The Rock by Laurie Kast-Klein

Description
"The smell of discontent oozed from her apartment. The dirty diapers, unwashed dishes and urine-stained floors were a relentless reminder that there was no escape.
Most days, Shelby felt trapped inside this world, not by a locked door but by the lack of expectation. - The Rock is a story of four very different individuals sharing a hallway at a subsidized apartment complex. You will laugh and cry along with them as they stumble along in life"


A peek into the lives of the tenants and manager of Rockefeller Hills Apartments, a rundown section 8 housing complex known as "The Rock" Not very realistic as far as portraying the struggle to even get housing, or should I say the lack of struggling. In the book you just show up and say you want section 8 housing and poof you get it just like that. Also in the book if you have no income your rent is free, when in reality if you can't pay any rent you can't get a section 8 apartment, but of course the book never claimed to be anything but fiction, and the story itself was entertaining.

When Myths Collide: Short Stories by Mark Ferry

Description
"From foggy remains of waking dreams come visions of things otherworldly.

When a routine bio exam turns into an inexplicable nightmare for an interstellar science team, the ship’s pilot is faced with a grim decision that could cost him everything.

The victims of a brutal home invasion learn that even those closest to us are sometimes not what they seem.

A young drifter’s selfless act leaves his soul in a battle for salvation.

And a dying woman finds hope for the future in a simple seven-word note.

These and five other tales"

I read a lot of short stories. I especially reach for them late at night when I just want a little something to read before bed, or when I want a break from a particularly long novel but don't want to get involved in reading 2 long books at the same time. A common issue I run across with short stories is that often times the characters lack depth as it seems their creators just lack the time to properly introduce you to them and they can seem one dimensional and underdeveloped. Well not here! These stories are incredible, and the characters are rich and full bodied with an intensity of spirit and emotion. For example in my 2 favorites out of the bunch "When Troy Fell" I feel like I know Walt and Rita personally and I do not doubt their love for each other. "Vegetarian Spiders" was also an exciting story of love and betrayal. I enjoyed all of the stories but those were my personal favorites.
I received a complimentary copy for review.

Hellfire's Judgment by Linda L Barton

Description
"A simple trip to the supermarket starts a chain of events that begins with the violent rape of an innocent thirteen-year old girl. This act of violence forces a family to face the difficult decision of whether to pursue justice against the member of a powerful local family, or remain silent as so many others have in the past. Clay Jefferies has never been a man to walk away from a fight. However, after the acquittal of the man who raped his granddaughter, he finds himself forced to protect his family in the only way he knows how. Clay must now ask this question of himself. If you kill the man who brutally raped your granddaughter, is it Murder or Justice?"


I can't say this was an easy read. The subject matter will be a trigger issue for some people. As a woman, as a mom, as anyone who has ever been abused by the so called justice system or known someone who has been molested this might be a difficult read, though to her credit the author does not exploit it, or go into graphic gory detail this is still a story of a child who has been raped and the man who got away with it. I had to tell myself several times "It's just a story, It's just a story It isn't real" But the sad fact is that in this world children are hurt every single day and I was sometimes filled with such rage over what this child was put through that I had to put the book down and take some time away from it. I will say I'm glad I saw it through to the end because it had a most satisfying conclusion. This was a well written and powerful story but not for the faint of heart.

I received a complimentary copy for review

Falling Like Snowflakes (A Summer Harbor Novel) by Denise Hunter

Description
"Speeding north through rural Maine, Eden Martelli wonders how her life came to this—on the run with her mute five-year-old son dozing fitfully in the passenger seat. When a breakdown leaves them stranded in Summer Harbor, Eden has no choice but to stay put through Christmas . . . even though they have no place to lay their heads.
Beau Callahan is a habitual problem solver—for other people anyway. He left the sheriff’s department to take over his family’s Christmas tree farm, but he’s still haunted by the loss of his parents and struggling to handle his first Christmas alone.
When Eden shows up looking for work just as Beau’s feisty aunt gets out of the hospital, Beau thinks he’s finally caught a break. Eden is competent and dedicated—if a little guarded—and a knockout to boot. But, as he soon finds out, she also comes with a boatload of secrets.
Eden has been through too much to trust her heart to another man, but Beau is impossible to resist, and the feeling seems to be mutual. As Christmas Eve approaches, Eden’s past catches up to her.
Beau will go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. But who’s going to protect his heart from a woman who can’t seem to trust again?"

Eden is on the run, at first we don't know from who or what or why, we know only that it is imperative that she and her young child get to their destination, she needs a safe place to hide out but we don't know why. Car trouble and lack of money to fix it leave her in desperate circumstances.  Stranded on a bitter cold night with only the clothes on her back and nobody to turn to for help.

Her luck turns when she is offered a job of caring for a woman who recently had an accident, but as she begins to settle in and almost feel safe with this family they are suspecting that she is hiding a troubles past and some dangerous secrets.

This book is the first in what looks to be a promising series. I can picture this in my mind as one of those Lifetime holiday movies, it would be perfect for it. If you enjoy a little suspense and action mixed in with your romance this is the book for you.
 I received a copy from Book Look Bloggers for review

About the Author
Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 20 books, including Dancing with Fireflies and The Convenient Groom. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist. When Denise isn't orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking green tea, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are raising three boys. You can learn more about Denise through her website DeniseHunterBooks.com or by visiting her FaceBook page at facebook.com/authordenisehunter