• book review,  Books

    The Sparrows of Montenegro – Book Tour and Review

    I’m back! Did you miss me? I have SO many books to talk about in the coming weeks, and I’m kicking it off by jumping into a Lone Star Book Blog Tour of BJ Mayo’s western The Sparrows of Montenegro. Read on to discover why this book surprised me and what I loved about it. I received an advanced copy of the book from the author via Lone Star Lit; all opinions are my own. THE SPARROWS OF MONTENEGRO by BJ MAYO Categories: Western / Historical Fiction / TexasPublisher: Skyhorse PublishingDate of Publication: February 8, 2022Number of Pages: 312 pages  Scroll down for Giveaway! Tree “Bigfoot” Smith and Cedar Jones…

  • book review,  Books

    Scattered Legacy by Marlene M. Bell

    I’m back on tour with Lone Star Book Blog Tours with my review of an engaging mystery from Marlene M. Bell titled Scattered Legacy: Murder in Southern Italy. SCATTERED LEGACY: Murder in Southern Italy Annalisse Series, #3 byMARLENE M. BELL Genre: Mystery / RomancePublisher: Ewephoric PublishingDate of Publication: November 4, 2021Number of Pages: 352 pages  Scroll down for Giveaway! SYNOPSIS To outsiders, the relationship between Manhattan antiquities assessor Annalisse Drury and sports car magnate Alec Zavos must look carefree and glamorous. In reality, it’s a love affair regularly punctuated by treasure hunting, high adventure, and the occasional dead body. When Alec schedules a getaway trip to show Annalisse his mother’s…

  • Image of a broken pencil with the words "oh shit". The former is no excuse for not writing, but the latter was my response to it.
    Lifestyle,  Writing

    I Didn’t Write Last Month.

    I didn’t write last month. At least not enough to merit a pat on the back or the chocolates I keep as a reward for every 1000 words written. (I’ve set the bar low here, people.) The irony of the situation is that the month of November was National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it’s referred to in the writing community. If things has gone as planned, I’d be sitting back, as I did last November, celebrating at least 50,000 words of utter crap. I can work with a pile of utter crap. Instead, I have barely 5,000 words of nonsensical crap and a half-eaten (an unearned) bag of…

  • Kindness Wins Cover Banner
    book review,  Books

    What I’m Reading Wednesday – Revisiting KINDNESS WINS

    October is National Bullying Awareness Month, and one way to help combat bullying is to teach kindness. With that in mind, I’m re-sharing my review of Galit Breen’s Kindness Wins from 2015. It’s a truly wonderful tool in your parenting arsenal, and heaven knows there’s not a parent alive that can’t benefit from a great tool. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them.   I purchased a copy of Kindness Wins with my own money.  All opinions found here are mine alone. If you are reading this, it’s obvious you are plugged in and living online. Internet, email, social media –…

  • book review,  Books

    Holding On Loosely by Dana Knox Wright – Book Blog Tour

    I’ve had a lot of things swirling around in my life lately and it’s forced me to take a break from book reviews. Sometimes, though, the books on tour with Lone Star Book Blog Tours seem to appear just when I need them (and I purchased my own copy of this one because the synopsis SPOKE to me). Is it coincidence or just simple good timing? I’m not sure, honestly, but with all the chaos happening, I’m just holding things together (kind of, maybe), and so Dana Knox Wright’s newest book Holding On Loosely feels like it was meant for control freak/Type A/struggling perfectionist me – particularly with my oldest…

  • blog tour banner for Creatrix Rising book blog tour
    book review,  Books

    Creatrix Rising by Stephanie Raffelock – Book Blog Tour

    After a bit of a blog break, I am back, and it’s apt that I’m coming back for a blog tour with Lone Star Book Blog Tours and Stephanie Raffelock’s inspiring and honestly motivating new book, Creatrix Rising: Unlocking the Power of Midlife Women. I can’t wait to share this book with you, so let’s get on with it. A special thank you to Lone Star Literary Life and Stephanie Raffelock for providing me with a hardcover of Creatrix Rising in exchange for an honest and unbiased review Creatrix Rising: Unlocking the Power of Midlife Women by Stephanie Raffelock  Categories: Nonfiction / Self Help Memoir Publisher: She Writes Press Pub Date: August 24, 2021  Pages:176…

  • book cover image for The Road Trip
    book review,  Books

    The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary: Book Review

    It’s release day for Beth O’Leary’s newest book, The Road Trip. I found this book to be a lot more layered and with more complicated and deeply-flawed characters than her previous books. It’s definitely a change from the typical feel-good book, and I think that’s ok. I really enjoyed it all the same. I received an advanced copy of the book from Berkley | Penguin Random House via NetGalley; all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them. SYNOPSIS MY REVIEW OF THE ROAD TRIP Beth O’Leary is one of the many authors on my reading lists who…

  • book banner for The Memory Collectors
    book review,  Books

    The Memory Collectors by Kim Neville

    Today’s featured book is Kim Neville’s literary debut, THE MEMORY COLLECTORS. It was an engrossing, unexpected read, so grab a cup of coffee and take a moment to learn more about this book. I received an advanced copy of the book from Atria Paperback; all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them. SYNOPIS My Review I was drawn to this book first by its lovely cover, the comparisons to The Keeper of Lost Things, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake, and Practical Magic (ALL of which I loved) and by the synopsis. I love magical realism, and this was a…

  • cover image for The Nature of Witches
    book review,  Books

    The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

    Finally, I can share this gorgeous, visual YA fantasy by author Rachel Griffin. The Nature of Witches is an absolute delight, set in an alternative universe where witches control the weather. I could definitely see this book translated the big screen, too, as it has such gorgeous imagery. I received an advanced copy of the book from the Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley; all opinions are my own. This post contains some affiliate links that may earn me a commission if you purchase through them. Synopsis for The Nature of Witches My Thoughts (a.k.a. where I rave about this book) The Nature of Witches is a YA fantasy book that I…

  • hashtag middle problems
    Motherhood

    Stuck in the Middle

    I’m having middle age, midsection issues. My resting belly has pretty much had the same shape as it did with both pregnancies – I looked like I was shoplifting a watermelon, despite years of working out, and in particular, the previous almost three years of Pure Barre and endless planks and crunches and sit-ups, which I’d finally mastered just before the pandemic shut everything down. However. When you cough or do a sit-up, should you look down and think “What in the HELL is that?” or “Is your stomach supposed to do that?” – the safe answer is “NO”. I’d noticed that occasionally when I coughed, or moved a certain…