Total of 9 Women Have Come Forth To Tell All About Judge Roy Moore

Thank you Gronda for another in depth, thoughtfully written post. What horrifies me even more than Roy Moore and his lawyers are his defenders who call themselves good Christians. One of the most nauseating response came from Alabama state auditor Jim Ziegler who said: “Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became the parents of Jesus. There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.’ There is something seriously wrong when certain Evangelicals can’t unequivocally condemn pedophillia.

Gronda Morin

ROY MOORE AND HIS ATTORNEY PHILLIP L. JAUREQUI

We are on another insane roller coaster ride that is in the category of a nightmare a la President Trump. It started with the Washington Post’s exposé  of 4 women coming forward to accuse Judge Roy Moore (70 years old) of sexual misconduct while he’s in the middle of a campaign to become the next republican US senator from Alabama on December 12, 2017. These 4 accusers have told their detailed stories as to how Judge Moore behaved inappropriately in trying to obtain sexual favors from them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.

Then there have been those who have shared  their recollections about how Judge Moore had been frequently kicked out of the Gadsden Mall by security because he had a habit of stalking teenage girls during the late 1970s through early 1980s.

GADSDEN MALL

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Whimsical Wednesday

Tags

Lemony Snicket, Libraries, Whimsical Wednesday

When trouble strikes, head to the library. You will either be able to solve the problem, or simply have something to read as the world crashes down around you.

~ Lemony Snicket ~

 

 

Haven, by Mary Lindsay ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: Available Now 

371 Pages

Synopsis: “We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed.”

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking, in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.

Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.

Haven is definitely going down as one of my favorite YA novels of 2017! It’s a unique and refreshing take on werewolf, witches and vampire lore, that hands down, beats anything else out there. I was hooked from the very first page and while I finished it in one sitting, I was sad when the ending came.

The relationship between Rain and Freddie is so gorgeously written. They’re strong personalities that both have dark pasts, and watching them learn to trust each other and then fall in love is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Their courtship is not a smooth one as they have many things stacked against them, but there is no doubt that these two are destined to be together.

There is a large cast of secondary characters and they’re all just as fantastically written as Rain and Freddie. There’s two in particular that I loved. Rain’s Aunt Ruby, who lovingly welcomes him into her home after his mother died, and Petra, a Weaver and so-called “freak” who is quirky and surprisingly strong given the way she’s treated by the rest of the community and her own family. 

The world-building and backstories of the Weavers (magic users) and Watchers ( werewolves) is dark, dense and gritty, and it amazed me how much the author was able to pack in a book that was slightly less than 400 pages. The whole story plays out as almost a Grimm’s fairytale only it’s set in a small Texas town. 

Honestly, I could keep gushing about Haven all day, but I’m going to sum it up in two words: sheer perfection. This is one of the best YA paranormal romance/urban fantasies I’ve come across and in my humble opinion it even eclipses Stephenie Meyers Twilight. I do have one word of caution. There are some fairly graphic sexual scenes as well as some gory ones, so I’d recommend this for ages 16 and up. I’m hoping this is only the first book in a future series, because I want MORE! 

Artemis, by Andy Weir ~ 3.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: November 14th, 2017

384 Pages

Synopsis: Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first, and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward to lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—-and that now, her only chance for survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

I have a confession to make. I think I am one of the few on the planet who haven’t read Andy Weir’s debut bestseller, The Martian.  I know! I know! I haven’t even gotten around to seeing the movie yet. This is so embarrassing. When I saw Artemis offered on NetGalley I immediately pounced, barely even skimming the premise. The good news about not having read the hugely successful previous book, is that I didn’t have such high expectations as some other readers. However, it still wound up being just a “meh” read for me.

I liked that Jazz was of Saudi Arabian descent, although she’s lived on the moon since childhood. I also appreciated  how her snarky personality and her independence mixed with occasional moments of emotional vulnerability. Jazz would have been a fantastic character for me if this was a YA novel. But it’s not. And Jazz isn’t a teenager, but a twenty-six-year-old woman. Her impulsive behavior and at times juvenile dialogue, is more in keeping with someone ten years younger. Many reviewers have complained that she’s written more like a male, and I have to agree. For me though, it was more her repeated immature actions which not only put her own life in danger, but others as well, that made her not entirely believable.

The secondary characters were interesting, but I think they could have definitely used more development. Especially Svoboda, Jazz’s awkward scientist friend. Their relationship could have been so much more, but instead it left me a bit frustrated. 

Although Weir uses a lot of scientific and technical terms, which slowed the pace down for me at times, I was captivated by Artemis and life on the moon. Naturally there were major differences between living there and living on earth, but there were certain similarities especially socio-economic norms. Everything is well detailed, and by the time I was halfway through the story, I felt as though I was there. 

The plot itself was basically your average heist mystery, only set on the moon. I definitely wouldn’t call it a thriller, but it did keep my attention. There weren’t any huge plot twists, but the story moved steadily along until the satisfactory conclusion.

Overall, I found Artemis to be an okay read, but definitely not in the blockbuster category. I’m glad I read it, and I still want to read The Martian, as well as try the next book Weir comes out with. If you’re a fan of Andy Weir and science fiction, I recommend you give this a try. It may not be an instant science fiction classic, but it’s still an entertaining blend of suspense, science and humor.

Words To Remember ~ Veterans Day 2017

Tags

Eve Merriam, Inspirational quotes, Veterans Day 2017

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask “Mother, what was war?”

~ Eve Merriam ~

Autonomous, by Andy Marino ~ 1.0 Stars

Tags

Contemporary Fiction, Self-harm, Sexual Situation, Substance Abuse, Suicidal Thoughts, Technology, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: April 3rd, 2018

368 Pages

Synopsis: William Mackler is about to go on the road trip of a lifetime. After winning a contest—and nearly dying in the process—he becomes the proud owner of Autonomous, a driverless car that knows where you want to go before you do. #Worthit! To sweeten the deal he gets to pick three friends to go with him on a cross-country trip to see their favorite band. For William, a reckless adrenaline junkie, this is the perfect last hurrah before he and his friends go their separate ways after graduation. But Autonomous is more than just a car without a steering wheel. It’s capable of downloading all of the passengers’ digital history—from the good, to the bad, to the humiliating. The information is customized into an itinerary that will expose a few well-kept secrets, but it will also force William to face some inner demons of his own. Think you know Autonomous? The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?

“The real question is, how much does Autonomous know about you?” Noooo. The real question is, how do I get back the seven hours I wasted on this? I was expecting snarky teenage humor with maybe a lighter shade of Stephen King’s Christine mixed in. Instead, Autonomous is a red hot mess that doesn’t seem to know what exactly it wants to be.

Disney is marketing this to 14-year-olds and up, and I absolutely disagree with them on this. Even if I had liked this, there is no way I’d recommend this to anyone under the age of sixteen for the following reasons:

1. There is so much swearing in this that it doesn’t even come across as realistic. Almost every sentence has some sort of curse word in it and this made the dialogue extremely awkward.

2. Sexual scenes which include one, where two of the characters decide they want to lose their virginity to each other. Granted these teens have graduated from high school, but there is no way I’d want anyone under the age of sixteen reading this.

3. Drinking and drug use is prevalent throughout the story. There are drinking games like “Never Have I Ever”, and one drunken scene involving a water tower which had me horrified. The character who’s addicted to cocaine defends himself by saying Sherlock Holmes used it. Just…ugh. There’s also a little side trip to a meth lab because of the bad decisions of a different character, which I just did not understand at all.

4. The contemplation of suicide, and self-harm are brought up but never discussed in a responsible way, and worse, there’s no resolution.

The only thing I liked in this book was the car, “Otto”, who I felt actually felt sorry for in the end. There are too many social issues thrown in together during this road trip and then adding in a cautionary tale of social media and our over-reliance on it, is a bridge too far.

When I first requested Autonomous the release date was set for 11/14/17. It’s now been moved up to April 2018, for reasons unknown. I’m hoping it’s so the author can do some much needed editing and rewriting. While I liked the premise, this book in the end, was a huge letdown. This is where I usually say, make sure you check out other reviews, but to be honest, there are very few positive ones out there. It’ll be interesting to see now that the book has a new publishing date, if once it’s released, the reviews improve. As of right now though, I would not recommend this to anyone, especially teens.

 

The Wife Between Us, by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Abuse, Adult Fiction, Dysfunctional Relationships, Mystery, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense

Release Date: January 9th, 2018

352 Pages

Synopsis: When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. You will assume you are reading about a jealous wife and her obsession with her replacement. 

You will assume you are reading about a woman about to enter a new marriage with the man she loves.

You will assume the first wife was a disaster and that the husband was well rid of her.

You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships.

Assume Nothing.

Discover the next blockbuster novel of suspense, and get ready for the read of your life.

The Wife Between Us is a much buzzed about book right now, and I can honestly say it’s entirely deserving of the hype. It’s also one of those books that you probably won’t want to read in a public place, because if you’re like me, you’ll be gasping and exclaiming out loud numerous times, which may leave you on the receiving end of some funny looks.

*As always, this is going to be a spoiler free review, but I feel the need to include a trigger warning for any reader that may have been in an abusive relationship.*

The first thing I loved was how no matter how hard I tried (and I really did), I could not tell the difference between the two authors’ writing. It flows seamlessly from one chapter to the next and helped make this such a pleasurable reading experience.

And then there’s the characters. They’re all brilliantly written. It’s actually a fairly small cast, but the intricately tied relationships between them are made so much more interesting by the multiple red herrings and mind-blowing revelations about them. The synopsis warns you not to “assume” anything, and I advise anyone planning on reading this to take that to heart. My one disappointment is that while the narrative does alternate a couple of times, given what a pivotal figure he was, I would have loved to have heard something from Richard’s POV.

There are so many twists and turns that by the time I reached the end I was completely exhausted. Of course this was also due to the fact that I started reading about 7:00 pm and finished 5 hours later at 1:00 the next morning. I honestly could not bring myself to put it down except for one brief bathroom break. I think my husband came in at one point to ask me something and I snarled something unintelligible at him! 

In my opinion, The Wife Between Us is going to be a bestseller along the lines of Gone Girl and Behind Closed Doors. Unsurprisingly, it’s already been optioned for a film. Admittedly, some of the scenarios aren’t exactly realistic, but with such a wildly entertaining tale, in the end that doesn’t really matter. If you’re a fan of psychological thrillers, you need to put this at the top of your 2018 Must Read list! It’s a book that everyone will be talking about!

Whimsical Wednesday ~ NaNoWriMo Edition

Tags

Inspirational quotes, NaNo, Shannon Hale, Whimsical Wednesday

I’m writing a first draft and reminding myself that I’m simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.

~ Shannon Hale ~

 For my fellow bloggers participating in National Writing Month this year, I wanted to pass on my best wishes. You’ve got this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Earthlings

Please Check Out This Brilliant Piece By Michael!

Afterwards

It’s me, the Universe.  Call me what you will, Jesus, Allah, Buddah, The Great Nothing, Merlin, Aslan…I do not mind particularly.  My closest friends call me Darren.

Not been here for a while, so just popped in to check up on you and I will admit, you never cease to disappoint me.  You really cannot be nice to each other for five minutes can you.  I turn my back to enjoy a rather lovely supernova sun and when I come back you’re at one another like you always are.

I was going to list the wars you’re waging against each other but you know what, I really cannot be bothered.  Please, slaughter away – the sooner you’re all dead the better.  I plan to bring the dinosaurs back – they were far cooler than you lot.  Oh, I may keep the Japanese – they’re cool too and I think a world…

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Sutherland Springs, Texas Shooting

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Mass Shooting, Sutherland Springs

As many of you know, this week has started with another mass shooting here in the U.S. Yesterday morning, a man armed with an AR-556 rifle, entered a Baptist church in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs, Texas and opened fire. When it was over twenty-six people were dead including the pastor’s fourteen-year-old daughter and other children as young as eighteen-months-old. Eight members of one family were killed including a pregnant mother. The massacre has left another twenty who were wounded. One of these is a six-year-old boy who was shot four times. This shooting has wiped out 4% of the town’s population.

A neighbor who lives across from the church, engaged in gunfire with the gunman as he was leaving the building, leading the murderer to drop his weapon and flee in his car. The neighbor flagged down another town resident and the two Good Samaritans pursued the man until his car swerved off the road. When police arrived, he was dead from what seems to be a self inflicted gunshot wound. 

Right now there’s a lot of confusion about the gunman. He was a member of the US Air Force from 2010 – 2014. He served in logistics readiness at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. In 2012 he was court-martialed for assaulting his wife and child. He received a bad conduct discharge and imprisonment for twelve months. Whatever his motives were, they seem to be related to a domestic situation. His mother-in-law has been known to attend the church although she wasn’t there yesterday morning. She’s also received some threatening texts from the shooter. 

It’s also been confirmed that he was denied a Texas gun license, yet according to CNN this morning, he purchased the gun in April 2016 from an Academy Sports & Outdoors store in San Antonio. At a press briefing right now, officials stated that he purchased four guns in total. Two in Texas and two in Colorado. All these factors beg the question of how he passed the background checks.

Naturally there’s already a lot of passionate debate between Second Amendment rights advocates, those calling for an outright gun ban, and those asking for common sense gun restrictions. Trump himself weighed in by stating the tragedy is a mental health issue, not a gun issue. But except for knowing that he abused his wife and child, we know absolutely nothing about the shooter’s mental state.

Growing up, I was taught to have a healthy respect for guns by my father who was a gun collector. I support the Second Amendment. But honestly? I don’t think our Founding Fathers foresaw the technology that would allow people determined to kill as many innocents as they can, to carry out these evil acts. This gunman NEVER should have been able to legally purchase a gun, but apparently, unless reports change again, that’s exactly what he did. 

As always, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and friends. I also have to be honest and say that I’m sickened, disgusted and angry. This country need to take a long hard look at itself. We are the only developed country that has continual mass shootings of this magnitude. I’m sick and tired of weeping and wailing every single time something like this happens, while at the same time waiting for the next event. Indeed, that is probably the only thing we agree on right now. There will most definitely be another mass shooting in the not too distant future.