Published: December 1, 2011
Publisher: Self-Published
Source: Review copy from PUYB Tours
Find the author: Goodreads || Website 
Buy: Amazon

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

It’s 1961 and Palm Beach socialite, irresistible rascal and devoted father Jack Morgan encounters genuine danger while staging his suicide to shield his beloved daughters from disgrace. Next, meet his daughter Charlotte (Charlie), an over-indulged 23 year-old struggling to cope with the traumatizing loss of her beloved father, her sister’s resulting mental breakdown and the discovery that she’s suddenly penniless. Fortunately Raul, an admiring young attorney, appears to offer assistance. As terrified as she is about daily survival, Charlie soon realizes that she has to learn what drove her father to kill himself. With Raul’s much needed ego-bolstering, the drive of necessity and unforeseen determination, Charlie finds a practical use for her annoyingly lean 5’ 11” frame. In time, this career finances her hard-wrought independence, her sister’s costly treatment and an emotional eye-opening journey to Paris.

Jumping back in time to romantic pre-WWII Paris readers meet young Alan Fitzpatrick – aka Jack Morgan – lack-luster artist, expert lover, irresistible rascal, and the bewitching girl who will become the mother of his children. Not even Charlie’s relentless detective work will uncover all Jack’s secrets, but in a fireworks of surprise endings, she discovers all that she needs to know and more: disturbing truths about her father, hew own unique talent, crimes great and small and a diabolical villain.

~ My Thoughts ~

Exceeding Expectations is part love story, part historical fiction and a whole lot of mystery that will keep you guessing on every page. Who was Jack Morgan and why did he kill himself? This is the question that his daughter Charlie desperately needs to answer, and she will go to any length necessary to put the pieces of this puzzle together. Charlie discovers much more about her father and his sordid past than she ever expected and the journey she takes has the power to alter the course of her own life.

Plot-wise there was a lot going on in this novel. There was the story of Charlie and her growth from sheltered and spoiled socialite to independent and confidant woman, as well as her sister Amelia and her crippling response to her father’s suicide. There was the mystery surrounding her father Jack Morgan and his death, then the seemingly disconnected story of Jeremy Randal and his servant Disraeli (which by the end of the novel makes perfect sense). These individual elements were complicated and added to the suspense of the story, but they also left me feeling rather disconnected from the characters. Just as I was becoming immersed in a character and their unfolding story the novel shifted focus. It was a little frustrating as I was never quite ready to move on from a particular story, character or time period and the abrupt change in focus kept me from really caring about or becoming invested in the characters and their stories.

What I enjoyed most about Exceeding Expectations was the way the author chose to tell Jack Morgan’s story. I love when an author can successfully move from present to past smoothly and Smith did this beautifully. As a fan of historical fiction I found the flashbacks to Jack’s life in Paris and how the Nazi occupation affected not only himself but every member of his Parisian family to be particularly interesting. The flashbacks to Jack’s former life were well written and each one served to reveal another piece of the very complicated puzzle that resulted in his apparent suicide.

Exceeding Expectations is an intriguing historical based mystery that will definitely play on your emotions. Once I got into the novel I couldn’t put it down, and may have stayed up until 1:30 am finishing it even though I had to wake up early in the morning! This book didn’t exactly blow me away, but it was an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend to fans of WWII era historical fiction, and family dramas.

I received an e-book of this novel from the author and Pump Up Your Book blog tours in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm excited to share a guest post with Lisa April Smith, author of Exceeding Expectations, in celebration of her blog tour through Pump Up Your Book! Stay tuned tomorrow for my review!

Where do you get your inspiration?

People often ask me, “Where do you get your inspiration?” My books are generally inspired by media coverage of events and people, that I find fascinating. For example, in 1998, Florida television and newspapers were reporting a story of a local Palm Beach socialite (ironically named Fagan) arrested for kidnapping his daughters when they were 2 and 5 years old. The reason that it had taken eighteen years to locate Fagan was that he had successfully reinvented himself, using the name and social security number of a Massachusetts boy who died at six.

As William S. Martin, a handsome widower with two young daughters and no apparent means of support, he had met and married a wealthy Palm Beach widow. After their divorce, another widow vowed to take this man “for richer, for poorer.” Lucky for Martin, he was indeed poorer while the bride was conveniently rich.

Neighbors, friends and the teachers at the girls’ tony private school all described Martin as nice likeable fellow and “devoted father.” Throughout his arrest and subsequent proceedings, his third wife steadfastly stood by him, as did both daughters. Perhaps what most surprised people who followed the case was that the girls’ mother, a research scientist teaching at the University of Virginia, through the media and her attorney, repeatedly begged her daughters to meet with Intrigued, I found myself thinking that there’s an even juicier story behind this headline-grabber and set out to create my own. I started with a few core facts: A devoted father with an invented name and history. Twice married to wealthy widows, living in Palm Beach, and involved in a crime. Two adoring daughters unaware of their true identities.

Once given permission to fantasize, my brain happily stepped in and created fifty-five year old Palm Beach socialite Jack Morgan, (born Alan Fitzpatrick): lack-luster artist, gifted lover and irresistible rascal. I dropped the most current time frame back nearly four decades to 1961, so that I could set an earlier portion of the story in romantic Paris prior to WWII, and the tragic time under Nazi occupation. Having been handed Palm Beach, winter playground of the rich and famous, I could logically include a fabulous townhouse off Fifth Avenue and a sprawling estate in Virginia to shelter the family in the summer, spring and fall. The unnamed crime and subsequent menacing punishment that I imagined, is enough to convince Jack to stage his suicide to shield his precious girls from disgrace.

But my primary protagonist is self-deprecating droll daughter Charlotte (Charlie), an over-indulged 23 year-old with an impractical BA in Art History, struggling to cope with the traumatizing loss of her beloved father, her sister’s resulting mental breakdown and the shocking discovery that she’s suddenly penniless. Given that this is a mystery, not only will Charlie have to find a way to support herself and her ill sister, the grieving but irrepressible young woman soon realizes, that she won’t rest until she discovers what drove her father to kill himself. And that’s how Exceeding Expectations was born.

Author Lisa April Smith lives with her husband, He-who-wishes-to-remain-anonymous, in Eternal Playland, Florida, a delightful spot just off I-95. Ms. Smith describes Eternal Playland as: “a little piece of level heaven with occasional dampness, where the bugs are plentiful but respectful, and even the smallest strip mall contains at least one pizza place and a nail salon.”

Before discovering a passion for writing, Ms. Smith sold plumbing and heating, antiques, taught ballroom dancing, tutored, modeled, designed software and managed projects for IBM and returned to college multiple times to study anthropology, sociology and computer science, in which she holds degrees, as well as psychology, archeology, literature, history and art. Combine those widely diverse interests with a love of travel and a gift for writing page-turners and it’s easy to understand one reviewer’s unbridled praise for Exceeding Expectations, “She (Ms.Smith) has a brilliance for conveying characters, and the intellectual capacity to place them in historical settings that sparkle with glamorous detail. . . that make it fun to read . . . ” But it takes much more than lush settings, an eye for detail and a love of history to write a page-turner. Read what another reviewer said about Exceeding Expectations: “Lisa April Smith . . . has woven an intriguingly rich tapestry of delightful well-developed characters into a perfectly balanced plot bursting with riveting mystery, crimes of the petty and the horrible sort, suspenseful twists, and romantic tension complete with love scenes that sizzle and pop.”

For more about the author, her books, and upcoming projects visit her website: http://
www.LisaAprilSmith.com

About Exceeding Expectations

It’s 1961 and Palm Beach socialite, irresistible rascal and devoted father Jack Morgan
encounters genuine danger while staging his suicide to shield his beloved daughters from
disgrace. Next, meet his daughter Charlotte (Charlie), an over-indulged 23 year-old struggling
to cope with the traumatizing loss of her beloved father, her sister’s resulting mental breakdown
and the discovery that she’s suddenly penniless. Fortunately Raul, an admiring young attorney,
appears to offer assistance. As terrified as she is about daily survival, Charlie soon realizes that
she has to learn what drove her father to kill himself. With Raul’s much needed ego-bolstering,
the drive of necessity and unforeseen determination, Charlie finds a practical use for her
annoyingly lean 5’ 11” frame. In time, this career finances her hard-wrought independence, her
sister’s costly treatment and an emotional eye-opening journey to Paris.

Jumping back in time to romantic pre-WWII Paris readers meet young Alan Fitzpatrick –
aka Jack Morgan – lack-luster artist, expert lover, irresistible rascal, and the bewitching girl
who will become the mother of his children. Not even Charlie’s relentless detective work will

uncover all Jack’s secrets, but in a fireworks of surprise endings, she discovers all that she needs
to know and more: disturbing truths about her father, hew own unique talent, crimes great and
small and a diabolical villain.

Suzan Battah, author of Mad About the Boy was kind enough to stop by today and chat a little more about her life as a self-published author. Suzan, first of all thank you so much for taking the time to stop by Words at Home! It is a pleasure to host you for the month as our featured Indie Author.

1. Could you start off by telling us a few things about yourself that we might not think to ask?

Thank you for having me Bonnie. Well my greatest fear is heights, sometimes walking up or down steep stairs scares me. I'm born in Australia and have a very eclectic taste in music in which I can listen to most types of music and still love it. I'm also a big animal fan and currently studying script writing.

2. Who is your favourite author or your favourite book?

I have so many favorite authors, it's so hard to pick one because they all right in different genres. MY favorite Historical Regency author is Stephanie Laurens, my favorite Contemporary Author is Sophie Kinsella and my favorite Young Adult author is a equal place Stephanie Meyer and Richelle Mead.

3. Do you prefer to read series or standalone novels?

Either but if it comes down to wanting to know more about the characters in one book a series is fantastic. Love both either way.

4. When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? And what was the first piece of fiction that you remember writing.

I was 12 when I started writing for fun, fantasy stories but by the time I was 16 I knew I was going to pursue it as a professional career.

5. Can you talk a bit about your decision to self-publish and your experiences during the publishing process?

It's been scary but very rewarding. I love being in control of every aspect of creating my novel. The stigma behind self-publishing is still ripe with a lot of people really not interested in learning about new writers that self-publish. Unfortunately there are a lot of bad writers out there but there is honestly a lot of great writers out there who wouldn't be getting their voice heard if they didn't self-publish. I am a writer and at 30 wanted to publish and waiting years to break into the industry. I also have to support myself so it makes it very difficult to be able to afford really great editors, I've spent a phenomenal amount of money on professionals and sometimes I think it is hit and miss. I however take this into account when reading other self-published books being in the same situation I have compassion for writers doing it tough, especially marketing. I do everything and the cost is extraordinary. I however don't regret going this way it has helped to improve my business skills.

6. Do you have any advice for aspiring indie authors?

Follow your dreams, practice heaps, don’t take criticism to heart, listen to good advice, learn your craft, read lots and lots of books out there, don’t follow trends, write what makes you feel comfortable (if you don’t feel comfortable writing sex, it’ll show), love what you do, never give up, have fun, laugh lots, find positive fun people to share with and write, write, write and keep writing.

7. What do you do when you are not writing?

I work fulltime as an Executive Assistant. In my downtime I love to be working out at the gym, studying script writing, going to movies and absolutely love to dance.

8. Is there anything else that you wanted to share?

I love being a writer and hope you enjoy reading Mad About the Boy as much as I loved writing it. I also have a new release coming out April 14th BaSatai: Outside In #1 A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Adventure Romance.

What about you? Don't forget to leave your link to your BBC post in the comments!

In My Mailbox is a meme created by Kristi at The Story Siren, that features books you have received/purchased/borrowed during the current week.

I am not so patiently waiting for Thursday so I can finally meet Jay Asher, Lesley Livingston and Charlet de Lint at the Razorbill signing in Toronto. I am gathering up a rediculously large stack of books (my mom is going to help me lug them – she reads almost as much YA as me!) and we will be off to meet up with Evie again! *squee*

A huge thank you goes out to Anita from Thomas Allen & Son for these amazing books that found their way to me this week!

Illuminate by Aimee Agresti

Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

Once a Witch and Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

So what was in your mailbox this week? Don't forget to leave your link!

Expected Publication: June 19, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Source: Review copy from publisher via. Raincoast Books
Find the author: Goodreads || Website || Twitter: @courtney_s
Buy: Amazon || B&N || The Book Depository

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

~ My Thoughts ~

This is Not a Test is a devastatingly emotional and a thrilling rollercoaster ride. I was truly unprepared for what I would find within the pages of This Is Not A Test. I expected your typical zombie story, gore, guts and a bit of killing… Was I ever wrong!  While This is Not a Test is a Zombie book, it is not a Zombie book – that is to say it is not about the Zombies. It really is about a group of kids who are holed up in the local high school trying to survive the Zombie apocalypse. Sloane Price is one of those kids; the only problem is that she doesn’t actually want to survive. From literally the very first page of this novel I was hooked, the pure emotion written into the opening of this novel set the stage for an utterly addictive and heartbreaking read.

I am not even going to try to summarize beyond that because I refuse to give anything away and spoil your experience reading this novel. Just know that the creativity in the plotting is out of this world, the characters are rich and extremely well developed, and the language is rife with passion. Summers is an incredible story teller and she is not only able to arouse incredibly intense feeling in her readers but she is also able to create a world so vivid that you expect to see it the next time you open your front door. I read the last half of this novel in a waiting room and I am sure those sitting alongside of me thought I needed a mental evaluation. I could not keep quiet or sit still while I was reading. It was one of those books that evoked a guttural response from me on more than one occasion and I was literally on the edge of my seat (to the point where I nearly fell off… twice).

I highly recommend This is Not a Test to anyone who still has breath left in them. Seriously, even if you don’t do zombies, the emotional depth of this novel is too great to be ignored.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher and Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Suzan Battah is the April featured Indie author and today she is sharing her experiences with self publishing! Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences with self publishing in the comments!

My Experience as a Self-Published Author

 by Suzan Battah

Nathan Bransford recently wrote a post about how there is not a right or wrong way to publish a book. I am in absolute agreement. Whether being traditionally published or self-published, a book in print or as an ebook is published. It's just two very different roads to walk down.

For me I've always had a passion for writing since my early teens. I knew I wanted to be a writer. It's not like I saw the success of Amanda Hocking self-publishing, JK Rowling with her Harry Potter series, Stephanie Meyer's success of Twilight and decided that's it, I'm going to be huge like them. No. For me I was born to be a writer because my imagination is wild, I can daydream amazing scenes and visualise a story from beginning to end. Writing is not hard work for me. I am blessed with the ability to create and develop characters, a storyline and plot and make them entertaining. So for me writing is in my blood, I was born to write these stories and share them.

I struggled, as life is not easy as a writer. I had to work to pay the bills and as a single woman supporting myself it was hard to keep up. Writing is a fulltime job and I was doing it hard trying to write part time. Exhausted with no social life, it was hard to see myself continuing on the road but I do. I won't every give up on writing. Once the first book completed, Mad About the Boy, I began entering into competitions and you must have a thick skin. I was shredded, gunned down, ripped apart with some comments being so snarky I was almost in tears. However, out of two competitions I had made it to the finals and managed to place and win two awards for my contemporary romance Mad About the Boy. So putting behind all the worst of the competitions I had experienced, I soldiered on. I went through 3 different editors doing complete edits of the novel and spent over $2500 just on editors to get my novel into top shape. Unfortunately, I still get feedback that the editing is sloppy but I have to move forward and correct the mistakes. I have met some wonderful reviewers who have been terribly helpful. One lady offered to be my Beta Reader and I'm so glad that she has offered her help. She points out all the obvious flaws and gives me advice. Despite some of the obvious flaws in the book this particular reviewer still gave me such a lovely review and a wonderful rating. I was over the moon. In saying that, I never expect reviewers to give me fantastic ratings, everyone has their own opinion of my work. Some love it, some hate it and they have their own personal tastes. As an author I don't mind getting a bad review which I have received and loved it as well, I expect the good with the bad. I just hope readers enjoy the book enough to overlook some of the tiny flaws that a struggling author has to deal with.

After years of writing, changing the story to suit agents and almost being offered representation, being ripped apart in competitions by my peers (One judge told me English was not my first language. Another judge advised me that an editor should work on Mad About the Boy because the grammar was atrocious. The same judge even gave me a name of an editor to use the services of, ironically, I had just had the manuscript line edited and paid thousands of dollars to get it done by that same editor before entering the competition), and finally it was the backing of my family and friends that walked me down the self-publishing road. I'm glad I took my writing career into my own hands. I'm really happy with the reviews I get both good and bad. And I'm so appreciated that bloggers like Bonnie welcome me onto her blog to share with you, the readers, my experience. I hope you enjoy reading Mad About the Boy as much as I loved writing it. I also have a new release out, BaSatai: Outside In #1 the booktrailer is available for viewing on youtube.

Find out more aobut Suzan Battah:
www.suzanbattah.com
@suzanbattah
www.facebook.com/suzan.battah
Facebook Fan Page Suzan Battah
www.goodreads.com/suzanbattah  

Keep the discussion going – do you have any experience with self publishing? Lets talk about it in the comments!  

"Waiting On" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks
Expected release May 22, 2012 by Fiewel & Friends I have seen a bunch of early reviews for Of Poseidon and all have been glowing. I have only read a few mermaid books but I have enjoyed the ones that I have read but it sounds like it takes the genre to the next level and I cannot wait!
 

What about you? What are you waiting on this week? Don't forget to leave your link in the comments!

Published: March 6, 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: ARC from publisher via. Raincoast books (thank you!)
Series: The Violet Eden Chapters #1
Find the author: Goodreads || Website || Twitter: @EmbraceSeries
Buy: Amazon || B&N || The Book Depository

~ The Blurb ~
From Goodreads

It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”

Look for the sequels ENTICED in September 2012 and EMBLAZE in March 2013

~ My Thoughts ~

Ok, this book confirms it. I am officially a very big fan of angel books! Embrace was everything that I hoped it would be and more. It was exciting, unpredictable, gripping and full of passion and raw emotion. Embrace is a breath of fresh air in the genre, bringing not only the darkness and action that we have come to expect from exiled angel types, but also a completely kick ass heroine.

Violet might start out as a bit of a whiner but she grows with the story and is also realistic, and this is paramount in my decision to love or hate a character! Violet has been dealt a pretty awful hand, losing her mother as an infant, having a less than attentive father, and suffering a traumatic event in her teen years left her shaken, vulnerable, and anything but carefree. Enter Lincoln her very attractive trainer turned bestie. Unfortunately for Violet he is holding back from her, until her 17^th birthday when she finds out that her life is about to change dramatically whether she wants it or not. Through all of this Violet remains human and reacts as a teenager would, with anger, apprehension, and with a healthy amount of disbelief and reluctance.  That is until things begin happening that makes it impossible to ignore the extraordinary path she is destined to walk.

The love triangle… *sigh* How do you even compare Lincoln against Phoenix? Lincoln and Phoenix are polar opposites and that is part of what makes it so difficult to choose a favorite. Lincoln is a good guy, he has Violet’s best interests at heart and wants nothing more than to protect her and this is his strength as a love interest but also his downfall.  Enter Phoenix the mysterious, sexy and charismatic boy who makes Violet forget all about Lincoln (for a moment) and literally consumes her emotions. I found myself wary of Phoenix from the start, he was too smooth, and could too easily manipulate Violet and her entire situation to better suit him. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was continually waiting for the other shoe to drop. But then something happened, and I’m not sure exactly sure what the turning point was, but somewhere along the line I fell for Phoenix. Perhaps it was the undeniable chemistry between him and Violet or the emotional connection that I felt between these two but he also made me forget about Lincoln for a little while!  

I was completely taken aback by the sheer volume of emotional complexity that was woven into Embrace. Jessica Shirvington brilliantly infused her writing with the lust, passion, anger and frustration that her characters felt. I could feel Violet’s inner struggles as she fought for control over her own life. I also found the exploration of free-will to be particularly interesting. While Violet technically had free-will and was the one who ultimately had the power to make her own decision it was interesting to see how she was pulled in so many different direction by outside forces.  Often in YA free-will is non-existent, or subtly ignored, and characters allow things to happen to them with little thought to the fact that they should have a choice in the matter. This is another area where I found Embrace to be a unique and refreshing read – a lot of focus was placed on Violet having the ability to choose her path, and readers were given a very personal glimpse of her internal struggles as she made some very difficult choices.  

This is a book that you will have a difficult time putting down. Whether you love action, mystery or a healthy dose of romantic tension, you will find all that and more in this incredibly fast paced and all-consuming novel. From the brilliantly crafted storyline, to the passionate characters, to the author’s natural ability to grab her readers by the throat and not let them go until she is finished telling her story, Jessica Shirvington’s Embrace is an absolute must read.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I'm so excited to be celebrating my stop on the Embrace Blog Tour with a completely awesome guest post by Jessica Shirvington! As I met my husband at 16 I completely identify with it and loved reading her thoughts!

Falling in Love at 17 by Jessica Shirvington

Falling in love is easy. Staying in love … more complicated.

At 17, life is about new experiences. It is about self-discovery, friends, adventure, mistakes, career and university choices. And let’s be honest, there are not many 17 year olds out there that aren’t interested in falling in love.

But how many are truly interested in falling in love with THE ONE at 17?

I’m not sure I was. In fact, I probably wasn’t. I was planning to take the world by storm – solo. So when I met Matt, well, actually … it was pretty darn amazing. But it was a little frightening too.

When we first got together, it was sweet and young and … perfect. I was head over heels. But things became complicated quickly. He was an up and coming athletic star and I was working in hospitality. So basically he worked hard in the day, and I worked hard at night. His lifestyle demanded routine and healthy living, mine … not so much. But we were determined to make it work.

Falling in love so deeply at a young age made it difficult to be as reckless as our friends. We watched them coast in and out of short, fun, but meaningless relationships and it just seemed so different to what we had.

Writing the Embrace series has been an opportunity for me to pour some of the incredibly intense emotions of young love into Violet’s story. It has been important for me as a writer, and a person, to recognize that it’s completely realistic for someone at her young age to experience the full effect and heartbreak of love. Violet is one hundred percent invested with her heart. She makes bad choices, but we have to. She regrets many of her decisions, because we all do. And she fights for what she loves, because she is compelled to. Violet’s story is unique to her, I don’t pull on parallel scenarios from my own life, but I do pull on the emotion of intense love. Love that I think adults sometimes forget that 17 and 18 years-olds are very capable of feeling.

I often find one question helps a lot of adults, who maybe disagree with this view, to be more open minded: Do you remember you first true love? Do you ever wonder what your life would’ve been like if you had stayed together? For some, the answer is a resounding NOT INTERESTED, but for others … the pause says it all.

Matt and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary in March – I believe jewelry is in order

What do you think? Don't be afraid to leave some comment love for Jennifer!