Precious Embrace by Dana Mason: Review + Giveaway!

Date Published: 7/11/2013

Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing

A second divorce and a new baby wasn’t the vision Alison Hayes had for her future. Now a single mother with two young boys, she wants to focus on her kids and what’s left of her stagnant career.
When Detective Johnny Rhay Bennett breezes into her life with his country-boy accent, she wants to run. She doesn’t need another man in her life, or another reason to make people talk. But when her worst nightmare becomes a reality, Johnny is the only person who can pull Ali out of her despair, forcing her to stay strong and not give up hope of finding her missing child.

***

Who falls in love after a one-night stand? Johnny Rhay doesn’t believe it’s possible until it happens to him. With Nashville in his rear-view mirror, he’s determined to convince Alison she loves him too, even if it means moving to the West Coast.
Ali’s not easy, and she’s living on just this side of bitter after her divorce, but Johnny doesn’t care. He’s up for the challenge. At least, he believes he’s up for it until baby Micah is stolen right out from under his nose. Now Johnny has to keep it together and get that sweet little boy home safe before his dreams of having a family vanish too.

Dana Mason

Dana Mason started writing to prove to her computer geek husband and her math & science geek kids that she actually has a brain; it’s just a right functioning brain instead of a left. She’s lived all over the country and uses that experience in her writing and character studies. Her debut novel, Dangerous Embrace, is the first in a contemporary romance series about a group of friends from Northern California who learn just how short life can be when you don’t hold on to what’s important. Second chances don’t come easy…but sometimes love is worth the risk.
When not writing, Dana specializes in professional development and training. She’s also a board member on the local Art's Council and does what she can to support the art community.
As an avid reader and movie watcher, she always requires a happily ever after ending.

Website | Publisher Author Page |Twitter- @danamason06 | Facebook

This book is the second book in the series (the first being Dangerous Embrace). I read it without reading the first one first and it read fine. That being said, reading the second one made me want to go back and read the first. 

I didn't actually expect this novel to be hard to read, but it was. Dana Mason writes a very realistic reaction to the thought of a missing child and the helplessness, insanity, and distress that would come with that. 

I have a baby around Micah's age - the aforementioned missing child. I think it helped add an extra realistic punch to the novel.

I like Dana Mason's writing. I don't find her romance overly cliche or trite, which makes it easier to get in to the story.

There was a moment, while two characters are driving, that there seems to be no mention of time passage, but a thirty second conversation puts them somewhere else, which pulled me out of the story. Other than that, I was gripped to the edge of my seat, worried, and wondering.

I may  have cried, but no one was up to witness it. If a tear falls and no one sees it, does it still exist? Maybe they're not like forest trees. 

Dana Mason writes a very gripping suspense. 

When it comes to Precious Embrace?

Burn It | Toss It | Borrow It | Read It | Buy It

 

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Listen to My Trumpet! by Mo Willems

In 6th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: In Listen to My Trumpet! Piggie can’t wait to play her new instrument for Gerald! But is she ready to listen to his reaction?

Recommended for: Fans of the series. Fans of Mo Willems. Trumpet players.

Hardcover / 62 Pages
Disney-Hyperion
February 7 2012 

Get your copy:
Hardcover

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano

In 14th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

Hardcover / 32 Pages
Roaring Book Press
February 14 2012

Get your copy:
Hardcover 

I Am A Pole (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert

Synopsis: I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) is a 2012 spoof of a children's book written by Stephen Colbert and illustrated by Paul Hildebrand. The book tells the story of a fictional pole finding his purpose in life. Wikipedia

Recommended for: Lovers of satire. Fans of Stephen Colbert. Poles. 

Hardcover / 32 Pages
Grand Central Publishing
May 8 2012

Get your copy:
Hardcover 
Kindle

Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean

Coming in 3rd place for the best picture book of 2012

Goodreads Synopsis: Pete the Cat is wearing his favorite shirt--the one with the four totally groovy buttons. But when one falls off, does Pete cry? Goodness, no He just keeps on singing his song--after all, what could be groovier than three groovy buttons?

Recommended for: Children that like to sing and dance. Children that crave repetition.  

Hardcover / 40 pages
HarperCollins 

Get your copy:
Hardcover
Kindle

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

In 12th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: How many kinds of green are there? There's the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh, juicy green of a just-cut lime, the incandescent green of a firefly, and the vivid aquamarine of a tropical sea.

Recommended for: People that love paintings or the color green. Children with a limited vocabulary.

Hardcover / 36 pages
Roaring Book Press

Get a Copy
Goodreads

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

In 6th place for best fiction of 2012:

This novel follows the story of June as she comes to term with the death of her Uncle. Recently passed from AIDS in the 80's, June has to cope with learning things about her family she wasn't ready to learn and ignorance of the newly rampant disease. Perhaps, with time, developing friendships will help her find her way.

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

In 2012, in 3rd place for best fiction...

This books follows along the life story of one family as they struggle with their relationship with each other. This is further complicated by Jolene's departure to Iraq. In this novel we get to learn how war, life, and feelings affect us. Also, we get to experience hope and loss.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Coming in 15th for 2012 Best Picture Book: 

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

The 12th best picture book of 2012:

With 1355 votes, we're back to Mo Willems. Here we have Mo Willems choice of satire and an addition of a Norwegian dinosaur - I have no idea why he chose that country. The basis of this story is a twist on the classic tale.

The bad news is, my five year old missed a bit of the sarcasm. The good news is, he noticed that there was a picture frame with the notorious Mo Willems pigeon in one of the pages.

After that, I noticed that clever bastard did that in several spots.

As well as adding subtle hints at storyline:

Mo Willems has become my new Robert Munch. He's borderline genius. Yes, I like him that much.

When it comes to Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs?

Shut Up and Read It.

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

The 8th best Picture book of 2012:

Every little boy likes robots. Mine isn't an exception. In fact, we have even discussed building a robot.

I'd make a cute first robot.

Therefore, he was pretty excited to read this story. I think the story one out simply because it had a robot in it. The story itself centers around the boy and the robots misunderstandings that the other is similar to themselves - boys need oil, robots need rest.

The story falls short of incredible, but is sweet and enjoyable all the same. It had 1803 votes in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

The artwork is evidently gouache. I'm going to take a stance from art class and say, gouache is the most evil, annoying, material to work with in the history of the world!

Dan Yaccarino did a pretty good job with it. As you can see, it has pretty simply shading, but it's cute artwork.

When it comes to Boy + Bot?

Shut Up and Read It.

Easy by Tammara Webber

Coming in 2nd place for best young adult fiction AND 8th place for best goodreads author:

I was actually surprised with this book. I do my best not to read predictable fiction and I assumed this would be as well. My problem isn't so much with cliche love stories, my problem is I get bored of predictable or heroines that I cannot relate to. "Empty shells" that allow readers to place themselves amongst the character. That being said, I found the writing in this novel stronger than I expected and the character development way better than anticipated.

I heard that some people had issues with her rational reaction to assault. Without divulging too much plot line, I'd like to point out that are emotions do not follow a direct pattern. Not even on something that seems it would such as death or tragedy. As well, the strong point of this novel is her trying to battle through her emotions on the assault, despite not wanting to report him at first. Which is, and remains to be, one of the most common reactions to assault. It is usually backed up by, "No one will believe me" or "It's my fault." And is usually followed by shocking reactions from friends and family. If readers are unaware of how these reactions take place, as disgusting as it can be, I urge them to look into it so they can protect themselves and the people they love better. As it a very sad point of our current reality that 1/3 American women will be assaulted and more than 60% will not be reported. 

The negative review I have on this book was that I found some parts a bit over the top in angst. I feel the story plot could have been well written without needing all of the several dramatic gut punches.

It is really refreshing to see more YA novels with strong and realistic heroines. And hero's - despite the fact I never did find my fantasy man with gray eyes that I thought I was destined for as a teenager.

If you're looking for a bit of angst, a bit of love, and a bit of humor. This book might pleasantly surprise you as a modern day love story. 

When it comes to Easy?

 Shut Up and Read It.

A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

And the winner of best humor novel of 2012:

I tried so hard... I never give up on books. Ever. It's not that Jenny Lawson doesn't have interesting stories. It's just that she is a horrible writer. That she rambles so incoherently that you forget what she's talking about half the time, that her story doesn't seem to have any sort of coherent flow at all, but instead just vomits itself onto the pages of a book, and that I'm pretty sure most of it was taken from her Blog. 

It's not that she's not funny, it's that she tries so hard to make a joke out of everything that she's trying to fit 5 jokes into every paragraph. It's okay that every sentence isn't funny, I promise. 

I actually read the first few chapters of this book and found it enjoyable and funny. Then she just... kept going. And the thing that is really frustrating is that every single one of her stories is dramatized enough that she can explain something as more interesting than it is. Which would be fine, if it was actually proving to be a story worth telling otherwise. 

Per example, she talks about getting stabbed by a chicken when, really, she just cut her finger on a piece of chicken breast.

All of this would be great as a once in a while story, a dinner time conversation, a daily blog read, but is absolutely horrible to read in a 300 page read of continuous rambling. 

So, I made it 220 pages in the book, and maybe that doesn't constitute a proper review for some of you, but that's as far as I can do it. I literally forced myself through the past 120 pages. Thank God it's over.

When it comes to Let's Pretend That Never Happened?

Go Ahead and Burn It.

Preferably before she publishes more unedited crap.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

And the winner of the best young adult fiction of 2012: 

The sheer volume of votes this novel got ahead of the others says a lot. 28.5 THOUSAND more than the 2nd place nominee.

It turns out that this book can be observed in two ways: Either as a piece of phenomenal written fiction with existentialist revolutions, or as a strong teen's novel.
 
Here's the reason I love John Green, these are the only novels I have come across that modern teens of today, written by a modern writer of today, can read and not be forced to believe in an unhealthy outlook on centering your life around your lover. John Green maintains the importance of family, shows the strength of love (even as teenagers), let's his characters make incorrect assumptions, and allows an intellectual teen to relate to someone. Finally, in my opinion.

Teens all over the world have been given heroines and heroes, as of late, that are strong, fast, and independent, but this is the first book I've read in YA that gives them a mentally strong character to cheer for. 

I might gush over this book, simply because this book is worth gushing over. As a mother myself, this is the type of literature I'd want my children to read.

 When it comes to The Fault in Our Stars?

Shut Up and Read It.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Coming in 2nd place for best goodreads author AND 2nd place for young adult fantasy & science fiction:

Okay, I admit, I jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of you.  The Mortal Instruments was a fun, young adult fantasy series. The first three books swept me off into a world I liked being in.

And then this happened. In the fifth installment of the series, Jace is tied with Sebastien and Clary is on a mission to save him. I get that the series is well liked. I just don't understand the need for the fifth book. Actually, I don't understand needing to write anything past the third book.

I'm going to say this book was successful because it had a following of loyal readers. However, this book did better than the fourth. Still, because it was unneeded story line to a good series...

When it comes to City of Lost Souls?

Go Ahead and Burn It.

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

And the winner of the best 2012 picture book:

Strangely enough, this book did a much better job at capturing my child's attention than the original Olivia did. Perhaps because the story was more imaginative and humorous. I will still not say that this is our favorite of children's books, but I can say this little pig might just grow on you. This time you can join Olivia in her troubles as she gets bored of the regular princess and searches for something different.  

When  it comes to Olivia and the Fairy Princesses?

Shut Up and Read It.

The Duckling Gets A Cookie?! by Mo Williems

Coming in 2nd place for best picture book of 2012:

These illustrations are well done, the story line is funny and entertaining for both kids and adults, and the unexpected surprises are great. This is definitely a book you want to add to your picture book list. Mo Willems is a great child's author.

When it comes to The Duckling Gets a Cookie?

Shut Up and Read It.  

Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning

In our 2012 best graphic novels & comics section at 6th place:

I haven't spent  a lot of time reading graphic novels lately. This one was illustrated by Al Rio. Al Rio is a stellar artist:

Which really gives this graphic novel a chance to shine. Unfortunately, he passed away before the completion of this graphic novel and Cliff Richards was left to take his place as illustrator:

This is his work as a pencil artist, by the way.

Obviously, he is out shadowed talent wise. Still, Cliff Richards had a hard task to meet up with following Al Rio. He did a pretty amazing job.

So, with the art work of this graphic novel being so strong, we're left to analyze the story line. I have never read the actual series this graphic novel is based off, but it seems okay. I doubt very much it would be better than this graphic novel.

It seems... Al Rio took a lit bit of magic to a mediocre story and made it shine.

Although, Karen Marie Moning gets 10 points just for creating the Unseelie. You would think there would be a photo of him somewhere, but there isn't. I guess everyone's too busy snapping photos of the men.

When it comes to Fever Moon?

Shut Up and Read It.  

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Coming in at 2nd place for best fiction of 2012:

This is a tricky one. I recently had a daughter from an unexpected relationship. The father and I decided to keep the baby and raise her together, but I cannot say that adoption didn't cross my mind. Due to that fact alone, I found a curiosity in this book. One, however, that sort of stung a little as I realized I could have walked a similar path.

Personal experience aside, I think Emily Giffin's writing has improved since she wrote her first novel.
 
Although she has a tendency to write novel's on a realistic note, I actually found this one her most unrealistic story yet. Mostly, I find it hard to believe that Conrad and Marian could pick up any sort of relationship, even if this was just hinted. I also acknowledge that Conrad must be a better character than most people I know, for forgiving her so suddenly.

Emily Giffin writes in two voices here. Which is tricky in itself. Especially since one is young and one old. I definitely think her adult voice was stronger, but she did a passable voice at an eighteen year old.

Although I do find a lot of Emily Giffin's characters superficial, I realize that a lot of people can be too.

All in all, I cannot say this is the 5-star series of literature that many reviewers see it ass, but, as far as chick lit goes, it's a lot stronger than many in the genre.

Still, I didn't feel swept in, or the need to go tell everyone to read this novel. It was "just okay."

Therefore, when it comes to Where We Belong? 

Go Ahead and Burn It.
 

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Coming in at 11th place in the Fiction category of 2012 Choice Awards. It received 2731 votes which is about 8700 less than the winner received.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

Harold Fry is a retired gentlemen with a lackluster marriage when he receives a letter from an old friend saying goodbye. With intent of mailing a quick reply, he sets off for the mailbox down the street. However, Harold Fry feels the need to keep walking. What follows is an unexpected walk to the hospice where his old friend lay dying with an urge for her to keep living, while he keeps walking.

Since 9/10ths of this book is spent walking, we get to spend a lot of time in the mind of Harold Fry. We get to learn about his past, his regrets, his accomplishments, and what plagues his mind. We get to be there with him on good days and on bad.

I had read from others that they felt this novel was unspectacular. To me, this seemed the point. An unspectacular guy does something  unexpected.

The unfortunate part about this sort of literature, is that it is meant to reflect on life in a way that you can reflect on your own life with the same lessons that Harold Fry is learning. I suppose, if you cannot see the lessons he is learning, or if you aren't the type to speculate, you might not get as much enjoyment from this type of novel.

I found this novel to be well-written, with interesting thoughts on our lives and how we conduct them or are left by them. I want to remind potential readers, however, that this novel is all about the deep thoughts inside our head and lacking in action or events. 

That being said, when it comes to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? 

Shut Up and Read It.