Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Paris Runaway by Paulita Kincer **Review**


Paris Runaway
When divorced mom Sadie Ford realizes her 17-year-old daughter Scarlett has run away to Paris, all she can imagine are terrorist bombings and sex slaves. After learning her daughter chased a French exchange student home, Sadie hops on the next plane in pursuit. She joins forces with the boy’s father, Auguste, and the two attempt to find the missing teens. The chase takes Sadie and Auguste to the seedier side of Marseille, where their own connection is ignited. Since the divorce, Sadie has devoted herself to raising kids and putting her dreams on hold, but when her daughter needs her most, Sadie finds that concrete barrier to life beginning to crack. In her journey, she learns the difference between watching the hours pass and living.


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I kind of wish that there was a different title to this book because calling it "Paris Runaway" sort of gives a big spoiler to the story. That said...
 Even though the story started out slow and I felt that Sadie took her slow sweet time even getting on the plane, for me as a planner, organizer, and parent, how she left without any help or aid? However, her mother turned into a sensible and modern Nancy Drew by checking her daughter's card usage and whatnot.
 As a single mom of a girl, I can imagine the terror that went through Sadie Ford's mind when she comes to the realization that her 17-year old daughter ran away; and not just ran away, but to Paris and for a boy. Originally thinking she ran to her dads...but instead to a boy..and to lose her virginity to him...I found myself wanting to shake this 17-year old girl! 
The author did a good job keeping me entertained and turning the pages! I would recommend this read :) 


I received this book for free from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for an honest review.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

(Un)Natural Mom by Hettie Brittz **Review**

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Mother have always had the tough job of juggling it all as parents. Especially in today's world where scrutiny, judgements, and unsolicited opinions come from every corner...This book helps mothers "recognize the unrealistic" standards that society has put on us. Every mom plans to be, then deals with the guilt of not being able to be 'supermom'. This book really gives a pointed discussion as a friend and therapist to know what type of mom you are, without the guilt or judgement. It helps you to understand your parenting style, and work with and through your challenges.
This book brings up very important topics some mothers may or may not consider but what needs to be dealt with, beforehand. Topics such as whether to be a stay at home mom or not; are you able to? If you are, do you want to be? If you're not, it is okay, that not does not make you a bad mom. There are also reflections through the book that are honest, a moment of peace, and self reflection.
All in all, this was a great book and I do recommend it for every mom out there.





I received this book for free from LitFuse in exchange for an honest review.

Monday, August 22, 2016

US of Books Tour - The Known World by Edward P. Jones **Review by Laura**


This week takes us to Virginia with The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Entertainment Weekly says - This award-winning examination of man's ownership of man refuses to succumb to the calcifying effect of history, presenting Virginia's past as raw, urgent and human.
Synopsis from Goodreads - One of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Known World is a daring and ambitious work by Pulitzer Prize winner Edward P. Jones.
The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.

Review by Laura @ http://125Pages.com
  ½ Star

The Known World by Edward P. Jones is a read that made me question. It made me question if editors actually read the whole book. It made me question if the Pulitzer judges read the whole book. It made me question if I had picked up the wrong book, because this could not be the book with all of those rave reviews. This novel won a National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2004. In 2005 it won the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and it was a finalist for the 2003 National Book Award. In 2009, the website The Millions polled 48 critics, writers, and editors; the panel voted The Known World the second best novel since 2000. The book I read was a disjointed mess. No seriously, I can read difficult books. I like non-linear time lines and twisty prose but this took it to a whole new level. The synopsis tells us that this is the tale of Manchester County in Virginia during the antebellum era and a black former slave who is now a slave owner himself. This sounds like a deep and thought provoking read right? It would have been if it was actually readable.
There were approximately 80 characters, so I had no idea who anyone was.
The white man at the front door was from the Atlas Life, Casualty and Assurance Company, based in Hartford, Connecticut. His talking to Calvin at the door was what kept Bennett so long. Calvin eventually came back with Bennett and when Moses told him, Calvin went back and returned with Caldonia, followed by Maude, and Fern Elston.
The time line skipped back and forth often times decades in the future to tell what happened to just one person or object and then skipped back.
This series was Anderson’s most successful, and nothing was more successful within that series than the 1883 pamphlet on free Negroes who had owned other Negroes before the War between the States. The pamphlet on slaveowning Negroes went through ten printings. Only seven of those particular pamphlets survived until the late twentieth century. Five of them were in the Library of Congress in 1994 when the remaining two pamphlets were sold as part of a collection of black memorabilia owned by a black man in Cleveland, Ohio. That collection, upon the man’s death in 1994, sold for $1.7 million to an automobile manufacturer in Germany.
There was so much unnecessary description.
Clarence sat beside his wife and after a time he put a hand, the one not stained with milk, to the back of his wife’s head and rubbed her hair. The cow swung its tail and chewed its cud. It farted.
His horse, Sir Guilderham, was idling two or so paces behind his master. And just as the horse began to wander away, Robbins turned and picked up the reins, mounted. 'No more visits for a month,' he said, picking one piece of lint from the horse's ear.
Seriously, I do not care about lint on a horse and a cow farting. This really detracted from the story for me. The Known World by Edward P. Jones could have and should have been a powerful read. Instead I got bogged down in the minutia and was not able to process the tale.
I had originally picked this up at the library and then, when I found the style to be so odd, I got the Audible version. I really want my credit and the 14 hours I spent listing to this back.

Paradox forged in Blood by Mary Frances Fisher ** Blog Tour**



About the Author
Mary Frances Fisher, a lifelong resident of Cleveland OH, has spent the majority of her career as a legal nurse consultant and signed with Taxi Modeling and Talent Agency as a commercial print model in 2012. With Germaine Moody and writer contributions from over 100 countries, she co-authored her first published work in 2013, 50 Seeds of Greatness (www.50seedsofgreatness.com).
Her additional writing experiences include several short stories published by Transcendent Publishing: "Earning My Wings" in Touched by an Angel: A Collection of Divinely Inspired Stories and Poems, October 2013; "Mercy's Legacy" in Best of Spiritual Writers Network 2013, December 2013; "Be Careful What You Wish For" in The Best of Spiritual Writers Network 2014, January 2015; and "The Gift" in Finding Our Wings: A Collection of Angelic Stories and Poems, March 2016.
She has written a screenplay based on "Mercy's Legacy" and is working on a Paradox Forged in Blood companion novel, Growing Up O’Malley. Mary Frances lives in a suburb of Cleveland with her family.
For More Information
  • Visit Mary Frances Fisher’s website.
  • Connect with Mary Frances on Facebook.
About the Book:
 
Title: Paradox Forged in Blood
Author: Mary Frances Fisher
Publisher: Cambron Press
Pages: 300
Genre: Historical Fiction
A murder on Millionaire’s Row.
A killer's chilling words, "Shh. I know where you live.”
A woman tormented by her guilt-ridden past.

A historical murder mystery, Paradox Forged in Blood is set in Cleveland, Ohio, during the late 1930s. Four decades after the murder of socialite Louis Sheridan, the cold case is resurrected with receipt of new evidence that transports detectives back to Nazi Germany. The only living witness, Ellen O’Malley, must confront a haunting secret and her complicit actions. 

For More Information

  • Paradox Forged in Blood is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt:

The Cleveland NorthShore Post
________________________________________________________________________
Saturday                                June 7, 1986                                     60¢       

Cold Case Unit Reopens 1939 Murder of Cleveland Socialite with Receipt of Missing Evidence

                                Cleveland, Ohio.—Forty-seven years ago on December 23, 1939, socialites Louis and Marianne Sheridan attended a party leaving three people at home: Alice Webber, the housekeeper; Bridget, the Sheridan’s seven-month-old daughter; and Ellen O’Malley, the nanny.
                                A neighbor [on Millionaire’s Row] heard a loud scream about 9 p.m. and called the police. Cleveland detectives Frank Szabo and Kevin Collins found the Sheridans’ front door open and two bodies lying in a heap just inside the foyer. Although Marianne was alive, her husband had sustained a fatal gunshot wound.  
                                Two days ago, Cleveland police received a package wrapped in the 1939 newspaper account of the murder. The anonymous submission contained a small handgun covered with a dried substance (believed to be blood), a black mask, and a sheet of paper with the cryptic hand-written message Forgive Me . . .