Another week is done and tomorrow is Halloween. I don’t have to say this week because like I have been saying for the past few weeks I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is almost the end of the year.
Those are all of the posts from this past week. Next week I have a quote and 3 books reviews that will be going live. I hope you all have a great and safe Halloween and I will see you back here next week!
A dramatic psychological suspense/thriller about the devastating consequences of drug addiction, Broken Flowers is a powerful story about brokenness, healing, and hope.
Dr. Mary Crawford is a fifty-year-old psychotherapist operating a successful practice in Los Angeles. Noted for her addiction assistance and suicide prevention techniques, she leads group therapy sessions with addicts in the throes of recovery.
During one particular session, she is called upon for a case involving an extremely depressed fifteen-year-old girl who was the victim of a violent rape and has survived a suicide attempt. The daughter of a noted brain surgeon, the troubled teen becomes the doctor’s private patient.
But on a day when the young girl spirals into a suicidal depression, she is unable to reach the doctor and successfully ends her own life. When the girl’s father discovers the circumstances of his da
ughter’s suicide—as well as the real truth behind the doctor’s mysterious absence—he vows to destroy the doctor at all costs. Now Dr. Crawford’s life hangs in the balance, and her only hope for survival is the broken people around her.
EXCERPT
Then Valarie handed the pipe and torch to Stu, who turned off the torch and put them down. The boys were watching Valarie, and were tripping out on the hit she had taken. Valarie held her breath for as long as she could. When she could not hold back anymore, she let the smoke out in a huge exhale. Jeff’s voice was filled with admiration as he told her, “That was one hell of a blast.” Suddenly, Valarie’s eyes went wide, and her body went absolutely stiff. A horrible sound was coming from her throat, like a constricted scream as she fell backwards. Even though this was happening in front of the two men, her fall was like she was thrown backward. They could not catch her, and she hit the floor hard.
Jeff dropped to one knee beside her as he was starting to panic. “My God, Stu she’s overdosed. What do we do?”
Stu was on the floor next to Jeff. “Don’t panic man, don’t panic.”
Jeff grabbed Valarie’s shoulders and shook her. Valarie’s legs were convulsing. There was drool coming from her mouth.
Stu was screaming in her ear. “Valarie, Valarie! Do you hear me; do you hear me dam it? Stu, go get some ice water. A lot of it. Hurry man!”
As Jeff ran out the door Stu continued to shake the girl. Her legs stopped shaking and her eyes were starting to close.
“Hurry, Jeff we’re losing her.”
Stu slapped Valarie sharply across the face. There was a slight reaction. Her legs started to twitch as Jeff came running into the room with two buckets of ice water.
“Quick, throw a bucket on her face.” Jeffery did so. The water drenched Valarie’s hair and shoulders. Her legs started to convulse again.
Jeffery was crying, “Valarie don’t die. Please don’t die.”
About the Author
Howard Finkelstein is 77 years old, who lives with his wife and dog in South Pasadena. He is a master dog trainer, and ASCAP lyrist. He is a former drug addict who has not used drugs in 27 years. Broken Flowers is his first novel.
Wedding Haters by Melissa Baldwin was a fun book to read. It was a nice break from the past couple of books that I have read because they were more heavy so this was a great book to squeeze in. I had a whole range of emotions while I was reading this book and I would lie if I said I didn’t enjoy it. There is something to be said for books that keep things light and easy to read. This is the first book I have read by this author and I have truly enjoyed her writing and this book. There were parts where Madison did get on my nerves because at times she had a super hard time making decisions but that is just because I am 100% the opposite of that. If you love chick lit books than I know you will love this book as much as I did.
About The Book
The exquisite dress, the dazzling menu, the family drama . . . It’s the day every girl dreams of, and Madison Wales is no exception. Her wedding plans seem to be going perfectly thanks to her very talented wedding planner, Sienna Harris. That is, until her grandmother and her two overachieving, bullying cousins suddenly want to become very involved in her big day. But . . . why?
Madison’s perfect wedding dreams are dashed as things slowly start to unravel. With family drama in her midst, she wonders if her cousins are behind each disaster or if she has truly become a paranoid bridezilla.
Will Madison be able to withstand all of the pressure and finally stand up for herself? The idea of eloping with her fiancé, Cole, is looking better everyday, even if it means leaving her dream wedding behind. Will she make the right choice?
About The Author
Melissa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications; she has always had a love for writing. An avid journal keeper, she fulfilled her dream with her debut novel, An Event To Remember . . . Or Forget.
Melissa resides in Orlando, Florida, with her husband and young daughter. She is a master at organization and multi-tasking. Her daily jobs include mother, chauffeur, wife, PTA President, Fitness Trainer, and now Author.
When she has free time, she enjoys traveling, fitness, decorating, fashion, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.
Birds Of Passage by Joe Giordano was an interesting book to read. I loved following along with immigrants as they came here from Italy and the things they did once they got here. I did get bogged down in details from time to time because there were tons of characters and at times trying to keep all the characters separate was a challenge. This is a book that you have to pay super close attention when you are reading it so you don’t get lost. Even with all that being said I did enjoy this book for the most part. I did like how the author was able to make me feel like I was there with the characters and I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction.
About The Book
What turns the gentle mean and the mean brutal? The thirst for wealth? The demand for respect? Vying for a woman? Birds of Passage recalls the Italian immigration experience at the turn of the twentieth-century when New York’s streets were paved with violence and disappointment.
Leonardo Robustelli leaves Naples in 1905 to seek his fortune. Carlo Mazzi committed murder and escaped. Azzura Medina is an American of Italian parents. She’s ambitious but strictly controlled by her mother. Leonardo and Carlo vie for her affection.
Azzura, Leonardo, and Carlo confront con men, Tammany Hall politicians, the longshoreman’s union, Camorra clans, Black Hand extortion, and the Tombs prison.
About The Author
Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. His father and grandparents immigrated to New York from Naples. Joe and his wife, Jane have lived in Greece, Brazil, Belgium and the Netherlands. They now live in Texas with their shih tzu Sophia. Joe’s stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines including Bartleby Snopes, The Newfound Journal, and The Summerset Review.
Galerie by Steven Greenberg was an amazing book. I love that this book goes between modern days and WWII. I loved everything about this book. It was fast paced right from the start and I loved that about this book because it makes reading it seem like it is faster. From the first page I loved Vanesa and I loved seeing her unravel the mystery around her parents and the things they went through during WWII. I loved this authors writing and he is one I am going to be adding to my list of authors to read more books by him. If you love historical fiction and/or WWII I know you will love this book as much as I did.
About The Book
Every family holds to secrets, but some are far darker, reach deeper, and touch a rawer nerve than others.
Vanesa Neuman is the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and her childhood in the cramped intimacy of south Tel Aviv is shadowed by her parents’ unspoken wartime experiences. The past for her was a closed book… until her father passes away and that book falls literally open. Vanesa must now unravel the mystery of the diary she has received—and the strange symbol within—at all costs.
Set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation and the Jewish Museum of Prague—Adolf Eichmann’s “Museum of an Extinct Race”—Galerie is fast-paced historical fiction in the tradition of Tatiana De Rosnay’s Sarah’s Key. From Jerusalem’s Yad V’Shem Holocaust research center, to the backstreets of Prague, and into the former “paradise ghetto” of Theresienstadt, Vanesa’s journey of understanding will reveal a darker family past than she ever imagined—a secret kept alive for over half a century.
About The Author
Steven Greenburg is a professional writer, as well as a full-time cook, cleaner, chauffeur, and work-at-home Dad for three amazing young children, and the lucky husband of a loving and very supportive wife. Born in Texas and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he emigrated to Israel only months before the first Gulf War, following graduation from Indiana University in 1990. In 1996, Steven was drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, where he served for 12 years as a Reserves Combat Medic. Since 2002, Steven has worked as an independent marketing writer, copywriter and consultant. To find out more about Steven Greenburg, find him on Facebook, Goodreads and his website.
A Respectable Actress by Dorothy Love was an amazing historical fiction book. I have read several books by this author and I loved each of them so this book had big shoes to fill and in short I loved everything about this book. I love this authors style of writing because she can make you understand how the characters are feeling and why they do the things that they do. I also love that she uses just enough details so you don’t get lost in the details but you also can understand why and what is going on with the characters. I liked India throughout the entire book and I wanted everything to work out for her. If you love historical novels than you aren’t going to want to miss book.
About The Book
When the illustrious India Hartley is accused of murder, she has to uncover the deceptions of others to save herself.
India Hartley, the famous and beautiful actress, is now alone in the world after her father’s death and embarks upon a tour of theaters across the South. Her first stop is Savannah’s Southern Palace. On the eve of the second night’s performance, something goes horribly wrong. Her co-star, Arthur Sterling, is shot dead on stage in front of a packed house, and India is arrested and accused of the crime.
A benefactor hires Philip Sinclair, the best—and handsomest—lawyer in Savannah to defend India. A widower, Philip is struggling to reinvent his worn-out plantation on St. Simons Island. He needs to increase his income from his law practice in order to restore Indigo Point, and hardly anything will bring him more new clients than successfully defending a famous actress on a murder charge.
Because India can’t go anywhere in town without being mobbed, Philip persuades the judge handling her case to let him take her to Indigo Point until her trial date. India is charmed by the beauty of the Georgia low country and is increasingly drawn to Philip. But a locked room that appears to be a shrine to Philip’s dead wife and the unsolved disappearance of a former slave girl raise troubling questions. Piecing together clues in an abandoned boat and a burned-out chapel, India discovers a trail of dark secrets that lead back to Philip, secrets that ultimately may hold the key to her freedom. If only he will believe her.
About The Author
Before returning to her writing roots in historical fiction, Dorothy Love published twelve novels for young adults. Her work has garnered numerous honors from the American Library Association, the Friends of American Writers, the International Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and many others.
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