One Good Thing by Wendy Wax

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction

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

This is the fifth book in a series. Unfortunately,, I had not read the first four. If I had I might have enjoyed the book even more. Still, after a while, I was able to catch up with the story line. Four friends are doing their best to salvage their business called “Do Over”. It is tied up in a legal battle. In addition to their issues with the business, they each have their own personal issues. Nikki is pregnant and has trouble trusting anyone. Maddie is dating a rock star who’s career is beginning to take off again. He wants her to go on the road with her. However, she committed to working with her friends. Avery’s relationship is a difficult one. She is dating a man who has two sons. She is trying to help him with them, yet he reacts in a manner that goes against everything she is trying to help him accomplish. The father of Kyra’s son is married.  He is also very famous and she is in love with him.  They are on the verge of losing everything when something else is added to their plate. A wealthy lady who sponsored their last project had come making demands of them. Her husband took her money and ran off with another woman.

Through all of this, the one thing that impressed me was that the women met each day to talk about one good thing that happened to them. When I am having a really tough day I often rehash everything that had gone wrong. How different would our lives be if we only focused on one thing that really went right?  This story intrigued me enough that I have put the others that came before it on my TBR list. If you enjoy reading books that have multiple story lines that all tie together then I believe you would enjoy this.

Jorie and the Magic Stones by A.H. Richardson

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy

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

I absolutely love reading middle grade books. As a middle school teacher I am always looking for quality books that I believe all middle school children will enjoy. “Jorie and the Magic Stones” definitely does that. Jorie has been sent to live with her aunt. When her adventure begins she must find some magic stones. She sets out on this journey with Rufus, the young boy who lives next door with his grandfather. One of my students read the book after me and said the thing they liked the most is that Jorie was on her own without adults to try to intervene and tell her how to do things.  Middle school students love stories where they can feel that a kid like them has some control over their world. I know some adults may have a hard time with the fact that she wasn’t supervised throughout her adventure, but as my student said, it reminded her of the 39 Clues where the kids didn’t have a lot of adult supervision.  There is plenty of action for that reader who just has to have action. The two main characters played off of each other brilliantly and the world building was so good I felt like I was traveling with Jorie and Rufus.  I definitely recommend this book to those who love middle school books.  It already has a long waiting list in my class.

I am anxiously looking forward to reading more by this author.

Michael Phillip Cash Author Guest Post

 I am participating in a Virtual Book Tour. I have read and reviewed this book. Today I have the privilege of having a guest post from this wonderful author. Enjoy!

“Ghosts of Our Past” by Michael Phillip Cash

I’m sitting here in my den, laptop where it should be (on my lap), and I’m watching my new (old) favorite channel – MTV Live. I grew up on MTV. It was Channel 29 for the first 20 years of my life and it was on 24/7.  Then, for some generation-killing reason, some corporate guy at Viacom decided to stop airing music videos, so they went full on into reality TV. 

I don’t like anything about reality TV, except a Tony Robbins show on NBC that aired many moons ago. I love music, and I love watching live shows, so this channel has become my therapy for when I’m writing – which is what I’m doing now. 

One of my favorite bands, Eagles of Death Metal, is on MTV Live right now. They’re playing live in Paris, and they’re wearing red feathers on their shirts. I liked the Eagles of Death Metal in the past, but watching them playing now, live, I LOVE THEM. Absolutely love them! 

 I’m not one to point out something negative, but the Eagles of Death Metal were playing during the Paris terrorist attacks in November 2015 at The Bataclan. I remember watching the news thinking of the horror everyone at the concert was going through. People lost their lives that night because of a senseless act of violence. But now I’m watching this band play live on MTV and let me tell you they are tighter, better and stronger than ever. This band witnessed hell in front of their eyes and here they are, playing harder and louder than ever before.

Should the ghosts of our past stop us from moving forward from accomplishing what we were born to do? The answer is a resounding HELL NO! Nothing, absolutely nothing, should stop you from doing what you love. I’ve personally had some setbacks in life, sour life changes that made life a bit more difficult. Our past should not represent our future. Anthony Robbins said that. We must forge ahead and create our future.

When you write, it’s easy to get caught up in the emotions of the past. Your characters could have been people you knew, loved or hated. Stopping what you love because of a setback is not living. Curling up and not moving forward is not what we are intended to do.  Everyone has setbacks. All setbacks are simply stepping stones to getting where you want to be. No past-life ghosts should haunt you for more than ten minutes. Life is too short to be dwelling on ‘what happened’ in the past. The past is prologue to your life now.

If you are reading this, you are alive, and breathing, and well. Life is good and you should be grateful that you have an opportunity to wake up every day and thank everything and everyone for taking those first steps in the morning. Every day above ground is a good day. Anthony Robbins said that too.

Now, please excuse me. This live performance from the Eagles of Death Metal has gotten my blood so pumped up, I have to continue writing more of my current manuscript.

“And then we dance all through the whole night.” – Eagles of Death Metal

--END--

ABOUT MICHAEL PHILLIP CASH

Michael Phillip Cash is an award-winning novelist and screenwriter. His novels are best-sellers on Amazon under their genres – Young Adult, Thriller, Suspense, Ghost, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance and Horror. Michael writes full-time and lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wonderful wife and screaming children. You can follow him @michaelpcash.