Napoleon Book Spotlight

Title: Napoleon  Napoleon

Genre: Women’s Fiction with an Attitude

Author: Emilia Rutigliano

Publisher: Emilia Rutigliano

Purchase Napoleon from Amazon
 

 

 

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!

TWITTER * FACEBOOK

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Review on Napoleon to come soon!!

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Layers of Veronica banner 7

****All images and wording were provided by Pump Up Your Book.****

Find the Cutes- Playtime, A Children’s Book Review

Find the Cutes

 

Title:  Find the Cutes – Playtime

Author:  Celestial Noot

Illustrator:  Vincent Noot

Genre:  Children’s Book

Find the Cutes Facebook Page

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.

Cute Kids

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.

Cutes grocery

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 

5

~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!

Cute kickstarter

 ****Images provided by the illustrator****

Feature & Follow Friday #28, #FF, Reading Habits

Feature & Follow

 

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:  How have your reading habits changed in the past few years? Did you get interested in a new genre? Do you read more? Less? Why do you think your habits changed, if they did.

They’ve definitely changed for a few reasons.  One, I have three kids under four years old.  I just don’t have the same amount of time to read.  If I don’t like a book, I stop reading it.  I never would have done that before kids; I would have read it to the end to finish it.  And two, my mom just went through chemo and major surgery for bladder cancer, so I just can’t stand to read anything about cancer at the moment.  I feel like I’m seeing fictional cancer books everywhere lately (The Fault in Our Stars, is it?), but I just need a break from cancer related stuff.  (She is currently recovering from surgery, but cancer free, so yay.)

Have a great Friday!

~Pam

The Echoes of Love Review

 

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  The Echoes of Love

Author:  Hannah Fielding

Published:  2013 by London Wall Publishing

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Purchase The Echoes of Love from Amazon

 

 

Venetia is in Italy working to restore and save old paintings and relics.  Life is simple; and she is single, still haunted by her past love.  Venetia meets an Italian man, Paolo, who is definitely interested in her.  However, Venetia can’t get past her old love, even though it was a decade ago.  Eventually she gives Paolo a chance, just to change her mind and decide to be single again.  She goes back and forth with her feelings for a while, but eventually Paolo wins her heart.  His love does not come without some mysteries of his past being revealed however.  Will these revelations bring them closer together or tear them apart?

This book is enjoyable if read at a leisurely pace.  For instance, if you have nowhere to go, you’re relaxed, and you have nothing to do.  Read it then.  It felt like that kind of book; very relaxing if you will.  That being said, it was a little slow.  There was some major action near the end of the book, and I wished there was more of that throughout.

Venetia got on my nerves a bit with how she couldn’t decide whether to be with Paolo or not.  I understand that she was in love before.  But it was over ten years ago.  Be happy.  Give the guy a chance.  It’s a wonder to me that Paolo didn’t give up on her beforehand.

I really like the character Venetia meets, a Chinese man named Ping Lu.  He gives Venetia some good advice,

The grief a person goes through causes a change in his perception of himself or his lifestyle, and some sort of adjustment is required to avoid being haunted by the pain.  You must choose what to remember from the past, cherish the joys of the present, and prepare for a future – you must look forward, my child.  That is the only way. (p. 82)

Great advice!  I just wish Venetia didn’t take so long to follow it.

Ultimately, it would have been nice if Paolo and Venetia got together a little earlier in the book; I felt like when they did the pace of the book picked up.  Other than that though, it was a good read.  And look at the cover; beautiful!

 

My Rating:  3 1 /2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****     

Wanting Him Blog Tour

Wanting Him

Synopsis:

Can a person really fall in love in only a few short months? Does distance really make the heart grow fonder?

Natalie, a confident strong individual who has had her fair share of pain and loss has found the one thing that truly makes her happy, Parker Thomas.

Parker is living his dream, on tour with his band mates, King Dread. He’s making a name for himself and his band, wanting nothing more than for Natalie to join him on this new adventure.

Unfortunately due to life, Nat cannot go with him. Between going to school, working, and taking care of her sister, her plate is full.

During the months apart, Nat and Parker are able to grow as individuals and reveal who they really are, and what’s important.

Though distance is hard on both of them; there are people out there who want nothing more than a piece of Parker.

When they are put to the test, will they be able to prove their love for one another or will others step in and take their place?

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Purchase Wanting Him from Amazon

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About the Author

T. Renee Fike is a born and raised country girl from Pennsylvania.  When T. Renee isn’t T R Fikewriting, she’s working her full-time day job, or pursuing her Master’s degree.  Aside from work and school, she enjoys hanging out with friends, reading a good book, watching football, (GO EAGLES) or hanging out with her niece and nephew.

 

You can follow T. Renee Fike on

Twitter   Facebook  Goodreads

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Giveaway

****Moonlightreader is not responsible for this giveaway.****

**Must be at least 18 years old to enter**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Wanting Him Banner

****Images and wording for synopsis and about the author were provided by T.R. Fike****