Review: Happy Women Live Better by Valorie Burton

Summary
Women have more education, more money, and more choices than ever before. Yet, research shows we are less happy than women 40 years ago. Today, we can "have it all." So why is happiness declining?

In Happy Women Live Better, bestselling author Valorie Burton unlocks the secret to your personal happiness. She reveals 13 happiness triggers-choices that can boost your joy right now, even in the midst of deadlines, children, marriage, dating, and squeezing in a workout or girls' night out. Through these happiness triggers, you will learn to bounce back from stress and adversity faster, enjoy deeper satisfaction in your marriage and friendships, maximize career opportunities and increase your income and fight off depression, colds and other illnesses and live longer!

Valorie talks about the cultural shifts and modern challenges that threaten women's happiness, such as increased stress from increased demands, earning more money than men, constant comparisons brought on by social media and reality television, and many more. Learn to navigate these issues and join thousands of women in a modern movement that empowers you to take control of your happiness.

Review
Ladies, no matter how old you are, who you are are, or where you come from, grab this book and really dive in. This is not your typical how to, filled with clinical terms or endless questions and answers that get you nowhere but confused. Happy Women Live Better is one of those books that was written for us but more importantly by a woman who really gets it with some insightful ways for us to attain happiness.

Before I read this book, I like so many have suffocated my subconscious with a barrage of what ifs and if onlys. You find yourself measuring your of attainment of happiness to the life of other people you know or strangers you observe. You feel that constant pressure to catch up. That constant quest for happiness in your life compared to others you feel has come up short leaves you burdened with statements like, "I should be doing more", "I feel like I am missing out on something", "This is not where I thought my life would be" or "If only I was....or what if my..." to name a few that seem to inhibit us from reaching our goal. No matter how many times or other statements we keep telling ourselves, this book takes all those insecurities by giving you the tools to makes them strengths.

What I love about this book and why I encourage you to read is because it is filled with such more than information. This is the sort of book that will definitely encourage and invite conversation and introspection. She challenges all those inner questions with positive "happiness triggers" that you can incorporate into your lives, stories from everyday women that share your same struggles with the assurance that you are not alone, and insightful information that encourages conversation with your girlfriends that inspire women to live fulfilling lives. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Publication date: 10/1/2013
Pages: 224

Review: Alice In Wonderland by Nancy Christie

Summary
When life is unbearable, where can one go to escape? For Alice, constrained by circumstances and unwanted obligations, books transport her to imagined worlds beyond her own, nourishing her spirit -- and her body. But what will Alice do when there are no more pages to devour and reality reclaims full dominion?

Review
If you were a fan of "Annabelle", than you will love her new short story "Alice In Wonderland". Just as wonderful, Christie's beautiful voice graces the pages introducing us to a young woman who uses her books to escape the intimidating torment of the emotional grasp her confined mother has on her. When you are taking care of someone who is solely dependent on another, for someone like Alice, it can become an emotionally draining task. Considering her mother is not the materialistic type, you can feel the desperation of being emotionally and physically trapped. Filled with emotion, beautifully written, the reader will escape into a story leaving you wanting more. From the first page to the last, what Christie has accomplished in such few pages, some cannot do in a hundred, which is such a testament to her beautiful voice as a storyteller. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Pixel Hall Press
Publication date: 11/27/13
Pages: 17

Review: A Sheltered Life: Take It To The Streets by Jeremy Reynolds

Summary
In this amazing story, Jeremy Reynalds, who founded and runs New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter and was once homeless himself, shares how he rose from the despair of homelessness to the pinnacle of academia, earning a doctorate in intercultural education at Biola University in La Mirada, California.

In addition, the book contains stories of a number of people who have fallen on hard times and have gotten back on their feet again with the help of the Lord at Joy Junction.


Review
No matter who you are, or where you come from, everybody is somebody. How many times have you walked by a homeless person? What were you thinking when you saw them? Did you assume anything? The reason I ask is because for so many, it happens by circumstance. Their dire straits lead them down a path that puts them in this situation. The hardest part is that for so many, they have become dehumanized and invisible to those around them.

After reading A Sheltered Life: Take It To The Streets, no matter how tough times may get, you really appreciate what you have in your life. It really humanized the people who are homeless and shattered the stigma stereotype of who is and why. Many of the stories that were shared in the book, could be anyone you know. Just because someone is homeless, doesn't mean that they want to be, do drugs and alcohol or have mental problems. When you read about what led them to be and what they had to go through, it makes you realize that so many people are literally a paycheck away.

The heart of the book centered around Jeremy Reynolds. After immigrated here from England, a series of events transpired in his life that led to his own homelessness. Through his faith and generosity of strangers, he built his life up and created New Mexico's largest homeless shelter and shared how it has transformed the community. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It really inspired me to want to do more within my community to help where I can. Just to let you know, this book was centered around someone with a strong faith background. For those who may be put off from any references of religion, throughout the book there are mentions to aspects of his Christian beliefs being credit to his transformation, his work and certain parts of his organization that is based through faith. Despite that, with the different parts collectively that told this story, it presents the reader with an insightful look on a segment of the population that gets ignored and doesn't get talked about. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: WestBow Press A Division of Thomas Nelson
Publication date: 4/8/2013
Pages: 198

Review: The Vow by Jessica Martinez

Summary 
No one has ever believed that Mo and Annie are just friends. How can a guy and a girl really be best friends?

Then, the summer before senior year, Mo’s father loses his job, and by extension his work visa. Instantly, life for Annie and Mo crumbles. Although Mo has lived in America for most of his life, he’ll be forced to move to Jordan. The prospect of leaving his home is devastating, and the idea of returning to a world where he no longer belongs terrifies him.

Desperate to save him, Annie proposes they tell a colossal lie—that they are in love. Mo agrees because marrying Annie is the only way he can stay. Annie just wants to keep her best friend, but what happens when it becomes a choice between saving Mo and getting her own chance at real love? 

Review 
There are all kinds of love. Love for a family member, love for a friend, and love for a spouse or significant other. But no matter what type of love it is, it is an emotion so strong nothing and no one can break it. For it is that love you have for the other person that drives you to care for them, defend them and sometimes even lying for them. The Vow is a book about a love so strong that one cannot or rather, one refuses to see right from wrong. I would say The Vow is about distinguishing what kind of love you feel as well as figuring out whether it is that love that drives you or something else. Most importantly, The Vow is about understanding that love can withstand anything and won’t unravel, no matter how hard you tug on the bond between. 

At the beginning of our un-fairytale, Annie is working up the nerve to go into the custard shop where her dead sister, Lena, used to work with Mo, her rude, yet faithful friend supporting her. Of course Annie gets the job and thus is thrown into a sea of fakes smiles and thankless customers, all in an attempt to understand the void that used to hold her sister. 

While working there, Annie discovers Reed, a guy who’s a little older who won’t look her in the face. She cant decide whether or not he’s being rude or just being shy, but one thing is clear, she isn’t trying to capture the essence of who her sister used to be. Now she only wants to get to know Reed better, or at least get him to look at her. 

As for Mo, things are pretty typical. Study, study, study, even though his grades are perfect enough he doesn’t have to. Wait for the coming of basketball camp and fantasize about the gorgeous cheerleader Maya as well as plans to destroy her douchebag boyfriend Chase Dunkirk. Until his American dream is shattered by bad news.

His father just lost his job, thus his work visa and he has to move back to Jordan. And the last time he visited, he didn’t really receive such a warm welcome. And Mo is terrified to think how this trip will go, considering this may be a permanent one. 

Now all that studying was for naught, he won’t be able to go to basketball camp, he might as well stop dreaming of Maya and to top it all off, Annie is falling for yet another guy. And having to spend a day, a life, without Annie, is a thought he never thought he’d have to bare. 

Not able to bare a life without Mo, the only person that keeps her stable in her just a whisper away from insanity world, Annie proposes to Mo. And reluctantly they accept. Although, neither one know what they’re getting into. 

Mo’s mother is actually happy she got to stick it to his father; his father feels betrayed, even if he doesn’t show it and his sister might actually have a crack in her optimistic persona. Yet in some twisted way, Mo doesn’t feel too ashamed. He gets to stay and he gets to be with Annie. 

Annie is happy that Mo is staying but she soon realizes her heart is pulling more and more towards Reed and it is a different kind of love than what she feels for Mo. A love she has never really felt before and wants to explore further, thus the dilemma. Sooner or later, her “marriage” will come to light and she might risk hurting Reed which also means someone discovering her fake marriage to Mo and losing him too. The question is, which would be more painful, if even one heartache can outweigh the other. 

Now what will they do? Annie loves Mo more than anything, but is her love strong enough to keep up this charade? Or is it that her love is clouding her judgment on what the right thing is to do? And of course Mo loves Annie too, but he never realized how much he’d miss his family. Can he really leave his home, his dreams, Annie? Their love isn't romantic but can it still stand the test of lost?

The Vow is a thought provoking novel that begs us to question: what is love and how can it be measured? Also, this novel also is about what love can drive us to do for one another yet at the same time, wonder if love is really the force pushing us or is it something. And most importantly, this book helps us see that love, no matter the type, can endure all hardships. 

Reviewed by Camia Rhodes

Book Information
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: 10/15/2013
Pages: 432

Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Summary
Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . 

Review
They say there is no stronger bond between a mother and her child. She would go to the ends of the earth to ensure their happiness, even if it causes the child to hate the mother for some reason. Mothers are willing to sacrifice everything, even their life if it ensures that the child will somehow survive. And even though Callie is not Tyler’s real mom, and he even remembers still who his mom really is, their bond still seems unbreakable. 

Callie is desperate to help Tyler get better and a better environment. He is ill, coughing through the whole night, and can no longer be staying in the dungy houses they have been if he is to survive much longer. So she does something desperate: she decides to sign up for Prime Destinations, as a host body that can be used by Enders, seniors who want to be young again.

The process seems simple: they implant a chip, and while the adolescents are asleep in their subconscious, the Ender leaves Prime Destination while their mind in the adolescent body and able to control the body for a week. However, Callie’s chip malfunctions, and she wakes up in the life of the Ender who rented her body, and she knows that malfunction trials have dangerous results…

When she realizes she can’t go back to Prime Destinations, she tries to go through the trial as quickly as possible, but she can’t help but forget her old life when a mysterious boy comes into her life, when she realizes that the Ender has more secrets than she thought, and that Prime Destinations does more than just rent bodies.

Lissa Price has created a very subtle, but gripping thriller about mind control. Callie is a very real character with real goals in mind, and you can’t help but hope that somehow she will get through the whole ordeal. You can feel her pain, and how she seems to be torn between the two worlds, and her discomfort with the whole “renting body” thing. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and can’t wait for the sequel in January.

Reviewed by Mercedes Olivas

Book Information
Publisher: Random House
Publication date: 7/23/2013
Pages: 384

Review: Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich

Summary
Big Girl Panties is a rollicking and poignant romantic comedy about a young widow who decides to get in shape...and winds up getting her groove back—and a whole lot more!
 
Holly Brennan used food to comfort herself through her husband’s illness and death. Now she’s alone at age thirty-two. And she weighs more than she ever has. When fate throws her in the path of Logan Montgomery, personal trainer to pro athletes, and he offers to train her, Holly concludes it must be a sign. Much as she dreads the thought of working out, Holly knows she needs to put on her big girl panties and see if she can sweat out some of her grief.
 
Soon, the easy intimacy and playful banter of their training sessions lead Logan and Holly to most intense and steamy workouts. But can Holly and Logan go the distance as a couple now that she’s met her goals—and other men are noticing?

Review
When I first saw the title of the book, it really peaked my curiosity to want to read. Since there was so much buzz surrounding the release of the book, I figure it must be worth the read. With a title like that, you know it would be a fun read. 

Before I read the book, I read comments from readers about what they thought. I never do that but I was curious. I just want to begin this by saying in all fairness to the author, I think much of the criticism about her book was based on comparison to her aunt Janet and her body of work. Or, people keep referring this book compared to her previous series which she didn't write. As beloved as Janet Evanovich is, I don't think it is fair to compare this book to hers. They are two completely different writers.
 
So, let me give you a little bit to start with. We first meet Logan, your typical fitness trainer, physically fit and easy on the eyes. He is boarding on a place heading to NJ when this woman appears to be looking for her seat. Hoping it wouldn't be her, here comes Holly Brennan. Already feeling self conscious about her weight and seeing how good looking Logan was, having to sit next to him didn't make her feel any easier. Afraid to fly, it was a welcome surprise by Logan's attempt to calm her nerves and help ease the transition of takeoff.

After conversation a bit on the flight, being fate or coincidence, they happened to live near each other. There is something about her that is so intriguing that he offers her an opportunity to work with him to help her get her life back on track. Once she starts her journey, she proves to be one his best clients. Showing great results but kept hidden, it wasn't until one of his friends took her out and transformed her does she embrace her new look with a renewed sense of confidence which motivates her more. As her "outer beauty" started to match her inner, the more attention she started getting from other people, the more it started to get to him irritated. With this new sense of confidence, the dynamics of their relationship unspokenly start to change...This should be enough to get you started,  I don't want to ruin your experience by giving away too much. 

Overall, I enjoyed reading the book despite how I felt about some aspects of somcharacters that were not likable. As the book progressed, I was hoping that the plot would go a certain way. In some aspects it did and others it didn't but that is completely subjective to what intentions and expectations you have once you start reading their story. I think this is one of those books that will bring out some strong feelings from the reader positive and negative. For me, it made me laugh at times, roll my eyes with disgust (Logan), and blush a little. Yes, when it gets to those steamy scenes, she definitely has a way with words. So, if you are looking for something fun, light and easy to read, check it out. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 7/9/2013
Pages: 324