Angel Sefer's Blog, page 54
May 28, 2014
My Review of Heiress, P.I. by Amanda Mahan
Angel Sefer's Reviews > Heiress, P.I.
5 out 5 Stars
I loved it!
This was a fast-paced, chick lit mystery enhanced by very interesting and likeable characters, and sprinkled with Hollywood flair.
Lucy - a smart and lovely girl, involved in ecology and heiress to a fabulous fortune - and her childhood friend Holden, an intern at a detective agency, get involved in a dangerous investigation which turns out to be too close to home and puts Lucy’s life in jeopardy.
It was a very interesting, full of action, and hilarious at some points read. I highly recommend it.
Read my review at Amazon UK
Read my review at Goodreads
5 out 5 Stars
I loved it!
This was a fast-paced, chick lit mystery enhanced by very interesting and likeable characters, and sprinkled with Hollywood flair.
Lucy - a smart and lovely girl, involved in ecology and heiress to a fabulous fortune - and her childhood friend Holden, an intern at a detective agency, get involved in a dangerous investigation which turns out to be too close to home and puts Lucy’s life in jeopardy.
It was a very interesting, full of action, and hilarious at some points read. I highly recommend it.
Read my review at Amazon UK
Read my review at Goodreads
May 27, 2014
Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Two, Part Three
It was a lot later before she opened her eyes again. She looked around, startled. She was sure she’d been there for too long and was going to be late for dinner. She rushed out of the bathtub, grabbed a towel, and went to her bedroom to check her watch. It was almost eight o’clock. She vigorously dried herself and blow-dried her hair.Then she put something on in a hurry and rushed downstairs.
The dining room was empty, so she made her way to the living room. Sophie was sitting by the window, sipping some wine. Lovelier than ever, she was wearing a champagne dress and had her hair pulled back in a white ribbon. She looked up as Helena walked inside.
Helena was about to apologize for been late but was interrupted by a cynical voice, “It was nice of you to finally show up.”
She turned around to face Dimitris. Before she could open her mouth, Sophie stood up and stared at him, disapprovingly. “Dimitris, you have to stop treating Helena like this. It wasn’t her fault, and she was hurt as much as the rest of us… maybe more. So don’t be so harsh on her.”
He seemed as if he was about to say something, but finally remained silent.
Sophie came and took Helena’s hand. “Let’s go eat, sweetie. I know you must be starving.”
Helena let Sophie lead her out of the living room without a backwards glance. They walked into the dining room, with Dimitris following right behind them. As soon as the women sat down, Dimitris went and sat at the head of the table.
Helena was shocked! This was too much. This man aggravated her,and the fact he was going to stay for dinner made things even worse. Who does he think he is, sitting in my father’s place at the head of the table?
She tried to be as polite as possible for Sophie's sake. It was obvious Sophie liked Dimitris, and she seemed so excited to have him and Helena there.
Dimitris, on the other hand, could be very charming if he wanted to. He kept on talking to Sophie, totally ignoring Helena. It was Sophie who drew Helena into the conversation several times, and every time, Dimitris would shut her out.
Helena was furious with his arrogant behavior. However, she was even more furious with herself and her conflicting emotions. What was wrong with her? She wanted to get up and run as far away from him as she could, while at the same time, she was drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
She couldn’t help but secretly admire his flawless profile and that perfect, hard to resist body of his. His mere presence set her emotions on fire, and she couldn’t think straight.
Helena found herself lost in wild thoughts and was caught off guard when she realized he was talking to her.
She drew a deep breath and stared at him, only to get lost in the intensity of his gaze. Was that desire she could see in his eyes, or was she mistaken? She swallowed hard, and looking around, she realized they were left alone. Where is Sophie?
“She went to answer the phone,” he responded to her unspoken question.
Helena took a sip of her wine and tried to clear her thoughts. It’s the trip and all the emotions triggered by coming back, she tried to reason with herself. That’s why she was acting so weird. It had to be it… It just couldn’t be him causing the turmoil inside her and throwing her off balance.
She sat there silently, realizing she never heard what he had told her. Never mind, she thought. She had no intention of talking to him, after all. She would just wait until dinner was over, and then he would be gone.
“Why did it…” Dimitris started, but his voice trailed off as Sophie came back.
Helena saw the concerned look in his eyes, as he watched Sophie walking inside with a gloomy expression on her face and her lips pressed into a thin line.
What now? Helena wondered. However, she remained silent.
They finished their dinner in silence, and then Sophie asked them to join her outside on the veranda for coffee and dessert.
Helena was spellbound by the amazing view of the almost black waters of the sea at night, sparkling like liquid silver from the reflection of the bright light of August’s full moon. It was breathtaking.
She sunk into a lounge chair and closed her eyes, inhaling the fragrance of jasmine and roses mixed with the salty sea breeze. What a wonderful sensation!
Everything would have been so perfect, if he weren’t there. She couldn’t deny he was a very handsome man, but he was also so arrogantand irritating.
Helena remained silent until after coffee and dessert were served, trying to avoid looking at him. She could feel his eyes burning into her skin, and her heartbeat accelerated. His mere presence set her emotions to overdrive, and she couldn’t think straight. What is the matter with me? Why am I acting like this? she kept wondering. She had never met anyone before who had such an effect on her.
When Sophie went inside for a while, Helena stood up and walked over to the railings. She stood there, letting her eyes wander over the sparkling sea and the sky, covered with millions of stars.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” She heard his voice, soft and sensuous, next to her ear. She was taken aback by the proximity and turned to face him. Brushing her arm against his chest, she felt her skin burning from the touch. He was standing unbearably close… and he looked and smelled so good…
“Helena, I don’t bite,” he said, seeing her instinctive reaction to pull back.
“Oh! But I’m sure you do,” she replied, trying to steady her voice and make it sound sarcastic. But instead, it sounded deep and trembling. She was surprised to see the longing in his eyes—those captivating eyes of his, which could so easily make her pulse accelerate. She nervously wet her lips and took a few steps away, trying to place some distance between them.
“Why did it take you so long?” he asked, repeating the question he had asked earlier.
Helena glanced at him, puzzled. What does he care, anyway? Then again, judging from the look in his eyes, he did care.
“I don’t know,” she whispered simply, and her answer surprised even herself. She didn’t want to talk about this with anyone, but especiallywith him.
He stared at her for a few seconds, and Helena wished she could tell what was going through his mind.
She watched him take a step closer, and drew a deep breath. She had this crazy feeling he was going to kiss her, and time seemed to stop. She knew she should pull away, but she couldn’t—she felt immobilized. What if he does? she wondered, and was shocked to realize she wanted him to.
“I’m so sorry to leave you alone, but I had to make a phone call.” Sophie’s voice brought them back to reality.
Helena walked back to her lounge chair and sat down, while Dimitris leaned against the railings, squeezing them tightly.
“We’re all tired,” Sophie said, turning to Helena. “I think we better go to sleep,” she added and wished them goodnight.
Helena watched her walking towards the French doors, and was furious to see Dimitris showing no intention of leaving. She jumped out of her seat. “I’m going to bed, too!” She wasn’t about to stay out on the veranda with him. She didn’t trust him, and above all, she didn’t trust herself and her emotions.
She hastily followed Sophie inside. “Who does he think he is, acting like this?” Helena burst out—not being able to hold back any longer— and without waiting for an answer she went on, “How rude of him to remain here, while everybody is going to bed!”
Sophie stared at her, surprised. “But my dear child, Dimitris lives here,” she said.
Helena was left speechless.
I’ll be posting a new section every Tuesday and Friday but if you rather not wait, here are the links to buy the book:
Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Barnes & Noble
May 25, 2014
My review on "Never Let You Go" by Sabrina Devonshire
Angel Sefer's Reviews > Never Let You Go
5 out of 5 Stars
What a beautiful, heartwarming story!
I was first drawn to this novel by the beautiful cover and the title, and I’m glad I read it.
I loved the vivid descriptions, the characters, and above all, the amazing storyline. I read the entire book in one sitting, and I found myself crying, laughing, and crying again, with Sydney, Lucas and little Kevin.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!
Read my review at Amazon
Read my review at Barnes & Noble
Read my review at Goodreads
Read my review at Amazon UK
5 out of 5 Stars
What a beautiful, heartwarming story!
I was first drawn to this novel by the beautiful cover and the title, and I’m glad I read it.
I loved the vivid descriptions, the characters, and above all, the amazing storyline. I read the entire book in one sitting, and I found myself crying, laughing, and crying again, with Sydney, Lucas and little Kevin.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!
Read my review at Amazon
Read my review at Barnes & Noble
Read my review at Goodreads
Read my review at Amazon UK
May 24, 2014
May 23, 2014
My review on "Is This All There Is?" by Patricia Mann
Is This All There Is? by Patricia Mann
5 out of 5 stars
A well-written debut novel by a talented writer!
This was a well-written, interesting, and thought provoking debut novel by a talented writer.
Being a career woman, a mother and a wife, I could relate to Beth - the main character - and the challenges of everyday life she had to face. The ups and downs of family life and the instinctive urge of women to be perfect in every role - wife, mother, career woman - can put a burden on any relationship. I think that, at some point or another, we all go through some of the challenges Beth had to face, and have to make life changing decisions.
I really enjoyed reading this realistic and honest story and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves real life dilemmas.
Read my review at Amazon
Read my review at Barnes & Noble
Read my review at Goodreads
Read my review at Amazon UK
5 out of 5 stars
A well-written debut novel by a talented writer!
This was a well-written, interesting, and thought provoking debut novel by a talented writer.
Being a career woman, a mother and a wife, I could relate to Beth - the main character - and the challenges of everyday life she had to face. The ups and downs of family life and the instinctive urge of women to be perfect in every role - wife, mother, career woman - can put a burden on any relationship. I think that, at some point or another, we all go through some of the challenges Beth had to face, and have to make life changing decisions.
I really enjoyed reading this realistic and honest story and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves real life dilemmas.
Read my review at Amazon
Read my review at Barnes & Noble
Read my review at Goodreads
Read my review at Amazon UK
Excerpt of "Deadly Secrets" - Chapter Two, Part Two
Sophie finally got up. “You must be tired,” she said. “I’ll show you to your room.”
They walked up the steps, and Helena was delighted to find out she was going to stay in her old room. It made her feel she had really come home, and wasn’t just visiting.
Her room hadn’t changed much. Her eyes wandered around the spacious bedroom with the pretty white furniture, the four-post bed, the dresser, the little secretarial desk, and the rocking chair by the French doors which lead to the balcony. Everything was there; even some of her stuffed animals were still decorating the room. Overwhelmed, she looked at her aunt.
Probably guessing what Helena was thinking, Sophie said, “I didn’t want anything changed. I wanted you to find the place just the way you left it when you finally came home.”
Sweet Sophie, Helena thought. She always knew that sooner or later, I would be coming back.
When Sophie left her alone, Helenasat on her bed, lost in her thoughts. So many memories… Her eyes rested on the beautiful painting on thewall—a painting her grandmother, Eleana, had painted. She always loved this portrait of a beautiful, little girl, around the age of seven or eight, standing in a blooming garden with an angel in the background, watching over her from Heaven.
Staring at the painting for the first time through the eyes of an adult, Helena was taken by surprise. She realized how much the girl in the painting resembled her when she was around the same age—the age when she lost her father. Bewildered, she noticed the sadness in the girl’s eyes, and tears came to her own eyes, thinking she probably had the same expression after her father vanished from their lives.
Helena took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to control the turmoil of emotions stirred up inside her by well-buried memories surfacing again.
She stood up, walked over to the French doors, which were open, and stepped outside. Feeling the fresh breeze on her face, she let her eyes roam over the shimmering blue and gold waters stretching in front of her. She leaned against the black railings with the fancy designs she always remembered and let her thoughts take her back in time…
She went back to those happy days, when her father was still alive and her mother was a cheerful young woman in love. Her mind filled with cherished memories of the past. She could almost see her parents walking on the beach, holding hands, and herself—as a little child— running all over the place and splashing in the water.
She could remember the cold winter nights when they would all gather around the stone fireplace to drink hot chocolate and listen to her father telling stories. Her favorite stories were the ones about the voyages of her father and his ancestors. The men of the Sistakis family—like most people on these islands—had spent a big part of their lives at sea.
It was only after her father met her mother that he gave up travelling and became involved in managing the business. He wanted to be with his wife and daughter, so he would spend most of his time on the island and would only go to the main offices in Piraeus whenever it was absolutely necessary. So many memories, so much love… while at the same time, so much pain…
Helena didn’t realize she was crying again until teardrops wet the back of her hands, holding on to the railings. She wiped her face withher hands, and turned around to go inside.
A sudden wave of apprehension washed over her, and she stopped dead in her tracks… she felt like someone was watching her. Cautiously,she scanned her surroundings but didn’t see anyone. She glanced down at the garden and all the way to the edge of the cliff. There was nobody there. However, she could still feel it. She checked around her from side to side, and then she saw him.
It was Dimitris. He was on one of the balconies on the bottom floor farther to her right, wearing tight fitting jeans and a white shirt open low on his chest. Leaning against the railings, he looked just like a mysterious, seductive pirate on the bridge of his ship.
Helena’sbreath caught in her throat. He was irresistibly handsome…and he was watching her intensely. To her surprise, he didn’t even turn his head to pretend he hadn’t seen her. He was just standing there, boldly watching her.
Helena felt her temper rising. Going back inside her bedroom, she slammed the doors shut. It was going to be hot in the room with no air-conditioning, but she didn’t care at this point. She couldn’t believe he was in the house. Who is that man?
The balcony he was on led to one of the bedrooms downstairs. What on earth is he doing there? She was going to have a talk with her aunt and put a stop to this man’s arrogant actions. She was sure Sophie wasn’t aware of him wandering around the house like that.
Trying to put Dimitris out of her mind for now, she walked into her en-suite bathroom. Everything was the same in there, too. Glancing atthe big marble bathtub, she had the urge to sink in it. Without a second thought, she turned the water on and took off her clothes. Sinking into the warm water, the fragrance of roses surrounded her. She lay back, closing her eyes, and felt content and relaxed…
***
I’ll be posting a new section every Tuesday and Friday but if you rather not wait, here are the links to buy the book:
Buy it at Amazon
Buy it at Barnes & Noble
May 22, 2014
Voted the best #Mystery #Romances on #Goodreads #Listopia!!!
Wow! SPELLBOUND IN HIS ARMS is #1 and DEADLY SECRETS is #2 on BEST MYSTERY ROMANCES http://bit.ly/Snjrn4 #Listopia #mustread #Mystery
"Time To Let Go" - Another amazing and touching novel by Christoph Fischer
A wonderful tribute to a brave woman and all our loved ones who suffer from this devastating disease
Blurb:
Time to Let Go is a contemporary family drama set in Britain.
Following a traumatic incident at work Stewardess Hanna Korhonen decides to take time off work and leaves her home in London to spend quality time with her elderly parents in rural England. There she finds that neither can she run away from her problems, nor does her family provide the easy getaway place that she has hoped for. Her mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and, while being confronted with the consequences of her issues at work, she and her entire family are forced to reassess their lives.
The book takes a close look at family dynamics and at human nature in a time of a crisis. Their challenges, individual and shared, take the Korhonens on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.
Buy it at Amazon
Note from the author
Alzheimer’s Disease
My book is inspired by personal experiences with sufferers from the disease. Nowadays, almost everyone knows someone who has relatives with Alzheimer’s Disease and gradually stories and anecdotes about these patients have entered the social dinner party circuit and become common knowledge.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a dreadful disease that cannot be easily understood in its gravity and the complex, frustrating and far reaching consequences for the victims and their families. There are different stages of the disease as it progresses and patients can move through them at different paces and in varying intensity. My book does not attempt to be a complete representation or a manual of how to deal with the disease. The illness affects every patient differently and there are many stories to tell and many aspects to cover. I hope that I can bring some of those issues to the surface and help to make the gravity of the disease more prominent. I did, however, decide to stay firmly in fiction and family drama territory, and not to write a dramatized documentary on the subject.
I have witnessed several different approaches to handling the disease by both individuals and entire families, and I have learned that the people involved in every case needs to work out what is best for them. In my book, a family work out their particular approach, which is right for them. They have different ideas about it and need to battle it out. These clashes fascinated me and I felt they were worth exploring.
Issues of caring at home, mobile care assistance or institutionalising patients are personal and, depending on where in the world you are, every family has very different options or limitations. The ending in my book must be seen in that context: as an individual ‘best’ solution that uniquely fits the Korhonen family.
As point of first reference and for a more comprehensive and scientific overview of information and help available I recommend: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/ in the UK, and http://www.alz.org/ in the US.
There are support groups, helplines and many other sources available in most countries. These will be able to advise specifically for each individual situation.
I can also recommend “Because We Care” by Fran Lewis. This fantastic book has a comprehensive appendix with more or less everything you need to know about the disease: Its stages, personal advice on caring, information, tools and help available in the US.
For consistency, I exclusively used material relating to a medium advanced stage of the disease. To protect the privacy and dignity of the patients that inspired the story I have altered all of the events and used both first and second hand experiences and anecdotes. Nothing in this book has actually happened in that way. Apart from some outer parallels between my characters and patients I witnessed, any similarities with real people, alive or dead, are coincidental and unintended.
“The Real Biddy Korhonen”
I grew up with only a few friends and with two older siblings who were miles ahead of me in their lives. My mother was a busy woman and so I spent a lot of time at my aunt’s house. She had always wanted to have four children but lost one child at birth. Her other three children were much older and didn’t need her much anymore, so my visits to her house filled a gap for her, in the same way as her attention to me filled a need in me. A match made in heaven.
Philomena, or Minna, as we called her, remained a source of happiness and encouragement throughout my life. I was always welcome and treated like a precious gift. She smoked, but she outlived both of her sisters (taken in their 40s by cancer).
In her late 70s Minna was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Well, I thought, at least she lives, belittling her misfortune without much awareness.
The next time I saw her, her trademark happiness however seemed far away. She was crying bitterly because she had lost her hearing aid, a very expensive one, too. Suddenly her life seemed to revolve around retrieving things. She was spared the physical pain of her sisters, but she suffered severe mental torture.
She fortunately reached a happier stage as medication and care helped reduce the misery in her life, but the attention she needed was a huge toll to the family. Despite her memory loss, she seemed to vaguely recognise me; me, the ‘child’ that lived abroad and who rarely came to visit. She had not lost her warmth and happiness, or maybe she had just regained it after the bad patch I mentioned earlier.
Very recently I saw her again, almost unrecognisable: withdrawn, very unresponsive and almost reduced to basic functioning. Surprisingly, she could still read and when I came to see her for a second time her eyes shone as if she did recognise me. I spoke an emotional goodbye to her and her hand was shaky and excited as she listened to my speech. She even responded by talking, using words that didn’t fit exactly but which expressed an emotion similar to what one would expect from a loving aunt in such a situation.
With her loving kindness in mind I created Biddy, the mother in “Time to let Go”, a selfless, giving woman, who even in her illness manages to show her innate kindness. I know it would be wrong to praise her for a gift that many other patients do not have, through no fault of their own. Losing one’s memory and control of one’s life is a terrible thing that you can only understand when it happens to you.
“Time to Let Go” is partly meant as a tribute to my brave aunt and to the wonderful people who help making her life dignified and as happy as is possible.
For more info visit writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com
Blurb:
Time to Let Go is a contemporary family drama set in Britain.
Following a traumatic incident at work Stewardess Hanna Korhonen decides to take time off work and leaves her home in London to spend quality time with her elderly parents in rural England. There she finds that neither can she run away from her problems, nor does her family provide the easy getaway place that she has hoped for. Her mother suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and, while being confronted with the consequences of her issues at work, she and her entire family are forced to reassess their lives.
The book takes a close look at family dynamics and at human nature in a time of a crisis. Their challenges, individual and shared, take the Korhonens on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.
Buy it at Amazon
Note from the author
Alzheimer’s Disease
My book is inspired by personal experiences with sufferers from the disease. Nowadays, almost everyone knows someone who has relatives with Alzheimer’s Disease and gradually stories and anecdotes about these patients have entered the social dinner party circuit and become common knowledge.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a dreadful disease that cannot be easily understood in its gravity and the complex, frustrating and far reaching consequences for the victims and their families. There are different stages of the disease as it progresses and patients can move through them at different paces and in varying intensity. My book does not attempt to be a complete representation or a manual of how to deal with the disease. The illness affects every patient differently and there are many stories to tell and many aspects to cover. I hope that I can bring some of those issues to the surface and help to make the gravity of the disease more prominent. I did, however, decide to stay firmly in fiction and family drama territory, and not to write a dramatized documentary on the subject.
I have witnessed several different approaches to handling the disease by both individuals and entire families, and I have learned that the people involved in every case needs to work out what is best for them. In my book, a family work out their particular approach, which is right for them. They have different ideas about it and need to battle it out. These clashes fascinated me and I felt they were worth exploring.
Issues of caring at home, mobile care assistance or institutionalising patients are personal and, depending on where in the world you are, every family has very different options or limitations. The ending in my book must be seen in that context: as an individual ‘best’ solution that uniquely fits the Korhonen family.
As point of first reference and for a more comprehensive and scientific overview of information and help available I recommend: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/ in the UK, and http://www.alz.org/ in the US.
There are support groups, helplines and many other sources available in most countries. These will be able to advise specifically for each individual situation.
I can also recommend “Because We Care” by Fran Lewis. This fantastic book has a comprehensive appendix with more or less everything you need to know about the disease: Its stages, personal advice on caring, information, tools and help available in the US.
For consistency, I exclusively used material relating to a medium advanced stage of the disease. To protect the privacy and dignity of the patients that inspired the story I have altered all of the events and used both first and second hand experiences and anecdotes. Nothing in this book has actually happened in that way. Apart from some outer parallels between my characters and patients I witnessed, any similarities with real people, alive or dead, are coincidental and unintended.
“The Real Biddy Korhonen”
I grew up with only a few friends and with two older siblings who were miles ahead of me in their lives. My mother was a busy woman and so I spent a lot of time at my aunt’s house. She had always wanted to have four children but lost one child at birth. Her other three children were much older and didn’t need her much anymore, so my visits to her house filled a gap for her, in the same way as her attention to me filled a need in me. A match made in heaven.
Philomena, or Minna, as we called her, remained a source of happiness and encouragement throughout my life. I was always welcome and treated like a precious gift. She smoked, but she outlived both of her sisters (taken in their 40s by cancer).
In her late 70s Minna was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Well, I thought, at least she lives, belittling her misfortune without much awareness.
The next time I saw her, her trademark happiness however seemed far away. She was crying bitterly because she had lost her hearing aid, a very expensive one, too. Suddenly her life seemed to revolve around retrieving things. She was spared the physical pain of her sisters, but she suffered severe mental torture.
She fortunately reached a happier stage as medication and care helped reduce the misery in her life, but the attention she needed was a huge toll to the family. Despite her memory loss, she seemed to vaguely recognise me; me, the ‘child’ that lived abroad and who rarely came to visit. She had not lost her warmth and happiness, or maybe she had just regained it after the bad patch I mentioned earlier.
Very recently I saw her again, almost unrecognisable: withdrawn, very unresponsive and almost reduced to basic functioning. Surprisingly, she could still read and when I came to see her for a second time her eyes shone as if she did recognise me. I spoke an emotional goodbye to her and her hand was shaky and excited as she listened to my speech. She even responded by talking, using words that didn’t fit exactly but which expressed an emotion similar to what one would expect from a loving aunt in such a situation.
With her loving kindness in mind I created Biddy, the mother in “Time to let Go”, a selfless, giving woman, who even in her illness manages to show her innate kindness. I know it would be wrong to praise her for a gift that many other patients do not have, through no fault of their own. Losing one’s memory and control of one’s life is a terrible thing that you can only understand when it happens to you.
“Time to Let Go” is partly meant as a tribute to my brave aunt and to the wonderful people who help making her life dignified and as happy as is possible.
For more info visit writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com
