Music Monday: I Think I Love You - David Cassidy

How many of you were fans of The Partridge Family?  How many of you would even admit it if you were?  LOL.  I admit that I had a huge crush on David Cassidy and later on I had a crush on his brother Shaun.  Here is an oldie but goodie that I'm sure you will remember....




http://youtu.be/Ttmp5JapObw

Mixed Blessings By Danielle Steel

In her 30th novel, Danielle Steel weaves a powerful tale of three couples who face decisions about having children that will test, in unexpected ways, the ties that bind them as lovers, partners, and friends.  Their lives, their goals, their feelings about families, are on the line, as the word "infertility" begins to unravel their dreams.

Diana Goode and Andrew Douglas are a California couple who seem to have it all: glamorous careers, good looks, good times, and lives full of friends and family.  After their wedding, Diana teases that she will make a baby on their honeymoon.  But long afterward, she is still not pregnant.  Diana enviously watches her sisters effortlessly conceive as she shuttles between doctors' offices and Andrew struggles to find a solution to their problem in order to hold on to his wife.  As they wait out each month with great anticipation only to be bitterly disappointed, they are forced to question just how much they are willing to go through to have a baby...and at what cost to their marriage.  Unknown to Diana, damaged and scarred by an IUD when she was in college, she must face what this means to her.  Diana and Andy reach out to surrogates, adoption, and lead a life of quiet desperation until they find the solutions that work for them.

The beaming groom at the Mason-Winwood wedding is Charlie Winwood.  Having grown up an orphan, he dreams of a house filled with children, and a happy family.  His bride, fun-seeking actress Barbie Mason, has other ideas.  She thrives on excitement and dreams not of the joys of motherhood, but of seeing her name up in lights.  Their marriage is strained, but Charlie is convinced that a baby will solve it all.  But when his plan proves unsuccessful and he discovers that he is sterile, Charlie has to rethink his deepest values -- and his marriage to a woman who shares none of his dreams.

Pilar Graham, a prominent Santa Barbara attorney, astonishes her friends by marrying Judge Brad Coleman -- after living with him for eighteen years.  Brad, in his early sixties and the father of two grown children, and Pilar, in her early forties, are happy with their comfortable life together, just the two of them.  That is until Pilar begins to wonder if someday she will regret not having a baby with Brad.  Are they crazy to begin now -- with Brad about to become a grandfather?  It will not be an easy road for Pilar and Brad as they encounter the world of high-tech medicine and the bittersweet rewards it brings them.

Through the lives of these couples, Danielle Steel shows us the mixed blessings we face as we make our modern families.  But despite hardship and heartache, she reminds us again of the triumphant spirit of love.

~My thoughts on this book~
I became a fan of Danielle Steel as a teenager sharing my Mom's reading materials.  I have not read all of her books as of yet, but I am working on it.  This book grabbed my attention because of it's focus on the difficulty some couples have in conceiving children.  I was adopted after my parents had tried unsuccessfully to have their own childres, and then three years later they had two of their own children.  Adoption is a wonderful option for adults and children.

Annie By Ron Mahaffey

Cody Miller's lifelong desire to serve and protect the country he loves is a reality now, thanks to the Vietnam War.  He has served honorably and well, and he's about to be sent back to the States...along with the woman he loves.  But just as his dreams are about to come true, a tragedy strikes, giving him the opportunity to protect an angel of mercy...but at great cost to himself.

Cody wakes up in a veteran's hospital believing that he has nothing left to live for.  With a cold and angry heart, his only wish is to ride into the Colorado wilderness, never to be seen again.  But Cody doesn't know that destiny is following him in a way he doesn't expect.  Will it reach him in time?  Annie is a deftly plotted, richly characterized novel that illuminates the physical and emotional realities of war with vividness and compassion to create a deeply satisfying story.

~My thoughts~
This book was a quick read being only 144 pages long.  It quickly caught my attention because my significant other is retired military and suffers from survivor's guilt.  I'm a sucker for any kind of love story so it was a double whammy for me.  If you are looking for a book to pass the time, something short and sweet, I would recommend this book.  Good news for people with e-readers, it's available as an ebook also.

Music Monday?

Yeah, I know, it isn't Monday.  But I felt like sharing this video because I like it so much.  I can't wait to have someone in my life that will feel this way about me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-4u9W-bns&feature=share&list=LLHq_plfCiw5c5dQ3YzIkrHg

Devil In Disguise By Heather Huffman

Author Heather Huffman reunites some of her fans' favorite characters with this unforgettable journey of romance, friendship, humor and suspense.

Tenacious reporter Rachel Cooper devotes her life to exposing corruption by shining a light on the darker corners of the world - a career that doesn't leave much room for relationships.  Even so, she finds it impossible to stop thinking about her unexpected run-in with Conrad Langston, an old flame that never quite burnt out.

When her mother calls in the middle of the night because her sister is missing and the police are offering little help, Rachel immediately turns to the only person she knows she can always count on - Conrad.

Determined to protect her family, Rachel finds herself embroiled in the frightening and tragic underworld of human trafficking.  As her pursuit of justice pulls her deep into the darkness, she recognizes an opportunity to re-evaluate her choices in life and take a new path - even if it means walking through the fires of hell to protect the ones she loves.

Passionate, engaging and poignant, Devil in Disguise entertains while raising awareness of modern day social issues.

~My thoughts~
This book was a quick read and kept me interested throughout.  I was not familiar with this author before I found this book to review, but I will be looking for her other books to learn more about some of the characters in this book that were not the main characters.

I was shocked to find out the statistics of human trafficking, and to realize how prevalent it actually is in the United States and with young girls and boys.  I would highly recommend this book.  I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Fugitive Grandma By Dmitri Ragano

At once a crime thriller, black comedy and family drama wrapped into one poignant and satirical novel.

Deep in the heart of California's dysfunctional, strip-mall suburbs, the city of Santa Ramona is besieged by a pair of unlikely bandits.  Johnny Valentine is a lonely boy who dreams of becoming a hero, just like the masked avengers of his comic books.  His feisty grandmother Stella is a retired supermarket clerk and cancer survivor with a fierce sense of justice.  Running out of time, money and options, the old lady is driven to make one last, great contribution to the world.

Together the boy and his grandma devise a Robin-Hood style scheme to rob a ruthless retail conglomerate, stealing cash and medicine for the sick and needy.  As their crime spree continues, the citizens of Santa Ramona wonder how to judge the crazy, young boy and his fugitive grandma.  Are Johnny and Stella Valentine a menace to society?  Or are they the only ones trying to save it?

~ My thoughts~

I really enjoyed this book.  The premise is something that could happen in any neighborhood at any time.  Here is a normal, dysfunctional family where a young boys father spends more time trying to make money than trying to be a dad to his son.  The grandmother takes up the slack because there is no mother in the picture since she divorced the Dad for another man with more money.  The father has financial problems, his mother has trusted him with her finances since she is recovering from cancer, and he dips into her money to try to pay off his own debts.  I don't want to give away any juicy parts of the book, so go and get yourself a copy and rest assured that you will enjoy every page.

Pinned: A Kentucky True Crime By Charles W. Massie

"I fear the dark and I live all alone...."

Mark Casey, a native New York-er and a gentleman, wants to get out of his home state and live in another part of the world.  Over the internet, he meets and is attracted to a small town Kentucky woman named Roxie.  This woman seems to be the girl of his dreams - sensual, ambitious, funny and beautiful.  After a series of email and phone conversations, Roxie invites Mark to visit her in Kentucky.  The Meeting is magic.  They fall head over heels for each other and decide to live together.

But like the flip of a switch, there are immediate problems as soon as he gets in his new abode.  He and Roxie fight, where they never did before.  She constantly tells him lies.  There seems to be a black cloud around Roxie, where someone always gets hurt.  And their once raging sexual relationship has turned sour, causing them to sleep apart.  What could have caused this abyss?

This is a true story of flagrant injustice in a small country town.  It is a page whipping account of sex, drugs, manipulation, false arrest, corrupt public officials and good 'ol boys who take rather than give.

See what it is like to be trapped in the nest of a Black Widow.  Read the story and be Pinned.

~My thoughts~
I liked this book from the start.  It was an easy read for me.  The author is good at telling a story.  There were a few typoes, but nothing that distracted me from the story.  There was more sex in the story than I liked, but the author does warn you at the beginning of the book that it is part of the story.  Of course, the ending left me hanging and I am looking forward to the sequel to find out the rest of the story.