Weekly Book Blog Hop

Interested in meeting authors and bloggers ? Beck Valley Books host the Wednesday and Saturday blog hop. Would love to see you there, have fun!

A review of Saving Grace by Annie Jones

Author: Annie Jones

Source: Blogging for books

FTC Disclaimer I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

About This Book

Every year on the night of New Bethany's annual Splendor Belle Gala, reclusive Sera Grayson appears on the porch of her aging antebellum home dressed in a tattered ball gown. Legend

holds she is reliving the greatest disappointment of her life: waiting endlessly for the man who

stood her up more than fifty years ago. Rosemary, Naomi, Gayle, and Lucy, first introduced in

Jones's Prayer Tree, together decide to help out the eccentric old woman-partly to strengthen their own special bond, threatened by time and the demands of everyday life. Will their joint project instead tear them apart forever?

My Review:

What a wonderful story! The story centres around four friends, Gayle, Rose, Naomi 

and Lucy have drifted apart in the last years Naomi being the plotter and schemer in the group discovers that there is a way she can bring the group together: By convincing her friends if they could go visit Grace, is  said to sit on the porch every year on the night of the Annual SplendorBelle Gala waiting for a man who stood her up over fifty years ago. 

I’d say the author did a very good job in creating believable characters. And what I really enjoyed most about this was that, Christian values were nicely woven in the story without coming out as preachy. I enjoyed how the women were there for each other in times of great difficulty, loved the  dialogue as well, the descriptions were well done. There were moments in the story I chucked to myself, others I was touched to the point of being misty eyed. At the end of the story, when Grace revealed what happened over fifty years ago, on the night of the Gala, I found myself reading eagerly, and later smiling, glad to finally know the truth.

Everything was tied up nicely, and I loved the Happy Ever After. After reading this to the last page, I just sighed happily.

WINNERS OF THE SAVE A TURKEY, GOBBLE A BOOK BLOG HOP TOUR

Hi friends!!! 


I'd like to thank you all so much for participating in the Blog Hop, hopefully you all enjoyed the hoppity hop.

The winners of your drawing are…

1st	geschumann
2nd	koonie2888
3rd	mrsqueentutt
4th	shadowluvs2read
5th	romanceaholic

Congratulations to the winners! Emails will be sent to the addesses provided on the comments. 
It was truly wonderful getting to meet new bloggers and authors,  hopefully to see you back for the blog hop in December.  




CeCe

Lazing Sunday - Excerpt from The Soul Collector Series

Hope your Sunday mornings/afternoons are going great. 

I would love to share with you an excerpt from my Soul     Collector series.

A scene taken from the first chapter, whereby Ana Maria is  heading home after a along day of souls collecting.

Here it is:

I ghost into my room. Everything looks the same: my ancient computer still on the table next to the window, photo frames of my family members lined up on the alongside it. Dust clings on the table and bedside lamps, awaiting my return. I trace my hand along the crochet bedspread, and sigh.

This isn’t my life anymore. I leave.

In the realm of After World of Shadow and Light, I head for my rooms in Grim’s brightly lit gothic castle. I shower and change into a red dress with a drooping back, and gold high heels. I complete the look with a gold sash around my waist, and sprinkle glitter along my arms. I smile, enjoying how the glitter sparkles against my dark skin. After applying eye-liner, I pull my hair back into a knot.

 Grim always insists on dressing up for dinner.

Satisfied by my appearance, I descend down the gleaming dark wood stairs, polished to the perfection. The grand staircase is illuminated by dozens of mouth-shaped sconces mounted on the walls, giving the illusion of a gaping mouth breathing out red fire. Shadows flicker all around me. I clutch the brass rail for support, my throat tightens and my heart beats pound loudly and my eyes ache from peering into the shadows.

Outside the arched doorway leading to the dining hall, I pause and take a deep breath, and with my palm brush the thin layer of sweat on my forehead, willing my heart to cease its wild beating. Finally, I take a step forward and enter the enormous hall. The two tables positioned in the middle of the room are decked with gold and black table cloths, crammed full with dinner guests murmuring in low voices.

As if sensing my presence, Grim straightens and looks at me. His date on his right, a Rusalka, follows his gaze. She looks me over as if she’s sizing me for competition. Hasn’t she gotten the newsflash? I am the Grim Reaper’s Novice. I hold her gaze. Her blood red lips tighten, she flicks her wet long golden hair from her face and glares at me. Behind her pale white and translucent face, her disturbing pupil-less eyes glow like green neon fire as our gazes lock. Her eyes seem to convey you’re lucky we don’t have a pond around hear, because I’d just drown you. A shiver slithers along my spine. This is one water-nymph I’ll be avoiding in the future.

I turn my gaze to Grim, who is watching me with a proud fatherly smile, and beckons for me to take a seat opposite him.

I clear my throat, and lower myself on the chair opposite him. “Good evening, Grim.” He frowns. “Er… Ernest.” I correct myself. The first time we met, he introduced himself as Ernest, and said it made him feel friendlier. Honestly, I’ll never get used to calling him Ernest, despite his cheerful disposition.

His unmasked handsome, ageless face lights up, giving me a toothy smile. I almost roll my eyes, then stop myself as we have company.

 “Good evening, my Novice,” he says in a deep and cheerful voice.

After settling myself down, I sneak glances at my fellow diners and a giggle escapes my lips. What would my best friends Reiner and Lea think if I told them who my dining guests are?

“Hello,” says a Chimera sitting on my right, and I turn to face her. I’m not sure which of his heads greeted me, as one is flirting with a male Vampire sitting at her other side, and the other two are facing me.

“Hi,” I say, shifting in my chair. “Are you…” I trail off as the two heads lose interest in me.

I sigh. As always, this is going to be one long torturous dinner.

There’s throat clearing on my left. I turn my body to face the Djinn beside me, his smile so bright it’s almost blinding me. The one thousand candle crystal chandelier suspended from the domed ceiling doesn’t make things easier. Candles flicker, shadows dance across his face.

“Hello, I’m Adis,” he says, extending his hand towards me in greeting.


Would love to know what you think. Comments/feedback are highly welcome and appreciated. 

Follow Friday (1)

 

Follow FRiday is a meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. Technically, I was supposed to post this on Friday, but linky linked myself on Saturday. If you would like to participate in this exciting getting to know you hop, please click on the links above and you'll be zipped to the host. (I'm kind of behind with the days) And since I wanted to meet other awesome bloggers out there, here it is.

Here is this week's question, one that I have been waiting for like from the beginining of the year.

"Question: Letter to Santa: Tell Santa what books you want for Christmas!"

Dear Santa,

I've really, really tried to be a good mommy this year,  so if you can just bless me with these books, I'll be a very very happy mama.

1. Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi

2. Paranomarlcy by Kiersten White

3. Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh

4. Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane

So many books to choose from, so little time. 

What about you? What books would you like Santa to bless you with? 

Interviewed by S.L. Schmitz

Today, I'm quite excited, about two things, no three. First, that I'm alive, and on my seventh cup of hot steaming tea.

I got interviewed by the awesome S.L. Schmitz of Charlotte Books Examiner on the Soul Collector series. S.L. Schmitz is the author of  'Let it Bleed' and 'Mina's Daughter: The Harker Chronicles'.  If you would like to read about it, please click HERE and it will take you to the website.

The first two books in The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa came in today from Amazon, and I am reallyyyy eager to read them. (I think I'm the only person on earth who hasn't read them). Not that I didn't want to, but my TBR pile was wayyyyy to humongous. Excited about this.

IMMORTALISED IN INK AND WORDS

Have you ever wondered how it would feel to see yourself as a character in a book? To be immortalised in words and ink, and not with fangs or bites?

An author, and also a friend of mine, Victoria Watson, the author of two published wonderfully written short stories 'I should have seen it coming' and 'Keeping Quiet'  is holding a competition on her blog for her next story 'Inside'. 

Please follow this link http://elementaryvwatson.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/its-competition-time/ .There you will find the instructions on what to do to be considered for the entry.

Good luck!