Emily Roberts, Author at AudiobooksNow Blog

“If I Knew You Were Going to Be This Beautiful, I Never Would Have Let You Go”, By Judy Chicurel

This brand new book from author, Judy Chicurel, is a portrait of a declining town and its people, who are trapped in the past that they have witnessed, and only wanting to move on to a promising future. It is a ‘coming of age’ story told in wise, clear descriptions of what it was to be a young woman at a particular time in our country.

The main character, Kate, lives on Long Island in the atmosphere of the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Kate and her friends are together battling the daily hardships of an economically distressed town. They are just looking for an escape in the face of fear, love, and loss. The book has been reviewed as; “a blunt, cynical, often profane and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny” short stay in the town of Elephant Beach.

Author, Judy Chicurel, has published works in several publications, such as The New York Times and Newsday, with her plays having been produced and performed in Manhattan. One common thread that she shares with her characters is that she lives by the water in Brooklyn.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Surviving The Holiday….Winter Street, by Elin Hilderbrand

Winter Street is one of several beach novels written by author, Elin Hilderbrand, who, by some critics, has earned the title of “Queen of the Summer Novel”. The theme is a bit different than her other works in that it is still in her beloved Nantucket, but takes place during the Christmas holiday season.

Winter Street is the local Inn on Nantucket, and has the tradition of hosting an annual Christmas party for the island. Everyone is looking forward to the party except Kelley Quinn, owner of the Inn. His whole family is in a constant state of chaos and turmoil, beginning with his discovery that his wife has had a 13-year affair with the hired Santa. His personal finances are in trouble after spending his once very comfortable savings on an elaborate restoration of the Inn. The Quinn children have many problems all their own. In the midst of all the family mayhem, Kelley’s first wife and mother of the three children steps in to possibly save the day.

By the time the holiday is gone, the dysfunctional Quinn family will survive “a love triangle, an unplanned pregnancy, a federal crime, a small house fire, many shots of whiskey, and endless rounds of Christmas caroling”. Just a “simple” story about coming home for Christmas.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Distance between Different Cultures and Desires…”The Hundred-Foot Journey”, by Richard Morais

Richard Morais is a former Forbes magazine correspondent turned author, when he wrote his first novel, The Hundred Foot Journey. An American who was raised in Switzerland, Morais has spent most of his life overseas, giving him an international perspective in his work. He now resides in New York City.

The Hundred Foot Journey began as the main character, Hassan, leaves India after tragedy strikes. He takes his family with him as they begin a long trip to find their niche in the world of culinary service. Eventually, they end up settling in a small village in the French Alps. In this village, they open an inexpensive restaurant infusing the sleepy little town with the spices of India. By doing this they incite a culinary war with the town’s famous French Chef. Eventually, she agrees to mentor Hassan, which leads him to Paris and the opening of his own restaurant. The Hundred Foot Journey refers to the distance between a new Indian kitchen and a traditional French one that represents the gulf between different cultures and desires.

The novel has been adapted to film and was released in August 2014. The director for the film is Lasse Hallstrom for DreamWorks Pictures (and others). The cast includes Helen Mirren and Manish Dayal as the French Chef, Madame Mallory, and the Indian chef, Hassan.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Act of Assassination??? “Killing Patton”, by Bill O’Reilly

The host of Fox News Channels, The O’Reilly Factor, has added another novel to his list of intriguing books about important figures in history. Preceded by Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus, author O’Reilly presents Killing Patton. Another in the series of riveting non-fiction novels about famous murders in history.

General George S. Patton, Jr. mysteriously died in the months following the end of World War II. In the seventy years since, suspicion has always surfaced that his death had been an act of assassination. The O’Reilly novel covers the final year of the war, and gives an accounting of the events surrounding Patton’s death. It gives the names of many powerful individuals who may have wanted him silenced. The narrative includes a description of a once very powerful man and he lays flat on his back in a hospital bed. “His upper body is encased in plaster, the result of a car accident twelve days ago. Room 110 is a former utility closet, just fourteen feet by sixteen feet”. There is a single chair for Patton’s wife, who sets by his side crocheting hoping he will soon awaken. The man laying in this German hospital is her husband, but he is also known as the brilliant General of the American Third Army whose crowning achievement was the Battle of the Bulge.

Co-author, Martin Dugard, is a New York Times bestselling author of several history-oriented books. He currently lives in Southern California.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Strength and Healing….”Wild”, by Cheryl Strayed

The non-fiction novel by Cheryl Strayed, “Wild”, was voted best non-fiction book of 2012 by several review outlets. The personal story she relates is from her experience in making an impulsive decision to hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail. The route originated in the Mojave Desert and continued through California, Oregon, and ended in Washington State. The most harrowing part of the impulsive decision…she did it alone.

When just twenty-two years of age, Cheryl felt that she had lost everything in her young life. Her mother passed away, which prompted the family to scatter to other places leaving her alone. And, if that weren’t enough trauma, her own marriage fell apart. It was then that she made the commitment to begin her journey.

Wild is a powerful narrative of a young woman who feels desperation and the need to connect with nature on her own terms. The novel captures all the terror and triumphs of one young woman who forged ahead on her journey against all odds. The experience was maddening, but also resulted in giving her strength and healing.

The film adaptation of “Wild” is due to be released on December 5, 2014. The movie will give justification to the motto of the book…”From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail.” The movie will star Reese Witherspoon as Strayed, with cast members Laura Dern (as Strayed’s mother), Toby Hoffman, Thomas Sadoski, Michiel Huisman, and Kevin Rankin. Director for the project is Jean-Marc Vallee’, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Victims Turning Everything on it’s Head….”The Maze Runner”, by James Dashner

Author James Dashner’s novel The Maze Runner is the first in a trilogy of post-apocalyptic, young adult, science fiction novels. Before this first of the trilogy stories, Dashner also wrote a prequel entitled “The Kill Order“.

The novel follows a group of boys who have been deposited after the apocalypse, at a place known as the Glade. It is the epitome of science fiction with mechanical creatures called Grievers, who roam the Maze at night. The Gladers, as the boys are known, have made a community in which each Glader has an assigned job to perform. The Maze is outside of the Glade which is protected by huge doors surrounding it that close every night to give protection from the creatures.

The main character, Thomas, learns more and more about the Glade, and gets the feeling that he has been there before. He befriends fellow Gladers named Chuck ad Newt, and feels strangely connected to the only girl ever deposited at the Glade, named Teresa. The whole plot revolves around the three Gladers performing as runners who explore the Maze and bring back information, all the time avoiding getting stung by the Grievers. Dashner’s original motivation for the novel came from an idea he had where, as quoted directly from the author……..”a bunch of teenagers living inside an unsolvable maze full of hideous creatures, in the future, in a dark dystopian world. It would be an experiment to study their minds……Until the victims turn everything on its head.” And so goes Maze Runner.

The novel has been adapted for film and is due to be released today! The director is Wes Bell with a cast of Dylan O’Brien as Thomas, Blake Cooper as Chuck, Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt, and Kaya Scodelario as Teresa.

Get your digital audio copy today!!

He Said-She Said…”Gone Girl”, by Gillian Flynn

American author Gillian Flynn wrote the novel, Gone Girl, based on the suspense created by suspicion of the main character, Nick Dunne and whether he murdered his wife.

Nick and Amy had a less than perfect marriage for several reasons. He lost his job as a journalist and relocates them from New York City to Carthage, Missouri which was Nick’s small hometown. Amy was not happy to leave New York…….she was a city girl. All phases of their marriage were becoming more and more dysfunctional.

Amy disappears on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary. The suspicion and suspense begins. In this novel, Flynn tries to depict the ultimate commitment…marriage. According to author Flynn, marriage turns into the ultimate he said-she said mystery.

The novel has been adapted for film by Reese Witherspoon’s film production company and 20th Century Fox. They reportedly paid $1.5 million for the screen rights. The director is David Fincher with cast members being Ben Afflek as Nick, Rosamund Pike in the role of Amy, joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Ratazko, and Tyler Perry.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Is Endless Love Possible??? “The Best of Me”, by Nicholas Sparks

In 2011 the author of the hugely popular novel, The Notebook, published his next novel, The Best of Me. Nicholas Sparks is an American novelist, screenwriter, and producer who has published seventeen books. Eight of the novels have been adapted to film.

In quoting the book: “Everyone wanted to believe that endless love was possible. She believed in it once too, back when she was eighteen”. High school students, Amanda Collier and Dawson Cole were very much in love, even though they were from opposite sides of the tracks. But high school teen love somehow defies reality in a small North Carolina town. As so often happens, unforeseen events tore the young couple apart, sending them on very divergent paths.

As the novel progresses, it is twenty-five years later and they meet once again, when they return to the small town for a funeral. In one week-end they will discover undeniable truths about what has happened in the last twenty-five years and will be forced to answer the question …………”Can love truly rewrite the past”?

In October 2014, director Michael Hoffman’s movie adaptation of the novel will be released. The cast includes: Liana Liberato as the young Amanda Collier; Michelle Mongahan as Amanda Collier; James Marsden as Dawson Cole; Luke Bracey, young Dawson. As a side story, Paul Walker was cast as the lead role, but passed away and was replaced by James Marsden.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

Open to Love….”Love Letter’s”, by Debbie Macomber

Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel written by Debbie Macomber, is a celebration of the power of love. Rose Harbor Inn proprietor, Jo Marie Rose, finds herself in the busy summer season and also finds herself thinking more and more about the Inn handyman, Mark Taylor. This intriguing plot is only one of the many romantic stories going on this summer in Cedar Cove.

Before the end of summer, someone will show their heart’s desire. The novel shows the reader the courage it takes to be completely open to love.

Debbie Macomber has had nine of her novels make #1 on the New York Times best seller list. She has also had the very popular Hallmark Channel’s top watched movies of 2009 and 2010 in Mrs. Miracle and Call Me Mrs. Miracle. In 2013 Hallmark Channel produced the original series based on her novels: Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!

The Journey Through Continents and Centuries…”The Sisterhood”, by Helen Bryan

The Sisterhood is the second novel by author Helen Bryan. She ingeniously intertwined two stories in one novel. The main character Menina Walker was born into a wealthy family in South America, but after the devastation of a hurricane when she was a toddler, she was adopted by an American family and taken to a new life. Her only possession was a swallow medal she took with her.

As the novel follows her path of growth, she became a beautiful and intelligent nineteen year old that had everything and was excited about her future. Then another traumatic event crushed her dreams. After even more trauma, her path crosses with that of historical drama involving five orphan girls. From the Spanish Inquisition to the New World, Menina’s medal seems to link it all together. It is a love story and a historic thriller that takes the reader across continents and centuries.

Get your digital audio copy today!!!