I've Got Sand In All the Wrong Places - Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella (Review)

I've Got Sand In All the Wrong Places by Lisa Scottoline & Francesca Serritella
Series: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman #7
Genres: Humor, Nonfiction
Publication date: July 12th 2016
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Format: kindle, 317 pages
How I got it: NetGalley for the purpose of an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5  

Lisa and Francesca are back with another collection of warm and witty stories that will strike a chord with every woman. This six book series is among the best reviewed humor books published today and has been compared to the late greats, Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron. Delia Ephron said of the fifth book in the series, Have a Nice Guilt Trip, "Lisa and Francesca, mother and daughter, bring you the laughter of their lives once again and better than ever. You will identify with these tales of guilt and fall in love with them and fierce (grand) Mother Mary." This seventh volume will not disappoint as it hits the humorous and poignant note that fans have come to expect from the beloved mother-daughter duo.

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My thoughts:

This book is told by a mother and daughter author team.  This book is extremely funny and heartfelt.   I have only read books by Lisa, but will definitely be checking books out written by Francesca now and also the remaining books of these series.  The mother/daughter dynamic of the book is perfect.  They nicely play off of each other in some stories and other stories are just bits and pieces from their lives. 

I really enjoyed that we got a very personal story from both Lisa and Francesca based on an attack that happened to Francesca.   I couldn’t imagine how challenging it would be to write about something so terrible as being attacked.  Francesca not only wrote with a great amount of detail of the attack, but she also gave us her feelings on what happened as well and also parts of her recovery.   It made the story feel very real and personal.  I also liked that we got to hear Lisa’s reaction to what happened for a full circle feeling.    It made them seem so real and a perfect duo when facing something so tragic as an attack.   With a book full of humor this story really made it more dynamic. 

Other stories in the book I really enjoyed was actually about Lisa’s anxiety of driving over bridges.  Honestly I was very lucky that when I was first starting out learning to drive I had to go over bridges by my grandparents’ house that are super tight and narrow so I am pretty comfortable going over them, but I completely understand if it was not something you do often how scary it could be driving over them.   I like that we got a very personal story about anxiety because it is something very real and effects a lot of people.

This is a perfect nighttime read.  The stories are super short so it is easy to read a few and then put the book down. 

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.  This does not affect my opinion of this book.

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About the Author

Lisa Scottoline is the New York Times bestselling author and Edgar award-winning author of 23 novels, including her latest, EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES, which releases in April 2015. She also writes a weekly column with her daughter Francesca Serritella for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled "Chick Wit" which is a witty and fun take on life from a woman's perspective.

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Francesca Serritella is a bestselling author and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. She graduated cum laude from Harvard University, where she won the Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize, the Le Baron Russell Briggs Fiction Prize, and the Charles Edmund Horman Prize for her creative writing. She lives in New York with one dog and one cat, so far.

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Girl Departs Three: Part One - Suzie T. Roos (Review)

Girl Departs Three: Part One by Suzie T. Roos
Series: Spoken For #3
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Romance
Publication date: April 12th 2016
Format: ebook, 197 pages
How I got it: Netgalley for an honest review
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My rating: 4/5

The choice was clear. Wasn’t it…?

Zach and his family made it impossible for Tatum to be his girlfriend. Nigel made it oh-so-easy for her to move on. Tatum knows Zach still dreams of one day sharing his life with her, but Nigel offers her his life now – no dreaming necessary.

With the shock of seeing Zach again, of finally meeting his mobster family, and even coming face to face with his fiancé, Tatum is convinced more than ever that Nigel is the one for her. And while Zach spends a month entertaining the fiancé that has been forced upon him by his family, why shouldn’t Tatum take her relationship with Nigel to the next level?

But when Nigel betrays Tatum, her heart is broken. What once was clear becomes dark and she finds herself by Zach’s side yet again, needing him in a way she never imagined.

Zach or Nigel?

The decision isn’t easy because Tatum has learned the hard way—

Choices last a moment. Consequences last a lifetime.

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My thoughts:

So I didn’t realize this was the third book in the series until about a third of the way into the book.  The book would make comments referencing previous events, but it just felt natural like something the author was pulling from the past and she repeated everything I really needed to know while reading.   I read this as a standalone novel and now I want to go back and read the first two books because the author did such a great job creating a story I can’t get enough of. 

This book follows Tatum who is recently in a newer relationship with a guy named Nigel.  Tatum was dating Zack for a while whose family is involved in the mob, but he up and just left.   Tatum is trying to make her relationship with Nigel work since he would be a safer choice then Zack and his mob family, but Zack keeps appearing.

Tatum is an interesting character that the author created.  She seems like a typical teenager that has many conflicted thoughts going on in her head.  She really stays very true to her character the entire book.  The strength and thought process that Tatum has seems way beyond her years.   The story takes a few twists and Tatum works hard at making decisions. 

Zack is a very complex character.   He comes off as really hotheaded in the beginning of the book, but as I kept reading I felt like he was a lot more loyal then he got credit for.  I am pretty sure he would do anything for Tatum and he really was trying hard to be with her. 

One of the hardest things about reading this book is the ending.  I just wanted to keep reading after we read the last lines.  I can’t wait to read what happens next.

My one complaint about the book would be the writing style isn’t as detailed as I would like it to be.  I would have loved to get more descriptions of where Tatum was going so that I could visualize exactly what was going on.   The story-line is fast paced and easy to read, but I would have loved more details to be able to see what was going on.  I enjoy books that I get submersed into a new world that the author created and I felt I just couldn’t visualize this during the book.

I would suggest this as a nighttime read.  The book was a very quick read, but has natural stopping points that made it easy to read and then take a break.  The story was a great one to take your mind off your day as well.   

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of providing a honest review.  This does not effect my opinion of this book. 

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About the Author

Suzie T. Roos is from, and has settled in, St. Louis with her husband, two children and a number of foster pets at any given time.

She and her husband have lived everywhere from Philadelphia, PA to out West in Santa Monica, Ca. They’re thankful they could expose their children to different American lifestyles and cultures.

Besides writing, Suzie’s hobbies include movies, traveling, and especially concert going with her husband and friends.

She’s always been an animal lover and animal rights advocate. She is certified by FEMA in IS-00011.a Animal in Disasters: Community Planning. She’s also an active volunteer at the Humane Society of Missouri.

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