A troubled woman is comforted by the return of her imaginary friend
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Marnie is worried about the disappearance of her father. It is not the first time, but this feels different. There relationship has been difficult, with great highs and lows due to his mental illness. Other strange things are occurring in her neighborhood, including a large number of missing cats, eventually including her own. Each chapter is prefaced by a "lost" flyer for one of these felines. Marnie feels lost herself and this feeling has a very unintended consequence: it brings back her imaginary friend, a lion she called Jericho, conjured from a lion cub that she held once at a circus her father took her to as a young girl. While disbelieving in him initially, their relationship evolves in complexity, particularly when events in her life take a tragic turn. This was not entirely what I expected from the book, but it was curiously compelling and evoked some beautiful imagery and thoughts from the language.
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Velma True has suffered the loss of her beloved husband, companion and friend and had difficulty coping with reality.  So difficult that after her journey to the mailbox at the end of the drive  where she receives the official death certificate she is overcome with anxiety about the future and can only leave her front porch if she stays connected.  Her solution is to tie ribbons to the front porch railing to hold onto.  Strangely she can leave the yard via the back door and travel to the back door of the local grocery store.

Caught in the web between past and future, Velma is given a great gift from a stranger that allows her to not only see the past but actually re-experience it.  What would you do with such a gift?  Velma in her quiet reflective way keeps all this hidden in her heart until little bits come out around her best friend Sarah, her son Rudy and a strange young girl who travels to Echo , Florida.

River Jordan draws you into another space and time from the first sentence and you know you have encountered some new friends.
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An sick and neglected woman is rotting away in a run-down, decrepit nursing home, or is she. As the story progresses a young newly hired cleaning girl develops a friendship with the lady, named Flo, who is not quite as far gone to Alzheimers as the head nurse imagines her to be. Flo tells the young girl, Britt, about atrocities committed against her but Britt wonders are they real or imagined. Finding Flo bound to her bed one morning she is convinced and gathering a band of similar adventurous teenagers she determines to get to the bottom of why Flo and possibly others at Happy Hearts Home are being mistreated.
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Ellen is an overweight woman with a scarred face as a result of childhood abuse. Ellen keeps to herself and does her best to make her self "invisible" to people around her by having zero interaction with anyone, including her co-workers at Costco where she works the night shift. One day she helps a stranger who is being mugged and from there a strong bond and friendship is formed. While at times this story was predictable, it's a well written and wonderfully simple and heartwarming story about kindness, friendship and overcoming personal struggle.
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Three sisters coming together to clean up their mother's home and prepare for her funeral hardly sounds like the storyline for a warm and comforting novel, but that's exactly what this book is. Sometimes you want to read about people wringing all the joy they can from their lives rather than wallowing in drama(imitative, at that), and it's nice to settle down with a well-written book. There are plenty of suspenseful  moments and plot twists to keep your interest and the characters are believable. This is a good book to curl up with.
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For those who are interested in the hereafter, this is a very beautiful and comforting story told by someone who experienced a near death event.
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A friend of mine purchased it for a friend of hers cousin. This woman had a son whom recently committed suicide and I pray that this story true comforts her and guides her closer to our one and true comforter, the lover of our soul, Jesus Christ!

Scriptures added is a major plus!
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Mary Hades is a girl who can see ghosts (kind of a sixth sense thing going on) and her best friend is the primary one. Her folks decided  that after her stay in the mental institute, where her friend had been killed protecting her, they need to take a vacation together. On the way there, she keeps getting warnings from the spirits she calls Things that something bad will happen. Once at the vacation spot, she meets a boy and finds out from her best friend that there is an evil spirit there who is trying to kill this guy and Mary Hades for being with him. This is a very good story that kept me turning the pages and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the background surrounding Mary Hades and her friend Lacey as well as her new friends, Neil, Lamarr and Seth. I was not happy about the way things were left between Seth and Mary but I am forced to admit that is how it is sometimes in real life. I would recommend this book for people who like mysteries with some mild horror (ghosts trying to kill folk, etc).
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Old friends reunited just in time to help a sad little girl rediscover the joy of Christmas.
I won't spoil the story with too much info, but I will highly recommend you enjoy this holiday treat with a cup of hot chocolate.
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No one believed Dani when she said that her imaginary friend, Rachel, pushed her off the roof of the hospital when she was eight-years-old. Dani used to enjoy spending time with Rachel during the months she spent at St. Baptist's getting treatment for her diabetes. One night, however, Rachel turned sinister and, when Dani survived the fall from the roof, made it her mission to kill Dani by any means possible. Psychiatrists, doctors and Dani's parents spent years trying to convince Dani that Rachel wasn't real, and eventually she stopped seeing the little girl with the piercing blue eyes and the bloody gash for a mouth. Now Dani is fifteen-years-old and living in fear that Rachel will return.  What she doesn't know is that her worst fears will be realized: after a freak bus accident on a school field trip, Rachel returns stronger than ever and even more determined to kill Dani. Someone else survives the bus accident, however: Jesse, a quiet rebel who has always had his eye on Dani. Dani and Jesse escape the crash together and soon make a startling discovery: Jesse was plagued by his own invisible monster as a child as well, and that monster has also returned ready to kill.

Creepy, exciting and romantic, this debut novel by author Anya Parrish makes for a mind-bending adventure full of twists and turns. Almost from the first pages, the author lets the reader know that they are in for something different. The basic concept behind the novel is something that seems promising even when taken at face value: homicidal imaginary friends. When Dani's "friend" Rachel is introduced, the image created is quite horrifying: Rachel is a rambunctious little girl who keeps Dani from feeling lonely in the hospital. When Dani is finally able to see her friend's face, however, she discovers that her mouth is a gaping line that oozes blood whenever she smiles. Rachel's constant determination to murder Dani would be almost comical if the little eight-year-old in every reader wasn't frightened by the idea of the imaginary friend gone bad. Parrish accomplishes a lot with her creation of the "Rachel" character, and this is the strongest element of the novel. Of course, like most young adult books, there is a romantic male lead in the form of bad boy Jesse. The novel is told in alternating voices between Jesse and Dani, and it is revealed early in the story that Jesse was also plagued by an evil imaginary monster when he was younger: a vicious dragon he simply referred to as "The Thing." Not much more can be said about the plot without giving away too much of the story, but the novel dives into many different genres as it progresses, from horror to mystery to spy-thriller. The result is a very enjoyable book that can be enjoyed by both teens and adults equally.

I loved the concept behind this novel when I read the description, and, after reading the book, I found that it surpassed my expectations! The idea of homicidal imaginary friends sounds funny, but I was genuinely creeped out by the descriptions of Rachel. As the plot unraveled, however, I began to lose the creepy-vibe and began to really get into the twists and turns of the story. I really hope that the author decides to make the novel into a series because I think it has a lot of potential!

Like my reviews? Check out my profile for a link to my blog for more recommendations!
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Laura spots a streak of silver shooting past her window and discovers a sparkly star nearby. She has always wanted someone to share her secrets with, and so she takes the little star home and makes it her friend. But  when she wakes up the next morning, Laura discovers that the little star  has disappeared. She searches everwhere, but it's no use. She thinks that  her special friend may have been a dream. In this magical story a lonesome  girl learns that friendshop sometimes means giving away the brightest  treasures. I think that this would be a great story to teach character  education. It faces the issues of depression, loneliness, friendliness,  caring, sharing, and giving. It is a precious story that would be  delightful to children of most any age.
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She is on vacation and he's home for personal reasons from his past. Destiny collides and for a good human and a sad wolf, future happiness comes at a high price.
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I gave this gift to a friend battling cancer and found it gave comfort to her as well as her family.
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Bought this for a friend who has been suffering after the loss of her husband.  She has commented several times how much of a comfort the book has been to her, and keeps it on her nightstand to read whenever needed.
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Reconnecting with childhood friends can be both life-affirming and life-altering.

Author Joanne DeMaio weaves a fascinating tale of friendship, loss, hope, loyalty, secrets, and finding one's self in BLUE JEANS AND COFFEE BEANS. She sets the story in the beautiful New England oceanside community of Stony Point. The ocean, with its mesmerizing waves and alluring sounds, plays a major roll in the story offering its calming and cleansing properties to those returning to visit.

Maris Carrington, pursuing a denim design career in Chicago, has to return to the Connecticut coast to settle her late father's estate. While packing and cleaning, Maris discovers a forgotten home movie. After watching it, she decides to stay a bit long so she can reconnect with her best friend. As old memories surface, catching up with other friends from over a decade ago takes on new meaning.

Even after her boyfriend proposes, Maris isn't ready to return to her regular life. She feels drawn to stay near the beach and see what the summer brings. Meanwhile, Maris' friends have their own problems and worries. Each is dealing with their doubts and uncertainty in their own way, but are there for their friends when needed.

This story is set amid a backdrop that defines summer - the ocean, a sandy beach, cottages, sunshine, and good friends. DeMaio has an eye for detail as she expertly describes the setting so that you can almost feel the ocean breeze on your face and feel the sand falling through your fingers.

The story moves at a steady pace pulling readers in. The characters are well-developed and likable. They have flaws and are faced with daily challenges making them appear more realistic. While there may seem to be quite a few central characters, in reality we all tend to gather numerous friends around us instead of only one or two. The author has given each character their own problems and specific ways they contribute to the story.

With a title like BLUE JEANS AND COFFEE BEANS, one automatically thinks of comfortable clothes and relaxing with friends over a cup of coffee. DeMaio has created a story of nostalgia that will have you longing to slip into your summer clothes, call your old friends, and escape to the beach.

FTC Full Disclosure - An eBook copy of this book was gift to me by the author in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
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Mia has suffered life threatening cancer, divorce  and loss of her self image.  She returns home to start over and hits another stumbling block.  The mix up in ownership of her land leads to a new relationship.
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The pillow pet was for a member at my church whose younger sister is having chemotherapy and she is really missing her 'Buddy'.  This helps when she goes to see her 18 month old sister in the hospital for the chemo treatment and they both can be close and play (softly) with one another.  The older sister loved it.