CHEVY STEVENS, AN AMAZING AUTHOR

HELLO everyone!!!  I hope that everyone out there is reading a really good book right now.  If you are, I would love to hear about it.  Email me or leave a comment and let’s chat.  If not, you’ve come to the right place. 

As I said on day one, I am a voracious yet persnickety reader.  (I just love that word: persnickety, lol!)  In other words, I’m a book snob.  The author has to capture my attention from chapter one and keep me up at night to keep me reading.  Therefore, I spend a lot of time perusing book reviews, watching bestseller lists, talking to people about books, etc. Luckily, a couple of years ago I came across a book by a new author that was getting rave reviews.  I knew I would love it when I read the back cover and felt instantly drawn into the story.  I turned to page one and, ten minutes later, realized that I was still standing in the aisle of the bookstore and I hadn’t even thought nabbing one of the big comfy chairs nor had I thought about coffee I was on my way to purchase!

Uncharacteristically, I speedily left the book store, sans coffee, and told my husband to take the long way home so that I could read.  Yes, I have an English degree and I read constantly, but I am NOT a fast reader.  However, I devoured Still Missing in less than twenty four hours.   

I CANNOT ruin this book for you, nor can I praise it highly enough. 

In short, Annie is an independent, thirty something year old realtor who has commitment and family issues.  One afternoon she is showing a house to a seemingly nice, ordinary man when he restrains and abducts her in what seems like seconds.  For the next year, Annie is held in a sealed, isolated cabin and forced to endure unimaginable physical and, especially, emotional torture.  

Still Missing is the best type of novel because it is the kind that makes you continually question human nature itself. For example, it makes you wonder things like what makes one person moral and one evil?  Is there ever a time when we can feel safe in this world? Can one truly ever recover from deep psychological scars? It is at times disturbing, but it is also mysterious, thought-provoking and, touching. 

Fortunately, the reader knows from the beginning that Annie does indeed survive because she tells the reader about her time in the cabin through sessions with her physiatrist.  Unfortunately, at least for her, her nightmare is not over.  Her capture escapes and she believes that he is taunting her, or could it be that her time in the cabin has affected her sense of reality? The answer doesn’t come until the last page.  Until then, the reader is caught in an unstoppable whirlwind of emotions.  This book will take pull you in and stay with you long after you read the last page. 

Chevy Stevens proves in Still Knowing that she is a writing force to be reckoned with.  Her ability to tap into human emotions is magnificent.   Luckily, her second novel, Never Knowing, is no less incredible.  I am currently following her on Facebook, always hoping to see a release date for her third novel.

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Happy Sunday! I just had to tell you about this fantastic book that I read a couple of weeks ago. The book is called Defending Jacob. It's about a lead prosecutor who has a loving wife of many years and a fourteen year son named Jacob.  They live in a small town so they can protect their son from "the bad things" in life.  However, all of that goes out of the window when one of Jacob's classmates, who just happened to bully him constantly, is viciously murdered and Jacob becomes the number one suspect.  I changed my mind so many times about his guilt or innocence throughout the book that I could not wait to get to the end, which shocked me in a way I never saw coming!!  But this book wasn't just a mystery novel; it focused on how a traumatic event can change family dynamics in ways that we can not imagine unless we have, God forbid, been in such a horrible situation.


Of course, Jacob's parents do not want to believe that their son is capable of such a horrible act of violence.  Therefore, when doubts enter their minds, the guilt is just as painful as the unanswered questions.

Defending Jacob will have you guessing until the very end.  More importantly, the author's writing is so poetic, so thought=provoking, that it will have you questioning what you would do if you were in the given situation.

Trust me! You will not be prepared for nor will you forget the shocking ending.

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Peace, love and happy reading!
Kimberly

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My Passion!!!!

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I owe my passion for reading to my mother. She NEVER said no when I asked to buy a book. My teachers would pass around those order sheets in elementary school and I would get so excited filling out the little order forms.
Her only requirement was that I read every book that I ordered before the next order form came out; no problem Mom!!



This passion for reading led me to the teaching profession. I have been a high school English teacher for seven years. During that time, the high school where I taught implemented the Accelerated Reader Program. I can't tell you
how many of my students protested, and how unbelievably happy I was when some of them became avid readers themselves. The greatest joy of my teaching career, other than meeting some awesome young people who touched my
life forever, was watching kids go from, "You can't get me to read," to, "can we please have five more minutes to read!" Heaven!



Sadly, I have several health problems which have culminated in my inability to teach for the foreseeable future. Because of this, I knew that I had to find another way to share my passion for reading.



Yes, I am a bookworm! I love, love, love to read. However, I am also a book snob. Like many of my students, if I am bored after the second chapter, the book gets donated to Goodwill or sits on my shelf. Therefore, I spend A LOT o
f time reading book reviews on numerous websites, talking to people about books, browsing, checking bestseller lists (and bargain lists for hidden treasures) and sitting on the floor of bookstores. In fact, it used to be my Saturday
ritual to hit the used bookstores in search of Accelerated Reader books that my students would enjoy. My classroom library was quite impressive. In my home I have more books than I can or would care to count. No, I haven't read
all of them because life is too short to read bad books! I also have a Nook Tablet and I am saving for a Kindle DX since Amazon has a better selection and better prices, which is why you will find links to buy books on Amazon on my
blog.



My goals for this website are simple:

-To review books that I have read, especially ones that are awesome

-To help my subscribers, whether they are avid or reluctant readers, to find books that will pull them in and stay with them long after the last page

-To get feedback from other readers who share my passion for reading

-To help readers find great books at good prices

-To start book discussions

-To help readers find books based on other books they have enjoyed

-To share how reading has benefited my life and how it can benefit anyone physically, spiritually and emotionally



Wow! I have plenty of material to cover, and I'm always open to suggestions. Subscribe to my blog, email me for personal suggestions, join others in book chats, and find books for great prices. I love books of all genres, so I'm going
to add a lot of material every week.


For today, let me tell you about the book I'm reading now. It's called Island of the Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon.. When I first read the description of this book, I was a bit skeptical; a woman is traumatized after she sees a giant
rabbit kidnapping a girl at a local gas station????? It sounded so ridiculous, but this book kept showing up in my recommendations on various websites and it was very reasonably priced, so I finally decided to give it a shot. Let's just say
I am NOT sorry that I did!







Rhonda sits frozen, unable to move a finger to come to the rescue of a six year old girl as she watches a giant rabbit (Yes, it's a costume, lol) kidnap a local six year old. No one can figure out why she didn't lift a finger to help the
innocent child when she clearly could have prevented the abduction. However, the reader soon begins to find out that Rhonda has a complicated history with this "creature." In fact, her childhood best friend used to go off and play
with him before she too disappeared over ten years before. Once the shock wears off, Rhonda begins her own investigation which includes remembering things from her childhood that disturbed her so deeply she has buried them for
years. What really happened to her best friend all of those years ago? Has the man she has been in love with since she was a child, the person she trusts most in this world, the devilish rabbit? Will she be able to find the six year old that
she let slip away, and in doing so, will she finally be able to find the person that she really lost so long ago, herself. Childhood trauma, adultery, twisted family secrets, murder??? This book will keep you hooked until the last page. You
will think about this rabbit long after his identify is revealed.




Have you read this novel? If so, I'd love to hear your feedback. However, if you leave a post, please don't reveal any plot secrets so that others may enjoy the book. Peace, love and happy reading until tomorrow!!!!


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GOOD MORNING! It's 1:00 a.m.  (I'm such an insomniac!) and I couldn't wait to get started.  Tomorrow I will begin posting my book reviews, book suggestions, questions for readers, links to affordable books, etc.  I can tell you that I am an avid but very picky reader.  Right now I'm reading Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon.  I'll tell you about it tomorrow.  I love it but I can't wait to finish it so that I can read Harlan Coban's new book, Stay Close.  He is one of my top five favorite authors! His book The Woods is probably one of the best books I've ever read, but more about that later.  Tomorrow I'll also tell you more about myself and what led me to start this blog.  I can't wait.  Hopefully I'll be able to sleep a little between reading and TV Land.  Please subscribe to my blog and feel free to comment and add your own comments as I go.  This blogging is new territory for me, but I think it's going to be awesome!



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Next page: Why I am passionate about reading and my next review