Tag Archives: love

Shadows in the Aftermath by Marianne Scott (Book Spotlight)

SHADOWS IN THE AFTERMATH by Marianne Scott

 
Ruby Draker has found new strength and is ready to move on after Felix Szabo devastated the Draker estate in Nice, France. Three Drakers are dead leaving Ruby in grief and with thoughts of revenge. The Drakers are a family built of survivors; each rescued from Felix Szabo, a psychopath, who sought to murder his former agents at the CIA whom he believed betrayed him. The Drakers’ sole mission is to stop Szabo from adding more victims to his list, and although he also perished during the invasion, his legacy continues to haunt them. When the Drakers learn that Robert Draker, presumed dead since the shoot-out at Robert’s farmhouse, may be alive and at a rehab clinic in Portland, Maine, the Drakers know it could be a setup, but they have no choice but to try to nd him and bring Robert home.

​Shocked that Robert may be alive, the family head from France to America to find him. It’s only when they arrive in the west that they realize finding Robert won’t be as easy as they thought. Szabo has found a way to terrorize the Draker family, even after death. His outstanding debt with a Corsican crime family means the Drakers must now find and deliver a shipment of plutonium, which will likely be used by terrorists to create a nuclear bomb, to get Robert back. As Ruby struggles with the decision to save her brother or North America, she must also evade the CIA, who are trying to stop the Drakers from delivering the plutonium. 

 

BUY THE BOOK:
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Meet the Author:

Author Marianne Scott

Marianne Scott is the Canadian author of four mystery thrillers and is currently finishing an edit on her fourth novel, a murder mystery. She has a BA and a Diploma in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, CA. She studied creative writing through Conestoga College and Humber College. She enjoys writing workshops such as those offered by Brian Henry, publisher of the blog, Quick Brown Fox, and One Lit Place, a writers’ hub by creator/editor Jenna Kalinsky. She has an author’s website and blog is the president of The Cambridge Writers’ Collective and is a member of the Guelph Genre Writers. In September of 2018, she completed a fourth-year course in Writing Fiction at the University of Guelph under the expert teaching of Lawrence Hill. Her novels, Finding Ruby Draker and Shadows in the Aftermath are self-published. She is actively seeking representation to break into the traditional publishing world with her third and fourth novels.  
 
 
connect with the author: 
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Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier (Book Review)

 

Love Is Love is a beautifully curated collection of 21 vintage photographs paired with 21 classic love poems to engage and delight LGBTQ elders living with dementia. Nostalgic poetry is an invitation into the past with representation, compassion, and joy. Love Is Love invites conversation and connection, to affirm identity and awaken the spirit within. Designed to read aloud, read along, to share as a ‘picture walk’ with a friend, neighbor, family member, or allied health professional.


The NANA’S BOOKS series is recommended by ALZ Authors and ALZ Speaks. Featured resources in the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Teal Room, NANA’S BOOKS are the winner of a Maude’s Award for Innovation in Dementia Care for Making Connections.

 

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery.  I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

 

Love Is Love: Picture Book for Gay and Lesbian (LGBTQ) People with Dementia by Laurette Klier is a heartfelt mixture of poetry and black/white/gray photography. 

Laurette Klier chose poems written by notorious authors in the literary field, such as Emily Bronte, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Lord Byron, expressing love between partners in same-sex relationships. Even without the poetry, the love is evident in every single photo. 

A subtle touch. 

A kiss. 

A twinkle in their eye.

A laugh. 

A loving embrace. 

Some photographs also captured couples in a more serious manner, but expressionless faces were the norm in certain periods. 

No matter the tone of the photographs, it was lovely to see a collection featuring same-sex couples from years past. 

My favorite male/male image was of the two gentlemen wearing hats and smoking cigars. They have a look on their face where I imagine they’re holding back laughter, and once the photo was taken, they break out in boisterous laughter. They also have a mischievous look in their eyes. I bet these two men have/had a lot of fun in life.

My favorite female/female photo is the neighbors kissing over their shared fence. I wonder how many times did they meet there? Did anyone know of their passion? I can almost hear their giggles when they call for each other. The woman with one foot up is posed in a famous romance swoon position. Love it! 

I loved all the works of art, textual and visual. 

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

Amazon Purchase Link

 

 

 

Meet the Author

 

Nana’s Books is an award-winning series designed to engage and delight people living with dementia and their care partners through nostalgic art and verse. Nana’s Books are crafted to ease conversation and to awaken the spirit within. Nana’s Books bring back connection… one page at a time.

Reedsy Link

 

 

 

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They Called Him Marvin, A History of Love, War and Family by Roger Stark (Book Spotlight)

THEY CALLED HIM MARVIN by Roger StarkContent Rating:  PG-13: No sex scenes, six mild profanities, depictions of war scenes.
 
 
 
They were just kids, barely not teenagers, madly in love, desperate to be a family, but a war and a B29 got in there 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.

His crew, a gaggle of Corporals that dubbed themselves the Corporalies, four officers and a tech Sargent, adventured their way across the globe. Flying the “Aluminum Trail” also called the Hump through the Himalayas, site of the most dangerous flying in the world. Landing in China to refuel and then fly on to to places like Manchuria, Rangoon or even the most southern parts of Japan to drop 500 pounders.

Each mission had it’s challenges, minus fifty degree weather in Mukden, or Japanese fighters firing away at them, a close encounter of the wrong kind, nearly missing a collision with another B29 while flying in clouds, seeing friends downed and lost because of “mechanicals,” the constant threat of running out of fuel and their greatest fear, engine fire.

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.

 
 
 
Buy the Book:
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Meet the Author:
Author Roger Stark

 
I am, by my own admission, a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget and the stories be lost. Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with my friend Marvin, I learned the tragic story of his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan just months before the end of the war. The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled me to ask if I could write the story. The result being They Called Him Marvin.

My life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. I pray that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.

 
 
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Ten Thousand I Love Yous by Lisa Slabach (Book Review)

TEN THOUSAND I LOVE YOUS by Lisa Slabach

 
In this humorously touching novel by the critically acclaimed author of Degrees of Love, a woman is blindsided when her high school sweetheart abandons her after eighteen years of marriage.

At sixteen, Kimberly Kirby thought the only thing she needed to be perfectly happy was to spend the rest of her life with Jay Braxton. Twenty years later, she still believes it. As they proudly watch their daughter, Haley, graduate from high school, she imagines her life is as perfect as anyone could reasonably expect. Jay is a formidable attorney, she a freelance writer, and their love as strong as ever. With Haley heading to UC Berkeley in the fall, Kimberly fantasizes about making love on the kitchen table. She has no clue that Jay’s bags are already packed.

Now divorced and determined to squelch her love for Jay, she accepts a gig writing a sex and dating blog for divorcees. As the Virgin Dater, she is on the hunt for love. No-strings-attached nights with a sexy fireman and moving to San Francisco are just what she needs to boost her battered ego and mend her shattered heart.

But just as she falls hard for a talented young chef, Jay fights to win her back. Torn between her bold new life and the comfort of Jay’s strong arms, she questions if there is too much to forgive. The ten thousand I love yous that had passed Jay’s lips can’t be dismissed, but nor can her newfound freedom and the knowledge that her happiness doesn’t depend on Jay.
 

 
 
 
 
I received a complimentary copy of this book from iRead Book Tours. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
 
 
Divorce is never easy, no matter how long you’ve been together. Emotions can range from anger, sadness, confusion, and then acceptance. Jay was 100% cruel in how he ended his marriage to Kimberley. No warning. He just packed his bags, threw out some harsh words, and then walked out on her. The crazy part was Haley, their new high school graduate, thought the bags were for her parents to go on a trip together. He swore her to secrecy. Sorry, but that was a d!ck move.


No matter what he did a year or so later, my opinion of him didn’t change one iota.


Kimberly made great strides in the times he walked out. New job, new home, new relationships — a new start in life. I know they shared twenty years of marriage together, have a grown child together, but she gave up so much for a man who thought so little of her.


Even though she and Kevin, the firefighter, had a sticky situation in their first meeting, I came to like him. It was apparent he really cared for her. Joshua loved her too.

I think Kimberley made the wrong choice, but that’s just my opinion.


On a final note, I laughed out loud when Kim referred to Kevin’s schlong as the “baby maker” and when Kevin called her boobs “soft cans.”

 
 
 
Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: 
 
 
 
 
Meet the Author:

Author Lisa Slabach


Ten Thousand I Love Yous
 is Lisa Slabach’s second novel.

Prior to publication, her first novel, Degrees of Love was recognized as a Best Book of 2014 by Kirkus Review. Degrees of Love made its publishing debuted December 1, 2017 and was nominated for a 2017 Reviewer’s Choice Award by RT Book Reviews.

In addition to writing, Lisa is a Fintech Relationship Executive for a Fortune 500 Company. She is a long-time resident of Northern California and lives with her husband, one-hundred-forty-pound puppy and numerous goldfish. In her free time, she enjoys wine tasting, shopping with her daughters, and cooking in her pink kitchen.

connect with the author: website facebook twitter ~ goodread

 
 
 

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Down in Flames by Elena Kincaid (Book Review)

 

When Daphne Quinn’s parents were murdered two years ago, all she wanted was justice… or revenge; whichever came first. She had even closed herself off from the one man she truly desired. When she finally realized what Dante meant to her and how deep her feelings ran for him, she worried it was too little, too late.

Dante Pascal had a job to do, one that prevented him from pursuing Daphne, the woman he had wanted since the day he laid eyes on her. With pressure coming down on him from all sides, he finds himself unable to prevent her kidnapping. What’s a guy to do when the only possible lead he has is locked away tightly in a holding cell? Get himself pinched, of course.

Held for ransom, Daphne’s kidnapping could finally ignite the fire that starts a war between two rival wolf packs. It’s a race against the clock for Dante to save the woman that he loves. Will he be able to find her before they kill her, or will time finally run out on him?

 

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Books2read

And read the other side of the story in: CUFF-LINKED  by: C.D. Gorri – Books2read

 

 

(review request submitted by the author for an honest critique) 

 

Dante was not a wolf to cross when it came to the love of his life, Daphne. When Dante’s teeth elongated and he sunk his claws into Felix’s neck, I wasn’t surprised Felix pissed his pants. I would have too! 

Daphne was no weakling either. She’s an alpha’s daughter, which means she can deliver a can of whoop-ass. And, she did! 

With adrenaline still coursing through their bodies, feelings were revealed, and passion erupted. FYI – Elena knows how to write a sexy love scene! 

Down in Flames by Elena Kincaid had heat, suspense, and a wee bit of humor (tickle scene). It’s also under 100 pages, so it won’t take you days to read. For me, I gobbled it up while I ate lunch. 🙂

 

Heart Rating System:
1 (lowest) and 5 (highest) 
Score: ❤❤❤

 

Amazon Purchase Link
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About the Author

Elena Kincaid is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. She writes Paranormal and Contemporary Romances with alpha males who stop at nothing to protect their women, heroines who are anything but damsels in distress, and stories where the only love worth fighting for is the forever kind of love.

She was born in Ukraine and raised in New York, where she currently lives with her daughter. Her desk is constantly cluttered with journals, sticky notes, and torn-out pieces of paper full of ideas. When not working, Elena loves to spend time with her family, travel the globe, curl up with a good book, and catch up on her soaps.

 

Blog / Website  / Instagram

Twitter  / FB Author Page / Amazon

Goodreads / Street Team

 

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