Hello Stars by Alena Pitts Review

Hello Stars, Alena Pitts' debut novel in her Faithgirlz series Lena in the Spotlight, introduces Lena Daniels. When Lena unexpectedly lands a movie role, is it too good to be true? This spirited 11-year-old must find a way to balance stardom with "real" life. Suddenly Lena wishes she had time for her three younger sisters and her friends.

About Alena

Alena Pitts is a 13-year-old actress and author from Dallas, Texas.  As the oldest of four girls, Alena first cut her teeth in acting through making home videos and dramas with her sisters, using their entire home as their recording studio. 

My Review:

I am really happy to say that this is a great book explaining what a tween movie star role model should be. To be able to step away from the craziness of today's actresses and have a nice family to look up to is a blessing! The story itself was fun and interesting and I found myself rooting for Lena! I can not wait to read book 2! I hope to see Lena growing more and facing more lifelike issues. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy, all opinions are my own. 

Tangled Ashes by Michele Phoenix

I was given the opportunity to review this book from Handlebar Publishing. All opinions are my own.
I picked this book because I Love ghost stories and haunted houses. I also wanted to learn more about WWII and Nazi's. My dad was a huge fan of WWII and he always said that I didn't learn enough history in school. I guess he was right because I had no idea that places like Lamorlaye even existed. It was definitely an interesting read. I was wondering until the end who the ghost was and even more surprised by who was who. It was a page turner and well written. There were alot of flashbacks, but they got their own chapters and I easily followed both plot lines.

This is a book about Lamorlaye, a house that is being renevated, however, every house has a past, and this house has not forgotten its past. The main architect "Becker" is in charge of the renovation, However he is fighting his own demons and does not make a good impression on the home owner, his family, and his staff. You actually begin to see his character tranformation as he "renovates" the house, and himself.
The flashbacks start during WWII as 2 young Frenchwomen find themselves working at Lamorlaye for the soldiers that have attacked the French. Then Pregnant women start showing up at the house and the women start to wonder ehat is really going on. One of the women finds out the truth all to clearly, and this leads to dire circumstances.

I loved how the 2 plots intertwined and could not put the book down. I also am happy that the writter has actually been in the Lamorlaye manor, and made a picture so vivd in my mind that it was like I lived there too.
The author also leaves a website at the end of the book that has more information about herself, her books and photos of Lamorlaye. You can check it out here http://michelephoenix.com/novels-and-books/tangled-ashes/ . I was so excited to see a section for behind the story as well. Beware of SPOILERS if you check it out.