I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Although I've always been interested in spiritualism and it's various practices, this was the first time I've read an actual book about it. Coming from a complete newbie, but I think this was a great introduction, if not to witchcraft and wicca, to spiritualism and working with animal familiars and spirits.

As a species, humans tend to think we're better than animals and completely ignore what they can teach us, but I've never agreed with that assessment. This guide did a really great job of sharing what you can learn from animals, and what they can symbolize when appearing in your life or even your dreams. I actually had an interesting dream while reading this that tied in nicely with the author's narrative.

While the author had a good go at making a comprehensive list of the animals, some that I were interested in were unfortunately left out. Understandable, as obviously it would have been much longer if she had listed every single animal... and then it would have been more of an index than a guide. There are also very practical and easy to follow exercises and meditations to find your own spirit guides, which I'm looking forward to try myself. This book left me with a working knowledge on how to find my animal guides and a sparking curiosity to learn more.

 

 

   This is my 2nd Alice Clayton book, and she is quickly on her way to becoming a favorite author of mine. All the things that I enjoyed in the first book, Wallbanger, were present again in Rusty Nailed, and the one thing that I wasn't a fan of in Wallbanger was almost non existent in this book! That's right, no more multiple "O" references. YAY!! I couldn't have asked for anything more.

 

   I think my favorite thing about this book, besides Clive because....I mean Clive is the best!

  OK, so Clive excluded, my favorite thing, is easily the fact that Clayton manages to relentlessly grab your attention and enrapture you with the beauty and the struggle of the mundane. So many contemporary romances now seem to have some huge drama going on, past traumas, stalkers, etc., and while I do immensely enjoy a bunch of those stories, sometimes it's also nice to get something different too.

 

 

Sometimes just figuring out how to navigate life, a new relationship, or even just keeping a romance going after the "honeymoon" period is over, can be enough to keep a reader engaged. It was more than enough in this story. I loved seeing Caroline and Simon growing together, learning more about each other, and learning how to progress together, in their relationship and in life. It was through lots of trial and error and I found a lot of it to be incredibly relatable.

 

   I also enjoy the fact that even the secondary characters are interesting. I just love the whole dynamic of this mashed up group of friends coming together! Even when some of them are at odds with one another they are an absolute riot. That's definitely another favorite thing of mine in this series, the humor. These books are full of honest to goodness laugh out loud moments. You don't even know how many times I burst out laughing while reading this, which of course got me some funny looks from my family, but it could not be contained.  

 

 

    I couldn't put Rusty Nailed down! Just like with Wallbanger, I devoured this in one night. It kept me up until the wee hours of the morning, and I wouldn't dare complain about a missed minute of sleep, it was totally worth it. If you're looking for a well written, light hearted, hilarious and fun contemporary romance, than look no further, because this is the series you need to start!

 

  

 

 

Spirit Unleashed: Reimagining Human-Anim... Found this to be really fascinating, and I'm not saying this because I had the pleasure to be a student of hers. I knew from the get go this book would be really well done because of her knowledge, experience, and excitement when talking about our animal friends. I was not disappointed and found myself unable to put this down and quite enjoyable

While reading, I could just feel the passion come off the page as well as if she was right there having a conversation with you. This is what made it more enjoyable for me, because if the author can show and explain what they are discussing and truly reach out to their reader then that's half the battle to get the readers!

Naturally several parts hit home as I felt a connection between two of my rabbits and one of my dogs when growing up, while watching my mom interact with our dog and one of our rabbits (all the while nursing him back to health). Many parts of this book once again affirmed that this connection that we have with our pets (companions rather) and other members of the animal kingdom can and does exist as well as it always will.

Some days I feel a kinship with this animal...