Sunday, March 31, 2013

The Sunday Post


The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, it is a chance to share news,  A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news on what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. 


HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!! My son and I have been enjoying this day. Finding eggs, eating chocolate, cooking dinner and thanking Jesus. 

This week I did not get to read as much as I wanted too :( Life got in the way a bit and sadly, the next two weeks will be the same. I am still going to try to read quite a few and review them but not daily like I was :( 


Last week I read and reviewed:

Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts
A Man Like Mike by Sami Lee
Berenstain Bears Easter Magic, Stan & Jan Berenstain 
Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn

This week I plan to review the following books:

It Takes Balls by Josh Wolf










Wonderfully Made by Joyce Meyer










What A Son Needs From His Mom by Cherri Fuller

Friday, March 29, 2013

Clouds



Clouds by Robin Jones Gunn (Glenbrooke # 5)

Shelly is struggling with life. Her job is downsizing and she is forced to move back home with her parents. As she builds a relationship with her sister Meredith she begins to put her life back together slowly. She has memories of her true love, Jonathan and spends time thinking about him and wishing she had done things differently. She finally gets to see him again after 5 years but things are not the way she had hoped they would be. I will not give you any more details than that, you will have to read the book to find out why.

I thought this was a good book. The characters were easy to follow and understand. The story line was great. There is one scene where there is a guest speaker who talks about religion and I thought that was very well written. I felt like I was there at the conference and felt all the emotion.

I also loved all the historic and German information. I learned a bit in this book and that was a pleasant surprise. I was sad that most of the book did not take place in Glenbrooke but it did end there with characters from previous books and that was fun!

One negative thought-I did feel like this book was a little slow. A little hard to get into. There were no big events, no mystery or real drama but it was still interesting  and sweet and I am very glad I read it.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***


Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Berenstain Bears Easter Magic



The Berenstain Bears Easter Magic by Stan And Jan Berenstain

This was a very short book but it was cute. It was easy to read and understand. The pictures were colorful and beautiful! It was nice and refreshing to see the bears go through all the fun parts of Spring and Easter. Perfect for young children and classrooms.

Review from my five year old son-"It was so short but it was awesome!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

A Man Like Mike



A Man Like Mike by Sami Lee

This book is a typical romance book with no real surprise. A mother and father die, leaving their child in the capable hands of their friend. The child's uncle moves in to help and one thing leads to another and the two of them become a couple. You can see Eve struggle to become a mom and that was refreshing. Most parents understand that it is not always easy so I was glad to see that in there.

This book was cute. A lovely little heartwarming story but there was not much to it. There were no surprises, not much humor and was just like every other typical romance book. I personally liked that it did not give too many graphic details about their intimate relationship. It was an easy read and was good but it just was not as special as I had hoped it would be.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Lucky Bastard



Lucky Bastard by Deborah Coonts

A cozy mystery from Las Vegas! Several people are murdered and Lucky (yes, that is her name) finds herself trying to solve the mystery.  She runs herself rugged as she learns who she can trust and struggles to put all the pieces together.During all of this, she also has a relationship starting up with a chef.

I thought this book was good. It was a good mystery with lots of clues and characters to follow. The descriptions were good and it was a nice book to get lost in. I did not find there to be much comedy, which I love to see in my cozy mysteries but some of you may not like comedy mixed in.

 I personally thought the last 2 chapters were unnecessary and seemed to go on and on and got boring but to each their own, you may think it was great and a perfect ending. I would love to know what you thought of this book so feel free to leave your own comments.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Wicked Business



Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich

I was anxious to read this book after I read Wicked Appetite and I am sad to say, I was not very happy with this one.Carl  the monkey was back but he seemed kinda tame and not as comical. Diesel was back with all his hotness but I did not feel the chemistry between him and Lizzy this time. Glo was still doing spells but they were not funny. Wulf was not himself and the stone adventures were not as good.

I do hope the next one will follow more like the first one. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good book but I want a book that makes me want to cry if I have to put it down. I want to be fully captivated in the book and have my real life fade away, this one simply did not do that for me. But have no fear, I am still anxiously awaiting the next one!!!!

Friday, March 22, 2013

The Baby Bargain



The Baby Bargain by Jennifer Apocada

A woman and man have a great time, he leaves, she finds out she is pregnant. Knowing that he never wanted a family, she did not contact him and was raising their son as a single mother. When her son is 2, the man comes back into town to handle a few things and they meet back up. Will she tell him about his son? Will he stick around? Is this going to be a family? I am not going to answer those questions for you, you will have to read it to find out!

This book is not a book I would have typically picked up but the cover caught my attention and I wanted to read it. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and guess what? There was even a little mystery in it! YAY!!!! I love some mystery! Don't get me wrong, it was still a romance but I was glad there was a real story line to it!

I found this to be a good book. Easy to get into and hard to put down. I wanted to see how it ended, even though I already knew how it would go. Now, if someone can tell me where I can find a man like this............

***I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Dylan's Day



Dylan's Day by Tim Hutchinson

This cute little dog goes looking for the big fat cat that lives next door and we get to see some of the things he sees like birds, balls and Mrs.Grumpy Face. Then Dylan finds that big fat cat that lives next door and it is not quite as fun as he thought it would be!

This children's book was very cute. My five year old son was able to read it by himself and understand what happened. The pictures were nice and we both loved the funny picture of the big fat cat that lives next door.  There was no real message in this book and that would be the one negative thing I would say. I like to have stories that mean something for my son, but all in all, it was a cute story!

Review from my five year old son- "This book was awesome and the big fat cat was so funny!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Secrets



Secrets, Glenbrooke Series #1 by Robin Jones Gunn

When I first looked at this book, I was not really sure what to expect. I was not overly excited to read it, nor was I putting it off. But I picked up this book this morning, yes I said this morning and I was intrigued on the first page. I am not kidding! Within the first two pages I was 100% hooked on this book. I will not tell you why, as I do not want to spoil it for you, but I will tell you that my attention was caught completely and I did not want to put this book down.

The Author did an amazing job setting this story up and playing it out. This is a Christian book but it was not overly "churchy" to me. I did not feel like she was forcing God on me but at the same time, I felt myself getting caught up in the story and reflecting on my own life and walk with God. There were some great points throughout the book and I could feel myself relating with the main character, Jessica. How many of us struggle with our Faith? How many of us question God? I am not one that develops relationships/friendships easily and I do not like to let others help, so it was interesting and helpful to see Jessica struggle with the same issues and how she worked through them. Reading this story brought me a little closer to God and for that I am grateful.

After sitting here and reading this book in one day while juggling the daily chores of a mom, I find myself desperate to get the next book in this series (it is called Whispers in case you want it too!) I want to know what happens with the other people who live in Glenbroke! If I could, I would go and by the whole series tonight. This is a series I would LOVE to add to my bookshelf and I highly recommend it.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Born To Blog



Born To Blog, Building Your Blog For Personal And Business Success One Post At A Time by Mark Schaefer and Stanford Smith.

This book would be helpful if you have NEVER done a blog or looked at a blog. If you are thinking about starting a blog for yourself or your company, this book has some great information, tips and ideas. However, if you already HAVE a blog, this book will not help you much.

Since I already have a blog, I already knew everything they mentioned in this book. I was expecting it to be a little more advanced than it was but it was really more of a basics. They do have a box titled Take Action throughout the pages and I found that to be a neat concept.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Take Control Read-A-Thon Wrap Up



The Read-A-Thon is over and we are sad :(  But here are the books we read,

Max has finished the following books all by himself, He gave his rating in the parenthesis. 

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! By Dr. Seuss (Loved)
The Math Of Baseball by Ian F. Mahaney (Kinda liked and kinda didn't)
Disney Cars, Go, Go, Go! by Melissa Lagonegro (LOVED)
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Gladone (didn't like it cuz the fox ate the gingerbread boy! It is a bad book!)
The Children's Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Professor Michael J. Benton (LOVED. It is AWESOME)
Bob The Builder Rock And Roll Bob by Kim Ostrow (It was awesome)
The Ball Game by David Packard (This one was good. I did a review on it)
What About Bear? by Suzanne Bloom (It was funny)
A Splendid Friend Indeed by Suzanne Bloom (Awesome! He read a book to his friend!)
Oh What A Surprise by Suzanne Bloom (This was great! The fox was funny)


The ones Max started but has not finished yet:

Miles and Miles of Reptiles by Dr. Seuss
Caillou Makes A Snowman by Roger Harvey
Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe

The ones I read to Max:

Caillou, Day Care by Christine L'Heureux (It was awesome but sad for Caillou)
Caillou, A New Family by Christine L'Heureux (Kinda cool)
Mac And Cheese by Sarah Weeks (Funny)
Mac And Cheese and the Perfect Plan by Sarah Weeks (oh so funny!)
Breakfast Time For Thomas (loved it but Thomas was a bad train!)

Myself...... I have finished 

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn
Born To Blog by  Mark Schaefer and Stanford Smith.
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
Love No Matter What by Brenda Garrison

Together we read 19 books! Thank you so much to everyone who participated and encouraged us, especially my son, I am impressed with how much he read and how little tv he watched! This was a very fun weekend! A special shout out to Kimba The Caffeinated Book Reviewer  for organizing it! 

Monday, March 18, 2013

Love No Matter What




Love No Matter What, When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don't Agree With by Brenda Garrison

Every parent worries about their kids. We all worry about those teen years when we know we will lose control and our precious perfect little children will grow up and step into the real world. They will hate us and think we know nothing. How can we help them through that and make sure they are making good decisions? How can we as parents get through it knowing that we did everything we could? My son is only 5 but I know time will fly and we will be in that situation before we know it. That is why I wanted to read this book.

I found this book to be interesting and helpful. While I am not yet there, I found some useful information and some great ideas to help me NOW so that I am ready for later. I also loved that the Author's daughter Katie helped and put in her own side of things. That was interesting to me.

What I did NOT like was the positioning of the stories. There were some great stories about other kids and the things they went through and how their parents dealt with it but instead of going through the whole story, she did part of it and then came back to it in a later chapter. She did this with multiple families and I got confused. I am very lost on who was who. I loved the stories being in there because that makes it more real however I wish each story had been completed before another one began.

I also liked that she told us where the kids are today. Not kids anymore obviously, but it is kinda neat to see how they grew up. I also like all the questions in the back. Would be perfect for a small group discussion.

All in all, this was a good book. I will hold onto it and read it again when my son is closer to the teen years!

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

The Ball Game



The Ball Game by David Packard

This review is done 100% by my five year old son, Max. I will type exactly what he says. He likes comments so feel free to tell him what you think!

"This book was about a ball game. There is one person who hit the ball and got a home run. He slid in home and that was the last part of the game and they won!

I liked this book and it was awesome because it is called the ball game and it is baseball and I like baseball! It was very easy to read and the pictures were really funny! "

Single Parenting That Works



Single Parenting That Works, Six keys to raising happy, healthy children in a single parent home by Kevin Leman.

The title tells you what this book is about so I will not go into details, I will just give my personal opinion.

I bought this book because I am a single mom and I am always looking for ways to make my life flow easier for myself and for my son. I have been looking for a good single parenting book and this one caught my attention.

I really did enjoy this book. There were some great tips and ideas. The author did a great job of talking about all the different ways/reasons you can be a single parent and he also spends time talking to single moms as well as single dads. At the end of the book there are chapters that help you with questions that are specific to your situation. There is a chapter for divorced parents widows and widowers and never married parents, that way you can get help with the hard questions that pertain to you!

I found this book to be interesting & helpful & recommend it to every single parent.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Read-A-Thon Progress

So far for the read-a-thon, Max has finished the following books all by himself, He gave his rating in the parenthesis. 

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! By Dr. Seuss (Loved)
The Math Of Baseball by Ian F. Mahaney (Kinda liked and kinda didn't)
Disney Cars, Go, Go, Go! by Melissa Lagonegro (LOVED)
The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Gladone (didn't like it cuz the fox ate the gingerbread boy! It is a bad book!)
The Children's Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Professor Michael J. Benton (LOVED. It is AWESOME)

The ones Max started but has not finished yet:

Miles and Miles of Reptiles by Dr. Seuss
Caillou Makes A Snowman by Roger Harvey
Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe

The ones I read to Max:

Caillou, Day Care by Christine L'Heureux (It was awesome but sad for Caillou)
Caillou, A New Family by Christine L'Heureux (Kinda cool)
Mac And Cheese by Sarah Weeks (Funny)
Mac And Cheese and the Perfect Plan by Sarah Weeks (oh so funny!)

Myself...... I have finished 

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn
Born To Blog by  Mark Schaefer and Stanford Smith.
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich



Saturday, March 16, 2013

Read-A-Thon progress



Check out the stack of 45 books my five year old son, Max picked out from the library today! He wants to read them all for the read-a-thon! He told the librarian that he is reading them for a read-a-thon for his mommy's "blog thingy" and that he is going to review some of them too! She was so touched and walked away with tears in her eyes at the thought of this little kid being so into books!

So far today Max has finished the following books, He gave his rating in the parenthesis. 

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut! By Dr. Seuss (Loved)
The Math Of Baseball by Ian F. Mahaney (Kinda liked and kinda didn't)
Disney Cars, Go, Go, Go! by Melissa Lagonegro (LOVED)

The ones Max started but has not finished yet:

Miles and Miles of Reptiles by Dr. Seuss
The Children's Dinosaur Encyclopedia by Professor Michael J. Benton
Caillou Makes A Snowman by Roger Harvey
Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe

Myself...... I am working on 2 books but have not finished either one yet. LOL

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn
Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich


And The Winner Is....



And The Winner Is.... Amazing Animal Athletes by Etta Kaner

In This book, there are two announcers, Walrus and Cockatoo, and they make the events fun and exciting. Oddly enough, I can feel their excitement radiating off the pages! They announce the line up of animals and tell you which race this is. There are facts about each animal you can read, then you pick the one you think will win, turn the page and see if you were right! As you read through this book you will learn which animal is the fastest, hops the highest, can pick up the most, and so on. You may think you know the answers, but some may surprise you! They certainly surprised me!!!!

This book is extremely cute in my opinion. You are feeding children information about animals in a fun and exciting way. I love that it includes humans and where they rank compared to animals.

This book is perfect for children who love animals and want to know more about them. It is also perfect for a teacher to use. You can easily expand on it. The pictures are great. All in all, I found it to be an excellent children's book!

Review from my 5 year old son- "This book was so cool! The animals were racing and there were even announcers! It was funny!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Friday, March 15, 2013

Take Control of your TBR Pile Read-A-Thon



This weekend is the Take Control of Your TBR Pile Read-a-Thon. I do not have a whole lot of time to devote but I am going to get creative and read as much as I can.  I just finished up the two books I was reading so I can start a new one today! 

I will also pull my son into this and have him read with me. He can read on his own and I will also read TO him so together, we will read a bunch! 

This is my first Read-A-Thon and to say I am excited would be an understatement! I can hardly contain myself! LOL! 

If you want to join us, just click on the button/ picture above and join in the fun! Let the reading begin!!!!!! 

Eternally 21



Eternally 21, a Mrs. Frugalicious Shopping Mystery by Linda Joffe Hull


"When Maddie Michael’s husband, Mr. Frank Finance, loses all their money in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie must do her best to prevent Frank’s TV show from going belly up. To maintain the appearance that everything is financially fine, Maddie secretly sets up a bargain hunter’s website that goes viral — making Mrs. Frugalicious a huge hit and bringing in muchneeded cash.
While researching “frugasm”-worthy deals at the local mall, Maddie is mistakenly accused of shoplifting by Eternally 21 manager Laila DeSimone. Her bad day gets worse when Laila drops dead. Universally disliked Laila has a murder suspect list longer than Maddie’s bargain spreadsheets, but when evidence points to Maddie as the prime suspect, she must find the real killer before the police throw away her “get out of jail free” coupon."

I have been excited to read this book. I could not wait to get to it and it was well worth the wait. This book had my attention and kept it all the way through. The killer.....well, I certainly never saw it coming. I was pleasantly shocked and surprised.The last 2 pages were EXCELLENT. I will not give anything away but I laughed alot and would love to know if you all felt the same way. I will read this book again and I recommend it to you all!

This book has a publish date of June 8, 2013.

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Which Is Round? Which Is Bigger?



Which Is Round? Which Is Bigger? By Mineko Mamada

This interactive book uses animals to show differences in objects. You choose which of the two items is longer, then when you turn the page you discover that there is a fun twist and what you thought was obvious, is being challenged. 

This is a very fast read but can easily be expanded to teach the concepts more. This is a great book for a teacher to use with their class. The pictures are beautiful and funny and the story is great. A fun way to teach!!!

Review from my 5 year old son- "This book is funny. I like the silly animals and they kept tricking me!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review.***


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

100 Animals On Parade



100 Animals On Parade by Masayuki Sebe

This book is very cute. You have multiple chances to count to 100 by counting adorable and playful animals and there are fun things to find throughout the book.  Follow all of the animals to the big animal party, once you get there you can count the animals or continue finding objects that are hidden! How fun is that? 

This book would be great for a teacher to use in their classroom. Most schools celebrate the 100th day of school and this would be a fun way to count! 

Review from my five year old son- "the animals are so cute and I like finding all the stuff that is hiding in the pictures."

***This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review.***

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Sex & Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies


Sex and Money: Pleasures That Leave You Empty and Grace That Satisfies by Paul David Tripp. 
Are you behind on bills? Are you lusting after someone? Do you buy alot of material things? Do you have sex outside of marriage? Do your thoughts revolve around sex and money all the time? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this book is for you.

One thing the Author said is that alot of people have sex to hear those 3 little words- I love you- While going from partner to partner, you find out that you are still not feeling loved. If we all focus on God and make him the center of our world and give HIM our heart, our life will be better and we WILL be loved. This is a great point and anyone who feels this way should read through the book as he DOES expand on this!

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will  be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24) Glad to see this one in the book, I can not hear it enough!!!!!

My personal opinion for this book is that the first chapter really caught my attention and had me eager to read it but I quickly became disappointed. I felt like that Author had some good information but he said the same things over and over again and I got bored. I have heard all of this information before and was really hopeful that this book would talk more about how to live in TODAY'S world in God's way. I think we could all use some pointers to keep us from succumbing to peer pressure in regards to sex . I would also love to know how you live when you do not make enough money to pay the bills?

***I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review***





Monday, March 11, 2013

Wicked Appetite



Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

A monkey named Carl that flips people off, sprays easy cheese all over everyone and is like that quirky little brother we all have. A cat named Cat #7143 who has ninja skills and is protective. Glo who is trying out magic spells and can not seem to get them right. A man named Diesel who has special skills, is HOT, strong, funny and did I mention HOT???? And of course we have Lizzy, a baker who has special powers that she did not know about.  How could you go wrong with this book?

Lizzi and Diesel work together to find some enlightened stones to keep them out of the evil Wulf's hands. The problem is, these stones affect Lizzi and cause her some problems. One minute she is trying to eat everything she can get her hands on, the next minute she wants lots of babies! Watch out Diesel!!!!

Overall, I thought this was a great book. I am adding it to my list of books to buy for my collection! This book caught my attention on the first page and I was disappointed that it ended! I wish it had been longer!

Carl the monkey was my favorite character as he made me laugh every time he was mentioned.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sesame Street: I Is For Imagination



Sesame Street: I Is For Imagination by Amy Mebberson

This is a comic book style book with three short stories:

Super Elmo- Elmo and Grover are dressed like super heroes and ready to save the day.
Written by: Jason M. Burns
Art: Amy Mebberson
Colors: Dustin Evans

A Dip In The Galaxy - Follow Cookie Monster as he takes a trip to space to eat the moon!
Written by: Patrick Storck
Art: Jams Silvani
Colors: Dustin Evans

Smog Day Afternoon- There is something Stinky on Sesame Street. Oscar the Grouch loves it but everyone else can not stand it. You will laugh when you find out what the smell is!!!
Written by: Paul Morrissey
Art by: Scott Underwood
Colors: Dustin Evans

My son and I loved these stories. They were all short so it did not take long to read them all. We were able to use funny voices as we read this and we worked together (I was Elmo, he was Grover, and so on). This made us both laugh the whole time we were reading it.

The story lines were great and funny. We laughed on every page and were eager to see what was coming up next. We did not want to put this book down. We will be reading it again tomorrow! Maybe this time I can be Grover! LOL.

Review from my five year old son- "This book was the greatest book! I liked Elmo and Grover! They made me laugh. Grover was really funny!"

***This book was given to me by the publisher for an open and honest review.***

Saturday, March 9, 2013

My Happy Life



My Happy Life by Rose Lagercrantz
This is a chapter book about a girl named Dani that has to go through some tough times. Her mother died when she was younger (although it only touches on that a little), her best friend moves away and she has small daily decisions to make at school. Can Dani stay happy through all of this or will she lose her happiness?

I thought this book was cute. My son and I really enjoyed it and read it all in one sitting. The thing  I personally like is that that Dani's dad is a single father. You do not see that much in print so I appreciated that. This book was told by Dani so it is written like a six year old talks. That confused me at times and made it hard to read but my son really got into it. He laughed out loud several times!

Review from my five year old son-"This book is a little bit cool and I really liked Meatball!" (You will have to read the book to see who meatball is!!!)

All in all, it was a cute book and I enjoyed reading it.

***This book was given to me by the publisher for an open and honest review***

Friday, March 8, 2013

Max's Easter Surprise


Max & Ruby, Max's Easter Surprise by Rosemary Wells

I gave this book to my five year old son, let him read it on his own and this review is from him. I typed exactly what he said and did not add anything to it. I hope you enjoy his review!

"Ruby and Louise were painting Easter eggs because this book is about Easter. There are Easter Eggs on almost every page! The characters are Ruby, Max and Louise. This book was also about Max's toys because he gave the eggs to his toys and then he made a parade!

I love this book because it is fun and I love Max and Ruby. I am going to go read it again!"

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping


Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt

Follow a squirrel as he learns the joys of the great outdoors! When he can not plug in his tv, he has to get creative to get the electric to his tree. He is so scared of everything, even penguins and zippers that this is a real challenge. Will the squirrel start to enjoy being outside or will he hurry up and get his tv plugged in? You will have to read this story to find out!

I found this to be an extremely cute story. It was funny and had a great story line. The pictures were great and added even more comedy and really helped to tie it all in together. I loved it, my son loved it and we both want to read it again so that is a win-win in my opinion!

*** This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

Review from my five year old son- "This book was really funny. My favorite part was the list of things that the squirrel needed to bring on his trip. That stuff he did not even need!"

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Double Whammy



Double Whammy by Gretchen Archer.

The following description comes from the publisher:


Davis Way thinks she’s hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey.
Buried under a mistaken identity, unable to seek help from her family, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.
I had a hard time getting into this book. To me it was slow to start and I found parts of it to be confusing. Once I got into it though, it got interesting. There were a few twists and I found myself absorbed and did not want to put it down. It was worth the read but left alot of questions at the end. 
I do wish I had a Bradley Cole in my life. Sexy! That was a great addition to this book. 
This book has a publication date of May 14, 2013
*** The publisher gave me this book in exchange for an honest review***

W...W...W... Wednesdays


This fun event is hosted by Should Be Reading

Join in the fun, just answer this weeks questions:


• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


What I am currently reading: 



I just started this one and so far it is great! 

About this book- Sex and money can easily captivate our minds and steal our worship. Paul Tripp unmasks the hollow lies of this world, directing readers to the liberating power of the gospel and offering real-world advice for fighting sexual and financial idolatry.

What I just finished:














The review for this book will be posted soon. 

About this book- Davis Way thinks she’s hit the jackpot when she lands a job as the fifth wheel on an elite security team at the fabulous Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. But once there, she runs straight into her ex-ex husband, a rigged slot machine, her evil twin, and a trail of dead bodies. Davis learns the truth and it does not set her free—in fact, it lands her in the pokey.


Buried under a mistaken identity, unable to seek help from her family, her hot streak runs cold until her landlord Bradley Cole steps in. Make that her landlord, lawyer, and love interest. With his help, Davis must win this high stakes game before her luck runs out.
What I will read next: 






I have high hopes for this book. I am excited to read it. Have any of you read it yet? 
About this book-When Maddie Michael’s husband, Mr. Frank Finance, loses all their money in a Ponzi scheme, Maddie must do her best to prevent Frank’s TV show from going belly up. To maintain the appearance that everything is financially fine, Maddie secretly sets up a bargain hunter’s website that goes viral — making Mrs. Frugalicious a huge hit and bringing in much needed cash.
While researching “frugasm”-worthy deals at the local mall, Maddie is mistakenly accused of shoplifting by Eternally 21 manager Laila DeSimone. Her bad day gets worse when Laila drops dead. Universally disliked Laila has a murder suspect list longer than Maddie’s bargain spreadsheets, but when evidence points to Maddie as the prime suspect, she must find the real killer before the police throw away her “get out of jail free” coupon.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Top Ten Series I Would Like To Start but Haven't Yet


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted at The Broke and The Bookish

Top Ten Series I would like to start but haven't yet

1. The Wicked Series by Janet Evanovich

2. Blackbird Sisters Mysteries by Nancy Martin

3. Donut Shop Mysteries by Jessica Beck

4. Chocoholic Mysteries by JoAnna Carl

5. Angie Amalfi Mysteries by Joanne Pence

To read with my five year old son-

6. The Elephant & Piggie Series by Mo Willems

7.  If You Give.... by Laura Numeroff

8. Walter The Farting Dog Series by William Kotzwinkle

9. How Do Dinosaurs by Jane Yolen ( We have started this series and would like to finish it)

10. Click Clack Series by Doreen Cronin ( We have started this series and would like to finish it)

Monday, March 4, 2013

Thank You!!!

Thank you all so much for reading my blog! I am impressed with the number of readers who have come through! Please take a moment to click (on the right side) to follow me and leave comments so I know who you are!

You can also follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/libbysfunbooks

Thank you!!! I will have a new review up soon!!!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Attack Of The Chicken Nugget Man



Attack Of The Chicken Nugget Man, A National Test Prep Adventure by Kumar R. Sathy

This is a great test prep book for kids from 2nd-5th grade English language arts and Mathematics using the new common core state standards.

This is a very silly story that has comprehension questions throughout. I found it to be entertaining and educational. Testing can be overwhelming for kids and this book can help calm their nerves and get them into a relaxed, silly mode while still educating them. How fun is that???

****This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review****

Saturday, March 2, 2013

The Show Must Go On!



Three Ring Rascals, The Show Must Go On!, Written by Kate Klise and Illustrated by M. Sarah Klise.

This children's chapter book goes through the story of a mean man taking over and running a circus. He is not nice to the animals or other people and he is greedy. As you read through the pages, you find out just how bad he is. Can he turn his behavior around? Will the animals be saved? Will the circus survive? I am not going to spoil it for you, you will have to go and read the book yourself and find out!

I personally thought this book was very cute. I loved the story line and it has some great life lessons in it. I did NOT like that there was some name calling, nothing overly bad, but name calling just the same and that is NOT something that I want to teach my son or let him read. But other than that, it was cute. There was alot of comedy and the mice were my favorite characters of this book.

Review from my five year old son-This book was funny. I like the circus and the crow was funny and the train did really cool tricks."

****This book was given to me by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review****

Friday, March 1, 2013

This Morning Sam Went To Mars



This Morning Sam Went To Mars, A book about Paying Attention by Nancy Carlson.

What I liked: Since my son DOES have a hard time paying attention, this was good for him to see that other kids have the same problems and some nice ways to fix it. Eating healthy, sleeping more, ect.

What I did NOT like: The dad brought the child to the Dr. I do not think the dr should have been brought in and I had a hard time explaining why the boy went to the dr for something like not focusing.

This book is cute but I highly recommend that you read it BEFORE you read it to your child. I did have to cut a few sentences out when I read it, for example, it says to ask the teacher to move your desk away from the window. My son does not have that option at his school, in fact, his whole elementary school does not have that option. The kids sit where the teachers put their desks. Period, so I did not want to put that thought in his head, so I chose to skip that part when I read it to him.

Overall, it was a good book with great illustrations. It kept our attention and my son got something out of it!

Review from my five year old son- "That book was really good. I liked all of the parts."

****I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an open and honest review****