Two Dogs and a Book

The Shop on Royal Street  by  Karen White My rating:  4 of 5 stars THE SHOP ON ROYAL STREET by Karen White is the first book in a new series entitled: Royal Street. It is also a spin-off of her very popular Tradd Street series. Because I have not read the previous series, I was not familiar with the characters, and it threw me off from the start. It was walking into a party where everyone knows each other, and you know no one. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect of the story and the beautiful New Orleans sceneries. However, I was not a fan of the yo-yo relationship between Nola and Beau, and the one between Jolene and Jaxton. This “I love you, but I am dating someone else” was a put off. On the other hand, I liked the double mysteries and the link between them. Now that I know the characters, I would like to see where this series will go. Let’s hope that the love aspect will sort itself out. #bookstadog #poodles #poodlestagram #poodlesofinstagram #furbabies #dogsofinstagram #...

  📚 Hello Book Friends! I am so happy to be part of the blog tour for THE TEARS OF MONTERINI by Amanda Weinberg. I do not remember the last time a book made me cry like that. The story is beyond words beautiful and touching and is about two families united by friendship who will fight for survival and love during the difficult years under the reign of Mussolini and the German invasion. The story takes place in beautiful Monterini, Italy between 1921 to 1946. Jacobo and Angelo have been friends from their youth. Their wives give birth on the same day but Jacobo’s wife dies in childbirth, leaving him to raise a daughter. Angelo’s son Rico and Jacobo’s daughter Bella are inseparable and, in their teens, declare their love to one another, but their love is not possible since Rico is Catholic, and Bella is Jewish. To please her father, Bella marries Michele, but her heart belongs to Rico. War is declared and soon the small village of Monterini is invaded by the enemy leaving Jacobo, ...

📚 Hello Book Friend! I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for this fantastic novel: THE CURIOUS CASE OF MAGGIE MACBETH by Stacey Murray. Maggie MacBeth is no ordinary gal. She is blunt, no-nonsense, and dealing with a lot of emotional turmoil. Maggie is a strong mind woman who loves her career as a power lawyer for an oil company in Hong Kong. But after a disagreement with her boss, Maggie finds herself without a job and decides to show up at her best friend Cath’s doorstep unannounced. Promising to find another job, Maggie tips into hard times. Cath welcomes Maggie at first, but she has her own issues and soon starts to regret her decision. Through many stressful events, they both will rediscover their friendship and Maggie’s feet will soon find solid ground to start anew. This is a beautiful story of friendship, love, loss, and finding purpose. There are many fun moments in the book and many sad too. This is a wonderful book.   💌 My Rating: ❤❤❤❤/5 ✏ Synopsis: Sometimes...

📚 Hello Book Friends! I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for this exciting spy novel: Awakening of Spies by Brian Landers. I have not read a spy novel in many years and I was happy to rediscover the thrill, the intelligent plot, and action that come with this genre. Thomas Dylan is a spy who is looking forward to retiring. He is reminiscing on his first mission when he went from being an analyst for the DIS to a full field agent overnight. We are not sure the reason why he was selected for this mission, and the author leads us to believe that there is something very fishy about his appointment. The plot evolves as we turn the pages. There are gunshots, chases, double-crossing, and, of course, a woman. I particularly enjoyed the Canadian references in the book, and I wish there would have been more. There are a lot of characters in the book and I had to make a list to remember who is who. It is slow at the beginning but picks up speed as you read. Overall, it is a good spy no...

📚 Hello Book Friend! I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for this emotionally charged novel: What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin. This is Kate McLaughlin’s first novel. The writing is superb and pulls at the reader’s heartstrings. Her poignant writing makes you strongly feel for all these dysfunctional characters and you want to root for them to the end of the book. This novel is about a teenage girl who is rescued from human trafficking and her struggle to reintegrate into society and live a normal life. The story does not hide behind the bushes and can be explicit. It is an eye-opener and helped me understand better this dark world and the difficulties these young women or men face after they are rescued. In some way, this reminded me of Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks but with a more positive ending. I appreciated the family and friend support angle provided in this book. This is an emotional and beautiful read. Pick up your copy today. Synopsys:   Lex was ...

The Philosopher's Daughters  by  Alison Booth My rating: 5 of 5 stars 📚 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀! Today is my spot on the blog tour for 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 by Alison Booth. It also happens that today this wonderful book is hitting the shelves at your favourite bookstore. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 is a tale of two very different sisters whose 1890s voyage from London into remote outback Australia becomes a journey of self-discovery, set against the landscape of wild beauty and savage dispossession. I could not put down this stunning book. First, the writing is superb. Alison Booth transports you in the Australian Outback with her beautiful descriptions and accounts. Second, the story is magnificent and provocative. I love the thought-provoking references to the suffrage movement, the aboriginal rights (or lack of), and the way of life of Australian pioneers in the 1890s. I hope you will ...

Today is my stop on the Regretting You by Colleen Hoover Blog Tour. I am very grateful to Thomas Allen & Son for inviting me to participate. Scroll down to enter a giveaway for this wonderful book. 💌 My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️/5 ✏️ My Review: This is the first book by Colleen Hoover I read. It is the story of secrets, betrayals, hurts, and reconciliation. Morgan’s husband and sister die in a car accident. This event will unveil secrets and betrayals that will break Morgan’s heart and put a rift between her and her teenage daughter Clara. Clara is also heartbroken for losing her father and aunt. She finds refuge in the arms of Miller, but their relationship is chaotic because of all the family drama she is going through. Will Morgan and Clara find a way to forgive? Will they find happiness? The book is beautifully written, and the characters are real-to-life. Right from the beginning, you are hooked to the story and accompany Morgan and Clara through their journey of reconci...

Thank you Rockstar Book Tours & Publicity for including me in this awesome book tour and for sending me an eCopy of this exciting book. Glow Girl by M. Weidenbenner is now available at your favourite bookstore. Don't forget to go visit Fire and Ice  tomorrow and  two points of interest on Friday to see their book tour posts. 💌 My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️/5 ✏️ My Review: When she was a child, Willow discovered that she can heal animals. Her adoptive parents make her promise never to use these abilities. Now as a teenager, Willow is faced with the decision to openly be a Droit or continue to hide even if she could lose someone she loves. Trae is new at her school and she is instantly attracted to him. He is also a Droit. Will Willow find the courage to be who she is intended to be, or will she choose to hide? This book gave me the same vibes as Twilight by Stephenie Meyer or Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Although there are elements already explored in other serie...

About the Book: Title: GLOW GIRL Author: M. Weidenbenner Pub. Date: October 31, 2019 Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Amara) Formats: Paperback, eBook Pages: 266 Find it: Goodreads , Amazon , Kindle , B&N , iBooks , Kobo Multi-Award-Winning and Best-Selling Author, Speaker and Writing Coach. Willow is just your average sixteen-year-old girl. Okay, maybe not so average. She can heal animals. For her own safety, her veterinarian parents have made her promise not to use her powers. But sometimes her compassion just takes over, and she can't help ... well ... helping. Willow is a Droit, but hides her Droitism because people like her are feared and hated by those without special abilities. Two of Willow's schoolmates, rumored to be Droits, have simultaneously disappeared. When Willow's non-Droit friend, Rain, is targeted, Willow wonders whether she should get involved--even if that means putting herself in the line of fire. A mysterious new fri...

About the Book: Title: GRACE GOES TO WASHINGTON Author: Kelly DiPucchio, LeUyen Pham (Illustrations) Pub. Date: September 3, 2019 Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Formats: Hardcover, eBook Pages: 40 Find it: Goodreads , Amazon , Kindle , B&N , iBooks , Kobo , TBD Synopsis: “Who’s in charge here?” When Grace learns about the three branches of the United States government, she and the rest of the student council put the lesson into practice as they debate how to spend the money from a school fund-raiser. Should they buy new sports equipment? Books for the library? Instruments for the music room? The arguments continue as they travel to Washington, DC, for a field trip. Exploring government buildings and national monuments, Grace feels closer than ever to her dream of becoming president someday. But she and her classmates have a lot to learn about what it means to serve the needs of the people, especially when the people want such different things! In this ...

Thank you RedDoor Books for inviting me to participate in the Blog Tour for The Best of Crimes by K.C. Maher. This is very exciting. Today is my stop on the Blog Tour. QOTD:  Would you rather have a rewind button or a pause button on your life? Synopsys: Walter, a child prodigy who now works on Wall Street, considers himself a father figure to Amanda, his daughter’s best friend and only child of a neglectful single mother. But when he loses his job after the 2008 financial crisis and his materialistic wife leaves him, taking their daughter, his relationship with Amanda enters a precarious new stage. Walter struggles to give her the affection and guidance she needs, without succumbing to her budding sexuality. In the year before she enters high school, these two lonely souls will transform each other as Walter breaks out of his emotional shell, and Amanda blossoms into adolescence. In a world that has always failed to protect its most vulnerable, The Best of Crimes is a ...

Thank you RedDoor Books for inviting me to participate in the Blog Tour for The Peacock Room by Merryn Corcoran. This is very exciting. Today is my stop on the Blog Tour. QOTD: What is your favourite bird and why? Synopsys: When Allegra O’Brien discovers her husband’s infidelity, her world is shattered and she seeks solace in the sanctuary family. Her Italian grandpapas’s tales of legendary Mama Cosima and the mysterious Peacock Room reawaken her love of historic, interior architecture, inspiring Allegra to take a trip to Tuscany to learn more about her heritage. While a dangerous encounter throws her off course, a handsome stranger helps Allegra discover there is more to her family history than she could ever imagine. With her new-found confidence, and in the wake of her grandpapa’s illness, Allegra makes an unexpected discovery, and finally commits to fulfilling the promise she made to solve a family mystery. Richly laced with the colours and contours of Tuscany, and the kaleidos...

Today I am happy to be part of a blog tour for In Another Life by C.C. Hunter. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for sending me an advanced copy of In Another Life by C.C. Hunter and for including me in the blog tour. In Another Life by C.C. Hunter is the story of teenager Chloe. Chloe knows that she was adopted and always wondered why her birth parents gave her for adoption when she was three years old. She has horrifying flashbacks of a time when she was a child, and someone is telling her that her parents no longer love her. After her parents' divorce and she moves with her mom in her late grandparents’ home where she meets Cash. Cash is convinced that Chloe is the long-lost daughter of his foster parents and is determined to prove it. Little do they know that looking into the past can be a dangerous business. This book is entertaining and full of emotions. I would not recommend it to young teens as it has a sexual component. It is an easy read with all the ups and do...