The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

Charming, witty, hilarious, and wonderfully executed; this novel is a must read for fans of The Big Bang Theory Television show. Don Tillman remained me so much of Sheldon Cooper and I love Sheldon from Big Bang. So this was a really enjoyable read for me. Rosie quickly became my favorite character. She was exactly what Don needed in his life. She was fun, she was, (please excuse language), bad-ass, and I can't give too much else away, but you will love Rosie. 

About: 

A  socially challenged genetics professor is on a quest to find the perfect wife. Thus begins the Wife Project. Armed with a questionnaire and high expectations, he goes out on many dates. He soon finds that his approach to love is all wrong. Then his friend Gene introduces him to Rosie Jarman, and all logic goes out the window. As she interrupts his daily scheduled with her quirkiness, flair for adventure and unruly ways. She teaches him how to live and helps him discover a world in which he thought closed to him. 



Review:  

I gave this novel 3 out of 5 stars. The reason being that, while the novel is funny, charming, witty, and wonderfully executed; I also found the novel to be poorly written. Once again, this was a problem of telling instead of showing. There was also a problem of there being way too much unnecessary information. A lot of the novel could have been scrapped and it would not have affected the story at all. Ultimately, I did get bored with the novel and had to force my way to the end. Spoiler Alert: I loved the jacket scene that takes place when they first meet. As well as, a few other hilarious situations that take place throughout the novel. And overall those helped me to make my way through the novel. Because if not for the humor, I would have stopped reading the book entirely. With that said, I would recommend this novel for anyone who loves reading and loves nerdy things. The second book in this series is The Rosie Effect. I will not be reading it, but  if you end up loving the first book than I do encourage you to read the second. 

Get the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Rosie-Project-Novel-Graeme-Simsion/dp/1476729093/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479237301&sr=8-1&keywords=rosie+project      

As always, if you have a book you'd like to be reviewed, please leave a link to it in the comments and I'll consider it. I do not get paid for this. These reviews are simply my honest opinion. Thanks for reading. 
     

Wings of Glass, Gina Holmes

Finished Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes. So I already voiced my opinions of this book and I'm not going to share those opinions here because they contain spoilers. But very briefly here's what I thought. The book overall was good. I enjoyed the story, characters were okay, subject matter was portrayed very well, ending was decent, holds interest wasn't boring, and pretty much the entire execution of the story was done nicely. Those are the positive things I can say about this story. The story itself deals with a heavy topic, it's about martial abuse or spousal abuse. I'm not going to say too much about that. So let's just get right into the
review.

About: 

Eighteen-year-old, Penny Carson, is swept off her feet by a handsome farmhand. Trent Taylor offers an escape from her one-stop-sign town. But before the ink even dries on their marriage certificate, he hits her for the first time.Thus starts the endless cycle of abuse. On the Job, Trent gets injured in a welding accident and his paycheck stops, he has no choice but to finally allow Penny to take a job cleaning houses. Here she meets two women from very different worlds who will teach her to live and laugh again, and lend her their backbones just long enough for her to find her own. (Description courtesy of Goodreads.) 

The Review: 

Okay, so I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. I already said all the positive stuff about the book so now here's the negative. In my opinion, I thought the book was poorly written. It did a lot of telling and not much showing. I found main character Penny to be annoying. I can't explain too much about why without giving away spoilers. I'll just say read the book for yourself and come up with your own conclusions. It is a heavy topic and very thought provoking. I liked that it does have information in the back of the book for abused victims so they can get that information. Again, everything was done very well in the book. If this is something you would find interesting a link to the book is below. Happy reading! 
  
Amazon Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Glass-Gina-Holmes-ebook/dp/B008PX1WQU/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1478537398&sr=8-1   

Spoiler review if interested: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16033233-wings-of-glass

Updates, explanations, and my want-to-read list

Hello fellow readers! I know its been an awfully long time since my last post. I've been fairly busy with work and life, among other things, so haven't had a lot of time for my blog and Youtube channel. Anyway, I thought I would make an update and tell you about my want to read list. And speaking of my want to read list, please follow me on Goodreads. You will be able to keep track of what I'm reading, what I want to read, and you will get more of my reviews. Since I tend to post all my reviews as well as my thoughts on the books I'm reading to Goodreads, and not so much on here. So follow me there and you won't have to wait until I get around to posting here.

My Goodreads profile:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22180753-jessica-taylor

As far as what has kept me from posting here would be time. I'm a freelance writer and that usually takes up the vast majority of my time. I do many other things outside of writing and reading. I have a Youtube for a separate hobby of mine. I'm co-writing a novel with a friend of mine, as well as, writing my own novel. So lots of things are keeping me busy. I do try very hard to make time for reading. In fact I just finished a wonderful series by Evie Harper. I did review those on Goodreads and I probably won't make a post for them here. Only because its been awhile since I read them and they are very emotional. If you are interested in the review I did with those you can follow this link to those reviews.

You Loved Me series by Evie Harper links.
Book One:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25619469-you-loved-me-at-my-darkest  
Book Two:  reads.com/book/show/27632947-you-loved-me-at-my-weakest
Book Three: You Loved Me At My Ugliest (I did not make review for this last one because I took an emotional break from them.)

Currently I'm reading: Wings of Glass by Gina Holmes. I do plan on making a review on this one, I'm 55% finished, and plan to complete it either late tonight or tomorrow. So there should be a review of it this week. The next book I'll be reading will be the Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. This book has been on my want to read list for sometime so I'm excited to finally get the chance to read it. After that I'm not quite sure. I know I'll be reading the Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge at some point because I just purchased it. That has also been on my want to read list for some time.

Here are a few other books on my want to read list and some of them I'm having a terrible time of getting my hands on. The copies are very expensive and my library can't keep them available. So hopefully one day I will get my hands on these books. For now they will have to remain on my want-to-read list.

Once again if you want to check out my reviews don't forget to follow me or friend me on Goodreads. I should have a review up sometimes this week and if you have a book you want me to review, please drop a link down in the comments. I will consider reading and reviewing it. I'm always happy to answer your questions, you may post those in the comments as well. Thank so much for reading, following, and being apart of this blog, my Goodreads, etc. Remember I - in no way - get paid for anything. I do this for the pure joy of reading and wanting to share books with others. My reviews are 100% my views and opinions. So please show some love by interacting with this blog. I like to know someone does actually read this thing. Ha ha. God bless and happy reading. :)  

New Recommendations For New Releases

So as promised I have searched Amazon relentlessly and have found some new releases. Here are 9 books that are coming out or have been released this past March/April of 2016. So if you weren't satisfied with the books that I listed before, then hopefully you will find something you like this time. I have a lot of books to go through, so let's get started with the list.

I'm starting with this one because it's been out for awhile. This book was released on March 15th. This book is the third book in the Vagabond series. Book one, Suspended, was released on January 15th. Book two, Paralyzed, released February 15th. This series is free to Kindle Unlimited users.

About: This is a fantasy series, obviously, it revolves around a circus. Reminds me of the night circus by Erin Morgenstern. That was a great book. I reviewed it here a few months back. (Perhaps you remember it?) Anyway, this series is all about the fun and mysterious stuff that happens to a group of strangers, when they join the cast at the vagabond circus. I'm not going to say much more than that because I believe you should go and check this series out. Read the descriptions for yourself and decide if this would be a good read for you. So check it out here:  http://www.amazon.com/Released-Vagabond-Circus-Book-3-ebook

 Next we have: What we find by Robyn Carr. This book was originally published April 1st, 2016 by MIRA. And was released April 5th. Robyn Carr is one of those well known authors. If your not familiar with her works, then I suggest you go check out one of the forty plus novels she has out. But I think this one is going to be a good one.

About:  When an emergency high-risk procedure results in the death of a teenager, Maggie finds herself in the middle of a lawsuit—and experiencing levels of anxiety she's never faced before. Seeking refuge at Sullivan's Crossing,  Maggie's world is rocked once again and she must take on more responsibility than she'd planned. So this a contemporary novel, I believe. I think it's about a woman escaping her problems and trying to move on from whatever problems she's facing. If you like contemporary fiction then this is the novel for you. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/What-We-Find-Robyn-Carr-ebook

Third on our list is: The Last Mile by David Baldacci this is a mystery/suspense novel. David is another well known author.His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, isn't that interesting? Well, this book was published April 19th of 2016 by Grand Central Publishing. Again, I suggest you check out other works by David Baldacci if you are not familiar with him and like mystery/suspense novels.

About: Convicted murderer Melvin Mars is counting down the last hours before his execution--for the violent killing of his parents twenty years earlier--when he's granted an unexpected reprieve. Another man has confessed to the crime. There is more to the description, but you have to go and read it for yourself. I believe this is the first novel in a new series? It follows a man named; Amos Decker. You can find out more about this book here: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Mile-Amos-Decker-ebook

Aw! The wonderful James Patterson. He needs no introduction. This is his new book: 15th Affair, co-written by Maxine Paetro. This is the 15th novel in the woman's murder club series. This book is coming out May 2nd of 2016. You can pre-order it right now!

About: As she settles into motherhood and a happy marriage, Lindsay Boxer thinks she has found domestic bliss. But when a beautiful, alluring blonde woman with links to the CIA disappears from the scene of a brutal murder at a downtown luxury hotel, Lindsay's life begins to unravel. This description gets better so go check it out and pre-order it here: http://www.amazon.com/15th-Affair-James-Patterson-ebook

Now this one caught me off guard. Did anyone else know that Nora Roberts wrote fantasy? I thought she was a crime/mystery writer. Who knew? But yeah, this is a fantasy written by Nora Roberts. Bay of sighs, comes out June 14, 2016. You can per-order it now. I don't even think Nora Roberts needs an introduction. I will certainly have to put this on my To-read list.

About: Mermaid Annika is from the sea, and it is there she must return after her quest to find the stars. New to this world, her purity and beauty are nothing less than breathtaking, along with her graceful athleticism, as her five new friends discovered when they retrieved the fire star. Now, through space and time, traveler Sawyer King has brought the guardians to the island of Capri, where the water star is hidden. And as he watches Annika in her element, he finds himself drawn to her joyful spirit. But Sawyer knows that if he allows her into his heart, no compass could ever guide him back to solid ground...Hmm....sounds like it's going to be a romance. A fantasy romance? Interesting. Well, you can read more of the description and pre-order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Sighs-Guardians-Trilogy-Nora-Roberts-ebook

Number 6 is a heart warming romance; A Lowcountry Wedding by Mary Alice Monroe. This book is coming out May 3rd, 2016. Published by Gallery Books. Apparently, Mary Alice Monroe is a New York times bestselling author with more than a dozen books to her name, unfortunately I've never heard of her. Which isn't really all that surprising...Still it's hard for me to believe she's really that well known. Anyway, you can pre-order this book right now.

About: This is about a wedding, obviously. It is filled with secrets and scandals; Family bonds are questioned, and promises are broken and renewed. In A Lowcountry Wedding Monroe delves into the heart of marriage, commitment, and family ties. Huffington Post calls the Lowcountry Summer series “the perfect beach read and a whole lot more.” Well, there you have it a review by the Huffington post. Guess you'll have to pre-order it and wait to see if it's really worth the read. You can do that here: http://www.amazon.com/Lowcountry-Wedding-Summer-Book-ebook   

At number 7 is an erotica. Well, I don't do too many of these and there's a clear reason for that. Ha ha, but if that's what your into, (and we don't judge.) Then you'll like this steamy erotica by Steve J. Cole. Okay, so this is coming out May 2nd and you can pre-order it. This is only a kindle book and has no paper edition to it. It's about 208 pages and I'm not sure if this is a new author or not. But the ebook is like .99 cents so it's worth the try if you like erotica. And no I don't know what type of erotica this is.

About: Tyler Westbrook, better known as Johnny Depth, is taking the adult film industry by storm. With his playboy looks, it’s no surprise a few coworkers have attempted to take things off set and into the bedroom, but Tyler refuses to blur the lines between work and play…until the new assistant to the director walks in. Jemma Morgan was recently fired from a lead role on a kid’s TV show that was supposed to be her big break. Unable to get another acting gig, she's accepted a job in an industry she never expected to be a part of. Although she anticipates being shocked her first few days on set, nothing could prepare her for the moment she's asked to hold the reflector as her ex-boyfriend plows through a woman like a Kansas cornfield.
Okay, per-order here: http://www.amazon.com/Exrated-Stevie-J-Cole-ebook

 Next, at number 8 is: The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux. I actually love Jude's works. This wonderful novel is coming out May 3rd. I can say that this is most likely going to end up on my To-read list.

About: Chef Casey Reddick has come to Summer Hill to escape her failed relationships, and to get some peace and quiet. But when she sees a gorgeous naked man on the porch of her cottage...Sparks fly—literally—when Casey is recruited to play Elizabeth Bennet opposite Tate’s Mr. Darcy in a stage adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Just brushing past Tate makes Casey’s whole body hum. As they spar on and off stage, Casey begins to think she’s been too quick to judge. Tate is more down-to-earth than Casey expected, and she finds herself melting under his smoldering gaze. But then Tate’s handsome ex-brother-in-law, Devlin Haines, who is playing Wickham, tells Casey some horrifying stories about Tate. She is upset and confused as she tries to figure out who and what to believe. As she finds herself falling for Tate, Casey needs to know: Is the intense, undeniable chemistry between them real, or is this just a performance that ends when the curtain falls? Yes, yes this is so going on my To-Read list. So have to pre-order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Girl-Summer-Hill-Novel-ebook

Last one! Head Above Water by Hailey Edwards. Book 2 in the Gemini: Black dog series. It's coming out tomorrow, April 30th. And might already be out once I get this up. So I suggest you order this one first. The series is free for Kindle Unlimited users. So this is just an all around deal! Book one is, Dead in Water, and there's a prequel, Stone cold fox. Go ahead and pre-order, or I should say, order this book tonight!

About: So, I'm guessing this is a paranormal romance. Lots of stuff coming out in the romance genre. Camille Ellis has tracked many killers during her career, but this time it's personal. Cut off from conclave resources, she won't let a small thing like a suspension keep her from accepting Cord Graeson's offer of help. Pretending to be mated to him is one way to secure allies, but the best that can be said of the Chandler Pack is they haven't killed or eaten her. Yet. Between the alpha's displeasure and the pack's distrust of fae, she's working overtime to keep her head above water. Just when the fur starts to fly, a tip cracks her case-and her life-wide open. This is the entire description that Amazon gives for this book. If you find it interesting, make sure you purchase it. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Head-Above-Water-Gemini-Black-ebook 

So that's all the books I found tonight. I'm sure one of these 9 books will spark your interest. I know I'm all riddled with anticipation for some of them. Keep checking Book Palace Reviews for new and upcoming books. And we are happy to take book review suggestions, comment below and give us a link to your upcoming novel. Hope to hear from you. :)

 

Recommended Noteworthy Books

I'm looking for good book recommendations, where should I go?
Okay, so I search everywhere for book recommendations. And sometimes I get frustrated with what's being recommended. I might find one or two good recommendations like once every few months or so. I'm a very picky reader and I only like certain genres. A lot that gets recommended to me is like; YA fantasy, or YA in general. Which is fine. Except I don't read a lot of YA.

So I end up scouring a lot of social media sites, Youtube channels, Goodreads, Amazon, etc. And while all these places are great sources for seeking out recommendations, they often tend to be very time consuming. Not too many people have the time to sit there and go through site after site. So, it's very important to find one good source to go to where you can find recommendations.  

So what's a good source to use? Excellent question! Blogs are great places to find recommendations. Particularly, this blog. Book Palace Reviews is the blog to go to for reviews, and now recommendations! (Yay!) I've also found that having recommendations sent to your email is convenient. Unfortunately, you can't control the types of recommendations that you get. (I know it's so sad.) However, here's what you can do.  Make a list of your favorite genres and try to find a site that will give you the most recommendations for the genre you like. Amazon I know is good source for getting recommendations, as they give you recommendations based on books you've purchased with them. (Also, if you haven't already, get a Kindle, they're great! Maybe not as great as paper...but they are very nice to have.) Okay, so I've rambled on long enough. Let's go see some noteworthy books!

Recent finds: So, like I said I spend a lot of time searching for books. And I manged to find a few quite recently that I, myself will hopefully be reading soon. (THIS IS NOT a review of these books, I've not read any of them. This is a recommendation because I like the premise of these books.)

Yes, yes, yes! Amanda Sun has a new book! It will be coming out April 26th 2016. You can pre-order it now on Amazon. I'm super excited for this because I love her books.

About: Kali is heir to a kingdom of floating continents. A small island hovering above a monster-ridden earth, long since uninhabited by humans. Being royalty, she has lived a life of certain limits. Including having limited choices and freedom as she is forced to be betrothal to the son of a nobleman. But when Kali falls off the edge of her kingdom and miraculously survives, she is shocked to discover there are still humans on the earth. Determined to get home, Kali entrusts a rugged monster-hunter named Griffin to guide her across a world overrun by chimera, storm dragons, basilisks and other terrifying creatures...

So you can read the rest of the description and pre-order this at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com 

Next is: The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen. This one is interesting...it was translated from Spanish to English in 2016 but originally this book was published in 2013. I think this version came out in the beginning of April.

About: A boy has lived underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, sister, and brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire. His sister wears a white mask to cover her burns. He spends his hours with his cactus, reading his book on insects, or touching the one ray of sunlight that filters in through a crack in the ceiling.

 Ever since his sister had a baby, everyone’s been acting very strangely. The boy begins to wonder why they never say who the father is, about what happened before his own birth, about why they’re shut away. When a few fireflies come into the basement, the boy is inspired to escape his underground prison. Problem is, all the doors are locked. And he doesn’t know how to get out…

Order here: http://www.amazon.com/Light-Fireflies-Paul-Pen
Book is free for Kindle Unlimited users. 

Fantasy lovers will be overjoyed! The Nightblade epic trilogy by Garrett Robinson. This was published on August 4th of 2015 by Living Art Books. This book contains the whole trilogy. Nightblade, Mystic, and Darkfire. It has 1210 fantasy filled pages. 

About: I'm not going to give you the description for each book, because descriptions are too long and might ruin it. So go to amazon, buy the book, read it, and find out for yourself what it's all about. In a nutshell, the book is about a girl named; Loren, whom, has grown up in the forests of the kingdom of Selvan, raised by cruel parents who see her only as a burden to be married off as quickly as possible. Her adventure begins with a dream that drives her to escape from Birchwood with the wizard Xain. All she has are the clothes on her back, a bow for hunting—and a mysterious dagger at her hip. It is a blade the world has not seen in centuries, imbued with a great and deadly power—and it turns enemies to allies when she least expects it. Unsure who to trust, Loren faces danger and betrayal trying to save the life of an innocent merchant’s daughter. Her only hope is to find out who wants to help her and who wants to kill her, before either one of them succeeds.


You can read the rest of the descriptions and order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Nightblade-Epic-First-Trilogy-Box-ebook This book is free to Kindle Unlimited users.

This is the last one I will recommend for now. I'll have more recommendations very soon. The Rejected Writers' Book Club by Suzanne Kelman. This book was published March 29th 2016 by Lake Union Publishing. Contemporary fiction fans will love this one.

About: A group of woman get together and instead of doing the avenge, "book club." They decide to celebrate one another’s rejected manuscripts over cups of tea and slices of lemon cake. One day they receive bad news that could destroy one member’s reputation—and disband the group forever. To save the club, Janet joins her fellow writers on a wild road trip to San Francisco in search of the local publisher who holds the key to a long-buried secret.

This book is 274 pages and it's free to Kindle Unlimited Users. You can order it here: http://www.amazon.com/Rejected-Writers-Book-Club-Southlea-ebook 

Okay, that's all the recommendations I have right now, but keep checking Book Palace Reviews; I'm always keeping an eye out for great books and I will share them with you as soon as I know about them. I'll try to post at least one recommendation for every genre if possible. So, if you didn't find a book that you think you would like on this list, then just keep checking this blog. Also, let me know the genre you'd most want recommendations for, I'll try to find as many books as I can for those genres.

Don't forget to tell your friends about Book Palace Reviews. I'm always up for suggestions, so feel free to make comments and interact with us. If you have a book suggestion for a review, let me know. If you want your book reviewed leave me a link in the comments below. We appreciate each and every one of our readers so thank you so much. Happy Reading!