I'm hosting one of my favorite independent authors again today, she was recently featured in Palm Beach Woman with a five full pages featuring an excerpt from
Exceeding Expectations and information about her along with pictures. She's a very proud author right now and with good reason. Today I'm republishing my reviews of
Exceeding Expectations and the sequel
Paradise Misplaced. Enjoy and find out why I absolutely loved these two books and this author (she's a delight to work with!)
Exceeding Expectations by Lisa April Smith
Publish Date: December 1, 2011
eBook, 300 pages
Fiction, Historical, Romance, Suspense, General Fiction
BSIN: B006GDK3NO
My Review:
Exceeding Expectations
is a book that will do just that. The blurb sounds great but once you
delve into the book you realize it is so much more packed into one
book. It's fascinating, has interesting and diverse characters and a
plot line that will draw you in from the first page.
As you know from most of my reviews characters are first and foremost to me, and
Exceeding Expectations
has some wonderful characters. While the story starts off with Jack
Morgan and he appears through the book, the real main character is
Charlie, Jack's youngest daughter. I did not think I would like her at
first. When you first meet her she seems spoiled and pretty useless.
However, her growth in this story is amazing and makes the story
astounding. Raul also offers great interest in the story. I liked him,
he is nice and a great romantic interest. He seems to know just how to
treat Charlie to get her to grow and change. He's not wishy-washy, and
he acts like a real man without talking down to her or treating her
bad. I really found him to be a very attractive man and perfect for
Charlie in the book.
As for the plot, I love how Ms.
Smith goes back and forth between the past and present in the story.
The present is relative in the story since the present is in the 1950s.
I love the setting and how the history factors into the story and the
motivations of the characters. The plot moves along with the character
growth, the suspense of Charlie trying to figure out what happened to
motivate her father to commit suicide and the things she learns along
the way. The romance also pushes the story along. It all adds up to
make a book that really draws you in.
I felt as though I
was right there with the characters in this book. I was fully invested
in Charlie's life and trying to find out what had happened to Jack.
The book has it all, suspense, romance, characters that truly care about
others and characters that are truly evil. Ms. Smith has crafted an
amazing book and I can't wait until the sequel to this one. Though I
would like to note that this one ties up nicely with a few loose ends,
but nothing that will leave you fussing at the author for leaving you
hanging. Just some things left open that will make for an interesting
next book. If you enjoy character growth novels set in the past with
some suspense, then
Exceeding Expectations is for you. But make sure you set aside some time, because you won't want to put this one down.
My Rating: 5.0/5.0
About the Book:
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.
Paradise Misplaced
the sequel to Exceeding Expectations
by Lisa April Smith
Release: Sept. 15, 2012
All the unexpected twists and suspense, danger and crime, romance and sizzle, that kept readers of Exceeding Expectations turning the pages long into the night, are back in Paradise Misplaced, along with Charlie, Jack and Naomi – three unforgettable characters.
In
Manhattan, being recently dumped by her soulmate becomes the least of
Charlotte (Charlie) Morgan’s problems after she is shoved off a subway
platform in front of an oncoming train. Her modeling career seems over
and she may not walk again. Throughout her lengthy hospital stay the
police have no success finding her assailant or determining a motive. A
handsome detective recovering from similar injuries is assigned to be
her physical therapy partner. Fearing that her unknown attacker will try
again he urges her to draw up list of possible suspects – anyone she
might have angered or rejected. Eliminating those who don’t fit a
compiled description leaves just one possible suspect, an untouchable
power broker with a famous art collection.
In
Buenos Aires, Jack, the loveable lothario/conman, in his quest for his
next wealthy wife, is romancing wealthy women he meets at a fashionable
hotel where he isn’t a registered guest. To finance these activities he
ever-so-gently exploits tourists and the local land barons. But whether
he succeeds, falls short or fails miserably, readers can rely on sexy
Jack to be entertaining.
In
Israel, understandably bitter Naomi, working on an archeological dig,
seeks temporary relief from her demons in hot casual affairs. Unwilling
to be yet another in a series of her lovers, a rough-hewn widowed farmer
relentlessly pursues her.
Will
Charlie, Jack and Naomi meet? Will a story that begins on three
continents end in triumph or disaster? No predicable ending here. You’ll
have to read the book to find out.
My Review:
Lisa has done it again. I loved the first book, Exceeding Expectations and if it's possible I think I loved Paradise Misplaced even more. Exceeding Expectations comes first, but Paradise Misplaced
can be read on it's own. I do recommend reading both books though
because they are excellent books and I know I enjoyed learning as much
as I could about both Charlie and Jack in the first book and getting all
the back story, though Ms. Smith does a good job explaining some of it
in Paradise Misplaced.
I
have to say that this book had me enthralled. I found it hard to put
down and often found myself reading for hours at a time. I have had a
hard time doing that lately with school starting back so that says a lot
for Paradise Misplaced.
But I would get very sucked into the lives of Charlie, Jack and Naomi
and how things were getting weaved together and the what-ifs that were
forming that I could hardly put the book down even to sleep.
The
characters are once again amazing. I really enjoyed learning more
about Naomi and Jack in this book. Jack is a charmer and one step ahead
at all times. Naomi is bitter, and a bit like Jack, not charming but
knows how to use situations to her advantage. Seeing them in their
settings was fascinating and adding to it the fact that Ms. Smith uses
exotic settings of Israel and Argentina for them made it more
fascinating. Then of course there is Charlie. I love Charlie and I
cheered for Charlie in this book. The resilience she finds in Exceeding Expectations
stays with her in this book and though she has some down moments I love
how she always tries to find a way to shine. And though this book
really did feature her prominently I really felt this was more of Jack
and Naomi's story with enough Charlie to weave everything together. And
I liked that. I think it was a perfect balance. I loved all three
stories and loved how Ms. Smith switched between the stories.
The
plot moved along wonderfully. The stories of the characters switched
between the chapters, but it never felt forced and I never felt confused
about which character the chapter was about. Each character truly had
their own voice and their own plot that pushed the book along. Ms.
Smith masterfully keeps their plots separate yet weaves them together in
a way that is completely believable. Again nothing in this book felt
forced to me. Everything was smooth, just like Jack. ;)
Overall
this was an amazing book to read. Perfect for these first cool fall
afternoons. Great for lazing around on your porch swing with a cup of
tea and enjoying a great book. This is that great book. Ms. Smith
weaves a marvelous story of a family separated and living their lives.
There are unexpected twists and turns, great character moments and some
very interesting secondary characters. Paradise Misplaced is a book that should not be missed.
My Rating: 5.0/5.0
About the Author (from Goodreads.com):
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 and
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. . . Clearly, this author has, and wishes to share with her readers, what
the French call joie de vivre – not simply the joy of life – but an
all-encompassing appreciation for every facet of life.”
***I received this book from the author for an honest review. I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free. ***
Posts
