Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Crescendo
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Buy: Amazon
Rating: 5 stars

Summary: Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. 

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something. 

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperately searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

My Review:  I love love LOVE Patch and Nora's relationship! OK so maybe I just really love Patch but still. The  seconds book has definitely improved and while I loved the first book, I think this book is even better. 

Right from the beginning of the book I was completely hooked and couldn't put the book down for a second. Granted, I was seriously getting annoyed with Nora in the beginning but she quickly becomes bearable and I actually admire the choices she makes. I really liked how she didn't go running to Patch for everything and she tried to be independent. And what I liked even more about this book was that when things went bad between Nora and Patch she didn't just go running back to Patch like they usually do in books. She actually said no and told Patch to back the hell up (she didn't say it in those exact words of course but you get the idea). But I'll admit: Nora really needs to stop automatically assuming things when she doesn't know ANYTHING. I don't want to put in any spoilers so I'll just leave it at that but trust me, I guarantee you're going to be yelling at you're book in frustration for a good part of the book. 

But back to how much I liked this book: This book really made me smile. A lot. You can only imagine how many strange looks I got on the train while I was reading this book because I kept smiling randomly and trying not to laugh. It probably had a lot to do with Patch's sexy comments and Vee's crazy ideas.  I'm really happy that Becca left Vee as a supporting best friend and didn't try to make Vee into some sort of scheming crazy friend or something. I really like Vee, and whenever she shows up in the scene it's almost a guarantee that a smile will be showing up on my face. 

So many things are revealed in this book, so many secrets from the past that had me eagerly flipping through the pages to find out what would happen next. There's about 427 pages in this book but I flew through it like it was only 200 pages. And the ending...oh my god it leaves you craving to run to the nearest book store and buying the next book. I literally just bought this book a few days ago and I finished it in one day and now I REALLY want to buy Silence the third book in the Hush Hush series. Crescendo was an amazing sequel and I really can't wait to find out what's next for this series.

April J. Ford - Author Interview for her New Book "You Are Not Alone"

I am so excited with my recent interview with my favorite author, April J. Ford. She is a Best-Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. Here below is a part my interview with April.

Q) When people purchase a copy from Amazon of "You Are Not Alone - How To Rise Above Life's Challenges", how does this help the widows and abused?
A) Joy's GIFT will receive 35% of the book proceeds from You Are Not Alone. You can also go to the website for Joy's GIFT www.joysgift.org to support them directly with donations.

Q)  What does the title and cover represent with "You Are Not Alone - How To Rise Above Life's Challenges"?
A) None of us are ever alone even when we feel alone when adversity hits us. We tune in to our inner-self discovery and also know that their are others who can guide and help us. We discover a path during adversity in finding who we are inside by the way we handle the challenges we face. It is how we transition and transform into who we are truly meant to be.

Q) Is "You Are Not Alone" also for men?
A) You Are Not Alone is written from a women's perspective and speaking to other women but I encourage men to also read it. Men know other women who may also being going through these challenges women face with all their roles and responsibilities as a mom, spouse, career woman, entrepreneur, community leader-volunteer, etc..What are

Q) What are some of the topics readers can expect from "You Are Not Alone"?
A) The risk of overcompensating with all of the roles and responsibilities women face, health and wellness, spirituality, parenting, love, relationships, and defining your happiness and success.

Q) What are the 4 R's mentioned in "You Are Not Alone"?
A) The 4 R's is a process of how I found my way through adversity, it stands for Recognize, Respond, Re-evaluate, and Rebalance. We first have to Recognize the Rubble of our challenge. Then we must Respond with a Recovery Plan. Third Re-evaluate what we're rebuilding because we all know all plans have hiccups along the way. The forth is Rebalance the relationships in our lives that bring meaning and value to our lives and vice versa.

Q) Any comments about the controversial section in "You Are Not Alone" about wellness and spirituality? Some say these methods are non-traditional.
A) Well, it's ok if you don't understand some of the methods because at one point in time some were even foreign to me too. Nothing is new under the sun, some of these methods date back to Biblical days and eastern cultures. But I tell you this, with what I know now with holistic/alternative wellness practices, I would say my late husband would probably have had a better chance of surviving if we knew better.

Q) "You Are Not Alone - How To Rise Above Life's Challenges" has gotten some credible endorsements, can you share a couple names?
A) Don Green, the Founder of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, Berny Dohrmann, Chairman and Founder of CEO Space International, Wendy Darling who has been featured on Forbes for her Healing Harmonics system.

Q) How do I get the other giveaways from April J. Ford and find out more about her work?
A) I love hearing how others are discovering gold in challenges, subscribe at www.joysofyah.com so I can get to know you better and also bring value on how to support you.

Q) What's next for April J. Ford?
A) I'll be embarking on my speaking tour with my topic of "The Alchemy of Adversity - How To Find the Gold In Life's Challenges"; all my efforts still benefiting Joy's G.I.F.T. and in alignment with my recent publication "You Are Not Alone"

DOWNLOAD "YOU ARE NOT ALONE" (BOOK) HERE

My Zombie Apocalypse Plan by Graham Parke

It used to be that only preppers and people with a high level of government clearance had the foresight to create a plan for the end of the world. But these days any halfway intelligent person needs to have some kind of plan, and as I’ve always aspired to be at least a half way intelligent person, I decided to hash one out.

Look at the evidence. Global viral infections are a yearly event, tsunamis and earth quakes are now common occurrences. If you’re still waiting for a sign that the end is nigh, you might as well stand out in traffic in a tin foil hat telling people we’re going to be okay, because nobody will take you seriously.

And to me it seems only a matter of time before one of these freaky global viruses mutates sufficiently to actually reanimate dead flesh and put its host in a permanent state of annoyance. Ergo; we need to develop a strategy for the impeding zombie apocalypse.

Now, you may ask why I would go through the trouble of creating my own strategy when there are so many existing strategies to be found on the net. A quick search will tell you the best weapons, the best foods, the best way to prep. However, I feel that none of these plans take into account the real hardships people will have to face. So I spent some time looking at all the possible angles and came up with what I believe is the most sane and most efficient Zombie apocalypse plan to date. And I believe it’s as simple as it is effective;

Basically, I intend to die in the very first wave.

That’s it. That makes the most sense to me. More sense at least than undergoing all manner of hardship only to die eventually anyway (through bites/malnutrition/or terminally chapped lips).

For any plan the long term survival rate is zero. Of course, it could be argued that the zombie apocalypse is the least worrying apocalypse of all. On the apocalypse scale, it’s like a flee bite. There is no real damage to the ecosystem, our infrastructure will remain intact, the power grid won’t melt down. Basically, all we need to do is wait it out. Say, a couple of weeks. Just long enough for the re-animated dead to decompose to the point where they simply fall apart and movement is no longer an option.

Sure, it’ll be annoying. Insurance rates will go through the roof. You’ll lose some slow and fat loved ones. The smell won’t be that great. It will take ages for your favorite TV shows to start up again. Marauders will raid your food stocks and trample mud into your carpet. There’ll be some broken windows too, believe me. But, ultimately, we’ll be okay. 

Still, before we get out the other end, supply lines will be disrupted and stores will run out of toothpaste, deodorant, and chap-stick.

So, for those reasons, I’m out.

Graham Parke is responsible for a number of technical publications and has recently patented a self-folding map. He has been described as both a humanitarian and a pathological liar. Convincing evidence to support either allegation has yet to be produced.

No Hope for Gomez! is his fiction debut.

Follow his blog at: www.grahamparke.blogspot.com

Monalisa Okojie (Nehita Jewelry) in Hollywood Weekly

Awesome Magazine cover!

Hollywood Weekly featured Monalisa Okojie, the fabulous and amazing creator of the Nehita jewelry line. Her jewelry and fashions have been worn by many American celebrities and icons including the late Whitney Houston and a lot more A-list celebrities in film, television, and music.

Monalisa shares her passion for creating jewelry and her friendship with Whitney Houston and a lot more exciting experiences through Hollywood Weekly at https://issuu.com/hollywood/docs/may_mothers_day_