Monday, February 18, 2013

BOOK REVIEW: MIND OF HER OWN by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Mind of Her Own

by

Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

Publisher:      Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (December 21, 2012)
Sold by:         Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language:     English
ASIN:            B00AEB3B6K 


About the book . . . 
Who knew making dinner could change your life? Louisa Copeland certainly didn’t. But when the George Foreman grill fell out of the pantry onto her head, resulting in a bump and a mighty case of amnesia, Louisa’s life takes a turn for the unexpected. Who was this Collin fellow, claiming she was his wife? And whose kids are those? Her name couldn’t be Louisa. Why, she was the renowned romance writer Jazz Sweet, not a Midwestern mom of three. Struggling to put the pieces together of the life she’s told she had, Louisa/Jazz may realize that some memories are better left alone.
About the author . . .    
                
Christian author, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, writes historical and contemporary romances. Author of Mind of Her Own, A Bride's Dilemma in Friendship, Tennessee, We’re Not Blended-We’re Pureed, A Survivor’s Guide to Blended Families, and Hearts on the Road.

Once widowed and now remarried she writes with humor and experience on the difficulty of joining two families be it fictional or real life.
Website      Goodreads    
Twitter          Facebook        

Reader review . . . 
Louisa and Collin's marriage has hit a rocky patch and neither seems to know what to do.  Feeling overwhelmed by everything in life and knowing Collin will be late as usual, she decides on a quick dinner of grilled chicken.  Louisa's last memory is of the George Foreman indoor grill falling and hitting her head.
Waking in the hospital, Jazz Sweet has no memory of this handsome man, and can't imagine why he insists they are married and her name is Louisa.  Collins takes Jazz/Louisa home to recover, and together they try to build a new life together and recover Louisa's memory.  After the doctor tells Collin that the retrograde amnesia could be caused by a childhood trauma, the question  that haunts Collin is:  What happened to Louisa in childhood that she can't face?
This is a fast-paced story that I read in one sitting.  It has an original plot with comic highlights at the beginning of the story.  The characters of Louisa/Jazz and Collin feel real and caused me to care about them.  It was fun watching Jazz take risks and enjoy life in ways that Louisa would not, and both Louisa and Collin were both hurt that their marriage was in trouble.  It mattered to me that they work things out.  However, here are a couple of minor plot issues that bothered me.  SMALL SPOILER ALERT:  Collin, who obviously knew Louisa and Jazz were one and the same, felt guilty for being attracted to her.  I don't get it;she was his wife.  The second problem was the abrupt ending.  Once Louisa/Jazz had the big "aha" moment and remembered her childhood trauma, one which the average reader will have figured out halfway through the book,  the story was wrapped up in a couple of pages.  I won't commit a huge spoiler, but it was the type of thing one doesn't recover and move on from in a matter of weeks. 
Overall, this is an engaging Christian-themed novel which will appeal to teenagers and adults.
4 stars
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blogger Network <http://www.mediacenter.tyndale.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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2013 A-Z Reading Challenge


Do you love to read? You know I do! Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book is hosting a reading challenge for 2013.This challenge will run from January 1st, 2012 until December 31st, 2013.

You can join anytime. It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book starting with every letter of the alphabet.


So there are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.


A - Make a list on your blog from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.


OR


B - Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet. For example: A – The Azalea Assault B- Blue Monday C – Crops and Robbers D – A Deadly Grind etc.



Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – audio – are acceptable for this challenge!
Ready to join??
Sign up at Escape with Dollycas Into a Good Book and grab the button.


Non-bloggers you can join too! Just keep track any way you wish and enter a link below if available or sign up in the comment section. You can even set up a special shelf on Goodreads to help you keep track!


Need some help finding titles to match the alphabet –
Jandy’s Reading Room has a wonderful list to get you started.

Here is my list:
A AN ANGEL BY HER SIDE - RUTH REID - 4 stars
B
C CHRISTMAS WITH THE FIRST LADIES - COLLEEN CHRISTIAN BURKE
D THE DILEMMA OF CHARLOTTE FARROW- OLIVIA NEWPORT
E
F
G
H
I ICONIC SPIRITS: AN INTOXICATING HISTORY - MARK SPIVAK
J
K KILLER RATINGS - LISA SEIDMAN
L TO LOVE A WOLF - BK WALKER
M MY NAME IS MARY SUTTER - ROBIN OLIVEIRA
N NEVER LET YOU GO - ERIN HEALY
O O! JACKIE - MERCEDES KING
P PERIL: FROM JACKBOOTS TO JACK BENNY - PEARL GOODMAN - 4 STARS
Q QUEEN OF THE AIR: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE AND TRAGEDY AT THE CIRCUS - DEAN JENSEN
R RAISING CUBBY-JOHN ELDER ROBISON
S SECRETLY SMITTEN - COLLEEN COBLE, DENISE HUNTER, KRISTEN BILLERBECK, & DIANN HUNT
T THE POSTMISTRESS-SARAH BLAKE
U UNCONQUERED: THE SAGA OF COUSINS JERRY LEE LEWIS, JIMMY SWAGGART, AND MICKY GILLEY - J.D. DAVIS
V VANISHED-IRENE HANNON - 5 STARS
W
X
Y
Z

I will be updating my list and will keep it posted on here. Check back to see what I've read, and comment and let me know when you join the challenge. Here's to a year of good reading!

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In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this. -
Terry Pratchett

5 comments:

Diane Estrella said...

Sounds like an interesting book. Thanks for your thoughts and the review.

BTW-I am holding 5 book giveaways at my site this week if you are interested in stopping over. Hope you have a great weekend!

Diane :O)
www.dianeestrella.com

Pencildancers said...

Thank you for your review. I'll need to work on my endings and make them longer. :)
Diana

THE SELF-TAUGHT COOK said...

Thank you for your comments. I really enjoyed the book, and hope that my review didn't sound "snarky". I think I was just enjoying the book and felt as if it was over abruptly. It's actually a compliment, even if it didn't sound that way.

Teddy Rose said...

Sounds like a unique plot.

Michelle Cornwell-Jordan said...

Interesting storyline...and what a great review! Very insightful and helpful to readers to determine if this title is right for them...thanks for sharing...will look for this read:)

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