Category: giveaway

December 3, 2019

Killer Resolutions Book Review

When a blizzard traps them with a murderer, who will be left to kiss at midnight?

About Killer Resolutions

In a remote lodge in northern Wisconsin, friends gather for a festive, New Year’s Eve weekend. When a blizzard traps them with a murderer, who will be left to kiss at midnight?

Five years ago, a tragedy shattered the friendship between Dani, her older brother, and their college pals. When her brother invites the old gang for a weekend of outdoor winter fun at a remote lodge, she sees it as a chance to reconnect and heal. But when her friends are murdered one-by-one, Dani must determine whom she can trust before she becomes the next victim.

Contains profanity, violence, and mild sexual content.

My Thoughts

The tragic death of one young woman comes back to haunt a group of friends and family in this fast paced novel.

The death of her older brother’s girlfriend has haunted Dani and their once close group of friends. A night of drinking got out of hand and instead of caring for their friend, Dani became side tracked by her brothers friend and Crystal choked and died on her own vomit.

Her death causes the group to draw away from each other and each individual deals with the death in their own way. That is why they were all shocked when they received an invitation to reunite at a remote lodge from Dani’s brother, Rob. The group has changed – some have gotten a bit wilder, some have grown apart and some have noticed their attraction to each other has only grown stronger! What they weren’t ready for was that Rob’s new girlfriend is identical to Crystal (although not as nice of a person!).

Things turn quickly sour, as one by one dead bodies start to appear. The remaining members of the group fear for their life but are not sure who to trust – is the murderer one of them? The weird owner? The group has to think quickly in order to stay alive – a hero emerges among them, an individual who has spent his last few years on quite the journey. I was definitely not expecting the ending and the discovery of the identity of the murder. This is a fast paced novel that is easy to follow and I enjoyed the suspense as the characters try to uncover the murder while staying alive.

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

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Elizabeth McKenna’s love of books reaches back to her childhood, where her tastes ranged from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to Stephen King’s horror stories. She had never read a romance novel until one Christmas when her sister gave her the latest bestseller by Nora Roberts. She was hooked from page one (actually, she admits it was the first love scene). Her novels reflect her mercurial temperament and include historical romances, contemporary romances, cozy mysteries, and dark mysteries. With some being “clean” and some being “naughty,” she has a book for your every mood. Elizabeth lives in Wisconsin with her understanding husband, two beautiful daughters, and a sassy Labrador. When she isn’t writing, working, or being a mom, she’s sleeping.

Connect with her on her website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

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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.

November 19, 2019

Three Paws Book Review and Giveaway

Learn the importance of friendship, never giving up and acceptance in Three Paws.

About Three Paws

An Alaskan grizzly bear cub survives a tragic accident, leaving him with one limp paw. But despite his physical challenge, his dream of becoming a great salmon catcher spurs him to take personal risks as he befriends an injured billy goat. Boots, the bear cub, will do anything necessary to accomplish his dream. When the injured goat offers a promise of possibilities in the hopes that Boots will not eat him, the three-pawed cub must face unexpected consequences. Can Boots trust the goat to deliver on his promise? The surprise ending will even surprise you!

Our Thoughts

In Three Paws, the brave, adventurous Boots hurts his front paw – damaging the bones and making it impossible to use. He does this doing something his Mom warned him not to do (aww the joys of having kids!). All he wanted to do was prove that he was brave and the best salmon catcher, now he begins to doubt whether he will ever be able to catch salmon again. He lets his fear bother him internally, until he meets a goat who was also injured during a fall. Boots helps the goat and in return, the goat helps him to realize that you don’t need four paws to be the best salmon catcher if you can think outside of the box. He does so despite the doubts of the other cubs.

This is a beautiful story from start to finish of a young bear who faces a situation that could harm him (not being able to use his paw to fish, could cause starvation and death for the young cub) and when he shows another animal compassion, he learns a very valuable lesson. The goat (an unlikely friend and hero), shows him how to live again, to gain confidence and to think outside of the box. In the face of a great challenge, Boots shows strength and courage while earning a new friend.

This is a great book for young children with that important reminder that we can do anything we set our mind to – nothing is out of our reach if we are willing to think differently and work hard. A fantastic story from start to finish that you will enjoy reading with your child.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Karen Struck discovered the joy of children’s literature as she read to her daughter each night. She was inspired by the Harry Potter book series and decided to take writing courses through the Institute of Children’s Literature. Three Paws is the first book published in the Three Paws Series.

Karen is a registered nurse and works in the aesthetic industry, performing laser treatments combined with injectables for skin rejuvenation. She works with her husband, Steve, a plastic surgeon in Atherton, California. They live in Los Gatos, California. She has a daughter named Rachel and two stepchildren, Danni and Evan Struck.

The Giveaway!

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

November 13, 2019

Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80s

This hysterical coming-of-age tale is jam-packed with enough nostalgia to satisfy anyone who grew up in the ‘80s or at least had the good fortune to travel through them.

About Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80s

It’s the winter of 1984. Twelve-year-old Herbie and his two brothers—Wally and Cockroach—are enjoying the mayhem of winter break when a late Nor’easter blows through New England, trapping their quirky family in the house. The power goes out and playing Space Invaders to AC DC’s Back in Black album is suddenly silenced—forcing them to use their twisted imaginations in beating back the boredom. At a time when the brothers must overcome one fear after the next, they learn that courage is the one character trait that guarantees all others.

Our Thoughts

Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80s was a fantastic, heart felt, laugh out loud read. Steven has a personal way of writing that is honest, fresh and down to earth. You feel as though you are right there experiencing every moment with the family. It reminded me of all the good laughs you have with friends over the good old days.

The ’80s were definitely a simpler time (I was a very young child growing up but I still remember the endless days of being outside until it was dark and those bread bags (or any bag in general!). We used to spend hours riding up and down the street on bikes with no care in the world. This book brings back some great memories and makes you wish you could take a trip back in time. I loved the emphasis on family and spending time together – this is sometimes lacking now in society, where everyone is so busy all the time. Families may not have been perfect but they put family first.

This book starts off with Herbie breaking up a fight between his own two boys and then he begins to tell the tale of a week long adventure in his childhood home during the middle of winter and one bad storm.

I fell in love with this family, they were quirky but they were real. I am pretty sure you will be able to find similarities in some of the characters to your own family. They absolutely love each other but have a very unique way of showing it – a result of the times that they grew up in (a perfect example, the brothers could tease poor Cockroach but definitely not their friends!). The brothers learned how to handle situations themselves, they did have their parents but they were independent for the most part which ensured that they had the life skills they needed. We witness the struggles of having little money and doing everything you can to keep the family afloat. It was his childhood and the lessons he learned that guided him in his own journey of fatherhood – we grow from all the good and bad things that happen to us.

This is a fantastic book from start to finish, you will laugh, get anxious and take a trip down memory lane. It is so well written that you will not be able to put it down.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Steven Manchester is the author of the #1 bestsellers Twelve Months, The Rockin’ Chair, Pressed Pennies and Gooseberry Island; the national bestsellers, Ashes, The Changing Season and Three Shoeboxes; and the multi-award winning novels, Goodnight Brian and The Thursday Night Club. His work has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, CNN’s American Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Three of Steven’s short stories were selected “101 Best” for Chicken Soup for the Soul series. He is a multi-produced playwright, as well as the winner of the 2017 Los Angeles Book Festival and the 2018 New York Book Festival. When not spending time with his beautiful wife, Paula, or their four children, this Massachusetts author is promoting his works or writing.

You can connect with him on his website, Facebook and Twitter.

The Giveaway

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Providence Book Promotions for Steven Manchester. There will be seven (7) winners. Two (2) winners will each win one (1) Amazon GC and five (5) winners will each win a copy of Bread Bags & Bullies: Surviving the ’80s by Steven Manchester (eBook). The giveaway begins on November 1, 2019 and runs through January 2, 2020. Void where prohibited.

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

November 12, 2019

The Tender Birds Book Review

“The wording is both elegant and poetic… the author, accomplished painting vivid images within my mind’s eye that will never be forgotten. Overall this book is unique, being unlike anything I have read before. Go get a copy! You will not be disappointed.” —Readaholic Zone

About The Tenders Bird

Matthew Reilly is a busy academic, a lonely priest haunted by secrets. Young Alison is the shy and devoted keeper of Daisy, a falcon which suffered an accident and can no longer fly. The three of them meet in a Boston parish, but Matt has forgotten a momentary but disturbing meetup with Alison, homeless eight years earlier in Toronto. Close to exhaustion, he’s forced to reflect on what’s become of his life, including the loss of a son that no one knew he’d fathered. Alison and Matt had a fateful encounter during her homeless period, but Matt doesn’t connect that frail teenager with the healthy young woman she’d become. It’s left to Alison to uncover Matt’s past and for Matt to come to terms with it.

My Thoughts

The Tender Birds is a powerful book that left me in tears and touched my heart.

The author starts the book off with an individual rushing to make a flight but unfortunately missing his flight. As we turn the page, we learn that the flight he missed was the flight that crashed into the World Trade Center Towers. The story continues to unfold in a beautiful, mysterious way as we discover how the lives of our two main characters, Alison and Matt are interwoven. We learn how their decisions have impacted another individuals life and how far reaching this was.

It is a beautiful story about understanding, forgiveness, compassion and faith. Our actions (or lack of action) can have an impact on someone’s life that we may never understand, see nor appreciate. We don’t truly even appreciate the impact of Matt’s decisions until we hear Alison’s story in the second half of the book. While Matt’s story is one of an individual seeking forgiveness, of a person who doesn’t quite seem able to connect with others or even know himself or the consequences of his actions – Alison’s story broke my heart. The events that she had to deal with in her life, could have broken her but instead it was her Father’s memory, her faith and her belief in goodness that slowly helps her heal. She is just a truly good person, who sees the beauty and light in everyone and everything (especially in birds). She makes mistakes but she is also honest about them and seeks to correct and forgive. She could have never forgiven nor let go of her past but instead she tries to move forward, slowly making friends, shows compassion to others and teaches those around her to show compassion to those less fortunate. She doesn’t do it in a flashy way, she is always humble and almost doesn’t even realize the lessons she is teaching others.

While the ending of the book is sad, it is also full of hope, understanding and forgiveness. Alison has learned and grown so much and you can’t help but feel proud of her. I was sad when this book ended because I would have loved to have read her next chapter. This is an excellent novel that does not disappoint.

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

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Carole Giangrande is the award-winning author of ten books, including the novella A Gardener on the Moon (winner of the 2010 Ken Klonsky Award) and the novel All That Is Solid Melts Into Air (2018 Independent Publishers Gold Medal for Literary Fiction). The Tender Birds is her fourth novel. She’s worked as a broadcast journalist for CBC Radio (Canada’s public broadcaster), and her fiction, poetry, articles and reviews have appeared in literary journals and in Canada’s major newspapers. In her spare time, she loves exploring nature with her partner Brian, photographing birds and studying French.

The Giveaway!

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

November 4, 2019

Great Kids Don’t Just Happen Book Spotlight

In Great Kids Don’t Just Happen you will learn how to use elements to nurture the children in your life.

About Great Kids Don’t Just Happen

Physically and emotionally healthy children are Great Kids. They are happier when young and thrive as adults.

Pediatrician Dr. Paul Smolen identifies five essential parenting elements which help develop happy and successful kids.

In Great Kids Don’t Just Happen you will learn how to use those elements and nurture the children in your life.

The author’s observations and advice are supported by scientific studies referenced throughout the book and personal observations from his many years of practice as a pediatrician. The five essential elements and how to apply them are made easy to understand in the warm words of one who knows, practices, and teaches from research, observation, and experience.

Learn how to provide:

Realistic praise
Consistent limits
A healthy emotional environment
Strong parental commitment
Stability

Dr. Smolen’s research and wisdom are sure to be of great help for your family and loved ones.

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

Book Trailer

About the Author

Dr. Paul Smolen, also known as Doc Smo by his friends, is a pediatrician with 37 years of experience caring for children and families. He is a graduate of Duke University (1974), Rutgers Medical School (1978), and Wake Forest University-N.C. Baptist Hospital (1982). At Wake Forest University he completed a residency in general pediatrics, served as chief resident, and completed a fellowship in ambulatory pediatrics. Subsequently, he became board certified in the American Academy of Pediatrics (1983) and completed his recertification in 2014. For the last 37 years, he has been an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, helping to train a generation of medical students and pediatric residents as well as author several research papers. He is also the author of a parenting book called, Can Doesn’t Mean Should. With 37 years under his belt, Doc Smo is a bona-fide expert in knowing what parents want and need to know about parenting and child health. Imparting practical and useful advice is the goal of every “Pedcast”. Smiling along the way can’t hurt!

Connect with him on his website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway

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Disclosure: This is a spotlight post, I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.