Wakela Runen's World

I received this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I did not receive any form of compensation in return. First, I would like to say that I have been a HUGE Debbie Macomber fan for many, many years.  If I remember correctly, one of the first books I had read by her was one in where the main character's aunts sent her on a trip to Alaska to be a mail order bride.  Of course, she had no idea that was the reason they sent her on the trip. Any fan of Debbie Macomber knows all about her Cedar Cove series.  Well, the Rose Harbor series is a spin off from Cedar Cove.  It has many of the characters that we have come to know and love and a whole new cast of characters. Like any of Debbie's books, I could not put this one down.  It was so awesome catching up with some of the friends from Cedar Cove (even if it was only quick glimpses at them).  I absolutely love the new inn that is being featured.  I can't wait to find out what happens in the next book.  Hopef

  This book was received free of charge from Netgalley with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. One of my recent loves is anything steam punk.  I have always had an interest in Victorian England.  Then throw in the "tech/mech" side of it and it gets even better.  Well, this wasn't just regular old steam punk, Lynn Viehl included a great story, wonderful characters and magic! Tougher than nails Kit was not used to being pushed around.  However, she definitely got in over her head when she took the case for a member of the Ton up on the Hill. I could clearly picture each of the characters as clear as day.  Dredmore definitely leaves you questioning as to his intentions.  I do really wished that she would have built more up about Tommy.  I am hoping that she does in the second part.  Of course I loved sassy Rina as well. The only problem is that this book definitely makes you want more.  There are a ton of questions that are left completely unanswered, which is

  I received this book free of charge from Netgalley with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I had requested this book on a lark.  I thought that it was going to be a cute piece of fluff to while away the time.  Well, I was completely wrong on that account!  It was much more then I could have imagined. I fell absolutely in love with this book from the first chapter.  The author, E.M. Tippetts, does an excellent job of creating lifelike characters.  I loved snarky "older by 3 minutes" sister Jen.  The repartee between Jen & Jason was great.  It sort of sounded like me & my sister Brenda when we get on a roll.  We just through the little barbs back and forth for the fun of it. Chloe is a really deep character.  Her dark past has her fearing that she will never get the fairytale ending that she wants.  So much so, that she has even stopped fantasizing of what that fairytale life could ever be like.  That is until Jason shows up in her life. There was a poi

This book was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge and with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I had already known some of the basic ideas behind using sounds for healing.  This book took it many steps farther though. I was completely enthralled when the author, Jill Mattson, was discussing Cymatic Patterns.  If you look on YouTube, you will be able to find all different examples of this.  Basically it shows how sounds can interact with the world around us.  Back in the 1960s, a Swiss scientist had performed some experiments using sand and sound.  The results were truly amazing. There was also the history of various cultures and how they utilized sounds.  In fact, she discussed how many religions around the world have in their sacred texts that the deities created the world through sound. The author not only provided the ancient history about the use of sounds and music, but also the more modern scientific beliefs behind it.  She also provided

This book was provided to me from NetGallery for free with no compensation in exchange for an honest review. I have always been a huge fan of the fantasy genre.  One of the things that I love about reading anthologies is that not only do you have the big named authors, but also other authors that you may not have heard of previously.  So it allows you to get a glimpse at their writing styles and possibly discover a new author whose works you will love. Magick Rising has 6 novellas that are vastly different.  The unifying theme is that all stories revolve around a supernatural or magickal being. This anthology has it all:  vampires, shapeshifters, magickers (the term used in one story for magick users), werewolves, ghosts, and much more! My favorite story was Spirits Rising by Evelyn Vaughn.  I loved the interplay between the very much alive Penny and Richard the ghost she falls in love with.  And let's not forget Manon!  I definitely would not want to be on the wrong side of her wr

As a child, my parents had always taught me to keep an open mind about religions.  They taught me that the only way to truly understand another religion is to read about it and experience it for myself.   This ties in greatly with my Unitarian Universalist beliefs now.  We are always open to learning more about various religions and cultures. So when I was given the opportunity from Netgalley to review Inner Guidance by Anne Archer Butcher, I leaped at the chance.  This book was provided to me free of charge and with no compensation in exchange for an honest book review. This book was written by Anne Archer Butcher.  It is her account of how she came to learn about Eckankar and how it changed her life.  It was interesting to see how she started out by getting in touch with her higher self and channeling various philosophical quotes for her students.  But it was only when she started channeling quotes that could not be attributed to the ancient philosophers that her curiosity was truly

It's been awhile since I have written a blog post giving an update on my life and my health. Things have been pretty crazy here.  My health has been in a really steep decline.  In fact, I have been in the hospital already twice this year.  Both times I needed blood transfusions due to severe anemia.  Come to find out that one of my medicines was actually exacerbating my problems.  So I can either continue to take the medicine and have issues with one problem or not take the medicine and have issues because of another problem.  It just seems like I can't win. I had a biopsy about a week and a half ago.  I go for the results on Friday.  I certainly hope that it isn't the big C.  Too many in my family have been taken because of that disease.  I don't want to be added to that number. Even if it isn't cancer, they are still planning on doing surgery to remove the issue.  So I will be in the hospital for almost a week post op.  Maybe more if I end up needing more blood.