Dona's Book Blog

Thank you to the author Jeannee Sacken, publishers Ten 16 Press, and tour organizers TLC Book Tours and Get Red PR, for an advance paperback copy of THE RULE OF THIRDS. All views are mine. Three (or more) things I loved: 1. I have to admit that I sort of love this badass hang-with-the-boys female protagonist with emo problems and demons trope. She's fun! And she's real and I relate to her. 2. The chemistry between the two leads is both complex emotionally and very sexy, which pulls me into the story. 3. PTSD rep is so important! I love-vuh how the author works therapy into the storylines, and how well the leads communicate the issues within each of their stories. Three (or less) things I didn't love: This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof. 1. This book is the third in a series of three books. In true "me" fashion, I've not re...

Thank you to the author Melanie Smith, publishers She Writes Press, and BookSparks, for an advance paperback copy of UNFINISHED BUSINESS. All opinions are mine. I am more than the stories I have told myself and more than the stories I have been told about myself and who I should be. p78 Being a survivor of childhood trauma and the onset of disability late in life, I'm certainly no stranger to trauma, and tend to read about it. When the oppourtunity arose for me to review a copy of UNFINISHED BUSINESS, I was eager to accept. What I found is this book surprised me, I would say. I wasn't expecting to find a step-by-step guide to a process on reprocessing trauma and other significant life events. She introduces a number of terms I've never encountered before, but her concepts are familiar, she's composed them in what appears to be a useful way. Smith designed the work in the book to be done over several weeks, which I don't have, unfortunately. But I could ...

Thank you to the author Allison Ashley, publishers MIRA Books, as well as BookSparks, for an advance physical copy of ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴏᴍᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴘᴀᴄᴛ. This book is a sweet and chaotic story about two roommates, Claire, a tough and lovely nurse with a traumatic past that haunsts her and every relationship she's ever had, and Graham, the thrill-seeking extreme sportsman and firefighter who can't see himself as serious enough to have a serious relationship or capable of love. But what do two close friends do late at night when they've been drinking but make bad bets? So they agree to be each other's fall back plan if they each hit their fortieth and are still alone. Making the pact suddenly allows Claire and Graham to be more vulnerable with each other. After all, why not? That's their future spouse! This vulnerability encourages them to be more open in their friendship, and eventually, to the idea of real intimacy and romance between them. I like that this book does not...