Those Red High Heels
by Katherine May
My rating: 4.3 of 5 stars
Reviewed For +Readers' Favorite
Emma is having one of those days. She wakes up to a sick puppy who has managed to explode all over her apartment, so she calls in a cleaning team and the vet which really shoots her budget in the foot. Once she arrives at work, she gets a picture message from a girlfriend of her on-again/off-again boyfriend with another woman last night. Before she can recover she is confronted by the boss, who tries to complain about her being late to take the pressure off firing her, only she stands her ground and tells him what everyone really thinks of him! Sitting in her car, her best friend Brynn calls to tell Emma that Collin has proposed and she needs her in New York. Emma needs a pick me up, she buys herself an expensive pair of red high heels! The next day she is headed to New York to help her best friend. Fate, or maybe Those Red High Heels, have a hand in the rest as life suddenly starts turning around in more ways than one for Emma. Author Katherine May creates a modern tale of a woman trying to find her place in the working world, while navigating romance and friendship, spiced with some good clothes and shoes in the mix.
Those Red High Heels turn out to be the best impulsive purchase Emma has ever made, in many more ways than she could have imagined. They become the catalyst in her work life and love life, finally things are looking her way, at least for awhile. Katherine May creates a believable tale of today's woman. It's fun and cute, it will make you laugh and cry. Great read for anyone and perfect for a relaxing get away from the daily grind kind of reading.
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Playing with Passion Theta Series Book 1
by Gayle Parness
My rating: 4.4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
The year is 2175 and so much has changed in the world as we know it. Northern America is ruled by an archdemon called The Director, his brother rules Northern Europe. There are clans of werewolves and vampires everywhere, and humans are surviving in the slums, just barely. Another class has emerged, called Thetas, they are born of two human parents and have psychic abilities, but they are controlled completely by The Director. They are grouped into troupes of actors and they perform virtual shows for their audiences, the thing is they have so many more capabilities than anyone believes, they just haven't learned them yet. Playing with Passion follows a specific Ingrid, all the lead females are called Ingrid, and her desire for something more, her desire to break free. When she is placed in the Hudson New York Troupe, where everyone actually takes care of each other she finds a place where maybe there are people willing to learn what they are capable of and break free. Author +Gayle Parness mixes romance, fantasy, science fiction, class struggle and slavery into an engaging tale.
Playing with Passion not only alludes to the idea of the troupe of actors in the book, but also that the virtual performances they create for the audience given them a passionate, euphoric feeling. It also gives a hint to the dynamics between the characters, including a forbidden romance between an actress and a stage manager. +Gayle Parness does a wonderful job drawing you into this story, building the characters and slowly letting history and background on each come out, just as in a real relationship, so that you feel you are becoming friends with them as your read. You want to help them, you understand the issues and want to see them fight but at the same time know it is dangerous. This is a wonderfully engaging read. Definitely recommend it more for the adult reader as there is some sexual scenes and some references to past sexual abuses.
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Every now and again, when I have read a number of things by one author I like to do an Author Post and give you more information about the author so that you can find more on them, like them, follow them...whatever.
Assaf Marcus (A.M. Marcus)
"Tell me a fact and I'll learn. Tell me a truth and I'll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever." Native American proverbAssaf Marcus graduated from the Technion Israel Institute Of Technology with B.Sc. Cum Laude in Computer Engineering. Throughout his studies, he has been teaching and helping children with math and through his work, he has helped them to discover their inner strength and motivation to continue studying and nurturing success in life. He loves the challenge of early education, and especially enjoys working with children with learning difficulties. He has found great satisfaction in helping them conquer their fears and overcome the challenges associated with their education. Assaf Marcus has read hundreds of self improvement books, and been influenced heavily by them. Through self-reflection, he found that his great dream was to share that wisdom, especially with kids. Assaf left his computer engineering career in order to pursue his dream of becoming an author of children's books. Today, he continues to write these books, with the goal of teaching kids basic skills through his stories. He believes that a good story is an excellent way to communicate ideas to children. Each and every story is based upon some deep issue, value, or virtue that can potentially make a huge impact on the lives of both children and adults. He has a vast collection of quotes, and usually bases his stories off of quotes he personally finds inspiring.
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Books I have Reviewed:
* The Prince of Toys * Granny's Guitar
* The Other Side * Kyle's Smile
* Friends Through Sand and Stone
* Kara's Christmas Smile * The Juice of Life
* The Carrot, The Egg and The Tea Bag
* The Peaceful Lion and the Nagging Crow
SLAM (The Psionics 0.5)
by Tash McAdam
My rating: 4.6 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
In a future world of paranormals, where psychic talents are no longer rare but somewhat common you have the readers, the projectors and the blanks. Trouble is the government wants them all and will stop at nothing, including kidnapping young children to use them for their own purposes. Underground lives the ARC, a resistance movement of people who are fighting against the government and it's policy of kidnapping psychic children. One of those is Serena, and it's personal to her, her baby brother Damon was kidnapped by the government and she wants him back. SLAM is titled after a special psychic technique that Serena learned to block out others in combat, and she uses it well. She just never thought she would have to use it against her best friend, who all the sudden is against her. Tash McAdam creates a teen-angst story in the middle of a world conflict that all wraps together.
SLAM may be Serena's technique and she may use it well, but she always thought Abriel would be by her side. Now Abriel has sabotaged her treats her like an enemy, and Serena doesn't understand why. Their first mission topside forces them together, and they will have to overcome whatever has happened and work together if they are going to survive the harsh and bitter world that author Tash McAdam has created. This is a great book for the young adult and teenage reader. As the main character is just sixteen, it can easily be understood by those on both sides. Unique view of a future world and something different and worth reading.
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The Witch Who Cried Wolf (Cry Wolf, #1)
by Sarah Mäkelä
My rating: 4.1 of 5 stars
Mia is a shy little flower of a witch, and Jessa is her best friend, who runs and owns an herbal shop in town. Some people realize that she is really a witch, but most just come for the fun of it and the novelty. When a client asks Mia to make a potion, he doesn't give her enough information and the healing salve goes wrong. Now Mia has werewolves hunting her down and threatening her family and she doesn't really now which camp to believe.
Ethan has just spent the last year plus on deployment overseas and he is looking forward to being home, even if he isn't exactly looking forward to spending time with Mia. It's not that he doesn't like Mia, that's just it, he's been in love with her since seventh grade, but you just don't go after your best friends little sister, it is just not done.
This year, when Ethan gets involved in the werewolf attack on Mia, and then see's the treatment that a bad boyfriend subjects her to, it is almost more than he can handle.
This is a cute story of friends figuring out their places with each other long after college and if it's ok to finally date your best friends little sister or not. A story of a witch and a werewolf and a friendship and partnership to help each other when one is injured, but also to keep the supernatural hidden from the rest of the world.
Definitely a young adult type story, one sexual scene, not too explicit, but enough to be mentioned. Fun, enjoyable story for anyone who likes the witch, werewolf, paranormal genre.
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The Distance Between (Bobbie Lamont, #4)
by Zelmer Wilson
My rating: 4.2 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
With college graduation only recently behind her, Bobbie Lamont had given up on life, she thought she had experienced all life had to offer and that she would never find love again. Enter Miller, a young and somewhat different seventeen year old, who spent the summer teaching Bobbie that there was so much more yet to experience in life. The Distance Between is the story of young love, and not so young love, of a seventeen year old and a twenty-two year old, but who have so much in common, and who teach each other how to live again. Author Zelmer Wilson takes a typical girl been dumped response, there is nothing else out there, and turns it into a new adventure with someone completely unexpected.
The Distance Between is a unique look at emotions and thoughts. Bobbie is a deeply emotional person, writing everything down into millions o pages of diary, yet when she is dumped by her latest boyfriend, she is ready to give up. To run into another reader/writer like herself in Miller, even if he is five years younger than her seems like the lifeline she needs and it becomes just that. Author Zelmer Wilson not only writes about the life o this one character, Bobbie Lamont, but about the need of all people to be able to connect with someone that sees the world the same way they do regardless of age or distance. Although the book is filled with a lot of drinking and smoking, typical of the time period that it is written in, I still feel it is a good read for young adults as well as adults. There are some good things to be learned here.
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Children's Book: The Prince of Toys And Food:
by A. M. Marcus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
George has so many toys, he never plays with them all, yet he never feels satisfied. Something is always missing, so he is always asking his parents for more and more toys. Do you know anyone like George? And although this is a children's book, the message speaks loud and clear to all ages! How many adults do you know that have more clothes than they can ever wear, yet still go out shopping looking to fill a void. It happens all the time, as people we look to things to fill needs in our lives.
George learns, through a dream of a fabulous castle, that it is not having the most stuff, but appreciating what you do have and using and enjoying that, where you will find fulfillment. It may seem trivial to some, the idea of limiting what you get and enjoying what you have, but I find that this is a message that needs to be repeated over and over, especially within the teenage community right now. Life is not all about amassing the most things.
I have plans to share this book with my teenagers, not just with young children, because I think the message is something that needs to be gotten across, and then reminded again and again as peer pressure starts to show it's ugly head in your child's life. This is one book that will get a ton of use in my house!!
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The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series
by LaDonna Cole
My rating: 4.7 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Corey is completely in love with Kate, never mind that he isn't even eighteen yet. He has been in love with her for a thousand years, or at least in the terms of the quantum physics that makes the jumps they do regularly happen. Kate loves Corey and she feels safe and worthy with Corey, the only problem, she is drawn to Trip too. Trip of course, as much as he considers Corey a friend, is competitive and wants to win the girl, even if it means breaking the heart of the girl that loves him. Welcome to Heartwork Village, a camp for troubled youth that implies quantum physics to allow the campers to jump into alternative realities to change choices and see what else could have occurred. The only problem, someone is sabotaging the jumps! Corey, Trip and Kate make up three members of the team called The Keepers, whose only job it is, is to find who is sabotaging the jumps. Author +LaDonna Cole creates a world so close to reality that you believe it and want to visit yourself.
The Keepers creates a believable existence of life this some complex quantum theory that allows these controlled jumps into time and space. They are suppose to address issues in your life and help you deal with them, which is the purpose of Heartwork Village, and why troubled teens get sent here. +LaDonna Cole gives us a heartwarming story of first love, lost souls, and coming of age. It is not your normal angst filled rebellious teeagers, but for some reason these intelligent kids need a hand up in the world. This is an excellent book for those preteens and teen readers! It deals with topics and pressures that every child today is going to face!
Book One - The Torn
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Children's Book: The Other Side: (Children's Picture Book On Being Grateful)
by A. M. Marcus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Have you ever looked out at something far away and thought how beautiful? How much better it was than what I have? Well this is the story of just that, only told from the perspective of two young children. Each thought the other had something so much better than they had, when in reality they had the same things.
Author Assaf Marcus has created a name for himself in writing quality children's books with purpose and meaning. They are always cute stories and yet they are never too young, children of many age ranges can benefit from his stories. To reinforce the message in the younger ages, he has even included free coloring book pages to go with the book.
As a parent, I love his books. I have used them a number of times, and I have even heard my own daughter refer to his books when explaining a concept to a friend!! I also know and work with a number of teachers and daycare providers, and I always recommend his books to them as well. They also find that they work well with the children and carry a message in a gentle way that the children are more receptive to and willing to accept.
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Haunted
by Eileen Maksym
My rating: 4.6 of 5 stars
Haunted by Eileen Maksym is the story of three college students who investigate and research hauntings together.
First you have Tara, the smart and pretty girl, who is studying neurobiology and has access to lab equipment. She has a troubled past that she doesn't talk about to anyone, and avoids most friendship except this little group. Second you have Steven Trent, he is a political science major, and has a major crush on Tara, but refuses to do anything about it. He likes the friendship the three of them have and doesn't want to run her off. Last, but not least, you have Paul, who is the one who really makes the haunting group because he can actually hear ghosts.
Add in an interesting newspaper article about an older couple trying to sell their home, only to have all the prospects ran off by the hauntings. Of course the college group just has to investigate this house, right? Now you have a wonderful little book called Haunted.
It was very well-written, everything flowed well, and once I started going I just kept going and before I knew it I was done. There were some unexpected twists, but it was quite a cute story. You get some glimpses into Tara's past, just tiny bits but enough to wet your appetite and make you want to know more and hope that this if just the beginning of a long series! You also get history, some tragic, and some beautiful, but sometimes things happen in the 1800's that just can't be helped, other times they could have been prevented, but you get to glimpse into long ago life as well.
I marked it as Young Adult as the characters are college students. Really, the content of the book, topic and themes are written so that any age reader really could pretty much read this book. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. So glad to have had the chance to have read this book!
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Ground Zero: Prequel to Numbered Series
by Magus Tor
My rating: 4 .4 of 5 stars
In a future society, by the age of eight, children are tested and sent to schools for their specialized vocational tracks. The first day of Med Worker Training, Aurelia and Marnee find each other and a deep and lasting friendship begins. But all is not roses and sunshine in this new world. Those that can not work, who are sick and frail, are injected.
As we follow Marnee and Aurelia through their years of Med Worker Training, we watch them deal with confidence issues, learn to study, have faith in themselves and find that Aurelia is unique in that her parents actually are involved in her life. Aurelia and her father have many talks through the years about things that upset and bother Aurelia.
This is a short book, but a quick look into what society could evolve into with specialized testing and training, euthanasia and select population reduction. It is just enough to get you thinking about this world the author, Magus Tor has introduce and make you want more. Great, quick read for any reader!
**Please note in the spirit of disclosure, I received a copy of the book in return for my HONEST review.**
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Life Bank
by Magus Tor
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
**Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an HONEST review**
What if you were given a bank book, told your life was worth a little over $7 million dollars, and yet you didn't have to work for that money? Would you take it? What would it really cost you?
Daniel is a bit down on his luck after yet another bad job interview when he is approached by a man who offers him a bank book. It's his Life Bank. If he signs in blood, he can withdrawal money against the value of his life and when the balance hits zero he dies. Sounds interesting. Problem is, Daniel doesn't ask any questions, but then again if you are greedy enough to think about using a Life Book how much are you really going to question it.
What follows it the story of Daniel's life. The twists and turns, from what he thinks it could be, to what it really turns out to be. He calculates how long he thinks he will live on that $7 million, and yet doesn't take into consideration lifestyle, smoking, drinking, sex, etc when figuring his lifespan. So many other things come into play, life is not a simple math calculation, and yet he wants to live from a Life Book.
The story is well written, and as a reader you find yourself understanding the decisions that Daniel makes, agreeing with them at times, arguing with them at times, shaking your head at him at other times still. Everyone will be able to relate to different parts of Daniel and to relate to different parts of this book. It gives you pause to think, and reasses some of the things you hold in top spots in your life.
It is a quick read, but I recommend it for all readers. Thought provoking and discussion worthy!
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Children's Book : Friends Through Sand And Stone: (Children's Picture Book On The Value Of Forgiveness And Friendship)
by A. M. Marcus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Author Assaf Marcus has once again managed to take a wonderful concept of forgiveness, and put it into a story that children of all ages can comprehend and understand. This is definitely a must read of parent, teachers, anyone who deals with children.
Although this is written for younger children. I am planning to share this with my junior high daughter. This is a tough time for that age and they are going to have a lot of issues in school this year where there are going to be hurts from their friends. This is the perfect book to help them through these hurts. I wish I had known about this book when my older daughter was in junior high!!
As an added bonus for those people using this with the younger children, the author included a free coloring book to help to reinforce the lessons of the book. Wonderful idea and perfect way to get everything across!
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