Special Deliveries: Life Changing Moments by D.J. Kirkby

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**Platinum Note: This review was provided by Charissa Nelson, a NEW Platinum reviewer whom we have decided to add to our site. Please make Charissa feel welcome & I hope you enjoy her reviews! ~ VRS


Upon opening Special Deliveries by D.J. Kirkby, I had no idea what to expect. I did not read a blurb or excerpt from the book. After reading the introduction and discovering this book was a compilation of short stories reflecting experiences the author witnessed during her time as a midwife, I was admittedly a little worried that it wouldn’t be quite up my alley. Boy was I wrong. The book is separated into sections dealing with everything from love and special bonds parents have to births that involve deep grief and unexpected sadness. I found myself completely enthralled by the stories and the author’s descriptions and personal snippets had me laughing, crying, cringing, and sitting on the edge of my seat. Unable to put the book down, I finished it in one sitting. Being a mother myself, I was amazed at the miracles, strength, humor, strange requests and everything else Ms. Kirkby encountered during her career as a midwife. Do not let the subject of this book steer you away. It is a must read and you will forever have a different view on pregnancy and childbirth. 
This is a 5 platinum ring read all the way!

Platinum gives "Special Deliveries & Ms. Kirkby:
5 Platinum Rings!

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Blurb:
Singing vicars, baby whisperers, divas, deviants and more! Find out what really happens behind the closed doors of labour rooms, on inpatient wards, during outpatients clinics and inside homes. Special Deliveries is crammed full of stories about life changing moments that will appeal to anyone with an interest in pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.
Identifying factors and events have been altered so that all the stories within this book, although based on elements of factual midwifery practice, have been fictionalized in order to maintain the anonymity and / or confidentiality of those the author cared for and worked with throughout the years.
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Excerpt:

Oh yes, the glamour of being a midwife
just goes on and on, let me tell you. The chemical needs to end up behind the
cervix at the very top of your vagina and to get it there via the natural method
using sperm women need to have sexual intercourse in the doggy- or
cowboy-style positions. It is at this point in the conversations that I always
hold my breath for just a few seconds, hoping that the couple will admit to
knowing what these positions are so that I do not have to go on and describe
them further. On one occasion I even had to resort to drawing the position out
for a woman whose English wasn’t very good and who had refused to have
her husband in the room for the conversation. I felt drawings would help
ensure that she understood exactly what I was saying but my artistic skills are
rudimentary at best and I had to resort to drawing stick figures. She got the
message but laughed until tears leaked from her eyes at my artistic rendering,
folded the paper and stuck it in her pocket. When her husband was brought
back in she began speaking to him in their own language, patting her pocket
and laughing again. I didn’t dare ask what she was saying to him about the
induction methods we had discussed but I suspected that it wasn’t anything
complimentary about my drawings. However, her laughter was contagious
and the room felt light and happy long after they had left...



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                                   ~~~FIND D.J. KIRKBY HERE ON FACEBOOK~~~

Southern Attraction by Tracy Kauffman

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**Platinum Note: This review was provided by Charissa Nelson, a trial reviewer for our site. Please make Charissa feel welcome & I hope you enjoy her review! ~ VRS


If you are a fan of a YA love story that will have you laughing and crying, sometimes on the same page, then Tracy Kaufmann has written just the novel you need to read. Southern Attraction introduces us to Heather Brandon, a popular cheerleader at a Manhattan high school. She has everything a young girl could ever want. The best clothes, cool car, and the envy of the entire school. Her life is forever changed the day she is called into the principal’s office and hears the words that no child should have to, “Your parents have been killed by a drunk driver.” Heather is forced to move to a small town in Huckleburg, Alabama with an uncle she doesn’t know. All of her fancy clothes and her high class attitude will mean nothing to the students at her new school. She is immediately drawn to two boys. Jake, the high school football player, who comes from a low income family and doesn’t have much to offer in the ways of material things. And Shawn, the country boy whose family comes from money and who lives in the largest house in town. The author takes us on quite a journey with Heather trying to become accustomed to her new country lifestyle. Will she eventually fit in with the townspeople whom with she has nothing in common? Will she survive the continuous heartbreak and the love triangle that she finds herself in? This book kept me on my toes and I was eagerly turning the pages trying to see what would become of Heather and what obstacle she will be forced to face next. It is a fast read and left me wanting to read more. I hope Ms. Kaufmann writes a follow up to this story so I can get an update on the little town of Huckleburg, Alabama. I give this story a solid 4 Platinum rings.

Platinum gives Tracy & "Southern Attraction":
4 Platinum Rings!!

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Blurb:
Heather has everything she ever wanted; money, clothes, friends, popularity and parents that adored her. Until one terrible day, she loses it all. She is uprooted from a place she loves to a small town in Alabama with a uncle she doesn’t know. The small town of Huckleburg was nothing like Manhattan. Country rednecks owned the town and no one accepted Yankees from New York. Heather didn’t think things could get worse until a tornado comes and blast through the small town. Heather has to lose herself to rediscover what life is all about. She meets two guys that she can’t decide between who she really wants. Join Heather as she discovers that there is more to life than money and fame. Will Heather ever fit in and find true love or will she stay an outsider living in the south?
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Excerpt:

Heather Brandon had everything a girl could ever want. She was the head cheerleader and very popular. Also, she had parents that adored her. She was in her senior year of high school, and the school year was just beginning. Football season was starting soon, and Heather loved cheering for the Manhattan Tigers.
Eyes turned as Heather came driving up in her 2013 red SS Camaro with polished rims, ground effects and customized T tops. Mike Brandon spared no expense when it came to the luxuries he provided for his only daughter. She was self centered and the envy of everyone at her school. She was beautiful and fit. She had long brown hair, and she had curves in all the right places. When she spoke, everyone turned to hear what she had to say. That’s how nice it was to be Heather; a highly regarded girl which had the attention of all of her peers.
Then came the day when Heather was summoned to the principal’s office. She was sitting in class surrounded by several of her friends when the puzzling call came. Heather couldn’t imagine getting in trouble because she was loved by all her teachers. She had never been sent to the principal’s office before, and she was a little worried about what was going on. As she walked to the front office several thoughts came to her about why she was being called to the office. When she opened up the office door, she saw two police officers standing in the doorway.
“Mr. Pace, is anything wrong?” she inquired as she stuck her head in the doorway.
“Sit down Miss Brandon, I have something to tell you,” Mr. Pace replied. Heather walked between two tall cops that had their arms crossed, and they had sunglasses on their faces.
Heather sat down and asked, “Sir I haven’t been speeding or anything have I?”
“No, Miss Brandon, this is a little more troubling than that. I don’t know how to tell you this; Today your mother and father were on their way to your dad’s office when they were hit by a drunk driver,” Mr. Pace replied.
Heather was horrified by the news that she heard. She stood in silence unable to speak.
Mr. Pace struggled to finish telling Heather the news. “Miss Brandon, they didn’t make it. I’m so sorry,” he said.....


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                      ~~~CONNECT WITH TRACY ON HER BLOG HERE~~~

January Black by Wendy S. Russo

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**Platinum Note: This review was provided by Jaime Jones, a trial reviewer for our site. Please make Jaime feel welcome & I hope you enjoy her review! ~ VRS


"What is January Black?" A simple enough question if you studied this world's history, and knew it like the back of your hand as well a Matty , the rebellious scholar, does. The dreaded question plagued, not only Matty and Iris, but me as well! Just when he thinks he has it all figured out (trust me, he and Iris exhausted all possibilities and resources, THOROUGHLY) his persistence did not go unnoticed by his King, but it also didn't pay off. So Matty decides to give up and give in to the beautiful, curly blonde haired girl, he is falling in love with. As the wheels are set in motion, Matty and Iris end up as pawns in a game to earn freedom and truth, not only for key characters, but for all those living in their world! The mystery slowly unravels, and will draw you in...hook, line, and sinker! The closer we (I say we because I was with this young couple, rooting and cheering them on, every step of the way) got to learning the truth, the more we realized everything we thought we knew was carefully constructed and obscured by the "higher ups" for us to believe what they wanted. But once the wheels clicked into place and the moment of clarity hit - I was floored at the events that took place, I literally had goosebumps. I laughed, got angry, and yes, I teared up, as it all came full circle and ended with a bang! I hope Wendy Russo writes a follow up to this book because I would love to see how Matty and Iris mold their future, together. 
This book was well written and the author paid special attention to EVERY fine detail. She created a beautiful, lavish world with her description of imagery, intrigue, and strong, mysterious key players that helped her reveal secrets that will shock "your socks off". ~ Jaime Jones


Platinum gives Wendy & "January Black":
4 Platinum Rings!

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Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor. After his school's headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief, Matty's future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a challenge: answer a question for a master's diploma.
More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.
What was January Black?
It's a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty's journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He's been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost...or call the king's bluff.

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Excerpt:

The cover wasn’t leather as he first thought, but a plastic product that had suffered a chemical change over decades. It looked like brushed leather, but it was hard and brittle, cracking as he turned it in his hands. Finally, he put it down to prevent damaging it.
What had caught his attention was a clear, embossed mark on the spine. There was a matching mark—an oval with the letter “J” wrapped in tiny flowers—on the front cover. Matty had only ever seen that design in one other place, but after wearing it around his neck for eight months, it was as familiar to him now as the Sextant and Sun logo.
He pulled his chain over his head and appraised the skeleton key in a way he hadn’t done in months. Hadrian could have given Matty anything to keep on him as proof that he respected the king’s space and authority. A relic had seemed a strange symbol to Matty then, and with the ancient book in front of him, it seemed even stranger now.
Unless my assumption was wrong.
Matty cursed silently at himself. Hadrian gave him a clue, he thought. It had been hanging around his neck since March, and he never once researched it.
His palms were sweating. He rubbed his hands on the bedspread once again, and then gingerly opened the brittle cover.
The spine snapped. The sound squeezed Matty’s stomach, and the spread the book opened to on its shattered binding broke his heart. He turned pages, one by one, and then made a quick sloppy flip through them all.
The pages were textured, but blank. Every single one......

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                        ~~~CONNECT WITH WENDY HERE ON FACEBOOK~~~

Coded G6 (The Trexel Series: Book One) by Hillary Layelle

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***Please note: This review was provided by Lisa Angel, a trial reviewer to our site.. Please make Lisa feel welcome into our big Platinum Reviews family! Thank you! ~ VRS
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Great Story! This was my first time reading anything by Hillary Layelle and I really enjoyed it. The book is very well written and hard to put down. I had no previous exposure to the book, so I had no clue what it was even about. It was not at all what I was expecting as far as story line, but that was part of the fun. The buildup of the story and the characters was extensive, so that you get to know them really well. It was just getting to the fun part when it ended and I can't wait to see what is next!!

  

Platinum gives Hillary & "Coded G6": 

4 Platinum Rings!

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Blurb:
Claire is undeniably lured into Michael’s realm when she returns to Anchorage, AK to earn her sophomore credits. She questions their intense chemistry, however, when she turns privy to his extraordinary thought bending abilities. Beneath his role as a student, Michael has other obligations; primarily, acquisition of the next viable prospect for his exclusive group. Testing Claire and others without their consent, he learns that she meets biological prerequisites to membership. Her safe, predictable life shifts into a bizarre reality when limitations of mortality and restrictions of human capabilities begin to dissipate.
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Excerpt:

“It’s a nice night.” I froze. The statement startled me despite the soothing voice that spoke it. The low rumble of words did not carry as far as they should have—muffled by the thick weather. I twisted slightly from the half wall to acknowledge the source. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” A tall, dark figure was leaning back against the closed half of the double doors as if he’d been there the whole time. Had he?
“It’s okay. I just . . . didn’t expect anyone else to be out here.” My hands rubbed the sides of my arms to smooth out the goose bumps. He slowly made his way to my end of the covered patio as if trying to ascertain whether he was welcome. Suppressing a strange, physical pull I felt toward the stranger, I looked back to the forest. My vision was drawn to the moon, which miraculously made its presence through the storm clouds. The somber sky became angry and poured with more power, forcing us speak louder.
“Quite a party back there,” he said, trying to steal my gaze with his masked eyes. “They seem to be getting a little carried away with the anonymity,” he said casually, placing his hand on top of the half wall beside me. The roof’s overhang only allowed a light after-mist from the downpour to reach us. He wore all black like the blathering Zorro, minus the cape.
When I looked over to respond, I saw that his dark costume was actually a tuxedo over a black button-up with no tie. It looked expensive. His eye-mask was an extension of a bandanna that covered his hair and tied in back with two long tails. My fingers itched to lift it off his face.
I softened to his presence and replied, “Not to mention the alcohol.” A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth as I imagined Emma and Lindsay throwing themselves at a group of hockey players.
“Exactly. It’s their excuse to act the way they want to,” he chuckled, “or something to blame it on later.” The temperamental rain slowly let up. He looked out to the trees and must have spotted the brilliant moon because his thoughts seemed diverted. A crackling rumble of thunder echoed across the valley gaining volume as it reached us.
I took advantage of his distraction to stare at his features. He had a nice mouth that begged for touch. His impressive jaw line cast a straight shadow against his chest. Where had I seen his face? An Armani advertisement, probably. I thought about his words, which could have been the theme song to most college parties. “Well the masks don’t help either. You could get away with murder tonight.” My statement brought his attention back to my face, which he urgently cupped in his huge hands.
The way he stared at my lips, I expected our mouths to crush against each other, but instead he held me hovering an inch away. I could feel his breath on my mouth. A breeze ran between us as he waited for my answer. My body was thrilled with the sudden passion, but my thoughts whirled in war. The victor’s side wanted him.
My lips brushed lightly against his, which responded intensely, and I found I wasn’t just kissing a stranger, but my secret identity was boldly giving in to unexplained cravings. He moved his hands to back, generously warming my arms in his embrace. I wanted to be trapped there. My fingers gripped the tux lapel against his chest, pulling him closer. This triggered his lips to part mine for a deeper lock.
Nothing else mattered. The world outside this kiss did not exist. The rain fell heavy and pounded on everything around us, smashing out the wind.......


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                       ~~~FIND HILLARY ON FACEBOOK, HERE~~~

Levet by Alexandra Ivy

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I've been waiting for a back story on Levet, everyone's favorite little womanizing gargoyle from Alexandra Ivy's "Guardians Of Eternity" series for quite some time & I'm so happy it's finally here..
This wonderful novella gives us great insight on the emotionally damaged little gargoyle that we love so much and explains so much about him.. It brings us to Levet's home in Paris, and a confrontation with the family who shunned him.. 
It's a novella so I won't release any spoilers but it's highly satisfying & goes a long way in explaining Levet & his complicated personality.. I can't wait for more on this amazing character, not to mention that Santiago's book will be released soon, as well, so there's even more to watch for in this series!
Ms. Ivy is a wonderfully detailed author who does everything she can to draw the reader in & connect on a soul deep level and Levet is a prime example of her amazing work! 
Don't miss this novella, nor any of her fantastic "Guardians Of Eternity" series if you are a lover of the paranormal!

Platinum gives "Levet" and Ms. Ivy:
5 Platinum Rings!

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Blurb:
Gargoyles do not admire difference--and Levet is undeniably different. Of miniscule stature, rather beastly looks, and with fragile, delicate wings, even his family has shunned him, banished him from his beloved Paris. That he is the only gargoyle ever to help defeat the Dark Lord and his hordes of minions makes no impression. But now Levet has come home, determined to be restored to the official Gargoyle Guild. To do so, he must confront the most feared gargoyle in all of Europe. The one who tried to kill him as a child: his own mother. . .

With few allies, Levet's survival may depend on the aid of two strangers: Valla, a beautiful but damaged nymph, and Elijah, the fiercely possessive, love-struck vampire clan chief to whom she can't quite surrender--unless Levet has something to do with it. . .

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Excerpt:
“Such a large mouth for such a tiny creature,” Claudine growled, pointing a claw in his direction. “It’s time someone taught you a lesson in manners.”
“Ah.” Levet smiled. “If only I had a euro for every time I heard that threat.”
The female gargoyle growled like a rabid Were. Not at all attractive for a gargoyle..
And she wondered why she couldn't get a mate?
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~~~CONNECT WITH ALEXANDRA HERE ON FACEBOOK~~~