Tasty Latest and Greatest Everything You Want to Cook Right Now (An Official Tasty Cookbook) by Tasty

Tasty, Buzzfeed's popular cooking brand, delivers both comforting and healthy weeknight dinners for meat-lovers, vegetarians, and vegans alike, plus treats like ice cream, chocolate desserts, and rainbow recipes galore. You’ve been mesmerized by their top down recipe videos, but there’s still something about having a tangible album of edible deliciousness at your fingertips. Enter: TASTY LATEST & GREATEST. This cookbook is just that: 80+ winning recipes, anointed by fans like you, that have risen to the top of the heap, powered by likes and comments and shares and smiles and full bellies. They represent how you’re cooking today. Whether it’s a trend-driven dish like a pastel glitter-bombed unicorn cake or a classic like lasagna, every recipe has staying power. Now you can deliver on the promise of a great dish whenever the urge strikes. Get ready—your cooking is about to go viral.

My Review

Tasty Latest and Greatest Everything You Want to Cook Right Now (An Official Tasty Cookbook) by Tasty was a well organized cookbook filled with easy recipes for all occasions. I liked that the recipes were diverse and not all focused on the same sorts of dishes. In addition, Tasty Latest and Greatest Everything You Want to Cook Right Now (An Official Tasty Cookbook) by Tasty was easy to read and understand how to make each individual recipe.

NIGHT NIGHT, FARM TOUCH AND FEEL

Book Description

Night Night, Farm—now with a brand-new touch and feel element on every spread! Your children will love saying good night to the animals in pj's on the farm, to their mommies and daddies, and to God. Bestselling author Amy Parker (more than 1 million books sold) and award-winning illustrator Virginia Allyn join to make this irresistible bedtime book.

Moo moo, cows!

Baa baa, sheep!

When the sun sinks low down on the farm, the animals are all tuckered out from the day’s adventures. Join these adorable farm animals in pajamas as they say night night to the farm, to their mommies and daddies, and to God. Enjoy the award-winning artwork in a brand-new way with a touch and feel element on every spread. The story comes alive as children feel the texture of the tractor wheels and soft baby calves as they drift off to sleep.

Your little ones will sleep until the rooster crows knowing that the God who made them loves them too.

Night night, farm!

My Review

NIGHT NIGHT, FARM TOUCH AND FEEL is a wonderful book for parents to read to their babies and toddlers as the pages are made to be handled by younger children and the pictures are filled with textures that allow young children to touch and feel as they listen.

GOLDEN GREMLIN

Book Details:

Book Title:  Golden Gremlin: A Vigorous Push from Misanthropes and Geezers
Author: Rod A. Walters
Category:  Adult Non-Fiction, 228 pages
Genre:  Humor
Publisher:  Omega Man Press
Release date:  November 2016
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (Mild and indirect innuendo to both sex genitalia, a short essay about the fictional "AssBook," an essay on current health-care talk, a teaser "is his cord long enough?" to get readers to choose a short piece on electric cars next, etc.)

Book Description:

Written to make Dave Barry, Lily Tomlin, and Ben Stein laugh, Golden Gremlin: A Vigorous Push from Misanthropes and Geezers delivers the experience of a balanced life, and the wisdom to like most of it, and then laugh at the rest of it. What the heck, Barry lives in Miami, habitat of geezers, and Ben Stein is one. The world really needs that push, vigorous or gentle, from misanthropes & geezers, the world’s most valuable golden gremlins. Misanthropes pretend to not like or need other people, but in reality they merely prefer their own company much of the time. Geezers, aside from that silly name, also like their own company quite well. Both share the virtue of seeing the world calmly. You get pointy bite-sized life pointers from these experienced gremlins, told in easy bite-size chunks. Laughter included in the price! Two out of three wouldn’t be bad either.
Life is good! So laugh a little at yourself on the way through these pointy essays, and that will buy your laughing at the world’s simpler parts, guilt free.

Golden Gremlin comprises about 70 short essays bundled into six topic areas:

NATURE: boys, ugly drivers, and coffee cups in the ‘fridge.
WORDS: the real meaning of Caucasian and Genre.
BUSINESS: deafness at the economics conference, and getting on AssBook.
KITCHENS: sushi chefs, and truth about manna.
HISTORY: when Hell froze, and Attila the Honey.

Golden boy gets to be GOLDEN GREMLIN: experience overcomes certainty.
What things could possibly be more important!

Buy the Book:
Amazon​​Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:

Rod Walters lives and writes in upstate New York to prove he can be an all-season writer. Since he wants everybody to be all-season persons no matter her or his circumstance, his writing aims sharply toward the practical—without turning into one of those godawful do it ma’ way authors. Life, after all, is practical hour by hour. Self-described as “old enough to know better, and he probably is,” his former life as Army officer, engineer, and administrative assistant could not have better prepared him to write both light and more serious short pieces pointing to creating a balanced life. Chuckling at yourself usually makes a good takeoff, he says. Giving up having to be certain makes for a good landing, especially for one’s friends! Then again, who the heck wants to live a balanced life? Mostly everybody does. That’s why he now writes. Although many friends nudge and badger him to be a Facebook and Twitter butterfly, he tries not to spend many numbing hours a day with circular keyboard tapping. Writing works better.

Connect with the Author: Website 

My Review

Gremlin: A Vigorous Push from Misanthropes and Geezers was the perfect size book at 70 pages and I liked the fact that the book focused the essays on six topic areas as it kept them organized. Some of the essays really made me laugh while other left me feeling like I was just not getting the joke. My favorite topic would have to be kitchens as not only did I find it funny, but they also made sense to me on a personal level.

Up All Night by Rhonda Shear

Title: UP ALL NIGHT

Author: Rhonda Shear
Publisher: Mascot Books
Pages: 275

Genre: Memoir/Women’s Self-Help

BOOK BLURB:

Up All Night combines memoir and self-help to follow Rhonda Shear’s incredible journey from modest New Orleans girl to bold, brassy, beautiful entrepreneur and owner of a $100 million Florida lingerie company. Along the way, Rhonda has been a beauty queen, a groundbreaking candidate for office, a Playboy model, a working actress, a late-night TV star and sex symbol, a headlining standup comedian, an award-winning “bimbopreneur” and a philanthropist who uses her success to help women of all ages be their best and appreciate their true beauty.
Up All Night is also a love story. Rhonda reconnected with her first love, Van Fagan, after 25 years apart, and after a whirlwind romance in The Big Easy, they married in 2001. Now they share a fantasy life of luxury—but it hasn't come easily. In this book,
Rhonda shares the lessons she’s learned along the way: never let anyone else define you
or tell you what you can’t do, make your own luck, and do what you love.

About the Author

Actress. Comedian. Award-winning entrepreneur. Builder of a $100 million
apparel brand. Television star. Former Miss Louisiana. Candidate for elected
office. Philanthropist. And now, author. There aren’t many hats that Rhonda
Shear hasn’t tried on, and she’s worn them all with style, moxie, southern charm,
and a persistent will to be the best.
A New Orleans native, Rhonda started her journey to the spotlight by dominating
local, state, and national beauty pageants from the time she was sixteen—including three turns as Miss Louisiana. In 1976, in the wake of a Playboy modeling scandal that cost her a coveted crown, she became the youngest person ever to run for office in Louisiana, losing her fight for a New Orleans post by only 135 votes.
After that, Hollywood called, and she quickly moved from Bob Hope specials to guest appearances on hundreds of television shows, from Happy
Days and Married With Children to appearing on classic Chuck Barris camp-fests
like The Gong Show and the $1.98 Beauty Show. Rhonda’s big break came in
1991 when she became the sultry-smart hostess of late-night movie show USA:
Up All Night, a gig that lasted until 1999 and made her nationally famous.
After Up All Night ended, Rhonda pursued her love of comedy and quickly
became a headliner in Las Vegas and at top comedy clubs like The Laugh Factory
and the Improv. At the same time, she reconnected with her childhood sweetheart,
Van Fagan, who she hadn’t seen in twenty-five years. After a whirlwind,
storybook courtship, they married in 2001.
Rhonda’s latest chapter began when she appeared on the Home Shopping
Network to sell women’s intimates. Her appearance was a sensation, and she and
Van quickly started a company, Shear Enterprises, LLC, to design, manufacture
and sell Rhonda’s own line of women’s intimate wear. Today, that company has
grown to more than $100 million in annual sales, and Rhonda has won numerous
entrepreneurship awards—though she still refers to herself as a “bimbopreneur.”
Today, Rhonda and Van live in a magnificent house in St. Petersburg, Florida,
where she engages in many philanthropic projects, supports numerous charities
for women, and works on new books.

My Review

Up All Night by Rhonda Shear was a well written book that I found myself enjoying. A friend told me that I would likely find Rhonda Shear to be an interesting person to read about when I asked about who she was. I may have never heard of Rhonda Shear before reading this book, but I still found it an interesting read. I also enjoyed learning about who Rhonda Shear was in her own words instead of just through the lens provided by the media.

Dead Serious

Inside the Book

Title: DEAD SERIOUS: BREAKING THE CYCLE OF TEEN SUICIDE
Author: Jane Mersky Leder
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 237
Genre: YA Self-Help

BOOK BLURB:

Thirty plus years after publishing the first edition of Dead Serious, this second completely revised and updated edition covers new ground: bullying, social media, LGBTQ teens, suicide prevention programs, and more. Scores of teens share their stories that are often filled with hurt, disappointment, shame–yet often hope. Written for teens, adults and educators, Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Suicide explores the current cultural and social landscape and how the pressure-filled lives of teens today can lead to anxiety, depression–suicide. Leder’s own journey of discovery after her brother’s suicide informs her goal of helping to prevent teen suicide by empowering teens who are suffering and teens who can serve as peer leaders and connectors to trusted adults. The skyrocketing number of teens who take their own lives makes Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Suicide more relevant and important than ever.

“Talking about suicide does not make matters worse. What makes matters worse is not talking.”

Amazon

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Jane Mersky Leder was born in Detroit, Michigan. The “Motor City” and original home of Motown have driven her writing from the start. A “Baby Boomer” who came of age in the Sixties, Leder is fascinated by the complexities of relationships between generations, between genders, and between our personal and public personas.
Dead Serious, a book about teen suicide, was named a YASD Best Book for Young Adults.
The second edition of Dead Serious (with a new subtitle): Breaking the Cycle of Teen Suicide, will be published on January 23, 2018, and will be available as both an ebook and paperback on major online book sites, at libraries, and at select bookstores.
The Sibling Connection: How Siblings Shape Our Lives, and Thanks For The Memories: Love, Sex, and World War II are among Leder’s other books.
Leder’s feature articles have appeared in numerous publications, including American Heritage, Psychology Today, and Woman’s Day.
She currently spends her time in Evanston, Illinois, and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

My Review

As a psychology graduate I found this book to be very interesting on both a professional and personal level. The author does a wonderful job of tackling such a depressing issue in a straight forward manner that is easy to understand and comprehend. I found the book depressing as well, but there is really no way to make a book about suicide anything, but depressing as it is about teens ending their own lives.

Zen Camera Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography by David Ulrich

Zen Camera is an unprecedented photography practice that guides you to the creativity at your fingertips, calling for nothing more than your vision and any camera, even the one embedded in your phone. 

David Ulrich draws on the principles of Zen practice as well as forty years of teaching photography to offer six profound lessons for developing your self-expression. Doing for photography what The Artist’s Way and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain did for their respective crafts, Zen Camera encourages you to build a visual journaling practice called your Daily Record in which photography can become a path of self-discovery. Beautifully illustrated with 83 photographs, its insights into the nature of seeing, art, and personal growth allow you to create photographs that are beautiful, meaningful, and uniquely your own.

You’ll ultimately learn to change the way you interact with technology—transforming it into a way to uncover your innate power of attention and mindfulness, to see creatively, and to live authentically.

My Review

Zen Camera Creative Awakening with a Daily Practice in Photography by David Ulrich was a very informative book that really taught me about how photography can be used for self-discover instead of as only a hobby. 

Imperfect Justice By Cara Putman

Book Description

The police say the woman was a murderer. Emilie Wesley knows they can't be talking about her client . . . but she can't prove it.

To the world it seems obvious: Kaylene Turner snapped and killed her daughter and then was shot by police. However, attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story. Kaylene was a nurturer at heart looking for a way out of a controlling, abusive marriage. Kaylene's death shakes Emilie's world and her belief that she can make a difference for these women. Self-doubt plagues her, and she finds herself struggling to continue her work in the wake of tragedy.

Austen Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned of the manner of her death. He receives a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would take on his case, but Kaylene's letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.

Thrown together in the race to save Kinley Turner from a father who isn't all that he seems, Emily and Austen pursue the constantly evasive truth. But if they can hang on to hope together, maybe they can save Kinley—and find a future for themselves in the process.

My Review

Imperfect Justice By Cara Putman was a well written book that I personally found to be an enjoyable and entertaining read. It was not one of those books that I had to finish all at once, but it was hard to put the book down. Emilie Wesley was easily my favorite character with how she was unwilling to stop at finding the easy answer, but was ready and willing to dig deeper!

Necessities

Book Title:  Necessities by Boyd Taylor (Book #4 in the Donnie Ray Cuinn series)
Category:  Adult Fiction,  225 pages
Genre:   Suspense Crime Fiction
Publisher:  Katherine Brown Press
Release date:  December 5, 2017
Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There is a murder and elusions to sex. Some mild cursing.)

Book Description:

Donnie Ray Cuinn returns to Austin to defend a war hero accused of murder. David Lewis lost both legs in Iraq, but he has overcome his nightmares and his disabilities by sheer willpower. He has learned to run and to box and is a successful newspaperman with a beautiful wife and son. Now the nightmares have returned and he must stand trial for murder. With twists that never seem to end, this gripping legal thriller is filled with suspense and indelibly drawn characters dealing with love and betrayal.
​

Buy the Books:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Add to Goodreads

​Watch the book trailer:​

Meet the Author:

BOYD TAYLOR lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and their Havanese dog Toby. Necessities is the fourth novel in the Donnie Ray Cuinn series. In a former life, Boyd was a lawyer and a corporate officer. A native of Temple, Texas, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in government and an LL.B. from the law school.

​Boyd's first novel "Hero" was prescient in its story about fake news. His second novel, "The Antelope Play," dealt with drug trafficking in the Texas Panhandle, an unfortunately accurate forecast. The third, "The Monkey House", involved commercial development of a large green space in the center of Austin, all too familiar to Austin residents. Whether his upcoming novel "Necessities" predicts future events with the accuracy of the earlier books remains to be seen.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook

My Review

First off I want to let everyone know that I am reviewing this entire series so feel free to check out my other/upcoming reviews on the other books in this series. I loved books One and Three and I enjoyed book two. This left me very excited for the ending of this series as I figured it was going to be an explosive one!

In this book Donnie is back in Austin again and this time he is defending a man accused of murder. David Lewis lost his legs in Iraq, and he managed to overcome his lack of legs and not let it stop him. But his life is forever altered when he finds his nightmares back and himself accused of murder and having to stand trial. I liked the interaction between Donnie and David as they worked to get David cleared. I especially liked the way that Donnie's character shined in this book as he went against the law to defend a hero. I have to say that this book was my favorite of the series with how I could never quite predict what would happen next!



Book Details:

Book Title:  SNAP! Change Your Personality in 30 Days
Authors: Gary Small, MD, Director UCLA Longevity Center and Gigi Vorgan
Category:  Adult Nonfiction, 224 pages
Genre: Self-Help / Personality / Health, Mind & Body
Publisher:  Humanix Books
Release date:  January 9, 2018
Content Rating:   G

Book Description:

New York Times bestselling author Dr. Gary Small’s breakthrough plan to improve your personality for a better life!

Experts in psychiatry and psychology have long believed that our personalities are essentially set from early childhood and remain consistent throughout life. However, the latest scientific research contradicts this long-held assumption. New compelling evidence indicates that we can change our personalities – either on our own, with the help of a therapist, or a combination of the two – and meaningful personality change can be achieved in a snap! – as quickly as 30 days. These groundbreaking findings have shattered the false belief that we are locked into our negative personality traits – no matter how much they hinder our potential happiness and success.

As you read SNAP! you will gain a better understanding of who you are now, how others see you, and which aspects of yourself you’d like to change. You will acquire the tools you need to change your personality in just one month – it won’t take years of psychotherapy, self-exploration or re-hashing every single bad thing that’s ever happened to you. If you are committed to change, this book will provide a roadmap to achieving your goals and becoming a better you.

From New York Times bestselling author, head of the UCLA Longevity Center, and expert in neuroscience and human behavior, Dr. Gary Small, a practical look at the key components of personality development and tools and techniques for bringing the positive aspects of your personality to the forefront so you can become more successful, attractive, happier, and psychologically healthier.
​

Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ Barnes & NobleHumanix Books
Add to Goodreads
​

Meet the authors:​

Gary Small:
Dr. Gary Small, (Los Angeles, CA) is a professor of psychiatry and director of the UCLA Longevity Center* at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior. His research, supported by the NIH, has made headlines in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Scientific American magazine named him one of the world’s leading innovators in science and technology. Dr. Small lectures internationally and frequently appears on the Today show, Good Morning America, PBS, and CNN. He has written six books, including the New York Times best seller, The Memory Bible.

Gigi Vorgan:
Gigi Vorgan (Los Angeles, CA) has written, produced, and appeared in numerous feature films and television projects before teaming up with her husband, Dr. Gary Small, to co-write The Memory Bible, The Memory Prescription,The Longevity Bible, iBrain, The Other Side of the Couch, and The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program. She lives in Los Angeles with Dr. Small and their two children.

Connect with the authors: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Youtube 

SEARCHING FOR GERTRUDE

Inside the Book

Title: SEARCHING FOR GERTRUDE
Author: D.E. Haggerty
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 250
Genre: Historical Romance
 BOOK BLURB: While growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Rudolf falls in love with the girl next door, Gertrude. He doesn’t care what religion Gertrude practices, but the Nazis do. When the first antisemitic laws are enacted by the Nazi government, Gertrude’s father loses his job at the local university. Unable to find employment in Germany, he accepts a position at Istanbul University and moves the family to Turkey. Rudolf, desperate to follow Gertrude, takes a position as a consulate worker in Istanbul with the very government which caused her exile. With Rudolf finally living in the same city as Gertrude, their reunion should be inevitable, but he can’t find her. During his search for Gertrude, he stumbles upon Rosalyn, an American Jew working as a nanny in the city. Upon hearing his heartbreaking story, she immediately agrees to help him search for his lost love. Willing to do anything in their search for Gertrude, they agree to work for a British intelligence officer who promises his assistance, but his demands endanger Rudolf and Rosalyn. As the danger increases and the search for Gertrude stretches on, Rudolf and Rosalyn grow close, but Rudolf gave his heart away long ago. How far would you go to find the woman you love?

Amazon

______________________

Meet the Author

Dena (aka D.E.) grew-up reading everything she could get her grubby hands on from her mom’s Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew to Little Women. When she wasn’t flipping pages in a library book, she was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories, which she is very thankful have been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along and robbed her of any free time to write or read, although on the odd occasion she did manage to sneak a book into her rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, she went back to school and got her law degree. She jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into her legal career, she was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. She quit her job and sat down to write a manuscript, which she promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t her thing, so she quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t her thing either. She polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where she decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from her adopted home. She packed up again and moved back to the Netherlands (The Hague to be exact) where she’s currently working on her next book. She hopes she’ll always be working on another book.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

My Review

I really loved Rudolf and Rosalyn as characters. They both felt so real and I felt myself despairing for which woman Rudolf would end up choosing as he grew closer and closer to Rosalyn. This romance felt so real that I felt myself wondering if it was truly 100% fiction.

Sweet Potato Soul

Jenné Claiborne grew up in Atlanta eating classic Soul Food--fluffy biscuits, smoky sausage, Nana's sweet potato pie--but thought she'd have to give all that up when she went vegan.  As a chef, she instead spent years tweaking and experimenting to infuse plant-based, life-giving, glow-worthy foods with the flavor and depth that feeds the soul. 
 
The result? Her first cookbook, SWEET POTATO SOUL, offering 100 vegan recipes that riff on Southern cooking in surprising and delicious ways, beautifully illustrated with full-color photography. Jenné revives the long tradition of using fresh, local ingredients creatively in dishes like Coconut Collard Salad and Fried Cauliflower Chicken. She improvises new flavors in Peach Date BBQ Jackfruit Sliders and Sweet Potato-Tahini Cookies. She celebrates the plant-based roots of the cuisine in Bootylicious Gumbo and savory-sweet Georgia Watermelon & Peach Salad. And she updates classics with Jalapeño Hush Puppies, and her favorite, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls.
 
Along the way, Jenné explores the narratives surrounding iconic and beloved soul food recipes, as well as their innate nutritional benefits--you've heard that dandelion, mustard, and turnip greens, okra, and black eyed peas are nutrition superstars, but here's how to make them super tasty, too. 
 
From decadent pound cakes and ginger-kissed fruit cobblers to smokey collard greens, amazing crabcakes and the most comforting sweet potato pie you'll ever taste, these better-than-the-original takes on crave-worthy dishes are good for your health, heart, and soul.

My Review

Sweet Potato Soul was a very interesting Cook Book that left me amazed at all the different types of meals and dishes that sweet potatoes could be used in. I was amazed at the idea that they could be used in desserts like pound cakes and ginger-kissed fruit cobblers. I have yet to try pound cakes and ginger-kissed fruit cobblers, but I can't wait to make the pound cake!

Their Witch Wears Plaid

Inside the Book

Title: THEIR WITCH WEARS PLAID
Author: Kathleen Shaputis
Publisher: Clutter Fairy Publishing
Pages: 316
Genre: Magical Realism / Paranormal Romance / Romantic Comedy

BOOK BLURB:

A giant-sized Druid, annoying trances and frightening nightmares mess up Nell’s festive end of summer plans. Living in Scotland, a palm reader for Baillie Castle, Nell loses her heart to a professional jouster. But is her shining knight in cahoots with the sinister Druid?

Will the recipe of a magic coin, diva queens and witches be enough to save Nell from death? Or will evil triumph over love?

PRAISE:

A page-turning delight with twists and turns for the fabulous Lady Nell. It’s 2018, what woman wouldn’t want to be chased by a knight in shining armor?

–J. Verstraeten

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

______________________

Meet the Author

Kathleen Shaputis lives in the glorious Pacific Northwest with her husband, Bob, a clowder of cats and three pompously protective Pomeranians with little social aptitude: Brugh, Bouncer and Miss Jazzy. If not writing, she’s busy reading and watching romantic comedies, her ultimate paradise.

Her latest book is Their Witch Wears Plaid.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

My Review

I personally loved this book and its beautifully done cover. It is often that covers do no reflect the true content of the book, but that was not the case for this book and it was the cover that first drew my interest to this book. I really enjoyed reading Their Witch Wears Plaid and I loved reading about Baillie Castle!

The Apothecary's Curse

Inside the Book

Title: THE APOTHECARY’S CURSE
Author: Barbara Barnett
Publisher: Pyr Books
Pages: 345
Genre: Historical Fiction/Gaslamp Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

BOOK BLURB:

Between magic and science, medicine and alchemy, history and mythology lies the Apothecary’s Curse…

A 2017 finalist for the prestigious Bram Stoker Award and winner of the Reader’s Choice award at this year’s Killer Nashville, The Apothecary’s Curse is a complex tale of love and survival set in a very different Victorian era where science and the supernatural co-exist. The Apothecary’s Curse transports readers between Victorian London and contemporary Chicago, where two men conceal their immortality….

In early Victorian London, the fates of gentleman physician Simon Bell and apothecary Gaelan Erceldoune become irrevocably bound when Simon gives his dying wife an elixir created by Gaelan from an ancient manuscript. Meant to cure her of cancer, instead, it kills her. Now suicidal, Simon swallows the remainder – to no apparent effect. Five years of suicide attempts later, Simon realizes he cannot die. When he hears rumors of a Bedlam inmate—star attraction of a grisly freak show with astounding regenerative powers like his own—Simon is shocked to discover it is Gaelan.

When Machiavellian pharmaceutical company Genomics unearths 19th Century diaries describing the torture of Bedlam inmates, Gaelan and Simon’s lives are upended, especially when the company’s scientists begin to see a link between Gaelan and one of the unnamed inmates. But Gaelan and Genomics geneticist Anne Shawe find themselves powerfully, almost irresistibly, drawn to each other, and her family connection to his remarkable manuscript leads to a stunning revelation.

Will it bring ruin or redemption?

Meticulous historical detail infuses the narrative with authenticity, providing a rich, complex canvas. And playing off Simon’s connection to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Apothecary’s Curse draws on both the Sherlock Holmes canon and Sir Arthur’s spirituality, as well as Celtic mythology, the art of alchemy, and the latest advances in genetics research.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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Meet the Author

Barbara Barnett is author of the Bram Stoker Award-nominated novel The Apothecary’s Curse  (Pyr Books), an imprint of Prometheus Books. She is also Publisher/Executive Editor of Blogcritics Magazine (blogcritics.org), an online magazine of pop culture, politics and more, for which she has also contributed nearly 1,000 essays, reviews, and interviews over the past decade. She published in-depth interviews with writers, actors and producers, including Jane Espenson, Katie Jacobs, Doris Egan, David Goodman, Jesse Spencer, Jennifer Morrison, Robert Carlyle, Lana Parilla, David Strathairn, Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner, Elie Atie, Wesley Snipes, and many, many more.

Her book on the TV series House, M.D., Chasing Zebras: THE Unofficial Guide to House, M.D. is a critically-acclaimed and quintessential guide to the themes, characters and episodes of the hit show.

Always a pop-culture and sci-fi geek, Barbara was raised on a steady diet of TV (and TV dinners), but she always found her way to the tragic antiheroes and misunderstood champions, whether on TV, in the movies or in literature. (In other words, Spock, not Kirk; Han Solo, not Luke Skywalker!) It was inevitable that she would have to someday create one of her own.

She is an accomplished speaker, an annual favorite at MENSA’s HalloWEEM convention, where she has spoken to standing room crowds on subjects as diverse as “The Byronic Hero in Pop Culture,” “The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes,” “The Hidden History of Science Fiction,” and “Our Passion for Disaster (Movies).” Most recently, she gave a lecture at MENSA “The Conan Doyle Conundrum,” which explored the famous author’s life-long belief in fairies.

Barbara is available for signings and other author appearances as well as radio, print and television interviews. She also loves to speak at writers and other conferences! Feel free to contact her directly!

She is represented by Katharine Sands at the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency in New York City. You can reach Katharine at katharinesands@nyc.rr.com.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

My Review

 Gentleman physician Simon Bell and apothecary Gaelan Erceldoune both turn out to have become immortal as neither seems to die. Yet, things are far from ideal as they find themselves being hunted by those who have found a connection in old journals to their present day selves. I personally found this story line to be enjoyable and believable. It is rare to find a believable time of immortality story where the character is not an all powerful character or a vampire. 

THE LONG LOST

Inside the Book

Title: THE LONG LOST
Author: Tom Nixon
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 418
Genre: Suspense

BOOK BLURB:

The sudden and strange disappearance of Joel Thomas brings together his ex-wife and best friend in a search for answers. As Mary and Jason seek out the truth, their quest consistently turns up more questions than clues. In another time, the story of a long-time group of college friends plays out across 30 years of history, revealing the highs and lows of a group that vowed to maintain their friendship until death. Is the answer to Joel’s mysterious departure found in a simple note sent to Mary, or is it locked somewhere back in time? Told in alternating voices and timelines, Nixon’s The Long Lost tells a story of both intrigue and suspense — along with sentimentality and introspection — as he examines the painful discoveries realized when childhood friends grow up…and grow apart.

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Meet the Author

Tom Nixon is an author and entrepreneur with writing credits to his name that span artistic genres. He has written multiple novels, two screenplays, several short stories, a children’s story, and has five music albums in his catalogue, for which he wrote both music and lyrics. He discovered his passion for writing and reading at an early age, going on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Michigan. He resides in Michigan with his wife and children, along with a couple of the canine variety.

His latest book is the suspense novel, The Long Lost.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

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My Review

The Long Lost was a well written book that managed to hold my complete attention from the first page to the last. I liked the mystery and drama of the story line and how I kept guessing what would happen next only to be proven wrong. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I hope the author continues to write in the genre.