Lemon Drops and Love (Cocktail Series Book 1) by Angela Stevens

Reviewed from e-book

Fast moving story by Angela Stevens of how one person can control another, to put fear in that other person, to make them obedient, to force them to do their bidding at risk of being beaten physically and mentally. This is where it all begins. This is frighteningly easy to achieve.

Turn now to an attempt to rescue, but it soon turns to stalking, still putting the fear into the victim, and a struggle between two men, or one might say between good and evil. Time constraints of shortening the time between Maya's two competitors, her abusive partner Carl and her rescuer long-time friend Jude, gives a feeling of everything with Jude is moving too fast, that healing hasn't had a chance, but his character somehow carries it off. He is quite literally the only person available to help her. With Carl's continuous stalking, rage, and determination to get what is "his" back, it is easier to understand the need to erase the fear Maya holds as carefully and quickly as Jude can.

This book took me by surprise. I felt like under the circumstances of life with Carl the abusive control freak, there is too much emphasis on sex with Jude. My own opinion. The fact that Jude and Maya have been holding off on each other for years, each unaware of how the other feels, also having supportive friends, the counselors, and the police, this would no doubt have some effect on how quickly they would come together as a couple. Otherwise I thought the book was very good and I couldn't stop reading until the end of the epilogue, which I think demonstrates that the book definitely grabbed my attention.

Stubby the War Dog - The True Story of World War I's Bravest Dog by Ann Bausum

Published by National Geographic Kids

I'm very impressed not only with this book but with its back-story as well, how the author came to believe the story of Stubby and to write it. The fascinating true story of a man and a stray dog who became a war hero in WWI. This book is well-written, historical, non-fiction and a good way for kids to learn about WWI in a unique way. Ann Bausum, on hearing the story at first didn't think it could be true, but soon learned there was incredible evidence to back up this great story.

A young man at the time, J. Robert Conroy discovered a stray dog had decided that they belonged together. The dog was a possible Boston terrier cross with a stub of a tail so he became known as Stubby. They became inseparable and when WWI loomed on the horizon Conroy enlisted but Stubby apparently considered himself enlisted too, even to the point of learning how to salute by standing on his hind legs and raising his paw to his face. On parade, he learned the "eyes right" command as well.

Once Conroy was shipped overseas, Stubby went, too. He was assigned to be the Yankee Division's mascot. There were actually several animal mascots and workers in the war, but Stubby became an active member. Ann Bausum delved into a lot of military and WWI history to write this wonderful book. It is written especially for kids and they will enjoy it, I'm sure. It is a story about a very special bond, the book is almost entirely the heroic deeds of this dog and not the bloody side of the war.

Stubby was able to warn the troops about chemicals coming, snipers sneaking up on them in their trenches, rescued injured soldiers, could tell the difference between the enemy and his own soon enough to warn them. He even captured an enemy soldier himself. He was injured in the line of duty, but fortunately survived at the hands of the medics. Stubby was a genuine decorated hero, met three presidents, and definitely has a place in history. I highly recommend this book, it is timely this close to 100 years ago, and is suitable for all ages.

Shadow Song by Lorina Stephens

Published by Five Rivers

Haunting and beautiful, I couldn't put this book down. Partly historical, partly supernatural yet grounded, and always in tune with nature. This is a child's journey to adulthood through very different lifestyles. Beginning in pre-Victorian England, only child to moderately wealthy parents, Danielle sees her world crumble as her uncle, the older son who had inherited from his parents, proceeds to bankrupt his younger brother, Danielle's father. As a result, it isn't long before the family is reduced to living on the streets. The deaths of her parents through starvation, disease and depression leave her an orphan and she is sent to live with her only living relative, the uncle who caused their demise.

Arriving in Upper Canada, she is amazed at so much living nature...tall forests everywhere, the world feels alive. But she fears her uncle, and apparently rightly so, as kind people are worried for her welfare and do their best to protect her on the long journey she must take before reaching her uncle's hovel. Based upon a true tragedy that occurred in the village of Hornings Mills, Ontario, Canada, what follows is a terrifying escape and run for her life. Her uncle is so ruthless he will hunt her down forever.

Meeting Shadow Song, an Ojibwa shaman, the story becomes beautiful amidst the horror she will soon face. She has a self-appointed protector in Shadow Song, and he is always watching out for her. I loved this wonderful lyrical story. It will linger with me for a long time. Lorina Stephens is a mesmerizing writer, combining historical settings with mystical story-telling. No matter the horrors that may appear in the story, there is beauty as well. This is a coming-of-age story and an adventure story unveiling itself exquisitely. I am now definitely a fan of Lorina Stephens.

GM's Legendary Show and Concept Cars MOTORAMA by David W. Temple

Published by CarTech

What a great decade the 1950s was for fabulous and fantastic automobiles! Not just the decade itself, but for the many futuristic cars, '...legendary show and concept cars'. Every year we would look forward to seeing what the new ideas would be, what we might expect in the future. Little did we know then that the future would bring little boxy cars that you might have to plug into your electricity! I have so many memories of those wonderful dream cars of the future. Who would have guessed a Cadillac would someday be almost half the size and even come in something like a station wagon, called an SUV.

Personally, I was thrilled to receive this wonderful book of memories to review. The real creativity came with the entry of Harley J. Earl into the fold. Of course it took a somewhat creative mind to realize the perfect person to hire as Styling Engineer. The GM President in 1927 who takes that honor was Alfred P. Sloan. His forward thinking was a masterful piece of history. Early models were created first in clay. It was a good choice of medium at a time when photos were only in black and white, and just did not have what it takes to present a concept idea. In the 1930's another excellent addition was made to their concept group, William L. Mitchell. These great innovative artists gave us beauty in transportation.

Perhaps it took the 1933 'Century of Progress' Worlds Fair to get the show on the road as they say, where a Cadillac V-16 was shown, 'the Aerodynamic Coupe'. In 1937 the first acknowledged concept car, the Buick Y-Job was shown. Through the years many of the concept cars had names like Project X, Project XP-8, XP-300, a GM LeSabre featured two containers, one for gas and one for alcohol. Body designs were incredible and indelible to memory. Longer hoods, bigger fins, no fins, longer trunks, it seemed that nothing was impossible. Fantastic new radiator grills, wraparound windows, even the 12 Futurliner buses.

It wasn't until WWII interrupted that concepts changed. Everything was harder to get in the way of materials. Show cars were more like sales floor models, but as the '50s rolled on, the cars began to stretch longer and fancier again. Along came the Corvette, hardtops, fins, Pontiac Parisienne, Oldsmobile Starfire, 1953 Buick Wildcat and more. Each year a new GM Motorama in all it's awe and glory. This book takes us all the way up to the 1959 Cadillac Cyclone, and more.

This is a wonderful collection of photos, loads of information through many generations of GM. This table-top book by David Temple is an absolute classic of a bunch of classics. I highly recommend this book to all show car and concept car aficionados, car show buffs, and anyone who just likes to stroll down memory lane sometimes. (Personally, I got lost when they stopped using specific hood ornaments. I used to love trying to guess what car was driving toward us by the hood ornaments.) For once I'm glad to be as old as I am...I remember them well.

Dead Medium by Peter John

Published by Createspace

Most definitely not your average ghost story

What do a group of elderly women, a multitude of ghosts from different generations, a dead cat, and a college student have in common? Don't let a cantankerous old woman fool you. Peter John has come up with a genuinely different story and really hit it on target. We all know about mediums contacting the dead, but what if it's the other way around? This book has humor, relationships and a bit of terror thrown in the mix. What is it that haunts the dead? Where do they go from there? The characters have it covered one way or another, including Mr. Kibbles, May's dead cat, bringing a fascinating twist to the end. I scarcely put the book down once begun.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Published by Simon & Schuster

Comprehensive story of living with early onset Alzheimer's
I thought this book dealt with early onset Alzheimer's very well. It also demonstrated that it is a disease that has nothing to do with intelligence, using the brain, memory prior to onset. Some of the most brilliant and active people in the world can suddenly start to 'forget' things or become unsure. Unfortunately, early onset appears to move along more rapidly than people who show signs of it later in life.

Alzheimer's patients are adept at hiding their symptoms, and the book shows how they work around their 'forgetfulness'. Alice is a brilliant middle-aged professor. She begins to notice that she feels unsure of herself at times, notices things missing from where she would normally keep them, and just generally feel overwhelmed. As time goes on she finds ways to cope with what she is forgetting by making notes, writing on her arms, trying to ignore the inevitable. Even at that it takes a long time before the family finally gives in to the reality of her situation. When she is unable to remember a speech, or is overcome with confusion or lost, she must accept her reality.

I found the book to be a valuable insight into how Alzheimer's might work, although it isn't always consistent in its timing, symptoms and outward appearance. The fact that early memory is often intact makes it difficult to notice or reconcile. Lisa Genova has presented a book both helpful and personal. I would recommend it to anyone who is trying to understand another person's confusion, memory hiccups, sometimes irrational behaviour, especially if the patient is still quite young. Well written.

Marketplace of the Marvelous - The Strange Origins of Modern Medicine

Author Erika Janik
Published by Beacon Press

Bleeding, blistering, leeches, patent medicine, herbalism, mesmerism. We've all heard of these or most of these as the beginnings of modern medicine. Much of today's health regimens have their roots in hydropathy and homeopathy; cleanliness, nutrition and exercise for example. Where hydropathy preached drinking water measured in pints many times in a day, the general recommendation is 8 ounces several times a day. Taking the water "cure" by literally gallons of water, bathing in very cold water, and being wrapped in cloth soaked in extremely cold water (in winter sometimes crystalized with frost and ice) sometime after the American Civil War segued into warmer water, bathing pools, eventually saunas, hot tubs and exercise of a more practical bent along with nutritious foods, especially at a time when food was home-grown.

Some things seem to go on forever, though. Some herbal medicines for women that came out of the early nineteenth century I most definitely recall being forced to take in the 1950s, in particular Lydia Pinkham's herbal concoction for women's health, which goes back as far as the 1870s, simply because my mother had taken it, my grandmother had taken it, and presumably my great-grandmother. It was the most horrible medicine I ever tasted which brought the comment when I complained "It has to taste bad to be good for you!" I'm sure many readers have heard that comment one time or another. This remarkable woman, through refinement, produced a medicine that actually worked and works still well over a century later. Lydia Pinkham managed to break a hold by men in medicine.

Even today there are many different ways to try to get well. Everything from spiritual, hypnosis, every "new" cure. One might say everything old is new again when it comes to desperate people seeking help. Even leeches are sometimes put to use today. I found the journey to be interesting and educational. Did everything work? Often more than one might think, but then there is always the placebo effect, people will believe they have been cured whether they have or weren't actually suffering a disease as such or not. Mind over matter even then. Or perhaps because they want to believe they are cured.

So, through the centuries, medicine has played a major role in spite of itself. So many trials, so many ideas: some rash, some sensible, some moving forward and some backward. Among the later trials leaned more toward physical intervention, namely chiropractic and/or osteopathy. Almost all these ideas for healing have something beneficial, but often outweighed by obstacles. Still, it is interesting to follow the many ideas and reasons for many treatments. Some still exist in one form or another, others have slipped away back into the murky beginnings. I found this book to be very comprehensive and fascinating. Erika Janik should be commended for the extensive research, and for writing such a tome while still providing an ease of reading on such a strong topic. I learned a lot about historic medicine and treatment, what worked and what didn't, and how in the end modern medicine came to be. Were the early "doctors" charlatans and quacks? Maybe not so much. Kooky? Definitely, but the end result was sometimes right for the wrong reasons.