MISS HILDRETH WORE BROWN by Olivia deBelle Byrd

Published by Morgan James Publishing
ISBN 978-1-60037-748-8
I originally won this book from My Reader’s Block blog and then at the request of the author, was asked to read, review and offer my honest opinion. There was no cost to me and/or no monetary compensation.
  Synopsis: While Olivia deBelle Byrd was repeating one of her many Southern stories for the umpteenth time, her long-suffering husband looked at her with glazed over eyes and said, “Why don’t you write this stuff down?” Thus was born Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle. If the genesis for a book is to shut your wife up, I guess that’s as good as any.
  On top of that, Olivia’s mother had burdened her with one of those Southern middle names kids love to make fun. To see “deBelle” printed on the front of a book seemed vindication for all the childhood teasing.
  With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Olivia deBelle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms.
  The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt Lottie Mae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama.
  Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church, where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral.
  Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: A very light hearted, quick, funny, and at times, laugh out loud chapters read. The writing style of the author allows the reader to actually visualize the scene and gives the feeling of the author and reader engaged in a dialogue. Short chapters touching upon topics, in my opinion, everyone can relate to in some way. Her sense of humor and the way she relates events from funerals to family vacations, emergency room visits to Christmas attire is hysterical. A must read and a perfect gift for those “just because occasions”!!!!

 

Addendum: Olivia deBelle Byrd will be visiting here on April 14th while on tour. So mark your calendars!!! She also has a surprise in store for you!!

THE WEIGHT OF GLASS by Stuart Heatherington

Published by Stuart Heatherington
ASIN: B003WMA670
At the request of the author, an EBook edition was provided, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (from author): Hidden in the words of Amy Macon’s memoir, as much a work in progress as a survival guide for a torturous childhood, is the need to stitch together the fabric of a family’s dark history.
  For Lee Macon, growing up meant you had to forget waking up inside your mother’s coffin or the memory of the man that put you there. That’s a secret he’s kept from his sister for 30 years.
  Things change, however, when Amy joins Lee at the family’s beach house to lay their sister to rest. Showing up will ease some of the scars brought on by time, if not the memory of the ones etched upon Amy’s wrists. But more importantly, Lee understands the staggering truth behind her murder.
  What they know is this: out of a houseful of children, only two of them remain alive. One is pushing to escape the past and the other hell-bent on bringing it to light. In this, Lee finds himself blindsided by a sister’s resolve, drug around by the corners of a broken heart and forced to remember what, as a boy, he so desperately fought to hide. Problem is no one said it would be easy digging up the dead. It never is. But if they’re going to sift through the bones of memory, it will mean uncovering the mystery of a family long buried in violence.
  A provocative novel of survival and redemption, The Weight of Glass is a story of one family’s struggle with forgiveness in the wake of tragedy.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: This was a very hard read due to the nature of the story line. A very disturbing and profound plot of extreme child abuse of 4 siblings, only 2 surviving to adulthood and trying to deal with the past. The story alternated between an adult brother and sister reliving and confessing to each other the torture they both endured of their childhood and how it affected them. At times, I had difficulty as to who was remembering the memories and had to reread a few pages to fully grasp which sibling it was. The characters were very hard for me, and this is my opinion only, to relate to as the abuse was so horrendous at times, that I could not imagine. A very depressing, and at times, horrific read. Unfortunately, in this day and age, we hear and see real life stories like this on the news every week.

THE WEIGHT OF GLASS by Stuart Heatherington

Published by Stuart Heatherington
ASIN: B003WMA670
At the request of the author, an EBook edition was provided, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (from author): Hidden in the words of Amy Macon’s memoir, as much a work in progress as a survival guide for a torturous childhood, is the need to stitch together the fabric of a family’s dark history.
  For Lee Macon, growing up meant you had to forget waking up inside your mother’s coffin or the memory of the man that put you there. That’s a secret he’s kept from his sister for 30 years.
  Things change, however, when Amy joins Lee at the family’s beach house to lay their sister to rest. Showing up will ease some of the scars brought on by time, if not the memory of the ones etched upon Amy’s wrists. But more importantly, Lee understands the staggering truth behind her murder.
  What they know is this: out of a houseful of children, only two of them remain alive. One is pushing to escape the past and the other hell-bent on bringing it to light. In this, Lee finds himself blindsided by a sister’s resolve, drug around by the corners of a broken heart and forced to remember what, as a boy, he so desperately fought to hide. Problem is no one said it would be easy digging up the dead. It never is. But if they’re going to sift through the bones of memory, it will mean uncovering the mystery of a family long buried in violence.
  A provocative novel of survival and redemption, The Weight of Glass is a story of one family’s struggle with forgiveness in the wake of tragedy.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: This was a very hard read due to the nature of the story line. A very disturbing and profound plot of extreme child abuse of 4 siblings, only 2 surviving to adulthood and trying to deal with the past. The story alternated between an adult brother and sister reliving and confessing to each other the torture they both endured of their childhood and how it affected them. At times, I had difficulty as to who was remembering the memories and had to reread a few pages to fully grasp which sibling it was. The characters were very hard for me, and this is my opinion only, to relate to as the abuse was so horrendous at times, that I could not imagine. A very depressing, and at times, horrific read. Unfortunately, in this day and age, we hear and see real life stories like this on the news every week.

NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah

  Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):  For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows — her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
  Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy — until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time Mia and Zach leave the house, she worries about them.
  On a hot summer’s night her worst fears are realized. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget… or the courage to forgive.
  Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Kristin Hannah grabs your heart, soul, thoughts and emotions from page one to the very last page. As a mother and daughter it was easy to relate to Jude Farraday, mother of twins, Mia and Zach but the author did more than that, she made you feel what Jude was feeling. Her raw emotions, her pride, her pain, her happiness, her anger. How lives can change and be destroyed in a second but can those lives be healed? And how and what does it take? How long? A heart wrenching, yet, thought provoking story that will stay with you long after you are done reading it. This was the type of book that I didn’t want to end, as I was so engrossed in this family’s life, I wanted to know what their future held. A touching and emotional must read! Mark your calendars for March 29th, it’s release date!

NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah

  Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):  For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows — her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
  Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy — until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time Mia and Zach leave the house, she worries about them.
  On a hot summer’s night her worst fears are realized. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget… or the courage to forgive.
  Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Kristin Hannah grabs your heart, soul, thoughts and emotions from page one to the very last page. As a mother and daughter it was easy to relate to Jude Farraday, mother of twins, Mia and Zach but the author did more than that, she made you feel what Jude was feeling. Her raw emotions, her pride, her pain, her happiness, her anger. How lives can change and be destroyed in a second but can those lives be healed? And how and what does it take? How long? A heart wrenching, yet, thought provoking story that will stay with you long after you are done reading it. This was the type of book that I didn’t want to end, as I was so engrossed in this family’s life, I wanted to know what their future held. A touching and emotional must read! Mark your calendars for March 29th, it’s release date!

NIGHT ROAD by Kristin Hannah

  Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):  For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows — her twins, Mia and Zach, are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close-knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
  Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy — until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time Mia and Zach leave the house, she worries about them.
  On a hot summer’s night her worst fears are realized. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget… or the courage to forgive.
  Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Kristin Hannah grabs your heart, soul, thoughts and emotions from page one to the very last page. As a mother and daughter it was easy to relate to Jude Farraday, mother of twins, Mia and Zach but the author did more than that, she made you feel what Jude was feeling. Her raw emotions, her pride, her pain, her happiness, her anger. How lives can change and be destroyed in a second but can those lives be healed? And how and what does it take? How long? A heart wrenching, yet, thought provoking story that will stay with you long after you are done reading it. This was the type of book that I didn’t want to end, as I was so engrossed in this family’s life, I wanted to know what their future held. A touching and emotional must read! Mark your calendars for March 29th, it’s release date!

BITCH, PLEASE! by Megan Munroe

Published by Turner Company
ISBN: 978-1-59652-806-2
At the request of Turner Publishing, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon): Megan Munroe’s Bitch, Please! delivers a saucy communiqué empowering nice girls to kick passivity to the curb and instead use the strength of inward kindness to shake the foundation of the bitch’s empire. Bitch, Please! provides compelling answers to questions that nice girls often ask, like:
  How do I handle confrontation with the bitch in the next cubicle?
  Why does the bitch always seem to get what she wants?
  If being nice is a good thing, why do I feel like a doormat?
  From practical how-to-succeed scenarios to laugh-out-loud lessons, this humorous yet poignant dialogue has something for every woman. A unique mix of rhetoric, real-life revelations, kitschy quizzes, and food for thought, this is the perfect road map for your journey to create a successful life in a nice-girl fashion.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: I don’t read self help/advice books so I really came out of my comfort zone to not only read but review this book too. There were a few reasons why I accepted, the first being, if we are honest with ourselves, we all at one time or another, have a little bit of that trait as part of our personality and living inside of us, maybe some people have more than others. Another reason, and I am guessing that 99% of us will agree that we have someone in our life who we deal with, maybe on a daily basis, be it family, friend, coworker, etc etc. Do we enable these people? Or do we take a stand? Ms. Munroe takes a hard look at what happened to “the nice girl approach” compared to the “entitled diva” that we see on TV and newspapers almost on a daily basis. Ms Munroe uses humor in her descriptions of nice girls vs. bitches.
  This is a manual for every girl and woman of any age and whatever stage of life you are in. It is filled with answers to everyday questions, funny little tests, how to deal with those that believe “nice girls” are “door mats”. My copy has so many bookmarks of quotes that I wanted to share until I realized, I would be close to rewriting the book in this review. I will share a couple with you:
**”Nice is defined as “refined in manners, language” and “virtuous: respectable: decorous.” Words like virtuous and respectable have been lost in today;s generation of young women’; it’s as if we don’t know what it means to have manners at all.” page 5
**”Being a nice girl is a lifestyle dedicated to being aware of our actions, and in turn being willing to bear the consequences or enjoy the benefits of how we choose to behave.  page 71
  My Rating: Since I don’t usually read self help/advice books, I had a difficult time rating it because I felt it was partially a subjective read, so with that being said, I am going to give it a middle of the road rating between a 4-3

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BITCH, PLEASE! by Megan Munroe

Published by Turner Company
ISBN: 978-1-59652-806-2
At the request of Turner Publishing, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon): Megan Munroe’s Bitch, Please! delivers a saucy communiqué empowering nice girls to kick passivity to the curb and instead use the strength of inward kindness to shake the foundation of the bitch’s empire. Bitch, Please! provides compelling answers to questions that nice girls often ask, like:
  How do I handle confrontation with the bitch in the next cubicle?
  Why does the bitch always seem to get what she wants?
  If being nice is a good thing, why do I feel like a doormat?
  From practical how-to-succeed scenarios to laugh-out-loud lessons, this humorous yet poignant dialogue has something for every woman. A unique mix of rhetoric, real-life revelations, kitschy quizzes, and food for thought, this is the perfect road map for your journey to create a successful life in a nice-girl fashion.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: I don’t read self help/advice books so I really came out of my comfort zone to not only read but review this book too. There were a few reasons why I accepted, the first being, if we are honest with ourselves, we all at one time or another, have a little bit of that trait as part of our personality and living inside of us, maybe some people have more than others. Another reason, and I am guessing that 99% of us will agree that we have someone in our life who we deal with, maybe on a daily basis, be it family, friend, coworker, etc etc. Do we enable these people? Or do we take a stand? Ms. Munroe takes a hard look at what happened to “the nice girl approach” compared to the “entitled diva” that we see on TV and newspapers almost on a daily basis. Ms Munroe uses humor in her descriptions of nice girls vs. bitches.
  This is a manual for every girl and woman of any age and whatever stage of life you are in. It is filled with answers to everyday questions, funny little tests, how to deal with those that believe “nice girls” are “door mats”. My copy has so many bookmarks of quotes that I wanted to share until I realized, I would be close to rewriting the book in this review. I will share a couple with you:
**”Nice is defined as “refined in manners, language” and “virtuous: respectable: decorous.” Words like virtuous and respectable have been lost in today;s generation of young women’; it’s as if we don’t know what it means to have manners at all.” page 5
**”Being a nice girl is a lifestyle dedicated to being aware of our actions, and in turn being willing to bear the consequences or enjoy the benefits of how we choose to behave.  page 71
  My Rating: Since I don’t usually read self help/advice books, I had a difficult time rating it because I felt it was partially a subjective read, so with that being said, I am going to give it a middle of the road rating between a 4-3

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