Audiobooks · Book Reviews · Halloween · MurderinoMonday · Nonfiction · Paranormal · True Crime

If there’s something strange, in your neighborhood, who ya’ gonna call…AMY BRUNI! Then read her book!👻📖

Today is #MurderinoMonday & this book, although not #TrueCrime, it’s kind of in the same genre since there are definitely some dead people, murders, & even a couple serial killers in it!
Thank you @grandcentralpub for my gift copy of ‘Life With the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned About Ghosts
by Amy Bruni!

👻Ok, I have to ask all of you this question: Do you believe in ghosts? Maybe some sort of paranormal phenomenon or such? I do. If you are a hard NO to that question, this book, along w/ Amy Bruni’s TV shows ‘Ghost Hunters’ & ‘Kindred Spirits’, may change your mind about that. (And as to why I believe in spirits and/or ghosts, see a couple of my encounters further down in this blog post.👻)

The ‘ghost’ in this pic is ME. It was a pic from our doorbell this past summer.

Paranormal investigator Amy Bruni shares stories from her years of experiences w/ ghosts, organized around thirteen truths that guide her approach to the supernatural.
Amy Bruni, one of the world’s leading paranormal investigators, has learned a lot about ghosts over her years of research & first-hand experience. Now, in ‘Life with the Afterlife’, she shares the insight she has gleaned & how it has shaped her unique approach to interacting w/ the spirits of the dead & those who encounter them.

From her earliest supernatural encounters as a child, through her yrs appearing on ‘Ghost Hunters’ &  the creation of her company Strange Escapes, which offers paranormal excursions to some of America’s most notoriously haunted destinations, & into her current work on The Travel Channel’s ‘Kindred Spirits’, this book is full of astonishing & deeply moving stories of Amy’s efforts to better understand the dead but not yet departed. With Amy’s bright humor & fierce compassion for both those who are haunted & those who are haunting, ‘Life with the Afterlife‘ is an eye-opening look at what connects us as people, in life & beyond.

Copyright ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999); & can you believe THAT is Donnie Wahlberg??

Life with the Afterlife‘ is downright fascinating, insightful, thought-provoking & will legit make you second guess every creak, squeak & bump in the night you may hear in your home or any strange chill you feel breeze past you. I have personally had some highly unexplainable occurrences happen in my life, & here is a quick story about one of them:

My husband & I built our home in 2005 on property that had been in his family for decades. No other home had ever stood on our acreage. I was also pregnant with my twins when our house was built. Several months after we were living in our home & the babies were born, there were times when I was home alone that I would smell cigarette smoke as clear as if someone were straight up smoking in my home. No one in my home smoked, & no one had recently visited our home that was a smoker.

I would also hear voices of little kids, like an elementary school class full of them, & this was when there was no TV on, & we do not have children or a school anywhere near our home. Yet, I could often hear little kids laughing & jibber-jabbering. Then one day I walked into my bedroom to find the dresser that held all of my babies clothes, diapers, pjs, etc had EVERY single drawer pulled all the way out. And no one was home but me & my babies, who did not talk or crawl or do anything much more than sit in their carriers, baby swings or lay in their cribs. It totally freaked me out.

Copyright ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999)

Then one day while I was standing at the kitchen sink, a picture that had been high up on top of the cupboard came flying down at me from an angle. It didn’t just fall, or it would have been about 6 ft away from where I stood. It came down at an angle as if aiming for me purposely, & it hit me in the arm, scratching me pretty well. There were other strange things that had happened for several years after that, but the cigarette smoking ‘entity’ seems to have moved on, probably because I live in the noisiest house ever & whomever (whatever) was here was probably like ‘I’m outta here’, yet to this day, I still swear I hear music or small children’s voices when there is no one else here & it’s quiet or late at night when everyone is sleeping. So, Amy Bruni…have your people call my people if you want to come use your ghostbusting gadgets on my home & let me know who all I should be charging rent for squatting here. 😳🎶🤷🏼👻

The book is a quick read & the audio version is enhanced w/ recordings from Bruni & her crew’s paranormal investigations. Fittingly enough, the book was published on 10/27…the week of Halloween.

So, if there’s something strange, in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call…Amy Bruni! And read her book!👻

Copyright Travel Channel

Click HERE to add ‘Life with the Afterlife’ to your Goodreads list.
Click HERE to visit my Instagram post about this book & give it some LIKE love!

Blog Tour · Book Reviews · Giveaway · Nonfiction · Paranormal

Book Tour and GIVEAWAY of ‘Playing With Fire: A Modern Investigation into the Demons, Exorcism and Ghosts’

Book Tour GIVEAWAY! Thank you @thomasnelson @tlcbooktours for my gifted copy of ‘Playing With Fire: A Modern Investigation into Demons, Exorcism & Ghosts’ by Billy Hallowell! (pub 9/8)

Q: (*said in a GhostFace from ‘Scream’ voice) “What’s your favorite scary movie? (***see end of blog post for my answer.)

from IMGflip

This is best time of year to read thrillers & watch scary movies, yes, but here’s a non-fiction book about our fascination w/ the Other Side.

Join investigative reporter Billy Hallowell (yes, his name is SO close to the word HALLOWEEN! Cool coincidence, eh?) as he delves into the strange phenomena of supernatural activity. Themes of demonic possession, exorcism, & ghosts have overtaken Hollywood, with countless films & TV shows delving into the age-old struggle against evil. But the question is why?

Even with so much focus on the topic, there seems to be very little public knowledge & discussion about the theology & real-life claims surrounding demons. Quite often, many people remain silent about their experiences or resort to quietly whispering about what they’ve seen, heard, or felt for fear of being labeled as crazy. The truth is, even pastors, priests, & clergy who have observed firsthand accounts of possession & deliverance can succumb to the strange & terrifying effects of intense spiritual warfare.

For people of faith, Playing with Fire’ addresses these core questions:

Are demons active today?
If they do indeed exist, what are they? Fallen angels? Nephilim?
Can demons inhabit human beings?
According to the Bible, can people die & remain behind as “ghosts”?

Playing with Fire’ explores the theological underpinnings surrounding the supernatural. Relying on firsthand accounts, newspaper reports, & Christian experts, Hallowell takes readers through the various views & perspectives surrounding supernatural activity.

This faith-based book looks at society’s obsession w/ demons, exorcisms & ghosts & why we either believe or don’t believe in them. Hallowell lays it all out for us w/ facts vs. fiction in an easy to read, insightful, thought-provoking, Christian perspective way.

I would love to have a copy sent to one of you! Please head to Instagram (👈click) to enter officially then come back here to the blog post to comment & you will get 5 bonus entries in the giveaway. And don’t forget to enter on Facebook (must be following the account), Twitter (must be following the account).

To enter:

1-LIKE this post.

2-Must be following @mom_loves_reading

3-Tag some friends. Unlimited (up to 3 per com)

Bonus 5 entries for Sharing to your IG board or Stories (tag me!) Bonus entries on Facebook, Twitter & my blog, too!

US res only. Giveway ends 10/15/20 & is not affiliated w/ Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

Click HERE to add ‘Playing with Fire’ to your Goodreads lists.

Click HERE to go to my Instagram post.

(Oh, & my favorite scary movie is ‘The Descent’… I am claustrophobic & dislike the dark & creepy creatures very much, so this movie terrified me.)

About the author: Billy Hallowell has been working in journalism and media for more than two decades. His writings, interviews, and social commentary have appeared in Deseret News, TheBlaze, Human Events, Mediaite and FoxNews.com, among other outlets. He has served as the faith and culture editor of TheBlaze, senior editor of Faithwire, and he has written four books. Hallowell has a BA in journalism and broadcasting from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, New York, and an MS in social research from Hunter College in Manhattan, New York.

#playingwithfire #nonfiction #christian #spookyseason #supernatural #exorcism #demonicpossession #newreleases #spookybooks #tlcbooktours #booktours #blogtour #bookstagram #bookshelf #mustreads #thomasnelson #billyhallowell #halloweenreading #fallreading #momlovesreading #fall2020 #tbrlist #giveaway #bookgiveaways #bookishgiveaways #freebooks #ghoststories

Book Reviews · Fiction · Paranormal · Romance

Book Review: ‘Haunted Souls’ by Kathryn Knight

Click HERE to give my IG post some LIKE love!

Thank you @kathrynknightbooks for my gifted copy of ‘Haunted Souls‘ by Kathryn Knight! (pub 6/1/16).

Four years ago, Emily Shea & Staff Sergeant Brett Leeds agreed to part with no strings attached. Sparks flew during their brief affair, but fate intervened, sending Brett overseas. When an unexpected pregnancy derailed Emily’s own plans, her attempts to locate Brett were soon overwhelmed by the challenges of single motherhood. Now, Brett has returned home, & Emily is forced to share her secret.

Despite feeling betrayed, Brett is determined to forge a relationship with their son, Tyler. As the former lovers battle both their inner demons & their mutual desire, another presence enters their lives—Tyler’s imaginary friend. Soon, however, the chilling evidence points to a different conclusion: a ghost has formed a dangerous connection with their son. Emily’s attempts to help both a lost soul & a friend in need spiral toward a deadly confrontation, & Brett must race to save Emily before he loses her again—forever.

This is my first book by Kathryn Knight who also wrote ‘Dangerous Currents‘ (’18), ‘The Haunting of Hillwood Farm‘ (’18), ‘Ghost Moon‘ (’20) & other paranormal/suspense/contemporary romance novels, all of which have fantastic reviews on Goodreads & Amazon.

Knight has a real gift for storytelling & holding the readers attention with her strong & realistic characterization, intricately woven paranormal/romance storylines, & suspense building that keeps the reader captivated & not wanting to put the book down.

Haunted Souls‘ is an edgy, well-written, mystical, spine-tingling (& even a little steamy) story about reigniting lost love, dealing with military PTSD,  finding out you have a child, forgiveness, & adds the paranormal flare of a child’s ‘imaginary friend’ turning out to not be so imaginary afterall.

I really enjoyed ‘Haunted Souls‘ & I will be reading more of Kathryn Knight’s books in the near future, maybe around Halloween…wouldn’t that be perfect? A spooky, romance, mystery in one hand, a cup of hot tea in the other, a cozy blanket, & the fall leaves blowing outside…sounds good to me!

Click HERE to visit Kathryn Knight’s website.
Click HERE to find ‘Haunted Souls’ or other books at an independent bookstore near you.
Click HERE to give my Instagram post some LIKE love, maybe even SHARE it to your stories.

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Kathryn Knight writes books filled with steamy romance, dangerous secrets, & haunting mysteries. Her novels are award-winning #1 Amazon & B&N Bestsellers & RomCon Reader-Rated picks. When she’s not reading or writing, Kathryn spends her time exploring abandoned places & searching for ghosts. She lives on beautiful Cape Cod with her husband, their two sons, & a number of rescued pets. Please visit her at Kathryn Knight books on Facebook, @k_knightbooks on Twitter, or email her at Kathrynknightbooks (at) comcast.net.

Titles by Kathryn Knight:
Silver Lake (a #1 Amazon Bestseller, RomCon 2013 Reader’s Crown Finalist, electronic rights acquired by Amazon Encore in 2015)
Gull Harbor (a #1 Amazon Bestseller, A #1 Barnes & Noble Bestseller, Top 10 Reviewer Pick at MyShelf Reviews, RomCon 2014 Reader’s Crown Finalist, Best Kindle Romance Book 2014 Semi-Finalist)  Now an audio book!
Divine Fall (Best YA Romance 2015 at The Romance Reviews, RomCon 2015 Reader’s Crown Finalist, Best Kindle YA Book 2015 Semi-Finalist, Reviewer Nominee for the BTS Reviews 2016 Red Carpet Award) 
Haunted Souls (A Top 3 Read of 2016 at Read Free.ly)  Now available in Audio!
Dangerous Currents ~ New Release ~ Steamy Second-Chance Romance filled with Secrets and Suspense!
The Haunting of Hillwood Farm (Best Romantic Suspense of 2018 at N.N. Light’s Book Reviews, One of the Top 40 Paranormal Romance Books at Reedsy Discovery) Coming soon to audio!