"Against the Wall"' by Julie Prestsater

"Against The Wall", by Julie Prestsater

Description:

Shelly Gelson had it all...a job teaching English at Carver High, her best friend, Mel, working by her side and engaged to her high school sweetheart, Chase Marino. That is until Chase breaks her heart and leaves her for another teacher at the school. Now Shel is left broken hearted and trying to figure out what she wants while watching Chase and the home wrecker make moon eyes at each other. Enter Matt Fuller, Shel's friend for the past 5 years and the perfect rebound. He's gorgeous, smart, funny and fits into Shel's idea of the right guy. Only problem is there may be more there then just a simple rebound. Is it a way to fill a void left by Chase, or is there more smoldering between these two friends? 

This was a free book I downloaded from www.smashwords.com

Over all, this was a fairly good story. The characters are well written and have a lot of depth to them. There are many scenes that had me laughing and other parts where I wanted to also rip out someones hair. At first I was kind of annoyed at how Shelly was still hung up on Chase. However, as I continued to read through the story, I gained a better understanding of what Shelly was attempting to do, she wanted to know for sure if her feelings for Matt were because he was a "rebound" guy, or were they genuine. Matt was a pretty strong guy for not giving up and sticking in for the long haul. Most guys would have been done with that kind of BS within a few weeks. I especially loved the ending, I felt the setting was totally appropriate to the story.

My only problem with this book was the language of Shelly and her friend Mel. I didn't have any issues with the profanity at all, but the high-school slang being used by a pair of high school teachers in their early 30's just felt like they were trying desperately to hang onto their own youth and rebelliousness. I understand that Shelly and Mel had been friends for quite a long time and this was showing how close a relationship they have. However there were several times when I thought I was reading about a pair of 16 year old girls, instead of a pair adult women. 

I would rate this book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars for realistic, likable characters and good plot line.

"Midnight Sons" series by Debbie Macomber

I just finished reading the "Midnight Sons" series by Debbie Macomber. Originally published between 1995-1996, The series has been rereleased as a 3 Volume set. Also included is a bonus story released in 2000.

As Mrs. Macomber states in her forward, "Midnight Sons" was her first venture into writing six closely connected books. Due to the popularity of this series, she went on to write the "Heart of Texas" series and several more series, including the most recent "Cedar Cove" series. Which by the way is now a TV series on the Hallmark Channel. 

Debbie Macomber is a prolific author and has been on the New York Times and USA Today best sellers list several times. One of the reasons that I enjoy reading books by this author is that she writes characters that are warm, funny, and feel like they could be your next door neighbor. She always brings a sense of warmth and humor to everything she writes. 

Below are the back cover descriptions from each book. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.

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Location: north of the Arctic Circle, Population: 150 (mostly men!) But the three O'Halloran brothers, who run a bush-plane charter service called Midnight Sons, are heading a campaign to bring women to town.

Midnight Sons Volume 1

Brides for Brothers: Sawyer O'Halloran, the middle brother, isn't entirely in favor of this scheme. DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER

Mitch Harris is a friend of the O'Hallorans, and he's responsible for law and order in Hard Luck. He's also the widowed father of a little girl--although he never talks about his marriage. But it's not long before seven-year-old Chrissie decides that her new teacher, Bethany Ross, is the perfect candidate for wife and mom!he considers himself immune to any woman - even the lovely Abbey Sutherland. She's arriving in Alaska within days. However, there's a complication...or two. She hasn't told them she's arriving with kids!

The Marriage Risk: Like his brothers, Charles O'Halloran has a distrust of marriage in general - and of anyone related to Catherine Harmon Fletcher in particular. She's the woman who tried to destroy his parents' marriage. Too bad Lanni Caldwell, the only woman he's ever really fallen for, is Catherine's granddaughter.

Midnight Sons Volume 2 

Daddy's Little Helper: Mitch Harris is a friend of the O'Hallorans, and he's responsible for law and order in Hard Luck. He's also the widowed father of a little girl--although he never talks about his marriage. But it's not long before seven-year-old Chrissie decides that her new teacher, Bethany Ross, is the perfect candidate for wife and mom!

Because of the Baby: Matt Caldwell, Charles O'Halloran's brother-in-law, is an easygoing charmer, still in love with his ex-wife. Karen's still in love with him, too. Her reaction to him the night of his sister's wedding certainly proved that. It also left her pregnant.... Now Matt wants her to marry him again--and not just because of the baby!

Midnight Sons Volume 3

Falling for Him: Christian, the youngest O'Halloran brother, has a problem, and her name is Mariah Douglas. The Midnight Sons secretary is always losing his messages, misplacing his files and generally creating chaos. Despite that, he can't get her out of his mind...

Ending in Marriage: The clashes between pilot Duke Porter and Seattle attorney Tracy Santiago are legendary. Duke's a tough, rugged individualist who delights in expressing outrageous opinions, particularly when Tracy's around. But she gives as good as she gets...and not just when they're arguing!

...and a special bonus story  

Midnight Sons and Daughters: Scott O'Halloran and Chrissie Harris are all grown up now. After years away from Alaska, Scott's back in town, and everybody's wondering if he's here to stay. Especially Chrissie, the girl he left behind.

"We Roam The Seas", by Theresa Marguerite Hewitt

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17739411-we-roam-the-seas

Theresa Marguerite Hewitt is a self-published, independent author of paranormal and military romances. TMH (as she is referred to by her rapidly growing fan base) consistently brings to life strong, emotional characters that have to face and overcome many challenges in their lives. The characters do not have "happily ever after" thrown at their feet and they do not always make the best of choices, but they will fight like hell for what they believe in and defend their loved ones with everything they have inside them.

"We Roam The Seas", is the first book in TMH's newest series, "The Viking Dreams Series". Once again, the author has brought to life a couple that has to face several challenges in their growing relationship. Freya is the daughter of a Viking chief, that is forced into a marriage to protect herself and her people against an evil that is starting to spread across the land. Asgar wasn't worried about finding a wife, but once he meets Freya, he is quickly drawn to her. The attraction is quick and powerful between them. As their relationship grows, they are faced with several challenges that will test them both.

This story delivers all the things readers have come to expect from this awesome writer, and then some. It is brimming with love, betrayal, heart-break, sadness and lots & lots of passion!!! I held my breath during the fight scenes, cheering on the heroes, and praying the villains would get a well deserved butt-kicking. The sex scenes were so well done, that I wanted a cigarette afterwards! LOL  I held my breath throughout the book and as usual, I can't wait to see what this FREAKIN' AWESOME writer brings us next!!!!

My first blog post

*sigh*
Where to start? Well, this is my very first blog, so maybe starting with why I decided to start a blog might be a good idea.

I recently discovered an indie author a few months ago and have become quite a big fan of her works. She started a street team page on Facebook for her fans, as a way to help spread the word about her books. One of the things all the street team members have been asked to do was simply promote her works by writing reviews and sharing the reviews with others. Not a hard thing to do. 

I've never done a blog before, because in my opinion, I feel I'm a pretty boring person. I have a Facebook profile, but that's mostly just to keep in touch with family and friends, find out what they're doing. I'm not up on the latest movies or tv shows. I don't go to movies, or have cable/satellite tv. Theaters are expensive anymore, and having an autistic child makes it difficult. A lot of the shows on tv anymore are just plain garbage. So we wait for movies to come out on DVD, Netflix, or Amazon Video on Demand. Same goes for tv shows, Netflix or Amazon has a great selection of titles. (FYI, my youngest son lives for NOVA and anything having to do with nature or science)

So here I am, doing a blog about books I'm currently reading. I do a lot of reading. I've always got a book stashed somewhere. I've always been an avid reader since childhood. I was always checking out as many books as possible from the school library. As I grew older, it was not uncommon for me to check out 10-20 novels at a time, because I'd go through them so fast. Now with the advent of electronic media, I don't have to carry a ton of books around anymore, I can just download them to my smartphone or tablet. Don't get me wrong, I still carry around regular books with me, but I'm also sure to have multiple e-books at hand as well. :-)

So thank you for joining me. I look forward to sharing my opinions about books I've read. Hopefully I'm able to interest you in something new, and if you have any authors you're excited about, please share. I never know when I'll come across a new genre I might like. Like my mother used to tell me, "you won't know if you like it, if you don't try it". :-)