Happy Birthday To Me!!

It has been a big week of posts on Silver's Reviews, and today actually has no posts.

Sooooo.....since it is my birthday, I thought I would share this adorable photo that I found on Photofunia. 

 

Delicious by Ruth Reichl

Recipes, libraries, letters, books, food, authentic Italian butcher and cheese shops, aromas you can smell through the pages, and marvelous characters. What more can a reader ask for?

DELICIOUS is a reader's and a cook's paradise. DELICIOUS is one wonderful page of words after another.

The magic never stopped as Ms. Reichl introduced the reader to her believable, lovable characters and to mouthwatering food. Billie and every single character will steal your heart. The characters just had something that pulled you in.

When Billie finds letters in the library of a now defunct magazine company that were sent to a famous chef, Mr. Beard, from 13-year old Lulu during WWII, the book continues with the same mood of enjoying life, enjoying food, and discovering oneself.  If you love old buildings from the 1800's, you will be in for another surprise.

These letters became the basis of DELICIOUS and also created a mystery about who Lulu was. The letters were used by a librarian as a fun game of finding clues that were very cleverly hidden and ones that led to the next clue...was the game ever over? If Lulu were still alive, Billie knew what a wonderful treat it would be to meet her.

If you want to be entertained and have your taste buds taken to the highest level, be sure to read DELICIOUS.  You will also have the pleasure of learning how to face hidden fears in your life and share your life with those you should share it with. 

DELICIOUS is unlike any book I have read.  It grabs hold of you and takes you along for a "delicious" adventure and a very pleasurable reading ride.  

Don't miss reading DELICIOUS.  It is a beautiful, delightful book.​
 
My rating of DELICIOUS is a taste tempting, entertaining, and loving 5/5.

I received this book free of charge and without compensation from the publisher in return for an honest review.

Did you read DELICIOUS and LOVE it?  

That Night by Chevy Stevens

Bullying and prison life were the main themes in THAT NIGHT.

The main character, Toni, had been bullied in high school because she was not in the "in" crowd.  This bullying influenced her life in a negative way.  Toni was very disliked by a group of girls in high school, and they kept after her for no other reason than to be mean. 

Being accused of murdering her sweet sister and having the folks that bullied her testify that she always lied about things definitely didn't help her defense.  She and her boyfriend were accused of the murder even though they were innocent and victims themselves and were sent to prison for 15 years.

Prison wasn't any better for Toni.  Prison seemed like an extension of her high school problems.

THAT NIGHT is the second book I read by Chevy Stevens.  To me it was not as good as the other book I read, but it did send a very powerful message​.  

As I was reading, I was truly frightened which most likely was the author's purpose in getting across the points of the damaging and horrible aspects of bullying.  

I really wasn't pulled in because of the beginning pages, but I kept coming back to learn about bullying and the repercussions of how it ruins a person's  life.  Stevens did a great deal of research and did a marvelous job of having the reader feel the fear caused by the bullying. 

To me Ms. Steven's was unquestionably raising the awareness of bullying and excellently conveyed it in her book. 

The book was very frightening as I was visualizing the scenes and thinking about what reaction I would have had in a bullying situation.  If you have been bullied, you won't want to read this book; it will bring back too many unsettling memories. I never was bullied,  but I was very shaken upon seeing how people act and the cruel things they do.

My rating is mainly affected by the first 200 pages that only talked of high school antics and their jealousy of each other. If you can get past the first 200 pages of high school drama and adolescent problems, the final pages are quite good.

I would have given the book a 2/5 because of the beginning pages, but I am changing the rating to a 3/5. 

This rating is changed mainly because the ending pages were excellent as the true story of the murder became revealed and because bullying needs to be addressed.  The public's awareness of bullying needs to be more in the open and needs to make the public realize this issue does exist and is a major social problem.

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.

What do you think?  

Will you read Chevy Stevens' newest book?

The Qualities of Wood by Mary Vensel White

Strange situations, strange characters, lots of secrets, and a small town.

QUALITIES OF WOOD has all of the above and more.  It mainly includes a beautiful, flowing writing style ​and an interesting​ storyline. The author masterfully keeps you wondering about the makeup of ​each character and the secrets that you know they are keeping.​

You will follow the main characters, Vivian and Nowell, through their present lives as well as their pasts.  As Vivian and Nowell settle into a family home they are going to renovate and as they ​meet their neighbors, Vivian questions Nowell's past as well as the neighbors' pasts.

You will also get a glimpse into Vivian's teenage years as the author takes you back and forth in time.  This was well done by having the flashback trigger something in Vivian's mind at the current moment and connect it to her past.​

Does this small town have secrets they keep from each other?  Do the neighbors really know each other? What was it that happened years ago that has everyone suspicious of each other?

Throughout the book there is a tension that the author perfectly conveys through her amazing writing style.  The characters all seem to get along, but you feel something isn't right. The way Ms.White can make you feel the fright, the tension, the distrust, the betrayal, and the sneaking, ulterior motives going on is excellent.  ​

THE QUALITIES OF WOOD​ is a subtle thriller and a book you won't want to read if you are alone or at night.  I became complete​l​y engrossed in the characters and the storyline. I imagine you will  do the same and try to figure out what’s behind each character.

The ending sort of wrapped up the plot, but there was something that didn’t satisfy me.  Regardless, it was a great read and a great debut novel. 4/5
​
I received a copy of this book from the publisher free of charge and without compensation in return for an honest review.​

Have you read QUALITIES OF WOOD?  

What did you think?

Murder at Rudhall Manor E-book Giveaway - Two Winners

Contest has ended.

The Winners were:  

#1 - Kimberlee

#2 - Rita

CONGRATS to both winners, and thank you to all who entered.

 

Murder at Rudhall Manor is a humorous murder mystery set in Regency England. You can see a short description below:

A murder and a theft have been committed at Rudhall Manor. A box of jewels has vanished and Lord Sedley, a lusty old aristocrat, has been stabbed six times in the chest.

It is all very mysterious, and the Sedley family and the servants have decided that Miss Lucy Anne Trotter, a recently employed governess, is to blame for the unfortunate events.

The legendary and wickedly handsome Marquis, Lord William Adair, learns of the matter and decides to uncover the truth.

Lucy, however, has little faith in blue blooded creatures—even if they possess dashing good looks— and accompanied by two naughty pugs and a moody raven decides to investigate and unmask the killer herself.

But the hunt for the killer turns out to be far more complicated than she anticipates—what with snooty servants, warts in odd places, mixed up love affairs, agitated chickens and dreadful disguises ruining her plans.

Soon she begins to wonder if, for once, she is in over her head ….

**********************

Sounds quite good, don't you think?  

Sign up here for the TWO E-book giveaway until June 24.

Top Ten Blogs at the BEA BLOGGER CONFERENCE Were Chosen - Guess Who Made The List? :)

I was voted one of the top ten blogs at the BEA BLOGGER CONFERENCE.  How about that?

Am I excited?  I sure am.  :)

Stop by this link at Book Vibe for the full post.

THANKS, William, and the entire team for the vote of confidence.

Keep your eye on Book Vibe for next week's post.  You may be on the list too when the team lists the next five blogs of their choice.  

A Long Time Gone by Karen White

Mothers staying, mothers leaving, daughters staying, daughters leaving.

When Vivian Walker returns after nine years, she happens upon the scene of an uprooted tree with human bones exposed.  She also finds her mother who is in the early stages of dementia.  Whose bones could they be?  Why did the skeleton have half of a necklace that when complete would say:  I Love You Forever.

Could Mathilda, the 104-year-old servant know the answer about the necklace? That necklace and its saying played a major part in the secret that had been kept all these years and a secret that no one really knew was a secret except one person.

A LONG TIME GONE is set in Mississippi and has that Southern charm along with Southern traditions and genuine, believable​ characters.  You will meet the women of the Walker family as each chapter is headed with one of the women's stories being told.  

The book moves back and forth ​from 1923 to 2013 following the Walker women with their secrets and their reasons for leaving and coming back to their families. 

You will love Chole; you will feel sorry for Vivian, and you will wonder what made Carol Lynn leave her children all those years ago and then return at random times and leave again.  The reason is quite interesting.

Ms. White again has written a beautiful family saga with emphasis on mothers and daughters.  A LONG TIME GONE had wonderful descriptions of characters, scenes, and feelings as well as reminding all of us that family is everything.

​I enjoyed A LONG TIME GONE because I like reading about Southern-style living and ​reading about families and the secrets they have carried through the years. 

The secret and the bones found is one of the major themes and a theme that has a great twist.  As the mystery of those buried bones became unraveled, the story took on an even better turn. 5/5

​I received this book free of charge and without compensation by the publisher in return for an honest review.​

Have you read A LONG TIME GONE?  I would love to know what you think.