Review - Twelve Houses by Olga Soaje

Title: Twelve Houses by Olga Soaje

Publisher: Creatspace

Publication Date: November 28th, 2013 

Paperback/Hardcover: 262

Genre: Women's Literature

Find it at: Goodreads 

Summary:  

Can anything good follow the best thing that ever happened to you?
Amelia Weiss loved her husband of thirty-five years very much, but now he’s left her a widow. Without him, she is unable to work in her sculpture studio without crying. She no longer has a bridge to her estranged daughter. And she can’t seem to keep her mind in the present.

But when her daughter reaches out asking for her help and her agent threatens a lawsuit if Amelia doesn’t deliver for an upcoming exhibit, she’s forced to make a choice. Will she reengage with her life and the people in it—allowing room for things to be different than they were before? Or, will she remain stuck in the past, choosing her memories over real-life relationships?

Thrust fully into the present, Amelia stumbles into a surprising journey of self-discovery

Review:   

I have received this book as part of a blog tour in exchange of an honest review.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Twelve Houses but I definitely ended up enjoying the book.

After losing her husband Amelia’s life changes completely and she is forced to learn how to live and go on without him.

Amelia is the main character and she is forced to learn how to move on after a big loss. She has to learn how to deal with the people around her, including her daughter and decide how she wants her life to be.

Amelia has a lot to deal with and, even if I didn’t always agree with her I could understand her. Her struggles seem real as do her emotions.

All in all, I enjoyed Twelve Houses and thought it’s a realistic story about life’s struggles. The book is well-written and interesting,

If you are a fan of women’s literature you should definitely read this book!

Rating:   Worth Your Time (4 Stars)

Book Excerpt - Twelve Houses by Olga Soaje

Title: Twelve Houses

Author: Olga Soaje

Release date: November 28^th, 2013

Genre: Women’s Literature

Tour: Irresistible Reads Book Tours

Book Description:

Can anything good follow the best thing that ever happened to you?
Amelia Weiss loved her husband of thirty-five years very much, but now he’s left her a widow. Without him, she is unable to work in her sculpture studio without crying. She no longer has a bridge to her estranged daughter. And she can’t seem to keep her mind in the present.

But when her daughter reaches out asking for her help and her agent threatens a lawsuit if Amelia doesn’t deliver for an upcoming exhibit, she’s forced to make a choice. Will she reengage with her life and the people in it—allowing room for things to be different than they were before? Or, will she remain stuck in the past, choosing her memories over real-life relationships?

Thrust fully into the present, Amelia stumbles into a surprising journey of self-discovery.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19072504-twelve-houses?ac=1

 Book Excerpt

About the Author:

In my novel Twelve Houses, I tell the story of a widow who discovers that her life story is far from over. Amelia is a brave woman who struggles to find her true place in the world and at the same time to create a life that holds spiritual meaning and purpose. Though my first book, Borrowing My Mother’s Saints, was a comedy set in New York, I think both books describe a similar spiritual journey. I always consider the spiritual aspects of a character’s story as I write.

 I love to hear from my readers.

Tour Schedule

Schedule: http://bit.ly/1fJ5I3U

2014 First In A Series Reading Challenge

Sign-up for the challenge here.

2014 1st In A Series Challenge

Here are the challenge details:

1. This challenge will run from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014.

2. You can join the challenge at any time. All books read during the challenge period count for the challenge, regardless of when you sign up.

3. This challenge can cross-over to your other reading challenges.

4. You do not need a blog to participate! If you are not a blogger, you can post your reviews at Goodreads, Shelfari, or LibraryThing and link them up here.

5. All formats of books are acceptable: Bound copies, e-books, and audiobooks (unabridged only). 

6. There are four levels for the challenge:

a. Series Novice: Read 5 books that are first in a series.

b. Series Lover: Read 10 books that are first in a series.

c. Series Expert: Read 20 books that are first in a series.

d. Series Fanatic: Read 30 books that are first in a series.

7. When you write your sign-up post, you must choose your level. You can go up, but you cannot go down!

8. There will be a link-up for your reviews, which will be posted on THIS page.

9. There will be a link for your wrap-up post at the end of the challenge, which will be posted on THIS page. 

10. Create a sign-up post and link back to this post. Sign up with Mister Linky below! Be sure to use the direct url to your sign-up post and not the url to your blog.

 

 

For now, I'll try to complete level 2 - Series Lover:

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2014 Debut Author Reading Challenge

Sign-up for the challenge here.

Challenge Objectives

• To introduce reader to the awesomeness of debut authors and their books!
• To challenge readers to discover and read 12 books by debut authors!

Challenge Rules & Guidelines

• You must have place to post your thoughts on the books you’ve read for the challenge. Be it a blog, goodreads account, youtube page, tumblr, amazon account, etc.
• Due to past demand there will be no deadline to join the challenge, but please be sure to give yourself enough time to complete the challenge.
• The 2014 debuts must be read between January 1, 2014 – January 31, 2015. The extra month is to allow participants time to read December debuts.
• Each review equals one entry into the monthly prize packs.

Book Guidelines

• must be a young adult, middle grade or new adult title.
• must be the authors ya/mg/na debut, released in 2014.*

Books Read:
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2014 Cruisin' Thru The Cozies Reading Challenge

I love a good mystery so, of course, I had to sign up for this challenge! You an do it aslso, here.

To find out exactly what a cozy mystery is, check out Cozy-Mystery.com. This site is dedicated to cozy mysteries and does a great job of defining them as well as giving a list of cozy mysteries. This challenge is NOT restricted to what is on their list, it's just to be used as a guideline in case you need some hints on what to read.
So, here are the rules...
 

1. Choose the level you wish to participate:
Level 1 - Snoop - Read at least 6 books
Level 2 - Investigator - Read 7-12 books
Level 3 - Super Sleuth - Read 13-20 books
LEVEL 4 - Sleuth Extraordinaire - Read 20 or more

2. The challenge runs from January 1, 2014 and ends December 31, 2014.
3. You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.
4. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!
5. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists. NOTE: If you don't have a blog and want to participate, that's fine. You don't have to have a blog, just post in the comments section as you finish books. If you belong to a site like Goodreads and review the books there, that's fine too. Just leave us the link.  I also have a group for this challenge on Goodreads and you can sign up by clicking here.
6. Take the button above, put it on your blog and post about the challenge. Then add your name to Mr. Linky below. Please use the link of your challenge post, not the link to your home page.

I signed up for Level 1 - Snoop:

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2014 Romance Reading Challenge

I love a good romance so I definitely had to sign up for this challenge.

You can sign up here.

1. The challenge runs from January 1st, 2014 through December 31st, 2014.
2. "Romance" isn't limited to steamy Harlequin novels. There is a huge selection of books in this category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, new adult romance, romantic suspense and paranormal romance to name a few. As long as the story has romantic love between the two main characters your selection will fit this challenge. The novels do not need to have a happy ending either, there can also be unrequited love.
3. Choose at least 5 novels to read. You can change your choices at any time. Crossovers between other challenges are fine.
All kinds of books count, ebooks and audiobooks as well. Re-reads are fine, no ARC's or review request copies. The books you read for the challenge should be books you choose as personal reads, not books that are review requests from authors or publicists. Books you request for yourself are fine...i.e. NetGalley books.4. Read your book selections at your own pace in 2014 then post the link to your review(s). You don't need to have a blog, posting your reviews on Goodreads and LibraryThing counts as well. If you do have a blog and are joining us, please consider linking back to this post either with text or with one of the buttons provided below to help spread the word.

Books Read:

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2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

You can sign up for this challenge here.


~ JANUARY 1, 2014 - DECEMBER 31, 2014 ~ Welcome to the 2nd Annual Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge! For this challenge I have chosen six key words associated with each month in 2014. Your task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month.
* The title you choose can be a variation on one of the key words. For example- your title could include the word 'snowing' or 'snowflake' even though the key word is 'snow.'
* Key words can be tweaked. For example- You could read "Cinder" or "Ashes" for the key word 'Fire' and that would be just fine. If the key word is 'family' then your title could include the word 'sister' or 'mother.'If the key word is 'food' then your title could include the word 'cake.'

MONTHLY KEY WORDS:

JAN- Angel, Secret, Clock, Black, Day, Wild

FEB- Her, Life, Night, Red, Dark, Island

MAR- Forever, Inside, Storm, Sky, Flower, Stay 

APR- Star, Light, Never, Princess, Break, Clear

MAY- Dawn, Death, End, Lost, Beautiful, And

JUN- Color, Beyond, Found, Place, Grave, Road

JUL- Crash, Ship, Prince, Whisper, Sun, Of

AUG- Forgotten, Down, True, Run, Danger, Me

SEP- Number, Take, Shadow, Ice, Who, After

OCT- Ocean, Blood, Still, Out, The, Fate

NOV- Into, Sound, Blue, House, My, Last

DEC- Kiss, Fire, Ruin, White, Promise, Infinity

 

 

Books Read:

2014 Series Enders Reading Challenge

You can sign up here.

Challenge Guidelines:

1) This challenge will run from January 1, 2014 until December 31, 2014.

2) Anyone can enter. You don’t have to have a blog just as long as you review your books somewhere: on your blog if you have one, Amazon, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc.

3) Any genre, length, or format is acceptable as long as it is the last book in a series where all books in the series have been published and no more books are currently intended to be published in the series. If an author makes a decision somewhere during the year to add on to the series, we will count both the original last book in the series and the “new last” book in the series assuming the author isn’t going to write more than one additional book. Last book published in a series doesn’t count if more books are expected to be published.

4) You can list your series enders ahead of time or do a singular wrap up post. If you decide to list them up front, feel free to change them throughout the year as necessary.

5) When you sign up in the linky, please use the direct link to your post about joining the 2014 Series Enders Reading Challenge. If you don’t have a blog, please post about it on Facebook or Twitter and include that direct link as your sign up.

6) You can sign up until December 15, 2014. This allows you to join the challenge at any time during the year.

7) On the 25th of every month, we will post a wrap up on both Somewhere Only We Know and Words Fueled by Love with a giveaway and a place for you to link up your reviews for the month. The monthly giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up (ex. From January 25th 2014, to February 25th 2014). For each link to a review, you will get an (1) entry into a drawing for that giveaway. This will be open internationally.

8) If you miss a wrap-up post and giveaway, you can link your review the next month. Please do not try to link to one review twice. We will be verifying these.

9) December will be the wrap up for the entire year. All reviews linked from January through December will be entered into a Grand Prize giveaway.

10) You don’t have to follow Somewhere Only We Know or Words Fueled by Love to participate in the challenge, but you do have to follow both of us in order to be entered in the giveaways.

Levels: (how many series enders you are planning to read)

Level 1: 1 – 5
Level 2: 5 – 10
Level 3: 10 – 15
Level 4: 15+ 

For now, I'll sign up for Level 1:

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