My Last Summer with You ~ Fidelis O. Mkparu

My Last Summer with You: No Fanfare for a Withered Rose by Fidelis O. Mkparu
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My Last Summer with You was surprisingly good novel. Fidelis gives a convincing story of basically a young man growing up during his college years. I did appreciate the fact that this story with its romantic twists and turns was told from a male’s perspective. The way Joseph’s live intertwines with Wendy and Francesca kept me captivated in the story line as well as wanting to know more.

Fidelis brought to light a good number of social issues in My Last Summer. Among the many issues the most prevalent were racism and interracial dating in the 70’s. Fidelis not only brings a strong male character to the novel, he is backed up by many strong female characters as well. Joseph, a young teenager when the novel starts, Joseph learns to grow up fast, manage school work and manage loving a woman at the same time. Great job Fidelis on giving an excellent coming of age story with a twist.

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Awesome - Abigail Arrington

AWESOME by Abigail Arrington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesome is just that, Awesome.  This novel brings a new swing to what I would like to call the Law and Order.  Arrington gives an A+ writing performance in this book.  Both main characters Riley and Sam keep the reader on their toes in regards to how they react to one another and other key characters in the story.  This book had everything I wanted in it.  There's action, suspense, drama, romance and a little comedy here and there.  Arrington found a way to capture CSI, Law and Order and McGyver all in one novel without it seeming overcrowded and losing sense of the plot.

Awesome was an emotional roller coaster ride with plenty of upside down turns.  Arrington portrays a strong independent woman in Riley.  Sam portrays a smart, handsome supposedly lady's man.  But the journey of these two needs to be portrayed more in Arrington's upcoming novel.

I cannot wait for the next novel.

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Powerful Pinterest - Penny Sansevieri

Power Pinterest was quite a quick and interesting read. I have a Pinterest account and was so unaware of the unlimited possibilities that Pinterest offered. Sanserviei wrote this eBook as if she were having a conversation with a person face-to-face. I was presently surprised that I liked this approach of writing. It was if we were friends. This book provides the reader with plenty of easy ways to enhance your Pinterest experience. If you have a small business or any business, Sansevieri sheds light on many tools that will help you add Pinterest to get more traffic to your website and even connect Pinterest to other social networking sites such as Twitter and FaceBook. Sansevieri provided plenty of color snapshots with detailed instructions to follow along with. Powerful Pinterest is a great do it yourself guide and truly easy to follow. And surprisingly I found it a good short read. I can’t wait to implement some of her strategies on my Pinterest page. I give this 4 out of 5 stars.

No Time to Spare -G.S. Mauro

No Time to Spare by G.S. Mauro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This particular novel was much unexpected. Upon beginning my journey through the novel, which started off kind of slow in my opinion, I thought it was going to be a sketchy drama with little to no action or character development. I was so wrong and happy to be wrong. Despite starting off slow Mauro provides a really good drama with a romantic twist. His main characters Sam MacAteer and Ariel Bauer, although on different sides of the law were really good characters overall. After reading this novel I now know why Mauro did not fully explain both characters background in chapter 1. The reader needs that sort of suspense and build in order to fully understand the complexity of all characters, how they relate to each other and how they relate to the supporting characters.


No Time to Spare really brings light to a tragic story of child abuse and misuse. To me this novel has all the makings of becoming a good movie. It provides the reader with drama and conflict right from the start. The novel delves into the insecurities both the police face and criminals. Techies will enjoy this novel as well as those who like to read mysteries. Great job Mauro cannot wait to read another novel like this one.

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Embracing You, Embracing Me - Michelle Bellon

Embracing You, Embracing Me by Michelle Bellon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At first I was skeptical about reading Embracing You, Embracing Me. I did not know what to expect about the “coming of age” novel. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Michelle Bellon catches the essence of youth and the struggles of growing up and trying to be a normal productive citizen. Growing up with main character Roshell was quite eye-opening. Bellon did not make her a cookie cutter character. Roshell and her immediate friends experienced everyday hardships as well as joys. Bellon’s style of writing gives the reader something to look forward to. In saying this, the way the story line is broken up the reader will get a lot of Roshell’s point of view for most of the novel; but this is also highlighted with other main character’s points of view as well (in other words Roshell is not the only one telling the story).

Would I read this book again? Yes I would, to me this story had a lot of depth into and just may need a second read to fully understand the simplicity yet complexity of the character details Bellon provides.

“Embracing You, Embracing Me” is based in modern day times and is really good story that both teens and young adults can relate to. This book was a pleasant, emotional roller coaster ride and I quite enjoyed it.


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Two Weeks in the South of France by David Christie

Two Weeks in the South of France by David Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Two Weeks in the South of France by David Christie, is an amazing murder mystery filled with tons of action, romance and conspiracy. I must say I was a little skeptical about reading this novel. I thought it was going to be boring with very little flow to the story line and only entail a few good dramatic action points. I was completely wrong, Christie overall provides a great story line of a young male trying to find out what happened to his father overseas.

Christie gives so much depth to Chris’s character within this novel. The beginning of the novel starts of great but I would say the first day or of Chris’s journey was a little boring. I am glad that I pressed on and continued to read the novel, as Christie plot and story picked up tremendously. Delving deeply into the mind of the main character, “Chris,” going through his pain and discovery of who his father truly was but wanting to uphold his legacy his memory – what an emotional roller coaster ride and journey. This is what makes Christie’s writing flow, after about Day 3 I was unable to put the novel down.

The style of writing was well suited for this novel, although it was a struggle to get through some of the beginning, please stick with it. The beginning provides valuable background information that will help Chris the character and the reader fully understand resolution at the end. If I had to describe this novel I would say the following:

· Drama with tons of Action
· A little suspense, Christie really threw a few curve balls in the plot to keep the reader on their toes
· Add history in regards to the militia of the times
· Action packed scenes dispersed evenly throughout the novel

Overall this was an amazing novel and I wished it had a sequel.

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A Death Displaced (Lansin Island Series #1) - Andrew Butcher

A Death Displaced by Andrew Butcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Death Displaced is quite a paranormal drama normal with a hint of romance here and there. This book starts off slow but readers still need to pay attention to the facts of the story and keep reading. A little before midway the book picks up. Although I do wish the meat of the story and action per se would have picked up faster.

Butcher‘s style of writing is good, he’s able to tie in today’s life, with the past and also bring a sense of supernatural mystery to the story. The main characters are young but they have a maturity about them that quite frankly surprised me. Although the novel did take a while to get started in my opinion, once the action started it became an easy read.

I am glad that Butcher decided to make this a series piece, I can see at least 3 more books off of the characters introduced in this first novel alone. If a reader is looking a leisurely read that dabbles into witches, future seers and the likes, this book definitely delivers. Although the book is set in present day, it does make many references to the past and the history of the town; Butcher did an excellent job setting up the background story.

Quite enjoyed this read and I am looking forward to the next book A Body Displaced in 2013.


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