Month: October 2014

Review: Huckleberry Christmas by Jennifer Beckstrand

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Aaah. The coolness of autumn, the crunch of the leaves, the brisk wind at night… It’s all preparation for winter. And winter means Christmas novels. I’ll be reading and reviewing more over the next couple of months, but here’s the first taste of Christmas, Amish-style.

Beth endured verbal abuse from her first husband. When he died, she vowed to grow stronger and more independent for the sake of herself and her son. But Beth didn’t count on falling in love with mellow Tyler. He had Beth’s best interests at heart, but needed to be persistent if he wanted to gain a place in her heart.

I’ve enjoyed all of Beckstrand’s Huckleberry Hill books, and I certainly loved this one. Beckstrand balances the stereotypical sober Amish lifestyle with lighthearted fun that comes from being unencumbered by modern distractions.

I laughed a lot at Tyler’s facial expressions (great descriptions, because I could virtually see his face). I sympathized with Beth as she tried to decide whether to follow her head or her heart. And I rejoiced every time little Toby reached into the hearts of his mom, grandparents, and Tyler.

I recommend this book as an Amish novel, a taste of Christmas, and an overall feel-good read. You’ll be uplifted, and who couldn’t use a little of that these days?!

-Calliope

buy HUCKLEBERRY CHRISTMAS

Review: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

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*1Since this has been all over the news of late I thought it was time to revisit. I now live in the United Kingdom and often do my clothes shopping online (much easier than trying to suffer though the experience with my loving but very impatient husband) and I admit I was somewhat shocked at looking at the shipping restrictions. It appears that post is no longer allowed to be sent many countries now with “Ebola virus” listed as the cause….This is just mind-blowing to me….anyway…here is the review of this book that has always stayed in my mind. I worry about chemical warfare and someone leaking this type of virus much more than I’ve ever worried about a bomb going off overhead….

What can I say? This one really makes you stop and think. How close are we all to death? What blink of an eye can mean the end of the world as we know it? Forget how utterly disgusting this book was. I mean, seriously, this was the most insane, make you wish you hadn’t eaten that for lunch, I think I just threw up in my mouth, wipe that grimace off your face book I have ever read. i still can’t stop imaging what it would be like to have your tongue, esophagus and intestines slough off and run through your body. Nor can I stop trying to imagine the black vomit or bleeding out through ever orifice of your body. Screaming monkeys. This book really could give you some nightmares. Seriously. Who is that guy sitting next to you on the plane? Does he look sick? Does he have a virus lurking in his hazel eyes? Did that cough just set the virus free?

I tell you something, this type of book makes me reevaluate my life. I want to do things differently. I want to be in a different place….and today might be the last day to do so…time to get my ass moving…..

Until next time….

Urania xx

Buy it now The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

Review: Reaper’s Stand, by Joanna Wylde

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01rea I gotta be honest, sometimes I didn’t like Picnic. His wife died 6 years ago and seemed to be shooting for the title of world’s biggest manwhore. Seriously. In all of the other books, he is seen screwing everything in sight. Women who were his daughters’s age all the way up to his own age. He didn’t discriminate. But, on the flip side, he loved his daughters and his MC chapter fiercely. He would protect all of them, with his life.

“We like taking care of our women. You don’t let me help you, the other boys’ll make fun of me and then I’ll have to cry. Are you trying to make me cry, London?”

By the time I got to the end of Devil’s Game, I was totally on Team Picnic. I needed his book like yesterday. I so wanted him to find his love.

London is the cleaning lady who catches Picnic’s eye. She is busy raising her cousin’s special needs daughter and hasn’t had time for dating in six years. But when Picnic sets his eyes on her, she is caught. At first she tries to stay far from him, but the chemistry is undeniable and she’s sucked in. Honestly, I totally forgot they were older characters half the time. Some of the scenes were super saucy. But I loved them.

“Take something off, because otherwise I’m going to start ripping things.”

*fans face*

Exerpt:
I heard voices as I approached the door, which was open a crack. (The frame had swollen up last winter and never quite gone back to normal, so you really had to fight to close it all the way. It was sand- wiched on the repair list between fixing the car and replacing the oven.)

“Your cousin deserves better than this,” I heard Hayes saying, and I couldn’t help but smile. Glad someone noticed my efforts. “If she’s smart, she’ll kick you out.”

“She’ll never kick me out,” Jess declared, and her voice sounded a little smug. A little slurred, too . . . Had she been drinking? Probably. “She’d feel guilty. She’ll always take care of me because she has to—you don’t know shit about us.”

He snorted.

“You think she takes care of you out of guilt?” he asked. “Nope— she loves you, although I can’t quite decide why. You need to figure out what you want to do with your life, because you can’t just drain her dry forever. Sooner or later she’ll be done with you.”

His words sounded so close to my own thoughts it was almost creepy. It also made me feel guilty, because the statement was so cold and hard. Not to mention true.

“It’s none of your business.”

“London is my business, little girl,” he said, and his tone was anything but nice. “I have plans for her, and they don’t include her crying over your bullshit. Don’t piss me off.”

And right there is when I knew Picnic was going to be one of my favorite MC guys. I mean, c’mon, he’s a no nonsense, straight talker type of guy. If he wants you, you better just hold on for the ride.

We even catch a few glimpses of past characters and one of the main stories is quite sad. It totally broke my heart. This book also seems to set us up for a couple of future books as well. I am seriously addicted to these MC guys!! Bring on the next one!!

~Melpomene

Buy Reaper’s Stand (Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 4)

Get caught up with the rest of the guys.
Reaper’s Property (Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 1)

Reaper’s Legacy (Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 2)

Devil’s Game (Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 3)

Review: Apolonia, by Jamie McGuire

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01apolonia WHAT.A.RIDE. I was totally not expecting the amount of twists and turns that I experienced with this one. It’s not a surprise that I love Jamie McGuire. So when I received Apolonia, I stopped the book I was reading, and jumped right into this one.

Synopsis
Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one. Not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing, not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around, and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits on the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.

When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself submersed in a world that holds even more secrets than she could imagine–even darker secrets than her own.

Rory has survived these past two years, but just barely. She keeps to herself and tries to stay away from everyone. But for some reason Benji won’t stay away. He is, in fact, just like and puppy, and follows her and tries to befriend her. But Rory wants none of that. But he will not be detoured from his goal.

As an assistant to Dr Z. Rory is quite upset to find that there will now be another assistant that she must work along side with. While she feels drawn to Cyrus, she doesn’t trust him.

Slowly, she lets Benji get close to her, and soon she finds herself totally taken with him. She will always be wary of getting close to people, since what happened two years ago. But loving someone is the last thing she wants to do, and yet somehow he sneaks his way in.

When Cy gets taken, she realizes that what she’s known about the Dr, is all wrong. He is dabbling in things that she never would have thought possible. Her world is about to turn upside down, and she has no control over it.

I really enjoyed the many twists and turns in this book. Just when I thought I knew what was happening, another shocker happened and I was completely caught off guard. But I loved every moment of it!

Well done, Jamie!!!

~Melpomene

Buy Apolonia

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Review: Burying Water, by K.A. Tucker

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“And the truth pushed to the surface. Like water, buried.”

I have read, and loved, all of K.A.Tucker’s Ten Tiny Breaths series and was very curious as to how this one was going to be. From the very beginning, I was hooked. The prologue snagged me and made my nerves a wreck. I knew this was going to be good. I stayed up all night reading. I couldn’t put it down. Speechless. Sorry, I’m rambling. I’m just wowed. I wanted to read this so fast, but I knew I needed to savor it. But once I started it, I never put it down.

“Jane Doe” wakes up in a hospital room, with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She is battered and bruised from head to toe, but has no clue who would do this to her. But after staying months in the hospital, she no longer wants to remain a Jane Doe and decides upon Water, after the tattoo that she finds on her person.

After meeting a cranky old Ginny Fitzgerald, she is welcomed into her home for her recuperation. Water is hoping that with time her memory will return and things can go back to the way they were.

Jesse Welles, is trying to stay away from Water. Part of him doesn’t want her to remember who she is, but yet part of him does. He knows she’ll be happier and safer without those memories, but the more he comes around the better chance she will remember. So he tries to stay away, but that only lasts for so long.

The longer Water stays with Ginny, the more she is feeling comfortable. She finds a job, in the small town, and is slowly trying to piece together the flashes she sees. She is also drawn to the neighbor next door and feels a sense of recognition, and possibly trust.

I am lost and yet somehow found.
I am afraid and yet somehow comforted.
I am drifting and yet somehow…home.

This book made me all twisty as parts of Water started coming to the surface. I was devastated and my heart was racing like crazy. My emotions were all over the place. I can’t imagine waking up in a hospital, and having no memory of how you got there. I doubt I would handle it as well as Water did.

The characters were so welcoming and loving. Ginny was the best!! She was rough, but you knew there had to be a reason why. You just had to be patient. The entire Welles’ family was the perfect family to live next door to. They cared for her in the hospital, and continued to do so, even after she was released. being surrounded by such loving and caring people made her journey even more heartbreaking. But it was so worth it, in the end.

The truth is like water: it doesn’t matter how hard you try and bury it; it’ll always find some way back to the surface.

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Ms. Tucker has done it again. This was another devastatingly beautiful story that will bring tears to your eyes and pain to your heart. But there is beauty in that pain. Beauty that I wish I could relive again, for the first time. How she manages to do this to me over and over, I’ll never know, but I think you for doing it.

~Melpomene

Buy Burying Water: A Novel

Review: Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin

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Ann_MMartinWhenever I’m talking books with someone, there are a select few that I always feel the need to push. Wonder, Out of My Mind, Counting by 7s, The Book Thief…these are some of the ones I label as “Oh my gosh, you have got to read this one!” This newest book from Ann M. Martin makes that elite list.

Meet Rose, a young girl who’s just a little bit different. On the high end of the autism scale, she’s also obsessed with many different things-prime numbers, following the rules, and above all else, homonyms. She even keeps an ongoing list of homonyms she discovers. Needless to say, these are things that don’t exactly endear her to her classmates. While the ostracizing never quite reaches the level found in some other books of this genre, it’s still enough to make her feel like an outcast. She’s also dealing with the disappearance of her mother as well as life with a dad who borders on being verbally abusive and neglectful. One of the few bright spots in Rose’s life is her Uncle Walden who tries to act as a buffer between Rose and her dad.

And then, of course, there’s Rain. She’s Rose’s constant companion, her confidant, the soft spot in an otherwise sharp-edged world. She provides comfort and much needed stability to Rose. No matter how loud-bright-harsh the outside world is, Rain is there to soothe her. But when Rain is lost during a storm and then miraculously found, Rose’s strict adherence to “the rules” force her to make a very tough decision.

Rose is a character who will break your heart while at the same time giving you hope. She’s honest and straight forward while at the same time seemingly immune to what others think of her. The story evokes such emotion from the reader. Sadness for Rose, concern for Rain, and finally admiration for Rose and the challenges and decisions she faces. Ann M. Martin has written a winner with this one. Likely most well-know for her Babysitter’s Club series from many years back, this one puts her into a whole new category for me. While fans of that series will definitely appreciate this story as well, it’s in an entirely different league, destined to go down as one of those books that most, if not all, young people are familiar with. Five plus stars for me!

~Thalia

Buy it Now: Rain Reign

Review: Becoming Calder and Finding Eden, by Mia Sheridan

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When Mia Sheridan first announced she was writing a new book, I was thrilled. When she started writing, she told us that there was so much to say and she would be writing two books and releasing them simultaneously. I couldn’t be happier. Not only were we getting another book, but we were getting TWO! After reading Archer’s Voice, I didn’t think she would be able to come close to Archer, but, boy was I wrong. This is another of those books that I wanna yell, “Just read it!!”

It is so hard to put to words how I am feeling after reading these books. I have never read books like this. The subject matter alone, makes this even more tragic and beautiful. How love can blossom in a time of such destruction and deceit, I will never know.

Synopsis
There is a place in modern day America with no electricity, no plumbing, and no modern conveniences. In this place, there is no room for dreams, no space for self-expression, and no tolerance for ambition.

In this place, there is a boy with the body of a god and the heart of a warrior. He is strong and faithful and serves his family honorably. But he dares to dream of more.

In this place, there is a girl with the face of an angel and a heart full of courage. To her family, she is the vision of obedient perfection. But she dares to want that which she has been told can never be hers.

Eden is brought to Acadia as a little girl, to save them. She is the chosen one. The one the prophecy told of. Calder is the water bearer and one of the many people she will save. As children, their connection was almost instant, but it wouldn’t be allowed to blossom, because she was to be the wife of the “Father” and no one was going to get in his way.

As the years go by, the connection between Calder and Eden is stronger than ever. Eden has been kept away from the other children, but they find times to sneak off and be together and learn more about each other. What starts off as innocent friendship, grows into a fierce love that no man can even think of separating.

“Eden, I vow this. My heart is yours. My life is yours. My body is yours. My art, my dreams. You own each and every part of me.”

I was in a constant state of angst. I was lost in the romance. I was devastated in the crushed dreams. I was downright destroyed at the loss. I was hopeful in the future.

No matter the years or the miles, true love will always finds it’s way.

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This silly, kid-like, review hasn’t even touched 1% of these book’s force. Just go and buy them and you’ll know why I struggled with all the emotions that are running through me. Sometime’s putting words to overwhelming feelings is so much harder than you think.

~Melpomene

Becoming Calder and Finding Eden will both be released on October 5th. Calder is up for pre order now. Finding Eden will be available on release day.

Review: Mr. Miracle by Debbie Macomber

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This is the perfect book to give to a sweet relative – for Christmas or a birthday or just because. Mr. Miracle is charming, easy to read, and a little bit hokey. Macomber gives us Christmas lights and a new outlook, after showing how Addie and Erich dug themselves into darkness.

The book is straightforward – no unexpected twists at the end – and direct in its message and moral. What makes Mr. Miracle stand out is its parallels with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Addie sees how she and others CAN change and grow.

A beautiful and subtle theme in Mr. Miracle is the idea that although you can’t change someone else (Addie! You can’t change Erich), you can change yourself. And when you change yourself, you change the dynamic you have with others. Sometimes that’s enough to spur another person to change, or to make you realize the other person is just fine as they are.

-calliope

buy MR. MIRACLE

Review: Shame, by Rachel Van Dyken

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“Follow your destiny and know that each step you take will be another footprint in the snow, but make the footprints strong. You want them to lead somewhere. You want the footsteps to have meaning.”

Rachel, Rachel, Rachel!!!! What are you doing to me?!?! The last few books, by Rachel, have left me feeling so emotionally drained and still totally satisfied. This book is most definitely no exception. Another emotionally charged, angst filled, leave-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat kinda book. Right off the bat, I knew it was going to kill me. I was in a constant state of nervousness. The suspense had me reaching for my chill pills. I had no idea where this book was going to take me. Whew!!

Lisa has a past that she is so ashamed of. She has tried to keep it secret. Only a few of her closest friends knew, and they didn’t even know the full story.

Synopsis

Everything done in darkness, will eventually be brought into the light.

I ran, but all it did was keep me one step ahead of my past. I tried to start over; new name, new identity. But you can’t change your soul.
A fresh start at college was just what I needed. For a while, it worked. I was the party girl, the one that seemed confident, but it was a lie.
When guys kissed me–I felt only pain.
When they touched me–Nothing but fear.

Deep inside, every girl wants to be the beauty in the story, to find someone that will see you as their world.
But the truth? I was the beast. And as much as I wanted redemption, I wasn’t fool enough to think I’d ever get it.
Until he walked into my life.

I wasn’t prepared to fall for someone. My scars were too deep, the wounds too raw. But he offered me peace, he offered me security. I should have known it was just another lie–I should have known that falling in love with my professor was a bad idea.
But I was powerless to stop myself from falling.
And he was powerless to catch me.

Because the darkness finally caught up to me, and as fate would have it, a cruel twist almost bled me dry. But I’m stronger than I knew. I’m stronger than you think.
You think you know my story, but you don’t….after all everyone has Shame in their lives– and I’m no longer afraid to show you mine.

The title of this book is so aptly named. Shame is what Lisa lives with every day. She has done things, in her past, that she can’t change, but she is trying to move on from it. But her past isn’t letting her go so easily. No matter what she does, it won’t let her go.

Tristan is on a mission. He is searching for the truth. But what he finds, is not what he expected. When he meets Lisa he is completely transfixed. But he knows he should stay away, but there’s something about her that pulls him in. But his own secrets keep him from opening up completely.

“It won’t be easy,” I whispered. “Letting you in.”
“It won’t be easy,” She repeated. “Keeping you out.”

Watching these two tiptoe around each other, had the angst level rising. It was like a roller coaster of emotions, for these two. You wanted to root for them, but you knew that when the secrets were told, no one would be left unharmed.

“She could be my poison, and I’d drink from her cup, embracing sweet death if only for another taste.”

Now this book may seem like your typical NA, angst filled book, but I assure you, it isn’t. Right from the very beginning you’ll realize this. Shame deals with emotional bullying and domestic violence that is done in the best way possible. It will leave you reeling, however, I am so glad Rachel wrote about this. This is a subject that is hard to read about, but it does happen more often than we realize. I, for one, am so very glad she wrote about this. Very eye opening.

~Melpomene

Shame (Ruin Series Book 3) will be only 99 cents for the first week of sales, then it jumps up to the regular price of $2.99. So be sure to grab it now!!