Sunday, October 30, 2016

From This Day Forward by Lauraine Snelling


"Deborah longs to marry , But she never thought she'd have to choose between an old love and a new possiblity..."




Hey Readers,
Can you believe that November starts this week?!
I cannot believe how fast this year is going by...
So I just finished several new books, some of which have definitely made it on my "Must Read" list. So, lets take a look at the first book that I read this month which was From This Day Forward by Lauraine Snelling.

From This Day Forward is the continuing story of the residents of a small town named Blessing. At the start of the book you meet Deborah MacCallister who is 25 years old, the head nurse and is still single. She has been in love with Toby Valders for years but he has not given any hints that he feels the same way.
Toby Valders feels like he is in over his head. He is in charge of getting the school for the blind built so he works from sun up to sun down everyday and barely has time to eat. He is grateful when he discovers that his friend Deborah is bringing him food to eat because he is so tired after work that he just wants to go home and rest. Toby does not understand why he is so hesitatant to court Deborah,  She is absolutely beautiful and he knows that she likes him, but something is holding him back from making such a huge commitment.
Deborah's patience with Toby is getting thin so she enlists the help of all of the women of the community to pray for wisdom in this ordeal with Toby and that means all hands on deck. The women of the town decide to take matters into thier own hands and try several matchmaking techniques but nothing seems to work... That is until the new school teacher Anton Gendarme comes to town. When Anton is introduced to Deborah he is immeadiately attracted to her.  Anton starts to spend time with her and her family so that he can get to know her better. But when Toby finds out that Anton and Deborah are hanging out  he is very upset. He is not sure why he would be upset that the two of them have become friends because Deborah is not his girlfriend... Could he be jealous?
When Toby realizes that he loves Deborah will he let her know in time? Or will Anton sweep Deborah off her feet?
You will have to read the book to find out!


What did I think of the book?
So this is book 4 in the Song of Blessing series but I read it as a standalone. I recommend reading the other books in the series before reading this book because I was very confused about who everyone was. I liked the characters and the close knit community that the author portrayed but I was really lost on the storyline.  The story was well written and easy to read except for the foreign names of the main characters like Thorliff and Ingeborg.  Overall I would say that it would be on my "Must Read" list IF you have read the first 3 books in the series. Overall I rate the book 3 out of 5 Stars.***


So if you like this book, want to check out the first books in the series or want to see what else she has written, Here is her link!

http://www.laurainesnelling.com/html/books.html


Happy Reading :) 


I would like to thank Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy. I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.


Sunday, October 16, 2016

Gratitude A Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal

"Always be Joyful. 
Never Stop Praying."
 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17


So I had the opportunity to review a different kind of "Must Read" this week.
So everyone is now into adult coloring books.
Seriously, You can go to just about any store and find a coloring book that may have classic pictures such as Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh or a landscape by Thomas Kinkade.
So what makes this coloring book so special? I am glad you asked!

Gratitude is a Prayer and Praise Coloring Journal. It has places to color and blank spaces so you can write down your thoughts, prayers or maybe a Bible verse or two that stuck out to you when you read your devotions that day.
I have included some pictures so that you could get an idea of what's on the inside of the book. (Even though the cover itself is beautiful)


This is one of my FAVORITE pages!
 I love the beautiful artwork displayed on both sides of the page. As you can see,  on the left side of the page there is the blank spot to be used as a journal.



 So this one does not have much to color but it does have a wonderful Bible verse about how amazing God is and a prayer to God to help us remember to cherish every moment. It also has a space on the bottom of the page so that you can write out your thoughts or anything else you may want to write down.


One thing that I love about this journal is the ability to be versatile so that people of different ages can enjoy it. The above picture is one that my Mom had fun coloring. and believe it or not the picture below was colored by my Sister.  When I saw how she colored the flowers all I could do was stare because they were so beautifully and masterfully done.


 So the picture below is the picture that my other sister who is 9 years old like and she decided that she wanted to help me out (really? I need help coloring?) .   These two pages have an adorable young girl on the right side, a prayer, a Bible Verse and a place to write your thoughts on the left. It does appear to be childlike in appearance but the verse on the page is one of my favorites.


What did I think about the book? 
I loved it! I was pleasantly suprised by the book because I thought it was just going to be an ordinary coloring book but it has so much more inside. I love that each page has a Bible verse and a prayer for you to think about while you're coloring.  The Bible verses are from the New Living Translation so they are very easy to understand. I also liked the suggestion that on the journal pages, you do not have to write anything if you did not want to,  You could draw or doodle on the page. I would recommend this book for Girls age 8 and older because most of the pictures are very detailed and a young child might get very frustrated, very quick.

Overall I loved the book and I give it 4 out of 5 Stars ****


If you like this book, Check out the other creative books and ideas from Tyndale House Publishers by clicking on the link below
https://www.tyndale.com/l/living-expressions

Happy Coloring :)


I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one. 
                                                                    

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Catching Heat by Janice Cantore



Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.                   -Romans 12:19

 So I have been writing so many reviews and reading so many books that I wanted this introduction to be short and sweet. Here is my latest " Must Read" .
Catching Heat by Janice Cantore. It is the last book in the Cold Case Justice Series and it is the explosive conclusion to Detective Abby Hart's search for justice for her murdered parents.


In Catching Heat , Detective Abby Hart is frustrated because she has finally found a vital piece of  her puzzle, A clue to who murdered her parents and burnt down their restaurant ( aka The Triple Seven Murder ) The problem was... it just slipped right through her fingers. Abby had arrested Kelsey Cox after Kelsey admitted to having a part in the crime but once She got Kelsey in court, Kelsey would not testify that she had anything to do with it. She just implied that she had a part in killing her father but would not say anything about the Triple Seven murders. Abby is outraged, She feels like she was so close and it was ripped away from her. but she tries to take her mind off of it by joining her friends Robert Woods ( Woody) and P.I. Luke Murphy on a special task force that investigates cold cases (cases that were never solved). The first case they are given is for a college girl who went missing years ago. They have been granted access to the suspect list but it has been so long that they are worried that the trail has gotten so cold that they will not be able to find any answers but they start with the two main suspects, Harkin and Considine.  While they are investigating the two suspects and the events surrounding the disappearance, Abby discovers a lead about the person she believes orchestrated her parents deaths. She thinks that they lived near where the case took them so she decides to investigate. But when Luke finds out that she went by herself to investigate her "supposed" lead, he is furious! Not only was it reckless to go alone into the wrong side of town but her lead is too shaky, and he honestly believes that it is no a lead at all.  When they find out that Kelsey escaped her prison transport, Luke and Woody decide that Abby is not to look into her lead unless one of them is with her because they are worried that Kelsey may try to get revenge. Abby feels like Woody and Luke are treating her like a child so she decides to investigate on her own but more discreetly, Unfortunately it starts consuming her life and she lets it distract her from the missing girl case .When that lack of focus causing Abby and Woody to be put in the middle of a dangerous situation, Will they be able to escape unharmed or will Abby mistake cost one or both of them their lives?
Find out by reading this exciting conclusion to the Cold Case Justice Series! 

What did I like about the book? 
So this is the third book in the Cold Case Justice series and I think that it was the perfect conclusion to the series. I would recommend reading the first two books in the series first so that you understand the plot better but the book could also be read as a stand alone.  Throughout the series you get to see Abby work through  feelings of revenge, loneliness, hurt, loss and love but even though she stumbled a few times, She was able to pick herself back up because she would remember that vengeance was the Lord's job and that one day justice would be served.  One of my favorite things about the series was the friendship that Woody, Luke and Abby had. That it did not matter the time, place or situation, they always had each others back.
 Overall I give the book 5 out of 5 Stars ***** and the Series gets 7 out of 5 Stars *******.


 
If you would like to check out more information on the Cold Case Justice series or any of her other books, Here is the link,

http://www.janicecantore.com/books/


Happy Reading :)

 


I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.