book reviews

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!

The Best Christmas Gift For the Man In Your Life!

Angela5 Comments

Unless if he doesn’t like books, that is. This came across my Facebook wall, and I cannot believe such a thing exists!

Due Date Neck Tie

Unfortunately, I did not see anything here for women, per-se, but these neckties are pretty amazing.

You can find their website here: http://cyberoptix.com/products/printedneckties/duedatecard.php

Various Short Stories – Christian Bergman

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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.

The Winner of the Two $25.00 Amazon Gift Cards…

Angela3 Comments

is Glogirl!  I sent an email to you and will have your gift cards on their way as soon as I hear from you!

Thank you everyone who entered, and I will be having more give-aways in the very near future! I have unfortunately had some personal family issues happen in the past couple of weeks, along with getting ready for Christmas, homeschooling, and a bout of the flu. I have our Advent by Candlelight Christmas program at church tonight, and then my duties at church should slow down a bit.

My work duties, however, are in full force as we end the year; I work in the Materials and Planning department, and this is the busiest time of year for us!

I am down to minimal stories to review yet, and will have more reviews posted starting tomorrow. Thank you for your patience if you have been waiting on a review from me. I have 4 that are ready to go and will be posting over the next 5 days. I am also going to focus on author features once a week, and will be contacting those of you I am featuring in the next few weeks individually.

Thank you again so very much for following my blog, participating in my giveaways, and being awesome writers and readers!

Lady Luck’s a Loser – Caryl McAdoo

Angela3 Comments

I loved this story! It was a fast, easy read that drew me in from chapter one. You are dying to know right from the beginning what is really going on with W.G. Preston, and why he is running a “bachelor” style contest on his apple orchard.

Lady Luck's a Loser Cover Image

More importantly, you are really concerned about Marge, what she is feeling, and what she is going to decide to do. She is being pulled between her good common sense and her growing love for a man who hired her in order to fire her, if luck was not on her side.

I again cannot give any spoilers here, but this is a clean romance novel that is fun, exciting, and full of suspense that will have you staying up late to read it to the end. It certainly did for me!

Caryl McAdoo PhotoIf you are unfamiliar with Caryl, please go visit her website here: http://carylmcadoo.com/

You will be glad you did!

500 Followers! One Happy Girl Here!

Angela10 Comments

Thank you so very much to each and every one of you who have chosen to follow my blog! I could not explain the excitement I feel each time I see I have a new follower; the 500th one was as exciting as the very first one.

500 Hundred Followers

I try to write a blog that is interesting, fun, and informative. I love books; they are my passion, and the stories I have read have been so much a part of my past, present, and certainly my future; I could not imagine a day without my books.

My bedroom is dominated by bookshelves full of books; yet I still have books packed away, stacked on top of others, and never-even-read yet, because I have so many. I am grateful to have 4 daughters who love books as much as me, and I know that is because I read to them from day one, took them to the library every week, and set a good example.

So once again; Thank You so very much! It truly makes me happy to be able to share my joy of books with so many others!

The Serpent Bearer – Frank Say

Angela3 Comments

serpent_bearer_final_cover_1_jpg

This was a great story, full of great characters, great scenery, and best of all, a great plot! Taking place in Louisiana, Sydney Monroe has her life turned upside down when her Grandma, or Memaw as she is affectionately called, asked her one more time to use her psychic dreams to help out friends of the family.

While Sydney drags her sister Casey into the mess right along with her, they soon find themselves on a journey of discoveries about themselves, their families, and the difficulties they experienced as children.

Dave, the neighbor, adds a perfect amount of entertainment to the story, like a welcome guest and not an intrusion. There is a varied cast of characters, but none are so complicated that you have a difficult time keeping track of the who-is-who of the story. (That is my first pet peeve about books; too many characters.) Not so here!

This story gives some brief background on various religions in relation with the point of the story, and it provides interesting information without boring the reader. This is not a book chock-full of religion or religious innuendos, but it does discuss psychics abilities, voodoo, and various things of what some would consider ‘black magic’ types of things. It adds to the story in just the right amount.

I really enjoyed reading this story; it flowed very well from one character to the next, and also from one chapter to the next. You do not always see books that use a transition sentence at the end of one chapter to pull you into the next chapter; this one did that effectively!

Frank Say Picture

Be sure to stop by Frank Say’s website to see what else he has for your bookshelf! You can find it here: http://www.franksay.com/

You can find the CNN review here: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-1179031

This Is It! My Last Give-Away!

Angela13 Comments

I am again giving away two $25.00 Amazon gift cards. This one is ending sooner, since we are getting close to Christmas. This one ends on 12-9-2014 at Midnight. It’s simple, if you do not follow this blog, follow it. If you follow it, just enter. Leave a comment on this post of what you would use the cards for, and you can enter!

Amazon $25.00 Gift Card

I have said it many times, but I will say it for the last time; I have had a very wonderful, Blessed year. So I want to share. I am giving one winner two $25.00 cards so they can use them both, share one, or gift them both. No one will ever change my mind that it is truly better to give than to receive!

My autographed book giveaway was a dud, so I am holding my other autographed books until I can add something extra with them!

Best of luck; follow, leave a comment, and I will post the results ASAP!

This give-away will be going live at midnight! If you have any issues with Rafflecopter, contact me directly at: angi.gibbs@yahoo.com with the subject Amazon Gift Cards!

Lori Schafer – Author Feature

Angela3 Comments

Lori Schafer ImageExperiencing great success with her story “On Hearing of My Mother’s Death Six years After It Happened“, Lori Schafer is an author you want to get to know. She has also authored “Stories From My Memory Shelf“, which I will be picking up in short order.

On Hearing of my Mother's Death Cover Image

I wrote a review of “On Hearing of My Mother’s death Six Years After It Happened” on November 19th, and you can find it here: https://booksandopinions.com/2014/11/19/on-hearing-of-my-mothers-death-six-years-after-it-happened-lori-schafer/ 

I was fortunate enough to get to read this story before it was released to the public, and I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a wonderful read, and if you have ever had to deal with, live with, or witness the devastating effects that mental illness has not only on an individual, but on their family as well, you need to read this story!

Lori is a writer of serious prose and humorous erotica. You can visit and follow her blog here: http://lorilschafer.blogspot.com/