Welcome, Reluctant Stranger by E Journey

September 9, 2015

Welcome, Reluctant Stranger by E Journey is the last book in the “Between Two Worlds” series. I have to say that this was my least favorite book in the series and I am not sure why. I just didn’t feel like I could connect with these characters as well as I did with the other characters in the first two books. There were also places where this book didn’t seem to flow as well. Now with all that being said I did still like this book. I like that you don’t have to read all the books to know what is going on. If you love romance novels than I would check out this series because even though I liked the first two books more than this one I would still recommend the entire series to you.

About The Book

Frantic flight, peaceful life. Act of treason on an island country. Cauldron of warring emotions. Exotic beauty, ace with a gun. Hunk with gifts for mockery and cooking.

Nine-year-old Leilani and her family mysteriously flee the island country of Costa Mora, leaving her father. Years later, her peaceful solitary life in California ends when she rescues Justin Halverson from thugs and she learns a devastating truth about her father. As she agonizes over her father, Justin comforts her, and they’re drawn closer together.

With Justin, she returns to her birthplace to get her father quietly out. There, she reconnects with her past, but can she forgive her father and accept him for who he is? Can she finally be at peace with who she is? Welcome, Reluctant Stranger interweaves a love story into a tale of past political intrigue and Leilani’s inner journey, accepting her past.

About The Author

EJourney is a realist who thinks she has little imagination. Credit that to her training (Ph. D., University of Illinois) and work in mental health, writing for academics and bureaucrats, and critiquing the work of others. She’s been striving ever since to think and write like normal people.

She’s a well-traveled flâneuse—a female observer-wanderer—who watches, observes, listens. And writes. A sucker for happy endings, she finds enough that depresses her about real life, but seeks no catharsis by writing about it. For her, writing is escape, entertainment. She doesn’t strive to enlighten. Not deliberately. But the bias of her old profession does carry over into her writing. So, instead of broad shoulders and heaving bosoms, she goes into protagonists’ thoughts, emotions, inner conflicts, insecurities, and struggles to reach balance and grow.

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The Photograph by Beverly Lewis

September 8, 2015

The Photograph by Beverly Lewis was a great Amish fiction story. I love fiction stories about the Amish and this book didn’t let me down in the least. This is the first book that I have read by this author and I can’t wait to check out more of her books. Anyway let’s get on to my review of this book. I loved all the characters and the setting of this book. It is always refreshing to read this books because you don’t have to worry about what might happen in the books because they are always clean and they are also up lifting. This book was all of those things and so much more. If you love Amish fiction than I know you will this book.

About The Book

Eva Esch and her sisters are in a predicament. With the passing of their widowed mother, Eva’s older brother plans to move his growing family into the Eden Valley farmhouse where they all grew up, leaving little room for his three single sisters. Unless they marry within the year, the only apparent option is for two sisters to go to Indiana to live with an elderly great aunt. Eva hopes to be married, but she isn’t sure she wants to give up her sweet shop for the life of a farmer’s wife. And she can’t see how her prospects would be any better in Indiana.

When younger sister Lily disappears in the night, leaving only a brief note, Eva fears she has been wooed away from the People by an outsider. And when Jed Stutzman, a young Amish buggy maker from Ohio, shows up at Eva’s market stand in Lancaster with a photo of a Plain young woman, Eva’s world begins to tilt.

About The Author

Beverly Lewis, raised in Pennsylvania Amish country and both a schoolteacher and an accomplished musician, has been an award-winning author for over a dozen years. Her acclaimed novel, The Preacher’s Daughter, was a 2006 Quill Book Award finalist in the romance category. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today and The New York Times. She and her husband, David, live in Colorado.”

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Purified by Elizabeth S. Sullivan

September 3, 2015

Purified by Elizabeth S. Sullivan was a great book and reminded me that this is my favorite genre of books to read. From the minute I started reading this book I didn’t want to put it down. I had to keep reading because I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. I love books like this because I want to keep reading even if my head is hurting. I get through this books so quick because of the fact that I have been known to stay up all night because I can’t put the book down and stop reading it. If you love thriller books I would recommend this book to you for sure because it won’t let down.

About The Book

Thriller / Noir

Date Published: November 27, 2014

Published By: Short on Time Books

When a mutilated body of an African American girl is found in a park sandbox, the media shows no interest. Instead, their attention is riveted on the disappearance of Olivia Safra, a college student and only child of the powerful and dangerous Richard Safra. Suspended ADA, Beck Oldman, demoted to a rookie PI is assigned her first cases to find a missing teenager and Olivia Safra.

Leads connect the murders to the Safra case. The investigation into her client’s private life reveals a dark side in the relationship between a father and daughter and exacts his wrath against Beck. More girls are found murdered, putting Beck in a race to stop a serial killer and stop her own client from destroying her.

PURIFIED is a thrilling story that explores many dark subjects, including what it does to those who have to live in the world of killers in order to stop them.

About The Author

Elizabeth S. Sullivan was born in Chicago and grew up in the LA area. Impassioned by social justice issues, inspired by her parents, she pursued teaching and earned a law degree. She has written five screenplays, one short. Her screenplays have placed or won such as: Nicholl, Austin, Page, and American Zoetrope. These recognitions garnered her a manager, Alexia Melocchi, Little Studio Films. Her first novel, PURIFIED, portrays a strong female protagonist in the genre of a noir thriller. Sullivan explores issues of race, gender, privacy in the cyber age. She has written several blogs on of women in fiction featured on Venture Galleries. She is busy working on the sequel to PURIFIED and a new screenplay.

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Never Said by Carol Lynch Williams

September 2, 2015

Never Said by Carol Lynch Williams was a very interesting book. I really enjoyed this book and it was a super quick read because it is a YA fiction. This was a great break from the books I have read. I loved that the author didn’t shy away from topics that kids really have to deal with in today’s society. I love when authors take on hard to talk about subjects because it opens the door for people to talk about them. I loved seeing how Sarah & Annie interacted and how much they changed from the start of the book right up until the end of the book. I felt like I could relate to Sarah the most because we have very similar personalities. If you love YA fiction or you have a teenager in your life you need to read this book.

About The Book

From bestselling author Carol Lynch Williams (The Chosen One), a contemporary YA novel about a family that has been caught up in what doesn’t matter and how two sisters realize that their relationship—no matter how different the two of them are—is most important.

In this contemporary YA novel by bestselling author Carol Lynch Williams (The Chosen One), fifteen-year-old fraternal twins Annie and Sarah are sisters, but that is where their interaction ends. Then Annie begins to withdraw from the family, forcing Sarah to investigate why-and the secret she uncovers changes their relationship forever.

Never Said explores not only the effects of abuse but also our world’s reliance on self, beauty, and other people’s perceptions. With themes of forgiveness, love, sacrifice, and hope woven throughout the story, teens and other fans of young adult fiction will be drawn to this story of two sisters who must find a way to come together and find the healing they both need.

About The Author

About the Author: Carol Lynch Williams, a two-time winner of the Utah Original Writing Competition, is the author of several books for children, including two novels about the Orton family of New Smyrna, Florida: Kelly and Me and Adeline Street. A starred School Library Journal review of The True Colors of Caitlynne Jacksonpraises Williams as she “again demonstrates her facility at mood and character development… Truer colors are hard to come by.”

Her most recent novel, If I Forget, You Remember, is a moving intergenerational story that stresses the bonds that hold families together through difficult times–a help since over 19 million Americans have a family member with Alzheimer’s disease.

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When Girlfriends Find Love by Savannah Page

September 1, 2015

When Girlfriends Find Love by Savannah Page was a good book to read. I have come to realize that chick-lit books are my guilty pleasure genre I love that this author kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next even when you aren’t a huge fan of the genre of the book. I really did like the characters and the plot of this book. The author did a great job of grabbing & holding my attention throughout this book. There were a few slow spots but not so slow that I wanted to stop reading. If you love romance novels than I know this is a book you need to add to your to be read list.

About The Book

Sophie Wharton is in control. Whether life is going according to plan or throwing her for a loop, Sophie is determined to remain calm and in charge. It’s no wonder she’s the successful owner of one of Seattle’s most charming cafés, The Cup and the Cake. Her lemon meringue cupcakes, petite French treats, and cappuccinos always leave customers coming back for more. Naturally, her camaraderie of college girlfriends are still thick as thieves a decade later. And it should come as no surprise that she has her own cozy apartment in the hip part of town and grand goals for her future.

Of course Sophie has had her share of rough times, and recently some unexpected surprises have emerged. Her best friend Claire has moved across the state, the demands of her café are mounting, and some major changes among her circle of friends are shaking things up. But it’s nothing Sophie can’t handle.

When it comes to her love life, however, Single Sophie’s at a loss. She approaches it the way she does nearly everything in life–by trying to call all the shots. But love doesn’t work that way, and as Sophie examines her past relationships–thinking back on romantic trysts in Paris; college mistakes; the relationship responsible for the Year of Heartbreak–she must come to accept that love is an unpredictable, untamable, and often unexpected force.

This is the witty and heartwarming conclusion of the When Girlfriends collection, a novel about examining the past, moving forward, and following your heart. It’s a story about friendship, relationships, acceptance, and learning to love again. About what happens when girlfriends find love.

About The Author

Savannah Page is the author of the seven-novel When Girlfriends collection, heartfelt women’s fiction that celebrates friendship, love, and life sprinkled with drama and humor. When she isn’t writing, Savannah enjoys a good book with a latte and jazz tunes, Pilates, and exploring her home of Berlin as an American expat.

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Hello, Agnieszka by E Journey

August 27, 2015

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Hello, Agnieszka by E Journey was a great addition to the first book in the series. If you happened to miss my review on the first book you can click here to check it out but you don’t have to read these books in order. You can read them in any order that you want to. I have really fallen in love with this authors style of writing and with the characters in both of the books. There is something that I can’t put my finger on that keeps me coming back and not wanting to put the books down. This book takes place in the 70’s so I could be considered an historical romance for those of us that are younger but I don’t think of it that way. I did like the characters in this book but I think in the long run still like the characters from the first story. If you are looking for a great romance novel than you should check this one out.

About The Book

A raw tale of early love, rivalry and betrayal. Her oldest son’s suicide attempt shocks the Halversons and forces Agnieszka to reveal a past she has kept from her children.

Passion for music. Hearing her talented, irrepressible grandaunt Jola, a concert pianist in Poland, give a piano recital, young Agnieszka discovers a passion for music. Jola hones her talent and feeds her dreams.

Shattered dreams. Real-world problems, thorny relations with a mother tied to her roots and betrayal by Jola shatter her dreams.

A 70s love story. Agnieszka falls in love, but fate deals her first love a death blow. She rises from the losses she has suffered and gets a second chance at happiness.

A mother’s youthful dreams thwarted and renewed, amidst the exciting promise of the 70s.

About The Author

EJourney is a realist who thinks she has little imagination. Credit that to her training (Ph. D., University of Illinois) and work in mental health, writing for academics and bureaucrats, and critiquing the work of others. She’s been striving ever since to think and write like normal people.

She’s a well-traveled flâneuse—a female observer-wanderer—who watches, observes, listens. And writes. A sucker for happy endings, she finds enough that depresses her about real life, but seeks no catharsis by writing about it. For her, writing is escape, entertainment. She doesn’t strive to enlighten. Not deliberately. But the bias of her old profession does carry over into her writing. So, instead of broad shoulders and heaving bosoms, she goes into protagonists’ thoughts, emotions, inner conflicts, insecurities, and struggles to reach balance and grow.

Connect with the Author: Website Twitter Facebook

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