Book Review: Freedom of Religion by Sarah Carpenter-Vascik

 
Title:  Freedom of Religion

Author: Sarah Carpenter-Vascik

Stars: 4 out of 5

Review:

Interesting book that tells the founding of the United States and the history behind the men that are considered the Founding Fathers.  She starts the book by describing the early pilgrims and puritans and the reasons for their looking for a new land where they could practice their religion unimpeded by the laws and rules of the English kings.  She tells the story of Roger Williams, John Winthrop, John Calvin plus the pilgrims, Quakers, the little known Jewish immigrants who settled in Rhode Island.  Sarah goes into a lot of the history of the Puritans, their reasons for leaving their homes and country to find a new land free from religious persecution but then turning around and doing the same thing to those who did not believe the way they felt was right.

She goes on to explain how the Founding Fathers were influenced by each of these groups and their English backgrounds.

"By the time of the founding fathers, many of them or their families having immigrated from England, began to recognize the need for a secular government, not because they had a problem with religion, indeed, many themselves admitted holding various religious beliefs......but because they witness first hand the immediate effect and long term aftermath of a state sponsored and supported church.  "

In referring to the writing of the constitution of the United States Sarah wants the reader to realize the difference between the constitution and the Declaration of Independence.  In the declaration God is mentioned,  in the formation of the government that is done with the constitution He is not.

In the chapter "A Christian Nation",  she tells the stories from early American history of religious " elitism" where one group tells the other group they are wrong and conform or else such as the hanging of the Quaker women because they would not denounce their beliefs.

Sarah also tells the life stories of some of the American hero's such as George Washington dispelling "myths" from their lives.  Benjamin Franklin, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, John Madison, Alexander Hamilton very interesting histories on each of these men.

One criticism I do have of this book is the lack of foot notes.  I would liked to have seen the sources that she garnered her information from, are they original sources and where are they located so if the reader wants to see them they can with ease.  She does have copies of original letters at the back of the book that are most interesting to read but again does not tell us where she found them and to what source others may go to find them in their original format.   

All in all a good history of religion freedom from the Colonies to the modern day, But Foot Note Are Essential when writing a work of this nature.  Sarah has put extensive thought and time into this book and helps lead the reader to make their own conclusions as to whether America was intended to be a Christian nation with a secular government, meaning God is kept out of anything to do with public life, or is it a Christian nation under God.  I leave it to you the reader to decide!

I give this book four out of five stars removing one for LACK OF SOURCES!

Thank you Eileen for your review.

Synopsis:
Lately, we hear more and more about how our Founding Fathers were all Christian, God-fearing men and America is a Christian country. Ministers across the nation proclaim this in sermons and political speeches and politicians continually proclaim it at rallies and events, but is our country really Christian? Was it intended to be? Did the men who founded America and drafted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights really set out to create a nation by and for Christians, or was our fledgling country meant for people of all faiths and beliefs equally? This book attempts to answer these questions by examining the history and events that surrounded the Founding Fathers, and how this affected them. Only by hearing their own words can we really know what they envisioned as they expressed their ideas and opinions about the impact of religion when it’s interwoven in politics and government. This work makes extensive use of letters and documents written by the Founding Fathers to reveal their personally expressed ideas and feelings about religion, ideas and feelings that may surprise you. 


About The Author:
I knew that I was not male from about age five, but I was raised in a conservative, Republican, Pre-Vatican II Catholic household. Both my parents were veterans of WW II and as such, there was little room for anyone who was not M or F. I was married in 1972 and have two children, both girls. My older daughter, aged 36, hasn’t talked to me in almost four years and I have no contact information for her. My younger daughter, aged 28, is closer to me than at any time in our lives. My spouse and I have been legally separated since 2005.

After a life-long struggle with my gender conflict, I started counseling in 2003, began hormone therapy in August of 2004, transitioned and began living full time as myself in June of 2005. I successfully transitioned at my principal job at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. in 2005 and also at a part time job I held from 2002 to 2009.

I retired from the university in February of 2012 after 33 years and retired to Cape Cod where I now live. I make earrings and pendants out of sea glass, also known as beach glass, I am an amateur photographer and I make a nuisance of myself by pestering all my elected officials to pass equal rights legislation for the trans community. I have and continue to speak at conferences and conventions, across the country, presenting gender identity / gender expression awareness training. 

Book Review: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

 
Title: Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
Author:  Erik Larson
Stars: 5 out o5
Review:

Erik Larson is the author of five best sellers including the Devil 
in the White City and The Garden of Beasts which collectively sold more 
than 6.5 million copies.  His books have been published in 17 different 
countries (this taken from the back of his book)
 
Dead Wake is a 
very interesting if somewhat long book.  The writer goes into quite a 
bit of back ground about the lives of the people involved in the sinking
 of the Lusitania, a luxury ocean liner, on it's way from the United 
States to England in the year 1915.
 
W W 1 was going on and 
England was losing to Germany, but in the United States life was going 
on as normal even with all the bad news from Europe.  Pres Wison is in 
office and a side story in the book speaks of his courtship of a Miss 
Edith Galt.  After the death of his 1st wife Pres. Wilson goes into deep
 mourning but still has a country to run and a public to answer to.  He 
has a hard time trying to remain focus and for a while loses his his 
way.  His romance with Miss Galt adds and interesting side to the story 
of the sinking of the great ship.  
 
I found the story most 
interesting in that the author goes into the back stories of the 
different passengers whom you think survived the sinking, but not always
 so.  Not only were people lost but very valuable paintings by famous 
artists, and an original manuscript of "A Christmas Carol" by Lewis 
Carroll, irreplaceable treasures lost forever.
 
The author gives 
you many things to think about, was the sinking because of carelessness 
of the British government war room or was it a purposely and precise 
"accident" to cause the Americans to finally make a commitment and come 
into the War?  
 
He also tells the story of Captain Turner, the 
Captain of the Lusitania, gives a brief back ground on him helping the 
reader to realize that he was very capable at his job and that the 
sinking could not be laid at his feet as the "Room 41" tried to do.  
 
Did it work? Did it not? 
 
Another
 interesting back story is about the captain of the U boat, Schwieger, 
and how successful he was at the amount of ton age he sunk up to and 
including the sinking of the great liner.  His family is later 
interviewed and spoke of him feeling sick as he watch the passengers 
struggling in the 55 degree water, how he put the periscope back down so
 he didn't have to watch their last struggles.  But his official record 
tells a different story.  
 
At the announcement of the sinking of
 the Lusitania all England and America were in shock, but in Germany 
there was cheering and great happiness making Schwieger a hero of the 
Fatherland.  The loss of life was appalling, but at least this time it 
didn't have any thing to do with "classes". 
 
I give this book five stars out of five!  A great book!
 
The book is informative, interesting, very well written, 

Thank you for the Review Eileen. 

Synopsis:
 On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic. But the Lusitania was one of the era’s great transatlantic “Greyhounds”—the fastest liner then in service—and her captain, William Thomas Turner, placed tremendous faith in the gentlemanly strictures of warfare that for a century had kept civilian ships safe from attack.

Germany, however, was determined to change the rules of the game, and Walther Schwieger, the captain of Unterseeboot-20, was happy to oblige. Meanwhile, an ultra-secret British intelligence unit tracked Schwieger’s U-boat, but told no one. As U-20 and the Lusitania made their way toward Liverpool, an array of forces both grand and achingly small—hubris, a chance fog, a closely guarded secret, and more—all converged to produce one of the great disasters of history.

It is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era. Full of glamour and suspense, Dead Wake brings to life a cast of evocative characters, from famed Boston bookseller Charles Lauriat to pioneering female architect Theodate Pope to President Woodrow Wilson, a man lost to grief, dreading the widening war but also captivated by the prospect of new love.

Gripping and important, Dead Wake captures the sheer drama and emotional power of a disaster whose intimate details and true meaning have long been obscured by history.

About The Author:

 

Erik Larson, author of the international bestseller Isaac's Storm, was nominated for a National Book Award for The Devil in the White City, which also won an Edgar Award for fact-crime writing. His latest book, In the Garden of Beasts: Love Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, has been acquired for publication in 20 countries and optioned by Tom Hanks for a feature film. Erik is a former features writer for The Wall Street Journal and Time. His magazine stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and other publications.

Larson has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and the University of Oregon, and has spoken to audiences from coast to coast. He lives in Seattle with his wife, who is the director of neonatology at the University of Washington Medical Center and at Children's Hospital of Seattle, and the author of the nonfiction memoir, Almost Home, which, as Erik puts it, "could make a stone cry." They have three daughters in far-flung locations.

Book Review: Go, Ivy, Go

Title: Go Ivy Go

Author: Lorena McCourtney

Stars 5 out of 5

Review:
Just finished " Go Ivy go" an Ivy Malone mystery by Lorena McCourtney, it was a fun book causing me to remember why I like the series.  The story centers around Ivy, after having been on the run for a few years, decides to return to her little house on Madison St. in an unnamed city in the Midwest about a day and a half from St. Paul just north of Nebraska, as I said some unnamed city in the Midwest.

When she arrives she notices the yard is a mass of weeds and some rather oddities that had not been there before, such as a mannequin head, a picture of Elvis, and other such miscellaneous things that normally are not used to decorate a yard.  As Ivy unlocks the side door, she steps in and is assaulted with an odor that is almost overwhelming, but closed up houses do have smells so she proceeded to open up the downstairs Windows and then proceeded to the upstairs, passing an unpleasant stain on the carpet.  

Some background on Ivy!  She is an LOL or little old lady, Who wears sensible shoes, with rugged gray hair and quite a few wrinkles and sags in all the wrong places.  Ivy also has the habit of stumbling into murder!!!!

Ivy fancies herself as a Jr. Detective and tries to solve murders but usually get's herself into serious trouble which is why she has been on the run for the last few years.  It hasn't been all bad, while on the run Ivy has made some very good friends including one she really, really likes, named Mac.

Well back to Ivy's present murder.  The smell was stronger upstairs as Ivy headed to the bedroom and bathroom  that she and Harvey shared for over 40 years.  She opened the bedroom window and then headed to the bathroom to air out that area when she stumbled over some rags on the floor that also were in the bath tub.  Well she had to clean the whole place she might just as well start here.  Leaning over, listening to her back creak, she picked up the rags and jumped back, under the rags she saw a black and very shriveled toe, human toe, oh no! Thought Ivy, not again!

Great book, end of a great series, sorry to see the series end!  I give this book five stars out of five!

Thank you Eileen for your Review

Synopsis:
Ivy Malone is back! This "invisible" LOL (little old lady) has been on the run, hiding out from the vengeful Braxtons, for almost three years now. With an unlikely propensity for getting tangled up in murder, and with the threat of the Braxtons always on her heels, they have not been dull years. Friend (boyfriend?) Mac MacPherson is usually around too, hints of marriage occasionally surfacing - but always sinking.

But Ivy's longing for home back in Missouri has been growing ever stronger. Now, with the Braxtons' interest in her apparently over, a letter offering to buy her house, and a sign from the Lord, she happily decides it's time to return home.

Mac, however, is less than happy about her decision. When she heads for Missouri, he goes a different direction, a parting with a dark finality.

Okay, fine. She can live without Mac, can't she? Once back on Madison Street, the area looks more rundown than when she left and her house a little shabby, but she's still so very glad to be home.

Until she discovers an unpleasant surprise in the upstairs bathtub, a surprise that makes her wonder if she misinterpreted the "sign" from the Lord, and maybe coming home was a big mistake. Because it definitely appears she has not been forgotten by the Braxtons after all.

Kindle Edition, 216 pages

Published May 27th 2015 by Rogue Ridge Press 

 

About The Author:

 

 

Book Review: Stranded

Title: Stranded

Author :Lorena McCourtney

 Stars: 3 out of 5

 Review:
This is a series of mystery novels staring Ivy Malone an LOL "little ole lady"by her own definition. There are five books with the last two having just been published in the last few months. It is available from Amazon and is available as a kindle book. Ivy is an older lady who seems to fall into solving murders totally by accident. At the beginning of book four she is on the run from a family called Braxton's who have decided that she is a threat to them because of her snooping into things that look suspicious, suspiciously like murder.
As the book opens Ivy and her young friend Abilene are traveling across country on their way to Arizona to try and hide from the Braxton's and Abilene's ex husband who is determined to get his "property" back, namely his wife. As Ivy and Abilene pull into town the motor home they are driving makes clunks, pops, and grinding sounds, then stops. Luckily there is a mechanic in town who tells Ivy he can fix the motor home, only problem is that the motor is burned out and it will have to be replaced. $$$$ signs pass in front of Ivy's eyes and she realizes that she and her young friend are going to have to find a job. While at the mechanic's she visits with a man who intrigues Her with the story of a murder of an old man in the small town of Hello, Colorado. As they wait to find out about their transportation to Arizona, a young lawyer named Kelli comes in and introduces herself. She the number one person of interest to the police for the murder.
 Ivy, not one to judge a book by its cover, talks to Kelly and hears her side of the story which does not jive with all the gossip Ivy has heard since she arrived. Kelli offers her Uncles house to Ivy and Abilene to stay while they figure out what they want to do about fixing their means of transportation. Only one problem with the house, it is the scene of the murder of the old man who just happened to be Kelli's uncle. Get the picture, and with that Ivy is on the scent and starts at it again.
 This book is fun with lots old friends from the first three books returning to help Ivy solve the murder, though not on purpose. Mac, Ivy's love interest moseys into town and sets her pacemaker all a flutter, the handsome young vet also has his eye on Abilene and so romance is in the air for young and old alike.
 Fun book, well written, not quite as witty as the first two but certainly equal to the third and lots of fun to read. A good clean books with a fun mystery and a cute side stories to add color.
 Thank you Eileen For this Review.

 Synopsis: Super sleuth Ivy Malone's inquisitiveness has gotten her into plenty of trouble, including murder, mayhem, and a place on a mini-Mafia hit list. Still on the run from the mob, Ivy ends up in a small town in the Pacific Northwest with a broken-down motor home, a young traveling companion running from a violent husband, and a stray cat.

Paperback, 318 pages Published October 1st 2006 by Fleming H. Revell Company (first published January 1st 2006)


About The Author:
 
Lorena McCourtney is a long-time resident of Southern Oregon and enjoys using Oregon settings in her books. She wrote numerous short stories for children before moving on to romances and now to mysteries, often with a bit of humor. She won the American Christian Fiction Writer's Mystery "Book of the Year" and twice won the Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence.

Book Review - The Utopia Experiment - Robert Ludlum creator - and Kyle Mills author

Title:  Robert Ludlum's The Utopia Experiment

Author:  Kyle Mills

Review:
This was a great book, I am sure it has been reviewed many times but I would like to share my thoughts on it.

Robert Ludlum died a number of years ago so a group of authors have published under his name with their own names in smaller letters.  They all write the same type of book that Ludlum wrote, the same exciting unbelievable adventures as the Bourne series.

This particular series is called the Covert One novels.  The main character is Colonel Jon Smith MD who works for the military? as an immunologist, which is only a cover for his under cover work as an operative for an agency only the President knows about.  This agency was formed to have deep cover agents in all countries including our own to uncover espionage of every sort.

This particular book, "The Utopia Experiment" starts in Russia before the fall of the Soviet Union as a background story and goes then to the modern day.  The story is right out of the headlines of tomorrow, instead of using our phones, steel posts are put into the users skull that allows the user to see icons in front of his face and with a quick movement of his head can access any media he wants.  For those of us not able to accept having holes drilled into our heads there are also headsets that will do the same thing.  The software allows the user to see what the main frame knows about any given person (privacy rights are only briefly discussed) if they are a good person, in the softwares research the halo around the person will glow bright green if they are not it will go to a lighter green to a red for the really "bad" guy.

Driesner, the head of the company has offered exclusive rights to the United States Armed forces to warfare software, giving soldiers the ability to see combatants lit up even though they would normally not be able to see them, behind trees, in buildings.  Dr Jon Smith is sent to examine this technology and see if it is worth the billion dollar price tag.

The technology is just what the creator said it would be and Dr Jon Smith loves everything it can do. The only problem is "when something looks to good to be true" maybe it needs to be checked out a little further, enter Randi--with no trust of technology what so ever.....

Great story, exciting clear to the end!  I give this book four out of five stars only because near the end you have to wonder how the two heroes could possibly survive another "deadly attack" and live to tell the tale.

Thanks Eileen for this review.

Synopsis:  With U.S. intelligence agencies wracked by internal power struggles and paralyzed by bureaucracy, the president has been forced to establish his own clandestine group--Covert-One. It's activated only as a last resort, when the threat is on a global scale and time is running out.
THE UTOPIA EXPERIMENT

When Dresner Industries unveils the Merge, a device that is destined to revolutionize the world and make the personal computer and smartphone obsolete, Covert-One operative Colonel Jon Smith is assigned to assess its military potential. He discovers that enhanced vision, real-time battlefield displays, unbreakable security, and near-perfect marksmanship are only the beginning of a technology that will change the face of warfare forever--and one that must be kept out of the hands of America's enemies at all costs.

Meanwhile, in the mountains of Afghanistan, CIA operative Randi Russell encounters an entire village of murdered Afghans--all equipped with enhanced Merge technology that even the Agency didn't know existed. As Smith and Russell delve into the circumstances surrounding the Afghans' deaths, they're quickly blocked by someone who seems to have access to the highest levels of the military--a person that even the president knows nothing about.

Is the Merge really as secure as its creator claims? And what secrets about its development is the Pentagon so desperate to hide? Smith and Russell are determined to learn the truth. But they may pay for it with their lives . . .

Kindle Edition, 432 pages
Published February 26th 2013 by Grand Central Publishing

Author Information:   Kyle Mills lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he spends his time skiing, rock climbing and writing books.

Book Review - Braha - a Tale of Innocence and Intrigue - Julie Mangano

Title:  Braha, A tale of innocence and intrigue

Author: Julie Mangano

Review:  This was a great book.  When asked to read and review it, it caught my interest because of the genealogy aspect of it.  The book went between the modern day and the early 1900s through World War 1 to the murder of the Czar of Russia.  The story follows the diary of the main characters great great grandmother Leena who is ......no spoiler here as I am not going to tell you who or what Leena was as that would give away the big surprise in the story, suffice it to say it adds a new twist to the story of Anastasia.

The story follows a young woman who returns to see her grandfather only to find out he is dead under suspicious circumstances and she needs to find out why and how it happened so she can go on with her life.  As she progresses through her investigation she finds that her grandfather left her a journal that was written by her great great grandmother telling of her travels from a small village in Russia to their town where she was now living.

As she goes through her grandfathers papers she finds that he had started tracing his genealogy and this leads her to uncover a secret that has been hidden for many generations, a secret that killed her grandfather, her father and now even possibly her. Who can she trust, Reed a man who is her grandfathers confident and lawyer and seems to know all of his secrets, or the deputy who is investigating her grandfathers death and would love to be closer to her, her choice is murky as both men seem interested in keeping her safe and yet something is not right with one or perhaps both.

The intrigue is great and the climax is fast moving and exciting, with that said I did not like the epilogue  I felt the story was very strong but the epilogue was very weak and made the ending seem contrived so a sequel could be written. The overall story though is fascinating and a fun read.

 I give this book four stars out of five!

Synopsis:  Linden St. Clair is working overseas when she learns her beloved grandfather has passed away under suspicious circumstances. Returning home, she discovers he has left her an old family journal, as well as clues to an explosive family secret. The journal, written by Leena Weiss, Linden's great-great grandmother, recalls the woman's early years as a German girl living in a small Russian village. Leena's life is turned upside down when a Russian army officer turns her into his object of affection. Caught in a difficult situation, Leena soon finds herself living a life one the run, pursued by the Okhrana, a secret police organization and predecessor to the KGB. A century later, Linden peels back shadowy layers, exposing clues and secrets. Despite professional security services, she and her family remain pawns in a deadly game that extends beyond borders and crisscrosses the globe.

Paperback, 318 pages
Published March 24th 2014 by Createspace

Author Information:   

TLC Book Tour - Book Review - The Title Watchers - Lisa Chaplin

Title:  The Tide Watchers
Author: Lisa Chaplin

I am enjoying this book very much.  I wasn't sure when I saw how small the print was plus the length of the book but it is such a good story and so well told.

Lisa develops her characters well you can almost see exactly what they look like from the descriptions she gives and the other characters thoughts about each other.

Lisa's main characters Lisbeth and "Duncan" are well worth getting to know as she slowly develops their relationship.  The background on Lisbeth is well developed but Duncan is a mystery which makes the book that much more intriguing.

Lisbeth is from a very well placed and wealthy family in England.  She has her mother's beauty and her father's willfulness.  When she is 18 she falls in love with a man who she runs off with to France where he abuses her to the point of almost killing her.

The story takes place at the beginning of the Bonapart days in France and the history is quite interesting.  The author mixes historical characters with her characters making the story interesting, exciting, and educational.

At the point in the story I am writing this review "Duncan" has rescued Lisbeth from a tavern that is a place for spies to meet and exchange information.  The girls that work there buy and sell information and "other" things to make the money just to live.  Lisbeth is a serving girl in the Tavern because her husband, who is described as blond with curls, very dashing and handsome has basically sold her to the tavern keeper after abusing her and keeping their son.  Her husband Alain is cruel and kills and or tortures with out a second thought.

One night, as Lisbeth is making her way home, two drunken men attack her and suddenly "Duncan" appears and rescues her from them only to get her into all sorts of trouble and pain before he tells her what it is he needs from her.  Lisbeth has a son born in her painful marriage and will do anything to have him rescued from her cruel husband and brought to her.  This book is full of intrigue and adventure and I am looking forward to finishing it to find out what happens to Lisbeth and Duncan and Fulton the American inventor who can save England if he has the right motivation!  Will Lisbeth provide that it remains to be seen!

I give this book four stars out of five taking away one only because of the small print and the length of story.   Thanks to Eileen for this review.

Synopsis:  In the tradition of Jennifer Robson, comes this compelling debut that weaves the fascinating story of a young woman who must risk her life as a spy to help stop Napoleon's invasion of Great Britain in the winter of 1803.

Though the daughter of an English baronet, Lisbeth has defied convention by eloping to France with her new husband. But when he breaks her heart by abandoning her, she has nowhere to turn and must work in a local tavern. Her only hope for the future is to be reunited with her young son who is being raised by her mother-in law.

A seasoned spy known by his operatives as Tidewatcher, Duncan apprenticed under Lisbeth's father and pledged to watch over his mentor's only daughter while he searches the Channel region for evidence that Bonaparte has built a fleet to invade Britain. But unpredictable Lisbeth challenges his lifelong habit of distance.

Eccentric, brilliant American inventor Robert Fulton is working on David Bushnell's "turtle"--the first fully submersible ship--when he creates brand-new torpedo technology, which he plans to sell to the French Navy. But when his relationship with Bonaparte sours, he accepts Tidewatcher's help to relocate to the French side of the Channel, but he refuses to share his invention. With an entire army encamped in the region, blocking off all access, Tidewatcher must get that submersible, along with someone who knows how to use it, to uncover Bonaparte's great secret.

When Lisbeth is asked to pose as a housekeeper and charm Fulton so she can learn to use the submersible before the invasion fleet sails, she will be forced to sacrifice herself for her country--but is she willing to sacrifice her heart when she's already lost it to another...?

A fast-paced, deeply-researched, and richly imagined novel, The Tide Watchers explores a long-hidden, chapter of Bonaparte's history.

Paperback, 320 pages
Expected publication: June 30th 2015 by William Morrow & Company

TLC Book Tours -

Book Review - Counterfeit Conspiracies - Ritter Ames

Title:  Counterfeit Conspiracies

Author:  Ritter Ames

Review:  This is the second book by Ritter Ames that I have read.  Both books were gifts from my daughter for Mother’s day and a very enjoyable gift they were.

This book is totally different than the last book I read by this author.  That books was called Organized for Murder and was the complete opposite from this one that I find very interesting.  Most authors that I read seem to stick to one theme, lots of action and thrillers or softer stories about families and friends and small towns.  Ritter has taken two stories from “different parts of the world” and yet both stories are good and fun fast reads!

Counterfeit Conspiracies is book 1 of this series and introduces a character by the name of Laurel.  Laurel is a tall lanky blond beauty that “grew up in wealth and society until her grandfather died and her father gambled away the family fortune, now with more pedigree than trust fund she is the premier art recovery expert for museums that need to stay one step ahead of international thieves.”

Of course there is a hint of love in the offing, but the book is free of any entanglement's and a very clean read which, I for one, appreciate.

This is a good read and a good mystery full of fun and intrigue!!  I give this book three stars!

Thanks Eileen for this review.

Synopsis:  Laurel Beacham grew up in wealth and society—until her grandfather died and her father gambled away the family fortune. Now with more pedigree than trust fund, she is the premier art recovery expert for museums that need to stay one step ahead of international thieves. Her latest assignment pits her against a mystery man, Jack Hawkes, who is not only her equal with blue bloods, but also seems to know where all the bodies are buried. Suddenly Laurel is racing against time to find a priceless art object before the enemy does, locate a missing art world compatriot with crucial information, and decide whether or not she wants to disentangle herself from this new male nemesis, Jack, who seems to know too much about her and her business.

Paperback, 216 pages

Published December 1st 2013 by Gemma Halliday Publishing

Author Information:  Ritter is an award-winning author who writes the Body of Art mystery series and the Organized for Mystery series, both published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. She focuses most of her time and writing energies on globe trotting the world via her keyboard to create memorable characters and fascinating fiction novels for readers. In this great new endeavor, her cat muse remains faithfully by her side–only voicing displeasure when the food bowl sits empty due to Ritter focusing more on writing than on kibble. Ritter tries to blog regularly athttp://ritterames.wordpress.com/ and uses her Pinterest boards at http://www.pinterest.com/ritterames/ to capture great places and ideas she wants to use in both series. Follow her blog and boards to learn more about Ritter and her upcoming books. 

Book Review - Organized for Murder - Ritter Ames

Title:  Organized for Murder

Author: Ritter Ames

Review:  This was a fun no brainer book.  It is what I would call light reading.  You can read for a while and then put it down and go back to it again and not miss a beat.  The story starts out with Kate McKenzie, an organizer.  She organizes wealthy people and also teaches classes at the book store of her friend. 

Kate is a young mother of 6 year old twin girls and married to a ex football player turned sportscaster for the local T V station.  Kate is organized to a fault and what I love is “her” tips appear throughout the book so the reader can become organized too!!!

As the story opens Kate is visiting with a rather eccentric older woman who is extremely wealthy.  She married into wealth after having five other husbands but this one, Daniel, was the one with the big house and money and they loved traveling and seeing the world and collecting until Daniel died and now things needed to be organized to know exactly what she had. 

 “Kate stiffened on the white on white Victorian sofa and hoped her smile didn’t look like a grimace.  She again swatted the irritating peacock feather and gilt streaked twig arrangement that invaded the personal space around her left shoulder.  Where had common sense fled what she agreed to work sight unseen in this procurement madhouse?”

Well in the end she doesn’t even get the chance to start when the mistress of the house is found murdered!!!!!  Whodunit??? Her husband's children, the grandchildren, the housekeeper or the perhaps an ex-husband?????

The book moves quickly keeping you interested, the character development is fun, all of Kate's helpers just add humor to the story and her family makes the whole thing fun!!

All in all a great read!  I give this book four stars!  I received this book as a gift from my daughter.

Thanks Eileen for this review - 

Synopsis:  Organization expert Kate McKenzie is on track to make her new business, STACKED IN YOUR FAVOR, a hit in small-town Vermont. But when her first client, the wealthy Amelia Nethercutt, is found dead, the job takes a decidedly sinister turn.

Kate thought she and her family were making a fresh start in her husband's hometown, but she quickly learns that small towns can hold big secrets. When her first client is poisoned just after Kate leaves her mansion, she knows she's gotten off to a bad start. But things only get worse when the police find Kate's fingerprints on the murder weapon, suddenly putting her in the position of suspect number one. The stopwatch is ticking for Kate to prove she had nothing to do with the murder, and the odds are further stacked against her when items stolen from the Nethercutt mansion start showing up in the McKenzie home. Now, Kate must trust her methodical skills and expert eye to sort out who is trying to frame her and to find the real killer before she's organized right into a jail cell. 

ebook, 250 pages

Published February 24th 2014 by Gemma Halliday Publishing 

Author Information:   Ritter is an award-winning author who writes the Body of Art mystery series and the Organized for Mystery series, both published by Gemma Halliday Publishing. She focuses most of her time and writing energies on globe trotting the world via her keyboard to create memorable characters and fascinating fiction novels for readers. In this great new endeavor, her cat muse remains faithfully by her side–only voicing displeasure when the food bowl sits empty due to Ritter focusing more on writing than on kibble. Ritter tries to blog regularly athttp://ritterames.wordpress.com/ and uses her Pinterest boards at http://www.pinterest.com/ritterames/ to capture great places and ideas she wants to use in both series. Follow her blog and boards to learn more about Ritter and her upcoming books.

Book Review - Home Again - A Civil War Novel - Michael Kenneth Smith

Title:  Home Again:  A Civil War Novel

   Author:  Michael Kenneth Smith

Review:   This is an excellent book, a good story and a great way to tell the story!  Michael has used a format to tell what the war was like for two young boys who briefly met one day before the war started and later met again during a crucial point in their lives and in the life of their country.

Michael tells the story from the view point of each boy both about 16 when they leave home and family to find glory, excitement and fame in this horrible destruction.  They find out very quickly that it is not glory and excitement but blood, death, pain, misery and hopelessness.

Zack is a boy that goes to fight for the Union and Luke fights for the Confederacy.  From the pretext of the story I do not feel that either boy felt strongly which side they fought for.  Ideological differences didn’t seem to make any difference to them,  it seemed they just happen to fall in with which ever group was convenient at the time.

Zack’s parents did not want him to go as on the other hand Luke’s parents basically told him he had no choice but to go.

What the boys learn on their long road to adulthood is what this book is all about.  The lessons are hard and come at a very great price for both boys!

Michael tells their stories and adds a great deal of historical background to the novel that works well for the stories he is portraying.

I would have liked to have seen his characters fleshed out a bit more so I would have felt more of a bond with them and the trials they were going through.   As it was I felt a bit like I was reading a biographical sketch of their lives and trials during the war, rather than being emotionally invested in what happened in their lives.

Michael is a great story teller and I believe he will continue to enhance his style of writing with each new tale. I am looking forward to his next novel which I am sure is in the offing!

Thank you Eileen for this review .

Synopsis:The nation is divided, and a bloody Civil War looms on the horizon. Two young men enlist, each with very different strengths, weaknesses, and reasons for service. They end up on opposite sides of the battle, though, in the end, they learn largely the same lessons about honor, human nature, and the horrors of war.

Before the Civil War had even begun, these young men, Zach and Luke, had already crossed paths while fishing in eastern Tennessee. After they parted ways, they never expected to later be pitted against each other in war—but, when Zach joined the Northern cause and Luke joined the Southern, that’s exactly what happened.

On the battlefields, each boy learns invaluable lessons about himself, and both contribute to the outcome of battles and, ultimately, to the war. Their lives are forever changed by all that they encounter, but their story does not alter the actual course of history in any way.

Home Again is a rare piece of historical fiction that recounts Civil War experiences in strict compliance to recorded historic detail. Yet as historically accurate as it is, it is also incredibly insightful and compelling, and is sure to entertain both your heart and your mind.

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Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Published September 30th 2014 by Amazon  

Author Information:  I found no author information

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Book Review - The Quilted Heart - Three Novellas in One - Mona Hodgson

Title:  The Quilted Heart

Author: MonaHodgson

Review:   I will start out by saying this is not the type of book that enjoy, I am not a romance reader of any kind.  That said this was a very well written book and the characters were brought to life by the talents of the author.  She was able to give the characters life with her descriptions of who they were, where they came from and the problems and joys they are going through.

This is a Christian novella, so be ready for the mention of the Lord and the use of bible verses many times.  I did enjoy that the book was clean and without foul language.

The story takes place just after the ending of the Civil War in America and deals with the lives of three women of different backgrounds and a quilting circle that they belong to.

The first novella is about Maren, who is from Denmark and came to America to marry a Danish boy, who upon finding out that she had problems with her eyes that would eventually blind her, decided against the marriage,  thus leaving her stranded in a new country with no means of support.

The second novella introduces Emilie into the mix and tells her story as the daughter of a shop keeper in the town of St. Charles, Missouri.  St Charles is where Maren is at the time the story opens.  Emilie’s father is determined that she go to college to further her education, Emilie is not so sure but goes with her father’s wishes while still pursuing her own.

The third novella introduces Caroline, the young wife of a Union soldier, who finds herself widowed at the end of the war.  Caroline goes to live with her sister and her family but wants a life of her own and going west seems the most exciting of idea’s.  Caroline faces opposition from the wagon master because she is a widow and he refuses to take her along.  But she will not be deterred, and goes to work to figure out how to be on that wagon train when it leaves in the spring.

To give you an idea of the writing and descriptions I include the first paragraph of Chapter 15

“Caroline had lain awake much of the night.  When the rain wasn’t tapping the roof, she listened to Cora and Mary’s sleep breathing, a chorus of soft snores and gentle whistles.

Her mind no less active than the night’s sounds, Caroline considered the events of the past several months.  Her stagecoach ride to Saint Charles from Philadelphia.  Her first tentative ride to the farm to join the quilting circle.  Carrett Cowlishaw delivering the news of her Phillip’s death in Mrs. Brantenberg’s kitchen. Coffee time conversations with Jewell, Mrs. Brantenberg, Maren, Emilie, Hattie and Anna…..Gilbert’s suggestion that she go west with the caravan.  Mr. Cowlishaw’s resounding NO…..so many thoughts swirling with the raindrops.”

These three novellas do not end the saga of these three women and the quilting circle of friendship that gave each of them support and comfort.  The novella’s seems to be an introduction of these quilting sisters and I believe that the characters will continue in future books

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars for great character development and a good clean read.

Thanks go to Eileen for this review.

Published:  Published January 21st 2014 by WaterBrook Press

ISBN:  9780307731142

Page Count: 368

Quick Review:  4 out 5 stars –

Why I Read this Title:  Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis:   Like a beautiful patchwork quilt, the three novellas in The Quilted Heart tell stories of lives stitched together with love and God’s unending grace.

Once a week, Elsa Brantenberg hosts the Saint Charles Quilting Circle at her farmhouse on the outskirts of the riverside town of St. Charles, Missouri. The ladies who gather there have all experienced heartache related to the intense hardships of the Civil War, and together, they are facing their painful circumstances with friendship and prayer. Can the tattered pieces of their hearts be stitched together by God’s grace?

Dandelions on the Wind

When Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. But when Gabi’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm unexpectedly, everything changes for Maren, and she feels compelled to find another job. Are her choices in obedience to God, or is she running from His plan?

Bending Toward the Sun

Dedicated to her education and to helping her father in his general store, Emilie Heinrich is convinced she doesn't have time for love. But when a childhood friend returns to St. Charles, Missouri, after serving in the Civil War, his smile and charm captures Emilie’s eye and her heart. Will she be forced to choose between honoring her father and a future with a husband and family of her own?

Ripples Along the Shore

Change is brewing in St. Charles. A group of brave souls are preparing to head west on the Boone's Lick Wagon Train, led by the mysterious and handsome Garrett Cowlishaw, who served as a Confederate soldier in the war that killed Caroline’s husband. Despite her dislike for him, Caroline is tempted to join the wagon train and start fresh somewhere new, but when Mr. Cowlishaw forbids her—a single woman—to travel with them, will one man’s prejudice destroy Caroline’s hope for a new future? Or will the ripples of God’s love bring the answer she needs?

 

Author Information:   MONA HODGSON writes historical romance fiction set in American history and peopled with ensemble casts. Mona is the author of Two Brides Too Many, Too Rich for a Bride, The Bride Wore Blue, and Twice a Bride in THE SINCLAIR SISTERS OF CRIPPLE CREEK SERIES and THE QUILTED HEART Novellas--Dandelions on the Wind, Bending Toward the Sun, and Ripples Along te Shore, and Prairie Song, Book 1 in the HEARTS SEEKING HOME SERIES--all published with WaterBrook Multnomah--Penguin Random Publishing. Her writing credits also include nearly thirty children’s books, contributions to eleven books for adults, and hundreds of short stories, articles, and poems in newspapers and magazines. One of Mona’s favorite things to do (besides writing or eating dark chocolate) is to speak at women's retreats and schools, and for women’s groups, librarians, and at writers’ conferences. Mona from Arizona lives with her hubby, Bob.

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Book Review - The Broken Circle - David P Bridges

Title: The Broken Circle

Author: David P Bridges

Review: You can tell from the beginning of this book that David Bridges knows about the history of the Civil War and how it affected all those who fought and those who supported them.  It is a story of dedication, love of country, love of state and of divided loyalties.  It is a story that could be told with different characters but still have the same conclusion.

James Breathed is a doctor use to saving lives not taking them.  But he learns that in time of war sometimes you take them and other times you save them no matter what color they are wearing. 

The story starts when James meets Jeb Stuart, later to become a famous Confederate General, on a train ride to Maryland.  The war has not begun but soon will and Stuart tries to talk James into joining his unit he is forming to fight for the South.

James joins Stuart and eventually becomes a Captain over the artillery and the battles in the book are told from this perspective.

Mollie is a young girl that James has known since he was a child.  Both her father and James father are doctors and the families have become fast friends.  Mollie and James fall in love and when they part, for James to join Stuart, Mollie decides she needs to do something for the cause also. So Mollie starts to watch carefully and to listen carefully and is able to collect information that helps the confederacy.  Her adventures add color to the book.

James makes it through most of the war without any outward wounds but the inward wounds are building as the war drags on year after year.  Finally near the end of the war a physical wound happens that gives Mollie and James a chance to be together for a time as he recovers, but he never fully recovers and their love is put on hold while James tries to figure what lies ahead for him.  He tries to give rest to his soul by delivering babies and being the doctor that he started out to be but the pain is sometimes more than he can bare, physically but mostly emotionaly.

This story is well written but a bit to long in places with too much detail that was not necessary to the story and caused it to bog down in places. 

I give this book a three out of five stars, the story is not exciting but is very interesting and a very good read.

Thanks Eileen for this review. 

Publisher: Published September 10th 2013 by "Wipf & Stock"
ISBN: 9781625641526

Copyright: 2013
Pages: 362

Quick Review: 3 Stars out of 5
Why I Read It: I love history
Where I Obtained the Book: Sent to me by the publisher for review

Synopsis:  Dr./Major Breathed chooses the cause of the Confederacy over medicine but will that decision cost him the love of his life? James is swept away into a war created by divisions between the northern and southern states. The Broken Circle has elements that mirror a Greek tragedy that sets up the paradoxical inner conflict of saving life as a doctor versus destroying life as a soldier. He re-channels his genius from medical to master warrior and ultimately becomes disillusioned and demoralized. Mollie Macgill utilizes her espionage talents as the two fall in love throughout the course of the war. In the final post-war chapters they both seek redemption from God for their greater devotion to the Southern cause. As they seek to repair their shattered souls the tragic brokenness of James's and Mollie's lives is revealed. The Broken Circle is full of historically accurate battle scenes and the characters are historical people.

Author Biography:  David P. Bridges, theologian, historian, biographer, outdoorsman and horseman, began writing about the Civil War period after nearly two decades of serving as an ordained Presbyterian minister. Bridges undergraduate B.S. degree in economics was received from The University of Kentucky. He furthered his academic experience and studied theology and history at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and The University of Chicago, Divinity School. In order to further enhance his writing he learned to fire cannon and fight as dismounted cavalry so that he could participate in Civil War reenactments with the 2nd Virginia Cavalry & Stuart Horse Artillery, based in Roanoke, Virginia.

Bridges' area of expertise is 1850-1950 American history. His first non-fictional historical book is about the Best family, coal industrialists and philanthropists who historically impacted Chicago's history. His second book chronicles the Bridges family in Western Maryland. It shows how industry, politics and conservation worked together to preserve the Woodmont Rod and Gun Club, Hancock, Maryland. Bridges' latest book chronicles the life and Civil War trials and tribulations of Major James Breathed, Stuart Horse Artillery, C.S.A in the novel forthcoming "War, Love & Redemption A Novel Of The War For Southern Independence". He resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his faithful birddogs Angel, Bella and Rosey.

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Book Review - Tamarack County - William Kent Krueger

Title:       Tamarack County

Author:  WilliamKent Kruger

Review:  Another great book from this author.  I picked it up after I had surgery and read it every waking moment until the end.  I live in Minnesota and I love the way the author captures life here, the people, the weather, the beauty and yet the dangers of life also.

Blizzards are a fact of life in rural Minnesota and they can isolate a community for days at a time.  Everyone is digging out or hunkering down, too busy to try and get to the next community until theirs is safe.  I liked the way he isolated the town and then added the mystery to be solved.

I love this author and the characters and look forward to every one of his books.  I don’t know if I will ever be bored of this author and his Minnesota stories.

Thanks Eileen for this review.

Publisher: Published August 20th 2013 by Atria Books

ISBN: 9781451645781

Copyright: 2013

Pages:  320

Quick Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It:  I love this author.

Where I Obtained the Book:  Sent for review from the publisher.

Synopsis:  Violence and murder blow into Minnesota’s sleepy Tamarack County as ex-sheriff Cork O’Connor returns in the latest installment of William Kent Krueger’s New York Times bestselling series.  As a blizzard swells just days before Christmas, the car belonging to the wife of a retired local judge is discovered abandoned on a rural road in Tamarack County. After days of fruitless effort, the search-and-rescue team has little hope that she’ll be found alive, if at all. Cork O’Connor, former sheriff and now private investigator, is part of that team.

Early on, Cork notices small things about the woman’s disappearance that disturb him. But when the beloved pet dog of a friend is brutally killed and beheaded, he begins to see a startling pattern in these and other recent dark occurrences in the area. After his own son comes close to peril, Cork understands that someone is spinning a deadly web in Tamarack County. At the center is a murder more than twenty years old, for which an innocent man may have been convicted. Cork remembers the case only too well. He was the deputy in charge of the investigation that sent the man to prison.

With the darkest days of the year at hand, the storms of winter continue to isolate Tamarack County. Somewhere behind the blind of all that darkness and drifting snow, a vengeful force is at work. And Cork has only hours to stop it before his family and his friends pay the ultimate price for the sins of others.

With complex plot twists, rich characters, and a vivid setting, Tamarack County is a relentlessly fast-paced novel that will chill, thrill, and shock you.

 

Author Biography:   William Kent Krueger is a multi award-winning American author and crime writer, best known for his Cork O'Connor series of books, which is mainly set in Minnesota. USA. In 2005 and 2006, he won back to back Anthony Awards for best novel - a feat only matched by one other writer since the award's inception.

William Kent Krueger has stated that he dates his desire to be a writer back to the third grade, when a story he wrote called The Walking Dictionary was so well received by teachers and parents that he was inspired by their praise. Throughout an early life that saw him logging timber, digging ditches, working in construction, and being published as a freelance journalist, he never stopped writing.

He attended Stanford University but his academic path was cut short when he came into conflict with the university's administration during student protests of spring 1970.

He wrote short stories and sketches for many years, but it was not until the age of 40 that he finished the manuscript of his first novel, Iron Lake. A book which went on to win the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, the Barry Award for Best First Novel, the Minnesota Book Award, and the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award.

William Kent Krueger lives with his wife and family in St Paul, Minnesota.

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Book Review - Doon - Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon

Title:  Doon

Author: Carey Corp and  Lorie Langdon

Review:   Well this book was different, I will give it that.  I think that it is basically a cross between Brigadoon and Harry Potter with a little Camelot sprinkled in for affect and a lot of New Moon with the rock hard chest, square jaw and the dreamy blue eyes etc. etc.

It is the story of two high school girls Vee and Kenna who go to Scotland on holiday to stay in the enchanted cottage of Kenna’s Aunt Grace.  When they arrive they are greeted by a woman who knew Aunt Grace and has kept some things for Kenna to go through at her leisure, what the girls do not know about this woman will very much affect their future.

While going through boxes of stuff they finally get to the good stuff, a diary that Aunt Grace kept, talking about her visit to Doon, plus two rings that belonged to Aunt Grace and her husband.  One of the rings has a ruby in it set in gold the other an emerald set in silver.  The rings are quite beautiful so the girls put them on and the adventure begins.

There is a lot more background to this story about the lives of the girls up to this point but I will let the reader discover what the two girls are all about and how that shaped what happened to them in the secret land of Doon.

This book is clean, very little language and no sex, some violence but since it is all done in a make believe land, does it still count??  The book I believe is aimed at tweenies ages 10-14.  It is not a particularly well written book but I am willing to bet the sequel will be much better written, since it was set up in the end of the book for it to go on with the story of McKenna or Kenna as Vee knows her.

This book will set the hearts of the young girl it is aimed at, all a flutter.  There is magic, a witch, two handsome princes, not just one mind you but two.  There are beautiful horses, sword fights and sweet kisses.  The book is full of teen romance and so it is a nice safe read for the tweenies and still interesting for the older girls.

I did feel the book went on a bit too long, I think it could be edited to make the story more compact but still get the points across and then it might keep the readers interest.  I am afraid I did get a bit bored with Vee’s teen angst and the princes complete turn abouts all the time.  All in all I think the authors need to edit the book and make it about 50-100 pages shorter, this can be accomplished with less detail about feelings and more action, romance and fighting.

Thanks Eileen for this review

Published:  Published August 20th 2013 by Zondervan.

ISBN: 9780310742302

Copyright: 2013

Pages: 368

Quick Review: 3 stars (out of 5)

Where I Obtained the Book:  Sent by the publisher for review.

Synopsis:  DOON…

Veronica doesn't think she's going crazy. But why can't anyone else see the mysterious blond boy who keeps popping up wherever she goes? When her best friend, Mackenna, invites her to spend the summer in Scotland, Veronica jumps at the opportunity to leave her complicated life behind for a few months.

But the Scottish countryside holds other plans.

Not only has the imaginary kilted boy followed her to Alloway, she and Mackenna uncover a strange set of rings and a very unnerving letter from Mackenna's great aunt—and when the girls test the instructions Aunt Gracie left behind, they find themselves transported to a land that defies explanation. Doon seems like a real-life fairy tale, complete with one prince who has eyes for Mackenna and another who looks suspiciously like the boy from Veronica's daydreams. But Doon has a dark underbelly as well. The two girls could have everything they've longed for...or they could end up breaking an enchantment and find themselves trapped in a world that has become a nightmare.

DOON is loosely based on the premise of the musical Brigadoon, with permission from the ALan Jay Lerner Estate and the Frederick Loewe Foundation. Follow the journey at http://www.DoonSeries.com

~Destiny awaits!

Author Information:

Carey - I started writing YA for my fifteen-year-old neighbor, who was struggling to find books as compelling as her favorite series.

The DOON Series (YA),co-written w/Lorie Langdon, based on the premise of the musical Brigadoon with permission from the Alan Jay Lerner Estate and the Frederick Loewe Foundation. Doon coming Aug. 20, 2013 from BLINK, a new YA imprint of Zondervan/Harper Collins.

 

Lorie - Lorie Langdon is co-author of DOON, a YA reimagining of the musical Brigadoon, coming from Blink/Harper Collins in August 2013!

A few years ago, she left her thriving corporate career to satisfy the voices in her head. Now as a full-time author and stay-at-home mom, she spends her summers editing poolside while dodging automatic water-gun fire, and the rest of the year tucked into her cozy office, Havanese puppy by her side, working to translate her effusive imagination into the written word.

Other Reviews:

Girls in the Stacks "A word of warning, you will either like the ending or hate the ending. I liked it, and am eagerly waiting for book #2."

All Things Urban Fantasy "The issues that made it hard for me to get into DOON mostly had to do with it not being able to figure itself out. At times, with our fresh out of high school main characters, the book felt more like an older young adult novel (dare I call a fantasy novel new adult??), but there were other times when I felt like it was meant for younger readers. And, with two different narrators, I sometimes felt a little whiplash trying to adjust between viewpoints. But come for the cover and stay for the sexy Scottish accents has always been my motto, and I certainly was not disappointed all around."

Fire and Ice "Scottish boys in kilts plus a hidden village that only appears once every 100 years...yes please! I started Doon the day I was gearing up to go to our local Scottish festival to discover my own ancestral clan and was so swept away I did not put it down until I was done. The voice, the beautiful setting and pacing come together along with awesome characters to make an unforgettable story. Part of a new imprint of Harper Collins Christian publishing called Blink, (read about the news here ) this is a magical read I will be recommending this summer! It's told in dual points of view between two best friends Veronica and McKenna."