Rebecca Maney Reviews ~ Stone and Snow by Sibella Giorello

Published November 9th 2015 by Running Girl Productions

Raleigh Harmon, teen geologist, has a seriously dysfunctional southern family, an encyclopedic knowledge of criminal codes, and a literally odd best friend named Drew Levinson.

After surviving a terrifying experience, Raleigh's ready to relax and enjoy the Christmas season with her new boyfriend.

But her smart and kind classmate Sloane Stillman is suddenly found dead—by suicide. Only Drew refuses to believe it. Drew says science can prove Sloane didn’t kill herself. And the harder Raleigh tries to show Drew the truth, the more she herself questions the facts, and the people she once trusted.

Christmas swirls in like a snowstorm, and Drew spirals downward, burying Raleigh under mountains of evidence about Sloane’s suicide, threatening to destroy everything, including Raleigh’s new relationship with her boyfriend.

Desperate to put the pieces back together, Raleigh digs for answers, trying to uncover what really happened on that cold, silent night when Sloane Stillman lost her life.

Stone and Snow is the second book in the Raleigh Harmon mystery series introducing the girl who will become a forensic geologist and FBI agent—provided she survives the high school years. 

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Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

 4 STARS!!!

 

Intriguing barely describes "Stone and Snow" with its highly colorful and varied characters, combined with a riveting story of two very determined teen-age sleuths who set out to prove scientifically that their high school friend did not commit suicide but was senselessly murdered. It's a dangerous game they are playing, if what they believe is true.

Following Sloane Stillman's funeral, mathematical genius Drew Levinson obsessively catalogs intricate details as she tries to convince her best friend Raleigh Harmon that the facts of Sloane's case just don't "add up". Raleigh and Drew ignite a firestorm of resistance from everyone, when they begin their own version of investigation among some of Richmond's elite. Drew's idiosyncrasies only magnify the opinion that both girls have adopted a certain insanity, until the facts prove everyone else terribly wrong.

It's quite refreshing when a teen mystery is so well written that even an adult reader never figures it out until the characters do, and this is that kind of story.

I received a copy of this story from the author in exchange for my honest opinion. 

 

 Rebecca is a graduate of Bryan College with a degree in Christian Education, and is currently serving at the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, North Carolina as the Director of Children's Ministry. With nearly 28 years of experience in her field, she has had many opportunities to use her love of reading and writing in creative ways across the generations. A wife, mother of four "nearly" grown children, and grandmother to four beautiful grandchildren, Rebecca has been able to return to her love of reading and more recently reviewing, with a renewed passion for the "beauty of story".

Broken

A 'broken' barn

Dug this one out of my archives. Makes me miss summer and the mountains. 

Stay warm, y'all!

A Quick Visit in 2015

Doh! I meant to post this a month ago but I forgot about it being in my drafts folder.

Our oldest son came in for a quick visit two weeks before Christmas. Even though we would have liked it to have been longer, we are thankful for time together! He was pretty exhausted his first day back so no plans were made to do anything other than sit on the deck and relax. And the weather cooperated! I think this was his first view of the bay from our temporary home. He's saying something like, "Wow. This is a pretty good view." :-)

It was a gorgeous day! The temps were warm and apparently perfect for sailing.

This was a particularly fun trio to watch. They looked like they were having a blast zipping around out there, showing off those colorful sails! All in all, it made for an entertaining afternoon.

But the best part was just sitting across from our son and treasuring the moments spent with him, no matter how short. I'm learning to be thankful for the morsels that God allows to fall my way and not be greedy. One day (or six in our case) is better than none. It gave us an opportunity to talk about lots of things. Military life and its challenges, and all the changes that recently occurred in our family were top on the list. We were able to talk about the importance of our faith in Christ through it all.
Sweet moments!

^{Romans 1:8-12 (NASB) Bible Gateway}
 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.  For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.  For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established;  that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 


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Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Sharing with

Sunday Morning {Worship & Praise}

Such beauty as the sun rose, casting it's warmth upon our snow covered deck.

Many have been impacted by Winter Storm Jonas. I pray you are each safe and secure in your homes on this snowy and frigid morn!  

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Psalm 143:8 (NASB) 

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; 

For I trust in You;

Teach me the way in which I should walk; 

For to You I lift up my soul. 

~Have a blessed Sabbath~

Rebecca Maney Reviews ~ With This Ring?, 4 in 1 Edition by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, Melissa Jagears

Paperback, 384 pages

Published January 5th 2016 by Bethany House

Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

4 STARS 

 

Expect the unexpected, imagine the unimaginable and relish four young women's attempts at matrimony while maneuvering, pretending, escaping and competing for the opportunity to say, "I do". 

Savvy writer Karen Witemeyer's, "The Husband Maneuver", captures unremitting romance on an isolated Texas ranch, when an unexpected storm forces Daniel Barrett and Marietta Hawkins to acknowledge what heroes are made of, flesh and blood heroes, that is. It's a clever, witty, and highly charged romance packed into short, entertaining chapters. 

When Katie Ellen Watson was younger, Josiah Huckabee was her best friend, until a childhood kiss changed everything. Regina Jennings's, "Her Dearly Unintended", couples Katie and Josiah back together in the most awkward of circumstances, posing as a young married couple, in order to protect the Watson family property. Improper or not, can these two clash their way back to "happily ever after? 

 On the run from a cruel fiance, Carrie Haley's "knight in shining armor" is a trail seasoned Texas Ranger. Big John Conroy never expected to fall in love, but in Mary Connealy's "Runaway Bride", there is a lot of love going on, and it might just be the answer to all of Carrie's problems, if they can trust each other enough to "do the deed". 

Charlotte Andrews is a desperate woman, desperate enough to propose marriage to a man that she does not love in order to save her mother's sanity and her family property from ruin. What she never expected was that true love might re-enter the picture, especially when Harrison Gray left her behind so many years ago. Will these two unlikely lovers find a way to end their incessant competition? Melissa Jagears's, "Engaging the Competition" just might hold the answers they need. 

A copy of this book was provided by Bethany House Blogger Review Program for the express purpose of sharing my honest opinion.

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Rebecca is a graduate of Bryan College with a degree in Christian Education, and is currently serving at the First Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gastonia, North Carolina as the Director of Children's Ministry. With nearly 28 years of experience in her field, she has had many opportunities to use her love of reading and writing in creative ways across the generations. A wife, mother of four "nearly" grown children, and grandmother to four beautiful grandchildren, Rebecca has been able to return to her love of reading and more recently reviewing, with a renewed passion for the "beauty of story".