they went to and the sacrifices they were forced to make earned them my undying respect.

In reading A Disobedient Girl

I viewed a side of Sri Lankan culture that I hadn't ever before. Freeman dealt with difficult issues that many are afraid to delve into. The journey the two women take is a painful search for independence and respect in a culture that restricts privileges due to class. A Disobedient Girl

is a painful and devastating glimpse at this culture. I highly recommend this novel to any reader interested in learning about different cultures. It will open your eyes to these differences in cultures, and the plights that women are forced to deal with based purely on their sex. It also brings up a lot of points of discussion and would be the perfect book club joice as well. Reading this made me appreciate even more the rights I am afforded as a citizen of a democratic nation. This novel was set in the 1980s and 1990s and it is terrifying that situations like this existed in my lifetime. So rush to your local bookstore and pick up a copy; you won't regret it.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to review this book, and to the publisher for providing me a review copy.

You can enter to win a copy of A Disobedient Girl

! Thanks to the publisher, I have an extra copy to give away. To enter, comment on this post. For extra entries, tweet and/or blog about it. Your comment must contain your email address. Entries without this contact information will be authomatically deleted. Contest open to U.S. and Canada only. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 24. GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Following are additional stops on this tour.

Tuesday, August 18th: Worducopia
Thursday, August 20th: My Friend Amy
Monday, August 24th: Maw Books
Tuesday, August 25th: Lost in Books
Thursday, August 27th: Bibliophile by the Sea
Tuesday, September 1st: A Sea of Books
Tuesday, September 8th: Wordlily
Monday, September 14th: Shhh I’m Reading
Wednesday, September 16th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Thursday, September 17th: Ticket to Anywhere
Tuesday, September 22nd: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Thursday, September 24th: Fizzy Thoughts
Monday, September 28th: Book Addiction
Wednesday, September 30th: Caribousmom

The Wheelwright's are an affluent Boston family. They meet up every summer at the family's Nantucket summer home, also the permanent residence of the family matriarch, Nona, and Charlotte, Nona's 30 year old granddaughter.

This summer the family really has something to celebrate: Nona's 90th birthday! Soon the quiet Nantucket house will be overflowing with family members, and with them comes extra family drama.

Summer House

is told from the viewpoint of three generations of Wheelwright women: Nona Wheelwright, Helen Wheelwright, and Charlotte Wheelwright.

Nona Wheelwright is the oldest surviving member of the Wheelwright family. Her husband, Herb, passed away several years ago. Her days are spent reliving her youth. Through flashbacks, the reader catches a glimpse of her introduction to the Wheelwright family. Although her midwestern family was wealthy as well, Nona (known as Anne in her youth) had to work hard to be accepted into the family. Secrets she's kept for decades may change the family forever...for the good and and the bad.

Helen Wheelwright is married to Nona's oldest son, Worth. She's recently discovered he was having an affair, and spends the summer weeding through her thoughts as to what her future will hold.

Charlotte Wheelwright has finally found her passion: running an organic gardening business on her Grandma Nona's land. She's the free-spirit of the family. After attempting to join the family banking business without success, the Wheelwights agreed to allow Charlotte to take upon this endeavor. It also helped that she'd be caring for Grandma Nona, a task Nona's children hadn't been able to take upon themselves.

Three years later she's still at it and with a profit! When the older generation of Wheelwrights learn that Charlotte's "pet project" as bloomed into a profitable endeavor they want to put an end to it immediately. Although Charlotte pays her grandmother rent for the land she uses, her family thinks she is taking advantage of Nona's generosity.

Summer House

contains everything you would want a summer book to have: love, deceit, drama, mystery. I loved that the story is relayed through the eyes of three different generations of family members. Each gives a different perspective on a situation. The Wheelwright family is a large one, and at first I got a little confused with all the differerent names. After long, it wasn't too difficult to distinguish between them as each has their own very distinctive personality.

This book was the perfect quick summer read for me; I read it in one afternoon alone. I appreciated Thayer's descriptive writing and in-depth characterization. You fall in love with each of the family members, despite their many flaws. I held great reverance for Nona--she was an incredibly selfless, inspiring woman.

So, be sure to pick up a copy of Summer House

before you head out on your summer beach (or backyard!) getaway. You won't regret it.

Thank you to Pump Up Your Book Promotion for allowing me to join in on this tour. Thank you to the publisher for providing my review copy.

Click here to read an excerpt of Summer House

by Nancy Thayer.

In Nantucket, six couples are very close friends. They name their close little clique The Castaways. The vacation together, their children have been raised together. They share everything...and sometimes a little too much.

The story opens with the friends discovering that Greg and Tess have mysteriously drowned. They leave behind two small children and a lot of unanswered questions. They were out on a sailboat celebrating their anniversary when disaster hit. Greg and Tess had experienced marital problems in the past few months. Greg was accused of having a relationship with one of his high school students. He was aching for something more in his life. Tess had a secret of her own, a relationship with one of the other Castaways. So the other Castaways are left wondering what happened. Did Greg kill Tess, or was it truly an accident. Was killing Tess his way to get out of the life that was holding him back like an anchor?

The deaths of Greg and Tess isn't the only mystery surrounding the Castaways. Each of the couples in the group seem to be experiencing some type of infidelity (both physical and emotional) or drama.

The Castaways is a stunning tale of passion, suspense and intrigue. Just how far can friendship be tested before it is destroyed?

I was immediately pulled in to the many mysteries this book held. Looking at the book, and reading the title, I automatically and mistakenly assumed this would be a light, easy beach read. It's much much more than that. The characters are very developed, the reader learns intricate details of their life and relationships. The many characters at first was a bit difficult, at times it was difficult to keep them all straight. But once I got into the story each character had their own discernable characteristics. The story is told by each of the Castaways, so the reader gets to see all sides of the story. I have to say, it was difficult for me to like any of the Castaways. They each had their own faults and were downright annoying at times. The one redeeming character was the Chief. He seemed to be the only one with a level head. I felt sorry for him for being the one that had to deal with the brunt of the drama because he was the one everyone could count on.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a "meaty" beach read. It will take a bit of concentration to get into the story and the characters at first, but it will be well worth it!

This blog tour will run all this week. Check out the other blogs participating in this tour:

July6
http://bookingmama.blogspot.com/
http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/

July 7
http://www.sheistoofondofbooks.com/
http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com
http://bfishreads.blogspot.com/
http://hiddenplace.wordpress.com/
http://www.bellasnovella.com/
http://www.acircleofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/
http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/
http://abookishmom.blogspot.com/
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/

July 8
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://cindyloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://books-movies-chinesefood.blogspot.com/

July 9
http://thisbookforfree.com/
http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.blogspot.com/
http://www.linussblanket.com/
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
http://brainlair.blogspot.com/
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/

July 10
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset
http://kayespenguinposts.blogspot.com/
http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/
http://booksoulmates.blogspot.com/
http://www.morbid-romantic.net/
http://nisefunpages.blogspot.com/
http://tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com/
http://allisonsatticblog.blogspot.com/
http://wrightysreads.blogspot.com/
http://frugalplus.com/
http://www.mgpblog.com/

Now for the giveway: Hachette books sent me a nice finished copy of the book, so I have my gently read review copy to give away!

• To be entered, please answer the following question: What is your favorite beach read?
• To get extra entries, blog or tweet about it. Please include a link to your post or tweet for the entry to count.
• An email address must be included in every comment or that comment will be disqualified.
• Contest ends Friday, July 17th. Winner will be announced Saturday the 18th.
• Contest open to residents of US and Canada only.

At a writers conference ten years ago, four aspiring writers met and became close friends. A decade later they are still friends, and very much a part of one another's lives.

Kendell Aim's writing career is in danger. Her editor goes on maternity leave, and her new editor shows no interest in her work.

Mallory St. James is an obsessed workaholic. She's constantly working on yet another best seller.

Tanya Mason is a single mom who supports her two kids and difficult mother by working two jobs.

Faye Truett is married to a televangelist and writes inspirational romances. She has a secret that no one would dare to believe.

Kendell has a quickly approaching book deadline that she needs to meet, but when she learns her husband has been cheating, she flees to her vacation home. Rather than focus on her writing, she works at fixing up her mountain hideaway. Her friends won't allow her to bear this burden alone and come together in a sort of intervention. They collaborate on a novel based on their own lives. Each of them writes a segment of the book, all under Kendell's name.

But they would have never guessed that the book would reach the NY Times Bestseller's list. When the truth is revealed on a day time talk show, they are each forced to reveal a secret they'd kept from one another. Their friendship has survived the years, but will it survive this?

THE ACCIDENTAL BESTSELLER is an intriguing glimpse into the world of publishing and the difficulties that authors must face. It was interesting to learn about how many hands manuscripts pass through on the way to publication. Each of the characters suffer realistic insecurites about their writing and personal lives. I learned a great deal about the publishing process in my reading of THE ACCIDENTAL BESTSELLER. It makes me appreciate and value writers even more!

About the Author:

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Wendy has come a long way since her days at Sunshine Elementary School. As a child she read voraciously, was a regular at her local library, and became fast friends with Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables. Her love affairs with language and storytelling paid off beginning with her first shift at the campus radio station while studying journalism at the University of Georgia.

After returning to her home state and graduating from the University of South Florida she worked for the Tampa PBS affiliate, WEDU-TV, behind and in front of the camera. Her resume includes on air work, voiceovers and production of a variety of commercial projects and several feature films. She may be best known in the Tampa Bay area as the host of Desperate & Dateless, a radio matchmaking program that aired on WDAE radio, and nationally as host of The Home Front, a magazine format show that aired on PBS affiliates across the country.

The mother of a toddler and an infant when she decided to change careers, she admits it was not the best timing in terms of productivity. “I’m still not certain why I felt so compelled to write my first novel at that particular time,” she says, “but that first book took forever.” Since then she’s written six more books, including Single in Suburbia and THE ACCIDENTAL BESTSELLER. Her work has been sold to publishers in ten countries and to the Rhapsody Book Club. Her novel, Hostile Makeover, was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Wendy lives with her husband John and her baseball-crazy teenage sons in the Atlanta suburbs where she spends most of her non-writing time on baseball fields or driving to them. She continues to devour books and is busy producing Accidental Radio, a new feature on her web site.
You can visit her website at www.authorwendywax.com.

PUMP UP YOUR BOOK PROMOTION VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS
"We take books to the virtual level!"

http://www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com/

********************************************************
Contest Details!

• To be entered once, comment on this post
  
• For extra entries, blog/tweet about it. Be sure to include a link to your post/tweet in your comment.
  
• You must include your email address in your comment. All comments without email addresses will be automatically disqualified.
  
• US and Canadian residents only, please.
  

Contest will end Friday, June 12. Winner will be announced Saturday, June 13. Good luck!

My Review

Sixteen year old Sally Werner lives in rural Pennsylvania. It is the year 1946. She accepts a ride on the motorcycle of her cousin, Daniel, a decision that changes her life forever. The end up having intercourse, an act Sally didn't consent to. She becomes pregnant, and is blamed for ruining Daniel's life. Daniel is eager to marry Sally, Sally would rather die than marry him. Forty-eight hours after giving birth to their son, Sally leaves the child in the care of her family and runs away from a future that is not her own.

Her first encounter is with the Mason family. She accepts the role as housekeeper from seventy year old "Uncle Mason." They build a relationship of trust of over the matter of two years that Sally works for him. However, while cleaning, Sally discovers a box that contains Mason's entire life savings. She is no thief, yet she can't get the money out of her mind. When her past catches up to her the local gossip begins spreading the details of Sally's past, she must pack up and leave this family she's grown to love. She goes to the box holding Uncle Mason's money, only planning on taking a small amount, when Mason's voice appears in the darkness, demanding that she take it all. Sally takes all the money, and once again runs away.

Thus begins Sally's legacy of moving from town to town, running from her own past. She uses the Tuskagee River as a path to her future, stopping off at small towns in an attempt to settle. Each time her need to flee awakens, and Sally must pack up and move on. This continues after the birth of her daughter, Penelope, is born. She can't seem to shake the guilt of abandoning her son. She sends letters home to her parents and includes a small amount of mone when she's able. Yet it isn't until almost two decades later that Sally begins to wonder what happened to her son. ..

FOLLOW ME details the lives of Sally, her daughter Penelope, and eventually her grandaughter and traces the lies created by her family to keep her in the dark about her son's existence. Just how far will they go to keep Sally form learning the truth?

Although parts of FOLLOW ME seemed to drag a bit, it didn't take long for me to become absorbed in the characters. The writing was powerful and descriptive. The characters were all well-rounded and seemed to share the same destiny, no matter how hard they tried to take control. I recommend FOLLOW ME to any reader that enjoys a detailed storyline with twists and turns that leaves you questioning until the very end.

About the Author

Joanna Scott is the author of nine books, including The Manikin, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Various Antidotes and Arrogance, which were both finalists for the PEN/Faulkner Award; and the critically acclaimed Make Believe, Tourmaline, and Liberation. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Lannan Award, she lives with her family in upstate New York.

Giveaway

I have one copy of FOLLOW ME to give away. To be entered into the contest, comment on this post. To be entered twice, blog about it. For three entries, tweet about it (please include a link to your tweet in your comment). Contest is open to US and Canadian residents only. Winner will be announced on Friday, May 8th.

Thank you to Hachette for providing me with this review copy. Check out the other blogs participating in this tour:

http://peekingbetweenthepages.blogspot.com/
http://www.writeforareader.blogspot.com/
http://bermudaonion.wordpress.com/
http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
http://thereviewfromhere.wordpress.com/
http://bookopolis.blogspot.com/
http://www.caribousmom.com/
http://www.frommipov.blogspot.com/
http://luanne-abookwormsworld.blogspot.com/
http://redladysreadingroom-redlady.blogspot.com/
http://mindingspot.blogspot.com/
http://thetometraveller.blogspot.com/
http://dreyslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://hiddenplace.wordpress.com/
http://stephaniesbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.acircleofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://bananas4books.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookthoughtsbylisa.blogspot.com/
http://martasmeanderings.blogspot.com/
http://grumpydan.blogspot.com/
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
http://worducopia.blogspot.com/
http://cindysloveofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://2kidsandtiredbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.myspace.com/darbyscloset
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
http://www.skrishnasbooks.com/
http://epicrat.blogspot.com/
http://www.anovelmenagerie.com/
http://danys-san.blogspot.com/
http://jennsbookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com/
http://literarymenagerie.blogspot.com/
http://www.chikune.com/blog
http://book-chic.blogspot.com/
http://www.amberstults.com/
http://allisonsatticblog.blogspot.com/
http://diaryofaneccentric.blogspot.com/
http://38thavedivareaders.blogspot.com/
http://linussblanket.typepad.com/
http://www.morbid-romantic.net/
http://kylees2009.blogspot.com/
http://www.savvyverseandwit.blogspot.com/
http://exlibrisbb.blogspot.com/
http://bookinwithbingo.blogspot.com/
http://www.xanga.com/bravehsgirl
http://purplg8r-somanybooks.blogspot.com/
http://burtonreview.blogspot.com/
http://donnasbookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://www.squidoo.com/readingstaycation