20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno

January 13, 2016

20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno was a good book that I was able to get through pretty quickly. I loved that each story in this book can teach you something different and I was able to learn from each one. I love that this book has god in it and things like that but none of it is shoved down your throat so even if you aren’t super religious I still think you would enjoy this book. If I has to pick a favorite story it would be the second story in the book. I liked this one because I could see myself in Tilley and I felt so bad for her. If you love reading short stories than I know you will love this book because you can just read one or two of them when you have a few extra minutes to your self.

About The Book

Human relationships can be intriguing, heartbreaking, funny, frustrating, and soulful (among other things). Sometimes all at the same time.

20 Short Ones takes you from Northern Ireland to New York and places in between. Each story offers a snapshot experience and an opportunity to emotionally relate to the age-old mystery of how friendships (romantic or otherwise) happen, told from a faith perspective.

This book is written from a faith-based (Judeo-Christian) point of view so if you’re a fan of Christian Fiction, 20 Short Ones is for you!

About The Author

Dan Salerno has traveled to Northern Ireland five times and to Japan (once) on mission trips. This was before he lived in New York City for eight years, earning a master’s degree in social research while working for the National Coalition for the Homeless. After that he worked and lived at the Catholic Worker’s Joseph House near the Bowery, before moving back to the Midwest.

He eventually returned to New York and worked for a children’s ministry in Brooklyn, NY for 16 months soon after 9/11.

20 Short Ones, published by Westbow Press (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing)is his first book. It’s an engaging collection of short stores each focusing on how relationships (romantic and otherwise) begin, told from a faith-filled (Judeo-Christian) perspective.

You can read a preview of 20 Short Ones on the Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Westbow Press and Christian Family Stores websites.

Buy Your Own Copy

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble

January 12, 2016

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble is the second book in the Sunset Cove series. I haven’t read the first book in the series so I am not sure what it was about but I do wish now that I would have read the other book because I did wonder about some of the back stories. With that being said you will be fine and able to get through the book without reading them in order but is plan on reading the series then I would start with the first book.

Anyway, let’s get on to the review for this book. I really like this book from the first chapter through the end of the book. Even though I was able to understand what was happening I do wish that I was able to know parts of the back story but that is mainly because I am super nosy and just wonder what happened to Mallory’s mom and that back story but that didn’t make the book hard to understand. I don’t know that I have ever read a book by Colleen Coble that I haven’t liked and this another amazing book by her. She was a way of making you sit on the edge of your seat and her writing also makes me love her characters. If you are looking for amazing books than I would for sure check out any books by her. If you love mystery/suspense novels then you will love this book as much as I do.

About The Book

Mallory’s mother died fifteen years ago. But her father’s last words on the phone were unmistakable: “Find . . . mother.” Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn’t have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point. Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O’Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart—and left—without a word, years ago. When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life—and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie—their search intensifies. There’s a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father’s killer—it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.

About The Author

Colleen Coble has sold over 2 million novels worldwide.Seagrass Pier, the third installment in her acclaimed Hope Beach series, marks a new highpoint for emotion and complexity in Coble’s addictive brand of romantic suspense.

Buy Your Own Copy

Samual Beckett-Quote Of The Week

January 11, 2016

This week’s quote is by Samual Beckett.

I totally agree with this because the more you try things the better you become even if you fail when you try. After you have been failing one day you won’t fail and you will have mastered whatever it is you were trying to do.

What do you think of this weeks quote by Samual Beckett? Do you agree or disagree?

Weekly Wrap-Up

January 8, 2016

The first full week of January has come to an end and I am so glad that things are finally starting to slow down for me and I was able to get all the posts done for this week.

Leah LaBelle-Quote Of The Week

Redeeming Cade by Susan Crawford

The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas

New Years Eve-Writer’s Workshop

Those are all the posts from this past week. I am amazed that I have been able to stay caught up with this blog while my work life has been totally insane most of the week. I think I have reached a point where I should be done with being totally overwhelmed and super stressed but I will know more next week or whenever they inform me of what in the heck I will be doing. I hope you all had a great week and I will see you back here next week!

New Years Eve-Writer’s Workshop

January 7, 2016

This week for the writer’s workshop I am going to write about number 3 which is: If the way you spent your New Year’s Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now?

I can only hope that this year will be like my new years eve was because it was quiet and laid back which is something that never seemed to happen to me last year. The past year has been nothing short of insane for me at work and in my personal life. It has been super hard for me to relax because my work life has been so crazy. I am hoping that because I now work for a different company that things will settle down and I will be able to like my job.

I am hoping that because I now work for a different company that things will settle down and I will be able to like my job. It is getting because we now are basically functioning at 100% which is great because it has been a crazy couple of months. The only stressful part is that I have no idea what I am going to be doing so that is always as stressful for me. I hate change so for me not to know what I will be doing is giving me tons of anxiety.

So I hope that this year will be like my New Years Eve was because I don’t know how I will deal with it if turns out like 2015 did.

How about you???

These are the rest of the prompts for this week in case you want to pick one and write about it.

1. Share your 2016 New Year’s Resolution.
2. Did you pick a Word Of The Year for 2015? Share!
3. If the way you spent your New Year’s Eve is any indication of how the rest of the year will go, how would you say your future is looking right about now?
4. Share your top 12 Instagram photos from 2015.
5. Write a blog post inspired by the word: Changed

The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas

January 6, 2016

The Promise of Forgiveness by Marin Thomas wasn’t my favorite book but I did enjoy it. I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters when I started the book but after I was a few chapters in I started to like Ruby and her daughter Mia. I liked Mia because even though she acted like she did I could see a lot of myself in her because I too had a rough childhood so I understand on some level why she acted like she did. I enjoyed watching as Ruby & Mia both learned to loved and how to live. If you are looking for a light-hearted book I wouldn’t recommend this book to you because there are tough things talked about and at times it was hard for me to read. If you love reading books that teach you something and that at times make you take a look at your own life than I know you will love this book just as much as I did.

About The Book

A novel of love, forgiveness, and the unbreakable bonds of family from award-nominated author Marin Thomas . . .

When it comes to family, Ruby Baxter hasn’t had much luck. The important men in her early life abandoned her, and any time a decent boyfriend came along, she ran away. But now Ruby is thirty and convinced she is failing her teenage daughter. Mia is the one good thing in her life, and Ruby hopes a move to Kansas will fix what’s broken between them.

But the road to redemption takes a detour. Hank McArthur, the biological father Ruby never knew existed, would like her to claim her inheritance: a dusty oil ranch just outside of Unforgiven, Oklahoma.

As far as first impressions go, the gruff, emotionally distant rancher isn’t what Ruby has hoped for in a father. Yet Hank seems to have a gift for rehabilitating abused horses—and for reaching Mia. And if Ruby wants to entertain the possibility of a relationship with Joe Smith, the ranch foreman, she must find a way to open her heart to the very first man who left her behind.

About The Author

Born in Janesville, Wisconsin. Graduated from the University of Arizona in Tucson. Married my college sweetheart in a five-minute ceremony in Las Vegas. FYI: I only post reviews of the books I enjoyed reading.

I write women’s fiction for Berkley/NAL Trade and western romances for Harlequin Books. My current release is A Cowboy’s Redemption, book 1 in my newest series, Cowboys of the Rio Grande. My first women’s fiction novel, The Promise of Forgiveness,will be released March 2016.