Book Review: Stillwater Rising

by: Steena Holmes

**I received a copy of this book to review from BookSparks PR.**

The thing a parent never, ever wants to live through. Their child's death during a school shooting. 16 yr old Gabriel went to the town's only school, an elementary school and shot some children before turning the gun on himself. This book deals with the aftermath. There are three main characters, all women.

Jennifer is a mother suffering the loss of her only son and trying to be there for her daughter. Her husband is not being all that understanding or available to his wife, so she has found her own ways to cope...the main one being alcohol. She is understandably angry and desolate.

Charlotte, the town mayor and wife of the school principal. She is trying to heal the town and get everything back to normal. She is trying to be understanding to the suffering of grieving parents, but having no children of her own does make this a challenge.

And finally there is Julia. She is the mother of Gabriel. She feels an immense guilt for what happened. Not only does she blame herself, but much of the town does as well. Her house is regularly vandalized and she fears leaving her home. She also doesn't feel she has the right to mourn the loss of her son. She does have one good friend, who also happens to be one of the mothers who lost a child in the shooting. Julia has a hard time accepting help from her, because of the guilt she feels. When Charlotte realizes what is going on, she tries to help. Jenn isn't vandalizing the woman's home, but she does blame Julia.

I love how Steena handled this book. It is raw emotion, especially if you have children. But I love how she treats Julia with compassion. There is only so much a parent can do with a troubled child. There is only so much help available. And the fact is, Julia is also mourning the loss of her child along with having to live with what he did. This is a fictional book dealing with a serious issue. I think she took a very balanced and realistic approach. I know this is part of a series, and after coming to care so much for these characters and others in the book, I can't wait to see more.

Book Review: The Witch of Painted Sorrows

by M.J. Rose

**Release date: March 17, 2015**

This book is mesmerizing. I can't believe how much I enjoyed my time in this world. Sandrine is a wonderful character. She is grieving for her father and running from her husband. With little choice she ends up with her grandmother, who happens to be a courtesan. France certainly has a history of that. But her grandmother refuses to discus family history with Sandrine. A lot of trouble may have been saved if she had.

Sandrine discovers Julien, an architect with a growing career. Then she discovers the artwork of an ancestor, the one who had the house built, La Lune. The two events become intertwined with Sandrine's dual obsessions with her own artistic path and her affair with Julien.

The descriptions of events paint such a picture! When Sandrine is lost in her painting, it makes you feel the energy and passion. Then you want to paint, as well. Then when she is lost in her love affair with Julien...let's just say it is very sensual.

I can't really fit this book into any one category. It's part historical fiction, part romance, part women's literature. A seriously good read full of art, culture and steamy romance.

Blurb from website:

New York socialite Sandrine Salome flees an abusive husband for her grandmother's Paris mansion, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is closed and under renovation. Her grandmother insists it's too dangerous to visit but Sandrine defies her — an unexplainable force is drawing her home.

There she meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing architect, who introduces her to the City of Lights — its art world, forbidden occult underground, nightclubs — and to her own untapped desires.

From a mysterious fire at the Palais Garnier opera house, to a terrifying accident at the Eiffel tower and classes with Gustav Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts, Sandrine's experiences awaken her passions. Among the bohemians and demi-monde, Sandrine uncovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter.

Then more ominous influences threaten — her husband is tracking her down and something insidious is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She's overcome by the spirit of La Lune, a witch, a legendary sixteenth-century courtesan, and an unsung artist in her own right, who exposes Sandrine to a darkness that could be a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine's "wild night of the soul," her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love and witchery, and not until she resolves a tragic love story and family curse will she be free of the ghost's possession.

Effortlessly absorbing and richly imagined, with sumptuous detail and spellbinding suspense, The Witch of Painted Sorrows conjures the brilliance and intrigue of Belle Époque Paris and illuminates the fine line between explosive passion, and complete ruination.

Blog Tour - Here, Home, Hope

Ages ago by Internet time, May of 2011, I reviewed Here, Home, Hope. I loved it, and I've been enjoying Kaira Rouda ever since. You can see my review here: http://lilacwolfandstuff.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-here-home-hope.html

I signed up for a blog tour promoting this book, because I enjoyed it so much. Below are blurbs, an About the Author and links to purchase your own copy. Happy reading!

Back in 2011 I did receive a review copy in exchange for a review. This is just for fun.

Book Blurb

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9068791-here-home-hope?ac=1

Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors' seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly's own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.

*National Indie Excellence Book Award for Chick-Lit (2011), Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Award Nominee for Mainsteam/Literary Fiction (2011), USA Best Book Awards for Fiction: Chick Lit/Women's Lit (2011)

About Kaira Rouda

Kaira Rouda is an Amazon #1 bestselling, multiple award-winning author of three women's fiction novels including HERE, HOME, HOPE, ALL THE DIFFERENCE and IN THE MIRROR.

Tule Publishing Group's Southern Born imprint is publishing her new contemporary romance series set on INDIGO ISLAND: WEEKEND WITH THE TYCOON, Book 1; LINES IN THE SAND, Book 2; and THE TROUBLE WITH CHRISTMAS, Book 3. Four more books in the series will be out in 2015.

Her nonfiction title, REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, continues to inspire women internationally.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and four almost-grown kids, and is at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books. For more about Kaira and her books, please visit www.KairaRouda.com.

Where to buy:

• Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Here-Home-Hope-Womens-Fiction-ebook/dp/B004YKTEHC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420486302&sr=8-1&keywords=here%2C+home%2C+hope **kindle price is 99 cents right now**
  
• Barnes & Noble:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/here-home-hope-kaira-rouda/1100229617?ean=9781608320912
  
• Itunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/here-home-hope/id434938538?mt=11
  
• Google Play:https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kaira_Rouda_Here_Home_Hope?id=YbJDAgAAQBAJ