Downton Abbey: Season 5, Episode 8 (Season Finale)

What Happened (A Very  Short Summary)
This was an episode packed with plot developments.  Rose married Atticus, after much unwanted drama from her mother, Susan.  Mary had a moment of sadness about the household breaking up, as Rose moved on, Edith busied herself with baby Marigold, and Tom advanced his plans to move to Boston.  Robert realized that Marigold is his granddaughter.  Prince Kuragin suggested to Violet that they move forward as friends - and lovers.  Daisy considered moving to London, but decided to stay on until she finishes her studies.  Robert honored Mrs. Patmore's nephew with a war monument.  Anna was arrested for Mr. Green's murder.
 
Character of the Week
Rose is my choice, since she just got married, and the Rose-Atticus pairing is a true love match. 

Line of the Week
"Love may not conquer all, but it can conquer quite a lot." (the Dowager Countess)

"Oh My" Moment
Anna was in a Scotland Yard line up.   That is a sentence I never expected to type about this show!
 
What I Hope Will Happen Next
I am very curious to see what will happen next with Anna's arrest.  I wonder if Mr. Bates will "take the rap" and confess so she can walk free?   It seemed like he was hinting at that this episode.  I also am looking forward to seeing how the Dowager Countess responds to Prince Kuragin.  From the trailers, it looks like Mary may have a new man on the horizon - so of course that will be interesting as well.

What were your thoughts on this episode?  What do you hope to see in the Christmas episode, which airs next week?

Book Review and Giveaway: The Monster That Ate My Socks by A.J. Cosmo

Book Synopsis:

A young boy, who is about to be grounded for going through so many socks, discovers that a monster has been eating them.

Max is a young boy who is constantly getting in trouble for his socks disappearing. He doesn’t know where they go, but he does know that if he doesn’t do something quickly his mom will ground him for summer. Max soon discovers that a little green monster is sneaking into his room at night and eating his sweaty socks. His mother, of course, doesn't believe him, so Max calls on his best friend to come for a sleepover to catch the monster.

They devise a trap and capture the monster only to learn that the creature can speak. It hasn’t meant to cause any harm, it's just trying to feed its family. The monster shows them his home and his three little children and begs the boys not to turn them over to the adults. Adults, he says, want to destroy monsters.

The boys are left in a pickle. Allow the monsters to be and get grounded, or turn the monsters in knowing what will happen to them? Neither idea seems good, so they come up with a new plan!

My Review:
One of the most important questions I ask about any children's book is, "Is it fun to read?"  The Monster that Ate My Socks answers that question with a resounding "YES!"    Children will enjoy the adventures of Max as he discovers his missing and half-eaten socks and sets out to solve the mystery.  The monster in this book is a friendly creature who will pique imagination.

The book is fast paced, with lively writing.  The paragraphs are short, there is dialogue to engage young readers, and the descriptions are vivid.

The illustrations in this book are tremendous fun.  They are bold, with vivid colors, and they all feature the three-eyed monster.  The pictures really help move the story along.
 
This book is reading level 2.0.   Teachers and homeschooling families will love the lesson plan that is included.  The lesson plan includes new words, prediction questions, guiding questions, and word work.  

I heartily recommend this book for children who enjoy a lively book that they can read themselves.  This is a fun read that is sure to engage even reluctant readers.  

Author's Bio:

A.J. Cosmo's stories are crafted to help parents teach their children simple everyday lessons in an easy to understand manner. By artfully marrying beautiful illustrations and language, children are challenged to explore his magical worlds. Written for the transitional reader, A.J.'s stories allow your child to develop and master a new level of reading.

Connect with A.J.: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Where to buy the book:

Amazon

Giveaway:

Prizes: 2 Kindle Fire HD 16GB Open to USA & Canada.

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I received a copy of this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Book Spotlight and Giveaway: The Frailty of Things by Tamsen Schultz

The Frailty of Things
By Tamsen Schultz
Genre: Romantic Suspense

Book Blurb:

Independence. Kit Forrester is a woman who wears her independence like armor. Despite keeping secrets and hiding her past, she's built a life she loves and is accountable to no one. Until, that is, one of the world's most wanted war criminals sets his sights on her and she must weigh the risk to one against the chance of justice and closure for many-a decision Kit couldn't make on her own even if she wanted to.

Certainty. As a man who makes his living in the shadows of governments and wars, certainty isn't a part of Garret Cantona's vocabulary, and he's just fine with that. But when Kit walks into his life, he realizes he's never before been so sure about anything or anyone. Suddenly, he finds he's looking at the world, his world, in a different light. And now that he is, he's determined to protect it, and her, in whatever ways he can.

Frailty. No one knows better than Kit and Garret that an appreciation for
what is, or what was, or what might be, can be born from the uncertainty and fragility of life. But when a hunt for a killer leaves Garret no choice but to throw Kit back into her broken and damaged past, even his unshakable faith in what they have together might not be enough to keep it from shattering into a million pieces.

Author Bio:

Tamsen Schultz is the author of several romantic suspense novels and
American Kin (a short story published in Line Zero Magazine). In addition to being a writer, she has a background in the field of international conflict resolution, has co-founded a non-profit, and currently works in corporate America. Like most lawyers, she spends a disproportionate amount of time thinking (and writing) about what it might be like to do something else. She lives in Northern California in a house full of males including her husband, two sons, four cats, a dog, and a gender-neutral, but well-stocked, wine rack.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamsenSchultz
Twitter: @tamsenschultz
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tamsen-Schultz/e/B009NVIEGO
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/tamsens
Website: www.tamsenschultz.com

The author is giving away 3 $10 Amazon Gift Cards to 3 lucky readers!
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Downton Abbey - Season 5, Episode 7

Things I DIDN'T Like About This Week's Episode:

1. Isis was diagnosed with cancer, and Cora and Robert put her in bed between them for the night as she was about to pass.  This scene just did me in.

2. Tom (my favorite character) is planning to move to America with Sybil.

3.  Isobel (my second favorite character) was treated with unbearable rudeness by Lord Merton's sons at a dinner party celebrating her engagement.

Things I DID Like About This Week's Episode:

1. Rose and Atticus are engaged.  I think they are the most adorable Downton couple ever, and I hope their romance continues to be a happy one.

2. Cora found out about Edith and Marigold, and they worked out a plan for Edith to adopt Marigold openly and live at Downton.  Finally a hopeful resolution for this long, sad storyline!

3. Daisy, Baxter, and Molesley visited Mr. Mason at his farm.  Mr. Mason is as lovable as ever, and he encouraged Daisy to continue her studies. 

4. Mary found resolution with Tony Gillingham, as Charles helped her stage a flirtation to signal that she was truly done with the Gillingham romance and wanted him to move on.

Line of the Night:
"I'd say she takes after the dachshund, M'Lady." (Sprat to the Dowager Countess, about new maid Danke) 
"In what way?" 
"She's QUITE untrainable."
As a lifelong dachshund person, that had to make me laugh.

What did you think of tonight's episode?  I would love to hear from you in the comments, below.
 

Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning - Book Review and Giveaway

About the Book:
Two unlikely friends, an old woman and a boy with special needs, take an aging champion to Westminster Dog Show, and heal their troubled families.

Seventy year-old Bess Rutledge has fantasized about winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life, but now she has decided she is too old to follow her dream. She meets Benny, an angry fourteen year-old with mild autism and ADHD, who has a dream of his own: to impress his self-absorbed mother. He becomes convinced that winning Westminster with McCreery, Bess’ aging champion standard poodle, will finally make his mother proud of him. Getting Bess to go along with his plan, however, is not going to be so easy.

My Book Review: 

At the heart of Almost Perfect there are two people and two dogs.  Benny, a fourteen year old boy with special needs, wants a dog more than anything else.  His love of dogs leads him to meet Bess Rutledge.  Bess has been a top breeder of standard poodles for years, but she is closing her kennel without ever achieving her dream of winning the Westminster Dog Show.  There are also two special dogs in this story:  Bess's dog McCreery, who is a champion poodle and the sire of Breaker, a mischievous puppy who plays a very important role in this book.

I love books about puppies and dogs, so I knew I would enjoy this read.  I certainly did!   The details about the dog show world were new (and very interesting!) to me.  I have already recommended this book to several dog friends.  I'm sure they will enjoy it too.

I found the changing focus back and forth between Bess and her life and Benny and his family and school very interesting.  I liked learning about their separate lives because it made their unlikely friendship that much more moving.

The dogs, McCreery and Breaker, stole the show.  The author did a great job at capturing their individual personalities.  I especially loved watching Breaker's growth from a puppy to a young dog.

I listened to this book in Audible audiobook format.  Caroline Miller did a wonderful job with the narration, especially in the separate voices and personalities of Bess and Benny.   This book translated very well to audiobook format.

At first I found the character of Benny a bit disconcerting because he seemed so much younger than his 14 years.  If I had not been told he was 14, I would have assumed he was a much younger child, perhaps 6 - 8.  As the book went on, I got used to him seeming very young for his age and my interest in the story about Benny's love of dogs and friendship with Bess became primary in the read.

The setting of the dog community and dog show world was especially interesting.  I enjoy watching the Westminster Dog Show, and especially enjoyed reading this book just before this year's Westminster, February 16 - 17.

I would recommend this book for dog lovers from middle school age to adult.  It is a family friendly story with an appealing, heartwarming tone.  I kept thinking, as I read, that this would make a very good Hallmark movie.   Do you love dogs?  Do you enjoy a warm, uplifting story?  Then you will really enjoy Almost Perfect.

Author's Bio:

Diane Daniels Manning is the co-founder and director of The New School in the Heights, a therapeutic school in Houston, Texas which helps children dealing with social-emotional challenges find success in school and life. She has a Ph.D. in Education and a post-doctoral M.P.H from Harvard and is a practicing child psychoanalyst certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association. Formerly, she was the Director of the Reading and Learning Disabilities Clinic at Tufts University, Lecturer and Research Associate in the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Harvard, and Chair of the Department of Education at Tulane University. She learned the inner workings of dog show kennels by writing an authorized oral history of a lifetime President of the Poodle of Club of America. Her writing awards include the Faulkner-Wisdom Novella Prize and the Women in Film and Television Short Script Competition.

When not at The New School, Diane and her writing partners, a Standard Poodle named Misty and a rescue cat named Elvira, convene at the keyboard to share great thoughts and plan the dinner menu.

Connect with her: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

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Where to buy the book:

Amazon

​Audible​

​Barnes & Nobles​

​Book Trailer:​

Almost Perfect Trailer V1-2 from Kaizen Marketing on Vimeo.

​Giveaway:​

​Prize: ​

Giving away 13 copies of Almost Perfect by Diane Daniels Manning (5 print copies - USA only, 5 ebook copies and 3 audiobooks from Audible - international) and one $25 Amazon Gift Card (open international)

​ Ends Feb 20, 2015​

You can also win one $50, $25 or $10 Amazon Gift Card on the author’s website. ​The author will ask a question about the book as an entry.​

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I received this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.