Tarmac

Tarmac
By Richard Leverone,  66 pages
Published March 24th 2013
By: Agena Publishing
ASIN: B00C0VXZ0E
Book source: Personal Copy. Author
2 Stars

What Amazon has to say: For eighteen years a horrific family tragedy has haunted Parker Jenkins leaving him depressed, discouraged, and pondering life’s real purpose. This all changes late one night while on a routine business trip to Salt Lake City, his plane is forced to make an unscheduled landing. Stuck on the tarmac awaiting repairs, he strikes up a conversation with the elderly gentleman seated next to him. Parker soon discovers that this is no ordinary gentleman, and Salt Lake City is not their destination.

My Review: Let me start by saying that I only rated this book a two based off of my own preference in books. For myself personally this book was not of the type that I generally enjoy reading, that being said for someone with a strong religious background or spirituality I think this book could easily be a three or four star book. I feel someone of a more spiritual nature than myself would take more from this book than I did. Overall the book is well written, the book deals with a man named Parker Jenkins who has had his fair share of heartache and regrets throughout his life, the author does a fine job at keeping the character easy to relate to and real, as well as does a wonderful job of conveying the emotions and struggles of the main character. A few times during the book I felt saddened by the main characters stories about his life and yet I felt he came off as someone I could easily identify as possibly someone I could run into during my daily life.The scenery is also described in detail which is a necessity considering most of the book takes place in one area with other areas described through dreams and memories.One can easily tell the author spent adequate time in his descriptions of people and places so that the reader could get the most complete visual image of everything and everyone. Wilson for me was the standout character, as the man who talks Parker through all of his stories and gives advice or nudges Parker to realizations he previously had been unable to come to on his own, he shines as a caring and compassionate soul. The book has an interesting twist that some may guess early on, however I don't feel as if knowing what the ending would most likely be took away from any of the story. I did overall enjoy reading this book and would encourage others to check it out. 

About the Author: I have been writing for 11 years and Tarmac is my fourth book and a departure from the suspense and mystery genre I am used to writing in. My other three books include Loony Bin, a medical thriller; The Dying Season, a small town murder mystery; and my longest novel, Surrogate, a domestic terrorism thriller. Tarmac is  my first novella. All my books are available on Amazon.

Fifty Shades of Grey Review

Fifty Shades of Grey
By E.L.James, 514 pages
Published May 26th 2011
By: The Writers Coffee Shop Publishing House
ASIN: B0052U59F4
Book source: Personal Copy. Kindle
3Stars

What Goodreads has to say: When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

My Review: What to say about Fifty Shades?...Before reading this book I had read many online reviews both good and bad. Honestly it was an impulse buy that occurred one day while I was craving something new to read and browsing amazon. I would say I have mixed feelings about the book, I neither hated it or absolutely fell in love with it, but instead felt comfortably pleased that I had not wasted my money. As far as characters are concerned I rather liked Grey, everyone has secrets, and I felt he was easy to empathize with and throughout the book I stayed interested in his back story and his beginnings that lead him to where he is now. Anastasia on the other hand I was not as pleased with, I often found myself rolling my eyes at her and wondering what the hell she was doing and why. She is a decent character but I have moved onto the second book and have yet to really feel any connection to her as a character, as things are now, in my mind, she is just there..nothing too significant. Let's talk about the sex! As I am sure many of you will know this book falls under the BDSM literature category so the sex involves things that some may consider violent such as; bindings, paddles, spanking, toys, etc. Personally I did not find anything in the book to be particularly violent to the point of being more than I could handle or stomach. However I would caution anyone who picks up the book to be fully aware of what kind of book they will be reading before they purchase it, if you are the kind of person that finds spanking someone to the point of tears too violent this is probably not the book for you. Any who.. While I certainly found some scenes to be "hot" I will admit that it did not knock my socks off immediately the way I thought it would. It does feel a bit repetitive at times, and lucky for Anastasia that means one "earth shattering" orgasm after another. I am quite interested to see how the sex evolves or if it even does so in the second book. Overall I would say it is a decent book, perhaps not book of the century or even the best of its kind but possibly a nice guilty pleasure to indulge in on a lazy day around the house. 

About the Author: 

 E.L.James: I’m a former TV executive, wife and mother-of-two based in the leafy suburbs of West London. Since January 2012 my life has taken an extraordinary turn with the runaway success of the Fifty Shades Trilogy. From an early age I had always dreamt of writing stories that readers would fall in love with – and my dreams have come true, thanks to you guys. Now that life seems to have settled down a little, I want to crack on and write my next novel – another adult, provocative romance. I do hope you will enjoy that too. 

You can check out her website here and follow her on twitter here as well as check out a playlist for her book here!
 Purchase here: Fifty Shades of Grey

Drain You Blog Hop Post!

 Brace yourself for a new book you are going to want to check out! After reading all of the reviews and watching the teaser trailer I cannot wait to read Drain You. You can get the book at Amazon as well as Barnes&Noble. Go get it!..what are you waiting for?! Keep an eye out for my review of this book coming soon!

Book Description:  "Summer. The 90s. The rich, sun-bleached neighborhoods of the Los Angeles canyons. Enter Quinlan Lacey, a cool, bored, sarcastic, sexy 17-year old with a dull part-time video store job and a mild case of teen ennui. That is, until she meets the alluring, River Phoenix-esque James, and realizes the hills are alive with the undead. Inspired more by the early, dry L.A. short stories of Bret Easton Ellis than the current crop of serialized vampire fiction, the supernatural grunge romance, Drain You, narrates the headaches and heartbreaks Quinn undergoes in her quest to stay sane and cool and in love and alive."

Publisher Weekly Review:  "Bloom debuts with a languid, stylish novel that reads like a love letter to cult vampire flicks like The Lost Boys, the work of Francesca Lia Block, and Southern California in the 1990s." 

Check out the trailer: 



 Tell me you don't want to read this book after checking out all of that! That's not all though..there is also a giveaway..and come on who doesn't like free stuff? Especially free book related stuff? If you don't, I think you may be in the wrong place. :P

Enter for your chance to win a great bunch of prizes!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Did I mention the author is also completely awesome?! Well yea she is! Check her out for yourself:

 About Beth:

"Bloom's first short story “Love And Other Catastrophes: A Mix Tape” was featured in Story Quarterly and selected by Dave Eggers for inclusion in The Best American Nonrequired Reading: 2003 (Houghton-Mifflin), which he curates annually. Bloom is the founder of underground dance label 100% Silk (profiled here in LA Weekly) AND the producer/lead singer of the band LA Vampires (written up in The Guardian as well as Pitchfork and Fader). Her next book will be published through HarperTeen.






M. Beth lives on the east side of L.A. where she indulges in raw fooding, magazine subscribing, thrift shopping, Sunday matinee'ing, and ladies book clubbing."



You can,and should, check out her Facebook and Twitter as well!



Don't forget to check out the earlier posts in the blog hop, you can click on the Drain You banner on the side of the page to visit Mundie Moms and click the blog name linked in this post to visit hobbitsies!

Untraceable review/ Uncontrollable giveaway

Untraceable
By S.R. Johannes E-Book, 315 pages 
Published November 29th 2011
By: Coleman & Stott
ISBN: 0984799125 
Book source: Personal Copy
5 Stars

What Goodreads has to say:  16-year-old Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves

My Review:  First off just take a moment to marvel at that cover! I absolutely love the cover of this book, it is mysterious and beautiful. The cover is what initially drew me to this book but the story did not disappoint. I really enjoy books that have a strong female and Grace is by far one of my favorite heroines ever. She is the epitimy of strong, when her father goes missing she is the only one who keeps looking for him, she never gives up hope that he is still alive. She can hold her own and has no problem traveling alone in the wilderness. She has the skills, skills she learned from her father, to keep herself alive and she is not afraid to fight for what she believes is right. The storyline has so many twist and turns and it kept me guessing right up until the very end. You may want to get out the tissues because this book will pull at your heartstrings.The story kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put the book down until I was finished. You can get Untraceable here and check out the authors website here!

The sequel to this book, Uncontrollable, is out now and to celebrate I will be giving 1 ebook copy of Uncontrollable away! All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below. Note: This giveaway will only run for 24hrs on October 15th so better get your entry in! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Uncontrollable Is out!

Yay! Uncontrollable is out today!

Uncontrollable is the second book in "The Nature of Grace" series by S.R. Johannes. Untraceable, the first book in the series, has won and been nominated for several awards including Winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award (YA), 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (YA Nominee), and a finalist in The Kindle Book Review's "Best Indie Book of 2012 (YA)".

Kirkus reviewed Untraceable as "A thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance.  The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page."

If you like a page turner, you will love this series!

Head over to Mundie Moms for a Big Uncontrollable Launch Party with tons of prizes and then over to SR Johannes blog for even more.

To continue on with the blog tour, check out the line up! Where SR talks about anything from marketing to writing to her books to personal interviews and giveaways.

Book Summary

As 16-year-old Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". 

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. 

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

On Sale Now! 

Uncontrollable is on sale in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, iBooks/Apple (coming soon),  Smashwords, and B&N. If you haven't read Untraceable, you can get it in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, and B&N.

Author Bio

S.R. Johannes is the author of award-winning and Amazon bestselling Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and new tween paranormal, On The Bright Side. She has also published short novelettes as well as a teen romance anthology with 16 other authors titled, In His Eyes.  Uncontrollable, the sequel to Untraceable, is scheduled for September 2012.

S.R. Johannes is a winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Awards (Young Adult) and was also recently nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (Young Adult). Untraceable was also recently named a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Indie Book of the Year (YA)

After earning an MBA and working in corporate America, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. 

Connect!

Follow S.R. online on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest

You can also sign up for her newsletter to keep up on author or book news.

Book Review: Change the World Before Bedtime

Change the World Before Bedtime

By Josh Chalmers, Mark Kimball Moulton and Karen Hillard Good

ISBN: 978-0-7643-4238-7

ASIN: 9780764342

Ebook: 32 pages

First published August 1st 2012

By: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

Book Source: Publisher

5 Stars

Goodreads summary: Written in simple, engaging rhyme, this story takes an inspirational look into how the little things in life a smile, a kind word, a simple deed can help change the world in a big way. Through 18 stunning illustrations, children will read about eating right, cleaning up the Earth by recycling and conserving, helping the sick and those less fortunate, and working in a group to make bigger miracles. Even an ordinary kid can be a superhero before bedtime! Grades Pre-K to 2.

Marisa's Review: I read this book in e-copy and I really enjoyed it. It talks a lot about the golden rule ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. It is about how the small things in life can really help someone and make their day and therefore “Change the World Before Bedtime”. We often overlook the small things and think we have to do something big to make a difference when the reality is the small things make the most impact. This book grounds us and reminds us that the small things aren’t small at all. I am very happy I had the opportunity to read this book. I hope the schools purchase it for the library. I know many kids who would read this and feel inspired.

About the Authors:

Mark Kimball Moulton:

Author/Photographer Mark Kimball Moulton was born and raised in Danbury, Connecticut, and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture.

He is a seasoned traveler and avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking, biking, kayaking and cross country skiing.

Mark also enjoys renovating period homes. His most recent endeavor, Sparrowood of Avon, is a vintage farmhouse in Connecticut and serves as a testament to his passion for nature and belief in a simpler way of life.

 

 

Karen Good:

Our dear friends are all around and my best friend, Mark Kimball Moulton (author extraordinaire) lives five doors up the road.

Riverton is our very own Brigadoon . . . only it’s real!

My husband, Bob & I are renovating this 1822 Red Brick Colonial which is perched smack dab in the middle of our town of Riverton. Right next door is the Riverton General Store (which has been in continuous operation since the late 1800′s) where we all meet regularly for coffee and catch up on the latest gossip . . . oops, I mean news!

Riverton is nestled in the valley of People’s Forest and bordered by two wild and scenic rivers, The Farmington and The Still.

 

Josh Chalmers: Has contacted me with his bio and picture. Thank you Josh!
Josh Chalmers is the CEO (Cheerfully Eager Overachiever) of Earth2, a company that develops socially responsible products, programs and properties. Motivated by a personal and professional mission statement to change the world before bedtime, Josh has designed a company that mobilizes creative and strategic partnerships between for-profit and non-profit projects and companies, to drive revenue, support and awareness to organizations that strive to improve conditions for under-served children, families and institutions.
In 2012, Earth2 launched the Earth2 Edibles philanthropic specialty food division, with a first product, Not Your Mama’s Marinara, hitting shelves in Connecticut and growing into New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts by the end of the year. In addition, Earth2 inspired and collaborated on a new children’s book, Change The World Before Bedtime, published by Schiffer Publishing. Earth2 Events continues to produce socially responsible parties, weddings and fundraisers, and Earth2′s Prints Charming division launches a new line of stationery and special event cards in 2013. Earth2′s ongoing real estate projects, Arcadia and CoolCampus are in development in New England, and the initiatives WELLfed and ARTrageous, focused on the support of clean water systems and school arts programs respectively, will grow in the coming months.
Josh, born and raised in New York City and a graduate of Columbia University, is based on the Connecticut shoreline. For more information, please visit www.earth2company.com.

 

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Book Review: Into the Pumpkin

Into the Pumpkin

By Linda Franklin

Hardcover, 56 pages

Published August 31st 2012

By: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

ISBN: 9780764341830

Book source:

4 Pumpkins

What Goodreads has to say: The fun of Halloween comes alive in this beautifully illustrated children’s book. The drawings, done each year by the author on the eve of Halloween, follow various “Halloween” characters as they prepare to celebrate this mystical holiday — pumpkins, witches, bats, ravens, black cats, scarecrows, spiders, ghosts, and more. Should they have their party in the graveyard or the pumpkin patch? Should they dress up or simply go as themselves? Take a ride on the witch’s broom and enter the pumpkin for a magical trip both you and your kids will not soon forget. Pre-K through 6th.

Marisa's Review: I love the art in this book! It is abstract yet obvious and has so many warm autumn colors, even the spider is cute (yes you read that right). The story itself is really cute and has a good poetic rhythm to it allowing you to get through it quickly.

For a child who is in grade 1 or so you could really turn it into a sing-song type book and have them memorize it. If you are using this book in the classroom, be it home school or public school you could easily have your child pick one of the beautiful pieces of art to make for Halloween decorations while learning about art techniques. I normally wouldn’t recommend this, however my children studied Matisse in grade 1 and each student did a piece of art copying one by Matisse.

If you are opposed to Halloween then I think it is fairly obvious to not purchase this book because it does talk about ghosts and skeletons and witches and the other “Pagan” things we love about Halloween. 

That said, it is in no way a scary book and I recommend it for kids of all ages as the pictures are interesting to my old eyes and the words are very sweet and easy to read. I can see a lot of potential for this book depending on how you choose to use it.

About the Author:  Linda Franklin is an award-winning artist whose work is widely exhibited in private collections throughout the United States. She is also a celebrated teacher who has launched many aspiring artists onto careers of their own.