Building Mountains from Dust by Kimberly S. Young {Book Review, Excerpt and Giveaway}

Series:	Standalone
Genre:	Inspirational, Memoir
Publication Date:	May 22nd 2018
Format:	Digital
Published By:	Authorhourse
Goodreads:	Building Mountains from Dusk on Goodreads
My Review Copy:	Thanks to Kimberly S.Young

Where to get:

In Building Mountains from Dust, Kimberly Young shares her story of survival and inspiration. At fifty, Kimberly's structured, organized, and driven life is thrown into a tailspin when she is diagnosed with advanced staged lung cancer. Never a smoker, Kimberly makes frank reflections about her decision not to have children, and how she makes peace with her mother, who abandoned her over fifteen years ago. This is a story about heart-wrenching life lessons, forgiveness, and about finding faith, as in a tragic twist of fate, Kimberly survives her cancer when her husband of twenty years suddenly dies. 

�Why me? Why now? I am only 50. I am too young to die.� These

thoughts raced through my mind. I am too young to die. There is so much I wanted to still do.

Ann, the doctor�s wife and one of my close friends came into the room.

As she closed the door, I ran over to hug her, still sobbing. Trying to get a grip on my new reality. Trying to avoid the shock � why me?

She was trying to get the PET scan scheduled. It would be 10 days. Ten

days! I wanted the scan now; I wanted this thing out of my body. Now!

I was trying to stand on my own � after hugging Jim and Ann so

hard � I finally sat back in the chair. The doctor kept saying that he needed the biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. I just had a colonoscopy last week and my surgeon said I was good for another 10 years. Jim was the one with health problems. Twenty years older than me, he was the one who had a heart attack, bypass surgery, a pacemaker, a pelvic aneurysm, and a bunch of procedures from a heart ablation to a cardioversion. It did not add up.

It wasn�t how either Jim or I planned this � I was too young, too healthy

and too active.

There was nothing more to say, things needed to be set in motion. I

needed to schedule the biopsy and the PET scan. I had few other health

problems. At 50, we all have something, but up until that moment, my

biggest worry was some high cholesterol for which I started to take some

medicine but otherwise, I was generally strong and healthy. This was a test.

Jim and I left the doctor�s office. He asked me what I wanted to do

next. I just wanted to go home. I wasn�t sure where else to go, I didn�t

want to deal with people from work. I didn�t want to deal with myself at

that moment.

Three Words: Heartwarming, Eye opening, and inspirational. 

Reading about the survival of cancer is nothing if not sad but also heart lifting at the same time. Kimberly invites you into her world and gives you a peak of what her life was when she was vibrant and healthy without a care in the world. Her and her husband were happy and he was the one with all the health problems until that fateful day when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. The doctors were outwardly optimistic but Kimberly could tell they were acting for her benefit. She couldn't figure out how to digest the news and why this had happened to her. 

We follow her while she under goes treatment and the whole time she keeps her head up while dying inside. Kimberly fights and fights for herself. Finally her husband and her go on a cruise to relax and rejuvenate from all that life has handed them. Kimberly experiences devastation yet again and is unsure she can ever smile again. 

Such an amazing book of inspirational, inner thoughts of a cancer survivor and the story of how one women found her inner strength through life's trials and came out on the other side. 

About the Author

Dr. Kimberly Young is a renowned psychologist, author, and speaker on Internet addiction. Since 1995, she has written numerous articles and books on the topic. She is a professor at St. Bonaventure University and her work has been featured in The Dr. Oz Show, ABC�s World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC�s The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, PBS, Time, Newsweek, and The New York Times. Building Mountains from Dust chronicles Kimberly�s transformation from noted counselor helping others to becoming a patient hoping to survive cancer, and how she found her faith after her Buy diagnosis and surviving the death of her husband.

Website: http://www.netaddiction.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Netaddictioncom-136696902621/
      Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrKimberlyYoung

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This giveaway is for the winner�s choice of one print or eBook copy of the book. Print is open to the U.S. only and eBook is available worldwide. This giveaway ends October 31, 2018, midnight pacific time.

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Perfect Girls by Alison James {Book Blog Tour with Review}

Series:	Standalone
Genre:	Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
Publication Date:	September 18th 2018
Format:	Digital
Published By:	Bookouture
Goodreads:	Perfect Girls on Goodreads
My Review Copy:	Thanks to Bookouture

Where to get:

Phoebe. Tiffany. Melissa. They all made one little mistake...

When twenty-five-year-old Phoebe Stiles opens the door to her perfect apartment she doesn�t realise it�s the mistake that will kill her�

The body of the beautiful English girl is discovered months later - dumped behind the back of a department store. But who was the stranger she let into the safety of her home?

As Detective Rachel Prince pieces together the mystery surrounding Phoebe�s death, another young, blonde girl is found brutally murdered and abandoned in the grounds of an old theatre.

In the most dangerous case of her career, Rachel must track down the faceless individual to stop the body count rising. But to uncover the shocking truth, Rachel has to put herself at risk� can she catch the twisted killer, before they catch her?

A gripping page-turner that will have you completely hooked until the utterly jaw-dropping twist. Fans of Angela Marsons, Peter James and Karin Slaughter will love this crime series, featuring unforgettable Detective Rachel Prince.

Why readers are gripped by Perfect Girls:

�Hands down one of the best thrillers I�ve read all year! It was so full of mystery and suspense!! Lots of twists and turns! I loved it!!� Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

�Full of suspense, it was gritty and you didn�t know what was coming next� had a hard time putting it down and read late into the night and finished it in a day� you really don�t want to miss this one it�s one of my favourites so far of 2018!� Bonnie�s Book Talk, 5 stars

I could NOT put this book down for a single second without thinking about the mystery and what would happen next. I am so hooked on the detective Rachel Prince in this novel, I quickly went to buy the first two eBooks to read about more of her case work. The storyline, mystery and characters in this story just captivated me completely from beginning to end.

When twenty-five-year-old Phoebe Stiles opens the door to her perfect apartment she doesn�t realize it�s the mistake that will kill her�

The body of the beautiful English girl is discovered months later - dumped behind the back of a department store. But who was the stranger she let into the safety of her home?

As Detective Rachel Prince pieces together the mystery surrounding Phoebe�s death, another young, blonde girl is found brutally murdered and abandoned in the grounds of an old theatre.

In the most dangerous case of her career, Rachel must track down the faceless individual to stop the body count rising. But to uncover the shocking truth, Rachel has to put herself at risk� can she catch the twisted killer, before they catch her?

Rachel is a head strong detective that doesn't like hearing the word NO. She is tough and independent and is depicted as being able to handle herself. At the same time we see her vulnerability a few times which made me love her ever more.

I am completely hooked on this story and can't wait to read more from this author. A+ , five stars etc.

About the Author

I was born in the Cotswold's but spent most of my formative years abroad. I studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after my two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, I worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyline, before coming full circle to write fiction again. 

Author Social Media Links:

 FACEBOOK | AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE | GOODREADS  | TWITTER

 

My Summer Read-along challenge with Swoon Reads!

Today, I have the pleasure of partnering up with Swoon Reads, to tell you a bit about a summer read-along challenge I got to take part in thanks to their initiative! 

In case you aren't yet familiar with Swoon Reads, it publishes YA fiction novels with a focus on community readership. 

In their effort of involving book lovers in the publishing process, they have created a strong, interactive community where readers can engage with each other, as well as participate in the publishing process itself - by voting on book covers of soon-to-be-hitting-the-shelves books!  They aspire to start conversations revolving around books and give readers unlimited access to manuscripts! 

Having loved the idea of reading being a form of social activity, I have asked my closest friend, Thai, to read-along a few of the books I received from Swoon Reads a couple months back. First, we have successfully completed a read-along of TO BE HONEST by Maggie Ann Martin (August 21st 2018). We both loved the book and found it both refreshingly honest and quite hilarious. I have posted some more thoughts about it on my Instagram, so be sure to check that out! 

Then, to change things up a bit, we moved on to the Soul Keepers by Devon Taylor - a fantasy/paranormal YA that tells the story of a Harbinger crew, a colossal seafaring vessel tasked with ferrying the souls of the dead. 

Both books were incredibly fun to read and discuss together, and we ended up texting each other throughout the reads to discuss certain plot twists or funny events taking place in the books. Bottom line is, it was a BLAST, and I definitely can see how reading can be even more enjoyable when it's not a solitary experience (even though I still do love to read wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of coffee or tea, locked away from the entire world, but hey, bookworms will be bookworms, right?).

Because of some bumps along the pregnancy road, Thai and I didn't get to read Let's Talk About Love together, but I am definitely looking forward to enjoying it during the last warm days of early Fall! Be sure to check out all the book synopsis with links down below!  

Huge thanks to Swoon Reads for kindly sponsoring this post and my summer reading experience! All of the opinions are 100% honest and completely my own . 

Book Synopsis:

Hardcover, 320 pages
Published July 3rd 2018 by Swoon Reads

Death is just the beginning.

After dying in a terrible car accident, Rhett awakens in the afterlife and is recruited to join the crew of the Harbinger, a colossal seafaring vessel tasked with ferrying the souls of the dead. To where exactly, no one knows. But the crew must get the souls there, and along the way protect them from vicious soul-eating monsters that will stop at nothing to take the ship and all of its occupants.

Rhett and his new friends have a hard enough time fighting back the monsters that grow bolder and more ferocious every day. But then a new threat emerges, a demon who wants something that Rhett has. And if she gets it, it could mean the end of everything... for both the living and the dead.

Hardcover, 304 pages
Published January 23rd 2018 by Swoon Reads

Alice had her whole summer planned. Non-stop all-you-can-eat buffets while marathoning her favorite TV shows (best friends totally included) with the smallest dash of adulting--working at the library to pay her share of the rent. The only thing missing from her perfect plan? Her girlfriend (who ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual). Alice is done with dating--no thank you, do not pass go, stick a fork in her, done.
But then Alice meets Takumi and she can�t stop thinking about him or the rom com-grade romance feels she did not ask for (uncertainty, butterflies, and swoons, oh my!).

When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn, and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library employee badge (close enough), Alice has to decide if she�s willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated�or understood.

Hardcover, 304 pages
Published August 21st 2018 by Swoon Reads

Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her sister goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats.

Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.