Beautiful Blur

Demons can follow you, even when you think you've finally managed to evade them for good. Crystal thought the past was finally in her rear view mirror, especially when she meets the man of her dreams. Paul is everything she never knew she needed; he's gentle and kind, endlessly patient and understanding, and sexy to boot. Crystal can't believe that someone so wonderful would want her just as bad as she wants him. Their fairy tale romance and relationship is perfect.. at first - but soon pieces of Crystal's life that she had kept buried inside start to emerge. Awful flashbacks start to plague her, and she doesn't know how to deal with them. Her perfect relationship starts to suffer, despite everything Paul tries to do to keep her afloat. What will it take Crystal to confront the demons of her past and realize that her life is wonderful despite her emotional baggage and trauma? Filled with romance, passion, intrigue, and traumatic abuse. This novella of redemption and love is sure to delight readers and is a quick read with some steamy scenes that will be sure to delight. It ends on a cliffhanger so be sure to check out the rest of the novellas in this series!

Because I Am Furniture

A dark and empowering book of prose that captures what it's like to live in an abusive household. Anke is the only one not receiving her father's "love" and she should be grateful. The love that he doles out on her brother, sister, and mother is horrifying. He's emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive to them all; Anke is unnoticed, always in the background. She knows she should be grateful or speak up, but she doesn't want to be the one to tear the family apart. Things start to change when she joins the volleyball team. She starts getting stronger, filling out, and finding her voice. Suddenly, what her father is doing to her family seems even worse. What would happened if she used her voice and confidence to help her family? Written in beautiful, lyrical poetry this young adult book about abuse will horrify readers and inspire them to speak out when they  witness something. A definite conversation starter.

Survivor: The Escape

A memoir about overcoming the curve-balls life sends you, no matter how many come at you and no matter how hard they hit. Ditto writes of her experiences being abused as a child, teenager, adult, wife, and mother. Every step of the way she has had to face men and women bullying, beating, and lying to her but she has learned how to stand up to them. While she may not be a perfect Christian, having four kids out of wedlock, Ditto tries to tell her story as an imperfect Christian, calling on readers to accept God's plan, love, and forgiveness. This autobiography is written not as a journal but as a flashback with many added retrospective comments and concerns as she looks back upon the mistakes of her youth. Although the book is in dire need of an editor or proof-reader, the reader is able to look past the myriad of typos, odd phrases, and spelling choices to understand the message of this short biography. The author lives somewhere in Europe or Africa, it's never quite made clear, so a lot of the domestic abuse scenarios seem even worse than we are used to hearing about in America because the authorities treat it vastly different where the author is from. An inspiring ramble through the author's traumatizing youth and early adulthood.

I received this book for free from the author in return for my honest. unbiased opinion.

Safe Haven

This was a breeze to get through. One lazy Sunday and BAM it's down. Occasionally, I like to read a fast, no brainer, romantic book and this fit the bill. Nicholas Sparks has the ability to suck you in with his too good to be true romances and this is no exception.

Katie is a girl running from a haunted past (aka abusive husband) and she lands in, Southport, a sleepy town thousands of miles away from her husband.  She tries to stay inconspicuous and under the radar but soon she attracts the attention of Alex, an attractive widower with two small children. Of course Alex is the most perfect of men and she succumbs to his good looks and manners, but what happens if her past catches up to her?

Read to find out more. This is a perfect beach read, although not my favorite Nicholas Sparks novel (I do however plan on seeing the movie next month!)