the alchemy of charlotte goodwin
by Michelle Colston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for Readers Favorite
The Alchemy of Charlotte Goodwin by author Michelle Colston is probably the most captivating book I have read in awhile. Charlotte poured herself into dance, ballet specifically, and when that was taken from her, she poured herself into work. The problem is that she has never really figured out who she was or what she really wanted in life, and that is leaving her a lot of voids and questions in her life. When her Uncle Shel dies, she finds out through a phone call and in her distraughtness she runs across the street only to be hit by a car. The accident leaves her dreaming of alternative lives that she might have lead. At first she isn't sure what is happening, but the more she sees in these dreams, the more clear her frustrations with he3r current life become and she begins to wonder what her life could have been, and where it should go.
Author Michelle Colston has written a tale that feels so life-like and real that you find yourself drawn into the story, wanting to root for certain versions of her life over others, yet they all seem to intertwine in a great number of ways with the same people and places. The Alchemy of Charlotte Goodwin is not only the story of a woman finding who she really is and what she really wants, but it begs the readers to look into their own lives and think about choices and what might have been had they made a different choice, or had thins happened differently. Hidden secrets in her life are staring to come to the front the book, and her search is just beginning. The book ends on a promising note, and with the promise of a second book to come. This book is a perfect read for all ages, but I especially think it would be good your the young adult reader, to allow them to question their own lives and make sure they are living the life they want, and not trying to fulfill someone else dreams for them.
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Guardian (The Guardian Series, Book 1)
by Sara Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
How do you deal when everything has collapsed around you? At least to Emma, the whole world has collapsed and there is no reason to go on, her boyfriend James has died and she has no will to carry on. Her family and friends are worried, so her best friend Shel comes to stay for awhile, and tries to make Emma face life again. Which might have worked, if only James' spirit hadn't started talking to Emma. Now she is trying to let everyone around her think she is fine and moving on, while she is living just to spend time with James' spirit. Guardian is the position that James agreed to take in able to remain as a spirit on earth and be able to watch over Emma, the problem is, he is not suppose to be spending so much time with her, he is supposed to be training and learning to be a Guardian to someone. Author Sara Mack creates an amazing tale of young love, cut short by death, and the effects of choices on life afterwards.
Guardian is said to be the first in a series, which is good, because a number of questions are left unanswered in the first book. In this book though, we learn a great deal about James and Emma's relationship through flashbacks and dreams, which are well written and fit into the story wonderfully. From the start you find yourself feeling for Emma, crying along with her, wanting to help her heal, liking James coming back and then becoming not so sure about it. There is the side story of their friends Shel and Matt, and you find yourself enjoying that story and understanding Emma's frustration at first, but wanting the same for her again. It is a complex and deep story with a number of layers and some unexpected events that you don't see coming. I feel comfortable recommending this book to all ages of readers, given parental consent, there is no sex and only the reference to the accident and one fight scene, but it is not graphic. I feel it is a great story to read and talk about with your teens and such. Enjoy readers!
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So Shall I Reap (The Unseen Series, Book 1)
by Kathy-Lynn Cross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Balance is what the world is based on. In So Shall I Reap, we are introduced to the world of the Unseen, those on both sides as they work to keep the balance. Those on one side, the House of Dark, usually called grim reapers, take the souls as someone dies and return part of it to the River Styx to keep in flowing, the other part they give to the bridge crossers, part of the House of Light to be recopied again at a later time. It's all a cycle that bears no emotion, and happens time and time again each day. Until the day that a reaper named Tevin is sent to collect the soul of a six year old girl, Alexcia. The problem is that Alexcia is able to see him, this has never happened to him before, and after a fierce fight with Razor, the bridge crosser, Rae-Lynn, Alexcia's mother explains to Tevin that Alexcia is the Child of Balance and makes him promise to keep her safe. Author Kathy-Lynn Cross gives an amazingly complex story of a family, trying to protect their daughter, getting some things right and some things wrong. A grim reaper protecting the life of a child, which is against everything he is about, and the House of Light doing everything in its power to claim her.
Author Kathy-Lynn Cross has labeled So Shall I Reap as the first book in a series, which is good because this book ends on a huge cliff-hanger of an ending. You really only get to originally meet the characters when Alecxia was six and then we spend a couple weeks with them the month before her sixteenth birthday. As a reader, you get Alexcia's view of what is going on, and then you get Tevin's, and neither have all the answers. It seems that Rae-Lynn and Max have kept a number of secrets from them both, from Alexcia in efforts to protect her, and from Tevin, to allow him to discover it on his own and not to influence fate. There is no sex or real violence, but there is teenage drinking. It is a great read for all ages. Enjoy.
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Little Red Gem
by D.L. Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Ruby was having a bad couple of weeks, things just didn't feel right between her and boyfriend Leo, and this is when she really needed them to be the most right. In a fit of anger Ruby drives away from Leo and is killed in a car crash, but her ghost is left behind to wander the earth, trying to get the one answer Ruby didn't get from Leo before the crash, who much he really loved her. Little Red Gem follows the ghost Ruby as she tries to follow Leo, and her old friends and find out what is going on. As young teenagers, this love is eternal and the most important question to Ruby, she has to know. D L Richardson write a tell of teenage love, mixed with rock and roll, and the everyday issues surrounding teens.
D L Richardson does an amazing job blending music into this book. Not only is Leo in and band and writing his own songs, but Ruby was in a band and writing her own songs. A number of original songs, written by the author, specifically for the book are in the book which is unique and fun, making it more relevant to teens. Little Red Gem deals with a number of issues that face teens today including drinking and pregnancy. It also presents parents that are flawed and have made mistakes, who are maybe a bit more understanding and not your typical sit-com parents. This is a great book for teens and young adults, even adults will enjoy the book. A fun read.
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Seduce Me (The Heart Series, Book 1)
by Angela Estienne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Imagine waking up in the hospital to find that you have been asleep for five days, and the last thing you remember is driving home from dinner with your fiance'. That confusion is exactly where we begin the story with Jasmine, or Jazz to her friends. She soon finds that her fiance' Greg died in the accident and that his parents blame her for his death. Seduce Me (The Heart Series Book 1) follows Jazz as she picks up her life, moves to a completely new place to try to start all over, to move on after Greg and put her life back together. She is haunted by puzzling nightmares of the accident, and then there are mysterious flowers from H.H., who seems to know what is happening in her life even before she does. Add in a handsome, rich playboy by the name of Luke Heart who seems to have eyes for Jazz and you have a sizzling story. Angela Estienne weaves it all together, and throws in a few twists and turns and unexpected events to keep you on your toes too.
Seduce Me may be the story of Jazz rebuilding her life after Greg's death, but there is plenty of romance and sizzle in the story. There are flashbacks to times between Jazz and Greg that introduce you to their particular relationship and it hints at themes of mild BDSM and role playing in their private lives. Angela Estienne weaves these romance, sizzle, mild BDSM themes together with overcoming grief, rebuilding and mystery to create a definite womens novel that is worth the read.
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Guardian
by A.L. Crouch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
As a child Alex was in the car when her parents were killed, saved only by a voice and vision that only she could see. She ran from her small town home and the memory of that vision, but fate has brought her back home now, at age twenty-five. Her original goal was to get in and out of town as fast as she could, but once there, and in her old home, the vision from the past returns. Memories of the murder also return, and to keep herself alive, Alex must learn to have faith and trust in something that she cannot see. Guardian is a warming tale of the idea that there can be someone out there watching over us, loving us and keeping us safe, even if we can't see or hear them. A.L. Crouch does a wonderful job mixing faith and paranormal together to come to this unique blend in this story of seeing a vision that is not really there yet is.
Guardian is unlike any other story about a guardian angel that I have ever read. It is not that there is a heaven that sends those to watch over you, but is something entirely different, and it takes just the faith to believe in the unseen to see them. A.L. Crouch has written a story that gives you adventure, romance, suspense, mystery and intrigue along with faith and the paranormal, all wrapped into one amazing tale. It is something to read, and one that you will be hard pressed o put down before you finish it.
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Police Don't Move! ... well sometimes we do
by N.E. Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Have you ever wondered what it's really like to be a cop? Not all the glory job that you see on television but the mundane everyday stuff? Well N. E. Wood takes his time on the force and relays some of the best stories of things that actually happened to him when he was working on Australia's Gold Coast. Police don't move is wickedly funny at times, serious and direct at others, and teaching still at more. The cases highlighted are some of the best, funniest and down right silliest you will ever read. Then there are some that taught the officer a lesson, so that made him better and others that lead to his retirement.
Police Don't Move captures real life, the pictures and pretty parts; and the ugly and dirty parts just the same. It gives you a look into an area that is just like any other area, what Officer Nick experienced and talked about are the same things any cop in any town is going to tell you he has dealt with to. N. E. Wood takes his time to tell the stories more like his is sitting right there talking to you, than you reading a book. At the same time, he puts his emotions and feelings into some of the harder issues that he faced. It is well written and a great fun read for anyone. Might not want the kids to read it without parents around, but then again, they could learn what not to do, and how to stay out of trouble from this book too.
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