Why Have I Not Been Around Much Lately!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Hello everyone! I hope that you're all just fine this morning - I certainly am! :) Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on how I'm doing so far.

I’m doing pretty well - except for the fact that Lollipop managed to knock a book that I started reading last week behind my easychair. Actually, I should probably say that Lollipop’s managed to knock another book behind my chair, because this is like the sixth book she’s pawed down off my bookshelf. I love her dearly, but this is starting to get slightly annoying.

I’m only upset because I was reading at least two of the books that disappeared behind the chair, and the chair is difficult to move in order to retrieve the books. It will probably take me months to get them back. Oh, well!

Anyway, I haven’t been posting too much on my blog because I was actually setting up a fresh blog at: http://emeraldfiresbookmark2.blogspot.com. I’ve transferred my posts over to the new blog, but unfortunately I can’t transfer my followers. So that’s why I’m keeping my other blog as well, although I hope that I can remove it at some point. Not to worry though, I won’t be doing that for a while, yet!

May you read well and often

Peter Thompson - Summer on Earth

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

33. Summer on Earth by Peter Thompson (2017)
Length: 294 pages
Genre: Science Fiction 
Started: 7 September 2017
Finished: 26 September 2017
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Dorothy at Pump up Your Book for sending me a copy of this book to read.
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 7 September 2017
Why do I have it? I like science fiction and Peter Thompson is a new author for me.

In the summer of 1978, eleven-year-old Grady Johnson is grieving the recent loss of his father. Times were already tough for the Johnsons, but Grady suspects now that it’s just the three of them: him, his Ma, and his younger sister Luanne, this summer will be especially hard. After all, his dad was the rock of their family. Now dad has died and the family just isn’t the same.

Grady knows that Ma is trying her best, but they just don’t have enough money to get by. He wishes that he could do more to help, but he doesn’t know how. The night that he looked out his bedroom window and wished upon a shooting star, Grady had no idea how much his life would change. And ultimately, the summer of 1978 will stay in Grady’s heart forever.

Actually, the shooting star that Grady saw that night was a spaceship plummeting to Earth. Secretly landing in a pasture behind Grady’s farm, extraterrestrial engineer Ralwil Turth has only one goal - to repair his craft’s power source and go back home. The mission should be simple enough to accomplish on an unpopulated planet such as this one. However, Ralwil’s mission doesn’t go quite as well as he planned...

Due to an equipment malfunction, Ralwil finds himself stuck in human form as he works on the Johnson farm. As he gets to know Grady and his family, Ralwil begins to learn what it means to be human. He also discovers more about the exotic charms of this planet Earth - things such as the taste of potatoes and how amazing bugs are. These are all extraordinary experiences and situations for Ralwil, and his strange reactions and odd behavior causes Grady no small measure of bafflement to witness.

As Ralwil grows to care more for Grady and his family, he comes up with a plan to try and help them, certain that it will solve all their problems. However, when trouble comes, the family’s survival and Ralwil’s very life will be on the line. The question is: will Grady find the courage he needs to help his family and save his new friend?

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found the story to be poignant and well-written, and fully appreciated that the plot was about so much more than just the science fictional element. In my opinion, this was a refreshing change from most science fiction novels, which seem to be told from a more galactic point of view, rather than a personal point of view.

The historical setting of the story was also intriguing, and not necessarily overwhelming. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and I would certainly give this book an A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often

Linda McCarter Bridge - Cats: Little Tigers in Your House

Saturday, September 16, 2017

32. Cats: Little Tigers in Your House by Linda McCarter Bridge (1974)
The National Geographic Society’s Books For Young Explorers Series Book 12
Length: 32 pages 
Genre: Non-Fiction
Started/Finished: 16 September 2017
Where did it come from? From Paperback Swap
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 14 September 2017
Why do I have it? I like non-fiction and Linda McCarter Bridge is a new author for me.

This short nonfiction book is all about the life of a mother cat named Fezziwig and her two newborn kittens, Toddly and Paddy Paws. The story actually follows the kittens’ life from newly born to two months old, using photographs to chart their growth and their interaction with the world around them. From Toddly’s and Paddy Paws’ first grooming session with their Mom to meeting several unique family members and making friends; from playing with each other to meeting their new humans: the two youngsters, Sam and Dana.

I think that this particular book would certainly be appropriate reading for young children who are just learning about how to care for animals. Although I didn’t really learn much more than I already knew about cats, I still enjoyed reading the cute story and looking at the photographs. I would give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often

Connie Corcoran Wilson - Hellfire and Damnation

Thursday, September 14, 2017

31. Hellfire and Damnation by Connie Corcoran Wilson (2011)
The Hellfire and Damnation Series Book 1
Length: 124 pages
Genre: Horror
Started: 6 September 2017
Finished: 14 September 2017
Where did it come from? From Amazon
How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 26 December 2012
Why do I have it? I like Connie Corcoran Wilson as an author and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

Hellfire and Damnation is Connie Corcoran Wilson's first book of short stories that she published in 2011. This book features an intimate tour of Dante's 'Nine Circles of Hell' from his Inferno. It also features fifteen original short stories: from the convicted murderer James 'Big Jim' Bingham trying to reconnect with his estranged son before his death sentence is carried out in 'Hotter Than Hell' to the treacherous betrayal between two best friends that leads to murder in 'An American Girl'. Each story highlights its particular Circle in a novel way, but is partially based on fact as explained by the author at the end.

I really enjoyed this book - it was suitably horrific for me. Each story is well-crafted and believable, and I found myself very satisfied with each story's pacing. I give Hellfire and Damnation an A! and I look forward to reading more books by Connie Corcoran Wilson in the very near future!

A! - (90-95%) 

May you read well and often

Book Spotlight For Murder on Set by Duncan Whitehead

Friday, September 8, 2017

Hello Everyone! I hope that you're all having a wonderful day today. As this is his long-awaited Release Day, I'm delighted to welcome award-winning Contemporary Mystery author Duncan Whitehead author of Murder on Set - Book 3 of The Forest Pines Mysteries Series - to Emeraldfire's Bookmark. This is also my thirty-second Book Spotlight post ever, but I still hope that I do Murder on Set by Duncan Whitehead justice.

About Murder on Set:


Two years after the events in Miami and a heart-wrenching funeral newly married and pregnant Jenny once again finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery. When Hollywood comes to Forest Pines to film a movie based on the killings of infamous serial killer 'The Slaughter Man' the production is thrown into chaos after a cast member dies on set.

Was it an accident or was it murder? With a host of suspects and motives to chose from a revitalized Jenny leaves no stone unturned as she digs into the bizarre case.

Purchase your copy from Amazon!

Meet Duncan Whitehead


Winner of the 2013 and 2014 Reader’s Favorite International Book Award and Gold Medalist. Award Winning Writer, Duncan Whitehead, was born in England and is the author of the best-selling and award-winning The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club Trilogy. The series, inspired by the quirky characters and eeriness in the real life Savannah neighborhood in which he once lived is a humorous mystery, which boasts an assortment of characters and plot twists. He has also written over 2,000 spoof and comedy news articles, under various aliases, for a variety of websites both in the US and the UK.

He has written further novels; a dark comedy set in Manhattan, The Reluctant Jesus, published in April 2014 and republished in July 2015 and three short stories. Duncan is well known for his charity work, kindness to animals, children and old people; and, of course, his short-lived bullfighting career and his hideous hunchback. In February 2045, he invented time travel and now spends much of his time in either the future (where he has won the lottery an astonishing 117 times) and the present day.

Connect and Socialize with Duncan!


May you read well and often