tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56970806097096623952024-03-05T05:00:52.203-08:00Vianvi ReviewsVianvi features book reviews (fiction, memoir, non-fiction & more). Occasionally we also review products we like. Subscribe today. Don't miss a single post!Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-90020275100629577282022-08-22T10:18:00.002-07:002022-08-22T10:18:44.736-07:00Book Review: A NEST OF SNAKES by Deborah Levison<p><b style="color: #0d0d14;"></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b style="color: #0d0d14;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6hzjyWkICfeA18Ruo-BVJbhusabz-ZUFPvZ5ysLblMRsgCjn5aKNHqvjDF1SxT_KuiIECCPeWTueBFWJquNPXsN6qc6zbs-TJO1Ysqvf69Bh1pqO_Ddz9tzUlwZNellmUeHjNzFfXwrBm88vC7X_18ebRg28fhR0A_toosfQG56HgSHRmigoogKfsQ/s2500/A%20Nest%20of%20Snakes%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="1563" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6hzjyWkICfeA18Ruo-BVJbhusabz-ZUFPvZ5ysLblMRsgCjn5aKNHqvjDF1SxT_KuiIECCPeWTueBFWJquNPXsN6qc6zbs-TJO1Ysqvf69Bh1pqO_Ddz9tzUlwZNellmUeHjNzFfXwrBm88vC7X_18ebRg28fhR0A_toosfQG56HgSHRmigoogKfsQ/s320/A%20Nest%20of%20Snakes%20cover.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div><b style="color: #0d0d14;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As a reviewer, it’s always such a pleasure to discover a writer whose style is fast-paced and doesn’t bog the reader down in details, whose storyline is fresh and different, and whose characters are unique and capture the imagination. For me, <a href="https://debbielevison.com/" target="_blank">Deborah Levison</a> is that kind of writer, and her first novel, A Nest Of Snakes is not one to miss if you enjoy psychological and/or legal thrillers.</span></b><p></p><p class="p2" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">From the onset of this absorbing tale, the very wealthy but reclusive protagonist, Brendan Cortland intrigues us. His behavior is strange; his mansion is filled with expensive purchases; he avoids everyone but his housekeeper, chauffeur, and therapist and he can’t stand being touched. Immediately we want to know why. When he agrees with his therapist to take his sorry case to court and begins confiding all the ugly details of his adolescent experiences in an exclusive, private boarding school in his beautiful lawyer, we are horrified and repulsed, but unable to stop reading.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">While the primary plot is more than enough to keep us riveted, Levison has cleverly woven in several sub-plots around the supporting characters: the therapist, the Polish housekeeper and her chauffeur son; the young female lawyer and her father, and other students of Torburton Hall. Their stories all come together perfectly with some very unexpected twists at the end. In short, Levison never gives her readers’ imagination a dull moment! Terrific plotting and characterization make her writing a joy to read.</span></b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsSZzepKA9sLrk8p8doVx0hBRhNRUAnktHO0XAefnWGZ4lx64-ZugEyzPsyKnCogKpNQqDj5HNki7ziU4YEY3rLyr1vty8jCyfi0V1DpuV9E5LMyHZHO51mwwZPXa-MPSe7IvvA1718rZ1rq9ZCLMx_EKTZ7HqUPYdeKT0GKwUh0fgdRAjODFjChQqw/s2600/THE%20CRATE%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2600" data-original-width="1650" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWsSZzepKA9sLrk8p8doVx0hBRhNRUAnktHO0XAefnWGZ4lx64-ZugEyzPsyKnCogKpNQqDj5HNki7ziU4YEY3rLyr1vty8jCyfi0V1DpuV9E5LMyHZHO51mwwZPXa-MPSe7IvvA1718rZ1rq9ZCLMx_EKTZ7HqUPYdeKT0GKwUh0fgdRAjODFjChQqw/s320/THE%20CRATE%20cover.jpg" width="203" /></a></b></div><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not Levison’s first book. Her previous publication, The Crate, was based on a true crime story involving her parents. After scanning the Amazon preview of that book and reading the many positive reviews, critical appraisals, and awards she received for it, it’s one I’d love to add to my reading list. As I said in my review opening, discovering Deborah Levison has been a real pleasure. I, for one, will be keeping an eye out for her next book.</span></b></p><p class="p2" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b></b><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Reviewed by <a href="http://www.vigaboland.com" target="_blank">Viga Boland</a> for <a href="http;//www.readersfavorite.com" target="_blank">Readers Favorite</a></span></b></p><p class="p1" style="color: #0d0d14; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></div><p></p>Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-54225584573084756742021-05-07T16:42:00.001-07:002021-05-07T16:42:16.213-07:00<center><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w8th3wIHFQ8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></center><br /><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prison-Within-Memoir-Breaking-Free/dp/1734892617/ref=nodl_" target="_blank">The Prison Within</a></b></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prison-Within-Memoir-Breaking-Free/dp/1734892617/ref=nodl_" target="_blank">A Memoir of Breaking Free</a></b></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Prison-Within-Memoir-Breaking-Free/dp/1734892617/ref=nodl_" target="_blank">by Don Cummins</a></b></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">On a very personal level, reading The Prison Within by Don Cummins was a real treat. I say this because I know from first-hand experience how much courage it takes to “come out” in print on a very private but painful subject. What makes Cummins’ achievement in writing this memoir even better is the importance of his subject: the heart-breaking struggle with drug addiction faced by far too many people of all ages.</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">What readers look for in any memoir, and one of the reasons I believe so strongly in this genre, is not just the narrator’s story complete with its rather unpleasant details, but seeing a happy ending. Readers need to come away not just informed, but wanting to celebrate the writer’s victory over his or her demons.</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">In his simple, friendly approach to telling his story, Don Cummins gives us all that, and so much more. Cummins moves smoothly back and forth between his present and past, which incidentally included many long years in prison and once out, several failed attempts to stay clean. So many times I found myself thinking “Oh no...not again!” I became almost as desperate as he must have felt to see him finally kick the habit. Well he not only did that, but today Don has both a happy marriage, several children and a very successful career. And like so many of us who have successfully overcome adversity, he is ever understanding of others going through the same hell and wanting to help them.</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Again, on a personal level, when Don finally nailed how and why he had become an addict, I was struck by his recognition of the primary issue. I realized that his feelings of inadequacy, of somehow being undeserving were deeply rooted in his childhood. Some folks find the inner strength to get on top of such feelings as they mature; others need much more help, and when they can’t get it through friends, family or therapy turn to chemical or alcoholic escape. It can take decades, as Don’s recovery did, and even then, one can never be sure there’ll be no further relapses.</p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">I highlighted sections of this book to share with members of my own family. While their “addictions” are different, the long-term effects can be just as debilitating. But reading Don’s story will help them see explanations they might never have considered otherwise. Like any well-written memoir, The Prison Within deserves a wide readership. It could save your life of the life of someone you love. Thanks for writing this memoir, Don Cummins. 5 stars all the way!</p></div>Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-82895051056431790392020-10-20T13:43:00.001-07:002020-10-20T13:45:59.187-07:00Viga Boland reviews A SAINT AND A SINNER, a memoir by Father Stephen H D...<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yyTmwJ582n8" width="480"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #1c1c1c; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">A Saint and a Sinner</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #262626; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest</span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">by Stephen Donnelly with Diane O'Bryan</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">What I’m about to tell you has little to do with the content and intentions of the authors of A Saint and a Sinner, the biography of a Catholic priest, Father Stephen Donnelly. It has everything to do with what I felt as I read the last few pages of this courageous memoir: I was overcome with a profound sadness that a man who’d fought so hard to win control over his various addictions, and was helping so many people, made one more bad mistake. That slip-up resulted in his excommunication from the Catholic Church.</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">In his honest and raw memoir, Stephen Donnelly shares details of his less than idyllic upbringing that resulted in his decision to become a priest. His great love of God, coupled with his genuine desire to serve God’s people, qualified him for the priesthood but...and it’s a big “but”...he was addicted to cocaine and eventually, alcohol. Worse yet, being celibate wasn’t possible as he was deeply in love with Camilla. Their secret relationship lasted 7 years until Stephen fell in love with Anna. Honestly, Hollywood scriptwriters couldn’t write a more eye-opening film script. </span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">But A Saint and A Sinner is no fiction movie. What Stephen, and other priests like him experience, is a most difficult, sometimes ugly reality: the priesthood is a lonely and demanding vocation. Growing up Catholic, how well I remember being in awe of, and just a little afraid of priests. But as an adult, I found it almost preposterous that young men, in their prime, were denied the right to sexual relationships. Over the years I often wondered how they managed the self-denial. Well, Donnelly’s memoir sheds much light on the real difficulties priests endure. Though Donnelly himself, thankfully, was not part of the paedophilia exposed in the film, “Spotlight”, he certainly earned his “sinner” title. But the moniker he earned, and deserves far more, is the second half of the book’s title: he is a saint.</span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">I feel sure that if I were one of his parishioners, seeing all the good he did to help others recover from addictions, the dedication he brought to his duties, and the genuine love he continues to have for his vocation and Church, I would forgive him for all those sins. As for what got him excommunicated, well, you will have to read A Saint and A Sinner to find out. </span></p>
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<p style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">This memoir is beautifully executed, fast-paced with lots of realistic dialogue, and characters to whom you can readily relate and whom you will not easily forget. My own memoir dealt with a very sensitive subject, but I wasn’t someone in the public eye, known to hundreds, perhaps thousands of worshipping parishioners. What stays with me most is the courage it must have taken to write this memoir. Hats off to you Father Stephen Donnelly. You’re my kind of saintly sinner and the world could use many more like you.</span></p></div>Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-90083038396183855962020-06-18T13:24:00.000-07:002020-06-18T13:24:09.066-07:00Book Review: KILLER CALORIES<center>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"> <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Calories-Melanie-Manhattan-Mystery/dp/1624204457" target="_blank">KILLER CALORIES-HI-FIBRE, LO-FAT MYSTERY</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Calories-Melanie-Manhattan-Mystery/dp/1624204457" target="_blank">First in the Melanie Deming Manhattan Murder Series</a></b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Killer-Calories-Melanie-Manhattan-Mystery/dp/1624204457" target="_blank">by Nancy Good</a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">When you read Killer Calories, a Hi Fiber Lo Fat Mystery by Nancy Good, you will understand the rather unusual title applied to what is, after all, a sleuth mystery. Its sleuthing protagonist, Melanie, is zany, funny, ready for an affair after 12 years of marriage and totally obsessed with keeping herself slim through a diet of non-fat foods and overdosing on vitamins and herbs every time she’s stressed. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">When Melanie happens across the bloodied body of good-looking Ralph, just one object of her sexual fantasies, her stress levels are off the charts, as is her natural remedies intake. She knows she should leave the detective work to the police, but she’s also a wannabe famous writer and can’t resist the opportunity to co-write a screenplay based on Ralph’s murder with another gorgeous hunk, Devon. Together, they work on finding the murderer...and it’s a surprise...while trying to ignore the physical chemistry between them. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Readers will have a ball enjoying Melanie’s zany justifications for everything she thinks and does, and if they like Nancy Good’s approach to mystery writing, the best news is this book is the first in a series planned around the very likeable character of Melanie Demming. Good’s style includes lots of easy dialogue and colourful characters, but underneath all the fun, are some astute observations on class differences, materialism and marriage. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">This is a quick, fun read and highly recommended if you’re eager for something a little different in mystery fiction. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth</span></div>
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Reviewed by Viga Boland, author &book reviewer</center>
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<b><i>http://www.vigaboland.com</i></b></center>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-38560640697438837192020-05-11T08:15:00.001-07:002020-05-11T16:27:06.253-07:00SOCIAL ISOLATION: #COVID19<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IUjmT9fkpik" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 27.8px; font-weight: bold;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 30, 33); color: #1c1e21; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;">This video began as a poem. The first few days after everything went into lockdown because of #COVID 19, I felt numb. It was all so surreal. Both my daughters were in different countries and my husband and I realized we wouldn’t be seeing them or our extended families for weeks, maybe months, maybe even forever if any of us were unlucky and passed away from the virus, as so many have done. So today, Mothers Day 2020, I put my poem and photos together to express how I have been</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="caret-color: rgb(28, 30, 33); color: #1c1e21; display: inline; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal;"> feeling during this social isolation. In 2 days, May 12, my younger daughter and her husband will celebrate their first anniversary. The family photos near the end were taken at their wedding a year ago. We haven’t seen any of the extended families since. This video is for all our friends and family...and all others worldwide experiencing social isolation during this 2020 pandemic. Thanks for watching, and when you have, how about sharing what you have been feeling since this pandemic began. </span></span></div>
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#COVID19-SOCIAL ISOLATION</div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 27.8px;">I have never, ever felt this way before</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 27.8px;">I've stepped into another world and feel so insecure</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 27.8px;">Everything’s familiar, yet everything has changed </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-size: 27.8px;">like pieces on a game board, life’s been rearranged<b> </b></span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Now I walk the streets alone, through the park closest to home</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">There are <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>ducks and geese on the pond but where have the people gone?</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Wait! <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I see some strangers on the other side of the street</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Do they live in our neighbourhood? </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Our eyes meet, and for the first time ever, we smile and say hello </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">to neighbours we never knew we had a few long weeks ago</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Now others are coming our way; this time we stop to talk</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">And I feel my spirits lifting as I continue on my walk</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Yes, life flipped upside down and will never be the same</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">But perhaps it’ll be even better than before this virus came</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Cyber hugs are good, but <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>never will they replace</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">A friendly voice, a loving touch, a smile, a kiss or embrace</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">We will settle in to a new normal, no-one knows quite when</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">But once we do, let’s cherish the freedoms we regain</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">We’ve been given a big “time out” to remember what we’ve known</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">But forgot as we rushed around: </span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">there’s no place like home.</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">For now dear friends and relatives</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Life may keep <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>us apart</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">But We will always be together</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Within the home of a loving heart.</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">Copyright VIGA BOLAND 2020</span></div>
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<span class="s2" style="font-size: 21.13px;">http://www.vigaboland.com</span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-60370666695107129212019-09-24T11:19:00.000-07:002019-09-24T11:19:26.624-07:00<center>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">If you’ve ever been faced with the agony of knowing something is very wrong with you physically, but no doctor can figure out the problem even after doing a batch of the usual blood and other tests, after which they treat you for something that is similar, but not the real issue, or even suggest it’s all in your head, you know how devastating that is both mentally and emotionally. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">That’s the horrible reality Dr. Barbara Cordell and her husband Joe faced when she and others saw him stumbling and slurring his words as if he were totally drunk first thing in the morning. And yet, he hadn’t had a drop to drink! As Dr. Cordell writes in her important book, My Gut Makes Alcohol, Joe is one of hundreds of people who suffer from the little recognized Auto-Brewery Syndrome, and believe me, this almost inexplicable malady is one that nobody wants to live with as either a patient or caregiver spouse. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">I believe <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/My-Gut-Makes-Alcohol-Auto-Brewery-ebook/dp/B07WS2DPCT" target="_blank">My Gut Makes Alcohol</a> </b>has been written to enlighten both sufferers and healers. To make that work for both, Dr. Cordell has included a fascinating and eye-opening collection of first-hand patient accounts interspersed with very detailed medical information on what happens in our guts after eating and drinking anything, not just alcohol. Regardless of whether you are a patient, a spouse or doctor, what you thought you knew about digestion seems grossly inadequate once you read the author’s very comprehensive breakdown. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">You see, as simple as I can make this, it is indeed completely possible for some people’s guts to turn into an alcohol brewery, depending on how their guts handle carbs, sugars, even the smell of solvents, chemicals or stress of any kind, just to name a few triggers. There are many more. And what do brewers use in making alcohol? Yeast!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"> As the author points out, when our guts go haywire, as in Joe’s and other cases Dr. Cordell shares, it’s an overgrowth of yeast in our gut that can make us act, speak and vomit as if we were dead drunk. Just imagine how that can affect people in their jobs! Or imagine being pulled over for drunken driving, or worse yet causing an accident, and insisting you have had nothing to drink. Who would believe you, especially when you end up blowing well over acceptable limits in a breathalyzer test. Auto Brewery Syndrome, ABS, is no joke and not as rare as you might think. Victims’ lives have been turned upside-down and inside out after losing their jobs, draining their finances and still having no easy solutions, even medication, to relieve or end their suffering. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">How can you know if you or a loved one has ABS or is just a “closet alcoholic? Well here are some of the symptoms of yeast overgrowth:</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">“...itchy, flaky skin, toe fungus, vaginal or jock itch, athlete’s foot, dandruff, fatigue...gastric upset such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, belching and flatulence.” </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Wait, you or your doctor might say. That sounds like symptoms of a dozen other illnesses e.g. Diabetes. Exactly. And that’s why it’s so hard to nail down the real problem: your alcohol-producing, yeast-infected gut! And that’s also the reason you and doctors everywhere need to read Dr. Cordell’s eye-opening book. You’ll find yourself shaking your head at the heartaches suffered by the handful of patients’ stories shared in My Gut Makes Alcohol. You will also discover possible solutions to this crippling syndrome that include diet and lifestyle changes, along with some more effective meds that have been used to keep symptoms under control, if not fully eradicate the problem. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Cordell includes copious references to reading materials and resources, her own website at <a href="http://www.autobrewery.com/"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">www.autobrewery.com</span></a>, and mentions Facebook groups you might wish to look into for more information and support. There are also several other links to ABS you will find on Google, but I recommend beginning your investigation into this syndrome by reading this book. Doing so could save someone’s life, possibly your own. Pick it up today. </span></div>
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Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-57183508414096609812019-09-01T10:26:00.000-07:002019-09-01T10:26:11.442-07:00<center>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;"><i><b>“I would love to hear readers’ comments concerning this book, both positive and negative. It was my first attempt...”</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">So writes John W Long, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Blood-White-Cotton-John-Long-ebook/dp/B07TK58N78/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Red+Blood+on+White+Cotton%2C+John+W+Long&qid=1567358566&s=digital-text&sr=1-3" target="_blank"><b>Red Blood on White Cotton</b> </a>at the end of this incredible novel, and right off the bat </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">I’d like to tell him that I could only wish my first book had been half as good as this one! Not only is the plot superbly developed, but the characters and what happens to them are unforgettable.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Long has chosen to move back and forth between the present and the past to tell this story. In the hands of a less-skilled writer, this can be a quick way to lose readers. But in Red Blood on White Cotton it is necessary, since what happened to the protagonist, John Reynolds, as a child, has everything to do with who he is when we meet him at his father’s funeral: Calvin Reynolds, a wealthy plantation owner, was one cruel father.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">It is finding out why John grew up hating his father that is the most memorable part of this story, even more engaging, perhaps, than the investigation on which John embarks in the present. This investigation is to solve the mystery of his beloved brother’s death 30 years earlier. What he finally uncovers about what was going on in his father’s life when John was just a youngster would have ruined his family’s standing in the community. It exposes corruption and criminal activities at all levels of society and politics, and makes for exciting reading as we wait for the crooks to get caught.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Red Blood on White Cotton is rich in historic detail re the hardshipsl endured by farming families and their workers. Long’s descriptions are eye-opening, graphic, never boring and definitely unforgettable. Dialogue is realistic and expertly handled, and thankfully, the author knows the value of more showing and less telling, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about all characters and their motivations. This is great writin</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">I am really looking forward to what John W Long has in store for us next. Red Blood on White Cotton might be a tough act to follow!</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> really looking forward to what John W Long has in store for us next. Red Blood on White Cotton might be a tough act to follow!</span></div>
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Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-68385229961127557082019-09-01T10:14:00.000-07:002019-09-01T10:14:28.196-07:00Book Review: TOUGH BLOOD by Susan Tuttle<center style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">OK all of you female private eyes out there! Move over. There’s a new P.I. on the block with an unusual first name, Skylark, and an even more unusual personality. She’s feisty, funny, snarky, and somewhat psychic. She’s also a thorn in the side of the lead detective on the trail of an especially horrific killer <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Tough-Blood-Skylark-P-I-Book-ebook/dp/B07HFPYZRF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Tough+Blood%2C+susan+tuttle&qid=1567357734&s=digital-text&sr=1-1" target="_blank">in <b>Tough Blood</b></a>, the first book of a new series by Susan Tuttle.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Now tracking down serial killers isn’t what Skylark normally does, but when this Neanderthal detective gets it in his head that Skylark is the killer, what’s a girl supposed to do but find a way to defend herself. She needs to find this brutal killer and prove to both him and the cop that she doesn’t take second place to any man. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Like a dog with a bone between its teeth, despite the advice of her devoted lawyer, Skylark won’t let this pursuit go. As horribly mutilated bodies keep surfacing and Skylark’s efforts land her in hospital more than once, Tough Blood moves forward at breakneck speed that leaves readers with only one thought: give us some more Skylark!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">I can’t remember when I have enjoyed suspense fiction more. Enjoy is the best word for this novel: it has such a fascinating cast of well-developed and contrasting characters, not to mention the subtle irony of having a lead detective mirror many of the traits of the killer. There’s blood and gore, graphic and frightening, but there’s also so much humor, especially in the character of Skylark. What a wonderful blend Susan Tuttle has put together here. I, for one, can’t wait to read whatTuttle is cooking up for us and Skylark in book 2. Grab this one and keep your eyes open for the next one!</span></div>
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Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-6668305930047323402019-08-05T13:10:00.000-07:002019-08-05T16:27:49.802-07:00Book Review: REDEMPTION by Viga Boland<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">If you’re getting tired of</span><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> reading the same old, same old, or are starving for something different, come meet Angel and Ice, the stars of </span><b style="font-size: 16pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Redemption-Ice-Angel-Book-1-ebook/dp/B07T8PK5QF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Redemption%2C+Susanne+Beck&qid=1565034749&s=digital-text&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Redemption by Susanne M. Beck</a>.</b><span style="font-size: 16pt;"> Prefer to a watch video review instead of reading? </span><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Go here: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 16pt;">Both convicted murderers, like hundreds of their friends and enemies who share living quarters at the state penitentiary, the relationship that evolves between these two will leave you pondering the strengths and frailties of humanity. Why do we do what we do? What lies beneath the masks we wear? Why is it so hard to be honest, especially with those whom we love? And what indeed attracts one person to another? You might be surprised by humanity’s ability to bond, to find love and even some measure of joy and peace in a prison like this.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Simultaneously, as deeply as Beck moves and touches us with her story of Angel, Ice, the close members of their “good” gang, the Amazons, and even their kind guards, the author appals us with the often violent, even murderous activity of the rival gangs and their leaders. Readers see the other side of life in a woman’s prison. Susanne Beck spares no details in the often hate-filled and brutal clashes that will leave your brain spinning. You come away glad that you are out here and not in there!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">It’s impossible to touch on all the wonderful things about Redemption, too many to list here. A well-developed plot, captivating and unforgettable characters, excellent use of dialogue to reveal character and move the story along, graphic detail...Beck has brought it all together beautifully. But while the often ugly details make us wince, it’s the emotions Beck’s characters stir in us that we take away most from reading this brilliant story. It’s fiction, but the way it is delivered makes it so real you wonder if it is perhaps, a skillfully masked memoir.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">Whatever the case, since this is a series, I’m definitely ready to read the two books that come next: Retribution and Restitution. </span></div>
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<span id="goog_1049702825"></span><span id="goog_1049702826"></span><br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-90410045899223404012019-07-25T13:53:00.000-07:002019-07-25T13:53:37.845-07:00Book Review: NORMAL FAMILY by Don Trowden<br />
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Every once in a while a book comes along that is so different from what you expected your reaction shocks you. That’s what happened to me when I finished <b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Normal-Family-Trilogy/dp/0997913711" target="_blank">Normal Family by Don Trowden</a></b>: I burst into tears! Why on earth did that happen?</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">It happened because the description, and a few reviews I read on Amazon, prepared me for a good laugh. And laugh I did…often. I mean, visualizing grand-dad dropping his hearing aid in the toilet or bumping his noggin every time he exits the bathroom or crashing head first into the beautifully decorated Christmas tree when he’s had a little too much Christmas cheer before dinner is funny…especially when I can see my own husband doing exactly the same. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">And it’s hard not to laugh when the grandchildren discover the contents of Grand-dad’s secret bomb shelter and decide to share a joint down there, only to have Grand-dad ask to join in their fun. What? Yes, this is definitely not a Normal Family in some respects, and yet, so very normal in others e.g. everyone keeping secrets, older siblings picking on younger siblings and a father who marries a bit of a witch after a divorce and hopes the kids will like her and vice versa. Yeah right!</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Young Henry Pendergast, the 10-year-old narrator of Normal Family, watches, observes, eavesdrops and becomes increasingly puzzled by the behaviour, not just of his gifted older brother and sister, but by all the adults around him…except for his beloved grandfather who imparts the wisdom of years to his attentive grandson. Oddly enough, it is young Henry who opens Grand-dad’s eyes to his own failings. If only all families could be so honest with each other.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;">Normal Family will have you thinking about your own family, identifying with the various characters, and questioning, as young Henry does, why we do what we do and indeed wondering just what the heck is a normal family. Will it make you cry at the end? Perhaps not if you’re made of sterner stuff than I am. But I assure you you won’t come away untouched by Don Trowden’s beautifully delivered story. And if you love it, as I did, you might find yourself keen to read the two books that followed this one. I certainly am. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 12pt;"><i><b><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">©Viga Boland, author, book reviewer, writing coach</a></b></i></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-20952565034095332012019-05-22T13:10:00.000-07:002019-05-22T13:10:27.121-07:00Book Review-NO WOMAN'S LAND by Ellie Midwood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Since according to this post I saw today on Facebook, today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, it seems appropriate to tell you about one of the most recent books I have read and reviewed. If you care about what happened during that second World War, don't miss this book:</i></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>When you flunk high school history, it’s a sure sign history isn’t your thing. But then, along comes an incredible book like<a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Womans-Land-Holocaust-novel-ebook/dp/B07PFLZB3C" target="_blank"> No Woman’s Land, a novel based on the Holocaust by Ellie Midwood</a>, and even a non-history fan like me is unable to put it down. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Midwood has succeeded where all my history teachers failed: she grabbed my attention and held it for 277 pages as she shared the love story of two people who were never supposed to love each other: Ilse Stern, a German Jew and Willy Schultz, a Luftwaffe Captain. And yes, these two people did exist and those are their real names. Several of the other characters named in No Woman’s Land also existed. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>But while the beautifully delivered love story was as touching as it gets, it was Midwood’s riveting descriptions of the inhumanity of the SS to the German and Russian Jews that made me choke up. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of documentaries and films based on that horrible time in history, but somehow, Midwood’s graphic details shocked me more. Perhaps it was because she helped us “see” the actual abuse and slaughter through Ilse’s eyes. As a reader, I felt I was watching the nearly frozen Jewish women lugging wood to heat the German officers’ offices. I could better see that German officer who liked children tossing them candies in the death pits while they waited to be massacred. And I could better feel Ilse’s own hopelessness as she and her suffering women friends faced each new day wondering if this was their last. What a horrid way to live month after month for no reason other than you are a Jew. Haunting and mind-blowing!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>If stories about the Holocaust are on your bucket list, make sure you add<a href="https://www.amazon.com/No-Womans-Land-Holocaust-novel-ebook/dp/B07PFLZB3C" target="_blank"> No Woman’s Land</a> to it immediately. Ellie Midwood has thoroughly researched her subject and characters to bring truth into fiction. She has written other books on this subject and after reading this, I know why she is a “USA best selling and award-winning historical fiction author”. This lady knows how to deliver an unforgettable and haunting novel based on reality. 5 stars!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</b></span></div>
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<br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-6893030016992295572019-03-26T12:19:00.000-07:002019-03-26T12:19:20.757-07:00Book Review: THE EMANCIPATION of EVAN WALLS by Jeffrey Blount<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 16px;">Every so often a book comes along that you believe everyone should read. For me, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emancipation-Evan-Walls-Jeffrey-Blount/dp/1633939162/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1552081782&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Emancipation of Evan Walls by Jeffrey Blount</i> </a>is that book, a story in which not only the protagonist, Evan Walls, is liberated from the demons of his youth, but through which receptive readers will be freed of uninformed notions about what it was like to grow up black in America before, and after, emancipation. This incredible story, might shock you, or at the very least, will move you to tears. Either way, you won’t forget it any time soon, if ever. </b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emancipation-Evan-Walls-Jeffrey-Blount/dp/1633939162/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1552081782&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Pre-order this book now from Amazon</a></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>As a wide-eyed, curious and intelligent youngster, Evan loves the weekly gathering of friends and family for Kool-Aid, chatter and gossip on his parents’ verandah. At one such gathering, he tunes into Bojack’s grumblings on the status of the black people of Canaan who seem content with, and intent upon staying where years of white suppression have put them ie. not seeking to better themselves, to get an education, and one day become somebody who matters. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Evan takes Bojack’s views to heart and from that point on is determined to make something of himself. He learns to read; he slowly replaces his “black” way of speaking with proper English. He is mentored for years by both Bojack and his beloved great-grandmother Jennie, but along the way he is rejected, not just by his peers who see him as an Uncle Tom and as turning his back on his race, but by his own status-conscious mother and father. After schools become integrated, the friendless, unloved and abused Evan finds friendship in some white classmates. Unfortunately, that fuels even more anger from his family, and triggers complete isolation and violence from his black brothers. Despite a broken heart and incredible loneliness, Evan weathers it all to become a star athlete. But even that cannot salvage the damage his determination to become a somebody has caused in his personal life. He has broken the unspoken rule of accepting the status quo, of fitting in with everyone, and now he must pay the price.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emancipation-Evan-Walls-Jeffrey-Blount/dp/1633939162/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1552081782&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><i>The Emancipation of Evan Walls</i></a> is a gut-wrenching read, delivered by a brilliant, award-winning author and television director, Jeffrey Blount. He is a master of telling a story, revealing characters and their motivations primarily through dialogue. This style of writing not only makes his characters utterly realistic and emotionally engaging, but also moves the story along quickly. This is one of those books that keep you turning pages, not because of non-stop action or unexpected twists and turns, but because of the stark reality and truths explored through the characters and setting. The Emancipation of Evan Walls is utterly riveting reading and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Brilliant! </b></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©Viga Boland, A</b></span><b>uthor and Book Reviewer</b></a></div>
<br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-40734154536710609352019-02-24T18:17:00.000-08:002019-02-24T18:17:48.972-08:00Book Reviews: THE BOOK OF DAVID by Kate L. Mary<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyCrtIEfnC_YZ6MBU5xv8q-OcLCJIUzlE7jEpkWHMLPXv4q1_9PGRs75fqalp4L8Hy5EeQHrRShSS6djh_VEGheuVhYk-xOKYWfciry1OpHPTcqgjnTTJQhJxlwom7NMzYshLoEd-fHaq/s1600/51078264_2017001958412554_8265041657750093824_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheyCrtIEfnC_YZ6MBU5xv8q-OcLCJIUzlE7jEpkWHMLPXv4q1_9PGRs75fqalp4L8Hy5EeQHrRShSS6djh_VEGheuVhYk-xOKYWfciry1OpHPTcqgjnTTJQhJxlwom7NMzYshLoEd-fHaq/s640/51078264_2017001958412554_8265041657750093824_n.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://katelmary.com/2019/02/22/5-stars-for-book-of-david/" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">Coming to Amazon in March 2019</a><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>About a month ago, I read <i><a href="https://vianvireviews.blogspot.com/2019/02/book-review-tribe-of-daughters-by-kate.html" target="_blank">Tribe of Daughters by Kate L. Mary</a></i> and was totally blown away by the concept, theme, characters and plot based on a future world where women, not men, rule. I was keen to read more by this talented, award-winning author and didn’t hesitate one second to snatch up The Book of David. Just like that previous book, I couldn’t put this one down. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Reading well into the night until I finished the book 48 hours later, I was mesmerized by Willow Sands, a beautiful young woman born into a cult where men are everything and women’s only purpose in life is to serve men’s needs; where women must wait till the men have been fed and their dishes washed before women can eat; and where girls are betrothed when they turn 15, and on the night of the betrothal, the fiancee, with the cult-leader’s blessing is allowed to have his way with the 15-year-old. From that night onwards, she belongs to him but they will not mate again until they marry when she turns 18. The punishment for social interaction with any other males keeps women submissive, wary and afraid. Mothers and daughters alike are abused and don’t dare step out of line. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Willow’s betrothal night horrifies her but she can’t even talk to her mother about it. An attempt to escape the compound brings death to those who try to help her and subjects her to inhumane punishment once she is recaptured. 3 years later, working in compound hospital, she meets Jared. What follows is a touching story of stolen moments and dreams of escape against all odds. Do they succeed? If you’ve been sexually abused or suffered under male domination, as I have, you won’t be able to stop reading until you find out if good can win in a world that bad. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Kate L. Mary is one of those writers who is able to keep readers glued to the story despite much narration and reflection. She writes in the present tense, giving the book immediacy, handling it perfectly and leaving readers hungry for more. In the current “me too” climate, The Book of David is timely and will be understood and appreciated by female victims of sexual, physical and mental abuse. But don’t be surprised if you come away angry, that despite all the advances society is making toward gender equality, there are still far too many societies, religions and cultures who live according to principles similar to those found in The Book of David. Changes can’t happen soon enough!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
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<br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-71555802735254306872019-02-24T18:09:00.000-08:002019-02-24T18:09:04.484-08:00Book Review: TRIBE OF DAUGHTERS by Kate L. Mary<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMOcWAu8CPhuMI5JYaQUl5TPLKJ2oeGPazE8DCQMr2uqcuK2IMUmEcoXU7D9yZvIsMoyZEKOcNn2trrr6XWOWBlmTNB6_eqCwszpL3uGiOD1Y9a3G3pgrSFEQbbHz-qXSO3X7pDdcRzQQ/s400/Tribe-Cover-1-400x600.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="266" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="https://katelmary.com/apocalypticbooks/tribe-of-daughters/" target="_blank">Tribe of Daughters by Kate L. Mary</a></i></b></td></tr>
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<b>Never have I read a book like <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JH4XBRW/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=katelmary-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07JH4XBRW&linkId=1138b3e0f5bad9ba6b50f19f60a1f25f" target="_blank">Tribe of Daughters by Kate L. Mary</a></i>. Everything about this science fiction novel…the possibilities, the plot, the characters, the physical, mental, sexual and cultural concepts and the writing style fired my imagination and compelled me to keep reading page after page until the book was finished. An electrifying read…and that’s saying something for a person who isn’t all that into dystopian science fiction.</b></div>
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<b>We’re all familiar with the adage “It’s a man’s world”. But what happens when it’s a woman’s world? That’s the world Jameson and several other men find themselves captured and dragged into by a group of Amazonian women warriors, members of a 70-year-old mountain village ruled, if necessary, by deadly female force. Men, like male worker bees are useful only for cleaning out animal pens and having sex on demand with females ready to bear children. Male offspring from such couplings, called “yieldlings” are dismissed, when barely weaned, to the male section of the village to grow up not knowing their parents. Female children are prized, taught survival skills and become the village’s hunters, guardians and rulers.</b></div>
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<b>Naturally, Jameson’s thoughts are on escape from word go, but when he witnesses what happens to those who attempt to do so, he decides to bide his time. What follows once Jameson is selected to wed and bed Wilderness, daughter of the tribe’s female leader, messes up his plans which didn’t include falling in love with Wilderness. Over time, both Wilderness and Jameson find themselves questioning what they’ve believed for years as they learn what love really is from each other and to Wilderness’ surprise, from her parents. Forget about Tribe of Daughters being science fiction: above all else, it’s a beautiful love story between a man and a woman, and between human beings and nature.</b></div>
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<b>There is so much more I could say about Tribe of Daughters but doing so would spoil readers’ enjoyment of this marvellous story. I want those who read this review to experience the book for themselves. It surprised me no end to read Kate L. Mary’s comments at the back of the book where she said her agent had been unable to secure her a publishing deal. Tribe of Daughters is unique! Mary’s writing style is straightforward, uses plenty of dialogue, and has superb, but not overly long descriptions to capture the almost etherial atmosphere of the settings. Characters are well-developed and believable. Best of all, the story is so emotionally moving as well as intellectually stimulating, it’s just begging for not only a publishing deal but perhaps even a movie contract. Tribe of Daughters would be mesmerizing on the big screen. Perhaps what Kate L. Mary needs is a female publisher in our otherwise male-dominated corporate world! I hope she finds one. She deserves it. And I’m a “forever fan” of her writing!</b></div>
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<b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-17483231174743045992018-12-06T12:20:00.000-08:002018-12-06T12:20:05.252-08:00Book Review: DADDY'S CURSE 3 by Luke G. Dahl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>If you’ve read the first two books in this series by Luke. G. Dahl, you will remember the pedophile Bat Erdene, a wealthy child and drug trafficker whom you met, and most likely loathed in<i> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Curse-Survived-Remembers-survivors-ebook/dp/B07GNP8X7B/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544126535&sr=1-3&keywords=daddy%27s+curse" target="_blank">Daddy’s Curse 2</a></i>. Well now, in the final book of the series, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Curse-Monster-stories-survivors-ebook/dp/B07KYYKH1G/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544126535&sr=1-4&keywords=daddy%27s+curse" target="_blank"><i>Daddy’s Curse 3</i></a>, you will learn how and why Bat Erdeen became the monster he was. Will you come away liking him more? Probably not. But you will have a better understanding of how much a father’s authority and actions affects a young boy’s future thinking and behaviour. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Born into wealth and social status, Erdene was an arrogant, but highly intelligent youngster with a strong sense of entitlement who loved his mother, and revered but feared his father. Bat’s father angered easily and was so horribly abusive to his wife that he ended up strangling her during one of his many rages. Bat, in turn, killed his father. As he grew into adulthood, fueled by father’s mantra that if he wanted to succeed in life, he had to make people submit to and obey his will, and severely punish those who disobeyed, as much as he didn’t want to be like his father, Bat Erdeen became a monster.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Those who have read the first two books will recognize some of the people whom we meet again in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Curse-Monster-stories-survivors-ebook/dp/B07KYYKH1G/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1544126535&sr=1-4&keywords=daddy%27s+curse" target="_blank"><i>Daddy’s Curse 3</i></a>. It’s not necessary to have read those books, but curious readers will be tempted to find out what they’ve missed by not reading them. Do it. Grab copies of both books. While the content is disturbing, often stomach-turning, the style of writing is simple and easy to read. All three books are short, but provocative and unforgettable. Book club members unafraid of discussing the ugly realities faced by too many victims of sexual and other abuse, along with man’s never-ending inhumanity to men and women, will find plenty of material in this series by Luke. G. Dahl. Highly recommended.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><span style="color: red;">NOTE</span>: Given the ongoing and growing amount of human trafficking, internet pedophilia and worldwide sexual abuse of adults and children of both sexes, can we afford to pretend this isn't happening? It's not only happening, it's increasing. Writers like Luke G. Dahl and others like me who have dared to speak up, awareness is growing. If you care about your children and those of your family and friends, as I do...and which is why I read and review books like these, grab all 3 of Luke's books from his<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Luke.-G.-Dahl/e/B078F9KYKW/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1" target="_blank"> Amazon page</a> now. And if you can stomach more after these, check out his other book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CV7VF9W/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4" target="_blank">The Gangs of Stockholm.</a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
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Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-48156745872863216002018-12-06T11:56:00.000-08:002018-12-06T11:56:59.417-08:00Book Review: THE REBEL of GOZA by Steve Freeman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>When Steve Freeman asks me if I’d like to review his latest novel, I never hesitate. I no longer even ask for a preview before deciding. That’s because I know if Steve Freeman wrote it, I’ll enjoy it. </b></div>
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<b>And enjoy <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rebel-Goza-Steven-F-Freeman-ebook/dp/B07KFS6KLG" target="_blank"><i>The Rebel of Goza</i></a> is what I did. In less than 48 hours I closed the book with a smile so satisfied you might have thought I’d just tasted the finest tequila. Speaking of tequila, that famous Mexican drink kicks off the action in this story of Gaby, a pretty, slightly rebellious but ambitious young woman who doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life harvesting agarve and teaching Tae Kwan Do to local kids. She’s sure life has more to offer her. After she chats with her “abuelo”, her grandfather, she learns that the old buildings she can see at the fringe of their property once produced the best tequila in the region, thanks to her abuelo. Gaby decides it’s time to resurrect the distillery, with a new owner and operator: Gaby Goza!</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyQAL3VhXr9Ekf05pXdcYDh0_T6IkoCFJP0f1Jiu1KQtDTSgsTfhUyD_lSwHnyJAfNfZwhtOl9JIWIPBSELUUIRlQGQk_BN4kMIzvIBevHWzLrOpk8oPa_ds81CkVekZq27BRN8rzydG7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-12-06+at+2.52.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1254" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyQAL3VhXr9Ekf05pXdcYDh0_T6IkoCFJP0f1Jiu1KQtDTSgsTfhUyD_lSwHnyJAfNfZwhtOl9JIWIPBSELUUIRlQGQk_BN4kMIzvIBevHWzLrOpk8oPa_ds81CkVekZq27BRN8rzydG7/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-12-06+at+2.52.46+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.gozatequila.com/" target="_blank"><b><i>Yes, you can purchase GOZA TEQUILA Here</i></b></a></td></tr>
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<b>But someone else has plans for those abandoned buildings as Gaby suddenly discovers one night when she’s checking out the setup and overhears men talking about cocaine. She runs for her life: Gaby has stumbled onto a massive Mexican drug cartel. When her grandfather is slaughtered and her brother kidnapped, Gaby forgets about restarting a distillery. With the help of her two Tae Kwan Do associates, she takes on a murderous bunch of narcos in her efforts to find her brother. Can this small trio rescue the kidnapped brother and come out alive when the cartel boss has a $25,000,000 deal going down, and over 30 gunmen protecting the stash of cocaine? Read it to find out!</b></div>
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<b>Steve Freeman is a master at pulling off a high-powered, fast moving plot with realistic, moving characters and wonderfully detailed, but not heavy descriptions. He enjoys keeping chapters short…but it’s rare to be able to stop at the end of each chapter. You just have to read one more, then one more. That’s how I read this one in 48 hours. </b></div>
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<b>Much to my delight, Freeman has an most unexpected surprise for his readers after the story concludes. No, it’s not a bottle of Gaby Goza’s Tequila, but … well, read the book and see for yourself. Makes me want to book a flight to Guadaloupe to sip Tequila! </b></div>
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<b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-62346884560849699582018-10-15T14:17:00.001-07:002018-10-15T14:17:49.595-07:00#Book #Review: THE MUTE BUTTON by Linda S. Amstutz<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>There’s a certain political figurehead, who shall remain nameless, but who never fails to make the evening news reports. When he begins bragging, I either put my hands over my ears or grab the remote to press “mute”. I can’t stand the sound of this man’s voice. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Well Susan Strickland, protagonist of </b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mute-Button-Linda-S-Amstutz-ebook/dp/B07DV6K4X8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539637985&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mute+button" target="_blank"><b>The Mute Button by Linda S. Amstutz</b></a></i><b> suddenly develops an unwanted and upsetting deafness toward all men’s voices, including that of her dear husband. Now just try to imagine not hearing anything your hubby says. Bliss right? Well not really as Amstutz proves in the delightfully funny, but rather poignant social commentary she affords readers of The Mute Button. Female readers, especially, will be amused by Susan’s “selective hearing” when it comes to men. But, on a more serious note, they will also find themselves agreeing big time with the reasons Susan has developed this problem. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Trying to help Susan cope with this situation which is negatively affecting her marriage and her daughter, Lauren, are the other three ladies who belong to Susan’s monthly lunch club, all of whom are named Susan. Cute! But as the story quickly unfolds, through these other Susans, readers get even more insight into why women might choose to selectively listen to men. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>As I laughed my way through this wonderful book, a recent memory popped into my head: I remember seeing my own dear hubby, on more than one occasion, clasp his hands over his ears when I was going on and on about something I felt he needed to do. He shouted: “Okay enough already!” No wonder my husband is about 85% deaf. Or does he too have selective deafness? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Linda S. Amstutz has only a handful of 5-star reviews of this book on Amazon. She deserves fifty! Amstutz has been writing humor for 25 years. Her essays have been republished several times and she has a good collection of books that I, for one, would love to read. Incidentally, it's not just the concept and themes behind <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mute-Button-Linda-S-Amstutz-ebook/dp/B07DV6K4X8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539637985&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mute+button" target="_blank"><i>The Mute Button</i></a> that makes this book so deserving of your time: Amstutz' style is easy-going, with lots of dialogue and no wasted words or time. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Have I found a new favorite author? You bet! Highly recommended when your spirit needs a lift and a laugh.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-47429657796515380712018-10-08T10:54:00.000-07:002018-10-08T10:54:31.287-07:00#Book Review: ESCAPE from VIETNAM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZqnQV4yfUwCtoh7skmJMqIFpxXuFXzewEYpIounxS4BnwoHX715kamUEr49ATwu3VFl8hUsyW3GtdGj5rJsy4DNK793cwDodKtgZpdjQk0SU58AMR2lsGp4LALyhyNY7rfnC-jLQY35w/s1600/51hBuL6GTRL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZqnQV4yfUwCtoh7skmJMqIFpxXuFXzewEYpIounxS4BnwoHX715kamUEr49ATwu3VFl8hUsyW3GtdGj5rJsy4DNK793cwDodKtgZpdjQk0SU58AMR2lsGp4LALyhyNY7rfnC-jLQY35w/s320/51hBuL6GTRL.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Reading a novel like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Vietnam-Some-Never-Ended-ebook/dp/B07HB9H52G/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539020909&sr=1-5&keywords=Escape+from+Vietnam" target="_blank">Escape from Vietnam by Howard Cohen</a> is so much more than enjoying an intricate, riveting plot and engaging with realistic and touching characters. It’s an opportunity for enlightenment, not just about the horrors experienced by both soldiers and those they tried to help during the Vietnam war, but about what it is like to live under communist rule. And it is that last factor that propels the action in Escape from Vietnam and leaves readers grateful they don’t live there, even today. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>The key characters, the beautiful Vietnamese woman, Lan, and James, a green beret, became lovers during the Vietnam war. The war separates them, each eventually marrying someone in their own country. Now, in 2018, after years of non-communication between them, Lan tracks down James in North Carolina and asks for his help. James obliges, flies to Vietnam and what he learns shocks him. Lan, and members of her family, desperately need James’ help to escape unscrupulous and cruel members of the powerful Communist party. Aided by Lan’s trusted servants, James follow Lan’s plans that involve two separate escapes. The chances of success seem more unlikely with each turn of the page and readers are breathless wondering what will happen next. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>It’s interesting that while Lan and James are the main characters, some of the minor characters, like Chang, are impossible to forget too. There are so many characters who touch you with their loyalty and strength, and others who make you shudder with their cruelty. The depictions of torture used to extract information makes one cringe. <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Vietnam-Some-Never-Ended-ebook/dp/B07HB9H52G/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539020909&sr=1-5&keywords=Escape+from+Vietnam" target="_blank">Escape from Vietnam </a></i>will engage reader interest from start to finish. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Recommended and unforgettable reading. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-87343704816924618252018-10-08T10:43:00.001-07:002018-10-08T10:43:43.135-07:00#Book Review: TYPO SQUAD<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrYtzqi2m0SiVBNrjnh9V5nDk_Vy0l-J4Hssrr-M-iWw-MLaS_ije9x9Gx_qZwAOJts5cuOGz6ma5_hcEOoR7CEAzLPHXKLn38KP9uB1kEEMO8M2S1BEBUUVy7DtjPdVbhlQ_-Z7RnPt8/s1600/51Ia1zjUSvL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="311" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjrYtzqi2m0SiVBNrjnh9V5nDk_Vy0l-J4Hssrr-M-iWw-MLaS_ije9x9Gx_qZwAOJts5cuOGz6ma5_hcEOoR7CEAzLPHXKLn38KP9uB1kEEMO8M2S1BEBUUVy7DtjPdVbhlQ_-Z7RnPt8/s320/51Ia1zjUSvL.jpg" width="199" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>In the dedication of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Typo-Squad-Book-Return-Wordmonger-ebook/dp/B07D1D53QJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539020371&sr=1-1&keywords=Typo+Squad" target="_blank">Typo Squad </a>(yes, some of us do read dedications and introductions), Stephen Lomer tells us this crazily brilliant book of his is dedicated to proofreaders and copy editors. He needs to add book reviewers to that list ie… all of us tasked with the job of rating books and trying to explain why we just couldn’t give this or that masterpiece 5 or even 4 stars because of the grammar, punctuation, spelling, incorrect word usage and above all, typos! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>In a kind of “Men in Black” scenario, the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Typo-Squad-Book-Return-Wordmonger-ebook/dp/B07D1D53QJ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1539020371&sr=1-1&keywords=Typo+Squad" target="_blank">Typo Squad</a> is on the lookout for typos in books, papers, even store signs. The members of the Typo Squad are particularly sensitive to typos and spotting them causes the members to react strangely. Some vomit; others swear; one even has orgasms! The protagonist, Richard Shonnary, falls into drunken stupors. If you’re beginning to sense this book is humorous, you’re right. It would probably have Howie Mandell’s hand reaching for the golden buzzer. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Lomer writes Typo Squad as it were a mystery. Shonnary is summoned back from retirement after typos start appearing in droves, probably thanks to the current reliance on auto-corrects that don’t correct, our obsession with texting, and the fact that teachers stopped teaching grammar decades ago. In fact, dare I suggest that many of today's teachers wouldn't recognize bad grammar if it hit them between the eyes? There, I've finally said it.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Shonnary and his team set out to find the villain causing all the chaos, and because I don’t want to spoil your enjoyment of this escapade, I’m refraining from sharing some of the punny names of Shonnary’s assistants. You see, figuring out what they mean is half the fun of reading this book!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>If you are going to read Typo Squad, and I do recommend it, keep an open mind and prepare to laugh. It is certainly a clever concept and Lomer carries it off beautifully. Since the book is based on the angst some of us feel when we’re reading and keep hitting typos and grammar problems, I had to giggle when I spotted an incorrect use of “lie” and “lay”. And Stephen, you must forgive me for the shriek I let out when I read these sentences containing one of the worst abominations of grammar ever: </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>“Chicago was yanked roughly off of him and dragged backward”</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>“He pulled the straightjacket off of Dick and helped him to his feet.”</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Please send out an APB to the Typo Squad immediately. We need that abomination eradicated NOW!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>In summary, Typo Squad is witty, unique and grammar nerds will love it. So let your hair down and enjoy!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-91989655631012455112018-09-26T19:14:00.000-07:002018-09-26T19:14:02.320-07:00#BookReview: EVO by Diane May<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>What an amazing mix of the believable and unbelieveable, the possible and impossible Diane May has blended into this, her debut novel, <a href="http://www.dianemaywriter.com/" target="_blank">EVO</a>. This crime fiction story Is an impressive beginning to May’s writing career. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Evo is 574 pages of suspenseful reading which might just keep you up late if you read at bedtime. Picture, if you dare, a dark figure who has an augmented ability to hypnotize people to death…their own. Is he real? Yes…and he’s also angry, full of revenge and he has several doctors on his hit list for their participation in turning him into that real life monster. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>With bodies piling up in Verona, Italy, the police are going crazy trying to find this deadly hypnotist. But an even more deadly situation is about to be unleashed, not just on Verona but the entire world. A mysterious virologist, known only as “Doc” has perfected a vaccine that can turn ordinary, healthy human beings into something akin to super humans, both physically and mentally. Such super-humans will enjoy longer than normal lifespans. Just think for a moment of the ramifications of a world where millions of people live a century or two longer than we do now? How will our already over-populated planet sustain all those lives? The simplest solution, of course, would be to have the same vaccine eliminate unhealthy, undesirable humans. Talk about a sinister plot! </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>That is a very limited synopsis of what takes place in <a href="http://www.dianemaywriter.com/" target="_blank">EVO</a>…but for a simple reason: you just have to read this book! It’s spell-binding! Diane May’s characters are realistic, so much so we feel every emotion experienced by the lovely and gifted, Maya, her ex-boyfriend, Alex, and even the legendary detective, Livio Marchiori as both Alex and Livio try to find not just the Hypnotist, but the madmen behind the vaccine before they, and half the world is possibly wiped out. The tension mounts and runs at an all-time high until almost the last page. Trust me, you won’t be able to put this one down. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>May’s background working as an interpreter in criminal law cases along with her knowledge of weapons, discipline and military life, coupled with the research she has done for Evo give this novel authenticity. If <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FTS3P8P/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0" target="_blank"><i>EVO</i></a> is any indication, crime fiction fans are about to discover a fresh, very creative and gifted author in Diane May. She is already working on her second book, Till Death Do Us Part. Can’t wait to read it Diane!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">VIGA BOLAND, AUTHOR & BOOK REVIEWER</a></i></b></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-89197062983086903432018-09-16T11:06:00.000-07:002018-09-16T11:06:44.690-07:00#Book #Review: EMBRACING THE WILD IN YOUR DOG<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If I could give <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Wild-Your-Dog-understanding/dp/1619334712" target="_blank">"Embracing the Wild in your Dog" by Bryan Bailey,</a></i></b> ten stars in every category, I would. Never before have I read a non-fiction book that enlightens, disturbs and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>inspires all at once, and leaves me wondering if I even took a breath from the time I opened the book.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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As I read the last page and checked Bryan Bailey's biography, I let out an audible sigh. If the sigh could speak, it would say brilliant and breath-taking.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Wild-Your-Dog-understanding/dp/1619334712" target="_blank">"Embracing the Wild in your Dog" </a></i></b>is both of those. It is also a memoir and an instructional book. But its premise and its concepts may not be embraced or welcomed by all who cannot think of that little fluffy puppy in their laps as a wolf. But he is...at least instinctively, and Bryan Bailey makes sure you know that by the time you're finished reading.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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As soon as I'd read the first few chapters, I began looking at my little Shorkie, Duffy, through a different lens. I realized that when he first took a light nip of my grand-daughter's lip and our gut reaction was to yell at Duffy for his bad behaviour while we wiped away her tears, that Duffy's reaction to having his neck grabbed in a hug constituted a threat and he was merely issuing a warning...as his now very distant forebears, the wolves would have done. I have now learned that no amount of breeding these "fur covered humans on four legs" is going to breed out the wolf in him. As an Indian chief explained to the author's mentor, "Because a dog carries a wolf inside of him, he also carries the wolf’s prints. The wolf goes with him everywhere he goes." Sadly, today's dog owners live in denial of this truth. As a result, children and adults are being bitten and dogs are being euthanized, while vet bills and law suits drain bank accounts because we dog lovers don't want to acknowledge the wolf in our dogs.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Embracing-Wild-Your-Dog-understanding/dp/1619334712" target="_blank">"Embracing the Wild in your Dog" by Bryan Bailey </a></i></b>is also the story of a boy growing up in the harsh Alaskan climate and learning about survival from a soldier who had learned the same from studying wolves. At one point, this soldier took an accidentally self-inflicted bullet to his neck while the two were trekking in the frozen north. Weak and bleeding profusely, he continued the journey because the wolves had taught him that to lie down was to die. Yes, this book is all about being tough and that adage: "When the going gets tough, the tough get going".</div>
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When Bailey shares stories like this or others about what happens in nature when animals face possible death, "Embracing the Wild in your Dog" becomes far more than just instructional: it is the beautifully moving memoir of a young man and his mentor. At times, readers may find themselves arguing, even outraged by Bailey's stance on how to raise and enjoy your beloved dogs, but I guarantee that after reading this book, you will never look at your dog again in the same way. The next time little Bella is being a "naughty doggie" you will find yourself<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>questioning whether it is Bella, or you, who needs to be disciplined.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-converted-space"><b><i><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">©VIGA BOLAND, Author & Book Reveiwer</a></i></b></span></div>
<br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-76870021983506972432018-09-05T14:01:00.001-07:002018-09-05T14:01:19.594-07:00#BOOK #REVIEW: A HEALING SPOT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Spot-Onta-Jean-Allen/dp/1640031200?SubscriptionId=AKIAIMLHIHNHHQXRQX2Q&tag=readersfavo0f-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1640031200" target="_blank">A Healing Spot by Onta Jean Allen</a></i> is an enchanting tale, almost as magical as its canine protagonist, a Dalmation who is, of course, named Spot.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Now, let’s face it: those of us who love dogs or have one as a pet knows they are magical. After all, they can turn tears into laughter and at times, be a greater comfort to us than our human friends and family when we are suffering. They have some innate sense that we need them nearby. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>And that’s how it is with Spot. When he is left, as a puppy, on the Jordan family’s steps, Spot immediately knows it’s 8-yeaar-old Emma who has leukemia who needs him most. His positive affect on her is well, magical. But rascal that he is, when he gets lost chasing a rabbit, desperately hungry he is welcomed into Janie’s home. Janie has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. Just as Spot did with Emma, he enchants Jane’s family. But he hasn’t forgotten Emma and knows he must get back to her. Before he takes off to find his way back home, he leaves one of his spots on Jane’s face. What happens to Jane when she realizes Spot’s gone? It’s magical!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Spot eventually reunites with the Jordan family but along the way, he finds folks who need his spots and makes sure he leaves one with them. He’s a bit like an angel sprinkling magic stardust wherever it can help someone. Once back home with Emma, he has almost no spots left except the unusual red heart spot in his brow. He gives that very special spot to Emma before he leaves again. Why didn’t he stay with Emma? Where did he go?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Read <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Spot-Onta-Jean-Allen/dp/1640031200?SubscriptionId=AKIAIMLHIHNHHQXRQX2Q&tag=readersfavo0f-20&linkCode=sp1&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=1640031200" target="_blank">A Healing Spot</a></i> to learn how not just Spot, but each of us has a healing spot inside us. A beautifully true message in a magical story. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></span></div>
<br />Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-14888238594188256912018-09-04T14:26:00.001-07:002018-09-04T14:26:34.751-07:00BOOK REVIEW: THIRTY SECONDS to LIVE <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>As a long time fan of Steve Freeman's writing, I couldn't wait to get stuck into <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Seconds-Live-Blackwell-Files-ebook/dp/B07FY32NMW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536096169&sr=8-1&keywords=thirty+seconds+to+live+by+steven+f.+freeman" target="_blank"><i>Thirty Seconds To Live</i></a>. The funny part about this is I was reading 2 other books when this complimentary copy arrived. I just wanted to take a peek and you can guess what happened next. The other 2 books got put on the back burner as Freeman swept me, literally, into an ocean of action as a low draft jet boat went out of control, smashed into a rock slab and all passengers perished. As he always does, Freeman had me hook, line and sinker. 36 hours later, I closed <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Thirty-Seconds-Live-Blackwell-Files-ebook/dp/B07FY32NMW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536096169&sr=8-1&keywords=thirty+seconds+to+live+by+steven+f.+freeman" target="_blank"><i>Thirty Seconds to Live</i></a> and sighed with satisfaction. Another great Steve Freeman adventure. </b></div>
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<b>This book is #10 in the Blackwell Series that stars Alton and Mallory Blackwell who are often called in to investigate and help solve particularly complicated cases. In this case, the action starts in New Zealand and ends up sending the Blackwells to Egypt and back to the US to try and piece together just who was the primary target in this opening disaster and of course, who was behind it and why. </b></div>
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<b>There are so many possibilities but will readers outguess the Mallorys? Freeman keeps readers in suspense and flipping pages as he carefully times his release of clues, in between the Mallorys being shot at time and again. Somehow the assassin is always a step ahead and knows exactly where the Mallorys will be. And that assassin is prepared to pay huge dollars for their demise. Why?</b></div>
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<b>One of the reasons Steve Freeman is a joy to read is a combination of short chapters that unfold quickly because the author is so skilled in using dialogue. Dialogue keeps the action moving and this book is primarily dialogue. Little wonder I couldn't put it down: I always had to read just one more chapter! It's obvious Freeman wants us to enjoy his stories, not labour over them. And because of Freeman's personal background (check his bio) his novels ring with authenticity. </b></div>
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<b>Thanks Steve for another great read. I look forward to #11 in this series, coming out in 2019</b></div>
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<b>©<a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland, author and book reviewer</a></b></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-68875169603537519082018-09-04T13:30:00.000-07:002018-09-04T13:30:45.054-07:00BOOK REVIEW: THE LIES BETWEEN US<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Is incest ever okay? The most natural and usual response, is “no way”! But then, a book like <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Lies-Between-Us-Yolanda-Olson-ebook/dp/B07BF8KN15/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1536092619&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=the+Lies+between+us%2C+Yolanda+Olsen" target="_blank">The Lies Between Us by Yolanda Olson</a></i> comes along and gives you pause. In fact, your answer, after reading the story of Gracie and Jori might not be quite what you would have instinctively given. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>If you can hold off making judgement calls for now, enter the strange, broken lives of these two young adults who cling desperately to each other in a world that has hurt each of them terribly, a world so full of lies they cannot function without each other. Gracie’s father is awaiting execution on death row for having killed Gracie’s mother. Gracie hasn’t seen him in a decade, but her memories are of a good man, a good father, one of only 2 men she has ever loved. The other man is Jori who loves her almost to the point of obsession.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>With her father’s execution imminent, Gracie decides she must see him. She needs him to tell the truth about the murder. Though he doesn’t want to go, Jori feels compelled to accompany her. And now, as each of them, along with her father, takes turns telling readers what really happened when Jori and Gracie were barely teens, the truth is about as ugly as it gets and we understand why both these kids are so messed up mentally. Yet, in each other’s love, they find sustenance and the strength to survive.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>For some readers, the details of Jori and Gracie having sex will be too explicit. Skip those pages if you must. But don’t stop reading the rest of the story because <i><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Lies-Between-Us-Yolanda-Olson-ebook/dp/B07BF8KN15/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1536092619&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=the+Lies+between+us%2C+Yolanda+Olsen" target="_blank">The Lies Between Us</a></i> is absolutely haunting. The events and the characters stay with you long after you put the book down. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>It’s easy to see why Yolanda Olson is an award-winning author. Jori, Gracie and her father touch parts of us we didn’t know we had or believed we could condone. Don’t be surprised if, when you’re done, you find yourself rethinking your stance on many social issues, including incest. A touching, riveting story that just might be closer to truth than to fiction!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">©Viga Boland</a>, 2018 </b></span></div>
Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5697080609709662395.post-81229920444250715562018-08-04T11:18:00.000-07:002018-08-04T11:18:15.800-07:00WELCOME to VIANVI REVIEWSIf you love reading fiction, memoir, non-fiction, subscribe to Vianvi Reviews, hosted by award-winning author, <b><i><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Viga Boland</a></i></b>. Viga has published 7 books, the most popular of which was her tell-all memoir of the sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her biological father over a period of 12-13 years. If you're curious to read what Viga wrote, long before the #MeToo campaign prompted many abuse victims to come forward, you can find her book, <b><i>"No Tears for my Father"</i></b> in both digital and softcover versions through her Amazon author's page. <b><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a></b> to go there now.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><a href="http://www.vigaboland.com/" target="_blank">Purchase this book from Amazon.com or Amazon.ca</a></i></b></td></tr>
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As an author, Viga is also an avid reader, as well as a paid book reviewer for <b><i><a href="http://www.readersfavorite.com/" target="_blank">Readers Favorite</a></i></b> and <a href="http://indiereader.com/" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">IndieReader</a><b style="font-style: italic;">. </b>Thanks to her work for these two online companies, along with her years as a high school English teacher, and more recently, as the mentor of creative writing and memoir workshops, she has a huge catalog of book reviews to share with visitors and followers of Vianvi Reviews. So if you love to read, subscribe today and don't miss a single post!<div>
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Vigabohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07759933133939472793noreply@blogger.com0