Several Great Giveaways

Thought I'd let you in on a couple great giveaways I've seen this week.

The entire Annie Henry series by Susan Olasky

Here's the post at Redeemed Reader (ends June 29th)

Great historical fiction about Patrick Henry's daughter. I really enjoyed these in middle school.

There are two places I found that are giving away this book!

A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California by Keli Gwyn

Here's Christian Book Review Blog's giveaway (ends July 8th)

And here's Writing for Christ ~ The Audience of One's giveaway (ends July 6th)

Both blogs also have other giveaways happening so be sure to check those out.

Veil of Pearls by MaryLu Tyndall

Colonial Quills's giveaway (ends June 30th?)

This is a very informative and neat blog, you should definitely check it out if you enjoy history and historical fiction.

If you're on Goodreads here is one you might want to check out:

The Struggle by Wanda E. Brunstetter (ends July 2nd)

Any writers and fans of The Tales of Goldstone Wood out there?

Anne Elisabeth Stengl has a Fan Fiction Contest going on

Winner will receive two autographed books from the series (ends July 31st)

And I've saved the best for last! 

 

Jamie Carie is giving away the beautiful scarf and cross pendent AND The Guardian Duke AND The Forgiven Duke

Here's Jamie's post (ends June 30th)

I've really enjoyed these books! Just to warn you though, they end in cliffhangers! Here's my review of The Guardian Duke.

And for all you Giveaway Hop fans, Bippity Boppity Books is hosting a historical fiction giveaway hop in August. So head on over there to get the details if you want to participate.

And one last thing, Reading Rainbow is being released as an iPad app. For $9.99/month kids can watch the shows, read the interactive books, play games and a few other things. Here's an article about the release.

Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic was actually Top Ten Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself Or Someone I Know In Real Life, but that would take me way too long and I don't think I could come up with anywhere close to ten. So I'm going to follow Abbi's example and do:

Top Ten Characters I'd Like to Meet

1. & 2.  Robin Hood and Maid Marian 
From any of the books

3. & 4. Alexandria Featherstone 
...and the Duke - I want to see his eyes

From the Forgotten Castle's Series by Jamie Carie (The Guardian Duke; The Forgiven Duke; The Duke's Promise)

5+. High King Peter, Queen Lucy, and Reepicheep
And Aslan and Mr. Tumnus and Aravis
From the Chronicles of Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis

7. Monster (the cat) but in his human form
From the Tales of Goldstone Wood series by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Heartless; Veiled Rose; Moonblood)

8+. Old Shatterhand, Winnetou, Old Surehand, Sam Hawkins, Dicke Jemmy & Lange Davy, Hadshi Halef Omar

And a couple more
From the many books by Karl May

10. Kaitlin, Sean, & Marcail Donovan
From The Californians Series by Lori Wick

I realized when searching for my past posts about Karl May that several of these characters also appear on my Top Ten Favorite Characters list. :-) Here's another post I wrote mentioning Old Shatterhand, Old Surehand and Karl May.

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade. BethanyHouse, 2012. 343p. (9780764209741)

I loved this book. So hard to believe that this is Becky Wade’s debut novel. My heart was pounding and my stomach was aching right alongside the main character.

Back cover:
Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance.

Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man her grandmother has hired to renovate the house. From the first moment she meets Matt, Kate can't help but be attracted to him, drawn by both his good looks and something else she can’t quite put her finger on. He’s clearly wounded – hiding from people, from God, and from his past. Yet Kate sets her stubborn heart on bringing him out of the dark and back into the light…whether he likes it or not.

No, Kate's not looking for love. She knows better than that by now. But when the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?

My review:
I really enjoyed this book. The two main characters were fun and real, the supporting cast was supportive, caring, quirky and had their own important part in the story. Kate at thirty-one has had her share of dating relationships and is determined to guard her heart against the immensely good looking and attractive Matt.

All Matt wants to be able to do his work in peace as far from people as possible and then go home to more solitude. But Kate is persistent and does her best to draw him out of his shell and her grandmother is a warm, welcoming, wise woman.

Kate smiled to herself. Poor, poor Matt. He may once have been a warrior on the ice, accustomed to body-slamming giant men, but he wasn’t equal to the coming onslaught from Gran. He was going down. pg.48

The book is full of that straightforward writing that just makes you smile or laugh. There is one scene around a dinner table involving a baked potato and extra spoonfuls of butter or sour cream that keep appearing when Kate looks away. It’s so quirky and funny that it must have been something that the author experienced or witnessed.

This is a clean romance although it does have quite a bit of kissing. The spiritual aspects are subtle and believable. The struggles that Kate and Matt go through are quite realistic. It isn’t an easy lesson to learn, but God is always in control and His plan is always best.

There was lots to love and very little to dislike about this book. In my opinion a little less description of clothes at the beginning, not quite so many kisses, and a bit more inclusion of Kate’s friends at the end would have eliminated all there is to dislike.

If you enjoy contemporary clean romance do yourself a favor, go buy the book, curl up in your favorite reading spot and prepare to spend several wonderful hours with Kate, Matt, Gram and friends.

Go read it!!! Find it at a library near you; Buy it from B&N; Buy it from ChristianBook (You won’t regret it!) (Updated 9/9/12: Buy it from Amazon)

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission.

Updated 9/9/12: Remember - Anytime you visit Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com or ChristianBooks.com please use an affiliate link to get there. Any purchase you make from a link on my site generates a small kickback. You need not purchase the item I'm featuring, any purchase counts. It costs you nothing extra and is an easy way to support this site. Thanks!

Footprints Prayer

I have always liked the image that the Footprints Prayer evokes. And the art that people have created from it. My sister and I like to cross stitch and we both like the Footprints Prayer so when one of us saw a cross stitch kit for it on sale she bought it. That Christmas some friends sent a package and in it was the exact same kit. Now both my sister and I have one. :-)

God answers prayers. He wants to answer prayers. When you ask according to His will He can and will answer, maybe even way beyond your wildest dreams. But sometimes His answer is 'No' and sometimes it's 'Later.' We just have to trust Him that He knows best.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. I John 5:14-15 NIV84

The Footprints Prayer

One night I had a dream...

I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and

Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; 

One belonged to me, and the other to the Lord. 

When the last scene of my life flashed before us, 

I looked back at the footprints in the sand. 

I noticed that many times along the path of my life, 

There was only one set of footprints. 

I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest 

and saddest times in my life. 

This really bothered me, and I questioned the Lord about it. 

"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, 

You would walk with me all the way; 

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, 

There is only one set of footprints. 

I don't understand why in times when I needed

you the most, you should leave me. 

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child. 

I love you, and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering. 

When you saw only one set of footprints, 

It was then that I carried you

 Read more: http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/footprints-prayer.html#ixzz1yRSTqOvZ

Top Ten Books on Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Today's Top Ten topic is "Top Ten Books on My Summer TBR List." And just a quick update on my beach reading last week. Of the nine that I took there were two that I didn't start, one that I only got a few pages into, one that I got half way done (LoTR is a long book! I got to part two of Two Towers), four that I finished, and one that I had started before the beach but didn't pick up.

Top Ten Books on Summer TBR List


1. Masquerade by Nancy Moser


2. Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

3. Faith Like Potatoes: The Story of a Farmer who risked everything for God by Angus Buchan 

4. Short Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

5. The Forgiven Duke by Jamie Carie

Update: Here's my review! (7/3)

6. A Duke's Promise by Jamie Carie

7. George Washington's Sacred Fire by Petter A. Lillbabck

8. El Rey: A Novel of Renaissance Iberia by Ginger Myrick

(an ebook that I will read as soon as I buy an ereader!)

Update: Great book thus far! 37% done (7/3)

9. My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

(a Bethany House review book)

Update: Here's my review! (7/3)

10. Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking by Susan Cain

(a Blogging for Books review book)

What books are on your summer TBR (to be read) list?

Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat

Five Point Someone: what not to do at IIT, a novel by Chetan Bhagat. Rupa, 2004. 270p. (8129104598)

This is a best seller in India and the movie adaptation Three Idiots broke box office records in India. I saw the movie (English subtitles) last fall and several friends recommended I read the book.

Five Point Someone is about three friends Hari, Alok and Ryan who are students at IIT (India’s equivalent to MIT) in the early 90’s, but they don’t study very hard their first semester and end up with a five point something GPA (perfect is 10.0). Once the first semester grades come out everyone is labeled by their GPA.

Ryan doesn’t like the system and convinces his friends to enjoy college life. Which doesn’t work out to well for their grades. Hari starts dating Neha Cherian, the daughter of the head of the mechanical engineering department, but secretly because her dad views anyone with low GPA’s in distain.

There isn’t too much of a plot other than each guy is trying to get through IIT and get the magical diploma that guarantees a well paying job thus living up to their parents’ expectations. It’s an interesting look at higher education in India and into the minds of non-Christian college guys.

I have never read a book with so much bad language (plenty of f- and d- words), so much drinking, weed smoking and mention of porn viewing. Prof Cherian was right in not wanting his daughter to socialize with IIT students. Such perverted minds. Ick. Hari had a hard time understanding Neha and I had to laugh when he was puzzled that a girl could cry about two very different things at once.

I wouldn’t recommend the book but the movie is interesting and for westerners gives a better idea of life in India. One warning, there’s one hazing scene and one dance scene where a whole lot of guys are in briefs or boxers. :P

Movie and book differences:
The movie is a loose adaptation that covers the guy’s college years and then where they are ten years later. The book is only about their college years. The characters have different names. The movie’s plot is richer and more interesting. No “R” rated scenes in the movie (there’s one in the book but few details are told) although there is a kiss which is unusual in Bollywood films and like I said earlier a whole bunch of guys in briefs and boxers.

A clip from the movie that characterizes Ryan/Rancho’s view of school:

Subhash K. Jha (film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood) states: "It's not that 3 Idiots is a flawless work of art. But it is a vital, inspiring and life-revising work of contemporary art with some heart imbued into every part. In a country where students are driven to suicide by their impossible curriculum, 3 Idiots provides hope. Maybe cinema can't save lives. But cinema... can make you feel life is worth living. 3 Idiots does just that, and much more." (From Wikipedia)

If you really want to read it: Find it at a library near you; Buy it from B&N; (Updated 9/9/12: Buy it from Amazon)
Go watch it! Buy it from B&N;  IMDB info

Disclosure: I borrowed this book through ILL. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Updated 9/9/12: Remember - Anytime you visit Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com or ChristianBooks.com please use an affiliate link to get there. Any purchase you make from a link on my site generates a small kickback. You need not purchase the item I'm featuring, any purchase counts. It costs you nothing extra and is an easy way to support this site. Thanks!

The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick

The Daughter’s Walk by Jane Kirkpatrick. WaterBrook Press, 2011. 385p. (9781400074297)

An interesting look at life through the eyes of women from 1896-1942. This was an interesting story from history that few have probably ever heard of and one that I had certainly never heard.

In 1896 a mother accepted a wager from the fashion industry to walk from Spokane, Washington to New York City within seven months to earn ten thousand dollars. Helga Estby hoped to save the family farm with the money and thus set out with her oldest daughter leaving behind her husband and seven other children.

Clara, eighteen, was not happy about having to trek across the US with her mom but the journey shaped her in ways she never could have imagined. After the year long trek she left her family behind and sought to make her own way in the world.

The first half of the book is about the trek that Clara and Helga Estby completed in 1896. While the first part is the most historically accurate of the book I found it hard to get into and ended up skimming it. The second half was more interesting and read more like a novel. But it’s based more on educated guesses.

Clara’s family hated it that their mom and sister had been gone for so long and refused to let them speak of it. Clara left for that reason and kept in her possession some of the memorabilia of the trip. Those items were found later by a grand or great-grand niece and it is from those items that the story was finally revealed to the world.

I wouldn’t call this a great book but it was truly fascinating to learn about women in business in the early 1900s. The author does a good job portraying the emotions behind decisions and showing how ordinary life was affected and not affected by World War I, suffragettes, and politics. The portrayal of family and friendship is another well done aspect of the story.

Video trailer:

Read it if you’re interested in women’s history and life in Washington in the first part of the 1900s.

Please rank my review! Everyone who ranks has their email address entered in a drawing by WaterBrook Multnomah Press to win the reviewed book:

Go read it! Wake County; Greene County; Find it at a library near you; Buy it from B&N; Buy it from ChristianBook; (Updated 9/9/12: Buy it from Amazon)

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission.

Updated 9/9/12: Remember - Anytime you visit Amazon.com or BarnesAndNoble.com or ChristianBooks.com please use an affiliate link to get there. Any purchase you make from a link on my site generates a small kickback. You need not purchase the item I'm featuring, any purchase counts. It costs you nothing extra and is an easy way to support this site. Thanks!