Blog Tour: The Sound of Rain

Hello all! We here at The Autumn Bookshelf are really excited to be apart of this blog tour! Read, add to Goodreads and comment what you think!



The Sound of Rain by Gregg Olsen

Release Date: December 13th, 2016
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Format: Hardcover, 350 Pages

Synopsis:

Former homicide detective Nicole Foster has hit rock bottom. Driven off the force by her treacherous partner and lover, she’s flat broke and struggling with a gambling addiction. All Nicole has left is the dream of a warm bed at a homeless shelter and the haunting memories of three-year-old Kelsey Chase—whose murder case ended her career.

As Nicole obsesses over the old facts, she realizes everything about that case felt off: a disinterested mom, a suicidal pedophile, and too many questions left unanswered. When the little girl’s grieving father begs Nicole for help, she’s drawn back into the investigation…and given one shot at redemption.

But the deeper Nicole digs, the more evil she uncovers, including betrayals that hit painfully close to home. Will a shocking discovery be the key to finally getting justice for Kelsey and resurrecting her own life?

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Throughout his career, Gregg Olsen has demonstrated an ability to create a detailed narrative that offers readers fascinating insights into the lives of people caught in extraordinary circumstances.

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Olsen has written nine nonfiction books, nine novels, a novella, and contributed a short story to a collection edited by Lee Child.

The award-winning author has been a guest on dozens of national and local television shows, including educational programs for the History Channel, Learning Channel, and Discovery Channel. He has also appeared on Dateline NBC, William Shatner's Aftermath, Deadly Women on Investigation Discovery, Good Morning America, The Early Show, The Today Show, FOX News, CNN, Anderson Cooper 360, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight, CBS 48 Hours, Oxygen's Snapped, Court TV's Crier Live, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, and A&E's Biography.

In addition to television and radio appearances, he has been featured in Redbook, USA Today, People,Salon magazine, Seattle Times, Los Angeles Times and the New York Post.

The Deep Dark was named Idaho Book of the Year by the ILA and Starvation Heights was honored by Washington's Secretary of State for the book's contribution to Washington state history and culture. His Young Adult novel, Envy, was the official selection of Washington for the National Book Festival.

Olsen, a Seattle native, lives in Olalla, Washington with his wife, twin daughters, three chickens, Milo (an obedience school dropout cocker spaniel) and Suri (a mini dachshund so spoiled she wears a sweater).

WEBSITE: http://www.greggolsen.com/
TWITTER: @Gregg_Olsen
GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15035.Gregg_Olsen
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/GreggOlsenAuthor

Interview:

What inspired the story behind the book?
Initially it was a conversation with a friend of mine who’d gotten herself into big trouble. Like Nicole Foster in my book, she’d lost everything and her life was a shambles. Yet, deep down, I knew she could pull herself out of the mess. She was strong. That idea morphed into the new novel. 

What do you hope readers take from this book?
I want them to see Nicole as somebody who made a terrible mistake, but is not going to let it define the rest of her life. I want readers to see that possibility in others they know who might have fallen hard, but deserve a second chance.

Who was the first person to read the book, and why?
I have a few beta readers that I trust and they were the first to give feedback. I trust the people around me to be honest in their assessment of what I’m trying to do. It means a lot to me to have their support. 

Which character from your book do you connect with the most?
Nicole, the lead character, has my heart. I tried to see the world through her eyes – someone who’d been badly wounded, hurt by so many, yet responsible for her own downfall. She didn’t blame anyone for her problems, but it takes her awhile to really become self-aware. I like that about her. 

If you had to describe your novel if one sentence how would you do it?
When searching for the murderer of a small child a police detective with a broken heart finds herself. 




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Love, 
Your Friends at 
The Autumn Bookshelf

Book Review: Paper Girls

 Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matthew Wilson

Released: April 5th, 2016

Read: October 2016

Publisher: Image Comics

Format: Paperback, 144 pages
Series: Paper Girls (#1-5)

Description from GoodReads: In the early hours after Halloween of 1988, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls uncover the most important story of all time. Suburban drama and otherworldly mysteries collide in this smash-hit series about nostalgia, first jobs, and the last days of childhood.

Review: I had just gotten off a Stranger Things high when we hit up a bookstore and I found this beautiful gem. So imagine my surprise when the book is pretty much Stranger Things with an all-girl cast.
   Of course, the story is different. It's clever and weird and feels like something out of a dark episode of Doctor Who. Needless to say, I loved it. It's hard to love characters from comics unless the comic is 400-500 pages long, but this book successfully had me hoping these rough-and-tumble girls would save the day. Not to mention these girls are the coolest 12 year olds ever. (Except the smoking. Smoking doesn't make you cool.)
   It's even harder to make a group of tween girls the main characters in a YA/adult comic. Again, this book succeeded while still keeping a sense of youth and not just adults in tiny child bodies. That was a weird image. I'm sorry.

Quotable Quotes:
“I'm not going to stand here and be eaten by some bitch's dinosaur. I am finally doing something with my life.”

 “I hated being twelve. Back in '65, I just wanted to grow up fast so everything would finally be good, you know? But truth is, life was actually way better back then. Turns out, the older you get... the more everything just turns to shit.”

Rating: 9/10

Read if You Liked: Stranger Things, Doctor Who, (a grown up sorta version of) Babysitters Club, I don't think I've read another book like this

Optimistically yours, Ola <3

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Released: May 5th 2015
Read: May 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury Children's
Format: Hardcover, 416 pages
Series: A Court of Thornes and Roses #1

Description from Goodreads:
When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.
As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Review:

I first heard of this book from the ever so lovely Ohana Reads about a year ago when it first came out. From her I heard positive things about the book, that it was AMAZING and so forth. However, I had a TBR list about a mile and a half long so I (can't believe!) pushed it out of my mind. When I stumbled across it in the local library, it suddenly came back to me. I decided to check it out and read it, because why not? I am so glad I did! This book was an amazing blend of high fantasy and romance. Not to mention the incredible setting and character development. I had to read a little while, until it really grabbed me, but boy did it ever grab me. I found the mysterious plot intriguing, and it was one of those books that kept my attention until the very end. I'll admit, I did very little homework the few days that I had it. It was so good. I really fell in love with the characters, and it was a joy to read about them. I simply loved everything about the novel. Plus the relationship between Feyre and Tamlin really grew and developed as the book moved forward, but not in a pushy or rushed way. However I would have liked to find out more about the other courts in the realm, because I think it would have given a certain depth to the story. But still amazing!

Favorite Quote:

“Rhysand stared at me for long enough that I faced him.

"Be glad of your human heart, Feyre. Pity those who don't feel anything at all.” 

― Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Thorns and Roses

Rating: 8.5/10 Stars

Reccomended for people who enjoy: romance, fantasy, cool heroines, magic

Happy Reading,

Mari

P.S. Keep a look out for my review of the sequel, "A Court of Mist and Fury"!

Book Review: The Iron King

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Release date: February 1, 2010
Read: December 2015
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback, 363 pages.
Series: Book #1 in the Iron Fey series

Description from Goodreads:    Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.   Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.   When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.   But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war.       Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.


Review: 
   The story began as most do: with a character that is unhappy with his/her present life and wants something good to happy. Then it does. It was predictable and nothing special; just another 15 year old high-schooler who had a crush on a guy that would never like her back. Then the plot started rolling and little hints were dropped all over the text. Meghan saw a figure along the forest line, her brother was terrified of a man he kept seeing in his closet. These hints revealed the path and world in which Meghan would travel. They sort of  clued you in to what was happening even before Meghan knew herself.    The reference to A Midsummer Night's Dream took me by surprise. I didn't realize that the play written in 1595 still had such a big influence on stories to this day. The Iron King makes the language of the play and the characters written within it seem more approachable and alive. It' s as if Julie Kagawa connected two separate time periods into one novel.    The characters each seemed to have different motives that were somewhat hidden throughout the novel. They all had a certain role to play and no random, irrelevant characters were thrown into the plot (which I highly appreciated).

Favourite quotes:

• "'Ladies and Felines,' he stated grandly, grasping the doorknob,'Welcome to Tir Na Nog. Land of endless winter and shitloads of snow.'" -Julie Kagawa

• "'Bravo,' said Grimalkin, peering down from Cold Tom's Chest. 'The Winter prince and Oberon's jester agreeing on something. The world must be ending.'" -Julie Kagawa 

• "Power radiated from him, as subtle as a thunderstorm." -Julie Kagawa

Rating: 8/10

Recommended if you like: fantasy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, tales about faeries and goblins, action, a strong female lead

A recipe for disaster,

Lauren

Book Review: Me Before You

                                                               

                                                                                         

www.womanaroundtown.com 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Release Date: January 5th, 2015
Read: July, 2015
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 480 pages

Description from Goodreads:

       Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

   What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

   Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

   What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Review: Where to start? From the very first page I was hooked. Lou Clark is such a funny and relate-able character, that charms you from the moment you first meet her. Her journey alongside Will is a great one, and by the end of the book you care deeply for her. She is the character that we all want to be, because she is not the selfless heroine that we so often read. The supporting characters only add to the heartbreak of this novel. Each one gets their own chapter, where you discover what has led them to this difficult situation dealing with quadriplegia. Moyes does an excellent job of weaving a beautiful story, filled with laughter and tears. I like to call this one "The Fault in our Stars" for adults - so have a lot of tissues on hand. It is easy to read, and really grabs you until the last page. It deals with some difficult issues, that even now are still being discussed. It is worth the read, and it's a memorable one.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Favorite Quote: “All I can say is that you make me... you make me into someone I couldn't even imagine. You make me happy, even when you're awful. I would rather be with you - even the you that you seem to think is diminished - than with anyone else in the world.” 

― Jojo Moyes, Me Before You (Taken from Goodreads)

Recommended for people who enjoy: Sad romances, hard choices, love, quadriplegia and inspiring endings

Happy reading,
Mari