Merry Christmas Cowboy by Janet Dailey

Merry Christmas Cowboy by Janet Dailey

Description from the publisher:

"On the Denver streets, officer Paula Lewis is as tough as she needs to be. But away from skyscrapers and suspects, Paula gives back to the community she loves. This holiday season she's moonlighting at the Christmas House, a turn-of-the-century mansion transformed into a festive wonderland to delight local children thanks to volunteers like Paula--and Zach Bennett.

Zach left his family's Colorado ranch to sign on as a carpenter at the Christmas House. Freewheeling Zach hopes to make this holiday the merriest yet--from coaxing Paula onto the bunny slopes to filling in as a last-minute Santa. And as she and Zach are drawn together to keep one young boy out of harm's way, Paula realizes that the best gifts are second chances, happy endings, and the kind of love that makes every day warm and bright. . ."

This book was really cute! I was hesitant to read a Christmas book this early but I really did enjoy it alot!!! For  me personally, I liked the fact that the female in this book had a high power job (officer) and the male did not. It was a nice change of pace.

The characters were all easy to fall in love with, the volunteer work was inspiring, the multiple stories of the characters were believable. It was fun!

This book was pretty well rounded to me. There was some romance and some mystery. Nothing too intense, nothing scary, just a great Christmas story you can read to relax and enjoy!!

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

Dino-Wrestling by Lisa Wheeler

Dino-Wrestling by Lisa Wheeler, Illustrated by Barry Gott

Description from the publisher:
"The Dino-Wrestling Jamboree is ON! Dinos compete in all styles of wrestling at this gigantic event. Allo and Ankylo grapple in a folkstyle match. Lucha Libre fans go wild as the masked Tarbosaurus takes on Iguano. Tricera and Gigano loom large on the sumo dohyo, while over in the freestyle tent, Leso and Compy battle for the pin. Just what will happen when the Diplo and Ptero tag teams rumble in the WWD fight? You won't want to miss this action!"

This book was cute. I am not ok with my son seeing or reading about any kind of violence but this book was not too bad. The dinosaurs were fun, not scary. The twins were hilarious and the wrestling scenes were not too violent. 

The cover is very eye catching, the pictures throughout the book are colorful and fun! I will be buying my son this whole series (see his review below) as soon as I can! Super cute!

Review from my six year old son-"This book is very very very very cool! I saw other Dino books and I want to read them ALL right now! This was so cool!!!!"

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

Sisterchicks On The Loose by Robin Jones Gunn

Sisterchicks On The Loose by Robin Jones Gunn

Wouldn't you LOVE to take a trip with your best friend to another country? In this book two friends (Sharon and Penny) go on an adventure filled trip to Finland. As they travel, they learn more about God and his love for them and they realize how short and precious life really is. They start to loosen up and have some fun! For a full description of this book, click HERE.

This is the second book of the Sisterchicks series that I have been able to read (This is #1, I am  reading them out of order! LOL). I thought it was great! I love the facts about the areas that they visited and all the details of these places. I personally have never left the Eastern United States so it is really neat to read about other places.

I found it very touching that Penny wanted to meet her long lost family. The fact that Sharon went with her, made it more realistic to me. I personally got to meet some of my family years back and will forever be grateful to my friend for accompanying me. She made the trip easier and a lot more fun! So I fully understood Penny and Sharon in this adventure.

This book of course has a Christian base. I personally thought this book had quite a bit of "God talk" but it was not over the top.  God was THERE but not thrown in my face, if that makes sense, so I really enjoyed it.

I found the writing style to be enjoyable. I felt like I was on this trip with them. The cover was interesting, but not very eye catching in my opinion. I enjoyed the pictures in the back and the part about the author's actual visit with her friend. I thought that was a nice touch!

I think that any Christian would enjoy this book and the messages that are embedded throughout. I would love to know your thoughts about it.

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

Accidental Cowgirl by Maggie McGinnis

Accidental Cowgirl by Maggie McGinnis

Description from the publisher:
"After being betrayed by her con man ex-fiancé, Kyla Bennett nurses a broken heart. But Kyla's friends have other ideas and when they whisk her off to Whisper Creek, a dude ranch staffed by cowboys so hot they dim the Montana sunset, all Kyla wants to do is hide under a quilt. Then in rides Decker Driscoll. He’s hauling about as much emotional baggage as Kyla, but when he stands close by, both of them want to stay close—and begin to succumb to an undeniable attraction.
 
After experiencing personal tragedy, Decker never thought he’d see Big Sky country again. But now that his family's Whisper Creek property is in deep with a Vegas gambler, Decker’s back for the summer—and spending all his time running from “cowgirls” who come to the dude ranch to score some dudes. Then he meets Kyla, a kindred spirit who brings on a stampede of protective feelings . . . and a powerful hankering to sear her with a new brand of love."

I would like to classify this book as "hard to put down" I was really into it and did not want it to end! Kyla was believable and real. Decker was mysterious to a point and seemed rugged. Together they were a great team. I LOVE Roscoe was hilarious! I really liked the comedy and love that he brought to the story! Ma reminds me of a typical country mother and I really enjoyed her as well. All of the characters were well written, believable and understandable. 

I did enjoy the story line here. I found it to be slightly different from the typical romance books that I have read. I was captivated from the first page ALL the way through to the last page and that should show you how great this book was! 

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

I'm Sorry Grover, A Rosh Hashanah Tale

I'm Sorry Grover, A Rosh Hashanah Tale by Tilda Balsley and Ellen Fischer

Description from the publisher:
"In the fourth Sesame Street title from Kar-Ben, Brosh can’t find his beloved blue cap and suspects his friends of taking it. But when Grover finds and returns the lost item, Brosh is contrite, and glad that the High Holidays offer him a chance to say, “I’m sorry” to his friends.This ebook features read-along narration."

This book has multiple purposes! You learn about Hebrew New Year and various items used to celebrate AND you learn about saying "I'm sorry!" 

Personally I loved all the Hebrew words. I struggled to say them, but I appreciated them being there! This is another great Sesame Street book that is perfect for a young child's classroom to teach about other cultures!

Review from my six year old son- "This book was cool. I love Grover and Cookie Monster kept trying to eat! Hahahahahaha!"

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

Hijack In Abstract by Larissa Reinhart

Hijack In Abstract A Cherry Tucker Mystery (#3) by  Larissa Reinhart

Description from the publisher:

With a classical series sold and a portrait commissioned, Cherry Tucker’s art career is in Georgia overdrive. But when the sheriff asks Cherry to draw a composite sketch of a hijacker, her life takes a hairpin as the composite leads to a related murder, her local card-sharking buddy Max Avtaikin becomes bear bait and her nemesis labels the classical series “pervert art.”

Cherry’s jamming gears between trailer parks, Atlanta mansions, and trucker bars searching for the hijacker who left a widow and orphan destitute. While she seeks to help the misfortunate and save her local reputation, Cherry’s hammer down attitude has her facing the headlights of an oncoming killer.

After reading the first one-Portrait of A Dead Guy- I was very excited for the opportunity to read this book.  Boy was I surprised to find out this is number THREE!!! How did I miss number TWO-Still Life in Brunswick Stew- I will be going back to read that one ASAP!!!! There were some things referenced in the third book that I did not understand so I suggest reading them in order. You CAN read  them out of order, but then I think you miss alot.

Anyway, I LOVED this book! I did not want to put it down! Watching the relationships of all the characters grow was fun. There was excitement throughout and of course a big event at the end. Parts of it surprised me and caught me off guard and I always enjoy that! There were sad parts, happy parts, mushy love parts, mysterious parts and hilarious parts. You can't get much better than that!!!!!

***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 was very productive. I have a bunch of big things on my plate right now and sadly did not have much time to read, but I hope next week will get better. Max enjoyed the book fair at school this week! He picked out over twenty books that he wanted and I was able to bring him down to FOUR! LOL. This child loves to have books!!!

Last week we brought you:

Serenity to Accept by Elizabeth Maddrey

The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty

Slow Summer Burn by Elisabeth Barrett










Next week we will bring you:

Hijack In Abstract by Larissa Reinhart

I'm Sorry Grover, A Rosh Hashanah Tale

Accidental Cowgirl by Maggie McGinnis










Thank you so much for stopping by, have a great week!!!!

Slow Summer Burn by Elisabeth Barrett

Slow Summer Burn by Elisabeth Barrett

DEA agent and rich society princess.......what do they have in common? Not a whole lot but when Val and Cam get together sparks fly! Can they survive the secrets of his job? Can  they survive her snooty parents? I am not going to tell you, you have to read the book to find out, silly!

I thought this was going to be a typical romance book because that is how it started but I was pleasantly surprised. There was a little mystery and a kick butt ending! I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would! I LOVE when that happens! It did start off a little slow to me but a few chapters in I was hooked and did not want to put it down.

As the oldest of 4, I always took care of my younger siblings. I can relate with Val in many ways and found his feelings about his siblings to be perfect. I loved both of the main characters, his family was great and as expected and so was her family. No one seemed fake to me, they were as portrayed exactly as I would expect them to be in real life. This book was well written, easy to follow and understand!

This is book 4 in the series and I want to go back and read the first 3. Obviously Val is the last of his brothers to find love and you can tell in this book that they are all happy with their women but I do want to find out their stories as well.

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

The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty

The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty and Thomas Docherty

Description from the publisher:

"Where have all the bedtime stories gone?

One dark, dark night in Burrow Down, a rabbit named Eliza Brown found a book and settled down...when a Snatchabook flew into town.

It's bedtime in the woods of Burrow Down, and all the animals are ready for their bedtime story. But books are mysteriously disappearing. Eliza Brown decides to stay awake and catch the book thief. It turns out to be a little creature called the Snatchabook who has no one to read him a bedtime story. All turns out well when the books are returned and the animals take turns reading bedtime stories to the Snatchabook."

This book is an adorable book about a book thief. It is full of rhymes and fun. While I personally did not enjoy the pictures (there was nothing overly special about them to me) my son LOVED them. He thought they were really cool.

The story line was fun and had a cute ending. The cover is fun and catchy. The characters are memorable.

Review from my six year old son-"I loved that the thief was so small because I thought he was going to be really big. I would read this book again because it was only a little scary but not really scary."

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

Serenity to Accept by Elizabeth Maddrey

Serenity to Accept by Elizabeth Maddrey

Description from the publisher:
"Karin Reid has never had much use for God. There's been too much pain in her life for her to accept that God is anything other than, at best, disinterested or, at worst, sadistic. Until she meets Jason Garcia.

After his own mistakes of the past, Jason is committed to dating only Christians. He decides to bend his rule for Karin, as long as she comes to church with him.

As their friendship grows, both will have to decide if they'll accept the path God has for them, even if it means losing each other."

This book is Book Three of the 'Grant Us Grace' Series. When Chalfont House approached me and asked me to review this book I was beyond thrilled. After reading Courage to Change, I could not WAIT to get into this book! I was NOT disappointed at all!

This book had my attention early on and kept it all the way through.  I could not stop thinking about this book all day! I read instead of worked, I took myself to lunch alone so I could read and well.....I found many excuses to sit and read today! Hahahaha! 

I do not usually use quotes from a book but this one I just have to share.... "But the one thing my parents have always said is that we will never know how God is going to use the things that happen, so until we see the whole picture, we can't judge his plan." Wow.  That line hit me hard  because I have been going through a LOT of stuff and have felt like God has run away from me. Reading this book really made me think differently.  Now I look at my life with new eyes. I see that I AM heading somewhere on purpose so Thank you Elizabeth Maddrey! You really showed me alot in this book!

I loved the characters, they were very real, their struggles were real and their feelings were real.  There were several times that I thought I knew what was coming and a curve ball was thrown at me. I REALLY appreciated that! I love being caught off guard when I am reading a book! 

I recommend this book to any Christian who is or has struggled with their Faith and life or any person who is confused and looking for God. I can not wait for the next book! I do believe that Elizabeth Maddrey has become my new favorite author! 

***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......well......long. I started a new job and I am re-learning how to balance two jobs, a child along with his school work, this blog, friends, family and life. It is fun and I am exhausted. LOL. That being said, I am going to wrap this up and get to job number two. :)

Last week we brought you:

Sisterchicks Do The Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween

Through Thorns I Thrive by Carla Lindgren Coates










Next week we will bring you:

Serenity to Accept by Elizabeth Maddrey

The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty

Slow Summer Burn by Elisabeth Barret










Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful week!!!!

Through Thorns I Thrive by Carla Lindgren Coates

Through Thorns I Thrive by Carla  Lindgren Coates

Description from Amazon:
"Growing up, Carla, and her family the Lindgrens, faced many challenges and hardships. Through a series of heartbreaking events, her self-esteem diminished and her feelings of inadequacy as a woman caused her to spiral into a deep depression. Battling obesity and infertility kept her in the depths of despair for fifteen long, agonizing years. Just at the time when she thought she would go over the edge, tragic events miraculously saved her from doing the unthinkable and created "the shift" she needed and gave her the hope and will to live again. Through her challenges and adversities, she learned her biggest lessons and was able to find joy and happiness. Through Thorns I Thrive is a story of a journey through hell, of heartache and pain, coming out the other side and finding heaven here on earth. It offers inspiration and hope that there is a way out of the darkness, and that love, for oneself, for others, and for God, is the answer and heals all wounds." To buy this book, click HERE

This was a surprising book to me. I was afraid it would be boring but it was fascinating! I was intrigued as she went through how she grew up. I enjoyed reading about her childhood and her family. As I read on I learned about her marriage and some of the struggles she went through. Parts of the book made me laugh and parts had tears rolling down my face.

Personally, I felt like this was written as if she was sitting here talking to me. She did not throw around big words or act obnoxious. It was as if we were sitting at a table with a cup of coffee while we chatted. For that reason, I really enjoyed her writing style alot.

The cover is catchy, simple but powerful. The title is fitting for this book. At the end of the book there are pages and pages of resources and other helpful information. I found all of this to be useful!

Thank you to Carla Lindgren Coates for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an open and honest review!!!

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween, A Safety Guide for Scaredies by Melanie Watt

Description from the publisher:
"From costume ideas to trick-or-treating strategies, Scaredy Squirrel helps readers plan for the spookiest night of the year! Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween is the second in a series of nutty safety guides featuring everyone's favorite worrywart."

This book is cute and very busy. There is alot happening on every page so you have to spend a few minutes on each picture.The details are hilarious and entertaining.

There were a few pages that were confusing but we were able to figure it out. The Halloween information given in this book was comical and not scary. The pictures were fun and colorful. The cover is catchy. This book would make a great addition to any child's book shelf.

Review  from my  six year old son, Max-"This book was soooooo cool. It made me laugh and giggle alot. My favorite part was when he was playing dead."

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

Sisterchicks Do The Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

Sisterchicks Do The Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

What is the best way to celebrate turning 40? Going to Hawaii of course! In this great book you can follow best friends, Laurie and Hope as they travel to Hawaii for the best vacation of their life. You can see how  they each become better friends and get closer to God as they learn about the history of Hawaii!

I thought this book was cute. There was no romance, no mystery, just girlfriends having a fun vacation but it was entertaining. I did not want to put it down because I was curious to see what happened next. I have not read any of the other Sisterchick books but I will have to find them now!

I really enjoyed  reading all of the fun facts about Hawaii! That is a state that is FAR away from where I live (Florida) and I will most likely never get there but who doesn't want to go and have that experience? LOL.  In this book there were historical facts as well as fun facts. The Hawaiian language was an added bonus as well. I feel like I learned a little something while reading but it was not forced learning if that makes any sense.

The last few pages of this book have pictures and little tidbits about Robin Gunn's real life friends in Hawaii. That was a super cute personal touch that I DID enjoy a lot.

The cover is cute and a little catchy. The colors are eye catching. This book is written well and is an easy read. The back cover is colorful and eye catching as well. I thought there were a good number of pages, not too many and not too few. All in all, it was a good book!

***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 I went ahead and signed up for the HoHoHo Holiday Read-A-Thon. Max and I will have a blast reading Christmas books! I can not wait! Is it November yet? LOL. I will be getting a post up about our goals at a later date. For now we are thinking about what books we want to get! Yay!!!! You can join this read-a-thon too, just sign up Here.





This week I did ALOT of reading and got some reviews done for the next month! YAY! I also got alot of work done and alot of cleaning/organizing done! WOOHOO!!! I love when I feel so accomplished! What a great week!!! How has your week been?



Last week we brought you:

Prison by Toni V. Lee

Boy Meets Dog, A Word Game Adventure

The Marriage Bargain Sandra Edwards










Next week we will bring you:

Sisterchicks Do The Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

Scaredy Squirrel Prepares For Halloween

Through Thorns I Thrive by Carla Lindgren Coates