Category: iRead tour

What if you could choose your heaven now?

About The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall

What if you could choose your heaven now? Go on a celestial shopping trip of sorts? Thirty-five-year-old Vivienne does just that, as she lies dying in the ICU; a fatal walk into the path of a truck. In her final week of life, Vivienne treks through the Heavens of a priest, a best friend, a homeless child, and a lover who never was. Vivienne’s guardian angel, Noah, who may just be her soul mate, escorts her through selections of Heavens and through the confusion Vivienne experiences as she flounders between a doubt of life and the certainty of death. Although her visits to varied afterlives provide peace and beauty, choosing proves not so easy: Vivienne’s love for her young son and her earthly father pull her from her colorful journey—and from her divine love of Noah.

The nature of love, the variety and magic of life, unending hope, and the importance of saying goodbye are central to this uplifting tale.

My Thoughts

Death is one of those frightening and yet fascinating topics. What happens when we die? What does heaven look like? Is there really a hell? Who do we meet there? The questions are endless and because of the love we have for those who have passed away it sometimes makes it painful to think about.

When I first started reading The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall, I found myself a bit confused as we jumped around in the story but by a quarter of the way in I was hooked. We learn about Vivienne’s childhood – her fears, her family, her successes and even the great love she holds for Noah, her childhood best friend. This story alternates with the future story of her son (which I didn’t quite put together until halfway through the novel), her stay in the ICU and her visit to multiple different heavens with Noah. We watch as she faces the worst and happiest moments in her life with Noah and how this has made her into the woman she is. Her heaven is beautiful and full of promise, love, hope and faith.

The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall was beautiful and made me smile and cry. Vivienne in her own confident and powerful way, showed her son such a great love and how to be a strong young man. What could have been a moment that would destroy people, is turned upside down and provides hope and faith. The story was uplifting and provides many great lessons about letting go, moving forward and loving with all your heart. I absolutely loved every moment of this story and it is a definite must read.

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

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Shannon Kirk is the awarding-winning author of the international bestselling Method 15/33 (psychological thriller–bestseller in Colombia and Spain, will be lead title in Italy, 2017) and Heavens (Literary Fiction). Method 15/33 has received multiple accolades: 2015 Foreword Review Book of the Year (Suspense); Winner of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award, Best Suspense; 2015 USA Best Book Finalist; School Library Journal’s Best Adult Books for Teens (2015); and Finalist in 2013 William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition (when a Novella). Method 15/33 is optioned for a major motion film and has sold to nineteen foreign rights.

When not writing, she is a practicing lawyer, residing on Massachusett’s Cape Ann with her husband and son and two cat writing accomplices, Marvin Marquez (in honor of Gabriel Garcia Marquez) and Stewie Poe (Edgar Allen Poe).

Shannon enjoys writing in several genres: literary fiction, psychological thriller, young adult, and poetry. She has been honored three times by the William Faulkner William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. ​

Connect with the author: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

Book Trailer for The Extraordinary Journey of Vivienne Marshall

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

In Relentless, with the help of an unconventional therapist with secrets of her own, the hunt is on and Gina fights for her life in this harrowing tale of cat and mouse.

About Relentless

“The little girl lay under the hay stack scarcely breathing. Sweat poured down her face and dripped into her eyes; her heart pounded through her thin chest. Tiny flecks of hay clung to her wet skin, making her itch. She squeezed her nose tightly afraid she’d sneeze. Eyes clamped shut, she lay there. Flies buzzed around her, crawling on her. She didn’t move. She didn’t know how long she’d been there in the loft. She didn’t care how long she stayed. She couldn’t move. Not yet.”

Nearly a lifetime after a childhood filled with misery and abuse, Gina, now a successful doctor, finds herself thrown back into a terrifying world where her nightmares become far more than just a dream. With the help of an unconventional therapist with secrets of her own, the hunt is on and Gina fights for her life in this harrowing tale of cat and mouse.

My Thoughts

A very powerful story of abuse, murder and how one young girl escapes only to find her history following her. Gina was abused as a young girl by a family member, while her family stood by and let it happen. Years later and several identity changes, Gina is a successful doctor who has everything going for her. Then the nightmares begin and Gina finds it hard to tell fact from fiction.

As the nightmares return, they do so slowly. Giving Gina a glimpse at a past that she tried so hard to forget and which she did. She struggles very badly with these memories and visits a therapist, who is much more than your average therapist. Murders begin to happen with greater frequency and they seem to match up with the memories that Gina has but just can’t quite access.

The plot was excellent with two stories unfolding – the murders and the investigation into these murders and the unravelling of Gina’s memories and her history. It was frightening and suspenseful watching these two stories unfold and the way they overlapped. I was terrified for Gina and wanted badly for the investigators to solve the murders, I was scared for her throughout the novel. The man who wants to see her murdered is an awful person that just gives you the chills. The end was incredible and the perfect ending to this intense novel.

I loved every moment of this intense novel, I read it all in one sitting. You just don’t want to put it down. It is powerful, frightening and suspenseful – full of mystery and revenge.

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

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Love of the mystery/thriller genre combines with psychotherapy training and experience to produce an emotionally supercharged dramatic novel. Nancy Alexander has devoted much of her professional life to helping survivors of childhood trauma; their distress has been ingrained and works to create characters who give voice to their plight. To analyze the evil minds that prey on others and the intricacies of law enforcers who pursue them seemed a natural interlacing of professional, literary and creative interests.

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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