Book Review - The Arrivals

by: Meg Mitchell Moore

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
It's early summer when Ginny and William's peaceful life in Vermont comes to an abrupt halt.

First, their daughter Lillian arrives, with her two children in tow, to escape her crumbling marriage. Next, their son Stephen and his pregnant wife Jane show up for a weekend visit, which extends indefinitely when Jane ends up on bed rest. When their youngest daughter Rachel appears, fleeing her difficult life in New York, Ginny and William find themselves consumed again by the chaos of parenthood - only this time around, their children are facing adult problems.

By summer's end, the family gains new ideas of loyalty and responsibility, exposing the challenges of surviving the modern family - and the old adage, once a parent, always a parent, has never rung so true.

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I'm going to gush. I think this would be classified as "chick lit" but I would call it "just a story" which is my favorite kind of story. Ginny and William have settled into their retired life together when their adult children return home with their children, pregnant spouses or just alone. The house is filled to busting and William and Ginny take turns being annoyed by it. I loved this, because that's how it usually goes in a relationship. It's a good way to support each other.

Which leads to the other reason I adored this story. Each character is human, realistic. No one is all good or all bad, you WILL get annoyed with every character in this book. I find that more engaging than characters that are sweeter than a cupcake.

And there were numerous plot points, or story lines. Some I sort of knew where they were going to end, but even then it was a fun ride with nothing truly known for sure until it ended. There is lots of sadness, anger and tons of hope.

It also clearly paints a picture of what it's like when you want to be a parent, when you are waiting to become one, when you are one and when your kids are all grown. I think it was a brilliant way to play out not only a great story, but a sneaky way to play out a 30+ year timeline.

Fifty Shades of Grey

by: E.L. James

Book reviews by Lilith (My 1st guest reviewer!)

I’ll admit it; I bought into the hype of this trilogy. I heard it compared to Twilight with soft core porn. Who doesn’t like a little naughty with their sparkly vampires? As I started to read the first book in the series, I kept asking myself why people compared this to Twilight. I did some research and found out why, but to be honest I thought the people who were making the comparisons were reaching. Yes the original way this story was written, the main characters were named Edward and Bella and there are some similarities, but you could read 20 books and find the same thing others were saying were the same. I really like the series, well sort of.

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Fifty Shades of Gray

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis (Goodreads):
When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

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I honestly read this book in one day! I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I wanted to see if Ana gave in to the dark desires of Christian and I have to admit this book did not disappoint! I’m not saying it’s going to win a Pulitzer for best novel, but it accomplishes what it set out to do. Yes this book is “mommy porn.” You go on a thrilling ride with Ana into the world of BSDM and you will be swept away with everything that happens. This book is not for the faint of heart. There are some very heavy sex scenes. If you read this book with an open mind, it will NOT disappoint. I don’t want to give too much detail because I don’t want to give anything away!

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Fifty Shades Darker

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

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This book was a good as the first one. Again, I found myself reading this book in one day! I wanted to find out if Ana and Christian got back together and if their relationship would finally work out. This book has many twists and turns, highs and lows. Again, it takes you on a thrilling ride! One thing that started to get on my nerves in this book was Ana’s insistence to dig deeper in to Christians past. If the man doesn’t want to talk about it, stop drilling him for information. He’ll talk when he’s ready. I will say the ending of this book shocked me. I SO did not see that coming!

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Fifty Shades Freed

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis (Goodreads):
When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian’s singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed.

Now, together, they have more – love, passion, intimacy, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control, and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present.

Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, misfortune, malice and fate combine to make Ana’s worst nightmares come true. Alone and desperate, she must face down the poisoned legacy of Christian’s past.

Seductive, shocking, sad and funny, Fifty Shades Freed is the compelling final volume in the Fifty Shades trilogy.

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The final book in the trilogy finds Ana and Christian living the life they had always hoped for. Of course we all know that means something is going to come along and screw things up! It’s not just one thing, its several things. We find out more about why Christian is the way he is and more about his past. For some reason, this book didn’t hold my interest as much as the first two and I found myself going hours without reading it. Maybe because I knew it was the last book in the series, but I think it was because the writing wasn’t as good. Don’t get me wrong the story still had highs and lows and shocks, but toward the end it felt rushed. Almost like the author had it in her mind this series was going to be a trilogy and she needed to finish it quickly. I really wish she would have extended it to a fourth book and kept the writing similar and hadn’t rushed.

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I think the series lives up to the hype and anyone who isn’t afraid to read something a little risqué will thoroughly enjoy this series!

Guest Post by Lynn Chantale

Happy Mom’s Day

by W. Lynn Chantale

I’m on jury duty this week. No booing and hissing, the journey has been okay, I’ve met some delightful people and right away you can tell the extroverts from the introverts. By the end of the day I was ready for a quiet room away from the noise. But I didn’t come here to talk you about that, fascinating as it may be. :-)

Mother’s Day is Sunday and I’ve been thinking a lot about the ol’ gal lately.  Don’t tell her I called her that, she’ll call me by my full given name. *shudders* So I was thinking about her and remember a Mother’s Day when she made me and my brothers as well as herself outfits for the holiday.

Mine was a white sundress with multi-colored balloons, hers was a strapless sundress made from the same material. My brothers had matching baby blue jumpers. We got all dressed up and went to have our picture taken professionally. Really cool.

The photographer posed us kids on Mom’s lap, and she’s sitting.

Take a moment, picture my mom in a strapless dress seated, with three kids on her lap, in front of her. Got it? See where I’m headed with this?

*chuckles*

We get the pictures back and we (my brothers and I) laugh. It looks like mom has on no clothes. Of course we ran with this and told anyone who would listen that mom wasn’t wearing any clothes.

I still chuckle when I think about that photo. To this day I wonder why anyone believed us. Something to think about the next time your little ones say something that almost sounds true.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there.

I’ll be thinking of you while I’m sitting in the jury room. :-)

When I’m not doing my civic duty you can find me:

• Website: http://wlynnchantale.com
• Blog: http://wlynnchantale-decadentdecisions.blogspot.com
• Twitter:https://twitter.com/#!/wlynnchantale
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/W.LynnChantaleAuthor

Until next time, Indulge Your Inner Romantic

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Lynn Chantale is the author of Decadent Seconds which can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
As a caterer, Darling gets to witness some of life’s happiest moments, but yearns for a marriage proposal of her own. After years of waiting on her beloved to pop the question, she gives up ever having a happy ending of her own and severs the relationship. When she learns she’s pregnant, she has no choice but to face her child’s father on a daily basis as well as the love and attraction she has for him.

Darryl Manning always believed Darling would be his forever. After all he didn’t need a piece of paper to show her how much he loved her, but when she leaves him to pursue her dream of owning a catering company and raising his son, he may have to rethink his views marriage. That is if he wants a second chance at family.

Stuff Every Dad Should Know

by: Brett Cohen

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
You’ve Got Children. We’ve Got Answers.

From changing diapers and burping babies to building sand castles and hosting a sleepover party, this book is loaded with Stuff Every Dad Should Know. Readers will discover:

• How to Rid a Room of Monsters
• How to Squelch a Temper Tantrum
• How to Assign Chores
• How to Discuss the Birds and the Bees
• How to Save for College

Plus family road-trip survival skills, advice for healthy nutrition, a guide to bonding with moody teenagers, and much, much more!

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I was actually put off this book after having read Stuff Every Mom Should Know and it starts out with talking about saving for college. My first thought was "what's up with the double standard here?" Moms need to know about feedings and diapers and Dads just need to know about setting up a college fund?

But I read on and that was actually a short section that I missed the point of. It was saying, "yeah you have to do this, but that's not your only role." The book, like other Stuff books, is full of little bits of useful information. It's not a complete manual, but it's a great first book. It breaks everything down so becoming a father doesn't seem quite so terrifying. I think that is its goal.

Brett goes from the new baby all the way to marrying them off. There's "How to Hold your Baby," "Five Tips for Caring for Your Wife or Partner," "How to Make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich", "How to Encourage Outside Play", "How to Assign Chores", "Five Great Activities that Allow you to Bond with Your Teen." There are many, many more to choose from.

This book I would buy with Stuff Every Mom should know as a gift for expecting parents. Now Quirk just needs to write one for the single parent. Both books assume the other parent will be there helping out with the work.

Let me leave you with this joke from "Five Great Jokes to Make Your Child Giggle."

Q: Why is Cinderella bad at sports?

A: Because she has a pumpkin for a coach and she runs away from the ball.

Dark Earth

by: Jason Halstead

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Hunted since before her birth, Jessica Baxter relies upon the protection of her father to keep her safe from harm. What neither of them knows is that her father has his own dark legacy bequeathed by a father he never knew. The bonds of family are tested as the fate of two Earths, each a shadow of the other, rests upon the hunted becoming the hunter.

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I found this ebook free on Amazon and I thought it looked like something I would read should I ever have the time. Well this weekend I found myself stuck in a kindergarten class with nothing but my blackberry...which thankfully had this loaded in the kindle reader on it. I thought it looked very dark and exciting, but it starts out like a chick lit kind of story. Eric loses his wife in a car accident but his unborn baby girl is saved. They move back to Norther Michigan (my backyard) and set up home there for the past 11 years.

Then the man who killed his wife shows up and tries to murder his daughter. Now that's the only thing that bugged me because the detective said the crash was ruled an accident. But then the detective says: "he was out in seven years for good behavior." Now why would the guy get jail time for something ruled an accident? I'm not a lawyer though, but it seemed odd to get that much time when the guy was clean.

So I'm seriously wondering if I am reading the wrong story here, where are the werewolves and witches and stuff...oh yeah...right about here he smacks you with it. And don't get me wrong here, it's not boring at ANY point in this book. But right about this point it gets insane...

I want to go on and on, but I can't. The girl is 13 and very bright but still very much a kid. I love how he wrote her character because you can't help but adore her, but as very bright she is he doesn't (as so many authors have) forget she is still a kid. Even Harry Potter wasn't very childlike. And Eric, Jess's father, he's such a manly man...I think I have a crush on him. lol Living about as far north in Michigan as you can, to where the power company hasn't even gotten out there yet...fishing for his income...and then kicking ass for his little girl. Eric rules!

*squeal* just saw this is book 1. I wonder if there's a book 2 out yet...

Yes you should get this book. It's one of those where you get to the end and have to stop and breath for a little bit. And it has it's moments of violence but I think it could easily be appropriate for young adults.