Archives for October 2013

Tough Love

Janessa knows she should run in the other direction when Brendan enters her life. Her squeaky-clean upbringing is in direct opposition to his piercings, a myriad of tattoos and the rumors that surround him. But she doesn’t run. Love, betrayal and lies become the foundation of their lives, but one heartbreaking confession makes Janessa question everything. After a devastating diagnosis, Janessa’s world crumbles around her. When she can no longer ignore the reality of who Brendan really is, she must choose between those who love her and the only one she has ever loved.

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 Review:

Every once and awhile, I read something really amazing. Like wow, how could that be possible?  As I am <ahem> a woman of a certain age, I kept thinking as I read this…NO!  Don’t do that, how could you do that? And then I brought myself back to when I was a young teenage girl.  I may not have been exactly like Janessa but the insecurity, oh boy, yes.  I remember feeling that for sure. Not pretty enough, not cool enough, not anything enough.  And then I could see Janessa and how this could have happened.

And I see it today, in women as well.  Women beaten down by domestic-violence, verbal abuse and think how could they let this be done to them?  The self-esteem issues we have as young girls certainly can continue to adulthood.

I can say I would never let that happen to me but I’m sure these women said the very same thing.

This is a brave book. More brave than I would ever be.  The author tells us everything Janessa was feeling and doing even though she knew in her heart it was wrong.  She has a loving family…friends…people around her who knew what was going on and tried to help her. But she was in love and couldn’t help herself. Although I sometimes wanted to yell no at Janessa, I couldn’t help but love her. She was just a girl who wanted to love and be loved.  Which is what we all want,.right?

This is a book I will share with my daughter and should be shared with all young people. It is a gritty, painful but beautiful story about how someone you believe loves you could manipulate you and treat you as less than you deserve. And portrayed in a way that is real. You can see the neighborhood, you are in her family, and you are back in high school again. It is a story of hope, love, and family above all and why it is a must read.

Marcie Bridges has always wanted to be a writer, from the time she started keeping a diary in seventh grade. Since then, she has earned a master’s degree in education from Cumberland University while teaching some wonderful children with special needs in Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.

While she will always bleed scarlet and gray (GO BUCKS!), she now lives south of Cincinnati with her husband and daughter. When Marcie isn’t writing, she can be found reading, watching her favorite TV shows, listening to music, or browsing her favorite websites.

Follow Marcie Bridges

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MarcieABridges

Twitter: @marcie_ann

Blog: http://marcieshrinks.blogspot.com/

Pinterest Personal: http://pinterest.com/mabridges2/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/109921896394674548677/posts/p/pub

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by Jill Cooper

Protection, murder, deception….

No one can know Natalie works for a supernatural protection agency and is charged with protecting Meadow’s Creek from vampires. But as their numbers swell, their presence doesn’t go unnoticed throwing her town under the microscope from the local government and the FBI.

Natalie’s job is pushed even further into the shadows where she must dodge the police, concerned citizens and even her own parents.

Meanwhile a deadly plague grips the town and Natalie suspects it’s more than just a hacking cough. While the stress of working overtime erodes her relationships she will race against time, illness, to face a familiar enemy, save an old friend, and stop an undead seize that wants nothing more than to suck Meadow’s Creek dry.

Buy on Amazon:

Dream Slayer (Book 1)

Demon Royal (Book 2)

Dawning Apocolypse (Book 3)

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The author is giving away an ecopy of Dawning Apocalypse and some vampire themed Halloween candy

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—

by Braxton A. Cosby

“A fast-paced adventure featuring a secret society on a divine mission…a satisfying read: The characters steadily develop, goodness prevails, and there’s even a touch of romantic intrigue. Gripping, action-packed.” —- Kirkus Review

“A memorable, unpredictable journey of hope, identity and courage. The Cosby gift of storytelling lives on in this page turning adventure.”  —- Bill Cosby, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Comedian, Philanthropist

“Braxton Cosby delivers a thrill ride of suspense, fantasy, drama and fun in The School of Ministry. An unrequieted love story beats at the center of Ziv’s journey to find peace, purpose and faith. You’ll root for him as he claims his life and future in this wholly inventive and original novel with a message for all. I loved it.”  —- Adriana Trigiani, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Shoemaker’s Wife

Winner of The Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal Book of the Year Award for Young Adult – General

I’m helpless as she continues to struggle for air. Then, an image flickers from the corner of my eye as a side door opens and Maxwell walks out, holding a staff of his own.
“Maxwell,” I plead. “It’s Miss Evans. Please help her!”
He shakes his head and lifts his staff in his hands, twirling it in a circle as he begins to slowly walk sideways, circling me like a predator, encasing me in a hedge of danger.
“Hold your ground. Make a choice: fight or flight,” Maxwell bellows.
Miss Evans’ banging on the glass behind me blends with the pounding of my heart. I lift my staff and spread my feet, turning my attention to Maxwell. As much as I’m afraid for my own safety, I find it impossible not to focus on Miss Evans. Her muffled scream comes from the tank and I look away from Maxwell to check on her. Her hands clutch her neck. Her face is bright red with a tinge of blue around her lips.
“No,” I scream, stepping back away from the tank.
Raising my staff above my head, I crank back and rip it down, slamming it into the side of the tank, as I yell. The water explodes from the crack in the tank and glass shards crash to the floor below. I swing once more and this time the entire tank shatters, launching Miss Evans into the air toward me. I catch her in my arms and the force of the water propels us backward onto the floor. She coughs, gasping for air. I hold her in my arms and caress her head. Her sobbing brittles me and I’m relieved to see her skin color returning to its natural tanned shade.
We’re here, an odd place, an unfamiliar place. But as I hold her delicately in my arms, it makes me feel like I’m heading back home. Not the place where I live now, but the place where I used to live, when mom and dad were still alive. The way she rests in my arms beckons me to a time when I used to hold my kitten, Priceless. She’d climb into my lap during the thunder storms. I was her comforter. Priceless would purr when I did it. And now, so many years later, I find myself feeling the same way as I hold Miss Evans. Her soft body pressing into my skin—warming me—calls me to hug her even closer with each passing second. The times when I needed someone to hold me reflect in my mind like a mirror as I stare at her. Her chest rises as her heart beat quickens, mixing evenly with her breaths. As warmth returns to her body, a subtle tremor comes over her; like a purr.
I can’t resist. I have to do it. I must do it. I hug deeply, ignoring the senseless urge to pull away.
“Bravo!” praises Maxwell, exiting the room as the lights come back on.
Miss Evans resting in my arms and I comfort her, caressing her hair. She finally looks up at me and mouths, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Are you all right?” I ask.
“Yes…better now,” she replies.
“How did you get in there?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Um, if you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”
“What? It’s Ziv of course. Miss Evans, are you feeling all right?”
“Miss Evans?” she asks with a puzzled look on her face. “Did you say your name was Ziv?”

Review:

I had no idea what this book would bring me but it brought me to a new world, where people see demons and work towards a common goal of defeating evil.  We meet Ziv, a relatively normal man and the adventure begins. After discovering his friend has been kidnapped, he is also kidnapped and taken to the School. There he must decide to join them or leave. He decides to join.

This book just never stopped. The characters are given challenges at every turn.  It really made me think about what I would do in the same situation.  I love a book that really makes me think and this story did just that.  What obstacles are in my way?  What doubts do I have?

The characters were real in that they had a flawed past. Ziv, an orphan, has issues with how his life turned out.   He must face the things he is most afraid of and deal with them.  It made me think of how I could deal with issues.  Could I do the same?  Put them behind me?

The supporting cast was equally interesting.  I really didn’t know who the “bad” guy was until towards the very end. I guessed several times, but I was wrong each time.

The author did a great job weaving the story, with action and thoughtfulness.  It flowed perfectly as they moved form scene to scene.  I could “see” the locations from the descriptions and “felt” what the characters were feeling.

This is such a great book, I looked forward to my evening read and can’t wait until the next one comes out. It doesn’t end with a cliffhanger but doesn’t reveal all either.

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Meet the Author:

Multi-Award-Wining Author Braxton A. Cosby is a dreamer who evolved from concepts on pen and paper to pixels and keyboards. He tells stories that evoke emotions and stimulate thought. Protostar: Book 1 The Star-Crossed Saga and The School of Ministry: The Windgate are currently two Young Adult series he created. Braxton lives in Georgia with his wife, three children and a troop of crazy African Cichlids.

www.braxtoncosby.com 
www.theschoolofministry.com

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Tough Love

Janessa knows she should run in the other direction when Brendan enters her life. Her squeaky-clean upbringing is in direct opposition to his piercings, a myriad of tattoos and the rumors that surround him. But she doesn’t run. Love, betrayal and lies become the foundation of their lives, but one heartbreaking confession makes Janessa question everything. After a devastating diagnosis, Janessa’s world crumbles around her. When she can no longer ignore the reality of who Brendan really is, she must choose between those who love her and the only one she has ever loved.

Amazon/Barnes and Noble/Smashwords

Marcie Bridges has always wanted to be a writer, from the time she started keeping a diary in seventh grade. Since then, she has earned a master’s degree in education from Cumberland University while teaching some wonderful children with special needs in Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky.

While she will always bleed scarlet and gray (GO BUCKS!), she now lives south of Cincinnati with her husband and daughter. When Marcie isn’t writing, she can be found reading, watching her favorite TV shows, listening to music, or browsing her favorite websites.

Follow Marcie Bridges

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/MarcieABridges

Twitter: @marcie_ann

Blog: http://marcieshrinks.blogspot.com/

Pinterest Personal: http://pinterest.com/mabridges2/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/109921896394674548677/posts/p/pub

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by Michael J. Webb

Ethan Freeman, ex-Special Forces Ranger, wakes up to discover he is the sole survivor of a fiery commercial airline crash that killed his entire family. His nightmare is only beginning when he becomes the FBI’s prime suspect. Only Ethan knows he’s not a cold-hearted murderer, but he has no idea what happened to him–and why he alone survived. He finds an unlikely ally in Sam Weaver, the NTSB Chief Investigator. An ex-military pilot, Sam senses Ethan is innocent. She tries to remain dispassionate in her investigation of the crash even as she finds herself attracted to the man who may be America=s worst homegrown mass-murderer. Neither Ethan nor Sam realize that shadowy spiritual forces are at work which will alter their lives forever. A monstrous evil, imprisoned since the time of the Pharaohs, has been released by The Nine, a sinister group of powerful men and women who believe they are the direct descendants of the Anunnaki, ancient Sumerian gods. The demon they have unleashed intends to free The Destroyer from The Abyss, the angelic prison referred to in the Book of Revelation, and unleash a worldwide reign of terror and annihilation. Facing impossible odds, time is running out for Ethan and all of humanity as he is drawn into an ever-deeper conspiracy–millennia in the making–and learns that he is the key to stopping The Nine. Will he overcome his deepest fears and find reserves of strength he never knew he had as he confronts pure evil in order to save himself and an unsuspecting world?

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Review:

Wow! This is one of those books that stays with you, I was thinking about it well after finishing it. Infernal Gates is about a man who somehow survives a plane crash.  The author introduces us to other characters from various areas in the world. They all seem to have one thing in common, their belief in God. But you really don’t know what else makes them part of the story.  As the story unfolds, you learn about their connections to each other.

This is a story steeped in religion.  It does not focus on one particular one but rather the spiritual nature of the characters’ beliefs.  It is not preachy but does invoke a desire to be more spiritual.  It really made me think about prayer in particular.

The action keeps the pace moving. This book never slowed down. I was whisked to diverse parts of the world, there was great fighting scenes, and amazing life or death confrontations.  I loved it!

The characters were of various ages and cultures.  The author told the story while also teaching me about these different cultures.  I love learning about different cultures and this story was chock full.  It was also full of history.  Loved all the information about ancient times, imagining Iraq how it once was…the author really brought all that to life with his vivid descriptions.

This story all comes together and you learn how the characters are connected in an epic good vs evil battle that has you furiously turning the pages.  It doesn’t have a cliffhanger but I could see another book with these characters as I don’t really think their stories are finished.  And that is what I am hoping!

I had a red wine blend while reading this on one night and a pinot grigio the next; sometimes I like to mix things up!

About the Author:

Michael J. Webb graduated summa cum laude from the University of Florida and obtained his J. D. from the same university. Over the past forty years he has travelled the world in search of adventure. He is a history buff, both ancient and modern, and is fascinated by the intersection of the scientific, supernatural, and Biblical world views, and has studied and taught from the Bible extensively for more than twenty-five years. He is also intrigued by recent discoveries in quantum physics that are now providing extraordinary insights into the reality of the spirit realm, especially as it relates to the study of Light. He incorporates all of the above into his supernatural thrillers. Michael and his wife make their home in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Books by Michael:
The Master’s Quilt, The Nephilim Parchments, The Song of the Seraphim (Giants in the Earth trilogy), The Oldest Enemy, Infernal Gates. He is currently working on Devil’s Cauldron, the sequel to Infernal Gates. He also authored a non-fiction work entitled In the Cleft of the Rock: Insights into the Blood of Jesus, Resurrection Power, and Saving the Soul.

Follow Michael on :

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