Review for Tangled in Time.

Tangled in Time by Angela Castillo

This is a Story Cartel book that I received for free in exchange for a review.

Darcy has inherited her Grans antique store called Tangled in Time in the small town of Wimber, Texas. She had a rough day with delayed flights and then problems with obtaining her rental car. Finally, she reaches her destination but feels hesitant about going in. She meets the owner of the cafe next door and likes her right off. Darcy has left her old life behind which includes her boyfriend. Her boyfriend keeps texting and calling her and is persistent when she doesn’t answer his calls or return his texts.

Darcy reconnects with an old boyfriend Ramsey and realizes she still has feeling for him and that they might have much more in common than she realized at first. She goes to a barbecue at his parent’s home and it brings back good childhood memories.

Darcy starts to get threats and then inspectors start turning up. They told her complaints have been submitted to them. There is a locked door and Darcy can’t find the key. The door could be the key to what is going on. What is behind that locked door? Darcy is given two weeks to find the key and open the door. Darcy intensifies the search for the key with Ramsey’s help.

Darcy is determined to stay and keep the shop open despite the opposition. She meets other shop owners and attends their monthly meeting where she receives lots of support and encouragement.

This book is an easy read and a good book to settle down with on a rainy day. It is a cozy mystery with romance mixed in. Tangled in Time can be enjoyed by all ages.

 

 

New Family Member

To anyone who doesn’t know who I am I am Patches the cat. A few months ago we lost Morris an orange and white cat. The human has been sad for a long time. I miss him as well. Well, a few weeks ago a couple of kittens came in the back door. At first I didn’t have to meet them. I heard them say one of the kittens was going to the different home, which was fine with me. Then gradually the little ones came out. I liked the mostly white one myself but wasn’t sure if I had any say in the  matter. As it turned out I was right and she was the one who was staying and we  gradually got to know each other. I will put her picture in here in a few minutes. She is cute but a pest.

Here we are kissing noses. Actually she is my niece which makes her Mom my half sister. Her name is Delilah. It is a pretty name just like her. There will be more of Delilah’s story later. I have to leave before my human catches me sneaking onto the computer. I have always been her main helper but now I have an assistant. I am not sure how I feel about that. I don’t know how much help she will be. All she wants to do is play. Which is okay I guess. She is a holly terror on four legs when she isn’t napping, which isn’t often. She isn’t old enough yet to tell her own story. Well got to go for now to see what my little niece is up to. Bye for now. Talk to you later.

Helping Grandpa

Tommy climbed onto the window seat in front of the bay window. He peaked out through a crack in the green drapes at the black and purple clouds as thunder rumbled in the distance. He jumped when a streak of lightening lit up the sky.

He turned to see what Grandpa was doing. He hopped down and walked across the hardwood floor to the white oval wooden table for a closer look.

“What are you doing Grandpa?”

“I am trying to answer some letters but the pen does not work,” Grandpa said, in his deep voice.

“Try this one,”  Tommy climbed on the wooden chair beside Grandpa.

“Okay. I will give it a try,” Grandpa picked up the blue pen.

Tommy dumped all the pens on the table. “I can check the pens for you.”

“That would be a big help. I threw three away this morning,” Grandpa said. “Here’s a piece of paper.

Tommy made squiggly lines on the unlined paper with each pen. He sat on his knees so he could reach all of them. He finished the blue pens and put them back into the jar.

“All the blue pens work,” Tommy said. “Now what are you doing?”

“I have to pay these bills, next,” Grandpa answered. “Do you have a good pen for me?”

“What color?” Tommy looked at the pens scattered across the table.

“Well, let me see. How about a black one,” Grandpa took out his cheque book?

Tommy concentrated as he made little circles with a black pen. “This one works.”

“Good.” Grandpa took the offered pen. “Keep inspecting the pens. You are doing a good job.”

Tommy drew a few squiggly lines, squares and circles and soon put black pens in the jar. He had a small pile of pens separated and ready for retesting.

“What are you doing Grandpa?” Tommy tested the red and green pens.

“I thought I’d read the paper.” Grandpa opened the newspaper and started to read.

“Don’t you need another pen?” Tommy put red and green pens in the jar.

“Well, how about a pencil. I can do the crossword for a bit,” Grandpa answered.

“Here is a sharp one. The others need to be sharpened,” Tommy handed Grandpa a pencil.

“Do you want to sharpen them for me?” Grandpa handed Tommy the black pencil sharpener.

“Sure,” Tommy said. “I like helping. All the other pens are retested and there are five that don’t work.”

“Good job, my lad,” Grandpa said. “Look the suns out.”

“What are you going to do?” Tommy asked.

“Chores,” Grandpa put his black framed glasses in their blue case.

“Can I help?” Tommy followed Grandpa to the door.

“You bet,” Grandpa answered. “You are a good helper.”

 

 

 

Rave Reviews Book Club’s “Spotlight” Author Blog Tour Spotlight Author, Wendy Scott

 

Why I wrote Lodestone.

After I finished writing Ferrasium, Book 1 of the Windflowers Trilogy, which is reminiscent of an Ancient Egyptian culture, I wanted to explore a more traditional fantasy setting. A medieval influence with witches, forest, and magical creatures.

The city of Sha’La’Shang was inspired by sacred sects who built their temples among sheer cliffs and mountain tops. Extra-sensory perception and animal shamanism are also explored.

The monks of Sha’La’Shang are targeted for persecution. The Order’s fanatical fervour borders on religious mania. Power, deceit, and corruption are interlinked with yesterday’s so-called saviours morphing into today’s tyrants. The Orders’ power base is built on fear, misinformation, and conformity. The unpredictability of magic undermines their total control.

Inspiration was derived from multiple world events: Nazism, Communism, Medieval Witchcraft and the Inquisition.

To develop the magic system in Lodestone I researched medieval witches, myths, magical and healing practices, and weaved many traditional elements into the story (spells, flying broomsticks pentacles). I stumbled upon ancient healing texts, containing artful illustrations that listed old cures. Bloodletting was common in medieval times as physicians believed this cured many ailments (including toothache, impotence, lust, warts, over-drinking, swelling, poisoning, bell aches… the list is extensive!) Once attached leeches don’t stop until they’ve had their full. One leech can suck in about 15ml of blood. But beware! Leeches entering body openings like mouth, nostril or ears can cause internal bleeding and kill the patient.

I developed new creatures for the different environments, including aquawttrs, cheelings, aerons and vratts. Each one is tailor made for their environs (wetlands, forest, mountain skies, and caves).

My author mind desired an outlet for story-lines with conflicting character motivations and heart wrenching dilemmas. Life is complex and we do not always understand the far reaching consequences of our actions and decisions. Or know if we’ve made the right choices.

In Lodestone, Mistress Florisah sums up this concept. “One thing I’ve learned in my lifetime is that things are very rarely as clear cut as black or white, good or evil, but varying shades of gray depending on which side you view them from.”

Sabrina and Lauren’s tales entwine- linked by blood and magic. Sabrina, a newly fledged healer, is thrust out of her sheltered life at Mistress Florisah’s healing school after the  destruction of the witch-ancestor portraits. An anti-witchcraft militia is poised on Karthalon’s borders threatening full scale genocide, unless Sabrina, the last of Lauren’s bloodline, can destroy the Lodestone, and restore magic to Valloaria, but the Lodestone is buried deep within the heart of the Order’s headquarters. Sabrina struggles to accept this suicide mission, and is distracted by her inappropriate affection for Micah, a prospect monk. Lauren’s ghost haunts Sabrina’s dreams as her  diary reveals the tragic events behind Lauren’s actions. With invasion imminent, Sabrina embarks on her quest armed only with a sliver of the Lodestone, and Lauren’s diary but how can a lone girl prevail against an army?

Amazon US  124 reviews 4.4 * ratings

Amazon US Lodestone https://www.amazon.com/dp/BOOAMQX7DO

Amazon UK Lodestone https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/BOOAMQX7DO

Connect with Wendy:

Twitter @WendyJayneScott

FB https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWendyScott

Author Profile Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Wendy-Scott/e/BOO981N8NA/

Website http://www.wendyjscott.com/contact.html

Pinterest https://nz.pinterest.com/wendyscottbooks/lodestone-witch-hunt/

Review for Janetta and the Book Thief

Janetta and the Book Thief

by B. S. Gibbs

This book is for kids between the ages of 8-12.

One afternoon twelve-year -old Janetta was reading an adventure book and was on the last chapter when the letters started to fade and the last few pages were blank. She dashed into the house and up to her room to find all her books were missing the last chapter.

Janetta was upset and started sobbing. She heard a noise and looked up to see a tiny little girl with transparent wings standing in the corner by her bookcase. Janetta could not believe what she was seeing or what she heard when the girl told her that she was a book fairy. They talked for a few minutes and then after making a circle of her favorite books in the middle of her room Janetta was transported to a magical fairy realm.

Janetta is taken to see the fairy queen who informs her that it was her job to find out who hates books and would take the last chapter out.

There are detailed illustrations throughout the book but it was the cover that caught my attention.  There are a few minor errors near the front of the book which could easily be fixed. They didn’t distract me from the story. The lessons of kindness and friendship are cleverly hidden throughout.

This is a Story Cartel Book.

https://www.amazon.com/author/mehembroff

https;//www.goodreads.com/mehembroff

Proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club

Spring Time Block Blog Party

 

Hello and welcome to Rave Reviews Book Club’s Springtime Book and Block Party. This is my first tour.

My location:   Alberta, Canada

#of winners:   3

These prizes are for people living in Canada and U.S. only.

Here is what I am giving away today:

1: Signed paperback copy of my middle grade novel Bess’s Magical Garden

2: Signed paperback copy of my picture book Gramma Mouse Tells a Story

3: One signed limited edition of my original cover art for Bess’s Magical Garden.( original was an acrylic painting.)

Please leave a comment below on April 15th to be entered in the drawing to win one of the three prizes.

Bess’s Magical Garden

Bess’s mother moves them to Pineview, away from her best friend Megan, and she terribly misses her. Six months earlier, Bess’s father died in a car crash, and she’s also in the midst of recovering from the final stages of polio. She’s in a sad and lonely place. From the moment she and her mother settle into their new home, Bess hears whispering voices and encounters a ghostly figure in the well-kept garden and in her dreams. She can’t make sense of everything and so shares her observations with Megan by writing her regular letters. During the summer, she makes new friends, including an orange and white tomcat that she names Pumpkin, and her new neighbor Josie. With the help of Mrs. O’Toole, the woman who watches her, Bess continues to recover, both physically and emotionally. She becomes more and more curious about the garden and the unexplained clues that she finds there. In Bess’s Magical Garden, Bess discovers her own true strengths through enduring life’s struggles. She-with Josie and Megan’s help-also finds some hidden items in the garden, including a map, that leave the girls with more questions than answers. Who was the figure that visited Bess? Will Bess and her friends be able to uncover the garden’s secrets? Or will those secrets be mysteries forever?

Gramma Mouse Tells a Story

Gramma Mouse is visiting and relaxing when her grandbabies beg her to tell them a story. Tiny, Gramma Mouse, tells them about her trip across the old garden to visit Cousin Mouse. Tiny struts off staying out of sight at first. Then she pops out to look around and immediately forgets Ma and Pa’s advice. She stops to visit and look around. She receives warnings of approaching danger that she ignores. Tiny is having fun playing and investigating and forgets to watch for danger. She has a few narrow escapes but does learn valuable lessons along the way.

This is what the art work for my cover looks like. I used several different references to paint this. The idea for the cover came from the quote that is on the book cover, ‘For a brief second she thought she saw an archway covered with orange flowers that lead into a colorful garden. It was gone in an instant.’  The original was done in acrylic paint on canvas. The image for the cover came to me when I as I did revisions. That quote was also what set the tone for the book.

Thank you for stopping by and don’t forget to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of this post. Good luck on winning my giveaways.

https://www.mhembroff.wordpress.com

https://www.amazon.com/author/mehembroff

https://www.goodreads.com/mehembroff

Review for Jug Valley Mysteries, Boys V. Girls by Anne Digby

This is a Story Cartel Book that I got free in exchange for a review.

I liked this book because it took me back to the carefree days of my childhood.

This story takes place in the town of Jugminister in the River Jug valley.

Tim and Amy Dalloway , who are twins, live in a large house that is in the process of being renovated which causes the family conflict. The twins have a quarrel which causes additional stress to the family. Then Dad is away overnight which isn’t like him. On the way home from school they see Dad towing their yellow caravan to the river, on their property, where he parks it. They are puzzled but learn the caravan is for their use and will be a private play area away from their two-year-old brother. Electricity and water  are going to be connected. The twins are thrilled and can’t wait to start using it.

A bike is stolen at their school, Jug Valley County Junior School when one to the students left his bike there overnight. Tim hooks up with his buddies Luda and Ben and decide to be detectives and call themselves the Handlers. Tim and his buddies are the first ones to use the caravan and put a sign outside that doesn’t allow Amy and her friend Mini access. The boys come up with a plan to catch the thief.

Then Tim and Amy Mom’s bike is stolen which gets the girls involved. They have the caravan the next day after school and form a detective agency as well. They come up with the name The Sprouts and develop a plan to catch the thieves.

A quarrel develops between the girls and boys which doesn’t help solve the crime. Will they learn to settle their difference and work together to solve the mystery?

This book is an easy read and will be enjoyed by boys and girls between the ages of eight to twelve. I read it within two days not because of the size of the book but because I wanted to know what happened at the end. The suspense was skillfully built up to keep you turning pages.