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Broken Pieces by Judith B. Pinkard – Review by Colleen Noyes

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Broken PiecesBroken Pieces by Judith B. Pinkard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Broken Pieces by Judith Pinkard was a beautiful and raw story. When I saw the cover I knew I had to pick up this book, but I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to read. This is a biographical book not about tragedy but about the perseverance of a young woman as the course of her whole life is changed by one moment in life at 3 months old. The story felt like I was sitting with a life long friend conversating. It was smooth and real. The story brought me to tears but at the same time made me feel strong. As a woman who has endured much in her life I could relate to this story, it reminded me that we are never alone, that there is always someone who has felt what we felt. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. My favorite quote in the book summed it all up for me “It’s like this. God has a blackboard, some chalk, and an eraser. Everything you say, think, or do that is bad, God writes it on the blackboard. But if you’re sorry for those things written on the blackboard, and you tell God that you’re sorry and that you’ll try not to do it again, then He’ll erase it. That way, you start clean every day.” Thank you to Ms. Pinkard for sharing your story with us.

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Don’t Let Me (Simplicit Duet Book 1) by Marie Skye – Review by Colleen Noyes

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Don't Let Me (The Simplicit Duet #1)Don’t Let Me by Marie Skye
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would like to find Ms. Skye and just maybe gently smack her. This is the first book I have read by this author and W-O-W! I loved her writing style and her frequent use of my favorite word the F word lol. The storyline flowed smoothly, and I found myself torn for each of the three main characters at one point or another. Damien, Jaxson, and Olivia, each have something that draws you in and makes you not only root for them but be conflicted. There was suspense, surprises, mouth dropping moments, and some dang hot steamy scenes. This author’s work kept me engaged from the first page to the last page and I can’t wait to read other books by her, but most of all I can not wait for the continuation of this story because I have so many thoughts on what might be coming next. Don’t Let Me by Marie Skye is one of my fave books so far this year.

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The Inheritance: The Story of an Unlikely Submissive – Review by Colleen Noyes

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The InheritanceThe Inheritance by India Kells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Inheritance by India Kells, was a quick read that I breezed right through. With the book only being 92 pages I was concerned about character development but was extremely pleased. You were able to get to know plenty about Lani and Max and regardless of how they were initially brought together you fell in love with them. The writing style was fast paced without a bunch of fluff and it was pure story. I was left wanting more and hope that the author considers a whole series of these two characters. This was my first book by this author and I can’t wait to delve into all her stories.

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The Light at Dawn by K.L. Montgomery – Review by Colleen Noyes

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The Light at DawnThe Light at Dawn by K.L. Montgomery
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Light at Dawn By KL Montgomery Is a book that will truly rip your heart out, tear it to shreds, stomp on it, and then slowly put it back together. This is the first book that I have read by this author and I was not prepared for all of the emotions that it would make me feel. I found myself crying, laughing, and wondering about the world around me. This book is about so much more than one story it is about grief, heartache, overcoming all of the obstacles that life may throw at you, and at the end of the day love.

This book will make you feel emotions that you didn’t know you could feel. I could not have chosen a better first book to read by this author than this one. While it does deal with sensitive issues the author does a brilliant job of making sure you have no idea where she stands on the issue itself. You can tell that the author did an immense amount of research and portrayed the differences In a very humane and compassionate way.

One of the key things that I feel the book shows that maybe it wasn’t intended Is something that I think is so needed in today’s society. This author showed that 2 people or 2 groups can be on opposite ends of an issue, but still care about each other, love each other, and continue to make the world a better place.

I could not put this book down from the time that I started it until the time that I finished it and I don’t believe that you will either. The one warning that I would give you Is to make sure that you have your box of tissues prepared.

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The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry – Review by Colleen Noyes

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The Perfect ChildThe Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ummm holy crap?! The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry is a book that has it all if you enjoy reading mystery, psychological, thriller type books. When I got this month’s list of “First Reads” I thought why not pick this one and I am so glad I did. The story revolves around Christopher a doctor and his wife Hannah who is a nurse. A happily married couple who seem to have the perfect stable life except their desire to have a child has been impossible. They encounter a young girl Janie, who is admitted to the hospital under unspeakable circumstances and soon take her in. What starts out as their dream coming true, quickly turns into a nightmare that you won’t soon forget.

The characters are written well and you can envision each one. I found myself drawn to Hannah and feeling her frustration at not being heard. I could see the pain on her face, the disappointment of slowly losing her husband to a manipulative child. Often, Christopher made me so angry and I was literally saying “Are you fricking kidding me? What are you blind?” This book was enthralling, frustrating, heartbreaking, and kept me on my toes.
The author pulled out all the stops and even though I knew early on what the “truth” was going to be I still found it to be a wonderful read that had so many twists and turns you didn’t see coming. This was my first read by this author but I can promise it won’t be my last. I appreciated the vivid details that weren’t over done and loved the different points of views. The secondary characters were realistic and strong and the writing style was smooth and easy. This is a book that you will want to read as soon as you can. Please note that there are some things that may be disturbing but if you like psychological type books you will see it for what it is.

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Untrainable by Jamie Schlosser – Review by Colleen Noyes

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UntrainableUntrainable by Jamie Schlosser
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Untrainable by Jamie Schlosser is the first book I have read by this author and it was truly a gem! The characters were funny and relatable in so many ways. I found myself constantly amused while reading it, that it played like a sitcom in my head.

This book had it’s share of romance mixed in with a tiny bit of angst, but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon. Theodore Legend aka Theo-dog is a strong male character that has been through the ringer. He’s completely killed his career with his boyish antics and bad behavior. Enter in the shy, sweet, always does the right thing, Hadley who is a dog trainer hired to “train” Theo-dog and you have all the ingredients for a laugh out loud romance comedy.

The author’s writing style is smooth and one of the things I appreciated the most is the lack of extreme over detail (the grass was white with just a hint of yellow from the hint of orange sky). You could see each scene perfectly without it being overdone. You can tell that this author is doing what she was made to do as everything seamlessly flowed.

The secondary characters, especially Hadley’s family added such wit and I loved all their shenanigans of an everyday family. It brought up memories of my own childhood. The intimate scenes were done well and with class but still had a big amount of steaminess to them. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for a fun filled read you won’t soon forget.

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Saving Beck by Courtney Cole – Review by Colleen Noyes

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Saving BeckSaving Beck by Courtney Cole
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Several years ago, I saw a cover of this book on Amazon and it wowed me so I bought the book without reading any of the reviews or the synopsis. The first couple of pages dropped my jaw and I went “WTF am I reading?” because I find it impossible to not finish a book I start, I continued reading and to this day it is in my top 5 best books ever. The entire series blew me away and I fell in love with that author, Courtney Cole.

Fast forward a little over 4 years later and I see she has written a new book called Saving Beck. If you have ever been touched by addiction especially as the loved one of an addict then this book will touch you in so many ways. The author takes a very serious epidemic and weaves it into a heart wrenching story on so many levels. This book will showcase how even when you think it can’t happen to your family, you can never predict. It shows that no matter who you are it can happen to you.

This book had me in tears from beginning to end because I could feel the hurt, the questions, the frustration, the pain, the self-questioning and most importantly the realization that no matter how much you love someone, no matter how much you love the addict, no matter how much you give, sacrifice, and try to mend them, only they can mend themselves. Only they can make the end choice to move forward. It reminds you, that it’s not your battle, that you can’t love them out of the addiction, you can’t anger them out of the addiction, you can’t guilt or beat them out of the addiction, and that sometimes all you can do is sit back, love, hope, and most of all pray that it all works out, knowing that not everyone can be saved.
Courtney Cole, writes this story with such truth and gusto. Her words grab you by the heart and squeeze. She brings you to tears and to your knees, and makes you “hear” all the things you don’t want to hear as the loved one.

Some of my favorite quotes were :

“ Doing drugs is easy. Doing life is hard. And sometimes, we have to hide from it in the best ways we can”

“ People like to carry their burdens with them, she said. We feel like if we punish ourselves long enough for everything that has gone wrong in life, we’ll somehow make it right again by our own misery.”

“They have him on medication to help the withdrawal, but it’s still a struggle for him. Beck is the one who has to do the heavy lifting. He’s the one who lives with the constant need to use. All I can do is be there for him.”

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Relationship Resuscitation by Jennifer Theriot – Review by Colleen Noyes

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4 Stars

This series has been awesome! I can’t wait until I have time to read the all of them!

Liar by Lia Fairchild – Review by Colleen Noyes

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Liar (Liar, #2)Liar by Lia Fairchild
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the conclusion to Gray and Daniel’s story and it did not disappoint. The author does a wonderful job of making her characters be real people. I loved that she portrayed how two people who are overcoming their own demons can work together to overcome them, but that isn’t always with rainbows and butterflies. That a real relationship has ups, downs, and takes work. That sometimes each person has to be loving, kind, and understanding. Sometimes the other person has to be strong, disciplined, and the powerhouse and that those roles can often change in a true relationship. Such a warm book about those obstacles and how sometimes the things you think you are dealing with are not the true fight. I hope to see the author come back to these characters someday as they grow and expand.

Reviewed by @colleennoyes

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Compulsive by Lia Fairchild – Review by Colleen Noyes

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Compulsive (Liar, #1)Compulsive by Lia Fairchild
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am SO glad that I read this book for a second time! Lia Fairchild not only does a great job of writing, but i appreciate that she doesn’t do a lot of “filler” stuff going into way too much detail about the sky, the moon, the sweat drips etc. It’s a very to the pint book of substance that focuses on the story, the characters, and what for me as a reader is the important stuff. I futhermore appreciate that her adult scenes are written beautifully, mature, and she doesn’t feel the need to be vile. Now finally after THREE years I get to dive in to book 2 <3 <3 <3

Review by @colleennoyes

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