This book was amazing! I always know in the first chapter or two if I am going to love love love it and YES I loved it! Mostly because it was a more romantic suspense. It had such great characters and the premise was totally believable. Nacole writes a book with the base beings lies and betrayal. After that comes the passion and love story. The main character Grace Clearwater is out celebrating with her best friend Maci their college graduation. She is very likable because she doesnt want a huge thing, she explains over and over that in 3 years when she passes the bar they can celebrate. Her and Maci are quirky opposites. Lovable and adorable.

That night she meets her interest Parker Porter. She quickly realized Maci set her up with Carson, whom she would never pick. Maci is uninterested in men generally her breakup with Brody, who we find out about later.

Grace is a special character who is remarkable and resilient. I think the story of family and her twin brothers was a wonderful add in. I wont give away any plot spoilers I saw a few that I thought will ruin it for the reader. I say read it and hop on the Grace express heading right into Portville!

The story unfolds at a medium pace, and slowly builds up with a few reveals. The ending was great too! I know it will be pretty big and I am completely smitten with the author. Cheers and much success to Nacole Stayton!

Parker opened a door that I am far from closing until I have answers and am able to face the life I was destined to live. I just have to decide if his love is worth the mess.

Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+

Christian “Nacole” Stayton is twenty-something years young and currently resides in the Bluegrass state. She spends her days working at a local hospital in the billing department and nights writing vigorously on her current novel. She has a passion for helping others and wears her University of Kentucky gear proudly. While her husband loves all things outdoors, Nacole enjoys the finer things in life like getting pedicures while reading on her Kindle Fire. She is passionate about her faith, family and The Bachelor. Her hair color changes with the seasons and she has a weakness for tattoos, iced coffee, and happy endings.

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A SOJOURN IN HELL by Roberta Goodman was just fantastic! If you love family saga type stories this is for you. The story and character were very rich and entertaining. I enjoyed the time line that was Serafina’s life. It all starts with her and her childhood. It shows the family in all their stages. It takes you on the emotional journey that begins the pattern of dysfunction for Serafina and later on her husband and children.  When Serafina is growing up in a very wealthy community and the economy tanks her father who is a tailor has to choice but to close his doors. Eventually they loose everything and are forced to live with relatives. Once the cycle starts it flows through the generations to come. I think it all started with Serafina and the “old school” ways she was taught. In a way she was told to marry because of support, like he/she will be a good spouse and you will have a stable home. It was the time period that a woman stays home to raise her children.

Each child and grand child has their own pattern of dysfunction they follow. It is hard to put all of the characters here and write about them. Serafina has children that all struggle with familial relationships. There are brothers and sisters who dont speak and hold a grudge for years. What is similar is that in their later years they all turn to the church that was like a chore, and realize their errors and try to change and be their for the grandchildren.

My favorite character beside Serafina was Dante. His story was just fabulous. I have so much to say, but I can’t give any plot away. He is very close with his sister Felicia and shares his many problems. What transpires for him and his family is very well written and painful.

When I say it is a must read I mean it simply because a synopsis doesn’t do it justice. The love story of Serafina and Joe is one that is remarkable. Throughout the entire book, he is at the root of her troubles. Overall her heart is forever broken.

Here are a few quotes I loved:

Her time here had been a brief sojourn in hell.  location 3613 

“there was a power surge between them that Serafina would later describe as the realization and understanding of how and why human beings were created” location 531

“Listen, do you think I was madly in love with your father when I married him? No, he wasn’t my first choice, but I knew by marrying him I would have a stable life. ” location 955

“But it’s the truth. It’s as if God punished both of us by making you get sick, because I was too happy. Almost my whole life has been filled with unhappiness. The brief time we were together is the only exception.” location 1138

“Please help to give me strength to go on living. I know I have to, because I have another human being that I brought into this world to take care of.” location 1211

The fear of death and having to face God to answer for his sins humbled him. He had developed an intense desire to repent. In his old age he’d taken to going to Mass several times a week to try and atone for his past misconduct. Getting up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday mornings to sit in church was comforting for him.  location 1355
Maybe the abuse he inflicts on me and everyone else isn’t entirely his own fault. My mother isn’t the warmest person on the planet, and maybe her coldness just keeps feeding his meanness. location 1660

” I still dream about him—it happens at least once a week.” for 20 years? You have to let it go.” location 2238
“I’ll never escape them. He haunts me and it’s been over fifty years.”  location 2262
Meet the Author

 

 Roberta Goodman grew up in Philadelphia. As a stay-at-home Mom of two children, she discovered her creativity could be expressed through the written word when she embarked on writing her first manuscript. In addition to freelance writing, she has written a total of three manuscripts in two and a half years. Snow Escape is her first published novel. Roberta and her family reside in a small town on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

The search for contentment has been a very long journey I’ve taken for most of my life. Sometimes I feel like giving up my dreams, but then I remember they make me who I am and I can never give up.

All of my perseverance seems to be paying off. My debut novel is available in e-Book format and paperback and I couldn’t be happier if I tried. Writing is the only thing I do really well and now that I’ve been given a chance to get my work out there, I want to take full advantage of it. Gaining acceptance on a large scale is not an easy thing to do, but I’m hoping I’m able to accomplish this goal and entertain readers at the same time.

 

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Hiding behind the anguish from my past, my coyness seeps off of me like an aroma. I have felt like a stranger in my own skin, trying to claw my way out for far too long, allowing very few people to see past my façade…until my eyes met with his. I felt a sudden rush of energy all the way to my core. It jolted me in ways I never thought possible.

Never in a million years would I have expected to be in the mess I am today. It all leads back to the night Parker Porter turned my world upside down. The night his hazel eyes undressed me, peeling away the layers of the woman I tried so hard to be. He awoke desires that burned deep within me and changed me in one quick glance, leaving me vulnerable and exposed, picking up the shattered pieces of my carefully constructed life…a life I should not be living…a life I was not born into, but placed into by the state of Maine.

Parker opened a door that I am far from closing until I have answers and am able to face the life I was destined to live. I just have to decide if his love is worth the mess.

“They say be careful of the quiet ones.” –Grace

Warning: This book is intended for readers 18+ due to explicit language and sexual encounters.

Christian “Nacole” Stayton is twenty-something years young and currently resides in the Bluegrass state. She spends her days working at a local hospital in the billing department and nights writing vigorously on her current novel. She has a passion for helping others and wears her University of Kentucky gear proudly. While her husband loves all things outdoors, Nacole enjoys the finer things in life like getting pedicures while reading on her Kindle Fire. She is passionate about her faith, family and The Bachelor. Her hair color changes with the seasons and she has a weakness for tattoos, iced coffee, and happy endings.

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Synopsis: 
Recommended for 17 years+. This book contains language which some may find offensive and sexual situations.

Bree ‘Breeze’ Delany never imagined her life could sink so deep. That such intense pain could take up residence in her heart and shred her soul to pieces. And all it had taken was one little word to drag Bree to the depths of this despair, cancer.

It took just one person to pull Bree from the darkness, her best friend Harper Somerville. Determined to show his Breeze the beauty in life no matter how short or long it is, Harper takes Bree on the road trip of a life time.

Not only does Harper remind Bree how exciting and beautiful life is, but he also shows her a passion and love that she has only read about in her naughty romance novels.

Screw happily ever afters, perhaps life was meant to be lived with happily ever nows…

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Review:

Bree ‘Breeze’ Delany was the strongest character for her age that I have read. She was amazing! The premise of the story was her best friend Harper who was also her room mate was away on a surfing tour. She found out she has  leukemia and kept the secret. There are brief past references thrown in to show exactly why she never contacted Harper.

It is a very emotional read. Kirsty Dallas tells beautiful tale. It is going through the stages of grief and show the opposite of what people normally write about a cancer incident. I loved the way Bree was negative. It is refreshing to read someone actually saying “the hell with it” and not being a fighter. She was a complex character who was indifferent at times. 

When the story gets deep is when you love Harper even more. Her neighbor and surrogate dad David was phenomenal  He took great care of her and she would have totally given up without him. It is a great tale of life and how to live it. It is a story that can NOT be missed. Treat yourself and dive in with Harper! 

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I’m just a little Aussie girl with a big imagination, so much to write and so little time to do it. When I’m not writing (or reading) I am kept smiling and sane (for the most part) by my 5 year old daughter. She is the light in my world.  I have a wonderfully supportive family who keep me completely grounded, trust me, they will never let any success go to my head!! And I love them for it.

I enjoy ice cold ciders, barbeques  music and art. I hate cooking, in fact I think I have major kitchen allergies. My feet rarely grace anything other than flip-flops or uggies. Even in the middle of a hot Aussie summer I wear jeans and I adore tattoos on men & women (not so much children).

To sum me up in a few words (and you know how hard just a few words is for an author) ~ easy going, laid back, dreamy and passionate. I hope you all love reading my novels as much as I love writing them.

Synopsis: 

Recommended for 17 years+. This book contains language which some may find offensive and sexual situations.

Bree ‘Breeze’ Delany never imagined her life could sink so deep. That such intense pain could take up residence in her heart and shred her soul to pieces. And all it had taken was one little word to drag Bree to the depths of this despair, cancer.

It took just one person to pull Bree from the darkness, her best friend Harper Somerville. Determined to show his Breeze the beauty in life no matter how short or long it is, Harper takes Bree on the road trip of a life time.

Not only does Harper remind Bree how exciting and beautiful life is, but he also shows her a passion and love that she has only read about in her naughty romance novels.

Screw happily ever afters, perhaps life was meant to be lived with happily ever nows…

Breeze of Life link to Goodreads

Goodreads Author Profile 

Kirsty’s Website 

Facebook 

Twitter 

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Florida investigative reporter, Whitney Steel, has lived in the shadow of her legendary father long enough. To prove herself she needs to find the “Big” story. She found it. Now it may kill her.

After receiving a lead pointing to the world’s first cloned human, now a small child, Whitney vows to unravel the truth. However, sifting through the facts proves to have dangerous results, including death threats and murder.

When she’s nearly killed, but is saved by undercover FBI Special Agent, Blake Neely, he refuses to let her get in the way of his own objective–at least not right away.

Caught in a lethal game between a billionaire obsessed with genetic perfection, his hit man’s thirst for retribution, and a Colombian drug lord fresh out of prison determined to make Blake pay for his twin brother’s death over a decade ago…

Can they save an innocent child before it’s too late?

Faced with tough choices, with deadly consequences for many–Whitney soon realizes that sometimes a story becomes more than just a story.

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“Cinematic writing, powerful visuals, sleek, fast, utterly sexy, notches above anything we have read before!” ~ UP Authors

“Action packed from page one…an impressively laid out passionate thrill ride!” -InD’Tale Magazine

“Fast-paced…gripping…riveting!” -Bestselling True Crime Author, RJ Parker

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Trained as a legal assistant, Kim Cresswell has been a story-teller all her life but took many detours including; working for a private investigator, running a graphic design business, and teaching computer classes at a local business school. After becoming disabled with Fibromyalgia and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome, Kim returned to her first love, writing.

Her debut romantic suspense, REFLECTION, has won numerous awards including; UP Authors Fiction Challenge Winner (2013), Silicon Valley’s Romance Writers of America (RWA) “Gotcha!” Romantic Suspense Winner! (2004) and an Honourable Mention in CARWA’s The Writer’s Voice Contest (2006)

Kim has a few new books in the works;

Lethal Journey (Summer 2013)
RETRIBUTION – sequel to REFLECTION (2014)
The first annual TRUE CRIME – SERIAL KILLERS ANTHOLOGY (contributing author)- December 2013

REFLECTION – A reporter’s determination to expose an illegal human cloning project places an innocent child in the crosshairs of a master criminal.

MuseItUp Publishing  Amazon Paperback at Createspace eStore  KoboBarnes & Noble

_______________________________________________

“Cinematic writing, powerful visuals, sleek, fast, utterly sexy, notches above anything we have read before!” ~ UP Authors

“Action packed from page one…an impressively laid out passionate thrill ride!” -InD’Tale Magazine

“Fast-paced…gripping…riveting!” -Bestselling True Crime Author, RJ Parker

_______________________________________________

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Twitter @kimcresswellBlog Web

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