book reviews

Dean Koontz Autographed Book Give-Away – Update!

Angela1 Comment

I was made aware that the Rafflecopter giveaway link is not working correctly in my blog post from yesterday. I am reposting the link below, it should take you to a webpage. If, once you get there, it will not load, please send me an email at angi.gibbs@yahoo.com, with Dean Koontz as the subject, and I will put your name down for the drawing.

I am currently looking for another giveaway platform to use for my future giveaways, and hopefully it will go much smoother.

I also wanted my new followers to know that although the requirement is to follow my blog to be put in the drawing, I do still need you to enter your email via the Rafflecopter link. I received several new followers yesterday, and I just want to make sure if you followed to be part of the drawing, to please go to the link, or email me if necessary, to get put into the drawing.

I appreciate, and get super-geeked :-), over each and every new follow, so I want to personally say Thank you for choosing to follow my blog! It means the world to me!

Here is the link, and I hope it cooperates better this time!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0dcc89d92/

Who knew it could be so difficult to give away things???

Autographed Dean Koontz Book – Give-Away #2

Angela1 Comment

I am going to make this one short, sweet, and simple 🙂 I have an autographed Dean Koontz book, “Innocence”. I purchased the book via Barnes & Noble from a presale of 500 autographed books. This book is not numbered, and it has not been read. I opened it to take photographs of the autographs inside. Other than that, it has been stored and not touched.

Innocence Cover Image

If you are a Dean Koontz fan, or know someone this would make a great gift for, be sure and enter via Rafflecopter. All you need to do is follow this blog if you do not currently do so. I have this give-away ending at Midnight on Thanksgiving day, or 12 am on Black Friday, however you prefer to look at it. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday, November 28th, and this book will be on the way to the winner as soon as I hear back from them (You!).

Benny & Koontz book cover 8-15-2014 009

I do have several of Dean’s books, but I know the mere fact that this book is autographed is going to keep me from reading it. I would rather someone who would read it, or enjoys Dean Koontz even more than I do, to have this book.

So get to it! Follow, enter, share, reblog, retweet, and whatever else you do! The sooner I give this book away, the sooner I can get to give-away #3 🙂 I have another autographed book by another famous author, as well as some more Amazon gift cards, and more than likely some more things book as Christmas approaches!

You can enter here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0dcc89d92/

There’s Nothing Like A Day of Illness…

Angela4 Comments

…to make a person appreciate how wonderful it is to feel, well, wonderful! My first official day of my 9 days off for Thanksgiving break, yesterday, consisted of me vomiting, dry-heaving, sweating, shaking, cold-sweats, and a headache from Hades that I could not take anything for, because it would not stay down anyhow.

So I did not get any of my reading or reviews done, at least not like I had thought I would. I never left the vicinity of my bedroom-bathroom until about 6pm, and managed to eat some jello! Which lead to taking some ibuprofen, and a cup of Thera-flu. I feel spectacular today, and am taking advantage of it. So I was up at 6am making cupcakes, cleaned the house, and got groceries at 8am before the stores got crazy busy. It is a trip to Allendale to visit my oldest, and then off to the movies with my youngest two to watch Mockingjay. My 16 year old is having a whirlwind visiting spree with her Father and extended family.

I have 8 more days off, and besides helping my homeschooler, I have a whole lot of books to get read, and I have every intention of getting it done 🙂

Wishing you a warm, healthy, Blessed Sunday full of comfort and a good book to read!

More reviews coming soon, and my next giveaway will begin, tomorrow! Stay tuned 🙂

Friday Feature – Author Andrea Hintz!

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Andrea Hintz Profile Picture

Andrea Hintz has loved writing her whole life. She began college at the age of thirteen and graduated at seventeen with a Bachelor’s in Public Management and Administration. Having endless stacks of books, she has a particular interest in fiction genres that contain lots of adventure and take her to other places of the world. She has written many books, including the books in The Tesoro Series. Andrea also plays the guitar, sings, and has written notebooks and notebooks full of songs and book ideas. Her favorite books were very special to her growing up, and she believes that if at least one reader feels that way about her work, she will have successfully done her job as an author.

Tesoro Book 1 Cover Image

You can find Tesoro I: Secrets of the Hidden Treasure Book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Tesoro-Secrets-Hidden-Treasure-Book-ebook/dp/B00M2C545U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416519722&sr=8-1&keywords=Andrea+hintz

Tesoro II: Secrets of a Captain’s Journal was released on November 2, 2014. Now is the perfect time to grab both books at once!

Be sure to visit Andrea’s Website, found here: https://sites.google.com/site/andreahintzauthor/home

On Hearing of My Mother’s Death Six Years After It Happened – Lori Schafer

Angela6 Comments

One can only wonder what would lead someone to not know of their mother’s passing until such a long time after the fact. And then you read this story.

It touches you, and it moves you. It makes you angry, and hopeful. You do not feel sorry for the main character, you just feel sad. Sad that someone would have to go through such a difficult situation. Sad that someone was robbed of a loving mother due to an illness that affects so many, and is yet so hard for most to talk about.

The author is not looking for sympathy, or anyone to feel sorry for her. She does not have a “woe-is-me” attitude. She made the best out of a very tough situation, and persevered; succeeded; beat the odds when so many others would have given up.

Have you felt true fear? The type of fear that comes from within you and makes every nerve in your body alive as if electrified over and over again? This is the sense of fear you feel as you read about a girl whose mother went to school with her every day, convinced someone was going to harm her. And she was the only one harming her. Calm and normal one minute, angry and physically violent the next.

On Hearing of my Mother's Death Cover Image

Running away from home, living on the streets, knowing true hunger not for days on end, but for months on end. This was still better than living at home.

This is a story of mental illness, strength, and unending determination. A story about what one young woman did to survive when she had no other choice. It is a story about a disease that is only talked about behind closed doors, with only the closest of relatives. This was a subject you did not want your friends and neighbors knowing about. But of course they did know. How could they not?

If you have ever experienced mental illness in your personal life, you do not want to pass up this story. It is an easy read, not full of medical jargon that has you reaching for a dictionary. I have been witness to this type of behavior in a loved one, and the effects can be truly devastating to a family. It is time to start talking about mental illness, and stop ignoring it. It does not go away. It will not go away.

Look for this story on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0WYHDQ/

Find further information on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23275192

Edge of Darkness (Submit to Darkness Book 1) – AJ Spencer

Angela1 Comment

This story was a great read for me, and I had in finished within 24 hours. It is fast-paced, with characters that are well-developed and detailed descriptions that easily have you watching this story in your mind as you are reading it. You can see the characters, and you have empathy for them. Well, some of them. Derik Ryder; not so much.

Edge of Darkness Cover

Natasha Stolt is new on the case of the Serial Killer known to the public as Grimm, due to his fascination with staging his victims in a Fairy Tale type of scene, making a point that Natasha recognizes right away.

Her partner, Giovanni Tagliente, seems to have something to hide. I have a feeling book 2 is going to be a bit more sinister than this, and the lines are going to be drawn in the sand between what is good, and what is evil, and exactly where Natasha stands on that line between darkness and good.

I will certainly be finishing the next two books of this story; it is spectacularly written with a storyline and plot that will have many looking deep inside themselves to see if they are 100 percent sure of exactly where they stand on that line between darkness and good as well.

(This book comes with a warning disclaimer due to the graphic nature and violence of the story. It is justly earned so if reading graphic novels that include violence against women in every possible sense of the word is upsetting to you, this book is not for you).

You can find this book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Darkness-Submit-Book-ebook/dp/B00NLPCIV0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416346897&sr=8-1&keywords=Edge+of+darkness+AJ+Spencer

For Your Holiday Reading Enjoyment!

Angela3 Comments

There are numerous books for readers of all ages that are centered around Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and likely other Winter holidays that I am not aware of (sorry…no offense intended, I am just not aware of every religious holiday). My family celebrates Christmas, and I try my best every year to avoid the commercialism aspects as much as possible. Our tree will not be up before Thanksgiving, I will not be listening to Christmas music before December, and I do not do any “black Friday” or Thanksgiving day shopping. Holidays are meant to be spent at home, with loved ones. Not in the stores, buying things that are more than likely not needed anyhow.

So, a few of my Christmas favorites include “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, as well as his “The Cricket on the Hearth”.

The Cricket on the Hearth

Another favorite I recently discovered by one of my favorite authors, L. Frank Baum, is “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” I reviewed this story here: https://booksandopinions.com/2013/11/14/the-life-and-adventures-of-santa-claus-l-frank-baum-2/

Some great stories for the smaller kids (and the kid in you!) could include Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, or Charles Schulz “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.

Charlie Brown Christmas“The Polar Express” by Chris Van Allsburg was a story before it was ever turned into a movie.

Polar Express Cover

What books are on your list for reading this holiday season?

Kill Them Wherever You Find Them – David Hunter

Angela2 Comments

What a great story! I feel like it has taken me forever to finish this book, but it is not because of the book! I have had two weeks of life-happens-if-it-can-go-wrong-it-will-go-wrong things going on.

photo courtesy of http://davidhunterbooks.com/
photo courtesy of http://davidhunterbooks.com/

I gave a small preview of this book last week as I was reading it, and I have finished and am very pleased to post this review. For what I expected to be a very “busy” story with too many things going on for me to enjoy, I was more than pleased with David’s style of writing. I have read numerous stories where there are so many characters and subplots that the only thing I got out of the story was a headache. That is not the case here. There is a lot going on in this story, but it was written so well I had no problems following the subplots, the various characters in locations all over the world, and I could put it down for a couple days and pick it right back up without needing to skim through the last few pages to remind myself what was going on with whom.

The timing of this story could not have been better planned as it deals with the wars between Israel and those who seek to destroy her. It gives very detailed information on the various religions and what lengths they could possibly go to in order to support their beliefs. Ebola and Anthrax are the weapons of choice here.

There are two more stories to this trilogy, and as I always try to not give spoilers (unless if I did not like the story) I will have to be brief here as well. What I can tell you is that if you enjoy suspense, mystery, science, and true facts mixed with a fictional story, you need to read this book!  If you enjoy James Patterson, Stephen King, science fiction, and facts, this is the book for you!

I am so excited to read the next two books in this trilogy.

You can visit David’s website here : http://davidhunterbooks.com/

The Mystery of Orcival – Emile Gaboriau

Angela2 Comments

What a great book, by an author I have never heard of. Emile Gaboriau lived and died in the 19th century, and writes in the style that you would liken to Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved Sherlock Holmes.

Orcival Cover Image

Monsieur Lecoq is a detective of rare form, the kind whom not the tiniest fact can slip past. He lives in France, and the crime thtat took place at Orcival is complicated, full of twists and turns, and certainly a great read, if you are into those kinds of stories.

I would not say it was an easy read by any means, but I did enjoy the story, and am glad that I read it. Detective Lecoq does much more than assist the local police as they try to figure out a baffling crime of murder, mystery, and deceit. They know that one murder has taken place. But there may be as many as three, since key players are missing, presumed dead, and Detective Lecoq is not buying it.

This is a story where you will need to adjust your “reading” for the nuances of stories written in the 19th century, where instead of “Monsieur”, you will see M. I have another of Emile Gaboriau’s Lecoq stories to read, but that will not be happening anytime before Christmas.

Do you enjoy these types of stories, written “way-back-when”?

The Winner Of The Two $25.00 Amazon Gift Cards Is…

Angela2 Comments

Julia R. From Washington! Congratulations Julia 🙂 Thank you everyone for participating, and stay tuned for more giveaways coming up very soon! I have more gift cards, autographed books, and whatever else may catch my eye between now and Christmas!

I feel truly Blessed in my life and I also wholly believe that it is better to give than to receive! So that is what I am doing, now through Christmas!

Please keep participating and spread the word!

~Angela

Christmas Image Beautiful!