#BookReview: 365 Ways to be Happy by Adam Gordon

Synopsis: WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE HAPPIER?

Life can be difficult and demanding, and at times we all long to feel more content and hopeful. This little guide contains 365 simple ways to make your life happier right now, from watching the sun rise to just listening intently to the quiet sounds around you.

As different techniques suit different people and situations, there is a wide range of tools here to point you towards happiness, including meditations, visualizations, affirmations and insightful quotes to ponder. Choose an entry per day at random, or take a technique that appeals to you and practise it daily for a week. Or pick three techniques to practise and contemplate the interconnections between them.

Let the tools in this book be signposts on your journey to happiness, guiding you in calming your mind, releasing past hurts and knowing fully the joy of the moment. 

#BookReview: The Blue Cloak (True Colors, #5) by @ShannonMcNear

Synopsis: Based on real events beginning in 1797 — Rachel Taylor lives a rather mundane existence at the way station her family runs along the Wilderness Road in Tennessee. She attends her friend’s wedding only to watch it dissolve in horror as the groom, Wiley Harpe, and his cousin become murderers on the run, who drag their families along. Declaring a “war on all humanity,” the Harpes won’t be stopped, and Ben Langford is on their trail to see if his own cousin was one of their latest victims. How many will die before peace can return to the frontier?

#ReleaseBlitz: Home at Last by @judithkeim @RABTBookTours

Chandler Hill Inn Series, Book 3

Romance, Women's Fiction

Date Published: April 13, 2020

Publisher: Wild Quail Publishing LLC

Louise “Lulu” Kingsley is thrilled to discover after years of wishing for a sibling, Cami Chandler is her half-sister. When Cami invites her to live with her at Chandler Hill, Lulu jumps at the chance to leave behind all the heartache in her recent life. Not the spoiled little rich girl the media would like everyone to think, Lulu digs into marketing for the inn and winery, feeling more comfortable there than she ever did in California with her political father. Better yet, her mother is becoming a stronger, happier person and shares the idea of becoming part of a new family. Even though Lulu is aware that Miguel Lopez is the kind of guy who represents everything she’s trying to forget, she’s attracted to him. Following a heartbreaking situation, she steps away from their relationship. Lulu settles in at Chandler Hill, coping the best way she knows—by working hard. But when Cami’s beloved grandfather, Rafe, has a stroke, Lulu realizes life is short and knows she must make things right with Miguel, and learns that home is where your heart leads you.

#BookBlitz: Coop by @crzybookladyluv @XpressoTours #Giveaway

Coop
Giulia Lagomarsino
(Reed Security, #22)
Publication date: April 13th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Coop
Becky is life. She’s the sunshine that lights up my world. But for some reason, I just can’t seem to fully commit. Everything in my head is screwing with me, and if I don’t figure it out soon, I’ll lose her. And to make matters worse, my sweet angel of a daughter has turned into a rebellious seventeen year old that is doing everything in her power to kill me. Something’s gotta give or I’m going to lose everything I’ve fought for in my life.
Becky
Coop has always been a mystery, but he was my mystery. Now, though, I can’t take any more. I want him, but I want all of him. If he can’t let me in, I can’t stick around. I need the whole man, not just the pieces he’s willing to give me. But even if I get him, can I hold onto him? He’s the one thing I want most in this world, but I have a feeling that things aren’t going to go my way.

#BookReview: The Illustrated Crystallary: Guidance and Rituals from 36 Magical Gems and Minerals by Maia Toll

Synopsis: In the ancient world there were three medicine kingdoms: animal, vegetable, and mineral. Following her previous acclaimed volumes on animal (The Illustrated Bestiary) and vegetable (The Illustrated Herbiary), Maia Toll fulfills the call for mineral with The Illustrated Crystallary , exploring the mystical qualities of 36 fascinating crystals and minerals, including gold, silver, copper, amethyst, hematite, mica, smokey quartz, emerald, ruby, and more. Combining bits of ancient wisdom with her own insights, Toll explores the aspects and energy of each stone and, through rituals and reflections, the life guidance it might offer contemporary readers. Obsidian’s shiny surface and sharp edges reflect the shadowy corners of the self and serve as the tool for cutting them loose. The sky-like color of earthly turquoise provides balance between opposing forces. The stunning illustrations of Kate O’Hara magnify the symbolism of each crystal throughout the book, and are also featured on 36 oracle cards included in an envelope bound in the back of the book.

Also available: The Illustrated Herbiary Collectible Box Set and The Illustrated Bestiary Collectible Box Set.

#BookReview: Unspeakable Acts: True Tales of Crime, Murder, Deceit, and Obsession by Sarah Weinman, Patrick Radden Keefe

Synopsis: A brilliant anthology of modern true-crime writing that illustrates the appeal of this powerful and popular genre, edited and curated by Sarah Weinman, the award-winning author of The Real Lolita. 


The appeal of true-crime stories has never been higher. With podcasts like My Favorite Murder and In the Dark, bestsellers like I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Furious Hours, and TV hits like American Crime Story and Wild Wild Country, the cultural appetite for stories of real people doing terrible things is insatiable.

Acclaimed author of The Real Lolita and editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s (Library of America) and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives (Penguin), Sarah Weinman brings together an exemplary collection of recent true crime tales. She culls together some of the most refreshing and exciting contemporary journalists and chroniclers of crime working today.  Michelle Dean’s “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick” went viral when it first published and is the basis for the TV show The Act and Pamela Colloff’s “The Reckoning,” is the gold standard for forensic journalism.  There are 13 pieces in all and as a collection, they showcase writing about true crime across the broadest possible spectrum, while also reflecting what makes crime stories so transfixing and irresistible to the modern reader.

#BookReview: Flame (Dark Kings #17) by @donna_grant

Synopsis: Flame is the next Dark Kings book in New York Timesbestselling author Donna Grant's series.

If she believed in destiny, she would believe they were meant for each other.
But that fire was put out long ago. . .

Living among the Dragon Kings, Cain has spent lifetimes learning to distrust both mortals and Fae. He is a warrior born—and every instinct demands that he fight to keep his own kind safe. But when a fringe member of the Dark Fae contacts the Kings with an urgent warning, Cain is torn for the first time. How can he trust this beautiful creature when resisting his primal attraction to her is battle enough? 

Noreen is horrified by what her kind and the malevolent Others are planning for the Dragon Kings. Dark Fae or not, there are lines she will not cross—even if it means risking her life. But she never imagined that she would risk her heart until she meets Cain. She wants him with a soul-deep desire that frightens her…and endangers them both. Is saying goodbye to everything Noreen has ever known worth a love that will span time and realms?