Kim Alexis

Alexis is a Presbyterian by faith but this memoir covers her whole life and why she believes women can be both stay at home moms or career moms if the requisite sacrifices are openly embraced. One of the 1980's Supermodels, she did marathon running for a time and is now married to a former NHL hockey player Ron Duguay. She speaks about the painful divorce after her first marriage ended and the effects on her children. I usually don't read books like this as they tend to be preachy which turns me off. I would rather learn about what makes that person unique. This book is published by Thomas Nelson which is a religious subject printing house. If you are interested in Women's Studies or religious memoirs this might be worth reading. I was surprised at how well thought out the book was.… (más)

Beauty to Die For
Kim Alexis and Mindy Starns Clark

Book Summary: Juliette Taylor walked away from her career as a supermodel twenty-five years ago. Now approaching fifty - an emotionally complex milestone -- she co-owns a beauty supply company that makes skincare products for salons and spas. Her niche is pampering Christian women who usually spend more time caring for others than for themselves under the slogan: Isn't it time someone took care of YOU for a change? When Juliette arrives at the Palm Grotto Spa to host a spiritual retreat, she runs into an old modeling colleague, Raven, who had always been disliked in the industry for many reasons. She isn't there for the retreat; in fact, her presence at the spa is somewhat mysterious. Not long after Raven makes a cryptic threat to Juliette, the unsympathetic back-then beauty is found dead, poisoned by something in the green clay of a chai soy wrap. The following morning, a banner for the retreat has been unceremoniously altered: It's your turn to be nurtured, to be restored . . . to be murdered. Suspicion is directed at Juliette who has history with Raven and certainly knows how to use beauty products. But for murder?! Now she must find the real killer before the police really take care of her.
Review: I found some the beginning to be slow. There was much background that merged with the present. That was nicely done overall. I found the mystery to be small in comparison to the romance. The mystery was actually well woven into the story. I thought that the suspense of the mystery could have been increased to make it a page turner. The ending was great and made reading the entire book fantastic. I found Marcus to be a little too good to be true. Didi, Crystal and the Stone family were great. They helped move the story along and were extremely believable. I am looking forward to the next book in the series with great anticipation of how the characters will continue in their relationships with each other, especially Didi and Marcus. While I would like more suspense I do think the way it was written is the way real mysteries unfold with little suspense and a lot of timing. I did guess who did it but more out of pure guessing than sleuthing. The ending brought me to tears and totally changed how I viewed the entire book.
I would like to thank Net Galley and B & H Publishing Group for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone.… (más)

Author: Kim Alexis & Mindy Starns Clark
Published By: B & H Books
Age Recommended: Adult
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Blog For GMTA
Rating: 5

Review:

"Beauty to Die For" by Kim Alexis and Mindy Starns Clark was a good read. We got some drama, mystery, little romance, murder and lots of crimes going on...all that had a way of keeping you wondering just what, who....guessing till the very end. Be ready for a novel that will have some much going on you will have to pay close attention because of all of its twist and many turns.

Juliette was once a top supermodel now she owned a skin care company...was now hosting a spiritual retreat at the Palm Grotto Resort. Then there is Raven who Juliette had once been friendly with ...but now it seemed like things had changed as Raven had yelled she will murder her(Juliette) if she thinks she can take it (skin care) from her upon seeing her at the airport. This had been a natural for Raven to rant at people... only later to be found dead during a treamtnet with one of Juliette's products. Now this is the part where I will say you must pick up this good novel to see what is in store from all of this? It could be anyone.. why...because Raven wasn't liked by anyone....except? Something else was up...the FBI had found Juliettes's name on a terrorist list? Who will come to her rescue? Now, who is Marcus and how does he fit into this big picture? What will Juliette find in all of this process of what is going on in her life? Would Juliette and Marcus get together? Again, you will have to pick up "Beauty to Die for" to find out!

"Beauty to Die For" will present a smooth glimpse into the modeling field and just what one is willing to do...even kill to get just what they want. There were a great many characters that really made this novel so readable. I was surprised who was behind what had been going on and you may be too.

In the end after all the drama, mystery, romance, murder, and many twist and turns you will get a great finale. With that being said, I would recommend to you..."Beauty to Die For" as a excellent read.… (más)