Bob Marley - redemption song acustic

Christina Bianco Diva Impressions 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' (as Adele...

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The Periodic Table of Irrational Nonsense!

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Review: Choices | Baalat's Temple

A Review of Sydney Lane's wonderful new book CHOICES.

Review: Choices | Baalat's Temple

Misplaced Honor - NYTimes.com

Misplaced Honor - NYTimes.com

Confederate Traitors Don't Deserve the Honors - The Daily Beast

  Time to stop honoring violent traitors who killed hundreds of thousands for the worst cause ever fought for.

Confederate Traitors Don't Deserve the Honors - The Daily Beast

Hot New Release Today! Lost in You by Heidi McLaughlin

  There is a hot new release today on Amazon!

USA Today Bestselling Author Heidi McLaughlin's new Lost In You!

Ryan Stone is a less than average teenager. He doesn’t have fancy clothes. He doesn’t carry around the latest smartphone and he definitely doesn’t have an MP3 player. Instead, he goes to school, does his chores and dreams of a new life away from Brookfield where he’s expected to follow in his blue collar family’s footsteps. 

Hadley Carter is America’s Pop Princess. A successful recording artist living her dream with a sold-out tour and a handful of Grammy’s there isn’t much that she wants for, except love. But finding love on the road is near impossible when all she longs for are romantic dinners, a nighttime stroll on the beach and holding hands with someone who isn’t going to exploit her. 

When a chance encounter introduces Ryan to Hadley, will he be like her adoring fans looking for a way in, or will it be Hadley who pursues Ryan even though it might cost her the only career she's known.

Lost in You is a story about following your dreams, taking risks and getting lost in love.

  Looks like a good one!

Lost in You: Heidi McLaughlin: Amazon.com: Kindle Store

Review: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I read and loved Lola and the Boy Next Door, and somehow never twigged to the fact that it was a follow up to this book. When I was told, I immediately went out and got it. I am sure glad I did. This book as at least as good as Lola.

Anna is a character that is fully drawn, interesting, complex, and believable. A person I or you would love to know. Her journey is believable, and interesting, I had a real problem putting this book down to go to work or get in the shower.

I would love to see a third book come out in this series, and I would love to see more books by this author on other subjects, timelines or character sets.



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Review: Four Summers

Four Summers by Nyrae Dawn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Nyrae Dawn did what she always does. She wrote a great, unputdownable book. As with several other of her books, I have a major league book crush on the female protagonist.

This is undoubtedly going to be on my Top-Ten Books of the Year list. Over the course of 4 summers we get to watch a set of characters grow and change in believable ways. As they get older their worldview changes believable, their relationships change, and we learn new things about all of them.

Nyrae writes such believable people you always feel as if they are people you really know or knew. their triumphs feel like your own, and their tragedies cut you deeply. Even the surprises, and this book has some, come across as so real, and so much a part of real life that in retrospect you should not have been surprised.

Nyrae Dawn is an amazing talent who should be a household name worldwide, and someday will be. I will read anything she ever publishes.



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Review: Twisted Perfection

Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book had everything I have come to expect in an Abbi Glines book. Interesting characters, each with their own secrets and inner demons, believable locations, and conflict that could come right out of your circle of family and friends.

This book is more adult than some of her works, NA rather than YA, and I must say the erotic parts were very, very erotic. Not only very erotic, but believable. Not everyone is a porn star, they engage in believable acts, not really outrageous experimentation right out of the starting gate in the relationship. Sex that was tender, and loving, as well as smoking hot and intense. Loved all of it.

I also loved the dark psychological parts of this book, there is pain here for people to overcome, and you wonder will love overcome the past? I'll be orderings the follow-up as soon as that is possible and turning my Kindle on the moment if goes live so I can start it.

This book is just another reason to add to the already overwhelming reasons why I buy everything Abbi Glines writes. It has come to the point where all I need to know is that it IS and Abbi Glines book. I don;t care what series, stand alone, or even the title. She wrote it,m I want to read it.



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Review: Choices

Choices by Sydney Lane

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



REVIEW withheld until book is released. Let me just say, look at the stars man!



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Destined To Succeed Cover Reveal & Date Reveal!

  Lisa M. Harley has revealed the cover and publication date of the 2nd book in her Destined series!  Here is the cover!

Blurb:  What would you do if what you worked your entire life to build was suddenly destroyed?

Cade Walker is a cowboy Casanova. He’s cocky and he doesn’t care who knows it. He was raised on Walker Ranch and was destined to one day take it over. What he didn’t know was how soon that would happen. After his parents are killed in a car accident he is thrust into becoming a responsible adult. Well, sort of. Cade is always responsible when it comes to business, but pleasure, now that’s a whole other story.

Suzanna Mallory is a red-headed spitfire, who also happens to be Cade’s best friend. She has loved Cade since they met when they were nine years old, but Cade just isn’t the type to get married and settle down. Suzanna finds herself in an abusive marriage and the only thing that keeps her sane is her daughter, Isabella, and working with Cade at Walker Ranch.

When a fire threatens to destroy the future of Walker Ranch, Cade and Suzanna have to work together to save it. 

What will this mean for her marriage or to the feelings that she has for Cade? 

And now that Cade thought he found love with Loralei Harper, only to realize she didn’t feel the same way, is he ready to settle down? 

Is Cade Walker Destined to Succeed?

  When will it be published?

June 9, 2013!

  If you haven't read Destined to Change, I highly recommend you do so before reading this.  Hot, fun and compelling.

Choices Cover Reveal!

Choices is a Mature Young Adult contemporary romance, appropriate for audiences 17+. To be released Summer 2013.

Choices

Fate brought her here, but will her choices destroy her dreams?

Quincy Priest made all the right choices in her small town, black-and-white life. But being perfect is tiring. So. Very. Tiring.

Wanting desperately to step out of her sister's shadow, Quincy jumps at the opportunity to attend college with her best friend. The quiet bookworm with family secrets comes out of her shell. But... when Quincy meets not one, but two perfect guys, she has to make a choice. In doing so, she might forfeit the relationship she secretly longed to find.

Declan. Sweet, handsome, and perfect. He makes her feel cherished for the first time in her life.

Brody. Sexy, hot, and irresistible. He could tear down her carefully built walls.

Before she can become the woman she wants to be, Quincy will make mistakes. And suffer one unimaginable loss.
 

The cover was designed by Storm Designs (Sarie Storm), and she also lives here in Nashville, TN.

Teaser: 

  “I could stay here forever if you always looked at me just like that.” I don’t understand what he means, but I can’t take my eyes off him. “Everything.” His voice deepens while he looks into my eyes. “I like everything about you, Quince. I like the way those little wisps of hair frame your face. I love your eyes, so deep I get lost i...n them. Those lips I can’t resist. But I like you, Quince. The first time I saw you, I was drawn to you. I knew right then that you would turn my world upside down. It scared the hell out of me, but I knew I’d follow you anywhere.” He just made me feel beautiful, really beautiful, for the first time in my life.
There are no words for that. Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck and roughly kiss him. I twist my fingers in his hair and wonder why I haven’t done that before. Besides his eyes, his hair is the sexiest thing about him. But it’s what he hides on the inside that I so desperately want to see.

About The Author:

  Sydney Lane lives in Nashville, TN with her husband and children. Growing up in Smalltown, USA, Sydney dreamed of being a writer. After spending an outrageous amount of money to go to college, Sydney finally decided to follow her heart. With her babies in bed and husband neglected, she worked by the light of her laptop and wrote Choices. Sydney is very active in charity work for anti-bullying and depression awareness groups.

Author Sydney Lane on Facebook

Review: Shut Out

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is my third Kody Keplinger book, and actually the one I thought I would enjoy the most when I first read the blurbs on all of them. Surprisingly I thought it was the weakest of the three she has written so far. That being said I still give it 5 stars because it was still excellent.

As with all her books the scenario is believable, the characters complex and well drawn, and she writes broken people really, really well. This is a little lighter fair than her other two but she still managed to make some really good statements about female empowerment and societies absurd sexual double-standard.

I suppose if I had not been such a fan of the old Greek play-writes I'd not have figured out where it was going as fast as I did, still a great read.

The biggest thing I hated though was as I was finishing I suddenly realized I had now read all her books and will have to wait to get another one. Makes me want to go buy the author a lot of coffee to spur her to write faster. LOL



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Review: Nowhere But Home

Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Several of my friends on Goodreads added this to their TBR's the other day and I read the blurb and thought it sounded worth the read. Boy was I right. I simply loved this book. As someone who made his living as a chef, and who had bounced around a bit with a broken heart when I was younger, the author gets everything right. The feel of working with the food, the feelings of worthlessness, and the hardening of the heart, trying to feel nothing to keep the pain away. Everything was on the mark. You really care about the main character, and she and all the others in this book are well drawn, complex, and believable.

I had trouble putting this book down, and was sad when I finished, though I loved the ending. I am going to get this authors entire catalog now because this was really flawless.



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Review: Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

Unmaking Hunter Kennedy by Anne Eliot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book surprised me. I had loved Anne Eliot's ALMOST, and thought this look a lot less substantial when I read the blurb for it. I was feeling like something a little lighter, so I thought I'd read this. HA! There was so much more to this book than I thought at first blush. Ms Eliot writes broken people beautifully, and realistically. The main two protagonists both come across as very real, but both have serious issues to work out for themselves. You feel yourself really pulling for them.

There is so much I want to say, but my no spoilers rule applies, read this book. Lastly, Vere has entered my list of book girlfriends I will never forget.

PS Anne Eliot is now on my must buy list. She puts out a book and I will buy it not knowing anything else about it. Both her books have been impossible to put down, and remain in your soul.



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Review: A Midsummer's Nightmare

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This book really surprised me. I loved this author's book, THE DUFF, so I wanted to check something else out, grabbed this and thought it was even better than THE DUFF. As a child of divorce parts of this rang so true I had to go get a new box of kleenex. The pain, the feelings of abandonment and irrelvence when the new families form.

The main character was so sad, and so believable and followed so similar a course to the one I did. Truly an amazing and insightful book. I'm getting the rest of Ms. Keplinger's catalog.

This young writer is going to be a star.



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Review: Speak

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A powerful book that parents and teenagers should read. As should our educators. Compelling, realisitc, and amazing. so much I'd like to talk about, but it would ruin things.

If someone you love or a friend suddenly has a major change in behaviour, listen to them!



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Review: Nothing Special

Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A worthy successor to STUPID FAST indeed. Both very different and similar, I know that is odd. A lot of this book takes place more or less in the MC's head as he writes an endless letter to his girlfriend. You really get to know the complexities of his life in a way you did not in the first book. For any of us who have come from a family that had some problems, this book feels so real. I loved it. Going to look for more works by this author having very much enjoyed the first two.



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Review: What I've Done

What I've Done by Jen Naumann

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This was a gripping hard to put down read until about 60% of the way through when it went completely off the rails into the abyss of paranormal nonsense. Honestly had I known this was a paranormal book I would not have bothered with it, noting in the blurb made me think so.

It was not even that well done, the whole Dark vs Light angel thing was never explained in any way, we are told repeatedly that being a dark angel didn't mean you were evil, but of course the dark angel was evil, and when the evil was exposed the explanation was it was because he was a dark angel, even though we had repeatedly been told that didn't matter. What a waste.

Such a great set-up, and such a compelling story to start with, to see it wasted and ruined was sad to me. It gets an extra star for the great set-up to save it from my 1 star drek shelf.



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Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Okay, so I have come to think that John Green is an amazing writer. This is my 4th book of his and all are on my favorites shelf. The Fault In Our Stars is my favorite, followed closely by Looking for Alaska, then this one, then an Abundance of Katherines. However the difference between #1 and #4 is slight. All are filled with interesting, believable,and quirky characters. Filled with real situations as well. Any of these books could be true, and all of them give ALL your emotions a real workout, which is the mark of great fiction in my eyes.

Grab any of his books, have a good time, then move on to another!




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Review: Something Like Normal

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is a superb book. It could have been taken from today's headlines. It could be the story of your son, brother, or uncle. Real, heartfelt, sad, and yet somehow triumphant. Travis and Harper will have you pulling for them strongly. So much I want to say but cannot without giving away important things better left for the reader to discover for themselves. Go get this book!



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Review: Almost

Almost by Anne Eliot

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



An amazing book. Heartfelt, so plausible it is scary to those of us with daughters, well written, and unforgettable. Every character in this book is fully realized and as real as the kids you grew up with. I recommended it to my teen daughter and wife even before I finished it. so much I would like to talk about but it would give things away. Suffice it to say you need to read this book.



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Review: Sing You Home

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a pretty good book. Taunt action, believable characters, and a story-line right out of today's news. Right up to the end. It lost a star for it's "magic wand" ending. All of a sudden *POOF* people's fundamental characters change and they ride off into the sunset on unicorns. . . .Kind of ruined the book.



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Review: Flat-Out Matt

Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I loved this book. If you have not read [b:Flat-Out Love|11096647|Flat-Out Love|Jessica Park|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361307724s/11096647.jpg|16018629] first, do not read this, you will be confused. As a companion book this just rocks. A few surprises and some pivotal moments from Matt's point of view. I read it, then read Flat Out Love and it together again. Loved the experience. Jessica Park is on my must buy at once list.



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Review: Waiting for You

Waiting for You by Shey Stahl

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



This book started out great, best valedictorian speech ever and slam bang action for the first few pages. I was really pulling for this book, but it just got tedious and long. I just never was able to buy into the characters motivation, or their actions. I've been on the run as a love struck teen, about the age of these kids, and we didn't stay at nice hotels on the trip. Their entire affair seemed to be based on a crush when they were 3. They neither trusted, nor seemed to like each other very far. I guess after all the people I know raving about this book I expected something more than a pretty standard off the rack YA novel.



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LOSING CONNOR Cover Reveal!

Losing Connor Cover Reveal!!

  When Cassie finds herself pregnant at 17 she has a choice to make, ruin her own life or the lives of those she loves. Years later, when her past and present collide will she have the strength to lose everything again? Follow Cassie on a roller-coaster ride through her past and present and into her future as she battles regret and heartbreak.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Losing-Connor-ebook/dp/B008YFXGCM/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1364742756&sr=8-1&keywords=losing+connor

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/losing-connor-amanda-alberson/1112669213?ean=9781479131907

Author Bio: Amanda Alberson was born in Baytown Texas and grew up in a small town outside of Houston. She has written stories and poems her whole life, and read every book she could get her hands on. She is in the process of relocating to Richardson TX, with her wonderful husband and two beautiful children. 'Losing Connor' is her first published work, but don't worry there are more to come.

Author Pages: www.rayneedazewriting.weebly.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/RayneeDazeWriting

Twitter: https://twitter.com/albersona  (@albersona)

And Here Is The Wonderful New Cover!

  This wonderful new cover was designed by Regina Wamba of:  Mae I Design and Photography.

Website:  http://www.maeidesign.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MaeIDesignandPhotography

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/reginawamba

Pintrest:  http://pinterest.com/maeidesign/

Google+:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/111072660319898109926

YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQAof6vxX64ptPdmXDZIYLw?feature=mhee

Review: The Sky Is Everywhere

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I had never heard of this book until my friend Shannon recommended it to me. Boy am I glad she did. A stunningly good book about loss, love, life, death, mistakes, madness, abandonment: Life. Fill with eccentric yet believable characters, and filled with heart. As soon as I finished I started it over and read it again, loving it even more. I never do that. Moe, I think I will reread it again soon. Amazing. One of the best books on loss I have ever read too,right up there with [b:Always There|17343004|Always There|Carol Ann Albright-Eastman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1360897369s/17343004.jpg|24080843]. Go read it!



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Always There Blog Tour

Always There by Carol Ann Albright-Eastman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I had the honor of being the first to read this book, and I just loved it. I do not want to do much to spoil anything but I will say a part of this book deals with what happens after death, and that part is original, interesting, and I cannot get it out of my mind weeks down the road.

There is also a heart touching love story, a story about life and going on, a story about the nature of love, existence and what it means to live. I cannot say anything I want to say without spoiling stuff better left read and to surprise you.

  I've read this book 5 times now.  I'll read it again soon.  More than a dozen books down the line I still cannot get it out of my mind.  It brought home every loss of every loved one in my life, and helped me come to grips with those loses.  The love story reminded me in ways of my own story with my wife, two people nobody thought should go together, least of all us at the start who in fact belong together, will they realize it in time?

  This book is in my all time Top 10% list, and I cannot wait for more from this author.


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Review: Suicide Note

Suicide Note by Teresa Mummert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I bought this book on a whim, it was on a list of recommendations underneath something else I was buying. I'm glad I did. A good story about a vet coming back from the war in Iraq after getting a Dear john letter, and his visit turns into more when he meets a young woman with issues of her own when it comes to the opposite sex. Heartfelt, realistic, and completely enjoyable. I will be looking for more books from this author.



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Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



John Green has become one of my favorite authors. Everything I read of his is excellent. This is a sad story, all to real, about a group of young people at a boarding school. Each carries their own pain in believable ways. Each damaged by life in believable ways that you can identity with.

As always you really care about his characters, some feel like old friends, some you wish you could meet in real life. Most of all he makes you feel, oh how he works your emotions. Never obvious, but never cheap or ridiculous. This man can flat out write.



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Review: Overwhelm Me

Overwhelm Me by A.C. Marchman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A very erotic story that will make your blood run hot, without ever being simply pornographic. Not simply erotic either, there is a story here as well, a good one. One I feel we will learn more about in more books in the future. One of the things I loved about this book was how the male and female leads meet, it was almost exactly the same way my wife and I met so I laughed and smiled at that. The exploration of love at first sight from two people who had been hurt in the past was believable and fun. My one complaint is my most common one in the genre, "Anaconda Syndrome." A man does not have to be hung like a Blue Whale to be a great lover. . . . . . .



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Review: Destined to Change

Destined to Change by Lisa M. Harley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this book a great deal. More depth to the story than a lot of New Adult books, and I am looking forward to the next one in the series even though it is based on a character I did not at all like. A character doesn't need to be liked to be interesting and well drawn though. The female lead was impressively complex, with a believable and normal family around her, and a sad past. The male lead similar. Side and minor characters were all well drawn enough to accent and enhance, but not so much they distracted from the point of the story. Several seem worthy of their own story in the series. Very impressive book I enjoyed a great deal.



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Review: Janie Face to Face

Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The fifth and final installment in the Janie Johnson series. A fitting climax. Things are tied up in a believable and real way, and almost all your questions get answered. Everyone is fully fleshed out and you really feel you know them all to the depths of their souls. I'm sad in a way, because the people in these books had become friends to me, and felt almost real as if I had known them. Janie is someone I wish I knew, as is Reeve.

I highly recommend the entire series, and I also recommend you read them in order, including the short little eBook only story. It added quite a bit. Wonderful stuff, and it makes me want to explore more of Ms Clooney's work.



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Review: Against The Wall

Against The Wall by Julie Prestsater

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Marked it down to 4 from 5 for the simple reason that after reading it I feel like this is far from the best work we are going to see from this author. It reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK NJ, or Michael McDermott's 620 W SURF. Amazing first efforts from those two men, but had I given those records 5 stars what would I have done when BORN TO RUN or NOISE FROM WORDS came out?

This woman is an up and comer that I think we will be reading for a long time. Funny, erotic, and real. This is a good, fun, easy read that will leave you wanting more.



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Henry Rollins Comments On Steubenville Rape Verdict | Under the Gun Review

  Henry Rollins, as usual, nails it.

Henry Rollins Comments On Steubenville Rape Verdict | Under the Gun Review

Review: Depths

Depths by Steph Campbell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I was very much looking forward to this book as I loved the first LENGTHS and the two authors are among my favorite young writers. It did not disappoint in the least. A charming and wonderful tale of love lost and found. Of family and responsibility. Of trying to find that balance in life between living for others an living for yourself.

The characters were well drawn and those returning from the old book were true to their past. The new people filled out the world that is being built in this series with grace and believability. The story was plausible and you were really pulling for most of the people in this book, or for some of them to fall flat on their faces, preferably very painfully.

That brings me to the erotic parts. Wow. Steamy does not begin to tell the tale. Steph and Liz write wonderful love scenes. Now being a man, I am not 100% sure what most women find erotic in literature, but I have to tell you this book had me all worked up several times. My wife and I were cuddled on the couch each reading separate book son our Kindles and as i came to the first erotic scene in this book, my wife put her Kindle down and asked me, "What are you reading m and when can I read it? You are all worked up." I was indeed, "all worked up," I was breathing deeply and fast, my face was flushed, and I was, also in the words of my wife, "harder than Chinese algebra." I had to put my Kindle down too, and we adjourned into our room. . . . . .



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Review: What Janie Saw

What Janie Saw by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



more a teaser or a warm up for the final book in the series that is out now, but a good tale nonetheless. Janie is off to college now, and trying to leave the past in the past. Will the past let her do so though? For the first time in the series Hannah is a part of the tale as something other than a shadow, we get to meet her. Looking very mich forward to the last book now.



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Review: I Swear

I Swear by Lane Davis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Another book my daughter had recommended to me. Dark, tragic, disturbing and all to real. The aftermath of a bullied teen's suicide plays out like today's headlines. I hated the ending because it was so real, but in fact loved the ending because it was so real. No easy answers, no tidy endings here. Just sadness, tragedy, and broken people left in the wake of death. Not a happy or an easy read, but an important one that went quickly. A cautionary tale about keeping your eyes on what your kids are up to in social media and at school.



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Review: What Janie Found

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The 4th book in the series, and in some ways the most interesting. You really start getting into Janie's brain a lot more and family issues come to the forefront. Still very compelling reading, and the next book and a half are of great interest.



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Review: The Voice on the Radio

The Voice on the Radio by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



the series gets more and more tragic, and more and more real. I hate that Reeve turns into such a giant flaming douche! There are so many things I love in this book, but I cannot talk about them without giving up important plot points. This entire series has been impossible to put down. emotional, tragic, and just sad.



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Review: Whatever Happened to Janie?

Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The profoundly tragic follow up to THE FACE ON THE MILK CARTON. It struck me as very real. No easy answers here. No tidy happy endings. Just a lot of really, really terrible choices in which a lot of people will be in pain no matter what you choose. Well written, thought provoking, and terribly, terribly sad.



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Review: The Face on the Milk Carton

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Picked this up to start before going to bed, stayed up and read it cover to cover. Compelling, chilling, frightening, and raw. I'm getting the next book in the set this afternoon. Imagine you are a 15 year old school kid, and as you eat your lunch you see the missing kid on the milk carton, and realize it is you. . . . .

The author made this real, chilling, tragic, and wrote it in a way I seriously stayed up half the night reading it. amazing.



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Review: The Year I Almost Drowned

The Year I Almost Drowned by Shannon McCrimmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



A continuation of Finn's story that was if anything even better than the original, though it would be less if you had not read the first one. Some serious life issues are confronted here, and I like the realism, and the lack of a neat storybook ending. While I would consider the end hopeful and real, it was not over the top. I'll be looking for more books by this author as they come out. She spins a good yarn and creates real characters.



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Review: 3 Sides to a Circle

3 Sides to a Circle by Jolene Perry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Oh how I love the broken girls. I just want to hug them and take their pain away. Another wonderful book by the authors of 10 Weeks, which I also loved (Hint hint authors, still would love to see a book staring Paloma!). This one was a little darker. Libby reminded me so very much of someone from my past. A girl named Heidi, they shared a problem, my friend didn't survive it, but the authors here write what that problem is with such perfection and clarity I wonder if they know somebody with it.

Moving, poignant, and wonderful this is a book I recommend with all my heart.



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Review: Springing

Springing by Shirley Miranda

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The fourth book in the Bits and Pieces series is the best yet. More emotionally raw, more details on the hopes and dreams of Liz and Patrick and whole crew. You learn some surprising things about the Mariposa family that make you understand some of the family dynamics.

With each book in this series I anticipate even more the next. I feel as if the crew were my friends from high school, their trials my bad days and their victories my bar stories from the past.

Shirley Miranda has created a little world inhabited by people you feel you know and the story keeps building and growing. A remarkable book in a remarkable set. Read them all!



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Review: Never Too Far

Never Too Far by Abbi Glines

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A terrific follow up to Falling Too Far. The story of Rush and Blair continues and this book explores the damage lies and a lack of trust, even when the lies are lies of omission, even lies of omission meant to protect one from hurt, can do to a relationship. There is so much I cannot talk about without giving important plot points away though. Let me just say the sex is steamy, the story powerful, and though the story wraps up beautifully it leaves one wanting to know about the future of these characters.

As much as I've loved so many other Glines books, her Low is my #2 ever book crush, I think with each book she gets better at her craft. I wonder how much longer than can continue because she is already so darn good at spinning a compelling and unforgettable story filled with rounded and believable characters.



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Review: Double Play at Short

Double Play at Short by Matt Christopher

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I'm having a hard time deciding how to rate this. I'm looking for books for a friend for their young son who is not a big fan of reading but loves sports. I checked this one out. A good story but sometimes the long description, inning by inning of baseball games gets in the way of the narrative. On the other hand I suspect those descriptions will be exactly what draws in the young man in question who is sports obsessed, especially baseball.

Underneath the baseball is a sad story just barely explored, but enough for the age group. One could make a great YA book out of this story-line I would think if you advanced the age of the protagonists a few years.



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Review: The Summer I Learned to Dive

The Summer I Learned to Dive by Shannon McCrimmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book, wonderful characters, a compelling story. Watching people grow and change in realistic ways. A self-contained story but obviously ripe for a sequel, which I just bought. LOL

A different spin on coming of age than I have read. It only missed 5 stars in my eyes because it didn't have quite the pop of a [a:Nyrae Dawn|5784345|Nyrae Dawn|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1354150152p2/5784345.jpg] or [a:Colleen Hoover|5430144|Colleen Hoover|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1333056335p2/5430144.jpg] or some others. As a first book though I am very impressed and as I said, as soon as I tweeted I had finished it I bought the next book from my Kindle. That pretty much says it all.



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Review: Flyaway

Flyaway by Helen Landalf

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



I'm giving this one 3.5, wasn't quite a 4 star book, but was certainly more than a 3.

A sad story of a young girl dealing with a mother who has a lot of problems of her own. I can't go too far into it without giving away serious plot points. As I finished it, I was not real happy with the end, but after thinking for a few moments I decided it was real, and right.

My biggest suggestions to the author would be develop your characters a little more. The female MC was quite well done, her mom a little less, and then down the line. The male characters were mostly just empty shells with a few interesting things knwon about them, but none of them ever developed. I'd suggest that Ms Landalf read some [a:Nyrae Dawn|5784345|Nyrae Dawn|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1354150152p2/5784345.jpg] to see how a master at writing male characters does it.



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ABC's Nightline gets it completely wrong on New Adult Fiction!

  Tonight I watched ABC's Nightline and frankly it pissed me off.  They did a feature on New Adult fiction featuring Colleen Hoover.  They referred to her book Slammed, and the whole genre as "smut."  they kept comparing her books, and Jamie McGuire's, and the rest of the emerging NA glitterati to that drek 50 Shades of Grey, which was poorly written smut IMHO.  I've left comments on their page, and let them know how disappointed I was by a show that is usually journalistic ethically  excellent would talk about books obviously not a single person on their staff had ever read.

  I challenge people to read books by authors like Colleen Hoover, Jamie McGuire, Jessica Park, Nyrae Dawn, Steph Campbell, Jolene Perry or Liz Reinherdt and see if they consider ANY of it smut.

  Great stories about love and loss, coming of age, finding yourself and healing after trauma, even those that contain some erotic parts (as does life itself I might note!) are NOT smut.

From the free online dictionary

Smut:  A: Obscenity in speech or print
           B: pornography

Review: Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story

Girl Meets Boy: Because There Are Two Sides to Every Story by Kelly Milner Halls

My rating: 2 of 5 stars



This look really good, but I was left disappointed. I normally like short story collections, even though sometimes they are hit or miss, this one mostly missed. For one, just because it is short doesn't make it a short story. Most of these were story fragments, no start or no end or both. a short story should be more than just a chunk out of the middle of a story. Also, for stories that were supposed to be the same from two points of view, sometimes they didn't resemble each other at all.

All in all pretty much a miss, but there were a couple of decent ideas in them.



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Review: The Gold Crew

The Gold Crew by Thomas N. Scortia

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This was a very scary book. The one set of nuclear weapons not directly under control is that set on submarines. What happens if due to some miscalculation an environmental toxin gets introduced to a closed system that results in mental instability of the entire crew of a nuclear missile submarine? Not much good likely. Scary, plausible, and gripping book.



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