Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde ~ Book Review

Book Description:

An unforgettable novel about the power of friendship and kindness by the New York Times bestselling author of Pay It Forward.

In the summer of 1969, fourteen-year-old Lucas Painter carries a huge weight on his shoulders. His brother is fighting in Vietnam. His embattled parents are locked in a never-ending war. And his best friend, Connor, is struggling with his own family issues. To find relief from the chaos, Lucas takes long, meandering walks, and one day he veers into the woods.

There he discovers an isolated cabin and two huge dogs. Frightened, he runs. And the dogs run with him. Lucas finds unusual peace in running with the dogs, and eventually he meets their owner, Zoe Dinsmore. Closed off and haunted by a tragic past, Zoe has given up. She doesn’t want to be saved. She wants out. But Lucas doesn’t want her to go, and he sees an opportunity to bring more than one friend back into the light. It’s either the best or worst idea he’s ever had, but Lucas isn’t giving up on Zoe or Connor.

Their unexpected connection might be the saving grace that Zoe thought she’d lost, that Connor needs, and that Lucas has been running toward.

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

I am the author of more than 30 published and forthcoming books, including ALLIE AND BEA, SAY GOODBYE FOR NOW, LEAVING BLYTHE RIVER, ASK HIM WHY, WORTHY, THE LANGUAGE OF HOOFBEATS, TAKE ME WITH YOU, WHERE WE BELONG, WHEN I FOUND YOU, WALK ME HOME, SECOND HAND HEART, DON'T LET ME GO, and WHEN YOU WERE OLDER.

I'm an avid hiker, traveler, equestrian, and amateur photographer, and have released my first book of photos, 365 DAYS OF GRATITUDE: PHOTOS FROM A BEAUTIFUL WORLD.

I am co-author, with fellow author and publishing industry blogger Anne R. Allen, of HOW TO BE A WRITER IN THE E-AGE: A SELF-HELP GUIDE.

My novel PAY IT FORWARD was adapted into a major motion picture, chosen by the American Library Association for its Best Books for Young Adults list, and translated into more than 23 languages for distribution in over 30 countries. The paperback was released in October 2000 by Pocket Books and quickly became a national bestseller. Simon & Schuster released PAY IT FORWARD: YOUNG READERS' EDITION in August of '14. It is suitable for kids as young as eight. A special Fifteenth Anniversary Edition of the original PAY IT FORWARD was released in December of '14

Website

Review: 

This is a coming of age story about a 14 year old boy, Lucas, set in the summer of 1969. Lucas' parents argue, his dad comes home later and later, his brother is away in Vietnam, his bestfriend is depressed and talking about hurting himself. Lucas wants/needs to help everyone but he isn't sure how. Lucas finds himself running in the woods and meets two dogs who become his running partners. Lucas befriends their owner, a lady who has isolated herself in the woods years ago. This is a beautifully written story that is heartbreaking, touching and so very relatable. Characters that all intertwine and help each other through the hardships of life. So many likable characters that you find yourself hoping and praying they make it through their tough time stronger than they were and happier. Keep tissues by your side. This one will pull on the heartstrings but also make you smile. A beautiful literary fiction that will stay with you even after you put the book down. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.  I give this a 5 out of 5 stars. 

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*~

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Everything My Mother Taught Me by Alice Hoffman ~ Short Story Book Review

Book Description: 

In this haunting short story of loyalty and betrayal, a young woman in early 1900s Massachusetts discovers that in navigating her treacherous coming-of-age, she must find her voice first.

For fatefully observant Adeline, growing up carries an ominous warning from her adulterous mother: don’t say a word. Adeline vows to never speak again. But that’s not her only secret. After her mother takes a housekeeping job at a lighthouse off the tip of Cape Ann, a local woman vanishes. The key to the mystery lies with Adeline, the silent witness. New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic Alice Hoffman crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching short story.

Alice Hoffman’s Everything My Mother Taught Me is part of Inheritance, a collection of five stories about secrets, unspoken desires, and dangerous revelations between loved ones. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single setting. By yourself, behind closed doors, or shared with someone you trust.

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Alice Hoffman is the author of more than thirty works of fiction, including The World That We Knew, The Rules of Magic, The Marriage of Opposites, Practical Magic, The Red Garden, the Oprah’s Book Club selection Here on Earth, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, and The Dovekeepers. Her most recent novel is The World That We Knew. She lives near Boston.

Author's Website.

Review: 

This is the first time I have read an Alice Hoffman novel and I was really impressed. In only 28 pages Hoffman pulls us into this story right from page one and leaves the readers wanting so much more from the main character twelve year old Adeline, who was named after a soap. After her father passed away Adeline stopped talking, she wouldn't talk to anyone. Her mother lived an adulterous life pushing her own daughter to the side for a man.  This was a heart-wrenching coming of age story that you will definitively read in one sitting as you wont want to put it down until the very last page. I was left with so much hope and love for young Adeline.

I am looking forward to reading other novels by Alice Hoffman in the future. I give this short story a 5 out of 5 stars.

~*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own. *~

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The Suicide Season by Jeremy Gadd ~ Excerpt & Free Book Giveaway!

Excerpt from The Suicide Season by Jeremy Gadd ~ Get your FREE ebook copy below! 

Yeats motored on. He imagined the angler in the pub that night, telling his story about the huge fish that had got away, breaking his rod to do so. Yeats couldn’t be bothered to fish. He neither expected a strike nor now to meet Crumb. The shadows were lengthening when he entered a previously unexplored section of waterway and saw a punt in centre stream ahead of him. The wind had dropped, and the water lay unruffled, disturbed only by the legs of a water-walking insect or fish fin. The punt held two men. They were both standing and casting into the lilies along either side of the arm. As Yeats came closer he saw they were oriental, possibly Indonesian. One was obviously older than the other and wore all white: a hat, shirt, and baggy trousers. His younger companion was similarly dressed but wore a baseball cap instead of a hat.

They were using fly rods of thin bamboo, and they flicked and whipped their lures along the edge of the lilies with skill. As they worked their lures, they changed places in the punt with, what seemed to Yeats, to be a sixth sense, each knowing exactly where the other was so that the punt was never destabilised and they never got in each other’s way. They cast and retrieved with ease and poise worthy of artistry found on the Opera house or Covent Garden stages, yet one false step and the yellow water of the billabong could part to reveal the villain of the melodrama, with a fixed grin but no moustache.

Yeats followed behind them as they worked along the billabong, mesmerised by the knowledge that their dance of cast and shuffle could become a dance of death. They saw him and acknowledged his presence with short bows before continuing. Although the width between the banks remained constant, the channel narrowed where water lilies had spread almost from one side to the other. The punt with the balletic Asians on board slowly turned into another channel and Yeats, sprawled in his punt and lazily somnambulant with the hypnotic effect of having watched the fishermen repeatedly cast and collect, motored slowly on.

The perfume from the lilies was almost overpowering, and Yeats felt heady. He couldn’t believe the beauty of the place. Even the name, Fire Dreaming Island, had a beauty and mystery about it. If the trip had led him here and nowhere else, it would have made the journey worthwhile. Yeats felt ecstatic. This experience almost compensated for the dilemma in which he now found himself. At that moment, his fishing rod, which he had rested behind him, its lure dangling and occasionally touching the water, bent downwards. The tug became a pull, and then the reel whined as line ran out, cleaving the water like wire through cheese. Yeats grabbed the rod and applied the tension, and a fish leapt out of the billabong. Bright in the sunlight and beautiful to behold, it tail-danced across the water, shaking its head to throw the lure. Yeats tried to reel in the slack line created by the fish’s leap for freedom but couldn’t keep sufficient tension on the line. The fish leapt a second time, and shaking its head again, tossed the lure-free. As quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Yeats sat trembling in the punt, his breath shallow, his eyes wide with wonder. Yeats was disappointed, yet glad the fish had got away.

He smelled the familiar cigarette smoke before he heard the familiar voice.

“That’s not how I taught you how to fish, Wazza.”

The voice came from over his shoulder, and Yeats turned to see Crumb standing on the bank about three or four metres from the punt.

Purchase a copy for your favorite book outlet or save 25% off on Stormbird Press site with coupon code sp-suicideseason-25. 

Grab a FREE download ebook copy when downloading from Stormbird Press BookFunnel page. 

About the Author:

Jeremy Gadd is an Australian author and poet. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, he worked extensively in professional theatre in Australia and the United Kingdom before concentrating on his writing, which includes plays, the publication of novels, fifty short stories and poetry. He has also written dialogue for a dance performed by The Sydney Dance Company at the Sydney Opera House. He later earned Master of Arts with Honours and PhD degrees from the University of New England. He is a Writing Fellow of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.

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TANGLED - by Phyllis H. Moore

A southern family saga emerges as Nettie begins a quest to discover who she is. Twenty-one years old and Annette Roberta Randall is searching, looking for herself. The perception and sensitivity she relied on to bolster her through an isolated childhood have disappeared and with them her sense of self. Nettie also seeks the truth, information about her dysfunctional family and the mysteries that whisper to her in their eccentric family home. She receives glimpses in the alcohol induced monologues of her mother, Delores Cecelia, “DeCe”. However, DeCe lost herself long before Nettie was born, and she buried her secrets so deep, even the spirits haunting her cannot unlock her soul. Pup, Nettie’s peculiar uncle, may have witnessed the most recent chaos, but he cannot communicate what he knows for sure. Nettie’s struggles are apparent to her extended family and neighbors, but only she can resolve to overcome the pull of the notorius Kirkland family and Berclaire mansion. The secrets fester and DeCe clings to them like the neglected ivy tendrils on the shadowed side of the mansion. Slowly, the truth will unfold, but will it be enough to free Nettie, or the undoing of her mother, DeCe? 

Nettie believed it was possible her grandfather, Old Nate, was responsible for the hauntings at the Berclaire mansion, but the more she learns of her great grandmother, Roberta, she decides he might have been a victim, also. DeCe had been taking pills and drinking alcohol from before the time she was a teenager, attempting to numb herself to her dysfunctional family. Nettie could only guess at a history during her drunken orations about DeCe's childhood. Nettie knows she is the seventh child born to DeCe, the others gone before Nettie was born. Some would filter back into her life, but would they help her learn more about her identity, or bring more pain?

• File Size: 929 KB
• Print Length: 332 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: DelCorazone; 1 edition (March 8, 2016)

www.amazon.com
www.phyllishmoore.com


Phyllis H. Moore is the author of the Sabine Trilogy, Sabine, Book One, Josephine's Journal's Book Two, and Secrets of Dunn House, Book Three. She also has written Tangled, A Yarn and Opal's Story, A Novel. All of these novels are written in the Southern Gothic style. Phyllis calls them Texas Gothic. They are set in her home state, Texas.

She is fond of reading authors like Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells and Kathryn Stockett, stories of dysfunctional families with a touch of humor. She is also fond of the non-fiction of Rick Bragg and Jeanette Walls.

Phyllis is a self-published author, retired social worker, avid gardener and loves to travel. She lives on a small ranch in South Texas with her husband and their adopted terrier, Ollie Bubba. She has operated a haunted bed and breakfast and has stories to tell.



TANGLED.  DeCe’s secrets are unimaginable! Unthinkable!    She has debilitating depression and haunting dreams.  No motivation and is  withdrawing from everything.  Her childhood was dysfunctional, and now her life is erratic.  The only way of survival is to put mechanisms in place deflecting all her hurt and pain.  What goes around eventually comes back around and the generations of this family have continuously repeated bad habits.  DeCe’s daughter Nettie, feels an obligation to care for her mother and family.  Yet, all she really wants is find answers to DeCe’s horrible past. Nettie is not prepared for all the hurt and pain her mother is carrying.  She is trying desperately to develop a connection with her mother before her unstable acts became destructive.  Nettie refuses to fall into the dysfunctional patterns of her of her families past.  She becomes hopeful about college and moving out of the house, but the hidden secrets her mother holds keeps is holding her back.  We find Nettie in a circumstance many young people encounter when caring for a family member or choosing a future.  TANGLED includes several different topics of society and personal choices. The characters each have a deep connection and purpose in DeCe’s life. The end is not the really the end!  These are the only truths spoken!  DeCe is left considering rehabilitation for the first time.  Nettie is withholds critical information about her family and it’s past.  Should she squeal, and upset the town?  Who knows!  The plot continues throughout the storyline to add shocking events.  Things you would never imagine.  Then it spins again.  We are left feeling compassion for DeCe, and her decisions.  I joyfully accepted this book in exchange for an honest review.  Rating it 4 out of 5 stars.  It would be interesting to have a possible sequel, unveiling the hidden secrets.  Kris

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Follow The Dotted Line by Nancy Hersage ~ Book Review

Andrea Bravos is dazed and amazed when a Styrofoam burger box with her ex's ashes arrives in the mail. Her adventure to find out what happened will upset officials of several small countries, insult the founders of three major religions, give her four adult children acid reflux, and lead her to assault with a deadly golf club.

In the process, she will joyfully drag along her soft-spoken but fearsome accountant, while trying to fend off her mooch of a nephew. It’s a convoluted and quixotic caper, but it all comes together in the end—even the avocados, World War II spy, IRS agent, palm reader, and deadly spider.

Move over Marple and Plum, here comes Andy!
This book may be purchased on Kindle.

Five-time national award winning playwright and screenwriter Nancy Hersage lives and works in Los Angeles. She has written screenplays for NBC, CBS, ABC and PBS and treatments for Spelling and Cruise Wagner. Her plays have been produced on three continents and by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Her novel, Tribunal, about sex trafficking, is available from Online Originals in London at OnlineOriginals.com. Her new musical, Out!, written with Molly Hersage, is available from the Dramatic Publishing Company of Chicago at DramaticPublishing.com.  Contact Nancy or learn more about her novels, stage plays and screenwriting at NancyHersage.com.

Introducing the Andrea Bravos Mystery Series

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http://www.amazon.com/Follow-Dotted-Line-Nancy-Hersage-ebook/dp/B01864OFSYhttps://www.facebook.com/hersagebook/

 I had fun with these characters.  Mitch gets his dads ashes in a burger box.  Ian played in a band . Sam was the athlete and proud teacher.  Little Lil , had little kids. Andrea the mom, bless her heart, she had her son blurting- out dad's dead.  The kids don't want the burden of planning a memorial service or whatever.  After all dad did abandon them.  I get a funny kick the new wife is a spiritual psychic and who will hex them if they contact her.  Andrea won't stand for this behavior.  Her children have a right to know how and where their father died.  Now bring the nephew Harley into the scene and we have a young man trying to deal with girls, religion, and solving a murder.  Turns out Tilda didn't want them digging around because she had one heck of a past to cover up.   The kids are too busy bickering to help.  Andrea and Harley travel and conspire to find out the truth. This turns into a who done it mystery with a scavenger hunt for clues.  The plot thickens when they realize the new wife. Tilda may be a black widow.  The end result is the unveiling of Mark's ashes and the circumstances surrounding his death announcement.  Andrea realizes some people never change.  When life brings lemons make lemonade and have a party!  This was a fun comedic read, light, with mystery.  I give this three stars out of 5.  The pace stayed a little slow in the middle with the plot.  I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

~ As a book lover we hope you support our authors.  Happy reading!

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Christmas at my Doorstep by Elaine Bertolotti ~ Book Promo

Book Description: 

This Christmas tale talks about our heroine who unexpectedly finds love and her wish to have a family of her very own is fulfilled at Christmas time when she finds Brian Bartley and his three daughters at her doorstep!

Angela and Brian work for the Tucker Toy company in Manhattan and discover that there are company intrigues to be uncovered. John Wendell, head of Personnel, with his unethical ways of hiring unqualified people for high positions causes more than one problem for the couple. The second part of the story takes us ten years into the future and Amy, Brian’s oldest daughter, is now working for Tucker Toys too. She finds that she too has to face her share of “funny business” in the company. Does John think he can take over the toy company without a fight?

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 


~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. All opinions are honest and my own.*~

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No Place to Hide by Susan Lewis ~ Book Review

Book Description: 

Fleeing her native England with her three-year-old daughter, Justine Cantrell gives herself a new name and a new life in America. In a quiet midwestern town on the shores of glittering Lake Maxinkuckee, Justine hopes to recapture the fleeting days of happiness in the long-ago summers she spent with her grandmother. And though her memories of that time are scant, Justine knows they must have shared a special bond. After all, the power of her grandmother's love has pulled her back to this haven in search of a new beginning.

But fate has other plans. The more Justine gets to know the small town and its people, the more she realizes that her grandmother had her own devastating secrets—secrets that will soon threaten Justine just as surely as her own dark memories.

Purchase a copy on Amazon. 

About the Author: 

Susan Lewis is the internationally bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including No Child of Mine, Don’t Let Me Go, The Truth About You, Never Say Goodbye, Behind Closed Doors, No Place to Hide. Having resided in France and the United States for many years, she now lives in the rural county of Gloucestershire, England.

Connect: Website | Twitter | Goodreads |

Review: 


I really enjoyed this book. I am going to try and give it a thorough review without giving out too many details to give away the story. The synopsis doesn't give much of the storyline to the reader and usually I don't read many books like this. I was hooked from the beginning. The author introduces us to Justine and her daughter Lula as they are starting a fresh new life in a new country away from the rest of their family. Then we take a trip down memory lane (18 years before) to learn about Justine and her husband and how they bought their first farmhouse and started their family. 

This novel floats back and forth between the present and the past and really builds on the characters and story before you even get to the reason why Justine ran with her youngest daughter to the USA from England. We know there are dark secrets Justine is running from and hiding but there really isn't many hints to guess what happened. I kept trying to guess what happened to make her so scared to be found in this new place and just couldn't. I really liked how the author went back and forth between present and past and felt it was really well done. 

This is a depressing story of tragic loss and trying to rebuild a happy future. I wouldn't say this is a light read at all and be prepared for some harsh language and a very hard situations that will tug on your heart strings and emotions. The character development is very good and I felt I was really getting to know all the different characters in the story.

This is a very well written novel and I am looking forward to reading more from Susan Lewis. 

I give this book a 4.5 stars out of 5.



~*Disclaimer: This post was written by Genuine Jenn. I received a copy of the above book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are honest and my own.*~

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