December 2025 ~ On a Reading Bender

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

From the Clipboard: Lessons from a Wedding Planner by Shari Zatman #bookreview #nonfiction #selfhelp #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

By On a Reading Bender December 02, 2025 book review, memoir, nonfiction, self help No comments

From Behind The Clipboard

Biographical / Self-Help / Wedding Planning

One of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of being an event planner is the personal relationships I develop with clients with whom I work. For a period of time, I get to be an integral part of their lives as we plan together to create a lifecycle event that will be long remembered. During this process with them, I am often navigating a range of emotion, family and relationship dynamics, decision paralysis and more. Not only am I a wedding planner and designer, but I often feel that I am a coach, mentor and therapist as well.

This book dives deeper than being only a “how to” guide by also including psychological and professional perspective pertaining to the wedding planning process. It helps address decision making, external influences, financial pressure, stress management, relationship preservation and so much more. I share my advice and pro tips and open up about personal experiences including stories that reflect on what I have learned and the wisdom I can impart to others based upon what I have done successfully in planning and experiences that may not have gone as I had hoped, but became a great lesson for what not to do. I want everyone who is planning a wedding to know that it is absolutely ok for their wedding to be “perfectly imperfect.”

Review

Are you planning a wedding soon? Are you looking to become a wedding planner? Does the wedding planning world fascinate you? This book will appeal to so many as it really is a combination of different genres as to appeal to many.

Shari Zatman has seen a lot in her years of wedding planning and she takes us along to share her experiences with us. She shares the obvious challenges of wedding planning while also shedding light on things that you may have never thought of going hand in hand with wedding planning.

It's a book that is compelling and really draws you in. The authors voice shines through and her passion for her work really is apparent.

You will learn a lot, but also be entertained at the same time.

About the Author

I am a business owner and professional wedding and special event planner. I have owned Perfectly Planned by Shari for 20 years and have worked in the event industry for approximately 28 years. During this time, I have planned hundreds of weddings and events.

Majoring in design and communications in college, I bring my passion for interior design to my events. I worked with my clients on developing the creative vision and curate the style and aesthetic for all events I plan.

That being said, my greatest achievement is being a mom and raising my twin, almost 21 year old sons, whom I am immensely proud of for being responsible and kind humans. I believe the best thing I have done in my life has been creating my family.

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The Lonely Prisoner by Michael J Kundu #mystery #thriller #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

By On a Reading Bender December 02, 2025 mystery, thriller No comments

The Michael Fletcher Series, Book 1

An Award-Winning Psychological Thriller

Mystery / Thriller

Date Published: February 26, 2024

Publisher: MindStir Media

At just 25 years old, Michael Fletcher is wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Despite his desperate pleas of innocence, the system turns a blind eye, leaving him trapped behind bars. But Michael refuses to surrender to fate. Within the sterile confines of his cell, he educates himself, mentors others, and clings to the hope that justice will one day prevail.

Upon his long-awaited release, Michael embarks on a daunting mission to uncover the truth behind his wrongful conviction. Yet, freedom is not what he expected. The world has changed, and shocking revelations force him into a battle against corruption, deception, and the scars of his past. Can he reclaim the life that was stolen from him?

Award Winner in the Psychological Genre of the International Firebird Book Awards

Perfect for fans of John Grisham, Scott Turow, and Michael Connelly.

High-stakes legal drama
Powerful themes of injustice, resilience, and redemption
A thought-provoking journey through the flaws of the justice system

Keep reading The Michael Fletcher Series with Accused Again – Freedom Was Just the Beginning

About the Author

Michael J. Kundu was born in London, Great Britain, in 1969 to an Indian father and a German mother. He has lived in various places in Europe. His love for reading has prompted him to write this book giving this crime novel more than an edge of mystery and suspense, but also a contemporary perspective on life.

He has a great passion for learning languages and travelling across the globe. He enjoys spending time with his family and lives in Luxembourg with his Italian wife and two teenage children.

My multinational background, coupled with my marriage to someone of a different nationality, has endowed me with a wealth of diverse experiences. Having traversed the globe, speaking multiple languages and immersing myself in various cultures, the profound value of each individual has become a cornerstone of my worldview. These multicultural encounters have not only fostered a deep appreciation for the uniqueness of every person but have also instilled in me a commitment to promoting mutual respect, free from the shackles of prejudice related to color or religion. In composing my book, these experiences have permeated not only this narrative …but also the forthcoming sequel.

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The Quest for Freedom by Matt Devitt #giveaway #fantasy #epicfantasy #rabtbooktours @Conquesttrilogy @RABTBookTours

By On a Reading Bender December 01, 2025 fantasy, giveaway No comments

Epic Fantasy

Date Published: 07-05-2025

Affer was once a peaceful planet, until a war broke out between its six inhabiting species. The humans, who were once the mightiest force on Affer, were massacred in droves, and the ones who survived the onslaught were reduced to mere slaves. The five other species divided the humans amongst themselves and returned to their respective kingdoms.

The years passed, turning into decades and centuries, without any change. Eventually, the humans had accepted their fate as slaves. All except one. Four hundred and seventy-three years later, Fletcher Rush starts his journey to free his kind...and conquer the planet.

About the Author

I've always had a love for fantasy, and to this day LOTR and The Inheritance Cycle remain some of my favorite books. There are limitless possibilities when you're writing, but with fantasy, it's different. You don't have to adhere to rules or logic; you can create whatever type of world you want. Characters can live in a dystopian society, a grand futuristic city, a picture-perfect world, or a medieval wasteland. Time, technology, and magic are all there for the taking, and as a writer, you get to choose what defines your story.

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https://mybook.to/TheQuestforFreedom

Purchase on the Author's Site at a discount using the code "tour"

https://theconquesttrilogy.com/

The Brothers Brown, a family saga part 2, for the sake of family by R.G. Standford #historical #fiction #releaseday #newbooks #giveaway #rabtbooktours @RABTBookTours

By On a Reading Bender December 01, 2025 fiction, giveaway, historical, new books, release day No comments

for the sake of family

Family Saga, Historical Fiction, Native American

Date Published: 12-01-2025

Based on a true story.

Set in the late 1890’s, The Brothers Brown - a family saga, Part 2 - For the Sake of Family is a sweeping frontier saga of love, guilt, and redemption - an unflinching portrait of a man’s descent into madness amid the unforgiving wilds of Indian Territory.

When Matt Brown boards a northbound train, he carries more than a pistol. He carries the weight of his brother’s death, a marriage strained to its breaking point, and a conscience at war with itself. A doctor’s brown vial of medicine offers fleeting relief but soon draws him into a darker world where pain and guilt blur into something far more dangerous.

His wife, Milla, proud and rooted in her Choctaw heritage, stands as both his anchor and his judge as the world around them shifts under the weight of change and loss.

From Fort Smith, Arkansas, to the wooded banks of Bokchito Creek, two families are bound by tragedy and love, vengeance and mercy. A celebration meant to heal ignites old resentments. A family gathering ends in bloodshed. And a winter dance turns deadly, forcing each to face the cost of survival, forgiveness, and the ties that bind them.

Steeped in the spirit of the Choctaw Nation and the rough mercy of the Old West, For the Sake of Family is a haunting tale of madness, murder, and the fragile hope that redemption can be found on the far side of ruin.

About the Author

Raised on the beaches of South Texas, R.G. Stanford has always been drawn to stories that transcend time. That passion was ignited in 1976 with the discovery of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, and deepened with The Feast of All Saints just a few years later. Though historical fiction wasn’t an immediate calling, a personal journey into genealogy changed everything.

With no close relatives nearby, R.G. Stanford turned to online resources in search of extended family. That search became a twenty-year journey through genealogy websites, Federal Census records, the National Archives, and old newspapers. Along the way, R.G. Stanford uncovered incredible stories about her family and the people who once lived in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory.

Compelled to record the truth of her family in the lore, sprinkled with imagination, R.G. Stanford is a history lover, a research buff, and a passionate genealogy enthusiast. She is also a mother, a grandmother, and a teller of stories, now living near Orlando.

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