jbronderbookreviews

Grace in the Mirror (Fairy Tale Found – 1) by Kristy Tate

Fairy tales can come true. But it’s terrifying when it happens to you
Grace James thinks having to wear a hand-me-down uniform while trying to fit into her posh new school in glitzy Orange County is bad, but being followed to class by seven little angry men is worse. The dwarfs believe that Grace has stolen the magic mirror, and they want it back.

Opponents become allies and soon Grace can’t tell who is friend or foe and what is real or merely a fairy tale, so she cooks up a scheme that will take her back home to Oregon where life made sense—away from her stingy grandparents and her miniature stalkers. But a frantic cast of fairy tale characters have plans of their own that may or may not include a happily ever after.

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Author’s Bio

Dr. Seuss was my first love. When my mom left me in the children’s section of the library I’d find Horton and the Cat. My mom hated the good doctor and refused to checkout his books. He was my secret, guilty pleasure. Eventually, I read about Narnia, Oz and Green Gables.

When my mom grew too sick to visit the library, a friend brought her a stash of romances which she kept in a big box beside her bed. Weekly, this good friend replenished the box. My mom didn’t know I read her books; it was like the Seuss affair, only sexier. Reading became my escape from a horrific and scary situation. Immersed in a story, I didn’t have to think about the life and death drama taking place on the other side of my bedroom wall. Books were my hallucinogenic drug of choice. In college, I studied literature and fell in love with Elliot, Willa and too many others to mention. (This had no similarity to my dating life.)

I’m no longer a child living with a grieving father and a dying mother, nor am I the co-ed in search of something or someone real, nonfictional. I’m an adult blessed with an abundance of love. I love my Heavenly Father and His son, my husband and family, my dog, my friends, my neighbors, my writing group, the birds outside my window.

Because I’m a writer, I also love my characters. I adore their pluck, courage and mettle. I admire the way they face and overcome hardships. But, as in any romance, I sometimes I get angry with them and think that they are too stupid to live. At those times, I have to remind myself that they live only in my imagination, unless I share. Writing for me is all about sharing–giving back to the world that has so generously shared with me– because I learned a long time ago that the world is full of life and death dramas. Sometimes we need a story to help us escape.
And we need as much love as we can find. That’s why I write romance.

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My Review

4 stars

Heather, Grace, and Toby find themselves moving in with their stingy, rich grandparents when their father is deployed overseas. Essentially the kids and their mother are allowed to live with the grandunit as long as they take care of everything thing. This is the story of Grace. She feels out of place, thankfully the kids are more accepting than criticizing. Then a chance encounter lands Grace a job and the strangeness ensues. Seven little men are following her around, calling her Blanche, and demanding she return a missing mirror. But this is the beginning of the strangeness.

Grace and her family move to her grandparents’ house. She is 16 and the new kid at school so she has a lot of drama to face there. But when she starts working at the antique store and meets Brock, the store owner’s son, things become magical.

I liked the idea behind this story and I loved the fairy tale characters coming into our world. The problem I had was I had a hard time getting into this story. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that Grace was accepted into school instead of being tormented. I also like the different characters. It’s just the plot kind of meandered around with different characters and events.

Over all this was a good read. There is an opening so I hope there is another book in the works.

I received Grace in the Mirror from eBooks for Review for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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Blast from the Past (Mac Faraday – 4) by Lauren Carr

In this fourth mystery on Deep Creek Lake; Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs in mobsters and federal agents.

After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars—Archie Monday!

Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lakeshore resort town, things may be hotter than even he can handle.

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Author’s Bio

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries. The twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series, Candidate for Murder is scheduled for release on June 20, 2016.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. If you would like to ask Lauren to appear at your event, feel free to contact her using the form below.

She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

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My Review

5 stars

Archie is on the way to take Gnarly for his grooming appointment when a Deep Creek Lake police are and two officers stop her. Thankfully she knows everyone on the force and manages to kill the men. They were a hit team from mobster Tommy Cruz. Archie has a bit of a past and it seems Tommy is out to put her in a grave. But then Tommy and a group of his men end up dead at a local café. A short distance away at a local bed and breakfast the owner’s wife initially looks like she fell down the stairs but in reality has been killed.

Mac has his hands full when he learns about Archie’s past. Then when Tommy ends up dead he thinks things are taken care of, the truth of the matter is that there are so much more happening in this story. There is a mobster’s ex-wife and her little girl that are been in the witness protection program. Then there is the death of the Mary Catherine Skeltner. Her husband seems to be the killer yet Mac is his alibi.

This is a great mystery and kept me on my toes keeping all the facts in order. But I managed to stay step for step with Mac. I will admit that there was one thing that did get to be a touch annoying in this story. I was really sick and tired of hearing about Gnarly getting in to see Missy. There was such a fit thrown about this that I had to stop the book for a while because I was irritated.

Having said that this is another great Mac Faraday mystery. I really enjoyed learning more about Archie and love how everything wrapped up. I have already ready Murder at Astaire Castle (which got my started on this series) so I can’t wait to get my hands on The Lady Who Cried Myurder.

I received Blast from the Past from iRead Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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