Out of the Ordinary by Jen Turano

Harrison hoped that his friendship with her would become something more...
 but he was unprepared for the outlandish escapades that seem to follow the lovely, anything-but-ordinary Gertrude.

Hey Readers,
Its Finally Here!
I have been waiting for this book to come out for months and I am so excited to tell you that my second "Must Read" for November is by one of my favorite authors Jen Turano!

I would recommend reading Out of the Ordinary by Jen Turano if you:

• like the humor in books like Karen Witemeyer's or the drama in stories by Sarah E. Ladd. 
• have read the previous books in the Apart from the Crowd series  ( or any books by Jen Turano) 
• want to read a story full of laugh out loud moments
• just want to read a great book 

So on to the story,

Gertrude Cadwalader may have a ordinary job as a paid companion but with her employer being the eccentric Mrs Davenport, Her life is anything but ordinary. The story starts with Gertrude attending her best friend's engagement party aboard Harrison Sinclair's yacht. She should be enjoying herself and celebrating with her friend but instead she finds herself lurking below the deck because Mrs Davenport disappeared and she only disappeared with she was doing something of a suspicious nature. As she was looking in the what appeared to be the study, she gets stuck in a awkward position on the sofa because the wires in her bustle (Mrs Davenport's latest creation, a bustle made out of a birdcage) became stuck in the fabric of the sofa.  Another society member tried to blackmail Gertrude saying that she became stuck because she was attempting to steal the painting nearest the sofa but thankfully Gertrude's best friend Permilia came to her rescue. But unfortunately, once she was rescued from that sticky situation she discovered to her horror that Mrs Davenport and Harrison had seen her predicament. What follows is a hilarious exchange between Harrison, Permilia, Mrs Davenport and Harrison's sister ( but I can't tell you anymore then that because I do not want to ruin the story.
Anyway, Harrison Sinclair is not sure why he is attracted to Gertrude, He has always said that he was not the marrying kind of person. But ever since he saw her dyed orange ( a situation from the first book) and he noticed that she was not ashamed of letting Mrs Davenport practice her "fashion designs" ( even if they were outrageous) He wanted to become her friend. Not in a romantic sense, just a good friend. or so he tries to convince himself.
But when Gertrude is accused of stealing several valuable items from his yacht while at the party he immediately comes to her defense. He knows enough about her character to know that the accusations are ridiculous even though his defense will put him in the middle of a horrible misunderstanding between Gertrude and his mother.  After that matter was settled, Harrison decides that he wants his relationship with Gertrude to become something more so he goes to a great source for his romantic ideas... His sisters romance novels.
But will Harrison's romantic attempts show Gertrude how he feels or will he ruin everything by not telling her how he feels?

Guess you will have to read the book to find out!


So what did I think? 
First this is book two of the Apart from the Crowd series but though it is part of a series, you could definitely read it as a standalone. I love everything about the book and I LOVE the relationship between Harrison and Gertrude, that it had so many ups and downs . I will say that the names in the series are a bit unusual ( Gertrude, Temperance, Permilia???) But because they are unusual, it makes them more memorable. I really enjoyed reading about Harrison and Asher's  ( Permilia's  fiancé ) attempts at understanding the female mind by reading Harrison's sisters romance novels.  ( it was absolutely hilarious! I actually laughed out loud at some of their antics) and when they actually did some of the things the heroes in the books did, I almost died laughing. Overall this is a wonderful book filled with love, hope, forgiveness and a bit of humor. I would rate this book 5 out of  5 stars *****


Hey Readers! I just found out that the next book in the series is coming out in July 2018!!!
( and it looks amazing!!! ) So if you want to check out this book or any of her other books, here is the link;
http://jenturano.com/books/


Happy Reading :)

  I would like to thank Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy. I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.

Vanishing Point by Lisa Harris

 

 What happens when six girls are missing and every clue leads to a dead end?

Hey Readers,

I cannot believe that Christmas is in 24 Days!!! 

Wow, the year is flying by but in case you have time to sit with a cup of hot tea and check out some new books, I would like to tell you about the first book on my three November “Must Reads”, Vanishing Point by Lisa Harris.

Vanishing Point is the exciting, long awaited conclusion to the Nikki Boyd files. I would recommend this book if you:

• Have read any of the previous books in the series or by Lisa Harris.
• Like to read books by Dani Pettrey or Irene Hannon.
• Like to read a Criminal suspense story with LOTS of twists and turns.
• Just want to read an interesting book!

So on to the story,

Vanishing point is the story of Garrett Addison who is a criminal investigator for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. During his first week on the job his team is called to investigate the murder of a young girl who was found in the middle of the woods.  They had no leads until they discover a Polaroid photo of the girl near the crime scene. The picture now links the murder of Julia Kerrigan with two other disappearances that all have that same piece of evidence.  Because this may be the work of a serial killer, The FBI brings in Special Agent Jordan Lambert to assist in the investigation.  Unfortunately Garrett was once in love with Jordan so working with her may present a challenge. But he is determined not to let her get to him. He just has to focus on this case. 
---Time Jump--- 
Unfortunately it has been several months and now they found another girl murdered  by Julia's killer now known as the Angel Abductor. Garrett blames himself for the death of the latest victim Marissa, because he followed a lead and because of it , he did not get to her in time. The guilt weighs down on Garrett  until he decides that law enforcement is not for him anymore because he could not bear it if anyone else got hurt because of him. But just because he had given up, does not mean the killer has.

Jordan cannot believe that Garrett has given up, ever since she met him at the academy, he was always her rock. Even when her faith was shaken, he was always there for her even if she was not there for him…

But now another girl has gone missing and time is running out to find her. It seems like the killer is taunting them because he keeps leaving subtle clues for Garrett and Jordan, But when Jordan disappears, will Garrett be able to find her and save the Angel Abductors next victim?                                                                                                                                                                                          

 Or will it be too late? 

What did I think? 

Vanishing point is both a prequel and a conclusion all wrapped up into one. It is book 4 of the Nikki Boyd Files series but it gives a different perspective then the previous books. Previously the Nikki Boyd have focused on Nikki and her search for her sister ( who was abducted) but this book had Nikki and her Sisters disappearance as small parts of a bigger picture. This book was a edge of your seat, nail biting story with so many twists and turns that it was hard to keep them all straight. Overall it was a very interesting/exciting story and even though there were several abductions mentioned, there was nothing graphic. It was bittersweet to finish this series but I am excited to see what Mrs Lisa comes up with next! Overall I rate the book 4.5 Stars out of 5 ****


Hey Don't forget to check out this book or her other AMAZING books by clicking on the link below:
http://www.lisaharriswrites.com/books/


:) Happy Reading!

I would like to thank Mrs Lisa Harris and Revell ( A division of Baker Publishing Group) for allowing me to read and review this book. I was not paid or asked to give a favorable review. All opinions are my own.