Review: Absolution (Edgewood #3) by Karen McQuestion

Four teenagers with superpowers. Some friendly competition. A first love. And a dangerous organization that will stop at nothing to destroy them all.

After surviving a danger-filled trip to Peru, Russ Becker looked forward to a laid-back summer spending time with his new love, Nadia. But plans go awry when he and his friends are invited by the Praetorian Guard to the event of the season. The mission? To protect the president and her daughter from assassination at the elegant Presidential Black Tie Bash. 

While Nadia struggles with her own troubles at home, Russ is torn, but determined to do his job, not easy when he doesn’t know who to trust. Battling for his life against the evil Associates, Russ confronts his worst fears and learns shocking revelations about those around him.

Karen McQuestion has tied up her trilogy with a giant bow.  She writes such amazing books that gain your attention, grab you tight and don't let you go til the end of the book.  I kinda devoured this book.  It is a tad long, but like I said...it draws you in and you CANNOT put it down.  McQuestion has seamlessly tied the three books together.  McQuestion has a tone of story telling that is original, captivating and engrossing.  She has found a voice in the genre and is a force to be noticed!  4.5 stars!

book three

book two

book one

Nov 21, 2013

Highlight: The Dunbar Case (Cliff Hardy #38) by Peter Corris

This wasn't Hardy's usual brief--uncover the mysteries of a nineteenth-century shipwreck--but he could do with an easy case and the retainer was generous.

But is it ever that simple? Not with a notorious crime family tearing itself apart, and an undercover cop playing both sides against the middle. These and an alluring but fiercely ambitious female journalist give Hardy all the trouble he can handle.

'Ever feel manipulated?' Hardy asks. The body count mounts up as he pushes closer to the truth about the mystery and the loot.

Peter Corris’s first novel was published in 1980 and he has been a full time writer since 1982. Through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the Australian crime story was in the hands of writers producing mass market pulp novelettes, chief among them being Alan Yates (Carter Brown). Although written in Australia, these stories usually had pseudo American or British settings. Peter Corris is credited with reviving the fully-fledged Australian crime novel with local settings and reference points and with a series character firmly rooted in Australian culture - Cliff Hardy.

Peter Corris hopes that his latest non-crime book, The Journal of Fletcher Christian, will find a wide audience and underline his credentials as an historical novelist. Inevitably, this thoroughly researched book will be seen as a circling back to his earlier career as a Pacific historian and a journalist with an interest in Pacific affairs, but as Corris has said, "there is no better training for a novelist than history and journalism."


Peter Corris was born in Stawell, Victoria in 1942. When he was five his family left the country for Melbourne and he was educated at Melbourne High School and the University of Melbourne. After taking a Master's degree at Monash University and a PhD at the Australian National University (both in History), he was an academic, teaching and researching in various universities and a College of Advanced Education until 1975 when he gave up academia for journalism. He was literary editor of The National Times, 1980-81. He has travelled and lived for short periods in the Pacific, Britain, Europe and the USA. His interests are reading and writing, weight training, golf (which he plays off a very high handicap), swimming and films. He is married to writer Jean Bedford and they have three daughters. He lives in Sydney.

Highlight: Sh*t.Falls.Up. by David Deutsch

A hilarious story about a man's absurd life!

From being on top of the world to living on his sister's inflatable air-matress...

One morning, David Michaels awakens at his sister’s studio apartment and ponders how it all went wrong for him. Three weeks earlier, he had a beautiful girlfriend, a fabulous sub-let apartment in Manhattan and a seemingly secure job at a top, New York investment bank. After losing everything, including his hair, all he has now is a place to sleep, albeit on a twin-size mattress that he must inflate every night. However, this is better than his other, only true option - returning for a third time to his parent’s house.

David’s life-long aspiration is to be a writer, and he has notebooks filled with stories and ideas. One story - the only story he has published - won him a prize while in law school. Unlucky at love, his friends set him up with a woman who bases her life on insights gained from reality TV, and he reluctantly (and hilariously) joins an online Jewish dating service. Frustrated with his career choice of law, he happily accepts a job as a lowly sales clerk at a women’s shoe store. When he becomes manager, he decides once and for all to regain control of his life. On a daily basis, he shuts himself in his office, keeps the booze flowing and pounds out a short story on the absurdity of his life.

When his short story suddenly garners high acclaim, he is left again to pondering. Does he settle down with his hot, volatile, socialite girlfriend, who helped him get his story published? Or does he pursue a woman whom he believes is his soul mate, though he can’t stop lying to her?

At times, gut-wrenchingly funny, other times, soulful and touching, Sh*t.Falls.Up. places the reader in the mind of a man who does his best thinking on an inflatable air mattress.

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David Deutsch is a U.S. based author. After starting a career of his own in Manhattan, he was inspired to write a story about the ridiculous and often comical struggles most people starting out go through to find their first job, their soulmate and their own path in New York City. He currently lives in warm weather with his wife, two children and their black lab.

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Giveaway/Blog Tour for Veronica Steck’s Heartfelt Letters From Santa

Follow the tour HERE

Available This Holiday Season!

Helping Santa Create a Tradition for Your Family!

The magic of Christmas for children is embodied in Santa Claus. This book shows you how to capture that magic by writing a personal letter from Santa for the child or children who are special to you.  Letters from Santa can describe situations your child has been in, recount good deeds he or she has done, make suggestions for improving behavior, and generally inspire your child in positive directions you see for them.

The finely crafted companion volume is where you will write this special letter each Christmas Eve, after your child has brought their book of Santa’s letters to its honored place near the Christmas tree.  On Christmas morning, the whole family can gather around as your child discovers what Santa has written just for them.

As the years pass the book with these letters will grow more and more precious. It will be a chronicle of years past, and a guide for years to come.

It will:

• Transport both the child and the family back to the special moments in life,

• Recap major events in the child’s progression to adulthood, and,

• Remind children of how their biggest fans have stood with them and supported them, with

loving, patience, and humor.

This guide for parents and adults will provide you with excellent ideas, key phrases, and topic areas to consider. It will clearly assist you in writing meaningful and heartfelt letters your child – and the whole family – will love.

This is one of the most adorable books that I have seen.  It is the type of book that could become a lifelong family tradition and then passed on the the following generations.  I wish I could have come across this book the first Christmas I was a parent.  I would have loved to start this tradition from the start of my family.  However, I am so excited to start it this Christmas!  I love the guide on how to help draft the letters.  I find this to be fabulous and makes the letter writing so much easier!  I adore this idea!  5 stars!

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Learn how Santa knows if you have been Naughty or Nice, he uses this magical Naughty or Nice Crystal Ball. 

Find out now so you can have plenty of time to improve!!

With just one shake of the ball Santa's answer will magically appear....

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Review: Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes by Joanne DeMaio

From New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio comes an enchanting novel about love, family, and the delicate power of snowflakes.

Reluctant to leave her cherished New England hometown after her sister's winter wedding, former journalist Vera Sterling makes a sudden decision. She takes what's left of her severance pay and invests it in real estate ... in one particular drafty colonial home and old timber barn set upon the pretty banks of Addison Cove. In that rough-hewn barn, she discovers a secret treasure left behind by the previous owner, the proprietor of the long-forgotten Christmas Barn gift shop.

While restoring her rundown, wood-sided home--its creaking floors, broken bannister, and neglected widow's walk--that secret slowly unfolds like a bit of snowflake wonder, crystallizing hopes and dreams for many in this small Connecticut town. But mostly for Derek Cooper whose own tragic story has headlined Addison's news. And whom Vera has come to love.

When the first snowstorm hits during Derek's annual Deck the Boats Festival at the cove, residents become stranded. It is then up to Vera to not only bring the town together, but to mend one man's heart she fears she may have lost.

Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes is a heartwarming story, one that reminds us to look to winter's stars. Because snowflakes can grant very special wishes ... if only we believe.

This is such a darling Christmas book about the power of snowflakes and coffee cakes....but also about grief, honor and the power of love and friendship. Loss can make the heart grow weary, but love and the holiday spirit can bring the heart back to life. The Christmas spirit transforms a town when a snowstorm hits. So many people step forward and go to great lengths in order to honor one of their own. There is so much charm in this story...it is a feel good kind of story. I loved the beautiful descriptions of snowflakes and snowfall so much so that I am ALMOST looking forward to seeing the snow fly here in Wisconsin. This a great story to start off your Christmas reading. 4.5 stars!

Joanne DeMaio is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. She enjoys writing about friendship, family, love and choices, while setting her stories in New England towns or by the sea. Her novels include the New York Times bestseller BLUE JEANS AND COFFEE BEANS, WHOLE LATTE LIFE, which was named a Kirkus Reviews Critics' Pick, and most recently SNOWFLAKES AND COFFEE CAKES. In addition, her music essays have appeared in literary journals, celebrating her passion for song. Currently at work on her next novel, Joanne resides with her family in Connecticut.

To learn more, visit Joannedemaio.com. She also enjoys hearing from readers at Facebook.com/JoanneDeMaioAuthor.

Review: The Christmas Tree Elf by Valentine D'Arcy Sheldon

Blink, the most famous elf ever, saves Christmas and introduces Santa to his elves.

Many, many Christmases ago, Santa discovers that Mrs. Claus has always wanted a Christmas tree to decorate. The following Christmas Season, he brings home the very first indoor Christmas tree for her. The Clauses love their tree, but they forget to water it because they are so busy preparing for Christmas. The night before Christmas Eve, the tree is almost lost, but a mysterious elf with a magical blinking red hat saves Christmas, and teaches Santa and Mrs. Claus that all living things need care and attention.

This is a delightful Christmas tale not only about taking care of our Christmas trees, but also about how the helpful little elves first came to work with Santa.  You and your children will have such fun reading this story.  The pictures are wonderful as well.   4 stars. 

Amy's Review: A Second Chance for Christmas by Nashin Sadeer

When Nathan Wyler’s adored wife Emily dies tragically in a car accident in December his entire world collapses around him. He immerses himself in work, doing everything he can to escape the grief and ends up neglecting his young son, Stefan, in the process - alienating himself from everybody he loves. Things are made worse still by Emily’s father, Xavier, who blames his son-in-law for the death of his brilliant young daughter.

As the years pass, Stefan is denied contact with his grandparents and starved of his father’s affections. As a result he becomes increasingly close to Kate, a substitute teacher at his school. An understanding and gentle woman, Kate is quick to identify the impact of Nathan’s selfish actions on his young son. As her bond with the Stefan flourishes, she visits Nathan at work in an attempt to make him aware of the emotional strain he’s been inflicting on the innocent boy. Preparing herself for a tempestuous encounter with Nathan, Kate is shocked to instead find a vulnerable, grief-stricken figure desperate to be saved, and a potent mutual attraction becomes clear to them both. 

Nathan finds solace in the calming influence of this mysterious young woman, and, with her help, begins to reconcile his relationship with Stefan. Unbeknownst to him, Kate even brokers a successful meeting with Emily’s father and the two settle their differences over Christmas dinner. All may not be as it seems with Kate though, as Nathan slowly begins to piece together the feeling of familiarity he had experienced when they first met. As her good deeds continue and Christmas draws closer, the Wyler family begin to realise that she may not be who she claims to be. But who else could this ethereal samaritan be, and why does she seem so familiar to Nathan?

Nathan is a single father raising his son Stefan since his wife died when Stefan was 3.  Nathan was shut himself out of his sons life by becoming a workaholic.  This was very sad to me as he relied on a nanny raising Stefan.  The author did a great job portraying how Stefan wanted his dad back in his life.  Stefan meets his substitute teacher Kate and forms a loving relationship with her.  Kate finds it odd that Nathan never picks his son up at school or attends any of Stefan’s events.  Kate makes it her mission to get Nathan back to parenting Stefan and in doing so, Kate and Stefan fall in love. 

Kate is hiding something from Nathan and reveals in on Christmas Day.  This Christmas story is about forgiveness and love.  I give his book a 4 star rating as the author did a fantastic job of bringing out the feelings of all the characters.  I shed a few tears in the beginning of the book with how Nathan treated Stefan and my heart sang when Kate got after Nathan to stop shutting Stefan out of his life.