Happy Friday!!

Just wanted to share my excitement with all of you book lovers. In the last few weeks, I've been really fortunate when it comes to books and giveaways. If you know me well, you'll know that I'm famous for saying, If I didn't have bad luck I'd have no luck at all. Could it be that my luck is changing? Or have the good Karma faeries finally decided to smile upon me? How many of you are familiar with the verse: "Give, and it shall be given unto you" ?  I wholeheartedly believe this to be true because every single time I pay-it-forward, something good soon follows. Well, here's a few pics of my "something good".

Won The Mapmaker's Children through Shelf Awareness Author Buzz. Sarah McCoy, YOU ROCK! ! Thank you so much! I had so much fun opening the package you sent to me.

I won The Children Act & book tote through the Reading Group Center Summertime Sweepstakes. 

Won The Witch of Napoli through a Goodreads giveaway. 

Viper Wine was also a Goodreads giveaway.  I love the cover!

I was also a $50.00 PayPal Cash winner courtesy of the blog Mom Does Reviews.com and the #EliteCashFlash giveaway. Thanks, Victoria!!!

There ya have it, a few of my little goodies. I like to believe that Karma and the theory of Pay-it-forward might have something to do with my book fortune. Of course, I don't need to be rewarded for kindness. After all, it's easier to be kind than it is to be anything else. Try it some time. Life just may offer you a few random perks.

It always pleases me to read historical fiction done right. The Mapmaker’s Children  by Sarah Mc Coy is extremely well done and interesting.

In this novel, Mc Coy introduces the reader to Sarah Brown the daughter of the abolitionist John Brown. While the author took liberties, her extensive three years of research establish the foundation for this remarkable story.

Sarah Brown was an artist and an activist that clearly was involved in the Under Ground Railroad. She never married but her love for children fostered a lot of her actions both in the South and later when she relocated to California.

Mc Coy’s story imagines a link to a modern day woman named Eden. Her life crisis evolves around the fact that she is unable to become pregnant. While she and her husband struggle to cope with this issue, they move to New Charlestown, VA and buy a house in a neighborhood historically tied to Sarah Brown and the Civil War.

In alternating chapters, the past and the present weave together. Historical facts about the UGRR (Under Ground Rail Road) as well as the personalities involved in it’s success are delivered seamlessly throughout the novel.

This reader can never get enough of historical fiction especially when it is written in the in this period of history. Thank you, Blogging for Books for providing me with the book for review. I encourage followers of historical fiction not to let this one pass. It is well worth the read.