Category: Reviews



The Nature of DenialThe Nature of Denial by Madelyn March

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was given this ebook for an honest review.

Oh. My. Goodness! For me, this was an amazing book! To some, those who have never experienced mental illness in their birth families or within themselves, it might seem extreme. But if you have been blessed not to have depression or bipolar issues in your personal life if you were lucky enough to never have had post-partum depression, please read this book. Madelyn March, the author, climbs in deep and dirty to let the reader experience the confusion of being a child in an unhealthy family, and dives deeper as that grown child now has a child of her own. If Ms. March hasn’t experienced all this herself, she has done an enormous amount of research, speaking with those who have been through it.

This was a longer than the usual ebook, 250 pages. I loved the length as it gave me a chance to get to know all the characters. They were all well developed. The main character, Anna, brings you through her life to the moment of her breakdown and her struggles to come back to life. Other characters get their chance to show their own points of view which helps the reads see how these things happen in real life.

But this book doesn’t get bogged down in peoples’ heads. Life continues happening. Beauty still exists. Nature refuses to be upstaged by the minds of humans. I loved that aspect of this book. I got to travel to Michigan, hike in the woods, see the great lake, Superior. Never been there. Not sure I could handle the cold. But traveling by book never makes my fibromyalgia flare up. πŸ™‚

Now that I know all these characters so deeply, I hate to let this group go. Though it was a nice ending with all threads tied up and hope for the future established, I want more. I want to see what happens next. I think that is a sign of a great book. And for those who might want to try it, it is free on Kindle Unlimited, only $2.99 for Kindle (I think it is well worth that) and there is a giveaway going right now on GoodReads. Oh, and the title is perfect! Try it!

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Alpha: An Urban Fantasy Novel (War of the Alphas Book 3)Alpha: An Urban Fantasy Novel by S.M. Reine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I was gifted this book for an honest review.

Maybe it was because my life has been so busy with fun road trips and not so fun hospital time for my husband, but, I had a hard time getting through this story. Usually, I can’t stop reading a Sara Reine book. There were just so many places where my mind wandered away from the story.

I think it is hard to make the main character a favorite for me. Deidre has no respect for Rylie our favorite Alpha werewolf. She doesn’t even have respect for her own alpha. But then he isn’t worth the respect. Meanwhile, Deidre Tombs goes all gooey about a dragon shifter and/or her alpha. It’s hard to know where she stands. She hasn’t much to stand on as she searches for her own animal to shift to. Once she finds it, she has a hard time making it happen.

Okay, all that aside, I am still looking forward to the next book to see what happens next. No, we weren’t left on a cliffhanger. We were left with many threads left undone, possibly fraying at the ends. How can our prolific author tie this all up? Wow!

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Homesteading: How to Live a Self-Sustained Lifestyle: Homesteading, Homesteading Book, Homesteading Guide, Homesteading Tips, Homesteading TechniquesHomesteading: How to Live a Self-Sustained Lifestyle: Homesteading, Homesteading Book, Homesteading Guide, Homesteading Tips, Homesteading Techniques by Lori Shawn

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In my last review, I mentioned reading a lot of books lately about gardening and farming. I also mentioned how there seem to be a lot of books (let’s call them booklets or brochures, okay?) that can be read in a short time, like a hour or so, that have very little information, and minimal editing. If I see a problem, it is a big one. I am a horrid editor for that reason. But this is an example of those kinds of booklets.

Now, don’t get me wrong. If you have never thought about the word ‘homesteading’ this may be the book for you. If you have read many, many issues of Mother Earth News and the like, this is pre-school. For those who may be more newbie than I, this is a great book (if you can overlook the editing issues aforementioned). This may be a good booklet to start to learn how a person might be able to live in a self-sufficient way. Before you run out and try homesteading, do your homework. There is this cautionary tale: http://www.motherearthnews.com/homest…

This booklet was and is still free. A great primer should be. Enjoy!

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Fall and Winter Gardening 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant andFall and Winter Gardening 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and by R.J. Ruppenthal

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

With a move from a tiny apartment to a nice sized home on a little land, I have been not just collecting but actually reading books about gardening and homesteading. I am more than a little excited that this may very well happen. And so it was that I read this book. After all, if it happens it will happen in the early Fall. Whether or not I will be able to follow through with a cool weather garden remains to be seen. Even so, I think this has been the best book on gardening I have read so far. It doesn’t just cover the cool weather work, it covers gardening in general.

Mr. Ruppenthal has written a book that is easy to read, easy to follow, edited much more than most. He not only covers the getting down and dirty in the yard, but covers how to eat or store what you may grow using his advise. And he has illustrations, charts and many clickable URLs to take you to websites and sales sites for so many things most greenhorns like me might not know how to find. Such a bonus!

This Kindle book will remain on hand as I get ready for putting my shovel into the ground. I will probably reread it again and again. Oh, and this wasn’t a book that took a couple hours to read. It took me a few days to get through. This was well worth the $3.99 that is being charged currently. I was lucky enough to find it for free. I highly recommend this to those who want to garden, especially using the Fall and Winter to extend growing time.

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DragonseyeDragonseye by Anne McCaffrey

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Could it be that an unexpected vacation and the possibility of moving in the next few months, flavored this read for me? Or could it be because Dick Hill narrated. I really don’t like his interpretations of these books. Well, whatever it was, I have come away from this book thinking it is probably the worst of all the Pern books. It was quite boring, full of discussions, arguments, whining. Very little flying with dragons or finding new discoveries on this planet.

This book does have a bit of a story in how it came to me. I found the CDs at the library and so I borrowed it with the others I recently read. But I found I didn’t have the hardback at home. I found an inexpensive version on Amazon so picked it up. Ah, but when it came I found it wasn’t any more than a hard backed version of a paperback. So the print was unbearably small. And then as I started to read, I realized that I already had the Audible version and so was able to return the CDs. So mostly I listened to the story as I couldn’t read it very well. It seemed to take forever to get through with it.

As usual, when I have trouble with a book, I like to make sure I don’t flavor anyone else’s experience. Try it. You may very well like it. I hope you do.

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Gardening: Gardening Techniques for Beginners: Secrets to Start You Organic Garden: (Gardening, Straw Bale Gardening, Gardening Techniques)Gardening: Gardening Techniques for Beginners: Secrets to Start You Organic Garden: by Mike Harris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this one just before going to sleep last night. It was a VERY quick read.

This is so little to this book that it felt like a magazine article. Well, what do I want for free? As much of a greenhorn as I am, I felt I knew most of the information in this article. So, if you are looking for an overview of what organic gardening is all about and some minor ways to achieve it, here is a place to start.

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STRAW BALE GARDENING For BEGINNERS - How to Grow Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs in a Straw Bale Garden (Straw Bale Gardening, Urban Gardening)STRAW BALE GARDENING For BEGINNERS – How to Grow Vegetables, Fruits and Herbs in a Straw Bale Garden by Michael Stones

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a result of a recent visit to the central desert of Oregon, I may very well have a place for gardening. The timeline of when we will get there will be fall so gardening probably won’t happen right away. That doesn’t stop my sudden need to know about such things. And so it was I had to start reading about different types of gardens.

I had heard of straw bale gardening the last time I was a greenhorn, over 20 years ago. So I thought I would start with this book. It was free, so what the heck? (BTW, it is still free with Kindle Unlimited.)

This book was very general information and the bits that venture into deeper instructions were confusing for me. I think my biggest question was about the fire hazard of straw bales mixed with certain fertilizers… why wasn’t that addressed? I am still afraid to try to do this. And I know I will have to deal with rodents, how can I make it work?

There were a few pictures, but for this visual learner, not enough. I like the idea of a greenhouse built of the bales, but again, fires????

So, I suppose this is a great book to get an overview. I have so much more to read about now!

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Train to NowhereTrain to Nowhere by Kay Bratt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Saw this sitting on my carousel, knew I have liked Kay Bratt’s stories before so started reading it last night. Nearly finished reading it before time to sleep. But sleep won. It didn’t take long for me to finish the story win I woke up this morning. It was well worth the read.

Imagine being forced to hop on a train away from you parents just to save you and your family’s lives. And then needing to stay on the train forever just to maintain the illusion that you are part of the Red Guard. It wasn’t something she wanted to do, but it was necessary. So scary. She knows no one, doesn’t know who she can trust. These are the feelings and situations that drive the story.

It was a well-written story. I loved the main character. My biggest complaint was that it was too short. I wanted more. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, but I could tell there must be more written about this young girl and her life elsewhere. It just ended too abruptly.

I picked it up for free a while back. It is still free with Kindle Unlimited.

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The Wee Free Men (Discworld, #30)The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Serendipity. Do you want to know how lucky/blessed I am? Well, I’m going to tell you right here in this review as I can’t separate my life from my reading diet.

A week ago I had been invited to go on a potential road trip to see my foster daughter. There were so many things that could happen to prevent said trip. So I was calling it the ‘iffy trip’. But things didn’t go wrong. Somehow everything went right and I got to go. I hadn’t been in Oregon since I was in junior high. And I hadn’t seen my foster daughter for at least a decade. And who knows, that iffy trip may have me moving up to Oregon very soon! How cool is that?

My friend brought this book, The Wee Free Men, narrated by Stephen Briggs. What a great road trip read! My friend and I were enthralled! We were laughing so hard at the late Terry Pratchett’s writing for most of the trip north and then most of the trip south. And, yes, the writing is the basis of this experience. But Mr. Briggs’s acting skills were truly fantastic. He had all the accents and voices for everyone and kept the story going.

Often while listening to this I pictured getting into Mr. Prachett’s head while he was writing this story. He must have laughed to himself often with the puns that seem to rolls from his fingers into the pages. Then I wished I could watch Stephen Briggs do his part in front of the mic doing his performance. There had to be quite a few faces for each of the characters that seem to jump out of his mouth.

Needless to say, I have this book on my Kindle and Audible wishlists. I want to read it over and over. It is easily as great as Alice in Wonderland or Wizard of Oz. It would be a great family read. SO fun!

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Girl on Horseback Volume II: The Journey of Abby Simmons and her horses continues as she grows from child to young experienced horsewoman.Girl on Horseback Volume II: The Journey of Abby Simmons and her horses continues as she grows from child to young experienced horsewoman. by Eileen Tidwell

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know. I liked the first one. There just wasn’t enough depth to this one. Since I listen to the Kindle text-to-speech while reading it on the tablet app I saw a lot of editing issues. There were places where there were strikethroughs followed by other ways to say the same thing. Often I thought the strikeout was a better way to say it. The TTS would speak both parts. Then near the end there was a lot of underlining. That didn’t change or interrupt the story, just a little distracting.

Still, I needed a little story about horses to join me on my week long vacation out in the country. It just wasn’t long enough to keep me going a couple days and the character only grew a little. I felt it would have been better to have parts one and two together and with a part three to make it feel deeper.

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