Book Spotlight For Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi

Hello Everyone! I hope that you're all having a wonderful day today. As this is her long-awaited Release Day, I'm delighted to welcome award-winning Contemporary Romance author Christine Nolfi author of Sweet Lake: A Novel - Book 1 of The Sweet Lake Series - to Emeraldfire's Bookmark. This is also my twenty-ninth Book Spotlight post ever, but I still hope that I do Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi justice.

About Sweet Lake: A Novel:

Linnie Wayfair knows just how many people are counting on her. But knowing doesn’t make doing any easier.

Everyone in Sweet Lake, Ohio, wants her to muster all her business sense and return the Wayfair Inn to its former glory. Her parents hope she’ll forgive her scoundrel of a brother and reconcile the family. The eccentric Sweet Lake Sirens want her to open the inn - and her heart - to new possibilities. And her hilarious lifelong friends Jada and Cat are dropping none-too-subtle hints for her to ignite a romance with Daniel Kettering, the sexy attorney who’s been pining for her for years...

Now a shocking turn of events will open old wounds and upend the world Linnie has carefully built. She has to make changes quickly - and the results, though not entirely what she expected, might be what she’s been yearning for all along.

Purchase your copy from Amazon!

Meet Christine Nolfi

Award-winning author Christine Nolfi provides readers with heartwarming and inspiring fiction. Her novel Treasure Me, Liberty Series Book 2, is a Next Generation Indie Awards finalist. The Midwest Book Review lists Second Chance Grill, Liberty Series Book 1, and the other Liberty books as "highly recommended".

Look for Sweet Lake, Book 1 of her new series, on February 28, 2017 and The Comfort of Secrets, Book 2, on July 18, 2017. Visit her at www.christinenolfi.com

Connect and Socialize with Christine!

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Amazon Author Page

May you read well and often

Christine Nolfi - Sweet Lake: A Novel

5. Sweet Lake: A Novel by Christine Nolfi (2017)
The Sweet Lake Series Book 1

Length: 306 pages

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Started: 8 February 2017

Finished: 26 February 2017

Where did it come from? Many thanks to Christine Nolfi for sending me a copy of this book to read from Netgalley.

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 16 December 2016

Why do I have it? I like contemporary romance and have read and enjoyed Treasure Me by the same author in the past.

Like the populations of so many other small towns across the country, the residents of Sweet Lake, Ohio, pride themselves on knowing everything about their neighbors' business. Sometimes they even know more about their neighbors business than their neighbors do. However, the town of Sweet Lake certainly lives up to its name - it's a close-knit, caring community that takes care of its own. Such is the case with Melinda Wayfair.

The most prominent family in Sweet Lake is the Wayfair family; who have been the sole proprietors of the Wayfair Inn for generations. While the inn has been passed down from father to son for as long as there have been Wayfairs living in Sweet Lake, the Wayfair Inn has recently fallen on hard times. After her father suffers a serious medical crisis and is forced to retire, her scoundrel of a brother suddenly decides to run off and make movies in California. Linnie Wayfair is absolutely livid.

Freddie may believe that he's only fulfilling a lifelong dream and not harming anyone else, but Linnie would respectfully disagree. In her opinion, not only did Freddie leave when he was needed most - essentially deserting the family business to go do his own thing - he left without telling his family anything about where he was going. Linnie is also horrified to discover that Freddie has left all his responsibilities to the Wayfair Inn behind him - and squarely on her shoulders.

She knows that there are so many people depending on her, but realizing that the entire population of Sweet Lake is expecting her to become the savior of the Wayfair Inn is truly daunting. Everyone in Sweet Lake is looking to Linnie to employ all of her business acumen - mustering every ounce of her good business sense to restore the Wayfair Inn to its former glory. Her parents hope that she will find it in her heart to forgive her prodigal brother and reconcile the family. The eccentric Sweet Lake Sirens want Linnie to open the inn - and her heart - to new possibilities.

Meanwhile, her lifelong friends Jada and Cat continue dropping not-so-subtle hints for her to ignite something with Daniel Kettering, the sexy attorney who has been pining for her for years. Her friends might not be able to wait to see Linnie in a romantic relationship, but she feels that she just has way too much on her plate at the moment. Now, a shocking turn of events will open old wounds and flip Linnie's world totally upside down; threatening everything that she has worked so hard to make her own. She finds herself having to make alterations to her plans for the future - and to make those changes quickly - and the results, while not quite what she might have expected, just might be exactly what she has needed and has been yearning for all along.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Ms. Nolfi creates such loveable and funny characters - characters that I found myself really connecting with and caring about in a fundamental way. In my opinion, this was a beautiful start to a wonderful new series, and I'm avidly waiting to see where the story will go from here. I give this book a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often

Michael Phillip Cash - Collision: The Battle For Darracia

4. Collision: The Battle For Darracia by Michael Phillip Cash (2014)

The Battle For Darracia Saga Book 2

Length: 176 pages
Genre: Science Fiction
Started: 25 January 2017
Finished: 6 February 2017
Where did it come from? Many thanks to Michael Phillip Cash and to Red Feather Publishing for sending me a copy of this book to read.

How long has it been on my TBR pile? Since 13 May 2014

Why do I have it? I like science fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

The Battle For Darracia Saga continues as a majority of the key characters find themselves at a soul-defining crossroads for themselves and their entire planet. The tensions between the social classes on the planet of Darracia have now reached their respective boiling points. Peace talks between the Darracians and their nearest neighbors the Quyroo people have essentially collapsed with the assassination of the Quyroo ambassador. Crown Prince V'sair's villainous uncle Staf Nuen has also attempted to stage a coup to seize his brother's throne, but although King Drakko was assassinated and Staf Nuen escaped, his conspirators were captured and brought to justice.

As Darracia is being rocked by the waves of violence and societal turmoil, certain members of the royal family find themselves separated from each other and spread throughout the galaxy searching for a meaning to the death of a much beloved and benevolent monarch. Shaken by his father's assassination - and unsure how capable he will be in ruling a kingdom that he views as still belonging to the late king - Prince V'sair struggles to hold the fractured kingdom together. Despite being surrounded by many of his father's most trusted advisers, V'sair still feels extraordinarily isolated and alone without so many of his loved ones by his side.

V'sair's mother, Queen Reminda's own faith in the elusive Elements that have guided Darracians for centuries has been shaken to its very foundations. Although she grieves the loss of her husband, she remains steadfast in her support of her son as he contemplates his upcoming coronation. V'sair's stepbrother Zayden has spent much of the past year since his father's death searching for his uncle's whereabouts. He is on a self-imposed mission of vengeance - ranging from one side of the solar system to the other - determined to bring Staf Nuen back to Darracia to face justice; or die trying.

Reminda's handmaiden Tulani is trying to navigate both of her worlds, attempting to find the best way to bring them together. While she essentially grew up in service to the Darracian royal family -  Tulani is still a Quyroo - and her family lineage requires that she leaves service to the Darracians to begin training among her own people. Tulani's grandmother Bobbien is in fact the High Priestess of her tribe, and she wants her granddaughter to succeed her. Tulani loves her grandmother very much and feels obligated to fulfill Bobbien's wishes; but she is also devastated to be leaving behind Reminda and V'sair - the only family she has ever really known.

The villainous Staf Nuen has gone into hiding after orchestrating the initial coup. Having lost his wife, only son, and youngest daughter in the coup, Staf Nuen realizes that his own life is essentially forfeit if Zayden ever finds him. Although that coup wasn't entirely successful - and his cohorts were dealt with appropriately - Staf Nuen is still determined to form other nefarious alliances with certain diabolical new allies elsewhere in the galaxy.

However, like the vibrant comet zipping across the horizon, all the various factions of Darracian society are heading into a direct collision course. They are heading along a path that will test the power of their belief in themselves, their planet, and ultimately, in the power of the Elements that have guided them for centuries. This is a battle that will test the boundaries of their faith and challenge the balance of power.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While the plot definitely reminded me of Star Wars, the story was intriguing and highly original. I avidly wanted to know what happened next. I look forward to reading the conclusion to this trilogy; and give this book a definite A+!

A+! - (96-100%)

May you read well and often

Reading Wrap-up For January at Emeraldfire's Bookmark

Hello everyone out there and I hope that you all had a terrific reading month for yourselves. I am known as Emeraldfire around the Internet and this is my new personal reading blog.

Anyway, I started out January with about two hundred unread books lying around the house and ended the month with...umm...uncountable amounts of books unread. All of the books that I acquired this month came from authors, Netgalley and Amazon.

Let me try to break down the influx for you:


Changes to the TBR pile

Read from my TBR pile (Yes! I am a reading machine :))
- Christmas Magic 1959: A Short Story From my Childhood by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
- I, Angus by Mike Hartner
- A Quiver of Character by Mike Hartner

Added to my TBR pile (oh well, you win some and you lose some! :))
- Vampire Blood: Prequel to Human No Longer by Kathryn Meyer Griffith

Taken off my TBR pile and sent to a new home (Yay! Happy Dance! :))
- Christmas Magic 1959: A Short Story From my Childhood by Kathryn Meyer Griffith
- The Cat Who Came For Christmas by Cleveland Amory
- The Best Cat Ever by Cleveland Amory

Well, there it is...the breakdown! All in all, a very good reading month for me, considering. Here's a further breakdown:

Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 383
Grade Range: A!

So, there you go! The reading month that was January. I hope that you all had an equally good reading month; if not a little better. :) See you all next month! :)

May you read well and often

Mike Hartner - A Quiver of Character

3. A Quiver of Character by Mike Hartner (2016)
The Eternity Series Book 5
Length: 115 pages
Genre: Short Story
Started: 7 January 2017
Finished: 23 January 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 8 October 2016
Why do I have it? I like short stories and have read and enjoyed several books by this author in the past.

From all four books from The Eternity Series, here are several short stories featuring some of the minor characters who have inspired a certain amount of curiosity about their own stories. From James Stuart's cousin Bart and a particularly overconfident sea captain named Marek in I, Walter; to Crofter Shipping crew member Jose Corazon and Crofter family banker Michael Farnsworth in I, James; to the first female sea captain Mary Crofter Farquharson's four sons Keith, Kyle, Ian and Fergus in I, Mary; and Margret and Aileen - the adopted daughters of Reverend Angus Mackenzie in I, Angus - each of these characters have their own stories to tell beyond the books of The Eternity Series. And here are just a few of them: a baker's dozen of such background stories.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book; it was refreshing to delve back into the world of The Eternity Series. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future and I give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often

Introducing The Good Dictator: The Birth of an Empire by Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias!

I'm delighted to tell you all that the first book in Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias' dystopian science fiction series The Good Dictator - The Birth of an Empire will soon be free to download for a very short time from Amazon. Yes, for one short weekend - from Saturday, February 18th, to Sunday, February 19th, 2017 - The Birth of an Empire by Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias will be available to download from Amazon for free! I would advise you to grab your own copy as soon as you can!

Meet Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias

Gonçalo JN Dias was born in Lisbon in 1977, and graduated in Environmental Engineering and Natural Resources of the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco. He lives today in the Basque Country, Spain.

The Good Dictator I, was his first novel. It became the most downloaded book in Portuguese last April, on Amazon, and it has now a good English translation.

Before writing the second part of The Good Dictator, he's now writing a crime fiction

Besides writing Gonçalo is a fan of birdwatching, cork trees, movies and athletics.

Connect and Socialize with Gonçalo!

Website * Twitter * Amazon Author Page

The Good Dictator: The Birth of an Empire by Gonçalo J. Nunes Dias (2016)

Length: 258 pages

Purchase your copy from Amazon!

The Good Dictator: The Birth of an Empire Blurb:

An unidentified object parked on the moon - and no one seems to know where it came from. Gustavo, a middle-aged computer programmer with a comfortable and grey life, decides to make a list of what he would need to survive a hypothetical attack. He becomes obsessed with the list, spends a fortune, robs a drugstore: his own family thinks he is going insane.

However, after the attack, it’s the insane who are well prepared for a new era in society. First book of a trilogy.

May you read well and often

Mike Hartner - I, Angus

2. I, Angus by Mike Hartner (2016)

The Eternity Series Book 4
Length: 249 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Started: 19 December 2016
Finished: 5 January 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 8 October 2016

Why do I have it? I like historical fiction and have read and enjoyed several books by. this author in the past.

Fourteen-year-old Angus Mackenzie had never really had any great ambition for his life. Growing up during a time when Scotland is being torn apart by dissension and civil strife, Angus is content to live his life quietly - taking care of himself and his family, and protecting them to the best of his ability. However, as war rages around him and he loses those he loves most, Angus grows increasingly more disillusioned by the state of his country. 

As a man of peace Angus has seen his share of death, and he is certain that the North has lost more men to the violence of war than it ever did to the ravages of Nature. Although he wants no part of such violence, it seems as if a peaceful existence and a loving family may not be a part the Grand Plan for Angus. Because the North needs a leader; someone who is able to build communities.

However, Angus Mackenzie must first undergo his own trials by fire. He must be tested, shaped and molded by his adversity. The person who emerges from this particular crucible will ultimately be a much stronger and much wiser man; someone who is held in the highest esteem and much beloved by those who know him. Angus Mackenzie will hit both highs and lows as he travels across the lands of England, Scotland and France, all before he meets the challenge of a new land.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I wasn't quite sure where the story would go from the previous book, as Angus Mackenzie wasn't actually a relative of Mary Crofter. However, I found that this book worked perfectly within the series; the plot was just as intriguing as the previous books and advanced the story along very well. I would give this book an A!

A! - (90-95%)

May you read well and often