Month: December 2017

Perfect Imperfections Review & Giveaway

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If you’re looking for a sweet story wrapped up in white paper with a red bow and sprig of lavender (read it and you’ll see what I mean) to get you through the holiday season, you’ll want to pick up this debut.

It’s the story of Sarah Lewis, who after a crisis, flies back to her hometown in South Africa to room with her best bud, Katy.  We don’t know what caused Sarah to leave everything in London and move, but Katy and her brother, Edward, are there to comfort her with open arms.

As we discover much later on what triggered Sarah’s move, I ached for a happy ending for her given what she had so recently suffered.  Even so, this delightful story reads quickly and is light enough with just a touch of romance and adventure to be the perfect read to wind down the year.

I loved how the setting for this novel was South Africa.  It is such a unique spot and one I rarely read about so it was wonderful reading the descriptions and just built up my wanderlust to try to visit it one day.

My one grievance with this book was sometimes I’d be reading a chapter and all of a sudden the point of view changed to a different character in the middle of a page and then back again.  It threw me for a loop given that it came on without warning.  The whole story is narrated by Sarah but then we’d get one paragraph of another character’s feelings as explained by that character.  I wish we were given that in a new chapter or with a new heading so it didn’t disturb my thought process.  I also found the ending to be a bit rushed given Sarah’s feelings throughout the book but appreciated that we want her to have her happy ending.

My thanks to the publisher and author for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:  I write novels that have a mixture of Love, Mystery, Adventure and overcoming adversity. My influencers include writers such as Karen Swan, Sidney Sheldon & Enid Blyton.

I love hearing from readers and I always respond. I can be contacted in the following ways:

Twitter   Instagram   Facebook

I live in South Africa, with my Husband, Son and two Cocker Spaniels .

Thanks to the publisher, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader.  U.S. only, please.  Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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Best Books of 2017

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It has been such an amazing year for books that I decided to do a little something different this year.  Instead of my short list, I am separating my favorites into categories.  This way, if you’re looking for a specific type of book or want to give a gift, it’s easier to sort through the choices.  I wish I had time to read everything, but these are my favorites from what I did read.

You can click directly on the book images to get to their Amazon page.

LITERATURE & FICTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MYSTERY & THRILLER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HISTORICAL FICTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NONFICTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these if you read them and your favorites of 2017.  Leave me a comment.  Here’s to a healthy 2018 filled with loads of good reading!

The Trick Review & Giveaway

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For those of you who enjoy circus stories, there is a large element of that in Bergmann’s debut.  Combine that with magic, WWII, and a present day story of a family in crisis, and you have The Trick.

The Great Zabbatini was best known for his illusions and spells.  He will be the first to tell you he wasn’t a magician, but rather a mentalist.  And that’s just the kind of magic Max Cohn needed to put his family back together.  When he sets out to find the man, they are both in for a rude awakening in trying to mesh their personalities.  If you remember what a curmudgeon Ove was in Fredrik Backman’s story, A Man Called Ove, you get the idea.

I loved reading the history of Zabbatini’s character, even though it was fictional.  It had the feeling of listening to the life story told by a relative.  So I can imagine this book would sound great on audio.  For Max’s modern day story, I felt the dialogue was a little basic and amateur.  I’m not sure if he did that because of the age of the character, but I didn’t think it was necessary.  That’s why I loved jumping back into the history.  And I always enjoy getting a new perspective on WWII, one I haven’t read before.

Surprisingly, a nice little twist wrapped this book up nicely.  If you’re looking for historical fiction with a light touch, try this one out.  No heavy duty angst and agony here.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Be sure to follow the tour for more reviews and more chances to win!

Thanks to TLC Book Tours, I have one copy to give away to a lucky reader.  U.S. or Canada only, please.  Enter on the Rafflecopter.
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