The Blueprint For Back Pain Relief: The Essential Guide To Non-Surgical Solutions by Bradford T. Butler DC
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this book by author Dr. Bradford Butler, we are given some insightful information about how one issue in one area in our body can relate to pain in another. He explains the functioning of the human body and how interconnected everything is. Back pain can have a myriad of causes and each one should be targeted, not just the symptom of the back pain in itself. The author highlights some treatment options, from traditional to more holistic and lesser known medicinal approaches and gives positive and negative for each one.
I felt that this book was a rehashing of older information that has been written about, studies posted online and so I did not see much of any value in it. Yes, the convenience of having it all in one spot is good, but I do not know if I would come back to this book very much when it is easier to search online for the specifics of my needs.


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Choices: A Florida Action Adventure Novel by Scott W. Cook
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A new series is here that follows Scott Jarvis, a private Investigator that works out of Orlando, Florida. This being the first book, we get insight into how Scott got into the Private Investigator work as he started out as a Detective. In the middle of a case, just as he gets some good intel and is closing in on the suspects in a missing persons case, Scott is ordered off the case, so he sets out on his own to finish the job. This decision will have deadly consequences as Scott is pulled into a dark web of Mafia operations and then the FBI steps in.
The premise was interesting enough, I am not sure that the writing was good enough to carry the story. The protagonist was very caustic towards everyone else, a veritable “know-it-all” and that even applied to situations where he did not have experience. His ability to survive a firefight intact was stretching credibility as well as his handling of certain situations. The book was full of action and some suspense, so if you can overlook the character flaws than you might still enjoy the book.


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The Rebirth of Henry Whittle by Gertrude Kitty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Phoenix Whittle is stuck in the foster care system and is just counting down the days until she is finally done. Suddenly, she is given the option of going to an estranged uncle, Mr. Henry Whittle who would give her a place to live with a family member (himself). However, in the time between the offer went out and Phoenix arriving at his door, something monumental has happened. Henry is no more and has been replaced by his killer who assumes his identity until Phoenix arrives and turns everything in the house on its head. Between the killer at home and the bullying at school Phoenix must show just how determined and tough she really is and how much she can survive.
This book was so hair-raisingly thrilling story. The abuse Phoenix goes through tugged at my own hurtful past, so it was very easy to identify with her. The complications of the mystery (will she ever figure it out), and the sudden murder of a local boy give this book a macabre feel. Great story.


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Just Eat The Worm: Six Great Strategies That Will Help You Earn More And Never Waste A Crisis by Maxwell Adekoje
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Inspiration and hope can be hard to come by these days with everything going on, but we all need a little of both. Within this book are 6 main stories that reinforce 6 principles that will help you turn this crisis into an opportunity of mental and emotional success. Using real life examples, the author lays out inspiring stories of success that will teach you about investing in yourself, the Pareto principles, creative thinking, maximizing your time and how to navigate a crisis in a effective and successful way.
There were many quotes from famous people in here that really brought the points the author was making together, and he used a familiar language. Think of this book as: you are sitting down with a friend who has some good advice about life. This easy style of writing makes the book more approachable and the well edited and formatted book will be a joy to read. I liked this book and think many could benefit from it.


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Enemy by Kimberly Amato
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In 2045, the not-so-distant future (only 25 years away), a underground resistance group is preparing its last stand against a ruthless government. In the New York Subway tunnels, these men and women fight for their lives under the guidance of Ellie Goldman. In a world where everyone is only worth as much as they are useful, women, people of color or even criminals are victims of the government’s assignment testing. As brother is pitted against brother, just how far will you go to protect someone you love, or to fight for a cause you believe in?
As post-apocalyptic novels go, this one is pretty well done. It is not in my all-time favorites, but it has a solid world building and it had a variety of characters that were for the most part well written and fleshed out. I can certainly recommend reading this story, there is plenty here that will entice most people.


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Cooking For Cannibals by Rich Leder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A romance horror story full of dark (or morbid) humor that will have you chuckling at the antics of the not-so-old seniors of this senior living facility. Carrie is a typical introvert, who prefers to spend time with her lab rats than she does with other humans, until she decides to steal a experimental formula form the lab and accidentally (or was it an accident?) turns the local residents of the senior living facility into youngsters. There was a unforeseen side effect, the not-so seniors now crave some human flesh. Carrie gets unexpected help form a recent ex-convict Johnny who starts to help her ion cooking up some special dishes. Will they all ever be stopped?
I found this book to be true to the black humor I grew up with in Germany, so I enjoyed it very much. I liked the craziness of it all and Carrie was a quirky character that was able to pull it all off.


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A Farewell To Charms by Demitria Lunetta
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Paige left last book thinking her new boyfriend was a vampire serial killer. This book picks up right there and throws Paige into one uncomfortable situation after the next. While she tries to prove his innocence (she just wants one normal boyfriend), she is roped into solving a robbery at her employers and she also finds out more than she bargained for about Niko the sexy werewolf next door.
The story is as hilarious as the first two books, Paige makes some growth as a person and the teases on the sexy times keep coming. Will Paige let herself go there finally? Or will she keep living in the past?
I received an ARC and decided to leave a voluntary review.


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Hex, Love, and Rock & Roll by Kat Turner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Helen Schrader steps into a Witches shop and asks her to read her future. One weird thing leads to another and Helen leaves with her own powers awoken, but she has no idea of how to control them. She accidentally hexes her rocker crush Brian and loses one of her curse stones in the process. Essentially for everything she wants, she must give something up and what will happen when the cost becomes to high for her to pay?
I liked the story overall, but it had a very slow pace and the writing was very discordant in the beginning, the author seemed to hit her stride towards the middle of the book. I received an ARC and decided to leave a voluntary review.


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Deception by Victoria Saccenti
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Raging for revenge, Joe embarks on a quest to seduce Hunter who he believes is the reason a teammate committed suicide. What Joe did not count with, was his primal feelings that are awakened by her and that threaten to turn his entire world upon its axis. Caught up in the feelings Hunter is intrigued by Joe, but she wants to protect her heart that has been hurt a few times too many. A push and pull ensues, between Joe and Hunter and the love that is growing may very well be dashed to pieces by the deception that started their relationship.
The cover was misleading I think, I was thinking this would be a more action-oriented book with some slight romantic undertones. The romance has a greater role within this book and there is much Dom/Sub situations involved as well. There are plenty of twists and turns within the story, mainly through revelations in conversations between characters that will keep you guessing what will happen in the end. A good book.


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Carrie Sue's Diary by Sandy Semerad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carrie Sue is a crime reporter in 1987 Atlanta. Her fiancé is widower Marcus Handley, a powerful publisher. Carries life gets upended when she finds out that Marcus’s “dead” wife isn’t actually dead at all. This has Marcus pulling away from Carrie as his feelings for his wife return. Amidst her personal; turmoil, Carrie seeks out a friend of hers who himself is dealing with personal trauma, namely a gun shot wound. This pulls Carrie into a deep crime web surrounding Nev Powers and Carrie sets out to find some missing women who might connect all the different dots.
A very interesting book, this thriller has very good elements and some not so good. I could have cared less about Carrie’s personal problems; I think the book was well written and could have stood on its own with out it. Other than that, it was a good story, with well done dialogue and characters.


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FI Money: Learn the hard way, teach the easy way: A unique guide to money mindset, financial literacy and financial independence by Peter Duffy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book will teach you all about how to handle your finances. It will challenge you to view your relationship with money with a critical eye and identify the mistakes you tend to make. Then the author gives you different ways in which to avoid and mitigate the mistakes. The author also gives us an overview of what his most common mistakes in regard to his money were and how he was able to fix them and ultimately build a better financial future.
Money is a big part of our lives and learning how to correctly manage. Invest, budget and spend it is always something we should all be interested in. I think that this book will be truly helpful in identifying bad habits and helping people to overcome them. This book was well written and the content made sense in relation to the topic and I did not find any huge red flags in any of the tips given by the author.


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Mostly True II: Episodes by Arlene N Cohen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the Sequel to the first book, the author delivers on her previous work. She blends true stories with some magical embellishments and some witty humor and gives us greatly entertaining stories that span the breadth of human experience. Sad, strange, or even happy, each one is full of life and showcases the vastness of human interactions. Eleven stories are contained within and the writing is good. Each chapter is headed off with a quote from some famous people that set the mood for the ensuing story. While short, the stories all hit the point and I am feeling a little bereft with some, wishing there was more. This is a good problem to have with books though, so it’s a bonus. The Baby maker was a sadder story, but I really liked Dancing in the Void.

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The Last Tourist by Nowick Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Norwick Gray is facing his midlife crisis. To cope (and to deal with it), he sets off with his backpack towards tropical climates in Asia, Pacific and Latin America. He’s looking for a perfect beach, better health, even inner peace will do. But will he ever achieve it? This is the fourth book in the My Country series, by author Norwick Gray and as in the previous books, he paints a vivid picture of the world we live in. In addition, the pictures help showcase the natural splendor the author was lucky enough to witness in his travels.
I liked the story, even in its brevity, it was well written, and the descriptions were detailed enough to help you really imagine yourself along for the ride. The knowledge gained by the author was interesting as well. He learned some unusual things in normal places and normal things in unusual places, showing us that we are all the same deep within regardless of where we come from.


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Boost: Lift Your Energy, Lose Your Stress, and Love Your Life! by Zee Dammerel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A book for provoking thought. The topic: living a healthier life in a world that is unwell and how to fight the chronic loss of energy we all now face that our parents and grandparents never experienced. This book is not blaming any one thing in our lives; however, it does provide with a guideline on how to achieve a balance in our lives between healthy hobbies and past-times and the technology that is permeating every part of our lives. The author acknowledges that we cannot simply live without technology nowadays, but she does help us limit our consumption of it and with that raise our energy and happiness levels.
I found it to be an interesting book, it certainly gives enough information for you to truly think about all the times we check our phones, or even sit and watch tv which some people don’t even count as screen time anymore. The message is a positive one, and after the fiasco of 2020, I think many people can benefit from some positivity.


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Resistance, Revolution and Other Love Stories by K
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Is love the ultimate act of rebellion? Or is rebellion the ultimate act of Love? In this book, a collection of 12 short stories take us into the lives of vastly different people who all have one thing in common: they love deeply and completely and long for love as well. Written by Canadian author K. the stories were previously published separately until they were compiled into this book. Expect to be taken around the world, from Crimea, Yugoslavia all the way to Iraq, the stories are poignant and well written in such a way that they draw you in and allow you to ponder life in a grander manner.
I particularly liked Rachel and her views on dandelions. The simple beauty in the worldviews of many of the characters was deceptive in its simplicity. I believe the book is well worth a read, especially if you are interested in glimpses of life in other countries than your own.


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Olivia Cult: Tales of a Witch Detective: The Enchantress Omega by Boss Kelly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Parabola is an alternative dimension to our own. In it, supernatural creatures live out their lives just as we humans live in our dimension. Olivia Cult is only 15 years old, but she has embraced her witchy heritage and has bonded with a demon (Lilith) and uses her powers in her job as a Detective for the paranormal Police Force. Estranged from her family, she longs for her old life on Earth, but not at the cost of al living beings on Earth. A terrorist organization kidnap her Captain and plan to break the barriers to invade Earth and subjugate humans. Olivia is one of the few on the force that have not been compromised and she now has to figure out who she can trust and enlist to help her before it is too late.
Formatting, spacing and syntax errors were abundant, and I checked all three of my devices to rule out any formatting errors that way. Olivia is a firecracker and has some tough decisions she works through. I enjoyed the story; I just wish the formatting and other stuff had been better edited.


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The Worst Story Ever Written by Nicole Wells
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jayne is a plain human, surrounded by those with magic and those with Talent. Yes, Talent with a capital T. Jealous of all those around her who have it “easy”, Jayne is excited when the Book Fairy drops in and enlists her help to solve a murder. Popping around with magical transportation snails, Jayne and the Book Fairy follow clues and attempt to find the real murderer of an author named Alain. Meeting and snarking off to Prince Liam was not on Jaynes list to do today. And yet, it happened and causes all kinds of distractions.
Full of puns, very on the nose descriptions and some laugh out loud humor, the book has plenty to make it stand out. However, I had a hard time following along in the beginning of the book, it was a quick pace with some background information thrown around while keeping you guessing what was going on. Maybe some editing could clear that up and even things out?
I did receive an ARC and decided to post my honest review.


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Forgiven by Gina Detwiler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jared Lorn and Grace Fortune were looking forward to a quiet life together creating music and enjoying each other’s company. Their peaceful life has to be put on hold when an Entrepreneur named Darwin Speer discovers Jared’s secret. Darwin attempts to exploit this secret for his own gains. Jared and Grace flee across the world, only steps ahead of Darwin until he captures Jared and it is up to Grace to stop them both and undo the harm already done.
I don’t know if it is quite a young adult book, maybe for the older end of the spectrum? It got pretty complicated at spots and unless the teenager is religious, I think they can be lost with the areas where praying and scripture get front stage attention. It is a good adventure book, with a HEA, which can make up for some of the other issues.


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Life Gets in the Way: Powering Through Adversity with Grit and Grace by Sally Kalksma
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sally Kalksma is a widow, fighting a rare blood cancer and working full-time to make ends meet. While all of that, she also raised 3 kids and tried to stay active as an athlete. Dealing with her grief in a healthy manner gets to be hard when her attention and energy is being drawn in so many directions. However, Sally overcomes these obstacles by finding competitive stair climbing and starts raising money for others in need. Even after beating cancer, Sally strives to help others, that’s why she wrote this book, so she can be an inspiration to many.
As a Mom of 4 kids, I have to say that this book was inspiring, even through the emotionally hard spots the author went through. This kind of book is needed even more today than before and it can show us just how far determination, courage and persistence can bring us. A very well written memoir that is worth reading.


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