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Friday, December 28, 2012

A Look at the Darker Seedy Side of Life

Dirty Little Angels by Chris Tusa is a look at the darker, seedy, side of life

about a 16 year-old girl named Hailey,
her brother, Cyrus, who tries to look out for her, and has gotten involved with some shady characters
her mother, Lena, who is depressed after a miscarriage,
her father, Jules, who is unemployed and spends most of his time drinking, gambling, and having an affair.

 Hailey finds herself attracted to her best friend's boyfriend.
Cyrus introduces her to Moses an ex-con who is planning to change a bank into a drive-thru church.

 A dysfunctional family, drugs, sex, violence, cancer, mental illness, Tusa manages to bring it all together in this book, as in real-life, which does not always mean a happy ending.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, rather it be good or bad.






Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Scar Jewelry - How Well Do We Know?

In Scar Jewelry by Sue Perry, twins Deirdre and Langston who are very different in their personalities, set about to learn more about their mother who is in a coma. Their mother has done such a good job of covering  up her past that they have no idea who she truly is or was . The way Heater/Heather has handled changing and hiding her identity is different in this book from anything I have ever read before. At first no-one wants to answer their questions, but eventually they do receive help from some of the Mother's life-long friends. Each new answer seems to lead to even more questions. With each twin having their own ideas about what they find and how it should be handled. With the twins even finding secrets about themselves.  A real page turner to see what each new twist or turn will hold.  Makes one wonder how well do we know our parents/loved ones? I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.



Sunday, December 23, 2012

Forgiveness

As Christians we are instructed to forgive others.  "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."  Matthew 6:14-15 NIV  Sometimes this is hard to do, or I find it so at times. Unshackled and Free: True Stories of Forgiveness compiled by CJ & Shelley Hitz is a delightful collection of inspirational stories about forgiveness.  Read others stories and how they have dealt with forgiving who has wronged them.  There are some heartbreaking stories included here, that they still managed to find it in their heart to forgive. I highly recommend this eBook to anyone that has a hard time with forgiveness. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Fantastic Children's Book

Just read the heartbreaking picture/story, Who Tells the Moon to Sleep? by Haley Whitehall It will be a fantastic, tender-hearted   book to share with my grandchildren about the days of slavery, and the children then. What the life was like for the slave children. Tess questions why her and Mama are told when to do everything, even play or eat or sleep, but other things in life aren't. She comes to realize that they can never me completely be owned as no one, not even Master Embry can own their heart or mind. There are beautiful illustrations by Bill Pilgrim to go along with story.  



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Interesting Journey

WOW! What an interesting story The Journey To Whitestone, A Parnormal Romance (The Dream Master Series--Book One)  by Johnny Ray turned out to be. I got lost in this wonderful story of Jacqueline and the ups and downs that she faced on her search for true love. I could almost see the beautiful colors of the sunrises and sunsets that she witnessed at the top of the Smokeys. So enjoyed learning along with  her as she met and learned from her different teachers along the way. Several colorful characters to love and dislike that are all a part of Jacqueline's journey.  



Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Visiting the Civil war...

Just finished reading Grits and Glory (Plantation Shadows Book 1) by Haley Whitehall, couldn't wait to turn the pages to see what was going to happen to Peter Warren next. This is an interesting book about the civil war, from the soldier's viewpoint. My heartbeat quickened as I found I could almost hear the hidden door of the secret room in Jack's house and the noise it made when slid back. I could feel Peter's fear has he hid in this dark room. Haley Whitehall has done a fantastic job of taking me back into the civil war and I feel as if I have truly experienced it myself. This book has made me understand even more what my gg-grandfathers went through as they left home as young boys / men to fight this war.  I found myself with tears in my eyes at several points.  Can't wait for the next book in this series to see what Peter decides to do.  Will he take the captain up on his offer and stay alive, or will he die with honor.




Friday, December 7, 2012

Moving Story of three generations...

I just finished reading Summer Melody by Toddie Downs. A moving story of three generations which is told from the view point of  three of the characters, Bonnie, the mother, Meg, her niece, and Jane, her daughter. A dying grandmother with Alzheimers, a young boy who is autistic, a young man with post-traumatic stress disorder, an overbearing future mother-in-law, this family has all this and more to deal with over the summer.  A wonderful book for discussion I would recommend this book to anyone.



Saturday, December 1, 2012

Back to the 70's

I finished reading Rosy (Dreams Can Become Nightmares) by Suzanne Tyrpak last night.  Set in New York during the 70's, Rosy struggles wanting to be an actress and independent  from her father.  Finding herself with bills that need paying and no job, she accepts an offer to become a pole dancer. Where the more she makes the more she finds that she needs. An innocent young girl from a small town, she fast finds herself getting mixed up into a world she knows nothing about, drugs, sex, violence, and some very unsavory characters. As in real life she meets a few men who don't have her best interest at heart and some that want to be her guardian angel. She just needs to learn spot the difference.