I'm a huge fan of Isabelle Kenyon's poetry. I had read the first book (see review here) and one thing I wanted was for Isabelle to have more poetry! This collection does not disappoint!
Kenyon continues to give us a commentary on social issues, such as homelessness, and offers a glimpse of the forgotten, such as the elderly, or perhaps those who silently stood in the sidelines during the #metoo movement, but with a story, nonetheless.  I appreciate the poet's take on these issues, as only a poet can take a jarring forgotten life and try as she might, spark a little light into it. Except, it's on the reader to take that spark and do something worthy to these words. Lovely words they may be. Another job, well done! 

This is my stop during the book blitz for Deck The Malls with Purple Peacocks by Amy Gettinger. This book blitz is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The book blitz runs from 7 till 20 December. See the tour schedule here: http://www.lolasblogtours.net/book-blitz-deck-the-malls-with-purple-peacocks-by-amy-gettinger

Get this book for free!
From 9 till 10 December and from 15 till 17 December the book will be free on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Malls-Purple-Peacocks-Alice-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0778999M9/

​Deck The Malls with Purple Peacocks (Alice Chronicles #2)
By Amy Gettinger
Genre: Chick-lit/ Women’s Fiction/ Sweet Romance
Age category: Adult
Release Date: November 18, 2017

​Blurb:
It’s Christmas in Orange County, California, and the mall is full of purple peacock decorations, large and small. Department store employee Aracely Martinez has a goofy Cuban friend, Quito (who’s awfully cute in his mall Santa suit), distracting her from her night-shift restocking job. But Aracely has a long-held secret, which her supervisor at the store, Jacob Thinnes, is holding over her head to make her do his bidding.
 
Which is too much bidding.
 
Enter Aracely’s oldest friends: Alice Chalmers, Georgette Jones and Julie Bowers. The group’s “Venus Warrior” bond from the 2003 production of The Venus Monologues at Garden Beach Community College is still very strong, and these women are ready, willing, and able to kick some butt to help Aracely out of her difficult bind. Join Aracely’s “Three Wise Women” plus her ever-present trickster hunk, Quito, in one adventure after another as they work against the odds to give Aracely a fabulous, nearly impossible Christmas gift: the life of her dreams.
 
You can find Deck The Malls with Purple Peacocks on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36559083-deck-the-malls-with-purple-peacocks
 
You can buy Deck The Malls with Purple Peacocks here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Malls-Purple-Peacocks-Alice-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0778999M9/
From 9 till 10 December and from 15 till 17 December the book will be free!

Amy Gettinger, once a community college ESL instructor, now writes novels and reader’s theater plays and coaches Reader’s Theater for Seniors. She’s a member of the Los Angeles Poets and Writers Collective. She lives in Orange County, California underneath a eucalyptus windrow full of parrots and crows. For fun, she walks the local beach cliff path with her husband and dogs--and thinks up perfectly ridiculous characters and crimes to write about.
 
You can find and contact Amy Gettinger here:
- Blog: https://amygettinger.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Amy-Gettinger-1412625005719904/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyGettinger
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7793380.Amy_Gettinger
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Amy-Gettinger/e/B00S9Y99II

​There is a tour wide giveaway for the book blitz of Deck The Malls in Purple Peacocks. These are the prizes you can win:
- a peacock Christmas tree ornament (US Only)
- an e-copy of Roll with the Punches by Amy Gettinger (International)
- an e-copy of Alice in Monologue Land by Amy Gettinger (International)
- an e-copy of Pranks and Poodles by Amy Gettinger (International)
 
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

Buy Links:
https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Heart-Wanders-Matt-Banks-ebook/dp/B0763YHVXV/

I enjoyed this collection. While I admire Matt's passion in his words, I felt like this should have been more organized in how the entire collection was laid out. It jumps from being in love, to the bitterness of old wounds, to inspiration and a take on today's political climate and changing societal landscape. The randomness was a little off putting at times. When you read about an inspirational poem and then it's followed up with an erotic poetry, it's a bit jarring. Overall, I did come to appreciate the messages he imparted. 

***EDITED TO ADD: I use Goodread's rating system. ***
3/5 liked it 

As the ugly twin to a perfect sister, Princess Laidra lives her life in the shadows—until her parents offer her as bait for a giant serpent.

Her escape attempt leaves her shipwrecked on a secluded island with only one inhabitant: Prince Calen, who lives under a curse. If anyone looks upon him, he turns into a giant serpent. Speaking to him in the darkness, Laidra sees past the monster to Calen’s lonely soul, and she determines to free him from the magic’s hold. 

But if Laidra can’t break the curse in time, Calen will become a mindless creature of scales and fangs forever.

A YA mythology/romance that retells the myth of Eros and Psyche with adventure, magic, and true love.
​

H. L. Burke
Born in a small town in north central Oregon, H. L. Burke spent most of her childhood around trees and farm animals and was always accompanied by a book. Growing up with epic heroes from Middle Earth and Narnia keeping her company, she also became an incurable romantic.
 


An addictive personality, she jumped from one fandom to another, being at times completely obsessed with various books, movies, or television series (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Star Trek all took their turns), but she has grown to be what she considers a well-rounded connoisseur of geek culture.
 
Married to her high school crush who is now a US Marine, she has moved multiple times in her adult life but believes that home is wherever her husband, two daughters, and pets are.
 
Follow her personal blog at www.hlburkeblog.com
Social Media
www.hlburkeauthor.com
www.facebook.com/hlburkewriter
www.instagram.com/burkesdragons

​Today is the cover reveal for We have a few good memories, don't we? by Katie Lewington. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. 

Blurb:
The eighth book written by prolific blogger, and poet, KATIE LEWINGTON, We have a few good memories, don't we? interprets the ways in which we experience LOSS. Whether that be a lover losing their other half, a piggy bank being robbed of pennies, or a tap running dry.
 
At the core of We have a few good memories, don't we? is the longing, end, and reflection of a long-term relationship.
 
The poems in this chapbook are Hunger, Steps, Saint River, The Blaze, Storm, Hindsight, Red Green Amber, Piggy Bank, Tear, Midnight, Cupid's Bow, Digest, and Epitaph.
 
You can find We have a few good memories, don't we?  on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36558578-we-have-a-few-good-memories-don-t-we

​Tear
sink
in which
any water
not sucked into the
plughole
trickles
 
gush flowing
through pipes
tumbling
sink left wet
weeping for loss
 
tap drips, inconsolable
 

​Katie Lewington wrote her first poem aged 16. Even though, after analysing a poem for her hellish English GCSE, she vowed she would have nothing more to do with poetry. She has now published a number of books on Amazon.com, as well as having poetry published in places such as Ghost City Review, Seafoam Magazine, Tuck magazine, Spillwords.com, Pink Litter, Horror Sleaze Trash, Haikuniverse, and Ugly Sapling press. 
 
She is also passionate about helping her fellow indie writers and her blog has many weekly features in aid of exposing these writers to the public.
 
Her blog  https://katiecreativewriterblog.wordpress.com hosts book tours, shares her opinions on small press/independently published books, and has two weekly features, called The Sunday Spotlight, and Prompt Thursday. She would love to see you around!
 
Curious by nature, when not satisfying her thirst for knowledge through books, Katie Lewington is listening to TalkSport on the radio, travelling, watching her football team Tottenham Hotspur on the television, and engaging with other writers and bibliophiles through social media.

 You can find and contact Katie Lewington here:
- Blog: https://katiecreativewriterblog.wordpress.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KLpoetry/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewington_katie  
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katielewington/
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14054005.Katie_Lewington
-Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Katie+Lewington&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Katie+Lewington&sort=relevancerank

​There is a cover reveal wide giveaway for the cover reveal of We have a few good memories, don't we? Five winners will each win an e-copy of We have a few good memories, don't we? by Katie Lewington.
 
For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

Let me preface this review by saying that I love reading and watching romance. My favorite part, however, in all cinematic scores and countless of stories, is where they take all these emotions of the heartbreak, and we get to be witnesses to the fragility of our heroine's heart as these hurt and pain and tears come on. And then, the most incredible thing happens. The music changes. Her face lights up and you see her taking back her life. Your heart beats faster as you see her conquering one thing at a time, no matter how small or trivial. That's my favorite part. Always. When she finds her worth; when she creates her own story.
Reading love, & you reminded me of why I love that part. Because it reminds us that we are fragile for giving our heart, our bodies, and soul to another and asking them to please protect it, nurture it and complement it. When the person we deem worthy takes this gift and crushes our spirit, of course, we're broken. How can you not be?
I was quite moved by Gretchen's heartbreak. INVESTED, really. I appreciated that she took her tormented heart and wrote. Her anger and bitterness - the pacing, the words - made me feel for her. (sidenote: how do you fall in love with a stranger you've never met? read their poetry) And then that moment came, where she
"....took the ashes from the
forest and threw them in
the ocean

i went back to the forest 
and planted sunflowers
of love and happiness
and joy and forgiveness and
peace of mind and me"

Words of healing. What a journey to get to where she is. First there was a beginning, and then there's an end...but always, we remember about love, & you. 

Rating: 5/5 on my reread pile

​Gretchen Gomez is a writer and blogger from Bronx, New York. First generation Puerto Rican. She’s been writing poetry since the age of 11 and although silenced for many years, she cut the ties with silence. “love, and you” is her first published poetry collection and she is working on other collections at the moment. Gretchen makes art out of all her past experiences.

You can find her here:
blog: chicnerdreads.wordpress.com
twitter: chicnerdreads
instagram: chicnerdreads
tumblr: chicnerdreads.tumblr.com