Intimate Strangers by Anne M Strick/RABT VBTour

 

 

 

Romance / Social Issues

Title: Intimate Strangers

Author - Anne M. Strick

Date to be Published: June 5, 2011

Synopsis:

THE RICH, COMPLEX  AND PASSIONATE STORY OF A CONTESTED ADOPTION AND THE TWO WOMEN  LAWYERS WHO JOIN TO SAVE A SMALL  BOY'S LIFE.    THIS BOOK EXAMINES THE VARIOUS FACES OF LOVE: EROTIC LOVE AND ROMANTIC LOVE THE LOVE  OF PARENT FOR CHILD AND CHILD FOR  PARENT; AND  WHAT "REALLY" MAKES A  PARENT.

My Review:  

My first thought after reading Intimate Strangers was what a small world we live in.   We've all experienced it when we run across someone from our past....sometimes it's a reminder of a memorable past and sometimes it's just down right haunting.   Our story is about Georgie Allcheck, who worked her way through years of bad choices, worked hard and became a successful lawyer, in partnership with Dru Cunningham.    They work with adoptive parents and young women seeking to place their babies in adoptive homes.

This is a work of fiction, but concerns us as a society and as a nation.   Is a child simply a possession of the biological parents?  When I was raising my babies, I know I felt like they were "mine", not so much as in ownership, but protectiveness.   The story centered around a court case pertaining to Timothy Macauley Janus, a happy thriving two year old, who had been placed with his adoptive parents at 4 days old.   After two years, Timothy's biological father wanted to reclaim his son.   But what was in Timothy's best interest?   And did the best interest even matter to the courts?

I think we can all yet remember a few years ago when  a similar case brought people together throughout the nation for the best interest of the child to prevail.   Not so in our courts.    This was a heart rendering story about a very emotional topic that does affect society as a whole.   Once I got into this novel, I found it very difficult to put it down.   It is a well developed, well researched read.   The characters are well developed and have their share of self inflicted hurts and flaws, but they are certainly easy to empathize with in the blurred world of rights and wrong.

Don't take my word for what a great read this was, read it for yourself.   I doubt you will have any regrets.  I am fast becoming a fan of Ms Strick!   You will enjoy the Heart and Soul of her intelligent writing as well.

Anne M. Strick

Author Bio:

Anne M.Strick has spent over twenty years in the movie industry. She has worked for Universal, Warners, Paramount and EMI, as a Unit Publicist, Project Coordinator and National Publicity Director,  and  with such Hollywood legends as Jack Nicholson, James Earl Jones, Sean Penn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Lynch, Sting and Dino De Laurentiis, among many others.  She has published theater reviews, articles in Parents Magazine , Frontier and The Nation, and six books: two novels, two self-help books, one memoir (a best-seller in Italy); and a non-fiction, scholarly critique of our adversary trial system. (”remarkable”) . Born in Philadelphia, and educated at Bennington College and UCLA, she lives in Los Angeles.

 Contact Links:

 www.annemstrick.com

Purchase Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Intimate-Strangers-Anne-M-Strick/dp/1453776257/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1315764695&sr=8-5

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96306

**Due to illness I am unable to provide a review at this time.  My review will be forthcoming on an updated post.  Thanks for your patience.

For additional Reviews and comments please follow the tour schedule below:

VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR October 1 - October 26

 October 1 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet

October 1 - Cozie Corner - Review/Giveaway

October 2 - The Book Faery Reviews - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

October 3 - Zone Out Mode - Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

October 4 - For the Love of Film and Novels - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

October 5 - Andi's Book Reviews - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt

October 6 - My Devotional Thoughts - Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

October 7 - Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews - Giveaway/excerpt/PROMO

October 8 - Beth Art From the Heart - Review/Excerpt

October 9 - Book Lovin Mamas - Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

October 10 - Reading With Holly - Giveaway/PROMO

October 11 - The Book Hoard - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

October12 - Book Reviews and More - Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

October 13 - Books and Needlepoint - Review/GuestPost/Giveaway/Excerpt

October 14 - My Escape - Review/Guest Post

October 15 - Reviews by Molly - Review/Excerpt

October 16 - Comfort Books - Interview/Giveaway/PROMO

October 17 - Debbie Jean's Blog - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

October 18 - My Chaotic Ramblings - Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

October 18 - Bunny's Reviews - Guest Post/PROMO

October 19 - Jersey Girl Book Reviews- Review/Guest Post/Excerpt

October 20 - Bunny's Reviews - Giveaway/Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

October 21 - Books For Me - Review/Excerpt

October 22 - The Solitary Bookworm - Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

October 23 - My Seryniti - Interview/Excerpt/PROMO

October 24 - Sniffer Walk - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

October 25 - Turning the Pages - Review/Interview

October 26 - Romance Book Club - Review/Interview/Excerpt

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

 

 

 

The Accidental Don by Guy Tirondola/ RABT Promo

Title: The Accidental Don

Author - Guy J. Tirondola

 

 

Date Published: 3/2012

 

 

Synopsis:

 

:  Locals in a small southern coastal village come to fear Donato De Luca, the stranger who has settled among them, whom they wrongly surmise to be a Mafia don. Donato, a bar owner from Newark, on the run, falsely accused of stealing money from the mob, uses his new-found evil identity as a force for good, combating hatred, bigotry, superstition, and finally confronting the mob boss who has arrived to kill him.

Donato’s journey reveals that some men are born wicked, some men achieve wickedness, and some men have wickedness thrust upon them

Author Bio:

Award-winning short-story writer was raised in Newark, NJ, and summered in Beaufort, SC.  He is a denizen of city streets and salt marshes.  This cultural mélange informs his writing sensibilities.  He brings an insider’s perspective to THE ACCIDENTAL DON. 

 Contact Links:

Website

Purchase Links:

Amazon

 

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

I apologize for the lack of a review.  I have been ill and have fallen behind in my reading.    My review will be forthcoming on a future post.   Thank you.

My Favorite Mistake by Chelsea Cameron Promo/ SupaGurl Tour

  Blurb:




Taylor
Caldwell can't decide if she wants to kiss her new college roommate or punch him.


On the one hand, Hunter Zaccadelli is a handsome, blue-eyed bundle of charm. On the other, he's a tattooed, guitar-playing bundle of bad boy. Maybe that's why Taylor's afraid of falling in love with him, or anyone else. She doesn't want to get burned, and even though her other roommates adore him, she
wants him gone before it's too late.


Hunter himself has been been burned before, but the fact that Taylor calls him out on his crap and has the sexiest laugh ever make him decide maybe love isn't a lost cause. They make a bet: if she can convince him she truly loves or hates him, he'll leave the apartment--and leave her alone. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the less she hates him, and the more she moves toward love.


But when the man who holds the key to Taylor's fear of giving up her heart resurfaces and threatens to wreck everything, she has to decide: trust Hunter with her greatest secret, or do everything in her power to win that bet and drive him away forever.

 

 

Author Info:

Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

She has two books out now, Nocturnal and Nightmare, the first and second books in the Noctalis Chronicles about a girl with a dying mother who meets an immortal boy. The third book, Numb will be out this August, and the fourth in the winter. Her other book, Whisper, about a girl who is alive, a boy who isn't and the complications that go along with their relationship, released June 16 and is the first in a trilogy.

Links :

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Character Profile

(author’s note: The actress who best resembles Renee is Amanda Seyfried above)

Name:  Renee Marilyn Archer

Age: 21

Birthday: May 3

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Favorite Color: Pink

Childhood Ambition: To have a crap ton of money (I was a superficial kid)

Favorite Food: Banana Split

How would you spend your ideal Saturday night?

Going to a concert. I love live music and going nuts in a mosh pit. Although, nothing can hold a candle to winning an epic Skyrim tournament. *sighs*

Favorite Movie: Mean Girls

Favorite Song: Call Me Maybe. What? It’s catchy.

How many tattoos do you have?

None. I’m not allowed to have them if I want to work in a neo-natal intensive care unit. It doesn’t really jive with the nurse thing.

Lightning Round

Night or Day?

Night, I guess. It’s easier to find a spare table at the library.

Sour or Sweet?

Can I have both?

City or Country?

*shrugs* Doesn’t really matter, as long as my family is a far enough distance away that they can’t pop in to visit.

Fate or Luck?

That’s a tough one. Sometimes I think that things seem like they happen for a reason, and then sometimes they don’t… I’d side with fate more than luck.

Quote: “Honey, if he moves out, that’s not going to change your feelings. You’re still going to want to jump his bones if he lives here, or in Istanbul.”

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  I apologize that I have been ill and am therefore behind on my reading.   A review of this book will be forthcoming on a future post...So stay tuned!! :D

 

 

 

 

 

*BLAST* Clutch by J A Huss/Supagurl Tours

In 2152 the avian race is on Earth looking for something stolen from them decades ago – their genetics. At the center of the search lies the Rural Republic; a small backwards farming country with high hopes of military domination and a penchant for illegal bioengineering.

19 year old Junco Coot is the daughter of the Rural Republic’s ranking commander. She’s the most foul-mouthed, wildly unpredictable and ruthless sniper the Rural Republic has ever trained. But when her father’s death sparks a trip into forbidden places, she triggers events that will change everything she knows to be true.

As an elite avian military officer, Tier’s mission is to destroy the bioengineering projects, kill Commander Coot’s daughter, and return home immediately. There’s just one problem. Junco isn’t who she claims to be.

With no one to trust, not even herself, Junco must confront the secrets of her past and accept her place in the future, or risk losing herself completely.

Clutch – Book One

YouTube Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0PWDGoTJY

EXCERPT

"I think we should stick together, Junco. In fact I was thinking I can help get ya back to safety. Ya know, help ya get the Goat back up on the road. Even though yer healed, yer still pretty–" He hesitates.

"I’m pretty?" I ask.

He laughs a little and shakes his head, which pisses me off for some reason. "No, I was going to say pretty weak, ya know. From yesterday’s crash. But then I wondered if ya would take that as an insult as well."

I roll my eyes and try to push past him to get the winch hooked up to a tree, but he leans his hands on either side of the Goat, essentially boxing me in. I shoot him a nasty look and he drops his hands to let me through.

"Thanks for all your help," I call back to him, "but I’m going to take it from here. And I won’t report you, so don’t worry about that. Just get hell out of the RR before anyone else sees you." I turn to see how he’s taking the news but he’s not there. When I turn back he’s in front of me again.

He shakes his head at me.

I shake mine back and raise my eyebrows.

"You’ll refuse my help?"

"Look," I huff, "you have those people tracking you and neither of us is supposed to be out here in the first place, so let’s just cut our losses and move on. Separately."

He looks down to the tech that is still in his hand. "They can’t see anything here. Some sort of shield."

"Right. That’s called a defense system. The deeper you go into the Stag, the thicker the shields. So why don’t you just fly over to the Mountain Republic where they probably can track you?"

He lifts the device to illustrate his point. "In case ya haven’t figured it out yet, these people aren’t my ride home."

"So why are they tracking you?"

His eyes twinkle and I know what’s coming and push past him at a full run. He’s on me before I can take more than half a dozen strides and pulls on my shirt until I slip in the mud and go down hard on my back.

"Stop!" I scream, but instead of stopping he pins my arms down and sits on top of me as I wriggle and kick to try and get him off. His legs twine around mine, essentially cutting off any thoughts of getting him off me that way. Then his eyes are glowing again and his lips are touching my cheek, whispering for me to settle and be calm.

To my surprise, I do settle. I can’t help it. I realize too late that the soft words brushing past the sensitive skin on my cheek are controlling me. I can feel the sound waves trickling into my ear canal, making their way to the nerve pathways that control my muscles, and I bring my shoulders up to try and push his face away. His lips remain next to my ear and I am just about to fully give in when the tech device, forgotten and left on the ground during our struggle, sounds off an alarm. He loses his concentration and the words stop for half a moment, but that’s all I need.

I take my opportunity and flip myself over so that I’m on my belly. This takes him by surprise and for a split-second he is off balance. I flip back around and use my right arm to knock him in the windpipe as my body turns. He goes reeling off of me and I’m up and running down into the little creek.

A boot goes flying just past my head, but I don’t stop and wonder at this weird turn of events. I run as hard as I can, over the opposite bank, out of the small grove of cottonwoods, and into the tall flowing prairie grass. I’m short, so the leftover husks slap me in the face as I run, blurring my vision.

The wings descend and he’s swooping down upon me. I look up to see talons where his boots were just a few minutes ago and they latch onto my shoulders, puncturing my skin and making me scream. His grip tightens and clutches onto my shoulders making me fall. I roll as I land and pop back up, booking it again without missing a beat.

One second I’m hauling ass towards the open prairie, the next he’s on the ground in front of me and we’re on a collision path. I plan my move and let him get to within a few strides of me and then I flip into the air and land on the other side of him. He misses a step and I take advantage of it, turn and deliver a hook kick to his jaw. His head snaps to the side and he stumbles over sideways a little.

I run hard for a few seconds and don’t look back. Off in the distance I hear the roar of a hovercopter and a few seconds later I feel the effects of the prairie grass wind tunnel it creates from the blades, but still I push my way through the now wildly swaying wheat until I come upon the alien again.

His lip is bleeding and his jaw is slightly red from my kick. I stop in my tracks, bent over and panting hard.

He’s not even out of breath.

"I’m not the enemy, Junco," he screams above the roar, "and if you know what’s good for ya, you’ll run like hell because if those guys from the Mountain Republic get you, you’ll end up in the same messed-up place as your father."

He flies off, disappearing in the tallgrass before I can even string together a sentence.

But his words stay with me. Dead like my father is not something I want to be so I follow his advice. I run until the MR soldiers in the hovercopter blast me with a plasma bolt and I fall to the ground unconscious.

Author Info:

J. A. Huss never took a creative writing class in her life. Some would say it shows. Others might cut her some slack. She did however, get educated and graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Equine Science. She had grand dreams of getting a Ph.D. but while she loves science, she hated academia and settled for a M.S. in Forensic Toxicology from the University of Florida.

She’s always packing heat and she is owned by two donkeys, five dogs, more chickens and ducks than she can count, and of course, the real filthy animals, her kids. The I Am Just Junco series was born after falling in love with the ugliest part of Colorado and the Rural Republic is based on the area of the state she currently resides in, minus the mutants, of course.

Links :

Weblinks

Website: http://www.iamjustjunco.com/

Author Blog: http://jahuss.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Junco-Coot/258034560979553

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6446815.J_A_Huss

YouTube Trailer - CLUTCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0PWDGoTJY

Clutch: http://www.amazon.com/CLUTCH-Just-Junco-Dot-ebook/dp/B009BIOJTU/

AISN: B009BIOJTU

 I have not read this book as yet, but I intend to!

Rebel Princess by Anne M Strick/ RABT VB Tour

 Rebel Princess by Anne M Strick

Romance

Date to be Published: September 14, 2010

 

 

Synopsis:

 

An insider's first-ever behind-the-scenes scoop on how movies are REALLY made: gritty,  grinding, tunnel-vision labor, back-stage intrigue, explosive dramas, parties, and relationships that last a night or a lifetime. Larger-than-life characters who live life with fervor, and contend with their own inner demons and one another, all in the pressure cook er of a location shoot in the exotic world of Mexico.  This romp of a story  follows 

the making of a movie from pre-production through wrap.  A hotly passionate love story elevate the stakes.

Complete  with sex,  suspense and a possible murder.

Guest Post from Anne M Strick:      Rebel Princess, (part )

 

These shots of me with Arnold Schwartzenegger and Wilt Chamberlain

were made on the set of CONAN THE DESTROYER, at Churubusco Studios, in Mexico - where THE REBEL PRINCESS is set, and which shapes the background and plot of the book. The film’s producer, Raffaella de Laurentiis, was to a large extent  - with some dramatic/erotic  license - the model for my protagonist, Davena De  Havilland.   (I eventually did six films with  her around the  world).

The gag-shot photographer, the renowned Time Magazine star Dirck Halstead, had been called in to do some “special or high-end” still photography.  By now we were buddies.  I’d worked  with Dirck before, on the movie GREYSTOKE,  in Africa, Scotland and England, and  on DUNE, then filming a Churubusco in tandem with CONAN.  By now, we were buddies.  I’d helped lug his equipment through the mud of the African rain forest, and we’d shared innumerable meals and hairy auto rides down dicey roads in several countries.  It often amused him, at the end of a days ’shoot,  to play a little  - and set up gag pictures with the principals and me.

Incidentally  - that we were filming 

CONAN THE DESTROYER and DUNE at Churubusco Studios at the same time – was a rare arrangement.   Raffaella was producing  both,  and the two-for-one gambit made  financial sense - though not easy!  I was the publicist on both, and I’ve never worked harder  - nor had more memorable fun.

Nor so much enjoyed writing a book about it all!

 Thank you for joining us today, Anne!

My Review:  

 Mostly the story is told from the heroine's , Davena De Havilland, point of view.   Davena has always been a free spirit with a strong mind and even stronger needs.   She wants to produce the film, Open Season and she wants to do it her way.   After all, Rafe promised she would handle it and prove herself.   He's the boss and her dad.  But even though he promised, there are some changes he's made and threw at her last minute.   A dalliance with an actor throws a pipe wrench in Davena's plans when his wife is murdered and Davena is apparently considered to have a significant part in it.   The lead actress and actor have an affair under the nose of her significant other who is on set caring for their 2 children.   And Davena's own sister is out to prove herself to be grown up and all that, having slept with three men in very recent times and is found to be pregnant.   And it all happens in Mexico, far from home and familiarity and where the officials certainly wouldn't be mistaken for good ole Americans.   And to top it off, the co producer brings in a top notch script writer, that no one knows Davena was once married to....Will the fur fly or will someone near and dear have a happily ever after?

Ok the story line and characters have a boatload of baggage and past history.

It all takes place in a twelve week time period and Murphy's law prevails.   Are they cursed?   Heck no, this is what kind of crazy events fill all on location shoots, but I really wondered just how much more Davena could deal with. 

The story is told in a sequence of weekly shoot happenings and setbacks.   It is relatively fast moving and the characters, although they may be at each other's throats are all sympathetic to the reader--in a dysfunctional family style!   And the team has only one goal...to make a creditable wrap and a darned good movie.   I should also mention the sex scenes are adult in nature

and this should be considered an adult read.  Overall I liked it but I think I needed to give the book more time to be digested and I fear I have not done it justice in my review.   I will further state, I am glad my own life lies on the viewing end of movies and films and not with their creation.   That kind of life is for those tougher than me!

About our author: 

 Anne M.Strick has spent over twenty years in the movie industry. She has worked for Universal, Warners, Paramount and EMI, as a Unit Publicist, Project Coordinator and National Publicity Director,  and  with such Hollywood legends as Jack Nicholson, James Earl Jones, Sean Penn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Lynch, Sting and Dino De Laurentiis, among many others.  She has published theater reviews, articles in Parents Magazine , Frontier and The Nation, and six books: two novels, two self-help books, one memoir (a best-seller in Italy); and a non-fiction, scholarly critique of our adversary trial system. (”remarkable”) . Born in Philadelphia, and educated at Bennington College and UCLA, she lives in Los Angeles.

 Contact Links:

 www.annemstrick.com

Purchase Links:

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Rebel-Princess-ebook/dp/B004SOYN52/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1315764695&sr=8-3

Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/80692

For additional reviews of this read, please follow the tour schedule below:

September 10 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet

September 10 - Book Reviews and More - Giveaway/Guest Post/Excerpt/PROMO

September 12 - The Book Faery Reviews - Excerpt/PROMO

September 13 - Kimmie's Bookshelf - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

September 14 - LoveLiveLife Reviews- Review/Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 15 - Library Muse - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

September 16 - Firestar Books - Interview/Giveaway/PROMO

September 17 - Books and Needlepoint - Interview/Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

September 18 - What's on the Bookshelf - Guest Post/Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

September 19 - My Escape - Giveaway/Excerpt/PROMO

September 20 - Dive Under the Cover - Review/Excerpt

September 21 - My Miscellaneous Bookshelf - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 22 - The Bookshelf - Giveaway/Guest Post/PROMO

September 24 - My Reading Addiction - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 25 - Debbie Jean's Blog - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

September 26 - My Chaotic Ramblings - Guest Post/ Excerpt/PROMO

September 27 - My Cozie Corner - Review/Giveaway

September 28 - Reviews By Molly - Review/Giveaway

September 30 - Jenn Renee Read - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

October 1 - Gothic Angel Book Reviews- Review/Giveaway/Guest Post/Excerpt

October 2 - Book Lovin Mama's - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

October 3 - Beth Art From the Heart - Review/Excerpt

October 4 - Reader Girls - Review/Giveaway/Excerpt

October 5 - The Adventures Within- Review/Interview/Guest Post/excerpt

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

 

What did you read in September 2012?

 

Calico Joe by John Grisham...a review

Youza!   Youza!   Get your peanuts!  Popcorn!  Footlongs!   'n Ice Cold Beer!

   Bases are loaded and yes sirree Bob, it's a high flyin' ball!   Joe brings it in with a grand slam!

Reading Grisham's Calico Joe was like a blast from the past- a day at the ball park and the stories of legends!   How many eight to ten year olds love(d) the sport of baseball?   Well there were loads of them.  I had four brothers and umpteen cousins who all collected and traded ball cards, kept track of stats, and played in little league, just like our main character, Paul Tracey.    We see all the joy of a young fan in Paul's character.

Too bad for Paul, he has the worst father ever!   You know the type...they've never grown up.   It's all about themselves and everybody else is secondary or at the bottom of the so called totem pole.   Meet  Warren Tracey, pitcher for the Mets and father of Paul Tracey.    Always traveling, playing ball and drinking.   When home fear resides in the home and abuse comes walking in beside him.   Consider the life long toll on impressionable brother and sister.

While Paul is young, he idolizes the newest and greatest player to grace the ball field, young Joe Castle from Calico Arkansas, now known as Calico Joe.   Joe's stats are the best, he is humble, and he loves baseball!
But his career is tragically cut short by a bean ball that caught him in the head and was pitched by Paul's father on the fateful day many years ago.

The story is told from Paul's point of view.   Son of a pitcher, baseball fan---where does his father's fallout end?   Or does it?   The story centers around baseball, but it also deals with right and wrong.  It deals with the relationship between father and son; how Paul and Warren rectify some of the wrongs before it is forever too late.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.  Although I took a very nostalgic road throughout the book, I hated to learn Calico Joe was not a real ball player.    I certainly became a hard and fast fan of his!!  Definitely a must read for any ball fan who ever invested time and love in the sport!

Read it for yourself and let me know what you think?   I'd love to know how you felt!

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.