Tag: book reviews

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – To Thee I’m Wed by Deborah Dykeman

Title: To Thee I’m Wed

Author: Deborah Dykeman

Print Length: 239 pages

Publication Date: December 29, 2015

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B019YT5NC2

They were in total bliss when Jason and Kathy Miller married in June 1985. Like any young couple, they are happy, giddy, and excited to start their lives together. A little too happy for things to be all peaches and cream.

Twenty years and three children later and the fire dies. Once happy-go-lucky, Kathy is starting to feel unfulfilled. The life of a housewife is now her duty where it had once been so much more. It had once been fun. Now that the children are older, Kathy seeks work to rekindle the excitement in her life, but her husband is not pleased.

Jason can’t understand why his wife is so discontent and is unsure of Kathy’s love for him. After revealing that she’d like to start work, Jason is unhappy but leaves it to Kathy to decide. She decides to work, and though it makes her feel like she has a purpose, things do not improve.

When Kathy meets the owner of Giordano’s restaurant where she works, everything she feels she is missing in Jason is handed to her on a gorgeous silver platter. Kathy is feeling Antonio Giordano, and as hard as she tries to fight it, she begins to change, and so does her marriage.

I like how the author lets us into the not-so-good parts of marriage and the realness of Jason and Kathy’s feelings concerning their responsibility in the relationship. The author developed the characters’ persona well so that it is easy to see them as real people. I enjoyed knowing what each person was thinking, how they were wrong about the other, and ways in which they were right.

Kathy is representative of many women who feel differently after children, especially if they are stay-at-home moms and have focused so many years on raising children and taking care of husbands that they forget how important their self-care is.

Jason is representative of many men who also get comfortable in the relationship. Too caught up with work that they don’t realize how they are neglecting their wives in ways they might not be consciously aware of.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5

Entertainment Factor: 4/5

Characterization: 5/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall Rating: 5 / 5

To Thee I’m Wed is Available Now on Amazon

(Isn’t this cover beautiful? I love all Deborah’s covers!)

51vwiT+JSVL

Be Sure to Also Follow This Author on Social Media!

Website
www.deborahanndykeman.com
Facebook
facebook.com/deborahanndykeman
Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Deborah-Ann-Dykeman/e/B01B2BYPK6

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – When We Go Missing by Kristen Twardowski

Title: When We Go Missing

Author: Kristen Twardowski

Publisher: Kristen Twardowski; 1 edition (December 16, 2016)

Publication Date: December 16, 2016

Language: English

ASIN: B01NBIZRC8

When Alex fell for Nathan Radcliffe, I knew something wasn’t right. I imagine he saw her from a distance, watching her confused and lost, and knew she was easy prey. Whatever the reason, I knew something was slightly off-kilter because she trusted him too quickly.

When We Go Missing is the debut novel of Kristen Twardowski and tells the story of one woman’s struggle to convince a psychiatric hospital that she is not crazy and that her husband is in fact, a killer. We first meet Alex on a boat. She has been kidnapped and is being taken to an undisclosed location. It is soon that Alex realizes she’s been taken to a psychiatric hospital and that the story concerning her mental well-being is in question. She is being told that her husband is a good guy who visits her every week. Her last name is even different from what she remembers.

Alex screams at night like the other patients and experiences delusions and paranoia. This leads her to question her own sanity, and although I knew more than Alex did, from a reader’s perspective, there were moments where I wondered if I knew what I thought I knew! I found myself questioning Alex’s state of mind. Was she kidnapped? Is her husband really a killer? Or did she make this all up? What happened to Alex Gardinier?

I love books like these! They make me think.

Although Alex is the focus of the story, it is also the story of a number of women who go missing every day rather than just one. This book informs the reader of a few potential and actual consequences of being missing. I couldn’t help but put myself in the women’s position and think about how important it is for women to defend themselves, use weapons, be aware of our surroundings, and get to know the men we are with.

I loved the “six degrees of separation” type feel that Kristen gave to the women involved as well and how this would all tie into the truth concerning Alex’s fate.

Ratings:

Plot Movement / Strength: 4/5

Entertainment Factor: 4/5

Characterization: 4/5

Authenticity / Believable: 5/5

Thought Provoking: 5/5

Overall Rating: 4 / 5

When We Go Missing is available now on Amazon

Be sure to follow this author online!

About.

Kristen Twardowski stumbled her way through working with wolves and libraries and found her professional home doing marketing and data analysis in the publishing industry. Though there will always be a place carved in her heart for numbers and graphs, the rest of her love is given to the craft of writing.

Blog: https://kristentwardowski.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16190135.Kristen_Twardowski

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KristenTwardowskiAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KristenTwardow

Why Reviewing Books is an Act of Love

Whenever I finish a book and prepare a review, I ask myself why I am doing this. Why I dedicate time reading books and time writing reviews and even more time structuring the blog post. Do you know how many times I revise a post before it goes public? Too many times. Some of the posts you love the most have been revised upwards to twenty times because I want it to be done to the best of my ability. It may not even be done right but at least I know I’ve done what I can. If I think before I speak then it means that I must also think before I write. Of course, typos fall through but the point is that to prepare and schedule a post takes time. So, after days (sometimes weeks and months) reading the book, hours writing the review and a few hours scheduling the post I ask myself, why am I doing this? This question led to this post.

Book Bloggers are individuals who offer their service as nothing more than an act of love. It is a selfless act in which the person or persons expect nothing in return. Reviewers are not paid, have no agendas and to be real, we really don’t even have the time which is why our to-be-read piles are always sky high. Book Reviewers read books and write reviews even under pressure and harsh criticism because love endures. And the real ones, those opting to give much more than glowing five stars, these reviewers give even more. Not only do they give their time and attention but they are also genuine. They open up about how they truly felt about the work and add even more value to the service by giving authors the opportunity to grow.

As I finish a book and prepare the review, I find myself feeling really good. I am not burdened or worried or obligated. I am doing what I enjoy doing and am always excited for the authors I get to promote! It humbles me to be a part of their journey. Sometimes I scroll Amazon just to see how my authors are doing.  I remember reviewing books that had just a few reviews when I reviewed them. Then I see they have ten, twenty and thirty. I smile inwardly. In some way, I helped someone to grow.

You see, Book Reviewers do this, largely, with nothing coming back to them except the valuable qualities that no one can take away because it is something that people cannot touch and that money cannot buy: Love, Respect, Dignity, and Courage.

Yecheilyah’s Book Reviews – Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market by Altovise Pelzer

Title: Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market

Author: Altovise Pelzer

Print Length: 43 pages

Publication Date: July 14, 2016

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B01IGD5WXW

Define Your Voice is a book that reads like a workbook designed to help authors discover their unique voices. By voice, the author means your unique story. The experiences that set you apart as an individual make your work reverberate unlike anyone else’s. The author shares some of her personal experiences and takes us through prompts designed to help the reader find his or her voice. I cannot say the information presented was new for me, but it is a great read to help someone who needs a step-by-step guide on discovering and embracing their authentic selves.

Rating this book was a challenge for me. I was excited to read this, considering the author’s many accomplishments, and there are parts I really appreciated. However, the book also needs more editorial and formatting attention. However, the inspiring messages of hope and motivation were on point. The book was also an easy and short read which is always a plus. My decided rating is therefore based on these strong points. Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

“Motivational quotes are birthed out of the victories, trials and failures in a person’s life. They become popular because they are relevant and transparent.”- Altovise Pelzer

And my most favorite:

“Are you bitter or better? There is a huge difference and it will show up in how you talk about your pivotal moment. Are you speaking from a heart of forgiveness or hatred? Don’t think you have to wear a mask or pretend to be anyone other than you. I need you to be authentic. For me, being authentic means that you are able to share the pain and the purpose in your pivotal moment. People need both! There will be those who follow you even if you lean more to one side than the other. It’s better to stay grounded by sharing the good, the bad and the ugly then to have people believing that there is only one side to a pivotal moment.” – Altovise

Strong Introduction: 3/5
Entertainment Factor: 3/5
Authenticity: 4/5
Thought Provoking: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3 / 5 stars

Define Your Voice: Narrowing Down Your Target Market is available now on Amazon

Be Sure to Follow this Author Online! Here’s more information about Altovise:

Bio. Altovise Pelzer is the host of “Our Voice Matters” on WoW TV and the #MorningPRESS series on Periscope and Facebook and has entered the world of publishing in 2016. Her most recently released book is the second of an eight-part series, Getting Through Difficult Situations: “The Ripple Effect”. This book is a follow-up to her first book “It’s Okay to Cry”. Altovise has learned, first hand, what it means to live in difficult situations. Because of her life experiences, she motivates women and youth to find their unique voice.

You can find Altovise at the following social networks:

www.facebook.com/findyourvoicenow
www.lnkedin.com/in/findyourvoicenow
http://www.instagram.com/findyourvoicenow
http://www.altovisepelzer.com/
Author Altovise P. (@TheeVoiceCoach) | Twitter
 Stay tuned for my next awesome author!