As Though You Were Mine by J. Marie Rundquist

 

As Though You Were Mine by J. Marie Rundquist
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.75 stars

Julie never wanted to be a mom but she technically became a biological mom when she donated her eggs to her brother and his wife. Sadly, Brian and Esther were killed in a car accident when their twins, Lucy and Mikey, were just four years old. Brian and Esther left guardianship of these precious souls to Aunt Julie.

Julie's whole family questions her ability to raise these children from day 1. They offer unsolicited advice and some even go so far as to flat out tell her she has no business doing this. A knock on her door could change everything for this new little family.

Brian and Esther also used a sperm donor to create these children. Grant is the knock at the door and Julie can't be sure of his immediate motives. Is he her to fight her for custody or is he sincere in what he says about "doing his part" with Lucy and Mikey?

I found this book a bit difficult to get into. As the story went on, it did pick up a bit but by then I was losing so much of the real story that it fell kinda flat for me. I was hoping for so much more based on the synopsis. For a good bit, it just felt like the same thing was being repeated, especially in regards to the behavior of the kids. I understand that a buildup had to occur, but this felt a little dragged out. I did appreciate the overall story, I just wish it would have picked up faster.

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Love & Stilettos by Evelyn Lindell

 

Love & Stilettos by Evelyn Lindell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

At the tender young age of 28, Mia finds herself a widow and living with her grandmother in Kentucky. She's decided to enroll in school and obtain a job. Things seem to be progressing well in her life, despite the drama that she's endured lately.

Mitch is a firefighter, living the dream. Women flock to him because of his great looks and physique. He's taken by Lacey though and the rock on her finger proves it.

Mia and Mitch were the best of friends when they were younger. Every June, Mia travelled to KY to visit her grandmother and she and Mitch would hang out for the month. One June, Mia didn't return and instead married Xavier.

Through a series of challenging events, Mitch and Mia may find their way to each other again but not without some road blocks and some fires that need to be put out.

I found this book to be enjoyable, even if it was a bit predictable. Granny is by far my favorite character in this book. She deserves a book of her own. I loved her wit! Mia is a bit of a pushover, despite people thinking that she is a stronger person. I think maybe Mitch could bring out some stronger in her but it would need more character development. Overall, a good book to curl up with on a stormy afternoon!

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Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt

 

Amaleigha Makes a New Friend by Janice Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a must-read for all ages!!!

Amaleigha's 3rd grade class has been learning about Ukraine and they each get a pen pal to correspond with throughout the school year. Vova is Amaleigha's pen pal. They write back and forth as much as they can asking questions about life in their respective country, what their home looks like, number of siblings, what they do for fun, etc. They both learn a lot about each other. Amaleigha's teacher is showing them things in class that the people in Ukraine do for fun as well as foods they eat too. It's a true cultural experience.

One day, letters arrive from Ukraine and many students are upset to read about the unrest happening there amongst their new friends' families. The students rally together to send some help to their new friends.

EVERYONE should read this book, regardless of age. It's a great way to explain what is happening to the younger generation and the older generation could take some cues in terms of ways to reach out and help. Pen pals can be such a valuable resource!

This is a great book that should be in every home or school!

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Liz's Road Trip by Bernadette Marie

 

Liz's Road Trip by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The relationship that Liz has with her Gran is one that most people would love to have. Gran raised Liz since age 10 when her mom died. Now, Gran has passed and it's in her wishes that Liz go on a trip to Florida to settle things there. Little did Liz know, the Gran she knew wasn't the same person that her friends knew.

A call from WATTS one day started changing everything. Mark Watts becomes a new friend for Liz and she soon finds out that Mark lives in her grandmother's 7 million dollar home in Florida. With so many questions that have been unanswered, Liz takes this trip to meet up with Mark and others who knew her Gran. Life will forever be different after this trip. As Gran would say though, "Live with no regrets!"

This book is full of raw emotion. One minute I was crying, the next I was laughing, then I was ready to throw the book and hit something! LOL A very enjoyable read!

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Granting Katelyn (Sweet Valley Series) by S.E. Reichert

 

Granting Katelyn by S.E. Reichert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Sullivan sisters are a fabulous family that seems like a lot of fun. In book two of this series, we learn more about Katelyn and get to catch up on what Ellie's been up to.

Katelyn is restless and feels the need to travel again. When an opportunity comes up for her to go and help an injured horse, she's all in. She might be the only one who is though! The set-up came through a third party mutual friend so when Katelyn shows up at Grant Tennyson's farm to help rehabilitate his prize-winning thoroughbred, he's wondering where she came from. Grant is also not wanting her help and will do what he can to get her to leave.

Katelyn is full of sass and vinegar and finds a way into Grant's horse barn, as well as into his heart. She's not afraid to put him or anyone else in their place and she will prove that she's the right person for this job.

There is a lot of raw emotion in this story and it's one that goes by fairly quickly. My favorite character has to be the butler in this story though! I loved Katelyn and Grant but the butler stole my heart!

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Xenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom and Milagros Darling

 

Xenia Navarro and the Magic Ants by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

This is a bit longer than the typical Lois Wickstrom book and is geared more towards ages 7 and up.

In this story, Xenia is living with her mom and brother. Xenia's mom is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Her American father died while serving in Iraq before he was able to marry Xenia's mom. Both Xenia and her brother are legal US citizens.

Having fear for being deported, Xenia's mom rarely allows the kids to play outside. They also are expected to make great grades but not so good that it would bring unwanted attention to them. When a science fair project arises with a pretty cool reward, Xenia has to be careful with how she presents her project. Before she can turn it in however, her mom is arrested and sent back to Mexico. Xenia and her brother are living with a local lady from a church group and have to try to find a way to spend as much time as they can with their mom.

This book focuses on a great many issues that arise in our country today. This book is sad, yet encouraging. It is written in a way that could explain some of these issues to a youngster, while incorporating some aspects of fantasy to keep it on a lighter note. I also picked up on a few new spanish terms throughout this book.


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Mr Lucky (Trentbridge Tales Book 1) by Lee Wood

 

Mr Lucky by Lee Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Life has a way of changing very quickly. One moment, everything is on the up and up. Family life is great, job is showing the prospect of a promotion, life if grand. That is, until it isn't.

Detective James Sheldon was living the life as one might say. His wife and best friend Miriam took their two children to go visit with her parents. Expecting them to show up at any time, James was taken aback when there was a knock on the door and bad news to follow. That bad news put James in a place where he eventually found himself at the bottom of the barrel and living on the streets pandering for spare change.

But again, life has a way of quickly changing. A kind soul persuades James to go buy a lottery ticket. He seriously could have eaten a decent meal with the money but decided to take the advice and bought the ticket instead. Life changed again in just a short amount of time when he checked his numbers and they all matched. He was the lucky recipient of the largest lottery ever, $168 million!!

Now his life is in danger because of a devious man trying to ruin his life. How will James handle his newfound wealth and this lunatic?

This book started out a little rough for me but by the middle of it, it was gaining speed and I ended up really enjoying the story. The beginning had a lot of details that I felt were unnecessary at first but eventually came around to being important. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

On a side note, I guess I could say I'm lucky as I was reading this. My kindle shut off just as I read the last word!!

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