"The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner Was Even Better! (UPDATED )

The Scorch Trials is the second in The Maze Runner series but just so much better than the first book! It's not even close. I was bored with parts of The Maze Runner, but this book is all action from page 1 to the last!! Some new characters appear, but mostly the same main characters that were in The Maze Runner. I really enjoyed this book--done in a day and a half. It is hard to put down! I was a bit confused by the ending, but there is one more book to come in this series. If you read the first book, you will love this one, but read them in order. I can't wait to see how all this ends!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's Review:
After reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner, I couldn’t wait to read the second book, The Scorch Trials.  It picks up right where the first book ends and is again full of adventure, crazy twists and turns, suspense and betrayal.  The Gladers find out they are not the only ones who went through The Maze but there also was a group of girls and one boy that went through the same stuff.  Again, lots of questions come up such as Why?, Will they meet?, What happened to Teresa?  Can we trust Aris?  Why won’t Teresa talk to Thomas telepathically anymore?  Can Thomas trust her?  The Gladers must find light, keep walking North and get to the safe haven in two weeks or be killed.  Naturally, they choose to go.

This book is just so gripping I lost track of time reading it!  I like this series as much as I liked The Hunger Games, maybe even more!  The story is told from Thomas’s point of view which helps provide suspense because all the reader knows is what Thomas knows.  When he gets separated from his friends and chased by the Cranks who want to get his nose, I was wondering if he would ever get back with his friends again right along with him.  If you like science fiction or books about teens, I highly recommend this book after you read The Maze Runner!  It dragged just a little along the way but the end is so worth it!  I have one more to go in this series, can’t wait!


Here's the teaser for you.
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Forgiven" by Shelley Shepard Gray

Forgiven by Shelley Shephard Gray is the third book of her Sisters of the Heart series about the Amish community. When Jonathan's barn is burned down, his sister is badly hurt and he is filled with anger and a desire to find out who was smoking on his property that caused the fire. The other story line is romance that his sister, Winnie, finds as a result of the fire. It has an interesting twist and is an enjoyable read. Naturally, as the title gives away, Jonathan finds forgiveness in his heart for the one who started the fire.

As with most Christian fiction, this was predictable but a nice change of pace from the intense suspense novels. It certainly shows what it's like being Amish and has a good message about forgiveness. If you like a happy Amish story with Christian romance, you will enjoy this book too.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.

Our Friday Fragments

Half-Past Kissin’ Time host the Friday Fragments linky. It’s just short blurbs from your week that aren’t enough for a whole post by themselves. Here’s ours for this week:

1) Last week Mrs 4444 left me a nice comment: Your header is my current favorite in Blogland--GORGEOUS! That made my day! My favorite blog header is at Jennies Happy World-it's a castle layout with little shields for her tabs! What's your favorite blog header? Go let them know and make someone's day! Watch our "behind-the-scenes" video on making it.

2) Not much interest in our book giveaway for a mom--I'm surprised! It's really quite a nice book on parenting.  If you know a mother of young boys, this would be a great gift! Just leave a comment to enter stating why you would like to have it.

3) Gerard has been watching the hockey playoffs and we are pleased to see the Bruins are still in it after winning game 7 in overtime. Go Bruins! Hockey is exciting!

4) Glad to see the Browns Peyton Hillis beat out Michael Vick for the cover of the video game, Madden ’12. I only played it once, but it’s fun!

5) We finally gave in and bought a new Whirlpool dryer from hh gregg—it gets hooked up tomorrow! They take away our old one too so that’s good. The new one has some kind of sensor so it automatically goes off when the clothes are dry but no timer that buzzes to let us know! Isn’t that strange?  UPDATED 4/30/11:  Oops, when the guy came to install it, he said we need a gas on, not electric.  Now we have to wait one more day.

7) Our high winds Wednesday night knocked over the tree at the church a block from our home. Fortunately, our roof held, our power did not go off and we have no trees in our yard.  I would have taken a picture but by the time I got home from work, the church had it all cleared away.  When will I learn to always bring my camera with me?

8) We took Abby to the vet for a routine wellness exam and they found ringworm in her stool so gave us some medication that should clear it up for her. She seems fine and acts normal so good thing they found it early. They said it was quite common in dogs this time of year.

9)  As of 5 a.m. this morning, we got 88 comments on this blog.  You have only two more days to comment to help raise money for the Japan relief effort through Samaritan's Purse.  We'll donate 50 cents per comment.  Oh, and you may want to visit our post about things we learned this week over at Right Where We Belong.

Why not visit Friday Fragments for more and link some of yours up too.

Find more Friday Fragments at Half-Past Kissin' Time. Be sure to check out what we learned this week at "Right Where We Belong."

Behind The Scenes Of Our Blog Header (Writer's Workshop)

This vlog is in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Tell us the story

behind the title of your blog. What is it? What inspired it? What other options did you consider? Are you happy with it? (I am very happy with it but forgot to mention that little fact in the video. My cats really cooperated nicely for me and were very patient. We tried four times to do this and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I wanted to do it at the dining room table where I've been stacking the books, but the lighting wasn't good enough there.

Notice, you cannot make cats do anything.  You can only suggest, entice and wait patiently for them.

Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.

"Gone" by Lisa Gardner is Good!

Gone by Lisa Gardner is another suspense thriller that is fascinating. Rainie is the wife of a semi-retired FBI profiler (Quincy), a child advocate for 7-yr-old Dougie who has issues, and an alcoholic who is kidnapped on a stormy night from her car on a desolate road in Oregon seven days after her husband left her. It’s a race against the clock to find Rainie before it’s too late. The cops really have no leads and are at the mercy of the kidnapper who calls the shots. Quincy and his daughter, Kimberly—an FBI agent from Atlanta both become actively involved in the investigation. When Quincy overhears the kidnapper’s voice he is shocked as was I at who it was.

My favorite part of this book was Rainie fighting to figure out how to escape and protect Dougie. Dougie was a very interesting character who kept my interest. He provided an interesting facet of this novel. I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes a thrilling mystery.
(Karen's review)

Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"The Maze Runner" by James Dashner Transports You To Another World! (UPDATED)

Karen was wowed by The Maze Runnter and wanted me to read it. It is about a bunch of young boys trapped in a maze. Why, they do not know. Thomas is the last boy to come in. I thought the action really picked up when Thomas figures out why they are in the maze and who put them there. I enjoyed it! It's a quick read with most of the real action in the last 70 pages or so. I wasn't "wowed" by it like Karen, but it is pretty good. Well worth you reading it!
(Gerard's review 4-26-11)

(Karen's review 4-1-11)
I just finished reading The Maze Runner by James Dashner and now can’t wait to read the next two books in this trilogy:  The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure.  I loved The Maze Runner!  Thomas, with memories of his life gone, is mysteriously transported to the Glade where only boys live.  The boys all have assigned jobs, the most prestigious of which is the maze runners who go out every day into the surrounding maze in search of a way out.  The boys have been there for two years and Thomas arrives with the ambition of being a maze runner and finding a way back.  Thomas is smart, kind, compassionate, courageous and likeable.  When a girl arrives just two days later, things start to change and the end is near! 

This teen science fiction novel is full of adventure, suspense, mystery but also interesting characters involving leadership, friendship and perseverance issues.  I liked the way the kids worked together to help each other.  It held my interest from the start.  It’s a far out story I found captivating and entertaining.  I would describe The Maze Runner as a cross between The Hunger Games (in that it takes place after a world catastrophe and kids are placed in a strange place and observed and manipulated by the creators) and Lord Of The Flies (in that the kids are on their own and have to run their own community).  If you like science fiction, adventure, mystery and stories about teens, I recommend this book!  It’s great!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help the people in Japan through Samaritan's Purse by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in April. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

Teaser Tuedays: "Ender's Game," "Live To Tell" and "Gone"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading,. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's: (One teen science fiction and one suspense)

Science Fiction:

There's only one thing that will make them stop hating you. And that's being so good at what you do that they can't ignore you. I told them you were the best. Now you damn well better be.

Taken from p. 35 of Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. (This was such a good book, I just had to take a teaser from it. Be sure to see our review of Ender's Game!

Suspense:

"According to the foster family, however, Dougie is making it all up because he's finally met his match in their 'tough love' parenting style.  I should add that Dougie already has a long history of theft, animal cruelty, and petty arson."
"How old?" 
"Dougie's seven."

Taken from p. 33 of Gone by Lisa Gardner.

Gerard's:

In your words, this type of crime generally has a singular approach. We now have two scenes where an entire family was eliminated using three separate methodologies, and the murder weapons were found inside the home.

From page 130 of Live To Tell by Lisa Gardner.  Click the link to read my review.  Karen will be reading this one too after Gone.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.

Lessons From The Easter Bunny

All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny!

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.

There's no such thing as too much candy.

All work and no play can make you a basket case.

A cute tail attracts a lot of attention.

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.

Keep your paws off of other people

's jelly beans.

Good things come in small, sugar coated packages.

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.

To show your true colors, you have to come out of the shell.

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

May the joy of the season fill your heart.
AND MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

Happy Easter! Check out our book giveaway of "I'm Outnumbered--One Mom's Lessons In The Lively Art Of Raising boys" to a mom (or gift for a mom)--winner to be announced May 1 so you have it in time for Mother's Day.


You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Easter Book Giveaway For Moms: "I'm Outnumbered!" by Laura Lee Groves

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!  We will giveaway this book to a commenter who makes the best case as to why they should get it.  Also, please include your email so we can contact you for your address if you are the winner. 

 

We will announce the winner on Sunday, May 1 so they can get it in time for Mother’s Day.  Maybe you do not need it but know a mother who might appreciate it.  Feel free to share why you would like to give it to them in your comment.

I’m Out numbered!:  One Mom’s Lessons in the Lively Art of Raising Boys by Laura Lee Groves is a good little handbook for moms (and dads) of boys.  I got this because I teach 5^th grade boys in Sunday School and thought it may be helpful.  She kept the chapters short because she knows moms are very busy so it is a quick read.  She addresses many issues including expectations, laying a foundation for reading, sibling rivalry, teaching respect, organizing, media, teaching responsibility, and communication.  Also included is a special chapter for dads, for single moms, and one from the boys themselves!  Laura Groves also includes an extensive list of recommended books that deal with related topics that she wrote about in this book.

I think this book would be helpful to any parent of boys especially. It is sprinkled with some humor and scripture which makes it a very enjoyable and interesting read. I liked it and am not even a parent but this book makes parenting sound like lots of fun! As I was reading, I kept thinking of different mothers I know who may benefit from reading this. Some general advice from I’m outnumbered! is to let boys be creative, don’t let them hurt each other, don’t play favorites, give them all a chance to be leaders and promote teamwork, treat them as individuals, love them no matter what they do or don’t do, teach them manners by challenging them to be honorable like knights.

 

I am not a mother but still enjoyed reading this humorous but practical book.  I think it contains some good advice and great ideas for raising boys (and girls too).   It would make a nice gift!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card

I know I'm way late to read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card since it came out years ago.  That being said, I thought this book was just AWESOME!  For sure my book of the month for April and will rank very high in my books of the year list!

The premise of this book is the government has tabbed Ender to be the next big commander.  He is taken away from his family and sent to "Battle School."  His brother, Peter, and his sister, Valentine, also play interesting roles in this book. 

If you loved Hunger Games and The Maze Runner series, you will love this book too!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's Review:
I liked Ender's Game very much too.  I'm glad Gerard encouraged me to read it!  Ender is just six years old when the government rejected his older brother and sister and took him instead to train to be the commander to fight against the buggers out in space and save the world.  Ender is very smart and very endearing.  He doesn't want to kill anyone but excels in the battle games.  I liked how even though Ender was an "underdog" he was very clever and came out on top when others made things tough for him.  The only thing I did not like about it was the ending.

If you like stories about mind games, leadership, friendship, bullying, military strategy/training or science fiction, you would love this book!  Anyone with battle experience I think would identify with Enger.  We both highly recommend this one--it's awesome!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Our Friday Fragments

Mrs. 4444 at Half-Past Kissin' Time hosts Friday Fragments each week where we can post snippets that aren't really big enough for posts by themselves. Thought you might enjoy something a little different that lets you get to know us a bit better.

Got the “Blue Screen Of Death” on our computer this week and had to have the hard drive wiped clean and windows reloaded. What a hassle! Can’t find our original operating disk and now have no word processing program! ARGH! Can’t open our documents!  This is why we didn't get to read as many Tuesday Teasers as usual this week.

Karen entered a drawing at work for two Browns hats and a set of Browns coasters for Support Staff Appreciation Day.

Going to go to good old reliable paper and pen to make our reading lists. I had summaries of the book on mine too though—good thing we have this blog and Shelfari and Goodreads!

Both Gerard and I are doing a special puppet presentation for grades 1-6 at Parma Heights Baptist Church on Easter Sunday called “More Than A Miracle” at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

We are thrilled that the Cleveland Indians are in first place and rooting for the Bruins.

Gerard and I are currently reading the same books: Trapped by Michael Northrop, Ender's Game by Orson Card, Dogs Don't Lie by Clea Simone Live To Tell and Gone by Lisa Gardner. Gerard will soon be reading The Maze Runner and The Scorch Trials too. Our review of Ender's Game will be up tomorrow. We both liked it!

Visit The Gatekeepers Post to see our interview with Jeff Rivera, author of "Forever My Lady" about being book bloggers. 

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Love Wins" by Bob Bell

Love Wins by Bob Bell is all about the fact that Jesus loves us. That gives me a good warm happy feeling in my body and soul. It is also about heaven and hell with lots of scripture passages. I did not see where in this book the controversy is. I enjoyed reading it during Holy Week!
(Gerard's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Trapped" by Michael Northrop

Some things about Trapped by Michael Northrop book:
(1)  It’s a YA book.
(2)  It’s short--you can read it in a few hours.
(3)  Nobody on Amazon gave it 5 stars--Do I care about Amazon?  No!
(4)  I loved it!

The premise is that seven students are stuck in a high school during a major snow storm.  The characters are realistic.  How will they cope?  When will they be rescued?  I was hooked from page 1 to the end!  Super book!  Give it a chance--you will be glad you did!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's Review:
Trapped by Michael Northrop is a quick read about seven teens trapped in their high school for a week during a snow storm who fight for survival. They are very resourceful and during that week, get to know kids they normally did not hang around. I liked Trapped all right, but it didn’t seem very believable and there were some loose ends that I would have liked finished up. I liked seeing how the kids interacted with one another and how their thoughts changed as they got to know each other a little better, similar to The Breakfast Club. It has some suspense but isn’t as good as other suspense novels I have read. It reminded me a Stephen King novel in a way because the whole story takes place inside the high school until the very end.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teaser: "Trapped"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

How long could we be stuck here? That was the question now. How long, like, conceivably? We had no power, no lights, and the hat was alraedy leaking out of the building through a thousand cracks and seams and windows.

Taken from p. 59 of Trapped by Michael Northrop

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Spring's Renewal" by Shelley Shepard Gray

Spring’s Renewal by Shelley Shepard Gray is a happy Christian romance story of how Cara, an Amish school teacher who is badly scarred from a fire sees her dreams come true.  When Tim meets Cara, he realizes he does not love his hometown sweetheart as much as he thought he did, but falls for Cara.  Although there are some obstacles to a life together, they find a way to work things out.  This is a light, heartwarming read involving balancing one’s responsibilities with the pursuit of happiness.  The main theme is “that it’s not right to judge a person by only outward looks.  Sometimes when you do that, you miss out on a lot.” It has some funny parts as well as some suspense in it.  I enjoyed it!
(Karen's review)

Read Meet Amish Romance Novelist Shelley Shepard Gray to learn about the author.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Love You More" by Lisa Gardner

Love You More by Lisa Gardner is impressive.  It is a mystery about a mother, Tess, charged with murdering her husband and possibly her 6-yr-old daughter, Sophie, as well.  Tess was a real “mother” bear!  The Boston police arrest Tess, a state trooper who doesn’t have much faith in cops because of her past experience.  Tess lies to the police and devises a plan to find her daughter’s kidnapper on her own and rescue her daughter against all odds no matter what.  She had to outfox the police and the bad guys.  Her plan is genius!  “Love You More” shows there is good and bad in everyone.  It’s about betrayal, friendship, crime investigation, murder, gambling, love, and sacrifice.    

I was a bit confused in the beginning because it was a little hard to tell which lady cop was talking, Tess the state trooper or the pregnant D.D. Warner of the Boston P.D.  Once I got that cleared up, the book got really interesting.  I enjoyed how the State Trooper and the police investigator kept trying to figure out each other and how Tess was able to stay one step ahead.  This was interesting because of the good cops and bad cops involved which made it stand out from other murder mysteries.  I recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries.  I am definitely going to read another of Lisa Gardner’s books.

(Karen's review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Meet Amish Romance Novelist Shelley Shepard Gray

I first heard about Shelley Shepard Gray from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance promoting The Caregiver.  She sounded like someone I would like to know so was thrilled to see she was coming to our library for a "Meet The Author" night.

 

Shelley shared how her imagination developed as a child because her father was an alcoholic and her mother had problems so often she would be by herself and just daydream about how life could be better.  As a 6^th grade teacher, on breaks she would write little romances and then go back to teaching again.  When she took a year off from teaching, she found house cleaning was not her thing and began writing. 

 

She wanted to write western romance novels but couldn’t find a publisher.  Her first book was a 400 pg. western romance that got rejected.  She was told there were too many western romances around and she should  write Amish romances instead because there were less books in that genre.  Shelley liked visiting the Amish stores but really did not want to write about them at first.   

 

Not wanting to disappoint her wonderful agent, she gave it a try thinking she would submit something off the wall, it wouldn’t be any good and that would be it for that.  It turned out that they liked Hidden even though the main character was not Amish.  When researching her book, three things that impressed her about the Amish were:

 

1.  Their faith is real, it’s who they are.  They live out their faith every day, not just attend services once a week. 

 

2.  Family and community is all-encompassing.  Parents teach their children the same skills they learned from their parents such as canning, sewing, quilting, cooking.  They actually know their neighbors and speak face-to-face with them.  Families spend time doing things together.  She also discovered they are not all farmers.

 

3.  The Amish enjoy the moment and live in the present.  Each season has specific things to do and enjoy.  Instead of complaining about the bad weather, they look for things to do inside and enjoy the inside time.  when the weather is nice, they actually take time to sit outside and watch the birds.

 

Shelley never thought she’d be a writer and still can’t believe people actually pay to read the stories she loves to write.  Getting published as a writer was definitely a “God thing.”  Since her first failure, she has had 30 books published--some romance under her maiden name of Galloway with Harlequin and 11 Amish romance novels with Harper Collins.

 

Shelly was very humble and amusing as she shared about some of her characters in her books and her time with her Amish friends, questioning them while hoping she wouldn’t offend them.  She shared that she always begins a book thinking of her characters first and then the plot.  She discusses her characters with her husband as she writes. 

I’ve only read two of her books so far:  Hidden and Wanted but look forward to reading some more, especially finishing the Sisters of the Heart series.  I am currently reading Spring's Renewal, the second book of her Seasons of Sugarcreek series.  The other two in the series are Winter's Awakening and Autumn's Promise.  She wanted to do a summer one since there are four seasons and she wanted to write some more with these characters; however,  her publisher told her that series of just three work best. 

I plan on attending more of these Library “Meet The Author” programs!  Have you read any of her books?  What did you think of them?  Have you met any authors?  Does your library have programs like this too?  What author would you like to meet?

 

Visit her website at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Dogs Don't Lie" by Clea Simon (UPDATED 4/23/11)

Visit the author's cat's blog at www.conscious.cat.net

Dogs Don’t Lie by Clea Simon is a good, quick mystery in a small town. A man is found dead at his home and all signs point to his dog, a pit bull named Lilly.  But did the dog really do it? The best parts of the book for me are that Pru Marlow could understand what her cat, Wallis, was saying and the Dog, Lilly, becomes a hero at the end! The plot was a bit confusing, but it’s still a good read!
(Gerard's Review)

Karen's review posted 4/23/11:
Dogs Don't Lie by Clea Simon is a cozy mystery with a cute, entertaining twist--Pru Marlowe is an animal behaviorist and also discovers she has a gift of being able to hear what animals think and feel.  With the help of three cats, two dogs, and a ferret, Pru solves the murder of one of her clients whose pit bull she trained.  She questioned some humans too though.  At first the dog was blamed for it's owner's death but then Pru set out to save the dog and eventually figured out who the real killer was. 

If you like animals and a cozy mystery, this one is for you!  It starts off a bit slow but stick with it!  I was surprised to find out who the real murderer was.  Well done, Clea!

Stop by and visit the author's Conscious Cat blog and find out Challenges Of Living With Mystery Writer Clea Simon.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teasers: "Love You More" and "Dogs Don't Lie"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

"I feared for my life," I whisper. "I felt my sidearm. He charged...I feared for my life."
"Trooper Leoni, what happened?"
"I shot my husband."
"Trooper Leoni--"
I meet his gaze one last time. "Then I went looking for my daughter."

From page 35 of Love You More by Lisa Gardner.

Gerard's:

"Did you think I was asleep all those nights when you were watching Law and Order?"
I burst out laughing. The idea of my cat learning to investigate crime from a TV show, it was all too much.

From page 38 of Dogs Don't Lie by Clea Simon.  See our review of Dogs Don't Lie.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Heaven Is For Real" by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent

Heaven Is For Real tells the story of a little boy named Colton.  He was very sick and told his parents that he went to heaven for three minutes and then Jesus sent him back as an answer to his dad’s prayers.  His dad is a pastor and his wife a Sunday School teacher.  I’ll let you decide if Colton really went to heaven or not.  It’s a good Easter read!  I think he did.
(Gerard's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Throwing Like A Girl" by Weezie Kerr Mackey

I liked Throwing Like A Girl by Weezie Kerr Mackey because I like softball and enjoyed the emphasis on how being on the team helped 15-year-old Ella make friends and become more confident. Ella, moved to Dallas from Chicago late in the school year and made friends by joining the softball team in spite of not having played before. This is a wholesome book that deals with Ella's adjusting to a new school in a new town. It's a story about a nice teenager and how she deals with friendship, parents, learning a sport and romance. A great read for young readers that challenges them to put themselves "out there" and to see what happens. I recommend this to pre-teens, teens and anyone who enjoys reading about high school sports.
(Karen's review 2/27/09)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?
Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

"Pictures Of You" by Caroline Leavitt

Pictures Of You by Caroline Leavitt is a great read!  Two women get into a car accident.  One woman dies, the other woman’s life gets completely changed by the husband and boy left behind by the other woman. I really enjoyed the part of the boy telling the story.  The characters are people I got to care about.  The ending is very good and leaves the chance for a sequel which I would like to read too.
(Gerard's Review)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Our Friday Fragments

Every Friday Mrs 4444 at Half Past Kissin’ Time sponsors Friday Fragments giving bloggers a chance to share snippets that aren’t enough for an entire post. On our “Right Where We Belong” blog we always share things we learned during the past week so I thought over here, we could actually do a variety of fragments, so here we go:


It was fun to get back on http://www.pogo.com/ this week. I played Backgammon to refresh my memory and lost the first game but won the second—even doubled my winning game! It’s a great site for people who like to play games—it has all kinds, you can play for free against other people with chat or just against the computer.

I read Couples Who Pray this week and now Gerard and I are praying together again! I registered us online for the 40-day prayer challenge at http://www.coupleswhopray/. I hope it’s not going to be a nuisance.

Took off work went to the Indians-Red Sox game at noon on Thursday. Good food, exciting game. Of course, we brought books along that we read on the bus.

Our daffodils and crocuses are up and our hyacinths are just starting to pop up. I keep telling myself that these spring showers bring May flowers.

I’m getting Dogs Don’t Lie by Clea Simone from the library tomorrow. She blogs about her cats over at The Conscious Cat.

"Couples Who Pray—The Most Intimate Act Between A Man And Woman" by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart

Couples Who Pray--The Most Intimate Act Between A Man And Woman by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart presents the challenge for couples to spend 5 minutes every day praying together for 40 days and gives benefits of doing so supported by research and inspiring testimonies of 24 couples, including celebrities.  The hope is that after the 40 days, it will become a habit you will want to continue. 

The website for the 40-day prayer challenge is:  www.coupleswhopray.com  In addition to praying together, other factors are mentioned as well based on Biblical principles that should be part of any marriage.  My favorite quotes were these: “Our purpose in our marriage is to serve each other and love each other as much as we can.”—Louise Duart  and “Not long ago we drove by a little church with a great saying posted out front:  Loved the wedding, invite me to the marriage!  God.”

Couples Who Pray has inspired me to try again to pray together with my husband every day.  We have done this on and off, but maybe with the support of the website challenge, we can stick to it.    I liked the L-A-U-G-H-S acronym for 6 steps to a successful relationship in the last chapter:  Laughter, Appreciation, Understand, God, Honor, Support.  For me, this book dragged a bit when it hit on the existence of God and the reliability of scripture because I am already familiar with that; however,  the stories of the celebrities are quite interesting.  I encourage any couple to read this and give the 40-day challenge of praying together for just 5 minutes each day a try! 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

"Emily And Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee

Emily and Einstein is the story of Sandy and Emily Portman.  Sandy gets killed in an auto accident and comes back as a dog.  Emily adopts this dog and names him Einstein.  I loved the parts in the book a told by Einstein more than I did by Emily.  Very readable and had a nice, if predictable, ending.
 
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Tuesday Teasers: 3 For You Today!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

We have one non-fiction and two fiction for you today:
Karen's:
Non-fiction taeser--

Honestly, can you think of any act more intimate than joining together in a quiet place, holding hands in prayer, and allowing your soul to be bare naked before God?
This is our pledge: entering into this act of intimacy on a daily basis with the one person you love more than any other will take you to a level of joy and satisfaction that you simply will not believe.

From pg. 3 of Couples Who Pray--The Most Intimate Act Between A Man And A Woman by Squire Rushnell and Louise Duart (non-fiction)

Science fiction teaser--

Bodies hanging from the ceiling, reeking of death and rot, then gone completely in a matter of minutes. A stranger--and his desk!--appear out of nowhere, with an impossible shield protecting them. Then they disappear.

From p. 63 of The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, sequel to The Maze Runner 

Gerard's:
Fiction--

"Come on, Emily, you can't go in there. No telling what kind of crap is in that water. Just give E some time. He'll come back up. Remember, he's a dog!"

From pg. 178 of Emily and Einstein by Francis Lee

You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

We'd like you to visit our other blog, Right Where We Belong, today to help us know who is right:  Wife v. Husband on Bedmaking.  We also posted Our Favorite Reads For March.

"Hidden" by Shelley Shephard Gray

Hidden by Shelly Shephard Gray is the first book in the “Sisters of The Heart” Series. When Anna finds herself in an abusive relationship with Rob, her boyfriend, and discovers he has been misappropriating his campaign funds, she decides to hide with an Amish friend, Katie, at her Bed and Breakfast inn. While there, she has time to think about things and finds romance with her friend’s Amish brother, Henry, and a safe haven for awhile and learns to put others ahead of herself. Anna seeks God’s guidance and finally comes to a decision about some major choices in her life and stands up to her controlling parents and Rob, finally figuring out who she is and what she wants.

Hidden deals with self-doubt, loneliness, friendship, romance and trust with some discussion questions in the back. My favorite character was Henry I liked the decision Anna made in the end and the general theme of the book about people hiding who they are was obvious and well done. This was a quick, light Christian romance/suspense story. I read the second in this series first, Wanted, which is more about Anna’s friend, Katie. I liked that one better and look forward reading the last one, Forgiven.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Japan get relief through Samaritan's Purse by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"Saving Max" by Antoinette Van Heugten Scores High In My Book

If you go on Amazon.com, this book did not score very well at all.  But, if there was a Gerard.com, this book would get high marks!  I enjoyed it a lot!  The story is based on Max, a young teen boy who is Autistic and smart.  When he gets checked into a special care facility, he is accused of murdering a fellow patient.  Max’s mother does everything in her power to clear her son.  This book drags somewhat, but the hearing in front of the judge which is Part 3, more than makes up for it.  It is SO GOOD!  Especially when the mother, who is an attorney, takes over to defend her son.  Fantastic!  Put this on your to read list--you can thank me later.   

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help our charity of the month just by leaving a comment on any of our blogs! We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month. The charity for this month is at the top of our blog.

Comment For Charity: Help People of Japan With Your Comments

Thanks to everyone who commented on our blogs during March! We will be donating $159 to Canine Lifeline which really is our first donation ever to that organization. Our dog, Abby, is very pleased about this!

For April, we are choosing to donate 50 cents per comment on all our blogs to Samaritan's Purse to be used for relief to Japan. Here is a video to show you what this organization is doing:






Hope you will visit our other blogs too: Right Where We Belong, My Funny Dad, Harry, and Always Looking Up.

Check out best posts of the week at Saturday Sampling and link up one of your you wish more people saw!