The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

Title: The First Phone Call From Heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

Where I Got It: My favorite grocery store --- Meijer

Why I Read It: I have read his books in the past, and loved them. I read this was also a great read, and of course wanted to check it out myself.

Rating: 5 book marks

The First Phone Call from Heaven tells the story of a small town on Lake Michigan that gets worldwide attention when its citizens start receiving phone calls from the afterlife. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, is determined to find out. An allegory about the power of belief—and a page-turner that will touch your soul—Albom's masterful storytelling has never been so moving and unexpected.

Readers of The Five People You Meet in Heaven will recognize the warmth and emotion so redolent of Albom's writing, and those who haven't yet enjoyed the power of his storytelling, will thrill at the discovery of one of the best-loved writers of our time. [[ Blurb from Amazon.com]] 

Honestly, I don't have a lot of complaints about this book. It was amazing. From the first page to the very last, Mitch Albom has you completely sucked in. He starts off by explaining where the book takes place, which is Coldwater, Michigan. For those of you who don't know, I, and Mitch are both from Michigan. Reading a book where it is actually taking place somewhere I know about and/or have been, makes me feel like I can relate to the book even more. Albom then goes into tell us about some of the characters, and that they are receiving calls from their loved ones who have passed away.

How many of us can admit how nice it would be to still receive phone calls from those who have passed on? My Grandmother recently passed (this past January) and reading this book made me want to speak to her. But, that is not a bad thing.

There were parts of this book that gave me goosebumps. I kept wanting more. I kept wanting answers. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. And the best part of the book? I wanted to reach out and hug these characters.

This book will make you laugh. It will make you cry. And it will even make you angry. To me, a book that can make you feel multiple emotions, deserves 5 stars on that alone.

There was really only one thing with the book that irritated me a bit and that I didn't care for. That was that in the book, Coldwater was fictional. While it is a REAL Michigan town, Albom made up parts of the town that doesn't really exist. For example, Coldwater isn't a small town, and in the book, Albom has it as a small town. Also, it is not on Lake Michigan, in fact, it is a few hours away. However, this is just a minor detail and isn't important. In fact, one of the last pages in the book, after the story ends, Albom mentions that he made Coldwater fictional.

Overall, this is probably the best book Albom has written and I would definitely recommend it.


Mitch Albom's Facebook
Website
Twitter: @MitchAlbom

Where to buy:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Book Cover Reveal -- Mama's Ink by Rachelle Vaughn

Mama's Ink by Rachelle Vaughn will be released in April, and the cover has been revealed!

Synopsis:

As soon as she was old enough, Sadie Callahan left her hometown of Red Valley in the dust and never looked back. Now she’s a world-renowned photographer living in San Francisco with the perfect apartment, a successful boyfriend and a job she’s always dreamed of.

When Sadie receives a mysterious phone call about her mother, her seemingly perfect life comes to a screeching halt. She is forced to return to the town she never fit into and is confronted with tragic news that changes everything. If that wasn't bad enough, she runs into her high school sweetheart, Jared Ferrara. Jared is the ultimate bad boy with sleeves of tattoos, a leather jacket and, of course, a motorcycle.

While trying to keep her past at bay, Sadie finds out that most tattoos aren't skin deep.

 About the Author:

Rachelle Vaughn is the international bestselling author of several romance and erotica tales. Her first novel,Home Ice, consistently appears on bestselling lists years after its initial publication. Rachelle lives in California with her husband and their sassy calico cat. When she isn't writing, she enjoys watching action movies, cruising Pinterest for inspiration and cheering for her favorite hockey players. Visit her website at rachellevaughn.com.

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Pinterest

Goodreads

Newsletter

Book Cover Reveal-- Can You Guess Who?

Hello everyone!

I decided that I want to try and start doing some posts about upcoming books and when author's reveal their covers to all of us book readers!

My first cover reveal is going to be Jodi Picoult's new book, Leaving Time.

Most of you probably know Jodi is one of my top favorite authors. I love the way she writes, and how passionate she is in all of her books.

Leaving Time is her newest, which will be released in October of 2014. Below is the blurb about the book, used from Barnes and Noble.

For more than a decade, Jenna Metcalf has never stopped thinking about her mother, Alice, who mysteriously disappeared in the wake of a tragic accident. Refusing to believe that she would be abandoned as a young child, Jenna searches for her mother regularly online and pores over the pages of Alice’s old journals. A scientist who studied grief among elephants, Alice wrote mostly of her research among the animals she loved, yet Jenna hopes the entries will provide a clue to her mother’s whereabouts.

I am so excited to read this book. And, without further ado, here is the cover reveal of her book, which was originally revealed by Entertainment Weekly, and then on Jodi's Facebook.

Review: Aqua Blue by Marian L. Thomas

Title: Aqua Blue

Author: Marian L. Thomas

Where I Got It: Marian contacted me and asked me if I would review her newest book. I also reviewed another one of her books last year, which can be found by clicking here.

Why I Read It: Because the first book I ever read from Marian was very good, I wanted to read more by her. Plus, I can never pass up a book!

Rating: 5 Stars






"Best friends Aqua Blue and Haley, grew up together in the small town of Jackson County, Tennessee. Each had aspiring dreams to move to the big city of New York, vowing to stay friends what come may. But when secrets are revealed, their friendship is soon put to the test, and the strings that once were thought to be so strong, begin to unravel." --Excerpt taken from the inside, back of the book, almost to the very end.


I felt like the above passage was the best way to pretty much sum up this book. There are of course some other important parts and important characters that are in the book, but you can find that when you read the book, or do some research on it. ;-)

I absolutely loved this book. It was the kind of book that you just had to keep turning the page, no matter what you had to do... have to do homework? It isn't going to happen if you're reading Aqua Blue. Need to go to the store? Again, not going to happen when you're reading Aqua Blue. I stayed up many nights way past my bed time to read this book. Let me list the things I loved most.

• The characters. Every single one of them. Well, maybe except Jack. He was a little scary, and I was not sure what he was up to. However, every character I felt like I knew. I felt like I had a connection with them all. 
• The way the book was written. I like a book with short-ish chapters in it, or quite a few stopping points. I felt like having more chapters, but short chapters made it a very easy read. 
• The book was also broken up into parts. I like when books are like that, it makes me feel like we will get to see different parts to the characters and their lives.
• Detail. Most of the book had a lot of detail, giving you descriptions on how each person was feeling, what they were like, etc. That is one of the many things that make me feel so connected to characters.

There are so many reasons I enjoyed this book. Mostly, it was enjoyable because of the characters. They were all amazing and I just had such a connection to them all.

With all of that said, there were only two things that I did not really enjoy. One of them was that towards the end of the book, it jumped quite a bit. Aqua Blue and Haley both had grown up considerably and had been in New York for quite some time, then it jumps to part 4, which is fine. I just wished that there were a little bit more detail in how and why they got where they did, what all happened between first arriving in New York, etc. While there was a lot of detail throughout the book, I was just a little disappointed that these parts were left unsettled.

The only other part that I sort of did not enjoy (and I am sure Marian had a reason for it we do not know yet) was the tie in two her other three books she has out. Tying those books in, no matter how it is done is not a bad thing, but it was not really mentioned or more detail on why they were tied in. Again, though, Marian may be planning on telling us in the future with another book. Who knows. ;-)

I definitely recommend this book. It is a must read, and I promise you that you will enjoy the book immensely. If you read it, or plan to read it or when you do read it, please tell me what you think!






Helpful Links:

marianlthomas.com
Marian's Facebook

Where to buy her book:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

Title: The Bridge

Author: Karen Kingsbury

Where I Got It: I bought it for my birthday last year

Why I Read It: I love everything about Karen Kingsbury and the way she writes, her books, etc. I have read every book of hers.

Rating: 5 stars



This book is about a book store owner who named his book store The Bridge, and who had a rough time bringing his book store back up to par after a massive flood ran through the town. It talks about the ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies that occurred, and was also about a girl and a boy who met in college, and fell in love, even though they did not know it at the time. We follow Charlie and his wife Donna, as well as Molly and Ryan as they grow and develop in the trust and hands of God himself.

As usual, Karen Kingsbury earns 5 stars from me. She is an amazing writer, and I love how she can make you feel like you know her characters in real life. She brings these characters to life, and makes you feel like they are apart of your very own family. I found myself really routing for the couple who met in college and drifted apart, and also for Charlie, the owner of The Bridge, which was his book store that he built from the bottom up.

This book sort of hit close to home because recently I have been learning about second chances, and how everyone deserves a second chance. Karen shows us how God is the giver of second chances, and that is the best and most important thing I took away from this book.

I also loved this book because I am going to school for business management, so I can own my own book store some day. Considering that this book is about a book store owner, it showed me that even though it is taking a long time to get where I am going, it is going to be great to have customers coming into my book store that they feel like is home to them, and making those customers my family.

With all of that said, the only thing that surprised me about the book is that it did not seem as "God like", like most of Karen's books are. Yes, there was some mention about how great God is, and the power of Prayer, etc. But usually he books are more in depth with it. Based on how this book was verses her other ones, I prefer her books to speak about the Great and Powerful God, rather than not.

I would highly recommend this book for someone who wants a great, but quick read and for someone who wants to feel warm inside after you read the last page.


Useful Links:

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKarenKingsbury
http://www.karenkingsbury.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Bridge-Novel-Karen-Kingsbury/dp/1451647018/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381074687&sr=1-1&keywords=the+bridge+by+karen+kingsbury

Author Bio: Alan Shelton

Alan Shelton is a leader who colors outside the lines, a corporate executive mentor with an entrepreneurial spirit and a gripping speaker who engages his audiences. 

With a reputation like that, it is no wonder that his book, “Awakened  Leadership: Beyond Self-Mastery,” has 

become so successful. Shelton graduated from Brigham Young  University (BYU) in Utah after completing missionary work in Peru. By 1977, Shelton had landed his first big gig in the corporate world at PricewaterhouseCoopers, now PwC, where his clients included IBM, Sunkist, Beckman Instruments and Toyota Motor Sales. His journey continued through 1990 when he sold his CPA firm, Shelton, Smith and Townsend, and turned to leadership training. Since then, his client list has grown to include the University of San Diego, 

 Wrangler, VF Corp., The North Face, Celgene and many others.

“Awakened Leadership,” published by Red Hatchet Press in May 2012, has taken the leadership world by storm. The book is the winner of a 2013 National Indie Excellence Book Award as well as a 2012 USA Best Book Award.

Shelton advises and facilitates workshops for international businesses in Oceanside, Calif., where he lives in a refurbished fire station with his loving wife, Justine. He has two children, Kristin and Michael, who earned business degrees from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona, respectively. 

Awards Alan has received in his career:

Indie Excellence Winner 2013

USA Best Book Awards WInner

Important Links and other information:

Book Information:

Hardcover $24.95

ISBN: 978-0984712502

Motivational, 220 pages

Red Hatchet Press, May 2012

Author Links:

Author Website: http://alanshelton.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5751092.Alan_E_Shelton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alaneshelton

Twitter: @AlanEShelton

Review: Awakened Leadership: Beyond Self-Mastery by Alan E. Shelton

Hello everyone! I was contacted by Sami again at JKSCommunication to review a book, and the book that I chose this time was called Awakened Leadership: Beyond Self-Mastery. I chose this book for a few reasons. Not only did it sound like a great book, but I also chose it because I am going to college for Business Management, and I was interested to see if I could put them together.

While I enjoyed this book very much, I do have to say that I was not able to finish the whole thing before this review, simply because I have been so incredibly busy with other things. I did, however, get through 80% of the book, and would recommend it to anyone.

Below is a synopsis of the book that was sent to me in the press kit:

Transformational leadership books and processes have delivered us to the era of self-mastery. But how do we move from being effective leaders to being awakened leaders? By situating leadership in the nest of the seeker's journey toward truth, you can now stand on the shoulders of the visionaries who have come before, and become conscious of your own position within Source.

Leaving behind charts, maps, and graphs, “Awakened Leadership” is a portal to direct experience via pointers and personal stories that will help you recognize the gift of being who you really are. Then your leadership essence will effortlessly manifest not only in the boardroom, but in all facets of your life.

One of the biggest things that I enjoyed about Alan's book is his ability to make you see what it is he is trying to see in the "real world". He is able to give you the real life examples, or his own examples that gives you a better understanding. Also, the way he wrote was very inspiring a well. I am a book review blogger, and obvious a book reader, but seeing the way he is with words through out this book, made me want to write something inspiring of my own.

Alan also adds his own coaching style in the book, which gives you a feeling of wanting to try everything he suggests and mentions.

As I stated earlier, I wanted to see if I could compare what he had to say to what I already knew, and to the business management world, and while there were some things that I did not agree with, and others that I did, I also learned quite a bit. 

I was able to read about 80% of the book, and I feel like it was one of the best "self help" books I have read to date. I will continue reading it, and will post a better review on how it ended, and what I thought. So check back soon! 

Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars, and would highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those trying to discover their leadership. 

Please visit my next post for more information about Alan as an author, links where you can get the book, and other information! And again, do not forget to come back for a better review!