Book Review: Gonzo Girl

Katie September 18, 2015 0 Comments

Gonzo Girl is a novelization based on a real life experience by the author.  Cheryl Della Pietra spent some of her 20s as the assistant to Hunter S Thompson.  In this book,20 something Alley is the assistant to Walker Reade.  She is immediately emerged into a world of drugs, drugs, and more drugs. Oh and some alcohol and guns! She starts with a 3 day trial period and Walker ends up keeping her on as his assistant. She makes him drinks, she does coke with him and she is secretly re-writing his book since the page or two he gives her every night is never really coherent and more written in code.

Knowing that this was based on a true story, I found myself wondering what was true and what was embellished. I kind of wished this was an actual biography or memoir or her time with Hunter rather than a novelization!

But I loved the book and couldn’t put it down – I just had to see what crazy predicament Alley got into because of Walker next. And what outfit she was wearing when doing it!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

“Long after the last drink is poured and the final gunshot fired, Cheryl Della Pietra’s novel inspired by her time as Hunter S. Thompson’s assistant will linger in your mind. This debut novel is raucous, page-turning, head-spinning, and side-splitting as it depicts a boss and mentor who is both devil and angel, and a young heroine who finds herself tested in the chaos that surrounds him. An intense story, Della Pietra’s tale about writing, firearms, psychotropics, and the pros and cons of hot tubs will suck you in and take you on ride. Gonzo Girl is a ticket you want to buy.” —Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black

Alley Russo is a recent college grad desperately trying to make it in the grueling world of New York publishing, but like so many who have come before her, she has no connections and has settled for an unpaid magazine internship while slinging drinks on Bleecker Street just to make ends meet. That’s when she hears the infamous Walker Reade is looking for an assistant to replace the eight others who have recently quit. Hungry for a chance to get her manuscript onto the desk of an experienced editor, Alley jumps at the opportunity to help Reade finish his latest novel.

After surviving an absurd three-day “trial period” involving a .44 magnum, purple-pyramid acid, violent verbal outbursts, brushes with fame and the law, a bevy of peacocks, and a whole lot of cocaine, Alley is invited to stay at the compound where Reade works. For months Alley attempts to coax the novel out of Walker page-by-page, all while battling his endless procrastination, vampiric schedule, Herculean substance abuse, mounting debt, and casual gunplay. But as the job begins to take a toll on her psyche, Alley realizes she’s alone in the Colorado Rockies at the mercy of a drug-addicted literary icon who may never produce another novel—and her fate may already be sealed.

A smart, rollicking ride told with heart, Gonzo Girl is a loving fictional portrait of a larger-than-life literary icon.

Book Review: Insider

Katie September 18, 2015 0 Comments

 I LOVED THIS BOOK.  I don’t even know how to write this review because I loved everything about it.  At first I wasn’t sure if I’d finish it before it expired on me, because it is almost 500 pages.  But I gave it a go anyway and I am so glad that I did!  If you frequent the blog you know that I love, love, love rockstar romances.  I’ve read a lot. This one is probably one of my favorites.  I read a little bit before bed each night, and it was always so difficult to put the book down and go to sleep.  Had I started it on a weekend I probably would have done nothing else until I had read the book from front to back. It ended up taking me just about a week to get through and every night I couldn’t wait to get back to it.

I think it was because the main character, Toni, reminded me so much of myself – or maybe the life I want to have.  She is a writer and has been working from home mostly because she has been taking care of her nine year old sister while her Mom has been working. Toni’s Dad died when she was fifteen and her sister Birdie was born shortly after his death. But then she gets the opportunity to go on tour with a band, Exodus End, and get information on them for a book. But this book sounds super cool and it’ll be interactive with photos and video clips too.

Toni is a virgin and immediately after meeting the band, bassist Logan knows he has to be inside her. An hour later… and the deed is done.  But something happens with Logan. This isn’t like his other conquests. He seems to be really into Toni, even going so far as punching his other bandmates when they so much as hug Toni.

Slowly the band begins to trust Toni and information is revealed “off the record” in interviews.  But Toni has it recorded or documented in her journal and on her computer.  She promises that she will not print any of it… but when her Mom and editor (who wants to take the job out from underneath Toni) come to visit and her journ goes missing… everything ends up in the tabloids and Toni gets fired.  But Logan must know she would never do something like that, right?

Meanwhile – this is an erotic romance novel so while there is the fun on tour with a band story going on, there’s also the fun sub plot of Logan being Toni’s sex teacher! He has a lot of great ideas for how they should be getting together while on the road.

After Toni is fired – where is her future with Logan? Did she actually sell the dirty little secrets of the band to the tabloids? I know but you won’t, unless you read Insider!!

I’m also super excited that this is the first in a series – the next one is coming out next year AND the author has 2 other bands she has written about as well so I am pretty excited to hopefully find the time to go back and catch up on those stories! (Once I make a dent in my other netgalley reviews, of course!) I’ll let you know all about them once I get around to checking them out!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Toni wants to be an insider.

Logan just wants inside her.

She’s finally ready to rock…
Toni Nichols set aside her dreams to raise her little sister, but now she’s reaching for the stars as the creator of a revolutionary interactive biography about Exodus End. She’s on tour with the rock band to immerse herself in their world, but how will she ever gain the trust of four veteran superstars who’ve been burned by the media before? Nobody said this was going to be easy. Then again, good things can come in hard packages.

He’s always ready to roll…
Adrenaline junkie Logan Schmidt lives for the rush of playing his bass guitar before thousands of screaming fans. When he’s not performing onstage or in the bedroom, he’s looking for his next thrill in extreme sports. So why does a sweet, innocent journalist get his heart pumping and capture his full attention? Is Toni the real deal or just digging up dirt on his band? Logan’s eager to rock Toni’s world and roll her in the sack, but when she starts to get too close to his heart, she takes her insider look to a place he may never be willing to go.

Book Review: Things I’ve Said To My Children

Katie September 18, 2015 0 Comments

Things I’ve Said To My Children is a collection of strange things that the author has found himself saying to his young children.  If you don’t have kids, it’s still good for a laugh because you’ll be trying to figure out the context of things like “I can’t understand you with that octopus in your mouth”, if you do have kids, then you may have heard yourself saying some of the same phrases to your kids or maybe you have something even more bizarre that has come out of your mouth.

This is a really quick read with a lot of great illustrations for each of the things the author has said to his children.  It’s under 100 pages and definitely recommended!

I received an e-copy of this book in order to write this review.

About the Book

An illustrated gift book that brings to life the universal parenting experience of saying strange and hilarious things to one’s kids.
As the father of five boys (all under age 10), graphic designer Nathan Ripperger has found himself saying some rather funny, absurd, and downright bizarre things to his children, from “Stop riding that penguin, we’re leaving” to “I am NOT talking to you until you are wearing underwear.” He created poster-like images for each and posted them online. The response from other parents was overwhelming. With Things I’ve Said to My Children, Ripperger has assembled around 80 of the funniest, weirdest, and most amusing sayings and paired them with full-color, designed images that bring these outrageously hysterical quotes to life. Covering the essential parenting topics like food, animals, don’ts, and of course, bodily functions, Things I’ve Said to My Children is a light-hearted illustrated reminder of the shared absurdity of parenthood. Especially for those parents who’ve ever found themselves uttering some variation of the line, “Please don’t eat the goldfish crackers you’ve put in your butt.”

Book Review: Harry Plotter and the Chamber of Serpents

Katie September 18, 2015 0 Comments

Harry Plotter and the Chamber of Serpents is a spoof on the Harry Potter series.  This book follows Austin, an American who comes to England and ends up at Hogworts. (It’s spelled Hogworts in the book so I am not sure why it ended up as Hogwarts in the book write up. And it is also Austin in the book not Austen. I’m confused.)  This was a pretty quick read and great for kids who are looking for something fun to read over a weekend.  I liked all the play on names and words that I was familiar with from the Harry Potter series. (Drano Malfoy?)

The book takes place in the same time period of the second Harry Potter book – so it is Harry’s second year.  It is Austin’s first year at the school, but he is older and a year behind so he is being tutored by Hermione!

This book is available for free by the author under a Creative Commons license out of respect for JK Rowling.  So if you’re interested in checking it out – it won’t cost you anything 🙂

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Austen comes to England knowing as an American he’ll stick out at his new school. But when an errant owl lands him at Hogwarts he’s in for more than he expected.

If it’s not hard enough being the only American at Hogwarts, Austen’s sorted into the most despised of all the houses. Then bumbling around the dungeon while trying to find his common room, he unwittingly helps the monster from the Chamber of Serpents. Will he discover the secret of the Chamber before he becomes another victim of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?