Book Title: Beholden Author: Jody Hedlund Publisher: Northern Lights Press Publisher Date: September 22, 2020 (193 Pages, ARC E-book) Genres: Young Adult, Teens, Fairytales, Fairytale Retelling Series: The Fairest Maidens #1
In a land where being the fairest maiden is a curse . . .
A beautiful noblewoman with a terrible secret, and a prince subjected to slavery.
Upon the death of her wealthy father, Lady Gabriella is condemned to work in Warwick’s gem mine. As she struggles to survive the dangerous conditions, her kindness and beauty shine as brightly as the jewels the slaves excavate. While laboring, Gabriella plots how to avenge her father’s death and stop Queen Margery’s cruelty.
Prince Vilmar of Scania enslaves himself in Warwick’s gem mine as part of a royal test to prove himself the most worthy of three brothers to become the king’s successor. Amidst the hardships, he doesn’t anticipate his growing compassion for the other slaves, especially tenderhearted Gabriella.
As the annual summer ball looms nearer, Gabriella sets into motion her plan to end Queen Margery’s evil. When Vilmar learns of Gabriella’s intentions, he resolves to come to her aid and fight against Warwick’s queen. But doing so may require him to give up his chance of becoming Scania’s next king, perhaps even cost him his life.
The real Cinderella story.
Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reading Copy from the publisher/author for an honest review and for being on her review crew. Want to Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble |
Are you looking for a good clean romance for your teens or young adults? Well, Beholden is good for them. It deals with princes and knights. It also has a sweet story about beauty. What a way to have action and adventures. The heroes have to work together.
I enjoyed learning about the gem mines and the slaves. We get a bit of an evil queen and slavery. It seems it is a modern-day fairy tale of Cinderella. Jody does well with the plot and storyline. What a way to pull into the story. It keeps you wanting to turn the pages once the action starts to pick up.
The adventures begin to heighten up once Gabriella is released from the mines. Who will win? The princes are to do testing to see if they are worth the kingship. The princes are given a phrase that is different for each prince.
I wonder what each means and for that prince. Slave for all what can that mean. You will be trying to figure it out along with Vilmar. What is Gabriella's plan? Can Vilmar find the true meaning to Slave to all and find help from the slaves and Gabriella?
My rating for this book is 4.5 stars (Moons) on my rating system. Which make my rating system will have it marked 4 stars (Moons). This book good for teens and young adults. It got romance and fantasy. If your teen or young adult enjoy fairy tales, this book has it and more.
Book Title: Boy From Berlin Author: Nancy McDonald Publisher: Iguana Books Published: May 7, 2018 (142 Pages, E-Book) Rating: G (There is no violence, bad language etc. in this book.) Genre: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Germany, Nazi, Children
Berlin, April 1938. One night, eight-year-old Kรคfer Avigdor uses his specialty toilet-paper roll binoculars to spy on his Mama and Aunt Charlotte. The whispered conversation he overhears alerts him to a danger he didn’t know existed and starts him rethinking who he really is and where he belongs. Within hours, Kรคfer and his family flee their comfortable life. In a desperate race to stay one step ahead of the Nazis, Kรคfer is called on to be braver and more resourceful than he ever imagined possible. But will it be enough? Boy from Berlin is based on real people and actual events.
Boy From Berlin is a well-written story of a family. It tells the story of a boy and his family journey from Nazi Germany. What a compelling tale. It is great for children to learn about Berlin and what happens to Jews during Hitler's time.
The way this takes us on Kafer's journey from Berlin to England. Young readers will enjoy the adventure. They will also learn about what it was like to be Jew or some escaped from Hitler. You are pulled along with Kafer and his family. I was having a hard time turning the pages. There are surprises and twists throughout the book.
This was historical fiction read but it great for any historical fan. It one that I would recommend to pick up for middle-grade children and readers. Great for young readers as well. If you are into spies and World War 2 then this is a good book to pick and read. It is based on the true story of Kafer and his family. Though there is some fiction to it.
Prizes: Autographed set of BOY FROM BERLIN & ONE BOY'S WAR. (one winner) (USA and Canada only) (ends Oct 9)
Nancy McDonald began her career as a journalist on television programs that include W5, Canada AM, and Marketplace before going on to become a sought-after freelance writer, penning everything from documentaries to live-action scripts to comic books. One Boy’s War is the highly anticipated sequel to Boy from Berlin. Nancy lives in Stratford, Ontario, where she revels in Shakespeare, takes theatergoers on tours of the Costume Warehouse, and treads the boards with the Perth County Players. She also works part-time at Fanfare Books, Stratford’s only independent bookseller.
Living the Life of Gnarly: (Story of a K-9 Sidekick) By Lauren Carr
This guest post is the story of Gnarly, German Shepherd sidekick to Mac Faraday, the star detective of Lauren Carr’s Mac Faraday Mysteries.
Mac Faraday was a homicide detective in Washington, DC, when his life changed in one day. With the pound of a judge’s gavel, Mac’s twenty-year marriage was over and his wife got everything. He was wiped out financially. As he was leaving the courtroom, a lawyer approached him. Fearful that he was about to get another financial hit, Mac ran for three city blocks before he felt sorry for the little man chasing him.
With the expression of a child bursting to tell his secret, this lawyer informed Mac Faraday that the teenaged girl who had given him up for adoption forty-seven years earlier had grown up to become Robin Spencer, world famous murder mystery writer. Upon her death six weeks earlier, she had left her entire estate to her only child.
Mac Faraday also inherited Robin Spencer’s dog—Gnarly, who has recently been elected mayor of Spencer, Maryland, located on the shores of Deep Creek Lake.
Here’s Gnarly’s story, as dictated to Archie Monday, because Mac has grounded him from using the computer after ordering a $2000 Home Pet Spa, complete with a massage attachment, on his credit card.
Take it away, Gnarly!
I was born a poor German Shepherd atBeck’s Kennels, located in a small town in West Virginia called Inwood. Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly poor, but let’s face it, it was a far cry from Spencer Manor on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
Well, I could tell you about my life in the Army, but then I would have to kill you. So, I guess you want to hear about how I ended up as chief of security at Spencer Manor, Mac Faraday’s multi-million-dollar estate, and mayor of Spencer. I know, most mayors quit their day jobs after getting elected, but I just can’t leave the security of my favorite human to just anyone. I mean, if something happens to Archie, then who’s going to feed me? Who’s going to take me to the salon? Who’s going to cover up my scandals?
Anyway, I digress … It all started after the Army decided they needed to get rid—I mean, it was time for me to leave my life of service in the United States military.
Eventually, I ended up on Spencer Point, assigned to protect this less-than-nice woman named Katrina Singleton inIt’s Murder, My Son.
Let’s just say she and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. I kept trying to tell her that someone was seriously stalking her, but she wouldn’t listen and kept telling me what a bad dog I was because I was digging up her yard. She kept locking me in the garage. Hello! It was my job to protect her and she’s locking me in the garage. How am I supposed to protect someone when I’m locked up?
But there was this nice police officer, David O’Callaghan. He listened. After Katrina’s murderer almost killed me when I tried to apprehend him, David took me to the vet. Katrina’s husband ordered them to put me to sleep, but Robin Spencer, the nice lady who lived next door to Katrina, saved me.
Life with Robin Spencer (until she died a couple of months later); and then Mac and Archie Monday (Robin’s assistant, now Mac’s wife) is the best. Mac has a tendency to get testy on occasion—like when I find things and bring them home. He especially gets mad when David, who it turned out is Mac’s half-brother, shows up in his role as chief of police and accuses me of stealing this stuff that I have found fair and square.
But, I flash everyone my big brown eyes. My favorite female human, Archie will jump to my defense and plead temporary insanity. David will agree to abuse his position as chief of police and cover up my crime. (He’s even paid off some of my victims to drop their complaints, but you didn’t hear that from me.) Mac will grumble, glare, and ground me.
I must confess that the life of a rich and famous K-9 is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Take Mac’s latest case in Crimes Past:
It was autumn. The weather was fair and mild and the leaves were at their height—I mean brilliant colors—until I stepped outside and a feral cat attached itself to my face and started biting my eyebrows.
Not a good way to start the day!
Of course, I had to defend myself. I bucked the cat off and snapped its neck. So, I’m standing there with puncture wounds on my head, bleeding, and Mc’s sanding there with his mouth hanging up and there’s a dead cat laying at our feet.
Meanwhile, we are well aware that right next door, the crazy cat lady who brought all of these feral cats to torment me, is just looking for something to get me into trouble―like I can’t get into trouble on my own without her help. She calls the police if I so much as sneeze and my phlegm hits her driveway.
What does Mac do? What any good political advisor will do. He throws me in the car and we get the hell out of there. Then, he calls David to get rid of the body. Only problem is that the dead body disappears.
Anyway, other than yet another political scandal, it was the perfect weekend for a wedding. No, not mine! I’m a confirmed bachelor. Let’s get that straight. Though, I do admit I have a favorite girl by the name of Storm. She’s Belgian, by the way. She lives with David O’Callaghan, who has been a bit sad lately since his last girlfriend took off for Paris.
Mac Faraday has offered up the Spencer Inn, his hotel, as a free venue for the daughter of a detective he used to work with. The bride’s late mother had been the victim of a double homicide—a case Mac had never solved. Of course, Mac does have a devious streak in him. The bride had invited all of her mother’s co-workers and friends—who happened to be suspects in the murder. (And to think he scolds me when I’m devious.)
David was supposed to help Mac on the case, which meant I got to spend some extra time with Storm, only he ended up blowing Mac off when some lady from his past showed up out of the blue with a young man who bore a striking resemblance to David. Storm liked them both right away, so I guess they were cool—which is a good thing considering what they asked me to do at the end of the weekend.
Mac was so desperate to explore every avenue for a break in the cold case for the double murder that he even entertained a suggestion from disgraced former detective Lou Gannon that one of their former friends was the killer.
So I was taking a nice nap in my reserved chair in the lounge at the Spencer Inn when a toilet blew up! That’s right. Someone blew up a toilet and set Mac’s hotel on fire—in my town! No one blows up a hotel in my town and gets away with it. Of course, I had to get straight to work biting butts and taking names.
That was all Mac needed to rip into this cold case to get to the truth. The big question was—which was of Mac’s old friends was really a cold-blooded killer. Read Crimes Past to find out.
Book Title: Candidate for Murder by Lauren Carr Series: A Mac Faraday Mystery (Volume 12) Category: Adult fiction, 464 pages Genre: Murder Mystery / Political Satire Publisher: Acorn Book Services Release date: June 9, 2016 Content Rating: PG-13 - (Lauren
Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved.
Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content,
but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few
and far between). No F-bombs!
"It is an amusing look at politics and media today. Appropriate to
see how the Deep Creek mayoral election relates to current events.
Dissatisfaction with politicians on many levels often leave us looking
for extreme change. It may leave you thoughtful. It may leave you
writing Gnarly's name in as your preferred candidate in the next
election."Reviewer: Merry Citarella, Jaquo.com "Hilarious, mysterious and full of adventure, Gnarly
and his human friends will have you on the edge of your seat unable to
put your book down. Candidate for Murder is well written, played out and
a story that you have just never heard before. I enjoyed every moment
reading this book!" Reviewer: Working Mommy Journal
Book Description:
It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a
pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided
between the year-round residents who enjoy their rural way of life and
the city dwellers who are moving into mansions, taking over the town
council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed-gate
community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed
limits to clotheslines. When the political parties force-feed two
unsavory mayoral nominees to the town’s residents, David O’Callaghan,
the chief of police, decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly,
Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run for mayor of Spencer! What starts
out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight, Gnarly becomes the
front-runner, and his political opponents proceed to dig into the
canine’s past. When one of the mayoral candidates ends up dead, it
becomes apparent that slinging mud is not enough for someone with a
stake in this election. With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the
gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s
name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!
"Lauren's dialogue is brisk, her setting beautiful and the addition of Gnarly is very clever...It's Murder, My Son is a delightful read and I look forward to more of Carr's Mac Faraday mysteries." --Connie Gregory, Connie's Reviews "I couldn't put this book down! Lauren Carr
develops the characters and weaves the details of the murder
investigation into a complex storyline that keeps the reader
relentlessly turning pages. She is skilled at teasing you into reading
more. I finished the last page still wanting to read more!" -- Kelly Carpenter, Kelly's Lucky You
"No
disrespect to Mac Faraday, Archie Monday, David O'Callaghan, Travis
Turner or any of the multitude of good, bad and ugly characters
populating Lauren Carr's It's Murder, My Son; but to me the most interesting character in the book is a lovable, mischievous, sneaky German shepherd named Gnarly." - David M. Kinchen, Huntington News
Book Details:
Book Title: It's Murder, My Son by Lauren Carr Series: A Mac Faraday Mystery (Volume 1) Category: Adult fiction (18+), 288 pages Genre: Murder Mystery Publisher: Acorn Book Services Release date: June 23, 2010 Content Rating: PG-13 - (Lauren
Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved.
Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content,
but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few
and far between). No F-bombs!
Book Description:
What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life would end up
being a new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person
that Mac wanted to see was another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer wore the
expression of a child bursting to tell his secret. This confidence would
reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes, and lead him to the
birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery and an investigation that will
unfold like one of her famous mystery novels.
Soon after she moves to Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, Katrina Singleton
learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. For some
unknown reason, a strange man calling himself “Pay Back” begins stalking
her. When Katrina is found strangled all evidence points to her
terrorist, who is nowhere to be found.
Three months later, the file on her murder is still open when Mac
Faraday, sole heir to his unknown birth mother’s home and fortune, moves
into the estate next door. Little does he know as he drives up to
Spencer Manor that he is driving into a closed gate community that is
hiding more suspicious deaths than his DC workload as a homicide
detective. With the help of his late mother’s journal, this retired cop
puts all his detective skills to work to pick up where the local
investigators have left off to follow the clues to Katrina’s killer.
Lauren Carr is the international
best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Chris Matheson
Cold Case, Thorny Rose Mysteries, and the Nikki Bryant Cozy
Mysteries—close to thirty titles across five fast-paced mystery series
filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike
rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include
mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and
humor.
A popular speaker, Lauren is also
the owner of Acorn Book Service, the umbrella under which falls iRead
Book Tours. She lives with her husband and two spoiled rotten German
Shepherds (including the nephew of the late-great Gnarly! (pictured
above)) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Book Title: The Mockingbird's Song Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter Genres: Amish, Amish Fiction, Mystery, Christian Fiction Series: Amish Greenhouse Mystery #2 Publisher: Shiloh Run Press Publisher Date: August 1 , 2020 (320 Pages, ARC Copy)
Where Is the Hope in Grief for a Young Amish Widow?
Sylvia has been nearly paralyzed with grief and anxiety since the tragic death of her husband, father, and brother in a traffic accident. She tries to help in the family’s greenhouse while caring for her two young children, but she prefers not to have to deal with customers. Her mother’s own grief causes her to hover over her children and grandchildren, and Sylvia seeks a diversion. She takes up birdwatching and soon meets an Amish man who teaches her about local birds. But Sylvia’s mother doesn’t trust Dennis Weaver, and as the relationship sours, mysterious attacks on the greenhouse start up again.
Declaimer: I received a free Copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review. My opinions of this book are my own. Want to Buy: Amazon Add To: Goodreads
The Mockingbird's Song continues on the story of what happens with Sylvia and Amy and Henry and their mother. We start with them getting close to the time the tragedy happens. It seems like things focus on Sylvia and her grief.
We also meet a new person named Denis Weaver. Could there be a connection between Dennis and Sylvia? Sylvia first meets Dennis while out with her brother Henry bird watching. This book takes time to get into the beginning. It starts out slow but once you are into the book it gets better.
We see Virginia and her husband's personality through these books. It funny to see this along with how they see the Amish. Amish seem not bothered by their neighbors. We see how each member is still dealing with the loss of their family members.
Amy and Jerrod seem to be getting ready for their wedding. What happens when things start to pick up and the vandalism starts up again. Who is vandalizing the greenhouse? Why is happening? Seem to still be a mystery. Though we may have some answers.
More twists and turns as you turn the pages. Though this book is rated 4.5 by me as it is still good. This one focuses on family and bird watching and learning more about birds. Will Sylvia find her happiness with birdwatching or someone or both? How will Belinda cope with her grief and other things?
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