Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol

I was contacted by the publishing house and asked to check out this book and I happily said yes because let't face it I spend two hours a day on the bus and I really like to read. I also liked the idea that the book was a special re-release as the author had been friends with the teacher Anne Marie Murphy who lost her life. Because of that woman's passion for children with autism the author has decided that all proceeds from the ebook will go directly to Autism Speaks.

I signed on thinking it was a great thing to be a part of and then I got a wonderful shock, Chip Crockett's Christmas Carol is a great read. A dad struggling to make sense of his life as a recovering alcoholic and a parent to an autistic child. The past haunts him as he remembers the love his wife and he once shared and now they are divorced and barely holding on to their friendship for their sons sake. The memory of his happy baby who used to love being held and cuddled torments him as he tries to connect with the boy who is his son.

His cousin has the life he always wanted with the great marriage, big house, prosperous job and happy children. He is filled with envy as the season creeps closer and closer to Christmas. When his best friend needs a bit of help and a place to crash he still gives him a place to stay. Brendan gets fed up though when his friend becomes obsessed with Chip Crockett and beloved children's TV show host that they all loved as kids. Rumours begin to circulate that a surprise showing will air on Christmas eve.

Brendan gets closer and closer to the brink as his friends and loved ones get filled with holiday cheer and all he can think of is the horror that his life has turned into. Until that midnight showing and a Christmas miracle happens.

I don't want to give everything away but seriously what a great read and so uplifting. Sometimes it's nice to think that if we just keep trying things will get better and that even those people who can't show us they really do love us most of all!

I would recommend this book at any time but right especially, the ebook is under 5 dollars and all the proceeds go to Autism Speaks which is such a great charity for those in need of a little bit of extra help!

Time Slip Series

The Time Slip Series by Julie Tetel Andresen is definitely an interesting take on the concept of reincarnation. Each book (so far only 3) deals with a major environmental issue and the main characters who would have been involved in the situation throughout two different periods of time. I found it really interesting to read not only the stories of the characters but to learn about things that affect us every day that we really don't know that much about it. Ok well that I don't really know all that much about is maybe a better example. Julie Tetel Andresen is really great about developing characters that we really care about, and not just the main characters but the supporting cast as well. You just want to immerse yourself in the world to learn more and experience the beauty.

The series begins with the Blue Hour. Cancer researcher Alexandra Kaminski feels like she is right on the verge of something incredible when her star patient tries to set her up with Val Dorsainville. As their eyes connect a cold shiver runs through her and she hopes to never run into him again. That's when destiny decides to intervene because Alexandra and Val have been together before in a past that haunts their future and if they can't figure out how to fix their mistakes then the past is doomed to repeat itself, with dire consequences.

I really liked the cast of characters and the spirituality of those who fear that they are going to die soon. I loved how everyone was so interconnected. It's nice to think that those we love in this lifetime may find their way back to us in the following lifetimes. I also learned about cancer research and the new information about telomerase and how it can change the face about cures.

The second novel is the Crimson Hour. Where Eloise Popescu is sent an airplane ticket to see her father. She has gotten into trouble her whole life but now that she has worked so hard to get her life straightened she realizes she has to follow this trail to the father she never met. Unfortunately that fateful decision leads her right into the middle of warring Chinese mafia families. It also leads her to Hanes Reynolds whose life has been destroyed by the same families. As the two join together and run across the globe trying to figure out exactly what's going on they also have to make sure they don't commit the same mistakes as the past which could end in death for one of them.

The Crimson Hour deals with the red tides around the coral reefs. I wish I had learned a bit more about that side of the story besides the fact that this occurrence can not only kill the reef but if ingested by humans it can create poisons. I still learned something though which is always good! I liked this book though I have to admit I kind of liked the supporting cast at times better then the main characters but definitely still a great book.

The Emerald Hour is the third book in this series. Jordan Charles heads off with her team to search for an elusive rubber tree plant in the Kew Gardens in London, England. As they search for the resistant strain of this plant they are closely monitored by the West brothers who have sponsored the universities research. Theodore West realizes that every time his plans take him away from the american team and their research that his career takes a nose dive and so he begins to work closely with the team even as he finds himself drawn to Jordan Charles. He begins to realize that the past is playing with them as events begin to replay themselves. If he doesn't figure out how to correct the past then the tree will forever be lost.

The Emerald Hour deals with the Rubber Trees. It was actually really interesting to learn about. Rubber is everywhere and I knew it came from trees but I don't think I ever thought much more about it. Harvesting rubber is actually quite difficult and the trees are really susceptible to bugs and rot. The characters were really great and I loved some of the things that the author had done with this story. Up to this point the books really could have been read alone but during this book they started to tie in with the other books because of a society. I am not going to ruin it but I would definitely suggest this series to everyone!

Sutton Place

I was lucky enough to be asked to do a review for Sutton Place by Louise Gaylord. Louise  has been popular since she released the first novel in her Allie Armington series which was an instant hit and began the fan base which is now world wide. She made her name in mystery/thrillers and as the books come out her talent just keeps growing. All thanks to her serving on jury duty for a few months. I think it's incredible how the smallest things that effect our lives can lead us down such strange roads but I am thankful that she served that time and was inspired to begin her new journey down the dark and twisting paths of her imagination!

Sutton Place is the prequel to Julia Fairchild. Julia Fairchild is the main character in this intriguing novel. She is brilliant in her own right. After struggling through mistakes that Julia had made as a child she rises to the top of her field in psychology in New York. Life takes an even better turn as she begins a whirl wind romance with one of her co workers. That's where everything falls apart as all the scars come back along with the knowledge of something deeper and darker that happened to her. 

Julia had grown up in privilege and wealth though secrets had surrounded both her and her sister. After the first of those secrets was revealed Julia had fled her home. That flight as a teenager ended horribly as she wrapped the car around a tree, causing a coma. Her family spared no expense and sent her to the best treatment center that they could afford. However even the most luxurious and renowned places have darkness. In a coma where Julia lay helpless one of the doctors who was supposed to protect her took advantage of her, warping and controlling her brain until she was what he had conditioned her to be. Thankfully Julia was able to muster the strength to tell her mother a few words.

Those incidents lay in Julia's subconcious for years, forgotten and unused, until her first love. After it falls apart horribly Julia leaves to go to New Mexico and just when the past finally seems like the past, it all comes rushing back with the smell of musk. 

I definitely recommend this book it was so well written! The author is a genius when it comes to the twists and turns that make a truly great mystery novel. She includes all facets of the lives of her characters which makes them seem all the more real and grabs the reader even more!

clip of Louise Gaylord at home

I.T. Confidential

I.T Confidential by C.D. Rahm is such a great novel! He captures all the boring and drama of working in the day to day office with computers from the eyes of the computer geek. I know by the end of my day I feel like my eyes are starting to cross so I could only imagine about the poor I.T guy (who I personally harass on a sadly constant basis as my computer likes to do strange and random things when I am in the middle of other things!)

It was so well written and captured me from the get go! I loved how he blended humour with every day occurrences to make it easy for everyone to relate to, not just those who would work with computers. I honestly can't even think about what else to say other then if you need a laugh or you work in an office then you should grab this book!!!!!

You can find it at amazon.ca for around $15 canadian!

Suspicious Hearts

Suspicious Hearts by Julie Tetel Andresen is such a great romantic thriller. Richard Worth wants to re-enter society and approaches his friend the Duke to find a suitable woman for marriage who will help make his debut flow smoother. With a list in hand Richard strikes out to meet the women and see which one he feels will be best for him.

Caroline had come back to town after leaving three years ago in disgrace. Her father was a gambler and had lost the majority of their fortune and so they had retreated to the country. She returns at the invitation of her aunt and so she can settle the affairs of her father after he passed several months before.  After learning that her father had kept up his gambling ways and through the twists and turns of fate Caroline ends up accepting the proposal of Richard Worth.

The story sky rockets after that with fast paced conversation, murder, and double crossing! All set against a wonderful Victorian society background. I loved how this story just flowed together and how all the characters ended up where I wanted them to be! Such a good read I definitely recommend it to anyone!!

Also it's a great deal as a kindle version for only 4 bucks!!!

And Heaven Too

And Heaven Too is a great historical romance by Julie Tetel Andresen. I am so glad that I was introduced to her works because they kept me from going mad last weekend. Let us just say that it was a miserable weekend, the joys of flu or some other bug but thankfully for me I had this great book to help distract me! I pretty much finished this book and moved on to one of the others that I have from this same author and was able to keep sane! Well at least the majority of my sanity that I have any other day :)

Judith is such a great main character, she is bright and witty and trying so hard to be a good daughter to the uncle that adopted her. I think we have all struggled to live up to the expectations of those around us and I loved watching this character come into her own as she realized that sometimes to really live we have to do what's wrong to really be in the right of our own consciousness. 

Charles Lambert is the gentleman who shows Judith a whole new world that she hadn't even dreamed of. He is devious and filled with such theatrical drama. He had almost eloped with her cousin Diana years earlier and in attempting to capture someone who stole something from him accidentally captures Judith. 

The hi-jinks ensue from there as the  two try to figure out the importance of a painting, life and love in the renaissance era. All of this is set against the background of intrigue, an England that sways between it's two churches and of course the glory of art. 

Such a great and humorous read that you don't even realizing you are learning until you know it! It was so great and vividly written that I could see everything with my minds eye. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance or anyone looking for a good read!

Simon's Lady by Julie Tetel Andresen

What can I say about this wonderful author? So many good things! I really enjoyed this book. I love historical romance novels, they are a sad and guilty pleasure of mine. They have taught me what a fort night means, which isn't something that you hear everyday. But I digress, sorry about that. Mrs. Andresen combines humour, real history, and confusion into a real love story with some pretty hot scenes that made me flick through the pages pretty awkwardly as I read this on my lunch hours at work.

Simon of Beresford is told by the King's mistress that it will be an honour to marry the widow Gwyneth of Northumbria. Distinctly unsure of this "honour" there is nothing he can do and faces his bride to be. He is soon taken by the violet depths of her eyes even as his soul struggles with the mounting evidence proving her as a traitor. For Gwyneth, she went from one horrible marriage and knows that she can not deny another that is sure to be more of the same, especially as she meets her Lord Husband and realizes he has no manners. But his gentleness in the boudoir convinces her that there is more to this plain speaking brute who can not seem to see the webs that wrap themselves around him as she attempts to save him from one mishap after another.

I liked the fact that real historical events about King Stephen and the tumultuous time period that he ruled during as well as some of the intrigues that may have actually happened as the lords were torn in their loyalties between rulers. The love story is genuine and I really liked reading from his prospective as well as hers. Sex scenes are hot hot hot! There is also action and intrigue and even an almost murder or two to make things extra exciting!

Definitely something that I would recommend for a reader who enjoys historical romance or just romance novels in general! It was so good! And at only 4 bucks for the kindle version it's a great buy!!!