“Always Been You” Review

Hello Friends!

Happy Wednesday! Today I have a review of a book that is part of a series whose author you may recognize.

“Always Been You“, written by Lasairiona E. McMaster, is the third book in the AJ Williams Series, published on May 9th 2020 by Drama Llama Publishing.

I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, and Lasairiona E. McMaster for the eCopy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Synopsis

Five thousand miles from his ex, AJ is living with Lisa’s decision to call it quits and leave both him, and Alabama behind. Upon hearing that Lisa is moving forward from their engagement with a new (and handsome!) doctor-boyfriend, AJ is confused and broken at the idea of facing life without his soul mate. AJ finds himself at a cross roads, does he give up all hope of ever reconciling with Lisa and take a chance on love again with someone new? Or is his heart destined to be forever entwined with the beautiful Irish woman he met on the internet… who is now with another man?

Purchase Links: Amazon UK | Amazon US

Potential Trigger Warning: Sexual assault, medical injury/brain trauma/grief/loss

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Author Bio

Lasairiona McMaster grew up dreaming of an exciting life abroad, and, after graduating from Queens University, Belfast, that is exactly what she did – with her then-boyfriend, now husband of almost ten years. Having recently repatriated to Northern Ireland after a decade abroad spanned over two countries (seven and a half years in America and eighteen months in India), she now finds herself ‘home’, with itchy feet and dreams of her next expatriation. With a penchant for both travelling, and writing, she started a blog during her first relocation to Houston, Texas and, since repatriating to Northern Ireland, has decided to do as everyone has been telling her to do for years, and finally pen a book (or two) and get published while she tries to adjust to the people and place she left ten years ago, where nothing looks the same as it did when she left.

Social Media Links – Facebook | Twitter | Website | Instagram

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My Review

This is the final book in the AJ series, and where everything comes together.

We keep following Aj’s side of the story, we see how life for him is, while he deals with all the obstacles that may appear, with his mental health problems, and every other situation he ends up encountering as he tries to figure things out.

We get keep connecting with AJ and all the other characters that have a big role in his life, in a positive aspect, even thought we know them. It was quite interesting to see the the other side of the coin, and see the interactions between the characters in a new light. It gave the story and world an even more powerful understanding, since we get to see both MC’s POVs and all that they had to deal with during this time line.

I did say, in the previous reviews of this series, that I loved that we were given a chance to read AJ’s daily life. I truly felt that Lisa’s series needed that. AJ was and still is one of my favorite characters and I knew there was a lot about him that we needed to know. With this novel we get the final pieces to understand all that has lead to the big finale.

Overall, I definitely recommend you read the entire series in order, I would start with Lisa’s POV and then get to AJ’s POV. Then you will get a bigger understanding of all the various elements that shaped their story. It’s a rollercoaster in terms of emotions and I personally loved to connect with the characters in that deep level.

Also, I do caution the readers, because there may be some potential trigger in both series. Just keep that in mind.

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Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers that given their contribute in this Blog Tour, from reviews to basic promo/spotlight posts.

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Don’t forget to comment, don’t be stranger. If you have any book recommendation you can leave a message using the form on my Contact Me page.

If you are an author or publisher and want me to do a review of a book please check out my Request Review page to learn more about the reviewing policies.

I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books. And I’m open to debate and exchange opinions, so let’s talk.

Also, if you would like to join me as a guest on my blog, check out the Guests Post page to know more and contact me so we can start planing your visit.

Love,

Jess

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“Allergic to Air” Review

Hello everyone!

Today I bring you a review that I have been meaning to share before and no I’m finally doing it!

“Allergic to Air“, written by Chelsea Girard, is a psychological fictional romance, based on true events, and it contains references to depression and anxiety. Published on July 17th 2019.

I want to thank Chelsea Girard for the eCopy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Synopsis

Allergic to air

The mental illnesses you don’t always hear about but are still there.

Fighting to stay alive inside your own mind.

Nellie is a 23-year-old online English teachers whose life is anything but adventurous. After having a severe panic attack while covering a women’s march for her job, she has converted to her home and is now the neighborhood hermit, but they don’t know the worst of it.

Now that her broken family is trying to reconnect and her brother is going off to business school, Nellie finds herself in more trouble then she ever has before.

The only thing that can save her now is the safety of her own mind.

Nellie suffers with Agoraphobia and finds herself trapped in an open room, uncomfortable around people and perceives the world around her as unsafe.

This is her story.

Purchase Link – Amazon

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About Author

I review for professional book publishers such as Simon and Schuster Canada  and Hachette Books. I am always looking for a new book to review.

I tend to draw to novels that draw away from love stories and more towards suspense and personal experiences shared from one person to the next. I love books that make you feel for the character and give you a sense of fulfillment when you claim their happiness as you’re own.

I am always busy with school, work and with my family but I always leave time out of my day to relax with a book and some tea. For me, it’s a form of escape from the world that I am surrounded by, where I can escape to a world where I can draw a connection to the book characters and their stories.

​- Chelsea Girard

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My Review

“At first, it was just a simple panic attack.”

That’s how the book starts. That’s how we enter Nellie’s world. How we learn about Agoraphobia and about how it affects Nellie’s life, and she’s living every moment and every thought.

I have been thinking about this book a lot. Right after I finished the novel, I wanted more. I wanted to keep seeing Nellie, Emmett and Rowan, and even Dr. Summers. I wanted more, but that’s just because I really got attached to the characters and emotional about their progress and development.

Agoraphobia isn’t always portrait in books, and that’s why I was really happy and excited when I first learned about the concept of the book. Like any mental illness, every person has different experiences, and it was such a wonderful thing that Chelsea just let us know that this is how Nellie lives. Treatments that can help one person may not help another, because we are all unique individuals with different pasts and presents, as well as personalities.

Nellie was such a relatable character and even funny at times, despite being anxious and scared, we get to follow her development in trying to live her life and leave her house. But just the simple fact of reading how she tried various things to keep connected to other people… I get it. We all need to connect with one another.

And without giving spoilers… the ending… it was perfect.

“(…) this is just the beginning of my freedom.”

Overall, there are a lot of messages that we can take for this novel. But to me, at this exact moment, the phrase “just the beginning of my freedom” just gives me so much strength to keep trying and keep walking. No matter what we can do it and each obstacle we surpass brings a new path, a new power, a new beginning.

That been  said, I really recommend this book and I hope you all can learn about Agoraphobia and truly feel Nellie’s journey in this path to getting her freedom.

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Don’t forget to comment, don’t be stranger. If you have any book recommendation you can leave a message using the form on my Contact Me page.

If you are an author or publisher and want me to do a review of a book please check out my Request Review page to learn more about the reviewing policies.

I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books. And I’m open to debate and exchange opinions, so let’s talk.

Also, if you would like to join me as a guest on my blog, check out the Guests Post page to know more and contact me so we can start planing your visit.

Love,

Jess

“When The Parachute Doesn’t Open” Review

Hello Friends!

As you all may know I’m friends with Chelsea Girard, and she’s an indie author with several books already published and she has a new one.

“When The Parachute Doesn’t Open” is her new poetry book. I had the privilege to read it as part of her Beta Readers and I now bring you my review.

Thank you Chelsea for allowing me to be a part of this journey and give my honest review on this book.

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Synopsis

When The Parachute Doesn’t Open, what happens when you fall?
Will you think about everything you accomplished or everything you haven’t done? This collection of poetry is derived from just this. What could have happened and what you can do about it.
When you fall,
make sure you have no stone upturned and nothing to wish you never did,
When The Parachute Doesn’t Open

Purchase Link – Amazon

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About Author

I review for professional book publishers such as Simon and Schuster Canada  and Hachette Books. I am always looking for a new book to review.

I tend to draw to novels that draw away from love stories and more towards suspense and personal experiences shared from one person to the next. I love books that make you feel for the character and give you a sense of fulfillment when you claim their happiness as you’re own.

I am always busy with school, work and with my family but I always leave time out of my day to relax with a book and some tea. For me, it’s a form of escape from the world that I am surrounded by, where I can escape to a world where I can draw a connection to the book characters and their stories.

​- Chelsea Girard

Social Media Links – Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

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My Review

Let’s just stop for a second and appreciate this cover and the fact that there is a new poetry book by Chelsea Girard. Okay, everyone ready? Because I have a lot to say.

First of all, even before I started reading I knew I would be an emotional wreck once I started, because from past reading experience with this author’s books that was what ended up happening. And I was right. I was crying, smiling, feeling empowered, inspired, connected with my memories and I felt as if someone finally got what I had been trying to say.

That’s the power of Chelsea Girard’s melodic writing style. She knows how to takes us on this journey through our own heart, soul and mind, by giving us not only food for thought, but also by provoking emotions and calling memories. That’s something I have always loved about her books and this one was another collection of poems that touched my heart.

I may have broken down in front of you
But that doesn’t mean
I broke down because of you.

~ Chelsea Girard

A lot of poems took me down memory lane. I remembered my past, I thought about my own experiences, and some poems connected with that as if they were my words, the words for the feelings I had at that time. Other poems made me think about those memories in a new light.

There are some poems here she was like redacted, obscured, most of the text but some chosen words. I loved that concept in the book, because sometimes we do that in our lives, we obscure some parts of what we are feeling or thinking. At least, I know I do that.

I was also inspired, and I have had new ideas for stories I’m working on, because of the emotions I felt, because the poems connected with a characters I had in my mind, because I started to thinking about something I hadn’t wonder about before. So the poems were thought provoking to me.

Overall, I loved this collection of poems. I loved how I felt connected to this energy, this essence that is part of all of us.

I felt calm in the end, after the rollercoaster of emotions, memories and thoughts, I felt at home. Just like I feel after talking to my mom or my best friends. I felt like that because it was like I had poured out my heart and had someone that loved me beside me, listening, giving me hugs and understanding what I could and couldn’t say out-loud.

An amazing and powerful book that I highly recommend. That’s it…

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Don’t forget to comment, don’t be stranger. If you have any book recommendation you can leave a message using the form on my Contact Me page.

If you are an author and want me to do a review of your book you can go check out my Request Review page.

I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books.

And if you would like to join me as a guest on my blog, check out the Guests Post page to know more and contact me so we can start planing your visit.

Love,

Jess

“Sincerely, Me” Review

Hello Friends!

A couple days ago I shared with you the cover and blurb of the book I was slowing reading. A poetry book from Chelsea Girard, called “Sincerely, Me“, strong and emotional, and definitely inspiring and empowering.

Thank you Chelsea to let me read your book! Thank you for the eCopy in exchange for my honest review.

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Blurb

Sincerely, Me is a collection of poetry that is derived from the mind of an anxiety filled young woman who wants nothing more than to express herself in a creative way. This book is a journey through the mind as you will encounter hardships, mistakes, love and broken hearts as you read through the pages of Sincerely, Me.
This is the second book in a three part series of poetry and yet again, another story to be told. Though these pages, I hope you become empowered, loved and feel more than just a walking statue, just waiting to break free from your already crumbling structure. Build yourself up and never believe you’re anything less than the beautiful swan.

Purchase from Amazon.

Don’t forget to go give Chelsea some love.

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website

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My Review

I think I have reviewed or thought about poetry since I was in high school, but I’m happy that I went to this journey. Happy, yes. Because the poems touched my heart, but I will get to that in a second.

First of all, I consider Chelsea my friend, my bookstagram friend. I have talked to her and we have exchange some thoughts and experiences. I can’t say I know everything about her, or that she knows everything about me, because I believe no one truly knows everything about someone. Nonetheless, when you read a poetry book, especially one as strong and vulnerable as this one, you feel connected.

“Sincerely, Me” is an mind blowing and eye opening book, that is real. It couldn’t be more real than it is. It made me so full of emotion. It made me cry, feel empowered, connected, like I wasn’t alone, and mostly I felt like it was okay.

I always was a bit ashamed of my past, and that didn’t helped me in getting my self-esteem and confidence up and strong. I felt weak, and I was always saying to myself “the past is in the past” and I wouldn’t talk about it. It took me almost ten years to learn that talking helps, that talking can help others because maybe that will create connections and feel less alone.

This book and Chelsea’s way of writing poetry does that. The way she expresses herself and her experiences touches our hearts and create those connections and in the end by talking about this book, by sharing our thoughts and experiences because Chelsea’s poetry opens that platform, we will create a network. And in the end, I hope we can have the support we all need, the understanding without saying much.

Poetry was never my strength, but I love reading it. Chelsea’s writing comes from her heart and that makes it so much powerful and that’s one of the many reasons why I loved it. For that, I can’t truly review this book, I can only recommend it and hope you all can feel the emotion and connection.

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Don’t forget to comment, don’t be stranger. If you have any book recommendation you can leave a message using the form on my Contact Me page.

If you are an author and want me to do a review of your book you can go check out my Request Review page.

I always welcome new books to add to my list and I’m always excited to do reviews and read books.

Love,

Jess

Guest Post: Take Care of Yourself, and the Rest Will Follow by Frankie Reviews

In a world where everyone is constantly on the go and glued to their phones and computers, we sometimes forget about real life and taking care of yourself. Especially if you’re a book reviewer or writer, then life does tend to revolve around being pinned to a computer. But that sort of life as good and fun as it can be, it can also be very constrictive to your social life and health but most accurately your mental health.

The number of reviewers, authors and budding writers who suffer from or who are affected in some way from mental health issues is astounding. What’s more worrying is the people that don’t open up but choose to keep quiet that they are struggling. It is known as a taboo subject and at one time just to talk about such matters was scandalous. And yet as it affects so many of us in the world, as a society we should be more open, more accepting and more supportive of those who are struggling.

Everyone at times finds that things in your life are just too full on, it is at these times that you need to pull back, take a breather, a moment to reflect and then once your past it or have put what was stressing you out in order again, come back. Mental health illnesses or admitting that at times you struggle with something is not anything to be ashamed of, it is normal.

You Know Yourself.

You know you better than anyone else, and you know when you’re are feeling the strain. The best thing to do in these times is to pull back for a moment and take stock of what you’re doing and see what you can do reduce that stress level.

Turn of the Wifi, shut down the computer and back away for an hour or day. It is so liberating, and it can reduce your stress level immediately and so giving you the opportunity to focus on something other than stalking social media. Social media is extremely full on and very in your face, time away, even just for an hour can rejuvenate you far more than you could ever realise.

Keep Talking

It may sound easy, but for someone who has seen first hand just how difficult it can be for people who suffer from mental health illnesses, or struggle with something in their lives, just talking about it can be so very hard. But it is actually easier to open and be upfront to those you don’t know then it is to talk to family. This is where the writing or reviewing community comes into its own.

As negative social media can be, there is a good side to it and that is you find yourself connecting with people who are in the same boat as you. You become apart of a community and at times of need this community is a vital part of you getting the support you need. In a lot of cases you click with one or two people that you instantly think; “This person knows me, I have found my tribe”. These relationships are so special, and vital for your well-being, especially in your moment of need, these friends are always there.

And vice versa, if you think a friend isn’t acting like their usual self, just a quick message or email or text can be so beneficial. So, don’t be afraid, reach out!

Keep Active.

Did you know that just twenty minutes of exercise a day, can prolong your life and improve your mental health? It won’t fix whatever issue’s you have, but it will make your feel good by flooding your body and brain with what is basically a happy endorphin or it’s accurate name is BDNF, which is proven to make you feel better about yourself and that can’t be a bad thing, right?

Being tied to a desk or sitting in your chair all day is no good for you, the less active you are and more unfit you become and the more your stress levels rise, and your mood darkens. Step away from the desk, get out of your chair and just do something even if you can only manage five minutes at a time, those five minutes will be hugely beneficial for you.

I walk everywhere, I also read while on the exercise bike, and when not reading and writing I do a little Thai Chi. But whatever works for you. Whether that be walking, biking doing a bit of cleaning or gardening, or doing something like yoga or Thai Chi. Find something to get the blood flowering and let’s get those happy endorphins flooding the body.

So, twenty minutes of exercise a day will prolong your life, there was a study that said spending about twenty minutes doing something like crossword puzzles will help your mental health and most importantly will help prevent the likes of Dementia. There is no guarantee, but surely if there is a chance to prevent this deadly decease you would take it, right?

To do what you love you have to be in the best shape and frame of mind you can be. Keep talking, be yourself and know that if you happen to find yourself in a situation where you are finding life a struggle there is always someone out there to help you. Talk to family, friends or turn to your online ‘tribe’.

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Frankie Reviews

Frankie is a dear friend of mine that I met online because of our love of Historical Romances. And I’m so HAPPY she was able to participate and write a guest post for all of you. Here is a little bio:

A continuous tea drinking, Yorkshire lass, avid reader and budding writer with a passion for history. There is nothing better in the world than reading a good book with the dog at your feet while drinking a good cup of tea.

Owner of book review blog; Chicks Rogues and Scandals and can also be found over at Francesca Writes the Past.

Chicks, Rogues and Scandals Blog https://chicksroguesandscandals.wordpress.com/

Francesca Writes the Past Blog https://francescawritesthepast.blogspot.com/

Facebook Pages

1. Chicks, Rogues and Scandals: https://www.facebook.com/ChicksandRogues/
2. Francesca Writes: https://www.facebook.com/fwritesthepast/

Twitter @chicksandrogues https://twitter.com/chicksandrogues

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/53168217-frankie-reviews

Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/fwritesthepast/