About The Well-Tempered City
• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Harper Wave (September 13, 2016)

In the vein of Jane Jacobs’s The Death and Life of Great American Cities and Edward Glaeser’s Triumph of the City, Jonathan F. P. Rose—a visionary in urban development and renewal—champions the role of cities in addressing the environmental, economic, and social challenges of the twenty-first century.
Cities are birthplaces of civilization; centers of culture, trade, and progress; cauldrons of opportunity—and by 2080 will be home to 80 percent of the world’s population. As the twenty-first century progresses, metropolitan areas will bear the brunt of global megatrends such as climate change, natural resource depletion, population growth, income inequality, mass migration, and education and health disparity, among many others.
In The Well-Tempered City, Jonathan F. P. Rose—the man who “repairs the fabric of cities”—distills a lifetime of interdisciplinary research and firsthand experience into a five-pronged model for designing and reshaping cities with the goal of equalizing their landscape of opportunity. Drawing from the musical concept of “temperament,” Rose argues that well-tempered cities can be infused with systems that bend the arc of their development toward equality, resilience, adaptability, and well-being, to achieve ever-unfolding harmony between civilization and nature. While these goals may never be fully attained, if we at least aspire to them, and approach every plan and constructive step with this intention, our cities will be richer and happier.
A celebration of the city and an impassioned argument for its role in addressing important issues in these volatile times, The Well-Tempered City is a well-reasoned, hopeful blueprint for a thriving metropolis—and the future.


Purchase Links
​HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review: 
Our cities and suburban areas are in trouble.  With the growth of the human population, we have overused resources, thrown off our balance with nature and created infrastructure that cuts people off from food, recreation and supplies that further intensifies racial and economic divides.   Jonathan F.P. Rose offers insight into how to begin to fix the problem and examples of how the tenets of his model are presently working in cities around the globe.  Beginning from the rise of the community in human history, the principles of Coherence, Circularity, Resilience, Community and Compassion are explored in the context of a well-run, harmonious city.
As an environmental scientist I am always very interested in sustainability and balance.  Within cities, this has always been something that seemed difficult to achieve, yet these were two strong themes throughout the book.  I enjoyed that Rose used music and the circle of fifths as inspiration for an organizational model.  I also enjoyed reading about specific civilizations throughout history were examined for their connections to the natural world.  Climate change is a big factor for restructuring our cities; this is a driving force for change and connected each of the principles well.  I was very impressed about how interested I was in each section, The Well-Tempered City was easy to read and kept up the pace by weaving together stories and data.  Most of all The Well-Tempered City creates a plan to fix what we have spent lifetimes breaking as well as important questions to ask ourselves about how we would like to live.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

​About Jonathan F. P. Rose

JONATHAN F. P. ROSE works with cities and not-for-profits to plan and build affordable and mixed-income housing and cultural, health, and educational centers. Recognized for creating communities that literally heal both residents and neighborhoods, Rose is one of the nation’s leading thinkers on the integration of environmental, social, and economic solutions to issues facing cities today.

For his work as founder of the investment, development, and urban planning firm Jonathan Rose Companies, he has received awards from the Urban Land Institute, the American Institute of Architects, the American Planning Association, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, among many others. With Diana Calthorpe Rose, he is cofounder of the Garrison Institute and the creator of its Climate Mind and Behavior program.
Find out more about Rose and The Well-Tempered City at www.welltemperedcity.com.

About the Book: 

Title: Twain’s End
Author: Lynn Cullen
Genre: Historical
Now in paperback for the first time from the national bestselling author of Mrs. Poe, Lynn Cullen, comes TWAIN’S END (Gallery Books; June 7, 2016; Trade Paperback; $16.00), a fictional imagining of America’s iconic writer Mark Twain and the woman who knew him too well.
In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both, wrote a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair, and then—with his daughter, Clara Clemens—slandered Isabel in the newspapers, erasing her nearly seven years of devoted service to their family.
In TWAIN’S END, Lynn Cullen “cleverly spins a mysterious, dark, tale” (Booklist) about the tangled relationship between Twain and Lyon. A silenced woman, Isabel’s loyal service and innocence were not enough to combat the slander, and she has gone down in history as the villainess who swindled Twain in his final years. She never rebutted Twain’s claims, never spoke badly of the man she called “The King,” and kept her silence until she died in 1958. How did Lyon go from being the beloved secretary who ran Twain’s life to a woman he was determined to destroy? TWAIN’S END explains.



Review:
Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain was not only an amazing author, but quite the character.  Throughout his life he amassed quite a number of admirers, none more than those who were close to him- including many of his female staff.  In his later years, Samuel Clemens employed Isabel Lyon as a secretary for his ailing wife.  Soon, Isabel became Samuel’s constant companion and his own personal secretary.  It does not take much to see that the relationship between the two has grown.  However, a year before Samuel’s death, he blesses the marriage of Isabel and Ralph Ashcroft, his business manager only to besmirch their reputations one month later in an elongated written rant. 
I love learning more about the lives of authors that I admire.  I really didn’t know much about the man behind Mark Twain other than the fact that he piloted a riverboat and that he came in and went out along with Hailey’s comet.  Lynn Cullen has taken much of her account for Twain’s End from the diary of Isabel Lyon.  The writing creates a tense back and forth, cat and mouse game between Samuel and Isabel.   The overall feeling that is created is tense and a little uncomfortable, especially if you would prefer to keep Mark Twain in a positive light.  Isabel was quite intriguing, especially as she tried to do her best to keep herself distant from the man she knew she should not get involved with.  As she became more and more entwined with the family, this became more and more difficult and eventually led Samuel to believe different about her.   One of the things I found most interesting was Samuel’s relationship with his wife and daughters; I really knew nothing about Olivia, Jean, Clara and Susie.  Olivia is still a little of a mystery to me, she was ailing through most of her time throughout the book, but no one seemed to know why.  However, the mutual love between Samuel and Olivia was still evident even through his indiscretions.  One of the most colorful characters for me was Isabel’s mother, always scheming, always putting her nose in other’s business and terribly worried about Isabel’s marriage prospects, a perfect busybody.  Overall, a suspenseful, surprising and insightful tale about a different view of one of America’s greatest authors.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Book: 
Flight Club is a call to rebel, reinvent, and thrive! The book shares the journey of women who "leaned out" of corporate to launch their dream business.

Felena Hanson, founder of Hera Hub, shares her personal story and rise to entrepreneurship. The book also features the journeys of and advice from six courageous female entrepreneurs: Debby Eubank, Linda O'Keefe, Lorin Beller, Sara Clark-Williams, Deirdre Maloney, and MaryCay Durrant. Each shares an exercise to help you craft your flight path.

The final section of the book includes access to an online platform (www.StepsToStartup.com) which walks you through 17 foundational steps of launching a business. Book buyers will receive three months free access!

This book is for you if ...
You are tired of building someone else's dream
You want to pursue your passion as a career
You are over the corporate politics
You want more control of your time and life
You don't want to build your dream business alone!

Learn more at
www.FlightClubBook.com
and www.Facebook.com/FlightClubBook

​Buy the Book :  Amazon  ​

About the Author: 
Felena is a long-time entrepreneur and marketing maven. Her latest venture, Hera Hub, is a spa-inspired shared workspace and community for female entrepreneurs. This as-needed, flexible work and meeting space provides a productive environment for growing businesses. Hera Hub members have access to a professional space to meet with clients and to connect and collaborate with like-minded business owners, thus giving them the support they need to be prosperous. The company has three locations in San Diego, one in Washington DC, and continues to grow nationally via a licensing model. Her goal is to support over 20,000 women in the launch and growth of their business by 2020. Felena and Hera Hub have been featured in Inc Magazine, the BBC News, Forbes, and the New York Times. She is a published author and international speaker. Her book, “Flight Club – Rebel, Reinvent, and Thrive: How to Launch Your Dream Business” is available on Amazon.

Connect with the author:  Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook  ~  Instagram

​Guest Post by Felena Hanson!
Top 10 signs that you may be ready to start your own business by Felena Hanson

1. You feel stuck. You've hit a wall and are no longer fulfilled by your job.
2. You’re passionate. It's not just a good idea; it's what you feel you were put on this earth to do! You start to tell everyone you know—even your mother-in-law! You want to build your dream!
3. You’re independent. You would rather blaze your own trail rather than following the herd. You've always been the girl that zigged when others zagged.
4. You are determined. Let’s say you have an idea but everyone is telling you it can’t be done. What are you going to do about this situation? This experience might be motivation enough for you to try to one-up the naysayers.
5. You want to leave a legacy. You aspire to live a bigger life, to make an impact, to make your presence known. As they say, if you're not building your own dream, you're building someone else's.
6. You want to control your time. Maybe you're most productive from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m., or perhaps you're a night owl. Maybe you want to be at your daughter's soccer practice at 3 p.m. or your son's acting classes at 4 p.m. Instead of being told when to work and when to take breaks or a vacation, you could finally determine your schedule.
7. You don’t mind getting your hands dirty. You'll have to do plenty of grunt work as a new business owner. It’s not always enjoyable, but you find it rewarding to see the fruits of your labor.
8. You can multitask. This is part of the reason women make great entrepreneurs. If you’re one of those who doesn’t collapse under the pressure of multitasking, then you’re already on your way. 
9. You're not afraid of failure. You will fail daily as a business owner. Get used to it. It's the failures that teach you the most valuable lessons. You understand that failure is temporary. You are determined to make it happen and resilient when you get knocked down.
10. You’re a born leader. Having a great idea is one thing. Being able to communicate that idea and convince others to jump on board is another. If you have the leadership skills to round up the troops and motivate them, consider starting your own venture.

​About Hidden Figures
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (September 6, 2016)
The phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA whose calculations helped fuel some of America’s greatest achievements in space. Soon to be a major motion picture starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kirsten Dunst, and Kevin Costner.
Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as “human computers” used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space.
Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South’s segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America’s aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam’s call, moving to Hampton, Virginia and the fascinating, high-energy world of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.
Even as Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white counterparts, the women of Langley’s all-black “West Computing” group helped America achieve one of the things it desired most: a decisive victory over the Soviet Union in the Cold War, and complete domination of the heavens.
Starting in World War II and moving through to the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement and the Space Race, Hidden Figures follows the interwoven accounts of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Christine Darden, four African American women who participated in some of NASA’s greatest successes. It chronicles their careers over nearly three decades they faced challenges, forged alliances and used their intellect to change their own lives, and their country’s future.

​Purchase Links
​HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Reivew: 
Time and time again I am amazed at the absolutely astounding women that have shaped history and yet are left out of our textbooks.  Hidden Figures focuses on five of the many, many African-American women that worked at NACA (The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, before it became NASA) as human computers.  Intelligent, hard-working, motivated women who knew the ins and outs of mathematical computations and equations better than the male engineer that got paid far more after receiving their work, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, and Gloria Champine are finally highlighted for the work they accomplished helping the USA win World War II, the Cold War and the Space Race, not to mention their strides in women’s rights and racial relations during segregation. 
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I absolutely love learning about strong, smart women who have positively influenced the way we live.  Hidden Figures did a terrific job of bringing forward these few women who played such a big role in science and technology.  Author Margot Lee Shetterly had the advantage of knowing these women growing up; and she provides unique insight as well as an incredible amount of research to bring the women’s personal and work life out into the open.  One of the most interesting things that were brought up was in the prologue; when Shetterly remembers walking through NASA and seeing teams of African American women working on mathematical equations; furthermore, this was completely normal to her- women were good at math and African American women were employed for their skills.  When did this change?  Why are women so afraid of math now? And how can we get this back?  Another compelling point made was surrounding segregation.  While separate but equal was a sham, these women just worked harder and when white colleges didn’t accept them or other brilliant teachers, African American colleges were formed and Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, Christine and Gloria were just a few of the women who earned an education there.  I loved the stories of these women making a stand against segregation in their workplace and communities, from the cafeteria to the bathrooms and the communities where they lived, the protests for equal treatment made a big difference.  Most of all however, I enjoyed reading about the breakthroughs that came out of all the computations achieved.  Where would we be if not for Dorothy, Mary, Katherine, Christine, Gloria and the scores of other women employed at NACA?  Overall, an important read that finally gives some of the recognition due to the pioneers of out flight and space exploration history.
 
I received this book for review from HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.

​About Margot Lee Shetterly
Margot Lee Shetterly grew up in Hampton, Virginia, where she knew many of the women in Hidden Figures. She is an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow and the recipient of a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities grant for her research on women in computing. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Find out more about Margot at her website and connect with her on Twitter.

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Review: 
Everything in Carly’s life is going pretty well; she is engaged to a wonderful guy, James, and they are celebrating their three year anniversary.  For their anniversary, they decide on a picnic in the country.  Carly chooses a hill with a very unique tree; a tree with white bark and deep red leaves.  Carly and James picnic under the tree and Carly takes some photographs.  When she gets home, the trouble begins.  In half of the photos, Carly has no eyes.  The problem persists, cell phone photos- no eyes, engagement photos- no eyes.  Then Carly begins to see spirits, have vivid dreams and waking hallucinations.  Her symptoms only seem to get better when she begins to look into the events from her dreams.  Carly has to work fast though, the spirits are getting upset and James isn’t so sure of their relationship anymore.
 
This was a haunting and quick read, perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit.  This was a slow build, part physiological, part ghostly horror as Carly’s life disintegrates little by little.  Carly’s character was an amazingly normal person, who wanted to continue being a normal person, she even continued to do her normal activities as best she could while the spirit was trying to communicate with her.  None of Carly’s common life bothered me; however, the writing sometimes tried too hard to convey this with mentioning such things as Carly having to press ‘ok’ to get the pictures off her drive from the computer or paying $4.38 for snacks.  Anyway, I was really interested in the spirits that were haunting Carly, it seemed obvious what the spirit wanted her to do, but I wanted to know more about the spirit’s life and his past.  We find out a little through Carly’s research and some dreams, but I wanted to be taken back to the 1920’s for a little bit longer.  I thought I had the ending all figured out, but there is a twist and a cliffhanger at the end!
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Book: 
Flossy is the bossiest girl around. She's bossy at home and she's bossy in school. She's bossy to her friends and she's bossy to her cat. Sometimes she's even bossy to her teacher! Flossy doesn't understand why no one will listen to her. One day, Flossy meets Edward, a boy who may be just as bossy as she is. Has Flossy finally met her match?

Buy the Book:

Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository, Chapters Indigo


Review: 

Flossy is a young girl who bosses everyone around.  She tells them what to do and how to do it; she definitely has the best way.  She bosses everyone from her cat to her mother.  However, when Flossy meets a new student, Edward, she seems to have met her match.  Edward begins to boss Flossy around they will figure out on their own how to change for the better.
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Bossy Flossy is a fun book that has a great message for kids and adults.   Instead of just telling kids that bossing around others is bad, the natural consequences are shown, Flossy doesn’t seem to have many friends and nobody seems to listen to her.  I also loved that together Flossy and Edward figured out their flaw and decided to overcome their bossiness through suggestions instead.  Flossy has an important message for parents too; she is always saying that no one ever listens to her and this is a gentle reminder to parents that kids challenging behaviors may have an underlying reason.  Bright, vibrant and fun illustrations brought Flossy’s world to life and I loved the diversity of her classmates.
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author: 
Paulette Bogan admits she was bossy as a child. She is the author and illustrator of Virgil & Owen, which was chosen as one of Bank Street Best Children's books of the Year 2016, Virgil & Owen Stick Together, which won a Mom's Choice Award Gold Medal for Picture Books, and Lulu The Big Little Chick, which won a Children's Choice Book Award. She lives in New York City with her husband, three daughters, and two dogs. They ALL think she is STILL bossy. But they've never told her to go to her room!

Connect with the author: Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook

About the Book:

Publication Date: May 20, 2016
eBook; ASIN: B01FZQ80F0
Series: The Goddess Diaries #1
Genre: Fantasy/Mythology/Paranormal/Romance


Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, still walks the modern world. No longer thronged by worshipers, Aphrodite heals the bodies and souls of the men she touches, one man, one night, at a time. But not everyone thinks of her as a long-dead myth. Someone is stalking her. The men who have hunted her kind as witches for centuries have passed their hatred on to their sons.
As she flees her enemies and tries to warn her sisters of the danger facing them once again, Aphrodite is followed by one of the members of the Brotherhood, a man who has been given the task of killing her, and any of her sisters who cross his path. But it does not take her long to discover that Steven Wharton is not a murderer, and his soul is one she has known before.
In this paranormal romance, a goddess’s past is brought to life, from the Greek city of Corinth to the shores of the island of Cyprus, at the court of Versailles to the burning city of Persepolis. But it is not until she meets Steve that Aphrodite falls in love for the first time. As she faces an ancient enemy, Aphrodite discovers that the love she feels, not the love she gives, is the root of her soul. And that love might even be the path to her freedom…

​
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Review: 
Aphrodite has walked the Earth for 9000 years.  Through Egypt, Crete, Kyrios, Paris,  she has been known by many names.  She was placed on Earth to serve the Mother by spreading the blessing.  By sleeping with different men, Aphrodite is able to heal them, however, the men always forget about her in the morning.  Throughout time Aphrodite has met several men who she has felt that she truly loved,  but she is unable to continue a relationship due to the nature of her blessing.  Also, throughout time Aphrodite and her sisters have been hunted by those who believe that her blessing is witchcraft, calling themselves the Brotherhood of Light.  Now, in Boston Aphrodite, who goes by Addy, is being hunted by the newest member of the Brotherhood, Steve.  Steve is being threatened by the Brotherhood that if he does not kills Addy his family will be destroyed.  Only Steve does not see any evil or malice in Addy, he sees something deeper, something that goes back thousands of years.
​
I absolutely loved the idea of the Gods and Goddesses still roaming the Earth completing their missions.  Aphrodite’s choice is a unique blend of mythology, history and suspense.  Aphrodite’s story was extremely interesting due to how her blessing had to be given.  For her, sex truly is power, the power to heal; and she has healed countless times over her years.  However, the Goddess of love can never truly love since the men will forget her after they are intimate; and, of course this is the one thing that Aphrodite wants the most.  I enjoyed being able to see Aphrodite’s work blended into history in Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Cyprus , Persepolis and  then Versailles 1789 During the March of Versailles  and Paris 1944 during World War II.  Adventure, suspense and intrigue kicks in full gear as Steve and the Brotherhood are introduced.  I knew there was something special about Steve right away, but I could have never guessed the connection that he and Aphrodite share.  A sweet ending wraps up Aphrodite’s story and I cannot wait to read more about her sisters in upcoming Goddess Diaries. 
 
This book was received for free in return for an honest review. 

About the Author

Ever since Christy English picked up a fake sword in stage combat class at the age of fourteen, she has lived vicariously through the sword-wielding women of her imagination. Sometimes an actor, always a storyteller, Christy works happily with Sourcebooks Casablanca to bring the knife-throwing women of her novels to life. A banker by day and a writer by night, she loves to eat chocolate, drink too many soft drinks, and walk the mountain trails of her home in western North Carolina.
Please visit her at http://www.ChristyEnglish.com.
​You can also find Christy on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest.