Category: Book Reviews

#BookReview: One Of The Few by @jasonbladd

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

Some might say that last night was a night when we saw “One of The Few” become an unprecedented majority. Donald J. Trump, a political outsider, became our 45th president.

It makes many Americans feel that we are finally FREE again as a country and as a nation. Though there are still some upset people who are both shocked and in fear over the election results that don’t take effect until January 20, 2017.

Our country is only free because men and women put their life on the line for our every day freedoms. 14705699_10207479601973694_6183286360889527329_n

And it’s also the heart of Jason B Ladd’s Christian memoir, One of The Few.

Yet, if the fact that it’s Christian in genre turns you off, don’t worry this book addresses it all.

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It starts out telling Jason’s backstory but the story comes to a suspenseful and heavy-breathing pace when you read of his experiences in boot camp for the Marines as well as fighter pilot.

Yet, it showcases many worldviews and strongly defends the Christian’s worldview by sharing each side of the argument on multiple issues:

  • salvation
  • Creation theories
  • heaven and hell
  • sexual sins
  • pornography

It shares strong views with clear evidence that they are backed by the writer but in a way that makes you see exactly where he is coming from on each topic and in the end, Ladd offers each reader the chance to really come face to face with Jesus, just like he did on the battlefield.

It’s extremely good and has given me hope that a self-published book, if published with professionalism and for the right purpose, can and will succeed in a world that is crying out for hope, someone to carry their burdens, and embrace them with pure unfiltered and unconditional love.

The book is currently on sale in a specific Veteran’s day special for 2.99 on Amazon Kindle.

Want to win a signed copy of One of The Few? (U.S. Entrants Only, please) Enter HERE NOW!

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#BookReview: Small Great Things by @jodipicoult is more than just ‘a great read’; it’s a movement.

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

We are all familiar with the hashtag on social media #BlackLivesMatter. Yet I didn’t come face to face with it until I read Jodi Picoult’s newest masterpiece, Small Great Things.

Following the main characters through vignette like first-person accounts of the story we meet Ruth Jefferson, the woman this story is centered around. Ruth Jefferson is a 20 year nurse at West Haven Mercy Hospital and is working when the Bauer’s come in because Brit Bauer is in labor is ready to deliver her baby. Ruth Jefferson is a neonatal nurse and a mother herself. Her husband died while serving in Afghanistan.

Instantly, you relate to Ruth and connect with her.

So it equally pisses you off when a wonderful woman like Ruth who was just doing her job is suddenly under investigation for murder, and not just any murder.

The murder of Davis Bauer, newborn son of Brit and Turk Bauer, known white supremacists.

 

Picoult weaves a story that shows literary merit but relevance in today’s racism-driven society, one that shares the struggle each person goes through when living based on skin color, or judged solely by it.

It’s brilliant. And I recommend you read it NOW. Get to your local bookstore and buy a copy for you and a friend or family member. It may be Picoult’s 24th book and 9th best-seller but it showcases Picoult’s true talent of writing literature that isn’t limited by time but instead exceeds beyond her years in wisdom, words, and grace.jodi-picoult-435

 

I’m holding a fundraiser to benefit The Smart Cookie Philes and Metropolitan Ministries! Want to help out? Check out the link below. Can’t donate? No worries. Just share the campaign by retweeting the tweet below or by sharing the campaign via the webpage.

#BookReview: Instantaneous Profound Knowledge Abounds in “Instant Messages”

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

As much as I enjoy writing poetry, I enjoy reading it even more so. There is something so breath-taking about it. As if the thought in your pre-frontal cortex was exactly the words you are reading or even better, the words you are reading were not expressed but lay deep within you, and you finally found the perfect way to piece them together as you read said poem. This book was not only breath-taking, profound, insightful, and inspiring but offered me  micro poems or haikus of sorts that are easy to read as a text message from a friend. Yet, much like the author of this wonderful book, the friend has so much they wish to express that the messages must remain anonymous, and then they text you something that makes you say aloud: Wow. you mean somebody feels the exact same way I do? 

I guarantee that if the New York Times and the New Yorker get a whiff of the greatness from this book, the author will soon become less of one of anonymity and more of a media frenzy that will shuffle election talk under the rug for quite a while.

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Want to win one of three signed copies? Just tweet the link to this review with a light bulb emoji from today until the official release day of this novel Oct. 14 at 12 a.m. Only on Facebook? No worries. Share this review on Facebook and tag The Smart Cookie Philes. Three lucky people will be the winners!

#BookReview: More Than Enough by Lee Hull Moses

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

I hunger for more and more literature that builds my faith as a Christian. So when I was offered this book to read, I jumped at the chance. Hoping it would open my eyes to a new perspective regarding prosperity.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

This book really did nothing more than put me to sleep. It was an accurate depiction of life as I already live it with pressure from every which way to obtain more and more stuff and well, I gained nothing new from reading this.

 

#BookReview: Being A Dog by Alexandra Horowitz

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

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I was beyond stoked to read this book because as a cynophile, I love books about dogs as much as I love dogs. I love to learn as much as I can about the four-legged friends who hold my heart so I jumped at the chance to read this.

Sadly, despite it’s intriguing title and author’s best-selling reputation, this book was mostly like reading an animal science textbook and I’ve never been someone who reads textbooks for leisure.

I would give this book overall two stars because although I thought it was dry and overly wordy (and nerdy), I feel that some people who give it a try would find that they learn a lot from it.

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The author is a very intelligent human (an adjunct professor at Barnard College) with multiple degrees (She received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego, and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania) in her field of animal psychology and behavior which makes me still want to read her NYT #1 Bestseller. Stay tuned for that review!

To be one of two winners in my newest giveaway, click here


 

#BookReview: The Dean Machine by Dylan Lee Peters and #Giveaway

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

1462700_997072326995337_9104105388963935586_o.jpgGrowing up one of my favorite books and a staple in my childhood was The Giver. Then, for some reason, I basically forgot how much I loved science fiction in order to pursue YA fiction, etc. Then, I started reading this book and wow, what a READ! From the first page, I was hooked. Why? Well, let me tell you that the main character of this novel isn’t Dan Delacor but his dog, Dean.

Written in memory of the author’s own dog Dean, there was a part in the beginning of the novel that literally encapsulated all that I miss about my own soulmate and best friend Geniveve who left to visit the rainbow bridge in the end of July 2015. I definitely teared up. I love the dystopian futuristic feel this novel has and everything about it worked smoothly and efficiently like any machine might.

This book itself is a machine with a heart that beats perfectly in sync with those that choose to read it. Some may call it a “heart bond” made just for you.

 

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To keep up with Dylan Lee Peters other works and works in progress, please visit his Twitter and his site.

To keep the machine that is this site running, I’m holding another giveaway!

Two winners will win copies of The Dean Machine straight from the author.

All U.S. only entrants can enter here.


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#BookReview: Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

Within America, even the America we know today, comes the finest pixie dust blowing between the New York City buildings and inside houses during Florida summers while the air conditioner cools down teenagers on summer breaks who sit staring at their smartphones waiting for school to start again.

This same pixie dust gives birth to the American dream most of us have let go of like a hard exhale after a runner’s morning jog. Yet, to country outsiders who are oppressed in their home countries by governments that aren’t democracies, they are exhilarated by the hope of a better life and a better job in the greatest country this world still can’t figure out: land of the free and home of the brave.

This is the theme and underlying heartbeat to Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, a debut author who herself has not only studied the craft of writing a best-selling novel but has herself lived to tell the tale.

It beautifully crafts the story of Cameroon native Jende Jonga who has immigrated to Harlem and finally landed the greatest opportunity he could ever dream of in his career- as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Encompassing themes of racism, illegal immigration, marriage, wealth, and spirituality without missing a step or a word misplaced. All in all, no trap door in the American dream is missed but only if you are up to the challenge of reading between the lines. This book is nothing less than a must read!

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Imbolo Mbue is a native of Limbe, Cameroon. She holds a B.S. from Rutgers University and an M.A. from Columbia University. A resident of the United States for over a decade, she lives in New York City. BEHOLD THE DREAMERS is her first novel. And like any real extremely talented artist, she is not on social media.


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#BookReview and #Giveaway: McDaniel’s Beautiful Debut by An Author Beyond her Years

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

As a book blogger and an author myself looking for representation, I find it hard to say no to any book request I get. Even if I later find out I was not interested in the book because the material didn’t spike my heart rate the same way four turbo shots in my Dunkin Donuts coffee might, but with Tiffany McDaniel’s debut, I found myself taken on a rejected Disney ride that ended up being the funnest ride they have yet to offer.

The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel was a big, cool glass of water in the desert even though I didn’t even realize I had journeyed that far. It was something I didn’t know I needed to read but nevertheless, now that I read it, I’m still attempting to make sense of what it all meant.

With a writing style that mimics Flannery O’ Connor, her prose swept me away in a sea of hot enticing madness, almost like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day or coffee after yet another sleepless night.

The book follows Fielding Bliss during the summer of 1984. A symbolic year of sorts. Synopsis from the back of the book follows:
Fielding Bliss has never forgotten the summer of 1984: the year a heat wave scorched Breathed, Ohio. The year he became friends with the devil.

Sal seems to appear out of nowhere – a bruised and tattered thirteen-year-old boy claiming to be the devil himself answering an invitation. Fielding Bliss, the son of a local prosecutor, brings him home where he’s welcomed into the Bliss family, assuming he’s a runaway from a nearby farm town.

When word spreads that the devil has come to Breathed, not everyone is happy to welcome this self-proclaimed fallen angel. Murmurs follow him and tensions rise, along with the temperatures as an unbearable heat wave rolls into town right along with him. As strange accidents start to occur, riled by the feverish heat, some in the town start to believe that Sal is exactly who he claims to be. While the Bliss family wrestles with their own personal demons, a fanatic drives the town to the brink of a catastrophe that will change this sleepy Ohio backwater forever.

I’m happy I was asked to review this book by the author herself who happens to look like a Drew Barrymore look-alike, and also happens to be one of the nicest artists I’ve ever met.

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For more information about the author, you can visit her site and her book trailer for this book.

Now as a reward for reading this review, I invite all U.S. entrants to enter The Summer That Melted Everything giveaway. The author herself is sending two personally signed copies of the book to the winners. How freaking sweet, right?!

 

 

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#BookReview: The Women of The Rose by Dorothy Gibbons

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

When asked to read this book, I jumped at the chance thinking it would inspire me in some way to care more about breast cancer, both as a woman myself and as someone who has watched people (most recently my beautiful neighbor) die from it. I was told it’s a short story collection by the heroic Dorothy Gibbons.

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Dorothy was the established founder of The Rose after working as the marketing director for a Texas area hospital for thirty plus years. She watched as more and more woman were turned away from proper care because they were uninsured and couldn’t afford the cost of a mammogram let alone the treatment that follows. Therefore, she started The Rose, a non-profit that pays for women to get the treatment necessary for breast cancer.

Right away, I found this woman to be a hero in all meanings of the word. Any way you looked at it, Dorothy Gibbons deserves recognition for her valiant efforts. Yet, this book wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. It read like a memoir and had no grammatical or syntax errors but I found myself hoping my heart would pick up rhythm somewhere throughout.

I basically was waiting, wishing, and hoping that the book would become just a story about Dorothy herself. The parts that I loved were solely about Dorothy’s life:

  • When she falls in love and takes in Saucy the dog
  • When she ends up divorced and has to begin online dating at 50
  • When Saucy falls ill
  • The hike up the mountain
  • The stolen money scandal

Don’t get me wrong, I feel that this book is valuable and was worthy of publication. Yet, I believe it should have been reworked as Dorothy’s personal memoir. With that said, one of you will be lucky enough to read Dorothy’s book yourself by winning a copy! (U.S entrants only)

Dorothy Gibbons Giveaway

Giveaway starts today June 20 and ends July 5 at midnight! Best of luck!!!

#BookReview: Joyride @byannabanks

Posted on by The Smart Cookie

The first time I ever saw Anna Banks, I thought she was the coolest person in the room. I admired her personality and how she could command the authority of every eye in the room not with just her good looks but also because she had a brain and clever one-liners. There, in a lecture hall, at Saint Leo University, I vowed that one day when I was a best-selling author, I would be as cool and confident as Anna was that day.

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Just as the author herself made me want to be her when I grew up, her writing does the same thing to anyone who dares to not get hooked by the authenticity of her characters and the social issues her books discuss. Being that I knew she was a best-selling author of the Syrena Legacy, I knew her writer was going to be far from mediocre. Yet, one thing I wasn’t aware of is how quickly her writing took me out of this world and into the world of Carly Vega.

Carly Vega is just like any other teenager except that her home life is anything but pristine. She studies hard, and works every available shift at the Breeze Mart just to take care of her and her brother who live together in a trailer park. And before you go and judge her, you should watch what you say around Carly because she’ll put you in your place if she thinks you’ve stepped over the line. And she is cool with going unnoticed and not being an unruly teenager.

That is until she meets Arden Moss, former star quarterback and the town sheriff’s daughter.

Not only did I find myself relating to Carly on a personal level but this story will take you on the ride of your life from page one. I’m not even kidding.

Banks grips you with romantic plotlines and witty remarks said by characters that go from being ethnically defined on page one to being a human you both admire and want to be friends with someday. and a hero you root for. Banks’ Joyride mentions current social issues like illegal immigration and racism but she uses clever plotlines to make you fall in love with the character as a human and start to see that maybe people shouldn’t be defined by ethnic heritage but as who they are as humans, as people.

I’m pleased to announce that in order to get the whole world in on the Joyride bandwagon, I am hosting a new giveaway. 10 winners will win either a Joyride bookmark or a Joyride sticker signed by NYT best-selling author and Florida native, Anna Banks.

Just enter this Rafflecopter giveaway and you’re all set. Winners will be announced 1 month from today!

Joyride Giveaway

To get to know more about the extremely cool Anna Banks, follow her On Twitter and check her website for more information about her other books and upcoming releases.