jbronderbookreviews

Canvas of the Heart by Melissa Taggart

Canvas of the Heart is romantic novel about a young woman with cerebral palsy, and how she rises above the term disability through her relationship with friends, family, and above all, the man who becomes her husband.

Funny, sexy and inspirational, the book focuses on Lindsey’s insights, struggles and triumphs, teaching us that those with disabilities can also lead rich, full lives.

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Author’s Bio

Georgia native Melissa Taggart is a believer in tackling challenges. Diagnosed with CP at the age of three months, as a child she discovered that writing offered her a way to deal with a speech impediment. It not only paved the way for better communication, but she transformed a challenge into the voice of a writer eager to teach the world that people with disabilities are people with the same lives, loves and longings as anyone else.
Through Melissa’s amusing, insightful and touching stories, she addresses issues and common misconceptions in a way that will open the eyes and hearts of readers everywhere. Her goal is to deliver her special message with humor and candidness, as well as bring greater awareness about the real world of the disabled.

When Melissa is not busy creating the universe of Lindsey, Jason and Max, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. She also volunteers part-time in a first grade classroom helping the kids with worksheets and games and other activities…

My Review

4 stars

Lindsey has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair to get around. But she is bound and determined to be independent and not let that define her. Lindsey’s next door neighbor and best friend, Becky brings over her new boyfriend, Jason and they three become friends. Then Becky and Jason split. Becky drifts away from Lindsey and Jason is accepted into nursing school in another town. Later, Lindsey and Jason find themselves back together.

This is a good romance story. I think it’s great how Lindsey has cerebral palsy, you don’t find stories like this often and it makes this book that much better. I love Lindsey, she is a strong woman and determined to be independent. Jason is a great person, very loving and caring. I love how Lindsey keeps encouraging to be an artist.

If you like sweet romance stories, this book will appeal to you. It makes you step out of your comfort zone but leaves you happy and hoping the best for Lindsey and Jason.

I received Canvas of the Heart from Socially Awkward Book Nerd and Melissa Taggart for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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Hansel and Gretel by Mike Klaassen

A famine decimates a magical realm, and the family of ten-year-old Hansel and his little sister face starvation. Their parents decide that the best hope for all of them against almost certain death is to abandon the children deep in the forest, but Hansel leads Gretel home by following a trail of pebbles that glow in the moonlight. Still desperate, their parents prevent Hansel from finding more pebbles, and then they abandon the children even deeper into the forest, where they become thoroughly lost. Hansel and Gretel follow a white bird to a shack in the woods and fall captive to Petra, an evil witch, who fattens Hansel for slaughter. Hansel tricks Petra into thinking he isn’t fattening, then pushes her into the oven—only to discover that they may not yet be out of danger.

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Author’s Bio

“Mike Klaassen is the author of the series “Klaassen’s Classic Folktales,” which so far includes two of the Brothers Grimm tales retold a novellas: “The Frog Prince” and “Hansel and Gretel.” Mike has also written “Backlash: A War of 1812 Novel,” and two young-adult novels: “Cracks” and “The Brute.” He has published two nonfiction books: “Fiction-Writing Modes: Eleven Essential Tools for Bringing Your Story to Life” and “Scenes and Sequels: How to Write Page-Turning Fiction.” Mike publishes “For Fiction Writers,” a free, monthly, online newsletter about the craft of writing fiction.

Website

My Review

5 stars

We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel. A famine causes two kids to but left in the woods but Hansel is smart and finds a way to get home. They are then taken further into the woods and left. The kids find a white bird then follow it to a house made of sweets. Inside is a witch that plans on fattening up the kids to eat. They trick her, cook her, and make their escape.

Mike Klaassen has re-written the story and updates it to give it a more modern feel. In his novella, the father reluctantly talks about leaving the kids in the woods. There is also a richer description to the story. It smooths the flow of the story compared to original. There is also a change as Hansel is the one that pushes the witch into the stove as opposed to Gretel.

Over all I like how Klaassen has re-written the story. It definitely adds to the well know tale. But what I liked the best was the original story was included at the end of the novella so you could compare the re-worked version.

If you like fairytales that stay true to their original version, you will love this novella. I see that Klaassen has re-written The Frog Prince and I’m very curious to see how that compares. I will definitely be adding Mike Klaassen to my future reading lists.

I received Hansel and Gretel from Book Unleashed for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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