One Acre and Insecurity: A Single Parent’s Account by Lara Bonnell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After 10 years of marriage and four kids, she decided along with her Army husband that they had grown too far apart, and a divorce was better for them both. Against the advice of lawyers and friends, she decided to ask for little in child support and other alimony, so that when all this all was settled, and she had little to provide for her four children, reality sunk in. Desperate to find a way to support them all while still following her dreams in finishing her Masters, she starts to work as a librarian and turns to a book called “one acre and security” that touts the benefits of growing all your own food on only one acre of land. The results are funny, heartfelt and eye opening. (There is also a little interlude with a pastor as well). I found the book to be refreshing story wise. It was well written, entirely in first person with little to no errors in terms of grammar, spelling or syntax. We don’t get to know the name of the woman who this is all happening too, but the stories are funny and well wroth the read. Lighthearted loving and sweet.

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Onward: The Art of Leadership by Mark Joseph Huckabee
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Broken down into 7 sections from starting strong to building teams and finally changing the frame, the author takes classic and timeless leadership advice and rebrands (or reframes) it in todays cultural language so that the new generation of leaders might better grasp the concepts and be able to build them into how they operate as leaders. Some of the concepts that are explored are owning your work, downsides of technology, knowing your audience, the art of empathy, working the plan and so many more. The real difference in this book is that he takes movies and books such as Cloverfield, Jurassic Park, Rocky, Game of thrones, Wall Street, Alien, Inception, Black Panther and so on an he recounts pivotal moments of this work. In doing this, he ties this pivotal moment to a leadership advice and so makes it relevant in today’s world.
I think this book is really well written and its almost exciting in its reading. I felt as if I was on the edge of my seat, and that’s not easy to do in a book that’s supposed to be about leadership. I think this is a phenomenal book told in a gripping way which is unusual for this genre, but it absolutely works wonders!


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My Daddy Might Be A Wizard by J.J. Hebert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh, my kids loved this one! They really were entranced by the story and the illustrations. This book, “I think my Daddy is a Wizard”, is told from the viewpoint from the daughter and she tells the reader about her father, who she suspects might be a wizard. She recounts all the wonderful and amazing things he can do, like change channels, get boxes of surprises delivered to their front door, or give her potions (medicine) that will cure her of her sickness. I read these to my kids and my 5-year-old really loved it. My 7-year-old liked it a little, but it may be a bit young for her, only the 5-year-old and my 3-year-old asked for me to read the story multiple times. I think that the author has a good book here and other books might be a good thing to check out if you have young children.

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The French Orphan by Michael Stolle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The decadence of France in the 1600’s has been detailed before, but in this book our main character is the orphan Pierre who is enrolled in a theological school along with other orphans and wealthy boys of the nobility. He becomes friends with a wealthy and popular boy Armand and the two of them steal away from the school to find their own adventure and truths. The parentage of Orphan Pierre is called into question at one point and it seems as if not everyone is as they appear.
There is a lot of plots and twisted intrigue in this book that took a little while to unravel. At the end of the book, there were still some points not answered, but I presume the next book will address them. I found the dialogue to be awkward and the character development wasn’t as well done as the world and timeline that the characters existed in. I ultimately wanted to love it more than I did.


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What Makes America Great by Bob Dowell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Bob Dowell dives into history, into the time of John Winthrop and Thomas Jefferson. He also takes a look at Abraham Lincoln and even Martin Luther King. What do all these great men have in common? For starters, they all advanced America into the direction of acceptance and greater understanding of our neighbors. They also gave us guidelines in the form of the Declaration of independence, the Gettysburg address and the “I have a dream” speech on how to live our lives, and how to fight for what is right. A religious undertone is strong in this book, so if you do not like to read about such things, then this might not be the book for you. The author clearly believes in a strong presence of God within our nation, from Government to individual homes. One thing to keep in mind (that was to most extent glossed over in this book), is that our founding fathers did advocate for a separation of church and state. “In Everson v. Board of Education (1947), Justice Hugo Black wrote: "In the words of Thomas Jefferson, the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect a wall of separation between church and state.”.
This needs to be kept in mind when we state that the only way America is great, is if the church and the state are united. I am a religious person, and I follow scripture, but I do believe that the church has no place in our government. I suppose that I may not be the right audience for this book, but I did enjoy reading it.


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Women Are Creating the Glass Ceiling and Have the Power to End It by Nancy E Parsons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really interesting book. It looked at the proverbial glass ceiling and what is actually keeping that ceiling in place. What I found really interesting is that the author puts forth the idea that it is actually mainly women themselves who keep that glass ceiling in place. She then follows it up with arguments and facts stemming from her research and experiences. Then, the book takes a look at the #MeToo movement and how it has set women’s equality back and hindered women in the workplace due to male resistance in hiring, meetings, and promotions. I am not completely convinced that women’s thinking and tendency for worrying is at fault, but the author does make a compelling argument for this case. She also gives advice for women who are in leadership positions and others who want to enter the leadership ranks. Advice regarding in how to counter the glass ceiling effects and how we can collectively change it.

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Cold But Not Forgotten by Rj Waters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Detective Carson is looking forward to a routine day at the range with his squad, but when they arrive nothing goes as planned. For starters, they find the body of the wife of the local dentist, Mrs. Diane Morrissey. She is covered in blood, with no obvious wounds. This propels Detective Carson into a whirlwind of mysterious leads in the case. This small town has been harboring some convoluted secrets and the books turns into a veritable “Who done it” type of mystery. Her husband is cheating, that person is embezzling her husband, Mrs. Morrissey was being slipped arsenic by her doctor, another person was jealous of her sports trophies, and on and on.
This book, even with the darker theme and mystery, was pretty light read for me. I enjoyed the small-town mentality and humor in the situation. I really enjoyed the book, it was well written and free of errors (important to me).


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Take Care of your People: The Enlightened CEO'S Guide To Business Success by Paul Sarvadi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One big fact that many CEO’s forget in their business operations and forecasts is that their people are one of the most important assets in the company. Without developing, supporting and advancing the right people, you will lose valuable capital and ultimately profits. This book is written by the cofounder of Insperity Paul Savardi, a successful businessman who has an extensive background in business, from operations to HR. This book doesn’t talk down to you, rather Mr. Savardi has written a book that gives valuable guidance about how you can take care of your people. One of the areas that is stressed and that I think is a good reminder for us in the HR world, is that you can only develop someone so far. If you are hiring the wrong people, then you are setting both the company and the new hire up for failure in the long run. We need to first focus on hiring the right people for the right position before we can then move into fostering growth and loyalty to the company.

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From Stressed To Centered: A Practical Guide To A Healthier And Happier You by Dana A. Gionta
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From Stressed to Centered offers is a uniquely different approach to stress management and self-care that helps you understand and tackle your stress at all levels. If you are feeling more tired, overwhelmed, distracted, or overextended lately, this book might be able to help you take the necessary steps to figure out what the problem is and how to solve it. Self-care is so important and most of us neglect it because we need to be strong, or we need to care for others first. The disservice this does to us (and yes others) is great.
I know that there were some great tips in here that I am able to use. Hopefully this will help me make time for myself on a consistent and regular basis. The information in here will not go over your head, it is written in a simple manner, easy to be understood. Even if this type of book is not normally your thing, I think you could benefit from it.


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The Ghosts of Notchey Creek by Liz S. Andrews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Harley Hendrickson is the proud owner of the shop Smoky Mountain spirits. She loves mixing cocktails, her pet pig, the town she lives in and “some” of its residents. When Beau Arson moves in to the Briarcliffe mansion, things start to get a little weird around town. Beau suffers from ghostly visitors; a ghost hunter shows up and start preaching stories to whomever will listen. And when Harley finds a woman’s body and the local antique dealer is murdered, Harley sets out to figure out just what is going on around town.
I found this was a really well written murder mystery. Its timely for right now as the story is set in December right before Christmas, so the setting and timing was perfect as I read it. I really enjoyed the story and Harley was a competent and intelligent character. Her pet pig made for some funny scenes that broke up the dark mood sometimes.


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The Ex-Princess by Fiona West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This love story full of magic and intrigue and fighting amongst countries in this parallel realm is interesting and quirky. On the run for 5 years, Princess Abigail is finally found and coerced to return home to fulfill her end of the engagement contract and marry Prince Edward. The two meet up and travel back towards his kingdom all while trying to convince each other, they are the one in the right. He for wanting to uphold the marriage contract regardless of her Lupus, and her, for wanting to dissolve it and be left alone. It’s a sweet romance in a intriguing new type of world.
The worldbuilding was very confusing to me. Even Abbie, was confused and you would think she would know more about the Veil and the people who live there. A background, glossary or something would have been very beneficial.
I received a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.


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