Lily Luchesi's Blog (formerly Kelly Smith Reviews): college

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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "Envious Obsession" by Katie Keller-Neiman

For years Sandy's life has been ruled by her visions. They led her to her soul mate, Eric. They warned her not to trust her childhood friend Aurora. But they were a lie.
She was on the verge of having everything she ever wanted. Just when she was about to have it all, though, it slipped through her fingers.
Sandy is sick. With this revelation, her world crashes in around her. Her visions are written off as hallucinations, symptoms of her illness, not memories of past lives.
But while she may not believe any longer, she is far from safe.
Aurora is not the kind person everyone thinks she is. She is dangerous and obsessed with Sandy, and Todd can't help getting caught in the crossfire.
Protecting his cousin Sandy once seemed so easy for him, but now it threatens to take away everything Todd fought so hard for: his sobriety, his sanity and his future.
The closer he gets to Sandy, the more danger they both are in. Still, he is determined to do whatever it takes to keep Sandy safe.

I loved the first Envious book, with one exception: I didn't think that Ms. Keller-Neiman had explored Todd quite enough. In Envious Obsession, she remedied that, making us go inside Todd's world just as much, if not more than, Sandy's. Todd is one of the most interesting characters I've read about, and his vulnerability and pain make him a relatable and lovable character.
Again, I love that there is such a plain paranormal element to what could have been an excellent story all on its own. But adding in voodoo dolls, animal sacrifices and spells, not to mention past lives, made it so much better! Rarely can you find such a mixture of harsh reality and fantasy that works so we. l and flows so naturally.
Tony and Amelia, characters we also didn't see enough of or at all in the first book, play a huge role in this story as well. This is a truly well plotted tale and the characters could be your friends or neighbors.
The struggles that they all go through are so real and so raw, you'll want to go inside their world and hug them (or slap them, depending). This book and its predecessor could very well be some of the best novels of this generation.
Katie Keller-Neiman's writing is addictive. You won't be able to get enough!

5/5--a wonderful novel!

Purchase Envious Obsession via:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Envious-Obsession-Katie-Keller-Nieman-ebook/dp/B00QSP3NMS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418239772&sr=8-1&keywords=envious+obsession

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Envious-Obsession-2-Katie-Keller-Nieman/dp/1502534541/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418239772&sr=8-2&keywords=envious+obsession

Website: http://www.katiekellernieman.com/

Thursday, December 4, 2014

RELEASE DAY BLITZ W/ REVIEW: "Body Of Law Volume 1" by Amanda Lance

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Body of Law, Volume 1
by Amanda Lance<o:p></o:p></div>
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RELEASE DAY BLITZ<o:p></o:p></div>
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December 4, 2014</div>
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This routine is
killing me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Day in and day out,
it’s; the same thing: go to work, bed a whore, get a criminal off on a
technicality— pretty standard for one of Chicago’s most established criminal
defense attorneys. Yet I’m almost positive that if I don’t find something to
get me out of this rut I’ll go as crazy as the murders I defend.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And when Violet
Donovan walks in, the smart-mouthed intern who is anything but routine, I’m sure
those pouty lips and fuck-me eyes are just what I need to get my cock and love
for the law twitching again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Too bad she also
happens to be the daughter of the man who once tried to mentor me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Too bad she’s
completely off limits.<o:p></o:p></div>
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~*~ABOUT AMANDA LANCE~*~<o:p></o:p></div>
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A native of New
Jersey and lifelong nerd, Amanda Lance recently completed her Master in Liberal
Arts at Thomas Edison State College after her BA in English Literature and AFA
in creative writing. As an avid reader of all genres, some of her favorite
authors include Hemingway, Marquis de Sade, Stevenson, Bukowski and Radcliffe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When she isn’t
writing or reading, Amanda can found indulging in film noir or hiking with her
other half and their extremely spoiled dog. She is obsessively working on her
next book and trying to tame her caffeine addiction.<o:p></o:p></div>
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MY REVIEW:

Violet Donovan is a law intern in Chicago. Her father died young of lung cancer, but not after he instilled a love of ethics and charity in his daughter. Yet, get most memorable moment was meeting the sexy student Sebastian Scott.
Now, years later, he's her mentor as she interns at his high class criminal law firm...and he's just as sexy as ever, and ten times the jerk.
Can they put aside the attitudes and sexual tension until the internship is over?

Body Of Law is not just sexy, it's smart. I love that the female protagonist is pretty, nice and very intelligent. You don't see that very often.
The backstory is clear to the reader, and the emotions are written in neon. You'll love to be annoyed with Sebastian while finding him sexy as Hell, and Violet is delightfully snarky. They make a wonderful yin/yang combination abd their chemistry drives this story.
The cliffhanger ending is just the icing on the cake. You'll five headfirst into this great story!

4/5--a great, short read.

Monday, November 24, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "The Man I Love" by Suanne Laqueur

"You never got over her. You just left."

As a college freshman, Erik Fiskare is drawn to the world of theater but prefers backstage to center stage. The moment he lays eyes on a beautiful, accomplished dancer named Daisy Bianco, his atoms rearrange themselves and he is drawn into a romance both youthfully passionate and maturely soulful. It is a love story seemingly without end. But when a disturbed friend brings a gun into the theater, the story is forever changed. Six lives are lost and Daisy is left seriously injured, her professional dreams shattered.
Traumatized by the experience, the lovers spiral into depression and drug use until a shocking act of betrayal destroys their relationship. To survive, Erik must leave school and disconnect from all he loves. He buries his heartbreak and puts the past behind. Or so he believes.
As he moves into adulthood, Erik comes to grips with his role in the shooting, and slowly heals the most wounded parts of his soul. But the unresolved grief for Daisy continues to shape his dreams at night. Once those dreams were haunted by blood and gunfire. Now they are haunted by the refrain of a Gershwin song and a single question: is leaving always the end of loving?
The Man I Love explores themes of love and sexuality, trauma—physical and mental—and its long-lasting effects, the burden of unfinished business and the power of reconciliation. Through Erik’s experience we reflect on what it means to be a man, a son and a leader. A soul mate, a partner and a lover. What it means to live the truth of who you are and what you feel. What it means to fight for what you love.

The Man I Love is one of the deepest, most beautiful novels I have read.
You've got love, hate, addiction, death abandonment, PTSD and so much more, all gently shoved into a story about a boy and a girl. You're not reading a book when you open The Man I Love, you're entering a whole different world, filled with these wonderful, realistic and beautiful characters.
This is more than a novel about a shooting, or about two lovers. It's about heart, it's about trust and it's also about dance. Ballet is the central point, how these characters meet and where most of them work. I've never been a huge ballet fan, but reading this gave me a whole new appreciation for the art form.
The supporting characters, Will, James, Eric and Keesja, amongst others, are so amazingly there, they make the story what it is as much as Erik and Daisy do.
Sexual orientation and how it was perceived in the late 80's/early 90's is also a big part of the book, as is Erik's acceptance of it. He goes from a boy who has a bit of a bad taste in his mouth about it to allowing Will and Keesja to slap his behind and make lewd jokes.
That's what, I think, is the biggest thing in The Man I Love: growth. Erik, Daisy and the others do a lot of growing during the decade this novel spans, and it's wonderful to watch in your mind.
This novel was excellently executed with a lot of care. Readers will know this and they will appreciate it so much more because of it.

5/5--a beautiful masterpiece!

Purchase The Man I Love via:

Amazon

Add it on Goodreads!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "The Board" by William Bos

The Board is the story of five kids who inherit money, power, technology - and with a little help along the way - try to take over the world. Set in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1995, Jennifer and Brian are two kids who aren't part of the popular set. But they do know the difference between right and wrong. After the two fall in love, together they devise a plan of action to fight back and stop...The Board.

I can't say I liked this book and I can't say that I didn't, either.
The plot is very inventive, and I could actually see some of these things happening in real life with the amount of rich, powerful and very heartless young adults out there now.
The problem is, the plot is a bit confusing as you start to read the book. It doesn't become clear until chapter three exactly what the characters are up to. There is little description, and the dialogue is vety plain. No college kid, even the type A kids seen here, talk like Mr. Bos made his characters speak. There are very few conjunctions, making them seem foreign instead of American and the personalities are all very flat.
What I did like is that it's fast-paced, and the story was original. I can say there is no other plot out there similar to that of The Board. The plot could be a TV show. In fact, I think CBS would pick this up if they read this. (Any executives reading this right now?)
My problem is with the narrative. As I said, there is very little passion behind the writing. I know it wasn't meant to seem that way, but it does. The characters are very bland and the narration could've used more spark to engage the reader's senses a bit more. I think that this actually should be a screenplay instead of a book. Yes, that's a compliment!

I want to read more from Mr. Bos and see how his writing matures and grows.

3/5--needs work, but has a lot of potential!

Purchase The Board via:

Official site (lists all purchase links)

Pages

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "Envious Obsession" by Katie Keller-Neiman

Thursday, December 4, 2014

RELEASE DAY BLITZ W/ REVIEW: "Body Of Law Volume 1" by Amanda Lance

Monday, November 24, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "The Man I Love" by Suanne Laqueur

Saturday, November 8, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: "The Board" by William Bos

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