Great Read

Brown Paper Fine Tooth Comb

Families are complicated, so can be friendships. Ask anyone: everyone has their stories. In A Brown Paper Bag and a Fine Tooth Comb, author Claudette Carrida Jeffrey has created authentically idiosyncratic characters navigating universal plots and subplots and it is this combination of the universal and the idiosyncratic that puts this novel in the highest echelon of classic literary fiction. Black or white, male or female, straight or gay, old or young, religious or agnostic, readers who care for others and truly believe in the social values of equality and inclusion are going to applaud this excellent, moving novel. Claire Soublet is an extremely smart, thoughtful girl who was taught to read at the age of three by a now dead aunt and has ambitions to get a college education and see the world. She is moved to anger by people who discriminate on the basis of race or gender. She is moved to compassion by people who are victims of discrimination or ignored when they need and deserve to be acknowledged and assisted. She is also moved to anger when she fears she is about to be abandoned and/or betrayed in some way. She's had a history that predisposes her to this defensiveness. And she begins to suspect the mysterious life histories of other people she meets, most importantly an old white woman who takes her in after her grandmother dies. The undeclared but deeply felt love that grows between Claire and the mysterious Sera is the focal point of the novel. Revolving around this important relationship over the years as Claire grows into, through and out of adolescence, we meet several young men who are enamored of her for various reasons, some good, some not so good. It is through her eyes that we see what women of that time were up against, what people of color in that region were up against, the kinds of expectations that restricted their dreams, their aspirations, their relationships. The best books take the reader to the time and place, when and where the story is set. Think Wuthering Heights, Yorkshire Moors in an earlier century. Brown Paper Bag definitely takes readers to the world of New Orleans in the forties and fifties. Readers who have been to New Orleans will recognize it. Readers who have never been there will feel like they have. This book does more than tell a story, it gives the gift of experience. It leaves us hopeful for Claire's future and eager for a sequel that will divulge the details of that future as well as Sera's intriguing past. Highly recommended!

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The Happy Campers

Coleman 17 Foot 10 Foot 8 Person Modified

Purchased this tent and the day I got it, wife and I did a practice run of putting the tent up in our back yard. Took less than 45 minutes the first time.

I sprayed the rain fly seams and tent seams with a can of "Kiwi Camp Dry, Heavy Duty Water Repellent 12 oz". We let it dry than rolled it back up and put it back in its bag.

Got it out two weeks ago for our 3 day camping trip. We went with a couple who purchased a big Ozark Trail tent from Walmart. They raved about how there Ozark Trail Tent was 50 dollars less then what we paid for but just as big as our tent....the first two days.

Day three around 5:30 in the morning we had rain for the first time...and when I say rain, I mean a torrential downpour for at least 90 minutes straight.

Needless to say the inside of our tent was dry as a bone. The Ozarks Trail Tent was leaking all over the place, they were soaked, and had an inch of water in the tent. I actually had to tip there tent up and help them pour the water out.

Needless to say, they were not so happy about saving 50 dollars on a junk tent.

Glad I made this purchase! My family was dry, and we had a great camping trip.

BTW, Second time my wife and I put tent up we had it up in about 10-15 minutes.

Great Tent.

Get your Coleman 17 Foot 10 Foot 8 Person Modified Now!

Great Book

House Hardings World Romance ebook

Face it, laptop bags aren't exactly the most exciting thing on earth, but if you pack a laptop around, they are essential to protect your expensive piece of equipment. They aren't all created equally though!

I've had a number of laptop bags over the years, including the traditional black leather look, a backpack, and a messenger bag. The messenger bag was a huge favorite, it just seemed to work easier and take up less space when it wasn't in use. The Timbuk2 bag manages to take the messenger bag style up a step by adding some great features, such as the luggage pass through, the TSA speedy access, and great organization. It doesn't hurt that it is put into a package with some seriously sturdy fabric and weather protection either.

There really aren't any "cons" to this bag, other than the fact that it isn't the cheapest one on the market. About all I can say about that is that we tend to get what we pay for. I've had cheap bags, and they consistently have poor quality workmanship resulting in failure in seams or hardware. I have no worries about that with this bag--I think I'll see it outlive a number of laptops, actually.

The workmanship is top notch, the materials are the same high quality. If you are looking for a quality bag for commuting or traveling with your laptop and other electronic gadgets, this is the answer. It holds a lot and packs it with an eye to both quality and capacity. Sure it isn't going to rate as "trendy" and it won't hold your chihuahua, but it will hold what it's supposed to!

Get your House Hardings World Romance ebook Now!

Best bag of any kind I have owned (black, medium bag review)

Timbuk2 Commute TSA Friendly Messenger Bag

Face it, laptop bags aren't exactly the most exciting thing on earth, but if you pack a laptop around, they are essential to protect your expensive piece of equipment. They aren't all created equally though!

I've had a number of laptop bags over the years, including the traditional black leather look, a backpack, and a messenger bag. The messenger bag was a huge favorite, it just seemed to work easier and take up less space when it wasn't in use. The Timbuk2 bag manages to take the messenger bag style up a step by adding some great features, such as the luggage pass through, the TSA speedy access, and great organization. It doesn't hurt that it is put into a package with some seriously sturdy fabric and weather protection either.

There really aren't any "cons" to this bag, other than the fact that it isn't the cheapest one on the market. About all I can say about that is that we tend to get what we pay for. I've had cheap bags, and they consistently have poor quality workmanship resulting in failure in seams or hardware. I have no worries about that with this bag--I think I'll see it outlive a number of laptops, actually.

The workmanship is top notch, the materials are the same high quality. If you are looking for a quality bag for commuting or traveling with your laptop and other electronic gadgets, this is the answer. It holds a lot and packs it with an eye to both quality and capacity. Sure it isn't going to rate as "trendy" and it won't hold your chihuahua, but it will hold what it's supposed to!

Get your Timbuk2 Commute TSA Friendly Messenger Bag Now!

Simply Gorgeous

MICHAEL Michael Kors Monogram Signature

Life for Laura Warren is punctuated by the methodical: a radiographic technician, her work at a prestigious hospital on the Maine coast requires her to look at cancer every day, unearthing the answers to patients' most fearsome question and yet not being in a station to share what she knows. Keeping her thoughts to herself is something she's familiar with at home, too. Her husband, Dan, has become increasingly embittered by the loss of his job, effectively driving a wedge further into their already fractured relationship. The bright lights in Laura's life, her children, are living full lives of their own - creative, talented Ben away at college and savvy Sally in her final year of high school. Laura never really entertains escape, but when she finds herself at a weekend conference in Boston her world is turned upside down when she chances into conversation with another guest at the hotel. Richard has all the looks of a stuffy insurance salesman in his fifties, but no sooner have they engaged in a passing conversation when they realize they've both stumbled upon something profound, maybe even life-changing.

Douglas Kennedy's eleventh novel, Five Days, is a luxurious work that spins several unpleasant topics into a rich literary experience. It's a love story that explores both the rampant ecstasy and wrenching sadness with a scope so broad it will leave the reader rather breathless. As the title suggests, the story is divided into five days amid Laura's life, documenting the unhappiness of her every day, the tentative thrill of discovering something new, and the frightening elation at the prospect of changing her life for the better. Perhaps what I connected most with in the book was the difficulty - and triumph - in Laura's plight to recreate her life; Kennedy focuses the novel on her first-person narration, which allows the reader to become fully acquainted with this remarkable character. Initially, I felt that I couldn't quite relate with Laura, that her tone was rather depressing, but the beauty of Kennedy's work is in the power he maintains over his own writing. His timing is excellent. As Laura frees herself from the confines of her depressing life and embarks on a life-changing relationship with another man, she allows herself to open up to the reader, to drop her guard. But it was after what happened later - when changes she had never expected began to take shape - that I found her at her most empowering.

Kennedy's use of language is superb, and his detailing creates a beautiful, almost dreamlike literary world that's tinged ever slightly with melancholy. Richard and Laura are both pragmatic and romantic, two fascinatingly smart, well-read, engaged people. Their connect is so that Kennedy manages to set them more or less above every other character in the book - which, as they together share in their delight of obscure artistic references and an all-too-encompassing interest in synonyms - could make the reader feel either connected or slightly detached. Their intellect being the chief source of their chemistry, I found it fascinating to follow along and see the sparks ignite on the page. Overall, I found Five Days to be a thought-provoking look at the power of love to build up, destroy, and change our lives as we know it, and how we as humans deal with the magnitude of it.

(Review � Casee Marie, originally published on April 30, 2013 at LiteraryInklings.com. I received a copy of the book for the purpose of review.)

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Excellent

Five Days Novel Douglas Kennedy

Life for Laura Warren is punctuated by the methodical: a radiographic technician, her work at a prestigious hospital on the Maine coast requires her to look at cancer every day, unearthing the answers to patients' most fearsome question and yet not being in a station to share what she knows. Keeping her thoughts to herself is something she's familiar with at home, too. Her husband, Dan, has become increasingly embittered by the loss of his job, effectively driving a wedge further into their already fractured relationship. The bright lights in Laura's life, her children, are living full lives of their own - creative, talented Ben away at college and savvy Sally in her final year of high school. Laura never really entertains escape, but when she finds herself at a weekend conference in Boston her world is turned upside down when she chances into conversation with another guest at the hotel. Richard has all the looks of a stuffy insurance salesman in his fifties, but no sooner have they engaged in a passing conversation when they realize they've both stumbled upon something profound, maybe even life-changing.

Douglas Kennedy's eleventh novel, Five Days, is a luxurious work that spins several unpleasant topics into a rich literary experience. It's a love story that explores both the rampant ecstasy and wrenching sadness with a scope so broad it will leave the reader rather breathless. As the title suggests, the story is divided into five days amid Laura's life, documenting the unhappiness of her every day, the tentative thrill of discovering something new, and the frightening elation at the prospect of changing her life for the better. Perhaps what I connected most with in the book was the difficulty - and triumph - in Laura's plight to recreate her life; Kennedy focuses the novel on her first-person narration, which allows the reader to become fully acquainted with this remarkable character. Initially, I felt that I couldn't quite relate with Laura, that her tone was rather depressing, but the beauty of Kennedy's work is in the power he maintains over his own writing. His timing is excellent. As Laura frees herself from the confines of her depressing life and embarks on a life-changing relationship with another man, she allows herself to open up to the reader, to drop her guard. But it was after what happened later - when changes she had never expected began to take shape - that I found her at her most empowering.

Kennedy's use of language is superb, and his detailing creates a beautiful, almost dreamlike literary world that's tinged ever slightly with melancholy. Richard and Laura are both pragmatic and romantic, two fascinatingly smart, well-read, engaged people. Their connect is so that Kennedy manages to set them more or less above every other character in the book - which, as they together share in their delight of obscure artistic references and an all-too-encompassing interest in synonyms - could make the reader feel either connected or slightly detached. Their intellect being the chief source of their chemistry, I found it fascinating to follow along and see the sparks ignite on the page. Overall, I found Five Days to be a thought-provoking look at the power of love to build up, destroy, and change our lives as we know it, and how we as humans deal with the magnitude of it.

(Review � Casee Marie, originally published on April 30, 2013 at LiteraryInklings.com. I received a copy of the book for the purpose of review.)

Get your Five Days Novel Douglas Kennedy Now!

Fun, Funny, Audacious, Naughty and Very Entertaining

250 Pick Up Lines ebook

This exceptionally well-made bag is a little taller than your average crossbody bag, and the shoulder strap is wider, with a bit longer drop. The extra height means I can fit in not only my wallet, keys, shades, phone and various small essentials, but I can also slide in my iPad Mini (and still zip the bag)! It's as if the bag were designed with an iPad Mini in mind.

The two front pockets are nice and deep, but I'm not sure what I'll use them for since anything other than a piece of paper will cause them to bulge. They're also not secure enough for anything as valuable as a smartphone. The back zipper pocket is nice and deep. I'm using that for my iPhone, headphones and a small, collapsible phone stand -- all of which fits with only the slightest bulge. Even when full, the bag keeps a flat-ish silhouette and sits fairly close to the body.

The leather is butter-soft, the stitching very secure, and the hardware nice and solid. The lining is thick satin, pale yellow with the Piazza logo in brown. Altogether well-designed and well-built!

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The Best First

Ladies Green Handle Handbag KCMODE

This exceptionally well-made bag is a little taller than your average crossbody bag, and the shoulder strap is wider, with a bit longer drop. The extra height means I can fit in not only my wallet, keys, shades, phone and various small essentials, but I can also slide in my iPad Mini (and still zip the bag)! It's as if the bag were designed with an iPad Mini in mind.

The two front pockets are nice and deep, but I'm not sure what I'll use them for since anything other than a piece of paper will cause them to bulge. They're also not secure enough for anything as valuable as a smartphone. The back zipper pocket is nice and deep. I'm using that for my iPhone, headphones and a small, collapsible phone stand -- all of which fits with only the slightest bulge. Even when full, the bag keeps a flat-ish silhouette and sits fairly close to the body.

The leather is butter-soft, the stitching very secure, and the hardware nice and solid. The lining is thick satin, pale yellow with the Piazza logo in brown. Altogether well-designed and well-built!

Get your Ladies Green Handle Handbag KCMODE Now!

The Best First

Nine West 00690326NW Satchel Metallic

This exceptionally well-made bag is a little taller than your average crossbody bag, and the shoulder strap is wider, with a bit longer drop. The extra height means I can fit in not only my wallet, keys, shades, phone and various small essentials, but I can also slide in my iPad Mini (and still zip the bag)! It's as if the bag were designed with an iPad Mini in mind.

The two front pockets are nice and deep, but I'm not sure what I'll use them for since anything other than a piece of paper will cause them to bulge. They're also not secure enough for anything as valuable as a smartphone. The back zipper pocket is nice and deep. I'm using that for my iPhone, headphones and a small, collapsible phone stand -- all of which fits with only the slightest bulge. Even when full, the bag keeps a flat-ish silhouette and sits fairly close to the body.

The leather is butter-soft, the stitching very secure, and the hardware nice and solid. The lining is thick satin, pale yellow with the Piazza logo in brown. Altogether well-designed and well-built!

Get your Nine West 00690326NW Satchel Metallic Now!

Bought for a trip to New York

Piazza Gia Crossbody Terra Cotta

This exceptionally well-made bag is a little taller than your average crossbody bag, and the shoulder strap is wider, with a bit longer drop. The extra height means I can fit in not only my wallet, keys, shades, phone and various small essentials, but I can also slide in my iPad Mini (and still zip the bag)! It's as if the bag were designed with an iPad Mini in mind.

The two front pockets are nice and deep, but I'm not sure what I'll use them for since anything other than a piece of paper will cause them to bulge. They're also not secure enough for anything as valuable as a smartphone. The back zipper pocket is nice and deep. I'm using that for my iPhone, headphones and a small, collapsible phone stand -- all of which fits with only the slightest bulge. Even when full, the bag keeps a flat-ish silhouette and sits fairly close to the body.

The leather is butter-soft, the stitching very secure, and the hardware nice and solid. The lining is thick satin, pale yellow with the Piazza logo in brown. Altogether well-designed and well-built!

Get your Piazza Gia Crossbody Terra Cotta Now!

Great Bag!

Designer Inspired Mini Lanus Tote

I have owned many Maxpedition products in the past and I have always sold them or traded them to someone else as I was disappointed with them after I got them. Don't get me wrong I was not disappointed by the vendors here at Amazon. I was disappointed by the descriptions used at [...] and many times vendors use those same descriptions. That's OK! This time however I am really impressed with this versipack. It is everything that Maxpedition and Outdoor Merchants said it would be! It holds all of my stuff and then some and it is roomy and get this: This is the first Maxpedtion product that I can actually say is comfortable. I order the product from Outdoor Merchants and I got it quicker then they said I would get it and I am very pleased. I would order from them again in a heartbeat! Great bag! Great service! and finally a great product from Maxpedition

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Tough and Ready

Maxpedition Mongo S Type Versipack Black

I have owned many Maxpedition products in the past and I have always sold them or traded them to someone else as I was disappointed with them after I got them. Don't get me wrong I was not disappointed by the vendors here at Amazon. I was disappointed by the descriptions used at [...] and many times vendors use those same descriptions. That's OK! This time however I am really impressed with this versipack. It is everything that Maxpedition and Outdoor Merchants said it would be! It holds all of my stuff and then some and it is roomy and get this: This is the first Maxpedtion product that I can actually say is comfortable. I order the product from Outdoor Merchants and I got it quicker then they said I would get it and I am very pleased. I would order from them again in a heartbeat! Great bag! Great service! and finally a great product from Maxpedition

Get your Maxpedition Mongo S Type Versipack Black Now!

Easy to assemble, looks great - just the right size

CobraCo FRHORS369 Horse Campfire Ring

This lovely rustic fire ring is perfect for those wonderful summer evenings when you want to sit in front of a nice cozy fire and enjoy the feeling you get as the flames lull you into an almost hypnotic state of relaxation. At a little over 13 pounds, the CobraCo Horse Campfire ring can either be a nice permanent fixture in your yard or camp area, or it can be easily transported to the beach, campground, etc., so that you can set up a quick but safe ring in just minutes. No more concerns about rocks "exploding" or a piece of wood rolling out of the ring. Standing at about 9" tall and 36" in diameter, most wood will safely be contained with no problem.

The CobraCo FRHORS369 Horse Campfire Ring comes in 4 pieces with 12 bolts, 12 nuts (mine had 13 each) and 2 small wrenches. It goes together quickly and easily, and it's easy to break down. When broken down, it doesn't take much room to transport or store when not in use.

The only thing that would make this ring better would be some method to attach it to the ground.

Get your CobraCo FRHORS369 Horse Campfire Ring Now!

Eighty Days---a great read!

Eighty Days Elizabeth Bislands History Making

On a recent discussion threat for a writer support group that I am a part of, one of the other women took the opportunity of marking Women's History Month by insisting in the most absolute and implacable terms that until American women had the national franchise extended to them in 1920, they were mere helpless chattels, powerless before the courts, economically completely dependent on their menfolk and invisible to society at large ... purest bull-hockey, I know, and I should have argued the point by referencing my copy of this book, which countered just about every claim she made about the condition of women in late 19th century America in telling of the epic round-the-world journeys of two female travelers over the winter of 1889. Both Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland were about the same age; both earned a good living in the media hustings of the time, one was a hard-working and hard-charging Northerner, the other a genteel and cultivated Southern lady.

In the publicity stunt of the decade, they were sent by their respective publications to circumnavigate the world and beat the record of 80 days set by Jules Verne's fictional hero, Phineas Fogg. Theoretically, it was at least possible, given the mind-numbingly rapid advances which had been made in the decades following the Civil War. Once it had been the laborious business of six months to cross the United States from the Mississippi River - now it could be done in a week by train. The crossing of the Atlantic by ship now took a week in some comfort on a speedy packet steamer, rather than the six to eight weeks of misery that it had been under sail. Telegrams carried the news instantly. The world had become small - and now Joseph Pulitzer's World newspaper proposed a demonstration by sending his intrepid star female reporter around the world. The magazine Cosmopolitan proposed to make it a real race - and their star reporter Elizabeth Bisland went west by train, even as Nellie Bly caught the steamer east.

The race was on; it made a star of Nellie Bly for a time ... and this is a copiously detailed account of their separate headlong journeys. I personally favor lots of detail in accounts of this kind, although other reviewers have felt bogged down and eventually bored. I did not; and as a record of what it was like to travel the world in 1889 this book is like a five-pound box of mixed artisanal chocolates. There are splendid curiosities, interesting people, events and descriptions everywhere, noted as Miss Bisland and Miss Bly went hurtling past at full speed. Most definitely this book, which I had in advanced edition, needs maps, lots of them and in detail. I hope that the final version does include them.

Get your Eighty Days Elizabeth Bislands History Making Now!

great mattress cover

Plus Seersucker Pants Drawstring Check

Overall this is a great, quality product. I've had several types of these covers over the years. The Hospitology cover is equal in qualty to ones for which I've paid 2-3x the price. I especially like that several felt/flanel self-sticking pads are included with the cover. Sharp metal edges on bed frames are the biggest killer of these products. Kudos for Hospitology for thinking of this an including a solution with their product.

I have also experienced excellent customer service with Hospitology. When I received my encasement, it had some yellow-orange stains on it. I immediately sent feedback to the seller and initiated a product exchange. The next day I received an email from the seller explaining that this was an unfortunate, but common side effect from flame retardant coating they use on their products, and it could be remedied with a run through the washer. Sure enough, one trip through the wash cycle and the encasement was pure white! The product comes with thorough washing/drying instructions, so if you wash it, make sure you follow them. To be safe, I let my cover air dry (prior experience with another brand).

Get your Plus Seersucker Pants Drawstring Check Now!

great mattress cover

Hospitology Defense Waterproof Mattress Encasement

Overall this is a great, quality product. I've had several types of these covers over the years. The Hospitology cover is equal in qualty to ones for which I've paid 2-3x the price. I especially like that several felt/flanel self-sticking pads are included with the cover. Sharp metal edges on bed frames are the biggest killer of these products. Kudos for Hospitology for thinking of this an including a solution with their product.

I have also experienced excellent customer service with Hospitology. When I received my encasement, it had some yellow-orange stains on it. I immediately sent feedback to the seller and initiated a product exchange. The next day I received an email from the seller explaining that this was an unfortunate, but common side effect from flame retardant coating they use on their products, and it could be remedied with a run through the washer. Sure enough, one trip through the wash cycle and the encasement was pure white! The product comes with thorough washing/drying instructions, so if you wash it, make sure you follow them. To be safe, I let my cover air dry (prior experience with another brand).

Get your Hospitology Defense Waterproof Mattress Encasement Now!

a wonderful read

The Paris Wife A Novel

"The Paris Wife" is one of the best novels I've read in a long time. It's so evocative of time and place, of the hearts and minds of the characters, that I could scarcely put it down. I highly recommend it.

I read Hemingway in high school and college. I didn't enjoy or appreciate his work. I knew that World War I had a shattering effect on those who fought and survived, the so-called "Lost Generation." However, I didn't understand their intense live-for-today mindset, or their conviction that there was no point to anything in life except seizing the day. Only intense, adrenaline-inducing experiences, narcissism, artistic expression, and endless partying mattered. Today we would call Hemingway, and many of his mercurial friends, victims of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"The Paris Wife" takes you so thoroughly into Hemingway's life in the 1920s that it's not just a gripping story, but a revelation about the artist and the genesis of his work.

The narrator of the book, Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, struggles to understand and support him. She also desperately wants him want to be faithful, as she is - definitely not the norm in their fast-living crowd. She loves him, but doesn't understand his moods or his behavior; she finds them troubling, selfish, even cruel. She also must take her own journey of self-discovery and independence. And clearly, given his ultimate suicide, Hemingway struggled mightily with something very dark within himself that no one else could touch. As much as he sometimes regretted that darkness, he hoarded it within himself.

This is a wonderful novel, somehow both intimate and epic. Author Paula McLain takes us right into Hadley and Ernest's Roaring 20s world. It's a fascinating and heart-breaking place.

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Breathtaking

Life After A Novel

"Life After Life" grabbed me right from the start and just didn't let go. Atkinson uses what sounds like a plot device from science fiction--a character who dies and is reborn repeatedly--but the book does not read like a science fiction/fantasy novel. The setting is an often used time in history with the bulk of the story set in WWII, but it's not exactly historical fiction either. There are elements of literary fiction too, but that alone can't describe it. "Life After Life" is an original that transcends genres to tell its own story, and its a great one. Atkinson manages to write Ursula's tale with all of the necessary repetitions in it without ever making it repetitious or letting the pace lag. The chapter lengths vary widely throughout. Sometimes Ursula's life is quite short, other times longer, and this creates a lively rhythm. The plot winds around in a Nautilus shell spiral, perfectly shaped and fascinating in its twists and turns. I particularly enjoyed when Ursula began having deja vu like memories from previous lives and began reacting sharply to seemingly innocuous events that lead to her death in previous lives. The most delightful thing about the book for me was trying to see how she origamied all the events and patterns in Ursula's lives to form the whole of the story. This is the best book I have read this year, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Kate Atkinson can apparently do anything as a writer, and I plan to keep reading her. Thanks to the publisher for my advance copy, the gushing is all my own.

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Amazing Read!

Stormy Surrender New Hope ebook

I was so excited to start reading this book. I adore Nicole and her writing... Her last book was so good, so I was ready to dive into another great story...

When I first started reading Stormy I wasn't hooked, in fact I think I might have wanted to throw my reader a few times. I couldn't stand the husband and at first I didn't even like Marti. I couldn't believe that she didn't go off the deep end after what he did to her in the beginning. But as the book moved forward and I got to know Marti a little better I found that I truly liked her. It wasn't that she wasn't a strong woman, and once she started to show her emotions and get angry her true nature finally showed through... Her husband really took the cake when it came to being... well I cannot say the string of profanity I feel about him... Let's just say if he were real I think I'd hunt him down for her... ugh!

So after Marti takes off for New Hope we really start to see the woman that she is and who she is meant to be. She is fun and even slightly sassy and she knows how to dish it out especially when it comes to Joe. I wasn't a fan of his either it took some time to get into his character. After he gives her a small gift and takes her to help her mind clear I was smitten with him... Even though the people in town seemed to think otherwise he was good for her and there when she needed a friend and someone to help pull her through the bad moments.

I loved seeing it slowly build from a friendship into more... Joe was sweet and funny... He made me laugh at his antics at times and others I wanted to smack him upside the head... Marti was caring and loving and everything that Joe needed to help him realize that was ok to let go of the past and be real with someone again. They together made what I thought was a great couple... Two broken souls mending each other in ways neither expected... Until the unexpected ending... I feel that there are some rocky times ahead and I'm not sure where this story will go next but I can only hope that in the end Marti and Joe both find happiness they both truly deserve it...

Nicole's writing gets better with every book.. Sugar Daddy was my first read and I loved it... Hiding Out was even better yet and as Nicole will tell you I am smitten with a certain character from that book... Can't wait for the next in that series either... Every books seems to add more character depth and detail and attention to the story. It's nice to see an author grow better with every book that they release. I highly recommend all of her books, they are all excellent reads!!!!

I proudly give this one 5 stars and I can't wait for more story on Marti and see where her journey leads next...

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Works like it says

Arm Hammer Carpet Fresh Eliminator

Minty mojitos, sweet pomegranate, warm apple pie, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, sweet vanilla.

Dogs don't smell like any of the above, especially my beagle.

Weekly baths help de-funkify my beloved pet, but homes with a dog need Arm and Hammer Carpet and Room Pet Fresh Odor Eliminator. I like to sprinkle it all over my carpeting, leave it for a day then vacuum it up. It may cause a few sneezes but that's to be expected. The outcome is a home that smells as fresh as a field of flowers on a warm spring day, and I often picture myself running barefoot through the field. Sometimes I just run barefoot all over my apartment yelling 'Weeeee!' because it's so fresh, but then I trip, bash my face into a wall and end up in the emergency room with a broken nose.

So heed my advice and buy this rug powder. But don't run into walls out of excitement; no carpet freshener is worth a broken nose.

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