Author: cvegnad

July 16, 2020

A Sweet Mess Book Review

A baker and a food critic – one bad review, lots of chemistry and a cooking show. What could go wrong?

About A Sweet Mess

Aubrey Choi has been content running her highly successful bakery Comfort Zone and with its first expansion taking up all of her time, dating has been the least of her priorities. Then a one-night-stand with gorgeous Korean hunk Landon Kim makes her want things she didn’t think she had time for. Too bad it turns out he’s a celebrity food critic whose scathing review of Comfort Zone goes viral and nearly destroys Aubrey’s business—and her fond memory of their night together.

Landon tries to clean up the mess he made by offering Aubrey a spot on the new celebrity cooking show he’s producing. She agrees to use this as a way to save her bakery and her reputation—no thanks to him—but vows to guard her heart. Now Aubrey and Landon find themselves sharing a villa in California wine country, which is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. For the next three weeks, baker and critic will tempt each other as they struggle to resist admitting that they have all the necessary ingredients for love.

My Thoughts

A Sweet Mess was fun, sweet, made me laugh and was a great read from start to finish.

We have Aubrey, the people pleaser, who owns her own bakery and is proud of all that she has accomplished. She has not always had it easy with her family life, but she is a determined young woman who has set out to prove that she can make it in the world. She definitely has done a great job! Her community loves her baking and she has even decided to expand her business into a bigger space (not an easy task for any young person). But all of this spirals out of control when she meets a handsome young man, has a one night stand and then he leaves an awful review of her bakery! Did I mention, he was a famous food critic?? His review has the potential to destroy her business and we can almost immediately see the impact it has.

Everything that Aubrey has worked so hard for with her business could now come crashing down around her, and she will not sit back and let this happen . When Landon realizes his mistake, he tries to make it up to her and the pair start down a very interesting path that involves wine country, a stay together at a beautiful home and a live appearance on a baking show (can’t give away too much but it was good!).

The plot was fantastic – full of humour, it was sexy (these two have such a strong connection), but also focuses on some difficult topics (it is done in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed). These two had a rough start despite their attraction towards each other, and they would make a perfect couple from what we can see on the outside but can they make it through the drama that surrounds them?

A Sweet Mess is a fun read that is perfect for the summer months, that you can enjoy on the beach or in the backyard by the pool.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

JAYCI LEE writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance every free second she can scavenge and is semi-retired from her fifteen-year career as a defense litigator. She loves food, wine, and travelling, and incidentally so do her characters. Jayci lives in sunny California with her tall-dark-and-handsome husband, two amazing boys with boundless energy, and a fluffy rescue whose cuteness is a major distraction.

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

July 14, 2020

The Takeaway Men

Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.

About The Takeaway Men

With the cloud of the Holocaust still looming over them, twin sisters Bronka and Johanna Lubinski and their parents arrive in the US from a Displaced Persons Camp. In the years after World War II, they experience the difficulties of adjusting to American culture as well as the burgeoning fear of the Cold War. Years later, the discovery of a former Nazi hiding in their community brings the Holocaust out of the shadows. As the girls get older, they start to wonder about their parents’ pasts, and they begin to demand answers. But it soon becomes clear that those memories will be more difficult and painful to uncover than they could have anticipated. Poignant and haunting, The Takeaway Men explores the impact of immigration, identity, prejudice, secrets, and lies on parents and children in mid-twentieth-century America.

My Thoughts

The Takeaway Men is a powerful novel following a family that has immigrated to the US after the horrors of WWII. We learn about the horrors of WWII, the affect on families both during and post WWII and the stressors of adjusting to a new culture and country.

Aron and Judy have an incredibly past – Judy was not born Jewish but fell in love with Aron and did everything she could to protect him from the Nazis. With Judy’s help, Aron escapes the Holocaust but loses so much including his immediate family. The two marry and give birth to twin girls in one of the camps in Europe before they leave for the US (such a blessing of life!). Both see the birth of the girls as a blessing and they know that they will do anything to protect their girls.

When the family moves to the US, they are met with a bit of a culture shock. Aron struggles with his own history and religion is followed differently in the US, something he is not used to. Judy has her own struggles as she was not born Jewish and is worried that people will find out and shun her and her daughters. She also hides her own family history, embarrassed and worried that this would change the way people think about her. The twin girls want nothing more than to fit in with their peers but they notice the difference – their clothes are different, their Father speaks with a thick accent and their peers tease them. Their parents have done everything they could to hide the war from them and what happened during the Holocaust, but they did so at the expense of not telling them anything about their family, the lives that were lost and their own experiences that have caused them trauma.

I very much enjoyed this novel, I cried and I laughed. My heart went out to these parents who wanted nothing but a fresh start for their girls but inadvertently cause a new set of problems. We also learn about the other characters in their lives, who have their own struggles post WWII. Each character has their own way of dealing with the past, denial, talking about it, hiding it, etc. It was a truly beautiful story of hope, love, and pushing forward that I could not put down.

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

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Meryl Ain’s articles and essays have appeared in Huffington Post, The New York Jewish Week, The New York Times, Newsday and other publications. The Takeaway Men is her debut novel. In 2014, she co-authored the award-winning book, The Living Memories Project: Legacies That Last, and in 2016, wrote a companion workbook, My Living Memories Project Journal. She is a sought-after speaker and has been interviewed on television, radio, and podcasts. She is a career educator and is proud to be both a teacher and student of history. She has also worked as a school administrator. The Takeaway Men is the result of her life-long quest to learn more about the Holocaust, a thirst that was first triggered by reading The Diary of Anne Frank in the sixth grade. While teaching high school history, she introduced her students to the study of the Holocaust. At the same time, she also developed an enduring fascination with teaching about and researching the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg case. An interview with Robert Meeropol, the younger son of the Rosenbergs, is featured in her book, The Living Memories Project. The book also includes an interview with Holocaust survivor, Boris Chartan, the founder of the Holocaust Museum and Tolerance Center of Nassau County, New York. Meryl holds a BA from Queens College, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and an Ed.D. from Hofstra University. She lives in New York with her husband, Stewart. They have three married sons and six grandchildren.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

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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.

July 13, 2020

Folly at the Fair Book Review

She never misses a target. But unless she can solve this murder, she’ll become one.

About Folley at the Fair

She never misses a target. But unless she can solve this murder, she’ll become one… Chicago World’s Fair, 1893. “Little Sure Shot” Annie Oakley is exhausted from her work with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. But when a fellow performer scuffles with a man who threatens her harm, she has to keep her eyes peeled. And when the heckler is found dead under the Ferris Wheel, Annie won’t rest until she proves her defender is innocent. Before she can rustle up any clues, an old friend asks Annie to protect her young daughter. And as more bodies turn up around the grounds, she’s going to need all her sharpshooting skills just to stay alive. Can Annie live up to her reputation and put a bullseye on the killer? Folly at the Fair is the third book in the Annie Oakley Mystery historical fiction series. If you like strong heroines, Wild West adventures, and suspenseful twists and turns, then you’ll love Kari Bovee’s fast-paced whodunit.

My Thoughts

Growing up I loved hearing about Annie Oakley and her sharpshooting skills. She was strong, independent and a great role model for young girls. I was so excited to dive into this novel and it did not disappoint.

Annie is exhausted from her schedule at the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show but when dead bodies start popping up, she knows she cannot sit by idly. The investigation becomes personal when she is in a scuffle and her friend and fellow performer comes to her rescue. This same man later turns up dead and Annie has to prove her friends innocence. Throw in a friend from her childhood, a child and a new act that may be interested in more than just the show and you have a wild, thrilling ride.

The plot was fast paced and exciting, I could not put the novel down. The plot is intricate with a piece of Annie’s past woven in but you never feel lost as the plot unravels at a good pace. I thought I knew who was behind the murders but I was quite surprised at the end (I love when this happens!). We also get a great look into Annie’s life on the road with the Wild West show, her exhaustion, stress but the exhilaration of performing. While Annie is the focus in the novel, we also learn a lot about her husband, her childhood friend, close friend and how this has made her into the person she is.

This is an exciting ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat as Annie both performs and works to solve a string of mysterious deaths. A definite must read novel – I can’t wait to read the other novels in this series.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

When she’s not on a horse, or walking along the beautiful cottonwood-laden acequias of Corrales, New Mexico; or basking on white sand beaches under the Big Island Hawaiian sun, Kari Bovee is escaping into the past—scheming murder and mayhem for her characters both real and imagined, and helping them to find order in the chaos of her action-packed novels. Empowered women in history, horses, unconventional characters, and real-life historical events fill the pages of Kari Bovée’s articles and historical mystery musings and manuscripts. An award-winning author, Bovée was honored with the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards Hillerman Award for Southwestern Fiction for her novel Girl with a Gun. The novel also received First Place in the 2019 NM/AZ Book Awards in the Mystery/Crime category, and is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards, as well as the Next Generation Indie Awards. Her novel Grace in the Wings is a Finalist for the 2019 International Chanticleer Chatelaine Awards and the International Chanticleer Goethe Awards. Her novel Peccadillo at the Palace is a Finalist in the 2019 International Chanticleer Murder & Mayhem Awards and the 2019 International Goethe Awards, as well as a Finalist in the 2019 Best Book Awards Historical Fiction category. Bovée has worked as a technical writer for a Fortune 500 Company, has written non-fiction for magazines and newsletters, and has worked in the education field as a teacher and educational consultant. She and her husband, Kevin, spend their time between their horse property in the beautiful Land of Enchantment, New Mexico, and their condo on the sunny shores of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

You can connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

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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.

July 9, 2020

Animal Antics Book Review

We all love animals – the silly, funny and crazy ways they behave, eat, and play!

About Animal Antics

Kids love animals – they love the silly, funny and crazy ways they behave, eat, and play. Animal Antics is full of fascinating facts that takes a look at the engaging, informative, humorous and intriguing aspects of animal behavior including why blue-footed boobies like to dance, why a goose whiffles, or why penguins like to steal food.Using a selection of funny animal pictures from swinging pandas to ninja lizards to weightlifting ants and back-scratching monkeys to frolicking frogs and giraffes doing splits, the reasons behind what these animals do are explained in accompanying, bite-sized informative text that helps young readers understand why animals behave the way they do.

With a collection of photography guaranteed to make children laugh out loud, kids will go wild for Animal Antics.

Our Thoughts

We love animals in our home – our two dogs leave us laughing, hearts warm with the love they give and keep us on our toes. We couldn’t wait to dive into this hard cover book after reading the book description to learn about the funny side of animals.

This beautiful letter size, hard cover book features one to two animals for every two page spread. The photographs of each animal are stunning and wonderfully capture their humour and personalities (my favourite images were of the elephant seal, red eyed tree frog, brown bear and jaguar). Each animal also has roughly a paragraph to two dedicated to them. The paragraph explains their quirks and what makes them so unique. We loved learning about the animals – we learned so many new facts. Who knew that a guinea pig’s front teeth never stop growing or that polar bears use snow to dry off after they have been in the water! Neat right?

Animal Antics would make a perfect gift for the animal fan in your life – the one that loves learning fun, new facts that will make them laugh and encourage them to discover more. The amazing photographs help bring to life the funny personality of each animal, they are stunning and just adorable (you just want to pick those animals up and cuddle them!). We loved Animal Antics and couldn’t wait to share all we learned with family.

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.

July 7, 2020

Above the Star Book Review

The 8th Island Trilogy includes Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun. Over the three books, we follow the adventures of a quirky family, the Wellsleys. The main characters are frumpy senior citizen Archie, his daughter-in-law, Tessa, and his ill fourteen-year-old granddaughter Ella.

About Above the Star

When frumpy senior citizen Archie goes in search of his missing son in the Spanish Canary Islands, he stumbles upon a higher mission: locating a magical cure for his ailing fourteen-year-old granddaughter, Ella. Using a portal-jumping device called the Tillastrion, Archie and a stone-headed creature named Zeno are transported to Jarr-Wya, a magnificent yet terrifying island in a connected realm―along with Ella and her strong-willed mother, Tessa, who accidentally stow away on this not-so-secret quest.

What they find on Jarr-Wya is an island tortured by a wicked Star anchored in the sea, and a raging three-way battle for dominion between the stone-wielding Bangols, the fiery Olearons, and the evil Millia sands. Ella’s wit and resourcefulness emerge in this new world, while Tessa is forced to confront her long-buried secrets and a confusing new love triangle. When Ella is captured, Tessa and Archie―with the help of a company of peculiar allies―set out to save her and unravel the terrible mystery of her cure. A mesmerizing, stay-up-all-night adventure of three unlikely heroes, Above the Star reminds us that even the smallest act of bravery can transform our lives and the fates of the worlds around us.

My Thoughts

In this novel we are introduced to quite a few key characters in this series and an amazing magical world that is facing a crisis that could destroy the world as they know it.

At the heart of the story is a family that is struggling through their daughter’s diagnosis (and potential death), a father who has disappeared and a grandfather who is quirky. Archie (grandfather) is determined to find his son and find a cure to save his granddaughter. He follows a magical trail that takes himself, his daughter in law and sick grandchild on a cruise and mysterious clues tracking his son. Nothing could have prepared him or any one on that cruise for the horrors and mystery that awaits them when they are all accidentally transported to a new world.

When the ship is transported to a brand new world, they are met with violence and death which threw me a bit (I wasn’t expecting this at all!). Alexis draws us into this new world with brilliant descriptions of the people and land, I could easily bring the characters to life in my own mind. It is a beautiful but terrifying reality that they live in.

I loved the characters, they are real, with flaws that we can all relate to and struggle with parenting, making decisions and coming to terms with illness. You can’t help but adore Ella, who is smart, full of spunk and is a fighter. She is a young girl caught between wanting to enjoy her youth and knowing that she is so unwell. She struggles with her relationship at times with her Mother but loves her family more than anything in the world. Her family is doing everything they can to fight for Ella, keep themselves together, and picking up the pieces after her Father disappears. Throw in some magical creatures, mysterious civilization, a world that is falling apart and at war – you have quite the tale!

This is an excellent novel for readers of all ages, there is something for everyone, adventure, science fiction, mystery and more. It is well written with well developed characters that you just can’t help but love. It is a definite must read!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, Target, Book Depository and Google Play.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Alexis Marie Chute is an award-winning author, artist, photographer, art curator, filmmaker, and public speaker. She has received over 40 noteworthy distinctions for her visual and literary work. Her award-winning fantasy series The 8th Island Trilogy includes, Above the Star, Below the Moon, and Inside the Sun. The series has been described as “A WRINKLE IN TIME meets THE PRINCESS BRIDE” by The Perpetual You magazine, and “Fast and bizarre… never a dull moment” by Forward Reviews. The 8th Island Trilogy “weaves STAR WARS-like characters with a WONDER-like message to form an enrapturing read for blooklovers of all ages” – US Review of Books. Chute’s bestselling memoir, Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing and Pregnancy After Loss, was a top Kirkus title of 2017 and received a plethora of other literary distinctions. The memoir was accompanied by the feature documentary of the same name, which has screened internationally for the last three years. Chute received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Design from the University of Alberta, Canada, and studied at Media Design school in Auckland, New Zealand. She graduated valedictorian with her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, USA. Chute is a highly regarded public speaker. She has presented on art, writing, bereavement, and the healing capacities of creativity around the world. Contact the Author/Artist for bookings [email protected] When not in her art/photo studio or at her computer, Chute loves to spend quality time with her family, read fiction and non-fiction, watch reality TV, paddleboard, and canoe. She is not a winter person but lives in frosty Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with her husband and their three living children.

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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.