THE LITTLE BOY AND THE SEA by Lazarus Infinity

Four short pieces (not illustrated), each one about a boy and his family (a mom in two stories, a dad in another and a grandmother in the fourth) and a life lesson (making others happy, believing in yourself, caring for others, being a loving person). Most of the stories lead back to a faith message about Jesus. The Jesus references do not mention the crucifixion but instead focus on Jesus as the Son of God, coming to teach us to "be good" and care for others so we can be with him in Heaven. E-book format only at this time.

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the author for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

DEATH, TAXES AND MISTLETOE MAYHEM by Diane Kelly

Tara Holloway goes undercover to expose a case of tax and insurance fraud and meets Office Megan Lutz and her K9 partner, Brigit, on the job. Working together, Tara, Megan and Brigit may be able to bring down a criminal or two AND do some holiday matchmaking.

Always on the hunt for new holiday reading material, I jumped on the chance to read this novella for free on my Nook while sitting in Barnes and Noble. I enjoyed the writing so much after one chapter, I spent the $2 it took to buy the story outright.

This merges characters from Diane Kelly's Tara Holloway series (covers displayed below) with the characters from an upcoming series that will debut in June of 2014 (the first book will be Paw Enforcement). I had a couple of the tax series books already in my TBR pile (To Be Read), but I moved the series up on my reading list as I enjoyed this as much as I did. For the price, this is an excellent introduction to the author's writing style and the characters of these series.

4 out of 5 stars

Cautions: some language

       

E-Book trends for 2011

A blogger I follow posted "Six E-Book Trends to Watch in 2011." As a new Nook owner, I found these interesting. I really like the idea of "bundled books." I have already noticed that some series offer the first book in a series for a low price to introduce you to an author. I think that is brilliant, too. The bundling idea seems like a smart way to help people integrate their e-reader into their reading habits and reading life.

What do you think?