The Psychology of Music by Susan Hallam

November 5, 2021 By 1 Comment


The Psychology of Music by Susan Hallam
Publisher: Routledge
Genre: Non-Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

How does music affect our moods?

What is the best way to develop musical skills?

How does the definition of music vary between cultures?

The Psychology of Music explores the important impact music has on our everyday lives, and its influence on society, groups and individual people. It demonstrates how music can benefit our intellectual functioning, and health and well-being, and examines musical ability as both a gift and something that can be developed through learning and practice.

Music can enhance our understanding of humanity and modern life and The Psychology of Music shows us the significance of music, and the power it can have over our behaviour.

Do you like music and psychology? This book addresses both. The subjects are intertwined in an informative way. Going through these pages, readers will learn about things like mood and music, musical skills (Is talent natural or developed?), perfect pitch versus relative pitch, music defined in different parts of the world (What constitutes music?), how does music affect learning in other fields, and much more.

This book is enlightening and entertaining. Some of its contents will seem to offer intrinsic knowledge, but some will offer surprises.

This is a great way to see music in a different light but also to see humanity in one as well. Music is a strong presence in life, so this book will give something valuable to readers.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms

October 15, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms
Publisher: Lake Union publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Two moms as opposite as a Happy Meal and a quinoa bowl. What a difference a week makes in a heartfelt, laugh-out-loud novel by the Washington Post bestselling author of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler.

Celeste Mason is the Pinterest stay-at-home supermom of other mothers’ nightmares. Despite her all-organic, SunButter-loving, free-range kids, her immaculate home, and her volunteering awards, she still has time to relax with a nice glass of pinot at the end of the day. The only thing that ruins it all is her workaholic, career-obsessed neighbor, who makes no secret of what she thinks of Celeste’s life choices every chance she gets.

Wendy Charles is a celebrated productivity consultant, columnist, and speaker. On a minute-by-minute schedule, she makes the working-mom hustle look easy. She even spends at least one waking hour a day with her kids. She’s not apologizing for a thing. Especially to Celeste, who plays her superior parenting against Wendy whenever she can.

Who do Celeste and Wendy think they are? They’re about to find out thanks to one freaky week. After a neighborhood potluck and too much sangria, they wake up—um, what?—in each other’s bodies. Everything Celeste and Wendy thought they knew about the “other kind of mom” is flipped upside down—along with their messy, complicated, maybe not so different lives.

Celeste and Wendy could not be more different, but they’re about to find out what’s it’s like to live in another’s shoes—literally. Celeste is a stay-at-home mom and new to town. Wendy is a workaholic mom who looks down on Celeste. Then one day an amazing thing happens; they wake up in each other’s bodies.

This is a scary thing for both, and some big lessons are in store for these women. They must raise each other’s kids for a while and deal with each other’s husbands. This situation is written in a realistic way. The women notice things and think things that are quite believable. As they stumble through each other’s lives, they find out that certain judgements they made were not accurate.

The kids, the husbands, the friends, and others are the perfect secondary characters to make this story unfold naturally. They get into little binds and big ones and handle things with their own quirky ways.

Family is a big theme here, as is friendship and female choices and empowerment. The characters grow, and it is entertaining to follow them on their paths to discovery.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Bonded by Death by Jared A. Rogers

October 12, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Bonded by Death by Jared A. Rogers
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Slicing up dead bodies is one thing, but befriending the person responsible for creating them is another. Dr. Warren Gates has taken over as the King County Medical Examiner as the hunt for a dangerous serial killer begins and at each crime scene, the murders are as much gruesome as they are bizarre. Along with an unrecognizable branding, the victims are left with no fingers or toes. The professional precision in which the mutilations occur immediately grabs Warren’s interest, but what he doesn’t know, is that he’s about to be more involved than examining the leftovers

Warren’s life is turned upside down when the killer reveals himself in a desire to become friends. However, the relationship also comes with a unique offer, if Warren can figure out the reason for the murders, the killer promises to stop. With the cops, his wife, and the killer themself breathing down his neck the game is more dangerous than it seems. Is it genuine? Is it a sick joke? The bigger question is, how many bodies will pile up in Warren’s lab before he finds out?

Bonded by Death is original and unpredictable. It lives up to its name—thriller—by keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Dr. Warren Gates is a medical examiner and is very focused on his job. During his autopsies, he can separate himself from the death of the person before him to get the job done.

There is a serial killer on the loose, and Dr. Gates is the one who receives the victims afterward. His job alone is well-explained and detailed enough for readers to feel like they’re in the room with him. His assistant is peppy and adds interest to the story. She has intriguing insights and methods to her work alongside the doctor. The other characters are perfect and bring out the best or the worst in Dr. Gates.

Things take an unexpected turn. The killer introduces himself to the doctor. This is where the book differs from others of the same genre. Dr. Gates gets deeper and deeper involved, and his trouble and doubts about his future add tension to this different story.

If you like thrillers and want a different take on things, why not give this book a try?

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

101 Ways to be Less Stressed: Simple Self-care Strategies to Boost Your Mood, and Mental Health by Dr. Caroline Leaf

September 24, 2021 By 1 Comment


101 Ways to be Less Stressed: Simple Self-care Strategies to Boost Your Mood, and Mental Health by Dr. Caroline Leaf
Publisher: Baker Books
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Although many of us prioritize our physical health through exercise and healthy eating, we often forget to spend time boosting our mind, mood, and mental health. Yet the mind is the source of all our thoughts, words, and actions; when our thinking is unhealthy, our lives will be unhealthy–even if we go to the gym seven times a week and eat kale every day.

It is so important that we focus on mental self-care and reducing daily stress, since mental toughness and resilience will get us through difficult times and help us achieve success in every area of our lives. Using the incredible power of our minds, we can persist and grow in response to life’s challenges.

Let bestselling author and neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf help you change your life by changing your mind with 101 simple ways to reduce stress. With simple strategies for mental self-care, we can change the way we think and how we live our lives.

A communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist has brought us a quick and easy discussion on how we can painlessly make our lives easier. Dr. Caroline Leaf describes many things that can help. Each tip is described in its own short chapter. Those bite-sized bits alone simplify things.

Physical health is important, yes, but we must not forget mental/emotional health. It seems like a daunting thing to practice, but luckily, an expert solves this issue. The fact that Dr. Leaf provides over a hundred ways to do this is nice because there is bound to be something that will appeal to everyone here.

Some of the tips are preventive, and some are in-the-moment ideas that will lesson stress and improve one’s day. It is easy to rethink how we do things when they come with such small demands. The book moves quickly and is worth listening to. Why not get some creative and easy ways to make your life better?

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , ,

The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner

August 23, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

From Redbook’s Red-Hot Read series, a short story by the New York Times #1 best-selling author of In Her Shoes and Fly Away Home

“My life is over,” Piper DeWitt thinks to herself, awaiting departure in the overcrowded International Terminal of the Philadelphia airport for an overseas business trip, to romantic Paris no less. She watched as her husband, Tosh, put his own suitcase into the trunk of a taxi the day before. He’d been telling her for months that he wasn’t happy, and though she still wants to believe it is just a phase, after a call to her mother from the Admiral’s Club, she can no longer deny that he’s left her, left their home, left their four-year-old daughter in her mother’s sole care.

Piper met Tosh when she was only twenty-two, just the way self help books said she would – when she wasn’t looking. Now at forty, she wonders how, through all those years, they’d gotten to this place in their marriage. When her flight is canceled due to volcanic ash spreading from Iceland across Europe, and when a handsome stranger offers her an invitation to share a cab, she realizes she can take a departure from her own life. And after a day of living like a tourist in her own city, she hopes she can still find her way home…

This quick little story will keep people engaged from beginning to end. Piper DeWitt is a career woman, a family woman, but her husband, Tosh, no longer wants her. Devastated, she prepares to go to Paris on a business trip with Tosh’s break-up note in her pocket. She dreads reading those words, but she’s known for months that his feelings have changed.

Her flight to Paris gets cancelled, and she meets an intriguing man at the airport. After a whirlwind night with him, she takes a deep breath and prepares to face her future without Tosh. Many questions come into play, especially those concerning her daughter. How will Piper get through this heartache? Following along, one will hear her backstory with Tosh as well.

For an entertaining escape, why not check out this short story about a woman trying to make sense of her new present and future? She will have to redefine herself, and surprises are in store.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Money-Bucket Holes Explained by Kelebogile Mooketsi

August 18, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Money-Bucket Holes Explained by Kelebogile Mooketsi
A Personal Transformation, Self Help Book with Spiritual Guidance and Motivation to Inspire You to Manage Your … Holes. Money Can Say ” Goodbye”
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Contemporary
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

Feeling down and out because of financial problems? Well, life happens!

This self-help book is a comprehensive ‘Money Management Guide’ that will inspire, motivate and help you clean up your finances, eliminate debt so you can attract lasting financial freedom, that you are worthy of.

The metaphor of ‘Money-Bucket’ represents your day-to-day quest to achieve financial abundance. ‘Holes’ represent challenges that life throws at you (external factors) and also decisions and actions you take (internal factors) regarding your life and finances. If your Money-Bucket is not full or overflowing? Either it’s a challenge for you to fill it up or it is leaking because of holes that you might not be aware of!

This personal transformation book will help you identify and close holes in your money-bucket, for good!

Do you ever wonder where your money went to? Sometimes we might be surprised to hear the answer. In Money-Bucket Holes Explained, Kelebogile Mooketsi puts out many good, eye-opening situations.

Leadership and worthiness are themes with strong spiritual undertones. There is an inspirational message to follow your life purpose.

This book is a first in a series that help people with their finances. Questions are asked of the reader as well as answered. Readers are encouraged to think about their lives and ponder many things. Some surprising money-bucket holes are identified and addressed throughout these pages. Helpfully, the author provides worksheets upon request to make one’s thought processes about money more organized.

Readers are asked to consider outside and internal forces at work. Things are phrased in ways that a reader may not have seen before, and this allows for more creative contemplation. Wrap-ups at the end of chapters summarize the information in the chapters and help with remembering information.

Money myths are addressed as well. This is an interesting book meant for those of faith. Why not have a look and discover something about yourself you may have overlooked?

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Other, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

July 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton
Publisher: A Touchstone Book published by Simon and Schuster
Genre: Non-Fiction, Historical
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

From a rediscovered collection of autobiographical accounts written by hundreds of Kansas pioneer women in the early twentieth century, Joanna Stratton has created a collection hailed by Newsweek as “uncommonly interesting” and “a remarkable distillation of primary sources.”

Never before has there been such a detailed record of women’s courage, such a living portrait of the women who civilized the American frontier. Here are their stories: wilderness mothers, schoolmarms, Indian squaws, immigrants, homesteaders, and circuit riders. Their personal recollections of prairie fires, locust plagues, cowboy shootouts, Indian raids, and blizzards on the plains vividly reveal the drama, danger and excitement of the pioneer experience.

These were women of relentless determination, whose tenacity helped them to conquer loneliness and privation. Their work was the work of survival, it demanded as much from them as from their men—and at last that partnership has been recognized.

Joanna L. Stratton has taken first-hand accounts of the experiences of hundreds of women of courage making their way to and living in rough territory. The lives of these women were dangerous and exciting. One never knew what would happen.

This book is filled with adventure and unknowns. The people these women encounter were sometimes friendly and sometimes wild and meaning to do harm. Younger and older women lent their voices here.

How could one survive in such risky circumstances? This book brings to life a time when women lacked all modern conveniences. Becoming complacent wasn’t an option.

Reading from the point-of-view of those who were in Kansas at such a wild time is enlightening. This book is worth a look at for those who are interested in Western history or women’s history—an interesting inside view.

Filed Under: Non-Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

A Darkness of Wolves by Nicole Bea

July 15, 2021 By Leave a Comment


A Darkness of Wolves by Nicole Bea
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: YA (14+), Contemporary, Romance
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

One weekend changed everything for eighteen-year-old Wynrie Lowe, and she’s been on a downward spiral ever since. Her moods change from one extreme to the other, happiness to sadness, with nothing in between. Something is very wrong, and she doesn’t know how to fix it.

As Wynrie’s emotions grow dangerously unstable, her boyfriend, Ezra, struggles to weather the storm. But will he even still want her once he learns the truth about that weekend? And as her world is torn apart and rearranged, can Wynrie find the strength to reach out for the help she needs before it’s too late?

What would you do if one moment you were on top of the world and the next, crashing down hard? Wynrie (Wyn) goes through this regularly and without provocation. What could be the problem? True, she kissed her best friend even when she had a boyfriend, and true, she felt guilty about it, but there is more to the matter.

Things get worse. Something is definitely not normal. Wyn is trying to deal with the mood swings while also trying to figure out her feelings for both her best friend, Dawson, and her boyfriend, Ezra. These two story-lines support each other and tell a story of a young woman trying to find herself and lead a normal life.

Wyn’s ups and downs are described very well, so well that readers can gain an understanding of just how difficult of a struggle this is. Dawson and Ezra are quite likable characters. There is suspense about who Wyn will choose, and how she will live through her mood disorder.

The author has written a realistic story with characters readers will engage with. If you’re a fan of YA fiction, why not give this one a try?

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

While the Devil Lies Waiting by David J. LeMaster

July 7, 2021 By Leave a Comment


While the Devil Lies Waiting by David J. LeMaster
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

During the Civil War, the War of Northern Aggression to Southerners, General Elijah Beauregard was heralded, although not within earshot, as a demon. Known for shooting his own men for running from carnage, he had no less respect for his beloved Virginia.

She’d prayed for his demise, yet only received absolution in her own and her child’s death in childbirth. No one else, who dared live in his house, ever died in peace…nor left the premises. Over a century later, and many mysterious deaths and events, he would have his Ginny…again.

If you’re ready for a good ghost story, this is it. General Beauregard of the Civil War is creepy and scary. What makes him worse is that he is motivated to hurt people.

In this book, we jump through time and meet the general’s unfortunate victims as they stay in his house. The setting and atmosphere, the mood are superbly written. Characters—dead and alive—interact in realistic ways, and suspense is strong throughout the story.

We see some of the characters at different stages of their lives. The challenges they face keep the pace of the book quick. It is a horror story, but can anyone have a happy ending? Are the good guys hiding anything?

David J. LeMaster has written a unique tale that readers of this genre are sure to love and remember.

Filed Under: Horror, Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan

June 30, 2021 By Leave a Comment


The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: Historical, Fiction
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Lavender

In late March 1944, as Stalin’s forces push into Ukraine, young Emil and Adeline Martel must make a terrible decision: Do they wait for the Soviet bear’s intrusion and risk being sent to Siberia? Or do they reluctantly follow the wolves—murderous Nazi officers who have pledged to protect “pure-blood” Germans?

The Martels are one of many families of German heritage whose ancestors have farmed in Ukraine for more than a century. But after already living under Stalin’s horrifying regime, Emil and Adeline decide they must run in retreat from their land with the wolves they despise to escape the Soviets and go in search of freedom.
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Caught between two warring forces and overcoming horrific trials to pursue their hope of immigrating to the West, the Martels’ story is a brutal, complex, and ultimately triumphant tale that illuminates the extraordinary power of love, faith, and one family’s incredible will to survive and see their dreams realized.

The Last Green Valley is inspiring as well as entertaining. A family who is ethnically German but living in Ukraine in 1944 is caught between the bear and the wolves (Stalin and Hitler). What a terrible decision. They do what they must to survive, and extreme danger is at every turn.

This family—the Martels—and their near relatives flee as refugees, and life is difficult, to say the least. Heart-breaking decisions must be made along the way, and the Martels suffer in different manners. Sometimes the troubles are physical, but sometimes they are mental and emotional and…haunting. How is this family going to survive such trials?

Emil Martel has lost his faith, even though his wife Adeline has not. Then they meet a man who appears to have lost his link with reality. This man changes Emil’s life in an unexpected way.

The manner in which the Martels deal with their troubles is quite moving. Their triumphs will feel like the readers’ triumphs. The author of this book has done a great job at making the characters and their world so real. This is a memorable story and should be on the reading list of anyone who enjoys true historical stories.

Filed Under: Mainstream Fiction, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,
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