I Feel So Unnecessary

Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester My rating: 4 of 5 stars Published Jan. 2015 300 pages They met at the worst possible moment...or maybe it was just in time. David McClain was about to go to war and Lindsey Wood was there at his going-away party, capturing his heart when falling for a woman was the last thing on his mind. While David was serving his country, he stayed in close contact with Lindsey. But war changes a person, and when he came home very little had the same meaning that it had before – including the romance that had sustained him. Was love truly unconquerable, or would it prove to be just another battlefield casualty? * I was given a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. It made me smile and it made me cry- A LOT. It was a book with a timely message- about veterans with PTSD and the war in Afghanistan. The message was a serious one but was written in a very sensitive and effective way. I felt as if I was with the characters both on Goo...

Witchcraft Couture By: Katarina West 312 pages Genre: Fantasy Publisher: eBook Partnership, November 2014 * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Oscar Pellegrini is a very talented fashion designer. He only has one problem- his mind. He's plagued by self-doubt so he ends up being self destructive. Because of that his once promising career has been troubled by one firing after another. When he's given another chance by his ex-girlfriend he ends up running away to Russia where he ends up drunk and on a bizarre journey. There he ends up with a mysterious machine that might save his career... or will it? At first I was a little annoyed with Oscar because he kept sabotaging himself. But after a while he grew on me. He is a fully realized, realistic character. The book kept me interested and had an interesting twist. It's a an original work and well worth the read. The cover is also really beautiful. So, it's getting... Buy th...

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold ( Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series # 1) By: Iain Reading Genre: Adventure/Mystery/YA 326 pages Published: 2012  About the book:   Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold  is the thrilling first installment in a new young adult series of adventure mystery stories by Iain Reading . This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.  After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales, Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, g...

Genre: Non-fiction/Caregiving 41 pages Published on amazon January 8, 2015 Synopsis: A short book on my caregiving experiences with my sassy grandmother. It contains funny things she said, rants, and my thoughts on caregiving. I've also included some caregiving resources at the end. You can buy it for $2.99 here If you do purchase it, please leave a review. I appreciate it. Lisa

Playing Saint By: Zachary Bartels Genre: Christian Mystery/ Thriller 352 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson, October 2014 I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via BookLook Bloggers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated in any other way. Yesterday, Parker Saint’s only concern was his swiftly rising star power. Today, he’s just trying to stay alive. Parker Saint is living the dream. A cushy job at a thriving megachurch has him on the verge of becoming a bestselling author and broadcast celebrity—until life takes an abrupt turn that lands him on the wrong side of the law. To avoid a public scandal, he agrees to consult with the police on a series of brutal murders linked by strange religious symbols scrawled on each victim. Parker tries to play the expert, but he is clearly in over his head. Drawn ever deeper into a web of intrigue involving a demanding detective, a trio of secretive Vatican opera...

A Soul's Kiss By: Debra Chapoton YA Paranormal Romance Published by: Creative Prose Publishing, March 2015 252 pages I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. When a tragic car accident sends Jessica’s comatose body to the hospital her spirit escapes. Navigating a supernatural realm is tough, but being half-dead has its advantages. Like getting into people’s thoughts. Like taking over someone’s body. Like experiencing romance on a whole new plane – literally   Jessica learns an amazing truth as she struggles to return to her body before the doctors pull the plug, only she can’t do it alone. Now the only people willing to help Jessica’s splintered soul – the two she has hurt the most – must guide her soul back to her body before it’s too late.   An entertaining ya novel that's suitable for adults too. It was a paranormal romance that also tackled the topic of bullying in an effective way. I enjoyed reading it.So I'm giving it... ...

The Innkeeper of Bethlehem: The Story of Santa Claus By: Scott Roloff Genre: Christian/Children/Fantasy 115 pages Publication Date: September 2013 * Book Source- Complimentary copy from author in exchange for an honest review. This book will permit families to enjoy Santa Claus and the other secular customs of Christmas within the Christian celebration of Jesus’s birth.  For little children, Santa Claus becomes a real person delivering presents to them from Jesus.  The tale begins with Shai and Adi, the childless owners of an inn in Bethlehem.  When Shai rents out their bedroom, they must sleep in the stable.  During the night, Joseph and Mary arrive and Adi helps Mary through a difficult labor.  They bond, and when an angel appears telling Joseph to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus, Shai and Adi go with them and become Jesus’s uncle and aunt.  The book then tells of Jesus growing up with his friends Mary Magdalene and John, his ministry...

Country Club Murders # 1 Genre: Mystery Publisher: Henery Press, February 2015 255 pages The Deep End by Julie Mulhern My rating: 4 of 5 stars Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life. It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail. As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her? * Book Source: Complimentary c...

Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day A.K.A How to Build Literacy, Support Community, & Make Magic Happen All in One Day In 2010 I had two young children whom I was bringing to story hour at our local bookstore almost every week. After all, what better activity to do with kids? It was enriching, fun, even relaxing. I didn’t have to feel guilty when I drank that 700 calorie butterscotch latte from the coffee bar. I was running back and forth between adult fiction and the flower-flocked children’s section—working off the calories for sure. My kids probably didn’t realize it was as much of a treat for me as for them. Which started me thinking—were other parents in on this secret? How many children knew the pleasure of spending time in a bookstore? I frequent the mystery listserv, DorothyL, and a more avid group of readers you couldn’t hope to find. When I floated the idea for Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day, bloggers on the listserv spread the word. My husband...

Andi Under Pressure Andi Boggs # 2 By: Amanda Flower Genre: Children's Mystery 176 pages Publisher: Zonderkidz, September 2014 Twelve-year-old Andora 'Andi' Boggs and her new best friend Colin Carter couldn't be more excited to attend the prestigious science camp at the local university in Killdeer, Ohio. Unfortunately, Discovery Camp's curriculum appears to include much more than just chemistry and biology. From day one, the university is plagued by a series of pranks---missing markers, loose crickets, and stolen scales. Campus security blames the mysterious janitor Polk, but even though Andi agrees he's acting suspicious, she can't believe the gentle old man would do anything illegal. Then one prank goes too far and their chemistry professor is injured by an explosion in the lab, upping the stakes of the investigation. Andi and Colin must unravel the secrets behind the chemistry department and Polk's dark past before danger closes t...

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes My rating: 3 of 5 stars 1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England—aboard HMS Victoria , which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier’s captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy’s ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted—forever.  Source: Complimentary copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. An engrossing novel based on historical events. I felt I was traveling on the ship with the women and was emotionally engag...

I received all three books from the author in exchange for an honest review. The Faded Trilogy is a YA paranormal romance series. Series Overview: You only live once ... unless you're Hunter Emmerton. A half-spirit girl. An irresistibly charming ghost. The beginning of a timeless first love. A town terrorized by evil ... and dark forces who will stop at nothing to tear them apart. But how can they be together if they can’t even feel each other’s touch? Faded The Faded Trilogy # 1 392 pages Published: 2012 When seventeen-year-old Savannah Fraser and her three friends are killed in a car accident, they are given a second chance at life by a group of century-old earthbound spirits who need their help. Savannah learns she is a Chosen One, which means she can switch between human and spirit form, heal people, and control the weather—and she is also now invincible. The Chosen Ones are the only ones who can defeat The Forces—a trio of evil half-s...

Mortom by Erik Therme My rating: 3 of 5 stars Genre: Mystery/Thriller 294 pages Publisher: CreateSpace, February 2014     Mortom: population 986.   On the outskirts of town, 33-year-old Craig Moore is found drowned in the lake. A loner and town eccentric, few attend the funeral. One week later Andy Crowl arrives in Mortom, still stunned by his cousin's death and equally confused why everything was left to him. The two hadn't spoken in years and shared little outside of fierce childhood competition. But Craig hardly did him a favor. The estate amounts to little more than a drained bank account and a property overridden with junk. When Andy finds a dead rat under the refrigerator with a key in its mouth, he thinks it's some sort of sick joke. Then he finds the letter left by Craig, written two days before his death . . . detailing the rules of "the game." Book Source: Author A mystery with many twists and turns. It certainly was an interestin...

As I've written before my husband had a light heart attack a few months ago and for a while I watched him breathe constantly when he was asleep. I still do it at times but it's settled down a lot. But a few nights ago we were in bed and I noticed he was cold and not moving and I couldn't hear him breathe, so I poked him... " Did you feel me poking you early this morning?", I asked the Husband.  " No, why'd you poke me?" " I couldn't hear you breathing and you were cold, so I poked you to make sure you were alive.", I said. " Was I? Did I move?" " Yes, you were breathing but the first time I poked you, you didn't move so I poked you again." " You know what to do from reading all those mystery novels, don't you?"  " Yes." " Maybe I'm a zombie." " Maybe you are."

Mermaid By: Kate O'Connor Genre: Sci-fi 65 pages Publisher: Musa , 2013 Book Source: Author in exchange for an honest review Harvesting seaweed for World Food Co. is the only life genetically engineered sea drone Coral has ever known. Nothing in her short, monotonous life prepared her for a chance meeting with a boatful of strangers who force her to question everything she is. When the opportunity arises to change her place in the world, Coral finds herself caught between a powerful company and the family she was so desperate to leave. Struggling to unravel the tangle of politics and love, time is running out as she fights to learn the hardest lesson of all – what it means to be truly human.   An inventive retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid told with a sci-fi twist. I like Coral and her quest for more freedom for the drones. It's a well written, enjoyable novella.One with a twist at the end I didn't expect. I'm giving i...

Hilltop Sunset Brynn Bancroft Mysteries # 1 By: Joyce T. Strand Genre: Mystery Publisher: McCloughan and Schmeltz Publishing, November 2014 296 pages Book Source: Author A mystery set in wine country pitting financial exec Brynn Bancroft against a determined stalker, a troubled love interest, and career clashes. Brynn Bancroft learns that a former employee who beat her nearly to death has returned to stalk her and her friend, Jillian Hillcrest, also a former victim.  Recently divorced, Brynn turns to a new love interest only to encounter additional unwelcome issues. Meanwhile, short-timer Brynn, who has resigned from her Silicon Valley company, becomes bored fulfilling her remaining responsibilities there. She begins to prefer supporting the launch of her ex-husband’s new hilltop winery while waiting to move to her next position. Between her stalker and her new love interest, Brynn faces a series of life-changing events. While Brynn bothered me ...