Review - Time Off For Good Behavior by Lani Diane Rich

Time Off For Good Behavior by Lani Diane Rich
Released: May 23, 2012
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 260
Format: Kindle
Source: Freebie
Rating: 3/5

For Wanda Lane, life has been one long string of screw-ups. Her abusive ex-husband keeps threatening to kill her, she just lost her crappy job, and a head injury has left her hearing phantom music no one else can hear. It isn't until she hits the rock bottom of her bottle of scotch that she begins to wonder if maybe -- just maybe -- the problem is her.

I didn't fall in love with this book right away; in fact I was typically bored early on and wanted to just chunk it mainly because I don't think I liked Wanda and her smart ass mouth and attitude but after taking a moment to step back and re-evaluate my way of thinking I saw her in a new light and my whole perspective of Wanda changed and I began to enjoy the book a bit better.

Initially I was thinking of her as crabby and foul mouthed but then I took into consideration some of the things she had been thru, even though alot of it was her own doing, and that she wasn't always this way and after a while it genuinely seemed she wanted to change but had no clue where to start. I went from hating her character, to feeling sorry for her, and by the end of the book I was all "You go girl!"

If you've ever had an identity crisis or just plain out felt there was no help for yourself then I think you will totally enjoy this one.

Review - Fire and Ice by Karen Maneely

Fire and Ice by Karen Maneely
Released: November 28, 2012
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 324KB
Format: Kindle
Source: Freebie
Rating: 2/5

Bobbie Burke loves to play hockey and is the most talented playing in a large Burke family, with four older brothers. The only problem is Bobbie's a woman and the most she could ever hope for, now that she graduated college, is maybe a spot on the US Olympic team.

The Philadelphia Fire just finished the previous season last in the league. Management is desperate to turn the team around and make it to the playoffs. What they needed was a forward that could score goals and win games.

This was a wonderful love story between teammates. Bobbi grew up in a houseful of men hockey players having lost her mother at a very young age so she was no stranger to playing rough. She has had to overcome alot of obstacles to play in this basically male dominated sport but she loves the game and has put personal relationships on the back burner as far as having a major rule of not dating other hockey players so Connor has his work cut out for him when he becomes very attracted to her being not only her teammate but captain of her team.

I am not even a sports fan but was able to enjoy the story and I loved the relationship between Bobbi and Connor and also the friendship Bobbi made with Laura, one of her teammates wives. Bobbi had never really had any female role models to relate to so it was interesting having her go thru all these different relationships and evolve not only as a pro hockey player but as a more feminine character as well.

What I didn't like and why I gave such a low rating to such a wonderful story was the amount of editing errors. I usually don't even mention problems with editing but there is just so many of them as well as one whole chapter that is just totally missing. Without going into alot of detail it was a really significant chapter where something happens to Bobbi and she has to miss a few games. It just really took alot away from the story having to constantly read and re-read just to make passages make sense.

**edited to add that the missing chapter has been added since I downloaded my copy.

UGLee Pen Review

"The UGLee Pen is a revolutionary ergonomic pen that is designed, created and used by a real physician. This Doctor-inspired grip pen is redefining the way people view pens and writing because it is good for everyone who writes (even just a grocery list), and is especially helpful to people who experience pain and discomfort when writing, for example those with arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.,. It's also the best writing utensil for children who are learning to write and are developing fine motor skills, as well as helpful for special-needs children who find holding a pen or pencil properly difficult. And for high-school and college students who have to take copious notes, this pen helps keep hands and fingers from cramping."

Pronounced "Ugly Pen" but I fell in love with it the moment I first gripped it! Not only does it stay firmly between my fingers without slipping up and down like most pens but it writes so smoothly I don't know if I can go back to regular pens now! My hands don't cramp up as bad and it's just very comfortable! I highly recommend this pen! For more information and how to get your UGLee Pen visit their website at UGLee Pen

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review - Speed Dating With The Dead by Scott Nicholson

Speed Dating With The Dead by Scott Nicholson
Released: June 25, 2010
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 349 pages
Format: Kindle
Source: Freebie
Rating: 2/5

When Digger Wilson brings his paranormal team Spirit Seekers International to the White Horse Inn, he is skeptical that his dead wife will keep her half of the bargain. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, and just before she died, she promised to meet him there.

But when one of the conference guests channels a mysterious presence and an Ouija board spells out a pet phrase known only to Digger and his wife, his convictions are challenged.

I wish I could tell you that I LOVED this book because I wanted to so much as the storyline made for an exciting read but alas I can only give it a mild "like". I picked it up full of expectations but even after the first 100 pages I was not feeling it at all and had I not been depending on it to fulfill several reading challenges I may have marked it DNF and I almost never do that. I trudged on and eventually about middleways it did begin to get interesting with ghosties popping out left and right and folks started disappearing but still although it redeemed itself in the end I felt it was just too little to late plus I never became involved or even really cared about any of the characters, not even the main ones being Digger and his daughter. I will say I did take great pleasure in a few of them getting exactly what they deserved especially Janey Mays!

On the upside though I do believe this would have been a far better movie than book. I would love to kick back and watch this on the screen!

Review - Unbreak My Heart by Helen Scott Taylor

Unbreak My Heart by Helen Scott Taylor
Released: April 3, 2012
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 132 pages
Format: Kindle
Source: Freebie
Rating: 2/5

They were inseparable until family conflict tore the teenaged sweethearts apart. Nine years later, she turns up at his prestigious hotel with the paparazzi at her heels and the six-week-old daughter of her celebrity ex in her arms. She has nowhere left to run except back to the place where she left her heart. Can they forgive the pain of the past, accept each other as they are now, and rediscover the childhood love that was snatched away from them?

A really quick read but it lacked something and I can't quite put my finger on it. We've got a young man and woman who were teenage sweethearts but boys father didn't think girl was good enough for his son so he finds a way to part them and yada yada boy breaks girls heart and she moves on and winds up with another man and has his baby and now is on the doorstep of teen sweetheart who supposedly never got over her either but it seems they are both too busy living in the past to try to have a future together.

I got annoyed after a while because they couldn't decide whether to rekindle what they once had or leave it be and then they kept misunderstanding how the other was feeling but if they had just sat down and talked and got to reknow each other and take more time maybe all the nonsense that went on could have been avoided.

I did enjoy the tender scenes with Andre and the baby though. It's rare to have such a sweet interaction between a baby and a man especially when it's not his own!