Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

Cole's Perfect Puppy by Frances M. Crossno My rating: 4 of 5 stars Cole desperately wants a puppy, and the pot bellied pig his uncle got him for Christmas isn’t cutting it. When a job at the local pet store opens up he jumps at the chance to work towards the beautiful Golden Retriever puppy that still hasn’t been adopted. But will he be able to save enough money to adopt her before someone else will? Cole’s Perfect Puppy is a super cute kid’s book about a little boy who desperately wants his first, frisky puppy. I think any kid will identify with Cole, and his desire to earn the pet he knows will be the perfect fit. Intertwined are some common childhood issues, including that of losing a parent, that spark great conversation for kids who have had to deal with loss and trauma. I was also particularly encouraged that the subject of religion and spirituality was brought in as a way to cope with trauma, as I think that adults often misconstrue the value of that for children. If

Same Page by G.L. Tomas My rating: 3 of 5 stars Naima is new to Providence, but loving the town and her new job. She’s trying not to love her new boss, but can’t help herself. She knows he’s attached, but is his long distance relationship enough to talk herself out of him? The Same Page is a new urban romance novel that chronicles the meeting and initial attraction of Naima and Timothy. It alternates first person narration between them, and honestly I liked it. I am usually very critical of first person narration, as it’s hard to pull off, but it was really well done here. Unfortunately, part of the reason it was well done was because there was an overall lack of character depth. Despite a colorful description of the cast of characters, all of the dialogue and internal monologue sounded very similar. I am hoping that because this is a series that the characters will be developed a little more and perhaps assume more unique personalities, Still if urban romance is your thing this

Alexander: [Alexander Trilogy Book Two] by Stan I.S. Law My rating: 4 of 5 stars Alexander Baldwin is establishing himself as a brilliant physicist, with help from his mentor, Dr. Desmond McBride. He marries the love of his life, Suzy, and they even have a child. So why can’t he shake his youthful fantasy world, and is it the reason for his crazy immobility? Book 2 in the Alexander Trilogy, Alexander follows Alec, (yes, Alec Baldwin - I snickered a bit too) the boy with the epic fantasy world in Book 1 as he struggles to reconcile his youth experiences with modern reality; and, as is in the fashion of physicists, unify competing constructs into a singular theory. I honestly enjoyed the intelligence behind the story, even if I somewhat disagreed with the religious conclusions. It’s quite clear that Stan I.S. Law is very familiar with the scientific community and their processes, and managed to bring that into a fictional story without sounding TOO much like a dry lecturer. It did

The Electra Conspiracy by Elizabeth Revill My rating: 4 of 5 stars British pop superstar Electra is getting ready to launch her new worldwide tour, and Jon and Amy are filming a documentary about it. When Electra dies in a freak auto accident, reminiscent of Princess Diana’s untimely death, Jon and Amy are heartbroken, but determined to finish the film as their own eulogy to the beloved star. What Jon and Amy uncover, however, is far more than an innocent car crash, and now they are on the run from a powerful organization determined to cover up their practices. I love a good conspiracy theory, and the Electra Conspiracy does not disappoint. I really enjoyed the obviously well researched plot and minutia that added some depth to the story. Unfortunately, in stark contrast were some really small, but perpetual writing mistakes throughout the book that were very distracting, including some really obvious mispellings or wrong words, ie using “birth” for “berth.” It’s really nothing

Ride the Neural Networks by L.W. Samuelson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Travis and Logan have to figure out how to rescue Porter, Logan’s father, but they have a lot of problems at home preventing their departure. Not the least of which is Windy, who is trying to get her inheritance and not afraid to kill to do so. Can Travis honor his promise to Glen without getting Windy arrested, or worse, killed? Book 5 of the Benwarian chronicles continues the story of the alien race seeking to settle Earth after their planet has succumbed to the Lemmus version of global warming. The book paints a grim future that could possibly be the plight of Earth as well. There are some pretty obvious discussions of environmentalism and imagery of Christianity woven throughout the story, all told through the eyes of aliens trying to understand humanity, particularly our more violent side. I really enjoyed the story despite being slightly annoyed by the obvious agenda, and am interested to see how the series

The Ultimate Startup Bundle comes off sale TODAY, and I’ve received a ton of questions from readers who just want a bit more information before they decide whether or not to pick up their copy. In case you have the same concerns, here are my answers to the most frequently asked questions: Q1: What am I going to do with 70 eBooks / eCourses? Yikes! A1: There is no way on earth that each of these eBooks / eCourses is relevant to where you are right now. Some of them will have a lot of appeal, and some won’t. But in most cases, it only takes 3 – 4 eBooks or eCourses you’re going to use for you to start saving time and energy, while growing your business to new heights. Not to mention that there are 6 resources and 3 bonuses that are worth more than the cost of the bundle itself (with one course worth $300). So, even if you don’t use every resource in the bundle, it would be really hard to not save a ton of money anyways. Q2: With so many resources included, how will I even

Ok, this is a really long post, but I thought it was critical to have somewhere you could really see the ginormous value of this bundle. The total value of this bundle is over $3,000 with an additional $950 in bonuses! This is basically worth a semester's tuition at any decent college or university, and the education is better than most! Copywriting Content Warfare: How to find your audience, tell your story and win the battle for attention online by Ryan Hanley at RyanHanley.com ($2.99) Hi-Leverage Conversion Tweaks Crash Course by D. Bnonn Tennant at Information Highway ($68.00) May I Have Your Attention, Please?: Your Guide to Business Writing That Charms, Captivates and Converts by Mish Slade at Mortified Cow ($3.99) Powerful Words: Discover Your Secret Language for Personal Success and Maximizing Impact Through Emotional Connections by Clark Gaither at Dr. Burnout ($9.97) You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One) by Jeff Goins at Goins Writer ($0.99) Fina

When you’re bootstrapping a startup, it’s normal to have times when you feel stuck. Discouraged. And in way over your head. Which is probably why so many startups fail in the early years. It’s hard to predict the bumps and roadblocks you’ll hit along the way, or which ones you’ll lose the most sleep over. Of course, you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make things happen. Start and run your business lean. Hustle hard until you hit your stride. Study and learn from smart entrepreneurs who’ve gone before. I know I have had to with A Gift of Hope Adoptions . But you’re up against a lot of challenges, too. Maybe you’ve got great ideas but you’re lacking the specific business know-how. Money is probably tight. Your time is stretched thin. You’re bombarded with information but not sure who to listen to or what to do next. You want to do things right and to do that, you need to learn from the best. And that’s why the Ultimate Startup Bundle was created. It’s a complet

Forgotten Word by Sam Jane Brown My rating: 2 of 5 stars Zena McGrath is annoyed by her current assignment. As an avowed atheist, she is not particularly interested in investigating the recent spate of deaths in the Vatican. When her investigation takes her to New York and a local group of Satanists, she starts to think maybe, just maybe, there is something spiritual - even demonic - to this particular case, and her role becomes much more than simply solving a murder. I really wanted to like this book, as I’ve always enjoyed the apocalyptic type literature, even when it isn’t particularly accurate or theological. However, the present tense writing - which did really annoy me after a while - and lack of depth just left me unsatisfied. It was an interesting premise, but not quite fleshed out enough for me, especially towards the end. It felt like it was just in a hurry to get done. I was also confused by the on again/off again romance, as I thought that should be resolved too. Per