Thursday, March 31, 2011

Angel Sister

My, what a heart wrenching story! This is the second time I've read a book by this author, and I know she's made her way to the top of my list. This story was beautiful, even with all the anger and tragedy surrounding it. There were points in the story where I found myself laughing along with the characters, and at other times, I would be reading it with a tear in my eye. The story presents itself in a way that you being to associate with the characters and then beginning to sympathize with them.  This is one of those books where I will continually be reading and re-reading it. The main story line is of Kate Merritt, who is forced to grow up too fast while she strives to keep peace in her family and to keep them together. When she encounters a small girl abandoned on the church steps Kate takes it upon herself to provide for and protect this small child. We experience with her the joys she has, and the sorrow she faces as the adults in her life seem to work at tearing apart the small sense of family she has.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Stars Collide

I love getting books by authors that I've read before, so when I saw that that the same author who wrote the "Weddings by Bella" series also wrote this book I began really looking forward to reading this book! As I've mentioned many times in the past, I'm not much of a romance reader, I find they tend to get a little hokey and ridiculous. That said though, Janice Thompson is one of the few romance authors that I really actually enjoy reading. Her story's are quite interesting and do have that romantic quality to them but lack the corniness of most romance novels!
Again, Thompson didn't disappoint, the book had a fantastic flow, and while sometimes the characters were a little "Wild" they were still within the realm of possible.
The story focuses around Kat Jennings and her budding romance with a co-star, while at the same time showing the struggles she faces caring for an aging and sick grandmother. The situations they found themselves in really had me cracking up at some parts, and I literally gasped at some parts of the story (Some big surprises in this book!) This was a great read, and one I'll be highly recommending!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

The Search

I was beyond excited to read this book, having read the previous two in this series I have been waiting like crazy to get a chance to read this one too!! I love Suzanne Woods Fisher's books, I love Amish books period, but her books seem to have an extra something special in them!
At first I kind of found myself disliking a bit the grandmother (Bertha) and the direction of the story, however as it (the story) progressed I found myself enthralled. When I got to the point where I understood Bertha's motivations, I found that I actually really began to like that character! What I loved (and found to be unique especially among Amish fiction) was the strong woman that she (Bertha) portrayed. I loved her strength of character and her stubbornness.
Also, I love reading the books and spotting the names of the characters in the previous stories, it's almost like hearing about old friends! This entire series was absolutely amazing, there isn't one thing in any of them that I would change! I highly HIGHLY recommend this book, whether you like Amish fiction or not, you will Love this book!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Secrets to parenting your adult child

To be honest, when we received this book I was wondering how I would be able to give a proper review on it. I'm a parent of a young child, so I didn't think there would be much in this book for me. And while at time I found that some of the stuff written was beyond me, I also felt like I was being empowered for the future. There were some great tools in the book for parents, and I feel like I'm that much more prepared for when I face the task of parenting an adult child! I don't feel like there is much I can say on whether the book was spot on or not, since I haven't got the experience of having adult children and am far from it yet. However I will say that I very much enjoyed the tone of the author, it was like reading a conversation with her and I like that. There are so many times that books like these seem to take on an arrogant almost condescending tone when speaking of "How" to parent. I'm happy to say this book didn't do that. There are a few people I know who are facing the task of raising adult children, and I will definitely be passing along my recommendation for them to read this book!!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

A Heart Most Worthy

I love Siri Mitchell's books, The first one I read was "She walks in beauty" and absolutely fell in love witht he book! So I was so excited to have the opportunity to review another of her books! First off, I need to start by saying this book was nothing what I expected it to be! I had expected this book to be much the same style as the last book. However (and its a good however!) this book read compeletly differently, the characters and settings were completely opposite of what the last book had! A few times I had to check back and really see if it was by the same author! That said though, the one way that both these books were compariable, is in how absolutely wonderful they were. The book was well written and held my attention from the first sentence to the very last page.
Mostly the book focuses on Madame Forza's gown shop where she has three young ladies working for her. Throughout the book we follow the lives of these ladies and their struggles (which are neumerous) and their joys. It was a really unique book that flowed nicely together! Even though there were three different stories being told in one book, they worked well together and complimented each other wonderfully! I completely will recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Soul Surfer

I cannot wait for this movie to come out, it looks fantastic!!!

Voyage with the Vikings

When I saw this book was up for review (From Tyndale Media Center) I excitedly signed up to review it!  My son (who is nine) loves the Odyssey audio series and is just getting into reading chapter books. So this book was perfect for him!
He and I read it together and immensely enjoyed the story, it was filled with enough action and suspense that it really held his attention throughout the entire book! Also I appreciated how the book included actual historic references, it made for a much more interesting read when I informed my son that some of the characters in the story were real life people. He (my son) now is reading anything he can find to learn about vikings, the book sparked such a big interested in him to learn all he can about the Viking era. I think that's one of my favorite things about this book, that it really encouraged him to learn more. I also LOVE the website, and how he can get more into the books through there!

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

God's promises devotional journal

I really love this book/journal, I love that it gives us a devotional and allows us to 'respond' in a way afterwards. I also love the length of the devotionals, I find this journal to be a great way to start off my mornings! I tend to work early in the morning and don't have time for some of these devotional books that are pages and pages long. The devotions in "God's promises Devotional Journal" are right to the point, insightful, and heart-tugging. When I read them in the morning I find myself dwelling on the truths presented throughout the rest of the day! And the Collection of authors in it; Goodness there are so many favorites in this one book! From Max Lucado and Ann Graham Lotz, to Catherine Marshall, and so many more! Its a fantastic book, a perfect gift (Or a great addition to your own library!) for friends and family alike!




I Highly recommend this book!