The Saga Of Chief Barking Loincloth by Larry Sargeant

The Saga Of Chief Barking Loincloth

In Search Of A Hero

by Larry Sargeant

Available On Amazon

Available on Book Depository 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘1/2

Genre -Fiction, Humorous, Biographical
Format -Paperback
Printed Pages -350

"In The Saga of Chief Barking Loincloth, Alan unabashedly recounts his adventures and misadventures, revealing humor and pathos in elusive successes and humiliating miss-steps as he encounters social contradiction and hypocrisy, unanticipated pitfalls, and ill-advised detours." *Amazon

Check out my post "Chance Encounter" to find out how I came about this book.

This book is by far the most different of books I've read. The life of Alan is full of high expectations and reality checks. The journey starts off with Alan as a young boy who has typical childhood mishaps and big dreams of being a Hero, of course, isn't that what all boys want? The quest to become a Hero has Alan analyzing almost every situation he finds himself in, which eventually leads to enlisting in the Army just shy of 18 years of age. The Army seems like the perfect place to be able to obtain Hero status. During his time with the Army, Alan discovers a love for Skydiving, the ability to become semi-famous and that becoming a Hero doesn't always work the way you plan it. The story of Alan is so entertaining in his quest to become a Hero that I found myself laughing out loud as well as feeling sorry for him.

The troubles Alan finds himself in are such things that could happen to any of us. The ability to be able to relate to a character in a book always makes them a but more enjoyable to me. I would've liked to have given a higher rating for this book because I did think that it was a good read, but it didn't have that "can't put the book down"hold on me. I still highly suggest others to read it. It is well written and I think you will enjoy it.

Vacation

I recently spent 2 weeks in warm sunny Florida (I live in NY) visiting with some of my husbands family. I miss the warmth every morning I've been back when I wake up, look out my window and see the snow then I turn up my heat a little. My trip consisted of my 3 1/2 year old daughter, my mother in-law and myself (obviously). Now, I know that some of you see "mother in-law 👿" and wonder what I was thinking or that there's no way I enjoyed my trip. I'll admit I was a little skeptical about the drive down in close quarters (or starters). I mean, what could we talk about for that long? Would I say the wrong thing? Would she criticize my parenting? Would I survive?  

Since I'm here writing this post you can see I clearly survived. As far as everything else, it was a wonderful trip. Luckily for me my mother in-law doesn't feel the need for constant conversation, nor did she complain about my music. She helped keep my little one occupied and snacked-up. During dinner one night (with my husbands grandmother and her 2 sisters) my eyes teared up as she praised me for my parenting. It's not everyday that you get to hear someone give you credit for the hard work of being a parent and hearing it come from her made it even better.

My MIL also watched my little one so that I was able to visit the Seminole County Public Library store and get some really nice finds. Check out what I brought home:

I've always been a Stephen King & Dean Koontz fan, so I was glad to find these. 

(And looking forward to Thomas Harris as well)

Stephen King - 

Dark Half (A) (B)

Dean Koontz - 

Frankenstein, City Of Night (A) (B)

Tick Tock (A)

Shadow Fires (A

Seize The Night (A) (B)

Thomas Harris - 

The Silence Of The Lambs (A) (B)

Red Dragon (A) (B)

I remember my mom having this series when I was young. 

A bit discouraged to be missing 1 (Flowers In The Attic), but I'm sure I'll come across it one day.

VC Andrews -

Garden Of Shadows (A) (B)

Petals On The Wind (A) (B)

If There Be Thorns (A) (B)

Seeds Of Yesterday (A) (B)

I really liked the Twilight movies (and since the books are usually better) I grabbed the whole series.

Stephenie Meyer - 

Twilight (A) (B)

New Moon (A) (B)

Eclipse (A) (B)

Breaking Dawn (A) (B)

I got the first 3 in this series simply because I liked the covers

Alyson Noel - 

Shadowland (A) (B)

Evermore (A) (B)

Blue Moon (A) (B)

April Activites

So there's a lot going on in the upcoming month in the Read N' Reviews Facebook Group - a new book, new author, new shopping and of course lots of fun.

The book that received the most votes for the April read is ......

It by Stephen King.

Available on Amazon or Book Depository

This is a very long book and it's understandable if you are not interested in reading along this month. Great news though. The book discussions are never deleted in the group. What does that mean? That you can read any previous month's book and post in that discussion. Previous books were  -

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson

Home In Time For Christmas by Heather Graham

If you joined the read along for March (The Woman In The Window), the discussion post is up. 

Click here to join it.

There's also an amazing giveaway being held by PageHabit.

Enter for your chance to win a Kindle PaperWhite or other prizes.

You can check that out here - GIVEAWAY 

Awesome Giveaway

Have you entered this giveaway yet?

PageHabit is is having a Kindle Paperwhite and $350 in Books Giveaway! If love reading this will definitely interest you. Enter here

The Woman In The Window by A.J. Finn

 The Woman In The Window 

by A.J. Finn

Available On Amazon

Available on Book Depository 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘

Genre - Murder Suspense
Format -Hardcover
Printed Pages -427

This was the book that was voted on for the March Read Along in Read N' Reviews Book Group on Facebook. As I began reading the book I was reminded of a book I read not too long ago, The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins. It was about a woman who thinks she sees a murder committed from her commute to her job. She contacts the police, but when things don't go the way she thinks they should, she starts her own investigation.

At first The Woman In The Window seemed like it was going to be a slow read, but it didn't take long before I was so involved in the story I couldn't put it down. I found the book written so well that I felt like I was right in the house with Dr. Anna Fox, the main character. Even now that I am done reading the book, I can picture what things looked like as if a memory of a friends home.

Imagine an event in your life so traumatic that it makes you mentally and physically unable to leave your house. That's what has happened to Anna. Something so tragic happened that resulted in her becoming agoraphobic. It' been almost a year since she's even stepped outside. She isn't even able to open the windows to let in fresh air.

So what do you do when you can't leave your house and you live alone? You have all your food and medication delivered to your door. And wine, Anna loves her wine and drinks too much of it. And how do you pass the time? You watch your neighbors of course. But when you drink way too much, have a lot of different medications that you don't take as you should, some of which have side effects including hallucinations, and you witness a crime, how can you make people believe it really did happen?

This is what happens to Anna. She witnesses, or at least she believes she has, a murder across the street at the Russells' home. As the story unfolded, I found myself wondering if she really had seen it or just made it up. So many twists and turns of events will keep your fingers turning pages wanting to keep reading to find out the truth.

Lucky Charm by Amelia Kingston

Lucky Charm by Amelia Kingston

Author Requested Review

 (Find out more about requesting a review here)

 

Available on Amazon

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘📘📘📘

Genre -Contemporary Romance
Format - Kindle
Printed Pages - 158

 

Samantha Cane and Connor Grayson (aka Lucky Charm) find themselves involved in a summer fling and sneaking into each others room at night. Since it's only for the summer, until Connor goes off to college, they agree upon a few rules to make sure no one gets hurt such as no relationship, no cuddling, no falling in love. Rules are meant to be broken though aren't they? Just when Samantha and Connor start getting comfortable and the feelings start, Samantha's father suddenly passes away and their fling is ended leaving Connor wondering what went wrong. The death of her father makes Samantha look at life a whole new way. She decides to solely focus on setting and accomplishing a 30 year plan with nothing in way, like a social life. By the age of 28 she is well on her way to doing just that with a beautiful apartment, no one holding her back and a very good job.

Samantha is currently working on making partner at the law firm she works for when Connor, who she hasn't seen in 11 years, waltzes back into her life due to a merger that both of their companies are involved in. Although 11 years has passed, Connor has never stopped loving Samantha and wanting an answer as to why she walked away from him all those years ago. Instead of getting an answer, he is taken on an emotional roller coaster ride as he tries getting close to Samantha again. 

Though considered a romance, it wasn't just full of romance and happiness. Just as you think things will work out, they come crashing down. I wasn't sure if there would be a happy ending or not, which is how I like my endings. The epilogue was a nice touch too. Good books sometimes leave me wondering what happens next. I didn't have to make up my own ending here.

Find Amelia on 

Facebook

Twitter

GoodReads

Chance Encounter (not a book review)

Growing up I always thought of authors as famous people who had no time for, what shall I call the rest of us?  Un-famous, the little people? I'm not really sure, but the point is I never expected an author to take the time to speak with someone they don't know and have never met, unless it was at a book signing where they are trying to make a sale. My first experience with an author was with my friend Melanie Lopata, who I was lucky enough to know pre-author.

Since January, when I decided to overhaul my blog into Read N' Reviews, I've come across many authors who I've had small talk with via social media. I never would've thought that authors could be so humble and appreciative of their readers. It has definitely given me a new outlook on authors (especially new ones).
I love reading (obviously) and not just big well-known authors either. I enjoy reading new authors, novels, short stories etc. At first I just wanted to read murder mystery books. I wasn't aware of how many genres are out there, and with thanks to author requested reviews and my Facebook Group, I've ventured out and couldn't be happier that I did.

So, by this point, you are probably wondering the reason behind this post. Well I titled it Chance Encounter because that's what I got today. I started this morning like any other with an appointment (oil change) and a planned trip to the library with my 3 year old so she could return and borrow more books. (Yes, she's 3 and already borrows books from the library.) My oil change got done quicker than expected so I decided to stop and see an old boss of mine (he was awesome!!) and an ex-employee (both of whom have different jobs from when we worked together).

In any event, that put my library stop a couple hours behind. Usually we go in, return our books, find new books and are on our way. Today I decided she could play a little while I read. About half and hour later we were on our way up to check out when a man (Larry Sargeant) was at the counter asking if the library had a special place for new authors. The man behind the counter stepped away to get someone to help with this request and I stepped up and mentioned my book group, blog etc. He handed me a business card along with his Press Release for his book.

We continued with our business and finished at the same time. He then mentioned that if I was interested I could borrow the book from the library (which would be ready to take out in a few days). I told him I would look for in next week (as I've just started our March Read Along).  We continued to talk as we left the library. He asked for my information and I gave his my blog address. I told him about my blog and all other social media I use to promote books and authors. I was shocked when he then offered a signed copy of his book "The Saga of Chief Barking Loincloth: Book One - In Search of a Hero". I can't wait to check it out!!!! What a surprise for me on World Book Day.

Click here to read the article one of our local papers, Times Telegram, wrote about Larry.

Featured Author Of The Month

Read N' Reviews welcomes Sarah Kenney as the Featured Author for the month of March. 

Read N' Reviews Facebook Group is having a Q&A with Sarah. Everyone who participates in the Q&A will receive a pm (via Facebook messenger) with a link to enter to win a free download of Sarah's short story Sleepwalkers from Amazon.

To find out more about Sarah, check out her page on Read N' Review blog here.

The Devils Curse Novels (Young Adult Fantasy):

Devils Fall

Devils Dream

Devils Mark

 
The Keyhole Novels (Adult Psychological Thriller): 

Sleepwalker

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith

The Forever Girl 

by Alexander McCall Smith

Available on Amazon
Available On Book Depository 

Rating (1-5) - 📘📘
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Format -Hardcover

Pages - 316

This book was chosen by my 3 year old as my second "Blind date with a book" from my local library. I was a little unsure of this book as the rating on GoodReads is not even 3 stars (now I know why). I decided to go along and read it anyways because not everyone has the same opinion.

The Forever Girl was my forever read. Once I start a book I feel obligated to finish it, regardless of whether I', enjoying it or not. I wish I didn't feel that way and that I could put a book aside with no intention of finishing, as I would've done so with this one. I thought about giving it 1 book rating, but didn't because I feel a 1 book rating should only be used in a situation where a book wasn't simply disliked, but poorly written as well.

The Forever Girl was so boring that it felt like it was never going to end. Every book has a plot, or at least you would think that it would have. Even after finishing this book, I still don't know what the point was. I thought the beginning was nice, setting up the scene with the kids growing up and loving parents. Then the little romance started and I thought, oh this is what it will be about....nope. It seems the majority of the book focuses on Clover and her boring life with nothing going on. She goes off to college, she comes home to visit on vacation, she goes back to school, she finishes school and on. Her life is filled with studies and the constantly thinking of a boy friend from her childhood who she feels that shes been in love with since then.

This is not a book that I would recommend to people. I honestly am not sure how anyone would find it enjoyable, which is sad as I know the time it takes to write and publish a book. I haven't read any other books by this author. I always hesitate reading a another book by the same author if I didn't like the first one. Has anyone else read a book by Alexander McCall Smith that they recommend?