Cassie

I am happily married and a mother to three beautiful young children and a sugar glider! ;-) I have a BA in Psychology/Religion. I volunteer occasionally as a Client Advocate for SavALife of Limestone County and Choose Life of North Alabama.
Books are my passion, and I love to write as well as read and review all kinds of work!! I am a regular contributor for JournalStone Publishing (www.journalstone.com), and I love working with them and having the opportunity to learn and grow so much!!
I am a co-host/chat room queen for the Blog Talk Radio show, JournalJabber (www.journaljabber.webs.com). You can join in the madness every Tuesday evening at 8PM CST.
If you'd like to read something I wrote, you can find my story "The Mirror" in the Creative Reviews anthology, Christmas Lites. All proceeds from the anthology are being donated to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
I also offer proofreading/editing services. I have worked with several authors in addition to JournalStone and The Eyes for Editing. For more information on my services, please visit the Proofing/Editing page at www.gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com

Twitter: @Cassie629
Facebook: Facebook profile
Blog: http://www.gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com

• Shifting Fate (The Chronicles of Fate, Book 1) on May 08, 2011
  
  Shifting Fate (The Chronicles of Fate1) By: Alexis Leno My Rating: ★★★☆☆ Shifting Fate by Alexis Leno introduces us to the world of the heroine, Brynn. As the princess of the kingdom of Alii in the mystic realm of Lizon, Brynn lives a rather ordinary and uneventful life with her parents and two brothers. When a man from her past resurfaces with new and dangerous power, her familiar world is turned upside down. A once certain and literally predestined fate is suddenly thrown off balance, and Brynn finds herself on a journey to discover just how extraordinary she truly is. I luckily snagged a complimentary copy of Shifting Fate in a book giveaway. I truly appreciate the opportunity to read and review new books! Overall, I believe the core story of the book is really great. I was drawn in by the characters and what they could do from the very beginning. Leno unquestionably has a tremendous amount of creativity and imagination. I most certainly never had any trouble visualizing the setting or any of the characters. The chemistry between Brynn and Cyrus was believable and entertaining without going overboard. I also appreciated the dynamics of the royal family and the people of the village Brynn later visits. At times I felt that the writing was a bit too wordy. I think Leno tended to “over-describe” everything a little. She also used the same words several times in a paragraph quite often. I cannot criticize too harshly, because I know I do the same (having been told so by someone else)! What I really feel that this book needed was a great editor. The content is there; it just needs to be cleaned up! Back to the pleasant stuff: I would really love to see Alexis go back and write more about the Great War of the past. I felt a lot of the events in Shifting Fate would have made a lot more sense if she had started the story a little further back or dedicated some more of this book to clearly explaining past events. I think she has a great deal of fabulous material to carry this narrative on for at least another volume or two, and I encourage her to work on that! This review can also be found at www.gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com and www.journalstone.com.
  
• Summoning on May 31, 2011
  
  Based on an old Irish witch story, Summoning tells the tale of young Meredith. Sold into seven years’ servitude by her parents to pay only a year of their rent, Meredith learns there is more to her master than meets the eye. One night she spies the Vicar making a deal with the devil himself—his soul as well as Meredith’s in exchange for vast wealth. Over the years as his servant, Meredith learns this dark craft and begins her own correspondence with the demon in hopes of finding her vanished family once again. When Meredith is accused of witchcraft and condemned to death, she must somehow save herself and those she loves before it is too late. I was the lucky winner of Summoning in a Library Thing giveaway. I am sure that I read the book description before entering the giveaway, but I actually began reading this book not really certain exactly what it was about. This was another one that I went into with tentative expectations but found myself extremely impressed. Debi Faulkner writes absolutely beautifully. I have since learned that she is a poet, and that is obvious in the gorgeous prose of this novel. She is a complete pro with imagery. Without effort, I found myself right there with Meredith in the dank, cold cellar, dark, menacing mansion, and beautiful, rich orchard. At first, I was a little thrown off by the jumps from the past to the present, but in the end it really worked out wonderfully. I found practically no grammatical or mechanical errors as well which is always refreshing. The characters are all strong and captivating. Meredith is an impeccable protagonist, emphasized even more by the darkness and intrigue of the Vicar. All the supporting characters, even Legion, were well-developed and added just the right touch to the overall story. Meredith’s entire life is shaped by these characters and the influence they each have over her. This haunting story immediately grabbed my attention and kept me involved for hours. I didn’t want to leave Meredith’s world. This was a perfect read for a lazy Sunday afternoon! This review can also be found at www.gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com and www.journalstone.com.
  
• Max and Izzy in 'Wheres my Iggy?' on June 27, 2011
  
  Max and Izzy in ‘Where’s My Iggy?’ By: Catherine Isom ASIN: B0051UC75A Published May 19, 2011 My Rating: ★★★★☆ This is a children’s adventure book that is recommended for children ages 4 to 10. It is Max’s birthday and his beloved stuffed piggy has been pig-napped!! It is up to Max and his mischievous sister Izzy to find Iggy before Max’s big day is completely ruined. Much to Izzy’s delight, the clues that the pig-napper left behind lead them to many of her favorite places to snack. Coincidence? I received a copy of this charming book for review. After my initial read, I probably would have rated this about three stars, but after speaking further with the author, I decided to bump my rating up. The copy I received did not have illustrations, but Catherine told me that she has an illustrator working on that right now. I think pictures would be a tremendous improvement on an already adorable story. There were also some minor errors which just needed a quick proofing job to clear up. I pointed these out to Catherine, so those changes will be made as well. Aside from those slight technical things, the actual story of Max, Izzy, and Iggy is absolutely delightful! I read this with my six-year-old son who said his favorite part was that it was Max’s birthday and they were on a type of scavenger hunt for his best pal. Even without the pictures, he was able to fully enjoy the mini adventure that we were taken on with the siblings. I have already told Catherine that I would love to purchase an illustrated copy when it is available, and I encourage you all to do the same! This review can also be found at www.gatheringleavesreviews.blogspot.com.
  
• Killers and Demons on July 26, 2011
  
  If you are all about sweet little love stories and happy endings, Killers and Demons is not for you. But, if you want some gruesome, spine-chilling murders and merciless demons, look no further! Killers and Demons is a collection of five short stories about, you guessed it, twisted serial killers and disturbing demons. From Valentine’s slayings to callous, vindictive soul-hunters, A.F. Stewart gets it right! I was absolutely hooked from page one. Actually, make that the cover! Right away, you know what this book is all about, and you know it is going to be remarkable. Stewart has a fantastic writing style that gives the reader the haunting feel of the story immediately and portrays the terror of a full-length horror novel in just a few enthralling pages. Her characters are spot on, from the abrupt and heartless murderers of “Devoid,” “You Got to have Heart,” and “London, 1888” (which reminded me very much of Sweeny Todd) to her humanized yet pitiless demons in “Victorian Shadows” and “Advent of Night” (the latter two being my favorites). I highly recommend this collection of stories as a quick and entertaining piece—for more mature readers!
  
• The Docks on Aug. 29, 2011
  
  The Docks By: V.H. Folland ASIN: B0051BU0B2 Published May 14, 2011 by Ragged Angel Ltd Available Format: ebook My Rating: ★★★★☆ The Docks is a short crime novella about Harry, a recently released convict who is struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. When Harry agrees to a small act of arson, he quickly learns there’s more to the plan than he was told. When he takes drastic measures to rescue innocent lives, taking one not-so-innocent life in the process, he finds himself neck deep in trouble. He has to confess to burglary and acting in self-defense but is trying to avoid murder and terrorism charges. Harry quickly must learn who is on his side and who might still be out to get him before he finds himself behind bars once again. I really enjoyed this quick read. Despite his sordid past, Harry is a truly likable character. He obviously has some heart, saving the ship’s crew like he did and putting himself at risk of returning to prison. So he has to skirt the truth a bit to maintain his freedom and start rebuilding his good name—can you really blame him? Folland’s writing style is easy to follow, and I completely felt I was part of the action throughout the whole story. You know I’ve said it before, this sort of crime drama is not really my thing, but I’m finding I enjoy it just fine every now and then, especially when it is written as well as this. For such a short book, it is really fleshed out like a full novel, which obviously takes some writing skill! I definitely recommend The Docks for a fast, entertaining read! How else can you get a glimpse into a life of crime without ever having to pay a lawyer or wear an orange jumpsuit?
  
• Angel's Requiem on Sep. 11, 2011
  
  Angel’s Requiem By: Kate Kindle ISBN: 9781453859803 Published April 21, 2011 Available format: Paperback, ebook My Rating: ★★★★☆ Then the son of a wealthy art dealer is found dead in a New York fountain, it is quickly labeled suicide and the body is immediately buried. Aiden Bonner, an ex-detective turned insurance fraud investigator, realizes that things just aren’t quite what they should be. Experts from across the country are brought in to exhume the body and re-investigate, proving Bonner’s suspicions accurate. Soon, Bonner and the Nasi family’s lawyer, Libby, are on a mission to get to the bottom of things, taking them around the world and far back in history. Will they live to discover the truth? I received a copy of Angel’s Requiem for review. There are quite a few characters in this story, and sometimes it might be difficult to keep up. There is also a lot of background information and several different detailed explanations, particularly regarding the family history and that of the art and religion involved. I think my being a bit of a history lover (and also having a fondness for epic lit), I really enjoyed the large troupe all the extras in the story. I can see how someone who might pick this up for a bit of light reading might quickly find themselves overwhelmed. The core story, however, is fantastic. Again, murder mystery isn’t necessarily my thing. This is the third sort of “crime” novel I have read/reviewed recently, and I have enjoyed them all. It just isn’t something I want to read every day. I liked how Kate didn’t inundate me with all sorts of technical criminal investigation trivia. Even regarding the coroner/medical examiner, there was just enough tech speak to keep it believable without completely boring me to death. Same goes for the detectives and crime scenes. There was a fair bit of action, drama, and even some romance in the story. Obviously, there are murders, some harder to handle than others (I won’t spoil it for you!). There are definitely some interesting relationships evolving, both familial and romantic. I do wish there was a bit more substance to Dave and Libby’s relationship. It just seemed like they instantly fell in love and then suddenly they kind of related to each other like an old married couple. I just felt like I wanted a little more chemistry between them somehow. Aidan obviously is attracted to Libby as well, but I couldn’t decide at what point he conceded to Dave. I think maybe a quick edit might be able to resolve these inconsistences or holes that I found from time to time. Honestly, I think this one novel could be broken into two or three or even more! There is so much substance here. Kate obviously has a deep well of creativity to draw from. There is no doubt she loves her characters, even minor ones. They all have rich, unique backgrounds and tie in nicely with the rest of the story. I can easily see how she could write solely about the Nasi family or Aidan (which I believe she is doing). One of my favorite parts of the novel was the background story of Cal and Ian, which would also make a terrific stand-alone piece! I am truly looking forward to more of Kate’s fantastic work. Grab yourself a copy of Angel’s Requiem and immerse yourself in a world of crime and culture!
  
• A Singular Gift on Nov. 16, 2011
  
  A Singular Gift By: Sue Santore ISBN: 2940011446368 Published July 31, 2011 Available Format: ebook My Rating: ★★★★★ Bonnie Jean Ryan’s grandmother is dying and passes down a very important gift—a gift that will cause Jean to grow up quite quickly. It will be up to her to hastily learn her magic, suppress the darkness, and win a very important battle between good and evil. Along the way, Jean is sure to learn some very significant lessons about friendship, family, selflessness, and love. This is a fantastic coming-of-age story, with a plethora of little life lessons peppered throughout. In the beginning, it might appear that Jean is kind of a spoiled little brat, in a way. She is obviously the favorite of the dying matriarch and many in her family envy her for that. But, could any of them have shouldered the burden that is placed upon her with her grandmother’s final gift? I think not. Beneath the superficial, Jean is really an old soul with a big heart, albeit a confused one at times. She is sometimes easily influenced, and that has brought about some big problems in her life. Overcoming this vulnerability is one of the major themes of this story. Not only is it wrong to side with evil, sitting back and doing nothing to fight it is just as bad. I am truly impressed with this story. Sue does such a wonderful job of getting into the head of a young teen and making her life and the lives of those around her so completely believable in the midst of so much fantasy. The book is very clean and great for the younger side of young adults—no language or mature situations to worry about. It reminded me at times of a little Chronicles of Narnia, with the magic hallway bit, especially when they venture into the Winter Room. The writing is spot on and the plot was fleshed out beautifully. I adopted A Singular Gift and Sue as part of Adopt an Indie month. I am honored to have been able to read and review this delightful novel!
  
• Kiwi in Cat City on March 04, 2012
  
  Kiwi in Cat City By: Vickie Johstone AISN: B004YKSZMM Published April 28, 2011 Available Format: ebook My Rating: ★★★★★ Goodreads Synopsis: Amy and James live in a house with their parents and their little black cat, Kiwi. One dark night, Amy cannot sleep and she looks out of the window into the garden to see Kiwi transfixed by the moon, which has taken on a weird, glowing shape like a cat's claw. Waking her brother, Amy suggests they follow Kiwi that night to see where she goes... whether it involves a hunt for mice or something else. Little do they know that, with a flick of her tail, Kiwi is going to lead them on the adventure of their lives to a land they never knew existed in their wildest dreams. In the blue-lit world of Cat City, they gain an understanding of what it's really like to be a cat. There they will be asked to help Inspector Furrball solve the mystery of the missing catizens and find out exactly what happened to Madame Purrfect. This book is the first in a series of adventures. Yes, this is a children’s book, but don’t let that fool you into believing that it is any less entertaining for adults! I hung on every word of this fantastic little novel, from Amy and James’ home through Cat Crime and back again. Kiwi and her cat friends are super fun characters, and the reader gets to go along with the children for a grand adventure. Vickie has a terrific imagination and truly amazing talent in putting her vision into words. As we were getting ready for the blog feature, Vickie asked me who my favorite character was, and after some thought I decided it was Inspector Furrball. He has that intelligent quirkiness to him that makes him fun and relatable. There were a ton of cute, funny things throughout this book which kept the mystery from bogging it down too much. Each of the characters had their own unique personality, even the city itself. Due to time constraints, I haven’t read this one with my kids yet, but it is definitely on our to-read-together list. I’ve already purchased the other two books as well, and I am anxious to revisit Kiwi and Cat City again!
  
• Kiwi and the Missing Magic on March 04, 2012
  
  Kiwi and the Missing Magic (Kiwi Series #2) By: Vickie Johnstone AISN: B005AL3D7Q Published July 4, 2011 Available Format: ebook My Rating: ★★★★★ In Kiwi in Cat City, we were introduced to the magical world of Kiwi and her friends in Cat City. For the second installment of the series, Amy and James join Kiwi in the city again, and there is, naturally, another mystery to solve. This time, the city is suddenly threatened by a giant mouse, and it is up to the gang to find out how he got into Cat City and what exactly he is doing there. In addition, some of the Magic is missing, which could be extremely dangerous for all the catizens. Some old friends are revisited while some new, super cute characters are introduced to round out this highly entertaining, furry fun adventure. You won’t want to miss it! I have been dying to jump into book two of the Kiwi series since I finished Kiwi in Cat City a couple months ago. I was absolutely not disappointed, of course. Kiwi is such great fun, and it is interesting to see this new world through the eyes of Amy and James as they transform into cats and must integrate themselves into the feline society. I thought it was such a great idea to bring James’ hamster into the group to help them solve this new mystery. I admit, I was a bit thrown off in the beginning when we meet the bees, but later in the story I saw how that tied into what was going on in Cat City, so all was well again. Other than that little bit of temporary confusion, there was absolutely nothing wrong with this adorable story! I love the personalities of each and every one of the characters, and there is always something neat to learn about what happens in the fantastical city. It is always great, also, to find a good children’s/YA series that adults can fully enjoy as well. It is a great story to share with your children or just keep for yourself if you are so inclined! I can’t wait to see what is next for Ms. Kiwi and the kittens. Maybe it won’t take me two months to dive into Kiwi and the Living Nightmare!
  
• Conditioned Response (Phoenician #2) on April 20, 2012
  
  I have had the immense pleasure of working with Friday on this lovely novel. She swears it is cursed, but I say great things come to those who… toil… endure… a lot… I know she has been looking forward to the release of Conditioned Response for a very, very long time, and I am happy to be a part of the process. I’m not much for reading the same book more than once. I do it occasionally for some of my favorites, and I obviously have to read what I edit or proofread more than once, but Conditioned Response is something that can definitely be read again and again. This is a long novel, which is common for a lot of sci-fi or epic fantasies and the like, but you never really feel like it is taking a long time. You get so absorbed in the story, in the lives of these characters, that you can’t do anything but hang on every word and eagerly turn every page wanting even more. At the end, 230,000 words in, I was STILL sad it was over. Every character is fleshed out so well, even the more minor characters. There is so much depth to each one of them and they each have their own story, sometimes only briefly touched, but you get to know every one of them in some way. This is very hard for an author to do, and Friday does an amazing job. This is one of the most intriguing, action-packed, and emotionally charged novels I have read in a long time. I was sympathetic. I was angry. I laughed, a lot. I cried, quite a bit. I dreamt about the story. I thought about the characters even when I was not reading. I was hooked. What more can you ask out of a book—a piece of literary art?? Anything that can make you feel—anything—is a success. And Friday has a huge success on her hands. I wish her the very best with this and all of her writing endeavors.
  
• When Minds Collide (Phoenician Short #0.1) on Aug. 02, 2012
  
  When Minds Collide (A Phoenician Series Short Story) by Marjorie F. Baldwin Published August 1, 2012 ISBN: 9781476235936 Available Format: ebook My Rating: ★★★★★ When Minds Collide is a bit of a short story preview into the world of the Phoenician Series and Conditioned Response. Not only do we get a little intro to the planet where Earth's inhabitants are now living, we get a peek at the Phoenicians and their creatures, and a major look into the lives of William Harrington and Andrew Caine right when their lives truly changed forever. Having already read Conditioned Response (find my review and an interview with Friday HERE), I really enjoyed getting to go back and get the more in depth story of Will and Drew and Joshua Scherrer—basically where it all began. It really makes me curious how things play out between this story and the beginning of book two. Of course, I would love for the story to be longer (though Friday admits it is really a short novella instead of a short story ☺), but it is a great little taste of the series for anyone who might not be sure if this will be their cup of tea. As always, Friday's writing style is easy and she is fantastic with the details that really make a story shine. Readers are immediately drawn in and find themselves fully invested in the lives of the characters. The pacing is perfect and the sci-fi/fantasy aspect is completely believable from start to finish. You can snag this story FREE on Smashwords right now, so you have no excuse not to give this series a try! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/209623 While you're there, go ahead and purchase Conditioned Response, because if you haven't read it already, you will definitely want to when you finish When Minds Collide! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/150558