bonniereads777's reviews
1617 reviews

This beautiful story is all at once sad, touching, and absolutely hilarious. It's the story of a man who, many years later, is dealing with the actions of his father that made national news and landed his father in prison. At the same time, there is a hilarious description of a speech at a Catholic school. It's also about loving your parents and wanting to honor them, no matter what.

This author creates humor with genius. I will absolutely read his other works.

I received a free copy of this story from Netgalley and Amazon. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a wonderfully written short story by Alice Hoffman. It is part of the Amazon Inheritance Collection and is my favorite story in the collection. Adeline is a young girl growing up in the early 1900s with a wonderful father and a selfish, cheating mother. When her father passes, Adeline refuses to speak as she follows her mother from one difficult situation to another. When Adeline sees her mother's cruelty rise to new heights, she learns to find her own way and her own voice.

Although this is a short story, it has the action, passion, and adventure of a full length novel. I shake my head in awe wondering how Alice Hoffman did it. The scenery is beautifully described, the characters jump off the page, and so much happens that you wonder how it all could have been done in 24 pages. Bring on more short stories, Ms. Hoffman.

My thanks to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Alice Hoffman for a free copy of this book. My review is voluntary.

My 2019 year on Goodreads saw some new beginnings, as I began doing voluntary reviews for NetGalley, BookSirens, and Callisto Publishers Club. This introduced me to some wonderful books I may not otherwise have read. From Booksirens, The Hamelin Stoop series stands out as a real gem that I think could be made into successful films and be a smash hit. A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris is the second book in her Gunnie Rose series, to which I was introduced by Netgalley. Callisto Publishers Club gave me the opportunity to receive hard copies of cookbooks and self help books and review them voluntarily. I am grateful for the chance to read these books and share my opinions this past year.

In my personal reading, my favorite current author, Jodi Taylor, came out with a new book and at least one new short story in her Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. This series about a fun and disaster prone group of time traveling historians is a must for time travel fans.

I am a huge historical fiction fan, and the most impactful historical fiction book I read last year was Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. This is a fictionalized account of the true story of the evil Georgia Tann and her exploitation of children through the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. In 2020 I intend to read more true stories about Tann.

As always I went back and read old favorites such as some of Grace Livingston Hill’s romances written in the early 1900s and my favorite book of all time, and of which I always have several copies, The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein.

I’m looking forward to 2020 and new discoveries, both in imagination through books and in everyday life. Im also looking forward to making new friends and Goodreads friends are always welcome.

Buried Deep is an audiobook free to Audible members. I thought it would be a crime novella with some kind of moral message. It followed that line all the way through the book until the end. That’s when the protagonist decided to accept the fact that her husband’s ex fiancé had to die in order that she herself could have happiness. She decided to keep her husband’s little murder secret so she could go on with her pleasant life uninterrupted. That was disgusting and ruined the whole thing for me.

Ion is a struggling foster kid just trying to get along with some family members who do not want him there. On top of that, changes start happening. His pencils begin to levitate, his backpack flies up to the ceiling, and he discovers healing powers.

Ion meets an old man on the beach who he can talk to as things start unraveling in his foster home. With the man’s guidance, Ion begins to face the facts that he has no idea who he is or why he can do the things he can do.

This short story is a prequel to the Blood Race series. I had never read the series before, but I immediately purchased the first book., The Blood Race. This prequel is actually a really good place to start the series as it begins when Ion is 14 and just discovering his powers..

K. A. Emmons’ writing is superb and conveys powerful emotion. You can feel the hurt of a foster kid who just wants a family, as well as the bewilderment anyone would feel when discovering supernatural powers.

If you enjoy books about the supernatural or just want to read a damn fine story, this book is for you.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley. My review is voluntary.