Hunt For the Horseman - Gita V. Reddy

Genre: Middle Grade, Adventure, Mystery

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

For readers who have always loved the idea of exploring a house with hidden areas, this is the book for you. The children in this book are searching their ancestral home in India for a toy supposedly hidden by a cousin.  Family members for years have searched for this toy. Even more important they must try to find a very important paper. They are trying to save their ancestral home which is at risk of being taken from them. They need the paper to show they are the rightful owners of it.    Along the way the characters learn about their heritage. This was something I believe many of my students will be able to identify with.  Our school has a large Indian population.  I see the differences when some of them are born here in the United States and are clueless to their Indian Heritage. I also see how many of the students who were born in India and then moved to the United States handle the cultural differences.  I think a large part of the message found in this book is about family and embracing the differences within your cultural heritage. The adventure and mystery is something that kept me reading. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Alexander Hamilton: How the Vision of One Man Helped Shape Modern America by Teri Kanefield

Genre: Middle Grade, Biography
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love history. It amazes me how much I really do not know, especially about American History. Teri Kanefield has once again done an exceptional job of bringing history to life. Her book about Alexander Hamilton opened my eyes to a man I realized I really knew nothing about.  He starts off life in another country, poor, abandoned and making his own way in life. When given the opportunity to come to America he jumps at the chance.  His mind for learning amazed me.  I had no idea how much influence he had in shaping what we now call the United States of America.   He married a woman who came from a wealthy family with the understanding that he was poor and would probably always be that way. She loved the man he was and agreed to the marriage.  He put so much into this country. Through reading this book you get a well-rounded picture of the man and his love for this country. You get a first-hand look at how much he was willing to sacrifice for it.  I learned what an elegant writer he was.  For the history lover, this is a must read book. This is a book that will definitely go on my shelves. It is a book that I want my students to read. It is a book I will recommend to our History department as a valuable resource.  Teri has included some of his writings in the back of the book. More importantly was the timeline and endnotes she included.  Such a valuable resource, yet it held my attention and I read it in one sitting.  This is a must read book. This book will be published in March of 2017.
I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Who is Santa and How Did He Get to the North Pole? by Stephen W. Bigalow

Genre: Children’s Fantasy

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a wonderful book that should be read every Christmas. This is the telling of Santa’s story. It goes into his very beginnings of making toys, where he lived and why he moved to the North Pole.  We learn how he met the elves and how they became such a big and important part of his life and his story.  The only question that is not answered is whether or not he sleeps with his whiskers inside or outside of the covers.  This is a very well written story. It was wonderful learning what keeps the elves going, why candy canes are red and white striped.  This book can answer just about any question your child can come up with. I am very happy I was asked to read and review this book.  The illustrations are beautiful.  This is a story that should be shared year after year. It is to be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Lord’s Hill: A Place Only God Could Save Me From Based on a True Story by Maggie Miller

Genre:  Adult Memoir

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

We all have problems. It is how we look at and handle those problems that shape us into the person that we are. Maggie Miller lived a life filled with abuse, fear and abandonment.  She lived in survival mode most of her life. Maggie kept searching for someone to help her with her problems only to find more of the same.  Many in her life truly loved her, but were stuck in the same patterns she was stuck in. She searched for and found God and a few wonderful people to help guide her. One thing that I had to really think about was forgiveness. I thought about my first marriage. I realized that even though I’ve been remarried for almost twenty-four years, as I would talk about things that happened in my first marriage I would become almost as angry as I was before. I had to ask if I had truly forgiven or just paid it lip service. There are lessons to be learned from this wonderful woman. She is not just telling her story. She is giving all of us hope no matter what our journey is.  This is one of those books you want to pass along and have them pass along. You never know who it will help.

In Love and War – Evelyn Smith

Genre: Adult, Memoir

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I have reviewed several memoirs.  This one made me contemplate many things. This is the life story of a woman who fell in love with a young Navy soldier. They married before he shipped off to Korea. What was supposed to be three months turned into almost a year of separation.  From the beginning I saw how strong a woman she was.  It made me wonder why she would give in to her husband’s thoughts on everything.  Then I looked at the time period.  I wasn’t born until the late 50’s. Even then young ladies were expected to behave a certain way. Women ‘had their place’ in society.  I was surprised at how long she and her husband John were together.  I wondered how she could have been so blind to the signs that things were not well with her marriage.  Then I thought about my own first marriage and was suddenly able to identify with her.  She did find love again.  That didn’t mean things were real smooth.  I understood the “first marriage baggage”.  This story made me ponder several things.  When my son, newly married, joined the army his new wife was ecstatic.  She had all of these ideas of what army life would be like. We tried to tell her about the loneliness she would feel when he was gone, even with family to surround her.  He wasn’t even shipped out of the states when she left him.  He found another woman shortly thereafter who embraced the military life he loved. She supported him when he was shipped to South Korea. I thought about Evelyn’s concern while her husband was there. As a mother I was worried when my son was stationed there so close to the demilitarized zone. 

I felt very sad for her and the relationship she lost with her daughter. I have a relationship with my daughter, but she is closer to her father her left me and the kids for another woman. I don’t understand why her daughter treated her the way she did. However, I drew strength from her story.  The old saying that nothing is fair in love and war rang so true.  I applaud this author and the strength her story shows to women everywhere, no matter what their walk in life.  This was a wonderful story. Through heartache comes strength and hope.

Remembrance by Carolyn Twede Frank Review and Blog Tour

Remembrance Book Blog Tour
December 1 Carolyn Twede Frank - franklycreative.blogspot.com
December 2 Sheila Staley - whynotbecauseIsaidso.blogspot.com
December 3 Susan Tietjen - susantietjen.blogspot.com
December 4 Sandra Stile - themusingsofabookaddict.com
December 5 Christy Frazier - pocketcheerleader.com
December 6 Christy Monson - christymonson.blogspot.com
December 7 Kathryn Olsen - kakiolsenbooks.com
December 8 Donna K. Weaver - weavingataleortwo.blogspot.com

Genre:  Young Adult, Christian, Adventure

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

It seems that Josh Sawyer finds him even when he is trying to do the right thing. Josh loves his drama class but hates that they are singing in the Christmas Gala. Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus has been sung as part of the Gala for decades.  This year they have been told they can’t sing the “Hallelujah Chorus”.  They have been given permission to choose another song that doesn’t have a religious meaning.  While joking around with the new kid Zane, Josh sarcastically declares they should sing the song he hates the most, “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.”  To his horror, Mrs. Kowalski agrees that is the song they will sing.  Then she takes her frustration out on the class by assigning them reports on classical musicians.

Josh’s girlfriend Ester invites him to use her Uncle’s Literary Loom to research the musician. I loved the idea of the literary loom Ester’s uncle invented a way to live a book, to travel through it through the character. This trip to learn about Handel is just the inspiration Josh needs to spur him into action to try to save the traditions of the school’s Christmas Gala. There are so many story lines throughout this book. We see a young man who is searching for the meaning of God.  We learn the secret Zane had been keeping. As Josh travels through the Literary Loom several times, he learns more about the meaning of Christmas. He questions why more people don’t celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.

This is a fabulous book to read at any time of year. It was perfect for right before Christmas. This book really hit home with me. I see more commercialism each year. I had a student ask me a couple of weeks back if we could have a Christmas party. I teach in a public school. I told him we didn’t have parties in middle school. He said, but it’s a Christmas party we need to celebrate Christmas. I told him we weren’t allowed to celebrate religious holidays in the classroom. He still didn’t get it. I told him we were not allowed to celebrate Jesus’ birthday.  He said, “What does Jesus have to do with anything? I want to celebrate Santa.”  It is books like this that allow me to introduce kids to God’s messages.

I have not yet read the first two books in this series. I can assure you I will.  I will also be purchasing the series for my classroom library. It is difficult to find faith-based messages in books for classrooms.  I am looking forward to sharing this one with my students.  I just really wish the Literary Loom were real.  

Purchase on Amazon
Find out more about the author here
.

http://www.franklycreative.blogspot.com./

Without a Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman

Genre: Adult, Mystery
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If there is one thing I really love about Nancy's books, it is that each of them can be read as a stand alone book. In this book, we find our main character at an event where she is taste testing chocolates. As she is leaving a shop, she sees her boyfriend Eric coming out of a jewelry store with one of Hollywood's socialites. She figures he is undercover. Shortly after they leave, the store they had just left explodes. What a way to set up the story. Carol finds herself involved in trying to solve a series of jewelry heists. She has become the target of one of the thieves who wants to share information only with her. This puts her in a bad position.

  The radio station she works for has changed their format to chick-lite. The station owner's wife is after Carol's job. This adds another layer of tension as we see that Bunny, the station owner's wife, really doesn't know what she is doing. Like usual, the author has done an excellent job with her characters. They are layered and very believable. She also does an excellent job showing what goes on behind the scenes of a radio station.  As I read this third book, I was taken back to my younger years. I dated a guy who worked for a radio station, worked for an engineer of one of the radio stations and was involved in volunteering there for over three years. I believe the author's previous experience in this field is what makes her stories so believable and alive. The station politics that play out in her books are spot on. I am hoping there will be a fourth book forthcoming. I am really enjoying this series.

Shadow of Doubt and Beyond a Doubt by Nancy Cole Silverman

Genre: Adult, Mystery

Source: I purchased a copy

Shadow of Doubt
I live for holidays where I can take time away from teaching and spend a lot of time reading for pleasure. This author was new to me. I was asked to read the third book in this series. I must read the others before it to really get the flavor of the book. I have to say I really enjoyed this mystery.  We have the main character Carol Childs who is trying to move up in the world of radio as a news reporter. We have her FBI boyfriend who is trying to solve the case in which he finds his girlfriend in the middle. We have Carol’s friend and neighbor who’s Hollywood agent aunt has just been murdered. Finally, we have a psychic with the name, wait for it, Misty Dawn. I love it. Carol is not one to really trust Misty, so why does she follow the clues she gives her?  Simple, Misty seems to know so much about Carol’s personal life.

Carol’s neighbor doesn’t seem all that broken up about her aunt’s death. Inheriting everything puts her as the number one suspect. All of this would seem like your normal mystery. This author does an excellent job of adding other characters to the mix that make them seem just as plausible as the murderer. Every time I thought, ‘Oh this one must be the murderer’ another curve was thrown. My list of possible murderers was beginning to stack up. She did such an excellent job of fleshing out each character and making them and their story so believable. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the second one Beyond a Doubt.

Beyond a Doubt

This is the second book in the Carol Child’s Mystery Series.  The further we go into this book the higher the level of suspense. This author definitely knows how to write.  Once again we find our radio reporter knee deep in a case. Young women have begun to disappear and a young girl’s body is dumped in Hollywood. Carol figures out early on why the girls are disappearing, and that it is not only rich white girl.  This one becomes more personal to her. A friend and co-worker goes missing. Her daughter is placed in danger. She thinks she knows who is behind it and the fact that they have a lot of influence makes her job of proving their guilt and the reasons behind it even more troubling and dangerous for her and her family.  What made this book even better than the last one was that the events in this book are happening today. People like to turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn’t happen ‘here’. The action in this one moved even quicker. It didn’t matter we learn early on who the guilty party is. Knowing this bit of information and watching Carol do her best to prove it is what made this book so deliciously good. I believe it was better than the first book which I really enjoyed.  I will definitely be reading and reviewing the third book.

The Whizbang Machine by Danielle A. Vann

Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

After years of running from his tragic past, Jack Yale books a flight home. With him is a typewriter that is intended to be a gift for his granddaughter, Elizabeth. The minute Elizabeth’s fingers cradle the large black and cream keys the machine responses: popping, sizzling, and roaring to life with a Whiz-Whiz-BANG! Elizabeth quickly discovers the typewriter has powers beyond anything she has ever seen. The more she types, the more the machine spells out guarded secrets that need to be revealed in order to set history straight and remove a curse that has been on their family for centuries. To solve the mystery, Elizabeth Yale, alongside Jack, will have to crack the code of the Whizbang Machine. What they find challenges their most basic assumptions of their family, the history of the typewriter, and even Elizabeth’s father’s death. The ultimate goal is to remove the curse. The question is: will Jack and Elizabeth be able to carry out their mission?

My Thoughts:

Any time I can read a book that is so clean, yet so adventurous, it is a win-win situation. It is a win for me because I can recommend it to my students and parents. It is a win for my students because they are in for an adventure they won’t want to end. Most young kids have never seen or touched a typewriter. They may have seen pictures. They have so many different fonts available with computers today. The author used old typewriter font throughout the book so the reader knows when the typewriter is putting out a message.  This is what I call charming. One of my students thought it was cool because they had seen papers at their grandmother’s house that looked the same.

The adventures keep readers turning the pages. They are carried along on the adventure. The reader never feels like they are on the outside of the story reading along. It is more a feeling of traveling with Jack and Elizabeth as a third member.  It has a creepy, mysterious feel to it. These are all elements I love in a book.  I kept thinking about the dangerous aspects they find themselves in and if I would be the kind of grandparent to go on that adventure with a grandchild. I’d like to think I am adventurous enough I would, or that my grandchildren could persuade me to.  I definitely recommend this book to young and old alike. There are so many great things about it. You have a curse, a mystery, travel, history, and one adventure after another. I am definitely anxiously waiting for the next book by this author.

You can find out more about the author here:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

Genre: Adult, Thriller

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Bitter Moon is the fourth book in the Huntress series.  In this series we have an FBI agent named Matthew Roarke who has spent a large amount of time tracking down a woman named Cara Lindstrom. Cara goes after the most evil of predators, as she was once a victim herself. However, nothing condones murder. The biggest problem for Roarke is he finds himself stuck between doing his job and his admiration for Cara. This makes Roarke take a leave of absence. 

When Cara escapes Matthew Roarke goes back on the hunt. This time he uncovers the very thing that set Cara on this path. This will take him back to her old high school and more brutality than he could imagine.

One thing that made this book so great to me is the very thing some people might not like. The author uses alternating chapters to go back in time to show us how Cara became the person she is today, and then chapters to show us present time with Matthew Roarke trying to uncover Cara’s past. This is a sixteen year spread. I felt that this was probably the very best way to tell this story. It is what has made me fall in love all over again with the story line.  Learning what you do about Cara’s past makes a part of you really like her, even though a part of you can’t condone what she has done.

If you haven’t read the first three books in the series, you really must. It will explain things you really need to know to make this book an outstanding one to read. However, having said that, it reads well as a stand alone book.  This one had a lot more emotional backdrop. The reader is given a look at the social system from Cara’s point of view. Unfortunately it really mirrors a lot of today’s system. As I have said before, any book that can make me feel such a range of emotions is a book I will definitely recommend to my readers. Don’t walk, run to get your copy. You won’t regret it.  I think one reason I loved this series is because it kind of reminded me of the Dexter series that was on television years ago. It was probably my favorite series because it showed someone deeply scarred seeking revenge on those he saw as evil.

You can read my review of the other books in the series and a guest post by the author by clicking below.

Huntress Moon

Blood Moon

Cold Moon

Author Guest Post