My Pathway to Books Review
925273
If you are ready to get yourself lost into a world of fantasy this book is for you!

Boyce does not waste any time jumping right into Lichgates.  I don't think I was prepared to go head first into the story which left me a little frazzled and confused at the beginning, but then when Braeden came on the scene everything cleared up! (Welcome to My Pathway to Books where you will always hear about the Hot guy in the story :D )  I really loved the relationship that Kara and Braeden had.  Braeden was very protective of Kara, but unlike other stories I've read it was more of a "we know each other's secrets so we better trust each other" type of relationship which may or may not turn into something more...

S.M. Boyce has a way of lacing words together in an intricate pattern that I have never seen before.  The way she describes parts of the story is in such detail that you can't help but immerse yourself in the book which makes the world building all the more real.  This book will become a part of you when you read it, and the world of Ourea will become your world.  Even though it has some of the strangest policies and characters, Ourea is so believable!

Kara is almost forced to become this peacemaker and go on this quest to find harmony in a world that she just found out about few days prior.  She gets hit with many many obstacles on the way especially while she is trying to harness her full power as the Vagabond!  Kara turns out to be quite the heroine during this journey, and she handles all these situations she is thrown in as such!

I recommend this books to anyone who wants a great fantasy read!  Especially since there are SO many ways to win it on this blog tour!
2041090
I finished The Electric Jesus this last weekend - adventure, romance, inner journey, outer journey, discovery and mystery (and now, history) - Totally Awesome! Thank you for sharing your story... what an incredible walk you have on this planet :)
1464791
The Writer & The Hero's Journey

I received as my free book, The Writer & The Hero's Journey. So far, I have only made it to Module 1. (just reaching the main course)

I have a couple of observations to make. First of all, I can see it becoming one of my favorite books. The manner in which you broke down your own template describing The Hero's Journey was both captivating, imaginative and informative. I loved it. The insight into the Tarot, fascinating and woven beautifully into the template.

Your bravery in breaking down your own early failings, refusing to leave out parts of your life which did you no credit, does you GREAT credit. Your honesty, where most of us would have chosen dishonesty, invites me to trust you implicitly.

Your style is both engaging and thoroughly enjoyable, and I'm barely past the cover. I simply wish to convey my gratitude to you, and pat myself on the back for choosing it as my free book. Thanks again and Best wishes to you and yours.

  E R Walker Aird
4244973
This book was entered and was a FINALIST in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:

Title: Oldenglen
Author: Robin Mason
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 20

Stats
Editing 9/10
Plot 10/10
Writing Style 9/10
Cover 8/10
Of the 20 readers:
17 would read another book by this author.
15 thought the covers were exciting
15 felt the writing style was excellent: easy to follow and descriptive.
13 felt the exciting plot was the best part.
17 felt the ending was exciting.
20 felt the underlying message was good for children.

Readers Comments
Jax and Sarah go on a fun adventure in this story of animals and woodlands. It was a bit too slow for me but I enjoyed it anyway and the ending was brill. The covers really good too. Boy, aged 12
I liked that the chapters were not too long and the style of writing was easy to follow. The plot was fun too with lots happening. It was a bit slow to get going but then it got very exciting. Girl, aged 12
I will read the next book in the set too. Girl, aged 12
The children, for the most part, enjoyed this adventure/fantasy novel. I think the girls enjoyed it the most and awarded it the top marks. The boys, I felt, thought it was a bit too warm and fuzzy. I would be very happy to read this book to my children. I particularly the central message of how humans are encroaching on wildlife. Its important for children to understand this. Primary school teacher, aged 34
I love being outside and I love fantasy so this was perfect for me. My sister liked it too. The plots got tons of twists in it. But the best was that its very funny, Boy, aged 11

A fun-filled, fantasy adventure. A FINALIST and highly recommended for 9 to 12 year olds. The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
4627194
This book is awesome. It is a wonderful journey. I'm using some of the steps in my own life. I love it.
1206370
I love this book and recommend it to others. Kids will have a better understanding of the importance of libraries - and books - in their world after reading (or hearing) this story!

Thanks.

Sue Summers

Littleton, CO
644089
I have to say that in the main part I enjoyed the book, lost me a bit in the middle,unsure if that was my fault or the books, but I will be happy to give it 4*
294402
Good morning all 

This isbook review 13/48 for the year  11/24 for fiction; 2/24 for non-fiction. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars! Wow, wow, wow!!!

Title: Letters to the Pianist by S. D. Mayes

Genre: Historical Fiction

Book in a nutshell without spoilers:

This book centers around the experiences of a teenage girl and her family in London during Hitler's reign of terror in WWII. I loved how the author created so many realistic and haunting experiences and how she also explored the sensitive and emotional topics in the story. At the start of the book I was thinking that this was just going to be another retelling of the atrocities of Hitler felt by the family, but oh how wrong I was!! There were so many twists and turns! It was a phenomenal ride and I highly recommend it.

Peace, blessings and happy reading! Until next time CM
1727283
I will recommend this book to others. I enjoyed reading and listening to the narrator as she brought the characters to life. I will recommend this book to everyone I know. Thank you for the free copy and hope to see more free books of the same quality in the future. Marywnguern@gmail.com
4649503
I cant wait for you to get your hands on The Secret Drawer Club. Its awesome!

Being a children's entertainer for 25+ years, I have had the luxury of reading many, many children's books!  Not only to my now grown children, but oftentimes while waiting to play to an audience at any of the 100's of concerts in various bookstores around the country; Border's Books, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, etc. to name a few.  Let's just say I was doing research!  Translation: looking for new ideas to potentially write songs about!

Back to Barbe and her book!

My hope is she will reel your kids in - and you - pretty quickly with her writing style.

If I may, I would love to share with you how I got reeled.

One evening, a conversation arose about the importance of getting to a place in ones life where a person does what they really want to do. After a couple of hours of back and forth, Barbe shared with me that she wanted to write. I said, Well, ya got anything?

And she shared. She got her courage up and shared. Brava.

Now mind you, by this time, it was 11pmish. I go to bed at 9. I didn't want to read necessarily at 11. I wanted to be horizontal. But, what happened was this.

It took one sentence and I was awake. Wide-awake.

What she shared with me that night was written for a dear friend of hers, a woman named Rosemary. After being blown away by how she wrote - that style I was intimating in an aforementioned paragraph - my bedtime was pushed further forward into the night as the conversation continued.

We began talking about how we struggle as human beings and how deeply people need one another. Whoa. Not only was she good, she was willing to explore the more profound complexities of life on the planet.

Houston. We have lift off!

While this may be her first childrens book ever, it won't be her last. How do I know? Ive read the other ones. And one day, my deepest wish is that you will read them too!
2103697
This is a great guide to reading the books in order so the stoey line continuea to unfold and deepen in an orderly and relatable way.  I refer to it every couple of books so i can stay on track.
3317875
This book was such a great book to read, and I don't even like to read. When I first started reading the book I had a hard time putting the book down. It was such an inspiration to me to see how someone could change even when they were in such terrible circumstances. I really liked your tips for change in your book. I would recommend anyone to read this book.
634708
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Publish Your Nonfiction Book was the first book I read when I was researching the idea of traditionally publishing the manuscript to my memoir.  Though I eventually decide to go the self-publish route (If Suzanne Hansen could do it - so could I dammit), I worked tirelessly on implementing every single strategy you wrote about in the book.  I followed your advice to a T and I have to tell you, it has paid off more than I could ever imagine.  My mind is blown by the success of your strategies.

Build Platform - Four months before I put my book out, I was busy building my platform by creating a Facebook page to promote the book.  I had an editor tell me that a good "fan" number to reach was 400.  I'm excited to let you know that I have just surpassed the 114,000 mark for Facebook likes.  My page has officially gone viral and I'm acquiring over 2,000 likes a day, organically.

Discipline is Your Friend  I never gave up, I followed through with everything, and after each step, I congratulated myself on being one of the few that had made it to that point.  My determination paid off.  Here's to Not Catching our Hair on Fire, by the grace of all that is awesome, has managed to sustain Amazon best-seller status in 1-3 categories at any given time.  It's a sad and funny memoir about living with ADHD and giftedness and I'm floored at how well it's been received.  The book now has over 72 Amazon reviews with an average of 4.3 out of 5 stars, and I receive at least twenty emails a day from people that connect to my story or Facebook page.

The success hasn't stopped there - since my book came out, Ive been named as one of the Top 10 ADHD Bloggers by Dr. Oz's "Sharecare" team, I'm now a writer for ADDitude Magazine on-line, I was recently a social media contributor on CBS The Talk and I've just written a TV treatment which I've adapted from the book that I believe is equally special.

Im overwhelmed by the success of the book and the impact my voice is having.  I feel like I'm sitting on a gold mine here and I'm at the point that I can no longer manage it all myself and do the best job at it.

I'm not sure if I'm looking for representation to properly publish the book or if I'm looking for representation for the TV adaptation or representation for both, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to thank you.  You gave me the key to success and now I just have to figure out what to do with that success!
2971595
This review can also be read on my blog: <a href="http://https://mywaybystarlight.wordpress.com/2017/08/28/tree-of-ages/">my way by Starlight</a>

Okay team, once again I'm coming in late to the game with what I hope to be a wonderful series. I'd kept seeingTree of Ages pop up everywhere. I'd wanted to read it for lord knows how long, but with a list of ARCs a mile wide I kept telling myself I'd read it after I got my other books.

Well, you can see how well that played out. I hit a reading slump, and told myself that if I read it at least I'd start reading again. I am incredibly happy I did. This first novel has all the promises I hope to see fulfilled, and with three more books in the series already I'm excited. Sometimes waiting means you get to binge read instead of die in anticipation.

This story was one of intrigue, but in some areas I definitely felt wanting. It took me only a chapter or two to become involved, and I devoured the book once I was able to sit down and read it. There were moments where it was phenomenal, and then I know other times I felt slightly as if I were being jarred from the story. Whether it was the sentence structure, or other times character development I was sad to be awakened to reality from the story. Good news is those moments were extremely rare.

I had the craving for a good epic fantasy, and this world provided it. There is action, a quest, the potential for a slow-burn romance, family drama, an unknown past, the the looming threat of potential war on the horizon. I enjoyed watching the character development of Finn as she slowly becomes more human, and one of my favorite characters had to be ed. That old man is full of surprises.

I will note, the interactions between many of the characters is where I felt there is the most room for growth in this series. Tree of Agesis acaptivating tale, but at times it seems to get lost because the dynamics and subtext between characters wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been.

What grabbed me most about the novel was the world they reside in, the different races of Faie, and the history between them. It brought a refreshing look to an area of fantasy that is done often, and hence can be overdone. My curiosity on how magic operates in this world is still alight. 

Tree of Ages is amaybe-not-so-hidden gem of a novel, and was just what I needed and left me craving more. I am jumping on the Sara C. Roethle bandwagon and can't wait to read more of her books! I would recommend to anyone looking for good escapism, and those desiring a new series while they wait for Sarah J. Maas to pump out more books.
899048
This book helps me leap forward with my desire to being able to read more and learn from what I read.
4244801
Title : A Bitter Veil
Author:  Libby Fischer Hellmann
Narrator:  Diane Pirone Gelman
Publisher:  Libby Fischer Hellmann
Unabridged
Length:  9 hrs 29 min.
Year of Publication: 3-30-12
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Bitter-Veil/dp/B007Q3YZY6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Bitter Veil</a>

I really enjoy listening to books when they involve another culture and include dialogue in a different language.  When I'm reading I attempt to determine how to pronounce the foreign words and it can throw me out of the story.  With audio books the narrator, when they're good does all the heavy lifting and everything flows.  This is the case with Diane Pirone Gelman.

As the single narrator, Gelman, creates the myriad of characters by using tone, inflections, and accepts.  Her performance did not have a false note.  Her performance kept me riveted to the story.  I have a rule, audio books are listened to in the car while traveling.  I broke that rule while listening to A Bitter Veil.
One small complaint in an otherwise flawless performance was that the chapter number felt rushed.  There didn't seem to be a pause at the ending line of one chapter when the new chapter number was being announced. It's a small irritation but I noted it.

Being an old school woman, and new to audible, I had to figure out how to be able to play this through my stereo speakers. Enter an FM transmitter.  Even with this low tech solution the production of the presentation was very good.  The sound level was consistent throughout the book.

I listen to a lot of audio books, some good, others not so much.  This production kept me glued my seat.  The story is excellent and although his my introduction to this author I will be seeking out more of her work.  She creates memorable characters and puts them in a time in history when the world in Iran is turned upside down.  The author obviously did a great deal of research on this period in time.  It led me to want to learn more of this culture.
The author starts the book with a crisis in the life of the married Anna.  She is in Iran, the Ayatollah has taken over and the national guard is sweeping through the country taking people into prison or executing them.  One night, after a fight with her husband Nouri, she is awoken to find 3 national guard outside her door announcing that her husband has been murdered.  She is being accused of his murder.  Anna is wondering how she got to this place when the author indeed takes us back to the beginning, when Anna met Nouri when they were both college students in Chicago.

Just when you are screaming about being taken away from this momentous event Hellman sweeps you up in the romance between these two young and idealistic students.  How can Anna resist when Nouri reads from Rumi. "The minute I heard my first love story I started looking for you, not knowing how blind that was. Lovers don't finally meet somewhere. They're in each other all along."  Nouri is an intelligent and passionate man who loves his country and wants more for it than what the Shah is providing.  Anna has never felt truly part of a family and Nouri gives her a feeling of being part of a relationship.  As they near graduation Nouri proposes and they plan to live in Iran.
Hellman uses the changes that are occurring during this period in Iran to begin building the tension, between the family, amongst the citizens and in the country as a whole.  Even knowing the history the author allows the reader to really experience these changes over time and feel the building tension.  As events unfold the author keeps you at the edge of your seat and doesn't let you go till the very end.

It's a beautiful story and highly recommended.

This audio was provided by the publisher and Audible.com.  This in no way impacted the outcome of this  review.  Indeed, I plan on buying the Kindle version so that I can experience both the written and spoken word my next time around.
2557133
Review: LISTEN TO ME SPEAK TRILOGY by Victor Dark

I enjoyed this trilogy much more than the author's UNINVITED GUESTS TRILOGY (although I quite liked the first in that set). Quite possibly I liked this set better because I am far more comfortable with the supernatural than with household intruders. However, I also think the author shows promise of coming into his own. I liked the characters, enjoyed the plot, and found the neat interweaving of past and present quite exciting. Looking forward to the author's next appearance.