Remember My Beauties by Lynne Hugo BOOK REVIEW, PEOPLE!

You'll love this book if you're a horse lover. That being said, you'll love it even if you aren't familiar with horses. 
It's a well woven tale of a completely dysfunctional family. Jewel comes to the homestead to feed and groom the remaining horses. Her rapidly aging parents aren't able to care for either the property, the horses, or themselves. That leaves everything up to Jewel, the responsible child. Her brother is an ex-con, a lifetime nobody; yet seemingly mom's favorite. This is a harsh pill to swallow. Jewel serves an ultimatum to her parents. If Cal comes home, she no longer will. It backfires. Suddenly she's faced with whether there will be ample care for the 4-legged family she loves with all of her heart. She's questioning her relationship with everybody. Her second husband, her daughter, her step-daughter, her parents, her brother, even her sister, who is briefly mentioned, but plays no real part in the story. 
It brings forth the heartbreak of being unappreciated, of cheating, mistreating, drug use, aging, illness, and death. But it also takes a broken family, a blended family, and puts them back together in a stronger, more healthy dynamic. It's worth the read. Great lessons to be learned. 
I received an ARC (Kindle format) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion. I would give no other kind of review... 

time for a book review! The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen

A book of mournful discovery. And wonder... But what about a happy ending? Could there BE one? 

The entire family of a young boy lives underground. He has never been above ground. He has no idea 'what' is beyond the walls... 

The family consists of grandma, mom and dad, sister, big brother, the young boy. Eventually, a baby. I was RIVETED from the get-go. This young boy tries to understand his very limited world. Mom, who makes carrot soup, from food that appears whenever supplies run low. Grandma cannot see, blinded by the fire, the same that ravaged his sister, who wears a mask to cover horrific damage. His father, who is suddenly very angry with the young boy's sister, now that she has had a baby. His brother, who suffers from a severe limitation that affects his ability to communicate. 

There are sharp twists and turns in this maze of a tale. I loved the fact that no matter how I tried to guess, I could never imagine what was next. It was written brilliantly. 

I thought in the beginning it was going to be a knock-off of "Room". I was happy to be wrong. Dead wrong. It was SO creative, and tragic. The entire tale was woeful, up until the end. And yet... it was a story of love. Sometimes love is painful. 

I finished this book quite a while ago. It was a single sitting type of read, but I simply cannot pull an all-nighter any more, so it took a few days to complete. Way to go Amazon, for choosing this as the March Kindle Firsts book. There's not a week that goes by that my mind does not drift back to the young boy in the tale. I cannot get him out of my mind. If a book has that kind of pull on me, then it's a good one. And I've read a LOT of books since the beginning of the year.  

If there was a book I'd recommend;  at the top of the list, this book would stand. It's perhaps in my top 3 for the year so far. 

On a mission

One might think there's an odd silence after a solemn vow to fully engage in blogging. I've been away a while, but do NOT mistake silence for neglect. I've been SO busy with work, and spring projects around the house, and reading. Reading my eyeballs crooked! I've SO SO SO many books to read and review. It's been a literal mission to complete these books, then spread the word about the success ( or flop? ) of the author. It's been a pleasure to dive in and read these Advanced Reader's Copies... As you can imagine, my brain has been otherwise preoccupied. A gift. I love to read myself to sleep every night. I can't imagine NOT having a place to 'go' at the end of an exhausting day. And by the way, exhausting is every day. That's the biggest burden of my chronic illness. I cannot "get a second wind" any longer. My pain causes exhaustion I cannot "push" through, or use mind over matter to control. I have no idea when it will stop me in my tracks, I've had a pedicure and left the place feeling nausea and needing my bed. It's not fun. A seemingly relaxing event makes me tired?!? WTF? Often without much on the agenda, I can end up with depleted energy.  I've not much to begin with. (please don't correct my grammar, I'm just putting word to blog, as it flows from my mind. I don't always worry about ending a sentence with a preposition when I'm conversing with a friend, therefore I won't worry about it here, either. 
I'm going to TRY and jump into the reviews I've been squirreling away in my notebook on the nightstand. It's begun to rain, and there's not a chance I'll get any planting done. So here I am. Wish me luck. 
Here are some recent pics you may enjoy... Wait for it....

WHEN I'M GONE by EMILY BLEEKER~ A Book Review

Luke is coming home from burying his wife, a woman he has loved since he was a teen, married 16 years, with 3 children they loved together. He is far too young to be a widower. It's a fate the family does not deserve. And yet... here they are. Without the foundation of their home and family.  They are now left alone to forge a life together, and still alone. 

But Luke begins to get letters from Natalie, AFTER the funeral. AFTER they say goodbye. She has been writing letters for him for a long time, it seems, as they continue to arrive. He follows the instructions she has left him, hiring a young student, 21 year old Jessie, to help care for the house and the kids. He believes he has made this decision under duress, but quickly finds out his wife knew exactly what he needs. 

As Luke struggles to live without the love of his life, he begins to see many aspects of his life from Natalie's perspective, and realizes there were things right in front of him that he was seemingly blind to before she dies. He tries to "fix" those problems, but makes them worse.  Natalie's best friend, Annie, begs him to stop obsessing over the letters that continue to come, but he cannot let go. His 14 year old son finds evidence in black and white that he may not be Luke's biological son. The entire house is in an uproar.... is this Natalie's fault? What HAS she been trying to tell Luke? Does she have a secret that could tear their family apart, more so than even her death has done? The story continues along the maze trails, leading us left than right, but to what end? The tale had me in tears, and again smiling as the pages turned. 

This book is a great read.  If you believe in love, it's the book for you. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. 

Take a chance. The book held me captive until the final words... yes. It's that good. 

HBO shines again...

I just watched the HBO special about James Foley. It was an in-depth look at this man, I found it a bit difficult to hear his family, obviously still deeply grieving, tell about how this man eventually sold all of his belongings because he was seemingly richer without them, this man, living in a single room, a cell, with several others, for months, not knowing what's next. Not knowing what time, what day, what month, it is/was. Worrying about the men he was with, never selfish. Even in  this scenario, where he didn't know what was next. Ever. There was a full YEAR of captivity before the family even got proof of life. I cannot imagine the agony. How does one even put one foot in front of another, move through the actions of  day-to-day living, while a year passes, waiting to know WHO has kidnapped your son/brother/friend.... although the movie left me sick to my stomach, and with great heartache, it was EXPERTLY done. I was captivated throughout. I felt renewed agony over the loss of my own brother, which is holding ME captive. I can't seem to accept the things that have happened, although logically I'm aware there's no way to change the details. They are here to stay. I am left alone, to live with the gory details, deal with the fact it was the son he created who turned on him, and took his life in the most cowardly way possible. I wrestle with my own angry thoughts about my nephew, now serving a life sentence with zero chance of parole. His life is essentially over. The difference is this: He can still see his mother, his brother, his grandparents, any friends he may have left, but I am unable to ever see or speak to my brother again. I never got to say goodbye properly. There will likely never be real closure. My nephew will never fully understand what he has done to the people left behind. He wasn't mature enough to 'get' how evil this act was. I imagine he still sits and thinks "oh, well..." No different than the terrorists that took the life of this man, James Foley, a man who never looked toward himself, but to others. Just like my brother, Richard. 
It's so true, but why? Why do the good guys get taken way too soon? 
Watch this documentary, it's heartbreaking, but you'll find that you need to know the details, gory as they might be. Prayers to those he left behind....

I never imagined I would have any more kids....but here I go again!

meet AXEL 

 meet XEN

the new kids, AXEL and XEN, sweet little 'brothers' ....

The House by the Lake by Ella Carey~ ANOTHER BOOK REVIEW!~ I've been so immersed in my Kindle...

The House By The Lake is a delightful historical fiction piece. It's about a young lady Anna, who indulges what she suspects is her grandfather's dying wish. He is such a beloved family member, she simply cannot deny him this wish, although she is filled with dread about the entire idea. He asks her to retrieve an item he hid under the floorboards in his old home. The request comes along with the startling reveal that Anna comes from an aristocratic family. A family that lost everything during WWII. Anna travels to Germany on a quest to grant her grandfather's wish and recover the lost item. She seeks answers about the family's lifeline along the way. The book covers both story lines, the 1930's, a desperate time for Max, as a young man in love, and devoted to his family and country. 
The quest for answers leads her to Wil, an attorney from Germany, who has consented to help her. 
Anna uncovers secrets about Max, and the love affair with Isabelle, who happens to be the granddaughter of an infamous courtesan from Paris, Mathe de Florian. A bittersweet love story is always captivating...
The storytelling was emotional, raw; the time lines seamlessly woven together, at the same time very easy to go back and forth in the book without confusing the two, slowly revealing the plot so deep you'll not be able to rest until the final page. It's not a simple fairy tale with the proverbial happy ending. You'll shed tears if you've a heart. And yet you'll smile...
This is a book that's definitely worth the read....
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.