Defiant Heart

Defiant Heart

by Marty Steere

 

Summary:

Our story begins in 1941 with young Jonathon Meyer, his parents and brother have been killed in a car accident so he is sent to live with his grandmother, who he has never met. He is leaving the big city of New York for small town Jackson, Indiana. Jon isn't so sure about such a small town but he arrives over the summer and gets to know a few locals after picking up a job at the local hardware store. Jon works part time over the summer to make some extra money for his grandmother so he can contribute to the household.

Jon begins the school year and meets Mary Dahlgren; Mary is the daughter of Jin Dahlgren the owner of Dahlgren's hardware store. Mary is by far the brightest most beautiful girl in school and Jon just can't get her out of his mind. Mary finds that Jon is also very well read and equally as smart and she begins to like him more and more every day. Jon is finding a hard time fitting into the new school and is picked on and put down constantly by the other boys at school because he is Jewish. Mary notices Jon is pulling more and more away from everyone do to the terrible harassment he is receiving from the local boys, especially hometown basketball hero Vernon King.

Before long Jon is let go from the hardware store, and Mary's father forbids him to have any contact with her. Jon is terribly disappointed and doesn't know what he has done to cause such an upset with Mary's father. Mary is outraged and puts her father on the spot and demands answer for his terrible behavior towards Jon. Jim Dahlgren tries to explain to his daughter that he is running for a senate seat in 1942 elections, and having an employee and/or friend of his daughter being Jewish could be a major setback in his chances as a United States senator.

Mary doesn't agree with this at all and begins seeing Jon in secret. Mary and Jon spend months keeping their relationship a secret from everyone. All is well until Mary is assaulted by a local boy and she is put into a coma, Jon takes the blame for the terrible act against Mary and is enlisted into the Army as his punishment, and is sent away not knowing if Mary will be ok or not. When Mary comes out of her coma Jon is away serving his country and has been told that Mary doesn't remember anything of the previous year, which means she has no recollection of Jon. Jon is heartbroken but continues on with his military training. Mary tries to return to a normal life or as normal as she can remember, when the events of the previous year comes back to her and she vows to find Jon and tell him how much she loves him.

Review:

I am so excited to bring this book to my readers. I was asked to read and review on behalf of the author. When I am asked to do that I never know if I am really going to enjoy the book or not. I generally stay away from historical fiction because honestly it is hit or miss. I either love it or hate it, but I have to tell you I absolutely love this story.

It is a beautifully told love story from the prospective of both parties. I was crazy about the main characters from the very beginning. I am pleased with how Mr. Steere created a wonderful love story without turning it into a cheap romance. I cannot say enough nice things about this book, but I hands down give it 5 out of 5 stars. If you want to read a beautiful and uplifting book this is definitely one I recommend!


I was giving one ecopy of this book for review purposes. I received no other compensation for this review.

 

 

 

 



33 Valentines

Today is my stop on the blog tour for 33 Valentines I'm so excited to bring this review to you for a great book. Along with the review I will be giving away this book in ebook format. Be sure to add your comments and I will choose a winner on March 1st.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

33 Valentines by Stephanie Monahan

 

Summary:

Sophie begins her least favorite month in just the way she should expect, in the emergency room with a broken left arm. And of course wouldn't you know it she's left handed, she had always taken pride being left handed. Now as if the impeding Valentine’s Day wasn't enough she's been sidelined with a casted broken arm. Maybe her best friend Sam could help if she would just get the nerve to own up to him how she is in love with him. But isn't that how she got the broken arm to begin with reading a stupid email from Sam stating he had found the girl of his dream and she was just "Perfect". What does perfect mean anyway? Oh yeah and let’s not forget new little-miss-perfect wanted so have the first date on Valentine’s Day. Sophie was pissed about this detail the most. Valentine’s Day had always been her day with Sam to watch horror movies and make fun of all the other people "in love". She tries to make up for it by making an ill-advised date with her exboyfriend but only follows Sam and new perfect girl so she can spy on them.

All this brings up Sophie's past and her family that she has tried so hard to leave behind but just can't seem to shake. Her dad has broken his own rule and has driven into the city for a visit but not without his own bombshell, he's getting married again, to a dental hygienist no less, with her own built in family just dying to meet Sophie.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book; Sophie manages to get herself in quite the interesting situation. I really like the way the characters are written and really well written story, the only thing missing is a better grasp on Sophie's situation with her immediate family. I would have like to have seen a clearer understanding of the falling it out, that part seemed to be rushed and a little passed over. I would definitely give this 4 stars out of 5. I look forward to other books written by Ms. Monahan.

 

I received a free e-copy of this book for review purposes

 

 

Beyond Parallel

Beyond Parallel  by Matthew Turner

 

Beyond Parallel is the story of Clark and Bella and how their lives are destined to be together. The story follows the pair as they live lives separately and together. Bella and Clark both struggle with general anxiety about long term relationships, having both been through a lot of heartache and pain. Their stories begin while travelling around the world, and a chance meeting in Thailand.

 

It's quite an interesting setup I am not sure I have every read a book quite like this, which makes it unusually unique.  I was drawn in immediately by the characters and their side by side troubles which lead them through life.  The characters are very well written, but I found the pace to be numbingly slow, it took me over 2 weeks to finish.  Beyond the pace of the book, I really enjoyed the storyline and found that most people have struggled in their twenties just like Clark and Bella but some bits were quite predictable.  This is the first novel published by Mr. Turner and I'm looking forward to following his work in the future.  I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.



Author Spotlight: Nikki Palomino/Dazed

Hey guys a little something different this week I want to talk about author Nikki Palomino and her book Dazed.

As a runaway, from the streets of NYC to the Strip of L.A., Nikki spent her youth as a grunge punk rock musician, racking up the confusion, frustration and passion leading her to writ DAZED (The Story of
a Grunge Rocker), the first in a series of novels about the drug and music culture
of the '90s. She learned life, drugs, and alternative music touring in a van packed with the rest of the band, equipment, and groupies, playing infamous clubs like CBGB's.

In 2003, Nikki was named Writer's Digest's Best Genre Short Story Writer. She's written stories for print rags, including Nightmares and Blonde on Blonde and has written erotica for Foggy Windows, as well as covering rock and country music for various rags, including Los Angeles Country Examiner, Buddy Magazine and Blast. She has studied under feature writers at both the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post.

Nikki was co-writer and co-producer of Palomino Productions' 2004 film noir, Baby, and the award-winning dark comedy from 2007, The Rug later a TV pilot entitled Our Way of Life, originally
for Fox. She is currently working on the second in the DAZED series and an upcoming series of novels entitled The Underground Diaries.

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.