books

I Wrote How Many Book Reviews?

Angela3 Comments

I thought I should do a final post for 2014 of how many books I actually read, how many of those resulted in book reviews I posted, and anything else I may have thrown in.

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I could really tell from my blog activity what months were the most busy for me. Or should I say, what months I was working on the toughest MBA college classes.

I did a whole lot of nothing in the summer months when it came to posting book reviews. I was really busy from September to December, and although I have every good intention of reading at least 3 more books when I finish the one I am currently on, I thought this would be a good time to do this post.

As a side note, I am off work until January 5th, and am kid free until January 4th. Which means I have a whole lot of reading-in-bed-writing-reviews-playing-with-the-cat-nap-time planned 🙂

For the year as a whole, I posted to date, 67 book reviews.

Of those 67 reviews, 18 were of books I had previously read, so for 2014 I read 49 new books. Not too shabby for being a single Mom of a whole lot of girls, working 50+ hours a week, and going to college for my MBA. The 18 on books I previously read were a combination of Halloween features, Christmas features, and books that I had read in the past that had a great impact on me.

The Cricket on the Hearth

June was the only month I did not post any book reviews, and October was my busiest month, with 12 book reviews posted. I have to add that for December I am currently at 7, and do plan on at least 5 more before the New Year, but certainly do not expect it to exceed October.

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Some notables for 2014 for me:

I made the very tough decision to begin working on my MBA. After working non-stop for 2 years straight to get my BBA, I did take the entire year of 2013 off, as I promised my girls, and did not start college again until January 4th, 2014.

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After many months of contemplating, searching, and debating, I became the very proud owner of Beeblebrox Bare Bottom Benjamin Blu, or Benny to me! He is a Hairless Sphynx cat and I am not ashamed to say that little ball of wrinkled-velvety-soft skin has changed my life! I like to tease my 4 girls about their “little brother’, but believe you me, that little guy has gotten me through a lot of weekends when I was wide awake all night long from being a 3rd shift worker and having the weekend off.

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I made the decision to leave my Supervision position with my company and go back to a Materials Coordinator position that I had previously worked in for almost 5 years. I have worked for my company for over 18 years, and am so thankful to have such a wonderful employer.

I joined the Editorial Freelancers Association, and am currently working on getting myself set to begin editing and proofreading books for new and current authors. I have a love for books and the English language that I would probably have a very difficult time putting into words in order to get anyone to understand. (Now that is ironic, right?)

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I would personally like to thank each and every single one of you for liking, following, or just commenting on a random blog post. I could not begin to tell you the excitement I have when I see that someone liked a post I made, and even better yet, left a comment, or followed my blog!

I will be setting some goals for myself for 2015, and there will be more to come on that!

The Scimitar and the Glory Boxes – Frederick Morse

Angela6 Comments

Some of the best books I have read are ones I stumbled upon, and this one is no exception. I actually came across this book on a free ebook site, and due to the quality of this story, I am hoping (and going to suggest) that the author get this book somewhere where it can make the money it justly deserves to.

The Scimitar and the Glory Boxes Cover image

This story takes you on a 2000 year journey that begins with one person trying to obtain the 3 iron nails, and the wooden cross, that were used to crucify Jesus Christ. One man’s journey turns into a journey through the ages, with people hired for the entirety of their lives to track the history of one young girl who experienced stigmata when she was near the holy relics. They were tasked with tracking her family lineage, and passing on that duty to others that could be trusted, and it was made clear that this was a job that would never end. And it did not end. They knew this family’s bloodline would be one that could likely find these relics, no matter how much time may pass.

The iron nails were melted down and used to make a scimitar. The cross was cut down and made into three Glory Boxes, or what we would in today’s time call a Hope Chest. This scimitar enables the owner certain supernatural powers. Currently hid in the desert, it is being tracked both for the right, and wrong, reasons. Dependent on who it is that is searching for it.

This is one story where I do not want to give too much away, and certainly no spoilers. But I assure you, if you enjoy religious based stories, religious historical ideas, and mystery and intrigue, this is a story you will want to read. It is less than 160 pages, and I promise you will not want to put it down once you begin reading it!

Darkness Falls (Submit to Darkness Series Book 2)- AJ Spencer

Angela5 Comments

I had the great pleasure and enjoyment to read AJ Spencer’s second book in her Submit to Darkness Series. I reviewed the first book here: https://booksandopinions.com/2014/11/18/edge-of-darkness-submit-to-darkness-book-1-aj-spencer/

One of the first things I noted about her first story was that I had it read in less than 24 hours, it was that good. This second installment, Darkness Falls, I had read in less than 8 hours.

Darkness Falls Cover Image

This second book continues with Detective Natasha Stolt trying to get into the mind of the serial killer known as Grimm. Her partner, Giovanni Tagliente reveals the reason he has something to hide. Natasha finds herself being held captive by this monster of a man, only she sees something other than the horrible, un-human being the country seems to know him as.

Natasha is forced to look deep inside herself at thoughts and feelings she would rather not admit she has. Can she control the monster known as Grimm, before he truly gets 100% control of her?

This is a heart-pounding adventure, full of twists and turns, and its fair share of erotica. This is not your cookie-cutter story seeking fame on the coattails of previously released erotica stories. This series stands well on its own, and puts the others to shame!

(The first novel has a well-earned warning due to the graphic nature of the story. The same holds true here. There is descriptive violence against women and children in the most depraved sense of the word. It justly serves the story, and is necessary to the telling of it. As I said in my first review; if this is something you cannot handle, this is not the series for you.)

It’s Time To Stop Stalling…

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…and start reading!

That sounds odd, especially coming from me. I usually never stall when I know I have some reading to do. I think it is more the fact that I also know I need to finish my laundry, get gifts wrapped, and other chores that I do not have the motivation to do.

So when I know I have these chores waiting to be done, I always feel that I have got to do them all before I can sit down, relax, and read a story.

Luckily, I have been asked to complete a book review on a story that I have not quite finished yet. So from where I am sitting, it looks like the most important thing I need to do today is finish that book, and get the review wrote.

That makes perfect sense to me 🙂

Wishing you a Sunday full of Blessings and great stories!

That One Story You Cannot Let Go

Angela1 Comment

and it took me forever to find it, and thank you Amazon.

Dawn of Desire

My poor Granny has no idea what she did when I “stole” her book from her when I was 11 years old. Yes; over 30 years ago. It was “Dawn of Desire”. By Joyce Verrette. And I read this story over-and-over again. Only to lose it in a basement flood of all things.

And I forgot about it. Yet; I didn’t.

It was the best story I had ever read for my young age.

And still, at 42+ years old, it is one of the stories I will continue to read, over-and-over again.

And after literally checking the internet for years looking for this book; I found it! As well as the 2 following books that were part of this series.

I do not know what happened to Joyce Verrette; but I do know I got these books back in my hands. So Thank You!

When Self-Publishing Fails

Angela11 Comments

What do you do? Did you self-publish, only to find that the platform you used has serious formatting issues?

I have not self-published, as I am keeping my stories locked up tight; for the time being. But I am aware of several self-publishing companies that cater to the writer who wants to be published, and this is the best route. I did not say easiest route, because it is not.

I know Lulu, Blurb, and Createspace are very popular. Wattpad has been getting a lot of attention lately. I know Amazon offers self-publishing, but I have been seeing a lot of fall-out from their pricing and restrictions. The latest is that Amazon is selling merchandise for $0.01 and the sellers cannot do anything about it.

I have read some terrific stories from self-publishers. But I do take offense when a self-publisher wants to blame their shoddy skill of the very difficult English language on their self publisher.

Keep in mind; no matter how chopped up the story was; when your emails are just as chopped up; I am not going to believe this is a server/platform issue.

I have read about 3 horrible stories (yes, horrible) that I could not even read again no matter what the payment was.

I guess what I am saying is this: I wish these self-publishing websites had a way to tell that a story is pure crap and just refuse to publish it. Is the all-mighty dollar worth so much that these companies will publish anything as long as they are getting some kind of profit?

Oh, how the writers of days-gone-by are turning in their graves.

So I guess I would personally like to apologize to Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, not to mention so many others.

Various Short Stories – Christian Bergman

Angela1 Comment

I had the pleasure of reading some short stories written by Christian Bergman, and they were great fun! You have some sci-fi going on, and get a Twilight Zone feel with some of these stories. The first story, “Curiosity” gives you a behind-the-scenes look at a team watching a planet rover, still checking and manning it daily even though a newer rover seems to be getting all of the attention, funding, and support. You follow along with them as they try to determine what they could have seen when a glint of light is reflected in one of the images.

I was anxious as I read through this first story to see exactly what they may have discovered. Sorry friends, but as is my norm, there will be no spoilers here! You will have to read it to find out for yourself what exactly they may have seen.

There were other short stories that put a new twist on what things could be like for us here on Earth in the future. Or is it Earth?

Be sure to check out Christian’s short stories here: http://contrafactual.com/short-stories/

You will be glad you did!

O Holy Night: The Peace of 1914 – Michael Snow

Angela3 Comments

No one wants to think about war when they are trying to focus on Christmas. Generally, I would hope no one likes to think about war at all, although for some it is their life’s work and career to pay attention to just such things.

O Holy Night Cover

So what was going on in the year 1914 at the time and season of Christmas? War. A war that had French and German troops in trenches, on French land, hiding from the other while they at the same time hoped to have to opportunity to destroy them; for most for no other reason than it would save their own life.

It may not be 100% clear who first called for the truce between the troops, but the story tells us that the initial singing of Christmas carols came from the German trenches, and was able to completely silence the other noises of the war-torn night unlike anything else. ‘Silent Night’, sung in German, did just that.

Numerous letters were sent to loved ones from the men who were in these trenches on this Christmas Eve night. Men who were glad to put down their guns, climb out of the trenches, and approach the enemy to shake hands and trade souvenirs. As the first few made those frightening first steps toward the enemy, the others began to do the same, seeing that they were indeed safe in their endeavors. Games were played, food and drink were shared, and mementos traded amongst the soldiers, all who commented to others that the ‘enemy’ was quite alright after all.

This story shares the narrative of these soldiers, as well as some of the letters that were sent home. This is a wonderful story; both comforting as well as something that makes you realize what has been sacrificed for the freedoms we have.

A Beautiful Family – Marilyn Cohen de Villiers

Angela1 Comment

I found “A Beautiful Family” to be a great read for me. It was not only entertaining, it was also educational. The story takes place over decades, going back and forth through different time periods, with each main character having a few chapters where the story is told from their point of view, before moving on to the next character, and a few chapters with their point of view. This actually lent to the flow of the story, and did not confuse it or make it difficult to read, as you may think from reading my descriptions of how the story was composed.

A Beautiful Family Cover

This story takes you through the life of a young Jewish couple, Alan and Brenda Silverman; the husband being over-achieving in his business dealings, and far from adequate as a father and husband. Brenda and their three children are also part of the story, as well as friends who were very dear to Brenda. This story takes place in a couple different locations, the main one being South Africa. The Jewish beliefs, religion, and lifestyle is very much a part of this story, and I definitely learned some things about the Jewish religion that I was previously not familiar with.

The focus of this story is how this family evolves as they go from young lovers, to young married parents, to spouses who no longer get along. Although the fact that they are Jewish is a major part of the story, it is nothing that overwhelms the story or takes control of the plot of the book. If you are not familiar with a Jewish lifestyle, you can, and will, still very much enjoy this story.

This is a good sized read, but definitely worth it. As I try to not give away spoilers, I will just say that Alan Silverman has made quite a name for himself within the Jewish community; a community who believes that no one who is Jewish would commit crimes and sins against their fellow man. The façade of a life he had created slowly begins to crumble around him, and he keeps trying and trying to make it go away. A lengthy court hearing brings everything to light, and puts an end to one man’s control and abuse.

I apologize to anyone who is Jewish if I misspoke, misquote, or misused any Jewish terms in this review. Although I did learn a lot from this story, I am certainly no expert. I am of the Lutheran religion, that is what I know very thoroughly.