Review: The Nation's Daughter by Valerie Maarten

The Nation's Daughter by Valerie Maarten

*I received this ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon Product Description:
After the cruel and brutal murder of Little Summer James a Nation takes up her cause to see that the person they hold responsible pays.

But when the judicial system let them all down by setting her killer free, the days are numbered for Autumn James...a baby-killer.


My thoughts:
Valerie Maarten has created dynamic characters.  She has given them personalities and qualities that make you like them or hate them from the start.  The story is short, but not an easy read.  The topic is the death of a small child and so there is nothing light and fluffy about this story.  The characters struggle with a variety of ideals throughout the story.  They are struggling with:  beliefs, the courage to defend those beliefs, the decision of innocence or guilt, and what to do when you find yourself not where you planned to be.
I was amazed by the number of characters that felt they had, by some action or verbal interaction, played a part in Summer's death.  I was equally amazed by their unwillingness to do anything about it.
The one theme that I found endearing was friendship/love.  What would you be willing to do for someone that you loved?
This was not my favorite story, the subject matter made  it a hard read.  I liked the book, the story was intriguing and moved along without getting lost in random, unnecessary details or fillers.   I was broken hearted by Autumn's callous behavior, and shocked by it at the same time.

If you like a quick thriller - check this one out!

Review: Her Dear and Loving Husband by Meredith Allard

Her Dear and Loving Husband by Meredith Allard

***I received this ebook in exchange for an honest review and participation in the virtual blog tour.

Amazon Product Description:
James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties anywhere. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it is years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on. Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?
My thoughts:
So...Sarah moves to Salem after her divorce and meets James, who ends up being so much more than just the man from her dreams.
I really enjoyed this story.  I was instantly drawn to Sarah, I automatically related to her desire to start her life over.  The storyline was original and refreshing, as well as wonderfully paced and beautifully written.  We get a little bit of everything paranormal ~ past lives, psychics, witches, vampires.  Add to that mystery and romance.  Couple all that with fantastic characters, and you have a story that's hard to put down. 

Blog Tour: Her Dear and Loving Husband by Meredith Allard (Giveaway too!)

This Virtual Book Tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

You can see the entire tour schedule by clicking HERE.

You can see my review by clicking HERE.

Welcome to the Wormhole and my day on the tour!

It is my pleasure to welcome Meredith Allard!

Author Bio:

Meredith Allard is the author of Her Dear & Loving Husband and the executive editor of The Copperfield Review, a journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. Her short fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The Paumanok Review, Muse Apprentice Guild, Wild Mind, Moondance, and Writer's Weekly. She has taught writing to students aged 10 to 60, and she has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction at Learning Tree University and UNLV. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.

She has graciously written a guest post 

for the readers of The Wormhole!

I have been writing novels for about ten years now, and I love writing historical fiction. That’s the genre I’ve been most associated with, and I wasn’t looking to change until I had the idea for my vampire novel. While Her Dear & Loving Husband has historical elements from the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, it was my first venture into paranormal fiction. I’m glad I took the plunge into this rich, imaginative genre.

Before, all my stories, while fictional, were entirely realistic. The characters could really exist, and the facts about the historical times they lived in were painstakingly researched. While I always relied on my imagination to write my novels, my previous stories were limited by the physical realities of our world. When I began writing paranormal fiction, I discovered a whole new freedom that allowed me to write whatever my imagination could conjure. Even if it’s not possible in our real world, it’s possible in this paranormal world my characters and I created. As most fiction writers will tell you, at a certain point in the writing process the characters take over and tell their own stories their own way. When that happens I find it’s best if I just sit back and take dictation. And when I let my paranormal characters do the talking, there are no limits to where the story can go. Fantasy, flights of fancy— that’s what I was missing in my earlier books.

By writing a paranormal fantasy I was able to write about a vampire who has been alive for 349 years, and he has seen American history from its beginnings in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was able to write about witches who can shatter glass at the snap of their fingers or light a roomful of candles with the wave of a hand. Ghosts can reappear from the past to reunite with loved ones. And a werewolf can cross party lines to adopt a vampire son. I can let my imagination soar even higher as I write the next two books in the series. I get to explore this supernatural world in more depth, and I’m looking forward to the process.

I had been closed off to the paranormal genre before. I thought to write something meaningful it had to be real—as in it could really happen. But now I realize that imagination can be powerful. Even as an adult, it’s good to explore the realm of what’s possible and enjoy some fantasy now and again. It’s fun to play those childhood games of “What if?” again. That’s why I love writing paranormal fiction. 

And now for that giveaway:

There is one more tour stop today: Oct 6 Guest Blog

Bending the Spine- Spooking the Spine Halloween Event

And the next stop is: 

Oct 7 Review

http://bookofsecretsblog.com

You can buy your own copy by clicking one of these links:
Amazon or Smashwords or Goodreads
Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole.
Happy Reading.

Review: The Vampire Way by Derek Clendening

The Vampire Way by Derek Clendening

Amazon Product Description:
Eighteen year old Rick Thompson is a marked man. When Damien Masonite comes to his school, he knows something is up. And when his friends start falling to vampire attacks, he knows that he and his girlfriend Laura are next. The quest to understand immortality, true love and undying friendship compromise his safety even more. Can he keep his best friends, his true love and keep his mortal life? 


My thoughts:
This is a new look at vampires and the question of immortality.  I enjoyed the questions that the characters seem to be asking throughout the story about love, friendship, the meaning of life, and of course what is to be immortal.  I liked the relationships between the characters, but I felt that they were less realistic than what could have be created with such great questions being asked.  I did however appreciate the attempts that John was making to reevaluate and change his relationship with Tracy from that of teenagers to one of mature adults where they could talk about and work through problems and set backs.  I was pleased that Rick found peace and closure, although hard won, in his dealings with John and Tracy.  I was sad to find myself disliking Damien so much, I usually like the vampire in the stories that I read.  I was excited that Bobby survives and finds himself on the road to recovery, from his own sense of worthlessness as well as from his vampire encounters.  I was thrilled that Rick and Laura are able to remain mortal and get on with their lives; having found the answers they had been seeking about themselves, each other, immortality, love and the power of friendship.  The story doesn't flow as smoothly as I had hoped it would, but the plot is fairly intriguing.  I think that if the book had been longer it would have been an opportunity for the author to flesh out the characters and smooth the edges a bit more.  Although this isn't my favorite vampire story, I look forward to more books by Derek Clendening....I believe the best is yet to come.

Blog Tour: A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron (Giveaway too!)

The Book Blog Tour is presented by Teddy Rose and .......

The next stop on the tour is: Mia Pragmatic Mom  on Oct. 5

You can get to my review by clicking HERE.

You can buy a copy of this amazing story by clicking HERE or HERE.

You can enter for a chance to win by filling out the form at the end of this post!

Welcome to The Wormhole and the kick off post for the blog tour for A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron!

I am pleased to bring you a guest post:

                                                  

 Puck’s Purpose

I read a lot. And not surprisingly, I read a lot of books about dogs. My favorite dog story this year is A Dog’s Purpose, by W. Bruce Cameron. In Cameron’s charming story, a dog goes through several lives exploring what his particular purpose is.

This made me think about the first dog we had when I was a child. He was a beagle from a distinguished line of hunting dogs. He was big for his breed and smart as they come. My uncle, who was a passionate hunter, bought him with high expectations of what Puck would be. My uncle also loved the plays of Shakespeare, so he named the dog Puck. Puck’s purpose was clear: he would be a fine hunting dog. My uncle, who loved training hunting dogs as much as the hunting itself, began Puck’s education. Everything went fine. Until the first time Puck heard the shotgun.  He screamed in terror and took off as fast as his young beagle legs would carry him, which was pretty darned fast.  Try as he might, my uncle could not convince Puck his purpose was to be a gun dog.

When my uncle left for medical school, he gave Puck to us. I was four years old, my sister seven.  My mother loved dogs and my father loved every living thing. He was not a hunter. Puck quickly proved himself to be a wonderful nanny. We lived in a small beach town in Florida. Whenever we wanted to go anywhere with our friends without our parents, the rule was we had to take Puck. And not only did we have to take Puck, we had to mind him! If we tried to cross a street Puck deemed too busy, he’d block our way until the coast was clear. Twice he protected us from snakes. Once my sister cut her foot so badly she couldn’t walk home. Puck ran to our house, alerted my father, and led him to where my sister way. Lassie had nothing on Puck.

Several years later, when I was eight, my mother, sister and I had to move away. My father had died and my mother was left trying to support us. Where we were moving we couldn’t take Puck. Heartbroken, we gave Puck to my father’s parents who loved him every bit as much as we did. But what would Puck do without his girls to look after, we wondered.

Puck’s new purpose was to look after my grandparents. My grandfather Bill worked as an auto mechanic about a mile from the house. Every morning, Puck walked with my grandfather to work, hung out with the men while they drank coffee, ate their morning donuts, indulged in small-town gossip, then he’d come home. He’d accompany my grandmother as she did her errands. Everyone in town knew Puck. Then, in the late afternoon, he’d walk back to the garage and walk home with my grandfather Bill.  As the years passed, my grandmother’s eyes grew worse and she became very nervous about the stairs that led from their apartment above a garage down to the outside. Puck would gently take her wrist in his mouth and slowly walk her down the stairs. After my grandfather suffered a stroke, he was paralyzed on his left side. Puck was with him every step of the way as my grandfather re-learned to walk and use his left hand.

Puck lived to a ripe old age. The whole town grieved, though, when he died. For years after, people talked about what a fine dog he was, even if he wasn’t cut out for his original “purpose.” I think like a lot of folks, Puck had a purpose deep inside him that had nothing to do with what others thought he should be. Puck’s purpose was to love and protect his family every day of his life. And that’s exactly what he did.

Now - the giveaway!  Open to continental US and Canada only (sorry)  - - you don't need to be a follower, but I would love it if you wanted to.  You must be at least 13 years old to enter.  

The prize is a print copy of A Dog's Way Home.

The book will be sent by the author or tour presenter - the giveaway ends on 10/12/11.

Please fill out the form below:

Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!  Happy Reading!

Review: A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

A Dog's Way Home by Bobbie Pyron

*I got this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review and participation in the book blog tour. (I am sooooo glad I did!).

Amazon Product Description:

Daddy says, "Most folks got a north star in their life—something that gives their life extra meaning. Mine is music."
Without even thinking, I say, "Mine is Tam."

Abby knows that Tam, her Shetland sheepdog, is her north star, and she's pretty certain she's his, too. But when an accident separates Abby and Tam, it feels as though all the stars have fallen out of the sky and nothing will ever be right again. As the days between them turn to weeks, then months, dangers and changes fill up Abby's and Tam's lives. Will they ever find their way home to each other?
Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, A Dog's Way Home is an unforgettable tale of the many miles, months, and mountains that divide two loyal friends—but that can't possibly keep them apart.

My thoughts:  Holy wow!  Where to start?  I truly LOVED this book!  

Bobbie Pyron is a gifted storyteller.  This story is beautifully written.  

The book itself is a reader's dream: the cover is wonderful, the print is easy to read with enough white space on the pages to be encouraging even though it's a "fat" book by a sixth graders point of view.  The characters are realistic, the language is straight forward and easy to understand.  The names aren't tricky or hard to pronounce, the storyline draws you in from the first page, and it's fast paced enough to keep you turning the pages without ever getting lost. 
          I sat down with every intention of reading for a little while and then getting some things done before coming back to the book.  That didn't happen.  I sat down with Bobbie's book and was "in" after opening the cover.  I didn't leave the couch or close the book until I turned the last page, with tears streaming down my cheeks.  
          I am a dog lover.  I have two dogs of my own and two "grand"dogs.  I fell in love with Tam and Abby on the first pages.  The bond between a girl and her dog is an amazing thing and Bobbie Pyron has captured it's very essence on the pages of her story.  
          I enjoyed how the chapters alternated between Abby and Tam so we were able to get both perspectives throughout the book.  I loved the similarities in the experiences that each had in their journey, such as Tam and Abby both making unlikely friends who played key roles in the final outcome.  I found it intriguing that there was so much about "Home" and what that meant.  Many of the characters were searching as hard as Tam was for what they felt "home" was.
          The characters are fantastic.  The author has carefully created incredibly memorable characters.  She has made them believable, realistic and easy to relate to.  She has developed them so vividly that I was able to easily see them in my mind as I read the words.  Each one stands strong - with their ideas, values, and beliefs at the forefront of who they are.  I found myself relating the characters to people in my own life that fit into those same roles.  I can't say there is a single character in the story that I don't like.  (aside from the trapper and the man with the rifle, okay - the few who show up once and are mean to the dog - I don't like them).  
          I enjoyed all them all so much that I find myself hard pressed to pick a favorite character.  Usually this is easy for me when I read a book, but this time it was hard.  I like Ian's "North Star" analogy, and I loved that later Meemaw explains that dreams change and sometimes wanting something for so long doesn't mean getting it is always the answer.  I had tears in my eyes when Abby's mom told her she was her "North Star."  I especially liked Olivia though.  She seems wise beyond her years, reminding me of my sister.  Two of my favorite parts of the book come from her. 

(from page 32) Then she looked directly into my eyes.  "My mom often said love creates miracles."  And that was all Olivia had to say about that.  And it was all I needed to hear.

(from page 125) ...My papa used to always say the earth only spins one way: forward.

          The relationships between the characters are incredible.  So much nuance and hidden meaning.  There is a message in the book that comes through on almost every page, but isn't blatant.  It leaves the reader to discover what it all means to them as an individual.  

                    The story is one about a girl and her lost dog, but is in so many ways so much more than that.  It is a story of hope, courage, fear, longing, believing, and love.  It is a deep and touching story with more meaning than you would ever imagine by just looking at the cover, or even reading the blurb.  

          To be honest, while I would have readily handed it this to any of my students asking about a dog book, I would have told myself to add it to my reading stack and one day if I had time I would have read it.  I am so very, very pleased that I was approached by Teddy Rose and asked to read and review A Dog's Way Home because if not, I would have missed out on an amazing and inspiring story.