Cheryl's Book Nook

Fourteen year old, Flora Enriquez and her brothers and sisters flee their home in Central America for the U.S. Their parents were killed during the raid on their village. Flora is not the oldest as her brother, Willie at sixteen is. Though, Flora’s drive and determination makes her way more mature for her age. She consumes the leadership role for her brothers and sisters. Flora and her two brothers cross the border, only to have the authorities arrest Willie and Rubio. Flora escapes unnoticed. Flora meets up with a nice family and is hired to take care of their son. She convinces the family to pay for her schooling as she plans to become a teacher. One day, Flora meets a man by the name of Monte Erickson. She and Monte get married. Just when it seems things are looking up for Flora, bad things happen. Monte’s drug dealing brother, Roy comes looking for Monte. Flora ends up getting shot and Monte leaves her for dead. Will Flora survive or is The Cost of Dreams too high? Gary Stelzer has...

Suzan Colon went from having take out food whenever she wanted to being laid off and having to pinch every penny she could. Suzan comes upon her grandmother’s old recipe book, filled with tons of delicious foods. Most of the recipes were written my hand. The cook book features recipes like Suzan’s Great-Great-Grandmother Matilde’s Baked Pork Chops with Sauerkraut, Chicken Pie a la Mississippi, Butter Cookies, and Nana’s Lemon Meringue Pie to name a few. Suzan decides that it is time to take a few tips from her grandmother and mother and start learning to cook her own meals. Suzan and her mother journey back in time to 1913. Back to New York; where Suzan’s mother and her family were living. Suzan’s grandmother loved to cook. She even submitted some of her recipes to magazines. Some of them got published. After reminiscing with her mother, Suzan realizes that she is going to be fine. Cherries in Winter is as good as a warm homemade meal. This book fills you up and makes you want more. T...

Kane Silver grew up being a military brat. His father was Colonel Silver. Colonel Silver was Special Forces. Kane grew up with discipline and a never give up attitude. Kane found and married the perfect woman. She completed him. Kan e was at the store picking up some items, when he got a feeling that something bad about to happen. He rushes home, only to find his wife murdered. The men who did it were just pulling away. Kane takes pursuit. Emotions take over Kane and he takes matters into his own hands. He ends up in prison for his actions. Warden Quentin Bane loves to watch the fights but what he really enjoys is betting on them and winning. Warden doesn’t want to lose. So he decides to groom some of the best fighters he has in is prison. Kane is one of them. The other two are Si’Ling Lee and Valentino Lopez. Something happens and Kane, Si’Ling, and Valentino escape. They end up saving Warden Bane’s life but will Warden Bane send them back to their deaths? I actually really liked this...

Then check out the latest release from Sherrilyn Kenyon. Also you have got to see the book trailer for this book. Link to Official Sherrilyn Kenyon Sites: http://www.livetheleague.com/ http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/ http://www.officialsanctuary.com/

Widowed father, Seth Webster is finding life very difficult raising two twin six year old boys by the names of Judd and Jason. His latest housekeeper, Mrs. Hampton tells Seth that he doesn’t need a housekeeper but a miracle and quits. It has been a week since Mrs. Hampton quit. Seth is desperate. He has called the agency about every day trying to get a replacement. They tell him that no one is available. Someone knocks on the door. Standing on the front porch is a grandma type woman. Her name is Mrs. Merkle. She tells Seth she is from the agency. Reba Maxwell is in charge of the Christmas program this year. She never expected to fall for someone till she spotted Seth. Could this be the year that Judd and Jason get a new mommy? I typically stray from holiday novels. Don’t really know why. I think it is just because the few I remember reading weren’t that good and ever since then I have not read another one till now. I absolutely loved everything about this book, from the characters, sto...

The year is 1930. Mary will never forget the day her extraordinary son, Jack was born. She and her husband, Jerry Sinclair were driving to the hospital to deliver the baby. The roads were slick as it was raining. Jerry lost control of the car. It went off the road and into a lake. Mary ends up giving birth to Jack in the lake. Jack was born completely deaf. He can’t even read lips. Ever since that day, Jerry has become cold and selfish. Mary packs up Jack and they run away. Mary discovers that Jack is very special and has a unique gift. One that utilizes the word of God. Jerry wants his family back. So he goes in search of them and won’t give up till he has found Mary and Jack. I absolutely loved every moment of this book. I had my eyes glued to the pages and a hard grip on the book. Mary and Jack had me from the first chapter. I loved that Mary didn’t just give up, when the times got tough. She fought for her and her son. The best part was that Mary never saw Jack as being a hindrance...

The year is 1967. Shepherdsville, Minnesota is where Frank McRae and his family lived. The war in Viet Nam is about to cause a huge rift between Frank and his son, Mike. Mike goes off to war. Back home, Frank has a lot on his mind with worrying about his son and caring for his wife, Maggie. Maggie is fighting her own war. She has cancer. She puts her trust in God. Mike falls in love with a Vietnamese woman named Thi Nhuong. When Mike’s father learns that he is married, he goes into a rage. As if marrying a Vietnamese was bad enough, Thi Nhuong is also a Buddhist. Frank has a big issue with Mike marrying Thi Nhuong. Frank still holds a grudge against the Japanese, from back when he fought in the south Pacific during WWII. Frank receives an upheaval when both Maggie and Mike die. Can Frank forgive and forget when Thi Nhuong shows up at his door step…pregnant. I really liked this book. I almost finished it in one sitting. The characters were engaging and interesting. I felt bad for Frank....

Women beware…There is a serial killer on the loose. So far three women have gone missing. There is the aspiring artist, high school senior and the stripper. The authorities have a suspect on their radar. The issue is that this person is suppose to be dead. His name is Craig Thornton. He and his fiancé, Adrianna were to be married but a drunk driver crashed into them, causing Adrianna to lose her baby and sending Craig into a coma that he never woke up from. Now someone is leaving Adrianna a written message. It is signed by Craig. Detective Gage Hudson latest case brings him to the doorstep of his former lover…Adrianna. He and Adrianna used to be a hot item. Detective Gage doesn’t believe Craig is alive but current evidence does have him starting to wonder. Gage will do anything to protect Adrianna, even if it means sacrificing his life. Dying Scream is the third book I have read by this author. While I have enjoyed every book of Mary Burton’s thus far, I didn’t quite like this one as m...

Abby has just lost her best friend, Kristen. It has been sixty-eight days since Kristen went missing. Rumors are swirling that Kristen killed herself. Abby doesn’t believe that. In fact, she still believes that Kristin is alive somewhere. Her parents are holding a funeral. Have you ever attended a funeral with no body? It is so weird. Abby escapes down into the basement of Kristin’s house. When Kristin and Abby were little, they used to play down in the basement. They would pretend that there was a magical castle in the basement. To Abby’s surprise, she is not alone. A boy by the name of Caspian is also hiding in the basement. There is something different about Caspian. What could he possibly be hiding? Also, can Abby handle the truth about Kristen’s secret life? Jessica Verday gives the tale of Sleepy Hollow, her own unique twist. I thought The Hollow was a good young adult novel. I did get into this book and the characters. I knew there was something different about Caspian but I did...

In Over Her Head, readers were introduced to Reel Tritone. Well in Judi Fennell’s latest release, readers are again brought back to the magical underwater of mermen and mermaids. This time it is Rod Tritone’s story. Rod’s father is set to retire soon. When this happens, Rod will become the new Mer-King. Unfortunately there is one problem…the council has rules that Rod has to marry. Besides we call now that you can’t rule without a Queen by your side. Rod goes in search for his wife. He trades his fin for a pair of land legs. Valerie Dumere was born from a merman as a father and a human for a mother. This doesn’t matter as Valerie is afraid of the sea. This is a problem when she is slated to become toe new Queen under the sea. When Rod shows up at Valerie’s door, he can’t deny an attraction he feels towards Valerie. Rod doesn’t have much time to convince Valerie that she belongs with him. I like this series. As soon as I start reading, I am instantly transported to the sea. It is almost...

The year is 1944 in Germany. The Gestapo has recovered from the attempt on Hitler. Joseph Engel is a German physicist. He has been tasked with the role of working on an atomic bomb. Joseph receives a shock. He learns that he was adopted and is really a Jew. Joseph decides to stop working on the bomb and flee Germany for safety to Switzerland. Gabi Mueller is a Swiss-American. She works for the American Office of Strategic Services. If you asked Gabi what she thought of the war, she may not have much to say. She didn’t pay too much concern, till she was tasked with a important mission. She is asked to escort Mr. Engel out of Germany. This mission will not be a easy one. It will call on all of the strength Gabi can muster. I have to admit that I was thoroughly amazed at how much I did enjoy this book. The characters were very well-developed. I wasn’t sure that Gabi could handle the task at hand as she was soft spoken. She surprised me in a good way. Kudos goes out to Joseph. Even after l...

Settling on Settings by Susan Berliner, author of DUST http://www.susanberliner.com/ Since I write realistic (or urban) fantasies, each of my books contains just one supernatural element. But the novels are set firmly in the real world. I locate them in the northeast because that's the region I'm most familiar with. Since I don't want to be locked into factual details, I make my towns mythical places (but not fantasy worlds inhabited by strange creatures, where everything differs from the norm. No vampires, werewolves, or witches in my landscape). For the setting of DUST, I decided to choose a "Haven" name, figuring it would sound plausible because Connecticut already has so many of them—New Haven, East Haven, West Haven, and North Haven. That's how I came up with "Rock Haven." Even though the town of Rock Haven doesn't exist, it's still a typical northeastern suburb. The condo inhabitants are people we all know; their situations are recogniz...

The year is 1926 in Sussex. Kitty Allen was reading the newspaper when she spotted a wanted ad. The ad said…Wanted – Good plain cook to perform domestic duties for artistic household. Room and board included. Broad outlook essential. Kitty has been pondering whether to respond to the ad for several days. She decides to respond. Kitty wasn’t sure what to expect but I can tell you it wasn’t Ellen Steinberg and her daughter, Geenie. Greenie runs around putting holes in walls and pretty much doing whatever she wants. I don’t know what perceived thoughts Londoners have about Americans but if they met Ellen, it would be that we are all crazy. Ellen is eccentric and not just a little. One of her favorite past times is to sun bath in the nude. Ellen’s lover, George Crane is a poet. He loves Ellen but he gets embarrassed easily by Ellen and her antics. Bethan Roberts is a new author to me. I absolutely fell in love with this book. The character that really held a place in my heart wasn’t Kitty ...

Poppy Dunbar is about to get married. She and her friends got out for a ladies night. Poppy tumbles down some stairs and lands practically at the feet of a handsome stranger. His name is Tom. Tom and Poppy feel an instant connection. Tom invites Poppy to meet him at a café. Poppy doesn’t hook up with Tom. Meeting Tom did teach Poppy one thing…that the guy she is about to marry is not for her. She calls off the wedding and moves to London. Poppy has a shocking discovery, involving her family. Poppy moves in with a woman, who she met while catering a party at. Claudia and Poppy don’t hit things off at first. Their other flat mate, Caspar is a brooding type. Poppy lands a job at an antique shop. Her boss Jake tolerates her. Poppy is moving on with her new life. There is just one problem…she still thinks about Tom and what may have been. What happens when Tom and Poppy are given a second chance…it is called Perfect Timing. Author, Jill Mansell does it again with her latest release, Perfect...

Karen McKay lived a nice, quiet life. She has a place in the Rock Haven condos. Most of her neighbors keep to themselves. Karen was unloading groceries when a mysterious dust cloud appears. This dust cloud is not your typical cloud of dust. No this dust comes in the colors of red, green and blue. The dust picks up a collectable of Karen’s and it violently crashes to the floor, shattering in a bunch of little pieces. Karen thinks nothing of the incident…till later that night; she hears one of her neighbor’s dog barking. Karen goes to investigate. She finds her neighbor, Marion lying at the bottom of the stairs…dead. Karen calls her ex-husband, Jerry for help. Soon, other accidental incidents start happening to the other residents of Rock Haven. No one can figure out what is causing all these accidents. The only thing that ties them together is the mysterious dust. Can Karen and Jerry figure out what dust wants before it takes them out for good. I thought the concept for this book was di...

Colonel Trash Truck is a fun educational book. This book is geared more towards young children age’s three to six. This book teaches children that it is important to recycle and pick up trash versus littering. The loveable hero in this book is a large, green trash truck named…Colonel Trash Truck. This book is written with simple and easy words. Plus I like that the words are printed in big size. This is nice because when I read with my nephews, they can see and read the words with me. The illustrations were great. They had lots of color. In addition to being fun. I thought that the pictures on the page coordinated well with the story and what was on the page at that moment. If you want to teach your kids how to recycle, then check out Colonel Trash Truck. I am giving away one copy of this book to one of my followers. Open to US and Canada only. Contest ends November 30th.

Slade Luckadeau is the man of the ranch. He likes it that way. He will not see some woman come waltzing in and make herself at home. Slade doesn’t care if his grandmother invited her to work at the ranch. Slade believes that Jane Day is hiding something and he doesn’t like it. Slade can’t get Jane off the property fast enough. Jane Day is on the run for her life. She has no where to go but forward. Just her luck, a nice lady invites Jane to come to the ranch. She can stay in exchange for helping out. From the first moment, Jane and Slade met, they did not hit things off. As time passes, Jane starts to get under Slade’s skin. Will Jane and Slade be a match made in heaven or hell? I liked this book. So far though, Lucky in Love is my favorite. One thing I do have to admit is that all of the Luckadeau men are H-O-T! The chemistry that Slade and Jane started out slow but once it got up to speed…watch out. I like Jane. She is a firecracker. Slade definitely needs someone like Jane to keep h...

Far, far away is a magical place called Mythos. There lives a king by the name of Mornak. He is also the most powerful wizard. Many years ago, Mythos started getting run over by robbers, murders and thieves. Mornak had an obligation to his people to keep them safe. So he had a huge building built. It is called the Hall of Shadows. It resides in Darkwood or Shadow Wood. The Hall is a prison to keep all the evil. Things have been peaceful since the construction of the Hall. Flash forward to the present. Something strange is happening in Shadow Wood. Mornak sensing that something horrible is about to happen, instructs his daughter, Dara to safe guard a scroll. Her father tells her that if he does not return that Dara is to open the scroll and read the writing on it. Something does happen and Dara calls upon the scroll. What happens next has Dara running for her life from the evil, Shadow Lord. Luckily, Dara won’t be alone. She is joined by a various group of interesting characters like ...

The book I chose to review as part of this Green campaign was Clean Cures:The Humble Art of Zen-Curing Yourself. This book was printed using 100% (post-and pre-consumer) recycled paper and vegetable based inks. No new trees were used. This review is part of the Green Books campaign . Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website . My review: Clean Cures: The Humble Art of Zen-Curing Yourself is a very resourceful book to keep on hand. It is filled with lots and lots of helpful tips on how to cure sinus headache...

This logo was designed courtesy of Susan Newman Green Books campaign: 1 Day, 100 bloggers, 100 green books, 100 reviews On Tuesday, November 10 2009 , 100 bloggers , who review books on regular basis, will simultaneously publish their book review of a "green" book of their choice. This unique campaign, organized by Eco-Libris ( www.ecolibris.net ), aims to encourage both publishers and readers to get greener and make sure books are printed responsibly . In times when global warming and environmental issues are receiving growing public attention, book lovers are not indifferent either. On Tuesday, November 10, 2009 , at 1:00 PM Eastern Time 100 bloggers will take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 100 such books. Organized by Eco-Libris, this campaign is aiming to promote “green” books by reviewing 100 books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper. “Although there's so much hype around e-books, books...

MORE THAN ROMANCE I always like to describe myself as a writer of love stories rather than as a writer of romance. The two terms may appear to be more or less synonymous, but I see a definite distinction between them. I believe that love is far more powerful than romance and that we can sell ourselves short as writers if we are content to write romances at the expense of telling true love stories. A great deal, of course, depends upon how those two words are defined.Romance is that wonderful aura that surrounds a couple as they meet (even if they initially feel hostility to each other) and interact and fall in love and finally commit themselves to a life together. It's the growing sense of rightness we feel about the relationship, and the joy we get out of watching the irresistible attraction these two people feel for each other on the journey to their happy ending. It's a powerful reason for reading any book, and when it's well done it can pull us in and leave us thoroughl...

Phoebe Dowling and her mother have just moved to Manhattan. She came from LA. Phoebe is used to being around privileged, rich kids but nothing like the ones at her new school, Chadwick. Nicholas “Nick” Bell comes from money. His parents are always reminding him that there is a certain image he has to maintain. Nick doesn’t care about that. He is actually bored of hanging with the rich kids. In fact he throws parties just so he has something to do, which in turns makes everything thing he is the ultimate party boy. His best friend is Patch. Unlike Nick, Patch doesn’t come from money. Lauren Mortimer is known at Chadwick’s as the meanest girl in school. So when Lauren shows a true interest in being friends with Phoebe, she is shocked. While attending one of Nick’s parties, Phoebe, Lauren and Nick all receive text messages. All the messages have is a location. The message says enough. Lauren and Nick know exactly what the message meanings...They have all been selected to join an exclusive...

The Art of Over Eating is a laugh out loud book to be enjoyed. The advice in this book is not meant to be taken serious. Leslie Landis, MFT pokes fun at America and our obsession with food and dieting. She makes comments like if you are planning on taking a doggie bag then you better either eat it as a snack on the way home or as soon as you get home. Or when you are invited as a dinner guest, you should offer to wash the dishes by licking them off. This is so that you can still enjoy the last bits of the delicious meal. If you get caught, Leslie has you covered. Just tell the person that you believe in saving water. This way people will think you are environmentally conscience. This book has more funny tips like this. As well as lots of colorful pictures that will have you wanting to show other people. Don’t think that this book isn’t just about what not to do. This book is also informative. There are some interesting food facts that I didn’t know about. The Art of Over Eating is pack...

When Mitchell is released from prison after serving three years for a vicious attack he doesn’t even remember, Billy Norton is there to pick him up. But Norton works for Tommy Logan, a ruthless loan shark lowlife with plans Mitchell wants nothing to do with. Attempting to stay out of Logan ’s way, he finds work at the Holland Park mansion of faded movie actress, Lillian Palmer, where he has to deal with her mysterious butler, Jordan. It isn’t long before Mitchell’s violent past catches up with him and people start getting hurt. When his disturbed sister Briony is threatened, Mitchell is forced to act. LONDON BOULEVARD will soon be a major motion picture starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley, with the directorial debut of William Monahan, the Oscar-winning writer for Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed.”

I thought that this was a fun children’s book to read. The lines on the pages were not too long but just right. The pictures in the book were filled with lots of vivid colors. Plus the pictures matched what was being read on that certain page. The rhyming was also a delight. It almost made me want to sing this book out versus reading it. Moonbeam Dreams shows children that it is ok to have dreams. You can dream about anything you want to do or be. I would say this book is perfect for children ages 3 to 7. Courtesy of Cheryl with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I am giving away 1 copy of this book. Must be a follower and open to US and Canada only. Just leave a comment to enter. Contest ends November 16th.

I am pleased to have the dynamic duo of Angelica and Zi back again. MARS MIGHT BE TOO CLOSE TO VENUS Angelica Hart and Zi are writers published by Champagne Books. While writing KILLER DOLLS, we wanted the characters to have depth, a sense of non-conformity yet remain within the distinctive ranks of their gender. We did not wish to misled or lie about what makes them who they are, holding in mind certain humanistic qualities. Being a male and female writing team gave us an advantage. One of us would often tell the other, "A man/woman would not act that way." Once, for the fun of it and to wade into the truth of the yin and yang of the gender diversities, we waded through a list, with a bit of help from Google of ten things that differ between a man and a woman. · Ask a woman how she stubbed her toe and she'll say she walked into a chair, ask a man and he'll say someone left a chair in the middle of the room. (This is our male character, Rich Longar f...

My review: Jerramy Fine grew up believing in her heart that she was a princess and bound to marry Peter Mark Andrew Phillips. Peter is one of the grandsons of the Queen of England. Jerramy always believed that she was somehow switched at birth. I mean, what princess would want to live with a family who farmed, wore second hand clothing and expected her to deal. Jerramy couldn’t wait till the day came when the royal family would realize she was missing. As Jerramy grew up; she was plotting how to make her way to England, especially hoping to catch the eye of Peter, her love. Jerramy begs her family to send her away to boarding school. This is uncommon, when most girls her age would not want to be sent away. Will Jerramy and Peter have a happy ending? I had such a fun time reading this book. Jerramy’s accounts of her growing up with a hippie family in the middle of no where’s ville was hilarious. Even at such a young age, Jerramy knew exactly what she wanted and she was not afraid to ...

The Handy Answer Book for Kids (and Parents) is a fun and educational book. For anyone who has had a kid, been a kid or have any grandchildren then you should check this book out. This book features about eight hundred questions that children ask and answers like…When did the dinosaurs live, What are carnivorous plants, How long is a year, What is a food bank. These are just a sample of some of the many questions featured in this book. This book is broken out into different topics. The topics are …Outer Space; Planet Earth and Our Moon; Creatures Big and Small; Plant Life; People Around the World; Politics and Government; How Things Work; Math; Measurement and Time; All about My Body and Daily Life. This book will keep both you and your kids entertained for hours. I really liked the vivid, colorful pictures in this book as well as the simple to read and understand answers to the questions. You got to check this book out.