Tag Archives: jami Deise

Book Review: House Divided by Jami Deise

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House Divided by Jami Deise

A Contemporary Humorous Fiction Novel published through Amazon Digital Services Inc. (11/08/17)

Summary:

“…because like every other working mom in America, the logistics of day-to-day suburban life with school-age kids fell squarely on my shoulders.” (Kindle Locations 393-394).

Erin and Jack are married with two kids. They both have careers. They have opposite political views. They can leave all the politics at work. That is, until Erin loses her job and Jack gets an amazing job offer – as the star of a very politically-centered show. The new money means Erin can be a stay-at-home mom, like Jack’s always wanted her to be. Erin never wanted to be a trophy wife, but jobs are slim for democrats. Home life is just as busy as work life, but without a career, Erin doesn’t really know who she is anymore.

Keywords:

Humor, Politics, Republicans, Democrats, Organizations, Working Mothers, Stay at Home Mothers, Family, Husband and Wife, Kids Activities, Soccer, Work/Life Balance, Politically Correct, Career, TV, Republican TV

My Review:

So many times during my read of this novel, I grew frustrated with Jack because Erin did all the work in the house! Gah! If Erin wants to have a career, she should be able to have a career! This book made me frustrated! Frustrated for Erin and her situation, how people treated her and thought about her, and how Jack disregarded her wants and dreams.

My life is so different from Erin’s life. I learned so much about the chaos of working motherhood, stay-at-home parenting, living above your means, trying to keep up with the upper class, and so much more! This book had so many world building details and insights into the lives of these unique characters. I felt like I learned so much!

This book was so entertaining! The dialogue was spot on. The writing style was immersive, eloquent, and smooth. The storyline made sense . The characters were detailed and interesting – flawed and everything.

I loved this story and the writing style and can’t wait to read the next book from Deise.

I received an ARC from the author and this is my honest opinion.

This novel was published through Amazon Digital Services Inc. on 11/08/2017 and is available on Amazon here.

TL;DR Star Rating: 5.0

Links for more information:

Jami Deise’s Website

Facebook

Book Review: The Ties That Bleed by Jami Deise

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The Ties That Bleed by Jami Deise

An Urban Fantasy Novel published by Evernight Publishing (06/21/15)

Summary:

“You’re itching to get back in the field, aren’t you? Not a whole lot of excitement, playing the doctor’s wife, running the PTA?” (Kindle Locations 539-540).

Diana Rowan used to be a vampire assassin. She used to be the best of the best before she got married and had a daughter. Now Diana teaches new vampire assassins, staying safe behind a desk. But she isn’t safe from all the vampires. The vampire she killed ten years ago is back and Diana and her family are his next target.

Keywords:

Vampire Assassin, FBI, Family, Daughter, Death, Teacher, Retired, Marriage, Missions, In the Field, Revenge, Lies, Distractions, Enemies, Old Vampires, New Vampires

My Review:

Though the cover would make you think “paranormal” and the presence of vampires and vampire hunters would also point you in the direction of paranormal, I believe that The Ties that Bleed is an urban fantasy in contemporary terms or gothic horror, much like Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice. This book was more like Interview with a Vampire than Twilight as far as vampire stories go. The Ties that Bleed had real characters with a real story and real stakes that were much more than teen angst related. There was also much less romance than your average tween vampire story. This book was somewhere in the middle of thriller/mystery/horror/fantasy/paranormal and if you like a realistic story that just so happens to have some vampires and some otherworldly concepts, you’ll love the Ties that Bleed.

I really liked the concept of a vampire assassin school to train the next generation of vampire hunters and that this would be considered a “desk” job, even though it still has its dangers.

The relationships between Diana and her male coworkers was as tense and sexist as any movie where there are female government workers and male government workers in the same department. Diana, however, is not lacking in the skills department.

This novel was published by Evernight Publishing June 21st, 2015 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Jamie Deise’s Website

Twitter

Book Review: Keeping Score by Jami Deise

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Keeping Score by Jami Deise

A Fiction Novel published by Amazon Digital Services (01/13/14)

Summary:

“Select baseball’s a small town. Everyone knows everyone else’s business.” (p. 163).

For Sam’s mother, Shannon, it’s all about getting him the opportunities to excel. If that means Sam gets more pitching practice and coaching time and is better than many of the other baseball mom’s kids, then all the better. Summer is fast approaching and Sam wants to try out for travel baseball. Both Sam and his mother will discover that there’s more competition off the field than on it and that baseball has its own set of politics and unfairness. All Sam wants to do is play, but what does Shannon really want? What is she willing to do and to let go of for her son?

Keywords:

Sports Mom, Parenting, Sports, Baseball, Team Spirit, Helicopter Parents, Select Baseball, Travel Baseball, Summer, 9-year old, Mother, Divorced Mom, Coaches, Coaching, Try-outs, Baseball Politics, Gossip, Competitive

My Review:

Even though I don’t have kids and have never played baseball, I could relate to the mother in this book. She had her ups and downs. She was harried and busy. Sometimes she didn’t even have time to properly eat or sleep. The way she complains about anything that went wrong was hilarious and always in perspective of her son’s happiness. She was an endearing, yet flawed, character.

There were some great one line zingers in this book. Like, “Sometimes relationships you think are friendships turn out to be tools only to get you through the week.” (Page 222) and, “At least with sports, the competition was direct and the winners and losers obvious.” (Page 235).

Keeping Score was like Ready Player One and its constant over-the-head 80’s pop and game references but with technical baseball terms and lingo. Much of this went over my head and I focused in on the story and the relationships between the characters. The technical baseball terms and phrases did not detract from the story being told.

This book is for mothers everywhere, especially anyone who knows anything about baseball. Also for those who want to know precisely what it’s like to be a sports mom or anyone who wants to read a fast-paced fun book about mothers, baseball, and the highly competitive nature of parenting.

This novel was published by Amazon Digital Services January 13th, 2014 and is available on Amazon here.

TLDR Star Rating: 4.25

Links for more information:

Goodreads

Jamie Deise’s Website

Twitter