Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Giveaway of LOOKING FOR ME by Beth Hoffman



CONTEST HAS ENDED!!

THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED.

THE WINNER IS:

#2 - Heidi

******************** 

To celebrate the paperback release of LOOKING FOR ME by Beth Hoffman, Meg Walker of Tandem Literary is offering a copy of the book to one lucky USA reader.

My review is here.

Enter the contest here.  Contest ends May 8.

USA readers only please. 

Best of luck...the book is wonderful. 

Friday, April 25, 2014

Ember Island by Kimberley Freeman


To be a woman in the 1800’s had no "perks."  Women were trained solely for marriage.

Tilly Kirkland ​was an 1800's woman and ​definitely didn't know what she was getting into when she married Jasper.  Jasper offered her a beautiful home and a wonderful life.  What Tilly was ​really ​offered was infidelity and cruelty.  Who would blame Tilly for wanting to leave and start a new life somewhere else?​

Tilly made her move​ to Ember Island to become a governess for Nell, but the secret she carried about the reason for the move out of her husband's home and the incident that occurred plagued her for her entire life.​  Precocious Nell kept an eye on Tilly because she knew something wasn't right and also that something was right when it came to her father and Tilly.
 ​  ​
Could Nell figure out what constantly troubled Tilly?​  What would Nell find out about Tilly?  What would Tilly teach Nell?  What would Ember Island teach Tilly?

EMBER ISLAND moves from events that took place in Australia in 1891 both in Tilly's life and Nell's life ​to the present day where secrets were hidden in the walls of a family homestead that Tilly lived in during the time she was governess to Nell. The connection between the characters from both time periods is marvelous.

What were these secrets that had been written down? How did it come about that were they hidden in the walls and found by the current homeowner, Nina, who was an author?

EMBER ISLAND was absorbing, the writing was ​beautiful, the characters ​were well developed as well as deep​, the characters were very authentic, and the storyline ​kept me turning the pages...especially the ending.  :)

EMBER ISLAND is made up of secrets, guilt, ​hidden journals, love, and finding oneself.

Don't miss reading EMBER ISLAND.  It is spectacular.   :)​   5/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the publisher in return for an honest review.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Comfort of Fences by Stacy Overman Morrison

 

A dying mother, a special needs child, good friends.

Good friends are what you need when you know your last days are approaching and there is no family available.

COMFORT OF FENCES walks you through the lives of Ruth and Denise, mother and daughter, and Ruth’s best friend, Georgia.  You will see the bond between them as Ruth is dying and trying to provide for Denise when she is gone.

COMFORT OF FENCES takes you back to Ruth's days before Denise was born through a story Ruth writes as she waits for the cancer to take her.  Ruth wants Denise to know what her life was like as a young mother and why she made the decisions she did for Denise.

Your heart will break for Ruth, but realize what a strong person she is.  You will also admire her.  You will love Georgia for her steadfast loyalty to her childhood friend. You will love Denise for all she had to endure in her life and how she held up.

COMFORT OF FENCES took a few pages to get moving.  The beginning was sort of repetitive, but as Ruth began telling the story of her life, the book became a bit more interesting..

COMFORT OF FENCES is a book about relationships both good and bad, the choices we make because we have to, and secrets that we keep. 4/5

This book was given to me free of charge by the author in return for an honest review.