Book Review & Tour: Enduring Light by Carla Kelly

Enduring Light by Carla Kelly

Publisher:Cedar Fort Publishing

Publish Date: January 8, 2012

Paperback, 392 pages 
Fiction, Historical, Romance
 ISBN: 978-1599559841

My Review:
This is another books, that while I was reading and when I finished, I just thought, "Wow".  The story is poignant, it's beautiful.  It has meaning and love.  It has one of those love that goes past the mushiness and the superficial.  When I think of Paul and Julia, I think of a love for all eternity and a deep and abidinig love that nothing that can stop.  Ms. Kelly crafts this love into this story and does a beautiful job with it, making it believable and so interwoven into the story and into your thoughts as you read it that you can't put it down.

Enduring Light is the second book in the series that started with Borrowed Light which I did not read.  And while I felt slightly lost at the beginning of the book.  I quickly was filled in on what was going on and got  a feel for the characters.  Once I got a feel for the book and characters I could not put the book down.  That is when the story really took on a lilfe of it's own for me.  Ms. Kelly just seems to have a way with a romance novel.  She made the setting, the life of being a cattle rancher's wife and the life of being a Mormon come to life.  And all the while kept me enthralled with the love story and a little bit of suspense on the side as well.

One of the many things I love about this book is even though Paul and Julia are striving to live a live according to the teachings of The Book of Mormon and their spiritual leaders, Ms. Kelly never shys away from the romantic elements of the book.  It's not overt, but you know that Paul and Julia enjoy themselves.  Everything is off the page, but their relationship is very heated and passionate like newlyweds saving themselves for marriage would be and I like that she showed that without being graphic about it.  There is also quite a bit of humor during the book.  I often found myself chuckling out loud while reading at some of the antics of Paul and his workers and even Julia who is no shrinking violet.

That brings me to the characters.  Julia and Paul are just amazing.  Julia is a strong female who loves her husband and wants to do right by him.  Paul is every bit a virile cattle man, but when it comes to Julia, he would do anything to protect her and anything to help her.  They share their secrets, they share their love.  You just have to read it to see.  I promise if you enjoy romances, historical or not, you will enjoy this one.  I must now go back and read Borrowed Light because I want more of these two and I want their back story.

Timeless, heart-stopping romance.  Amazing characters. A plot that will keep you interested from the first page to the last.  An interesting historical backdrop of the old west during the early 1900s all made Enduring Love a winner in my eyes.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0


About the Book:

Julia Darling is finally able to marry Paul Otto for eternity. But it’s a harsh world for a rancher in turn-of-the-century Wyoming, especially a Mormon rancher. When alienation and threats begin, Julia must prove she’s her husband’s equal in strength and endurance as she learns to let go of scars on the outside and inside.

Bestselling author Carla Kelly has woven a new story of a determined rancher, his wife, and how they discover the depths of love.

Book Poster Page



About the Author: 

A newcomer to Cedar Fort, Inc., Carla Kelly is a veteran of the New york and international publishing world. The author of more than thirty novels and novellas for Donald I. Fine Co., Signet, and Harlequin, Carla is the recipient of two rita Awards (think oscars for romance writing) from romance Writers of America and two Spur Awards (think oscars for western fiction) from Western Writers of America.

Recently, she's been writing regency romances (think Pride and Prejudice) set in the royal Navy's Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic Wars between england and France. She comes by her love of the ocean from her childhood as a Navy brat.

Carla's history background makes her no stranger to footnote work, either. During her National Park Service days at the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site, Carla edited Friedrich Kurz's fur trade journal. She recently completed a short history of Fort Buford, where Sitting Bull surrendered in 1881. Following the "dumb luck" principle that has guided their lives, the Kellys recently moved to Wellington, Utah, from North Dakota and couldn't be happier in their new location. In her spare time, Carla volunteers at the railroad and Mining Museum in Helper, Utah. She likes to visit her five children, who live here and there around the United States. Her favorite place in Utah is Manti, located after a drive on the scenic byway through Huntington Canyon.

And why is she so happy these days? Carla looks forward to writing for an LDS audience now, where she feels most at home.

Carla Kelly's Blog

Carla Kelly's Website
Carla Kelly's Facebook

Here's the schedule for the rest of the tour, make sure to check out some of the rest of the stops.

Links to the Publisher:

Blog 

Goodreads

Facebook 

Twitter 

Buy from B&N:

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review. 

Note: I earn commission on purchases from The Book Depository and B&N.com.  Any profits made are used to fund shipping and giveaways on the blog, so any purchases you make are greatly appreciated!

Waiting on Wednesday (11)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
 

I saw this one in Shelf Awareness a week and a half ago and was captivated by the concept and it immediately went on my wishlist!

The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss

Publish Date: 1/17/2012

One enchanting romance. Two lovers keeping secrets. And a uniquely crafted book that binds their stories forever.

When Evelyn Morgan walked into the village bookstore, she didn’t know she would meet the love of her life. When Brendan Thorne handed her a medieval romance, he didn’t know it would change the course of his future. It was almost as if they were the cursed lovers in the old book itself...

The Thorn and the Blossom is a remarkable literary artifact: You can open the book in either direction to decide whether you’ll first read Brendan’s, or Evelyn’s account of the mysterious love affair. Choose a side, read it like a regular novel—and when you get to the end, you’ll find yourself at a whole new beginning.

THEODORA GOSS won the World Fantasy Award in 2008 for her short story “The Singing of Mount Abora” and has been repeatedly showcased in the Year’s Best Fantasy & Horror series. She lives in Boston, where she teaches literature at Boston University. Illustrator SCOTT MCKOWEN lives in Stratford, Ontario

So what are you waiting on this week?

Book Review: Real by Shelley Malcolm

Real by Shelley Malcolm
Photographs by Terilee Dawn Ouimette

Publisher: AuthorHouse

Publish Date: December 16, 2010

Paperback, 156 pages 
Non-fiction
 ISBN: 978-1452056715

My Review:
Real is a great coffee-table type book.  It's one to just leave out and pick up and read a few pages from now and then and look at the beautiful and heartfelt pictures.  Yes they are just pictures of hands, but paired with the stories they become so much more than that.  They become the pictures and stories of people's hopes, dreams, love, search for balance, wisdom, acceptance and so much more. 

Search the table of contents and look for the topic that interests you that day and read a story or just randomly turn to a story and I doubt you will be disappointed.  Most of the stories I read really spoke to me.  I enjoyed the writing set against the pictures of the hands.  I felt this book was an interesting concept that was well-executed and I look forward to exploring more and more of this book in the weeks to come and I hope visitors to my house will also take the time to open and explore and find out what is between the covers of Real.  Maybe they will find the story that will speak to their heart on that day.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

                   

About Real and Shelley Malcolm:

“REAL” is a collection of 60 inspirational stories by Shelley Malcolm, with photos by Terilee Dawn Ouimette. The stories are deeply revealing, while the photos are anonymous, focusing only on each subject’s hands. Subjects range from adolescent to elderly, from former gangster to humble homeless, international refugee to hero-housewife, from pro athlete to Hollywood celebrity. While “Real” is her first published book, Malcolm is no stranger to creative projects, as co-owner and restorer of an historic chapel, La Perla del Mar in Shell Beach, CA, and a set designer for theater and film. Shelley Malcolm was named Pismo Beach’s Citizen of the Year in 2011 for her extensive contributions and involvement in the community. Proceeds from the book will benefit the Alzheimer’s Foundation and other charities. Shelley Malcolm graduated from University of Southern California with a degree in dental hygiene. For more information, please visit http://marthamartha.net or http://shelleymalcolmblog.wordpress.com/ Shelley Malcolm resides in Shell Beach, California with her husband, Doug. 

Shelley has four adult children. Her interests include painting , drawing, sculpting, building, playing piano and other musical instruments, outdoor activities including hiking, ocean kayaking, running, water and snow-skiing, international travel, sewing, reading, writing and others. Visit http://realthebook.blogspot.com/ for more information.

100% OF THE PROCEEDS OF THIS BOOK GO TO FUND SEVERAL CHARITIES.  HERE IS THE LINK TO THEIR SITE: http://realthebook.blogspot.com/.

The notecards they have available for purchase: http://marthamartha.net/shop/shopnotecards.html 

Link to buy the book: http://marthamartha.net/shop/shopbook.html

Link to the Tour Schedule





Real - The Book from David Malcolm on Vimeo.

Book Review: You Against Me by Jenny Downham

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Publisher:David Fickling Books

Publish Date: July 7, 2011

Paperback, 413 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult
 ISBN: 978-1849920483

My Review:
I was captivated when I heard about this book so I grabbed it when it came available through Amazon Vine. 

First off, this deals with some tough subjects.  Mikey's sister claims she was assaulted by Ellie's brother.  Mikey is upset by this and as a man he doesn't know how to handle it.  His sister won't leave the house and it seems like the boy will end up getting off for the crime.  Mikey and his friend decided to take matters into their own hands one night and end up crashing Ellie's brother's welcome home party.  But then Mikey meets Ellie.  And there is where the book begins.

Ellie is trapped in a world she can't seem to get out of.  All of her house seems to revolve around her brother and then all of that comes crashing down when her brother is accused of assault and goes to jail.  Ellie feels imprisoned in her own life until she meets the gatecrasher at her brother's party and then she feels inspired to do things she never wanted to do before.

But it's a Romeo and Juliet type romance and it's doomed from the start, or is it?  There are so many complexities in this book and Ms. Downham works through them in amazing ways.  It took me a little bit to get into the book, but once I got use to the British terminology and the beginning of the story worked itself out, I was entranced and found myself unable to put the book down.  I needed to know what would happen to Mikey and Ellie and their families next.  Te book puts you through the ringer, but  in a good way.  It deals with heavy subjects, makes you think, but all the time makes you believe in love, or at least hope.

I like the hope of the novel, yes it's heavy, yes it's sad in parts, but there is hope throughout.  To me this is a must-read.  It's a great contemporary and I'm glad I read it.  Give it a try, it just might be the book you've been looking for.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Parental guidance: Some language and sexual references and some sex that takes place mostly off page.  This book deals with mature subjects, so I suggest it for ages 15+. 

About the Book:
If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.

About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Jenny Downham (born 1964) is a British novelist and an ex-actor. She has published one book, Before I Die, the fictional account of the last few months of a sixteen-year-old girl who has been dying of leukemia for 4 years. The book is told in the first person. The book was acclaimed and was short-listed for the 2007 Guardian Award and the 2008 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year, nominated for the 2008 Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and won the 2008 Branford Boase Award.

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FTC Information: I received this book from the Amazon Vine program for an honest review.  I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.

In My Mailbox (12)

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. To see this weeks list of participants go here.

I've been lax over the last three weeks, so know that this is three weeks of Mailbox Monday.  Thanks to the great authors, publishers and publicists who sent me these books.

For Review:






Netgalley:





Wins:





What did you get in your mailbox this week?