Review: Lakeside Cottage By: Susan Wiggs

Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kate Livingston doesn't expect much this summer - it already has started on such a high note, being fired, her son Aaron getting testy, the rest of the family not coming to the lake home, a handsome stranger bailing her out at the grocery store when she was short of cash. Although, a big surprise of a homeless girl living in the empty home greeted Kate the moment she began unloading groceries, maybe this is where Kate should have realized the summer was going to be much different than any other.
Kate has been burned by people, has kept men away. Her son, Aaron never has had a father in his life and not much in the male role models. Aaron also has a quick temper, emotional outbursts. Kate has a big heart and her son is flawed but forgivably so. The young homeless girl, Callie, also comes with a broken past. Callie is damaged, broken, her heart, her pain, her rawness is there (I think that she is the most believable and real character in the book), yet she is a survivor, one who understands the glimmer of hope and is wise beyond her years.
JD Harris, AKA American Hero Sergeant Jordan Donovan Harris, is looking to hide away. He wants to escape the media, the backstabbers, the people that were in his life that were willing to sell a private moment to the public, the feeding frenzy that fed off of him. In one moment he became a hero and lost all rights to his life and privacy, as soon as he could, he escaped to a secluded lakeside home of his best friend where no one could find him. He was looking forward to the alone time, the anonymous life, what he didn't plan on was a beautiful redhead, her buoyant son, and an insightful girl making a summer filled with possibility if he could allow himself to dream and open up.
A great read. I found the characters had dimension, I really enjoyed the depth of some of the secondary characters and the deep honesty within them. A beach read definitely or jump start your celebration into Spring - the imagery flows off the page!

******* This is a First Reads, Thank You Goodreads *******

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Review: Stan By: Richard Wold

Stan by Richard Wold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Stan Foster can't remember anything other then jumping off the bridge and being pulled out of the Hudson. At least that's what he thinks at first. Soon the visions of bodies, corpses, darkness fill his head. The only light seems to be the psychiatrist at the hospital that is treating his amnesia and unnamed disorder.
Abigail Petrus has a big heart and a painful past. When an enigma of a patient walks in, intelligent, no sign of mental illness, talented, but there is something - Abby let's Stan in closer, even after his release and becomes invested.
Soon Stan is reunited with his old life, as an artist and something else, something older and darker that has come to earth in human form.
Is it possible for everyone to be redeemed? Or do leopards never change their spots?

I found myself going back and forth in my head with this book and then finding a deeper question developing for discussion (wishing I read this with a book club) - and the end.... okay, I am hooked, Mr. Wold, please do not leave me hanging!! This is an original story, unique. It has a way of grabbing the reader, up and down, making you ask deeper questions as the story unfolds along with the characters. I really enjoyed this.

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Review: The Virgin Diet By: JJ Virgin, CNS, CHFS

The Virgin Diet: Drop 7 Foods, Lose 7 Pounds, Just 7 Days by J.J. Virgin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

***** This is a First Reads, Thank You Goodreads *****

Not all Diet books are the same. First, let me disclose I have a lot of food allergies and intolerance. This is not something I was born with, it was something that just happened. One morning I woke up to say goodbye to all dairy. Now, the nut thing, I was born with.
It is hard to find books filled with information, diet, recipes, or any form of education when you have these issues - all this in one book, amazing. The author is a nutritionist and gives the basics, along with the reasons for cutting certain foods out. With simple easy to understand instructions, tables, where certain ingredients hide, wonderful hints, and helpful recipes - I think that this is a great book. Is it easy, no. Of course being pushed to consider coconut (which triggers migraines in me) is not the answer as any substitute and finding that "perfect fit" will be hard for anyone in similar circumstances. But being healthy is the goal and making our families eat better and feel better is too. First you eliminate the 7 food types from your diet, then slowly reintroduce. See how you feel, the results in your body. Maybe you might want to cut them out completely. Again, there are great recipes found for the reintroduction.

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Review: Looking For Alaska By: John Green

Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Miles Halter has entered "The Great Perhaps", or better known as Culver Creek boarding school in Alabama. As far as he could escape Florida and the nothingness and noones he knew.
It is here that he is taken under the wing of his roommate Chip, The Colonel, and falls under the spell of the enigmatic Alaska. Alaska who burns brightly and broods darkly sometimes at the same time.
I would like to say I liked this book, I would like to say that I could relate (for I know this story to close in reality), but no - I struggled. The characters were not relatable, the story so long and uninteresting that I could have put this down and never picked it back up again (which is very rare). When I did finish, I did realize that this story might open conversation, is it the only book out there to do so - no, but the book has that going for it, it also takes the male perspective, another plus. When a teen dies suddenly, answers can never be found, but over time, maybe a sense of peace can come to those that continue to live on.

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Review: One Way Out: The Inside History of The Allman Brothers Band By: Alan Paul

One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band by Alan Paul
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


***** This is a First Reads, Thank You Goodreads ******

Mr. Paul has gathered every surviving member of the band, past and present, to give an honest, raw account of the band, each other, the music, what was, and what happened. Duane Allman's demons come into account, the drugs, the fame, the brilliance that died too soon. The darkness that fell over them and yet through it they continued, they made music.
I love how this is told and weaved - the stories from different perspectives at the same time making a whole picture, developing a multi-dimensional history lesson, a vortex of sorts. The illusion is gone, the men now stand before the reader and their story has truly been told.
This is not for the faint of heart, or the reader that only wants the glossy Teen Beat version or even the Rolling Stone, this is for the reader looking for the truth - or the many variations that give the reader insight into where the truth is.

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Review: Half Bad By: Sally Green

Half Bad by Sally Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the time Nathan was born he was different. He was half White Witch, half Black Witch. Not any Black Witch though, but the most powerful Black Witch to ever live's son. This makes him not just an oddity, but extremely dangerous.
After his mother's death he is raised with his half siblings and his grandmother, always with The White Council watching and keeping track...until they take him and cage him. For when Nathan turns seventeen, as all witches, they are to receive three gifts. These gifts are given through the blood of their ancestors, making them even more powerful, having them come into their own. Nathan is a risk. With a prophesy, The Council could use him, but nothing is ever set in stone. Time is ticking and as the White Witches show their treatment you begin to wonder just who is the true evil ones and if Nathan doesn't go through the ritual he will die. He knows he is a trap, a tool, and he is not all bad.

OMG!! If you have waited to get lost into a story that will find it's way onto your shelves and make it's way into your conversation - This Is IT! From the writing style, the setting, to the original story idea, everything jumped off the page! - I was BLOWN away. I have to share this one with everyone, it is BRILLIANT! I can not wait for this to continue! I wish I could give it more stars!

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Review: All Is Silence By: Robert L Slater

All is Silence by Robert L. Slater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A plague, epidemic, virus, has occurred leaving by some numbers only 1% of the population alive. They were the immune, or the ones left in a dead like state functioning. Lizzie is one of the survivors. She has just lost her mother and her half brother, quite possibly her mind (afterall she does have a history of that). With limited power and contact outside, small steps outside into the world beyond brings both the devastation and promise of what is left of humanity. As Lizzie gathers a new family of old friends and misfits, she finds herself on the run from danger into the unknown and into the best and worst the new world has to offer.
I could not put this book down! I was lost into the dystopian world created by Mr. Slater, the amazing Lizzie - a wounded, heroic, powerful character, who has faults but the strength within that pulls through to another day is hopeful. My heart pounded as I devoured the pages, you will stay up all night to read this one. I can't wait for the continuation!

**** This is A First Reads, Thank You Goodreads *****

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