Afterlife is a collection of poetry about catharsis, self-love, and self-revolution. Afterlife is a journey from the darkness to the light again, and again, and again.
~ My Review ~
It's not often I get to read someone's thoughts written down in raw free form and wonder where is the hope and light in this? And when I find something light after reading something foreboding, only to read a few more darkness, I think...when will this dark and light cycle end?
For others, it's an endless loop. Some of us, find an opening and others either, live in denial of this or oblivious to its existence. For this particular collection, I am amazed that in this loop, the author found a rope to pull themselves out to freedom. This was quite a read. This was a lot to take on and I'm amazed that Melissa was able to take all this emptiness, all this emotion and purge it out this collection. Bravo.
*** REMINDER that I use Goodreads rating. 4 Stars means I really like it. Because of the heaviness of the subject matter, I don't know if I'll read this collection again - my 5 stars are my reread pile - BUT I'm excited to read more from this author. I think it's brilliant and they need to bump up their release date for their second collection, in my opinion.
About the Author
Melissa Jennings lives with their cat, Dora, in the sometimes sunny but always vibrant city of Glasgow, in Scotland. Melissa is currently studying towards an MA in English Literature at the University of Glasgow. They are an avid reader and a writer of many genres - poetry is just the first step.
To follow them, visit their website at www.melissajennings.co/
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Organized in four sections – Inception, Longing, Chaos, and Epiphany – K.Y. Robinson's debut poetry collection explores what it is to want in spite of trauma, shame, injustice, and mental illness. It is one survivor's powerful testimony, and a love letter "to those who lie awake burning."
~ My Review ~
I can't find adequate words to describe how I feel after I finished this book. But of course, I'll try! This collection was very moving. It started a little slow but I appreciated the build up; the wind-up from "inception" to "epiphany." I loved the metaphor in that. Our lives start out somewhat slowly in the beginning, and something, or someone, pushes us into this path of longing, and brings chaos into our world, and before we know it, we are lost in our own creation, our own madness, our own lives that we don't recognize who we are....until we've reached an "a-ha" moment; the epiphany that we own our life.
I had several favorites in this collection. I had several that made me tear up and push aside; triggering and haunting as they were. Several more poems that I couldn't believe simple words strung together would invoke such passion from the author, that as the reader, I'm sure I blushed several times. Beautiful read for those who want to understand why there is this chaos (in) longing. About the Author![]()
K.Y. Robinson is an introverted writer based in Houston, Texas. She received a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in history from Texas Southern University. She has loved words pressed against pages since childhood, and has been chasing them ever since. The Chaos of Longing is her first published poetry collection.
Find her online at kyrobinson.net
Faith's wish to get off to a good start at her new high school is shattered on the first day, as she quickly discovers that drop-dead gorgeous Hunter and friends decide she lives in the "wrong" house and wears the "wrong" clothes. They systematically harass her and seem determined to make her life miserable. She fantasizes about how she'll get even some day when she is a famous singer/actress, but meanwhile just wants to make it through the day. She meets a couple of possible friends, but finds it hard to trust anyone.
When maybe-friend Julia tells her about the upcoming talent show, Faith is determined to win in order to impress her tormentors. Then nice-guy neighbor Riley invites her to the homecoming dance. She's excited to go until she gets there and realizes that something is up--something terrible. And when she reacts, she finds herself in danger of being suspended from school. Faith questions her own goals, decisions, and values as she struggles to find her way. For tweens, teens, and adults who are young at heart ~ My Review ~
This moved at a pretty fast paced for me. I liked Faith's spunk and sense of self, something that I wish I had at her age. Like Faith, however, we both dressed whatever we felt like and not what was "in" or "expected." I think I wore my first pair of jeans my senior year in high school! Fortunately, I was never bullied, even though I knew my share of cliques, and everyone kept to their own social circle. Our town population was double that of Delwick - around 30,000 - so a new girl would stick out but we had enough "things" to occupy our teenage selves.
I digress. Ann Herrick writes this in first person, so the whole time, we are in Faith's head and it's lovely, if you remember high school - ha! She has school to worry about, her dad and sister, her Broadway aspirations. Each worry boomerangs in and out of her thoughts but Faith is confident, sassy and fights back with all that comes her way. It is her self confidence that attracts people to her. I like this book for middle grade/young adult readers, the language is appropriate and the message is clear. I know teens aren't the only ones who can identify with fitting in with the crowd or standing out and throwing our own "ugly girl party." Well done, Ann! ***I received this book in exchange for an honest review. However, these thoughts and opinions are my own. I'm not required to write a positive review.*** About the Author
Award-winning author Ann Herrick grew up in Connecticut, where she graduated from The Morgan School and Quinnipiac University. Her books have received the ALA Recommended Book for Reluctant Readers Award, the IRA/CBC Children's Choice Award and EPPIE Young Adult Finalist Award.
The vast majority of Ann's books are HFN (Happily For Now, with the possibility of Happily Ever After. The characters are in their teens, after all, so Ever After would be a *really* long time.) Two books have positive endings, but not the standard HFN or HEA, but with those possibilities if the reader reads very carefully between the lines at the end of the story. She now lives in Oregon with her husband, who was her high-school sweetheart. Their daughter is grown, married and gainfully employed, and has given them their only grand-dog, Puff, a bloodhound-rottweiller-beagle mix, and six grand-kitties. While Ann misses the East Coast, especially houses built before 1900, she enjoys the green valleys, fresh air and low humidity in Eugene, Oregon. YA NOVELS: My Bad Boy Summer Someone Like Him The Farewell Season My Fake Summer Boyfriend Life, Love, and Surviving High School The Perfect Guy All's Fair in Love and Words Hey, Nobody's Perfect How to Survive a Summer Romance (Or Two) Someone Like Him Snowed In Together The Real Me Trading Faces TWEEN NOVELS: The Next Great Rock Star! Also Known as Lard Butt BOXED SETS (each set has 3 novels): First Loves Seasons of Love Perfect Love SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS: Heart's Desire The Sharks of Guilford High Extra-Curricular Role Playing charcoal thunderstorms is a collection that dances with a more youthful and adventurous escape of poetry. the book has eighty poems divided into five chapters and six short stories and tales. the paperback version allows for the reader to create art within the pages where the poems dwell. there is an art to loving a storm, here is where it begins. Please add to your TBR on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36562528-charcoal-thunderstorms ***Look for this space for buy links *** ~ My Review ~I adored this book with its whimsical imagery of dragons, kingdoms and queens. Broken up into 6 sections, it was hard to pick which section of poetry was my favorite. I loved the childlike imaginings and wonder that flowed in and out of her words. I could almost taste and feel and see those memories of innocence and daydreams. I'll be rereading this collection from time to time to remind myself that there was a time where my laughter sounded carefree and joy seemed like an ordinary emotion, not something to choose. Well done, Cheyenne. ***I received this book in exchange for an honest review. However, these thoughts and opinions are my own. I'm not required to write a positive review.*** About the Author![]() cheyenne raine is a creative writer, with a passion for spreading light and love. she spends her free time writing and wandering through life. she enjoys spontaneous adventures and reflecting on new and old moments she has experienced. find more of her work and creations on her website: www.rainepoetry.com
Take a look at this exciting new young adult action and adventure novel, The Student and the Slave, now available for purchase! This is the third book in the Krillonian Chronicles, after The Collar and the Cavvarach and The Gladiator and the Guard.
The series is set in an alternate world that is very much like our own, with just a few major differences. One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with "have a rack"), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds. ![]() First, a Little Information about Books 1 and 2: Book 1: The Collar and the Cavvarach Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire's most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie's escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse? Click here to read chapter 1 of The Collar and the Cavvarach. Click here to read about life in the Krillonian Empire, where the series is set. ![]() Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didnât commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him? Click here to read about life in the arena where Bensin and other gladiators are forced to live and train. And now, The Student and the Slave, with another awesome cover by the talented Jack Lin! Book 3: The Student and the Slave Is this what freedom is supposed to be like? Desperate to provide for himself and his sister Ellie, Bensin searches fruitlessly for work like all the other former slaves in Tarnestra. He needs the money for an even more important purpose, though: to rescue Coach Steene, who sacrificed himself for Bensinâs freedom. When members of two rival street gangs express interest in Bensinâs martial arts skills, he realizes he may have a chance to save his father figure after all ⦠at a cost. Meanwhile, Steene struggles with his new life of slavery in far-away Neliria. Raymond, his young owner, seizes any opportunity to make his life miserable. But while Steene longs to escape and rejoin Bensin and Ellie, he starts to realize that Raymond needs him too. His choices will affect not only his own future, but that of everyone he cares about. Can he make the right ones ⦠and live with the consequences? Click here to order The Student and the Slave from Amazon for ![]()
Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published fifteen books (three YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, six anthologies of her studentsâ poetry, and a Bible verse coloring and activity book). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.
Connect with the Author Online: Email: [email protected] Blog: http://anniedouglasslima.blogspot.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnnieDouglassLimaAuthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/princeofalasia Goodreads: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGoodreads Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AnnieDouglassLimaOnAmazon LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnLinkedIn Google+: http://bit.ly/ADLimaOnGooglePlus
Now, enter to win an Amazon gift card or a free digital copy of the first two books in the series!
Here lies the anatomy of the first Heartbreak.
But, take my advice, you can grow, you can heal, you can learn, no matter what. Just pick yourself up and keep going. ~My Review ~
This was short and definitely not sweet, but very raw read about being consumed with another person so much that they undeniably become a part of us, and then the heartbreak comes where we are forced to evaluate who we are before, and who we are after. It had moments where you sense the poet's epiphany about letting go of and wrapping herself up in the beauty and strength that is her. Lovely. I enjoyed the illustrations that went with this collection.
I had several favorites (my grey sky, Home Calls) but this one I loved the most, simply because I feel this sums her up from what I have observed of her on social media: I planted wildflowers in the cracks of my own armor. - I don't need you anymore I am free About the Author![]()
McKayla DeBonis was born February 23rd, 1998.
She is a bookworm of a soul and realized that her mind was spinning with the same creativity of her beloved writers, leading to her own poetry, prose, and other writings. Her Hogwarts house is Hufflepuff and you'll definitely find her with a cup of coffee in her hand and her nose in a book at all times. You can find her on any social media platform as, mckayladebonis She also reviews books at mckayladebonis.com
"I had just been told I was going to have twins: I absolutely had to cry, and at the same time I could only imagine someone must be playing an elaborate prank on me."
While it was definitely not a prank when the author found out she was having twins, it would not be the last time she cried (or looked for the hidden cameras) in the weeks and months ahead. The Day Between: A Memoir of Miracles weaves together the story of an ordinary military family whose twin girls have a long fight to birth, including a harrowing emergency surgery at 20 weeks. Mixed in with the tears of loss and heartbreak are the light-hearted emotions of encouragement and hope as the author shares the lessons she gains during her journey. Faith is tested as she mourns the death of one daughter, and faith is ultimately proven true in the miraculous birth of the other. This story will bring hope and healing to those who have dealt with grief and disappointment and help others recognize the miracles in their own lives Buy Links: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Between-Memoir-Miracles-ebook/dp/B075XSGYVL/ ~ My Review ~
Knowing this author's story, I hesitated to read mainly because I knew my tears would come. And this morning, as dreary as a Wednesday in November in Texas can be, I finally sat down and read. It took me just a few hours to read through in one sitting but I did give myself little breaks here and there when the words started to be blurry. I wept through this memoir. I wept for her loss and grief but mostly, for her words. Her testimony that God will provide, that God is sufficient, that God is in control and that our children, aren't ours but God's children. I wept reading her love of Christ. This is what faith looks like, sounds like, reads like. And to have known just a fragment of her story and finally reading this entirety, I couldn't be more humbled by the grace and strength Abigail has shown throughout that season of loss.
This book isn't just for mothers who have experienced grief, though it is a comforting and lovely read. This book is for anyone who has been feeling "blinded" by all the things we see on the news and wondering where God is in this chaos and when will He step in? This is a testimony of being consumed with worry and fear creeping into our heart, all the while praying our "please please please please God" lowest of lows prayer that WE'VE ALL been on, and only in hindsight do we get to see He was right there in our chaos and hasn't really left us. We've just been so focused on other things. We focus on what we know, not what our Father knows. So thank you for your story, Abigail. To God be the Glory and to you, my book nerd fam, who has had your day of being broken, beaten down; your day of loss, of mourning, I will pray for you in your wait. I will pray for your "day between." About the Author![]()
Abigail Wilson is a Christian memoirist and blogger. She lives in San Antonio, Tx with her husband, three children and a healthy dose of humor and caffeine to keep her company.
She loves traveling, sleeping, sitting on beaches without getting in the water and writing about herself in the third person for biography purposes.
Blow after blow has tried to knock her down, but Gaia is determined to fight till the end. Now Queen of Ica, the tables have turned. The hunter becomes the hunted as the balance of justice is forced to shift. As her name and actions begin to spread across the kingdoms, she sets out to wage war against the corrupt, and be the voice of the oppressed. Is her will strong enough to withstand? Or will it break?
~ My Review ~
Okay, so the last book I was a bit frustrated about the way it ended. I mean, seriously, nooooo. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait too long (2 months) before picking up book 2. Much like the first, this was fast paced. I enjoyed switching between the different characters and seeing their point of view and how they fit into this puzzle. We get to be inside some pretty twisted minds but I like knowing their back story and the desperation they feel to push them to the point where they are where they are. Gaia has matured from her experiences and she's going to be one bad a$$ Queen. I loved seeing her growth and you get the sense that she's only going to get stronger for whatever lies ahead.
There were surprises and plenty of action and twists and turns that I started to worry how Jennifer Rayes was going to tie it all up towards the end. Sadly and spoiler alert, there will be a continuation (I hope) to this madness. ***I received this book in exchange for an honest review. However, these thoughts and opinions are my own. I'm not required to write a positive review.***
To read my review of Book 1, click here.
About the Author
Jennifer Rayes is a freelance author who enjoys writing on the weekends and evenings. Born in Michigan, she spent the first several years of her life there before moving to Lebanon. After obtaining her Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Dayton, Ohio, she lived in Florida, Italy, Houston, France, Canada, and now resides in Abu Dhabi, with her Great Pyrenees, Koby.
Connect with the Author: http://jenniferrayes.wixsite.com/intricatedeceptions https://www.facebook.com/intricateseries/ |
Book Pick:I use Goodread's rating scale1 star – didn’t like it
2 stars – it was OK 3 stars – liked it 4 stars – really liked it 5 stars – it was so amazing, it's on my reread pile! Categories
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