Sheila

Awakening Avery Review and Contest

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Jun 012010
 


Avery can’t cope with the death of her husband and is finally convinced by her son to return to the family’s Anna Maria Island vacation spot.
With the help from some new-found friends, Avery swaps her house with a widower named Gabriel. As Avery and Gabriel step into each others lives, they begin a correspondence that leads to spiritual and emotional awakening for each of them.

Laurie Lewis, well known as L.C. Lewis, author of the “Free Men and Dreamers” historical fiction series, has written a heart warming and very emotionally driven book. There are many feelings that are brought up in the reader as this novel progresses. I was hooked from the very first page.

“Everyone knew it was inevitable-everyone but Avery Elkins Thompson herself. She smashed the television first, though she hadn’t intended to. She had fumbled with the remote for ten minutes, trying to figure out how to record an NBC special, and when the TiVo brought up the screen with the list of programs to record-his list…she lost it. She hurled the remote across the room, not intending for it to hit the center of the screen, but it did.”

Right after you read this first paragraph, you want to know more about Avery. Why is she so angry? Why did she lose it? What happened to her to lead to this point in her life? As a reader you are drawn in so quickly to the emotions of Avery and her heartache. She is someone that is flawed, but you choose to cheer for her from the start.

Avery is turning 50, so she is not a young female that is usually seen in many novels. Avery is a woman who has loved and lost. She is being pulled in so many directions, from her grown-up children and their problems to dealing with the loss of her beloved husband. In “Awakening Avery” we go on a journey of healing with her. I found the characters to be so real, with emotions seen in all of us. The grief was portrayed realistically, as was the loneliness and pain of being single again.

In the book, Avery is a famous author. She sets forth to write another novel. As she tries to find the muse to jump start her writing career again, she remembers what her Grandfather told her many years ago.

” ‘Don’t just tell a story, Avery Xandra. Take me somewhere. Teach me something.‘ The challenge had always seemed so daunting at first. ‘What could I possibly teach you Grandfather?’ She still remembered his soft, encouraging rebuke, delivered with a cock of his head and a rapid click of his tongue, ‘Has anyone else dreamed your dreams? Asked your questions? Seen inside your heart? Show me those things-teach me about those things.’
Avery thought again about her life. She had seen, lived, loved, and lost much. What have I learned from these things?’ “

This was my favorite part of the whole book. I felt like Laurie was talking to me, an aspiring author. I am going to keep these words somewhere close to me as I write. This was a lesson for me from a master storyteller. My heart also loved the character of George, Avery’s fellow LDS friend. She learned many lessons from this wise, older friend. I wish that more of the relationship had been played out between Gabriel and Avery, but the way it was presented, was clever and it worked in the long run.

Laurie truly knows how to draw the reader in and never let you go until the very last page. “Awakening Avery” is a story that will stay with you for a very long time. You can visit Laurie at her blog here.
This book can be purchased at Amazon.com

Summer’s here and what better way to kick it off than with a blog tour for
Awakening Avery by Laurie Lewis as Awakening Avery
is the perfect poolside read.

Walnut Springs press is giving away 3 fabulous prizes.
Two readers will win their own copy of Awakening Avery! Yeah. There will be one lucky grand prize winner who will the beautiful necklace below. The contest opens June 2 and
will close June 13 at midnight MST.

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June 1 Sheila Staley
Why Not? Because I
Said So!

LDS Women’s Book Review

June 2 Alison Palmer
Tangled Words and Dreams

June 3 Kimberly Jobs
Scribbled Scraps

June 4 Nichole Giles
Random-ish by Nichole

June 7 Deanne Blackhurst
The Book of Deanne

June 8 Tristi Pinkston
*Tristi Pinkston, LDS
Author

June 9 C.S. Bezas
For the Love of the Written Word

June 10 Joan Sowards
Joan Sowards

June 11 Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen
The Write Blocks

Entering the contest is easy–all you have to do is blog, tweet, follow, or
comment and then fill out this little form HERE.

1. Follow our reviewers blogs.
(1 entry for each blog you follow.)

2. Leave a comment on a
review. (1 entry for each review you comment on.)

2. Blog about Awakening Avery, the contest, or a review. (3 entries
for each blog post.)

3. Follow us on twitter. (1 entry
for each person you follow.)
Walnut Springs Press
http://twitter.com/walnutspringspr
Nichole Giles
http://twitter.com/nicholegiles
LDS Women’s Book Review
http://twitter.com/LDSWBR
Sheila Staley
http://twitter.com/ssdawn2002
Kimberly Job
http://twitter.com/kimberlyjob
Joan Sowards
http://twitter.com/joansowards

4. Tweet about the contest. (2
entries for each tweet.)

5. Post about the contest on your
Facebook. (2 entries for each facebook post or status update
about the contest.)

6. Become a fan of Walnut Springs Press on Facebook. (1 entry for becoming a fan.)

7. Anything else you can think of that
will spread the word. (3 entries for every social media site you post
on.) If you mention it on goodreads, shelfari, google buzz, make it your
status on gmail chat, MSN or yahoo messenger let us know. We’ll reward your
creativity with entries.

.

Heroes of the Fallen By David J. West

 Posted by  Uncategorized
May 282010
 

Title: Heroes of the Fallen

Author: David J. West
Publisher: WiDo Publishing
Published: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-9796070-3-5
Hardcover: 306 pages
Reviewed By: Sheila
Heroes of the Fallen By David J. West
Product Description:
Heroes of the Fallen is a chronicle that dramatizes the tragic end of a great civilization. That era is now lost to us, except through oral legend, myth, and a golden book of lore. Stand alongside daring heroes with swords bared against sinister villains, never knowing which will fall–Captain Amaron and his Ten Scouts, Zelph the White Lamanite, or Anathoth the Lamanite General, agonizingly loyal to the despised King of Tullan– all must face the chillingly evil Gadianton Master Akish-Antum and his
numerous followers. Witness the plans of mighty kings and
lowly thieves. See the dreams of Bethia, a prophet’s daughter, as she runs away from home seeking independence, only to find confusion and wickedness in a land at war. Heroes of the Fallen is full of tragedy and triumph. It echoes universal themes of mankind: fear and courage, faith versus doubt, hunger for power and love, and sacrifice for the greater good. Intensely researched, Heroes of the Fallen is a literary work of art, presenting revolutionary viewpoints in a cross-genre’s ancient American landscape.


I always love to read historical fiction from Book of Mormon time. This book is like one that I have never read before. It is not very often, that I read a novel that includes the Gadianton robbers and the final days of the Nephite people. The Book of Mormon people are brought to life in this novel. David uses rich detail, in his writing, to perfectly describe each of the nations that were at war with each other.
I was impressed with the amount of research that David put into this book. As you read, you know that much of course is fictional, but also you realize that this book is full of historical facts. I am not sure that I will ever want to write a historical novel. I think that they research more than any other writers.{I could be wrong here since I have not written a novel yet.:) }
Another exciting thing about this book, it is part of a series of book about this time period. I think that this series will eventually be looked at as a great Book of Mormon epic. There is a lot of action and intrigue throughout the novel. There are many different stories and plot lines being played out. You also need to be on your toes to keep everyone straight at the first. Even though these are names you have heard before, I had to seriously pay attention or I would have been lost. This is not a novel to pick up and read casually, you will want to focus on each of the main characters and who they are interacting with.
One thing that really got to me, is how truly evil the Gadiantons were. All of my life, while reading the Book of Mormon, I knew that they were evil. David brings to the forefront how truly conniving and wicked this group of people were. You could see how Satan led them in all of their dealings with others. David paints a clear picture of who the true heroes were during this time. I truly loved reading about Captain Amaron, a true leader who stuck to his values and religion.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this novel, by the very talented, new author,

David J. West. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Go visit David’s blog here

Rating: 4 1/2 stars

Would I…

Recommend this book? Yes, to those who love reading about Book of Mormon history and action novels.

Read it Again? Yes, I will before the next book in the series comes out.

If you would like to read an interview that I did with David, please go to my other blog here

My Review of "The Golden Spiral" by Lisa Mangum

 Posted by  Uncategorized
May 212010
 

Book: The Golden Spiral


Author: Lisa Mangum

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Published: 2010

ISBN # 978-1-60641-635-8

Hardcover: 369 pages

Reviewed by : Sheila

FTC FYI: I borrowed the book from the library, but I
am planning on buying my own copy soon!




His eyes. His touch. His kiss. Dante was unlike anyone Abby had ever met. Now he’ s gone, and Abby will do anything to get him back . . . The hourglass door has closed behind Dante, sending him back in time to hunt down Zo, Tony, and V. Abby knows that Dante, as a Master of Time, is the only one who can stop them from destroying time itself. She also knows that he will need her help. But almost immediately, things start to change, and Abby s worst fears are realized when Zo begins targeting her past specifically. As Abby s world fractures around her, she must face a terrible truth: either Dante didn’ t make it through the door, or he is lost forever. So with Dante s blueprints in hand, she begins construction on a new door, a new time machine that will either save Dante or doom him. With each new change that ripples into her present, Abby s life continues to spiral out of control. Her relationships with Jason, Natalie, and even her family are threatened to the breaking point and beyond. Zo s power is greater than Abby ever imagined, but as she struggles to free Dante, she receives help from an unexpected and unlikely ally. The bank is eroding. The barriers are thinning. And time is running out.


Wow! That is the first thing I said after reading “The Golden Spiral”. It is the sequel to the very popular, “The Hourglass Door” by author Lisa Mangum, that came out last year. The third book in the trilogy, “The Forgotten Locket” will be coming out Summer 2011.



When I first started reading I was very confused. In the prologue I was desperately trying to remember all of the characters and what they had done in book one. I highly suggest that you re-read “The Hourglass Door” again before reading “The Golden Spiral”. Once you get to chapter one, things start making sense again.

As in the case of most series written, I enjoyed reading the second book more. It comes down to the fact, that the first book usually establishes characters and storyline. In the following books the author can do more with the characters. You already know the characters, how they will react to something; you either really like them, such as main characters Abby and Dante, or you really hate them such as the character of Zo.


Abby carries the storyline in this book. She is strong, confident and brave. Her devotion to the man she loves makes you sigh. There is a lot of romance in the story that female readers will love! I am not sure the male readers will react as favorably to that as women, but I am glad that the romance is there. The romance shows why Abby would sacrifice everything for the man that she loves. You have to understand this in order to appreciate the lengths that Abby goes to so she can save Dante. Speaking of Dante, he is a very yummy, Italian man. You can understand why Abby would do anything and everything to have him in her life.

I love how Lisa shows time travel in her books. It is unique and believable, as far as time travel goes. The whole idea of a river of time, that controls all of our lives and how it can change when someone disrupts the flow, is brilliant to me. “The Golden Spiral” has a lot of action and mystery. You are constantly wondering, what in the world will happen next?

There is an important lesson at the end of the book that the character Zo talks about.

“I’ve learned lot since I’ve started traveling at will through the river. I’ve made some mistakes, sure, but I’ve tried to learn from them. One of the things that fascinated me about the whole process of changing events is seeing how people’s choices can change what happens to them. The chain reactions are fascinating. Sometimes things work out exactly as I planned…sometimes I have to improvise.”

In point #9 in the reading guide it says, “The book touches on the importance of making choices of our own free will, of shaping your own destiny and future. Are there choices you have made that have changed the course of your life?'”I think that this question applies to adults as well as the young adults who this book was mainly written for.

So, I recommend this book to all people that like speculative fiction, a nice, clean romance, lots of action and surprises thrown in throughout the book…read “The Golden Spiral”. The book ends in a way that will make you wait anxiously for next Summer and “The Forgotten Locket”. Way to go Lisa Mangum! I really loved this book.

Rating: 4 stars

Recommend this book? Yes, 100%

Read it Again? You can count on it

Finding Daylight: How The Lord Works Through Our Disappointments

 Posted by  Uncategorized
May 142010
 

Title: Finding Daylight: How The Lord Works Through Our Disappointments


Author: Kimberly Webb

Publisher: Deseret Book

Published Date: 2007

ISBN#: 10:1-59992-038-7

Hard Cover; 90 pages

If you are a book-a-holic like I am, you may have the same habits that I do. For example, there are some books I may see and I will buy it even though it is not applicable to my life at the time. Then when something does happen, I have the help I need already sitting there on my bookshelf. This is the case with the book I am blogging about today.


Finding Daylight: How The Lord Works Through Our Disappointments,
by KimberlyWebb. It was first published in 2007 by Deseret Book.

Here is the blurb about the book:

“Life is filled with detours and dead ends. Oft-times our sincere desires to choose the right have led us down the path of failure. Sometimes even things we felt spiritually prompted to pursue can end in disappointment. Why is that? Are we meant to be discouraged? Do we even have the capacity to succeed?

The truth of the matter is that sometimes it suits God’s purposes to let us fail. Out of the rich soil of spiritual yearning and disappointment can come some of life’s most enduring victories. Instead of inglorious defeats, in God’s hands these disappointments can become stepping-stones to deeper understanding, renewed commitment, and more meaningful successes.

They can also represent sacrifice to the Lord, who is willing to try our faith and sound the depths of our commitment. Whenever they occur, they lead us in directions we could not have anticipated without the Lord’s guidance.

Finding Daylight is filled with deep spiritual insights gleaned from a careful reading of the scriptures and a prayerful examination of the Lord’s hand in the author’s personal experiences.”


Though this book is only 90 pages long, it is powerfully packed with great spiritual insight. On the back cover of the book is a scripture that shows you the theme and spirit of this book,

“Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold,and lo, I am with you even unto the end.”…..D&C 100:12

The chapter titles also can show you what you will find in this book:

1. Stepping-Stones: When Failure Points the Way

2. Awaiting the Harvest: When Success is Delayed

3. “The Darkness is Past”: When Failure Brings Change

4. A Holy Sacrifice: When Failure is Success

5. Walking on Water: Success through the Son of God


I found this book to be a good tool in working through problems in my life.It also showed me that so many things that happen to us are for our own good. At times it is hard to see this as we are going through our trials. I feel that great miracles can happen in our lives when we allow the Lord to help us.

I would like to end with a quote from the book:

“As mortals we develop our faith and capacities line upon line. A few successful steps followed by a fall are hardly failure-experience carries us forward. As we cry for the savior to rescue us, He will. He knows our level of faith, and He does not look way in disappointment at our weakness.As Elder Holland said,’Considering the incomprehensible cost of the Crucifixion, Christ is not going to turn His Back on us now.” (Trusting Jesus, Deseret Book, 2003, 67)

Yes, there is daylight at the end of our dark hour. I am for grateful for the many things along the way that help me see and understand this.

Rating: 4 stars

Would I Recommend this Book? Yes

Will I Read it Again? Yes I will!



Following the Light of Christ Into His Presence by John M. Pontius

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Apr 302010
 

Surprise, surprise…today I am sharing with you about a non-fiction book. I know our “favorite Hillary” is usually the one that is well known in LDSWBR for covering these, but I do read a non-fiction book occasionally.

A few weeks ago I had a friend that let me borrow a book called Following The Light Of Christ Into His Presence by John M. Pontius. She has been aware of the many trials and struggles that I have been facing the past two years. The main reason that she wanted me to read this book, besides the obvious reasons of living in God’s presence again someday, was the chapter on “Voices”. In today’s world there are so many voices that are speaking to us and wanting us to follow them. In the book it tells of how there are three main voices in a healthy mind.

-You hear yourself think. You talk, discuss and argue with yourself. You berate, praise and jabber with yourself all day long.

-The second voice comes from Satan’s realm. When we hear a voice from this source it will be cleverly disguised and enticing. This realm plans and plots against us. These promptings will always lead us away from the truth.

-The third source of information in our minds is the voice of the Lord through the Holy Spirit. This voice always entices to do good, to believe, serve, pray and repent.

As we are going through trials in our lives, I feel that we are more vulnerable to hearing that second voice coming from Satan’s minions. We also are harder on ourselves and our own thoughts can be very destructive. It is at this time, that we should be the most open to promptings from the Holy Spirit. This dear friend of mine, knew I had been struggling with self doubt and voices from the world beating me down. This book has helped me so much in remembering what is most important. I can feel the peace and comfort that only the Savior can give to me.

Let me share with you the other chapter titles:

Chapter One: Personal Revelation

Chapter Two: The Light of Christ

Chapter Three: Preparing for the Rebirth: Faith in Christ

Chapter Four: Rebirth of the Spirit

Chapter Five: Beyond the Rebirth-Making Your Calling and Election Sure

This book was originally published in hardback in 1997 and republished in paperback in 2002 by Cedar Fort Publishing. You can still purchase this book here at Amazon.com

If you would like to read an except from the book you can go here.

John M. Pontius has a wonderful website called “Follow the Light”. You could spend a lot time there reading about him and what he has devoted his life to. At this site you can also see the other four books that he has written, go to his blog from there and contact information is available there. You can also connect with him on facebook.

Will I read this again? I am still reading this and I will be buying my own copy.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

Would I read other books by John? Yes

Following the Light of Christ Into His Presence Book Description:

This book is the owner’s manual we were sent to earth without. Have you ever longed for a clear, precise, unamiguous description of the way to powerful righteousness? Revealed within this book is the grand key. It is the key to receiving answers to your prayers, daily guidance, personal revelation, prophetic understanding, power in the priesthood, rebirth of the spirit, calling and election, unspeakable joy, and much more.

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Author: John M Pontius
Edition Number: 3
Language: English
ISBN:

1555176437

EAN:

9781555176433

No. of Pages: 254
Publish Date: 1997-01-31
Binding: Paperback





Daughter of Mine: A Novel by Laura Fabiani

 Posted by  Book Reviews, Sheila's Reviews
Apr 212010
 

Title: Daughter of Mine: A Novel

Author: Laura Fabiani

Publisher:iUniverse, Inc.

ISBN# 978-0-595-47857-6

paperback 190 pages

I have seen a great trend in romance books lately. More authors are writing what they are calling, “Clean Romances”. This basically means that you can read a Romance without having to read graphic sex scenes, that usually are not needed. I recently read a feel-good romance, with a great mystery that needed to be solved by the heroine. Here is what it says on the back cover:


“Tiziana Manoretti is an only child in her late twenties blessed with loving parents, a promising career, and a best friend who fiercely protects her. When her mother falls seriously ill and the relationship between her parents becomes suddenly strained, a carefully hidden family secret is revealed and Tiziana’s seemingly idealistic world is turned upside down.

After discovering she was born in a Naples orphanage and subsequently given up for adoption, Tiziana sets out for the small town of Gaeta in an attempt to find her birth parents. Meanwhile, her best friend Christopher is sending her mixed messages, causing her to wonder if there is more to their relationship than just companionship. As she becomes intertwined with a handful of interesting characters who help her uncover her past, Tiziana needs to decide whether her feelings for Christopher are deeper than she realizes. She discovers herself and others all while her family’s resilience and love for one another is tested when confronted with a shocking truth.

The answers lie in a box found in a closet in Italy, and Tiziana must determine if she wants to embrace the heartache and the pain from her past in order to learn forgiveness and find peace in the future”


The Romantic setting in this story grabbed me from the start. Most of the story takes place in Naples, Italy. The place I want to travel to the most is Italy; specifically, Rome, Venice and Naples. The other thing that drew me into this story was the fact that Tiziana, the main character, was adopted and she is Italian. Guess what? I was adopted and I am Italian. I could relate to the character very easily. Even though there was some predictability in the storyline, I didn’t care, because I liked the characters so much. I also enjoyed watching Tiziana figure out things that the reader already had guessed. Laura has one of those writing styles that the words seem to flow easily across the pages. This is a wonderful quick read, and you feel very happy when you are done reading it.

I also loved the descriptions of Naples in the story as she brought to life the beauty of the Neapolitan mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It made me want to go there even more. Most importantly about this novel are the themes of family relationships, forgiveness, friendship, and enduring love.

I recommend this book to any person that loves a good, clean romance. This would be a great book to read while lazing around on a Saturday in your p.j.’s or a hot, Summer day while sipping lemonade.

My Rating: 4 stars

Read it Again? Yes

Recommend it? Yes, to all of you that want to read a clean romance/mystery

Read more of Laura’s books? Yes, I look forward to reading more from Laura.


You can purchase this book at these places:



I want to thank Laura for the review copy of, “Daughter of Mine”. I did not receive any compensation for giving this review.


Today I want to introduce to you Laura Fabiani.

Education and Current Activities

Laura Fabiani has a degree in Special Care Counselling and a diploma in Writing for Children and Teenagers. She also translates documents from the French language to English for the medical community since 2000. She is founder of NouveauWriter.com, an online resource for new and aspiring writers. She blogs about books at Library of Clean Reads, where she reviews books and offers promotional services to authors. Fabiani currently teaches creative writing workshops in English and French.
Interests and Inspiration

Laura Fabiani has been writing as far back as she can remember, making use of poetry and short compositions throughout her youth to express her ideas and feelings. One of her early goals in life was to write a novel. She began several of them, but never brought them to completion… until one day her sister asked, “Laura, when are you going to finish that book you once talked about writing?”

That’s when Fabiani finally sat down and began to write where she had left off more than eight years ago, when the idea for Daughter of Mine was sparked listening to her mother-in-law’s stories of her youth in her native Naples.

Italy has always held a special place for Laura Fabiani because her parents are Italian immigrants. Her father is from the beautiful mountainous region of Pescara in Abruzzo and her mother from the romantic city of Rome. In addition, Fabiani’s maternal grandmother came from a noble family in Gaeta, Naples. Fabiani has traveled several times to Italy and stayed in her ancestral home in Rome with her relatives.

When not writing or immersed in study, she divides her time between taking care of her family and sharing in a volunteer worldwide Bible education program. Of all the literature Fabiani has read, the Holy Scriptures have shaped her life the most. She has deep respect for this book that has influenced some of the world’s greatest art, literature, music and has had a significant impact on law. “It teaches us how to live the best life now and in the future,” she believes.

She is currently working on her second novel. She lives with her husband and two children in Montreal, Quebec.

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