Series Review: If You Were Me And Lived In.... by Carole P. Roman

Award winning author Carole P. Roman is a former teacher turned businesswoman. She has successfully run a family business with her husband that employs close to five hundred people. Her most favorite job is being grandmother to her many grandchildren. Roman has two wonderful sons and hit the jackpot in the daughter-in-law department. She currently lives on Long Island with her husband.

Her first book, Captain No Beard - An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate's Life has been named to Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2012 as well garnered the star of remarkable merit. It was named in the Pinnacle Award for Best in Children's Fiction 2012. Captain No Beard has developed in a series of 6 more books. She is the author of the best selling book, I Want To Do Yoga Too. Currently, she is working on her educational series that explores different cultures from a child's point of view. If You Were Me and Lived in...Mexico, received the Pinnacle Award for Best in Children's non-fiction 2012. If You Were Me and Lived in...Kenya received 5 Stars from the ForeWord Clarion Review. She just completed Russia with the help of her five year old grandson and loved every minute of it.

BOOK AWARDS
Captain No Beard An Imaginary Tale of a Pirate’s Life
Star of Remarkable Merit
Kirkus Reviews Best of 2012
NABE Pinnacle Award 2013
ERIK Award 2013
NABE Pinnacle Award 2013
Best in Children’s nonFiction
If You Were Me and Lived in...Mexico
Pepper Parrot’s Problem with Patience
5 Stars ForeWord Review Clarion Review
If You Were Me and Lived in...Kenya
5 Stars ForeWord Review Clarion Review
Rebecca’s Reads Readers Choice Awards 2013
Childrens Books
2nd Place Strangers on the High Seas
Creative Non Fiction
If You Were Me and Lived in...Norway
General Non Fiction
If You Were Me and Lived in...France
Readers Views Literary Award 2013
Children Toddlers -5
1st Place Strangers on the High Seas
Honorable Mention
If You Were Me and Lived in...South Korea
Readers Views Kids Award for Best Children’s Book of the Year
Strangers on the High Seas

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ABOUT THE SERIES:  

Join Carole P. Roman on a trips all over the world!!! 

In this exciting series, children are able to read about the many things we share in this great, big world of ours. Award winning, If You Were Me and Lived in... describes many things about the each country that make that country unique and fun. Readers will be able to learn about the capital, common names, a beloved holiday, as well as favorite food and other fun facts. This book is an excellent introduction for those beginners who want to learn about the many thrilling places and great people who share our planet.

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SERIES REVIEW:  What  great all encompassing books for kids on countries all over the world. My son is constantly asking me about places all over the world, so these books are right up his alley. It presents great information in a way that is easy for kids to understand. It is like taking a tour of each of the counties within the pages of a book!  4 stars BUY THE BOOKS HERE!

SheReads Blog Network: Review: THE SHADOW YEAR by Hannah Richell

I am part of the amazing SheReads Blog Network! Which means that I am fortunate enough to partner with some of the most savvy, talented, and intelligent book bloggers in the business. Every month we wonderful women read our selections and review them on our personal sites. We are kind and witty and love books more than air. We would love for you to visit each of us online and follow us on our blogs, Facebook and Twitter. You don’t want to miss all the book goodness we have to offer! 

THIS MONTH'S SELECTION:

On a sultry summer’s day in 1980, five friends stumble upon an abandoned lakeside cottage hidden deep in the English countryside. For Kat and her housemates, it offers an escape, a chance to drop out for a while. But as the seasons change, tensions begin to rise and when an unexpected visitor appears at their door, nothing will be the same again. Three decades later, Lila arrives at the same remote cottage. With her marriage in crisis, she finds solace in renovating the tumbledown house. Little by little she wonders about the previous inhabitants. How did they manage in such isolation? And why did they leave in such a hurry, with their belongings still strewn about? Most disturbing of all, why can’t she shake the feeling that someone might be watching her? THE SHADOW YEAR is a mesmerizing story of tragedy, lies and betrayal.

* * * Before she became a writer, Hannah Rihell worked for ten years in the publishing industry and was lucky enough to market books by authors such as Stephen King, Jodi Picoult, David Mitchell, Jojo Moyes, Stephenie Meyer and David Nicholls, to name just a few. She emigrated to Australia from the UK in 2005, and spent two years working for Universal Pictures in Sydney. Hannah began to write in early 2008 while she was on maternity leave, and the result was her first novel, Secrets of the Tides, which was picked for the 2012 Richard & Judy Book Club, the Waterstones Book Club and was shortlisted for the Australian Independent Bookseller Best Debut Fiction Award, ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year (2013) and ABIA Newcomer of the Year (2013). Her second novel The Shadow Year, published in 2013. Hannah became an Australian citizen in 2010 but still returns to England whenever possible, to visit family and enjoy the green grass of home.

Read more reviews and enter giveaway HERE

The Shadow Year is quite the page turner.  There is so much packed into this 383 page book.  You have relationships that get fractured and how when trying to put them back together even the best intentions can steer off track.  You have deceit, which sets the stage for intrigue and menace.  You have compelling characters and an interesting setting.  You have a richness in both the past and present story lines and when woven together you have an outright enjoyable, page turner of a read!  4 stars 

Review: In the Mirror by Kaira Rouda

If you knew you may die soon, what choices would you make?

Jennifer Benson has it all: a successful career, a perfect husband, two kids and abundant friendships. The only problem is she may be dying. IN THE MIRROR is the realistic love story about a woman facing a deadly illness, and her loves past and present. It's a story that unfolds with a delightful blend of humor and poignancy, ringing true in the heart of anyone who has ignored a warning of her own.

  When a writer chooses to write about a heavy subject they have to do so beautifully, with honesty, knowledge and sincerity.  Rouda was able to capture the characters struggle with the disease and all the horrors, questions. emotions and epiphanies that come with it.  In the Mirror was an emotional read that will pull on heart strings.  So much so that I had to set it a side a few times, which is sometimes good...when the writer can grab you like that...to make you really feel the character and their struggle.  I am still a bit off balance from this read and am still living in the story.  Great writing, by a fantastic author who really gets what it is to write a story worth reading!  4.5 stars 

Kaira discovered the joy of reading and writing at a young age. In third grade, the assignment was to write a letter to a person who you wanted to be when you grew up. She wrote to Robert McCloskey, author of her favorite books, Make Way for Ducklings andBlueberries for Sal. Unfortunately, Mr. McCloskey wrote back that he was an illustrator, but did wish her good luck.

Undeterred, Kaira wrote her first book, Scooter and Skipper, in sixth grade. It was published by her school librarian to much critical acclaim, at least in her household.

After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in English, Kaira knew she wanted to focus on writing the next great American novel. But she had to eat. So, she filled the next 20 plus years writing everything but novels: ad copy, press releases, radio spots, newspaper columns, magazine articles – and well, if you can get paid to write it, she’s probably done it.  After selling a brand she created with her husband from the ground-up, a story featured in her bestselling business book Real You Incorporated: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, her family of six packed up and moved to California.

And Kaira dusted off her dreams.

Her first novel Here, Home, Hope was published in 2010.  All the Difference followed a year later, and most recently, In the Mirror released in 2014. She hopes her novels will touch readers with humor and poignancy, suspense and delight.

When not spending time with her made up characters, Kaira is busy with her own supporting cast: Four kids, three dogs and her amazing husband, who helps keep the household from falling into complete chaos. She enjoys yoga, spending time with friends and never tires of watching the sunset at the beach.

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Review: The Lonely Hearts Club by Brenda Janowitz

From the beloved author of Scot On The Rocks and Jack With A Twist comes a new novel about just what it means to follow the music of your own heart. 

Jo Waldman lives life to her own soundtrack—working for her father by day while pursuing her music career in NYC’s downtown clubs at night. Music is her passion, along with her boyfriend, Jesse, who shares her dreams of making it big. Jo's old band, The Lonely Hearts Club, came thisclose to getting a huge recording contract, and she’s just biding her time, waiting for lightning to strike twice. The music business is tough, but so is Jo.

So when Jo's father fires her and Jesse breaks up with her, Jo doesn’t get upset—she just wants to rage. Dusting off her computer, and typing in the familiar address for the Lonely Hearts Club's old blog, Jo writes an entry, pouring her heart out about the shortcomings of love. Nobody visits the site anymore, so it's a safe place for Jo to vent. Except that the site sends a mass e-mail to the entire Lonely Hearts mailing list, notifying them that there's a fresh message on the site, so now everybody she's ever met knows that Jo has been brutally dumped. All Jo wants to do is hide under the covers, but to her surprise, supportive comments start flowing in—most from screen names she doesn't even recognize. Jo soon becomes an icon for all things “anti-love.”

There's only one problem: the web programmer helping Jo with her anti-love site is too damned cute! Jo's never been very good at depriving herself of anything, but if the budding relationship with her web programmer is exposed, she'll be revealed as a total fraud and risk losing all of the people who have grown to love and trust her. So is it time to start singing love songs, or time to pick up the guitar and return to the hard rock that almost got The Lonely Hearts signed in the first place? Jo's got some big decisions to make, and it looks like she's going to have to take one step closer to doing something she never thought she'd do--becoming a grownup.

BUY THE BOOK HERE!

A native New Yorker, Brenda Janowitz has had a flair for all things dramatic since she played the title role in her third grade production of Really Rosie. When asked by her grandmother if the experience made her want to be an actress when she grew up, Brenda responded, “An actress? No. A writer, maybe.”

Brenda attended Cornell University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Service Studies, with a Concentration in Race and Discrimination. After graduating from Cornell, she attended Hofstra Law School, where she was a member of the Law Review and won the Law Review Writing Competition. Upon graduation from Hofstra, she went to work for the law firm Kaye Scholer, LLP, where she was an associate in the Intellectual Property group, handling cases in the areas of trademark, anti-trust, internet, and false advertising. Brenda later left Kaye Scholer to pursue a federal clerkship with the Honorable Marilyn Dolan Go, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of New York.

Since her clerkship, Brenda has worked as a career counselor at two New York City law schools, where she published a number of articles on career related issues in publications such as the National Law Journal and the New York Law Journal. She currently lives in Manhattan where she lectures on the publishing process and teaches creative writing at Mediabistro.

Brenda is the author of JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don’t teach you in law school) and SCOT ON THE ROCKS (How I survived my ex-boyfriend's wedding with my dignity ever so slightly intact). You can learn more about Brenda at www.brendajanowitz.comand http://www.brendajanowitz.blogspot.com/

Wow, just WOW.  Janowitz writes what a breakup feels like at the core...the pain, the sadness and the disbelief.  But she does so with a main female character that is both strong and weak, determined and disheartened, wonderful and flawed.  Janowitz captured ans fleshed out a great lead that did not need to be a damsel in distress, but a woman out to turn things around on her own accord.  Rock on Janowitz, rock on!!!!  5 stars

GIVEAWAY & REVIEW: THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS: GRADUATION GIRL! by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

ABOUT THE BOOK

While her friends and family may not believe in fairies, Geraldine knows, deep down, that she is a VERY fairy princess.

This is the sixth adventure in the adorable, sparkly, sweet Very Fairy Princess series from celebrated children’s book author Julie Andrews (best known for The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins and The Princess Diaries) and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. 

In this new tale, the end of the school year is here, and Very Fairy Princess Gerry is getting ready to graduate! She always loves a celebration, but can't help but feel a little sad as she empties her cubby, takes down her art projects, and says goodbye to her class pet, Houdini the hamster. She's also a little nervous about leaving Miss Pym... what if her new teacher doesn't let Gerry wear her wings and crown? Change can be hard, even for a fairy princess!

Thankfully, she realizes that new things can bring their own sparkle.  A perfectly delightful addition to your child’s bookshelf.

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This book is a beautifully and quite adorably illustrated and exceptional story about dealing with change.  In this case, the story is addressing the change of leaving the comfort of one classroom with a beloved teacher and class pet into another unknown classroom due to graduation.  It is a great way to create dialogue with kids on healthy ways to deal with change and new situations and people.  I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to read others in the series 4.5 stars!

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Julie Andrews is one of the most recognized figures in the world of entertainment, best known for her performances in The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, and The Princess Diaries. Julie has been a celebrated children's book author for over thirty years, and her works include Mandy, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, and the Little Bo series. Her memoir, Home, was #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.

Emma Walton Hamilton is a bestselling children's book author, editor, arts educator, and theater professional, and author of Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment. Together with her mother, Julie Andrews, she has coauthored many books for young readers, including the New York Times bestselling Very Fairy Princess series, the Dumpy the Dump Truck series, Simeon's Gift, The Great American Mousical, and the New York Times bestselling Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies, a book for families to treasure and share.

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GIVEAWAY!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We are Spreading the sparkle with the Very Fairy Princess!

Two (2) winners US ONLY each receive The Very Fairy Princess

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Visit all THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS websites

·         Visit The Very Fairy Princess website

·         Visit the authors’ sites: Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton

·         Follow Little, Brown Kids on Twitter and Facebook

BUY THE BOOK!

Highlight: Heather Leigh

Attending the funeral of your mother is challenging enough. But when fifteen-year-old Emily must choose the casket on her own, hide her telepathic powers, and leave her small town in search of her grandmother, she will need the help of friends she does not remember meeting. In the midst of the dangerous search , she meets Andrew, the boy with eyes the color of the ocean. Can Emily and her friends rescue Grandmother, or will they be captured themselves? The consequence of capture would be torture and possible death. Throughout the adventure, Emily and Andrew discover a romance neither expected, yet come to cherish. Find out what happens when teens use their hidden powers to fight a corrupt, overly polite government in an unsafe, mundane world.

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Scout has an elephant living in his back yard named Ellie. She stands and walks and acts like a human, but has an elephant sized personality! Ellie is so much fun to be around, that trouble seems to follow her where ever she goes. Scout has a birthday coming up. His family is a circus. Every year, his circus family performs for his birthday party. This year, he wants his own party, one that is not a part of his family's circus. He does not know how to do this. Ellie is great at putting together a party. Scout asks Ellie for help with his birthday party. She says yes. What will happen at Scout's birthday party with Ellie leading it? How crazy will it get? Find out by reading 'Scout and Ellie' just how wild a birthday party thrown by an elephant can become.

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Heather Leigh lives in warm sunny San Diego, California with her teenage sons, two muse cats, and spoiled Australian Shepherd. A addictive reader since being able to hold a book by herself, she transferred that passion to becoming a writer--that way she can be the first to read the story! Creating stories for children and young adults is her joy and comfort in life. Recently, with the new series of how-to books titled 'Are You An Intelligent...' has given Heather a whole new genre to play with. She attempts to make her words fun for readers as they learn something at the same time.

Her books can be reviewed here, and she has a two blogs: http://www.heatherleighauthor.blogspo...

The second offers free stories for children: http://www.thechilrensstoryplace.blog...

Please enjoy reading and reviewing her books as much as she enjoyed writing them.

Blog Tour: True Blend by Joanne DeMaio

New York Times bestselling author Joanne DeMaio returns to small-town New England in this compelling love story where truth is veiled by secrets.

Vintage bridal shop owner Amy Trewist thinks she'll never recover her quiet life at her beloved farmhouse on an old country road. Not after her two-year-old daughter Grace is kidnapped in an elaborate crime. On one clear morning, in mere minutes, Grace is gone and Amy's world spins into a heartbreaking new place.

George Carbone often spends easy time with his brother. Whether at a ballgame or taking a day trip, it's how they connect. Until one sunny day when the trip is to a bank parking lot and George is drawn into a crime he never sees coming. And into a stricken mother's life he cannot ignore.

In a summer that simmers with the unsolved crime, George is haunted by a bankroll hidden behind kitchen tiles, by a brother who dragged him into this, and by a father who instilled in him a conscience. A conscience challenged when a young child and beautiful woman crossed paths with him and unexpectedly took hold of his heart.

Set among the red barns, lush cornfields and sparkling wishing fountain of Addison, Connecticut, True Blend is a captivating novel that steals your heart and does not let go. Because like the lace wedding gowns hanging on Amy's clothesline, waltzing in the summer breeze, love and secrets twist and spin together in their own mesmerizing dance.

True Blend starts off very intensely, with a robbery accompanied by kidnapping a child and a mother following through with the kidnappers demands of not contacting police for one hour.  Intense, right…I know (I could not read fast enough)!!!  As a mother (or any reader for that matter), you are immediately putting yourself in the shoes of Amy, the main character, you feel the loss, fear and stress of being put in that impossible position.  Each second feels like an hour, the waiting to see how it is going to resolve.  You are granted the luxury of seeing both sides of the situation (Amy’s and the kidnappers), making it so much more interesting and maybe a bit more intense???  What follows that intense and grabbing beginning of the story is just amazing.  It is about learning to heal wounds and to trust again, it is about love in various forms, it is about the bonds of a child and their mother, it is about friendship and choosing the course of one’s own life and not letting demons of the past dictate how one lives.   It is different than DeMaio’s other books, in a wonderful way.  It illustrates growth and change.  There are still the elements of DeMaio’s that fans will enjoy, but she has added a new layer to her writing that was quite enjoyable to read.  I recommend this book and rate it 4.5 stars. 

AUTHOR BIO

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 fourth novel True Blend was recently published. Currently at work on her next book, Joanne resides with her family in Connecticut. To learn more about the author, visit Joannedemaio.com.

What inspires your writing?

Small New England towns, the sound of the sea, friendship, family. And questions, too—those what-ifs that set a story in motion.

What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

I love visiting scenic places near and dear to my heart and bringing those sights to the page … seaside shingled cottages, old colonial homes, town greens, coffee shops, a sunset beach. It’s always a thrill when my readers tell me they’d like to live in my fictional towns, too.

What is the toughest part of being a writer?

Because I love what I do, I’m more inclined to think writing can be complex and busy, rather than tough. So I depend on my writing To-Do list. I have a black leather journal filled with weekly itineraries that keep me centered and keep my writing production moving forward.

If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A photographer. Long before the pen, my artistic tool of choice was the camera. Photography taught me so much: how to zoom in on a subject, find unique angles and balance. It’s intriguing how these tenets carry over to my writing.

What would the story of your life be entitled?

Keep Calm and Write On

What is your favorite book of all time?

I have a couple illustrated editions of Jane Eyre. The pen and ink sketches add so much to the story, which has a little of everything in it—romance, intrigue, mystery, drama.

What character from all of your books are you most like?

My characters are actually not based on me. I believe in crafting varied, layered characters and immerse myself in research to effectively portray their individual lives.

Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans. Its Stony Point setting is based on a little Connecticut beach I love called Point O’ Woods. I’d never turn down a weekend at the New England shore, complete with lapping waves, beach walks, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream to end the day … Bliss.

What is your favorite season?

Autumn. Give me a piping-hot coffee, chilly morning, and a view of the changing leaves in New England. The recipe for a perfect writing season.

What inspired your book covers?

Book cover art can truly give a story heart. I feel privileged to work with my daughter and publicist Mary on the covers. She has an incredible eye for design, and is passionate about finding just the right image, and then fine-tuning it with my cover designer. My covers are inspired by special settings in the book—from a cherished farmhouse in True Blend, to a rambling wintry barn in Snowflakes and Coffee Cakes, to a summer beach scene in Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans. I’ve even heard from readers who admire the cover art, and would like to purchase them to hang on their walls.

Tell me something funny that happened on your current book’s journey.

As I was about to begin writing True Blend, I stopped by my local Barnes and Noble to pick up a research book I needed. Funny thing, while I was there I heard a customer ask an employee where she could find books by Joanne DeMaio. Imagine my surprise, because literally she could find me in person about two bookshelves over!

Are you working on something new?

Absolutely. I’ve recently completed an in-depth outline for next year’s release and am well-into writing the first draft. The details are quietly under wraps for now, but I’ll be sharing more on my Facebook Page and Author Newsletter.

Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

Thank you so much for visiting with me, and thank you to Emily for hosting me on the tour today. My new novel True Blend was published this spring, and it was an absolute thrill to write. I’m truly excited to share it with readers.

Set in my fictional town of Addison, Connecticut, True Blend is an unexpected love story with a dash of suspense. One that will have two people reexamine all they thought was true—over the course of a hot New England summer. If you’re looking for a book to tuck into your beach tote, I hope you’ll consider it. And if you’d like a custom, signed bookplate from me to personalize your paperback, I would be more than happy to send one along. Just drop me a line on my website Contact Page at Joannedemaio.com, with Bookplate in the subject.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer of reading…

~Joanne