Great debut novel, quaint story
581609
A woman driving around the countryside in Ghana sees a bird near a village and jumps out to try and find it. While searching, she smells something terrible coming from one of the huts, like a decomposing body, and reports to authorities. Because she is the girlfriend of some minister or other, the Ghana police come to investigate, ignoring local tradition during their inspection. Finally the police hire an ambitious young man, who is Ghanaian but studied forensic medicine (CSI style) in England. When he goes to the village he performs a modern day scientific investigation but by respecting tradition, he gets to know the local people. His final report is scienctific but can only be explained based on traditional folk tales.

Parkes description of the village and local people was a well drawn picture and his use of local dialect was engaging. This is the first fiction that takes place in Ghana I've heard of and I appreciate learning about city and country lives of its people. A good writer and a great debut nove.
2962954
Its 1805 London. William Brook, a young vicar wants to serve humanity by going to far-flung lands. What he actually gets is a living in the English countryside at a village called Amberley. He quickly becomes a person of interest to the local mothers looking for an eligible man for their unmarried daughters. Hes not interested, but somehow Cecilia, a pretty young woman keeps catching his eye, although she herself is not looking for a husband. Her mother, however, has other plans, wanting a secure future for her daughter, preferably to a man from a rich, prominent family. A vicar will never do.  Its a pure Jane Austen feeling.

Cecilia is an independent, free spirit. I grew to really like her as the story developed. At first I didn't care too much for William, but as the story progresses he matures and the reader sees the wonderful possibilities ahead of this kind-hearted man. From their first meeting, Cecilia and William are drawn to each other. Their attraction to one another made for interesting reading. A villain enters the picture adding suspense and scandal.

I enjoyed this fast-paced, charming, historical romance. The narrative is so well done with a lot of attention to detail. I loved the description of the countryside  green fields, tiny hamlets and Tudor buildings. The author is obviously familiar with the country and the era.

This debut novel is a delightful, clean read that will capture the hearts of readers who enjoy historical romances
3932993
This was one of our book club recommendations.  It is definitely the kind of story that suggests a discussion.  Two sisters, Twiss and Milly, live in Spring Green, Wisconsin.  Twiss is the outspoken tomboy and Milly is the kind person who bakes cookies and cakes for strangers and who everyone loves.  This includes a local boy.  Enter visiting cousin Bett, who changes the balance of things in the family.  There are two time periods - one when the sisters are 14 and 16 years old and another told from their old age.  There is another theme of them taking care of birds and each other.  It is a great debut novel, but also a little weird, but you need to remember it's 1947 and maybe they gave things up for "the greater good."  Don't want to give anything away.  Probably 3.5 stars.
4830724
As a first novel, with only 5 reviews on Amazon, and no author bio, I could have easily skipped over this little story of the pressures of first love under the celebrity spotlight for two UK boy band members. But a 5-star review from a self-admitted snark, who is otherwise hard-to-please, had me stopping to take a closer look. The kitchen scene in which the MC comes out to his mother is both sweet and refreshing.

Sure there are problems with editing ("blonde" boys, speaking with "cockney twinge," and raising a "furore") and formatting (YELLING IN ALL CAPS), but all of that can be overlooked once the desire to follow the narrative takes over in the first few chapters. The blather that passes for entertainment news could have been pared and access to more of Chase's inner turmoil and reflections would have deepened the connection for readers, but it still had quite a bit to offer.

The pressures and expectations the young MCs had to juggle were handled well enough and the colorful cast of parents, siblings, and rival band members helped define the layers of tension between the public and private lives of the performers. Well done, Gregson, and what's next?
2159979
"Oblivion" is the debut work of Ms. Alt and it is a fine debut indeed!

The characters, plot, setting, and narrative all run at a great pace and include plenty of vivid description and lively prose.  The tale is interesting enough that I refuse to give away any spoilers.  In some places the story gets bogged down in overused adjectives and tag lines, but the book is too good to be knocked down by these mistakes.

Ms. Alt is a very good writer with a talent for description.  Though not a romantic myself, I saw touches of powerful emotional scenes that reminded me of "Twilight".  A lot of the interaction between two of the characters bears the mark of that famous vampire series; but since this tale is a different animal, it stays away from being too familiar.

There are some grammar and spelling errors sprinkled throughout the book; a few formatting issues also crop up from time to time.  Once these minor problems are polished, Ms. Alt has a 5-star book on her hands.  If you enjoy a good story with romance, adventure, tension, and all the classic elements then give this one a whirl.  The sample is more than enough to know if you'll like it.  For .99, you can't go wrong.
4603338
Readers of inspirational Regency romance have much to look forward to with this debut release from Australian author Carolyn Miller. Its just the kind of unhurried excursion into Regency life that begs you to find a cozy book-nook to curl up in, so that the here and now can fade away for a few hours. And fade it will, for this is an easy story to be drawn into.

Carolyn Miller did a lovely job of evoking the Regency era in the style of her writing, and readers familiar with Austens works, particularly Pride & Prejudice, will recognize a few familiar lines here and there throughout the novel. The author also did a lovely job of bringing the country setting to life. I know London has all the glamour and excitement (and we do head that way toward the end of the novel), but theres something about the English countryside and the lifestyle there that feels so cozyprovided you're not a poor tenant waiting for necessary maintenance and improvements to be carried out, of course. And therein lies just one of the problems plaguing Lord Hawkesbury when he arrives in Gloucestershire.

Miss Lavinia Ellison makes quick work of becoming another of Lord Hawkesburys problems with her forthright opinions, independent ways, and determination to help those in need. And the fact that he doesnt appear to be very attentive to her fathers sermons certainly doesnt raise him in her estimation! The banter between Lord Hawkesbury and Lavinia was very enjoyable for the most part, but there were times when they came across as a little capricious and I wasn't quite sure what to make of them or their relationship. Both characters were aware of this to a certain extent, and I liked that part of Lavinias growth as a character was discovering that virtues can become stumbling blocks if we do not take care to examine our attitude, but I still felt that their relationship see-sawed more than was necessary.

The second half of the novel took a surprising turn that I thought could have been more convincing if it had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel. Nevertheless, the story held me firmly in its grasp until the end, and I look forward to reading the next two books in the series as they release later in the year.

I received a copy of this novel through Netgalley. This has not influenced the content of my review.
2823920
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker is one of the rare debut novels that leads people to dream of becoming writers.  Karen Thompson Walker's story has all the elements of a writer's dream come true from a bidding war between publishers, an advance in the millions of dollars (or pounds) to glowing advance reviews.  In fact, the Guardian mentions these successes as an introduction to its review of The Age of Miracles.  (You can read the Guardian's review here.)  The book comes out on June 26 and tt's already on Amazon's list of books for June 2012.

I'd like to add my voice to those praising The Age of Miracles because of Walker's main character, eleven-year-old Julia.  Julia opens up to us about the details of her life: friendships, crushes, uncertainties.  While these basic topics could easily seem trivial, Julia's voice and innocence draw us in.  We sympathize with Julia as she faces the loss of her best friend Hanna, as her world slowly comes apart both physically and socially.  One of the saddest scenes is when Julia realizes that the slowing has affected schoolyard dynamics:

  "What I understod so far about this life was that there were the bullies and the bullied, the hunters and the hunted, the strong and the stronger and the weak, and so far I'd never fallen into any group--I was one of the rest, a quiet girl with an average face, one in the harmless and unharmed crowd. But it seemed all at once that this balance had shifted. With so many kids missing from the bus stop, all the hierarchies were changing.  A mean thought passed through my mind:  I didn't belong in this position; it should have been one of the uglier girls, Diane or Teresa or Jill.  Or Rachel. Where was Rachel? She was the nerdiest among us.  But she'd been kept home by her mother to prepare and to pray -- they were Jehovah's Witnesses, convinced that this was the end of days."

The siding away of safety when Julia realizes that she's no longer in the "middle" comes around the time that Julia notices that her parents' marriage, her father's failures, her mother's sickness, her friend's mother's slow decline, the disappearance of people, increasing alienation and demonization of those who opted for "real time" instead of the government recommended 24 hour days.

Beautifully written with sensitivity and clear vision, The Age of Miracles is nuanced and deeply engrossing.  It's a story of a strange world with the Earth slowing down, and our environment causing deadly and irreversible changes and a story of young love in the middle of uncertainty.

ISBN-10: 0812992970  $26.00
Publisher: Random House (June 26, 2012), 288 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher and the Amazon Vine Program.
1466953
As an avid reader, one of the great joys is reading a debut novel of an up and coming and competent author.  Bent Road by Lori Roy is worth the gamble of buying a book by someone you've never read before.  In fact, the language of the book is so polished I had difficulty believing that Bent Road was a debut novel at times.  However, not being a conspiracy freak, I'll take the word of the publisher that this is a first book.

The story is multi-leveled.  First, on the surface we're introduced to the Arthur Scott family in the process of fleeing Detroit and moving to his home in Kansas.  Arthur, his wife Celia, son Daniel and daughters Elaine and Evie are relocating we are told due to the deteriorating conditions in the great Michigan city.

Then, there are two disappearances.  First, there is Arthur's sister, Eve (not Evie), who disappeared and was murdered before he left home as a young man.  Then there is the second disappearance of the young girl, Julianne Robison.  She disappeared just after Arthur relocated this family near the family homestead.  Are these disappearances unrelated and merely coincidental?

There are other elements.  Daniel's coming of age story.  Ruth, Arthur's other sister and her story as an abused wife.  Evie, Arthur's youngest daughter, enjoys dressing in her murdered aunts clothes.  Elaine has a romance with Jonathan, a local boy.  There are so many facets to this story it's almost as though the author couldn't quite choose the type of story she wanted to write and therefore threw everything in.  Though the book doesn't suffer from this in my opinion, one wonders if Roy might have benefited by narrowing the scope a little. However, Bent Road is a terrific read regardless.  I don't review everything I read, but this novel kept me turning pages.

Trust me, in the end the secrets are revealed in a manner that is satisfying and worthy of a terrifically written novel.

I recommend.
1198889
James Anderson's debut novel is one of the better marriages of setting and theme I've read in quite a while. For innovative use of a desert highway alone, the book deserves high praise.

For the most part, his characters are well developed - especially the males. There are several relationships between men here that feel lived in and real. How our protagonist, Ben, deals with the men he meets along Route 117 illustrate how these damaged/broken people make life bearable by becoming their own kind of community.

Unfortunately, Anderson's women aren't a strength. Claire, the female lead, has some intriguing and believable wrinkles to her, but still comes across as a noir version of the manic pixie dream girl. Likewise the sage pregnant teen, but I do like the parallels she draws to another father/daughter relationship in the novel.

The plot Claire brings into Ben's life provides a great deal of suspense, but doesn't pay off either that intrigue or mesh with the themes very well. After devouring the book for 4/5 of its page count, the info dump which begins to answer all the questions Anderson had splendidly built signals an ending in which I struggled to remain invested.

Overall, a promising work that's worth your time, but not without its flaws.
3637279
I had such high expectations for THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME. For the past year, I've heard nothing but praise for Smith's previous novels, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to check out this story. But, I think this is one of those novels you have to be in the right mood for, which I apparently was not. Smith's writing is very good and accessible, and she creates two different protagonists with Lucy and Owen. Lucy and Owen's interactions are sweet, and I especially enjoyed the genuine connection yet awkwardness between them in the beginning of the novel. There's something about strangers meeting and connecting for the first time that I find endearing, and Smith handles this aspect incredibly well. While I have fond feelings for this story, I became easily bored by the writing and characters during certain moments. The easily flowing writing style makes it easy to fly right through the story, but also easy to let your thoughts drift away from the plot. Despite all of of the good in this story, nothing about this novel  stood out to me or gave me a reason to feel compelled to keep reading.

Highlights: Lucy and Owen are very much their own distinct characters with separate personalities, and the 3rd person POV shift was nicely done. I enjoyed seeing Lucy and Owen develop their relationship. Smith makes everything easy to visualize. This is an easy, sweet story to get into.

Lowlights: I just didn't connect very strongly with the writing, characters, or story. While I enjoyed THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME, I barely managed to finish the novel. It might simply be the fact that Smith's writing style isn't quite my cup of tea, and I'm sure many other readers will fall in love this story. I'd recommend checking it out if it sounds like your kind of book.
2078082
Published since 2013, this is an attractive, slim, and rather larger-print book. Maybe it is a size 13 font? There are also a few typos, but overall it is well put together.

No disclaimers are necessary: no sex scenes, no vulgar language, no unnecessary squirminess.  The story revolves around Keziah, an awkward but honest young woman, who still wrestles with the holiness perfectionism of her manic minister father. She has left home and become a teacher. The story takes place on vacation as she visits home, hoping her dad will be away on one of his crusade revivals, to spend time with her best friend and her warm and protective family.

Details like nacho chips and warm cream soda lend charm to her longtime friendship with Ivy, who introduces life developments of her own. Then her vacation presents Keziah with one surprise after another. Basically a story about life and choices, it provides good fodder for thought. There are scenes that explore the difficult dynamics of family members who convert to another Christian denomination. I hope it can raise awareness of the real pain people experience because of it. So often now people presume all denominations are the same when they certainly are not.

Although Keziah is supposed to be awkward, I found her attentive, sincere, and honest. I appreciated what she had to say and how she chose to help. Several of the characters, particularly the new pastor in town and Father Felix, are strong enough to suggest that this could be the beginning of a series. The title is clever and more poignant than some may realize. I only hope that the author considers elaborating on the color of ordinary time even more, bringing green and its symbolism more to the forefront, if subsequent books are written.

It was enjoyable enough that I hardly put it down after picking it up, which, as a mother of six young children, says something.

Good work, Virginia! I hope to read more from you!
3791991
A select few members of Gemma Stone's family are prone to illogical, emotional outbursts--chucking a birkett, as they say. But not Gemma, who views birketts as unseemly and embarrassing, an angry sort of fit to be avoided at all costs. Of course, that's before her life takes a turn for the chaotic, before her crush on a guy who barely knows of her existence, before she auditions for the school play, before the surprising Raven De Head enters her life, and before her sister Debbie's crazy wedding plans. And as Gemma tries to navigate these unpredictably waters, she slowly comes to understand that sometimes, chucking a birkett can actually be a good thing.

A cute and sweet coming of age story, The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost It was a little technically disappointing but externally enjoyable. From a quick glance, this novel appears original, particularly with the inclusion of birketts and quirky, unusual characters, and romantic, because who doesn't love a guy who can quite Shakespeare like Raven? However, once the layers are peeled away, the reader realizes that the characters are either stereotypical or confusing. Gemma's crush Nick, though perfect on the outside, is predictably a jerk, Debbie fills the role of Bridezilla, and Gemma's soon-to-be-sister-in-law Jack is the classic stiff tomboy beginning to embrace girliness. I didn't complete understand Raven or Gemma because no explanation if given for some of Raven's actions and because I couldn't get a clear sense of who Gemma is. Is she the boy crazy girl who lets her emotions affect her decisions, the open girl who eventually lets Raven in, or the younger sister who doesn't seem to mind much being called the Big Mistake by her sister's friends? Plus, Gemma's supposed best friend Jody is present so infrequently that I often forgot she even existed. Through this story, Shanahan also attempts to address class differences, prejudice, and the positive and negative effects of consumerism but leaves her critiques on these themes largely unfinished; the only evidence of any sort of understanding of those ideas manifests slightly in Gemma though her personally realizations. I enjoyed Gemma's growth in this cute novel, but all the little details could definitely have been improved.

Fans of The Curse of Addy McMahon by Katie Davis, The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer, Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega, and A Little Friendly Advice and Same Difference by Siobhan Vivian may also enjoy this novel.
3269362
Lost in Tennessee is a great premise, a country star who's essentially living the songs he sings, trying to get life back on track, and who shouldn't be interested in falling in love...again.

A hopelessly lost woman showing up at his home during his regrouping efforts sparks his interest and regardless of what he should be doing, he's going to fall in love with her. But is it so wrong if Kate feels the chemistry too?

I enjoyed the budding romance, although it did happen quickly. The mystery aspect of the book wasn't necessary the most complex, but that certainly didn't detract from the book.

The supporting characters added flavor and humor to round out the romance and murders. Overall, this is a great debut novel and I look forward to Lost, #2.
4456800
The Good:

- The writing style is light, breezy, and easy to read. The dialogue was great and felt very natural. The characters of Maddie, Olly, and Carla were likable and relatable. The drawings throughout the novel were really adorable and added a little something extra to the story.

- Some people seem to be annoyed that Maddie starts disobeying her mother, but I loved it. She is 18 years old - a legal adult in the eyes of the law - and it was about time she branched out and try and find herself. The fact that she was 18 and had never fought with her mother felt weird. So, I was actually glad when Maddie started to rebel.

The Bad:

- Maddie is half Japanese-American and half African-American. It's great to half a WOC lead, and I believe the author included it because she is married to a Korean-American. (A little 'girl like you' thing for her daughter and all biracial girls out there.) But, it felt really thrown in. Like, Maddie's and her mother never do or discuss anything remotely Japanese. They never discuss anything that has to do with Maddie's cultures or heritage. I wish they had.

- I could have done with more resolution at the end. A lot of things after the big reveal felt very rushed. I was waiting for a bit more, and it never came.

- The "twist" bothers me, but more of that later.

The Meh:

- The "twist" really bothered me. There were several hints early in the novel, that something wasn't quite right. Mostly - people with SCID usually try and get a bone marrow transplantation. They usually see several doctors and get several opinions. They don't sit around their home reading. It bothered me that apparently Maddie never noticed this was weird. Or that none of the tutors or Carla noticed that something wasn't quite right with Maddie's mother. Maddie has every right to be upset with her mother - the woman basically stole 18 years of her life. Hell, I'm pissed at Maddie's mother. A mental illness and losing family, doesn't give the woman the right to control her daughter the way she did.

The Other Stuff:

- I do wonder if the only reason Maddie felt so intensely for Olly was because he was the first boy her age that she had met. And, I wonder if Olly felt so intensely for Olly, because he had issues at home and she was someone he could take care of - something he may have needed. They didn't always feel like "true love"; they usually felt like "first love" - and I think that isn't what the author wanted.
306386
The highlight of this novel is the text itself; it is written in an unconventional, often poetic style that requires one to linger on the prose.  It is emotionally charged and reveals the complexities of the characters' inner lives.  It is lyrically descriptive, but dialogue is occassionally sparse.  Some elements in the unusual plot require a suspension of disbelief.  Overall, an excellent debut novel.
2653031
A pretty obvious debut novel for this writer.  She still needs to learn a lot about character development in my opinion.  However she does have a lot of potential.  She reminds me a little of Fannie Flagg with her working with small towns and their quirks.
I certainly do wish her well though because there was a lot I also enjoyed about the book.
1702329
S.C. Harker has hit on a winning combination for Binnacle Bay, a debut novel and first in the Binnacle Bay series: Take a small hamlet on the  Pacific Northwest, people it with colourful locals and mysterious out-of-towners, and then toss in a couple of murders. Bring in police chief Fitzlaff, a man who refuses to compromise the investigation despite political pressure from on high. For me the real star of the book was the setting; as a one-time village dweller (albeit in the Blue Mountains in Australia), I was immediately enveloped in the landscape, the small-town gossip, and the dramatis personae. I felt at times that the book was a little overpopulated, and that I'd like to see more detail of the principal characters and less of the secondary ones. Nevertheless, the plot is fast moving and complex: I confess that despite my efforts to work out who dunnit, S.C. Harker caught me by surprise.
And I loved the dog