Where The Heart Is is a remarkable story featuring an unforgettable cast of islanders and is a page-turning wartime adventure full of tension, secrets, heartbreak and joy.
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About Where The Heart Is
It is 1916, the world is at war and the only trans-Atlantic communications link between Great Britain and North America is a lone cable station that sits in Heart’s Content, Newfoundland, an isolated Newfoundland coastal village.
An American undercover agent, Linton Colt-Lodge, arrives in Heart’s Content to find out how sensitive information targeting British and American supply convoys is leaking to the enemy from the cable station. Linton finds an unlikely ally in Frankie George, a cantankerous and mysterious local woman. As Frankie and Linton join forces, their lives change forever.
My Thoughts
This was an incredible story from start to finish, I literally could not put it down (no easy task with a six month old at home!). I typically really enjoy reading novels set in this time period, and Mary did not disappoint in how she captured the spirit, and pain of the time period, but also the strength, courage, and resilience of the female characters in this difficult period.
Frankie is an incredibly strong and resilient young woman, who by no fault of her own, has been cast away by society. Her character is what had me hooked. She has so many strengths, knowledge and skills but because of her gender and her past, they are looked down upon (until society is forced to acknowledge that they need her skills despite her gender and past). The story peels away slowly at Frankie’s past and we get a glimpse of a beautiful soul, sacrificing her own wants and needs to ensure her sisters are well provided for. No matter what is thrown her way, she stands strong in the storm, ready and willing to do anything to ensure that her family is taken care of.
The way that Linton and Frankie come together to uncover who is sharing secrets with the Germans made me smile. I really liked how their relationship evolves, there is no overbearing romance that takes away from the story but you can definitely feel the bonds forming between the two. I have to admit, I did not see the case they were working on turning out the way it did (the guilty parties!). The story kept you on your toes at all times trying to determine who it is that would share such sensitive information with the enemies.
This novel is a must read, that does not disappoint! You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
MARY C. SHEPPARD was born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. She worked as a journalist for more than thirty years, first at Maclean’s Magazine and then at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a reporter, news producer and news executive producer in Moncton, Charlottetown and Toronto.She also lived in Amsterdam for two years where she started writing novels. Mary has degrees from St. Francis Xavier and Columbia universities and has taught journalism at the Toronto Metropolitan University. She is a middle child in a family of nine children. Mary spent most of the summers of her youth staying with relatives in an outport community, Lark Harbour, which is very much like Cook’s Cove.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book, all opinions expressed are my own.
In Why Won’t You Sleep?! researcher and sleep coach Macall Gordon and the Sleep Lady, Kim West, offer a tried-and-true approach to shifting sleep behavior that actually works . . . even when nothing else has.
About Why Won’t You Sleep?!
A tsunami of modern sleep training methods promise “easy” and “quick” results and for many parents and children, these methods work as intended. However, there is a large, exhausted group of parents whose children have sleep problems that are not responsive to those crying-based methods.
These children tend to be more reactive, persistent, and perceptive than their peers. And when it comes to sleep, little ones with this kind of temperament put up a much, much bigger fight. They need a different approach. That’s where Why Won’t You Sleep? comes in.
Based on extensive research and proven methods used with thousands of families just like yours, this guide gives you strategies tailored to your child’s unique temperament. Readers will learn:
Why popular sleep training techniques don’t work for some children
The strengths and challenges of your child’s temperament traits
Simple changes to your child’s routine and environment that set you up for success
How to create a plan for your child, using the time-tested approach that doesn’t require leaving anyone alone to cry
Tips, tricks, and workarounds for bedtime shenanigans, night wakings, co-sleeping, and more
How to confidently push past plateaus and setbacks
Along the way, Gordon and West provide much-needed encouragement, validation, and insights to bolster parents’ self-confidence and resilience. Why Won’t You Sleep?! gives you concrete answers to why sleep has been more challenging for these kiddos—and offers parents a much-needed dose of “I’ve got this!”
Our Thoughts
My husband and I are the proud parents of three children – 20, 13 and 3 months. I feel it is safe to say one of the hardest things you will have to do as a parent is establishing a sleep schedule and feeding. I also feel that these two areas are likely where you will receive the most ‘feedback’, advice, criticism, comparison and everything in between. Most of this comes from a positive place, but when you are struggling and tired as a parent it can be that breaking point for you. On top of this, add the constant bombardment on social media about the newborn who sleeps 12 hours, the wonderful sleep schedule that has ensured that their child sleeps through the night on their own, etc.. The best thing I did with my third child was to delete one of my social media accounts and then limit my usage on another to help with my anxiety and comparison to others. While I am happy that others may have had success with their methods, I did not find that they were helpful for the majority of parents and it added a layer of anxiety that I did not need at such a vulnerable stage of parenthood.
I was excited to read this guide, but also hesitant to see their approach. Most parenting guides, that I have read, take a one way only approach, don’t always feel right for my parenting style and tend to avoid looking at the unique personality traits of the child (children are all born different and it is hard to just lump them in one category). They can sometimes make you feel like you are failing (not their intent) but the guides just doesn’t work for your own little one for a variety of reasons.
I am not going to lie, I cried when I started reading the guide. For the first time, I felt heard as a parent, felt that it was okay to fail and have to start over again, that it was okay to revert back if needed but mostly I cried because of the non-judgmental tone and understanding approach. I have had three kids and this is the first time I didn’t feel like a failure. Those sleepless nights on the floor beside their bed, rocking them to sleep, bouncing (the list can go on), and the way that other parents made me feel bad for doing (I have heard so many times, ‘just put them down when they are drowsy’ and ‘let them cry it out’) were finally recognized. I felt that I wasn’t completely losing my mind and that I wasn’t failing, I just wasn’t taking the right approach to match what my child needs at night.
My children were (and are) a livewire, and each of them is slightly different. My eldest was labelled colicky and struggled with sleep, needing to be held or to hold on to my husband or I, but during the day he was the most social butterfly – he loved talking and playing with others. My middle child was slightly more shy, preferring to watch the action during the day but at night, again like his brother, preferred to be held, and rocked to sleep. Our youngest, while it is still early, has a completely different temperament and loves to sleep, she is quieter and prefers to watch the action and be held during the day. After reading through this guide, I realized that all the stress and anxiety I went through when they were younger was because I was trying to force them into following a routine that would never work for them because of their own unique personality.
The guide takes a great approach for preparing you to understand and create a sleep schedule that works for your family. It starts off with recognizing where you are at, providing reassurance that you are doing a great job and then helping us understand our little ones. Then we dive into recognizing is everyone ready to start working on their sleep. Which also comes with important checklists, symptoms/items to watch out for and ensuring you as the parent are ready to (a good check in with our emotional and physical state is just as important before we start tackling the sleep schedule!). We then dive right into four important strategies to tackle the most common sleep issues, the what if scenarios and then most importantly – what is progress and what does this look like. Sometimes as parents, if we don’t see an immediate change then we may be worried it isn’t working but this isn’t realistic for little ones.
The approach, tone and check ins are so important for parents. Why Won’t You Sleep?! reads like a conversation, versus a one size fits all approach. I felt no-judgement, reassurance for my fears, and understanding of the unique struggles that are being faced at such a vulnerable point in a parenting journey. We are armed with checklists, what to watch out for, examples and what to do if ‘x’ happens. Why Won’t You Sleep?! is a definite parent must have, I would recommend it to all parents regardless of where there child is at. It is not a read once and put it back on the shelf, it is definitely one of those guides that you should and will take back down, make notes, bookmark pages and reread again.
Macall is a researcher, advocate, and certified pediatric sleep consultant specializing in non-cry-it-out approaches. She has deep expertise in the sleep training research literature and parenting advice and she advocates for a change in how we think about sleep training. . .especially as it relates to children who are alert, sensitive, intense, persistent, and perceptive (“livewires”).
She has a B.S. in Human Biology from Stanford University and an M.A. in Applied Psychology from Antioch University, Seattle where she worked as a Senior Lecturer in the graduate Counseling Psychology program. She has conducted and presented research worldwide on sleep training advice, parenting, and the effect of temperament on sleep. She is also a certified Gentle Sleep Coach trained by co-author Kim West (aka “The Sleep Lady”). She comes to this work because she had two sensitive, alert, intense children, and she didn’t sleep for 18 years.
KIM WEST, MSW, is a mother of two daughters and a Clinical Social Worker (which is a child and family therapist) for over 25 years. Known as The Sleep Lady® by her clients, she has personally helped over 20,000 tired parents all over the world get a good night’s sleep without letting their children cry it out alone.
Kim has appeared on the Dr. Phil, Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, TLC’s Bringing Home Baby and CNN, and has been written about in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Baby Talk, Parenting, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, The Telegraph, The Irish Independent and the Washington Post.
Kim is the author of three books: “The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy”, “ The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook” and “The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook for Children with Special Needs”. Her first book “The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight” is in its third edition and has sold over 140,000 paperback copies.
Dedicated to providing tired parents with excellent sleep advice and coaching while knowing Kim could not help everyone herself, she started the Gentle Sleep Coach® Training and Certification program in 2010–the first and most comprehensive training program in the world. This program was the start to what is now a now a global industry- Baby and Child Sleep Consultants. To date, the Gentle Sleep Coach Training and Certification program is available in 2 languages.
You can find her free sleep guides and resources at Sleeplady.com.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
This heart-wrenching family drama delves into the enduring impact of secrets, the power of unconditional love, and the strength found in facing our pasts.
About Higher Love
In 1986 Austin, Texas, sixteen-year-old Stephanie steps into sixty-two-year-old Lauren’s life, her uncanny resemblance cracking open a buried past. Claiming to be the daughter of the child Lauren gave up for adoption forty-five years ago, Stephanie upends Lauren’s life—already complicated by her remarriage to Brett after thirty-three years apart. Stung by her adoptive grandmother’s deception, Stephanie stays, her past of tragedy and self-harm forging a fragile bond with Lauren and Brett. When Stephanie’s trust fund evaporates, crushing her college dreams, Lauren sacrifices all to give her a future—only to face a bittersweet twist that echoes the past and changes everything. This heart-wrenching family drama delves into the enduring impact of secrets, the power of unconditional love, and the strength found in facing our pasts
Joanne Kukanza Easley, a retired registered nurse who worked in the cold, stark environment of operating rooms and the highly charged setting of psychiatric facilities, now resides in the Texas Hill Country. There, she crafts fiction centered on complex women of the twentieth century. Her debut novel, Sweet Jane, garnered multiple accolades, including the adult fiction prize at the Texas Author Project, and was a finalist for prestigious honors like the Sarton Award and the Eric Hoffer Award, among others. Her second book, Just One Look, was selected as a May 2022 Pulpwood Queen Book Club Pick. Her third novel, I’ll Be Seeing You, revisits characters from Sweet Jane. Her fourth novel, Higher Love, a continuation of her third, is slated for release in Spring 2025. Easley’s award-winning short stories and poetry have been featured in various anthologies.
Get ready for the War at the Ice Cream Stores Series: Rocky Road vs The Sundae Storm and Mustachio Pistachio vs Bully Vanilli.
About War at the Ice Cream Store: Rocky Road vs The Sundae Storm
The sequel to the award-winning War at the Ice Cream Store: Rocky Road vs The Sundae Storm
It’s a perfect Sunny Sunday in July—The ultimate ice cream day! But wait… uh oh… Trouble is brewing down at the Frozen Frogg Ice Cream Store! A swirly, twirly, category five twister is out of control!!
Could this be the first summer Sunday EVER without ice cream? (Say it isn’t so!) Or can the flavors and toppings whip up a plan before it’s too late?
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, B&N, BAM.
About War at the Ice Cream Store: Mustachio Pistachio vs Bully Vanilli
New Collector’s Edition—Reillustrated with enhanced story and bonus content.
In the Frozen Frogg Ice Cream Store, Bully Vanilli is the most popular ice cream and self-proclaimed king of the flavors. Lonely Mustachio sits at the back of the freezer. No one ever picks him. Every night, after the store door is locked, Bully Vanilli begins his bullying and Mustachio is his favorite target. One night, Vully kicks Mustachio’s bucket. Poor Mustachio falls SPLAT on the floor, and it’s… War at the Ice Cream Store! (And there’s a song!).
You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon, B&N, BAM.
The Giveaway
Enter to win: author-signed WAR AT THE ICE CREAM STORE 1 (collectors edition) and WAR AT THE ICE CREAM STORE 2 plus WAR AT THE ICE CREAM STORE Activity Book for Book 1 and coloring pages for Book 2 (one winner) here. Open to USA/CAN and ends June 20th.
About the Author
Cheryl DaVeiga is an award-winning songwriter and children’s book author who loves to combine humor, rhyme, and wordplay to create stories and songs that bring on the giggles. You can find her books and animated sing-along song videos on her website for kids and kid-lovers—BiffBamBooza.com. Biff Bam Booza books have received numerous awards and high acclaim, including Mom’s Choice Gold, Purple Dragonfly, Eric Hoffer, and Literary Titan book awards, Readers’ Favorite 5-star ratings, and Kirkus Review Magazine features. Cheryl lives in Tucson, Arizona, and spends her summers in her native New Jersey.
This gender-neutral gift, the Baby Memory Box is a special place to record and store life’s little moments for your little bundle of joy.
About the Baby Memory Box
Treasure your baby’s early years with this keepsake memory box.
The ideal gender-neutral gift, the Baby Memory Box is a special place to record and store life’s little moments. Cherish every one of baby’s firsts with boxes for first tooth and first curl, and a cloth bag for that tiny first pair of shoes. You can write a letter to baby, record their first words and memories in the miniature memories book, and add a picture to the photo frame.
Over time, it will become a treasure of memories that you and your child will cherish for a lifetime.
Keepsake box for baby memories: Record and preserve precious memories of your little one
Lasting, attractive gift box contains: Read to Your Baby Every Day mini book, The Story of Us memory journal, cloth bag to store baby’s first shoes, 4 boxes for first teeth, first curl and other tiny treasures, envelope and writing paper for a letter to your baby, a place to frame a photo, plus space to store little toys, sonogram, hospital band, and more
Beautifully decorated with embroidered artwork from Chloe Giordano
Our Thoughts
The first year of a child’s life flies by, I know everyone says it but it is incredible how quickly the time goes. Those little hands and feet quickly turn into chubby toddler hands and feet. We slowly forget little pieces of the delivery and the funny things that happened that first week at home. We try to capture as much as we can in photo, video and keepsakes but this can be a daunting task while you are carrying for a young child, yourself and anyone else in the home. New parents need something easy, organized, and well designed to capture these special moments.
For my first two kids, I made a scrapbook for one and purchased a keepsake book for the other child. What I found out was that there was not enough space to keep some keepsakes in the scrapbook (shoes, bands, etc…) so they are now in a box with other items (but no dates or stories to go along with it) and I was forgetful in recording memories for each month (in the keepsake book) as it was always so busy and hard to find time to write down stories that the book was designed for (not to mention that I could not add any keepsakes at all in this book).
The Baby Memory Box was a gorgeous and thoughtfully designed way to keep track of your little one’s milestones. There were boxes for the first mitts, first hair cut, first tooth (I have to admit I have a collection of their teeth in a plastic container in one of my drawers – I would have no idea which one was their first tooth, not to mention I have actually no idea what I would do with all these teeth, I know my boys would not want them!), and an extra box for any of those special keepsakes (hospital bands, clean newborn diaper, etc..). The box also contains a beautifully designed book to record their birth, and the journey from pregnancy to birth. There is even a booklet to write a letter to your little one! There are two small booklets to capture those first handprints and footprints as well as a small drawstring pouch for those first shoes.
The Baby Memory Box contains all items (and space!) that you need to beautifully capture your little one’s first year. The neutral colours make it a great gift for new parents to be. The box can be kept in your little one’s room and will go well with any nursery décor due to the design of the box (it will also serve as a reminder to add those memories in as the year goes by and your child outgrows those first shoes, first mitts). I love that the box will eventually double as a gift to your child when they are old enough, and what a special way to present the gift to them. The Baby Memory Box is a definite must have item on your registry or for those looking for a thoughtful gift that parents will cherish for many years to come.
You can purchase the Baby Memory Box on Chapters and learn more on Quarto.
About the Illustrator
Chloe Giordano began to sew in the last year of her illustration degree at the University of the West of England. Since graduating, she has continued to experiment with freehand embroidery, using sewing thread and hand-dyed fabrics to make her work – and the books in her bestselling Stitched Storytime series are illustrated with her hand-embroidered artwork. Her clients include Penguin, Vintage Books, Bloomsbury, Liberty, and the BFI. She lives in England.
Disclosure: I received a copy of the Baby Memory Box in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
