Island of Lost Girls

 

Island of Lost Girls

By

Jennifer McMahon

 

 

Summary:

Rhonda is just waiting for her gas to be pumped when Peter rabbit appears in the Volkswagen Beetle and takes little Ernestine away. She doesn't know what to do she just watches, Trudy the girl's mother is furious that she just stood by and did nothing. She has an enormous amount of guilt and begins to pour herself into finding the little girl. Rhonda works phones at the call center and starts her own detective work to find out what happened to Ernie. Her childhood friend Peter is acting awfully strange and is beginning to look very guilty of being involved in the girls abduction, and the clues Rhonda find just lead back to Peter. All this brings Rhonda back to a time when she was younger and Peter's sister Lizzy, who also went missing, Rhonda wonders are the two connected and what exactly happened in 1993 when everything changed.

 

 

Review:

I have to say I really enjoyed this book, lots of action and a ton of suspense. This is the 2nd book I have read by Ms. McMahon and this book did not disappoint me at all. It is a well written and easy to follow through all the twists and turns. I really could understand Rhonda and the dilemma she carries of loving her childhood friend and not know who to trust. I would definitely give this book 5 stars out of 5.

 

 

 

 



Liebster Blog Award

 

 

Okay, so I've been nominated  for the Liebster Blog Award. Thanks Kacii(@The Kooky Bookworm)!!!

 

In order to accept and partcipate there are some steps.

 

1. Tell 11 things about yourself.
2. Answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
3. Post 11 questions for those who will be nominated by you.
4. Nominate 11 bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
5. Get in contact with those 11 bloggers in order to inform them that you nominated them.

11 Things about me

   

     1.  I'm a natural redhead

     2.  I love sports but mostly Braves baseball

     3.  I'm stuck right in the middle so I'm a big sister and little sister

     4.  I once hiked 10 miles with 30lbs strapped to my back

     5.  I carry an nice purse but can still bait my own hook.

     6.  I love all kinds of music, but at the moment I'm in love with country

     7.  I would rather have dessert than dinner

     8.  My nieces and nephews all think I'm a rock star (all 15 of them)

     9.  My only child is a four legged friend that my husband found at 6 weeks old he's 13 now.

   10.  I knew that I was going to marry my husband the 1st time I ever saw him

   11.  The best I can figure I have read almost 300 books!

 

11 Questions from K.K. Cook (Kacii)

 

   1. What's the funniest book you ever read?

The Sweet Potato Queens trying to teach me be southern (but I'm already pretty southern)

 

  2. Do you prefer eBooks or print books?

My husband bought me a Kindle in 2010 and I haven't picked up a print book since.

 

  3. Favorite book of all time?

My favorite book of all time is She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. It is a wonderfully written book about a young woman. I think all young women should read it in their 20's.

 

  4. What was the best childhood book you read as a kid?

I read the whole series of Little House on the Praire by Laura Ingalls and those really stuck with me.

 

 5.  Why do love to read?

I love stepping into someone elses shoes and reading about others experiences. You can move through space and time all in books. 

 

 6. Where do you like to read?  

I use to like to read in the tub but since I moved to an e-reader I basically read wherever I am not matter what I am doing if I have free time I'm reading.

 

 7. Who taught you to love books?

I'm not really who taught me to love books but I know that my parents strongly supported my love of  books and spent lots of money to make sure that I could have the ones I wanted.

 

 8. When did you realize you were addicted to books?

Very early on, some of my best memories are getting the Scholastic magazines to buy books or when the book fair would come, so I would say by the time I was about 8 or 9 I knew I was crazy for books.

 

 9. Who's your favorite author?

This is a particularly tough question because my favorite author changes quite frequently. I jump around genres so it is constantly changing. So at the moment I would say Alan Bradley.

 

10. Which book are you waiting in agony for this year?

I would have to say the new Flavia Deluce novel Speaking from Among the Bones. It is my new favorite series that I came across by complete accident. There is no schedule release date just early 2013, but I am so ready.

 

11. Favorite movie/TV show based on a book(s)?

My favorite movie based on a book is an oldie and it might not be popular today but it is To Kill A Mockingbird with Gregory Peck. To Kill A Mockingbird is standard read for 9th grade English but I read this way back in elementary school when my dad told me about it. I read the book and then he let me watch the movie with him and it was the first book that I read that had been turned into a movie. I thought I was such a big shot reading a grown up book and discussing it with my dad.

 

Questions for the blogs I'm nominating

 

 1. Why did you start blogging?

 2. What is your favorite book of all time and why?

 3. What format do you read? e-books, print, audio?

 4. What book effected your life the most?

 5. Where are you from?

 6. Where would you live if you could live anywhere?

 7. Who is your favorite author and why?

 8. What do you look for when choosing a book?

 9. How much time do you dedicate to reading and writing?

10. Any goals for 2013?

11. What is your favorite book cover and why?

 

 

My nominations are:

 

 1. @ Cover to Cover

 2. @ The Unexpected Path

 3. @ Book Cupid

 4. @Southern Owl Reads

 5. @Beauty But A Funny Girl

 6. @ Coffee Break

 7. @ Living Loving And Writing

 8. @Pray Read Write Live

 9. @Color The Pages

10. @Maureen's Book Haven

11. @Novellarella

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mother Load

So this week I am reading from my own reading list some things that I picked up. Sorry for the delay between reviews I have had my another new adventure come my way that I am super excited about, I am going to be working from home part time. This is going to fit right in to what I have been doing for the last four months and I am looking forward to having another "purpose". Hope everybody has been doing well and getting the New Year off to a great start.

 

THE MOTHER LOAD

BY KEELEY BATES

 



 

 

Summary:

Following the family of Sophie Ellison this book is a nice look at a "normal" family. It follows Sophie, her sister Emma, and her sister in law Bridget. Sophie is a former lawyer now stay at home mom with two little rambunctious children Owen 7 and Molly 5. Molly is just starting out school and getting her 5th birthday out of the way. Sophie is trying to get her household to run smoothly but finds it quite difficult with a 5 year old hanging from your leg and a mother in law who is anything but supportive.

 

Emma is a 40 year old single mom just trying to raise her soon to be teenage son. It stays pretty busy being a school teacher, mom, trying to keep her younger sister out of trouble and away from their rather gruff and grumpy father who also lives with her. Dating is almost always a disaster and she couldn't remember the last time anyone was even remotely interested. She compensates by spending most of her free time with her sister and her family, while her sister tries desperately to help her get her love life back on track.

 

Bridget is a pediatrician who is recently married and trying very hard to cut back her hours so she can start her own family. She and her husband have had quite a bit of trouble conceiving, so they start fertility treatments. Treatments and crazy work schedule just seem to be adding more stress to the situation instead of the other way around.

Review:

I really enjoy these types of books with just a light look about how a family runs. It's a nice change of pace from a lot of more serious stuff that I read, so I like to throw these in sometimes just to mix things up. This one was really good and I liked it for the most part except for a couple of minor details when the book was a little crude for my taste and didn't really keep up with the rest of the dialog. I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars and would recommend to most anyone looking for something a bit more relaxed to read.

 



The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

By Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is 15 and beginning his life in high school, so he decides to write an anonymous friend letters instead of keeping a diary because someone could always find a diary. Charlie is shy and keeps to himself but it doesn't take long for him to find his own group of friends. They are typical teenagers going to school, football games, and parties. They find their way to all sorts of alcohol and trendy drugs.

 

Charlie, Sam and Patrick are best friends and Charlie finds himself just a little bit in love with Sam, even if she told him that he was too young for her. He doesn't care he can't just help to love her. Charlie likes high school ok but the thing he likes the most is his English teacher, who said they were friends and Charlie could call him Bill. Every week Bill gives him a new book to read and write a report for that book. The books are as interesting as everything and Charlie learns so much from his books.

 

The year passes quickly and all the trials of being a teenager weigh Charlie down, his older friends are getting ready to leave and Charlie just isn't sure he can face each day without them. His whole world starts to fall apart and Charlie has to go away to pick up the pieces.

 

Review:

 

 

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The whole book takes place in 1991 and 1992 which I love because I was 14 in 1991, and Charlie and his friends could have been anyone that I knew. I think as adults we forget that as teenager we are living with all sorts of adult problems just try to cope and go day by day. I really love how the author caught the real essence of that in the creation of all the characters. I would quickly put this on a list of book that everybody should read by the time they are in their 20's.

 

 

I really got myself wrapped in the characters and really related with Charlie's grasp of not knowing what was happening to him when his mental illness took over. It is so frightening for a young adult to have such deep rooted problems and have no idea where it comes from, what it is and how to stop it. To say I love this book is putting it lightly, I hope anybody who gets the chance to read this will read and come away with the same uplifting experience as I did.

 



Colorado Mandala

I have been given the opportunity to review this book before it is released. I am super excited about the release of this book and can't wait to share it with you. As of now this book will be available on Amazon on February 15. Look for it soon!

Colorado Manadala

By Brian Heffron

 

 

Summary:

The story follows friends and business partners Michael and Paul in the late 1970's in a rural town in Colorado. Michael and Paul cut and sell rare gems and other types of jewelry. Michael and Paul have a brotherhood type bond by both being Vietnam War veterans. Paul stays with Michael and his girlfriend Sarah and Sarah's son Stuart. Michael likes Sarah very much but sees that Paul might be better suited for Sarah. He continues to attempt to keep their relationship alive by taking a spelunking trip with Paul and Stuart. Although Michael's intentions were good, the trip is a disaster for him and in the end Paul winds up the hero in Sarah's eyes. Paul is unsure how to handle the situation, his loyalties lie with Michael but he has to admit he has feelings for Sarah too. Before Paul knows it Michael has forsaken him and Paul stumbles across a secret Michael has been keeping to himself since being discharged.

 

 

Review:

This is a lively novel; I loved the story that tells of brother ship, friends, and the mutual love for one woman. I have never visited Colorado but the author's description and detail brought me right into the story. The characters are wonderful. I find myself sympathetic to both Michael and Paul with their entanglements with each other. The ending is very dramatic and leaves the story off where a follow up book could easily be picked up. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to read this book before release. I think is a wonderful book and I am looking forward to what the future might hold for my favorite characters. Once again the book will be available on February 15 on Amazon.