Liars' Paradox by Taylor Stevens

First of all, there's something that had me stumped.  It's the cover.  The razor with blood and rust.  I'm trying to comprehend how it ties in with the story here.  The only thing that mentioned was a quote with the wording razor's edge.  I thought maybe I had missed something so I reread it.  Same confusement.  I do like the cover.  Creative.

Moving on....

Wow! Talk about a major disfunctional family especially between the twin brother and sister.  Apparently the special bond doesn't even exist between them.  You can practically taste the different flavors of hatred and  bitterness.  Especially when it rolled off the twin girl, Jill fast and furious; understandably so. Its mostly due to the way they were raised by their ever elusive mother.  She had trained them to defend themselves 24/7 .  They  couldn't understand why  but they do it for their mother's love.  They believed that their mother didn't love them due to the fact she would drop them off at different parts of the world and be trained without hearing a word from her for days, weeks, months, even year.  

The story alternates with the siblings, mother and other people who are involved in the twins' lives at the moment.  The twins had thought their mother disillusioned until her hidden home was bombed after receiving a cryptic text from her.  This is where their wild crazy ride begins.  In order to find their mother, they need to set aside their jealousy, pettiness and differences aside to solve the mystery.  In order to do that, they must go back into the past to get clues and hints as to who their mother really is and learn their real identities.

The story was a wild roller coaster ride.  There were times I just wanted to slap Jill and tell her to grow up. There are some characters who got me confused at first where I had to go back and figure out where they came from. 

It is a fast actioned mystery.  Also it's a first book in a series.  Basically, it's called Jack and Jill Thriller.  The way it ended in this book led me to believe there will be another book after this one. I like the way the book started and ended with a bang. 

For those of you guys who like mystery (think CIA, undercover, KCG, Broker, Berlin, Florida, contracts, murder for hire, and etc)  and thriller,  different emotions, and etc, then this book is for you.  This book is a bit unique for a mystery/thriller.

I'm going to give this book a low 4 stars.

I received ARC from Kensington Corp through Net Galley and won a print from Good Reads.  Thank you!

White Christmas by Tanya Stowe

If youj

If you're interested in a very short Christmas novella fit into your hectic schedule at this time of the year, get this book. 61 pages total.

This is another contemporary Christian romance novella which you'll enjoy for a very light reading.  it was a delight to read it.  

Don't let this cover fool you. The story is based in Arizona.   This is a couple who were  basically set up  by their female relatives after being informed that they're not interested in blind date. They happened to meet by "chance" by their relatives and they are attracted to each other. They have known each other when they were kids growing up. 

They learn more about each other and their beliefs and their political views.  Down the road, the hero gets an job offer which the heroine warns him against due to the corrupted political involvement and company.  They get into an argument and the heroine stands firmly what she believes in and walks away from him for good.  He gets angry. However, his reasoning with himself gets him to dig deeper into the investigation of the company and the man who wants to hire him.  Turns out she was right.  He does all the right moves. He asks the girl for forgiveness after all the work he's done to correct the wrongs that the corrupted company had done.

I'd give it a high 3 stars for this short novella.

I received this book from Pelican Book Group through Net Galley for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you!

A Christmas Homecoming by Maryann Diorio

Requirement for this novella: 1 or 2  boxes of tissues.

Why didn't anyone warn me this would be a tear jerker?  This is a novella of redemption, faith, and hope and forgiveness.

This a short contemporary Christian novella.   

This novella tells of a teenager who vanished after leaving a note for her parents. Her parents have searched for her in vain but never found her.  Years later, the heroine decides to come home with her children for Christmas after couple of misfortunes in another country.

This is the story of a family dealing with loss, anger, forgiveness, faith, love, hope, compassion, understanding, and most of all, redemption.

This is really well written for a short novella.  I was amazed how the author was able to go back and forth between the mother and the daughter in each chapter including another family member.  She was able to tie everything together.

Be sure to have tissues ready.

Low 4 stars for a novella

I received this short ARC from Pelican Book Group through Net Galley for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you!

Tempting the Highland Spy by Tara Kingston

This is one of the most enjoyable light romance novel I've read in a long time. After  being caught stealing at a party, Grace is forced to go undercover in order to save her aunt who also was caught stealing. There were reasons why they were stealing and this was supposed to be the last job for her and her aunt.  I love it how the American heroine and the British hero are being forced to wotked together as an uncovered newly wedded couple to spy on an American heiress who may have killed her father.

There are surprising twists and there are some parts that will make you laugh out loud.  It will keep you entertained as they solved the case while discovering about each other.  This is a light romance without heavy steamy scenes.  This is the 3rd book in Highland Hearts series written by other authors.  This book can be read as stand alone.
If you're in a mood for a fun, light reading novel to relax you, then this is it for you.

I'll give this book a high 3 3/4 stars.

I received this novel from Entangled Publishing, LLC / Entangled: Amara through Net Galley for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you!

Drakon's Tear by N.J. Walters

I'd like to say on here for the record that the cover is deceiving.  Why?  As I was reading, I thought to myself, this isn't one of those trashy romance books.  This novel consists of fantasy, suspense, action, and mythology.  Kinda like Sherrilyn Kenyon's and J.R. Ward's but without a lot of sex scenes. So, it deserves a better cover, but that's just me.

This novel really draws you in at the very beginning. I was hooked and could not put the book down until a little over 2 hours later.  I appreciate the fact there was hardly any steamy scene(sorry, too much of it gets too old for me. Nah, I'm not sorry.  It's just TMI for me) 

If you enjoy 

dragons

drakons

kidnapping

family bond

good vs evil

history

jewels

action

fights

Russia

light romance

then you'll enjoy this fast action novel. I wouldn't mind reading her other books in the series. This can be a stand alone book.

I'll give this book a low 4 stars.

I received this interesting ARC from Entangled Publishing, LLC /Entangled: Amara through Net Galley for my unbiased and honest review. Thank you!

The White Christmas Inn by Colleen Wright

First of all, I'd like to say, I adore this cover!  It reminds me of home in the country!  And may I say, it's perfect for this story?  

This is the story that I actually wanted to be in!  I wanted to be at the Inn right now, admiring all the decorations, smelling all the scents of Christmas, and the cooking!  Right there in the middle of nowhere, basically with lots of snow after the blizzard. The author was speaking my language as soon as I read the first page.  I did not put the Nook down until i was done 3 hours later.  Talk about miracles of all miracles for everyone! (well except for one, but you have to read on to see what I mean!) 

If you want to experience 

the aftermath of a blizzard

an inn in the middle of the country

the cozy country feel inside of an inn

Christmas theme

Food

Lit fireplace

Different families 

Sleigh rides

Children giggling and squealing

Romance

and much much more,

then this book is for you.  

You'll fall in love with each of the characters.  You just simply want to be part of them.  The ending was great!

I wouldn't mind reading more books by Colleen Wright. She has a way of bring bunch of characters together without confusing anyone. She can sew each square of the character's stories together effortlessly and flawlessly.

Go and get this book if you're in the mood for Christmas. It's not just romance. It's about family, friends, faith, hope, and miracles.  It'll do your soul good!  Seriously, this is one of those awesome feel good novel you'd want with cookies and hot chocolate!  You'll regret not reading it!

4 and 1/2 stars from me!

I received this wonderful ARC from Howard Books through Net Galley.  Thank you!

The Noel Stranger by Richard Paul Evans

Apparently, this is a second book in The Noel Collection.  I've never read any book  by Richard Paul Evans.  Imagine my suprise this Christmas novel is written by a gentleman. Thought I'd give it a try. The synopsis read reasonable and interesting.

As I read along, I was having a hard time believing how they connected.  The heroine was only thinking about herself.  I'm also having a hard time how she could just up and leave her restaurant running smoothly without her for several weeks or so. I'm also having a hard time how the divorce came about and how her husband can just show up asking her to show up for his court hearing.  Or just hop on the plane to go to an island for Christmas.  I saw her very insecured, understandably due to the divorce.  She basically questions everything in her new relationship which was almost destroyed. The hero was an idiot for not answering her questions and leaving her in the dark.  He expected her to know him well after learning about each other for a week?  Come one!  Give me a break.  Very unrealistic and contrived.

The story was easy to read.  It'll do for a light reading. Some of you guys may like it and some of you guys may not like it.

I was having difficulting connecting with the characters.  I wanted to, honest! I just couldn't.  The emotions just weren't there.

I'll have to read other books by Richard Paul Evans to understand why he's dubbed as the King of Christmas.  

I love the cover of this book. It's beautiful.

I'll give this book a low 3 stars.  

I received this ARC from Simon & Schuster through Net Galley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.  Thank you!

Draw and Paint Super Cute Animals by Jane Maday

First  of all, this book is the size of a large magazine.  The cover is thick.  The illustrations are simply gorgeous  from the cover to the back of the cover. There are 110 pages.

This is an excellent book to have for a beginner who's just starting out to learn to draw and paint. She goes on to explain the tools needed, type of paints, color charts, shadings, and the techniques at the beginning.

As you turn the pages, she shows step by step on drawing and painting the animals such as puppies, kittens, birds, bears, foxes, and many more.

I've noticed the author emphasizes on that "art is a learning process ."  She gives positive vibes and encourages the readers not to be dicouraged but keep trying and practice drawing .  I like the fact that the author doesn't make claim that you can magically draw like a pro in one sitting.  She truly  comes across as an professional teacher in this book.

This book would serve well to all who desires to learn and it can be used as a tool and guide from to time to all ages.

The illustrations are wonderful and pleasing to the eyes.

I won this book in a raffle from North Light Books through Bookish First.  This review is totally voluntarily submitted by me and as usual as all my reviews are unbiased and honest.