Frankenstine's Monster ~Susan O'Keefe~

I love books that are written like this one. It just draws you in and doesn't want to let go until your finished with the book. This story is based on the monster's point of view.

The story begins where Victor Frankenstine has chased the monster all the way to the artic and how Victor Frakenstine found another man to take up his mission to kill the monster. The interaction between Captin Walton and the monster shows the timeless battle of Man vs Monster. The only difference in this case is that Monster is more human than monster.

You get sucked into the build-up of the story and how it  actiavely involves the monster that took his father's name Victor and how all he wants is revenge against the Captin, but still be a man non the less and how circumstance changes everything and touches every character in the story.

I felt so bad for the monster who in the end all he wanted was someone that was not afraid of him and  would accept him to be a man and treat him like one. I'm not gonna give clues away but I would suggest that you read this book it's so worth it and very well written.

Writing on my Forehead ~Nafisa Haji~

This was good book that showed how being a Muslim-American is hard for women, even more so just being Muslim-American. This is the story of  Saira Qadar and how she broke the lines between family traditions and being independent.

Saira had gone to college and made many mistakes and her story easily resembles one of her grandmothers lives growing up and going to college instead of marrying. Saira's mother is trying to constantly marry her off and this has caused a riff in the mother-daughter relationship. The estranged relationship to her sister and the gift that she gave her sister.

Saira has made many choices in her life and how they all come ahead to the tragedy in the aftermath of 9/11. Saira's story shows how Muslim-American women who wear the hijab had happen to them in post 9/11. The and of the book leaves it open for another book or to let your imagination to roam.

I was impressed with this book, as seems to be a pattern of late when I have been reading outside my normal area of  subjects I read about. I hope that you enjoy this book as much I as I have.

Dark Song ~Gail Gailes~

Ames is the main character in this story. She's your typical rich kid that you read in books. She was use to having what she wanted and her mother was also use to living life in certain style and trying to maintain what they lost because Ames's father was fired from his job for stealing and this is where the plot changes.

They move to Texas and Ames is ignored by her family while the whole family is transiting to the change of not having everything they wanted. Ames meets Mark a man with a troubled past and this leads to Ames not making the right choices all in the search of love and attention that she's not getting from her family.

Mark is dark, violent and extremely well armed.  He pulls Ames into his violent world with affirmations of love and violent out burst. Much of this book reads as if the writer has tapped into that world of social angst and combined it with an explosive relationship that will only end in tragedy.

Over all it was a good book but one I can see that I won't pick up again. This is more for tween/teen set of readers. I will say that it's well written and the characters relate to each other even when they are moving in and out different stages of Ames's change of social class and then moving to another state.

Kitchen Table Wisdom ~Rachel Remen, M.D~

I got this book from Children's Hospital in Seattle, here in Washington. I read it and cried, laughed, made to in awah and rediscovered the  meaning of healing not just the body but the soul too.

This is a great book about healing , accepting, and embracing death when the time has come. Each story is about a medical conditions and the simple small steps to recovery and redefining who we are and where we want to be in the healing process.

The author has the best understanding in what it means to be a patient or living with a life threatening diagnoses and going through many surgeries and the healing process that one must go through to see the positive side in everything they do.

Petty Magic ~Camille Deangelis~

I got this book from a Face Book friend and Read it Forward. I like the cover and found it very intriguing. Well here is what I thought of the book.

Evelyn Harbinger is a witch that has seen many things during her lifetime. The most prominate time in the book is the present and WWII. Evelyn uses her magic to make herself young to have fun and then runs into an old love that has reincarnated into another man. With this newly acquainted love the adventures and memories begin.

This book doesn't blend that well from the present to the past, there are some moments that had me laughing so hard and crying too. I do hope that the edited version of the book finds that happy compromise between the past and present. The copy I got to read was unedited so I am giving it that benefit of a doubt. Over all it was a good read.

Here Burns My Candle~ Liz Curtis Higgs

                                                        Such a beautiful cover.

 This story is one that most of will recognize as the story from the Bible about Ruth and Naomi, but with a historical fiction twist.

 This story takes place in  the year of 1745 with the Jacobite rising against the King of England in Scotland. You meet Lord and Lady Kerr who live with Lady Elizabeth Kerr's mother in law, sister and brother in law. These characters are well written and you can see them clearly in your mind when you read. Liz Higgins does a great job to illustrate the emotions and details of the characters.

The further you see the secret of the gold that Dowager Lady Marjory has hidden, Lord Kerr's infidelity and Mrs. Kerr's vain and self absorbed attitude towards how things to relate to her. You see how as the war of the "True King" progresses the secrets about Lord Kerr come out and how alliances are broken and life changes for the Kerr women. The lord answers the prayers of Lady and Dowager Kerr in their search for answers on what to do.

As you remember from the story of Ruth and Naomi the men had died and Naomi sent her daughters in law back to their families, but Ruth stayed with Naomi to care for her. Ruth's words always rang true when she said "Your people will be my people and your God my God" (Ruth 1:16).

There is another book to finish the journey that Marjory and Elizabeth began when fleeing from Edinburgh called Mine is the Night. I must forewarn you that you will not want to put this book down and will be sad when you finish it because you want to learn more about what will happen to Marjory and Elizabeth when they make their way back to Tweedsford and try to make a new life being widows and traitors of the King of England.

Conversations with God for Women~ Marcia Ford

                                                     Such a Beautiful Cover...don't you think

 If you could ask God anything what would it be? Many ask for help, salvation, hope and other things.  How about the questions that women want to ask God besides the why me...this books addresses it.

 It's an easy read and puts what God wants from us women in clear understanding. Conversations with God address women in the ministry and how to call on God and Jesus when society and life try to sway or even overwhelm us in our daily lives.

Another great feature about the book is that it's also study guide for women. When you read the questions and the answers that God, Jesus and other women of the bible answer with there are numbers (notes) to correspond with different books of the bible to help one have a better sense of the answers that everyone is giving you.

While reading the book...mainly at night I must say that I do feel that God is with me reading the book and helping me to better understand where he's leading me in his plan, Not mine. I love how the book conveys in very answer that God loves us and wants what is best even if don't see the big picture and how this love is expressed in the bible.

I would recommend this book to anyone woman that wants a better relationship with God and what his plans are for women even if there isn't enough focus on us in the bible God has his focus on us and loves us no matter what. God's love is like the love we have with our children; unconditional. This book reiterates this in every answer that given to the questions.

The Hunger ~ Jackie Morse Kessler

This book touches a very serious issue called Anorexia and Bulimia and the need to be thin and the lengths that some girls will go. This is a young adult book (again the cover got me...I mean look it, it looks too cool not to read it!) geared to the 12 and up crowd.

 The main character is Lisabeth (Lisa) Lewis, she has enough and sounding like the country song she's had more than enough time and decides to chase all her problems (Thin Voice) away with her mother's antidepressants. When she is on the verge of dying she has what seems like a dream and is offered the position of Famine, one of the famed four riders of the apocalypse.

Lisabeth gets a magical black steed that she names midnight that takes her all over the world where Famine is needed. She then meets War and Pestilence, war scares her and Pestilence tells Famine how they work well together...which by the way makes sense if you actually know what these 4 horsemen do in the bible. And yes Death is the Pale Rider and looks like a dead famous rock legend. 

Lisabeth is scared of her powers and what she can do with them, but this fear slowly fades and she then realizes the true potential of her powers and how she can help people with them and undo what famine has done to the land and people that the former famine has touched.

In the end you see that it's really Lisabeth's struggle with the anorexia and the need for help. Other people had seen what was going on and tried to help but lets be honest about this one human behavior if you don't think that there is a problem it's hard to help someone that doesn't see they need help. It's always the external struggle of man vs man or in this case self vs self.

I would suggest reading this book and maybe a couple more if this is your first introduction to anorexia nervosa. This is also for the girls that are more into mythology like I was when I was young and loved to read...ok I still love to read.

* Anorexia is a VERY SERIOUS condition and one that can kill. Anyone can suffer from it and the outcome to become to thin is sad. Please if you are reading this and have this condition, speak to your loved ones and a doctor. Being thin to make up for self worth isn't worth it.*

Home Is Beyond the Moutains ~ Celia Barker Lottridge

Another great historical fiction novel, and this one is geared to young readers....haha didn't find out till the very end of the book. Go figure.

This is about the Armenians and Assyrians during WWI and how they were forced to to flee from their homes and lives as they knew it to head to where the British forces were for help. The only means of transportation during that time was walking or on the back of a mule.

 Many people didn't make it during the walk and thousand were buried along the walking path. Many families were now what we called broken and the children were orphans and have been shuffled from one orphanage to another. This book explains how these children survived and built their own families to get back home with the help from Susan Shedd.

You learn what true survival is and what the real meaning of family means when you don't really have one. This book will keep you wanting to know more and it will be hard to put down. This book too is based on real people and real events such as is all historical fiction, but the twist on this is, it's based on a true story from the author's life. Susan Shedd was her aunt.

Romanov Bride ~ Robert Alexander

 Such a beautiful cover, one of the reasons it attracted my attention. Sometimes the cover just gets me, plus the bonus is that it's...tada historical fiction, my favorite genera for reading of late!



We all know how the Romanov family ended, but how about the way the people felt about their tsar and the conditions that led up to the royal family being murdered? And so much more.

In this book most of the accounts of what happened is between the Grand Duchess Elisavyeta (Ella) the sister to the tsaritsa Aleksandra and Pavel. The story of these two people from different walks of a life a saint and a revolutionist murder intertwine and become one. I must say that this way of writing was wonderfully written. I must say that I couldn't put the book down.

You learn what kind of man the Grand Duke Sergei was and more about his assassination then you did in the history class. The way you see how the characters are given more breath of life than what you learn from history channel and second hand accounts of the key players involved.

The other differences between Pavel and the Grand Duchess is that Pavel is fueled by rage and hatred, where as the Grand Duchess is more of saint and tries to take care of her bothers and sisters of Russia. Yet each time their paths cross something happens to Pavel and his heart and hatred shift off this one Romanov. When you read further in to the story Pavel reveals more about the Grand Duchess and the rest of the Romanov family.

I was moved, made angry and begin to believe that no matter the station of one's life humanity must exist and begin at home, as the old quote says. This is a good read and I will read this book again and again.

Robert's writing makes you feel and think that you are there in Russia going thorough the mixed emotions of the royal family and those connected to them, during this turbulent times in the history of Russia. Good writing should take on an adventure and make you feel something that you sometimes don't feel.

Paranomal State~ Ryan Buell



I must say I love true ghost stories and all that paranormal stuff that others balk at or say isn't true they rigged it to do that. I must say it's an interesting look at how Paranormal State came to be why A&E got involved in the whole process of making it a hit TV show.

 Ryan takes you behind the scenes during the first season of PS and PRS (Paranormal Research Society and their humble beginning to the supernatural hit that it is. PRS is made up of students that had formed a college supernatural club of sorts. The interviewed and helped people that were distressed by the unknown.

When you the read book you can see how PRS grew and changed how they did their research about the location of the "haunting", interviews & camera set ups during dead time (3am). It took a long time to for PRS to know what they ultimately wanted to do with their club/show. Truth, Honor and respecting the dead is the founding motto for PRS.

I must say that when you read this book your understanding of the show will be different. Ryan explains how he wants to help the families involved and have them understand he knows what it's like to see things and not be believed. He and PRS are here to help make spirits move on or more.

Ryan also talks in great depth about his uncertainty of psychics and how people can "rip off" families that do need help with their paranormal situation. It's a good read especially if you like the show Paranormal state.

Stealing Athens by Karen Essex



 Ahh the love of historical fiction, and this book fills that need. I have to say Karen Essex is a wonderful writer and this books proves it to me. I really had a hard time putting the book down, I wanted to finish in one sitting but my eyes kept telling me bed. Needless to say I had some great dreams with this book.

Stealing Athens is about two women and how one significant building has tied them together. Mary is a striking woman that came from a rich family and married the Lord Elgin. She gives birth to 4 children and loses one. She has been to foreign countries where she impressed the sultan, his brides and the entire court. Her life takes a turn for the worst when her husband is after her father's money and the Parthenon of Athens.

Aspasia was a woman with smarts and a strong will. She was taken to Athens by her brother-in-law and then given to Perikles. She wasn't able to marry Perikles because of a law that he created to protect the people of Athens. Aspasia had influence on many of the people of Athens in the advice she game them. She was the face that inspired the statue of Athena and the monstrous intrigue about the face as well.

I really enjoyed how the spaces of time showed these powerful women at their lowest and highest point and how they overcame the harding situations that help to elevate them in some of the most important times during their lives and the impact it made on history as we know it. 

Finny by Justin Kramon

 This the debut novel by Justin Kramon, and it's very well written. Know take in consideration that I am not a big fan fiction but this book I couldn't put down unless my eyes were drooping and trying to tap out. Love books like that.

 Finny is about young woman that meets her other half Earl. Earl is a slow in talking but knows how to build a person up and make them feel like they are the only ones in the room. Finny and Earl share their first kiss and she is sent to a private school. There she meets Judith the complete opposite of herself.

As Finny grows to feel welcomed at the school she grows as person, and her relationship with Earl changes then restructures itself to what's going on with each Finny and Earl as they mature and have to make tough choices in life. Earl then goes to France to be with his mother and that makes the relationship seems more like Romeo and Juliet than Finny and Earl.

As new people enter their lives the author has you wanting to know the what if's till the end of the book. You can see the characters in your head and how they relate to people in your personal life. The book blends times of the characters growing up and the pasts of Finny and Earl so smoothly as if they are both intertwined in the same space and time.

This book is so beautifully written. I will be picking this book up to read again and again. I doubt I will share it except for those that are here to visit my little corner of cyberspace.

Bloggin for Books

Nothing like a Good Book to read!

  So I have been reading books since I can remember and never in my days heard of reviewing a book for a company. So I got one book that was historical fiction and I got hooked on the category of reading...anywho.

Well since Face Book has come along and changed things making it more social and companies jumped on that too. Hey I LOVE me a good book and if they are willing to give me one I'm willing to read it!

With that being said there is Read It Forward on Face book where you can try to win an advance reader copy of books, then you pass it on to the next person you know and you give a small reason why you think they will like the book.

Then you have Blogging for books, my friends sent me here...Thanks Kris, You ROCK! They have different types of books but they are mostly christian. Hey a book is a book! You join for free and then once approved you can pick a book...any book. You write a review on your blog and then their page and then pick another book to review. You get to keep the book.

There are many great web pages to score some free books. So with this said and done I am going to start blogging my reviews for books that I have read for some companies and books that I just pick up and read. Please feel free to follow and comment!