Monday, December 31, 2012

Another Year In Review

I can't believe how fast this year has gone! I have made up a list of my favorite books from this year that I could remember. These are in no particular order and are just my top favorites. I read many wonderful books this year! Here's to a new year full of adventures, travels, and books!



















 

 





















Thursday, December 27, 2012

Her Good Name Book Review






Her Good Name by Ruth Axtell is set in 1882 Maine. The story unfolds about miss Espy who is trying to make a way for herself and because of her poorer class it seems to be more difficult. Warren is from a prominent family and went to grade school with Espy but seems to keep running into her everywhere he goes. As their relationship turns more towards friendship, something terrible happens that jeopardizes Espy's reputation. Because of her working class, she is made into a liar and judged as the entire town turns against her. Warren doesn't trust her anymore and Espy decides her life is going nowhere staying in such a town and gossips. She goes on a new adventure and discovers a whole new life with Christ at the center.

At the start of the book I did not like Espy character, she seemed too annoyingly flirtatious in the first couple of chapters. As I continued reading, I soon fell in love with her character and the overall storyline. I was pleasantly surprised when the storyline took a different turn and truly wove in God's love and how important He is in our lives. I truly enjoyed this book, it was a rather refreshing book to read.

 This is not an author I am familiar with but I will be finding more of her books. You can check out her website to see what else she has to offer.

"I received this book for free from Moody Publishers in exchange for this review"   

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

It's the Hot Chocolate and Board Games.....

 For Christmas Eve we got out the hot chocolate in our festive snowman mugs and played Battle Cry which is Chance's new game. It's battles in the civil war and I was Confederate and I had the victory this game!!








 Sparkling red grape juice is my favorite.
 Chance got me me this clock for Christmas, it looks so nice on our kitchen wall.


 Oh, I forgot to mention...we do have Union and Confederate hats that were promptly brought out at the start of the game. Yes, the Civil War is a big deal in our home.




Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Is Here...








We have a smaller tree but it sure is covered in ornaments. We had a few additions this year so it was really fun to decorate with new things. 

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Secrets Book Review



Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn is the first in the Glenbrooke Series. When I first requested this book I didn't realize that it has been published for quite awhile. I have also never read anything by Robin Jones Gunn, not even the Christy Miller series. In any case I had no idea what to expect.

Secrets is about Miss Jessica Morgan and starts off as her escaping from something and hiding her identity in the small town of Glenbrooke. After being in a car accident, a young man named Kyle enters her life. Kyle is first to rescue her from the car. Kyle is a strong Christan man and Jessica has nothing to do with God. As Jessica's identity becomes an issue with her new job as a teacher she must decide what the right thing to do is, even if it's the last thing she wants to do.

The author also added in a trip to Mexico that Jessica ends up going on, not necessarily by choice. Kyle happens to be going on this trip as well and her eyes are opened to how great God is. I liked this part because it reminded me of a trip to Mexico I took. In the end it is quite obvious that God has been in control the entire time.

I enjoyed this book, though not my favorite. It is very predictable even though it is trying to hide a secret. Her secret really isn't as big a deal as it is made out to be and thus was a tad disappointing. In any case it was a light enjoyable read.

Robin Jones Gunn website has a lot more information where you can read about all the books she has written.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."


Friday, December 21, 2012

Me Being Auntie!

 I mean how cute?!
 Do you see this face? I love it so much.

 He just stared at me.
 Mommy and Cora
 This is the first little niece. She is a doll and has the sweetest smile it melts my heart. 

 Cora and Daddy
 The boys.
 Hanging out.

 His expressions are adorable.




 Exploring.
These are all of my good friend's kids but I am Aunt Michelle. I have other nephews but I got to see these three all in one day!

A Change of Fortune Book Review



A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano is set in New York 1880 and is about a young woman by the name of Eliza. At the start of the book you find her entertaining children as their governess and soon find out she is hiding her identity. Someone has stolen her money and title and she is going to make things right once again. In steps Mr. Hamilton Beckett who is quite amused with Eliza's attitude and keeps running into her at the oddest of times. While Eliza is pretending to be someone else, she also has turned her back on God. During the course of the story, which is rather jam packed full, God shows her that He had a plan the entire time. 


I love the cover of this book, it is one of my favorites for the year. This is Jen Turano's first novel and for being a first novel it was a delightful read. I enjoyed the story line and the characters and the setting. I can't wait to read more from this author because I know the writing will get better with each book. The only thing that I didn't like that I noticed while reading was the immense amount of dialogue in certain parts of the story. I understand that the reader needs to know what is going on but this conversation was pages long. It made things hard to follow at times because the conversation was so random and the story covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time. This was a fast book, meaning one minute you are here and the next you are jumping over here.The author does write with a great deal of humor and made me smile on more than one occasion.

In any case I still enjoyed this book and will be looking for more from Jen! This is the first to four books in a series called the Ladies of Distinction. She has written Gentleman of Her Dreams which you can only purchase the eBook edition.

Stop by Jen Turano's website.



"I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers for this review"









Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Personal Update

Sorry everyone, I have really been slacking in the blog department. Life have been extra busy for me these past couple weeks. I am taking a college class that is only four weeks long but super time consuming! I have to pack an entire semester into four weeks so that is what I have been working on in my spare time.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! We had a party at work this past weekend and I baked eight pies which were delicious. I have taken a few pictures of our Christmas decor at home but have yet to post them. I thought way ahead this year and have had all my presents bought, wrapped, and under the tree for a couple weeks now. The only difficult thing with buying things early is I kept thinking about other things they would want but couldn't buy because I had reached my spending limit.

After my class is over I am hoping to blog more than I did this past year. Each year I have had this blog I have progressively written blog posts but still I wish it was more.

Have a great Tuesday everyone!!

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Fiddler Giveaway Results




Congrats to Diane E, you are the winner!! Diane has a great blog herself and often has giveaways as well. Check out her blog over here!!
I have emailed the winner and she should have her book in the mail soon!







I was not planning on having the giveaway end today but I had a lot of technical issues that I didn't realize unit this morning. This was also the first time I have used Rafflecopter so I apologize for the confusion.

Thank you everyone who entered and commented and followed my blog! I hope to have another giveaway coming in the new year!

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Fiddler Book Giveaway!



  I have read many of Beverly Lewis books but The Fiddler is now one of my favorites.

 I am loving the new "book trailers" and they have one for this story! Click on watch video and it should pop up. 

Also head over to Beverly Lewis Website to see what else she has been writing.


Check out my review for The Fiddler.



 In order to participate in the giveaway just enter through Rafflecopter below. It will be open from Monday December 10-Monday December 17th.The winner will be announced on the 18th and I will send out the paperback copy of The Fiddler to the winner!



a Rafflecopter giveaway