Treadmill Reads: Conversations With the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer

Synopsis (Goodreads):  Everyone seems to be getting on with their lives except Maggie. At 27, she’s still working at the local coffee house while her friends are getting married, having babies, and building careers. Even Olivia, Maggie’s best friend from childhood, is getting married to her doctor boyfriend. Maggie, on the other hand, lives with her dog Solo and has no romantic prospects save for the torch she carries for Domenic, the busboy. Though Maggie and Olivia have been best friends since their fattie grade school years, Olivia’s since gone the gastric-bypass surgery route in hopes of obtaining the elusive size two, the holy grail for fat girls everywhere. So now Olivia’s thin, blond, and betrothed, and Maggie’s the fat bridesmaid. Ain’t life grand? In this inspiring debut novel, Maggie speaks to women everywhere who wish for just once that they could forget about their weight.

My take:   Maggie is every young woman who ever fought the weight battle – every young woman who has never felt comfortable with her body. I understood Maggie and I cheered for her as she started to figure things out with her best friend, her love life, and her job situation.

Conversations With the Fat Girl is filled with interesting characters. From Maggie’s family to her co-workers it was easy to find comparable characters in my own life. I liked most and understood the reason for them all. This is a novel begging to be on the small or large screen. Thank you Liza Palmer for writing Maggie’s story. Once upon a time I was in her shoes.

There’s a reader’s guide included and you can find more information about the author here. I’m looking forward to reading Ms. Palmer’s other books.

• Title:  Conversations With the Fat Girl
• Author:  Liza Palmer
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  September 2005 – 5 Spot
• Source:  I bought it

Treadmill Reads: A Year at 32 September Way by Mary Ylisela

Synopsis (publisher):  What happens when five people from three different countries move to the same apartment building in Italy for one year? One thing’s for sure–their lives will never be the same. Meet Carlisle, Nicolette, Josh, Charles, Eva and their landlord Senor Benedetto as they spend a year at 32 September Way. Whether they hope to find something in Verona or wish to leave something behind, the City of Love manages to change each one of them in ways they never expected.

My take:  I read this novel with a group of online friends. It’s a fast read and I enjoyed it. The author developed the characters just enough to make them interesting and somewhat relatable. 

The setting was great. 32 September Way is a charming 4-apartment house in Verona, Italy. Mary Ylisela’s detailed descriptions of the house and surrounding neighborhood really brought the novel to life. I found it easy to visualize it all.

As I read, I wondered if I could ever live in another country for a year without knowing anyone (no family, no friends) before I arrived. My favorite character did just that which made her and the book that much more interesting. I liked how the author brought each one  of the characters through their challenges and ended on a hopeful note. After I finished reading the book I found out there’s a sequel. I will definitely read it!

• Title:  A Year at 32 September Way
• Author:  Mary Ylisela
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction
• Published:  November 2012 – CreateSpace; Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Source:  I bought it.

Treadmill Reads: What She Wants by Sheila Roberts

• Title:  What She Wants – Life in Icicle Falls #4
• Author:  Sheila Roberts
• Genre:  Contemporary Fiction; series
• Published:  March 2013 – Harlequin MIRA
• Source:  Publisher via NetGalley

Synopsis (publisher): What do women want? Jonathan Templar and his poker buddies can’t figure it out. Take Jonathan, for instance. He’s been in love with Lissa Castle since they were kids but, geek that he is, she’s never seen him as her Mr. Perfect. He has one last shot-their high school reunion. Kyle Long is equally discouraged. The pretty receptionist at his office keeps passing him over for other guys who may be taller but are definitely not superior. And Adam Edwards might be the most successful of Jonathan’s friends, but he isn’t having any success on the home front. His wife’s kicked him out. 

When Jonathan stumbles on a romance novel at the Icicle Falls library sale, he knows he’s found the love expert he’s been seeking-Vanessa Valentine, top-selling romance author. At first his buddies laugh at him for reading romance novels, but soon they, too, realize that these stories are the world’s best textbooks on love. Poker night becomes book club night…and when all is read and done, they’re going to be the kind of men women want!

My take: I think I’ve found the first beach book of 2013 to recommend! Sheila Roberts made me laugh out loud as I read about Jonathan, Kyle, and Adam trying to figure out what women, more specifically the women they want, well, WANT.

The discussions at the weekly poker games were funny yet made the point that men probably go through as much anxiety about finding The One as women do. Vance, who was married once upon a time, and Bernardo, currently happily married, give advice to the three younger men in as few words as humanly possible – they’re such guys!

But what ends up being the most helpful are Romance novels. Jonathan convinces his friends to read one or two. They’re so desperate that they’ll try just about anything. It was fun watching them try out various things learned from the Romance heroes. 

You’ll have to read the book to see if they get their dream girls or if they find they’ve been dreaming of the wrong girl all along! I recommend What She Wants to anyone looking for a light, fun read. Perfect for vacation, stay-cation, or even the treadmill :).

Treadmill Reads: Lucky Bang by Deborah Coonts

Synopsis (publisher):  Having a blast on the 4th of July in Vegas takes on a whole new meaning for Lucky O’Toole, head of customer relations for the Babylon, a major Strip property, when she discovers a bomb in a friend’s restaurant and narrowly escapes becoming part of the “explosive entertainment.” And this wasn’t the first time. Years ago, when Lucky was small, she’d had another narrow escape. Could the two be related? Missing dynamite, an old grudge, and whispers from the past, force Lucky to delve into dark secrets best left alone. And when her father disappears, things become personal.

My take:  What a fun read! Deborah Coonts offers fans of the Lucky O’Toole series a novella that starts with a bang and doesn’t let up until you’ve turned the last page. It’s enough to hold me over until the next novel in the series is published. Loved it! Can’t wait to see where things go with Lucky and her growing list of admirers. This series has become an auto-buy/read for me. Lucky Bang could be a stand-alone but I recommend reading the series in order. 

• Title:  Lucky Bang – A Lucky O’Toole Original Novella
• Author:  Deborah Coonts
• Genre:  Romantic Suspense
• Publisher:  June 2012 – Deborah Coonts
• Source:  I bought it

Treadmill Reads: Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Synopsis (Publisher):  After her father loses the family fortune in an insider-trading scheme, single mom Parker Welles is faced with some hard decisions. First order of business: go to Gideon’s Cove, Maine to sell the only thing she now owns—a decrepit house in need of some serious flipping. When her father’s wingman, James Cahill, asks to go with her, she’s not thrilled…even if he is fairly gorgeous and knows his way around a toolbox.
Having to fend for herself financially for the first time in her life, Parker signs on as a florist’s assistant and starts to find out who she really is. Maybe James isn’t the glib lawyer she always thought he was. And maybe the house isn’t the only thing that needs a little TLC…

My take:  Kristan Higgins did it again. She managed to make me laugh out loud one minute and the next minute was pulling the old heartstrings.  I loved the story of Parker and James and how they learned that sometimes you have to ask for a second chance and sometimes you have to give one. A sweet story that has me checking my shelves for another Kristan Higgins novel. Reading Somebody to Love made my treadmill time a breeze!

• Title:  Somebody to Love
• Author:  Kristan Higgins
• Genre:  Contemporary Romance
• Published:  April 2012 – HQN Books
• Source:  I bought it

Treadmill Reads: The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook by Josie Brown

Synopsis (Goodreads):  Every desperate housewife would love an alias. Donna Stone has one, and it’s government sanctioned. Oh sure, you need to be ruthless to take on Russian mafia bosses, rogue dictators, and terrorists set on destroying the world. But it takes real killer instincts to survive suburbia. Try juggling the fifth grade phone tree during a shootout with skinhead arms dealers, or driving carpool while being chased by Chinese double agents.

Donna’s life wasn’t always this complicated. Five years earlier she was just another woman with two preschoolers, a baby bump, and an adoring husband, Carl, with whom she lived happily ever after in a McMansion in the Orange County, California community of Hilldale. But Donna’s life was changed forever the night she delivered her baby: 

Carl’s car blew up on the way to the hospital.

Turns out Carl was a “hard man” – an assassin – for the black ops organization known as Acme Corporation. The hit on Alex was carried out by the Quorum, a terrorist cell he was tracking. The Quorum’s motto: “Show me the money.” Governments and corporations do as they’re told-or suffer bloody consequences.

Carl left something behind that the Quorum wants badly. To protect herself and avenge Carl’s death, Donna joined Acme. Whereas her hostessing skills rival Martha Stewart’s, her marksmanship is second to none.

A good thing, too, because the Quorum has planted a sleeper cell in Hilldale. For Donna, that’s too close for comfort. Will she be able to save her family before the Quorum blows up Los Angeles?

Acme’s way of flushing out the Quorum is by “bringing Carl back from the dead.” But terrorism makes strange bedfellows. Jack Craig, the wild card Acme operative paired with Donna brings, new meaning to that old adage “Honey, I’m home…”

My take:  So this was fun! Think Desperate Housewives meets a more savvy Stephanie Plum* – but Donna is a reluctant spy/hitwoman for Acme, a Black Ops organization. She wants to avenge her husband’s death so she takes every assignment given to her and is quite successful. Her most challenging assignment walks into her life in the form of her husband – now being played by Jack Craig, a cocky and incredibly handsome Acme operative. Can Donna make her kids and neighbors believe Carl is really  himself and home to stay? Will she hang on to her sanity and see the assignment through? You’ll just have to read to find out!

Brown had me laughing out loud as I walked my 45 minutes on the treadmill each morning. She gets huge kudos because I actually looked forward to exercise. Really! I loved that the main character has the same name as Donna Reed’s perfect housewife character in The Donna Reed show – a tv sitcom from the 50s and 60s. 

The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook is entertaining, over the top and maybe even predictable – and I liked it that way! Any book that makes me want to exercise is a winner. I can’t wait to see what predicament sassy Donna and sexy Jack find themselves in next.

* I gave up on Stephanie after book 8 because nothing ever changed and didn’t look like it would. I’m cautiously optimistic about Donna.

• Title:  The Housewife Assassin’s Handbook (Housewife Assassin #1)
• Author:  Josie Brown
• Genre:  Romantic Suspense; Humor
• Published:  May 2011 – Signal Press
• Source:  I bought it.