Book Spotlight : The Heartbeat at My Feet: A Christmas Story of Love and Forgiveness

Hello lovely readers,  today I have a book spotlight for you. The book is titled The Heartbeat at My Feet: A Christmas Story of Love and Forgiveness. This is such a great book. It has a great message and comes from a place of love. I will have a review later in the year and an interview with the lovely author. 

So let's check out this book, shall we? 

A summary of The Heartbeat at My Feet: A Christmas Story of Love and Forgiveness

Lilly faces her most difficult year in school, feeling inadequate with a single mother and not much money, but then the unthinkable happens. When Lilly's mother is hospitalized and her brother is gone, she has to look to others for support and a place to stay. Wanda, her trusty terrier, is the only constant in Lilly's life. Just when it seems things couldn't get worse, it does.

 Lilly has to look to others to help her define family. She learns to embrace her strengths and lean into the support of friends to get her through the roughest time of her thirteen years. In the process, she learns even the most popular of her classmates are dealing with insecurities and doubts. As the holidays approach, Lilly, her foster mother, and her brother plan to welcome her mother home to a renewed family, hoping it will be a fresh start for everyone. 

However, everyone may not be in a position to accept the new definition of normal, especially, Lilly's new friends. Hope and new experiences promise to see Lilly through a difficult milestone in her coming of age. However, she may not have faced the most difficult adjustment. She learns everyone has a story, even the most consistent and reliable. 

She observes that trouble sometimes makes a person stronger and builds character, and protection may shield the thing most likely to cause growth. “I guarantee you, Lilly, strong, independent people didn’t get that way living charmed, pampered lives.” Red sat with his hands on the table in front of him. He was trying to explain the benefit of hardship.

 Lilly understood what he was saying. She knew she was stronger because of her experiences with Virgie. “Struggles make people stronger. If Macy had not experienced what she did in her early twenties, she would probably not be here the way she is today. She might be a different person. I have to say, I liked her before that defining experience and after, but it changed who we are. There is no doubt about that.”

Links to purchase this book : Amazon 

A little bit about the Author: 

Phyllis H. Moore was in her sixties before she published her first book. Yeah, a late bloomer. She has a master's degree in social work and retired from thirty years in the field to own and operate a bed and breakfast for seven years. Those experiences gave her inspiration for settings and characters to populate several novels. She remembers the fifties fondly and some things about the seventies.

​

Fannie Flagg, Rebecca Wells, Katherine Stockett, and most recently Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman are some of her favorite authors. Phyllis also enjoys the classic southern authors, McCuller, Faulkner and Lee. Writers not afraid to expose the underbelly and allow readers to come to their own conclusions are her favorite.

​

Phyllis enjoys gardening, refinishing furniture, reading, travel and writing. She currently lives on Galveston Island, Texas with her husband and adopted terrier, Ollie Bubba.

Phyllis was born and raised in south Texas. Small town, rural settings are what she knows best, but she loves being in the city and imagining the characters that inhabit the dense population. Southern authors have been her favorite. They capture the character and place she knows and expose everything that is wrong with it along the way. She believes artist, no matter their medium, have a responsibility to use their platform for the greater good. Not everyone has to agree. However, they should be willing to look, listen, and contemplate another perspective. Her goal is to present many perspectives in the essence of her characters. 

Links to find out more info: 

Goodreads

Amazon Bio Page 

Website 

Pintrest 

Book Review: Room

I want to start this review out in a way that I normally don't do. I want to talk about this cover because it is gorgeous, and the only reason why I picked up this book at all. I am not normally a fan of Lauren Oliver, she is a great author but her young adults, just don't ever really impress me or stick with me. I decided to take a chance and buy this book solely based on the design. I didn't read any synopsis or information and went in virtually blind and with zero expectations.

With that disclaimer stated, this book really surprised me. I haven't read much supernatural young adult books, and this was full of ghost and mystery. What is the scariest thing you can think of right now? It is someone watching you right? That is my absolute biggest fear of all times. So right away this book drew me in. The creepy vibe was exactly what I needed at that moment. This isn't your typical ghost or horror story. If you know Lauren Oliver you know it is going to be a slow build up, she really puts in a lot of detail that allows you to immerse yourself into the story.

The way the story is weaved, I found to be utterly fascinating and completely unique. The story essentially alternates between the perspectives of the living and those of the dead. The idea is that the living has a lot to tells us, and what the ghost have experienced and lived, excuse that pun. It is such a great concept, but it fell sort of flat.

It's a bizarre book that never really seems to find its way. Partially we can attribute this to the author's use of gross and often times unnecessary descriptions. I don't mind miserable, depressing, or even gory descriptions, but for me, there must be a purpose. The way that points of view are set up just adds to the confusion and mystery.

I have an issue with every character being almost obnoxiously negative. It is like forcing negativity. The characters seem to want to loathe in self-misery, and it's not exactly an attractive thing to read about. The book is supposed to be dark, and at points, the characters are beautifully dark. The bad out ways the good in my opinion and causes the story to become repetitive and frankly boring.

An excellent example of this is shown here:

“Take Minna. Alice is always going on about how beautiful she is. Yeah, if you like that look—a great big pair of fake tits screwed on like a lid, and eyes that always look like they’re trying to see through your pants to how much money you’ve got in your wallet.”

I didn't often understand the analogies in this book. The comparatives were often bizarre, strange or puzzling. The author would go in a direction that I couldn't quite follow at times, and I am someone that loves analogies, and example of this is below:

“His motions are erratic, like a scarecrow that has just come to life and has to compensate for a spine full of stuffing.” 

I like the nod to the wizard of oz, but it just doesn't seem to follow correctly,  it just seems there might have been a better way to describe this.  

The names were complicated in the book also. They all started with the same consonant, example Minna, Maggie, Martin, and so on.  With such a diverse cast of character, this will give a lot of names to keep up with. It can be a headache at points. I sort of wish the author would have stuck to 3-4 and really developed them into more well-rounded detailed characters. 

I want to put out a fair warning, many readers will struggle with this unusual and bizarre story. Some many even feel frustrated by the ending not actually coming to a resolution. It is a well crafted piece of fiction that you will enjoy. It is also important to note that this is the authors first attempt at writing an adult novel. 

Links to purchase: Amazon // Barnes N Noble // Book Depository // Better World Books // Book Outlet  

Goodreads Description: 

A tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways 

Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance. 

But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb. 

The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.

Bout of books read-a-thon #19

It's readathon time again! 

I love Bout of Books because it's easy to set your own goals and try to accomplish them. The goal is just to make reading a priority! If you have a busy week, you just make it your goal to read when you can. 

Hosted by Kelly and Amanda of Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books tea.

I really wanted to get a lot of things accomplished this read-a-thon. Honestly,  I know I will not get all these books completely but I want to really challenge myself this week. I made some challenges all on my own. So I picked books to complete the personal challenges. 

•  Read 5 children's books  
•  Read a book of poetry 
•  Read 3 Comics or graphics 
•  Read 1 Non-Fiction books 
•  Read 2 YA Novels
•  Read a collection 

Finish the following: 

1. Voluntary Madness -currently on page 137
2. Erotica by Ansis Nin - currently on page 111 
3. The Other One by Collete -currently on page 56

 Read the following: 

1. The Abominables 
2. Saving Montgomery Sole 
3. The Problem with Forever 
4. The Raven King
5. Diary of a Mad Brownie 
6. Boxcar Children- The Haunted Cabin Mystery #20 
7. Boxcar Children- The Chocolate Sundae Mystery #46
8. Boxcar Children- The Clue in the Corn Maze #101
9. Boxcar Children-  The Mystery on Blizard Mountain #86
10. My little pony - comic - The Magic Begins 
11. My little pony - comic - When Cutie Calls 
12. My little pony - comic - The Return of Harmony 
13. My little pony - comic - Pageants and Ponies 

 If I have time: 

1. The girl who fell from the sky 
2. The four-story mystery
3. Keeping the moon
4. Along for the ride 
5. The Little Black Book  Of Verse 
6. Dreams of Chaos In Silence 

Key= Red means completed  Purple means currently reading. 
So…let’s talk goals:

1. Be mindful of my time. No facebook and no TV, Any free time outside of class will be used in reading. 
2. To have fun with this challenge, but not to let it stress me out.  Obviously, school comes first! 
3. Finish at least 6 books. 

Challenges and Updates: 

**This is the overall list for the challenges offered during Bout of Books 19. Make sure you check the blog each day of the read-a-thon for instructions and details on how to complete the daily challenges**

Monday 5/8

Introduce yourself #insixwords: 

       College girl who loves reading alot. 

Pages read:  

      Chapter and Adult or YA:  862 pages 
      Early Readers and Kids:  570 pages

*note I am adding pages from audiobooks because I consider it pages' read. 

The total number of books read:   

1. The Haunted Cabin Mystery (The Boxcar Children, #20) -Childrens Audiobook 
2. The Little Black Book  Of Verse  by Deleonora Abel - Book of poems
3.  Saving Montgomery Sole - YA AudioBook
4. Inspector Flytrap in the president's main is missing- Children's book
5. Piper Green and the Fairy Tree- #1- Children's book
6. Piper Green and the Fairy Tree- #2- Children's book
7. Piper Green and the Fairy Tree- #3- Children's book
8. The Young Inferno- Adult - Graphic Novel
9. The Problem with forever- YA- Audiobook

Achievements:  

• Read a book of poetry
• Read 2 YA Books
• Finish at least 6 books. 

Tuesday 5/9
Not a Font: Pages read:  
The total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Wednesday 5/10
Share Your Shelfie!Pages read:  
The total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Thursday 5/11
Character Dating ProfilePages read:  
The total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Friday 5/12
Book Spine RainbowPages read:  
The total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Saturday 5/13
Seasons of BooksPages read:  
The total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Sunday 5/14
FREE DAY!

Pages read:  
The Total number of books read:  
Achievements:  

Book Review: Windfall by (long spoilers)

A solid 3.5 stars.

This book was a real disappointment for me. I am unsure how to explain why other than just to tell you that it felt very flat. It wasn't a gripping story, and I honestly couldn't get much out of it. I just expected more out of this story line. This was a very promising book. It had such potential to set a course really; there isn't much out there regarding lotto winning books. Honestly, I was surprised at how much I wanted to like this book, I did. I mean the concept is spot on. The execution just fell a little flat for me.  Get ready for a long review.  This is your basic young adult romance contemporary novel. I enjoy this genre of young adult novels, so I went in expecting to be wowed. Perhaps my expectations were too high.  

I have had some trouble with young adults novels, as I seem to get older. Sometimes I find myself failing to connect with the main character, or other times there is too much teen angst. In this book though, I was pleasantly surprised about how wonderful it was.  Also let me just be frank and say that for me, Windfall is probably one of the more refreshing contemporaries out there.Which probably seems to contract everything I just said about the novel. 

Our main character Alice doesn't believe luck exists anymore, and honestly for a good reason. She has had to deal with the worst pain imaginable. The tragic and terrible death of her parents. She decides that she will get her best friend Teddy a lottery ticket. Mainly as a joke, but more so because she secretly is in love with him. Surprisingly this kid wins the lottery. Not just any lottery but a $140 million dollar lottery! Can you even imagine? Of course with new found money, comes new found problems. Their friendship will be tested in numerous ways. 

windfall

/ˈwin(d)fôl/

noun

a piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a significant amount of money.

What I found fascinating about this book is that despite so much romance mentioned in the synopsis and blurbs, this book contains very few romantic scenes. The themes of family, friendship, belonging, the struggle of money, and identity or much more regularly explored in this book. 

Another thing I found interesting was this isn't your typical two person friendship book either. This friendship is three bonds. Between Leo, Teddy, and Alice. I found this to be awesome because I believe that most people have more than on friend at a time, maybe even more than one best friend. I found the relationship and connection of them to be gripping. I have never developed such close friends, so I enjoyed this aspect. 

We have all sorts of words that could describe us. But we get to choose which ones are most important.”

One major positive about this book is how well the author, Jennifer E. Smith, writes. She effortlessly and realistically captures what so many teens go thru, that challenging high school experience that is full of drama. The period of self-discovery and change. Also, she does this without talking much about the high school experience. She leaves the gossip, bullying, cheerleaders, and other crap out of this novel. It is oddly refreshing. She was able to make it modern and contemporary without being overly cliche

“Here’s the thing you have to remember,” Leo says. “If you give a tiger a cupcake, you can’t be annoyed with him for eating it.”

In spite of myself, I laugh. “Why would you give a tiger a cupcake?”

“Why not?” he asks with a shrug.

But the problem is this: I’m not annoyed with Teddy for eating the cupcake.

I’m annoyed with myself for giving it to him in the first place.

The family dynamics are beautiful and such loving examples. Every single young adult book I have read has an insane amount of horrible guardian figures. People that make you want to run away screaming. Or the parents are only around for one part of the book, and the teenager seems like an orphan throughout the rest of the novel. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in young adult literature. So I am very glad that windfall included such a great family dynamic. I also love the effort that went into such beautiful dialog. 

To end this super long review, I just want to point out a few more things. There was so much that I enjoyed about this little novel, I enjoyed the pace of the book. For once I felt like the timeline was very plausible. The characters were diverse, interesting, and completely developed. They also weren't static, the grew, changed. Sometimes for the best and other times for the worst. 

Overall this book isn't the worst and was pretty great. It is pretty far from a perfect young adult novel, but it is exciting and refreshing I will be picking up more of her books in the future. As always my views are my own and reflex my opinions, always try out a book for yourself! 

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest and completely unbiased review. All thoughts are my own.

Links for purchase: Amazon // Barnes and Noble // Abe Books // Indigo 

Goodreads Description:


Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the right kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes. 

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have learned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall. 

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . And about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

Author Information:

Jennifer E. Smith is the author of eight books for young adults, including WINDFALL and THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. She earned her master's degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her writing has been translated into 33 languages.

Goodreads  // Website