Free College Debate

 By Kelly Bridgewater

 My grandfather, who fought in World War II and lived through the Great Depression, always told us that there was nothing for free. You have to earn everything you want. Nothing is free.

I completely agree with this statement.

BUT . . .

Socialists, like Joe Biden and the whole Democratic Party, wants students and adults alike to believe that free college and healthcare is possible.

Will it be really free?

 

www.zerohedge.com

I have had a number of discussions with friends who voted for Biden because they want their student loan debt paid off. They want to attend college for free. They want healthcare for everyone, and it should also be free.

Okay. Let’s believe for a second, and it will be a quick second, that America could do this.

Who will pay for the college and healthcare?

If college is free, then where is the money coming from?

No one to pay the professors or doctors. What about all the staff that works behind the scenes at the university or the doctor’s office? How will they get paid? How will they be able to keep their income pouring out, if there is no income coming in?

Think about that for a moment.

Think harder if you don’t believe me.

This is what they have done in Socialists countries like Germany, USSR, and South America to pay for their “free” colleges and healthcare.

 They have raised the cost of food, gas, and taxes on food, houses, and properties.

 What are you going to tell your kids when you can’t afford to feed them anymore?

What are you going to tell your kids when you can’t stay in your home because the taxes are too high for you to live there?

Wages won’t increase, but the taxes and costs of things we use every day will go through the roof.

You don’t believe me. There is documented pictures from the 1930’s with parents rolling wheelbarrows full of $100 bills to the grocery store and turning them in for a loaf of bread. Money became worthless. No buying power.

Is this really want America wants?

I don’t believe so, but some many young students are not being educated the failure of a Socialists economy. They just hear FREE and are jumping on board.

Darn the costs to their futures. Or their kids’ futures.

Come back at the end of the month, and I’m going to do a peace on Student Debt Loan Forgiveness.

 Please comments if you feel like it. 

Jaime Jo Wright: The Cliffs of Foxglove Manor

 By Kelly Bridgewater

1885.

Adria Fontaine has been sent to recover goods her father pirated on the Great Lakes during the war. But when she arrives at Foxglove Manor--a stone house on a cliff overlooking Lake Superior--Adria senses wickedness hovering over the property. The mistress of Foxglove is an eccentric and seemingly cruel old woman who has filled her house with dangerous secrets, ones that may cost Adria her life.

Present day.

Kailey Gibson is a new nurse's aide at a senior home in a renovated old stone manor. Kidnapped as a child, she has nothing but locked-up memories of secrets and death, overshadowed by the chilling promise from her abductors that they would return. When the residents of Foxglove start sharing stories of whispers in the night, hidden treasure, and a love willing to kill, it becomes clear this home is far from a haven. She'll have to risk it all to banish the past's demons, including her own.

 

My Thoughts:

On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright starts with a hint of a ghost story and then adds in a hunt for Civil War Buried Treasure. The two timelines, the 1885 and the present day, story fit nicely together. As each story works to solve the overall mystery, readers are invited to see each heroine try to solve the mystery of what the buried treasure and incidents from the past have to do with this Foxglove Manor. I really like the hunt for the buried treasure. BUT when they find the cipher to help hunt for the buried treasure in the present day story, it rushes too quickly to the end. As an avid reader of mysteries, I would have liked to watch Kailey and Axel actually spend more time trying to solve the mystery. Not dig a little, then end up at the resolution for the story. I wanted to see more action and the hunt for the mystery. There is a hint of romance in the past and the present. I did find the romance in the 1885 a little creepy because of the age difference. The present romance was a little awkward because the hero and heroine really did not like each other until near the end of the story. Overall, On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright was a delightful ghost story with a satisfying ending; however, I wanted more of the details of showing them the hunt for the buried treasure.

I received a complimentary copy of On the Cliffs of Foxglove Manor by Jaime Jo Wright from Bethany House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

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Melanie Dickerson: Castle of Refuge

 By Kelly Bridgewater

To live an unforgettable life, she would defy all expectations—including her own.

Ever since she was a child, Audrey wanted her life to be extraordinary. But as the daughter of a viscount born in late fourteenth-century England, the only thing expected of her was to marry—until an act of malice by her sister, Maris, four years ago damaged her prospects even further. Though Maris was sent away, twenty-year-old Audrey is still suffering the scars of her sister’s cruelty. So when her father announces his plans to marry off his damaged daughter and bring Maris back home, Audrey decides to flee in search of her true destiny.

However, life outside her home is dangerous, and she soon finds herself attacked, sick, and in dire straits. She is taken in at Dericott Castle to be nursed back to health. While there, she decides to keep her identity a secret and work as a servant in the castle. But she doesn’t count on falling in love with the young and handsome Lord Dericott, who lost his arm several months earlier and bears scars of his own.

Meanwhile, Edwin—Lord Dericott—is curious about the new, well-educated servant’s identity. When the man Audrey’s father wanted her to marry comes looking for her, each must make a life-changing decision about what to believe and whether or not love is truly worth trusting.

In this Ugly Duckling retelling, New York Times bestselling author Melanie Dickerson brilliantly crafts a highstakes, encouraging tale about the power of love.

 

 

My Thoughts:

Castle of Refuge by Melanie Dickerson is exactly what the title suggests. The heroine, Audrey, runs away from home afraid for her life and ends up at the Dericott's castle. I loved Dickerson's fairy tale remakes, and this story is no different. I love the fourteenth-century England setting. I love the castle. I love the way majority of Dickerson's heroes show their love for the heroine. They are slow at showcasing their love and willing to do things they normally would not do to please the heroine. Edwin, the hero, in this story, is no different. He even seeks out the advice of one of his staff members on how to capture Audrey's interest. Then later, readers are invited to watch them interact this way. While the plot has some conflict, it felt right in the story. Overall, Castle of Refuge is a masterfully, written story for fans of medieval literature and romance stories.

I received a complimentary copy of Castle of Refuge by Melanie Dickerson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Memorial Day

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Onto weeds, bugs, and warmer weather. 

What a drag!!

Come on fall!

Anyways, Have a great start to your summer!

Roseanna M. White: The Nature of a Lady

 By Kelly Bridgewater

1906
Lady Elizabeth "Libby" Sinclair, with her love of microscopes and nature, isn't favored in society. She flees to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for the summer and stumbles into the dangerous secrets left behind by her holiday cottage's former occupant, also named Elizabeth, who mysteriously vanished. 

Oliver Tremayne--gentleman and clergyman--is determined to discover what happened to his sister, and he's happy to accept the help of the girl now living in what should have been Beth's summer cottage . . . especially when he realizes it's the curious young lady he met briefly two years ago, who shares his love of botany and biology. But the hunt for his sister involves far more than nature walks, and he can't quite believe all the secrets Beth had been keeping from him.

As Libby and Oliver work together, they find ancient legends, pirate wrecks, betrayal, and the most mysterious phenomenon of all: love.

 

My Thoughts:

The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M. White captures the world through the eyeglass of a scientist. While the writing is fabulous, I had a hard time staying focused. The story is a lot of exposition, not moving parts of the characters. I did want to see what happens to contact the prologue section with the rest of the present story. I did want to see what really was supposed to happen between the characters. But again, it just really didn't capture my attention. There were moments that did, and then it would run away to something I did not like. While I know White is a fabulous writer who can craft an amazing, yet unique story, The Nature of a Lady did not really keep me turning pages. I wanted more to the plot.

I received a complimentary copy of The Nature of a Lady by Roseanna M. White from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Nature of a Lady

Liz Tolsma: The Silver Shadow

 By Kelly Bridgewater

Fiction Based on Strange, But True, History

True, riveting stories of American criminal activity are explored through a unique stories of historical romantic suspense. Collect them all and be inspired by the hope that always finds its way even in the darkest of times.

Denver of 1900 is still a dangerous place to be following the silver crash of 1893. And of out of the dark comes a shadow intent on harming women. Ambitious young Denver newspaper reporter Polly Blythe is searching for the big story that’s going to launch her career. On Friday evening, August 24, 1900, she gets her break when two women are cracked over the head within a two-minute walk of each other. But policeman Edwin Timmer thwarts Polly’s ideas of a serial criminal. . .until the shadowy figure strikes again. Will the reporter and the policeman team up to find the culprit before he strikes too close for comfort?

 

 

My Thoughts:

Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma has a Jack the Ripper vive to it. The plot is about a mysterious man who attacks women who are found walking through the streets after dark. They are not home where they belong in the evening, so the killer, whose perspective we do see, wants to teach the town a lesson. This story reeks of originality in the True Colors of Historical series because readers actually see the killer’s perspective. Which personally, I actually like. If an author can make me empathic with the killer, then they crafted a wonderful story. With Silver Shadow, I really did not empathize with the killer. He was shunned by his wife, so he decided to treat other women horribly because of her choices. Not a good reason. As for the heroine, she is a brave woman who wants to be a reporter for a newspaper, and even went so far as to put her own life on the line as she researched and tried to write the story about the killer that she did not have the approval to do from the paper’s boss. Overall, Silver Shadow by Tolsma was a nice addition to the series. It fit right in with series’ goals and made for an interesting read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading mysteries or the rest of this series.

I received a complimentary copy of Silver Shadow by Liz Tolsma from Barbour Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Most Anticipated Suspense Summer 2021

 By Kelly Bridgewater

It's that time of the year again!

Where I get to show the covers of the books that I can't wait to get my hands on. 

Last December was the first time that I actually made two lists because there are getting too many good books for me to include in one list. 

Today is all the Suspense novels that I can't wait to read that come out between May 1, 2021 until August 31, 2021. (All covers come from Goodreads.)

Here they are:

Aftermath by Terri Blackstock

The Paris Betrayal By James Hannibal

Breach of Honor by Janice Cantore

The Chase by Lisa Harris

Hostile Intent by Lynette Eason

What about you? I think the Suspense lists keeps getting smaller and smaller. I would love it to get bigger and bigger. This is my true passion in stories!