Review: Pearl - Sherri L Smith and Christine Norrie - August 2024 In "Pearl," Sherri L. Smith and Christine Norrie weave a poignant tale set against the backdrop of World War II, focusing on Amy, a young Japanese-American girl caught between two nations at war. This graphic novel, gifted to me by Scholastic Publishers US, exceeded my expectations with its emotional depth and powerful storytelling, earning it a well-deserved 5Ps rating on The Phantom Paragrapher. The story unfolds in 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, as thirteen-year-old Amy travels from Hawaii to Hiroshima to visit her family. However, the devastating events of Pearl Harbor trap her in Japan, where she finds herself conscripted into translating English radio transmissions for the Japanese army. Amy grapples with conflicting loyalties and the fear of internment camps in America, all while forging new friendships and slowly feeling a sense of belonging in a country now at war with her homeland. Smit...

Red Rain Lara Bernhardt Publication date: August 30th 2022 Genres: Women’s Fiction A bittersweet story of friendship and overcoming grief from a critically acclaimed author. Olivia Montag is a professor who doesn’t have all the answers. The devastating loss of a child ended her marriage, and she’s been overlooked for a job promotion one time too many. Not sure what comes next, she leaves it all behind and volunteers to teach English to schoolchildren in India. Ten thousand miles away, she connects with fellow volunteers and finds purpose in teaching. Until one by one the girls in her classes stop showing up. Then she meets Mukesh, an Indian man with a heart for invention, who may be the only one who can help her students. This is her chance to impact real change, even if that means trusting new friendships and her own instincts. It turns out, there might be strength in asking for help, and embracing a painful past may clear the way for a brighter future. Sometimes in the da...

The Archer Brothers Series Heidi McLaughlin Publication date: May 20th 2022 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance The Archer Brothers Here with Me A mission gone wrong Choose Me Brothers torn apart Save Me A race against time Here with Us A new beginning Choose Us A life changing decision Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play — EXCERPT: (Here with Me) “EVAN, I THINK WE’RE finished for today.” My head lifts quickly as I meet her gaze. There is a look of pity masking her smile. She can pity me. It’s understandable. If I were in her shoes I’d pity the person I am right now. I chance a look at the clock and see that I still have a few more minutes. Maybe she feels how broken I am and needs time to regroup or find someone else to fix me. “Okay,” I say hesitantly. I’m not sure I want to go through this again with another doctor, and definitely not a military one. The doc folds the page of her notepad over and slides it into her...

        Review: The Golfer's Carol - Robert Bailey - October 2020 Normally, I am not one to read about Golf as the sport doesn't interest me that much but because of my partner's love of golf. I was able to understand the book more with the terminology and some of the "golfing heroes" and moments in history. This book starts with the main character Randy Clark who is turning 40 and the day he turns 40, he realizes he is in mountains of debt and his life isn't worth living. So, he plans to kill himself by jumping off the local bridge. During this time, he sees his old buddy and is told that he will be visited by four heroes of his past and that each has a lesson for him to learn. As you can get the gist, The Golfer's Carol is a golfing version of A Christmas Carol with the ghosts of Christmas Past being his golfing heroes and each one he gets to play a round of golf with. By the end of the four ghosts, will Randy be given a brand-new perspective on his life...

Review: Grace and Serenity - Annalisa Crawford - July 2020 As soon as I heard about this book, I read the blurb and knew I would enjoy it. The other thing that caught my eye was the release date of the book as July 7th is my birthday. The book starts  off with our main character Grace falling pregnant in her senior year and the father of the baby - a 19 year old guy she met at a party Neil acting like she trapped him and then he calls her names and brands her a liar. He then walks out the door and leaves. Grace then tells her parents and thinking it's early , they go to the doctors to see what options they have and imagine their shock when they learn that Grace only has four months of her pregnancy left which means she has to go through having the baby. In Grace's mind, she calls the baby Serenity aka Ren/Wren. Neil comes crawling back and offers to marry Grace and provide for her and the baby. All is good until he develops a dark side and Grace is soon stuck in this awful cycl...

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Just Jones by Andy Andrews, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours ! ABOUT THE BOOK Title: Just Jones Series: Noticer #3 Author: Andy Andrews Publisher: Thomas Nelson  Release Date: September 8, 2020 Genre: Inspirational Fiction/Magical Realism From  New York Times  bestselling author Andy Andrews comes the return of one of our favorite fictional characters: Jones, the noticer. A mysterious elderly man with white hair and endless wisdom who always appears to show up exactly when he’s needed most. At 3:29 a.m. on May 22, a telephone rings in Orange Beach, Alabama. Breaking the sleepy silence inside the bedroom of  New York Times  bestselling author Andy Andrews, a hastily whispered message heralds the news that Andy has been waiting on for seven years: Jones is back in town. Apparently, however, he is also in jail. The old man is tight-lipped about the circumstances sur...