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Book Reviews

Eire’s Captive Moon Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Eire’s Captive Moon

Author:  Sandi Layne

Published:  2013 by The Writer’s Coffee Shop

Genre:  Historical Fiction

Purchase Éire’s Captive Moon from Amazon

 

 

Chagris was found, well she was found inside her mother.  A local medicine man found her mother about to give birth in a cave and he helped her.  Chagris’s mother passed away right after, and the medicine man helped raise Chagris and taught her his ways.  Fast forward to Chagris’s adulthood.  She is married to not one, but two men; twins.  Her town is ransacked, her husbands slaughtered, and she is taken captive by a man named Agnarr.  She not only becomes his slave in the proverbial sense, but also his to use for sex.  Agnarr is kind in the way that he doesn’t beat her and treats her gently.  Will she find love with him or kill him in revenge for her husbands’ deaths?

I won this book in a giveaway and brought it with me to pass time while I waited for my son in speech class one day.  I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did.  I came home and read it that night, then finished it two days later.

This book outraged me, or rather Chagris being a slave did.  It baffles me that her owners just wanted her to serve them with no complaints but they just killed her family and took her to a foreign land.  Don’t they see that?  I know that this is probably how things were with slavery, but wow, did it make my blood boil.  And the fact that it made me mad just shows that it’s a well written book.

Although she’s being put through hell, Chagris has someone that she can talk to, another slave taken at the same time as her, Cowan.  Cowan is valued for his knowledge of many languages and translating abilities.  He wants Chagris to keep her head up and stay safe, because although he isn’t acting like it, he can’t wait to be free himself.

Will there be romance between Chagris and Cowan?  Or Chagris and Agnarr?  Neither, or perhaps both?   I guess you’ll have to read it to find out.  All I’ll say is I’m glad I picked it up because I was pleasantly surprised.

 

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

04

~Pam

*****I won this book in a giveaway from the publisher, The Writers Coffee Shop.*****

 

 

Daisy and the Pirates, A Children’s Book Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Daisy and the Pirates

Author:  J.T. Allen

Published:  2012 by Sumus Press

Genre:  Children’s Fiction

Purchase Daisy and the Pirates from Amazon

 

 

Daisy is not your typical eleven year old American girl.  She knows how to survive, and thrive, on a desert island.  Let me start from the beginning.  Daisy’s parents are divorced.  She spends the school year with her mom, but she and her older sister spend the summer with their dad.  Their dad is an archeologist and is always working in remote locations.  At the end of one of his projects, the ship the family is on gets kidnapped by pirates!  Then there’s a storm and they all get shipwrecked.  Talk about bad luck.  Or is it???

This book made me laugh.  Or perhaps I should say that Daisy made me laugh.  As a typical kid, she’d love to miss as much school as possible.

I remember thinking, I’ve just been shanghaied by real pirates and shipwrecked and with any luck we’ll be castaways for the whole school year. (Location 367 on Kindle)

Although this was a children’s book I actually learned a lot.  Seriously.  My husband learned a lot as well because I would tell him all the random facts I picked up.  For instance, I learned what Naples Syndrome is.   Whoa. (Google it.)  Also, did you know that quicksand is usually only a few feet deep?  Movies like to exaggerate; so if you ever get stuck in some, calm down and you’ll probably hit bottom.  It’ll still take a while for you to get out of, but keep it calm. Unless you’re really short, it’s probably not going to go above your head.

Daisy knew so much above roughing it outside it put me to shame!  For instance, how to make fire, how to find fresh water, how to fish using Kon-Tikis, and that you should smoke out where you’re going to sleep at night to get rid of bugs and other unseemly creatures.  She made me want to take a survival course, or at least watch some more Discovery channel so I’ll be better prepared.

The one and only thing I didn’t like about this book was it had the word ‘bitch’ in it.  I’m sure kids know swears by middle school, but now that I’m a parent I don’t like the idea of a swear word in a children’s book.  However, it was only used the one time.

Even though Daisy and the Pirates is a children’s book, as you can see it’s definitely enjoyable by adults as well.  Get it for yourself.  Get it for your kid.  Just don’t be mad when they don’t come down to dinner because they need to see what happens next.   I stayed up so late reading this book and loved every minute of it.

I definitely recommend.

 

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

5

~Pam

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

Beautiful Failure Review & Giveaway

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Title: Beautiful Failure
Author: Mariah Cole
Genre: New Adult
Publication Date: December 17, 2013

 

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

04

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Dreams Come True Promotions, in exchange for an honest review.*****

 

 

 

 

Starbucks Addict. New Adult author. Dreamer.

 

* 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

 

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

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

****All images and wording (besides my review) were provided by Dreams Come True Promotions.****

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

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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****

The Echoes of Love Review

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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.*****