Author Bio
Erika Van Eck’s Author Page HERE.
Webpage HERE.
Add Ace’s Wild to Goodreads HERE.
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****All images and wording provided by Ms. Erika Van Eck.****
Author Bio
Erika Van Eck’s Author Page HERE.
Webpage HERE.
Add Ace’s Wild to Goodreads HERE.
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****All images and wording provided by Ms. Erika Van Eck.****
This is a blog hop, a way to find and follow new blogs,
hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.
You can follow me by using any one of the options over on the left sidebar.
This weeks question: Snap it Time! A picture is worth a thousand words. Anything and anything. Just give us a pic.
I like to call this one Babies:1, Grandpa:0.
Hahahaha. Cracks me up every time.
Happy Friday!
~Pam
If you’re looking for a heartwarming story about a girl who falls deeply in love with a troubled boy who changes her life–a sob story with pretty metaphors and a million ways that’ll tell you how “broken” she is, STOP. Don’t read another word of this.
I’m not that type of girl.
My name is Emerald Anderson and I’m not going to bulls**t you: I flunked out of college after my sophomore year, I’ve been fired from every job I’ve ever taken, and I’ve never had a fully functioning relationship in my life.
I wish I could say that I had a cheerleader in my corner, someone who says, “No, Emerald–You’re great and you are good at something!” but I don’t. My grandparents are completely oblivious to my life, and my mother’s dying words to me were “You’re going to end up just like me one day. A beautiful nothing.”
She was right.
As I decide to start my life over and take two jobs that will forever change me–one from the inside, and one from the outside, I keep my mother’s words close to my heart so I can keep the sexy and mysterious Carter Black away.
He’s the first man who’s ever pursued me, the first man who seems bent on finding out why I am the way I am, but he’s wasting his time.
I’m not broken. I don’t need to be fixed. I’m perfectly fine being a beautiful failure…
Were you intrigued by the synopsis? I sure was. I thought, finally, a book that isn’t about a girl wanting to be rescued or even getting rescued. And that’s part of what made this book so good.
Emerald is what she is, who she is, and she isn’t sorry for it. Her mom did a royal job of screwing her up though. I usually hate blaming the parents, but I feel that it really was her mom’s fault. Not only was her mom a prostitute, but also an alcoholic. A habit that she shared and encouraged with Emerald at way too young an age. Anyways, her mom commits suicide (I’m not giving anything away, this happens right at the beginning), and leaves Emerald practically alone.
Emerald does go to live with her grandparents, her mother’s parents. They’re good people, but kind of oblivious and extremely religious. I commend Emerald for going on after her mom’s suicide, I really do. She can’t keep a job, but hey, at least she tries. Then one day working as a barista at Starbucks, she meets a good looking guy named Carter. She also makes her first real friend, even if she doesn’t know it at the time, Sarah. She notices that Sarah has a lot of really expensive things and learns that she works for an exclusive strip club. Emerald ‘interviews’ there and the patrons love her. And guess who she runs into. Yep, Carter! And on the side, Emerald has to attend court ordered AA meetings because she got in a little trouble.
So as you can see, Emerald’s been through hell. But she is such a strong character for it. Although she’s not always in the right, she definitely stands up for what she believes in. And the confidence this girl has, can I have some?
She is definitely wary of Carter, and it takes her a long time to warm up to him. And just when you think you know where the book is going, you don’t. I’d normally be a bit peeved at a cliffhanger ending, but I really can’t wait to read the next one!
It’s because it’s not all puppies and rainbows that I really enjoyed this book, and I definitely recommend it. And if you read it, read the author’s note at the end. It cracked me up.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from Dreams Come True Promotions, in exchange for an honest review.*****
* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mariah-Cole/522717034482807
* Author Website: http://unapologeticmc.blogspot.com/
* Author GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7319309.Mariah_Cole
* GoodReads Page for Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18625288-beautiful-failure
* Purchase Beautiful Failure from Amazon
* Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beautiful-failure-mariah-cole/1117736123?ean=2940149071050
****All images and wording (besides my review) were provided by Dreams Come True Promotions.****
Genre: Women’s Fiction with an Attitude
Author: Emilia Rutigliano
Publisher: Emilia Rutigliano
They say that when a student is ready, a teacher appears.
What they don’t say is where to register, and how to matriculate in that teacher’s class.
That is a divine gift.
Veronica had it all: the looks; the brains; the personality; and the wardrobe. Not to mention a perfect husband, a fabulous career and two adorable children, until the perfect husband leaves her for another woman.
Thus begin the daily routines of a typical New York City immigrant with ambition whose teachers keep appearing, and for whom divine interventions keep affording new opportunities.
Though it starts like ordinary connections going through the tried and true, each relationship continues to delve into parts of her own universe that Veronica didn’t know existed. A universe that is suddenly open to her.
This is a different kind of heroine…
Welcome to the New American Dream, Dare to Dream…
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BOOK EXCERPT:
“You see the details and you are awed by them. It shows in your dress, in your manner, in how you look at things, how you eat… It’s all art. No amount of money or education can give it to you. You either see it, or you don’t.” He took another sip.
He was about to tie it all together for her. “Our society works in layers…”
“Oh, my god … what did you just say?” Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at him. But he didn’t see what was so shocking.
“Our society works in layers. Notice I didn’t say levels. It’s not linear.” This was important. He needed her to see this. “Think of it this way. You consider a person’s worth by their financial statement. This is how much you earn/own, and this is how much you owe/spend. Like, John Smith is worth a billion dollars. With me so far?”
She shook her head … Someone else subscribes to the layers theory? She continued to stare at him.
“You transcend that, Veronica. There are several more layers of you that you don’t even know. You know that you are very beautiful, but you also have this magnificent charisma, this affect on people. You talk with your clients, your friends, your kids, and with me on completely different “layers”… like a napoleon, yes?”
She nodded her head, still in awe.
“It isn’t that one layer is better than the other, although some will argue that the soaked bottom is best because it has the most flavor; others will say the flaky top is best; still others prefer the middle because it is just the right amount. But one cannot exist without the other. I would very much like to see you discover the layers of yourself. There are many that you have not discovered, and it’s only because no one has taught you. You excel in things that you do. You’re quite a virtuoso, and I’d like to teach you about more. Interested?“
I’m being presented with an opportunity. Am I even hearing this correctly? Did he just say that there is another world, layers, that I am worthy of attaining, and that he would like to help me reach and discover these layers? Wasn’t that what I was hoping for when we first met … to learn from him? Concentrate, Nika, this is serious. “I’m more than interested, Jeremy, but I’m unaware of what is required of me.”
He smiled. “Good question. There are many layers here, but let’s deal with the first two. First things first… you have trust issues.”
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About the Author:
Emilia I. Rutigliano scored fiftieth percentile on her SATs… and on her LSATs… and on her BAR…Sigh…
But she nevertheless survived, and seems to be doing OK. She practices Law (read lore) in Brooklyn, New York (read Nu Yawk). She was born in the former Soviet Union, and emigrated in 1979. She is happily married to the same crazy Italian she’s been with since college, who suffers from a severe addition to travel (still in acute form). Together they are doing a somewhat passable job with their three precious darlings (who are now teenagers, thus elaboration is not necessary).
Which is why Emilia writes about Veronica. Veronica, though… is interesting. And Emilia knows interesting.
So she weaved the tale about the interesting characters, places and events from her own life. It is remarkable how if you choose to view a subject objectively, it becomes downright artistically gorgeous. So Emilia views and shows Brooklyn Russians as gorgeous, and the Barese intricacies as gorgeous, and she even tolerates Paris, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia for the reader’s interests.
Thank you, dear reader, for tolerating these scenes….
Her first book in the Layers of Veronica series is Napoleon.
Visit Emilia Rutigliano’s website at www.layersofveronica.com.
Connect & Socialize!
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Review on Napoleon to come soon!!
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****All images and wording were provided by Pump Up Your Book.****
Title: Find the Cutes – Playtime
Author: Celestial Noot
Illustrator: Vincent Noot
Genre: Children’s Book
Help fund Find the Cutes Playtime by going to their Kickstarter Project Page Here
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Remember when you were a kid and you were at school, or waiting at the doctor’s office, and there was a Where’s Waldo book. Find the Cutes is a search book like that, but you find the whole family, along with some other items.
Find the Cutes is a children’s book. But I enjoyed it, and I have children of my own! The Cutes are a family. Cute is their last name. The oldest daughter is 12, Carissa, and it’s her job to babysit her four younger siblings. As you imagine, they can get into some trouble, or lost in the crowd.
I love looking at this book. Not only do you look for each character, but every other character on the page is doing something funny or interesting. You could read this book over and over and discover something new every time, for many times.
I also love that it’s about a family spending time together. And the illustrations themselves are so well done. Have a look.
All in all, Find the Cutes is a great children’s book. I can’t wait to have the hardcover version in my hands.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
~Pam
*****I received this book free from the illustrator in exchange for an honest review.*****
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The authors have a kickstarter program going on to help with lots of things like production costs and printing. If you donate money you can get a copy of the book and a lot of other neat things depending on how much you donate. Check it out by clicking the link below!
****Images provided by the illustrator****