Posts

The Guardsman (The Olympic Peninsula Series Book 2) by Cat Treadgold – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

/0 Comments/in /by

The Guardsman (The Olympic Peninsula series Book 2)The Guardsman by Cat Treadgold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Guardsman is Book Two in The Olympic Peninsula Series. It is a romantic suspense novel that centers around the character of Liam. Although it can be read as a standalone, I do highly recommend reading the first book to gain a better understanding of the characters and their backstories. Liam was mentioned in the first book as the twin brother to Ali. He was missing and presumed dead after a terrorist attack occurred while he was stationed abroad. Although three years has passed, Ali has never given up hope that he would be found. When a private investigator finds Liam working as security in Jerusalem he agrees to move home to be with his sister, Ali, and her husband, Joe.

Liam has had a troublesome past that has left him emotionally scarred. While they were growing up in the foster care system, he did his best to keep himself and Ali safe. They both had a rough childhood and Liam practically raised his twin sister. Now three years after the terrorist attack he still feels broken. Liam is trying to piece his life back together and move forward from the trauma of his past. He hopes to do that with the help of his sister Ali, and her husband, Joe. What Liam does not expect is for his entire life to change when he meets Joe’s sister, Theresa, who is also staying with them. Theresa is fleeing a bad relationship and seeking a safe place to regroup and relax. When Liam meets Theresa, he does not like her and feels that she is a bit of a high society princess. Yet, he cannot help but find himself attracted to her. When mysterious little accidents begin to occur around Theresa, Liam steps in to protect her. As the two spend time together Liam cannot deny that he loves her feisty attitude and enjoys the witty banter between them.

This was another great book by this talented author, and I was thrilled to read Liam’s story. After book one I was wondering if he would have his own book. The storyline was riveting, and the characters were lovable and engaging. Liam was a broken man with a lot of trauma from his past that he was desperately trying to overcome. I loved watching how his character grew and evolved through the book. Theresa was an unlikely romance interest for Liam, but she seemed to be just what he needed to move forward in his life. Liam felt happy, alive, and hopeful when he was around Theresa. The problem was whether he could allow himself to feel happiness and fall in love. This was a beautifully written story with trauma, loss, despair, grief, hope, passion, romance, and unexpected love. I highly recommend this book!

View all my reviews@tarab

A Forever Kind of Thing by Carrie Thomas and Melinda Harris – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

/0 Comments/in /by

A Forever Kind of ThingA Forever Kind of Thing by Carrie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Forever Kind of Thing is a young adult contemporary romance that centers around the character of a teen girl named Mina. Mina is used to being bullied and teased because she has grown up poor and wears secondhand clothing. Her classmates are cruel, mock her, call her names, and spread rumors about her mom. When a new boy enters Mina’s fifth grade classroom, she cannot help but notice how cute he is and the confidence he exudes. Mina expects him to avoid her like all the other students and sit beside one of what would be considered a ‘cool kid’. Instead, the new student sits beside Mina and starts to talk to her. Mina tries to warn him that if he talks to her that he will be mocked and explains to him how the other kids bully and tease her. Rather than running scared the new student introduces himself as Wes, and Mina learns that they have a lot in common. Mina and Wes become fast friends and for the next two years the pair are practically joined at the hip. Then Wes suddenly vanishes, and Mina is left with a lot of questions and a broken heart.

Fast forward five years and Mina’s life has taken a drastic turn after her mom has married a wealthy man. Suddenly Mina has the life she thought she could only dream of. She is attending a prestigious school, wearing designer clothing, and is the most popular girl in school. When Wes suddenly reappears and pops back into Mina’s life, she is worried that he will reveal her secrets and ruin her new life. Wes has not had an easy life over the last five years as he has remained poor and in the foster system. Old feelings resurface and Mina is conflicted between her new life of popularity and the love of someone who truly knows her and loves her regardless of her background. The push and pull between Mina and Wes takes the two down a rocky road as they try to navigate their dark pasts and their feelings for one another. Can Wes and Mina ever truly have a life together?

I loved the writing style of these authors and found the storyline compelling. The characters were ones that I was immediately drawn to and found myself relating to. Mina was smart, strong, feisty, and determined to have a better life than what she had. She was tired of being bullied and teased for being poor and wearing secondhand clothing. Her classmates were cruel, and she struggled to feel worthy of anyone. Mina wanted more out of life and dreamed of leaving her small town. When she met Wes, she found someone who saw her for who she was and genuinely cared for her. He did not care about where she came from or that she wore secondhand clothing. Wes was also someone who grew up poor and had a less than desirable life growing up within the foster system. When Mina and Wes became friends, it changed both of their lives. They found friendship, love, hope, strength, courage, and allies in one another. That all came with a price though when their friendship seemingly dissolved into thin air. Love and hope turned to grief, loss, and heartache. When Mina and Wes were reunited after years apart the feelings were still there but the two had led very different lives and taken very different paths. The ensuing journey was one full of angst, drama, betrayal, hurt, anger, and second chances. I highly recommend this book!

View all my reviews@tarab

Dinosaur Friends: 2 books in 1: A Present for the Volcano and Saving Conifer’s Eggs by Lois Wickstrom – Review by Cynthia Tuck

/0 Comments/in /by

Dinosaur Friends: 2 books in 1: A Present for the Volcano and Saving Conifer's EggsDinosaur Friends: 2 books in 1: A Present for the Volcano and Saving Conifer’s Eggs by Lois Wickstrom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These are cute and very “interesting” stories for kids. They follow two dinosaurs, who get into highly dangerous situations, but use the power of friendship and their thinking caps to keep one another safe from harm. The stories are definitely unique but gave me a chuckle. 4/5 for me.

View all my reviews

Destiny’s Daughter (Intimate and Unfiltered Book 3) by Lynda Filler – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

/0 Comments/in /by

Destiny's Daughter: It was the best of times.Destiny’s Daughter: It was the best of times. by Lynda Filler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A very real, raw, and unfiltered story of the author’s journey to find love. After packing up her entire life into just one suitcase Lynda sets off on a journey to faraway lands where she hopes to continue her writing. What she never expected was to fall in love with a young Turk and ultimately end up living in Istanbul. Nor did she expect to live through a worldwide pandemic that resulted in lockdowns and deaths around the globe or find herself living close to a war zone. In the aftermath of so much change, and surrounded by chaos, Lynda suddenly finds herself dealing with anxiety that leaves her questioning her life and her decisions.

I found that I could relate to Lynda on so many levels as I read her memoir. As an empath myself I know how trauma can have a very adverse affect to our bodies on both a mental and physical level. It is imperative to take care of our mental health otherwise it will manifest itself in our physical self. I too love sweets and chocolate but not dark chocolate because it is revolting. Did someone say chocolate, yum. I, as well, have been referred to as a cougar because I fell in love with, and married a man fifteen years younger than myself. When my husband and I first got together we had friends that poked fun at us and those that mocked us because of the age difference. This left me with doubts, and I became paranoid about what strangers might think when they saw us together in public. I am happy to say that after 11 years together, married for 8 of those, that our relationship is still going strong. I could also strongly relate to the getting older thing and feeling as though I was living life backwards. I went to college in my late 30’s, got married in my early 40’s, and now at the age of 51 feel as though I can live my best life. I no longer care what others think and have learned to sever ties with those that are toxic. I have come to terms with my past trauma, have taken the lessons I learned from it, and feel as though I can fully move forward and pursue my dreams.

I loved the author’s writing style and how she says it like it is without filtering anything out. It made me feel as though I was sitting there with her, having a conversation, and getting to know her. I admire her strength and how she managed to find the positive in every difficult situation that she encountered throughout her life. So often life has a way of kicking us while we are down, and it can be extremely difficult to bounce back from it without being negatively affected. I also admire her for the courage it took for her to share her painful story with others to try to possibly make a difference in their lives. Thank you for being brave enough to share your raw and unfiltered story with us! You are a true inspiration!

View all my reviews@tarab

The Prisoner of Paradise (Painted Souls Book 1) by Rob Samborn – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

/0 Comments/in /by

The Prisoner of Paradise (Painted Souls, #1)The Prisoner of Paradise by Rob Samborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nick and Julia O’Connor are on the trip of a lifetime to Venice after one of Julia’s photographs has been chosen to be in an exhibit there. While touring one of the local museums Nick is inexplicably drawn to a portrait of a beautiful young woman in Tintoretto’s work of art, Paradise, the world’s largest oil painting. When the woman in Paradise starts to speak to Nick, he feels as though she is his soulmate and becomes compelled to save her from being trapped in the painting.

Nick’s wife, Julia, is naturally concerned because Nick has recently suffered a concussion from a hockey injury, and she fears his hearing voices is a side effect of his brain injury. Nick tries to prove to Julia that he is not suffering from delusions and that this woman is his soulmate from a previous life which he lived in the 16th Century. Julia wants to believe her husband and even she is unable to explain how he understands a foreign language that he has never spoken before. Julia is unsure how to help Nick and begs him to get help from his doctor. When he ignores her pleas, Julia decides it is best to cut their trip short and return home. Unfortunately, Nick has now disappeared, and Julia is frantic to find him.

Nick’s obsession with the woman in the painting has consumed him and he seems to have forgotten that he is currently married to Julia in the present day. His focus is on learning more about this mysterious woman in the painting and he starts to investigate who she is. Through a series of blackouts, he learns this woman is Isabella Scalfini, a beautiful aristocrat that he had fallen in love with in 1589. As the blackouts continue, Nick is drawn back to his time with Isabella and the fate that brought her to her soul being forever trapped in Paradise. His obsession with the beautiful woman in the portrait leads him to uncover a secret religious Order that has been condemning souls to the painting for centuries. His beloved Isabella pleads with Nick to free her from the painting so he sets out on a mission to destroy the painting and save his beloved soulmate, only to discover that it is the Painter that he must destroy. However, the Order will never allow anything to happen to the painting and therefore have it heavily guarded. Nick now finds himself running for his life as the members of the Order are determined to destroy him so he cannot divulge the secret of the painting.

This book was very well written and both the past and present were beautifully interwoven together. I enjoyed reading the flashbacks as Nick was drawn back to his previous life in 1589 and his time with his beloved Isabella. My heart broke for Julia as she felt such deep concern for Nick and was worried about what was happening to him. She loved her husband and wanted to believe him but was also worried about his declining mental health. Then he just vanishes without a trace, and she has no idea of his whereabouts or if he is even still alive. How gut wrenching for poor Julia to be put through that. Nick was conflicted between his past love, Isabella, and his present-day love Julia which must have been confusing for him. Yet, at the same time, you just want to shake Nick and tell him to get a grip. How is he going to save a soul trapped in a painting? Why put your life in danger and that of your wife’s for a woman in a painting. I wanted to scream at Nick to get a grip, go back to his wife, and leave the country. Forget the painting, the Order, and get out of Venice while you can. I am anxious to see what will happen in book 2 to learn what became of Nick and Julia. Did their marriage survive? Does Nick still think about Isabella? Was Nick really suffering delusions? What will become of the souls in Paradise?

View all my reviews@tarab