Review: An Eternity of Roses ~ Stacey

Yep, I totally missed my Tuesday post, and I'm a bit stumped for a topic, so I'm going to share a review for a book I recently finished. 

Two lovers separated by an evil curse. 

A desperate quest through time. 

A love that wants to beat all odds.

And all the while, deadly danger brews around a two-thousand-year-old secret society and the enemy that lives to decimate it.

"...‘Til the end of my life, I shall belong to you as your husband.”

That was the promise Adrian made to Emmaline. And then, he was gone forever...

It is 1807. Adrian Segrave, Viscount Bournemouthe, and Lady Emmaline Deramore are about to wed and British Society teems with excitement at this imminent love match. But Madeleine de Brandeville, a mysterious Frenchwoman, has her lustful and ambitious sights on the groom. When she sets her cruel plan in motion, she leaves devastation in her path.

Heartbroken, Emmaline embarks on an adventure she'd never imagined having. As the world changes and chaos brews, her fate becomes linked with the Valthreans, a group of immortals who must learn to face a deadly enemy that threatens their place in the human world. But all the while, there is one thing she wants more than any other—to get back her man.

When she finally finds her prize and the intense blue flame of desire burns once more, her worst nightmares are far from over and the toughest battle is yet to begin. Will love win the war in the end?

Stacey's thoughts: An Eternity of Roses is a sweeping, epic tale of the undying power of true love. On the cusp of their happily ever after, Emmaline and Adrian are ripped apart by an evil witch who wants Adrian for herself. Emma never gives up the search for the man she loves, despite years of hardship and heartbreak during her quest. An Eternity of Roses is more than just a book to read, the amazing imagery lets you immerse yourself in the story and experience every single low and high right along with the characters. I also liked the secondary character Max and look forward to his book, A Lifetime For Revenge.

You can get An Eternity of Roses here: Amazon US (ebook), Amazon US (print), Amazon UK (ebook), Amazon UK (print), Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, iTunes, All Romance eBooks) 

That's it for me this month. Now I'd like to know, what are you reading??

Finding my Zen - Jamie

I am feeling overwhelmed by chaos this past month. Medical issues prevented me from attending my planned trip to Atlanta which I was disappointed about, but the issues have been resolved and I am finally feeling much better than I have been in a long time, at least physically.

The summer has rapidly dissolved and I can't believe school is less than a month away. My oldest has so many things to do before he leaves for college next week it's making me twitchy to think about it. He and I have a VERY different sense of priorities and time management. I'm doing my best to keep my mouth shut because it is time for this little bird leave the nest and I am constantly reminding myself it will all work out just fine.

I feel bad for my youngest because the learning curve of sending our oldest off to college means that school shopping for the youngest has sort of gotten lost in the shuffle which is fine with him. He'd prefer to ignore it forever. Unfortunately, ignoring it doesn't mean that school won't eventually start anyway. On top of all the school stuff, he's been practicing his driving all the time as he has his driving test next week and is really nervous about it.

Then there are the usual stressers of life - car repairs, ants invading our house, trying to get our yard work done, household repairs, etc. The fun never ends, does it?

Through it all I've been doing my best to take deep breaths, keep my faith and trust that things will work out the way they should. Right about now though I'm also ready to let Calgon or a really good book take me away from it all for a while. Or maybe even my trusty little Outback for a long weekend getaway to someplace nice and peaceful. That sounds really nice right about now.

What's your favorite escape when life gets too hectic?

August ponderings by Delia

Gosh, I almost forgot about posting this week.  I'm out of town at the moment and things never seem real when  you're not where you belong.  I knew this was going to happen and had noble plans of writing a post last week and just scheduling it to magically appear this morning (isn't technology grand??) but that didn't happen.  So, here we are, sitting here together wondering if I have anything witty or relevant to say.  Uh...don't hold your breath.

Let's just talk a little bit about something I've been thinking of lately: the selfishness of giving.   That statement may seem contrary, but not really, if you think about it.  The reason I've been thinking along these lines is because this week is our family's yearly pilgrimage to Keller's Lake Day Camp.  It's a simple camp, held from 9-3:30 for five days the first full week of August.  It's for the mentally handicapped - some children, mostly adults.  Our family has been volunteering there in various forms for over 10 years with a few years missed in the middle during our time living in Hawaii.

Keller's Lake is one of the highlights of our summer and those days go by much too fast, for both campers and staff.  It's not exciting by any worldly point of view, we do arts and crafts, go boating and swimming, toss a line out to maybe catch a fish or two or just have a very haphazard game of basketball.  There's no fancy, high-tech games and we don't even have flush toilets (pit toilets in August definitely make you shorten your time in the bathroom as much as possible).  What it is is just a good, old-fashioned fun time enjoying the out-of-doors.

Though we'd all like to think we volunteer for the campers, we don't.  As much as anyone would like to think differently, people volunteer because it feels good.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that.  If you're doing something that makes you feel good while also bringing joy to others, it's a win/win.  It doesn't take anything away from your donation if you feel good while doing it.  Volunteering isn't about painful self-sacrifice, because, unless there's something mentally wrong with you, people don't bring pain into their lives unless it brings them some sort of benefit.  You may hate exercise, but do it because you know it'll make you healthier, you donate time or money to the organization of your choice because it gives you warm fuzzy feelings.  Frankly, I enjoy giving time to the day camp, not only because I enjoy myself there and I love spending time with the campers, but I also love to watch the other volunteers.  Many of these people aren't very well off, some are well below the poverty line, but they know they can make a difference in someone else's life and they don't need money to do it.  And I'm willing to bet that close to 50% of the volunteers are under the age of 25.  Isn't that wonderful?  You hear so many bad stories about young people causing problems, yet here's a whole group of kids who are giving a week of their summer vacation to help a person in a wheelchair go to the bathroom, or to feed someone who is unable to feed themselves.

So, as much as I love helping the campers, I also love the warm feeling I get inside from helping them and watching others help as well.  That enjoyment doesn't take away from what I do, it only enhances it.  What I'd like for you to do is to find something you enjoy doing, then see what you can do to help others enjoy it as well.  Do you like to read?  Why not volunteer some time reading aloud at a nursing home?  Like to knit?   Volunteer to teach others at your local community center.  Do you know someone who's a live-in caregiver for a parent suffering from Alzheimers?  Give them the afternoon off by offering to parent-sit free of charge, so they can do something we all take for granted like wandering the mall or simply having a relaxing lunch in a diner with their spouse or best friend.  Though you'll feel great for doing these simple things, it won't diminish the value that it gives to others.  Everybody wins.