Bloodline Origins

By

Iuliana Foos

I'm not generally drawn to read paranormal or stories about vampires but this book was a pleasant surprise to me and I really enjoyed it. I grew up watching the cult tv drama series "Dark Shadows" so I was curious as to what this story would be like. Would there be a Barnabas or Angelique? What would instigate a vampire's need to "feed"? What could Ms. Foos write that would be different from any other book based on vampires? Would it be just another "biting" attack on innocent victims? Oh, it is far from all that and so much more. The writing is very well done with the character development and descriptive scenes. It was so easy to visualize what I was reading into images in my mind. It was like stepping into the pages. This book was a fresh and unique twist on any preconceived ideas I had about the vampire culture and mythology. For me this was a "good" verses "evil" tale with a passionate love story done with subtlety. From the beginning scene of this book, my heart was pounding and adrenaline rushing.

I love the characters of Ana and Andree. Ana has felt she's never really fit in or belonged and she's felt out of place. She's been fascinated by vampires and has had an inner yearning to become one...but do they even exist and how would that even happen? Until one evening her life takes a turn she never expected when she's saved from attackers and taken to the Third Coven of Queen Emelia De Croix. Ana feels and knows this is where she belongs. Andree is the queen's son and as soon as he's entered into the story, the attraction he has to Ana is overwhelming. Love at first sight overwhelming. I loved the way their love story developed through the pages of the book. The attraction and chemistry to each other is intense, romantic and heart-throbbing. They belong together but she's human and what will it take for them to have their HEA? Ana is different and the vampires who come into contact with her sense it right away. "There's something about her "presence" that is strong. Is this Ana's fate or is this her destiny?

There is so much detail in this story. It's written so well that I would forget I was reading the book. I was in the pages myself. This author has a vivid way of bringing the reader into the world she's created. One so different from what I expected. The title of this book, "Bloodline Origins" is perfect for the story between the covers. It's the beginning of what's to come. This is a great debut novel that sets up a continuation for the characters. The ending was perfect and left me satisfied but also yearning to know where the story goes from here.

I want to thank Ms. Foos for the gift of a copy of her wonderful novel. Again, it's not something I normally would have picked up to read but the story is original. It's a non-stop, page-turning, creative adventure into a unique vampiracle world full of the unexpected. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my heartfelt own.

Answer Creek

By

Ashley Sweeney

""Wagons, HO!" is the rallying cry at dawn, and again after nooning. "Gee, haw, walk on, steady now," these, too, are trail words." Oh, the hopes and dreams the pioneers who embarked on the Oregon-California trail had. The visions of the "promised land" that swirled in their minds as they packed their lives and treasured possessions into covered wagons. Along with all the possible foods and supplies they should need to make the 2,200 mile trek. They are aware of the dangers and hazards but there's a future ahead and sheer determination will drive them through. Nothing could possibly deter them from their destination....then reality hits and the journey becomes one of sheer will to reach the California paradise. Not all who embark are fortunate enough to see the final journey's end. This is the story of Ada Weeks and her grueling pilgrimage across the western frontier. The story of a fictional character placed in the middle of the true, ill-fated, Donner Party expedition. I remember learning about this infamous story in school and how horrible it sounded for people to have had to endure what they did. Ashley Sweeney took me back through time and brought me into the midst of the wagon train traveling west. She so descriptively writes the reality of how it was. I was struggling and suffering right along with Ada. Nothing in my prior imagination came close to how much endurance and strength this would have taken. She strips away the "romanticism" of pioneering and traveling across the plains and mountains of the unsettled western territory and brings the reality of it front and center. "Ada's boots flap, slap, feet oozing with open sores. It's one foot, then the other: six, twelve, eighteen miles per day through clouds of black gnats and dust." "Walking, Walking, Walking".

Ada is an amazing character. I really felt what she was going through. The trials of trail life with all it's devastation, loss, death, and hopelessness. The feelings she went through being stranded in the Sierras...desperation, everyone for themselves kind of survival. The hunkering in a snowbound cabin with nothing to eat but scraps of shoe leather and blankets. The horror of what the Donner Party and the pioneers went through is so vividly described by Ms. Sweeney in the pages. My mind struggled to grasp just how desperate it was. Ada's conscience and caring for the people touched my heart. Her desire to want to take care of the others was filled with compassion. The delirium of being so cold that she couldn't even think made me feel like I wanted to lay down in the snow and just go to sleep. Ada brought so much to the true story and what it was like. Her character revealed more truth to what really happened than what the sensationalized news accounts were about. I learned so much about this event.

I truly had an experience reading this novel. One that I will keep in my heart for what the early pioneers went through to make their hopes and dreams happen. It also gave me an appreciation for how much detail and research Ms. Sweeney put into this novel. It's one that is so well written. This book is a great reason why I love historical fiction. I was taken back into the setting and into a historical event as though I were living it myself. It's an intense, extraordinary and riveting account of the events that took place on the Donner Party wagon train to California.

I want to thank Netgalley and Ms. Sweeney for the great opportunity and honor of reading this novel. It most certainly is a five star plus read for me. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my heartfelt own.

The Last Bathing Beauty

By

Amy Sue Nathan

Betty Stern has so much hope and excitement for the summer of 1951! She's graduating high school and has plans to attend Barnard College in New York to pursue her dreams of becoming a fashion editor in the fall...but first she has the whole summer ahead to have fun and make lifetime memories at her grandparent's summer resort, Stern's Summer Resort, where she works and helps them out. Her grandparents have raised Betty since she was a very small girl after her parents abandoned her with them. "The summer Boop was four, her parents had dropped her off in South Haven for the weekend-a weekend that lasted seventeen years." She is so excited to be spending her last summer with her best friends, Georgia and Doris before going out on her own. The summer has so much promise for a young woman and maybe catching the eye of "a boy who made her heart shudder". This is her summer with Abe Barsky.

Flash ahead to 2017. After a lifetime of family and life, Betty, who is known as Boop, is together with her best friends once again reminiscing about the summer of 1951 and the events that took place. Her granddaughter, Hannah, is also part of this little group as the memories are being recollected. There are secrets, mystery, and surprises I didn't expect. The question of what actually happened that summer. What were the events that lead up to the "Miss South Haven" bathing beauty contest and why was it the last one ever held? The story is intertwined between the two time lines in an intriguing and page turning blend with a need to find out what happened.

I love the characters in this book. Betty, as a young girl with zeal and love of life to when she's an older woman, Boop, who has questions and a desire for Hannah's life to be different than what hers became. The supporting characters are perfectly intertwined to create a story of connections and relationships that tugged at my heart. As others have said, this story has a Dirty Dancing aura in the resort atmosphere. The writing took me into the scenes and held me there as if I were experiencing it myself. Then jumping into the story of 2017, I felt the emotions of Boop as she faced her past with resolve, painful memories and the desire to bring the truth out after all those years. Ms. Nathan beautifully wove the two stories together to bring it to a surprising ending that touched my heart.

I enjoyed reading this book so very much. It was a great way to escape into another time and place for me. It is wonderfully written with so many passages that speak of what "life" is and what choices can result in the direction a life can go. These two passages were profound to me:
You should own all pieces of your life, good or bad," Hannah said. "They make up who you are."
"Sometimes it takes a long time to get things right." Boop said."

I want to thank Netgalley, Lake Union and Ms. Nathan for the honor and privilege of reading this wonderfully touching and special story of relationships, family love, forgiveness and hope. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own.

Paisley Memories
By
Zelle Andrews

Tess Cooper's life is nothing like a young 17 year old teen thought it would be. Her father and the only person who cared about her, supported her and loved her, has just died. The whispers at his funeral leave her feeling rejected and alone. All she has left is Paisley, her out-0f-wedlock daughter with Downs syndrome, her dad's rundown 1957 Thunderbird, her dad's lucky wheat penny, and the family photo album. Nothing to hold her to Brooksville, Alabama but hardships, mistakes and bad luck. She was leaving and not looking back.

But where is she headed? What is she going to do? Especially how is she going to support a child she doesn't feel adequate to raise? One with special needs. The challenges and responsibilities are heavy and her options are few. After a year "on the road" and going from place to place, Tess finds herself in the small beach town of Panacea, Florida. As fate would have it she's taken in by a woman named Butterball. Tess isn't very willing to be a "house guest" of Butterball and her "mini-feathered bowling balls with beaks" but she would only be there a week or two. Enough to make a few bucks and move on. Oh, but that's just the beginning of what happens to Tess. The beginning of a book I was drawn into from page one.

I loved the characters in this story. Tess is a bit self-centered at first but what teen isn't? She grew on me and my heart went out to her. Butterball is a hoot! I fell in love with her and her timely words and wisdom. Her quips and sense of humor are hilarious. Paisley is adorable. A little girl who wins the hearts of whomever she meets. Tess's best friend, Gabs is what a best friend is. There are so many characters in the story I felt connected to. I became a part of the little town they are in.

This story is written from Ms. Andrews' heart. She pulled at MY heart with Tess's story. There were so many passages that had me laughing out loud! Her humor is GREAT! There's a scene at the "Sopchoppy Worm Grunting Festival" (I didn't know there was such a thing!) that had me laughing so hard! Then there were parts of the story that were heart wrenching. Tess is running from a past that had so much heartache. ""I came here with Paisley trying to run from my past....But it's impossible to escape what you're running from when you bring it with you." There were surprises and a couple of twists I didn't expect. A wonderfully written story.

I enjoyed this book very, very much. I want to thank Ms. Andrews for the honor and opportunity to read this novel and for the gift of her story telling talents. I had such a good time reading it. It was an escape just when I needed it. A very special five star read for me. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own.

The Last of the Moon Girls

By

Barbara Davis

For some people family legacy and history can be something they want no part of.  This is the case for Lizzy Moon, or her proper name, Elzibeth Moon,"She couldn't even have a normal name",  the last in the line of gifted healers she's descended from. Nine generations have come before her and now it all comes down to Lizzy. She's inherited the Moon Girl Farm from her grandmother, Althea, after she passes away.   Lizzy has been gone from the farm for eight years making her own future away from the finger pointing, humiliation and mostly the rejection of her own mother, Rhanna.  Now she's faced with returning to her childhood memories and saying goodbye once and for all.  Her grandmother has left her a library of nine journals, "Books of Remembrances",  all written by her ancestors with one story still to be told.  Hers.

What will be the story in Lizzy's journal?  Will she even write a single word in it?  She has no desire to be connected to or keep Moon Girl Farm.  She's the Last of the Moon Girls and the sooner that happens, the better.  As Lizzy returns to the farm to prepare to sell it, she feels a pull to clear her grandmother's name for the awful deaths of two young girls found in the pond on the property.  Opening wounds of a town that has no tolerance for the Moon Girls is risky but she knows in her heart who her grandmother was.  Finding the truth is her one last gift to her grandmother. 

Thus I began the journey with Lizzy.  From the prologue that magickly captured me with the voice of Althea, through the pages of Lizzy's journey,  Ms. Davis' storytelling skills had me lost in the pages.  Turning them with anticipation, eager to follow Lizzy through the emotional challenges of her choices and where they would lead.  I fell into the history, magick  and the beliefs of the Moon Girls as Lizzy remembers her childhood.  The characters of Evvie, Rhanna, and Andrew are descriptively written and intricately woven through Lizzy's decisions and emotional choices.   I loved how the final written words of Althea to Lizzy were perfectly inserted as the story unfolded.  Guiding Lizzy as she faced forgiving and letting go.  Helping her with the choices she needed to make. 

For me this was an enthralling escape into a beautifully written story.  It was the story of Lizzy.  A Moon Girl.  What would the words be that filled "The Book of Elzibeth"?  "There are a hundred names for what we are-and all of them are wrong.  Because we're not one thing. We're many things."  The journey for each of us is unique.  Lizzy's journey was a generational legacy that she trekked through to discover her place in that lineage. 

I want to thank Ms. Davis for the copy of this intriguing and intricately written book.  I am very honored for the opportunity to have read it.  I loved it!  All opinions and thoughts are my heartfelt own.  It's a five star read for me.

Carolyn's Song
By
Elizabeth Huss

It's been many, many years since I was a freshman in high school. Stepping into the pages of this book was like taking a jaunt down memory lane. Many of the situations, feelings, activities, friends, and classes are still essentially the same as they were back when I was that age. This story is about young girl, Lynn James, and her experiences as she begins her high school years at Trelawney High School.

It's intimidating enough to pass through the doors of the school into the freshman hall as it is, but then a request by Mrs. Pennington has Lynn delivering a white envelope to Mr. Zimmerman in the SENIOR hallway. What could ever happen to a freshman entering into the exclusive senior territory? There is the feeling of inferiority as Lynn walks through the gauntlet of senior eyes all challenging as to why she's in their terrain. But what happens when she delivers the envelope sets up the premise for the rest of the story.

Ms. Huss totally took me into the teen-challenged world of Lynn with her emotions, experiences, thoughts and a high school crush. From the locks on the locker that wouldn't open, to the bells that ring for classes knowing you're going to be late. Then there's the intercom that blares and static that we all remember. To the popular senior, Sandy, who is THE most popular dream guy in school, to hurt feelings of being disappointed and thinking she was stood up. All the issues that take place as young people live through their school years. This is one girl's story of maneuvering through the high school labyrinth that so many of us also went through. Then add her best friend, Patty, into the mix and it's a similarity for our own years in high school.

The characters in this book are totally relatable and I easily slipped back into my own high school years understanding what they were going through. The giddiness and the giggling made me think of my own best friend. The "wondering if he likes me" and "he's looking my way!" excitement. "Are you going to homecoming?" and "Do you want a ride?" questions that I also asked and was asked. This is a book I would definitely have no problem for my young teenage daughter to read. It's a sweet story that kept me interested and took me back to remember my own high school friends, teachers and what it was like being there.

Carolyn's Song is a book that I enjoyed walking down memory lane as I turned the pages but it's also one I believe a young teen girl will find interesting and entertaing. Friends, pep assemblies, football games, Homecoming, teachers and classes, favorite hangouts, and much more all come together to make this a book I would definitely recommend. I want to thank Ms. Huss for the honor of reading her book. All opinions and thoughts are my heartfelt own.

The School Mistress of Emerson Pass

By

Tess Thompson

There I am, sitting with a new Tess Thompson novel in my hands, feeling great excitement to begin a new series set in my home state of Colorado.   I love the Cliffside Bay series and how Ms. Thompson takes me on a virtual visit each and every time. I just know that this will be the same or even better, especially since she introduced the setting of the story, Emerson Pass, in a previous book "Healed: Stone and Pepper.  This new book is historical fiction and taking a step back in time to the early settling of a mountain town is just perfect for me.  It's a reminiscence that drew me in to the places I grew up knowing.  Ms. Thompson's artful writing skills perfectly placed me in the story with Quinn and Alexander. 

From the beginning scenes I was on the train trip through the mountains with Quinn from Denver to Emerson Pass.   The harrowing trip to a new life in a place she had no idea of what to expect.  "We cannot predict the joys and sorrows that await us on this journey through life." As she steps off the train, her life adventure begins to take place at a whirlwind speed.   The story opens up and I meet a whole cast of wonderful characters I quickly become attached to.  The book is written from Quinn's and Alexander's POV.  I love that.  I also enjoyed that there was a "spark" between the two of them from the beginning.  Ms. Thompson "tended" that small flame with a smoldering pace that kept building between Quinn and Alexander. 

I love the children in this story.  A whole schoolhouse full of individual and unique students. Each one with personalities and traits that set them apart from each other but they all "look out for" and accept each other.  They captured my heart as much as they did Quinn's.    The five Barnes children are so sweet and loving.  They are honest with their words but they are so caring for others.  Children who need a new mother after the tragic death of their own mother.  They are immediately attracted to Quinn.  Ahhh!!

I had an amazing adventure in the pages of this book.  There's the wild west feeling of a mountain town being settled in the elements of weather, a mysterious murder, a drunken father, and unaccepting citizens who make life difficult for some of the people.  These are subjects that Ms. Thompson writes through with a careful approach.  There is also the other end of life in the early development of Emerson Pass.  The breathtaking beauty of freshly fallen snow in the pines and the contrast against the remarkable blue sky.  The unity of the family and how they love and care for each other makes them endearing and lovable.  The desire of Alexander Barnes to build a town for all citizens to happily belong to.  There is courage and strength that is attained by the struggles and hardships but so worth the rewards in the end. 

I am so grateful for the honor of "stepping off the train" with Quinn and experiencing this book. It's a story that, for me, felt like it had uniquely blended aspects....a Downton Abbey/Sound of Music/Little House/and The Walton's all so specially mixed to make this a wonderfully delightful read.  Thank you, Ms. Thompson, for taking me "back in time" to start this new series with characters and a setting (you know I'm a Colorado mountain girl in heart) that I'm so excited to go along on.  I can't wait for the next novel in this series!  It's a huge Rocky Mountain High five stars for me.  Thank you!  All opinions and thoughts in this review are my heartfelt own.