The Salt Gods Daughter

The Salt Gods Daughter by Ilie Ruby

Book Info:

The Salt God's Daughter by Ilie Ruby is the story of a loss of innocence as told by Ruthie and Naida, a mother and daughter who are forever changed by violence, by family mysteries, by towering acts of love. In an oceanic wilderness where identity is as changeable as the ocean, they face the rites of passage necessary to endure and find in themselves a strength and connection that survive the ages. Theirs is a story that brings to light the primal divinity of the isolated, the marginalized and of those bonded by blood and myth as seen through a lens of transcendent beauty. A stunning, raw, evolutionary tale about the ties that bind, and how far we'll go to save the ones we love.

 

Author Info:

Ilie Ruby is the author of THE SALT GOD'S DAUGHTER and THE LANGUAGE OF TREES (2010). She is the winner of the Edwin L. Moses Award for Fiction, chosen by T.C. Boyle, and is the former fiction editor of The Southern California Anthology, a literary magazine. She has worked as a 5th grade teacher, a documentary film associate producer in Central America, and is an avid supporter of literacy efforts in Ethiopia. She teaches writing in Boston, where she lives with her husband and three children.

 

My review:

What a great read this was! I enjoyed it alot! First let me say that this book was beautifully written. I loved the characters. You can really feel for them in this book but this is one of those books where you can also picture in your mind what is going on in the book very easily because the author writes that vividly. I also very much enjoyed the plot of this novel, it was fresh and unique. I also really liked the cover of this book as well. I thought it was very colorful and I think it goes with the atomosphere of the book quite well. I would recommend this book highly its a fresh and unique read. It is also a worthwhile read and it is rare that you find books that are written this eloquently.

 

 

I would like to thank Tabathia from Spark Point Studio for letting me read and review this novel.

The Bachelor Farmers

Today I am participating in a blog tour for the book The Bachelor Farmers by Brenda Sorrels as part of Lighting Book promotions.

There is also a giveaway of this book if you are interested please enter asap as the giveaway ends OCTOBER 27!

Book Info:
The Bachelor Farmers is a story about two Norwegian brothers who learn the meaning of love from a most unlikely source. Hans and Jon, the youngest of four immigrant brothers have just inherited land from their recently deceased father. They set out to develop the land, thus perpetuating the family dream of success in America. When Jon learns that the husband of Mahal, a beautiful half-breed Ojibwa woman has been injured on their property and cannot work, Jon hires her and brings her home. Under the eye of his disapproving brother, Jon finds himself falling in love, but when a terrible blizzard blows into town without warning, the three of them must deal with the consequences, and Mahal is forced to make a decision that reshapes their lives in profound and unimaginable ways. The Bachelor Farmers takes us into a world where true meaning and healing are found in the complexity of human relationships and dreams of a better life fuel a family's drive for success.

Author Info:

Brenda Sorrels grew up in Fargo, N.D. and attended Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. She's worked as an editor at Mademoiselle Magazine and in promotion with the National Media Department of The Fox Broadcasting Company. She now lives in Dallas with her family, including small dog, Charlotte - and spends summers writing in Connecticut.

My mother was the youngest of 15 children and when I was a small girl I used to visit her hometown, Halliday, in the western part of N.D. I had two bachelor farmer uncles who used to ride horseback to the white Lutheran church on Sundays! There was an Indian reservation nearby and I remember many stories surrounding the the Native Americans. The stories were mixed - involving their customs, the pow-wows, the drinking and bar fights! Later one of these uncles lived with a Native American woman who cared for him until he died. The inspiration for my writing comes from these experiences and the unending stories of childhood!

My review: 

Overall I did enjoy reading this book. The characters were really great (even though I liked some more than others) and they were well written and well developed you could really feel for them (you cared what happened to them). Which is probably why I have mixed feelings about the ending and how the book turned out. It was a book that was happy and sad at the same time (in a good way) which its rare to find books like that in this day and age. Its a very nice story that tugs at your emotions at times. It was an easy read as well, nicely formatted and the print was a nice size as well. I would recommend this book highly it would appeal to many different kinds of readers. 

Two Sinful Secrets

Two sinful secrets
by Laurel Mckee

Book Info:
A hundred years has passed since the bitter rivalry between the St. Claires and the Huntingtons began. But in London, the feud goes on . ..Lady Sophia Huntington isn't what she appears to be. Born into a noble family, the impulsive, wild-hearted beauty has fallen on difficult times. Banished from her home, Sophia dreams of the day she can finally win her father's forgiveness and return to London. Until the sudden appearance of a suitor from the scandalous St. Claire family threatens to reveal her darkest secrets . . . 

Dominic St. Claire vows to exact revenge upon the Huntingtons, who destroyed his family's fortune generations ago. His perfect target is the lovely but proud Lady Sophia. After using her to discover the Huntingtons' financial secrets, he will cause a great scandal by eloping-and then abandoning his bride. But his plot soon unravels when he finds his own heart ensnared-in a trap not of his own marriage. 

My review: 
I thought this book was a charming historical romance! The first reason why I enjoyed this was that it was a historical romance (which is my favorite kind) (but I may be biased because I love history). I really enjoyed the writing styles and characters in this novel. The plot was good and well written and I found myself rooting for these characters and wishing for a good ending and I was not disappointed! I have read other romances by this author and I would say this one is just as good and I am a fan. I would recommend this book!

I would like to thank the people from forever for letting me read and review this book. 

Nolichuck! T.J.'s Wild frontier adventure

Today I will be reviewing the book Nolichuck! T.J.'s Wild Frontier adventure. I also have an inteview with the author on here so I would like to thank him for that and welcome him to my blog!

Book Info:
TJ s just an ordinary fourteen year old kid with extraordinary problems at home and school: A broken up family from his parents bitter divorce, evil bullies almost every afternoon, failing grades, boring classes, snobby girls, mean teachers, cut from basketball tryouts, few friends. Life is rough for TJ Cockrell.


And then that mysterious little green book had to go and throw him into the past. And not just any past, but into the untamed forbidding forests of 1802 eastern Tennessee along with the savage Indians, wild beasts, bloodthirsty robbers, backwoods ruffians, and log cabin living! Yup, it s definitely not 2011 Knoxville anymore.


And he thought his present life was bad news! But TJ s adventures are only beginning. Along the way, he fights off killer beasts and bandits and braves, gains a world of confidence in himself, finds his first real love, and meets a fantastic frontier family who really has it together. When he returns to the present, he s a brand new person ready to defeat deadly robbers in his own home, beat the bullies at school, win the girl, gain friends, and make great grades. He even gets his family back together again. Sort of. In the end, the little green book is really cool. And TJ can t wait to go on another action-packed adventure into the perilous past!

Author Info:
Jackson Keene is the pen name of Jack Olen King. Mr. Keene is a former advertising man and senior marketing executive with a love of writing and history. In his free time, among other things, he volunteer coaches youth basketball and is a coach-player on his own men s team. He lives in Plano, Texas, where he enjoys creating stories about less celebrated yet equally exciting periods of the past and present. Nolichuck is his debut novel.

Author Interview:

How do you come up with the title of your book?

NOLICHUCK is a common abbreviation of the Nolichucky River which is a major stream flowing out of the the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and into east Tennessee. The river is 115 miles long, and back then, when that part of the state was covered in forests, the river was still unsullied and beautiful. Much of the action when the hero goes back in time takes place in the same region as the Nolichucky.

Why did you chose 1802 as the time period for the main character to travel back to?

In all of my Adventure (Green Book Series) novels, my intent is to cover periods in history that are less familiar, less written about than the famous events and times of our nation's past such as the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Wild West, etc. All of the Adventure books with be a combination of historical fiction and contemporary fiction, where the hero (and perhaps a friend or two) goes back in time, but also returns the present having to face more adventures and predicaments before the story ends. As a kid who grew up watching Davy Crockett on the original Walt Disney World TV series, I often wondered what it was like for Davy growing up as a teenager in the frontier Tennessee, so NOLICHUCK deals with that era.

What are you working on next?

REDS! TJ's Wacky War Adventure is the next book in the Green Book Series. TJ and his girlfriend get hurled back in the past to separate escapades during the War of 1812, with the Green Book shuttling them successively forward in time, culminating with them finally reconnecting during the Battle of New Orleans. And once they return the present, they both face at school and home unresolved situations filled with mystery, suspense, and challenges.  

 

My review:

I really loved reading this book it was such a fun book! I may be biased because im a history lover but I think this was a great book, expecially for young adults who maybe learning about this time period in school, or who want to know more about this time period. I also am a YA fan which is another reason I liked reading this book. I think T.J. was a very relatable and likeable character and was well written too!

I think the book was well written and I enjoyed this authors writting style. I am so excited that this book is part of a series because I cant wait to read the next one! The plot of this book was fresh and unique and I really enjoyed reading it. I would highly reccomend this book.

I would like to thank the author of this book for letting me read and review this novel.

NPR: Driveway Moments Cat Tales

Title: NPR: Driveway Moments Cat Tales
Narrator: Scott Simon
Publisher: High Bridge Audio
Pub. Date: 10/2/12
Length: 2 hrs

Audio Book Info: 
These NPR “driveway moment” stories featuring our feline friends will have you curled up in your seat, purring. Mischievous, mysterious, content, curious, and full of attitude, these stories mirror the personality of these creatures that dwell in our homes and our hearts.

Contents:

• Introduction by Scott Simon
• Cat and Child, So Comfy Together
• Cat Lovers and Their Stories
• Earliest Evidence of House Cats
• Cat Named Hamish
• Family Wasn’t Always Nice to Its Cats
• The Purrrfect Candidate for President
• Political Attack Ad Goes After a Cat
• Cats Can’t Taste Sweetness
• Cats Eat Anything Smaller Than Themselves
• Why Do Cats Purr?
• Living with Lions
• Maine Cat Resort
• Bicycling Across USA with Cat in Basket
• French for Felines
• Allergen-Free Cat
• The Story of 23 Cats and an Owl
• Alone at Christmas with Two Old Cats
• Mourning the Loss of Frankie the Cat
• Baghdad Girl, Reaching Out Over the Web
• This I Believe: Caring Makes Us Human
• Cat People vs. Non-Cat People
• Calico Cat Cloned
• Four Pounds of Fury: Baby Cheetah Gets a Mom
• Ms. Pudding: A Feline Farewell
• The Algonquin Hotel’s Feline Celebrity
• Cats First Tamed in the Middle East
• Protecting African Lions: Hunters Turned Guardians
• Cat Genome Forensics
• Glowing Kittens Help in Fights against AIDS
• Pet Physics: The Uncanny Lapping of Cats
• White Cat Gifts
• Scott Simon Remembers Lenore
• Cat Laws

Warm, humorous stories from the National Public Radio archives about these furry, inscrutable creatures we live with and love.

Author Info: 

Internationally acclaimed, NPR produces and distributes programming that reaches a combined audience of 26.4 million listeners weekly, and, unlike other media, NPR’s audience continues to grow. NPR member organizations operate 784 stations, and another 117 public radio stations also present NPR programs, for a total of more than 900 stations nationwide who broadcast NPR programming.

My review: 

I have mixed feelings about this audio book. I am a cat lover (and dog lover too) so I love anything to do with cats but some of these stories on this audio book I really didnt like and thought were very boring. Some stories or snipets I did like like the Purrfect candidate for president as well as a few others that made me laugh (I think I really liked those because I am someone who owes 2 cats so I understand). My cats actually listened with me to this (or they were in the room when I listened to this). So it is an audio book you can listen to with your whole family.  

The narration of this audio book was ok at best. I think the narrator could have been more animated and not so monotoned. I each of the stories or snippets though there were people other than the narrator so some of them had good animated voices and made their part of the audio book enjoyable to listen to but some people not so much.

I would recommend this audio book because some of the stories on it are cute and worth a listen. I also recommend it because I know there are lots of cat lovers out there who will want to listen to this. Oh also I recommend you listen to this audio book with your cat it makes it all the more fun!

I would like to thank Susan from Audio Jukebox for letting me listen to and review this audio book.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

Title: Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend
Author: Matthew Dicks
Narrator: Matthew Brown
Publisher: Macmillian Audio
Pub. Date: August 21, 2012
Length: 11 hrs

Imaginary friend Budo narrates this heartwarming story of love, loyalty, and the power of the imagination—the perfect read for anyone who has ever had a friend . . . real or otherwise.

Budo is lucky as imaginary friends go. He's been alive for more than five years, which is positively ancient in the world of imaginary friends. But Budo feels his age, and thinks constantly of the day when eight-year-old Max Delaney will stop believing in him. When that happens, Budo will disappear.

Max is different from other children. Some people say that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, but most just say he’s “on the spectrum.” None of this matters to Budo, who loves Max and is charged with protecting him from the class bully, from awkward situations in the cafeteria, and even in the bathroom stalls. But he can’t protect Max from Mrs. Patterson, the woman who works with Max in the Learning Center and who believes that she alone is qualified to care for this young boy.

When Mrs. Patterson does the unthinkable and kidnaps Max, it is up to Budo and a team of imaginary friends to save him—and Budo must ultimately decide which is more important: Max’s happiness or Budo's very existence.

Narrated by Budo, a character with a unique ability to have a foot in many worlds—imaginary, real, child, and adult— Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend touches on the truths of life, love, and friendship as it races to a heartwarming . . . and heartbreaking conclusion.

My review:
This audio book was a good one, it was not perfect however but I really enjoyed listening to it. First I have to say what a unique idea for a book! I was so excited to listen to this one! The writing style is good and his characters are ok. I liked the idea that Budo was the narrator of this story but at times I did get annoyed with Budo. I did care what happened to him in the story so I liked him overall.

Max was also a character I liked in the story and I cared what happened to him as well. I also liked the different imaginary friends that you meet in this audio book/novel. There were a few characters/scences that Im not sure why they were in there but other then that everything is fine in plot.

The narration of this book was good, not boring but not over the top either. I actually really enjoyed this narrator. He was animated and his tone was good, I wanted to listen to this narration.  While listening to this audio book I could picture what was going on in my head (which you know this is a good audio book when you can do that).

I would highly recommend this audio book I think its a refreshing and enjoyable to listen to and the characters are memorable as well. The ending is also very good. It is an audio book that I think will appeal to many readers (but word of caution: it is not a kids or YA book).

I would like to thank Susan from Audio book Jukebox for letting me listen to and review this audio book. 

The Crossroads

Title: The Crossroads
Author: L. Ron Hubbard
Cast: The Crossroads stars Corey Burton. Also starring Eduardo Ballerini, R.F. Daley, Jennifer Darling, John Mariano, Jim Meskimen, Tamra Meskimen, Kristin Proctor, Enn Reitel, Tait Ruppert and Michael Yurchak.
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Pub. Date: May 2010
Length: 2 hrs

Frustrated with a government that pays him to bury surplus produce in order to "fix" the economy while city folk starve, farmer Eben Smith decides to take matters into his own hands. He piles up his wagon with ripe fruits and vegetables and sets out for the first time to barter his goods in the big city.


Being Eben's first city trip and all, the way soon becomes uncertain. But when Eben comes across a strange crossroads, he discovers that he's fallen into a nexus in time. Soon he's bartering a lot more than goods with different cultures in alternative realities . . . accidentally wreaking havoc and chaos in each.


ALSO INCLUDES THE FANTASY STORIES "BORROWED GLORY" AND "THE DEVIL'S RESCUE"

My review:
Overall I would have to say I really liked this audio book!

The Crossroads:
I really enjoyed this story, it was funny, fun, and clever. I was really interested in what happened to the characters in this, I was rooting for Eben hes a likable guy. I also really liked the sound effects in this story and how each character had a different voice/personallity. The narration of this story was also very good but I think what I liked most about this story was that it was unique and creative which is really quite refreshing.  This story was great I really loved it!

Borrowed Glory:
Oh what a touching story this was! I loved it so much. The characters again were great and this story was really enjoyable but was also really sad, a 20th century fairy tale which has you rooting for a different outcome at the end but also a surprising ending. Narration/effects: I feel the same way with this one as I did with The Crossroads. I also feel like this story has very likeable characters which I cared about what happened to them in the end. This story to I also thought was very creative and refreshing. I loved this one as well!

The Devil's Rescue
This is the only story on this audio book that I did not like. I thought it was boring and I couldnt connect to it. The narration/effects, I think were as good as the other two but the story wasnt as good.

Overall I would reccomend this audio book The Crossroads and Borrowed Glory are great stories that everybody should hear! (Also you get 3 stories for the price of one audio book!)

I would like to thank Julie from Galaxy Press for letting me listen to and review this audio book!

Vengeance

Title:Vengance
Author: A.J. Scudiere
Narator:
Publisher:
Pub. Date

 VENGEANCE is a story of just that--two characters will stop at nothing to settle the score after their families are slain by the Mob. Kristoffer Tabori's voice has the perfect abrasive gravel for Lee, the gunman, and Stephanie Zimbalist plays Cyn, a 19-year-old with an arsenal of knives and a fiery temper. As the two assassins tread on each other's turf, and the FBI closes in, they need to figure out how to work together. Gunshots, screeching tires, and other sound effects add to the action in this "audio movie," underscored with a heart-pumping cinematic score. As the subject matter suggests, this is a bloody story, with scenes of extreme violence. Ditch the Cineplex ticket and pick up this title for an intense, action-packed thriller

My review:
I thought this audio movie was ok but I liked the other one that I reviewed of this author better. This was still good its just I prefered the other one better.

I still liked the narration in this and how it was a multicast narration where all of the characters had their own voice and personality. The sound affects were very good too, nothing was out of place, uncalled for or used way too much. I again also really liked the soundtrack (music) on this audio movie.

The plot of this audio movie was well written and thoughout but it just wasnt one of my favorites. The characters were also well developed.

I would reccomend this audio movie even though it wasnt one of my favorites because I know that some people are fans of this kind of genre so they would really enjoy this audio movie.

There are a few people I would like to thank for giving me the chance to listen and review this audio movie: Teresa from Teresa's Reading Corner and Samanta Lien.