Pride and Precipitation (Chick Flick Clique #1)

Pride and Precipitation (Chick Flick Click Romantic Comedy Novella #1)
by Heather Horrocks

Published (first published September 11th 2012)

Pride and Precipitation is #01 of the Chick Flick Clique romantic comedy series! Book #2 is Regally Blonde.

Breezy Jones is crazy about the weather, rain or shine, which makes her job as the local television station’s meteorologist perfect. She’s even hoping the new buyers of her Aspen Grove station will make some positive changes. 

That’s before she meets the attractive new general manager, Noah Drake, who is determined to repackage everything—including Breezy’s down-home delivery and casual, girl-next-door appearance that seems too

Pollyanna for him. He replaces her with a high-powered diva weathercaster and makes Breezy her off-screen assistant. 

With a flood of angry emails from the community, plummeting ratings, and incessant demands from the diva, it doesn’t take long for Noah to see which way the wind is blowing. 

Will the station survive the competitive clash between pride and precipitation? 

More importantly, can their blossoming attraction survive?

Note: This is a novella of about 170 pages.

***

This is a charming and sweet book about Breezy Jones, a meteorologist whose life is going great.  When things get turned upside-down, she has to turn inward to find what to do next.    I love the Click Flick Clique that ties this series together.  A cute, clean, happily-ever-after story.  

4/5 stars

My Story

by Elizabeth Smart, Chris Stewart

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published October 7th 2013 by St. Martin's Press

For the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime

On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life.

Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving.  Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served.

In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In  2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine.

***

I had mixed feelings approaching this book.  The few things I've heard from Elizabeth Smart have been so uplifting and inspiring.  I am truly amazed by her and really wanted to hear her story.  At the same time, I knew it would be heart-breaking.  She endured so many horrors but kept her faith and sanity throughout.  I was impressed that she didn't elaborate on all the details that others might have.  Overall, I found this to be uplifting and hopeful.  I hope this book brings increased awareness of abuse and neglect while inspiring people to do good in their communities and the world.

5/5 stars

Firebolt Virtual Tour

We are thrilled today to be part of the Firebolt Virtual Tour! Keep reading to see what I thought of the book, and learn a bit about the author!


Firebolt (The Dragonian Series, #1)
by Adrienne Woods

Published November 19, 2013
288 Pages

Dragons. Right. Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales, and sixteen-year old Elena Watkins was no different.
Until the night a fairy tale killed her father.
Now Elena’s in a new world, and a new school. The cutest guy around may be an evil dragon, a Prince wants Elena’s heart, and a long dead sorcerer may be waking up to kill her. Oh. And the only way Elena’s going to graduate is on the back of a dragon of her own.
Teenage girls don’t believe in fairy tales. Now it’s time for Elena to believe – in herself.

* * *

Honestly, as soon as I saw the cover I knew I had to read the book. Yep, that cool sword got me - I'm a sucker for swords. Maybe one of these days I should actually learn how to use a sword.......

Moving every three months, without explanation, rhyme, or reason. That's been Elena's life. All that is about to change, though, when her father is killed by an attacking dragon.

In this story, we've got your fish-out-of-water, girl-in-the-dark story when Elena learns she's been taken to a Bermuda Triangle world she cannot leave. Most of the people around her are, in fact, dragons. Great, I can easily take that in stride!

The book starts out quick-paced and attention-grabbing. After a little bit things slow down so Elena can try to dig out some answers - in between some of your typical high school drama. (Which, I admit, got a little tiresome here and there - there was just so much I felt could have been explored, but some of it got stunted in the HSDrama).

In the last part of the book, there are a series of tests that only Elena can face - there were some things in there I truly enjoyed.

I have to admit, this is not one of those books I couldn't walk away from for a bit - but I'm very curious to see where Ms. Woods will take us, along with Elena, next.

4/5 stars

* * *

About the Author


I was born and raised in South Africa, where I reside with my husband and two beautiful little girls till this day. I'm very passionate about my writing and my first novel Firebolt will be released the 20th November 2013. It's the first part of a four part series called The Dragonian Series. I'm planning to get the second part out next year same time.
 
When I'm not writing, I love to read and review other upcomming authors on my blog. I'm a host with a virtual tour company and I'm soon going to start reviewing for GMTA Publishers, who also will be publishing my series. Love, love, love my family, and wouldn't have been able to do any of this without their support.

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Invisible

Invisible
by Cecily Paterson

Kindle Edition, 270 pages

Published February 11th 2013

Jazmine Crawford doesn't make decisions. She doesn't make choices. She doesn't make friends. Jazmine Crawford only wants one thing: to be invisible. For Jazmine, it's a lot easier to take out her hearing aid and drift along pretending that nothing's wrong than it is to admit that she's heartbroken. She starts to come out of her shell when she's forced to be in the school play and even makes friends with bouncy Gabby and chocolate-loving Liam. But can she stand up to the school bully, and is she strong enough to face the truth about what really happened to her dad?

***

Wonderful story about a young girl who wants to be invisible.  This book is beautifully written and addresses many serious topics woven into a young girl's life.  Jazmine has many struggles as the book begins and really hasn't found a place where she fits. When she finds herself in a new situation, she begins to grow into herself and learns to stand up for who she's becoming.  I think many people can relate to Jazmine and even her mom.  Very well written!  

4/5 stars

Kissing Santa

Kissing Santa (A Christmas Street Romantic Comedy Novellas #2)
by Heather Horrocks

147 pages

Published May 25th 2013

PG-RATED FUN 

KISSING SANTA (A Christmas Street Romantic Comedy Novella #2)

It was supposed to be just an innocent kiss at a charity kissing booth—but it turned out to be fireworks. 

‘Volunteered’ to dress as Santa, firefighter Zeke Pepper is blown away by the kiss and feels he may have met The One, but school teacher Hannah Cooke is still trying to win back her high school sweetheart Jackson. 

When Zeke runs into Hannah on Christmas Street, they make a deal: In exchange for him making her ex jealous at a New Year’s Eve party, she agrees to go on three dates with Zeke.

It seems like her plan to win Jackson back is working perfectly—but Zeke has other plans. Could she be falling in love with the wrong firefighter?

***

Another fun installment in this series!  A sweet, quick read that made me smile!

3/5 stars

Bah, Humbug!

Bah, Humbug!  
(A Christmas Street Romantic Comedy Novellas #1)
by Heather Horrocks

Kindle Edition, A Romantic Comedy Novella, 96 pages

Published September 9th 2011 by Word Garden Press

Lexi Anderson is an up-and-coming, Martha Stewart-type TV hostess whose two kids love the Jared Strong adventure novels, which happen to be written by their new neighbor, Kyle Miller.

For the first time in his writing career, Kyle has writer's block - until he sees the snowman on his lawn and realizes this is the perfect place for his villain to hide the weapon. He digs into the snowman to discover two things: the weapon fits int he body just under the head, and the snowman was supposed to be the back drop for Lexi's next show.

From this improbable beginning comes friendship. Can there be more for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood?

Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

***

I loved this wintery story!  It's sweet and light-hearted, romantic and fun- I thoroughly enjoyed it!

4/5 stars

Last Off (A Novella)

by Laughton Chandler

Paperback, First Edition, 152 pages

Published April 15th 2013 by St. Ambrose Press (first published January 1st 2013)

Provided by the author in exchange for an honest opinion.

Four young stowaways — illegal passengers, below even the 3rd class — find themselves on the R.M.S. Titanic, the grandest ocean liner in the world on her maiden voyage. At first unknown to each other, hailing from four different countries, they begin to learn about each others’ pasts as they bide their time in the bowels of the ship, united in their hopes of making a new life in America. When disaster strikes, what will become of them? Who, if any, will be able to escape the epic tragedy Walter Lord described as ‘the death of a small town’?

***

I really like the idea of this book.  There have been so many stories about the Titanic that have focused on the upper class.   It was interesting to hear the story from the perspective of one much lower down- as far down as a stowaway, hidden away in the depths of the ship.  I really enjoyed the reading historical aspect from a different view.  The stowaways each have their story which helped bring them to life.  Some of the writing seemed a bit stiff to me which is why I couldn't quite give the book 4 stars.  That having been said, I think this book would be enjoyed by readers of all ages.  It's a great story!

3.5/5 stars

ASYLUM

Asylum
by Jenny E. Miller

ebook

Published March 25th 2013

This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

June Foster’s summer is limping along. Her life on a 1950′s farm in eastern Washington is boring–full of milking cows, picking apricots and tending to the chicken coops. Her only friends are her record player and her books. But when gorgeous, turquoise-eyed Frank falls into her world, her life becomes anything but ordinary.

June falls for Frank hard and fast–he’s beautiful, impossibly strong, and capable of things ordinary humans are not. But she’s wary about his father Jonas, a creepy man with an agenda. She should be. Suddenly June is deathly ill, falling in and out of consciousness. When she recovers, June and Frank discover Jonas’s deadly plans for her–and June takes revenge.

Convicted of murder, declared insane and sentenced to life at Washington Pines Sanitarium, June is stuck. Jonas’s plans are reaching her beyond the grave, and she suspects that there’s a lot more going on in the sanitarium than group therapy and electric shocks. Something evil has followed her here, or maybe it was waiting for her all along. If Frank doesn’t break her out soon, she’ll lose her mind–and her life.

***

I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book.  I thought I would like it but I didn't expect it to consume me the way it did.  I also didn't expect to wind up thinking about people, life and circumstances in different ways.   The story is interesting and unique.  I loved how June's perception slowly changes as she begins to question everything in her life.  As she discovers how different reality can be from perception, she also learns how circumstances can be manipulated to change reality.  There's a bit of everything in this book- humor, love, heartache, and more.  I really enjoyed it!

5/5 stars