Book Review: Behind the Albergue Door: Inspiration Agony Adventure on the Camino de Santiago

Katie November 20, 2013 0 Comments

Dean is back with another great travel book – this time about the Camino de Santiago hike he and his wife did last fall. (You may remember his previous book, Random Acts of Travel which I had previously reviewed)  While I love to travel, I’m not physically able to hike, so I will have to live vicariously through Dean on this one.

I loved that they have little passport books and you can get stamps along the way on the hike.  It’s kind of like a real-life foursquare and I’m sure if I was there I’d be on a mission to get all the stamps I could… and in turn probably all the blisters I could as well.

Dean gives tips on what to pack and what not to pack if you’re thinking about doing the hike yourself.  Lots of useful tips from someone who has done it before.  And he even gives you some pick up lines you might want to use (or not!) if you find yourself looking for love with a fellow pilgrim while on your trip.

Dean also creates a handful of people who write about their travels on the Camino hike.  He also then has real reports from some real people he met on the hike as well.  I think I liked the made up ones more. (They were emails home – and one was a twitter feed. Funny!)

The book is a bit of fact, fiction and exaggeration. And of course the writing style that I came to know and love on his last book is still there.  It was a fun read and I think whether you are planning to do the hike or not, you’ll find this book interesting and humorous.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

The Camino de Santiago – an 800 kilometre hike across Northern Spain spanning two mountain ranges, one barren wasteland, four different provinces and, most daunting of all, five weeks sharing dorm rooms with exhausted snorers, and bathrooms with enthusiastic wine drinkers. The whole concept sounds absurd and unbearable. But Dean and his wife did it anyway, and nothing was more surprising than how much they enjoyed it. The camaraderie, the sense of community, the satisfaction that accompanied each day’s debilitating fatigue. Fascinating, excruciating, inspirational, interminable – they are already making plans to tackle it again.

Behind the Albergue Door is the perfect primer for anyone considering hiking the Camino, a stroll down memory lane for those who have already hiked it, and simply a riotous travel chronicle for everyone else. Join Johnston and friends on their hilarious journey of fun and fellowship, pain and suffering, nature and culture, with just enough practical advice thrown in to make you think about starting a pilgrimage of your own…

Book Review: The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story

Katie November 19, 2013 0 Comments

The Fifth Beatle is Brian Epstein, the manager who brought the Beatles out of their little cellar gigs to the huge band that we know of today – international stars.  Most of his story is relatively untold and The Fifth Beatles tells it in graphic novel form which I thought was an interesting approach.  His life was a bit of a rollercoaster and he died at the age of only 32.  Certainly an interesting read with some great graphics and illustrations to go along with it. An amazing, yet tragic life.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

The Fifth Beatle is the untold true story of Brian Epstein, the visionary manager who discovered and guided the Beatles — from their gigs in a tiny cellar in Liverpool to unprecedented international stardom.

Yet more than merely the story of “The Man Who Made the Beatles,” The Fifth Beatle is an uplifting, tragic, and ultimately inspirational human story about the struggle to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.

Brian himself died painfully lonely at the young age of thirty-two, having helped the Beatles prove through “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” that pop music could be an inspirational art form. He was homosexual when it was a felony to be so in the United Kingdom, Jewish at a time of anti-Semitism, and from Liverpool when it was considered just a dingy port town

Book Review: Hidden Under Her Heart

Katie November 18, 2013 0 Comments

After finishing this book, I’m not sure how I felt about it.  In the beginning I loved it and couldn’t stop reading.  Then I got really annoyed with it.

The book starts with Maryanne, a nurse, giving allergy shots to an attractive patient.  He seems interested but Maryanne is not.  He fakes a reaction to the shot so that she’ll have to give him mouth-to-mouth, which of course was just his way to sneak a kiss.

Maryanne has a pact with one of her fellow nurses – they have both sworn off sex until they have a ring.  If one of them fails they have to buy a spa day for the other.

The patient, Lucas Knight, won’t give up on Maryanne without a fight and ends up sending flowers to her all the time.  Because the flowers could be bothersome to other patients, they get sent to a different ward where Lucas is told by the receptionist about Maryanne’s pact/bet.

They end up developing some sort of relationship and I think this is the part I didn’t like.  They both are so wishy washy about if they want each other or not.  Maryanne doesn’t want to lose the bet and Lucas is training to be in the Olympics and doesn’t want to fall in love and lose his focus.

They decided to try something anyway – but it all falls apart when a girl answered Lucas’ phone.  Maryanne goes to Lucas’ house and sees there is a girl who appears to be getting in the shower with him.

She runs off to a party with the pastors son and when Lucas shows up, she throws a drink in his face.  Lucas finds her the next day in different clothes on the  ground near a dumpster and it seems like everyone is trying to frame Lucas, the token black guy.

Maryanne refuses a rape test and thinks nothing happened – that is until she turns up pregnant.  Since she had the pact she now knows she must have been raped but doesn’t know by whom.

The Lucas/Maryanne relationship gets even MORE messed up now because Maryanne wants to abort the baby.  Lucas’ ex aborted their baby and he doesn’t want that to happen to anyone else and tries to convince Maryanne to keep it.  Turns out – she had already had an abortion at 19 but didn’t tell Lucas.  The truth comes out and Lucas leaves her – WHEN SHE NEEDS HIM THE MOST.

He ends up coming back and promises to help out with her and the baby – but considering how many other times either of them have run off on each other, I don’t know how this is going to last.

Ultimately it was a good story but the characters just made me angry!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

About the Book

After a string of losers, Maryanne Torres swears off premarital sex, hoping to land a marrying type of man. Lucas Knight, is smart, sweet, and everything Maryanne wants in a man, but when she is pregnant after being raped at a party, he disagrees with her decision to abort. The rapist sets a trap. Can Lucas save Maryanne and the baby, or will her secrets drown her and her chance for love?

Book Review: Dead Dreams

Katie November 17, 2013 1 Comments

Dead Dreams first introduces us to Brie O’Mara who is 18 and living on her own and in search of a roommate.  Her parents aren’t sure this is the greatest idea, but go along with it.  Enter Sarah – who Brie thinks is the perfect roommate.  She is heir to a huge fortune and seems normal enough.  Should she have done a background check? Maybe.  Brie wants to be an actress and move to New York City but for now she is working 2 jobs.  Sarah gives her an offer that is a) too good to be true and b) that she can’t refuse.

However, as soon as Sarah enters the picture things start getting out of hand. There is a break in in their apartment, so they get an alarm system.  Sarah’s brother and Uncle are after her and her fortune which she can only get if she doesn’t get in trouble with the law – or worse yet – end up dead.

The two get Sarah’s plan underway – where there is switching of identities, lots of money switching hands and all sorts of other crazy stuff going on.  And then when they are set to put everything in to play, Brie’s Dad ends up in a coma in the hospital and she is torn between continuing through with this plan with her now “best friend”, Sarah, or staying behind for her family.  She also seems to think that her brother Keith is somehow in on this all and knows Sarah.  And then when they are ready to leave – Sarah is MIA and there is a lot of blood in Brie’s bedroom – where Sarah is sleeping.

I wish I knew more of what was going on – this is only Book 1 and I felt it ended with no closure whatsoever on the subplots and left me still confused.  Hopefully this will all be tied up and explained in future books.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

Dead Dreams Book Summary:

Emma Right‘s Bio: 

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Book Review: Sage’s Song

Katie November 16, 2013 0 Comments

Sage’s Song starts out with Sage playing a drum and clapping and stomping.  Then she starts to listen to the natural sounds all around her.  If you listen closely – music is everywhere!

This is a really cute book for a young child that teaches them about music and appreciating that music is every where.  It is easy for kids to read themselves or for an adult to read to them at bed time!

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Dance to the beat of Sage’s Song!

Find out what listening is really worth as Sage makes music from the sounds of the earth. Banging away on her drum, Sage can really make a racket! Stopping to listen to the world around her, Sage learns that music surrounds her in the simplest of sounds. This sensory exploration teaches the value of listening and inspires an awareness of the beautiful music nature creates.

From the Pumpkinheads, teaching messages that parents care about through books and characters that children love!

Book Review: Beep Beep Goes The Bus Driver

Katie November 15, 2013 0 Comments

Beep Beep goes the Bus Driver is a super cute children’s book about a bus ride.  On the bus are a bunch of animals and they are all wanting to go to different places and for different reasons – the bus even makes it all the way to the moon! It is a short book, just over 30 pages with some great illustrations and a cute story.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Everyone has taken a trip on a bus. They’re all the same: you get on, you get off, you sit and enjoy the ride. This, however, is not your ordinary bus. From the moment you climb aboard, this trip is an unforgettable ride to the ends of the earth and beyond. Have you ever taken a trip with a dinosaur, a fish, or a ballerina bear? If not, then this is the bus for you! Our friendly bus driver takes us to the forest, the zoo, mountains, and places you have only seen in your dreams. There may even be a few surprises on the way. Hop on board and meet your new friends. You’re in for one adventurous bus ride.