Author Catherine McKenzie Reviews "OPEN" by Andre Agassi

OPEN by Andre Agassi

Publisher: Knopf

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I can’t say enough good things about this book. I’ve long been a fan of Agassi’s – I watched his first US Open and his last, and hundreds of matches in between – but I was putting off reading this book. I don’t tend to read autobiographies – it’s rare that I really want to know that many details about someone’s life. But my sister, who lives in Vegas, went to a book signing and bought me a signed copy as a birthday surprise, and since I’d been hearing good things, I started reading it. Three hours later I had to pry the book from my hands so I could go to sleep. It was the same every night until I finished it. And when I did, I turned back to the first page and started again.

By now most of you have heard or read about the revelations the book contains – Agassi hated tennis for most of his career, he began losing his hair young and wore a hair piece, he used meth and lied about it, his marriage to Brooke Shield was unhappy. But for me it wasn’t these revelations that caught and held my attention. Rather, like with any excellent book, it was the way in which he told his story that kept me turning the pages. Not just by being completely open (which he appears to be), but by telling his story with pace and tension and excellent writing. Agassi had a collaborator on this book – he could not have achieved this alone – but nevertheless, one feels his intelligence, his voice, through the pages. He says that as a child English was his favorite subject and I couldn’t help but feel that he could have a second career as a writer if even a 10^th of the words in this book are really his. Regardless, it is his story, and it’s a page-turner. Best book I read in 2009.

Reviewed by

Catherine McKenzie

Author of SPIN

www.catherinemckenzie.com

Rituals Book Trailer Video ~ An Erotic Romance Novella

http://www.kikihowell.com

Author Ingrid King Reviews “Bookplate Special” by Lorna Barrett

Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett

Blurb: 

Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven’t Got a Clue mystery bookstore, is still settling into Stoneham, New Hampshire, the kind of town where everybody knows your name—and where everyone’s quick to lend a hand, even when murder is afoot…  The kinder folks of Stoneham might call Pammy Fredericks a free spirit. The less kind, a freeloading thief. Tricia has put up—and put up with—her uninvited college roommate for weeks. In return, Pammy, has stolen $100, among other things. But the day she’s kicked out, Pammy’s found dead in a dumpster, leaving loads of questions unanswered. Like what was she foraging for? Did her killer want it too? To piece the case together, Tricia will have to dive in head-first.…

Publisher:  Berkley

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Reviewed By 

Ingrid King

Author of Buckley's Story - Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher - a story about the important role animals play in our lives by teaching us universal lessons about opening the heart and living a joyful life.   www.ingridking.com

Author Wendy VanHatten Reviews “The Healing Touch” by Jenna Anderson

The Healing Touch by Jenna Anderson

Blurb:

Divorced mother of one, Tracy Campbell is trying her best to stay out of small town gossip. A mysterious lump on her throat is making it hard. Handsome Dr. Jeremy Nelson is making it harder.               

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BOOK REVIEW

Enjoyable from start to finish, Healing Touch, engages the reader on many levels. It’s almost impossible not to find yourself telling the main character what to do as you follow her ups and downs throughout the book. One minute you are excited for her and the next you are silently telling her what a fool she has just been.

Even if you didn’t grow up in a small town, you probably know someone who did. Accurately portrayed by Anderson, small town Midwest and her local gossip character will sound familiar to many. Once again Anderson captures the essence of what it’s like to never leave the town you were born and raised in, issues you face and how outsiders are viewed.

Anyone who has kids will relate to issues the main character faces as she juggles her family time with her personal life. Throw in some romance and it all gets turned upside down.

Although a short quick read, Healing Touch provides more than just another romance. Chances are readers will relate on some level to this tale that mimics real life.

Reviewed By:

Wendy VanHatten

Freelance Editor and Author

www.vanhattenwritingservices.com

                

Author Simon Lowrie Reviews "Heidi and the Kaiser" by Selena Kitt

Heidi and the Kaiser by Selena Kitt
Book Length:  35,329
Publisher: eXcessica

BLURB:

Mousy little Heidi is a wanna-be designer who works as nothing more than a glorified go-fer for one of the largest and most well-known companies in the world of fashion. When she accidentally stains CEO Warren Kaiser’s pants, she gets two things she didn’t expect--a spanking...and a job. Kaiser hires her as his assistant, and her “training” proves to be quite a test of surrender.
Warnings: This title contains graphic language, sex, and elements of bdsm.

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This is a little cracker of a story, even more delicious than the cover – which is saying something! The characters are so engaging, and so convincingly drawn, that I read the whole thing through in one sitting as easily as eating ice cream. Between them, insecure and self-effacing Heidi, and her imperious boss Mr Kaiser, generate some of the most scorching scenes I've ever read, and better yet, their relationship unfolds within an involving storyline of high fashion and intrigue. And as for the scene in Paris at the end – it's just sumptuous! Go read it.

Reviewed by
Simon Lowrie
http://www.simonlowrie.com

Author Erin O'Riordan Reviews “The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl” by Marc Schuster

The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl by Marc Schuster

Blurb: Audrey Corcoran never dreamed she’d try cocaine, but a year after a bitter divorce, she meets a man named Owen Little who convinces her that a little buzz might be exactly what she needs to lift her spirits. And why not? He’s already turned her on to jazz, and no one in his circle of friends ever thinks twice about getting high. Soon, however, her escalating drug use puts a strain on Audrey’s relationship with her daughters, and she begins to sell cocaine from her home in order to subsidize her habit. By turns horrifying and hilarious, The Singular Exploits of Wonder Mom and Party Girl offers a scathing indictment of American consumer culture and the wildly conflicting demands it makes upon women.

Publisher: PS Books

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Review:

First rule of parenting: you don't use drugs in front of your kids. Especially if you're the one member of the parent-teacher association charged with running the school's Just-Say-No program.

Audrey Corcoran is blindsided when her husband of ten years leaves her for a much-younger, thinner woman named Chloe. Desperate not to lose her young daughters the way she lost Roger, Audrey decides to get in touch with her fun side. Her adventures lead to her try cocaine, against her better judgement. In this tragicomic novel, Audrey copes with life on and off drugs.

I'm always a little amazed when a male author paints such a touching and realistic portrait of a woman's life. Scott Simon did it for 17-year-old Irena Zaric in Pretty Birds, and Marc Schuster does it for 30-something Audrey Corcoran. Thanks to Desperate Housewives, the suburban mom secretly on drugs may be something of a cliche, but Schuster never allows Audrey's life to become a caricature or a morality play. He simply gives her 292 pages to be her Super Mom & Party Girl self, and readers will be grateful for that.

Reviewed by:

Erin O'Riordan

Author of Romantic Erotica and the Pagan Spirits series

 www.erinoriordan.blogspot.com

Author Wendy VanHatten Reviews “See Jane Succeed” By Michele DeKinder-Smith

See Jane Succeed by Michele DeKinder-Smith
Book length: 214 pages
Publisher: Jane Out of The Box Media, a Wyatt-MacKenzie Imprint
Click Here To Purchase  
Review:
This relatively short read book is more of a handy resource guide to pick up and flip to the area you have interest in today. Tomorrow may be different and you need to check out an entirely different chapter.
All in all, it’s more than just a recount of the author’s entrepreneurial journey. She really understands women, where they are in their careers, how they arrived at that spot and where they are going. More importantly the author knows each of use won’t be in that spot forever. In fact, we may change depending upon the day’s circumstances.
Do you see yourself as a woman who started a business to create your own ideal job? Maybe you are more of an entrepreneur whose business is not performing to your expectations right now, particularly financially. How would situations be dealt with and resolved by these two entirely different women?
Five types of female entrepreneurs will reveal what it takes to not only survive, but actually win in both their business and their lives.


Reviewed By:
Wendy VanHatten
 www.vanhattenwritingservices.com

Author LM Preston Reviews "The Child Thief" by BROM

Author Name: BROM

Book Title: The Child Thief

Book Blurb:

Peter is quick, daring, and full of mischief—and like all boys, he loves to play, though his games often end in blood. His eyes are sparkling gold, and when he graces you with his smile you are his friend for life. He appears to lonely, lost children—the broken, hopeless, and sexually abused—promising to take them to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive, and you never grow old. But his promised land is not Neverland. . . . 

Book Length: 483

Publisher : Harper Collins

Click Here To Purchase

Book Review: (4 out of 5 stars)

Brom’s, THE CHILD THIEF, is a remake of the epic tale of Peter Pan.  It’s a dark tale bought to modern day, and delves into the hidden or lightly touched on sinister plot of the tale of Peter Pan.

I picked this book up because the artwork on the cover intrigued me.  It was hauntingly beautiful.  The boy on the cover enchanted me and innerved me at the same time.  When I opened the cover to read the excerpt – I couldn’t put it down.  So, I scooped it up and took it home, and fought with my husband to read it first.

Peter Pan was one of my favorite fairy tales when I was younger, and even today I replay the movie even when my kids aren’t there to watch it with me.  The Disney versions of Peter Pan (there were 2 versions, the cartoon and the full length movie) showed the tale as a sort of love story with Peter and Wendy.  Yet, I always thought there was something dark about Peter, Neverland, and those Pirates.

Brom’s THE CHILD THIEF digs into the darker aspect of why would any kid want to go away and never grow up.  Peter’s darker side, the side that made him desire to steal kids away to come to a land where they were in danger of death or worse.  Lastly, whatever became of the ‘lost boys or girls’ that followed Peter?  What made those kids so vicious?

From the moment I read the first chapter I was captured, Peter unfolds as a complex likeable character that is also sinister.  See, Peter needs the kids just as much as they believe they need him.  He purposely selects his victims, stalks them actually.  Peter needs kids that are strong, have nothing to lose and that he can train to fight in the war that is waging in Neverland.

This book has a lot of violence, and is not for kids to read.  The violence has reason and the characters have depth.  The only reason I gave it less than 5 stars was because I cried near the end.  See I prefer happier endings..  The ending of this tale is good and fitting for the tale.  I just wanted a different outcome.

Reviewed By: 

LM Preston 

www.lmpreston.com

Writing stories for and about kids that overcome the impossible...

Author Annette Gisby Reviews "Dead To The World" by L. E. Bryce

Dead to the World by L. E. Bryce
Author Website: http://www.lebryce.com/ 
Publisher: Phaze http://www.phaze.com
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Review:

In a strange exotic land, Erred is an initiate of a powerful sea goddess. Without salt water he will die, as his spirit form is hrill, a type of creature reminiscent of a dolphin. On returning from a pilgrimage he and his entourage are attacked and at first the attackers think he is a woman with his silks and his veiled face. When it is discovered he is actually a very beautiful man, they decide not to kill him but capture him as a slave. Erred is taken across the desert to the city of Tajhann where he is trained to become a pleasure slave.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It is beautifully written but the things that happen to Erred are not glossed over, including his first rape at the hands of a greedy merchant who bought Erred for his son but then couldn't resist having a taste of the slave himself. It is a brutal scene, with Erred being drugged and unable to defend himself at all. It is harrowing and you really feel for Erred, but although it is a difficult scene to read without it the book wouldn't have been as strong.

Erred is a slave, he is there for his master's pleasure and nothing else. As he progesses and obeys he is moved through the ranks and one day may have the option to become a free courtesan, wherin he will pick and choose his own clients, but up until then he has no say in who his masters wish him to pleasure.

The book does have a hopeful ending, but I don't want to give it away. The characters are well drawn and you feel yourself drawn into this world of slaves and courtesans where one wrong look or word can mean your death; where friendships are one of the most important things and where love can be found even in the most unexpected places. Lots of political intrigue helps the plot along and I didn't want to stop reading I was so keen to see what happened to Erred.

The story is poignant, touching and erotic and one I would re-read again.

Reviewer
Annette Gisby
Author Website: http://www.annettegisby.n3.net

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I am taking Authors By Authors in a bit of a new direction in 2010.   I would like the site to become more of a review site with all reviews being done by authors ~ a little dream of mine.   So, if any published author would like to send me a review of a book they really liked, please contact me at authorsbyauthors@gmail.com.  

I see this as a promo opp.   A reviewer can have an author photo or cover photo up on the site with a brief tagline statement of what they write with a link to their author website.  These would remain on the sidebar for at least a month after every review. 

Include the following information with each book review…

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If I could, I would also like to have a few authors who would be willing to review books that would be sent to me as review requests, even if it is just one review a month.  If interested, again email me at authorsbyauthors@gmail.com.

I am still open to booking interviews as well if you are an author looking to interview another author.   Work it anyway you want! I am open to ideas and very flexible!

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