Cheryl's Book Nook

  Edna and Leo, a perpetually warring, tyrannical pair in their 80s, begin wintering In Mexico, where they abandon their usual prudence to embrace adventure and a bevy of sketchy new friends. Soon, Edna adopts a pair of shyster builders whom she trusts over her own architect-daughter Elizabeth, and a farcical house results. Blithely indifferent to the calamities that result, the pair refuse all help from their too-compliant only child. Later, following her mother’s sudden death, Elizabeth’s wise, principled father attempts to fill his late wife’s shoes with a string of loopy, live-in housekeepers―with privileges, he hopes. Before it is over the Mexican escapade will bring down the kind of disasters commonly found in pulp fiction. Why can’t Elizabeth stop any of this from happening? No matter the madness, she cannot confront her parents any more than she ever could. In the end, the surprising way in which they come undone reveals just what they spent their lives trying to hide, thereby

STATUS-6 by W. Craig Reed May 1 - 31, 2021 Tour Synopsis: Deep beneath the Arctic Ocean, a covert team of Chinese operatives uses stolen U.S. technology to capture Russia’s newest attack submarine. Loaded with 100-megaton nuclear torpedoes, the sub is headed west. The Americans want to sink her, the Russians want her back, and the Chinese claim they’re not responsible. NCIS agent Jon Shay is a former SEAL Team Two operator. Still shattered by the murder of his wife a year earlier, he places the barrel of a revolver against his temple, spins the cylinder, and squeezes the trigger. He hears only a click—and the chime of his phone. Activated for a mission in the Arctic, Jon pairs with British scientist Kate Barrett to battle a ticking clock, trained operatives, and top government officials. Together, they must find and stop the world’s most lethal submarine. The stakes are raised when they learn that the Russian sub is controlled by an infected AI system bent on complet

  Ever wonder why some people are magnetic, confident in their abilities, in charge of their own destinies, and utterly at ease in their own skin? What’s their secret? In a word: Swagger. And no, this is not the old swagger―that show-off, in-your-face, arrogant kind. This brand-new swagger is unshakable, undeniable and utterly unstoppable. And you can have it too. Award-winning training guru and coach Leslie Ehm shows that true swagger results from your ability to manifest who you really are and hold on to it in the face of all the psychological crap that will come for it every day. Part guidebook, part manifesto, a little sweary and completely inspiring, Swagger gives you the steps to unlock and unleash your personal brand of swagger―one that can never be duplicated or diminished. And you’ll read stories of the countless people Leslie’s worked with who’ve discovered their own swagger and changed their lives for the better. Forget everything you think you know about confidence-building

  Grace It doesn’t have to be a bestseller. It doesn’t have to be something no one has ever read! So why am I making this so damn difficult? I need to focus. To push past the writer’s block, the fear, the taunting rejection that they’ll all think this new book of mine sucks a big dick! Am I allowed to say that? Screw it, because I just did, and it totally does, at least in my mind. I don’t need distractions! Especially mouth-watering, panty-dropping, dirty talking, self-gratifying distractions. Distractions that cause my breath to catch, my thighs to clench, my center to quickly dampen, and my brain to scream only two self-gratifying words. Yes fucking please! OK, that was three! Never mind the fact that he’s my new boss. Forget the idea that he corners me into a fake engagement - the first day we meet! Ignore the obvious evidence that I can’t, for the life of me, stay away from Brettly Beckett! And what’s more, I don’t want to! And he doesn’t make it easy! No, my lucky readers, he’s n

  Overworked and underappreciated Emily Esposito thinks wrestling her young son Dante into his Halloween costume is her biggest worry—until her husband shows up with his new girlfriend and tells her their marriage is over. Emily’s waitressing job is suddenly in jeopardy when the diner is put on the market, and she anxiously wonders how she will pay her half of the mortgage. If that’s not enough, the dates she tentatively embarks on don’t turn out quite as well as she expected, and the support she seeks from her mother is met with acute disapproval. Emily resolves to put three-year-old Dante first. Her sister Clara and best friend Michelle are her greatest cheerleaders while she works desperately to carve out a sunnier future for herself and her son. In her heart, Emily never stops dreaming of a man to grow old with and a true love to call her own. My Review This was such a sweet and enjoyable read. I loved (well most) of the characters in this book. There were a few that I was not a fa

  Los Angeles – May 2021 - Imagine keeping a family secret about your mother’s mental illness and growing up as one of the offspring charged with “caring for crazy.” Then, to compound the horror, witnessing another version of schizophrenia as it consumes your younger sister – who you practically raised yourself, thanks to your mother’s frailty. To see Paolina Milana as an example of resilience might be the understatement of all time.  As a 20-year-old, Paolina gets a chance to escape her circumstances by attending an out-of-state school, but the madness she tries to leave behind will not let her be as letter after letter arrives, constantly reminding her of the insanity from which she longs to break free. Making matters worse, the voices in her own head whispering words she’s not sure are normal, further her fears. “Please don’t make me be like Mamma,” she prays to a God she’s not sure is listening. The unexpected death of her father soon after she returns home leaves Paolina in shock—