The Marriage Bargain Sandra Edwards

The Marriage Bargain Sandra Edwards

I saw this book and thought it sounded fun. Going into it I already knew what was going to happen, Within the first few chapters I knew where this was headed and how it was going to end. There were a few surprises along the way but all in all it was pretty predictable. Is that bad? Not for me. I still very much enjoyed this book!

I REALLY liked the characters. I LOVED the way Julian treated Camille. I was giddy and wishing that I was Camille! Watch out Camille, I am coming in to steal Julian away from you! Yummy! LOL Julian was real. He was rich so he spent money with no care in the world. Camille was broke and independent and it took her a bit to get used to all the money but she did enjoy it. Her friend Tasha was a hoot!

All in all, I thought it was fun and parts were pretty exciting. I did not want to stop reading this book, don't tell anyone but I sat down and read it from beginning to end without stopping. I did not get anything done but I DID  enjoy every minute! LOL

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

Boy Meets Dog, A Word Game Adventure by Valerie Wyatt

Boy Meets Dog, A Word Game Adventure by Valerie Wyatt, Illustrated by Dave Whamond

Description from the publisher:
"Strange things happen when you change one word into another, one letter at a time. A toy becomes a boy, a cat becomes a dog, and together they discover a funny, mixed- up world! Explore language and spelling on this wacky word game adventure."

This book went WAY above my expectations. What I LOVE about this book is that as the one letter changes, that particular letter is in red so it was VERY easy for my son and I to follow. We were both able to understand how one letter changed each word to a whole new word. Since this is hard to explain, let me show you an example from the book:

A bus can become a car

bus 
but 
bat
bar
car

This was a fun book! It was cute, educational and the pictures were fun and comical. The cover is very catchy and I would definitely pick it up off a shelf.

I recommend this book to any parent of a young child or a teacher who is teaching a child (or class) to read.I believe it will work well with your reading lessons! Any kid would pick this book up to read it! It is silly and fun and engaging!

Review from my six year old son, Max-"This book was really really funny! The words were really cool and I could read them and the pictures were sooo funny!"

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

Prison by Toni V. Lee

Prison by Toni V. Lee

I have to say first that I LOVE this cover. It is simple but at the same time, it is eye catching. The colors stand out and it is nice to not see a couple in love on the cover for once! If I saw this in a book store, it would definitely catch my eye and I would pick it up.

The main characters, Sonja and Max, were well written. I understood where each of them were coming from and where they were heading. I thought their relationship was funny and realistic. I really liked both of them. The author wrote this book in such a way that at times I felt bad for Rock-The bad guy- I felt like he was lost and could be fixed, then he would do something to make me hate him again. Going back and forth like that made me really appreciate the Author's work more.

With this book, Rock was dealing drugs at a church so you read alot about the church and the congregation and some small talk of God but the God aspect was not  overdone or thrown in your face. I did not feel bad after reading this and for that I am thankful! I thought it was well rounded.

The one critique that I would give is that the ending was TOO long. It seemed to drag after the big event. There was alot of information that was not needed and I felt like the author was trying to make the book reach a certain number of pages. It kinda lost some of the greatness by dragging so long in my opinion. But up until after the big event (I am not saying what happened) it was great and captivating.

I recommend you read this book and let me know what you thought. Did you like it? Hate it? What did you think about Rock? Did you feel bad for him on minute and hate him the next? Let me know!

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

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  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.

This week has been full of readjusting and getting used to our school year routine. Back to getting up early, fixing lunch, doing homework and having fun! Max had a great first week of First grade. He likes his teacher and his new friends. Yay! LOL. Other than that, it has been a fairly calm week!

Last week we brought you:

Fiery Secrets by Stephanie McCall

Cozy Light, Cozy Night by Elisa Kleven

Runaway Groom by Sally Clements











Next week we bring you:

Prison by Toni V. Lee

Boy Meets Dog, A Word Game Adventure

The Marriage Bargain Sandra Edwards










Thanks for stopping by!!!

Runaway Groom by Sally Clements

Runaway Groom by Sally Clements

When I first saw this book, I wanted to read it immediately because the title caught my attention. Usually you read a book about a runaway BRIDE not GROOM so of course I was intrigued and HAD to read it. I am happy I did. I thought that overall, this was a great book.

Everyone has a past, some are worse than others. How we deal with it separates us and makes us who we are. Though we can not change our past, we CAN learn from it. To me it was interesting to see how Matthew and April were able to trust each other to learn what really happened so they could get over their past and help their family through it as well. I DO believe that April forgave Matthew too fast in the end and that part was unrealistic for someone THAT hurt but other than that, I believed the rest of the book!

I thought the characters were great and easy to understand and follow. You had ups and downs with Matthew, you loved April and hated June. I assume that is what the author wanted but I could be wrong. LOL

The story line was different and it was interesting to see how it played out. Was the ending predictable? Yes, very. But it was still a good read. I recommend it to anyone who likes a sweet and cozy romance!

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

Cozy Light, Cozy Night by Elisa Kleven

Cozy Light, Cozy Night by Elisa Kleven

Description from the publisher:
"Richly illustrated, Kleven's latest picture book feast presents a year of everyday wonders, giving children an opportunity to snuggle up with a parent and enter into a warm, cozy world, where even the planets are tucked cozily into bed along with the shining stars."

As you read the story, you can find the items in the pictures, that was what my son seemed to like the most. He was so excited to find them. For example "Ice cream's cozy in a cone" and he found ice cream cones in the picture.

The pictures were unique. They were not horrible but they were not my favorite. The cover is cute but I would have never picked it out at the bookstore, it needs something more catchy in my opinion.

I loved how this book flowed from season to season and the end was really cute but I will not give it away for you!

Review from by six year old son, Max-"It was awesome! I liked the pictures and the story and the whole thing was fun!"

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

Fiery Secrets by Stephanie McCall

Fiery Secrets by Stephanie McCall

I am not gonna lie, I wanted to read this book because of the cover. The cover caught my attention and the title had me interested. So I requested this book. Funny thing though, the characters on the cover, are not at all how I picture Grace and Chris,  but alas, it still caught my eye.

In this book, Chris and Grace meet up by chance and hit it off. They  both have horrible events in their past that they are still struggling through and blaming themselves for. They start to lean on each other and learn to trust each other to combat their history. When you first start to see their past unfolding, you realize just how much each of them went through. Is it possible to move on or will they still let the past hold them back? I am not going to answer that for you, you will have to read it yourself!!!

Personally I thought the characters were great and believable. I was able to understand what they were going through and wanted to help them fight it. Was this book all lovey dovey perfect? No. They struggled alot and I really appreciated that, it definitely helped make it more realistic.

The end of this book was great. From the court date on, I was captivated and on the edge of my seat. I will not say more than that but I would love to know if you agree!

I would recommend this book to any Christian. There is some romance, a tad bit of suspense and a whole lot of growing in your faith and forgiving your past. You will not want to put it down!

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

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  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.

This has been a great week! We spent a few days at the beach, met Max's new teacher and got to spend time playing (since when could my six year old beat me BAD at Monopoly? LOL) School starts tomorrow.  we are hopeful that this will be a great year and that his teacher is amazing!

Last week we brought you:

Lead Me Home by Stacy Hawkins Adams

Meow! Retold & Illustrated by Katya Arnold

Deceiving Derek by Cindy Procter-King











Next week we will bring you:

Cozy Light, Cozy Night by Elisa Kleven

Runaway Groom by Sally Clements










Have a great and fun week!!!

Deceiving Derek by Cindy Procter-King

Deceiving Derek by Cindy Procter-King

Description from the publisher
"Lingerie designer Lacey DeMarco livens up her life by finagling an unsuspecting police detective into attending a funky bridal shower. She needs one last item to complete a scavenger hunt list, and handsome cop Derek McAllister is it. But a little trickery is at work. Both Lacey and Derek are both being hoodwinked…in the name of love."

This is a short story of 5200 words. It is quick, to the point and does not drag on at all. I LOVE that. LOL. I found it to be funny and intriguing. I could not wait to see what was going on and when I found out, I could not help but laugh.

I really like Lacey. She sounds fun to be around. The author did a great job of quickly introducing the characters and making you like them. What she did was wrong but you still like her! LOL

I recommend this story to anyone and I can not wait to read the next one! 

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

Meow! Retold & Illustrated by Katya Arnold

This review was done by my six year old son, Max. The views and opinions are his.....

This book is about a puppy and a kitty. The puppy is trying to find out who is saying meow because he does not know it is the kitty. The puppy saw lots of animals like a rooster, mouse and a bee but they did not say meow, they made different sounds!

This is a very cute book because of the animals, especially the puppy. I LOVE puppies. The pictures are colorful and fun.

I found this book at the library and wanted to check it out because there was such a cute puppy on the cover! I would love to own a copy of this book to keep because it is such a good book!

Lead Me Home by Stacy Hawkins Adams

Lead Me Home by Stacy Hawkins Adams

Shiloh is a Pastor's wife and she stays home even though her boys are all in school. Shiloh is feeling down and almost worthless when a great job opportunity falls into her lap.Through this job Shiloh has to confront her past and work through it. Will her family still support and love her after she tells them her horrible secrets? I am certainly not going to tell you, you have to read the book and find out!

For a full description, Click Here

For me personally, this book started out slow and it took me a while to get into it but as it got towards the end, it was really good. It was emotional and really pulled at your heartstrings. I felt like I was there with the family and at times forgot that I was reading a book and not actually there with them.

I thought it was a nice change of pace to go into a pastor's home, meet the family and find out that they are NOT perfect. I am tired of reading about perfect pastors and their perfect life. Their life is not perfect and they are not flawless so I enjoyed seeing the flaws here, it made it more realistic.

We have ALL done things that we are ashamed of. Whether we did them when we were young or did them yesterday, we ALL have our secrets and we ALL have a past. Knowing that God will not leave us helps most of us through that past but the truth is (despite what others always say) the past WILL come back to haunt you, just as it did to Shiloh. She had to come clean with her family. If you do something stupid, one day you WILL have to tell your family, especially if it affects them. I love how those parts of this book were written. The emotions that Shiloh and her family went through felt real. Her family was honest and not fake and I REALLY appreciated that!

Visit Stacy Hawkins Adams at StacyHawkinsAdams.com

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

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  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.

This week has been busy! Today Max and I went to the local college football fan day and got lots of autographs and enjoyed watching the team practice! Needless to say, this has been a long day since I am just now getting to write this  post. 

We have been enjoying our last  bit of summer. We have one more full week of fun before school starts and we plan to get alot of fun crammed in there! How about you? Are the kids in school yet or are you still having summer fun?

Last week we brought you:

Staying At Joe's Kathy Altman

Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story 

Breaking by Claire Kent











Next week we will bring you:

Lead Me Home by  Stacy Hawkins Adams

Meow! Retold & Illustrated by Katya Arnold

Deceiving Derek by Cindy Procter-King










Books I won or received for review:

Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews

Through Thorns I Thrive By Carla Lindgren Coates

Breaking by Claire Kent

Breaking by Claire Kent

This book sounded interesting when I came across it so I HAD to request it. It is a second book, the first book is called- Escorted The story line sounded good to me. If you have never heard of this, you can read the description HERE.

To me this book was a little confusing.  I got the main points but I felt like I was missing alot by not reading the first one and I felt a little out of the loop. I want to know how they got together and why. There were several references made that I just did not get. So I would like to get my hands on the first one so I fully understand this one.

The characters were good.  They obviously had some problems that they were working through but it all seemed pretty realistic to me. It was easy to relate to them.

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

Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story by Annie Tipton

Diary of a Real Payne Book 1: True Story by Annie Tipton

Description from the publisher:

"True Story! . . . These pages from EJ Payne’s diary will have you ROTFL as you witness her spunky personality and well-meant-but-often-misunderstood antics. You’ll fall in love with this first release in the Diary of a Real Payne series as EJ records her thoughts and feelings about living in little old Spooner, Wisconsin (snooze!), eventually leaving her hometown to do big things when she’s all grown up (oh glorious day!), and having to star in the role of lead angel in the Vine Street Christmas pageant (are you kidding me?). This colossal-fun series is overflowing with humor and memorable life lessons."

I Love that when you are reading her diary entries, it is written on what looks like notebook paper so you feel like you REALLY are reading parts of her diary. I thought that was unique and fun.

I felt like it was written by a child so I hope that is what the author was going for. LOL. I felt like I was friends with EJ and going through everything with her. This book really was funny and captivating.

The cover is fun and exciting and makes me want to read it. Did you read this book? What did you think?

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

Staying At Joe's Kathy Altman

Staying At Joe's Kathy Altman

Description from Goodreads:
"A deal she can't refuse! Allison Kincaid can make a great sales pitch. But showing up at Joe Gallahan's motel asking for a favor is her toughest challenge yet. A year ago they were more than just colleagues at a big PR firm. When work came between them, Joe put the blame on Allison...and his opinion hasn't changed. 

She's shocked, however, when Joe agrees to help. Even though she doesn't love his terms, she accepts them because she'll get what she needs. If striking a deal with him means donning a pair of coveralls and swinging a hammer, so be it. Working side by side with Joe again, they might be able to repair the past. They just might get a second chance, too!"

The story line here is different than any I have read, I really enjoyed that! This book was full of characters and they all  seemed to fit in with the Castle Creek area. I can imagine them all being there and fitting in perfectly. I loved all of the characters and thought Marcus was a good touch (read the book to find out who he is  and why). 

This book had excitement, romance, mystery, jokes, tears and love.  The cover is catchy the title is fun. 

Overall this was a great book. It got a tad bit boring in the middle but picked up nicely and ended with a bang! 

*** I won this book on Goodreads and wanted to do a review on it. The review is my own personal thoughts and opinions***

The Sunday Post

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer  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.

This week was low key. Max and I did some reading at home in between my work and his playing. :) The countdown to school has started (two weeks left) and I am NOT happy. I do NOT want school to start yet. I like having my son home with me!!! Sigh. 

Ok, on to the books.............

Last week we brought you:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice

Severed Trust by Margaret Daley










Next week we will bring you:

Staying At Joe's Kathy Altman

Diary of a Real Payne Book 1

Breaking by Claire Kent










Thanks for stopping by!!!!

Severed Trust by Margaret Daley

Severed Trust by Margaret Daley

Drug problems in high school? Who has heard of such a thing? HA! We ALL have, am I right? This is a HUGE problem that is generally kept quiet. This book goes through a school facing  severe prescription drug problems. students are dead, parents are freaking out, the school board is upset and the cops are frantically trying to get to the bottom of things.

I LOVED this book. LOVED it. The real life issues were not glazed over. It was realistic and intense throughout. The author did not sugar coat things or try to make it less real and I appreciated that. I loved that she did not hold back and allowed important characters to be killed or hurt. That made this book even better in my opinion.

I was able to really understand these characters. I could feel their emotions, laugh with them, cry with them and really relate to each and every one of them. There were times that I thought I knew what was going on and then something happened to make me doubt myself. In this book, I did not figure it all out until the end and I LOVE that. This book kept me guessing!

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a light mystery with a touch of romance.

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