#REVIEW: Andi Lassos Trouble and Andi To The Rescue by Susan K Marlow

Title: Andi Lassos Trouble
Series: Circle C Stepping Stones #3
Author: Susan K Marlow
Publisher: Kregel Publishers
Published Date: 11/28/2017
ISBN: 9780825444326
Buy It Link: Kregel

Synopsis: When the Circle C ranch decides to host a rodeo competition with two other ranches, dozens of cowboys are eager to prove they're the best riders and ropers in the valley. But they're not the only ones who want to show off their skills--Andi aims to lasso her way to the prizes, even if big brother Chad says the contest isn't for kids.

The roundup is meant to be a time for food, fun, and friendship. But before Andi can prove she's got what it takes to be a real cowgirl, the day turns dangerous. Will a friendly rodeo turn into a range war between ranchers and sheepherders? Can Andi and her family keep their neighbors--and themselves--safe?           

My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Andi reminds me a lot of myself when I was a kid, always having high dreams, and somehow getting into the worst of predicaments. Andi's life revolves around her horses and her home, the Circle C ranch. When the ranch decides to host a rodeo, that's all Andi can dream of, is winning big at the rodeo. Of course, Andi being Andi, she has to find herself in the middle of a big predicament, much bigger than herself. Can she help enough to get them all out of trouble?
I love reading these books, They are easy enough for my youngest to read them. They provide a cute story, history about California and how it was growing up in the late 1800s. Not to mention, it is always fun to see how Andi gets herself out of her latest predicament.

 

Title: Andi To The Rescue
Series: Circle C Stepping Stones #4
Author: Susan K Marlow
Publisher: Kregel Publishers
Published Date: 11/28/2017
ISBN: 9780825444333
Buy It Link: Kregel

Synopsis: This is so embarrassing. Andi's teacher, Miss Hall, is sick--and Mother is the substitute teacher. What will Andi's friends think?
But it turns out embarrassment is the last thing Andi needs to worry about when two outlaws kidnap Andi and her mother after school in a case of mistaken identity! They can't even tell the kidnappers a mistake has been made without putting themselves in even more danger.
Now they're being held in a remote cabin until Mother can teach the man in charge how to read--and he's willing to go to any length to make it happen. Andi must escape and find help. But can she lead a rescue party back to Mother before the outlaws take their new teacher--and disappear forever?            
             
My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was probably the most suspenseful book out of the series so far. Andi and her mother find themselves kidnapped in a case of mistaken identity when Andi's mother substitutes as teacher. Their freedom depends on Andi's mother's ability to teach a man how to read and how quickly it happens.
I love reading these books, They are easy enough for my youngest to read them. They provide a cute story, history about California and how it was growing up in the late 1800s. Not to mention, it is always fun to see how Andi (and her mother) gets herself out of her latest predicament.

#REVIEW: Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall

Title: Same Kind of Different as Me
Author: Ron Hall
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published Date: March 9, 2008
ISBN: 978-0849919107
Pages: 245
Buy It Link: Amazon
Synopsis:
A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery. An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel. A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream. A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it.
It begins outside a burning plantation hut in Louisiana . . . and an East Texas honky-tonk . . . and, without a doubt, in the heart of God. It unfolds in a Hollywood hacienda . . . an upscale New York gallery . . . a downtown dumpster . . . a Texas ranch.
Gritty with pain and betrayal and brutality, this true story also shines with an unexpected, life-changing love.

My Rating 4 stars

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but whatever it was, it definitely isn't what happened. It was a crazy, moving, soul-wrenching book that makes me want to shake people and say, "See? This! This is why we are better people if we embrace each others' differences!" This book, though fiction, gives me hope that people at such opposite ends of the spectrum, one a homeless, angry black man and another white man of privilege and wealth, can come together and understand each other as human beings....and come away from the encounter a better person for it.
The beginning of the book is kind of slow, however it picks up pretty quickly, and from then on out, I couldn't put it down. I wish this was required reading for everyone in this time of strife and uncertainty.

#GUEST REVIEW and #EXCERPT: Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

Publisher: Bancroft Press (Oct 1, 2017)
Category: Literary Fiction, Celebrities, Barbra Streisand
Tour dates: Oct/Nov, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-61088-211-8
Available in Print, 308 pages

We all know Barbra, the star, but how well do we know Barbra, the woman? In the latest installment of my On the Couch series, Dr. Darcy Dale, a renowned, pioneering Manhattan psychiatrist, is confronted by Barbra, who is dismayed after thirty years of minimally successful therapy. Over the course of a year, Dr. Dale conducts an intimate psychoanalysis, breaking through Barbra’s defense mechanisms and repressions to delve deep into the heart and mind of one of America’s last remaining superstars. Published at the same time as Streisand’s own, long awaited memoir, Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is an essential companion, a sensitive, objective, pitch-perfect opportunity to look behind the voice and image, and to understand and fully appreciate Barbra Streisand, the human being.

GUEST REVIEW:

I was so excited to be invited to read ‘Barbara Streisand: On the Couch’.  I am a big fan of Streisand both as a movie star and singer.  I learned things about her from this book that I didn’t know.  She lost her father at an early age.  I also lost my father at a young age so can empathise with her.  We were both raised when parents fell mostly to the mother but you can’t under estimate the impact of losing a father had, even then.

Alma H. Bound is an excellent writer and with the aid of her meticulous research has really penned an entertaining book that gives us a peek into Streisand’s life and psychological struggles. Using fiction instead of biography has given her poetic license to write about a social icon in a fresh way.  She doesn’t over do the fiction but just adds to Barbara Steisand’s persona.  I loved this book and recommend you pick it up.  I think it would also make an excellent gift for a Barbara Streisand fan!

I give this book 5 stars! I receive this book for an honest review.

Review by Betty G. 

EXCERPT:

Barbra came in with an eerie expression on her face. Looking down as she came into the room, she said almost shyly, “I had the most incredible dream.”
 “Good” I said with great anticipation (I love dreams). Tell me.
 “I almost can’t.  It is too overwhelming.”
 “Try.”    
 “Well, I’ll see what I can do..” She took her usual position on the couch.
 What dream could be so incredible that she has to announce it with all that fanfare? I leaned forward expectantly.
 She began hesitantly, “There is a knock on the door. I open it. There is a blinding light, so that I can hardly see who is there.  I put my hands over my eyes to shield them, and see that it is Sarah Bernhardt. She says, ‘Congratulations on making The Prince of Tides,’ Barbra. It is a wonderful movie.’

"I say in all humility, ‘Yes, it went very well.’"
 She turns her head around to me and says, “What do you think it means, Doctor?”
 “What do you think it means, Barbra?”
 “I’m afraid to say.
 “Try.”
 She said hesitantly, “I think the dream is saying that I’m going to go down in history as a great actress, as majestic as Sarah Bernhardt..... Do you think that’s what it means?
 “I know that’s what it means.”
 She smiled, and said, “So do I.”

 “Barbra,” I said, chastisingly. “I read something important in the newspapers about you that you never told me.”
 “Yeah? What’s that?”
 “I read that in 1986, you founded The Streisand Foundation that has donated over sixteen million dollars for noteworthy causes like nuclear disarmament, civil rights, voter education, and women’s issues. Sixteen million dollars! Very few of us even see that much money in a lifetime, let alone donate it to charity. It is really wonderful of you. What a good woman you are!  But how come you never told me about it?
 Looking shyly at the floor, she said, “I was afraid you would raise my fee.” 

Praise Barbra Streisand: on the Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

"Thoroughly enjoyable."—Kitty Kelley, author of mega bestselling biographies on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Reagan, the British Royal Family, the Bush family, and Oprah Winfrey
“Absolutely delightful … and wonderful … with fabulous insight … Fans of Barbra Streisand [will] love this book . . . It’s impossible to come away from [it] with anything but a warm, fuzzy feeling for this . . . adored songbird… Underneath is [an] . . . insecure little girl who lost her daddy . . . and never truly got over it.”—Readers Favorite
“This will appeal to anyone who enjoys discovering information about such a celebrity, how she feels about the ups and downs of her life, and other juicy details of her storied sex life and stellar career. [...] The book has a can't-put-it-down quality; the juiciness of the gossip, the emotional insights into her joy and pain, and the remarkable triumphs and failures of her long career are completely fascinating. Although the book is fiction, the author lists in a bibliography the numerous books and articles from which she garnered the very factual events and many of Miss Streisand's own words from interviews that she used to create the sessions...”-Midwest Book Review
"I’ve been a fan of Bond’s On the Couch series for years, but this one is absolutely her best. Barbra Streisand--with all her foibles and charms--comes alive on the pages of this book. Bond digs deep into Streisand’s psyche to give the reader a close-up look at a mega-star. Instead of a tell-all novel that dishes out the dirt on her many costars, we follow along with Streisand as she herself recounts her many projects, affairs, and early history. Instead of a public relations–approved biography that glosses over Streisand’s need to be in control of her projects, this book revels in it, explores the reasons for a demanding actor/musician/director to behave as she does, shows the reader just how dedicated to her craft Streisand is. If you’re a fan of her acting, her music, her career, or her activism, this is definitely a book you should read. Even if you’re not a fan, chances are you will be by the time you finish the book.”- Ann Beardsley

About Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

Award winning author, Alma Halbert Bond received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and became a highly successful psychoanalyst in private practice for 37 years in New York City. She "retired" to become a full-time writer. Barbra Streisand: On the Couch is currently in production with Bancroft Press, who publish the On the Couch series. Hillary Clinton: On the Couch was published a few months ago, and received a Best Books Award Finalist book award. Jackie O: On the Couch, the first of her On the Couch series to be published by Bancroft Press, was published on August 15, 2011, and received a Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News, and International Book Awards Finalist. . Margaret Mahler, a Biography of the Psychoanalyst was published by McFarland Press in 2008. It received two awards, Best Books Award Finalist USA Book News and Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Finalist. Michelle Obama, a Biography, was recently published by Greenwood Press. Dr. Bond has had 20 other books published. Among other organizations, Dr. Bond is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Dramatists Guild, PEN, the International Psychoanalytic Association, and the American Psychological Association. She taught psychoanalysis at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, where she is a fellow, and also has been a faculty member of WritersSchool, where she taught Psychology and Literature. Website is http://almabondauthor.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlmaHBond Twitter: https://twitter.com/almabond

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*This schedule is subject to change.

#BLAST and #GIVEAWAY: Obsidian Series by Emilyann Girdner

New Release! The Forgotten Dream

The Forgotten Dream is the third book in the Amazon Best-Selling Obsidian Series. The first book in this young adult fantasy series, The Labyrinth Wall, is a Dante Rossetti Award Finalist and is a Reader's Favorite 5 Star rated book. During a dire encounter with magical attackers, an unexpected visitor shows up to save the day. However, suspicions of this unwanted guest arise when people start disappearing in Kasabac. It is difficult to know who can be trusted and harder to ignore the alarming claims about the labyrinth that come to Araina's attention. Will she be able to locate the missing people? Perhaps more importantly, can she discern the truth from the lies about the labyrinth? Launches Nov 7th - preorder now: B&N/Amazon







  Obsidian Series The fantasy charm of Eragon meets the gritty flare of The Hunger Games in the Amazon Best-Selling Obsidian Series books which offer a surprising and fresh magical labyrinth adventure. Imagine a labyrinth world from the perspective of its native people... Araina’s lonely teenage life is forever altered when she witnesses a man with supernatural powers emerge through a rippling wall into the dark and deadly labyrinth she calls home. Araina must solve many mysteries surrounding the newcomer and the labyrinth she thought she knew so well. And, as a result of the stranger’s arrival, Araina’s creators have unleashed a series of attacks against the labyrinth inhabitants. She must decide if she will trust potentially deceitful allies in order to survive. “It is a book that all fantasy lovers will find addictive and thrilling.” — Readers’ Favorite “There are several great adventures in this story of a girl trying to escape from Creators” and “The prose sings in many places thanks to expert description.” — Publishers Weekly An Amazon Best-Seller A Dante Rossetti International Award Finalist Reader’s Favorite 5 Star Rated

  Buy Labyrinth Wall on: Amazon/B&N | Buy Haunted Realm on: Amazon/B&N Labyrinth Wall will be on sale for $.99 in November!

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About the author: Emilyann Girdner is the creator of Coloring Novels™ (a new novel format) and author of Amazon Best-Seller, Dante Rossetti Award Finalist, and Reader’s Favorite 5 Star rated young adult fantasy novel, The Labyrinth Wall. Emilyann discovered at a young age that reading imaginative books gave living an extra flavor. She has loved stories ever since. She has appeared at events with organizations such as Barnes & Noble stores, Wizard World Comic Con, Supercon, AltCon, and MegaCon Fan Days. KCFV 89.5, City Surfing Orlando, Miami.com, and Tallahassee Magazine are some of the media outlets that have mentioned Emilyann. Emilyann tries to love God and others in all she does. She believes that imagination sparks beauty in the soul. Emilyann’s writing and art have appeared via many publications, some of which include Sound & Communications Magazine, The TV Shield, Center for Work Life, Easter Seals Florida, and Examiner.com. Discover more of her writing and art at www.emilyanngirdner.com. Get a FREE eBook and access to exclusive content by joining Emilyann's newsletter list. Visit the following link to subscribe: http://emilyanngirdner.com/free-fantasy-ebook/ Follow on social media: Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest

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#REVIEW: The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey by Carolyn Miller

Title: The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey
Series: Regency Brides #3
Author: Carolyn Miller
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Published Date: October 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0825444524
Buy It Link: Amazon
Synopsis: Will a damaged reputation and desire for society's approval thwart the legacy of grace?
Tainted by scandal and forced to leave London for the quieter Brighton countryside, the Honorable Miss Clara DeLancey is a shadow of her former society self. She's lost the man she loved to another and, in a culture that has no patience for self-pity, is struggling with depression. A chance encounter brings her a healing friendship with the sisters of an injured naval captain. But Clara's society mama is appalled at the new company she's keeping.

Captain Benjamin Kemsley is not looking for a wife. But his gallant spirit won't let him ignore the penniless viscount's daughter--not when she so obviously needs assistance to keep moving forward from day to day. Can he protect his heart and still keep her safe?

When they're pushed into the highest echelons of society at the Prince Regent's Brighton Pavilion, this mismatched couple must decide if family honor is more important than their hopes. Can they right the wrongs of the past and find future happiness together--without finances, family support, or royal favor?

My rating: 4 stars

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As I have read this series, and other Regency books, I can honestly say, I have definitely been born in the right era. I can't imagine not being able to speak my mind, to let out a curse word at least once or twice a day, or be seen as any man's property. Just the idea of having those expectations around you constantly is a nightmare for me.
Clara is the lowest of the low in society's eyes, and she has been ostracized, not only by society but by her family. Predictably, she struggles with depression, not only because she has lost the man she loved to another, but because of the snubbing from society.
Along comes Captain Benjamin Kemsley, not looking for any romantic encounters but he just can't ignore the helpless and rejected woman his sisters have befriended.
This is a sweet romance story that shows trust in God and your heart is more important than what society's expectations are.

#REVIEW: Falling Into Right by Sharon Kay

Title: Falling into Right
Series: Redemption County #2
Author: Sharon Kay
Published Date: October 24, 2017
Publisher: Sharon Kay
ASIN: B075RTYDYM
Buy It Link: Amazon

Synopsis: How do you recover when life kick-boxes your soul?
Becca Gable is fighting to stay on her feet after a series of crushing losses. She’s always been the good girl until the events of the past year push her to make a mistake she can’t take back. Now, her corporate finance job and her fiancé are gone thanks to her newly-acquired criminal record.
Shane Marlow survived an IED blast during his service in Iraq—but half his team did not. Physically healed, he returns to his home county as a K9 officer. The scars of loss run deep and though local folks admire him, no one truly gets him—until Becca literally lands in front of him.
Their bond of shared tragedy evolves into a connection both fiery and healing. But a stalker decides that Becca’s crime should stay front and center. As the unsettling episodes reveal that no part of her life is secret, Shane is all that stands between her and the enemy.

My Rating: 4 stars

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
How can you explain when grief makes you do inexplicable things? How can you forgive yourself afterwards? Becca has done something awful, and even though she has paid her debt to society, she still can't explain or forgive herself for what she has done.
Shane is a hometown hero, an Army sergeant who has survived an IED blast, and come home to become a K-9 cop. He can't forgive himself for surviving when so many of his men didn't.
After Becca literally falls at his feet, they come together in a sweet romance, showing that two broken people can help each other heal with love. Of course, there is someone who can't let go of Becca's past indiscretion, forcing her to constantly relive it, making her unable to truly forgive herself.
I'm so glad the author didn't use the typical lack of communication between the two main characters to drive the storyline and produce angst enough for the reader to question their HEA. Instead, she used her amazing writing abilities to bring the two characters and their nemesis together in a final showdown with a sweet HEA.

#REVIEW: Truth Doesn't Have A Side by Dr Bennet Omalu and Mark Tabb

Title: Truth Doesn't Have A Side
Author(s):  Dr Bennet Omalu and Mark Tabb
Publisher: Zondervan
Published Date: August 8, 2017
ISBN:  9780310351962
Buy It Link: Amazon | Zondervan
Synopsis: One day in 2002 the fifty-year old body of former Pittsburgh Steeler and hall of famer Mike Webster was laid on a cold table in front of pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu. Webster’s body looked to Omalu like the body of a much older man, and the circumstances of his behavior prior to his death were clouded in mystery. But when Omalu cut into Webster’s brain, it appeared to be normal. Something didn’t add up.
It was at this moment, Omalu studying slides of Webster’s brain tissue under a microscope, that the world of contact sports would never be the same: the discovery of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE can result in an array of devastating consequences including deterioration in attention, memory loss, social instability, depression, and even suicide. And Omalu’s discovery of CTE in the brain of an American football player has become the catalyst of a blazing controversy across all contact sports.
At the center of that controversy stands the unlikely Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Nigerian-born American citizen, a mild-mannered, gentle man of faith. It is fascinating that it would take someone on the outside of American culture to make this amazing discovery, and refuse to let it be kept hidden. Dr. Omalu began his life in strife, growing up in war-torn Nigeria. But his medical studies in forensic pathology proved to be a lifeline. It fed his natural curiosity and awakened within a deeper desire to always search for the truth. Who would have thought that such an unexpected character would play such a role in bringing to life this world-changing data?
In Truth Doesn’t Have a Side, discover the truth about CTE: Its causes and symptoms, how we might keep our children safe and guide professional athletes when CTE sets in. The problem of CTE is coming to light with each new story about an athlete’s concussion problem, and we are likely facing dramatic changes to professional sports. You’ll be inspired by Dr. Bennet Omalu a man driven by his love and concern for the welfare of all people, and his professional vow to speak the truth.

My Rating: 5 stars

My Review: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
There are books that come into your life that are life-changing. They change the way you look at the world, or an aspect of your life or society, and you are never the same after. Or it's a book you can't stop talking about with your friends. This book is both for me.
Growing up in the Deep South, football is life. It literally takes up over half our week, from high school Friday Night Lights, to Saturday College Football, to Sunday, Monday and Thursday pro football. Parents go out with their kids and toss the pigskin back and forth for hours. For some, it is the only possibility out of a life of abject poverty. Thinking that it could be a life-threatening sport that we are willingly putting our children in from single-digit ages goes against threads that make up a good portion of our society. Football is such a lucrative sport, I can understand why the NFL would want to squash this evidence that shows football can negatively impact a player's life.
The author, Dr Bennet Omalu, puts forth the situation in which he found the first case of what he later termed, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or as we lay people recognize it, CTE. He does it in such a clinical, and yet personable way that makes him seem very approachable and no-nonsense. He presents the facts, and says how he came to his conclusions.
During the time I was reading this book, it came out that Aaron Hernandez was found to have the worst case of CTE known at his age. It certainly explains why a superstar player like Hernandez, who was adored in New England, would get involved with drugs, murder (alleged murder, since his suicide in prison overturned his conviction), and suicide. It can also explain why OJ Simpson has done the things he has done.
I highly recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone I come across.