Book Review: Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester

David McClain is an Army Ranger who's about to ship out to Afghanistan. He's a nice guy who would love to find a woman to keep in touch with while he's overseas. Then he meets Lindsey and the chemistry between them is instantaneous. They spend an entire night together, sitting on a bench at the beach, talking. But then David heads to Afghanistan, and although they communicate often while he's away, David returns a changed man.

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester is a contemporary romance novel that explores the effects of war on relationships, and the trauma that many soldiers face with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We get to see the war from David's perspective, from wanting to get into the action, to experiencing the horrors of war up close and personal. As the war changes David, his interactions with Lindsey change as well.

The characters seem realistic throughout the entire novel, although the romance itself is a bit sappy at times. Those who love romance novels will enjoy that! I liked the fact that David was a cross between a macho man who volunteered for the toughest military duty and an emotional, gentle man around the woman he loves. Lindsey is also a complex character who has a great responsibility dealing with her father, who suffers from PTSD as well.

Overall, Gooseberry Island is a realistic story about war and PTSD, wrapped up in a sweet, honest romance. If you enjoy contemporary romance, I highly recommend this one.

My Rating: 4/5

Read my reviews of other books by Steven Manchester:
Pressed Pennies
The Rockin' Chair

This review was written based on a copy of Gooseberry Island that I received from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Banned Books Week: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park

This is the end of Banned Books Week and unfortunately, I haven't had a lot of time to write about banned books this year. But I did want to include at least one post about it, so today I wanted to share one of the book series that it seems most people are surprised to find on the list: Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park.

According to Wikipedia:
The Junie B. Jones series came in at #71 on the American Library Association's list of the Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books from 2000-2009. Reasons cited are poor social values taught by the books and Junie B. Jones not being considered a good role model due to her mouthiness and bad spelling/grammar. This is an interesting example of a banned book. Many times there are serious, controversial topics featured in books that are challenged. Things like homosexuality, drugs, vulgar language, etc. You can actually understand why people may not want their children to read those books, and why they may challenge their inclusion in school libra…

Book Review: No Story to Tell by KJ Steele

Victoria has been put down since the day she was born. First by her parents who were disappointed that she survived while her twin brother died. Then by her verbally abusive husband and his low-life friends. But soon an intriguing artist named Elliott arrives in town and starts encouraging Victoria to follow her dream of opening her own dance studio. She also begins to receive phone calls from a mysterious someone who gets her to open up about her past and face her true feelings.

In No Story to Tell, KJ Steele has captured the small-town atmosphere and brought these characters to life. From the victimized Victoria, to her drunk and obnoxious husband Bobby and his drunk and obnoxious friends, to all the side characters who you'd expect to encounter in a town like this ~ all are so realistic in both their actions and their voices. She has written a compelling story of an abused woman who thinks she is trapped in this loveless, miserable existence. But then she finds a spark of hope…

Book Review: I See You by Clare Mackintosh

Title: I See You
Author: Clare Mackintosh
Genre: thriller
Published: February 21, 2017
Format: ebook (NetGalley)
Source: publisher
Buy on Amazon(affiliate link)

Have you ever felt like someone was watching you? You will after reading Clare Mackintosh's latest release I See You. Told from the perspectives of two women, one who appears to be targeted by a criminal and the other who is the police officer working the case, this psychological thriller will have you looking over your own shoulder by the end.

Zoe is a typical working mother who takes the Underground through London to her office every day. Like most commuters, she has a routine that she follows every day, leaving home at the same time, sitting in the same train car, taking the same route to work from the station. It's habit. But she starts to realize this may not be a good idea after seeing her own photo in an advertisement in the newspaper. Another woman who appears in the advertisement is murdered and Zoe starts to ge…

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