Book Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4) by Elle Cosimano

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Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4)  by Elle Cosimano opens with Finlay Donovan and her nanny, Vero, planning a trip to Atlantic City to pay off some debts, find Javi, and retrieve a stolen car.  But first, they come up with a cover story that backfires miserably.  Finlay and Vero have to be clever and sneaky to accomplish what they set out to do, but will they have to come clean? Thank you, NetGalley, for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4) by Elle Cosimano.  This is one of the books I was most excited about being able to read before it was in stores.  I received the eBook for free in exchange for my honest review. The fourth installment picks up where the last book ended and ties up the loose ends from Finlay Donovan Knocks Them Dead (Finlay Donovan, #3)  . . . so much so that I thought that this was going to be the last book in the series.  However, Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice ends up having a couple of cliffhangers,
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Book Review: Winter Dreams Christmas Love by Mary Francis Shura

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Have you ever had a book from your childhood that has stuck with you over the years? Winter Dreams Christmas Love by Mary Francis Shura is one of those books for me. I remember when I bought the book . . . it was a Friday night when I was thirteen or fourteen years old. I climbed into bed and began reading the book around eight or nine o'clock at night and finished it within a couple of hours. I loved it so much that I immediately began reading it again that night. I must have reread it four or five times that weekend. I guess you can say that I was obsessed! However, I really related to the book when I was in high school. Rereading it as an adult brought back those angsty feelings I had as a teenager. I mean who didn't wish that their crush felt the same way towards them?!?! But, as an adult, I know things don't always wrap up in a neat little bow.

Winter Dreams Christmas Love was a very well written young adult novel that spans three years of Ellen Marlowe's high school career and the trials and tribulations of being a student, making new friends, and falling in love. Although this book was written in the early 1990s, it really has stood the test of time in my opinion, and I think tweens and teens today would still be able to relate to what the main character is going through. What is nice about this book is that it is perfect for tweens and teens alike because there is no overt violence, cursing, or sex in it. It does touch on jealous boyfriends who can be a little rough, but unlike many books, advice is given that Ellen stay away from her ex-boyfriend because he is the one with the problem, not her, which I am glad that advice was taken.
There really aren't any complaints I have about this book with the exception of some editing errors that led to some inconsistency in the time line. However, that was easily overlooked in my book because I still love the story as an adult and reread it every few years when I'm feeling nostalgic. To this day, I still want a sequel to the story to see how Ellen and Michael's lives end up during and after college, but I'll never get that book as the author passed away in 1991. I give Winter Dreams Christmas Love five out five stars.
Synopsis of Winter Dreams Christmas Love:  Ellen Marlowe is gobsmacked during her freshman orientation when she meets the Big Man On Campus and joins the long list of girls who want to date Michael Tyler. As her freshman year progresses, Ellen thinks she has gotten over her crush, but then Michael does something to set off her feelings again. Will Ellen get over her crush or end up landing the big man on campus?

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