Review: DOWN BY THE RIVER by Lin Stepp

January 21, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received a copy of DOWN BY THE RIVER through Net Galley to review. It looked like a nice story line: widow starts over by taking on a bed and breakfast in the Smoky Mountains. Apparently this is the sixth book in the Smoky Mountain (Christian) series, though I haven’t read any of the others. It can be read on its own.

The story line is fairly straightforward: widowed Grace Conley feels ready to start over. Her children are grown and her former life no longer holds her since her businessman husband passed away. She sells her large house as she is no longer entertaining or helping with his family business, and takes on a beautiful little bed and breakfast in a small town. Grace is learning to rediscover herself and her emotions. There is an interesting cast of characters along the way.

The following contains SPOILERS – beware!

So here’s the thing — I didn’t dislike this book, however, I didn’t really love it. The setting and the characters of Grace and her daughter Margaret and the young twins: yes, I liked them a lot. I liked the underlying Christian themes and messages. Jack grew on me but I found him intolerable at the beginning. (Yes, he changes – predictably – over the course of the book). What I really did not like was the “crazy man” story line. It was odd and disturbing and then suddenly there’s a hasty wrap up of the situation near the end that involves rape, murder, and mental illness. Also the two characters who moved the plot along through their clairvoyance, or whatever you want to call it, bothered me, too. How handy to have a gift that you can know the future and know, according to this story, what God wants from you and what you should do. And there were two characters like this! I don’t know – didn’t work for me.

So – at the end of the day – if I don’t like a book, I don’t finish it and I don’t review it (hence the overwhelming positive “voice” of my blog). I liked it enough to finish it, just not enough to want to gush about it. I would read another one by Ms. Stepp, though, and I do like reading Christian books as they are “clean reads” with positive messages.

Find it at an indie bookstore near you — I am an indie bound affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Quick Review: Agatha Raisin – Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by M.C. Beaton

January 20, 2015January 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Unbelievably,when I wasn’t watching, a new Agatha Raisin book published last year. I saw it out on the “new books” shelf at the library last week and was a bit startled. I pride myself on monitoring all the publishing actions of my fave authors! (by the way – there’s a new Hamish MacBeth book by Beaton due out soon. I was rejected (that hurts as I’m rarely rejected!!) through Net Galley for it, so I will need to wait a bit).

Anyway, I digress. If you read me, you know I love this cozy mystery series. I’ve lost count of how many there are but I’ve read them all. I also saw on Marion’s facebook page (MC Beaton’s name is Marion – I like to act “familiar”) that Sky TV in Great Britain is making an Agatha series. I can only hope I can get it through the internet somehow!

In this installment, Agatha is called in to investigate the poisoning murder of a woman who seemed to be the pillar of the community, but who was really a big pain in the neck — always borrowing things and then refusing to return them. There is no shortage of suspects and while this little hamlet seems like a cozy, sleepy place, Agatha is soon is peril. There are lots of subplots along the way with a new attraction for her and both Charles and James showing up to help out (along with Roy and Toni).

If you like Agatha, you’ll like the latest!

You can get it at the library where I got mine! Or at a bookstore near you. Or Amazon. You know the drill…

HFVB Tour Review: DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN by Tessa Arlen

January 19, 2015January 8, 2015 / drbethnolan / 6 Comments

I’m so happy to take part in the Historical Fiction Virtual Book tour of this fun Edwardian mystery: DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN by Tessa Arlen.

In this story, the lady of the manor, Lady Monfort, is having a summer ball and she’s enjoying all the planning that goes in to this yearly event. However, her husband’s nephew, Teddy, a slightly nefarious young man, is found dead, and the guests all become suspects. Unfortunately, Lady Monfort had heard her own beloved son arguing with Teddy shortly before his death. She is worried that suspicion will fall on him, so she joins forces with her housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to figure out who might be the killer.

I loved the fact that Lady Monfort didn’t do the sleuthing herself — as that would have been fairly impossible given the social conventions of her time. It was far more believable that her housekeeper was the one finding out facts. They always say that staff is “invisible” – though perhaps “inconspicuous” is a better term. I also loved that it was two women doing the work here, and not Lady Monfort relying on a relationship/friendship with the local constable, etc. to get the mystery solved (an oft-used device for mysteries). I also really enjoyed how Ms. Arlen included some of the social issues of the day in the plot: women’s suffrage, for instance, and the use and abuse of household staff.

I had been needing a “Downton” fix, and this book was a perfect read for me during December. That said, it is NOT a take on Downton Abbey in any way, but stands on its own merit. The second book in the series will be out next January (I’m available for the book blog tour – hint hint!).

Thank you for my review copy!

You can find this book at a local bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Here is some info on Ms. Arlen from HFVBT:

TESSA ARLEN, the daughter of a British diplomat, had lived in or visited her parents in Singapore, Cairo, Berlin, the Persian Gulf, Beijing, Delhi and Warsaw by the time she was sixteen. She came to the U.S. in 1980 and worked as an H.R. recruiter for the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee for the 1984 Olympic Games, where she interviewed her future husband for a job. DEATH OF A DISHONORABLE GENTLEMAN is Tessa’s first novel. She lives in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

REVIEW: My Thinning Years by Jon Derek Croteau

January 18, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

A while back I received a note from a publicist asking if I would read and review Jon’s book: MY THINNING YEARS, which is subtitled, “Starving the Gay Within”. It had published this past fall. It took me FOREVER to get to the book, and then it took me a while to read it as Jon’s story is so heart-wrenching (though the book is under 300 pages).

This book is a memoir of Jon’s life growing up in Massachusetts and how he was stifled by an incredibly overbearing, opinionated, and demanding father. Jon’s life was made to be sports (whether he liked it or not). Jon’s proclivities as a child leaned more towards theater, dress-up, and singing, but his father was having none of it. As Jon matured, his tried to hide and deny his sexuality, instead exercising and running relentlessly, and dieting to the point of anorexia. Eventually, Jon is able to accept himself and make a life for himself, find love, and be happy.

I have to say – this book is at some points just heart-breaking. Jon’s father is determined to turn him into his ideal of “American boy” and it’s not a pretty process. Jon’s mother is the one who accepts him unconditionally, but she is just not strong enough to take on his father. It’s basically disaster after disaster and I just felt terrible for young Jon as he went through his younger years trying to escape his father’s wrath and trying to deny or hide his natural proclivities and talents.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. It’s brave of Jon to share his story with the world, and I hope that it helps other young people who may be at the point he was when younger.

Thank you for my review copy, Claire McKinney PR!

You can find this book at an indie bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound Affiliate:

My Thinning Years

Saturday Snapshot: A Few More from NYC!

January 17, 2015January 14, 2015 / drbethnolan / 9 Comments

Here are a few more pictures from our trip to New York City for New Years:

The decorations are amazing at this time of year! Here are the kids standing by a random beautiful wreath!

Here’s the Empire State Building all lit up at night!

We always to go to Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral – here’s the kreche – almost lifesize – at St. Pat’s.

The Empire State Building had a whole lot of great displays for the holidays!

The infamous tree at Rockefeller Center!

Speaking of St. Pat’s — it has been under reconstruction for a while — looking good, but still a long way to go!

Decorations!

We love NYC!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Melinda at westmetromommy.blogspot.com

Check her site for participation details!

Review of Two Diet Books: THE DIABETES SOLUTION and THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION – both by Dr. Jorge Rodriguez and Susan Wyler

January 16, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Time to get a little personal.

I’m not a big fan of sharing tons of personal info about myself on my blog. I have to think: who cares? You are here to read a review, not read about me. However, I wanted to give some information with this post so that readers can understand where I’m coming from.

Growing up, I was never a heavy person. I was always pretty average, even thin. All that changed when I was in my 30’s. I started putting on some pounds. I think it was stress, crazy schedule, more stress. Regardless, I trained for a marathon in 2002 and was looking pretty good again, and then I got married. And right away got pregnant. And then when baby 1 was four months old I got pregnant again. That was ten years ago and I’ve been overweight ever since. Like 50 pounds overweight.

Now, here’s the thing: my blood work and medical tests have always been great! Super! And while I am heavy, I exercise a lot. I love to exercise! I like to cook. We eat healthy. I have a fitbit and I know how much I’m doing. Basically I’m a bit stymied why I’m so heavy when I’m out running or doing aerobics and lifting weights and eating healthy.

Then in December I went to my physical, and my blood work no longer looked good. Suddenly my glucose level (usually 70-80) had edged over 100. My triglycerides (which have rarely been past 60) were up over 150. My cholesterol was over 200 for the first time ever. What was happening? So I requested a visit with the dietician at my doctor’s group. I also got two books: THE DIABETES SOLUTION through Blogging for Books and THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION via Amazon (because I had never heard of acid reflux before I got pregnant and for the past two or three years it’s a daily thing for me).

But first let me tell you what the dietician suggested after reviewing my diet and exercise. Keep exercising. Keep eating, but add more protein at breakfast. Then have a bigger lunch with more protein. Then make dinner 50% veggies, 25% protein, and 25% complex carbs. That’s my daily goal right now. I will let you know how I make out. So far, I got through the holidays without denying myself stuff and did not gain weight. And my whole family is eating more veggies.

So – the books. First let me write about THE ACID REFLUX SOLUTION. (subtitled A Cookbook and Lifestyle Guide for Healing Heartburn Naturally) which I purchased in print form.

This is a great book. The goal of it is to understand why acid reflux is happening and then make some changes so that it is under control. The end goal is to not be reliant on prescription or OTC meds. Now I’ve read A LOT on acid reflux. I thought I knew everything, but I didn’t. I’ve made a few changes to my diet based on what I read and I am so happy to report that my acid reflux is pretty much gone! Amazing! I tend to avoid the foods that cause reflux to begin with but I did a few new things, based on what I read: I added ginger to my diet. I eat a very small piece of ginger after dinner most nights. I also stopped drinking so much with my meal. I’m a huge water drinker and I tend to drink about 12 ounces at dinner and 8 ounces before I go to bed at night. This book suggested I drink 30 minutes before or 45 minutes after dinner and not right before I go to bed as so much water could stretch my stomach. I also cut down on entree portion size (again, to add in more veggies). And we eat dinner earlier so that I can have hours before I go to bed after eating.

There are loads of other suggestions and information in this book and I highly recommend it! It has lots of recipes, too, including some great soups!

THE DIABETES SOLUTION is subtitled:

How to Control Type 2 Diabetes and Reverse Prediabetes Using Simple Diet and Lifestyle Changes–with 100 recipes

I cut and pasted that — lol.

The first thing I have to say is that this book is a major wake up call. By the time I had read part one, I was pretty much freaked out about my health and my body. Reading the section on complications from diabetes scared me half to death, and the big message was “if you are over 100 for fasting glucose, you are PREdiabetic”. I took it as a call to action.

This was a very informative book. There is a section on medications that I did not read as I’m not on any medications. Dr. Rodriguez also has created a point system to help control sugar in the diet and to balance nutrients. I did not try to this yet. And there are many recipes included in the second half of the book, including list of foods that fit in the point system – the “blood sugar budget”. There is a later section on surgeries, which I also didn’t focus on.

I thought this was a great (albeit somewhat scary) read and I would recommend it to those who want to better understand diabetes, prediabetes, and similar conditions and then do something about it. The recipes look tasty and easy to make. I am considering the blood sugar budget (if I do it, I will post my thoughts on it). One of the themes here is that making several small changes can have a very big and positive overall effect.

Thank you, Blogging for Books, for my copy!

HFVB Tour: THE BLOOD OF THE FIFTH KNIGHT by E.M. Powell

January 15, 2015January 16, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to be taking part in the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour of E. M. Powell’s THE BLOOD OF THE FIFTH KNIGHT!

This novel takes place in 12th century England, during the reign of Henry II. Benedict Palmer is called upon by King Henry to protect his mistress, Rosamund, as someone is trying to kill her. Henry is seeking an annulment from Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and someone thinks this is to put Rosamund on the throne; in fact, Henry seeks to legitimize his marriage to his previous wife. Their daughter, Theodosia, is married to Benedict, but living quietly and secretly in the countryside in a small village. Benedict, a former knight of Henry’s, has to protect Rosamund (not an easy job), while his wife tries to carry on at home. The ante continues to be upped by the schemer, who will stop at nothing to get rid of Rosamund (and Benedict and Theodosia!) and support Eleanor.

I really enjoyed this book. I love reading about British history, and seriously, if you think this plot is complicated, you should know that a lot of it is based in fact and stories about Rosamund, Eleanor, and Henry. That said, you should know that there is some disturbing violence in this book; life in those days was not easy! I really liked the character of noble, yet human, Benedict (even if he isn’t based in truth). I hope there are more books in this series.

Apparently, this book is a sequel to THE FIFTH KNIGHT, but you can certainly read it on its own – I did. And thank you for my review copy!

Here’s a bit about the author (via HFVBT):

E.M. Powell is the author of medieval thriller THE FIFTH KNIGHT which was a #1 Amazon Bestseller. Born and raised in the Republic of Ireland into the family of Michael Collins (the legendary revolutionary and founder of the Irish Free State) she now lives in the north west of England with her husband and daughter and a Facebook-friendly dog. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. She is a reviewer of fiction and non-fiction for the HNS. Find out more by visitingwww.empowell.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Just a note — mea culpa — originally this post was supposed to run on January 5, but I had written it down as January 15. I heartily apologize for those who stopped by looking for my review!

Find this book at an indie bookstore near you — I am an Indie Bound affiliate:

The Blood of the Fifth Knight

YA Review: WHEN by Victoria Laurie

January 9, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I pulled this title from Net Galley a while back as I’m a sucker for a supernatural story!

In WHEN, Maddie Flynn is a typical teenager who has the unique ability to see dates on people’s foreheads. She comes to realize that what she is seeing is their “death date” – the day they will die. As Maddie grows, her somewhat destitute mother sets up shop to make quick money with Maddie seeing clients to tell them their (or a loved one in a picture) death dates. Unfortunately, Maddie’s predicting gets her in trouble when she predicts a child’s death and that seemingly fine child soon comes up missing. She and her best friend find themselves caught up in the police investigation of the missing boy and several others. With the police more than skeptical of her abilities and no other real suspects, Maddie has to solve the mystery before time runs out.

I really liked this book! Maddie was an interesting and strong character, and I found the whole concept of seeing death dates on people’s foreheads as a unique and clever twist. I would have loved this book as a teenager!

Review: VERONICA MARS by Rob Thomas #2 Mr. Kiss and Tell

January 5, 2015April 21, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

So I discovered VERONICA MARS on the plane last summer. I thought I was tuning in to a remake of the old flick “The Eyes of Laura Mars” (anyone remember that?) but then I realized I was watching some trendy teen solve mysteries. It was fairly entertaining and I enjoyed the movie. When I saw this book come up on Edelweiss I snagged it to review.

In this story, Veronica is hired to find out what happened at a trendy hotel in Neptune. A young woman was found raped and nearly beaten to death in a garbage dump after having visited the hotel the night before. She has no memory of that attack. Oddly enough, the hotel video footage shows the girl arriving and visiting the bar, but then leaving by the stairs and never exiting the building. A young hotel worker, who turned out to be illegal and was sent back to Mexico, is blamed for the attack. Veronica is not so sure, though. How did the victim leave the hotel? Is she telling the truth? And if she’s not, why not? These are just some of the questions that Veronica sets out to answer.

I enjoyed this book, though I think it would have helped if I had read the earlier book in the series (there were many references to it, though some were familiar due to the movie I saw). It is a fairly easy read and well-plotted. Veronica is plucky and smart. She has her issues with her boyfriend and with creating her own identity away from her father’s. I would definitely read another Veronica Mars book!

Thanks, Edelweiss, for my ARC to review!

December in the Rearview Mirror

January 4, 2015January 4, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

With all the excitement of New Year’s Eve and our visit with family and to NYC, I almost forgot to post a review of what happened on here in December!

I reviewed:

The Handsome Man’s Deluxe Cafe by Alexander McCall Smith (love this series!) – cozy

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (probably my fave book of 2014) – historical fiction

Enlightened by A. L. Waddington (blog tour) – YA

Whither Thou Goest by Anna Belfrage (blog tour) – historical fiction

We Should Hang Our Sometime by Josh Sundquist – non-fiction/humor

Vanessa and Her Sister by Priya Parmar – historical fiction/Virginia Woolf

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley – cozy (love that Flavia!)

The Unquiet Bones by Mel Starr – (blog tour) – historical mystery

and posted:

a few Saturday Snapshots, a Kindle deal, and the First Book of the Year Reading Challenge (The Mapmaker’s Children by the incomparable Sarah McCoy), along with my angst over “broken” images on my blog!