THE LION IN THE LIVING ROOM by Abigail Tucker

 

Publisher:    Simon and Schuster

Published:   October 18, 2016

ISBN:        B01CO34KU6

Genre:       Non-fiction

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher via Edelweiss

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

 

I’m a cat person and myself am on the staff of three cats.  Pretty much all my adult life I’ve had cats. Several chose me by showing up in my yard and refusing to leave.  Two, ironically both orange tabbies came to live with me because their people, two people very close to me, died.  I tend to pick up books, either fiction or non-fiction, if they feature cats but it can’t hurt to learn more about these adorable, my way or the highway creatures.  Needless to say, when I saw Tucker’s book I had to option it for review.  She did not disappoint. 

Tucker offers readers chapters dedicated to various aspects of cat history and their lives.  She goes back to the earliest records of cats and details her own journeys to look at various skeletons from ancient times.  There are humorous aspects, sad aspects and a few that left me angry despite the fact that they happened decades ago.  Some aspects I disagree with, such as what comes across as saying all cats would prefer to be the only child in the family.  In my own household, that has never been true – at least two always pair up and siblings do well together.

I enjoyed the chapter entitled Nine Lives most of all because it talks about modern cats and where they fit in our lives today. 

Non-cat people probably will not enjoy this one—unless they are trying to understand their cat-owning friends.  For cat owners it can be a quick or enjoy over time read. Chapters do not have to be read in order to enjoy the book.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

APOCALYPSE BY DEAN CRAWFORD

Publisher:     Simon and Schuster

Published:     November 8, 2012

ISBN:        978-0857204752

Genre:       Speculative Fiction

Format:     Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher via Edelweiss

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FOUR HEARTS

Not exactly their dream job, bounty hunters Nathan Warner and Nicola Lopez do their best to get by.  At times they find themselves skirting the law, but they do get their man.  And sometimes someone gets them.

Dean Jarvis comes from the shadow world of the Defense Intelligence Agency.  Operating on a need-to-know basis Jarvis has a job that experience and a mysterious message from a wanted man have assured him only Nathan and Lopez can solve.  After all, when the killer himself leaves cryptic messages for Nathan, who else would you call?  Adding to the mix is the disappearance of a plane full of returning scientists – from the Bermuda Triangle.  The race is on to find the killer before they run out of time.

I saw the blurb for Dean Crawford’s Apocalypse which included two subjects I can’t resist – time travel and the Bermuda Triangle, I had to read it.  Crawford did not disappoint.  It’s not exactly a time travel—in fact Nathan and Lopez do not engage in any time travel at all.  But they are caught in a web where the past and the future collide—and not necessarily in the present.  That’s not as confusing as it may sound.  In a well-developed story, full of non-stop action, duo chase a would be killer using knowledge gleaned from Einstein and company’s experiments from WWII.  There were a few “Lifetime” movie moments I could have done without and I didn’t care for the “cliffhanger” at the very end, but the overall read was a page turner. 

APOCALYPSE is apparently the third book in Crawford’s series.  I’m normally a sticker for reading an entire series in order just so I have the full backstory on the characters as well as enjoying seeing how the author develops them over time.  In this case, there was just enough back story to catch a reader up on the characters, but overall the book is a complete in itself standalone—even with the cheesy “cliff hanger” at the end.  (Those dangling parts of a new story leave me feeling like the author is trying to lure you into buying another book by not finishing the original story and I don’t much care for it.)  I will be going back to read the first two in this series—as well as checking out a few of Crawford’s other reads simply because I really enjoyed this one. 

You do not have to be a fan of speculative fiction or “other” normal subjects to enjoy this one.  All you need is to be read for some non-stop action and some breath holding moments while Nathan and Lopez get themselves out of some touchy situations.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

VALLEY OF DECISION by Lynne Gentry

Publisher:     Simon & Schuster

Published:     September 22, 2015

ISBN:       978-1476746418

Genre:      Time Travel, Historical Romance

Format:    Paperback (ARC)

Obtained via:  Publisher

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FOUR HEARTS

 

Almost twenty years ago Lisbeth Hastings fell through a well while on an African archaeological dig.  On the other side she met, and married the chief lawyer of ancient Carthage, Cyprian Thascius.  This was at the time of the early Christian church and embracing his new found faith Cyprian made the decision to send Lisbeth home—to the present day.  There she gave birth to a daughter—Maggie—named after Lisbeth’s mother who also, many years before, journeyed through the same cave of swimmers. 

Once, because Maggie asked her over and over for her father, Lisbeth tried to reunite her family but the effort failed.  Returning to the present she did her best to make a life for her father and her daughter.  But she never stopped loving Cyprian. 

Nor did Maggie cease to want her father—her family to be together.  Now, as a headstrong 18 year old, Maggie has decided she will save her father’s life and bring him and her grandmother to the future.  Maggie no sooner makes her way through the Cave of Swimmers than Lisbeth learns what she has done.  Along with her father, Maggie’s grandfather, they make their way back to ancient Carthage. 

There they find that only a day has passed since they left, but the disease that was destroying the city is even worse.  More horrifying though is that Lisbeth’s mother has been accused of killing the proconsul. Now the need for rescue is even more necessary.  But Rome will mete out its own brand of justice.  Can Lisbeth and Maggie save their family before Rome destroys all?

I’m a huge fan of time travel, but it romance or speculative fiction.  I love it when an author devises a unique and believable vehicle for the characters to travel through time and Lynne Gentry accomplished this with a fantastic twist.  When I read the chapter where Maggie realizes how the journey back in time actually began I had to read it twice because it was so well done.  I had to sit with it while I considered the ramifications of one child’s actions and how it impacted a generation – and it was utterly believable.

Because book 1 (Healer of Carthage) was had strong romantic elements and book 2 (Return to Exile) had moderate romance I anticipated a happy, romantic ending to this trilogy.  We cannot always get what we want. 

Gentry captures the machinations we read in history of Rome, the class struggles as well as the abuses levied on the early church.  I wanted a different ending and was a little disappointed at the one we got, but that is a personal reaction rather than a commentary on a well told story.

Each book in the series is a stand-alone – and you do not necessarily have to read all three.  If you do though, it is a series that is best read in order.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

 

The Mindful Diet: How to Transform Your Relationship with Food for Lasting Weight Loss and Vibrant Health by Ruth Wolever PhD, RD, LDN, Beth Reardon MS, and Tania Hannan

Publisher:    Simon and Schuster

Published:   April 7, 2015

ISBN:  B00LD1S2VE

Genre:   Non-fiction, Health

Format:  Ebook

Obtained via:  Publisher via Netgalley

Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina Gina@loveromancesandmorereviews.com

THREE-1/2 HEARTS

Drawing on a blend of scientific research and a combination meditation exercises, behavioral techniques, and nutrition advice, the authors bring a refreshing approach to weight loss.  They do not offer a step by step diet ruled by eating different foods, but give insights into how different aspects of mindfulness can help us shed unwanted weight and live an all-around more balanced life.  There is no hand slapping or didactic instruction where the reader is told what he or she is doing wrong.  Rather the MINDFUL DIET offers constructive concepts the reader can enact on their own or with supportive friends and family. 

The chapters are laid out in a make-sense approach of data on why we overeat and ways of building a foundation to eat better and maintain a healthier lifestyle.  Each chapter has an anecdotal story of someone the authors have worked with.  The book can be read on a basic level to obtain some workable ideas or used as a guide to change and then maintain a healthier lifestyle.  You will need a journal and time to not only do the exercises, but to take care of you.  Checklists are included in a number of chapters to give those that need it some structure in their approach to mindfulness. 

The MINDFUL DIET is not a quick fix to lose weight, but an integrated method of moving to a healthier relationship to food.

This is an objective review and an endorsement of this book.