Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sanctuary (Ben Coverdale)

by: Ben Coverdale


This is a charming story of a white knight. Ben is in love with Mary. They have been together for five years but he is unable to relate his true feelings or intentions. Frustrated at his non commitment, Mary meets Donald and falls in love with him. She finally decides to move in with Donald and have Ben sell the condo they purchased together. But she soon learns he is a boring controller. When she tells him she is carrying Ben's child he wanen, broken ts nothing to do with it...Mary is alone.

Ben, broken hearted, is following his dream of living in France and soon finds a property with two cottages, in need of some tender loving care, in the Loire Valley. He gets a mysterious email from the lovely Katie, Mary's long time rival for Ben, and he is off to Germany to free her from human trafficers, who have kidnapped her to hold for ransom until they can find her husband, Dave.

But what of the lovely Mary and her baby? People go through phases of growth and reconstruction whether it be to the heart, a baby or a B&B in France. Katie has gone to Ben's to recover from her ordeal and it so happens she helps Ben to discover his priorities and happiness. Georgina learns to grow up and Mary becomes the mother she wants to be.

Sanctuary is a well written first novel for our author. I loved the development of the characters, they are charming. The quirky, best friend Georgina 'Grunge' and the implementation of Madam Delphine, owner of the only hotel in town who has a colorful past. The story line is concise and there are twists and turns that keep your attention. I found myself laughing or saying 'Oh no' out loud. This is a great weekend/rainy day/beach read and I cannot wait to read the sequel "Repercussions".
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The Whales of Summer

by: Nancy Qualls-Collins


This blog is far from my usual book reviews. But I was watching my favorite television station, Animal Planet, and became engrossed in their research of how the Navy's new, high powered sonar affects schools of whales.  That being said, I hope you will take a few minutes of your busy life to think of something that is so far fetched that it would never cross our minds. I am watching the examination of several whales that beached themselved in Washington state and Tasmania, AU. Being from Florida this is not an uncommon thing.  But in these cases the etiology of the beaching is what caught my attention.

During the course of everyday life we have little time to think of the effects of our technology on the wildlife of our world. But think of it, if you will, sonar technology is becoming more and more powerful. Imagine a school of whales all moving and comminicating using their God-given sonar. Suddenly, they are barraged with sonar from a Navy ship and their comminications are mixed up. It is feesible and now I know it has happened. It is felt the sonar scared the whales into shallow waters, that makes sense. But there was actual physical damage to the whale's tissues.

Pathological autopsy results negated the obvious cause of death which would be the collapse and failure of body organs as the weight of the whale crushes the lungs and heart. They found blood coming from their ears, never heard of before.  Tissue samples showed signs of blunt force trauma, and unlikely malady for all the whales in both locations. How could they all suffer blunt force, there were no signs of shark attack or being hit by a ship. Yet the pieces of tissue I saw had multiple holes. A NOAA biologist called it a high frequency blast that caused damage to the tissue. He calls it a 'sonic blasts'.

Not to worry dear friends, we are assured that the Navy, working with NOAA and the Jacques Cousteau Society, will study this and create a resolution to the problem. I certainly cannot blame the Navy for negligence because sonar has been used for decades. Personally, I would have thought the whales have their own frequencies and would not be disturbed by outsside interference. That is, if I were to have been aprised of the possibility and thought it through myself. I will now. As a matter of fact, being the OCD person that I am, now I wonder how fishermen's sonar affects fish, dolphins, squid, sharks. I love the show 'Deadliest Catch' so now I worry that the sonar of the crabbing vessels affects the crab.  I am always amazed at the little things we do not think of .

 



Sunday, May 19, 2013

Mist On The Meadow

By:  Karla Bradenburg


Once again, Karla Brandenburg gives her readers an intriguing paranormal romance.
She presents believable normal to paranormal experiences with informative history to make the reading flow smoothly.

The story is not in excess of characters. Each one has a purpose whether active as the heroine, Marissa, and the hero, wolf: or emotional, preternatural as with Great Uncle Balk, the Secret Keeper.

Marissa has a good life with a successful bakery and coffee shop.  While on her frigid trek to start the breads, donuts and her famous sticky buns, she has a moment, not the first 'quiet moment' as described by her mother and Uncle Balk. As she approaches a stop light, she notices a majestic five point buck standing in a misty meadow and time seems to stand still for a moment.  It is just the two of them, eye to eye...special...cosmic.  Reality returns as her new car is suddenly rear ended by the handsome Wolf Harper, heir and executor to the Harper Electronics, Inc. and Harper Estate. 

Today, this her 25th birthday as a gift from her Great Uncle Blat, he passes on the family legacy.  She is a Kundigerin, a secret psychic power she possesses which, with but a touch, allows her to know things about the person.  But it is a 'by the seat of your pants' situation as her beloved Uncle dies before providing much tutelage.

With the realization of her legacy and a budding romance with Wolf, the dangers that accompany her newly realized powers begin. First, with a break in at her apartment followed by attempts on her life. At  the same time, Wolf finds the monetary problems of Hangar Inc. are a result of inventory diversion and reabsorbtion.  With the aide of Marissa's insight and Wolf's bravery and love, they wage war on the unknown players set out to sabotage the manor and their livelihoods with some surprising assistance.