Saturday, April 30, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Zoo
Friday, April 29, 2022
Review: Sand Dollar Lane by Sheila Roberts
A fun romance set in a small beach town is what you'll find in the latest Moonlight Harbor novel by Sheila Roberts.
Sand Dollar Lane features Lucy Holmes, a Seattle-based real estate broker working with her husband, until she catches him showering at one of their listings with another agent. Determined to start over, Lucy buys a house in Moonlight Harbor, a small beach town.
Brody Green has suffered through a divorce and being dumped by his fiancée. Even though he and Jenna remained friends, they still live in the same small town. Eager to make up for breaking off their engagement, Jenna is seeking the perfect woman for Brody.
The one thing Brody always has going for him is that he owns the one real estate office in town. That is until Lucy Holmes arrives and opens up her brokerage.
I have enjoyed this author's books for years. I rarely pass up an opportunity to participate in her virtual book tours. This read was a bit tough on the eyes since I used NetGalley on my phone, but it was worth every minute.
Roberts creates characters you love and want to spend time with. In Sand Dollar Lane, you can't help but feel sorry for poor Lucy, whose entire life is turned upside down by her husband Evan's indiscretion. And who can't understand how Brody feels watching the woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with marry someone else? It is a novel that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you root for the main characters to find lasting love.
What I truly enjoyed about this novel, however, is how well Roberts used multiple points of view to work through the subplots of the novel. Lucy and Evan's daughter Hannah brings a fresh and younger perspective to this women's novel. I don't want to spoil things, so I won't go into detail, but I loved her insight into her family's troubles and how big she dreams about her and her mother's futures.
Anything with a beach town setting is going to capture my attention, but Roberts' cast of town residents and their town events really made this a special story. As a real estate professional, I also appreciate that the author took the time to run details by an actual real estate broker. I despise when fictional real estate professionals do crazy things that would never be allowed.
If you enjoy small town romance, women's novels, or well-written stories told from multiple view points, you need to give Sand Dollar Lane by Sheila Roberts a try.
- Publisher : MIRA; Original edition (April 26, 2022)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 077838635X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0778386353
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Yes
Thursday, April 28, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Xena
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Alice Walker
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Vacation & Valued
Monday, April 25, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Unbeatable, Unlimited, & Unwavering
First Chapter Review: The Road to Me by Laura Drake
- Publisher : The Story Plant (April 19, 2022)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1611883253
- ISBN-13 : 978-1611883251
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Talent
Friday, April 22, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Safe
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Rebels
- Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique
- Barbara Walters, the first female co-host of a news show
- Maya Angelou, poet and Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner
- Sandra Day O'Connor, first female Supreme Court Justice
- Dr. Sally K Ride, first American woman to be sent into space
- Margaret Thatcher, first female British prime minister
- Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables
- Jo March, Little Women
- Laura Ingalls Wilder (also a real person), Little House on the Prairie
- Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games
First Chapter Review & Giveaway: They Called Him Marvin by Roger Stark
I received a digital copy of this book from the author through Pump Up Your Book. This biographical historical romance novel is set before and during World War II.
BLURB: They were just kids, barely not teenagers, madly in love and wanting to be a family, but WW2 got in their way. Three hundred ten days before Pearl Harbor, buck private Dean Sherman innocently went to church with a new friend in Salt Lake City. From that moment, the unsuspecting soldier travelled a remarkable, heroic path, falling in love, graduating from demanding training to become a B29 pilot, conceiving a son and entering the China, Burma and India theater of the WW2. He chronicled his story with letters home to his bride Connie that he met on that fateful Sunday, blind to the fact that fifteen hundred seventy-five days after their meeting, a Japanese swordsman would end his life.
Transferred to the Mariana Islands, he and his crew were shot down over Nagoya, Japan as part of Mission 174, captured and declared war criminals. Connie’s letters reveal life for a brand-new mother whose husband is declared MIA. The agony for both of them; he in a Japanese prison, declared a war criminal, and she just not knowing why his letters stopped coming.
COVER: Beautiful. The photograph of the Shermans along with the WWII era planes speaks to the subject, genre, and time period. Love the blue background.
FIRST CHAPTER: The author starts at the beginning--which in this story is the day Stan Carter met Private Dean Harold Sherman, took a shine to him, and invited him to church and for a visit to his girlfriend's house. Little did Dean know that he would meet his future wife in that church, and that a war they didn't know was brewing, would separate them forever.
KEEP READING: Definitely. I've got to be honest, I struggled with the mountain of information, characters, and events included in this first chapter, but once I got to the end of the chapter, I totally understood why the author opted to introduce the reader to Dean Harold Sherman this way. Thankfully, Roger Stark broke all the bits and pieces up into sections by date, so that helped me digest each part before moving on.
You can quickly tell that the subtitle of this book, "A History of Love, War, and Family" is appropriate. I like the intention behind it, since this allows the book to be of interest to those who enjoy some romance, those interested in WWII history, and those who like family sagas.
Even in this first chapter, Stark uses Connie Sherman's words to make this story come alive for the reader. Prior to the first chapter, the author indicates some scenes are taken from documents in the National Archives, while others are dramatizations based on historical research. Stark has also used the sixty-seven letters written by First Lieutenant Dean Sherman and Connie Sherman as inspiration.
I look forward to reading more of They Called Him Marvin.
- Publisher : Brigham Distributing (September 1, 2021)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0578855283
- ISBN-13 : 978-0578855288
- Purchase here!
BOOK GIVEAWAY!
Roger Stark is giving away three autographed copies of his book,
THEY CALLED HIM MARVIN!
Terms & Conditions:
- By entering the
giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
- Three winners will
be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one autographed paperback copy
of They Called Him Marvin
- This giveaway ends
midnight June 30.
- Winner will be
contacted via email on July 1.
- Winner has 48 hours
to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Quantum Leap
- "What Price Gloria? - October 16, 1961" - Sam leaps into the body of Samantha Stormer, an attractive secretary, who learns she was promoted because her creepy boss (Buddy) wants to sleep with her. Buddy is already having an affair with Samantha's roommate, Gloria. Though Buddy has told Gloria he will leave his wife, Sam knows he needs to convince her to break it off to avoid heartbreak and her eventual suicide.
- "Another Mother - September 30, 1981" - Sam leaps into the body of Linda Bruckner, a divorced mother of three. Sam must prevent her oldest son from running away and never being heard from again.
- "Miss Deep South - June 7, 1958" - As Darlene Monte, Sam enters a beauty pageant. Not only must he prevent a fellow contestant from posing for nude photos, he must make sure Darlene comes in third place. [This episode might not be as well received if it aired today.]
- "8½ Months - November 15, 1955" - Sam leaps into the body of a pregnant teenager. Her mother died and her father wants nothing to do with her. The child's father is off at college and wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. Unless Sam can convince her father to support Billie Jean, she will end up living a life of regret and searching for the child she gave up for adoption. [Not sure how well this one aged without watching it again.]
- "Raped - June 20, 1980" - Sam leaps into the body of rape victim Kate McBain. When he decides to press charges against the rapist, he discovers it will be hard to prove Kate's date raped her.
- "A Song for the Soul - April 7, 1963" - Sam leaps into the body of fifteen-year-old Cherea, an African-American singer who dreams of starting a group with her two friends. Sam and Al aren't in sync on why Sam is there. Sam believes it is to prevent one of Cherea's friends (Lynell) from running away. Sam thinks it is to improve Lynell's relationship with her father, who does not support her singing career.
- "Liberation - October 16, 1968" - When Sam leaps into the body of Margaret Sanders, he discovers she and her daughter were arrested at a women's lib rally. Margaret's activism puts a strain on her marriage, and Al fears the leader of the local women's movement will be shot unless she cancels the next rally.
- "Dr. Ruth - April 25, 1985" - If you were at least a teenager in the 80s, you will remember Dr. Ruth Westheimer. In this episode, Sam leaps into Dr. Ruth's body as she is in the middle of her call-in radio show giving advice to Annie Wilkins, who believes her boss is pressuring her to have sex.
- "Revenge of the Evil Leaper - September 16, 1987" - Sam leaps simultaneously with ex-Evil Leaper Alia. As Liz Tate, Sam finds himself with Alia in a female prison where they are accused of murdering a fellow inmate. Zoey, Alia's observer, manages to leap into the same place and time, so keeping Alia's location a secret from Zoey, who is the prison warden, is the main challenge.
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Possibilities
Congratulations!Today is your day.You're off to Great Places!You're off and away.
How much more successful could we be if we saw each day as starting off or continuing upon a great adventure?
Maybe we could be more like The Little Engine That Could. We take our next project and go at it one step at a time, focusing on our goal and believing we will achieve it, until we do.
How about being more like Anne of Green Gables? Anne Shirley had every reason to be upset about life. Living in orphanages, abused by foster parents, and when the first truly wonderful thing happens to her--she arrives at Green Gables--Miss Cuthbert tells her they can't keep her because she isn't a boy. But Anne goes on do amazing things--attending college, teaching at a private school, writing a book--all because she had a huge imagination and knew what she wanted.
Well, that is all fiction, right? Let's talk about Edwin C. Barnes, a man with no money and little education, who went on to become Thomas Edison's partner. You can read about Barnes in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, but here is a glimpse from the movie.
Don't ever make decisions based on fear. Make decisions based on hope and possibility. Make decisions based on what should happen, not what shouldn't.
Monday, April 18, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Opportunity
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Next
Friday, April 15, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Mom
- Teenage mom
- Unwed mom
- Single mom
- Stay-at-home mom
- Working mom
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Listening
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Kindness
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Blogging from A to Z 2022 - Joy
Monday, April 11, 2022
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Apr 11
It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.