Book review

Waking Hours

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Are you a fan of highly exhilarating, high paced fiction? If you are, then this book, Waking Hours by Lis Wiehl is definitely one for your library. I’m one of those people who loves to judge a book by it’s cover. And the first time I saw this book, I thought I wouldn’t like it. You see, the cover wasn’t really inviting in my opinion, but I’m glad that I picked up this book.

I like the fast paced story and highly engaging characters and scenes that could spook me and gives me chills. Definitely one of those books that you wouldn’t want to put down until you reached the end of it.

I highly recommends this book to all readers who appreciates a high quality, fast paced plot kind of stories. I rate this book 4 out of 5. I received an ARC of this book from Thomas Nelson Publisher and I was not required to write a positive review for it.

Book description:

Welcome to East Salem: A deceptively sleepy town where ancient supernatural forces are being awakened.

A high-school girl is found murdered in a park in Westchester County, New York. The shocking manner of her death confounds the town and intrigues forensic psychiatrist Dani Harris, who is determined to unravel the mystery. All the suspects are teenagers who were at a party with the girl—yet no one remembers what happened. Could one of them be a vicious killer? Or is something more sinister afoot—something tied to an ancient evil?

But it’s not just Dani’s waking hours that challenge her. Each night, her eyes open at 2:13 due to troubling dreams—dreams filled with blood, water, and destruction. Is it a clue—or a sign?

Across town, former NFL linebacker Tommy Gunderson finds his security system has been breached by an elderly woman who attacks him with preternatural strength. Before he can process the attack, someone close to him is implicated in the high-school girl’s murder. He agrees to help—and finds himself working with Dani, the only girl who could resist his charms when they were in high school.

It will take astute analysis and forensic skills to solve the crime. But Dani and Tommy suspect there’s more to the mystery than murder, more to their growing friendship than chance . . . and more to the evil they’re facing than a mere human killer.

 

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Book review

Go the F*** to Sleep

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Title: Go the F**k to Sleep

Publisher: Open Road Media

Imprint: Akashic Books

Pub Date: 14 June 2011

ISBN: 9781453224748

Author: Adam Mansbach

Let’s just admit it. For most parents with young children, sleeping during the regular hours is not quite possible because the little devils with the appearance of a cherub simply won’t let you do it. They’re just full of energy and seems to be awake all the time, despite the fact that it passed their bedtime.

This book is definitely for parents who have trouble putting their children to sleep. It’s told in a witty, comedic and realistic way. Kudos to the author for coming up with this book.

Parents and expecting parents alike would enjoy this book, I’m sure of that.I rate this book 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Open Road Media via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book and I was not compensated in any way for writing this review.

Book description:

Go the Fuck to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don’t always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award-winning author Adam Mansbach’s verses perfectly capture the familiar—and unspoken—tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.

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Book review

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

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Title: The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

SubTitle: Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Imprint: Penguin Books – A Penguin Original

Pub Date: 27 September 2011

ISBN: 9780143120155

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Love Sherlock? Grew up imagining that you’re Watson and tagging along with the famous fictional detective whenever he managed to sniff a mystery? Well then, this book is definitely for you, and it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve read about the legendary detective, you wouldn’t want to miss this memoir. It will definitely bring you back into the world of unsolved, exciting mystery.

I highly recommend this book to all hardcore Sherlock Holmes fans. I rate this book 5 stars.having said that, watch the trailer of movie over here:

 

 

I received an ARC of this book from penguin group Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book.

 

Book description:

INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS

Sherlock Holmes is on the case once again. This newest collection of stories includes many of the most familiar cases Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson ever solve, including “Silver Blaze,” “The Greek Interpreter,” and “The Musgrave Ritual.” As Holmes’s fame grows, it brings him a notoriety that piques the ire of London’s criminal underworld, who begin to scheme against him. In “The Final Problem” Dr. Watson relates the grisly, fatal, and shocking tale of how Holmes finally meets his match, encountering the diabolical Professor Moriarty in a terrible struggle at Reichenbach Falls.

Guy Ritchie’s sequel to his acclaimed Sherlock Holmes (2009) is in theaters December 16, 2011. The new film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Sherlock Holmes, Jude Law as Dr. Watson, and Stephen Fry as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes. The film also stars Jared Harris (Mad Men), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes, Morning Glory), and Noomi Rapace (Stieg Larsson trilogy).

About the Author:

ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE (1859-1930) was born in Edinburgh, where he grew up and studied medicine, and began writing mysteries shortly after setting up his own practice. Doyle published fifty-nine Sherlock Holmes adventures in all, beginning with A Study in Scarlet in 1887.

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Book review

A Touch of Crimson

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Title: A Touch of Crimson

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Imprint: Signet

Pub Date:4 Oct 2011

ISBN: 9780451234995

Author: Sylvia Day

Enter the world of angels… fallen angel who became vampires. Uh, what? Yes, you’re reading that right. ‘A Touch of Crimson’ is a wonderful book in a twisted and exciting way, that is.

I’m not really a fan of vampire stories, but I find this one rather tolerable and instead of snickering at the storyline, I find myself enjoying the book.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Group USA Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book.

Book description:

First in a new series! Can a love that transcends death survive a war between angels, vampires, and lycans?

Adrian Mitchell is an angel of immense power and insatiable desire. Leading an elite Special Ops unit of the Seraphim, his task is to punish the Fallen–angels who have become vampires–and command a restless pack of indentured lycans.

But Adrian has suffered his own punishment for becoming involved with mortals–losing the woman he loves again and again. Now, after nearly two hundred years, he has found her–Shadoe, her soul once more inhabiting a new body with no memory of him. Only this time he won’t let her go.

With no memory of her past as Shadoe, Lindsay Gibson only knows she can’t help being fiercely attracted to the smoldering, seductive male who crosses her path. Swept into a dangerous world of tumultuous passion and preternatural conflict, Lindsay is soon caught in the middle between her angel lover, her vampire father, and a full-blown lycan revolt. There’s more at stake than her love and her life–this time she could lose her very soul…

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Book review

The Near Witch

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Title: The Near Witch

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Imprint: Hyperion

Pub Date: 2 August 2011

ISBN: 9781423137870

Author: Victoria Schwab

I absolutely love ‘The Near Witch’ by Victoria Schwab. It’s a perfect blend of romantic fantasy and fairy tale. The storyline was highly original and I have to say that the author have quite a way in expressing her imagination.

I find the story is refreshing and unpredictable, and that is really something for a fairy tale.

I highly recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading fantasy. You wouldn’t want to miss the world of magic and wonders that this book had to offer.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Disney-Hyperion via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book.

Book description:

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

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Book review

The Magician King

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Title: The Magician King

SubTitle: A Novel

Publisher: Penguin Group, USA

Imprint: Viking

Pub Date:9 August 2011

ISBN:9780670022311

Author:Lev Grossman

The Magician King by Lev Grossman is a wonderful book that brought me into the world of magic. It’s been some time since I enjoyed a fantasy book so much. I love the author’s imagination and I love the characters even more.

This book is a keeper for all fantasy lovers and definitely do not mind reading this book over and over again some time in the future.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Group Publisher and i was not required to write a positive review for it.

Book description:

Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent’s house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. And only the black, twisted magic that Julia learned on the streets can save them.

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Book review, Movies/ Entertainment

Life Lessons from The Help: Pain Happens in a Broken World

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Have you read or seen the movie, THE HELP? If you have, you know it is a story about racism and the treatment of black maids who worked for white people in the South. People’s reactions range from outrage at the humiliation blacks have often received, to charges that it was biased and untrue.

I came out of the movie grieving. I not only felt wretched at the pain racism causes, but also at the hurt and suffering that comes when people mistreat others. Pain Happens in a Broken World. Being cruel to others, whether by actions or words, happens in every culture for many reasons: because individuals think they are superior for some reason due to their skin color, gender, position in society, wealth, or education. Whatever the reasons, they all flow from a sinful heart.
Have you been hurt?
  • Have you known what it is like to be looked down on, dismissed as unimportant, or made to feel unwanted? Have you experienced cruelty of some kind? How did it make you feel?
  • Have you wrestled with anger, wanting to get revenge, or feeling crushed and of no worth? In The Help, one of the poorly treated maids gets her revenge in a startling way. But revenge is God’s prerogative, and not ours to take (Romans 12:19).
  • Your pain might have come from someone you work with, live next to, or go to school with. Its source could be a relative or close family. Even fellow believers hurt others when operating in the flesh and not the Spirit. But no matter where your pain originated, it is something God wants to heal.
  • God Cares About You. Why should He care? Why does He call you to forgive those who have harmed you? Because He loves you and wants the appalling power of bitterness, hatred, and inner rage to stop poisoning your heart and your life.
  • God’s Path to Healing. How can you and I, followers of the Lord Jesus, indwelt by His Mighty and All-powerful Spirit, find freedom from pain? Only by forgiving the one, or many, who caused our pain.
Three necessary principles for dealing with pain:
  • Reject blame and bitterness. It doesn’t move you forward. It chains you to the past.
  • Pray for willingness to forgive. It is a process that often requires time to work through.
  • Forgive the offender. Be willing to release that person from your desire for revenge, or even for an apology. Realize they most likely have moved on and forgotten the incident. Remembering is only hurting you. Let it go.
Remember something else: the Lord is our Healer. He wants you to experience joy, no matter how much pain you have experienced. He wants you to THRIVE in every aspect of your life. And He has provided a way for this to happen! Will you walk in it?

Author Bio: Poppy Smith

With her fun personality and passion for communicating life-changing truths, Poppy Smith inspires believers to thrive spiritually and personally. Poppy’s practical how-to messages (in print or in person) uses colorful examples from her own struggles to be more like Jesus. She encourages women (and men, at times) to grow in every kind of situation—whether joyful or painful! Poppy is British, married to an American, and has lived in many countries. She brings an international flair seasoned with humorous honesty as she illustrates Bible truths. A former Bible Study Fellowship Lecturer, Poppy’s teaching challenges women to look at their choices, attitudes and self-talk. As a result, God’s speaks, changing hearts, changing minds, and changing lives.

The above article comes from Poppy’s recent Thrive e-newsletter.

Receive Poppy’s Ten Tips for Saying “No” by signing up for her newsletter at:

https://www.poppysmith.com/newsletters.htm

 
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Book review

Cat First Aid & CPR

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Title: Cat First Aid & CPR

Publisher: Bookmasters

Imprint: Quick Find Books Ltd

Pub Date: 16 July 2010

ISBN: 9780980979732

Author: Denise Fleck

Cat First Aid& CPR by Denise Fleck is a definitely a must have in every cat owners’ pocket. There’s various easy-to- follow tips on how to give first aid to cats under normal circumstances and emergencies, including complications during kitten deliveries.

I found this pocket book very useful, since I have a cat myself and I highly recommends this book to all cat lovers.

I rate this book 4 out of 5. I received an ARC of this book from Bookmasters Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book.

Book description:

Book provides overview of key topics in caring for emergency first aid in cats,including checking vitals, birthing difficulties, bleeding injuries, choking, high-rise syndrome, insect and snake bites, intestinal upset, poisoning.

 

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Book review

Serendipity

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Title: Serendipity

Publisher: Penguin Group USA

Imprint: Berkley Sensation

Pub Date: 6 September 2011

ISBN: 9780425243831

Author: Carly Phillips

Serendipity by Carly Philips is an interesting contemporary fiction, however, I find that the storyline is rather slow and draggy at some point. The characters could be improvised, in my opinion. I feel that sometimes, they are rather shallow and lack depth. Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable story and anyone who enjoys a good chic-lit would be able to enjoy this book.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Group USA via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book.

Book description

Faith Harrington is a classic girl of privilege-until her father is convicted for running a Ponzi scheme. Now she’s back in her hometown, where she runs into her teenage crush-dark, brooding Ethan Barron, who’s no stranger to scandal himself.

 

 

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Book review

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

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Title: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Imprint: Bonneville

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781599559056

Author: Elodia Strain

I don’t usually read chic-lit. They are not very appealing to me and they put me to sleep, but ‘My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’ is an okay read, I suppose. It tells the tale of a young woman who then accidentally gets involved with two guys and had to make a choice between the two.

While the story is not as complicated as some chic-lit that I’ve read, it is still rather predictable.

I suppose I can say that I enjoyed reading this even though I am not exactly a huge fan of these soft of stories.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars, and I received an ARC of this book from Cedar Fort Publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for this book. I was not compensated in any ways for reviewing this.

Book description:

Jesse is looking for the “right guy.” When she bumps into Ethan, a despairing writer who she inspires, she thinks she’s found him. But only moments later she meets Troy, a successful advertising executive who makes almost every moment romantic. Both seem perfect, but things are not always what they seem. My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is a fun romance that blends warm sincerity with fresh storytelling.

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