A series of haunting nightmares draws five former residents of a New York City high-rise back to their one-time home. But this is not a reunion. These five strangers have never met. But they are connected.
The depressed photographer with telekinetic abilities … the paralegal who reads evil thoughts of strangers … the struggling author who can predict dark futures … the malicious hypnotist … the witch’s daughter …
They have met in their dreams, and they have observed the shadows who follow them until they awaken. Now they want answers. And when the five board the same elevator at the same time, an ominous reality surfaces. They did not return on their own. They were drawn back. Drawn by their nightmares. Drawn by darkness.
An emerging country star returns to his hometown to overcome his serious writer’s block and reunites with his high school sweetheart. Together they rediscover love and learn that the best music is the music you make together.
Book Title: A Beautiful Story: Jesus & St. Nick by Sarah French Category: Children’s Non-Fiction (ages 3 to 8), 32 pages Genre: Children’s Book Publisher: Sarah French Release date: Sep 2023 Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.
Book Description:
The Christmas season is here, and you once again have to juggle the story of Jesus with good Ole St. Nick…
…but what if you didn’t have to?
This beautifully illustrated bedtime story teaches children the story behind St. Nick and how he was a follower of Jesus too! Children will learn about the birth of Jesus, the importance of giving, and the reason for many of our holiday traditions.
A Beautiful Story: Jesus & St. Nick will quickly become a family favorite. Parents love the values it teaches, and kids love the way it brings the real Christmas story to life! Make this book a Christmas tradition in your household so your kids will grow up understanding why we celebrate Christmas with certain traditions today. And don’t worry! We don’t give away any holiday secrets!
Sarah French is a three-time Emmy Award-winning journalist. She is a broadcast news anchor for the NBC affiliate, WCNC Charlotte.
Sarah joined WCNC from WHDH in Boston, MA. She was the morning anchor there and joined the team in 2011. She was also the host of What’s Cooking, How to Help, and Backstage in Boston. Prior to WHDH, Sarah was the morning anchor at WTIC in Hartford, CT. Sarah began her career as a reporter for KOMU in Columbia, MO.
Sarah brings rich experience covering major world events. She was on the ground covering the Boston Marathon bombing, the destructive aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She holds three prestigious Emmy Awards. She also received the “Speak for Thyself Award” honoring community advocates and non-profit leaders, as well as Boston’s Most Exceptional Women Honoree.
Sarah is an inspirational champion for several notable causes, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She is also an advocate for domestic violence victims. After the tragic death of her friend and colleague, Alice Morrin, Sarah worked tirelessly with Connecticut legislators to pass a 911 texting bill after Alice’s death.
Sarah is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. In 2021, she went back to school and earned her Master of Journalism degree. After covering the Boston Marathon bombing, Sarah decided her research would focus on how to help journalists who cover traumatic events.
Sarah is a member of Cherokee nation. She grew up in Arkansas and lives in Charlotte with her husband and two kids. They also have two dogs, Buddy and Teddy! Sarah is a huge fan of the theater and enjoys spending her free time with family. Sarah also volunteers in the children’s ministry of her church.
Book Title: Starla by Terrilynn Moore and Quade B. Smith Category: YA Fiction (Ages 13-17), 434 pages Genre: Urban Fantasy Publisher: Laurel Elite Books Release date: May 2023 Content Rating: PG + M: Mild profanity and the lead character lives in a mental and verbally abusive household. The theme of living in an unhealthy household and getting help is a theme in the book.
Book Description:
High school is stressful enough without having to save your town from evil incarnate.
But Starla never really had a choice in the matter.
Starla, an aspiring artist, lives an uneasy life with her mom after the sudden loss of her dad. She seeks refuge at the home of her grandmother, Ma Mère, where she feels safe. As a teenager, Starla begins to demonstrate magical abilities. Among them, she discovers her hands glow with purple light and she can understand the squeaks of her pets.
Her new abilities are no surprise to Ma Mère, who reveals a long-hidden family secret of power and magic. Starla’s new abilities have been passed down for generations and were awakened by the shift in power when Hel, an ancient evil being, escaped containment.
Hel and those under its power are determined to gain possession and control over the citizens of East Pine and the magical dimensions concealed there. Starla and her friends refuse to let that happen.
If she hopes to thwart Hel’s insatiable quest for power and regain control over it before East Pine and all of the dimensions of existence are destroyed, Starla will have to trust her instincts and find the courage to harness the ancestral magic she was born to wield.
Terrilynn Moore is a retired police officer who now lives as an artist and storyteller. She expresses her passion through her words and art. The book, Starla, was largely written but not completed until after she reconnected with Quade B Smith after a high school reunion. Quade has prior experience as a co-author of a non-fiction book called, The Bark of the Cony.
Starla is a really interesting story for teen readers. The main theme is about toxic and abusive relationships and finding the help that is needed to escape. Starla is a likeable character and it was interesting seeing what she is capable of as she takes on a new magical power and discovered talents. You have to admire the courage, determination and bravery of Starla and seeing her grow as she finds herself. It is incredibly inspiring. There are plenty of secrets revealed as you go along and there is the usual good vs evil plot. The plot itself is quite unpredictable and you don’t know what is going to happen next.
Starla is a lovely book to read and is well worth reading. There is a good lesson to learn from it. I would recommend it for readers who enjoy reading young adult urban fantasy. Really enjoyable!
Book Details: Book Title: The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel (Between Two Worlds, Book 6)by Evy Journey Category: Adult Fiction 18+, 340 pages Genre: Women’s Literary Fiction Publisher: Evy Journey Release date: April 2, 2023 Content Rating: PG:Some kissing, no bad language, no sex scenes
Book Description: Clarissa, an Asian/Caucasian young woman has lived in seven different countries and has no lasting connection to any place. She thinks it’s time to settle somewhere she could eventually call home. But where?
She decides to live in the city of her birth. There, she joins a quest for the provenance of stolen illuminated manuscripts—a medieval art form that languished with the fifteenth-century invention of the printing press—hoping it would give her the sense of belonging she craves. But will it be enough?
For her, these ancient manuscripts elicit cherished memories of children’s picture books her mother read to her, nourishing a passion for art.
The trail of the manuscripts leads to an American soldier who served in World War II. Clarissa is anxious to know what motivated him to steal and keep the artwork for fifty years. But instead of easy answers, she finds bigger questions.
Immersed in art, but naïve about life, she’s disheartened and disillusioned by the machinations the quest reveals of an esoteric, sometimes unscrupulous art world. What compels individuals to steal artworks, and conquerors to plunder them from the vanquished? Why do collectors buy artworks for hundreds of millions of dollars? Who decides the value of an art piece and how?
The Golden Manuscripts: A Novel is inspired by the actual theft of medieval manuscript illuminations during the second world war.
I am really pleased to be hosting a Book Tour Review for The Lost Diary by Rose Alexander and I would like to thank Bookouture for the opportunity 🙂
Book Description:
A wartime secret. A heartbreaking choice. A promise that cost her everything…
German-occupied territory, 1945. Tearing open the envelope, Katja studies every line and letter on the map. She wills herself to memorise it, copying every detail onto scraps of paper in the flickering candlelight. She’d nearly been caught delivering the letters by the SS that afternoon. Picturing Karl’s handsome face, her chest tightens. They’re in this together. But if she’s caught, what will happen to the baby?
London, present day. Jo is at a crossroads in her own life in her cosy bungalow on the edge of beautiful Hampstead Heath. Clearing out her mother, Katja’s, empty home, Jo’s world is turned upside down when she discovers a small, dog-eared diary stuffed into the back of a tiny kitchen cupboard. And tucked within its pages is a ripped, yellowed envelope with an unfamiliar, faded postmark. As she scans the scrawled handwriting, Jo can scarcely believe her eyes…
What really happened to that tiny baby all those years ago? And will this long-lost diary finally give Jo the answers to everything she’s been searching for?
Based on an incredible true story, The Lost Diary is a gripping and unforgettable tale about forbidden love and family secrets in World War Two. Fans of The Letter, The Nightingale and We Were the Lucky Ones will be utterly swept away.
The Lost Diary explores the experiences of a young woman living in Germany in WWII and that of an English POW. This is a dual timeline story that follows Jo who finds her mother’s diary and from reading it she learns about her mother Katja’s past. Katja lived during WW2 and endured some terrible conditions and difficult times which Jo was totally unaware of.
The novel, based on the author’s family’s experiences moves back and forwards as you follow the stories during WW2 and the present time. You learn about Jo’s parents lives, how they met and everything they had to deal with which was unbelievable and you really have to marvel at their will to survive. These stories were really gripping, moving and sad at times and you did not want to put the book down.
The Lost Diary is an excellent read. Love and forgiveness and the things you do for love are the key to this truly inspiring story. The ending was amazing. If you enjoy books set during WWII, and are based on true events then this book is for you.
My Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author Bio:
Rose Alexander has had more careers than she cares to mention and is currently a secondary school English teacher. She writes in the holidays, weekends and evenings, whenever she has a chance, although with three children, a husband, a lodger and a cat, this isn’t always as often as she’d like. She’s a keen sewist and is on a mission to make all her own clothes.
Diane’s Book Journal 