Dear Family and Friends,

In the last few days since Cora’s Quest was released, it has reached
Top New Release in Baby and Toddler Beginner Reader Books,
#1 New Release in Children’s Self-Esteem and Self-Respect,
and #1 New Release in Children’s Mammal Books!
I’ve never paid attention to Amazon’s Best Seller’s Rankings, but I’ll admit it’s a great feeling to see these headlines pop up! 🎉👏🏼 Thank you to those who have offered Chris and I good wishes, and who have already purchased copies. I’m delighted to share Cora’s first review, 5 stars, from a fabulous writer herself, D. L. Finn from dlfinnauthor.com:

Cora’s Quest is a sweet story about a deer’s family outing. Cora is enjoying the forest until things change quickly, and now she needs to find her courage. A fantastic story to read to your little ones or for young readers to enjoy. The illustrations are beautiful and full of color, and the story is woven into a lesson that will resonate with children and their families. Here is an engaging passage: “An owl hoots/from its lofty perch./ The wind howls,/swirling around Cora./Grunts and growls/in the distance/steal her courage!/ They act like thieves!” I can easily recommend this story for young readers and those who read to them.

Thanks again, Denise! ❤️🙏 And if you’d like to purchase a copy of Cora’s Quest, please click on the image below that will take you to Amazon. Also available on Barnes and Noble, and Kobo.

Now for some book reviews…I always seem to be long overdue in sharing book reviews, but the intention is always good! Reading has been a slow-going process, but I’ve read eight wonderful books that I’ll highlight in two separate posts. I give all of these books 5 glowing stars and can highly recommend…

Size Always Matters by Sally Cronin is a tool that can be used as reference repeatedly throughout the years. Cronin shares her story of reaching a point of literally life or death, choosing life. She mustered up the willpower and fortitude to lose 154 lbs while studying nutrition, and later, becoming a nutritional therapist and health consultant. I admire her for being transparent with her weight struggles in order to help others because it’s not always easy to shed the mask. She compiled a program that worked for her, so she lays it all out from page to page for us to absorb and utilize.

I remember when I was young, my dad used to say, “Good health is no laughing matter.” I couldn’t really grasp the full, profound meaning of his words at a young age because honestly, I thought I had all the time in the world to live! Now in my early sixties, I can attest to him being right. I’ve had my share of health issues, not food related, but I’m sure we all know that what we eat makes a difference for the better or worse. Cronin delves into the scientific formulas behind the simple concept of dieting, exercising, and hesitantly stepping on the scale to check those numbers – numbers that can make or break a day. She underscores the necessity to identify the physical, emotional, and mental attachments we have to food. She talks in depth about obesity and reiterates that it’s not about yoyo dieting. It’s about making a serious lifestyle change.

So, if you need to lose 10 lbs or 110 lbs, this book will serve as a beneficial guide to you attaining your goals. As a bonus, Cronin includes delicious recipes at the back of the book, which I intend to try, such as the Tomato Tostada, Baked Frittata, and Vegetable Casserole. Are you getting hungry? The last several months have been more of ‘grab pre-cooked dinners and go’ due to being busy and a hot, hot summer! But now that the temperature has dropped, I’m back in the kitchen, cooking dinners like old times. To learn more about Sally’s books, visit her at smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com.

Orion’s Gift by Anneli Purchase is a riveting story involving romance and intrigue in the beautiful setting of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. The author creates a vivid world with landscape and climate that she knows well from her visits to this terrain. I loved this detail and felt as though I was there. Sylvia and Kevin are easy-to-like characters but authentic carrying their own baggage, running from their abusive spouses. Their paths cross, sparks fly, but can their evolving love endure the danger lurking around each corner? Their fear and secrets from each other have a way of creating a gap. I enjoy a good romance, but this book isn’t your usual love story. Abuse is always a heartbreaking topic to read about or to discuss. However, as I turned the pages, I hoped that Kevin and Sylvia would find peace and happiness at the end. Orion’s Gift is the first book I’ve read from Anneli Purchase, and I know it won’t be the last. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Engaging, compelling, action packed told in a vivid setting with dialogue that flows smoothly to the end. I couldn’t put it down! To learn more about Anneli, please pay her blog a visit at wordsfromanneli.com.

I’ve read several books by D. L. Finn, both poetry and fiction, so I knew that Sounds in the Silence would be another can’t-put-it-down book. Finn engages the reader with this mystery written in a dual timeline spanning from the 1920s to the 1960s. We have the privilege of meeting Helen and Charles in 1924 who are madly in love, well liked, and enjoy throwing extravagant parties. They have a great time with their friends but insert Prohibition, and evil begins to loiter from the local church, keeping an eye on them. My concern for this lovely couple grew as I turned the pages. In the later era, Maria and Logan are a delightful, young couple who have a dream of owning a successful inn. They discover the perfect old house with a beautiful lakeside setting. However, its charm from decades ago has turned into dilapidation – livable, but renovations are needed before opening the doors to the public. While working diligently on the restorations, they realize they aren’t the only occupants living in the grand old house. A ghost seeks justice for a murder that occurred forty years earlier. Maria, especially, can’t ignore her curiosity, so she and Logan dive deep into uncovering what actually happened in the 1920s. But in doing so, they find themselves in danger. Their rescue pets add amusement and warmth to the tale and become useful in solving the mystery. Sounds in the Silence is a captivating novel filled with tender moments of romance, intense mystery, and paranormal elements. To find out more about D. L. Finn’s books, visit her at dlfinnauthor.com.

Three-Penny Memories by Barbara Harris Leonhard is a powerful poetic account of the author’s life. Leonhard speaks of her own life-threatening illness at six years old, and then later on when she is unable to carry a baby to term. However, most of the poems provide a moving glimpse into a mother-daughter’s relationship. I was struck by Leonhard’s queries: “How can a daughter question her love for her mother while helping her to navigate the progression of Alzheimer’s? Can she learn to love the stranger that her mother has become?” These are questions that can only be answered by someone who has cared for an Alzheimer’s patient. In “Daughter, Like Mother” Leonhard writes, “I can relate, Mom, to how histories crumble/How memories burn off/like the dew in hot sun/Our paths align/You held me/Now I hold you.” While reading this emotional and beautiful memoir, I felt pain, joy, conflict, and devotion between mother and daughter. Leonhard’s memories make me pause, remembering when my brother-in-law had Alzheimer’s, and my sister was his caregiver. She is a retired nurse, but even so, caring for him in the various stages of the disease was both physically and emotionally challenging. The disease took his life eight years ago. This is a provocative collection about accepting and coping with the hand that life deals us – poetry that will truly touch your heart and soul. To learn more about Barbara, visit her at https://extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog.

I hope you enjoyed my reviews. Each book comes in e-book and paperback. Simply click on the images to purchase your copy on Amazon.

Thank you for stopping by, and please don’t leave empty-handed. These books would make great Christmas gifts! Happy holiday shopping!
~ Lauren ❤️

© Lauren Scott, BaydreamerWrites.com – All rights reserved.