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Making It Up by Kathryn Legendre
Making It Up by Kathryn Legendre
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Kathryn Legendre is a rising singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas. Not too long ago, she released a lovely country tune, entitled, “There You Go”.

“I try to keep myself at bay, but I miss you every day. You took off when I needed you the most. All I’ve got to get me through are these memories of you. It’s easier believing in a ghost. There you go again and here I am alone.” – lyrics

‘There You Go’ tells an interesting tale of a young woman who doesn’t like saying goodbye to her significant other.

Apparently, he has to travel on the road again. Therefore, he has to leave the love-of-his-life all by her lonesome.

After his emotional departure, she washes dishes in the sink, hangs with her friends, and counts the hours down to when she will see her partner’s smiling face again.

Later, she admits that it still feels like he just left, and all she has to get her through this lonely period are the memories of him.

‘There You Go’ contains a relatable storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and vibey instrumentation scented with a country fragrance.

“I have a dear friend who lost her fiancé in a car accident while he was out on tour. ‘There You Go’ is a song about the fear of your loved one leaving and the fear of them never coming back.” – Kathryn Legendre

Kathryn Legendre drives around Austin with a ‘God Bless Merle Haggard’ sticker on her bumper.

The rising country artist thrives the most when she feels that something is missing. Also, she takes pride in the ability to relate to the human condition

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/kathryn-legendre-there-you-go/
  
HM
Hearts Made Whole (Beacons of Hope, #2)
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
With sorrow and uncertainty all around, Caroline will do anything to keep her family safe and protected.

Caroline Taylor's family has had their fair share of suffering. With their father having recently passed, their beloved home is now being threatened. But in 1865, because Caroline is a woman, the inspector sees fit to replace her with a man, Civil War veteran Ryan Chambers. Ryan is haunted by the pain of the past. All he wants to do is drown his sorrows any way that he can. Will they try to find their own solutions to their problems? Or will they turn to the only One who can heal their hearts and make them whole again?

"God is good all the time, no matter what bad things come into their lives." - Hearts Made Whole

There is something about Jody Hedlund's books that grip my heart. My laundry has sat forsaken the last few days and I have burned the midnight oil finishing Hearts Made Whole. Every emotion feels so real, the anger, love, fear, and hope. The exact circumstances portrayed in the book might never become a reality for me, but the emotions are very real. It was almost challenging to see the internal struggles that I deal with on a daily basis, brought to life before my very eyes. The distressing scenes only caused me to read faster and longer, wanting to know what would happen next. The hope that is instilled into the characters was contagious. The romance is passionate but clean and honorable. In all honesty, we need more authors like Jody Hedlund! Add Hearts Made Whole to your reading list today! This book can stand alone, but you really don't want to miss out on the first book in the series: Love Unexpected.

I received a free digital copy of Hearts Made Whole from Bethany House Publishers through
NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
  
Nothing can be hidden that won’t be revealed.

When her father dies, Katherine Levinson discovers her parents have kept secrets that render her happy childhood a farce. She and her gravely ill mother face eviction, and she has no choice but to appeal to the brother she’s never seen, the famous cattle baron, Rhyan Cason. Over her gravely ill mother’s objections, they move to Nebraska and the sprawling cattle ranch, Sollano.

Instead of the warm welcome, Katherine expects, she and her mother are met with whispers and scorn in the little prairie town near Sollano. Gradually, the sins of her parents’ past surface

and Katherine begins to doubt her very identity. With her brother busy with cattle rustlers and her mother too ill to be bothered, Katherine turns to Colt Holliman, a soft-spoken neighboring rancher, for comfort.

Tired of waiting for the right woman to come along, Colt has promised to wait for Charley Ryder, an acclaimed female sharpshooter and equestrian acrobat with the Wild West Show, but it’s becoming clear Charley loves the show more than him. As his attraction to Katherine grows, he finds himself spiritually conflicted. How can he break from past commitments and follow his heart?

Then unexpected danger strikes, testing Katherine’s and Colt’s faith in God—and each other.

My Thoughts: This was a delightful novel to read, the storyline is based in Nebraska. Nebraska is known for their corn, beef , horses ,rodeos and sugar beets! I lived in Nebraska and this brought back some great memories for me. The author has done a phenomenal job of bringing the reader into the ranching life. I love that she brings in the Wild West shows as well, there is so much history from the west that people don't have any idea that living in the west is truly like and the author has given the reader a great glimpse of the history.


Katherine is such a loveable character, the reader feels her plight, her father has passed away, her mother is ill, there are bills to pay. What is she to do?



Katherine sends a letter to a brother she hasn't met which changes her life forever.


Katherine has many things to deal with, the lies that her parents told her, gossip, and of course love. How must it feel to fall in love with someone promised to another? will she repeat her mother's past?


It's not hard to fall in love with Colt. He is every woman's dream, including Katherine's but Colt is promised to Charley; who it seems cares more about herself than anyone else.


This is a novel full of love, mystery, and suspense. It also shows us what happens when the love of money and pride come into our lives. It also teaches us that we must lean on God for everything and to turn to him when times get troubled.


I enjoyed the author's writing and will certainly be looking forward to reading more from Elaine Manders.
  
The Kiss Quotient
The Kiss Quotient
Helen Hoang | 2018 | Romance
8
8.4 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was one of three books I got through Book of the Month this month - the other two were The Book of Essie and When Katie Met Cassidy. I'm reviewing this today instead of another Pride Month read because today is Autistic Pride Day! The Kiss Quotient both stars and is written by a woman on the autistic spectrum, so I thought today would be a fitting day to tell you about it!

So The Kiss Quotient is basically a gender-swapped Pretty Woman, as Hoang mentions in the Author's Note. Our heroine, Stella Lane, books an escort to teach her about sex. Stella is thirty years old, has only had sex a couple of times, never enjoyed it, and is worried about not being good at it and therefore not being able to get or keep a boyfriend. She's an incredibly successful econometrician, or someone who uses data and statistics to model and predict economic trends, in her case predicting what people will want to buy from clients. (She's the kind of person responsible for those "Amazon started marketing baby products to me before I even knew I was pregnant!" incidents.) So she has more money than she knows what to do with, and offers Michael, an escort, $50,000 a month to teach her about sex and relationships.

Because this is a romance, we know what's going to happen here. They fall in love with each other, but are sure that for the other one it's just a business arrangement.

I was NOT expecting this book to be as explicit as it is! I think because it is a Book of the Month, I wasn't expecting the standard trope of romance book with hot sex scenes. But that's what I got! I can't say I'm unhappy with that - god knows I like my guilty pleasure romance smut - but it was definitely unexpected. I'm not sure why it surprised me. The book's premise is all about Stella wanting to learn about sex; if that wasn't conducted on screen we'd lose a third of the book!

A sequel has already been announced, and it's about the other autistic character in the book, the hero's best friend's little brother, Khai, who we only see in one scene. Who I'd also like to know more about is the best friend, Quan! So I'm holding out hope for a third book.

One last thing that I found important - in the Author's Note, Hoang mentions her daughter was diagnosed with AS, and in reading about Autism, she realized she is also on the spectrum. This is something I've seen in three different books now. It's so common for women, especially, to go undiagnosed. They might be better at modelling allistic (non-autistic) behavior, or their special interests might be more "acceptable" to allistics, or sometimes they just get looked at as introverts when they're young instead of getting the help they might need. This is starting to change, as researchers and doctors are realizing Autism presents differently in women. But it seems autistic adult women are often discovering they're autistic through a diagnosis of their children. I found that interesting.

I did really enjoy this book. I think it's a great debut novel, and a great romance. I really like the recent trend of more diversity in lead characters in romance novels. Bring on the people of color! More disabled main characters! There's got to be a romance somewhere with a deaf heroine, right? More alternative sexualities and relationship structures! Everyone, everywhere, wants to be loved, and I want to read about it. The thing is, I'm sure these books exist, but they don't get the kind of publicity they need for people to know about them. We have to actually go looking for them. I feel like I've been better about that recently, but it's definitely a place where the publication industry could improve.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
Forged Decisions (Tribal Spirits #2)
Forged Decisions (Tribal Spirits #2)
Katherine McIntyre | 2018 | Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
not quite as good as book one
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

This is book two in the Tribal Spirits series, but you don't need to have read book one: Forged Alliances, for this one to make sense. It would HELP, but not totally necessary.

Finn is beta to the Red Rock pack, but is restless since his Alpha, Sierra, mated Dax, Alpha of the Silver Springs pack. The Tribe are in town to bles their union, and Navi takes advantage of Finn's local knowledge to crack a drug smuggling ring. The more they work together, the more the attraction builds, and soon neither can deny it. When Finn's past comes crashing down around him and clashes with Navi's mission, will she let him have the revenge he so desperately needs? Will Finn be able to walk away from Navi, when her mission is done, now she holds his heart??

I LOVED book one, loved it, and looked forward to reading this one. But while still a very VERY good read, it doesn't quite hit *THAT* spot that Forged Alliances does. And *insert wailing* I don't know why! And ya'll know how much the drives me nuts!

Finn and Navi had that one night together, after Dax gets his pack back, and it plays on both their minds. They are both profoundly affected by that night and the passion they shared simmers along for the first half of the book. They fight it, oh BOY do they fight it, but it really is inevitable, working in close quarters, that they will give in. It is just a matter of when.

Finn is dealing with some emotional baggage, after his parents death when he was a child and the restless feeling he has been carrying for the last month. Navi too, but hers is different. Being raised as Tribe from a very young age, she had no childhood, she has no attachments save the other Tribe members. She cannot have a mate, since she has to leave all the time. Yes, she has a powerful panther spirit within her, and she can control water, but once, just once, she wants someone who sees Navi the WOMAN, rather than Navi of The Tribe.

And by god, does Finn SEE Navi the woman!

Loved that, while it broke her to ask the words of Finn, she does.

The next book is laid out very nicely, thank you, and I suspect that might be more of an emotionally difficult read, given what Raven goes through here, and with the hints to her past.

A really good read, just not as good as book one, so...

4 solid stars

**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
  
Oh my word! I absolutely adored Carrie Fancett Pagels' work. She is fantabulous with creating her characters in a richly detailed way. The beautiful detail she added to the backdrop of the story really made me feel as though I was on the breathtaking Mackinac Island.

Maude and Ben, and even Jack, quickly stole my heart. Sweet little Jack had me smiling more than once! The betrayal that Maude feels when she sees her "intended" married to another woman, was quickly felt in my heart. But, when she "runs" into Ben, the sparks were there and I loved watching their story unfold.

Ms. Pagels fills this novel with wonderful descriptions to make the story blossom before the reader. The messages from God of forgiveness, hope, faith and love are woven perfectly throughout. This wonderfully chiseled,4 star book kept me turning the pages long into the night and I highly recommend it to all historical fiction lovers! The characters, the plot line, the messages will all steal your heart and take you on a whirl wind right through Mackinac Island, leaving you wanting more. Visiting Mackinac Island is now at the top of my bucket list thanks to Ms. Pagels!<a href="http://cafinatedreads.com/review-my-heart-belongs-on-mackinac-islandmaudes-mooring-by-carrie-fancett-pagels/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Cafinated Reads</a>
  
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
2019 | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Fighting fit
#alitabattleangel may just be the most #intense & visually splendid mature cgi fest I've seen in a long long time. Having not seen #anime that inspired this #movie i had no idea what i was walking into with this one. Upon leaving it i not only felt extremely satisfied but also like i had experienced something #breathtaking & full to the brim with #passion. To start I can't stress enough just how god damn #beautiful this #film is, cgi is staggering as well as jaw dropping. From the intricate inner machinery wires, dust particles & realistic lighting to the tiny blemishes on skin Alita simply knocks it out the park. Its locations are vast, immersive, claustrophobic, lived in, #depressing & full to the brim with story telling/world building so much so that they could each tell a story themselves. #Animation is slick, fluid & #natural with #human & cgi interaction weighty & almost flawlessly done. Story wise its extremely empowering as we watch #Alita grow from & innocent child like #girl into a tuff driven #woman. Seeing Alita emit such wonderful human emotions such as #love, excitement & #happiness is not only #heartwarming but also #magical. Starting so warm & ending so bleak we see Alitas innocence almost ripped away from her as she is forced to #mature fast letting her primal instincts & bad human traits (such as jealousy/#anger) take control tarnishing her other wise loving/careing inner self. Its tense, adrenaline inducing stuff & this mixed with well constructed action & your token damn right nasty at times #robertrodriguez death scenes its not always the happiest of films either. #Deep themes are explored but theres alot of them too so only surfaces are scratched. My favourite being how #society/entertainment glorifies/condones violence & uses it as a tool to control us all. Negatives - if anything #Battleangel is far to short, i feel i needed another hour of content in there somewhere especially the final act which felt rushed. If we dont get a sequel or 3 i will be very disappointed as this is a fantastic world i simply must know more about it. A must see for sure. #edskrein is an absolute joy to watch too. #odeon #odeonlimitless #robot #thursdaythoughts