Review: Chameleon (The Rippler Series Book 2) by Cidney Swanson

Chameleon (Book Two in the Rippler Series) By Cidney Swanson

Book Description:Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her ALIVE. And of course, Sam’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air.

When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter—their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.

But Sam isn’t any safer in France. Someone is following her. Someone invisible. Sam will have to figure out how to hide from an enemy she can’t even see.

 

About the Author: Cidney Swanson is the author of The Ripple Series. She began writing at age seven; her first novel began with “Ouch,” and her characters have been suffering ever since. Cidney lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, three kids, two cats, one dog, and entirely too much rain.

Here's What I Think: I love a series book that jumps in right where the last one left off. Chameleon finds the Ripplers, Sam and Will - chaperoned by Mickie of course -  off on their much anticipated class trip to Europe where they meet Sir Walter much sooner than they unexpected. And the adventure and danger starts right off. I love the journal entries from Helga and Hellman. It is so interesting to me when an author can change voices and have the reader actually feel like the storytelling has been picked up by someone else. I am impressed by Swanson's well thought out story lines that interweave back and forth, yet still keep it all easy to follow - it's truly a talent. I am very excited to read Unfurl - the third and final book in the series - which was just released on Amazon!

 

Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post.

If you are an author or publisher and would like an honest review of your title, please contact me at polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review & GIVEAWAY! To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal - 2 winners!

To Be Sung Underwater by Tom McNeal

Book Description: Judith Whitman always believed in the kind of love that "picks you up in Akron and sets you down in Rio." Long ago, she once experienced that love. Willy Blunt was a carpenter with a dry wit and a steadfast sense of honor. Marrying him seemed like a natural thing to promise. But Willy Blunt was not a person you could pick up in Nebraska and transport to Stanford. When Judith left home, she didn't look back.

Twenty years later, Judith's marriage is hazy with secrets. In her hand is what may be the phone number for the man who believed she meant it when she said she loved him. If she called, what would he say?

TO BE SUNG UNDERWATER is the epic love story of a woman trying to remember, and the man who could not even begin to forget.

About the Author: Tom was born in Santa Ana, California. His father was a native Californian who raised oranges, and his mother grew up on a farm in northwest Nebraska, where Tom spent his childhood summers. After earning a BA and a teaching credential from UC Berkeley, Tom moved to Hay Springs, Nebraska, taught high school English, drove a school bus, substituted briefly in a one-room schoolhouse, and began work on what would become Goodnight, Nebraska. Tom holds an MA in creative writing from UC Irvine and was a Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. His short stories have been widely anthologized, and "What Happened to Tully" was made into a film. He is the author, with his wife, Laura, of four young adult novels published by Knopf and a picture book called The Dog Who Lost his Bob. He has two sons and lives in Southern California, where he grows oranges.Here's What I Think: This book is incredibly real. It may be a very sad story but it is so well written that you want to finish it. The characters are so dynamic and complete, that you feel like you know them. McNeal has a very strong voice for storytelling. This may sound sexist on my part but I will say that I am shocked that a man can write such a realistic view of the relationship between a man and a woman, not because men don't understand this concept but because they usually have difficulty expressing that understanding. I really enjoyed this novel.

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Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post.

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Review & Blog Tour Stop: The Big Show Stopper by Ken Dalton

The Big Show Stopper


by Ken Dalton

Book Description: Brady Blackstone, America's richest and favorite concert performer, dies in a tragic accident while Bear and Flo, along with thousands of northern Nevada's music lovers, look on in horror. However, before Bear can maneuver Flo back to their apartment to complete her birthday celebration, they stumble across a clue that makes them question if Brady's death was an accident. In The Big Show Stopper, Pinky, a sleazy but successful defense attorney, and Bear, a street-wise ex bartender, mix madness with mayhem as you meet Brady's less than grieving widow-a trigger-happy Carson City Cop named Ice Conner-travel in first-class luxury with Pinky as he follows a questionable lead to an exotic location and suffer with Flo in Bear's old pick up while they drive to another of America's armpit locations where they discover Brady Blackstone's killer.

About the Author: Ken was born in 1938. In a turn of bad luck, the dreaded Polio virus found Ken not long after the picture on the right was taken. At the end of World War II, Ken’s family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming for a year where he learned how to live through snow blizzards, avoid walking through the large pile of coal in the basement, and how to survive life as an Army Officer’s brat on a base called Fort Warren. By the age of sixteen, after eleven years of operations, therapy, and braces, Ken’s luck changed dramatically when he met the girl of his dreams at a party. A few years later they married, produced three wonderful children, and settled into a happy life in Southern California. In 1966, Ken, who worked as a technician for Pacific Bell, and his family left Southern California for the green hills of Sonoma County where they bought a home in Sebastopol surrounded with apple trees. A few years later, Ken and Arlene built a new home on three and a half acres. They raised cows, pigs, and learned how to build outstanding fences. While their children grew, they hosted two exchange students, Eva Reimers from Sweden, and Tanja Wuttke from Germany, both of whom are still loved members of the Dalton clan. Also during those years, Ken was promoted to management at Pacific Bell. He eventually ended up responsible for all the central offices, sixty-three, in an area that covered five counties. In 1977, Ken, Arlene, Bob Wiltermood, and his wife Norma, designed, built, and operated a 2000 case winery named Pommeraie Vineyards. They produced award winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. However, after Bob died, the winery was sold. Ken and Arlene moved to a hilltop in Healdsburg. With the winery gone, and time on their hands, Ken and Arlene started to perform with the Camp Rose Players. Twenty years and forty productions later, both are still acting and singing. Life was good. All Ken had to do was learn some lines and bow when the audience applauded. Then, ten years ago, in a moment of madness, Ken started to write. His first article was published in Golf Illustrated in August 1996. More golf articles followed in national and regional magazines including Golf Magazine and Fairways and Greens. After a two-year stint on the County Grand Jury, Ken felt the need to begin his first novel. Now, after a decade of struggle to learn the craft of writing, Ken has become the publishing world’s latest overnight sensation.

Here's What I Think: This book was a pretty quick read. It is part of series in that the characters remain the same but the store certainly can stand alone. The book has a unique quality of being amusing while still suspenseful.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. The development and interaction of the characters is the real story in this book, even though the plot centers on the murder mystery. This was a fun weekend read and was able to keep my attention - which is always a plus!

If you are an author or publisher and would like an honest review of your title, please contact me at polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Book Club Review: Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin

If you are not sure how our book club works please check out the guidelines here: Busy Moms Monthly Online Book Club.

Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin Something Borrowed tells the story of Rachel, a young attorney living and working in Manhattan. Rachel has always been the consummate good girl---until her thirtieth birthday, when her best friend, Darcy, throws her a party. That night, after too many drinks, Rachel ends up in bed with Darcy's fiancé.
Although she wakes up determined to put the one-night fling behind her, Rachel is horrified to discover that she has genuine feelings for the one guy she should run from. As the September wedding date nears, Rachel knows she has to make a choice. In doing so, she discovers that the lines between right and wrong can be blurry, endings aren't always neat, and sometimes you have to risk all to win true happiness. Something Borrowed is a phenomenal debut novel that will have you laughing, crying, and calling your best friend.


Here's What I think: Classic Chick Lit with a little something extra! It has all the components of chick lit without being totally predictable and mushy. I really enjoyed the voice in which this story is told. Rachel tells you what is happening, in real terms, as it happens. She is a real person that usually makes the right choice and is shocked when she realizes what she has put herself in the middle of. The story itself is a little bit shocking - I mean stealing your BFFs fiance is sort of out there, but the story is so well written you want the best for her. It is all about perspectives and circumstances. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.

If you have read and reviewed this title, or any of the titles in this series, please link them up here:

Review & Blog Tour Stop: Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

Book Description: Heiress of one empire and prisoner of another, it is up to the daughter of Cleopatra to save her brothers and reclaim what is rightfully hers...

To Isis worshippers, Princess Selene and her twin brother Helios embody the divine celestial pair who will bring about a Golden Age. But when Selene's parents are vanquished by Rome, her auspicious birth becomes a curse. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, the young messianic princess struggles for survival in a Roman court of intrigue. She can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands, nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother's dreams. Can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win-or die?

 

About the Author: Stephanie graduated from Smith, a small women's college in Massachusetts where-to the consternation of her devoted professors-she was unable to master Latin. However, her concentration in Middle Eastern Studies gave her a deeper understanding of the consequences of Egypt's ancient clash with Rome, both in terms of the still-extant tensions between East and West as well as the worldwide decline of female-oriented religion.

Before she wrote novels, Stephanie was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the transformative power of magic realism to illuminate the stories of women in history and inspire the young women of today. She remains fascinated by all things Roman or Egyptian and has-to the consternation of her devoted husband-collected a house full of cats and ancient artifacts.

Here's What I Think: From the description I was really excited about this new perspective on the story of The Golden Age. I was thrilled to figure out as I read it that it would not just be a moment in time but it covered a large part of Seleste's life. The characters are so vivid and well constructed you can actually get the notion that you are there in the room, almost even inside Seleste's head. I will say that the book has a lot of historical fact, so if you are not into history, specifically that of Egypt, you may find that the store slows at some points. However, I think it was an engaging read that I read in just three sittings! I thoroughly enjoyed the voice of the book as well as the description and detail, that was interesting and not long-winded as books that are very descriptive can be.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book for review purposed, I was in no other way compensated to publish this review.

Review: The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

Book Description: The envy of all her friends, wife and mother Saphora Warren is the model of southern gentility and accomplishment. She lives in a beautiful Lake Norman home, and has raised three capable adult children. But she’s also married to a successful, yet philandering plastic surgeon. It is for that reason that, after hosting a garden party for Southern Living magazine, Saphora packs her bags to escape the trappings of the picturesque-but-vacant life. Her planned destination is a neglected family bungalow on the Outer Banks.Saphora’s departure, though, is interrupted by her husband Bender’s early arrival home and his words that change her life forever: I’m dying.

Against her desires, Saphora agrees to take care of Bender, who instructs her to take him to fight his illness in their coastal home in Oriental—the same house to which she had planned her get-away. When her idyllic escape is overrun by her grown children, grandchildren, townspeople, relatives, and a precocious neighbor child, Saphora’s escape to paradise is anything but the life she had imagined.

About the Author: Patricia Hickman, M.F.A., is an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction whose work has been praised by critics and readers alike. Patricia first studied creative writing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and then went on to do graduate studies in creative writing at Queens University. She writes for major publishers and is currently at work on her eighteenth book, a novel set in the North Carolina Piedmont. Her next novel,The Pirate Queen, will release Summer 2010, a story that takes readers journeying from suburban Lake Norman to the sailing villages of the Outer Banks. She has served as a writing professor at UNCC and taught in writing workshops across the country offering her popular “Creating Characters–Giving Story People Life” workshops and courses on fiction. She, along with her hubby, founded a non-profit charity that benefits moms and children with HIV called The Secret Angels Project. Her fiction is known for its depth of understanding of the human condition underscored by redemptive themes.

Here's What I Think: Though it starts out as a classic tale of the woman who seems to have everything, but underneath it all has very little happiness. However, Hickman has created a storyline that is riveting. Right off, you want to know how things will pan out. Saphora is a woman who stayed in a less than ideal marriage "for the children" but once they are all grown and gone, there is little need to stick around. However at the very moment that she chooses to take the next big step in here life she is hit right in the gut with the most horrible words your spouse can ever say "I'm dying" and she finds herself unable to walk out but rather to be the good wife she has been pretending to be for many many years. The characters are very well crafted in this emotionally-charged story about how we truly interact with society at large. I enjoyed the fluidity of the tale and look forward to reading more from Hickman.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post.

If you are an author or publisher and would like an honest review of your title, please contact me at polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Room by Emma Donoghue
Book Description: ROOM is narrated by a five-year-old called Jack, who lives in a single room with his Ma and has never been outside. An international bestseller as soon as it was published in August 2010, ROOM has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (for best Canadian novel). It has also been a finalist for International Author of the Year (Galaxy National Book Awards) and the Governor General’s Award.


Jack and Ma live in a locked room that measures eleven foot by eleven. When he turns five, he starts to ask questions, and his mother reveals to him that there is a world outside. Told entirely in Jack’s voice, ROOM is no horror story or tearjerker, but a celebration of resilience and the love between parent and child.

About the Author: Born in Dublin, Ireland, in October 1969, I am the youngest of eight children of Frances and Denis Donoghue (the literary critic, Henry James Professor at New York University). I attended Catholic convent schools in Dublin, apart from one eye-opening year in New York at the age of ten. In 1990 I earned a first-class honours BA in English and French from University College Dublin (unfortunately, without learning to actually speak French). I moved to England, and in 1997 received my PhD (on the concept of friendship between men and women in eighteenth-century English fiction) from the University of Cambridge. From the age of 23, I have earned my living as a writer, and have been lucky enough to never have an ‘honest job’ since I was sacked after a month as a chambermaid. After years of commuting between England, Ireland, and Canada, in 1998 I settled in London, Ontario, where I live with Chris Roulston and our son Finn (7) and daughter Una (3). 

Here's What I Think: This book was difficult to start because of the language. The story is told entirely from the point of view of a 5 year old named Jack. So the thoughts are sometimes illogical and the speech is strange. For example instead of saying "the room" or "the table" he refers to everyday items with proper names like "Room" or "Table". However, once you get your head around this aspect of the story, you really get into horrific nightmare that the boy only knows as his normal. It really is heart-wrenching to think of how easily (sad but true) something like this could happen in your own neighbor's backyard and you never know about it. Normally, I do not like stories that constantly switch back and forth between two character's points of view, but I think this story could have benefited. I say this only because there are lots of things that Jack simply doesn't understand, especially after they leave Room, so as a reader you are forced to infer the details, and I would rather "know". I do have to say that Donoghue did a phenomenal job, technically speaking, in writing this novel. She makes you believe you are listening to a 5 year old, who is rather intelligent in terms of book learning, but completely ignorant when it comes to the society and interaction with the world. The book does sort of come to an abrupt, however complete ending, so I was a little deflated by that. I think this book is a "love it or hate it" sort of book, because I know some will have a difficult time getting past the style of writing. I say give it a try and if you can get past page 40, you should be okay.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post.

If you are an author or publisher and would like an honest review of your title, please contact me at polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review: Without A Word by Jill Kelly

 Without A Word How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything by Jill Kelly with foreword by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
Book Description: WITHOUT A WORD is a riveting memoir that blends remarkable achievement with passion, sacrifice, love, pain, and human interest. It takes the reader into the lives of a celebrity couple, Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly, and his wife, Jill, to reveal the Kelly family's private struggle and how eight and a half years with their severely disabled, terminally ill son, Hunter, unfolded in a redemptive and transforming manner. The light of Hunter's love through his brief and silent life shone into the shadowed corners of Jill and Jim's lives resulting in Jill believing that Jesus Christ was authentic, her learning to forgive Jim of past indiscretions, and finally resulting in Jim's seeking and finding God. Lessons gleaned from Hunter's life and death, and Jim and Jill's struggle to save their marriage during tumultuous times, make this a compelling and inspiring read.

About the Author: Jill Marie Kelly is the wife of retired Buffalo Bills Quarterback and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly. Jill and Jim have three children, Erin 14, Hunter (February 14, 1997 - August 5, 2005), and Camryn 10, and three dogs, a yellow lab - Butterscotch, a black lab - Buddy, and a Teacup Chihuahua - Bella. A seasoned writer, Jill writes with a tenderness and candor that has served her and her readers well in laying her soul bare on the page. Through deeply personal journal entries, she has written, Prayers for Those Who Grieve and Prayers of Hope for the Brokenhearted, sharing her most intimate struggles through the loss of her son, Hunter, and the many painful experiences that followed along her path of healing.Here's What I think: Completely moving is the best way I can describe this book. Being a football fan, a Christian and a mother, this book touched me on so many levels, but even if I wasn't all these things it still would have moved me, really anyone with a pulse should get something out of this incredibly real and well told story. As a parent, you never want to hear that your child is going to live a very short life that would be filled with pain, suffering and struggles, not just for the boy but for the whole family. When the Kellys are told that their son had a fatal disease, without any known treatment, they did not throw up their hands in despair and give up, they fought to make him a part of their family for however little time they could have him. Thought the book has significant Christina overtones, it is not about religion but about one family, one woman's really, honest and true relationship with God. I have a strong belief that it was this relationship and trust that Hunter was able to stay with his family so much longer than the doctor's expected. I find this book to be one of the most courageous and encouraging works I have read in a very long time.

Her unique journey through life has been forever memorialized in Without a Word, How a Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything, a memoir of hope and healing that shares the story of her son, Hunter's, incredible impact on their family. The deeply human narrative chronicles the dramatic way God rescued the Kelly family and revealed Himself through the suffering of their son, turning their hearts to the suffering of His Son ─ and ultimately restoring their love.

"Oddly, I have been writing for years...in my journals. Never did I ever think that God would allow my writings to touch people in the way they have," Jill recalls. "I'm humbled and grateful though I will never fully comprehend why God chooses to use broken vessels, like me, to reveal His heart."

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of the this title for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

If you are an author and/or publishing house and would like for me to publish a review of your book, please feel free to contact me at: polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review: Hometown Girl by Michele Ashman Bell

Hometown Girl (Book 2 in Butterfly Box Series) by Michele Ashman Bell
Book Description: Jocelyn Roger's life is in a rut. Maybe she should step outside her comfort zone and move to Milford Falls, where she has inherited her grandmother's house. With the encouragement of the other Butterfly Girls, Jocelyn musters her courage and starts a new life. However, when she arrives in the small town that holds both good and bad memories for her, she discovers the house in worse shape than she expected, and getting repairs done is anything but easy, especially when it comes to dealing with Jack Emerson, a man who seems to be agitated by Jocelyn and everyone else within a fifty mile radius. To make matters worse, she has begun to worry that moving back to the place where she once spent a troubled summer will expose the deep personal secret she has kept hidden for fourteen years. But Jack also has a a hidden secret that has prevented him from getting close to anyone in a long time. And now it seems that interfering neighbors may prevent both Jack and Jocelyn from moving forward with their lives. Join the Butterfly Girls in this charmingly romantic story that shows sometimes it takes a leap of faith to land on your feet.

About the Author: In the fourth grade, Michele Ashman Bell was considered a daydreamer by her teacher and was told on her report card that She has a vivid imagination and would probably do well with creative writing. Her imagination, combined with a passion for reading, has enabled Michele to live up to her teacher's prediction. She loves writing books especially those that inspire and edify while entertaining. Michele grew up in St. George Utah, where she met her husband at Dixie College before they both served missions. His to Pennsylvania and hers to Frankfurt Germany and San Jose California. Seven months after they returned they were married, and are now the proud parents of four children: Weston, Kendyl, Andrea and Rachel. A favorite past time of Michele's is supporting her children in all of their activities, traveling both in and outside the United States with her husband and family, and doing research for her books. She also recently became scuba certified. Aside from being a busy wife and mother, Michele is an aerobics instructor at the Life Centre Athletic Club near her home, and she currently teaches in the Relief Society and is the Activity day leader. Michele is the best-selling author of several books and a Christmas booklet and has also written children's stories for the Friend magazine.

Here's What I think: This book focuses on one member of this group of five woman who have been the best of friends since high school. I love that Bell is able to create five very distinct characters in this series and the focus on just one of them for the remainder of this book. The journey that Jocelyn takes in this installment of the series is incredibly realistic and completely engaging. Though it is a predictable outcome, the path there is anything but. I would have never guessed what these two very different people were hiding from the rest of the world. This book is very well-rounded and will lead you through all of the emotions from happiness to horror to love and everything in between. A definite worth your time read.

Disclaimer: Although I did recieve a copy of the this title for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

If you are an author and/or publishing house and would like for me to publish a review of your book, please feel free to contact me at: polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review: No Going Back by Jonathan Langford

NO Going Back by Jonathan Langford

Book Description:

A gay teenage Mormon growing up in western Oregon in 2003. His straight best friend. Their parents. A typical LDS ward, a high-school club about tolerance for gays, and a proposed anti-gay-marriage amendment to the state constitution. In NO GOING BACK, these elements combine in a coming-of-age story about faithfulness and friendship, temptation and redemption, tough choices and conflicting loyalties.

About the Author:

I’m in my late 40s, married with three children. Grew up in western Oregon, but I now live in western Wisconsin. I have a BA and MA in English literature from Brigham Young University, but stopped before finishing a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of California at Riverside. In addition to professional writing and editing, I have also taught freshman composition part-time at several colleges and universities.

Here's What I Think: This book is most definitely outside of my normal reading choices. I was intrigued by the fact that it took place in Oregon (as that is where I live). The technique of the book, is solid, how ever the styling is a little bit "wonky" for me. The change in point of view seems to happen at the wrong time. I also feel that if you are not familiar with the Mormon faith (not to say I am an expert but I do know the basics) you may feel that this book is a little too preachy, especially when the bishop speaks. I do understand that the bishop is in fact "preaching" to Paul, but sometimes I felt it was a little too much for the storyline. Ultimately this story is supposed to be the coming of age of a teen named Paul, who is stuck in midst of trying to figure out just where he fits in to a faith that is decidedly against what he is pretty sure he is - a gay teen in a politically charged environment of a state trying to take a stance of gay partnerships. I did like how Langford was able to cast a more positive light on a very controversial topic. In fact it is a unconventional tactic for addressing this topic, making it more human and real. The basis of the story is about friendship, learning what it really means and how far it can take you. I was pleased that the story did not come to a "happily ever after" ending, but rather a realistic jumping off point for the rest of life. You will definitely need an open mind to read this book for what it is.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of this book for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to write this review.

Review: The Lion and the Swastika by Anna Bruni Benson

The Lion and the Swastika by Anna Bruni Benson

Book Description: Set in Venice, Italy, during World War II, The Lion and the Swastika tells the compelling story of the brutalities of war brought home to a young girl named Marina by the fall of Mussolini in 1943 and the consequent Nazi occupation of the entire Veneto region. World War II should have ended for all of Italy when King Victor Emmanuel III signed an armistice with the Allies after forcing Mussolini to resign as a Prime Minister. Instead the war went on for over sixteen months in Northern Italy. Set against the backdrop of the savage nature of Nazi rule, Benson gracefully captures the blossoming of teenage love and the awakening of Marina to the cruelty in the world and the importance of taking radical action in defense of her ideals and the freedom of her beloved country. At times mysterious, romantic, and, haunting, The Lion and the Swastika traces Anna Bruni Benson’s personal experiences as a young girl growing up in Venice during the war. For more information about Anna Bruni Benson and The Lion and the Swastika, please visit http://thelionandtheswastikabook.blogspot.com/.

About the Author: Venice is my hometown. I grew up there during most of my young years and attended first the Ginnasio Liceo Marco Polo (classical Junior and High School) and then the University of Venice (then called Ca’Foscari), from which I graduated after the war with a degree of Dr. in Foreign

Languages and Literatures.
World War II should have ended for all of Italy when King Victor Emmanuel III signed an armistice with the Allies after forcing Mussolini to resign as a Prime Minister. Instead the war went on for over sixteen months in Northern Italy, occupied by the Germans and ruled by Mussolini as a Fascist Republic.
Venice was not spared and saw its share of horrors and massacres brought by this situation. I personally witnessed many of them and joined the efforts of other students in the fight against the Nazi and Fascist oppressors.

When I came to the U.S. I enrolled at UCLA, where I got a Master Degree in Italian in three semesters, including the thesis, and a few years later a Ph.D in Italian, French and Spanish Languages and Literatures with a Major in the theater.

A year later I was hired by the California State University, Northridge, as head of their budding Italian program, for which I developed a Minor and staged seven plays in Italian, including La Mandragola by Machiavelli and La Locandiera by Carlo Goldoni, the most famous Venetian playwright. I also published two books in English on Italian desserts, La Dolce Cucina and Solo Dolci, and a book of poetry.
I went back to Venice twenty-five in thirty years to visit my parents and to do research, both written and oral, for what became The Lion and the Swastika.
I presently live in Brentwood and am married to a professor of Chemistry from USC.
Most of the historical background of my book was never written upon, not even by Italian authors.

Here's What I think: I love a work of fiction that is still historically accurate and this book is. I was greatly impressed by the amount of educational information I gleaned from the pages without feeling like I was reading a history book. Though most people have been taught the general timeline of events for World War II, we don't have a lot of personal information coming from the people of Venice. I really enjoyed reading this new perspective of what day-to-day life was really like for the Venetians. It is so interesting to think that people we still moving forward with their lives, falling in and out of love, have to deal with the regular tasks of life a while suffering through the incredible cruelty of the Nazis. I laughed, I cried, I sighed, and I really liked this book and I have a great respect for people like Anna Bruni Benson, who can not only live through this but share it with the world.

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of the this title for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

If you are an author and/or publishing house and would like for me to publish a review of your book, please feel free to contact me at: polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Busy Moms Book Club Review October 2010: Darkfever

DarkFever (Fever Series, Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning 
Book Description: MacKayla Lane’s life is good. She has great friends, a decent job, and a car that breaks down only every other week or so. In other words, she’s your perfectly ordinary twenty-first-century woman. Or so she thinks…until something extraordinary happens.

When her sister is murdered, leaving a single clue to her death–a cryptic message on Mac’s cell phone–Mac journeys to Ireland in search of answers. The quest to find her sister’s killer draws her into a shadowy realm where nothing is as it seems, where good and evil wear the same treacherously seductive mask. She is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn how to handle a power she had no idea she possessed–a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae….

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister’s death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho, a man with no past and only mockery for a future. As she begins to close in on the truth, the ruthless Vlane–an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women–closes in on her. And as the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac’s true mission becomes clear: find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book–because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of the very fabric of both worlds in their hands….

About the Author: Karen Marie Moning is a graduate of Purdue University where she completed a BA in Society & Law. Her first novel, Beyond the Highland Mist was nominated for two RITA's, won a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, and made Ms. Moning Waldenbooks bestselling debut romance author for 1999. Her third novel, The Highlander's Touch was awarded the prestigious RITA, at the historic Saenger Theatre in New Orleans in 2001. Her fourth novel, Kiss of the Highlander was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best mass market novels of 2002. Her fifth novel, The Dark Highlander was chosen as one of the Top Ten Favorite Books of the year by Romance Writers of America. Her novels have appeared on USA Today, Publishers Weekly and the New York Times bestseller lists.

Here's What I think: Like most books that take place in an alternate version of our reality, there was a lot of set up. Sadly you don't really get to any action until about half way through the 350 page book, which is well past my usual limit. The book is clever and well thought out but it is just missing that "thing" that makes you want to rush out to the store at three am to buy the next installment. In truth, I probably will not finish this series unless I come across the next book at some point. I know it sounds like I hated it, but I really didn't. But I certainly didn't love it either. It was just sort of middle of the road for me.

 

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If you were participating in this month's Book Club read, please post a review on your own blog of this book. If you reviewed this book in the past, please feel free to link up that review as well! Then head over and check out everyone else's reviews of this title! So let's see your review:

Review: Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie

Bending Toward the Sun by Leslie Gilbert-Lurie

Book Description: A miraculous lesson in courage and recovery, Bending Toward the Sun tells the story of a unique family bond forged in the wake of brutal terror. Weaving together the voices of three generations of women, Leslie Gilbert-Lurie and her mother, Rita Lurie, provide powerful—and inspiring—evidence of the resilience of the human spirit, relevant to every culture in every corner of the world. By turns unimaginably devastating and incredibly uplifting, this firsthand account of survival and psychological healing offers a strong, poignant message of hope in our own uncertain times.About the Author: Leslie Gilbert-Lurie is a writer, lawyer, teacher, and child advocate. She is a member and past President of the Los Angeles County Board of Education, and has just completed a memoir, Bending Toward the Sun, scheduled to be published by Harper Collins in the Fall of 2009.  

Rita Lurie was five years old when she was forced to flee her home in Poland to hide from the Nazis. From the summer of 1942 to mid-1944, she and fourteen members of her family shared a nearly silent existence in a cramped, dark attic, subsisting on scraps of raw food. Young Rita watched helplessly as first her younger brother then her mother died before her eyes. Motherless and stateless, Rita and her surviving family spent the next five years wandering throughout Europe, waiting for a country to accept them. The tragedy of the Holocaust was only the beginning of Rita's story.

Decades later, Rita is a mother herself, the matriarch of a close-knit family in California. Yet in addition to love, Rita unknowingly passes to her children feelings of fear, apprehension, and guilt. Her daughter Leslie, an accomplished lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist, began probing the traumatic events of her mother’s childhood to discover how Rita’s pain has affected not only Leslie’s life and outlook but also Leslie’s daughter’s, Mikaela’s. A decade-long collaboration between mother and daughter, Bending Toward the Sun reveals how deeply the Holocaust remains in the hearts and minds of survivors, influencing even the lives of their descendants. It also sheds light on the generational reach of any trauma, beyond the initial victim. Drawing on interviews with the other survivors and with the Polish family who hid five-year-old Rita, Leslie and Rita bring together the stories of three generations of women—mother, daughter, and granddaughter—to understand the legacy that unites, inspires, and haunts them all.

Gilbert-Lurie also is a founding board member and immediate past President of the Alliance for Children's Rights, a non-profit legal rights organization for indigent children, chair of the education committee for the Los Angeles Music Center, and a board member of several schools including Sierra Canyon and New Visions Foundation. Finally, she has just completed serving as a member of the mayor's task force charged with developing a new cultural plan for the City of Los Angeles.

Previously, Leslie spent close to a decade as an executive at NBC, where, at various times, she oversaw NBC Productions, Comedy, wrote television episodes, and co-founded a new NBC in-house production company, Lurie-Horwits productions. As a lawyer, Leslie worked briefly at the law firm of Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney and served as a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Law Clerk. She is a graduate of UCLA and UCLA School of Law.

Leslie lives in Los Angeles with her husband, son, daughter and step-son.

Here's What I think: Memoirs are not always my thing. Especially really emotional ones, but Gilbert-Lurie writes in such a way that I cared instantly where the story would go. I wanted to see how the tale unfolded. What I really liked about this particular story is that while there was plenty of heartache and dread, she included the few moments of happiness. Those rare times when a smile was shared despite the horror. This really made it more real for me. It is a difficult subject to read about but the author makes it bearable with her eloquent words, while still not romanticizing this terrible time in human history.

 

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of the this title for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

If you are an author and/or publishing house and would like for me to publish a review of your book, please feel free to contact me at: polsen11atcomcastdotnet

Review: The Law of the Garbage Truck by David J. Pollay

The Law of the Garbage Truck by David J. Pollay

Book Description: Twenty years ago, while riding in the back of a New York City taxicab, David J. Pollay narrowly escaped a life-threatening car crash. The driver who almost caused the major accident started yelling at David’s taxi driver, who remarkably just smiled, waved and wished the other driver well before he and David drove away. David asked how the cabbie could remain so calm. His reply spawned the defining principle of The Law of the Garbage Truck and left author, David J. Pollay awestruck.  


His driver said: “Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment…And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you. So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally…move on.”

You can purchase this book on Amazon

About the Author: David J. Pollay, B.A., M.A.P.P., is on a mission to increase happiness, success, and civility in life and business. He is the author of The Law of the Garbage Truck: How to Respond to the People Who Dump on You, and How to Stop Dumping on Others, published by Sterling Publishing (release date: October 5, 2010). David’s The Law of the Garbage Truck is an international phenomenon that’s revolutionizing the way people relate to each other. “The Law” has been endorsed by psychologists, educators, business and spiritual leaders. Translated into forty-eight languages, David’s No Garbage Trucks! Pledge has been taken by people from more than one hundred countries. He is a syndicated columnist, popular blogger, and an internationally sought-after speaker and seminar leader whose work has been featured on NPR, Sirius Satellite Radio, ABC television, Univision, and in Crain’s New York Business, BusinessWeek Small Biz magazine, and newspapers around the world. He is a founding associate executive director of the International Positive Psychology Association, and a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.Here's What I think: What a concept! I love how relevant this book is to the world we live in today. I have long felt that no one can make you feel bad unless you let them. Pollay's book takes this to a whole other level and teaches you methods on how to make sure it doesn't happen. Civility is something that seems to have been lost in our countries value set. I don't understand it and work hard to not perpetuate it in my own children. But it is difficult when they see it happening around them so frequently. This is the sort of book that should be required reading for anyone with a sore expression on their face! An uplifting and life-changing book, The Law of Garbage is a must be for anyone that is unhappy with the negative path our world is traveling down.

He is president of The Momentum Project, LLC, a consulting organization focused on applying the Law of the Garbage Truck and the science of positive psychology to becoming happier and more successful in business and life. He has held leadership positions at Yahoo!, MasterCard, Global Payments, and AIESEC.
David holds a master’s degree of applied positive psychology (M.A.P.P.) from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University. He lives in Florida, with his wife and their two daughters.

 

 

Disclaimer: Although I did receive a copy of the this title for review purposes, I was in no other way compensated to publish this post. These are my real and honest opinions.

If you are an author and/or publishing house and would like for me to publish a review of your book, please feel free to contact me at: polsen11atcomcastdotnet