Review: A Flower in the Snow by Mark G. Cosman

A Flower in the Snow by Mark G. Cosman 
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Release Date: July 21, 2014
Book Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 177













Meet The Author (Taken from Goodreads)

Mark Cosman’s writing began when his daughter, Berlyn, was murdered at her high school prom party. His book, “A Flower in the Snow” contains the searing personal account of his daughter’s murder and its heart wrenching aftermath. His odyssey in search of answers to the most profound questions we ask ourselves brought Mark to also write “Descent of the Gods” and “The Kids from the River.” Fiction novels, the works dramatize the hidden consequences of our actions we unknowingly enter.


My Review:

Not to long ago I received an email from author Mark G. Cosman with the request to read a couple of his books. This review is for the book A Flower in the Snow, which is Marks side of the brutal murder of his teenage daughter, Berlyn.

The book starts off immediately with the family learning of Berlyn’s death and then having to deal with it. We meet her father, and the author of this book, Mark. As well as her mother and sister, Susan and Morgan. As the book progresses we see the struggles the family goes through. For instance, Morgan struggles with school so much that her parents had to pull her out all together and home school her. Berlyn’s mother seemed to take the news just as bad we saw this when Cosman mentions in the book how he could see his wife struggling in the sense that she was not the same wife he had married. This might sound weird but I believe he meant it in a way that his wife was just hurting not that she had actually morphed into a completely new person all together.

An interesting part to the book were the scenes where we learned a lot about Mark and his wifes past, as well as his past alone. We first found that Cosman believed his daughters death ultimately went back to the daughter that him and his wife gave up for adoption. Reading that was absolutely heartbreaking. I cannot imagine how hard it is to lose a daughter, and then on top of that believe it is potentially your fault.

After this chunk of the book we learn about Mark’s childhood at home with his mother, father and estranged brother Jay. I have to say I was very disheartened reading about how Jay was treated. I do not know if thats just how disorders and things like that were dealt with back then but either way I felt awful reading how he was treated. I wonder if the family has any contact with him to this day. I feel like I would maybe resent my mother and stepfather but that is just me.

Overall, I was intrigued reading this book and I am happy to have had the opportunity to read, and learn about Berlyn’s life, and death, as well as the rest of the families story too.

Review: Still Alice by Lisa Geneova

Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release Date: December 16, 2014
Book Format: Paperback
# of Pages: 400
Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads)
In Lisa Genova's extraordinary New York Times bestselling novel, an accomplished professor diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease learns that her worth is comprised of more than her ability to remember.
Now a major motion picture from Sony Pictures Classics starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth, and Kristen Stewart!

Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life and her relationship with her family and the world forever.

At once beautiful and terrifying, Still Alice is a moving and vivid depiction of life with early-onset Alzheimer's disease that is as compelling as A Beautiful Mind and as unforgettable as Ordinary People.

 Meet The Author:

I'm a Harvard-trained Neuroscientist, a Meisner-trained actress, and an entirely untrained writer!

My first novel, STILL ALICE, winner of the 2008 Bronte Prize, nominated for 2010 Indies Choice Debut Book of the Year by the American Booksellers Association, and winner of the 2011 Bexley Book of the Year Award spent over 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It has been translated into 25 languages and was chosen as one of the thirty titles for World Book Night 2013.

Originally self-published, I sold it out of the trunk of my car for almost a year before it was bought at auction by Simon & Schuster.

LEFT NEGLECTED, also a New York Times Bestseller, was a #1 Indie Next Pick, the Borders “Book You’ll Love” for January 2011, and the #4 Indie Reading Group Pick for summer 2011, and a Richard & Judy Book Club Pick.

LOVE ANTHONY, also a New York Times bestseller, is about autism. It was an October 2012 Indie Next pick and a People Magazine Great Read. USA Today calls it “beautifully written and poignant to the point of heartbreak.”

"After I read STILL ALICE I wanted to stand up and tell a train full of strangers, YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK." - Beverly Beckham, Boston Sunday Globe

“Lisa Genova is the Michael Crichton of brain science. What she proved with STILL ALICE, she proves again with LEFT NEGLECTED. This is huge, powerful human drama at its elegant best."

-Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

www.lisagenova.com

My Review: 
I bought this book on my own and this is my honest opinion of it.

Before purchasing this book, I had no knowledge of the following it had. After seeing it for the first time I did a little research of my own and found that there was a new film starring Julianne Moore. I had heard that the movie was amazing and that Moore actually won an award for it, so I knew I just had to pick it up and read it.

Still Alice is about a middle aged women who is suddenly diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The novel goes on to describe Alice and her family's journey to deal with her disease. My first thought while reading this book was the fact that I felt Alice and John's relationship was a little distant, but only in parts. There are scenes in the book where I see the love that they have with each other, but there were other parts when I felt sad because they did not seem to be in the relationship as much as other times, but I guess that is just a given in relationships.

I had very few issues with this book, but there were certainly some. My only big problem was the fact that Alice was described as having black hair in the book, but in the movie she is a red head. I am not sure whose decision that was but it was not a very appealing one especially to those who have read the book before seeing the movie.

One of the reasons I loved this book was the amount of emotion that filled the pages of Still Alice. It did not matter if it was negative or positive emotion any or all of it made the book. There was a point in the book when Alice was upset about something with her disease, and instead of comforting her John just went off to work. We can see there that maybe her disease is affecting him in different ways than it is her. There was also a point in the book when John and Alice were on the drive home from one of her appointments and he silently cried the whole way home. That showed that he might have hard time showing the emotion and the hurt he felt but he did have it.

Overall, I made a good decision on buying this book because I could not put it down. I read it from dusk until dawn. I searched everywhere for a book light just so I could read even after the lights had been shut off in my house. This was an amazing read and I would recommend it to everyone and anyone.  

Book Blitz: Captivated (Courts of Light and Darknkess #1) w/Giveaway

Captivated by Sarah Makela
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Publisher: Kissa Press LLC
Publication Date: February 20, 2015
Synopsis: When a mercenary whose purpose is to dispose of wicked Unseelie fae meets a dark elf, she’ll question her mission and become captivated...

After her family was killed by a dark elf, mercenary Honora Butler’s purpose is the disposal of wicked faeries, elves and other Unseelie beings, but she’ll find herself questioning her mission when she meets Brennan, a dark elf who doesn’t conform to what she believed his kind were like.

Brennan O’Niall doesn’t know what it is about Honora that makes him crave her, but he wants to find out. However, when she’s charged with the murder of a friend, he’ll have to discover the truth and decide just how much she means to him.

Book Links: 

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Goodreads

Meet The Author:

NYT & USA Today bestselling author Sarah Mäkelä loves her fiction dark, magical, and passionate. She is a paranormal romance author, but she’s written all over the romance spectrum with cyberpunk, sci-fi, fantasy, urban fantasy...even a sweet contemporary romance!

A life-long paranormal fan, she still sleeps with a night-light. In her spare time, she reads sexy books, watches scary movies (and Ghost Adventures), and plays computer games with her husband. When she gets the chance, she loves traveling the world too.

Author Links:

Website

Twitter

Facebook 

Goodreads

Excerpt:

Gritting her teeth, Honora Butler sneaked farther into the dark, snowy forest. Danger lurked within the shadows, and she would kill or be killed. Death didn’t intimidate her anymore. She knew it too well.
Everyone she’d loved had been taken from her. The only thing she cared about now was destroying those who had ruined her life.
Snow crunched beneath the soles of her knee-high leather boots. The risks of killing those monsters were great, but she didn’t care. When she was young, the Mercenary Guild had taken her in. They’d seen her abilities and her determination. They’d trained her, given her a chance when she’d wanted only to die, and now she did what she bloody well could to make sure the dark beings of the Unseelie Court hurt no one else.
A horrified scream erupted ahead, beckoning her deeper into the forest. It had to have been caused by her prey. Picking up her pace, she pulled a throwing knife from its sheath. Her magic surged into the blade, filling it with power and making the metal white-hot.
The trees broke into a clearing. The cause of the cries stood in the dirt road. A woman cowered on the ground while a short, stocky man dressed in blood red with a matching hat sneered at her. He looked to be having far too good a time.
“I have a husband and kids. Please, don’t hurt me,” the woman whimpered. “My master...he’ll—”
The Fear Dearg snorted and crossed his arms in front of him. Stroking his bushy beard, he stared down his crooked nose at the terrified woman as if pondering what to do first.
Honora doubted the woman was in immediate danger. The Red Man mostly engaged in cruel pranks on those he sought, but that wouldn’t stop her from killing him. Her mission in life was to rid the world of malevolence. No matter what.
She slid from the trees, taking one quiet step after another. “Na dean maggadh fum,” she said. Those words, ‘Do not mock me,’ were the best chance she had to take him down without a problem.
The Fear Dearg jerked his gaze to Honora. His lips curled back into a snarl at the interruption. “So be it. Now go on. Get out of here. Can’t you see I’m busy?” He stared at her blankly, waiting. “What? You want my favor and prosperity? One of those bold adventurers? Wait for your turn.”
Just like that, he returned his focus to the woman, grabbing for her dress.
With a snap of her wrist, Honora sent the throwing knife sailing through the air. A wash of blood arced in a thick spray as the Fear Dearg collapsed, the knife lodged between his eyes.
Shrieking, the woman scurried backwards from the corpse. Her eyes were wide and horrified at the sight of the dead faerie. “What have you done?” she asked, glancing Honora’s way. Shaking her head, she reached for her large basket with foodstuffs that lay on its side. Most of the food had fallen out, but the woman didn’t bother gathering it. She just took the basket, then ran off down the dirt road.
What had that been about?
Honora watched the woman until she disappeared around the curve of the path. She walked over to the dead Red Man, then tugged her blade out of his skull. It came away easily, blood dripping off it in great crimson drops. She wiped it clean on his jacket before tucking the knife back in its sheath.
Her stomach rumbled. On the ground was an unsoiled loaf of bread from the woman’s fallen food. She stripped off her bloody gloves and crouched. After brushing off a few leaves, she tore a piece from it and lifted it to her lips.
In the distance, she heard a faint noise like that of a large flock of birds beating their wings. That couldn’t be right. Birds weren’t typically active at night there. Yet the sound grew louder.
The sudden realization of what it was punched her in the gut. She dropped the bread and raced after the woman. Honora needed to find the safety of shelter. She couldn’t be out here when the Sluagh—restless spirits of the dead—flew over. What they did was worse than death. They captured their victims’ souls.
Behind her, the cries became impossibly louder. She didn’t have much time at all. She had yet to spot any homes or places to hide and knew if she were spotted, she would be connected with the murder of the Fear Dearg. They’d hunt her down. She wouldn’t be safe unless she found somewhere soon.
 

Giveaway:

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(Late) Book Blitz: Love Bites by Rachel K. Burke w/ Giveaway

Love Bites

by Rachel K. Burke 

Release Date: 12/29/15

Harper Impulse

New Adult

225 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

What do you do when you fall in love with your best friend’s boyfriend?

That is the question that twenty-six year-old Justine Sterling has been asking herself ever since the day she met David Whitman, her best friend Renee’s boyfriend. Justine is determined to ignore her growing feelings for the irresistibly charming David, until one night, when she finds herself in the bed of the one person she should stay away from.

When Justine and David’s affair ends in heartbreak, Justine is forced to repair the damaged friendship with her best friend. In doing so, she learns that right and wrong decisions aren’t always black and white, and sometimes you have to follow your heart to see where it leads.

Buy Links:

About the Author:

Rachel discovered she wanted to be a writer at the age of ten, when her love of R.L. Stine murder mystery novels inspired her to start writing her own.

In 2008, Rachel combined her love of writing and music and began freelancing for a music column in Worcester Magazine. She also worked as a music journalist for Starpulse News Entertainment and Jamsbio Magazine, as well as a fitness journalist for Prevention Magazine.

Rachel graduated from Bridgewater University in 2011 with a B.A. in Communications and Media Studies.

She currently resides in Santa Monica, CA.

Author Links:

    

Excerpt:

I didn’t sleep with David that night. I mean, sure, I slept with him, but not in the sexual sense. Only in the nocturnal sense.
After changing out of our soaking wet swimsuits, David and I somehow ended up in my bed. I’m not really sure how it happened. One minute, I was curled up under my covers, trying to warm up because my hair was soaking wet. The next minute, David was sitting on the edge of my bed, attempting to continue our conversation. Eventually, we both fell asleep without leaving that general proximity.
By the time I woke up the next morning, David was no longer in my bed, so it sort of felt like it never happened. Instead, he was now in the kitchen, making coffee and eggs and toast. God, he was so damn perfect. Even in his gym shorts with messy bedhead. I remember, at that distinct moment, thinking about how much I wished I could find someone like him. And hating Renee for not realizing how lucky she was.
“So, little lady,” David said, placing two plates of food down on the kitchen table. “What are your plans for this evening?”
I sat down at the table and rubbed my throbbing temples. “Well, I can tell you what I won’t be doing.”
“Hmm… breaking up more families?”
I glared at him. He grinned.
“Too soon?”
I picked a piece of crust off my toast and threw it at him. “Funny,” I retorted. “I think I’m just going to stay in tonight.”
He took a bite of scrambled eggs and nodded. “Well, if you’re here later, maybe I’ll swing by. I don’t really feel like going out either.”
There was a part of me that felt like I should say no, because it felt wrong to be spending time with Renee’s boyfriend when she wasn’t there. But there was also a part of me that thought I was overreacting. I mean, what was the big deal? We hadn’t done anything wrong. We had a drink, went swimming and fell asleep. That was it.
So why did I feel guilty?
Deep down, I knew why. It was because of the way I felt about him. The way I’d felt about him since the moment I met him. But of course, I couldn’t tell him that.
“That’s fine,” I said. “As long as it’s cool with Renee.”
“I’m sure she’d be happy that I was here to cheer you up. Since she couldn’t be.”
It was then that I saw something in his eyes. That look. It was the same look I always fought to ignore, but it seemed more intense now, more dangerous. Maybe because we were alone. Or maybe because my feelings for him weren’t entirely one-sided. But I could’ve sworn, at that moment, that I felt something between us change.

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(Late) Release Day Blitz: The Dream Catcher by Anya Monroe w/ Giveaway

The Dream Catcher

by Anya Monroe 

Release Date: 02/19/15

300 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

***Paddle boards, bonfires & bikinis won’t help Penny. She craves the boy from the woods; not knowing she’s already caught in his nightmare. ***

Penny’s nightmare is ruling her life and she doesn’t know why. It started a few months ago, and since then Red Bulls, 5-hour Energy Shots, and Starbucks drive-thru are her lifeline.

When Penny’s parents decide to take their research of a rare Native American cult to a remote cabin for the summer, she's less than enthused.

Then Penny meets Delsin in a clearing in the woods, and her view of the world awakens. Apathy defines her, but Delsin lives life to it’s fullest. A shaman-in-training, he is everything Penny is not.

Each morning she comes to the woods, handing pieces of her heart to him, but when Penny is confronted with her worst nightmare, Delsin asks for a sacrifice Penny didn’t see coming.

Buy Links:

Amazon

About the Author:
Anya Monroe likes to write stories and paint words on her walls. She believes in love at first sight and fights for happily-ever-afters. As a wife and mom to six kids, she carves out time to write between carpool pick-ups and date nights because words are her heartbeat. She lives a ferry ride from Seattle and is a total Pacific Northwesterner who drinks chai lattes and wears Birkenstocks and has dreadlocks. She's a cliché, but doesn't mind it. Not even a little.

She documents her lovely-messy life on IG @anyamonroe. Find her there!

Author Links:

  

Excerpt:

My parents told me apathy is the first sign of depression and I told them I don’t give a shit. That’s when I got locked up in the psych ward for fourteen days, which is how long insurance would let me stay. The only decent thing about that place was the drugs were so good I could sleep without remembering.
At home, I don’t have that luxury. Grandma got all hooked on painkillers a few years ago so to say my parents have “issues” with narcotics would be an understatement. In their opinion, Advil is basically a gateway drug.
Besides the drugs, I hated the psych ward. The food was seriously disgusting and access to Starbucks was a no-go. One time Ollie tried to bring me a quad-venti-salted-caramel-mocha and he had to dump it out in a sink. Literally dump the entire twenty ounces of glory down the drain in front of the nurse. I told him he was a jackass for even telling me that story.
You don’t mess with caffeine.
At least I don’t. Not anymore.
I suppose I am a hypocrite. Since I do care about coffee, which is the only thing keeping me on this side of crazy.
“I’m getting a bagel. You want anything to eat?” Ollie asked as we pulled into the Starbucks drive-thru. I shook my head no, frowning at the question. Carbs made me sleepy. Sleeping is where all the trouble started. “Okay, one bagel and a venti Americano with cream. Oh, and a grande chocolate chip Frappuccino,” he said into the intercom.
“I can’t believe you’re drinking that before 8 am.”
“It’s all good, Penny. I’m headed to the lake with my paddleboard. Ain’t nobody gonna hold me down!” He gets all gangster when he’s pumped. He graduated high school last week and suddenly the world is his oyster. Which would make sense if he weren’t currently couch surfing.
“I still have to go to school, okay? Stop rubbing it in my face.”
I had another week of junior year. Ollie could suck it. He got to do whatever the hell he wanted. I mean, besides the homeless part. I handed him a twenty, which he in turn handed to the barista hanging out the window wearing a green apron and a smile.
I scowled at her.
Taking a sip of the coffee helped even though Ollie kept driving toward the massive brick masterpiece that had been my school for way too long. The place blew, and Ollie was the only reason it had managed to remain semi-tolerable.
“I can’t believe you’re ditching me. I would never do that to you,” I whined to my best friend as we pulled up to the curb for drop off.
“Look, I’ll pick you up after school, just like we promised your parents, and then we can go do something epic. Something totally Penny.” He leaned over to open the door for me, kissing me on the cheek.
“What in the world is something totally Penny?” I asked, as I got out of his ancient Honda civic.
“We could go to the mall. There’s a sale at American Eagle.”
I rolled my eyes out of habit. Having a gay best friend would be better if I liked to shop.
“You’re such a cliché,” I said, shutting the door.
“See you at three!” He called through the rolled-down window as he drove away, leaving me standing, half-awake, on the sidewalk outside of the lamest establishment known to man.
I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my hoodie as it vibrated. Mom.
MOM: Hope you made it to school okay!
      See you at 6. Please check in at 3 and hand in paper! XO
I needed more coffee if I was going to get through the day.

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Book Blitz: Valentines Heat Anthologies

New from Etopia Press, a couple great Valentine's Day themed Anthologies to spice up your reading! The anthologies feature short stories from Etopia authors: Ally Shields, Nessie Strange, Keith Melton, C.L. Bledsoe, Elizabeth Ellen Carter and Cynthia Hampton. These anthologies have something for everyone so make sure you check these sizzling stories out!

Valentines Heat I

“Heart’s Pride” by Ally Shields
The Guardian Witch Series

When their wedding is ruined by a werepanther attack, Katrina is left hospitalized and Blane is just...gone. But when he finally finds his way back to Riverdale, he learns he’s not the only one who’s been tracking Katrina...

“Lost Soul, Lost Love” by Nessie Strange
The Living Dead World Series

It’s Jen MacLellan’s first trip back to earth as a new reaper, and Mardi Gras is in full swing. When she happens upon Chip, a partier stuck in a perpetual 1983, Jen decides to help him find the woman he loves so he can move on. Assuming all goes well when he finds her...

“Red Dogs” by Keith Melton
The Zero Dog Mission Series

Mercenary pyromancer Andrea Walker has just saved the world from bloodthirsty hagworms and is late for her Valentine’s date with Jake. Until she hears that Jake has already left her house...with her...

“V-Day” by CL Bledsoe
The Necro-Files Series

Daisy and her friends think going to a frat party on Valentine’s Day will be a fun, not-at-all-desperate Girls Night Out. What they don’t expect is to have Delilah’s succubus pheromones accidentally set off the apocalypse...

Valentines Heat II

“Moonstone Promise” by Elizabeth Ellen Carter

After her husband’s death in Colonial Pennsylvania, Ann Sellars forges a business partnership with Toby Jackson that quickly becomes a friendship. But when Toby proposes marriage on the eve of leaving for England, Ann isn’t sure if she’s ready to leave her memories, or her new business, behind...

“A Perfect Judge” Cynthia Hampton

When Kamber Prescott agrees to emcee the annual Valentine’s Day Fantasy Auction, she has no intention to bid on one of the sexy bachelors. But seeing Jeffrey Hatcher again after their Christmas party fling makes her reconsider. Especially since the auction has only one rule: the rules exist only if you want them to...

  

Buy Links:

Valentines Heat I

Valentines Heat II

For more great books from Etopia Press, visit them here:

Website

January 2015 Reading Wrap Up!

January 2015 Reading Wrap-Up!

*The books mentioned in this video are the few that I managed to finish in the month of January!

The Books:
When by Victoria Laurie 
Finding Paris by Joy Preble
Slavery And Freedom by James Oakes 

Thank you so much for stopping by! Don't forget to tell me what you finished, or leave video links in the comments below. I would love to check them out :)