Book Review of "Runner" by Patrick Lee

This book goes from 0-60 starting on page ONE! WHAT A RUSH!

Sam Dryden, retired special forces, is out on a run in the middle of the night and a young girl runs into him on the seaside boardwalk. She's barefoot and terrified, she’s running from a group of heavily armed men with one clear goal—to kill her. She doesn’t know much except her own name, Rachel. Dryden, as it turns out, is also former black ops and has a crazy skill set, one of which is specialization in removing people off of the radar.

Rachel has special powers. Powers that make a whole lot of corporate honchos with power and an entire American government want to hunt her down using every satellite in the Universe available in order to kill her.

Aside from the extraordinary pace at which this book moves, you won't want to put it down. If you're the type that likes to lie in bed and read until you fall asleep, this is NOT the book to try and do that. You WILL fight sleep to keep reading.

The relationship that develops between Sam and Rachel is both father-daughter and to a certain extent, peers, mostly because of Sam's impeccable set of skills and Rachel's special powers. But, their relationship is fantastic and wonderfully written.

I wasn't thrilled with the ending but it's exactly how it NEEDED to end so I deducted no stars.

Definitely a 5-star read!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Coming Soon! "And You, And You, And You…..You Never Loved Me"

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A CRAZY BITCH!

Minimize how I feel?  That ends now! I asked you nicely to never contact me again and your choice was to tell me I was just going to get over it. I just needed to "chew on that a while."

"I 'Blah Blah Blah' you because that is exactly what B*** A** did to me when I explained my absense was because I was embarrassed about my mental illness.  She was like "Whatever C******...that is stupid.....you see Theresa that what real friends do..... I laugh about it now.  Chew on that a while and I will talk to you soon.  It just boundries not a loss girl...…"

DID YOU SUCK MY ENERGY OUT OF ME TO THE POINT I HAD TO DUMP YOUR ASS?

"...they are very kind and generous. they just want to see me happy, get my own life, etc…it was hardest for me just to come to terms with myself by giving up my career."


Then why did you think it was YOU? And why did you get your daughter to email me about it instead of just asking me yourself? It wasn't about YOU. It's not always about YOU! Good-bye, you are DISMISSED!

WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU WERE GOING TO SLIDE RIGHT BY, TELL ME NOT TO "TAKE IS PERSONALLY," AND JUST WALK AWAY CLEAN?

THE TIME HAS COME! YOUR ASSES ARE ON MY CHOPPING BLOCK!  I WILL REVEAL ALL I DID FOR YOU, EVERYTHING YOU NEVER DID FOR ME, AND EVERYTHING YOU TOOK FROM ME.

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, FIND OUT WHAT IT MEANS TO ME….." DON'T KNOW?  WELL, YOU'RE GONNA LEARN!

**********

And now a sneak peak of "And You, And You, And You…..You Never Loved Me"

     At least once a week, I have a night at home by myself while my husband goes off to play poker with his buddies.  And every week on that night while he's gone, I have a nose draining cry fest and then go to bed before he even gets home so he has no idea that I've cried for three or four hours straight.  The reason for such waterworks, one might think, would be due to being in pain and crying is a good release for that pain.  However, it is extremely rare that those hours are actually used to relieve stress from pain on my body.

     No, the reason I cry for three to four hours on those poker nights is because of general sadness and malaise over complete and total failure to be able keep people from leaving me.  Granted, in the last 6 to 9 months, I have deliberately ended two friendships both over 20 years old. But that has actually lifted a burden OFF of me in the months after doing so.  However, the overall experience for the grand majority of my lifetime has been that people leave me. They just up and go.  Now I've had a birth mother abandon me and an adoptive mother abandon me. That right there would give anyone a complex of some sort.

     But me?  I can do everything right, be perfectly kind, and try to be the best friend that a friend could ever try to be and people just leave. High and dry. No warning, no particular reason.  Now I know that people come in and out of our lives for a reason, a season, or for a lifetime.  But me?  I'm a weird, off-brand sort of repellent.

     Just recently, I posted on Facebook. I basically said that I should probably do some friend cleaning since I have so many on my friends list and so few seem to interact with things that I post.  When I see my friends post a basic opinion, or photo, or article and those friends seem to ALWAYS get 30 to 50 people commenting (a lot of times more than that), and I get nothing, I must conclude that no one is interested in me anymore.  I can't say for sure that it's the stupid Facebook algorithm keeping friends from seeing it in their News Feeds because I'm highly participatory with all of those friends.  It's the only logical conclusion left.

     In less than the last year, I've said "good-bye" to two best friend relationships. One was a 20-year friendship and the other was a friendship that went back as far as high school, nearly 30 years.  Well, why would I do that? Because one went through a mental health crisis, put me through a massive amount of pain, and when she left the psychiatric facility, didn't contact me.  When contact was finally made indirectly, that friend would not hear of me telling her about any of the things she did during her psychotic break.  Things like:

• Calling my husband and leaving him a message that I was a lesbian who had been chasing her for years.
• Calling and screaming into the phone to stay away from her and her child.
• Sending me texts not to contact her because I was not the agent of the FBI and that she was the Mayor of Philadelphia's agent.

     The list goes on.  And then she told me I would "get over it."  She basically attempted to blame me for it all.  I finally had to tell her "never contact me ever again" and "I'm done with you."  So not only did I have to grieve for my loss while she was sick, I grieved the loss of my friendship.  When it finally came down to thinking it all through, I knew this could never be mended if she would never take responsibility for at least the irresponsibility of going off of her medications.  People DO still grieve even when they are the dumper.

     As for the other friend, she basically turned out to be just like the aforementioned friend. After taking stock of the 20-year friendship, what it all came down to was that she only ever called, talked or spent time with me when she needed something from me.  She never asked for money so that was never an issue.  In fact, she refused to ever accept help when I offered it to her.  But when she needed an ear to burn for 4 to 8 hours or needed advice about family matters and so on, I was the one she called.  Did I expect her to reciprocate?  Of course, if she was able to do so.  But if I went to her with anything from the simple to the dire, she was never there for me. She was unavailable or didn't call back. In the earlier days, she wouldn't come over or wasn't there for me to go to her. In the later days, she never visited me once. I always went to her. And the list goes on…it's way too long to even hit the surface of that here.

Book Review: "Hardpressed" (Hacker #2) by Meredith Wild…..The Sex Scenes Aren't Sloppy Smut!!!!!

Hardpressed is book two of the Hacker Series and picks up where Hardwired left off. For those who read the first book and saw the comparisons to Fifty Shades of Grey like I did, this book gets away from all of that and there is no longer anything to compare.

This book takes some wild turns, some daring twists, and some of the secrets learned in the first book get addressed in Hardpressed. Readers of the first book know who Daniel is by the time they've finished and by the time we get through book two, we know Daniel, we don't like Daniel and, some of us like the way Erica handled Daniel. I personally found her method of dealing with him to be not smart just for the sake of being independent. Being independent doesn't mean you NEVER need help. And I think that's Erica's main flaw: she's so used to doing everything on her own, she doesn't allow anyone to step up and help her. That annoyed the Hell out of me.

In book two, we know that Erica is questioned over Mark's death and it was fairly brief. My gut says Ms. Wild is going to eventually come back to that but it's hard to tell which twists she'll take in book three. Maybe she'll let Mark be dead and gone so Erica can start to move on from that bad juju from her past.

We see a lot of Erica's non-blood-related family (Marie, Alli, Sid) place themselves at Erica's side while she goes through a tough time with Blake without even knowing the reason for the tough time. I wish Ms. Wild would have brought it out more that Erica's mother may have died long ago but that she always had family before finding Daniel. I understand a person's need to find and get to know blood relations if they are out there but Erica (and Ms. Wild) misses an opportunity here to emphasize Erica's TRUE family.

The ending was a shocker and then it wasn't. Without spoilers, I can't explain it any further than that.

The sex in the book is absolutely fabulous. Ms. Wild knows how to write an erotic scene without making it sloppy smut. I have no trouble confessing that I wanted to jump my own husband after reading those scenes and I wouldn't be surprised if other adult readers wanted to jump their own partners as well.

Overall, the series is off to a good start. I'm looking forward to book three, Hardline (Hacker #3).

So, is "Hardwired" by Meredith Wild a Ripoff of Fifty Shades of Grey or Twilight?????

Hardwired is the first book in Meredith Wild's Hacker series. Within the first three chapters, you'll begin to think you're reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy all over again and there are similarities. Blake is a gozillionaire who likes to be in control, he's hot, he's possessive and so on. He's got a brother named Heath who falls for Alli, best friend of the main character Erica.

Erica is basically an orphan who just graduated from Harvard and was raised by her mother's best friend. There's even Sophia, Blake's sort of ex who is a bitch and doesn't like Erica and the feeling is mutual. Some of the similarities are so close, you will think you are reading the same thing but you're not.

You'll most likely run into reviews of those who bitch and moan at the mere mention of the similarities. Frankly, I find those people immature. I mean, c'mon, Erica gets on Blake quite a few times in this first book and calls him "master of the universe." And if you know anything about FSoG, you know that it's Twilight fan fiction that was previously titled "Master Of The Universe." So to deny the similarities is just immature and stupid.

Now, the actual book is really good once you move past those similarities because there ARE differences. In Hardwired, Erica is NOT Ana nor is she Bella. Erica is tough, smart, business savvy, she has her own start up business and she's trying to get some serious millions to fund her company, Clozpin, which sounds like an anti-anxiety drug but really, it's a fashion social networking site.

Erica and Blake sort of meet by LITERALLY running into each other and the day afterward, Erica finds herself at a conference table surrounded by wealthy men to make her pitch and one of those wealthy men is Blake.

From that point on, the entire book is complete FIREWORKS! The love scenes/sex scenes in the book are by no means boring and Erica knows how to hold her own with Blake. She's not entirely a pushover although she does have some confidence and trust issues. Like most main characters in these types of novels, she's got a past and so does he. Hers is pretty bad.

What's good about the book is how Blake reacts the story of her past. He still engages her but he doesn't walk on eggshells with her either. I thought he handled it all like a pro.

Overall, this is a good read. It's not incredibly deep, it's a book to relax with and you probably won't be able to put it down. DO be ready to read the series. You will WANT to read the next two books anyway to find out what happens to Erica and Blake. I'm in the middle of the second book and it actually gets BETTER. So if your summer vacation is planned and you're looking from some books to sit back and read, grab up all three, get a glass of your favorite cold beverage, put your feet up and enjoy!!!!!

Book Review of "My Memories Dance" by D.M. Hulme

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE EBOOK OR PAPERBACK !!!!!

“My Memories Dance” is the debut novel of D.M. Hulme and she hit it out of the park at her first step up to the plate! In the interest of full-disclosure, I was asked to read an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of the book, which is a work of Creative Non-Fiction, and I was asked to give an honest review of it. About halfway through the book, I purchased it outright because I knew that I would want to read it again. Also in the interest of full disclosure, the author is also the mother of one of my BFF’s. My fellow NetGalley readers and reviewers think I’m “NUTS!” and “INSANE!” for agreeing to read and review anything written by a friend, a family member, the family of a friend, etc. but if there were any BFF I was going to say “yes” to when asked, this BFF is one I couldn’t say “no” to.

My first point of order is to say “Congratulations!” to D.M. Hulme on her debut book. I’ve written plenty of blogs about myself over the years but could I write a book about myself using the honesty I encountered in “My Memories Dance?” I don’t know if I could. I also have HOARDS of respect for anyone who successfully writes and publishes a book. SO, let’s get to it…..

“My Memories Dance” is about Sarah Walker. Sarah is a young woman who was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia, from this point on “Northeast Philly” or just “Philly.” Sarah’s journey through over four decades will take you through the highs and the lows of her life but in addition to her story, you get to read it through the eyes of a Philly girl who loved to go to the dances, loved watching American Bandstand, spent summers “down the shore,” and so much more. As a South Philly “girl” myself, the references to Jerry “The Geater With The Heater” Blavat (who wrote the foreword for this book), Wildwood, Woolworth’s, “The El,” and, so much more brought back memories of my own upbringing in Philly. It’s quite the wild ride down memory lane for Sarah and myself.

You will meet Tom MacPherson, the man who eventually becomes Sarah’s husband. You will HATE Tom. And you will NEED to hate Tom. Because you will feel so much conflict about the decisions, and the mistakes Sarah makes over and over again in regard to Tom. I think your first question will be “why the HELL did she ever marry him?” It was certainly mine and I don’t have any doubt that it will be yours. You will find that Sarah does have her reasons. One of the reasons being the actual decade in which they marry and how things were back then. Sarah writes:

"Tom and I would fight a lot. The fights were mostly about his drinking, the staying out all night,    about money and about his parents."

The other reasons I can’t tell you because, well…..spoilers, that’s why!

Alex Bentley. You will LOVE Alex. It won’t be hard. Alex is dreamy. I can tell you that you will know what Alex looks like from his description in the book and he’s definitely DREAMY. Alex’s appearances in the book seem to make him a minor character of sorts. However, Alex is a MAJOR character for the entire book for a myriad of reasons. He’s in Sarah’s mind and heart from the day she meets him until the end of the book. So even when Sarah isn’t interacting directly with Alex, Alex is still present to Sarah.

Sarah’s journey isn’t easy. Sure, life isn’t easy but I have to admire Sarah for her strength, her determination and her perseverance. There isn’t a day in Sarah’s adult life when she isn’t working a job. There is one short time where Sarah doesn’t work but there is a reason for it. Sorry, that’s a spoiler. There isn’t a day where she doesn’t have to take care of a member of her family. Not one. Sarah simply never stops working. And it’s not the work-a-holic type of working, it’s not “career woman” working. When Sarah takes on one of two or three different jobs to make ends meet, she goes to clean house for some women in the neighborhood and Sarah writes:

"These ladies treated me like I was their daughter. They loved me, and all I did for them. It was very rewarding."

This is SURVIVAL working regardless if it’s her job or taking care of a family member or being there for one of her friends.

You will briefly meet Sarah’s daughter Kim as well. Kim? Well, she’s the reason I read the book. Because she asked me to read it. Sarah has this to say after a terribly unpleasant event occurs:

"Kim and I would talk everyday on the phone. I would vent my problems, and she would always talk me down from the ledge."

Gee, I know NOTHING about what this is like at all. LOL!

"She's a wonderful kid, and I would ask myself, how did I get so lucky to have a kid like her!"

And how did I get so lucky to have a friend like her? And I know she’s absolutely going to hate the fact that I included this line in my review. She’s humble that way. At one point, I sent Kim a brief message about the part of the book where her birth occurs. Her reply was, “SPOILER- I'm really not in it that much.” Oh but she is. Because embedded in Sarah’s mind throughout the book after Kim is born, she’s doing everything for her child. She never has to come out and say it; you will simply just know this to be a fact.

Sarah’s life will make you laugh and it will make you cry. D.M. Hulme is exactly the second author of my 45-year-old life to actually make me cry tears while reading a book. I do recommend having some tissue available. If you’re sitting on the beach, get the Jackie O sunglasses out for this one. You will shed tears of sorrow and tears of joy.

I don’t know how much “creative” is embedded in this “Creative Non-Fiction” book so I have to accept it all as real as it is presented. If that’s the case then I can promise that you will ROOT for Sarah like I did. You will HATE Tom like I did. You will LOVE Alex as I did. And you will hear the songs that are the soundtrack of Sarah’s life in your head as you travel on her journey with her through every single page.

Finally, I enjoyed the choice and direction that D.M. Hulme decided to go with the ending of her first book. I think you’ll find that this definitely is one of the “creative” parts of “Creative Non-Fiction.” It’s kind of a surprise ending of a different sort. You’re gonna love what she does with it. I didn’t see it coming but, as I realized what she was doing with the ending, I thought it was soooo perfect.

I’m rating this the same way I’d rate a NetGalley or Goodreads by using the five star system and I’m giving it FIVE STARS. Most debut books don’t get 5 stars from me. But when an author can evoke the emotional responses that I had while reading, whether tears of sorrow, tears of joy, or laughing out loud not caring who hears it, you get 5 stars! It’s really that simple.

Before or after you read the book, visit the website, http://www.mymemoriesdance.com. You’ll find some lovely information there about the book as well as some great links.  Once you've perused the website, watch the fabulous VIDEO as well.



So, while I recommend this book for anyone who likes to read, I call on Philly chicks, those born in the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s, those of you who are the children of those born in these decades, and those of you who know what it means to go “down the shore,” to grab this one right NOW. You will NOT be able to put it down.

READ ABOUT "MY MEMORIES DANCE" IN ROWHOME MAGAZINE!!!!!

THIS JUST IN !!!!!

READ ABOUT "MY MEMORIES DANCE IN NORTHEAST TIMES!!!!!

CLICK HERE!

BOOK RELEASE DATE AND NEW VIDEO TRAILER! "How We Deal With Gravity" by Ginger Scott

RELEASE DATE: JULY 8, 2014

BY

GINGER SCOTT

     When her son Max was diagnosed with autism, Avery Abbot’s life changed forever. Her husband left, and her own dreams became a distant fantasy—always second to fighting never-ending battles to make sure Max was given opportunity, love and respect. Finding someone to fight along her side wasn’t even on her list, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she could never be her own priority again.

     But a familiar face walking into her life in the form of 25-year-old Mason Street had Avery’s heart waging a war within. Mason was a failure. When he left his hometown five years ago, he was never coming back—it was only a matter of time before his records hit the billboard charts. Women, booze and rock-n-roll—that was it for him. But it seemed fate had a different plan in mind, and with a dropped record contract, little money and nowhere to go, Mason turned to the only family that ever made him feel home.

     Avery loved Mason silently for years—until he broke her heart…completely. But time and life have a funny way of changing people, and sometimes second chances are there for a reason. Could this one save them both?

Reblog: "I SOMETIMES HATE THE LGBT COMMUNITY. AND I’M A MEMBER." by Amanda Kerry

"Recently, huge fights have spawned between different camps within the LGBT community. The fights are born around the use of certain words, different roles, opinions, outlooks, philosophies of life as an LGBT person, and quite simply wounded egos.

And I have had just about enough of the bullshit."

Read the rest at:  http://nihilismispointless.wordpress.com/2014/04/15/i-sometimes-hate-the-lgbt-community-and-im-a-member/

Book Review of "The Break-Up Artist" by Philip Siegel

Becca Williamson watched her sister get ditched at the altar. Becca also sees the couples at her school needlessly cast out the single girls to the point where they're treated like pariahs until they couple up. Even her best friend, Val will do or say anything to snag a boyfriend.

As a result, for just $100 via PayPal, Becca aka "The Break-Up Artist," will break up any couple. With a few creative tricks, Becca can shred a couple's relationship to pieces.

One night, she receives a mysterious offer to break up the homecoming king and queen, the one zombie couple to rule them all: Steve and Huxley. If Becca can split them up, then school will be safe again for singletons. To succeed, she'll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date and wiggle her way back into her former BFF Huxley’s life – not to mention start a few rumors, sabotage some cell phones, break into a car, and fend off the inappropriate feelings she’s having about Val’s new boyfriend. All while avoiding a past victim out to expose her true identity.

By far, one of the best young adult contemporary romance books I've read to date. What struck me right from the get go was the author is a MAN. I would never expect such a wildly good understanding of teenage females from a male author. For that, I give stars, stars, more stars, and kudos to Phillip Siegel!

One of the things I like about any book I read is when I can't put it down and I really want to take off from work to just finish it. This was definitely one of those books. This is also my first ARC via NetGalley that was approved from Harlequin so I was excited for the opportunity to read a Harlequin TEEN book. I was not disappointed.

Mr. Siegel does an amazing job in creating Becca's character. She's as complicated as any teenage girl would be. There were times I had to remind myself that Becca was indeed a teenager in high school. The author also did a great job in reminding the reader of that fact as well. The struggles Becca has to go through to be Becca and The Break-Up Artist in secret are so good, I wondered if the author actually met someone who did this for real. I'm sure they exist out there in real life.

What the author does with Huxley is pretty amazing and you won't see it coming right away but I think all readers will enjoy it. I loved the choices the author made in ending the book too. As I thought of the possible alternative endings that the author could have chosen, none of them seemed to fit in my mind so kudos for the ending as well.

I didn't exactly understand why Becca and Val were BFF's. Val's character is slightly annoying and I was surprised Becca would have a best friend who is so…..whiny. But, there are people out there who don't understand why I'm BFF's with certain people as well. Val has flaws and she's willing to lie about anything to snag a boyfriend. You will wonder if she falls into "couple zombie" mode if she snags that boyfriend.

Overall, this is a humorous and light-hearted look at one of the real issues teenagers have to deal with in high school. It's definitely realistic and if you like YA books with some "girl power," you'll love this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review but it comes out April 29th. So preorder it now so you can start reading it the day it releases. You won't be disappointed!

Book Review of "Susan Mallery's Fool's Gold Cookbook: A Love Story Told Through 150 Recipes (Fool's Gold #12.1)"

Entwined in this fantastic cookbook packed with easy to make recipes is the sweetest little love story. You'll meet Ana Raquel and Greg soon enough but while you're enjoying their story, you'll also enjoy trying as many of these recipes as you can squeeze into a meal or a party. The Arugula Pesto, Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Pizza will make fellow Italianos proud. Mouths will water over the Thai Peanut Chicken! The Christmas Morning Chocolate Swirl Buns are good any day of the year. By far, THE tastiest little romance book EVER!!!!!

Book Review of "Disconnected" by Jennifer Weiner

Shannon is an addict who has been in and out of rehab more times than she can count. When she finally decides that she's going to get herself together, she goes to get herself a new cell phone. However, when she starts receiving weird texts that seem to be encouraging her to meet with drug dealers and buy drugs, things start to get weird.

This dark, short story/novella is about as far from what I expected from Jennifer Weiner's usual "chick lit." Having read most of her books and loving "Good In Bed" through several reads, I never saw something this dark coming from her. Even though it was unexpected, it was still really good. It was this particular work by JW that caused my head to flood with memories of imagery used in her past books. It was the first time I realized how GOOD her use of imagery actually is in her writing as a whole. I could see where Shannon went in my head. I could picture those dark places. And when you get to the twist at the end, that imagery comes in handy.

I'm kind of hoping there is a future full length novel coming that features this character. Even with the twist at the end, it can still be done.

Book Review of "Blindness" by Ginger Scott

Ginger Scott, author of "Going Long" and "Waiting On The Sidelines," (The Waiting Series), has done it again! Ms. Scott has written another 5 out of 5 stars novel that is going to knock your socks off!

Charlie Hudson is a young college student who lost her father in a horrible way when she was barely 18 years old. Cody, is a former motocross star who is now living a blue collar life at 23 and attending college. They meet in her third year of college when Charlie goes to a much needed tutoring session for her Calculus class. Cody, like Charlie, lost his father at a young age.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was asked by Ms. Scott to read an ARC of "Blindness" and to give it an honest review. My biggest worry was that with my job, my pursuit of a second college degree and life being so busy, that I wouldn't be able to give this book what it was owed: my time. Well, that wasn't an issue because as soon as I had it, I started reading and I had a really difficult time putting it down. In fact, I actually hated every time I had to put the book away to go to work or to work on my class work. Had I been able to stay up all night for just one night, I'd have read the entire book in one sitting. This book will capture your heart that quickly.

I fell in love with Charlie and Cody as soon as they met each other. Charlie is unsure of who she is in many ways but she's lovable because she knows she's unsure and she's seeking to find out who she is. Cody is the type of guy you'll want for a potential mate or if you already have a permanent mate in your life, you'll want him to be more like Cody. But he's got his own issues too.

You'll meet Gabe and Jessie as well. Gabe is Cody's friend from childhood and although not blood related, he's Cody's brother. Jessie is Gabe's girlfriend who befriends Charlie and she's, well, she's much different than Charlie. I have a best friend who is a lot like Jessie and I loved her character but Jessie is a character you'd want as your friend too. Jessie is, for all intent and purposes, Cody's sister.

Ms. Scott has written characters that are honest, lovable and so incredibly real. I love that Cody is sensitive but retains every single stitch of his raw, macho, manliness. I also love that Charlie may not seem to be as tough as Jessie but when she needs to, she doesn't take any s**t.

There is one scene which I'll only describe as starting out in the rain when Charlie walks out of a club. From the start of that scene all the way through to its end, I found tears streaming down my face. It was really that beautifully written. I could feel the emotions expressed by Charlie and Cody the entire time. An emotional connection like that from a novel is so incredibly foreign to me. Ms. Scott now holds the distinction of being the only author who has been able to evoke that kind of emotional reaction from me while reading a novel. Twice.

I connected with Charlie quite a bit but mostly when she spoke to her dad. My own father died in a manner incredibly similar to Charlie's father and I speak to my father as well when I need it. And you will find out why Charlie is still so raw about her father's death even after three years have gone by.

The only thing I would have liked to see, if I were making a wish list, would be to see the Epilogue go a little bit farther into the future. But as written, it's still written with excellence.

The relationships in "Blindness" are stunning!

"Blindness" comes out on February 25th. I'd originally planned to get this as a late birthday gift to myself (it's February 22nd) so many thanks to Ms. Scott for the early birthday gift!

"Blindness" will be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Smashwords and Kobo. If you can preorder, I highly recommend that you do. If not, mark your calendars and get your copy on February 25th and treat yourself to a belated Valentine's Day gift that is much sweeter than any box of chocolates!

Book Review of "Along Came Trouble" by Erin Kern

"Elisa Cardoso longs for passion in her life. Though she'd much rather spend her days photographing the stunning Wyoming landscape, food photography is a lucrative, if uninspiring, way to pay her bills. But when her next assignment brings her face to face with sexy restaurant owner Brody McDermott, Elisa can't deny the delicious effect he has on her.

From the minute Brody sees Elisa, he's dying to unleash her inner bad girl. He knows there's more to the sophisticated photographer than meets the eye. Now getting the sexy shutterbug into his bed is on his menu, but when she starts making her way into his heart-big problem. Love has been tricky for Brody, and he's not too eager to try his luck again. But when a golden opportunity means Elisa may be leaving Trouble for good, can Brody find the courage to grab on to love . . . before it slips away?"

When I read something under the category "contemporary romance," I prefer more romance, less contemporary, as in less reality. Things like divorce, having to decide on child custody, whether to follow an ex because your child may be leaving with the ex, and other things like that typically suck my interest in a book right out of me. Erin Kern does a great job of not going overboard with it.

What she does do is create just enough conflict to make you root for both main characters and she uses the minor characters rooting for the main characters to make it easier for the reader to do.

The only thing I didn't like in this book is the same thing I don't like in every romance book: characters not communicating, characters hiding information thinking they're doing what's best for someone else, etc. But I've also resigned myself that this is part of the conflict that ignites the fire in the romance and keeps the flame going until it's completely on fire. So while I don't like it, I've come to accept it and don't blame authors for it because it's part of the formula and I would dare an author to write a good romance novel without that element.

One thing I would have preferred in this particular book is more physical shows of romance. In other words, more sex. And that's where my dislike for too much reality comes in. There are too many missed or stunted opportunities for Elisa and Brody mostly because of Brody's eleven year old son. However, I will admit that my lack of appeal of children as part of reality in romance novels actually heightens and enhances my dislike when the presence of kids in general are a blockade. I don't hold this against authors anymore either because kids are a part of reality, especially kids of divorced parents. On a good note, Erin Kern has written Brody's son as a mature, well-behaved eleven year old. So I kind of liked him. He's also one of the characters that was used just a little bit to help the reader root for Elisa and Brody.

I'm giving Erin Kern five stars for this one. It's a good read and well worth the time. If I could have stayed up all night to read, I'd have read this entire book in one sitting over one night.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A Letter From Fibromyalgia

A LETTER FROM FIBROMYALGIA

Dear Miserable Human Being,

Hi, my name is Fibromyalgia, and I’m an invisible chronic illness. I am now ‘velcroed’ to you for life. Others around you can’t see me or hear me, but YOUR body feels me. I can attack you anywhere and anyway I please. I can cause severe pain, or, if I am in a good mood, I can just cause you to ache all over.

Remember when you and Energy ran around together and had fun? I took Energy from you and gave you Exhaustion. Just try to have fun now! I also took Good Sleep from you and in its place gave you Fibro Fog (a.k.a.) Brain Fog. I can make you tremble internally or make you feel cold or hot when everyone else feels normal. Oh yeah, I can make you feel anxious or depressed, too. If you have something planned, or are looking forward to a great day, I can take that away too. You didn’t ask for me. I chose you for various reasons: that virus you had that you never quite recovered from, or that car accident, or childbirth, the death of a loved one, or maybe it was those years of abuse and trauma.

Well, anyway, I’m here to stay! I hear you’re going to see a doctor who can get rid of me. I’m ROTFLMAO! Just try! You will have to go to many, many doctors until you find one who can help you effectively. In fact, you’ll see many doctors who tell you ‘it’s all in your head’ (or some version of that). If you do find a doctor willing to treat this ‘non-disease’, you will be put on pain pills, sleeping pills, and energy pills.

You will be told you are suffering from anxiety or depression, given a TENS unit, told if you just sleep and exercise properly, I will go away. You’ll be told to think positively, you'll be poked, prodded, and most of all, you will not be taken seriously when you cry to the doctor how debilitating life is for you every single day!

Your family, friends, and coworkers will all listen to you until they just get tired of hearing about how I make you feel, and that I’m a debilitating disease. Some of them will say things like “Oh, you’re just having a bad day”, or “Well, remember, you can’t expect to do the things you used to do 20 years ago,” not hearing that you said “20 DAYS ago”! Some will just start talking behind your back, while you slowly feel that you are losing your dignity, trying to make them understand, especially when you are in the middle of a conversation with a ‘normal’ person, and can’t remember what you were going to say next!

In closing, you’ve probably figured out that the ONLY place you will get any real support and understanding in dealing with me is with other people with Fibromyalgia! They are the only ones that will understand your complaints of unrelenting pain, insomnia, fibro fog, the inability to perform the everyday tasks that ‘normal people’ take for granted.

Remember, I’m stuck to you like Velcro – and I expect we’ll be together for the rest of your life. Lucky you!

Author Unknown

COMING IN FEBRUARY 2014 FROM GINGER SCOTT: "BLINDNESS!!!!!"

It takes a while to know who you really are. And when you lose your way, sometimes it’s hard to find it again.

Charlie Hudson was on the verge of figuring that out when her dad—the only parent and friend she ever had—died suddenly. She was barely 18, and she was alone. So she went for easy—playing life safe, running away from a home that harbored nothing but bad memories and challenges and loving a man who would take her away from it all forever.

It’s funny how chance takes over when you need it most. And that’s exactly what brought Cody Carmichael into her life. A former motocross super star, Cody was now happy to be living the blue collar life, spending his days finishing up school and his nights under the hood of some classic car, just trying to keep everything his father taught him alive. Cody and Charlie were living parallel lives, until they finally collided. And the moment he smiled at her, Charlie knew he was the one who would change everything. But was she willing to take the risk?

Cody saw through it all. He saw her—all of her. But would letting him in be too much to take? And if Charlie let herself love him—really love him—could he love her back?

14 Reasons Why It’s Not Okay to Out Someone as Trans – A Public Service Announcement From Your Friendly, Neighborhood Trans Person

“Reblogged from AmericanTransMan”

"Recently, a well-meaning friend of mine disclosed my trans status to a friend of his, someone I hadn’t known previously. I don’t know that I ever would have found out that he had done so if his friend hadn’t slipped up and referred to me as “she” in front of a group of people.

He quickly corrected himself and moved on with whatever he had been saying, but for me, the damage had been done.

That one little pronoun ripped away my confidence and left me stunned and confused. Although it still happens once in a while, being seen as female has been a rare occurrence for me over the past six months, so I asked myself why this person whom I had just met would confuse me with a woman? Was it obvious that I was trans? Was I kidding myself, walking around in the world thinking that I no longer appeared female to most people?"

http://americantransman.com/2012/04/18/14-reasons-why-its-not-okay-to-out-someone-as-trans-a-public-service-announcement-from-your-friendly-neighborhood-trans-person/

Book Review: Crashing Into You by B.D. Rowe

"Bookish college sophomore Sydney Baker wants Evan Taylor with every ounce of her being. The hottest stud on campus, Evan is six foot four, ripped, stacked with muscles. He's even easy to talk to. 

There's just one problem: he's her roommate Melanie's boyfriend. 

But when Melanie tragically dies after a night of wild partying, Sydney and Evan turn to each other in a time of intense grief. And it doesn't take long for their close friendship to blossom into something more. 

Unfortunately for Sydney, secrets from the past soon put her relationship with Evan to the test. Especially when a sexy blonde freshman makes her way into Evan's life, and tries to rip away everything Sydney holds close to her heart."

The above is the blurb I read that made me want to read this book.  Unfortunately, it's misleading.  Sydney and Evan don't just turn to each other after Melanie dies, they were already friends.  Their close friendship doesn't just blossom into something more, Sydney was already obsessing over Evan before Melanie died.

Unlike other reviewers, I actually disliked Sydney more than I disliked Evan.  Evan went through his grieving period and wasn't going to feel guilty over his feelings for Sydney just because Melanie died.  Sydney, on the other hand, couldn't seem to let go.  The fact that she has an issue with binge drinking and drinking and driving makes her worse.  She's completely all over her friends, including Evan, about drinking a single drop of alcohol.  But she also acts like it doesn't bother her at the same time.

The whole thing with Sydney's issue with drinking was off the charts and sometimes not even realistic.  Anybody who feels THAT strongly about drinking and partying is NOT going to be peer-pressured into going to a party and drinking if they don't want to go.

And then there's this whacko climax and then it ends on a CLIFFHANGER.

The book is a total mess and should have ended after a longer period of time for Sydney and Evan to grow to love each other.  The mysterious blonde isn't a bad story twist.  How Sydney reacts to her when she realizes who she is, is like, Psycho Sidney.  I think it could have been wound into the story with more flair and less throwing it in our face.

I also noticed a lot of reviewers have presumed the author is a FEMALE.  However, before I actually go and look up the author to find out, I'm banking on the author being a MAN.  I found myself thinking, "a man wrote this" through the entire read and I can't figure out exactly why but I KNOW B.D. Rowe is a MAN.

Overall though, I give it three stars and rate it as a good book.  Especially for a debut book.  I have to give respect to anyone who writes and publishes a book.  If there is a sequel to the book, and I hope there is, I hope it's more fine tuned than this one.  I'd be curious to see where Evan and Sydney wind up.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review: "Hard To Handle" by Jessica Lemmon

ONCE BURNED
Sadie Howard never dates a guy more than once-but Fate has other plans for her when it comes to Aiden Downey, the one that got away. Aiden loved her, left her, and broke her heart. Yet suddenly she's bumping into him at every turn, driven to distraction by his wicked grin and rock-hard body. Now she can't resist finishing what they started-as long as she doesn't let herself fall in love . . .

TWICE AS TEMPTING
Aiden Downey threw away the best thing he ever had when he let Sadie go, and now he's determined to win back the woman he's always wanted. Sadie agrees to let him into her life-and her bed-as long as there are no strings attached. But Aiden's not about to make the same mistake again. Can he convince her to take a second chance on a once-in-a-lifetime love?

Sadie's best friend, Crickitt, is marrying Aiden's cousin, Shane, and it's at their wedding where we start off in this book.  With Crickitt and Shane gone, off to their honeymoon, we find a plastered Sadie and a well buzzed Aiden staying overnight at the reception site.  It's here where Aiden takes Sadie off to her room and puts her to bed where we find out through their thoughts what happened to make Sadie despise Aiden.  They dated a year prior and Aiden, when his mother went to a holistic cancer center in Oregon, broke it off with Sadie and went to be with his mother, hoping she'd beat the cancer.

A couple of month's later, we find Sadie working her butt off as a sales rep for a motorcycle parts company and she's off to land her biggest potential client before the owner hires another Parts Manager.  To Sadie's shock and chagrin, the owner has hired Aiden for the job.  With Aiden feeling guilty and still in love with Sadie, he gives her the account which wins her a big bonus at work and the number one sales position.

Now she sees him daily at the shop as she changes over the inventory, the displays and sells off the older, lesser quality competition products.  At this point, just about anyone can guess where THAT'S going to go.

Aiden is a wonderful hero in this book.  He's changed a lot after his mother's death.  He has goals and purpose and he knows what he wants his future to be.  And he wants Sadie to be a part of that future.  For a big, badass biker dude, he's a sensitive guy.  And of course, he's a little bit stubborn too because, well, he's a man.  "Nuff said.

On the other hand, Sadie is whiny and kind of a bitch when it comes to how she treats Aiden.  I mean, if I got this right, Sadie and Aiden had THREE DATES.  Now maybe there's a lot more to their previous relationship in the novella that precedes this book but by all accounts, it was THREE DATES.  I got the impression that they both fell in love with each other, most likely at first sight the first time around, and maybe that's why Sadie STILL won't let it go.  But she's also completely not understanding at all as to why Aiden broke if off.  The man's mother was dying of cancer and he chose to go be with her.  So, from this point of view, Sadie really appears to be the self-absorbed one of the two.

I had no trouble reading the book, it was a page turner.  But I got all sorts of annoyed at the back and forth that led to nowhere.  But I liked the end and the epilogue.  It just felt like there was a middle missing. A missing piece. There's all the back and forth and then the ending and epilogue comes real fast.

One of the things in the book that nagged at me was Sadie's fear of riding on a motorcycle.  Her backstory obviously includes a family and friends who ride. She has extensive knowledge of cycles, riding and the parts she sells.  So there's this story that carries through the book of this fear because her dad had an accident and Aiden had an accident.  As far as I can tell, nobody she knows has died in a motorcycle accident.  It seems irrational.  At one point, I thought the turning point (the missing piece) would be Aiden has another accident and Sadie finally sees that she really cannot live without Aiden.  After finishing the book, I kept asking myself if Jessica Lemmon may have even written that in and for some reason, took it out.

Overall, it's a good book.  Readers of romance novels will enjoy it, especially if they enjoy reading romances that go "off formula."  That being said, I'm extremely interested to read the first book which is about Crickitt and Shane and the novella which gives us the whole backstory on Sadie and Aiden.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Book Review of "Second Chance" by David Perry

"Pharmacist Alex Benedict’s career and personal life are collapsing around him. Battling his own exhaustion, a powerful physician, and an unforgiving boss, he fights to uncover the reason behind a series of mysterious deaths in his hospital while preparing for a life-altering crisis. The suicide of a colleague thrusts Benedict into a hunt for clues leading to the ultimate, improbable answer. In the end, Benedict discovers the unthinkable, and in a climactic, unforgettable scene must make an agonizing, life-defining choice that will haunt him forever."

Alex Benedict works as the lead pharmacist in a hospital that's primed for a takeover.  By accident during the code of a cancer patient, Alex discovers a suspicious IV bag.  The IV bag has been laced with a mysterious ingredient and turns out to responsible for at least two other deaths in the hospital.  Alex's wife is also fighting an ovarian cancer battle of her own and decides to stop treatment once and for all, which will speed up her transition to her death.  Alex's colleague, working under duress, commits suicide and leaves Alex a mysterious CD loaded with a scavenger hunt of sorts.  It is then up to Alex to solve the riddles, find the pieces of a recipe that cures people of all sickness and find the last dose of a successful preparation of that recipe so that he can save his wife's life.

At first, I thought a three-part book with forty chapters was going to be ultra long, dragging in spots, and hard to read.  It was the exact opposite. This book moved really fast!  It was fast-paced and kept me awake all night long.  The medical and pharmaceutical knowledge in the book was top notch.  I expected it to be "dumbed down" but as a nurse, I could easily tell it wasn't.  David Perry does a great job tho at describing what medicines were for and what they could do.  There are some fake medications in the book as well but it was creative to say the least.

The examination and speculation of what a discovery of a cure for all human ailments would do to the world's population is astounding without taking sides and really makes the reader think while being entertained by an excellent book.

We do meet another character named Angel in the book.  The introduction of Angel gave me a huge aforethought to a possible ending of the book and I was right.  But, you'll have to read for yourself to see if you can figure it out and to find out if you're right.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Trial of Dr. Kate by Michael Glasscock III

This is the second book of a four part series set in Round Rock, TN.  While set in the same town with some of the characters from the first book, Little Joe, it is now some years later.  Dr. Kate Marlow is going on trial for murdering her best friend, Lillian.  She insists that she didn't do it but has no recollection of the day her friend died because she blacked out.

Seeing the news of the trial on the AP teletype, expat of Round Rock, Shenandoah Coleman, now working as a reporter for a Memphis newspaper, decides to return home to Round Rock to cover the trial and after seeing her old friend Kate, decides to help Dr. Kate by interviewing everybody who knew her to find character witnesses for her.

Along the way, Shenandoah meets up with her old friends and her old foes, she meets new people along the way and makes new friends as well.  Including, Bobby, a handsome mechanic who happens to work for Lillian's husband, Army, and they develop a romantic relationship with each other. The fact that Bobby and Army are moonshine runners isn't exactly favorable to Shenandoah but she seems to understand that the activity goes along with all of the other unfavorable activities of the time.

The book covers just about every topic associated with the deep South in the early 50's including racism, sexism, classism, corrupt politics, etc.  There is a trial and we get a good picture of just how differently the court systems worked back then.  Michael Glasscock made it all very real.

A verdict is rendered.  What really happened that day comes to light.  There's even an epilogue that details what happened to each of the characters years later.

What I liked about the book was how Shenandoah held her head up high in the faces of those who once looked at her as poor white trash and still see her as that even though she's been a WASP pilot in WW2, college educated and doing well for herself.  I also liked how she kept her promise to Dr. Kate and visited her everyday to see how she was doing and to keep her up to date on how her interviews were progressing.

We also get to see the good things too.  Like Southern hospitality and how the town protects each other (this is a bad thing too when it turns into people covering for each other).  The book is written really well, it's not hard to follow and you can get caught up in it quickly.

What I didn't like was how the trial ended and the reaction to the verdict just seemed to fall flat.  I'd expect, in this particular case, that ANY verdict would spark outrage and outcry.  But it was just nothing.  Even finding out what really happened was just flat.  Then out of what seems like nowhere, we are given this shocker of an ending with Bobby, whom Shenandoah has fallen in love with and wants to be with forever.  Frankly, I *hated* how Bobby's ending was written.  It seemed incredibly unnecessary and I still don't understand why Glasscock decided to go in the direction he did what him.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review of the book.  Honesty, I dropped it to 4 stars because of that ending.  In fact, I can't think of another book ending that I disliked more.  Overall, it's a good book and a good read.  I plan to read the next two books in the series.

Book Review of "Safe In His Arms" by Renee Rose

Safe In His Arms is a steaming hot novella that packs a lot of punch into what amounts to just over 100 or so pages.

Becca meets Zac over the weekend of her sister's wedding and she winds up having a weekend fling with someone she believes is a Marine.  After that steamy weekend, she finds out that Zac went off to war and was killed.  Shortly after, she finds out she's pregnant.

Fast forward seven years and we find Becca coming home from work to find her son's nanny in mortal combat with a man who is the man she believes died seven years before.

Becca finds out most of the truth, that Zac is a Black Ops agent, which means he doesn't actually exist anywhere.  But he has been watching over Becca and their son for all of these years.  Now he's back because he believes Becca and their son to be in danger.  It becomes difficult quickly for Zac to stay away from Becca and their son.  On the flip side, Becca and Zac's short-lived Dom/sub weekend are not forgotten and Becca's desires to have her Dominant man back in her life set off a lot of fires.

Overall, it's a really good little book.  If you don't mind reading sexual scenes containing BDSM, you'll probably enjoy the book.  The love story is good and it makes sense.  The decisions that Zac has to make over the course of the book and in the end are all natural and unforced.

The relationship between Zac and his son is sweet. And I like how Renee Rose writes these characters so that there is some tension between Becca and Zac when Becca is all like, "uh, excuse me, you show up after seven years and want to just be part of raising our son?"  How they work that out in the bedroom is something you just have to read for yourself.

I'm not a huge reader of Erotica but when combined with romance and when written tastefully, I do enjoy them.  The only thing I may have wanted (because I can't say I disliked it), was less of the spanking.  It seemed to get to where every sexual encounter was relentless punishment spanking and after a while it begins to feel like there's some abusiveness going on.  And it gets redundant after a while.  There is some non-consentual spanking that occurs as well and I didn't like it even though I knew prior to reading that it would be there.  Renee Rose writes it well so I was fine to just not like it and keep going.  The story around all of the spanking is why I kept reading  and why I liked the book.

If you like a good, well-written, hot, steamy, sexy, erotic story with romance and spies, you'll like this book.

Publisher’s Note: Safe in His Arms is an erotic romance novel that includes both consensual and non-consensual spankings, anal play, graphic sexual scenes, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.

Book Review of "Little Joe" by Michael Glasscock III

I don't know if others bothered to read the Q&A with the author at the end of the book or if they simply didn't notice it at the end of the book, but I noticed that some of the reviewers who didn't like the book as much as I did seemed to think Michael Glasscock did a lot of research to write this book.  What we find out in the Q&A with the author was that a lot of these characters are based on real life people and the grandparents are based on his own maternal grandparents who he lived with for nine months out of the year.  He also wrote most of the book from his own memory.

The other thing I noticed about many (not all) who rated and reviewed the book a little bit lower were either from a much younger generation (basically anybody who didn't have WW2 era grandparents) OR, they didn't know a whole lot of their WW2 history or what American culture was like during that time.  The reaction to the grandparents from younger readers find the grandparents harsh or uncaring.  What they either missed or don't seem to know is that it was the 1940's, it was during WW2 and one's elders spoke to children much differently than they do today.  That's because they were more strict.  Seems to me the younger generation readers don't know that entitlement, or that the world owes you something was not taught back then.  If you wanted anything at all during that time, you worked for the money to buy it or you built it yourself or you did some kind of work for trade.

But, the story follows Little Joe Stout who goes to live with his grandparents in Round Rock, TN in the early 1940's during WW2 after he and his parents are in a car accident from a blown tire.  Both of Little Joe's parents die in the accident and a new life (and lifestyle) is thrust upon the young boy.

His grandparents are what I would describe as "tough old birds."  LIttle Joe's grandmother, who becomes Mommy Washington to Joe, is your basic, older Southern woman, who cooks everything in bacon grease, reads a lot, smokes a lot and is your traditional church-going wife.  At the same time, even though she lost her only daughter, she's a tough old bird.  She may be strict and she might appear to be pushing Little Joe too quickly to "get over" the death of his parents but I think that's just how it was back then.  These would be people who lived through The Depression and then they have to live through a war.  What we don't get to read about, presumably because the story is about Little Joe, is that Little Joe's grandmother probably spent quite a few nights in her room, by herself, grieving for the loss of her only daughter and thanking God for sparing her grandson.  So yes, she's tough and strict and makes Little Joe do chores but she's not mean or evil or nasty.  Country life is different than city life and when she tells Little Joe that he'll get used to country living and country food, she's not being mean, she's being strong.

At first, one might think Little Joe's grandfather, Daddy Washington, is a total milquetoast.  Not at all.  He's a quiet Southern gentleman who probably lets his wife think she rules the roost while he goes out and makes a living as the town engineer.  He's got his man-cave (the garage), he sits down and eats what his wife puts in front of him and we don't see the grandparents argue.  Just because we don't see it, doesn't mean they don't.

And then there are Little Joe's friends.  Sugar is a bit of a tom-boy but still wears her hair in girly pigtails and talks about who likes who on the school bus.  Bobby is a "colored" boy from the "colored" part of town.  Most of the action we see with the three of them is at Little Joe's farm although we do see them going to other places in the book.  Sugar can kick a shin that'll put tears in your eyeballs and Bobby is just a fun little boy.  It doesn't take long to figure out that these three are no doubt friends for life even though the book spans the first year of Little Joe's life in his new home and environment.

We get a look at racism in this book when Little Joe's grandmother stands up to the local "white trash" bullies who try to beat a Chinese man traveling through on the way to see his son who is leaving for the war.  The town bullies seem to be all adult white men who believe he's a "Jap" and think he should be in one of the camps with the rest of the "Japs."

Little Joe quickly learns that his grandmother doesn't like people who don't like people who hate "colored people" or anyone who is different (i.e. not white).  This is a time where Jim Crow laws are in effect and there are separate water fountains, separate schools, etc.  And she's not this way to be all political or to make statements.  She is how she is because she respects all human beings.  Little Joe comes to his grandparents already uncorrupted but his grandmother strengthens that attitude by leading by example.

The only thing I could not figure out was the age gap.  If Little Joe's grandfather is 70 years old, then surely his grandmother is in her mid to late 60's. How do they have a 9 year old grandson and they only had ONE child?  Since everybody had children so young back in that time, I would have guessed Little Joe's grandparents to be in their 40's, perhaps late 40's.  When I was 9, my own WW2 era grandmother was well into her 50's but she had 11 children.  So when I was in my early 20's, she was in her early 70's.  It was just something I noticed but it doesn't take anything away from the book.

Overall, this an A+ book that I loved and I'm looking forward to reading the other three book in the series.  According to the author, the 4th book returns to Little Joe in his late 20's so I can't wait until it's published.  I'm dying to know if Little Joe goes on to be a Veterinarian.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for an honest review in return.  I'm looking forward to recommending this book.  It's for anybody who can read.

Book Review of "A Darkness Ascending" by Christobel Kent

This book from Christobel Kent is a part of a series of books that feature Sandro Cellini, a former cop turned private detective.  My first thoughts while delving into the book was that I probably should have read the preceding books first.  I had a hard time grasping who all of the characters were but I'm not sure if this was because the book simply moved too slow to get to the action or if reading the earlier books in the series would have sped that up for me.  There are a bunch of characters all introduced in the early chapters one on top of the other and I had a hard time connecting them to each other.

We do get a prologue that introduces Silvano Niccolo and his partner, Flavia.  It's a fairly simply prologue. Flavia is obviously putting down their newborn infant to bed.  And embedded in the chapter upon chapter of character introductions that follow, Silvano Niccolo is at a political rally or meeting of some sort and he collapses on the stage.

Then Flavia disappears and we find out she's committed suicide.  Or did she?  It's a weird plot of sorts and it is in some ways, a thriller.  Cellini is pulled into the case by Giuli, who as far as I can gather, is some type of foster daughter to Cellini.

This was a tougher mystery for me to read when I typically have no trouble getting drawn in quickly to mysteries in general.  I would not call the entire book flat but there really wasn't what I would call a "climax" here either.  It all kind of goes at one pace, and stays at one level.

I also didn't feel like I was in Italy either.  This could have taken place in the underground halls and alleyways of anywhere.  Except for the names of the characters and places which are in Italian, I didn't get any feel for any of the Italian political culture.

Overall, I would still recommend the book.  But, I would tell potential readers to start with the first book in the series as I think I would have had a better experience if I had done the same.  I gave it 4 stars because I thought it was "very good" with 3 stars being "good" and 5 stars being "excellent."  And I only subtracted a star because of the slow moving feeling.  I couldn't subtract stars for other things because it felt not fair since I hadn't read the other books that came before this one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review of this book.

Review of "Playing by the Rules" by Imelda Evans

"Kate Adams expected to return home from Paris with a ring on her finger. Instead, her French boyfriend, Alain, breaks up with her right before she leaves for Australia.  Unwilling to show up at her high school reunion desperate and dateless, Kate asks her best friend's brother, handsome Josh Marchant, to pretend to be her fiancée.  Josh has always had a soft spot for his sister's friend and happily takes on the role. And as they spend time together, the lines between fact and fiction blur and they're soon struggling to remember it's all just an act."

Kate is someone who is what I would call an "extreme planner."  If she doesn't have it mapped out step by step.....well, let's just say "spontaneity" is not Kate's middle name.  Kate works for the Sorbonne, she was planning on her hot Frenchie boyfriend proposing so she could plan a wedding and a life for herself.  On the opposite side of the coin, Josh is definitely not stuck in one spot.  His job allows him to travel around the world to different hotels every couple of years or so and up until he comes home for a visit and agrees to be Kate's date to her reunion, he wasn't exactly looking to stop moving around from place to place nor was he looking to settle down.

I copied the teaser above to point out a few things about it.  First, Josh doesn't have just a "soft spot."  People who read the book are going to figure out what Josh thinks of Kate early on in the book. Kate is Josh's sister's best friend and they've known each other for many years but Josh's feeling go a little deeper than that.  If Kate were the homely best friend, I could see the "soft spot" description being a fair one but in this particular case, it's not.

The point that they're struggling to remember it's all an act refers to the reunion in the book.  That's misleading as well.  I get that it's a teaser to get people to read the book and it worked on me as well but it's also not exactly a fair description.  These two don't struggle at all.  At least not to me.

I liked this book.  I liked the story and the ending as well.  There wasn't anything I particularly disliked either.  However, I thought the book spent too much time at the reunion and too little time with Kate and Josh getting to know each other again.

I also thought everyone was so nice.  Too nice.  Kate's Frenchie ex shows up at one point int his book and it's really not much of a spoiler.  Kate gets some closure from it.  But she's way too nice to him.  Or, maybe Australian women are just more polite????

Overall, I recommend reading it if you like a good, solid straight romantic book.  If you don't want retching agony and a nicely wrapped happily ever after, then definitely read it.  It's something I'll definitely recommend.

(I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review in return)

Book Review of "Borderline Personality Disorder: A Guide for the Newly Diagnosed" by Alexander L. Chapman, Kim L. Gratz

Overall, the book isn't bad. However, because I'm already a nurse and have worked with psych patients, I already knew most of the information in the book. It was a good refresher but it was obviously written for someone who is newly diagnosed with BPD. But even for someone who is newly diagnosed, I still thought it was too basic.

The style of the book overall was good. It describes what BPD is, it describes various treatments that include talk therapy and medication therapy. I did like that it was recommended that talk therapy be included if one is also in medication therapy. In my opinion, it's crucial for every patient with a mental health disorder receiving mediation therapy to seek talk therapy.

Some of the things I would have liked to be included in the book was more description of the different medications. Almost to the degree that they different types of talk therapy were described. Not to the degree of a drug guide perhaps but just a bit more detail of each one instead. I would have like more description of the symptoms, more information about onset of symptoms and when would be a good time for someone to seek help. I would have like more case study examples where the patients are NOT self-harming or suicidal as well. As it is one symptom of nine, and one needs to have five of the nine, there must be many case studies available where patients don't have this symptom at all.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in return for a honest review. One other thing I will include in the notes to the publisher and author which I think people should know in advance is that this book comes in PDF form and not an ePub form. I personally read everything on my iPhone where PDF books are difficult to read even after increasing the font. One still has to increase the size of the page with every page turn which slows down the reading process. I was able to convert the PDF to an ePub file. However, the file converted to a badly formatted ePub book. It might be good if NetGalley actually increased the options for the readers or of NetGalley made it so all books are in ePub form for non-Kindle users.

I give it three of five stars. For me, three stars signifies a rating of "Good."

Book Review of "Lake Thirteen" by Greg Herren

Scotty is a teenager who has just come out to his parents. Prior to going on an annual vacation with two other families that Scotty and his parents do every year, Scotty also comes out to his lifelong friends over email. Scotty is really nervous about how those friends are going to react during this vacation because no one replied to his email. Shortly after arriving, Scotty finds out that his friends still think he's the same Scotty.

Staying at a resort in a small historical town in upstate New York, during the off-season, Scotty and his friends, one of whom is into ghost hunting and the paranormal, decide to wander down to an old nearby cemetery. What they discover is that the town has some dark secrets that have been hidden for almost one hundred years. What seemed like a boring week in the mountains gradually turns into a wild and crazy ghost story.

As this is really the first "paranormal" style novel I've ever read, I have to say that Greg Herren knows his stuff. He's obviously done research about what those who seek to learn about the paranormal do. I liked how Scotty's friends reacted to him. They see him as the same old Scotty who is still their friend so the level of awkwardness is graciously reduced in that area. However, the fact that Scotty is gay is all tied up in this story. As Scotty and his friends reluctantly set out to find out what happened to one of the decedents in the graveyard, weird things begin to happen to Scotty. And then they begin to happen to his friends too. Like getting cold when a ghost is nearby. Scotty's dreams turn out to be clues from the ghosts themselves. It also becomes obvious that one ghost is trying to find final rest and another is trying to keep Scotty and his friends from finding out what really happened.

The story aligns with Scotty's relationship with Marc, his boyfriend back home, and Scotty begins to worry that something is wrong back home and that Marc is in danger.

This book was a page turner. I could not put it down. Greg Herren takes the paranormal and makes it believable. There are weird visions, eerie sounds of a ghost crying out the name of another ghost.

If you like a good mystery and books about the paranormal, you will enjoy this book. I wondered all the way through how this was going to all come together and end up. I was pleased with it overall. What I would have liked to read was Scotty returning home to Marc to see their interaction after everything that happens in this book. Maybe in the form of a Epilogue. But, I don't think it takes away from the book as a whole which is why I kept it at the 5 stars that I gave it when I finished the book.

Definitely a good book for teens and adults alike.

This book was provided by Net Galley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Review of "Starry Night" by Debbie Macomber"

"Carrie Slayton, a big-city society-page columnist, longs to write more serious news stories. So her editor hands her a challenge: She can cover any topic she wants, but only if she first scores the paper an interview with Finn Dalton, the notoriously reclusive author.

Living in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Finn has written a megabestselling memoir about surviving in the wild. But he stubbornly declines to speak to anyone in the press, and no one even knows exactly where he lives.

Digging deep into Finn’s past, Carrie develops a theory on his whereabouts. It is the holidays, but her career is at stake, so she forsakes her family celebrations and flies out to snowy Alaska. When she finally finds Finn, she discovers a man both more charismatic and more stubborn than she even expected. And soon she is torn between pursuing the story of a lifetime and following her heart."

I absolutely LOVED this book! It is 100% pure romance. I loved Carrie and what she willing to do for true love. I never disliked Finn even though I thought he was a teeny bit stubborn. But he's willing to do what he has to do for true love as well.

There are some minor characters in here like Carrie's co-worker, Sophie and Carries mother. Finn's mother appears in this book as well. But this story is dead centered on Carrie and Finn. Every time one of their hearts fluttered, my heart fluttered with them. I rooted for both Carrie and Finn the entire time and I could not put this book down. In fact, I read it in a couple of hours. I was entranced.

I'm currently working my way through Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series but it was nice to take one of her stand-alone books and just enjoy it knowing this was going to just be a good romance with a happy ending. It was sweet, it was lovely and it was most definitely romantic. I wish there was a sequel just so I could read more about Carrie and Finn.

It's a great Christmas book. Definitely a book to get one into the Christmas spirit!

(ARC provided through NetGalley for an honest review)