Releasing Gillian's Wolves, by Tara Woolpy (4 stars)

The quickest way to my heart as a reader . . . a strong, yet flawed, female character(s). My last two 5 star books have had this, see Call Me When You Land and Max and Menna (although this had equal parts strong female and male).

Releasing Gillian's Wolves featured Gillian, a very strong female in a more understated way. She fights for her family but discovers a way to fight for herself.

An excerpt from my review, the full review can be found at Rebecca's Reads:

What could be bad about a novel that starts with a “Survive Anything Double-Chocolate Brownies” recipe? Survive anything is the motto for Gillian Sach, longtime wife of Congressman Jack Sach. The love is gone, aided by Jack’s constant philandering. For thirty years, Gillian turned the other way for her children but she’s fed up. She wants freedom; “we can’t always be defined by the mistakes of our youth, even if we’re stuck with the consequences.”

I highly recommend this book to readers who love a strong female voice and a book centered around the bad guy getting his due.

What's your favorite read with a strong female character?

Call Me When You Land, Michael Schiavone (5 stars)

A great book, and I reserve 5 stars for truly exceptional pieces.

I've highlighted this book on my Depression Cookies blog twice: Friday Feature: Favorite Thing I Read This Week and Why 7/22/11 and Reading and Writing Go Hand in Hand.

A quick recap of my 7/22/11 post:

Call Me When You Land is a heartbreaking look into a family overcome by addicition. Katie loves her son, fifteen-year-old C.J., but she stuggles against poor choices, bad breaks, and self-destruction.

Reading this book was a lesson in character development. Shiavone exposed the characters in a slow-motion build, like watching an X-ray slowly come into focus. My heart was heavy, but I had hope and a strong desire to see this mom and child make it. The book is scheduled for a November 2011 release, please check it out.

My full review can be found at Rebecca's Reads.

Note: this book is at times gritty. If you are looking for light or breezy, this isn't the book for you. It's a no-nonsense book about addiction and its devastating effects on a family. For another great book with a similar theme, check out Shauna Kelley's Max and Menna (you can also read my take here).

If you've read this or any book I've reviewed, please leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you think.

Guardian Spirit, Sarah Martin Byrd (4 stars)

Guardian Spirit is a YA novel I recently reviewed for Rebecca's Reads. A quick synopsis: It's a story about an abused mother who flees with her son and daughter to her old family cabin. They live in fear, but little do they know they have a guardian spirit watching over them.

You can also find out more about the book visit my Depression Cookies blog where I compared it to the five star rated Max and Menna (also reviewed on Rebecca's Reads): The Dissection of a Must-Read and a Just-Missed-It.

It's summertime, so I hope to start pumping out reviews. Stay tuned!

Max and Menna, Shauna Kelley... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful

Few things make me happier than a good book. This book made me VERY happy. Please check out http://www.rebeccasreads.com/ for my full review (should be up soon).

I need to create a new rating system . . . I am considering having the following:

Don't waste your time

Borrow from a friend

Walk, don't run to the bookstore

Skip happily to the bookstore

Run as fast as you can to buy (or Click as fast as you can)

Max and Menna warrants a very fast RUN!