Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
“I’m awake! I’m awake!” harketh Her Momness.
“With your eyes closed? Snoring to beat the band?” says I, Kimber the Magnificent. Well, can’t say I blame Mom. Cuz this short story collection is the next best thing to Sominex. Here’s why:
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
Every once in a while we come across a book that’s so hauntingly beautiful and powerfully poignant, it takes our breath away.
If You Knew… is one of those books.
When their four-year-old son Gabriel’s leukemia relapses, Richard and his wife, Joycelene, are thrust back into the nightmare they thought they had escaped. Every heartbeat feels like a countdown as they beg for a miracle to keep their child alive.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in time, Bill — a young university student reeling from heartbreak — suddenly glimpses a future that shouldn’t be his to see. Horrified by the suffering that seems to await, he vows to defy it at all costs.
As both men confront what they most fear, their stories converge into a haunting clash of destiny, courage, and life-altering choices. Will the actions they take be enough to rewrite fate, or are some destinies impossible to escape? Can one really “cross the boundary of time” and stand in his or her own future?
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
“Mm! Mm! Good!” spake I, Kimber the Magnificent whilst smacking my lips as noisily as possible.
“Whaddya mean, Kimster?” says Her Royal Momness.
“It’s this new book we read recently. You know. That coming-of-age tale set in the South. As in, Mm! Mm! Good!”
Mom: “Hate to break it to you, Kimmi. But ‘Mm! Mm! Good’ is Campbell’s Soup. Dontcha mean ‘Finger lickin’ good?’
Kimber: “You eat what you want, and I’ll eat what I want, okay?
Anyway, your favorite dynamic book duo is here to tell you about a new book by William Gardner. (See our review of the prior book in Gardner’s Southern Adventure series, Me, Boo and the Goob, here.) We mostly liked World. But we’ll also tell you why we DNFed it. So, keep your hair on, Cookie.
There was a time when my life felt settled, predictable, and safe. I was a retired data analyst living on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with my husband, enjoying the rhythms of family visits, nature, and the quiet comfort of a life well lived. Then everything changed. When our son Matt died in 2017, grief didn’t just break my heart, it imploded the life I knew. The future I had imagined vanished overnight, replaced by a silence and emptiness I didn’t know how to navigate. I was completely shattered.
Travel/Memoir/Non-Fiction
“What a kick in the passport!” Mom hooted after finishing Karen Gershowitz’s Travel Mania: Stories of Wanderlust. “It’s fun and educational!” (She’s outside turning handsprings. Don’t tell anyone, okay?)
“But Mom,” says The Level-Headed One. “You say that about every travel book!”
Ever see someone try to stop hand-springing halfway through?
“I do not!” barks Mom.
Okay, fine. Whatevs, says I, Kimber the Magnificent. But tell me, Mom. What makes this book so splendiferous?
Well. Buckle up. Cuz here we go:
Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book for honest review.
Other note: Trail Creek was “Originally written by the late Dr. Daniel G. Block, professor of Biology at the University of Montana, Western and carefully edited and prepared for publication by his grandson, Zach Block with the assistance of the North Fork Landowners Association.”
“Some day we will return – and cry together.”
Throw another log on the fire and grab a hot cuppa for this highly readable and imminently engaging memoir by the late Daniel G. Block, educator, biologist, and natural storyteller. As bright as a summer sun and as big as a Montana sky, this true story of love, life, and adventure on “the last true frontier” pulls at the heartstrings as it whispers of memories of early, unforgettable years on the North Fork of the Flathead River in Montana and the “tonic of the wilderness.” Set largely in the post-WWII years of 1946 through the early 1950s, Trail Creek: A North Fork Saga is Walden-esque and Walton-esque in both style and substance.
Okay folkses. Kimber here. Dancing a canine jig.
“Why are you dancing a canine jig,” you ask?
Glad you asked. The answer is cuz I’M SO EXCITED!!
Mom: Kimber, that’s not new. You’re always excited. Just likd you love everyone. (Except maybe the neighborhood powder puff. But let’s not get picky here, okay?)
Kimber: I know. But Im soooo happy and super excited! Cuz its a favorite time of year! As in, Spring! New life! Warmer weather! Trees budding! Mud drying! Burgers on the barbie… What?
Oh yeah. Spring. And Easter! Oh yes. Oh Yes. OH YES! Like this:
They thought it was over. Friday felt like a final defeat. But Sunday morning was just getting started.
Cuz Easter isn’t just a story. It’s the Most Momentous Event in Human History. The Ultimate Triumph. The Everlasting Hope. Easter changes everything.
And one of our favorite books celebrating Easter is pretty new. In fact, it was released just last year by indie author Caleb Backholm. It’s called Two Weeks Till Sunday.
You know it’s Pawsome cuz we say so. It also garnered a very rare 5.0.
So, why is Two Weeks Till Sunday a Pawsome read for Resurrection Sunday – or anytime? Find out at: Why ‘Two Weeks Till Sunday’ is Better Than Beef Bourgonion.
You’re welcome.
He Is Risen!
Kimber: Jackpot! It’s a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining. The sky is a perfect bowl of blue. The neighbor’s cat is visiting relatives elsewhere. And Her Grumpiness is only half as grumpy as usual.
What a deal!
Speaking of “deals,” I’ve got a two-fer for you today. Sort of. One’s a “repeat surprise.” I’ll let Her Grumpiness tell us about that in a min. So kindly keep your shirt on, okay? The other is a Second Sigh. As in, we loved the author’s first book but this second one is a stinker. Which is why Her Grumpiness is only half as grumpy as…
Well, wait. Here she is now. Mom, is that the second or third bowl of cookies ’n cream ice cream? “Mind your own beeswax;” Mom chirps.
So I’ll let her fill you in on these two books:
Pages & Paws 