Author: cvegnad

June 13, 2019

Butterflies and Second Chances

About Butterflies and Second Chances

The world Annette Hines knew exploded when her infant daughter Elizabeth was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease–a degenerative, life-limiting illness. Annette’s joy quickly turned to apprehension and she knew nothing would ever be the same again.

Butterflies and Second Chances is the inspiring true story of a mother’s special needs journey, and her struggle to secure the best possible life for her child in the face of bureaucratic resistance and marital crisis. It is a story of sacrifice, dedication, and the life-altering adjustments a special needs parent has to make when confronted with the unthinkable. But most of all, it’s about love and an extraordinary mother-daughter relationship that flourished without words in the darkest shadows of adversity.

Annette and Elizabeth’s powerful story provides hope, solace, and a path forward for parents of special needs children, and it will resonate with families everywhere.

My Thoughts

I have to disclose that I am not the parent of a special needs child but there was something about the book description that really touched me. I had to read this book but I could not quite put my finger on it.

Parenting is hard – we struggle as parents, we have to be an advocate for our child’s health and education, we hurt at their pain and all we want to do is see them happy and healthy. Having had four miscarriages before I became pregnant with my second son, it was a constant battle of fear that I would lose him and that something would go wrong. He was born healthy but has his own health conditions, with food and seasonal allergies, eczema and asthma, we spent a lot of the time at the doctors office. This felt like a non stop upwards battle everywhere we turned, but I can’t even put into words the struggles that Annette went through. I find it hard enough to have someone listen to me about my son’s breathing and allergies – I can’t even begin to imagine myself in her shoes fighting to have someone listen to her concerns and what she felt was right for her daughter or the diagnosis for her.

Her story is beautiful, honest, raw and painful at times. I found myself crying throughout various stages in the story and at other times my heart full of joy for the kindness others can show. Annette shares the good, the bad and the ugly in an honest open manner. You feel like it is a conversation rather than a book and I loved this.

Mother, daughter and sister are fighters and their story is powerful and so very important for everyone to read. We need to understand the emotions, the difficulties but also the beauty that is raising a child with a disability. We as a society need to learn to show compassion and understanding to others – we may never be in their shoes but we can learn to help them. She offers such simple solutions – like going to the parent, preparing paperwork to make their life just a little bit easier. Simple things that others take for granted.

This is a beautiful, raw story of the love between a parent and their child. They fought a courageous battle and I felt so sorry for their loss. I could not put this story done – it is beautifully written and perfect for all adults and even young adults.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Annette Hines is a founding partner of the Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts. She brings personal experience to her practice as the mother of two daughters, one of whom passed away from mitochondrial disease in 2013. This deep, personal understanding of special needs fuels her passion for quality special needs planning and advocacy and drives her dedication to the practice. Recognized as a Distinguished Citizen by ARC Massachusetts and cited for public service by both the Massachusetts State Senate and House of Representatives, Ms. Hines works tirelessly on behalf of people with disabilities.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 11, 2019

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue

With vibrant illustrations and a glossy tactile finish, this sturdy board book introduces babies and toddlers to a kaleidoscope of colours and the rhythm of changing seasons on the West Coast.

About Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue

Sockeye Silver, Saltchuck Blue follows the shifting spectrum of the Pacific Northwest including the quiet grey rain of winter, the verdant growth of spring, the jewel red tones of tart summer huckleberries and the shimmering scales of a spawning sockeye salmon as it turns from silver to red in fall. Like Hello Humpback! and One Eagle Soaring, this board book will be sure to enthrall the very youngest readers while introducing the delights of the natural world.

Our Thoughts

This is a beautiful, stunning work of art that you will just treasure.

You have bright, bold colours with great contrast which is perfect for young readers but that adults can appreciate too. The imagery is simple but full of expression and meaning at the same time. We are taken on a journey through the Northwest as we discover its seasons and wildlife. We experience the bright, warmth and the chillier side of all that the Northwest has to offer.

The words are simple which is perfectly suited to the imagery of the book. It really helps to drive home the perfectness and simplicity of nature – we can truly appreciate the beauty of the land. Make sure you run your hands across each page, as some of the images are raised. This should bring some delight to young readers who love to also touch and feel as they read along.

This book will make a perfect gift and addition into a child’s library which will be cherished for years to come.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Roy Henry Vickers is a renowned carver, painter and printmaker. He is the co-author of Harbour Publishing’s popular children’s Northwest Coast Legends series, all of which were shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award: Raven Brings the Light in 2014, Cloudwalker in 2015, Orca Chief in 2016 and Peace Dancer in 2017. He lives in Hazelton, BC.

Robert (Lucky) Budd is the co-author of the Northwest Coast Legends series and the author of Voices of British Columbia (Douglas & McIntyre, 2010), which was shortlisted for the 2011 Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award, and its sequel, Echoes of British Columbia (Harbour Publishing, 2014), which won second prize in the BC Historical Federation’s writing competition in 2014. He lives in Victoria, BC.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 11, 2019

Knowledge Genius

Open the pages of Knowledge Genius to find out what you know, and challenge yourself to learn even more!

About Knowledge Genius

A fun general knowledge quiz book for kids – test their brain and see who will be crowned a genius!

Children won’t be able to resist the Knowledge Genius brain-busting challenge. For every topic, pages are packed with eye-popping pictures – but do you know what they show? To help you, “Test Yourself” panels list what you’re looking for. With three levels of difficulty, the challenge gets harder as you work your way from Starter, to Challenger, and finally the truly tricky Genius category. If you need it, there’s a fun fact with every picture to give a helpful clue.

With more than 60 topics, from across the encyclopedia, there’s something for everyone. Can you name the most famous rivers worldwide? Do you know your cranium from your clavicle, or do you need to bone up on the parts of the human skeleton? Are you a demon on dinosaurs, and able to spot the difference between an archaeopteryx and an allosaurus? Perhaps you’re a brain box and can do all of this standing on your head? You can!

Our Thoughts

This amazing hard cover book was so much fun learning both together and on my own (I say on my own because I wanted to cheat a bit and study before we quizzed each other the second time!).

In order to use this book, you start off each chapter with learning about the basics of that chapters (chapters include: space, nature, geography, history and culture). Then comes the harder parts, you need to challenge yourself by looking at the test yourself section and then the quizzes. Each page has helpful pictures and clues to help guide you to your answer, along with increasingly difficult questions. You can find the answers at the bottom of each page upside down. Each chapter starts with its own picture quiz, which I didn’t realize at first!

This is an excellent learning tool and activity to play together as a family and especially for those little ones who may not be always so keen on reading by themselves. They will truly enjoy the challenge of answering the questions, reading the clues and looking at the pictures. You definitely don’t have to do the whole chapter at a time – you don’t even have to go in order. The learning should be fun – I started with History which I love (and knew I could beat those kids with!!) but they loved the nature section. This will become a true family favourite in all homes.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Indigo.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

June 11, 2019

The Perfect Date

Is this the real deal—or are some love stories just too good to be true?

About The Perfect Date

When a single mom ends up playing an unwilling fake girlfriend to a charming playboy baseball player, love suddenly turns everything upside down in this fun, heartwarming multicultural romance.

Angel Gomez has never lived by the book. A Bronx-based unwed mother by the time she was sixteen, Angel’s personal mission has always been to show the world that a Puerto Rican girl is not to be messed with—especially by a man. The only thing that matters to Angel, now, is providing for her son and earning enough tips at the club to complete her nursing degree along the way. Love is nowhere on her agenda.

Caleb “The Duke” Lewis is a star pitcher for the Bronx Bolts whose romantic escapades make delicious fodder for gossip columns. But lately he’s been trying to keep a lower profile—so much so that when he meets Angel, first while she’s in her nurse uniform and the next time behind the bar, she has no idea who Duke is, fails to fall for his obvious charm, and ends up throwing a drink in his face! She is the perfect woman for Duke…to fool the tabloids into thinking he’s finally settling down. But what begins as a charade soon has Duke and Angel hurtling into a full-blown romance that rocks each of their worlds and begs the question: Is this the real deal—or are some love stories just too good to be true?

My Thoughts

This was an interesting romance novel with a lot of drama!

Our main character, Angel, has not had an easy life. She lost her family, had a child at the age of sixteen, works her way through nursing school and always puts the needs of her child ahead of her own. You almost wonder when her break is coming. She is surrounded by some awful men both at work and in her practicum but she never lets this get her down. She has a fierce spirit and is determined to not let any man or life get her down.

Caleb, The Duke, was not someone I was a huge fan. He seems to have let fame get to him or perhaps even his own childhood and life experiences have jaded him. He doesn’t trust, he surrounds himself with poor examples of friends and while he seems to truly care for Angel – he has a hard time showing it.

Their relationship is rocky at best through the novel – they fight, they separate and there is a lot of drama. You want Caleb to pull those big boy pants on and you want Angel to be firm with him. You may want to scream and give them both a shake at times.

The ending of this novel was too perfect for words and I was happy with the growth and development of our characters. They both were able to overcome their difficulties and start a future together. It was a light read, full of drama but with a happy ending.

You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Rating: 3.5/5

About the Author

EVELYN LOZADA, is a high-profile American-Latina reality television personality, entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. She is best known for her role on VH1’s hit series Basketball Wives (2010-present), OWN’s hit series Livin’ Lozada (2015), author of the first installment of the book series: The Wives Association: Inner Circle (2012) and creator of Healthy Boricua (A Puerto Rican Lifestyle Guide to Healthy Living). Evelyn has become a national trendsetter, a “go to” fitness export, jewelry designer, fashion and beauty maven, social media royalty and a stimulating voice and proactive supporter of causes that effect women and girls through the Evelyn Lozada Foundation. Evelyn is a Bronx native, mother of two (Shaniece Hairston and Carl Leo Crawford) that currently resides in Los Angeles.

Holly Lörincz is a successful collaborative writer and owner of Lorincz Literary Services. She is an award-winning novelist (Smart Mouth, The Everything Girl) and co-author (best-selling Crown Heights, and How to Survive a Day in Prison) living in Oregon.

June 3, 2019

Burton Blake Book Review

About Burton Blake

In this sequel to the well-received The Revolutionist, the American journey of three generations locks the neophyte company president, Burton Blake, in a vicious struggle with corporate intrigue, financial greed, and social corruption. Born to a taxi dancer at the beginning of the Second World War, Burton’s father, Elias Blake, never knows his natural father, who is killed in the South Pacific. He is raised by his mother and stepfather from her second marriage who makes his fortune during the post war real estate boom of the 50’s. Their untimely death by his business partner leaves the boy Elias in the guardianship of his mother’s best friend and her marine vet husband who introduces him to the macho culture of guns and hunting.

Elias’s youth is influenced by the adult world’s drive for personal material gain. Over the next decades, he expands his parents’ original real estate empire into the diversified multi-divisional, multi-national corporation that he leaves to his son, Burton. Upon his forced return from traveling and working with oppressed third world people, Burton learns increasingly more about the true nature of his deceased father as he undertakes the challenges of leading the company in a new direction.

My Thoughts

This is a well written journey through three generations of a family as they struggle with building a dynasty, greed and corruption.

Elias Blake never knows his real father, who was killed during the Second World War. He is raised by his mother and stepfather, a man who is consumed with wealth. His stepfather earns his wealth in real estate but he is never really shown as a kind, caring figure which is something Elias really needed. When the only parents he has ever known die in a car accident, his whole life is turned upside down. It is the influence from his youth (wealth, greed, power and the drive to always have more) that creates his future. My heart was sore for him, as he never really knew any different, it was only in his last moments that he truly understood the impact of his life on others.

He turns the real estate business into a dynasty of wealth and expands the divisions. While business is booming for him, he can’t escape the greed and envy of others. When he leaves everything to his son, Burton, we begin to uncover a new side of Elias and a web of secrets, murder and corruption in his business.

Burton had turned his back on his father and that life years ago, instead he chooses to focus on humanitarian rights. He does not want anything to do with the corruption of the business world but unfortunately he is caught right in the middle of it. The story really takes off here and we uncover new plots and revisit events of the past. We are witness to murder, lies, greed and corruption. Can Burton resist temptation? Can he right past wrongs? Will he even be able to stay alive??

This is a well written novel that pulls you in slowly and keeps you guessing through every turn of the page. I loved how the past and present were intertwined and even in the darkest moments, you can see a glimmer of hope for good to come out on top.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Robert is published by Tell-Tale Publishing Group LLC / Wise Words Publishing under a multi-book contract. The author of four previous earlier novels, Robert infuses his books with unique dynamic stories and characters that portray social and cultural conflicts of their time. His career encompasses many years as a business consultant that have given him access to a wide range of organizations and an appreciation for people in all areas of society. His life experience is reflected in the literary quality of his work. Born and raised in the Middle-West, he has traveled throughout the United States and abroad.

Now retired, he resides with his wife in Southern California where he devotes full-time to writing. Robert is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Masters Degree in Communications at the University of California, Los Angeles where he received the Samuel Goldwyn and Donald Davis Literary Awards.

An affinity for family and the astute observation of generational interaction pervade his novels. His works are literary and genre upmarket fiction that address the nature and importance of personal integrity.

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.