Where Winter Finds You: A Caldwell Christmas (Black Dagger Brotherhood #17.5)

Where Winter Finds You(Black Dagger Brotherhood #17.5) by J.R. Ward

Narrated by Jim Frangione
9 hours, 37 minutes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Summary:

#1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward is heating things up this winter with a holiday novel featuring some of her most iconic Black Dagger Brothers.

When Trez lost his beloved to a tragic death (The Shadows, Black Dagger Brotherhood #13), his soul was crushed and his destiny seemed relegated to suffering. But when he meets a mysterious female, he becomes convinced his true love has been reincarnated. Is he right? Or has his grief created a disastrous delusion?
Therese has come to Caldwell to escape a rift with her bloodline. The revelation that she was adopted and not born into her family shakes the foundations of her identity, and she is determined to make it on her own. Her attraction to Trez is not what she's looking for, except the sexy Shadow proves to be undeniable.
Has fate provided a grieving widower with a second chance...or is Trez too blinded by the past to see the present for what it really is? In this sensual, arresting book full of the themes of redemption and self-discovery, two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads where the heart is the only compass that can be trusted...but that may require a courage that neither of them possesses.

My Review:

In the words of Lassiclaus "I'm a sucker for true love, what can I say." Lassiter performs his first miracle in Where Winter Finds You with the reincarnation of Selene. Trez Latimer's Shellan.
Therese learns the truth that she is adopted. She was left on her adoptive parents' doorstep by Lassiter when she was a baby.

Fate and all that jazz will have these two souls meet again.

My Review of Shadow of the Fox

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Narrated by: Joy Osmanski, Brian Nishii, Emily Woo Zeller 👍👌
Length: 14 Hours and 45 Minutes
Kindle Edition, 416 pages
Published October 2nd, 2018 by Harlequin Teen, Harlequin Audio
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Shadow of the Fox is amazing! I love Yumeko-san the Kitsune. Kitsune is a Fox with magic abilities that mostly trick people into seeing things that aren't there. They are demon like but Yumeko isn't a bad kitsune, she doesn't use her powers to harm anyone. She is useful.
The books intrigue begins and ends on a mysterious note surrounding a very young and seemingly ordinary servant girl named Suki, who lived and died in the royal palace chambers of Lady Sitome, the king's concubine, who is also a powerful blood witch. In fact, she kills Suki for insubordination. Now Suki is a ghost aka a Yurei, who sticks around for reasons unknown, probably because she wasn't ready to die, and she wants vengeance on Lady Sitome. It appears the ghost succeeds when the very same handsome flute player she meets, in the beginning, ends up stabbing Lady Sitome in the heart. I thought Shadow of the Fox was so well written, I never saw that coming.

The story takes us on a journey of sorts with Yumeko-sans being entrusted with a piece of a Dragon's Prayer in the form of a small scroll. It is an important piece of paper because Legend has it, that every one thousand years, a mortal is given the opportunity to summon the Dragon and ask to grant 3(?) wishes for good or bad, only the person's heart has to be pure, otherwise the dragon will tear its soul to shreds. Or something like that lol.
There are evil beings who are trying to find the 3 parts of the Dragons Prayer for themselves as well.

Anyway, Yumeko is given specific instructions by her Monk Master to find a certain man in the feather temple in a city far away. He will give her what information she needs, and where to take the scroll. I can't remember the exact names and places off the top of my head, so you just have to bear with me :)

Yumeko encounters lots of trouble with weird creatures who would kill and destroy her. She knows she is being followed. She also meets a couple of travelling companions, who unbeknownst to each other have their own agenda for accompanying Yumeko along her way. Her companions are quite remarkable and if I am not mistaken one of them is the flute player guy that Suki met? I could be wrong. I haven't checked but I am almost certain he is.

Kiss of Venom (Owen's POV) Kindle Novella #8.5

Kiss of Venom by Jennifer Estep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The New York Times bestselling Elemental Assassin series continues with a new e-novella—from the hero’s point of view! Owen Grayson is bound and determined to get Gin back...if her enemies don’t get her first. When you have a history of dating an assassin, a night out on the town can turn deadly—fast. Owen Grayson is still wracked with guilt over the end of his love affair with Gin Blanco, and there aren’t enough gin and tonics in all of Ashland to ease his heartache. But when Gin happens to show up at the same nightclub, he isn’t the only one hoping to get her alone. Some shadowy figures will do anything to take down the Spider, Gin’s assassin alter ego, and Owen will do anything to protect her. This could be the way to win her back, or at least give her a night off from fighting for her life—if Owen can survive...

Elemental Assassin Series

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My Thoughts:

Owen Grayson is reminiscent about how he failed to protect his relationship with Gin and how awful he feels for betraying her. Sitting in Northern Aggression with a friend, He wants to redeem himself and doesn't know how to go about it with Gin, until he overhears a giant and a dwarf in the men's bathroom. They were talking about Gin and how they were going to kill her.
For the love of Gin, Owen commits to taking these two guys out to try to stop them.
Owen feels guilty for ever believing Salina Dubois, and it steers him in the right direction to make things right with Gin again.

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Skin Game: The Dresden Files #15

SKIN GAME by Jim Butcher

Genre, Urban fantasy
Hardcover, 454 pages
Published May 27th 2014 by Roc Hardcover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harry Dresden is stuck on the Island of Demonreach situated somewhere in the middle of Lake Michigan, reluctant to get off because of that 'thing' living inside his brain, he spends his time getting in shape ; chasing monsters. So far, we don't know what this 'parasite' is we heard so much about in Cold Days, that is causing Harry so much pain but it will kill him if he doesn't get it out and the only one who can help, is of course Mab Monroe, the queen of faery; except he hasn't seen her in well over a year.

When she arrives out of the blue one day, Harry fears she wants something, naturally. She doesn't come bearing gifts, but tells him to put on an earring meant to keep the creature at bay and relieve his suffering and to come with her immediately. I am worried about the assignment that's in store for Harry. Agh!

Mab uses Harry to pay off a debt she owes Nicodemus Archleone that forces him to work alongside the Denarians in performing a bank heist, and the bank vault belongs to Hades, the greek god of the underworld. Oh Snap! The team travels to the underworld via Marcone's vault.

Book Characters

•  The team includes Nicodemus' daughter Deirdre(bad), Goodman Grey(good guy), Binder(greedy but good), Anna Valmont(good), Hannah Ascher(bad), Genoskwa(bad), and, at Harry's insistence, Karrin Murphy(good). You do not want to mess with Genoskwa. He's ugly and eats goats for breakfast and Harry learns a very painful lesson in keeping his mouth shut around this guy. Other characters are Nicodemus' wife, Polonius Lartessa, usually called Tessa Dr. Waldo Butters. I was disappointed that Bob the Skull didn't make much of an appearance. :(. Harry could've used him on more than one occasion. We see Michael Carpenter fighting alongside Harry again. Molly appears at the end for a bit. Harry's daughter, Maggie plays more of a role, however, that spirit thing that inhabited Harry's brain? Harry's pregnant? what? what was that all about? That was wierd. I didn't understand even though it felt like a major plot theme of a future book that began in Cold Days .

Favorite Scene Quote 

“Do you know my dog's name? [...] 
"It is from an ancient word, kerberos. It means 'spotted.'" I blinked. 
"You're a genuine Greek god. You're the Lord of the Underworld. And . . . you named your dog *Spot*?

About Jim Butcher

Jim Butcher is the author of the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and a new steampunk series, the Cinder Spires. His resume includes a laundry list of skills which were useful a couple of centuries ago, and he plays guitar quite badly. An avid gamer, he plays tabletop games in varying systems, a variety of video games on PC and console, and LARPs whenever he can make time for it. Jim currently resides mostly inside his own head, but his head can generally be found in his home town of Independence, Missouri.
Jim goes by the moniker Longshot in a number of online locales. He came by this name in the early 1990′s when he decided he would become a published author. Usually only 3 in 1000 who make such an attempt actually manage to become published; of those, only 1 in 10 make enough money to call it a living. The sale of a second series was the breakthrough that let him beat the long odds against attaining a career as a novelist.
All the same, he refuses to change his nickname.

http://www.jim-butcher.com/

His Fair Assassin #2

DARK TRIUMPH by Robin LaFevers

Audio CD
Narrated by: Angela Goethals
Series: His Fair Assassin, Book 2
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know we had only a few glimpses of Sybella in Grave Mercy but I saw her more like a badass who was a little on the crazy side.

So far , Dark Triumph's Sybella is rather mature and ...normal as in ladylike :( She's very cautious and fearful of D'Albret too. She seems fearful of men in general which is another reason I am sorta turned off.I hate when a character turns out disappointing. I hope that changes as she reveals herself more. I was under the impression that the Assassins of St. Mortain all hated men ,but Sybella has Julien at her door constantly AND Sybella doesn't have the backing or support of the Convent like Esmae did.

Instead of punching Julien in the face I guess she's wise to play along having to watch her steps in her father's house. I am hoping the story will start getting interesting now that she breaks 'Beast' out of the dungeon.

Nothing too exciting happens with them until near the end of the book. Even though they both seem to be falling for each other they don't tell each other that until after all of Sybella's secrets are revealed, and boy what a load of secrets she has! I can't say I liked the ending because the story leaves it open ended where we will have to wait for the next one ....Mortal Heart.

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The Professional: Game Maker Part 1

The Professional: Part 1 by Kresley Cole

Published December 16th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrated by: Kimberly Alexis
Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Joke him if he can't take a fuck."

Natalie Porter lives a simple life in Lincoln Nebraska. Her ability to 'manalyze' is something she takes pride in and for that matter the reason she's still a virgin. At 24 she still hasn't found the right one. Adopted at an early age , now a College student looking to get her masters degree and find her biological parents, she hires a private investigator from Russia named Zironoff . She never hears from him and he never answers her emails.

While out drinking with her friend Jess, Mafiya enforcer Aleksei Sevastyan catches her eyes. Although Natalie may be good at analyzing men , she has a hard time assessing this guy and fails at coming on to him. Sevastyan didn't play by her games because he makes the rules.

Natalie didn't know he had been 'watching over her' for the past month and was hired by her real father, head of The Bratva (Russian Mafia) Pavel Kovalev, to be her bodyguard.

Rejected, alone and frustrated Natalie goes back to her house admitting there was something about that man. Thinking about him touching her while she takes a bath, suddenly is he standing in her bathroom doorway and she screams. He tells her to get dressed, pack a suitcase, cause he's taking her on a plane to Russia and those were his orders. I imagine Natalie wanted to call the cops because a strange man had broken into her house and was going to kidnap her but she doesn't do that. All she wants are answers and as soon as he mentions her father I guess that opened the channels of curiosity. She does get the wrong impression of her father though, but she was going to see for herself soon enough even if Sevastyan had to haul her over his shoulder. Being close to him like that was just one of the many perks she would enjoy besides being lavished with expensive clothes and jewelry.

When she runs from the car, he warns her that "If you run, I will catch you. It's what I do". On the plane she discovers how dominating Sevastyan is and how much it turns her on. Of course Sevastyan is very good at dishing out punishment but he doesn't want to hurt her .
I already knew Kresley Cole could write hot sexy romance novels but in The Professional we see the very dark and hard kind of erotic romance not intended for younger minds. I truly am lovin this series.

The Professional: Part 2

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About the Author:

Kresley Cole is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the electrifying Immortals After Dark paranormal series and the young adult Arcana Chronicles. Since her first novel was released in 2003, Kresley has published twenty-one books with Simon & Schuster and has seen her releases translated into seventeen foreign languages. She has traveled over much of the world and draws from those experiences to create her memorable characters and settings. Two of her favorite places to visit include the rain forests of Central America and the Queensland area of Australia. Cole’s trademark action, sensuality, and humor are exemplified in her popular Immortals After Dark Series, which revolves around the Lore, a secret stratum of hundreds of immortal creatures–ranging from Vampires to Lykae, Furies to Shifters, and Fey to Valkyrie–that each have their strengths, weaknesses, and age old prejudices against the others. Though they secretly live among humans, they constantly war among themselves, which gives her a lot of material. In 2007, Kresley won the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for best paranormal for her novel A Hunger Like No Other, and in January 2009, she became a #1 New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller with her sixth IAD installment, Kiss of a Demon King. In 2010, Kiss of a Demon King earned Kresley her second RITA award. 2011 brought Cole her second #1 NYT bestseller with Dreams of a Dark Warrior. In 2013, Kresley won a third RITA for Shadow’s Claim and was inducted as only the 14th member of the RWA Hall of Fame. She lives in Florida with her husband and far too many animals. She spends any free time traveling and enjoys all things related to boats and water.

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Review: Stephen King's 11.22.63

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Hardcover: 849 pages

Audiobook

Narrated by: Craig Wasson
Length: 30 hrs and 44 mins 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't know what I was thinking when I picked this book up because I strongly detest politics and the size of the book would be a challenge for any reader, however despite the amount of words, I was surprised to find out it was about time travel and a bit of romance. Lucky for me Stephen King knows how to write and I didn't have to read it myself because I had the audiobook.

I admit to thinking Jake Epping was very stubborn when he should've listened to the green card man. Initially all he wanted to do was to go back in time to save a student who'd wrote an impressing A+ paper. The day that changed Harry Dunning's life was on a Halloween night long ago when his dad came home drunk, and killed his whole family with a sledgehammer. Also at the request of a friend who was dying, Al Templeton sent him on a mission to prevent JFK from being assassinated.

After 5 grueling years as George Amberson in the land of ago (the past), he finally kills Lee Harvey Oswald BEFORE he could kill JFK, thereby saving the presidents life and nullifying the past as we know it. BUT he also changed the future in ways he could not have imagined. Now, he had to reset the past by going through the porthole again which would fix the future from the nuclear disaster he'd stepped back into after the president fiasco. Making it a total of 5 times he had to go through the rabbithole.

"You need to go back now, Jake." He spoke gently. "You need to go back and see exactly what you've done. What all your hard and no doubt well-meaning work has accomplished"

George Amberson thought he'd created the nuclear disaster and he was right, but I was glad the green card man didn't pass judgement on him and told George what he'd have to do AND how to fix things. But noooo he wanted to save Sadie, again, (stubborn bastard) because he loved her and couldn't let her die. It bothered me that he would risk fucking up the world and everybody in it, including Sadie's. He didn't know if he would even save her when all was said and done cuz the world would never be the same and like the green card man had told him "Reality itself" would be destroyed.

Thanks to this book I probably never would've known about the real events leading up to 11/22/63 or about Lee Harvey Oswald and it was sad to know these events ever happened. It made for a strange experience to read in a fiction novel

I am glad I read it though.

Favorite quote 

If there is love, smallpox scars are as pretty as dimples.

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A Walking Disaster Review

Walking Disaster
(Beautiful #2)
by Jamie McGuire

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Listening to Walking Disaster from Travis' point of view made it an entirely different but oblique 'clusterfuck' of a love story. I really liked Emma Galvin's voice of Travis in Beautiful Disaster but in Walking Disaster Dan Bittner's sheds light on Travis in a new way. Travis Maddox had to fight hard and love harder if he was going to win the only girl he'd ever want. If I were Travis I would've walked away miles before he did. I guess the difference is he had a lot more courage and strength to persevere through the heartache and torment Abby put him through. Ugh! My thoughts about Abby? I gotta hand it to her for being a straight poker faced bitch (I'd love to poke her face in) and for playing miss hard-to-get for as long as she did.

However, Travis knew there was something about Abby Abernathy the moment he saw her. She was his pigeon after all and she was the infamous Lucky 13 that Abby tried very hard to hide from everyone at Eastern University. Only her best friend America knew her secrets. When the boilers had failed in their dorm rooms Abby and America decide to stay at Shepley's and Travis' apartment for a couple of days. Shepley is America's boyfriend and Travis' cousin. Anyway Abby had tried to play her role down by wearing frumpy clothes assuming she would turn Travis off because she really didn't want to impress him, a sexy man-whore.

Desperate to keep her there, Travis comes up with the perfect solution and makes a deal that if he won the next Circle fight without a touch from his opponent, she would have to stay for a month. Little did he know Abby was an expert gambler so she readily accepts the bet, thinking if she wins he would have to stay celibate for the next month. She loses the bet and is forced to stay. This scenario was also written in Beautiful Disaster from Abby's point of view.

I blame Abby for ruining everything though by keeping her background a secret. A past like hers would be near impossible to walk away from and she was only fooling herself if she thought she could be anything other than who she really was. Meeting Travis may not have been what she wanted but ultimately they were perfect for each other, and Travis wasn't all that hopeless. I mean in spite of himself he'd still loved his mother right? and he also honored his father, so at least he knew what love was, unlike Abby who didn't know her mother and hated her father.

A few lines like these show how hard he had to fight for her:

Travis to Abby :"I wanted you there with me, Pidge. You're my good luck charm."
"I'm not your anything." She glared up at me.
My eyebrows pulled in and I stopped midstep. "You're my everything." - page 368

"You can't tell me what to do anymore, Travis! I don't belong to you!" ... "Well, I belong to you!." - page 374-375

That was right before she professes how she always loved him and they were never really apart and she promises to never leave him and just like that she's forgiven. He spoiled her but this love story was such a good distraction that I couldn't put it down for long. I adored Travis but he just couldn't live without Abby *sighs*

Walking Disaster also has a better Epilogue. Loved.It. If you've read both books then you'll not want to miss A Beautiful Wedding (Beautiful #2.5)

Cold Days: Review & Audio

Cold Days by Jim Butcher

I was impressed at how far the author had taken the character Harry Dresden from his initial first book.

I really like James Marsters narrating and I love paranormal fantasy books!

Harry Dresden is a supernatural hero. In Cold Days he has to save not just Chicago from an all out apocalypse but the whole world. He is the Winter Knight and works for Mab the Queen of Air and darkness of Arctis Tor now. He also has a special relationship with The Island called Demonreach . Somehow he is made the WARDEN of a prison there. I guess a curse was set to happen here and the prison was going to explode and the bad guys would be released on the city of Chicago unless Harry can stop it. The Island's 'WELL' was created by Merlin . Anyway Maeve, Mab's daughter, is a wicked bitch , and Harry is ordered to kill her.

Harry does an excellent job at making me laugh. He was hilarious inside the mountain talking to Demonreach Lol! ...something about a parasite inside Harry's brain. ya. gulp. It seems like he might turn evil. Even his girlfriend Karrin talks about important negative "factors" about their relationship and how even if he does turn "bad" she will follow him to hell if she has to. awwww ain't that sweet.

I loved the tiny character Toot-toot and Bob, the talking skull, and Lacuna. She seemed so sweet to me :p. Harry's old friends like Mac the bartender was back and Thomas his vampire brother.

All in all it was a fun fast and exciting read and you should read the entire series :)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You Suck - A Love Story

You Suck by Christopher Moore

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hardcover Edition

I own a copy

Review
ell as you pretty much guessed , it's about vampires . The story is a little quirky , humorous and it flowed pretty fast, I couldn't put it down. What I liked about the book was the dialogue. Nobody would understand a life of a vampire more than a stoner . "I wonder if Christopher Moore did a lot of drugs in his days?" the thought crossed my mind :P
Anyway , I noticed a few spelling errors , which is a crime , I know, but if you aren't a grammar nazi you would still appreciate reading it. What I didn't think I liked were vampires; but it turns out they aren't so bad and they have needs just like everyone else : hunger mostly . Some of them only drink the blood of sick or dying people so..., since they're sick and dying anyway ....... as long as they don't go around killing the innocent , healthy ones , it's tolerable imo.

The two main characters , Jody and Tommy love each other. She turned vampire first by some 800 year old guy, who was the creepiest character of them all , Elijah Ben Sapir. He hadn't recruited anybody in over 100 years and so Jody turns her boyfriend into a vampire . OMG the story !

There was also this goth chick named Abby who Tommy had hired to be a 'go getter' someone who could do things for them during the day ; like rent a place for them to move and feed some old Man Williams cat . THE CAT! Thank god they didn't kill the cat :D

This book has two of the shortest chapters I've ever had the pleasure of reading

Chapter 2
The Last Poop

So that was it?"
"Yep."
"Never again?"
"Nope."
"Not ever?"
"Nope."
"I feel like I should save them or something."
"Would you just flush and come out of there."

Chapter 11
Then, When They Woke Up

"Oh my God, that stuff turned me completely orange."
"Not completely."
"I look like the Great Pumpkin."
"Good grief, Tommy, you do not."

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Ellen Degeneres Seriously....I'm Kidding

Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ellen Degeneres on Social Skills page 138...
" Think about what cavemen had to go through when they wanted to write something down. They had to chisel it into stone. It probably took hours just to write " Dear Krog. Going out for bread. Be back in twenty. Glok." If they made a mistake they'd have to go out and find another flat stone and start all over. Who knows if they ever even made it out for bread. I do know they used to club each other over the head a lot, so I'm not saying we should do everything like the cavemen. I'm just saying nobody writes letters anymore. "

They say laughter is the best medicine and if I wasn't laying on my bed, I would have been (rolling on the floor) ROTFLMAO! This book made my day and I felt better for having read it.
Thank You for making the world a much happier place Ellen . That was your intention anyway. right?

Anyway..................I ♥ Ellen!

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The Christmas Thief Review

The Christmas Thief by Mary Higgins Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Packy Noonan was a thief who stole a bunch of money and ended up in jail.

Twelve years later , he was released on parole ...he had a plan to recover some diamonds he'd put in a blue spruce tree 13 years ago and was anxious to get out of the country and live his life in Brazil for the rest of his life . His plan didn't turn out the way he had dreamed .....This same spruce tree was destined to be at the Rockefeller Center for the Christmas Tree Lighting in New York!

I thought it was a funny, suspenseful, adventure packed mystery that I would recommend to anyone for the holidays. I loved this book!

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I am committed to fulfilling my requirements to read 4-6 books for the holidays. Initially I had thought to read only 1-3 books but I decided to upgrade myself to a serial mistletoe'er

'The Christmas List'

The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

James Kier is a scrooge who embarks on a quest to turn his life around after seeing his own obituary . When he reads some nasty comments about him that were left online by his co-workers, it makes him realize that he didn't want to be remembered for what he was~evil . Only his soon to be ex-wife showed any sympathy at all.......

His Christmas List involves 5 people to whom he feels the need to apologize make amends for ruining their life.

It brought tears to my eyes when his wife Sara dies. I don't think this is a spoiler since we all knew as did Sara that she didn't have much longer.  If you liked the Christmas Carols' story of the scrooge and how he changed from being a mean old merciless grump to a caring simpathetic kind and compassionate human being then you will like this book. I found it to be well written , it easily flowed from one chapter to the next and I enjoyed it . It's a great book for the holiday.

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What I Read today

Texas Christmas Grooms: Two Charming Tales of Don't-Tie-Me-down Men Who Are Each Lassoed by Unexpected Love by Pamela Griffin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A pleasant holiday read . Both stories reminded me of the little house on the prairie as the year was set around 1882 .
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The Nine Lives of Christmas review

The Nine Lives of Christmas by Sheila Roberts
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This cute little story is about a fireman named Zach who took a chance on love with Merilee, and a stray cat named Ambrose, who brought them together . Merilee loved cats and wanted to be a veterinarian . Zach, being a nice guy that he was found himself helping both of them even when he didn't want either of them . Cute story and it had me in tears a couple times .

It made me think of my own siamese cat I once had, Fonzie (yes after Henry Winkler the fonz) . I don't think that cat liked me .

Anyway, if I had to choose between a bad human being(Blair) and a cat I would choose the cat. If I had to choose between being homeless because of a cat , however, I would no doubt give the cat up so that I could have a roof over my head . No question.

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UPDATE: Esther Bochner saw my review and wanted to make me aware that the book is also available as an audiobook from Macmillan Audio. I know the 1st chapter is available to download for free in e-book format, but she offered an audioclip of Nine Lives of Christmas , to put alongside my review, and a possible chance to giveaway a copy of the audiobook. Is anyone interested in a chance to win an audiobook of the Nine Lives of Christmas?

Listen to the audioclip:

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Download mp3 - Free File Hosting.

All I Want For Christmas is You

All I Want for Christmas is You by Lisa Mondello

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved it but Lauren's apathy towards men was getting a little old and I wanted to knock some sense into her for being so hard, selfish and incredulous towards a love like Kyles. Kyle Preston was one hell of a guy and if Lauren was too stubborn to see that , then she didn't deserve him but fortunately for her , his persistence and hard work pays off when he planned to fulfill Kristen's desire of wanting a daddy for her mommy .

Kyle Preston had money, charm and persuasion. He dreamed of a beautiful woman to keep him warm at night and a family of his own . He owned real estate and played Santa at his own shopping mall . It wasn't always easy for Kyle growing up but his adoptive family changed him for the better.

Lauren had to learn to trust that he would never walk out on her. She also had to get over her own family abandoning her.

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this is how I picture Kyle and Lauren's new house

Our Father

Our Father by Matthew Kelly

Inspiring . Love-it . Read my post Matthew Kelly is a great speaker

The link above is my attempt of telling the story as I remembered it , but I will include the real story of the successful businessman from page 122 of the book Our Father in this review.

I believe God has gifted this visionary with powerful life lessons along with the ability to be one of the greatest public speakers the world has seen today. Matthew Kelly tells of how God spoke to him (page 93) and the stories he relays are full of wisdom and truth . I went to see him once when he came to Calgary about 14 years ago and he had my attention from start to finish. I particularly loved this story .

Excerpt :

There was a very successful businessman one day, who had a very large company, but business was not too good and his company was in a lot of trouble. From all external signs it appeared that his company was going to go down and his competitors were ready to pounce on his market share.

None the less this man had a plan that he knew, without a doubt, would revive his company.

It was Saturday morning and he was preparing a speech to give at his company's annual dinner for staff that evening. He wanted to show them the first part of the plan, but more than that he wanted to emphasize to them, that if his plan was to be successfully and speedily executed it was dependent on the individual response of each one of his employees.

He was writing his speech and his wife had to go out shopping. Within ten minutes of his wife being gone there was a knock on the study door, and there appeared his young seven year old son and exclaimed, "Dad, I'm bored.

And so the father half tried to amuse the child by playing a game with him whilst half trying to write and finish his speech at the same time. This went on for nearly two hours until he worked out that, unless he could find some other way to amuse his son, he was not going to finish his speech in time.

So he picked up a magazine, and flicked through the magazine until he found a large brightly colored map of the world and he tore the page out and ripped it into many pieces. Knowing his son was already influenced by his business initiative, the father threw the pieces all over the living room floor, with the words, "Son, if you can put the map of the world back together, I will give you a dollar."

The child rushed to the task and the father returned to his study believing that he had just bought himself two, maybe three hours to do his speech because the father also knew that his seven year old son had no idea what the map of the world looked like. But within ten minutes, there was a knock on the study door, and there appeared his son smiling with the completed puzzle.

The father in amazement said to the child, "Son, how did you finish it so quickly?"

The child smiled larger than ever and said, "Well, I had no idea what the map of the world looked like Dad, but there was a picture of a man on the back."

The child then continued saying, "I put a piece of paper down, I put the picture of a man together, I put another piece of paper on top and tuned them both over. I took the top piece of paper off and there was the world, complete and in order."

The father stood there in silence and amazement, and the boy continued once more.
"Dad, I figured, if I got the man right, the world would be right."

And this is what God is saying to you and I today.....

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Pierced By A Sword

Pierced By A Sword by Bud Macfarlane Jr.
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book helps you understand and experience what Divine providence is like. It can help fallen away catholics or even protestants come back to the Church even if your faith is as small as a mustard seed. In fact the book is used by the Mary Foundation and St. Jude Media to evangelize. They are offered free to anyone interested at catholicity.com.

If you are into Marian Apparitions and the Catholic Faith you'll want to read the next in the series: Conceived Without Sin. It is purely fiction as one of Bud MacFarlanes character is an Irish Pope; Pope Patrick.

For someone who is only beginning to read more , I greatly enjoyed this book. I rated it amazing only because if Mary had anything to do with , it is.

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Discovering Advent

eBook Format

Mark D. Roberts, a former presbyterian, shares an encounter of God's Mercy and discovers Advent. His "December Miracle" happens while waiting in a crowded line at Costco during the busiest time of the year. Like a lot of us who are impatient , he never liked waiting . He explains how the certain family tradition that christians have always enjoyed can have a lasting impact but we have to discover it for ourselves .
Discovering Advent: How to Experience the Power of Waiting on God at Christmastime is an interesting piece on advent that will help prepare you to receive Jesus Christ into your heart and allow you to live the meaning of Christmas more deeply .

A Salty Piece of Land

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The book gets a thumbs down . I stopped reading it because it was boring but maybe someday I will finish it . At first it started out on a positive note , with Tully in some kind of lighthouse , with the prospect of renovating it for a certain 101 year old battle axe lady called, Cleopatra Highbourne. It seemed to drag on and on and I am not into baseball or fishing . I got bored with it and since I am not obliged to finish reading it, I am taking it back to the library .

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