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Book Reviews
Book Review: "Spinning" by Michael Baron
Soozy G. Miller
Sep 3, 2012
"Spinning" by Michael Baron is a love story, albeit not a traditional one. The main
character, Dylan Hunter, falls in love with two women: his best friend and a 3-year-
old girl who changes his life.
D-Man, as Dylan is affectionately known by his friends, admits he was looking to "my
job, my dates, to colored martinis, to all kinds of things" to figure out who he was
and what he was supposed to do. He enjoys his career as a high-powered PR
executive and he enjoys the bars, dates, parties, and casual sex of his bachelorhood.
One day, out of the blue, an old fling, Diane Sommers, and her 3-year old daughter,
Spring, show up at his apartment door in the middle of the night. After Diane is in a
sudden and tragic accident, Spring is left without any parent or family and Dylan
knows he is her only hope of survival, stability, and love.
This love story shows the emotional development of a man who changes and
matures. Dylan feels unexpectedly touched by his connection to 3-year-old Spring
and the new perspective she brings to his life. As we read, Dylan grows from
incompetence to relief; from stress to fulfillment. He gets help along the way from
Billie, his best friend and confidant, also a former fling. Their relationship also
develops into love.
"Spinning" is how Dylan describes the multiple situations and relationships that he
balances; it refers to the circus act with plates spinning on thin poles. The analogy is
used twice during the story when something bad happens: "Somewhere a plate fell
to the floor."
Author Michael Baron tells this unique story with a straightforward tone, enjoyable
wit and humor. The conversations and scenarios are realistic and believable. Baron
successfully tells an interesting love story based on a man's emotional shifts through
life’s challenges.
Book Review: "Kat Fight" by Dina Silver
Soozy G. Miller
Sep 4, 2012
"Kat Fight" by Dina Silver is fun to read. "Kat Fight" is a light, cute love story written
with a healthy dose of humor. The city of Chicago is the backdrop for what would

2. make a predictable movie plot but works as a witty page-turner.
Kat, the main character, is an executive assistant at the advertising office of Lambert
& Miller. Kat is the child of divorce and that, she says, makes her quite nervous
about relationships and quite unsure of herself at work. During her parents' divorce,
and in the years following, she often felt stuck between two arguing parents, totally
detached from her father and alone in the world. She is desperately in love with her
boyfriend, Marc, and assumes they will get married some day. But she is often
disappointed when he doesn't make her a priority. Kat is always worried, also, that
her unpredictable boss, Brooke, in a shaky marriage herself, will fire her at any
moment.
Kat does an entertaining job of balancing her relationships and career. She wants to
tell her best friend Julie about dating Ryan; she wants to tell Ryan about her
complicated relationship with Marc; she wants to tell Marc about dating Ryan. She
also wants help Brooke get over her philandering and condescending husband,
Drew. Through all this drama, Kat gets constant support and help--mostly from
funny, poignant texts--from her confidant, co-worker, and lover of all things drama,
Adam.
An example of enjoyable Kat humor: When Ryan randomly shows up at a bar where
Kit and friends are watching a Red Sox game, Kat says, "Everything is happening so
fast I can hardly keep up with which sweat glands needs to be wiped … Adam wafts
me with the drink menu."
As an interesting epilogue, author Silver gives a "Ten Fun Facts about 'Kat Fight'"
that verify some of the stories in the book. "Kat Fight" follows Kat through romantic
and friendship foibles to her taking ultimate control of her life. In a moment of
clarity on the way to the airport, determined to win back Ryan, Kat states, "I'm done
letting everyone else take control. It's my turn to take a stand for what I want."
These are just a few examples of how Silver makes "Kat Fight" such an enjoyable
read.
Book Review: "Pines" by Blake Crouch
Soozy G. Miller
Sep 16, 2012
"Pines" by Blake Crouch is a thrilling work of fiction. You will be hooked from page
one.
Ethan Burke, the main character, is a man on a mission. The story begins with his
waking up in a place called Wayward Pines. It is an idyllic setting: beautiful
Victorian houses surrounded by gorgeous park and grass fields, majestic cliffs and a
crystal, rolling river. But he is badly hurt. And he discovers that he has no wallet, no
money clip, no ID, no keys, no phone. He only finds a Swiss Army knife in one of his
pockets.

3. Burke gradually starts to remember: He is a Secret Service agent who came here to
search for two other agents. But as he learns what happened to them--and to him--
he discovers that Wayward Pines is not as pretty on the inside as the outside. And as
he tries to find reasons for things around him that don't add up, he senses that he's
heading for trouble.
The man is built for action; he has superhero endurance. Burke was a Black Hawk
helicopter pilot in the second Gulf War. Later he joined the Secret Service. His body
has incredible stamina, he has an excellent throwing arm with impeccable aim and
he can ignore pain and extreme thirst and hunger if it means getting out of danger.
He can take on and take down pretty much any enemy, even as fear rushes through
him.
The story is mainly about Burke, but it does touch on his wife, Theresa, and their
son, Ben. Burke longs for them, remorseful of his mistakes as a husband and father.
He also has nightmares about his time as a prisoner of war, being tortured by a man
called Aashif; his emotional shortfalls seem to stem from when he was a soldier.
This book is a successful cross between "The Bourne Legacy," "The Stepford Wives"
and "Planet of the Apes." The ending, with all its wild explanations, actually makes
sense. The narrative is non-stop engaging action with twists and turns the entire
way. This book would make a fun movie; you will enjoy all of “Pines” from beginning
to end.
“Make Him Beg to Be Your Boyfriend in 6 Simple Steps” by Michael Fiore
Soozy G. Miller
Sep 16, 2012
"Make Him Beg to Be Your Boyfriend in 6 Simple Steps" by Michael Fiore is a Self
Help dating book for women. (Actually, the cover says "A Special Report.") This book
gives specific instructions on how to hook a guy and make him a boyfriend.
A lot has been written in the past about how to hook a man, how to flirt with a man,
how to marry, and how a woman can use the male courtship process to her
advantage. Most of the these types of Self Help books were written by women for
women; "The Rules" was probably the best selling of all. "Make Him Beg to Be Your
Boyfriend" is one of the few that has been written by a man; yet it actually follows
some of the same logic as "The Rules." This is particularly interesting, because Fiore
makes it clear that his girlfriend, who he's totally head-over-heels in love with,
followed these steps to get him and he appreciates all of it.
First, Fiore explains the six reasons why the man is not your boyfriend yet: He wants
variety; he doesn't see you as a girlfriend; he believes you want to be casual; he's
been burned before; he's a player; he's already in a commitment.

4. Then Fiore leaps into the four basic steps behind making that man your boyfriend:
1) "Shoot down" his unconscious objections
2) Make him chase and earn you
3) Make him feel like he's going to lose you if he doesn't take action
4) Make him feel like it's his idea for entering into a relationship
Fiore gives warnings in the introduction about how straight he's actually going to
be: "Warning #1: Read the whole damn report" and "Warning #2: I don't pull
punches." He also fully admits these are games, and that some of them are a little
cruel. And he assures that all of them work.
The material for this book was originally Fiore's blog, and it's still active
at http://michaelfiore.org/. That's probably why the tone is simple and no-
nonsense. A straightforward explanation and instruction manual, "Make Him Beg to
Be Your Boyfriend" gives women the tools to successfully find a boyfriend.
“Better Off Without Him” by Dee Ernst
Soozy G. Miller
Sep 29, 2012
This is comedic novel that will have you laughing from the first page.
The main character is Mona Berman, a very successful romance novelist who lives in
the suburbs of New Jersey. The drama begins when Mona's husband, Brian, after
two decades of marriage, comes home from work in the middle of the day to tell her
that he is leaving her for another woman. Her reaction? "I was perfectly willing to do
whatever it took to get my marriage back to where I thought it was, say, oh, two
hours before."
"Better Off Without Him" is told in the first person, so it reads like a diary. Using a
lot of wit and sarcasm, Mona relates the trials and tribulations that follow Brian
leaving her. Throughout the book, as Mona gradually realizes that her marriage was
really not as successful as she thought it was, her humorous thoughts and feelings
on the subject are perpetuated by feedback from close friends and family and the
other characters around her.
There is always something going on in Mona's big cozy house, and she loves that.
Mona has three teenage daughters, Miranda, Lauren, and Jessica. Her two best
friends, Patricia and Marsha, live close by. Her personal assistant, Anthony, is always
around. Her Aunt Lily suddenly shows up after having sold her Brooklyn apartment
with no place to live. Mona's plumber, Ben, is practically on retainer, there are so
many issues in her house for him to attend to. And Mona has a whole other set of
friends and activities at her summer beach house neighborhood on Long Beach
Island.
Everyone will laugh when reading this book, and one particular demographic--

5. mothers in their thirties and up--will connect well with and understand Mona. She
worries about her drooping physique, the wellbeing of her children and how to find
a sex life now that she's single. Some readers will also learn from Mona; she starts
off wobbly, but with the support of friends and family, realizes how talented and
awesome she really is.
Dee Ernst is a talented and humorous writer. The story flows well, makes sense, and
you can imagine Mona Berman as a real person: hanging out at home, dealing with
tension, feeling elated. You will wish "Better Off Without Him" could go on forever.
Book Review: “War Brides” by Helen Bryan
Soozy G. Miller
Oct 1, 2012
This story is about the unsung female heroes of war; the women whose husbands
were off fighting or working for intelligence divisions. Unprepared for the stress and
trying times of war, the wives were left home by themselves, sometimes for years, to
fend off enemies, raise the children and keep the household, and help the war effort
on the home front.
"War Brides" follows a small group of women in the small English town of
Crowmarsh Priors: Evangeline Fontaine comes from a wealthy but dysfunctional
family in New Orleans, Louisiana, whose fortune is slowly diminishing. Evangeline is
a lazy, spoiled, rebellious young lady who, having grown up with brothers, is
constantly getting into mischief and trouble; when the book starts, she is pregnant
with the child of a black slave.
Alice Osbourne was born and raised in Crowmarsh Priors. The daughter of a vicar,
her only contact with a man was with Richard Fairfax, who proposed marriage to
her and then went to the United States, only to return married to Evangeline. Left
alone to care for her mother and the church, Alice fears that she will never marry.
Antoinette Joseph-Tanni-a Jew living in Germany, is forced to marry Bruno Zayman
and flee in the middle of the night as the Germans are closing in on the house. She
leaves her mother, father and two sisters in that moment, never to see them again-
and spends years of her life trying to find them.
Elsie Pigeon Hawthorne grew up dirt poor in Crowmarsh Priors. One of eight Pigeon
children, she and her siblings had to wrap rags and dishtowels around their bodies
on laundry day. Though she is a rebellious teenager, she married at fifteen years old.
Frances Falconleigh is also a wildcard. Having grown up without a mother, she lacks
grace, manners and basic etiquette. After having rejected nanny after nanny and
being thrown out of schools, she runs "wild in London with a fast set of unsuitable
men." Frances grows up to join Winston Churchill's Special Operations Executive
(SEO) and become one of England's most active and proud spies.

6. Penelope Fairfax, a relative of Evangeline's, joins the SEO and helps enroll families
in Kindertransportso children can live in a safe place during the war.
Despite their differences in background and personality, the women come together
in crisis and become lifelong friends; they help each other through bombings, births,
miscarriages, weddings, nursing wounded husbands, housing and feeding refugees
and the endless search for lost relatives. "War Brides" is a remarkable story about
women's strength and their will to carry on for the next generation.

7. Penelope Fairfax, a relative of Evangeline's, joins the SEO and helps enroll families
in Kindertransportso children can live in a safe place during the war.
Despite their differences in background and personality, the women come together
in crisis and become lifelong friends; they help each other through bombings, births,
miscarriages, weddings, nursing wounded husbands, housing and feeding refugees
and the endless search for lost relatives. "War Brides" is a remarkable story about
women's strength and their will to carry on for the next generation.