BOOK REVIEW # 2015-078 - STOLEN HEARTS

I won an e-book copy of this book through an internet giveaway the author held and the following in my honest opinion.

While the basic premise for the book of a child looking for the murderer of their parent(s) or wanting to clear their name with an underling romance theme has been done before, I found the mix of elements [mystery, suspense, and romance] for this book to be an intriguing read.

The book is riddled with secrets each of the characters are keeping from one another.  Crystal and Ruby are sisters who have embarked on a life of crime in order to eventually regain the lives they once had, they’re perpetually looking for evidence to accomplish their goal.

My heart almost skipped a beat when Crystal gets thrusted into a blind date with Kade, the detective who is investigating the crimes she has committed with her sister. At the same time Kade is searching for some way to forgive himself for the death of one of his former partners.

Paul, Kade’s new partner is engaged to marry Ruby, Crystal’s sister; how’s that for a coincidence.

Ms. Cooper, in her book, seems to be peeling the various layers of an onion which the storyline contains in the almost vivid history of her characters as she brings them up to the present with the emotions they’ve felt she has given her readers.

The interaction between Crystal and Kade is quite intense at times, without having any real sexual scenes, which I feel wouldn’t have added anything to the storyline; and am grateful for its elimination.

It is for the above I’m giving Stolen Hearts 5 STARS.

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TKW9Y4W  

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TKW9Y4W

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-077 - MANAGING BUBBIE

I won a copy of this book through a giveaway on GoodReads and the following is my honest review.

I’m envious of the author since I never got to experience the joy of having any grandparent on neither side of my family as they had been unable to survive the atrocities of the Holocaust. While having my parents as survivors still gave me a level of emotions other readers probably can’t relate to.

There’s quite a bit of an old-fashioned Shtetl mentality which persists in the minds of many of those who’ve survived the Holocaust and having parents being a barrier between the author and his grandmother gave him the best of both worlds, a luxury I unfortunately didn’t have.

There’s quite a range of emotions which can be found through the pages of this book, emotions which can at times make its readers cry and laugh at others.

The personal insight of this horrific time of history of the world paints a picture which anyone can relate to, whether they’re Jewish or not.

For the compassionate story Mr Lazega has given us I’m compelled to his endeavor 5 STARS.

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TPPSM7E

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TPPSM7E

STATUS REPORT # 54

The home attendant we got this weekend is a doll; no problems whatsoever, she even helped getting my OH walking again. Now if I can get that damn Nursing and REHAB facility to do the necessary things so we can get a PT to come to our home, I’d be a happy camper.

As you can tell I’m back to reviewing books again with four reviews done [2 e-books and 2 REAL books] in the past two weeks.

It’s summertime and I’d like for everyone to check out my MG/YA Paranormal Romance novel “I Kissed a Ghost” as a gift for that young in your family. The book has an average of 4.1 STARS based on 21 reviews. And for something different my anthology of Flash Fiction entitled “Micro Fiction – An Anthology.”

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-076 - LOVE HEALS THE HEART

I’d reviewed Diane Rose Duffy’s first book “Take a Piece of My Heart” which I’d won as a free download.  I gave this book 5 STARS for the story of a young woman who had been infatuated with her first love enough to marry him, against her parent’s wishes. The love relationship she had envisioned turned into an abusive one no woman would ever want to be evolved with. To take her readers into this woman’s life Ms. Duffy wrote her book as a diary.

In Love Heals the Heart she has taken us into life of her characters and although she doesn’t go into any details, one of them must have already been shell-shocked from a previous relationship. Naturally this causes a mistrust which gets eroded by Gracie as Dylan’s heart warms up and softens as love blooms. I love this theme regarding the heart as it pertains to love, just as I did in her first book.

The juxtaposition of Trish’s character to that of Gracie added to my enjoyment of the book as did her relationship with Gracie’s brother Justin. The humor, drama and mystery of the storyline adds in rounding out the entire book itself; which is why I’m giving this book 5 STARS, and looking forwards of reading more of Ms. Duffy’s writing endeavors.

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZD3KUL8

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ZD3KUL8

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-075 - INTO THE FAE

This is the second of the two signed books I’ve won from this author through an internet giveaway and the following is my honest opinion for the book.

As a Book Reviewer I have a policy of not accepting requests to do a review; all the books I’ve reviewed I’ve either won through one of the many internet giveaways I enter each week, or have been written by an author who belongs to the internet support group I belong to. The sad thing about this is I’ve been able to return to the next book in the series as has been the case with this series by Ms. Quinn Loftis; this is especially the case since this book is a spinoff from her Gray Wolf series.

While I had no problem reading her stand alone book Dream of Me since it struck a chord with me with something I could relate to, it also remind me of a song of my youth. I once again enjoyed Ms. Loftis’ writing style; but not having read any of the prior series of books I found difficulty in relating to any of the characters here.  The best way to appreciate Into the Fae is to read the author’s prior books in this series.   

I enjoyed the conglomeration of emotions I’d received reading this book, from laughing to crying and the relationships the characters have for each other made an interesting read. One thing I felt served as a distraction reading the paperback version of the book is the unjustified right margin of each page. 

All things considered, I happy to give this book 4 STARS.  Don’t let my review alone influence your decision, read the other reviews as well.

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500168092

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1500168092

STATUS REPORT # 53

I’ve had a disastrous time regarding my OH since my last post due to home attendant who came on Saturday, details of which I’d rather not go into; luckily it’s only one more day.

As you can tell I finally got around to post two new book reviews on Amazon and received wonderful compliments from both authors; receiving these indicates I’ve written a GREAT REVIEW. My current backlog of books to be reviewed now stands at three; with about three more yet to be received.

I’d truly love to get back to my writing endeavors.  However, as you can probably imagine with everything going on around me I’m unable to focus for any real length of time; besides without any sales of my books being produced, I don’t have the funds I’d need to self-publish them.

THANKS for your continued support and best wishes, you know I truly appreciate receiving them.

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-074 - ARIEL

I won an e-book copy of this book from one of the many giveaways I’ve entered and the following is my honest opinion for the good.

Many of us I believe we’re living in a relatively idyllic life, that is until some “catastrophic” event occurs which upsets it. Such is the case with Ariel who suddenly gets dumped by her long term boyfriend; an event which many women can easily relate to.

Getting the rug pulled from under her, Ariel, like any other woman begins to wonder what as she done to precipitate this as there had ever been a sign of anything being wrong. She reaches rock bottom as everything around her begins to deteriorate; her living environs is now shambles, her finances are now askew; and her being in a dead end job doesn’t help matters.

Being a child of the 1950’s I’ve seen numerous cult-like groups continuously looking for individuals who have experienced some major setback in their lives to psychologically persuade them to join. The mysterious and secretive nature of the Muse Agency made me wonder whether any cult element existed there.

This is a wonderfully constructed story of a woman’s self-discovery, elements of which can be easily shared by other women as it tugs at their heartstrings and might do the say with you.

For pulling on my own heartstrings with the right amount of emotions and romance I’m giving Ms. Essen 5 STARS for her endeavor here.

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VGVZGCO

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VGVZGCO

BOOK REVIEW # 2015-073 - HOPE QUOTES

I received a KINDLE copy of this book through a giveaway on LibraryThing [dot] com and the following is my honest opinion.

If you’ve ever heard the saying of a picture being word a thousand words than you can easily see what Ms. Rupp has done here with the carefully selected quotes from famous people.

When I first opened this book on the KINDLE App on my computer I fell into the trap of merely reading what I saw in front of me. However, this book needs to read extremely slow to capture the beauty of both the pictures and the quotes attached to them. To further enhance my reading experience I changed the setting so I could view two pages, allowing me to view the full picture and all the words at once; followed by going to the full screen viewing.

To fully appreciate this book to its utmost you need to read each quote the author has selected for each picture separately, close your eyes and then meditate briefly on the words you’ve just read. The carefully selected quotes are quite vivid and almost awe inspiring in communicating the message of hope.

It is for this reason I’m giving this book 5 STARS.

US:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WUOFF36

UK:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00WUOFF36

SUMMERTIME READING

It’s summertime a time when we as adults take time off from work to enjoy a rest and spend time with our families. It’s a time children look forwards to each year so they can play and have fun with their friends, as well as a time when parents can give them a good book to read.

As a Book Reviewer I’ve already reviewed over 135 books from a variety of genres ranging from picture books to erotic romances, I’ve even reviewed a book which pornographic in nature.

I would to invite you to check out the books I’ve reviewed so far; perhaps one of my reviews might turn out to be helpful in you selecting a book for you, as a gift for a friend, your child or another young child in your family.

Here’s the direct link to my reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/A19QLCLVPLZH0B

Have a GREAT WEEKEND with your family !!!  :-) :-) :-)

STATUS REPORT #52

My dear OH has been home for a week now. We’ve got a home attendant 24/7 [Thank Goodness for the LTC insurance]. I’ve been busy getting all the necessary supplies a person like this needs; I even enrolled in Amazon Prime to save on the shipping costs. The paperwork for the insurance and everything else has consumed the vast majority of my time so far. Hopefully I’ll be able to review my first book in three weeks by the end of this week.  Followed shortly afterwards being able to increase of my presence on the internet.

THANKS to all those who’ve sent me their best wishes as I truly appreciate your kind support at this time.

STATUS REPORT # 51

As you can I haven’t really done anything since my last post, but the GOOD NEWS is: 

My OH has FINALLY come home from the REHAB facility with the aid of a newly hired home attendant who rode in the ambulette back home Tuesday afternoon [6/2]. I had to stay home to await the delivery of a commode, walker, wheelchair, shower transfer bench. My dear had just retired in December and now needs help in doing the daily things we all take for granted: eating, walking, washing, and now needs to wear adult diapers. I’m still

I’ve just enrolled in Amazon Prime for the free shipping on many the items I’m going to need to buy now: bed pads, adult diapers, cream [baby diaper rash], etc.

Hopefully I’ll be able to return shortly to my 2^nd second career as a Book Reviewer; my current Amazon Review Ranking is still below 8,400 which I’d love to improve.

I’m still waiting to hear word on my entry for the RWA’s Second Anthology. If I should win, it will definitely help solidify my status as a Romance author.

My two main writing endeavors are still on hold still until I can raise the funds needed to self-publish them.

THANKS for all of your kind support as I truly need and appreciate it.