A Simply Enchanted Life

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher is celebrating her newest book, The Calling, by giving away TWO iPads, TWO Kindles, and TWO Nooks!

 




Two grand prize winners will receive:

• An iPad


• The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Four second place winners will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX or a Nook HD—winner's choice!


• The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th. All winners will be announced February 10th at Suzanne's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Suzanne's blog on the 10th to see if you won one of the great prizes! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)

Luminary by Krista McGee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I was so excited to read this book. I really enjoyed book one and so did my daughter!

I actually submitted a short story for a chance to win an autographed book and my submission won so it was even more exciting to read.

I gave this book a solid 4 stars, I really wanted to give it 5 star rating but I couldn’t help but feel as this one was a little too similar to The Hunger Games in certain parts.

Similarities to The Hunger Games:

Mutated Animals-Muttations
The State-The Capitol
love triangle-love triangle
Berk is the Peeta of this series with his accidents and love for Thalli.
The King of Athena is the President Snow of this series.

Don’t get me wrong, the series is great so far and I noticed much less redundancy than with book one but I just felt it was very similar to the HG series.
Thalli has escaped from the State with a small group of friends. While they think they have outsmarted the scientist it is really Thalli and her friends that have been duped.

The scientists want to lure the remaining scientists that left the State back so that they can cure oxygen problem that threatens to kill them all.

My autographed copy of Luminary!

When Thalli arrives in New Hope she makes new friends but she also discovers that there are scary things in the world such as war and theft. A neighboring pocket of survivors is ruled by an evil king who wishes to dominate the world (well, what is left of it)

Coming July 2014!

From there the story spirals into mind control and twisted secrets that Thalli must either expose or escape. Things began to look pretty grim from that point on and to be honest I don’t know who to trust as I look forward to the next installment.

I did enjoy the story and I look forward to the last book, Revolutionary. Despite a few instances where I felt that the story derived too much from The Hunger Games the story is still well worth the read.
View all my reviews|Read an Excerpt

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When Krista McGee isn't living in fictional worlds of her own creation, she lives in Tampa and spends her days as a wife, mom, teacher, and coffee snob. She is also the author of "Anomaly", "First Date", "Starring Me", and "Right Where I Belong".

Connect with Krista http://www.kristamcgeebooks.com

A Miracle of Hope by Ruth Reid

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow, just…wow. That’s how I’ll describe this one. Ruth Reid is quickly becoming a favorite and I love her “supernatural” twists that she incorporates.

I do want to say that some people may be put off by mentions of violence or crimes against women in Christian books.

I give this warning simply because I wouldn’t want someone to pick up this book on my recommendation without me making them aware that there are some violent situations presented.

This book is beautifully written, intriguing and kept me up all night because I could not put it down.

Lindie is pregnant out of wedlock and her brother is eager to cover up her “indiscretions” and arranges a marriage with a widower in another church district.

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Lindie agrees and steps into the role as stepmother to Josiah Plank’s daughter, Hannah. Hannah is deaf and Lindie is struggling to learn sign language while dealing with debilitating morning sickness.

Josiah has vowed to never love again but he needed a mother for Hannah and he can’t help but be concerned for Lindie’s health. She barely eats and can’t keep anything down. When he accidentally walks in on her as she bathes he realizes that she has become dangerously thin and takes her to the doctor. This is one of the events that begins to change the dynamics of their relationship.

Josiah is secretly falling in love with Lindie and with her baby; something he vowed not to do. Lindie is also falling in love with Josiah but she fears that he will never understand her secret and may reject her.

All the while, Lindie has noticed that Hannah seems to have the ability to talk to God in a way that most people cannot and when Hannah predicts a tragic event—Lindie begins to turn to God in earnest. She is looking for a miracle that only He can provide.

I don’t want to spill too much more because I want you to sit in sheer anticipation of the next twist the way that I did!

If you’re looking for Amish fiction with a twist then I suggest reading books by this author. I’ve noticed that she has gotten better with each book that has been released. As a newer author on the market I knew that she was one to keep my eye on and so far she has not disappointed. I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!
View all my reviews|Read an Excerpt

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Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children. When attending Ferris State University School of Pharmacy in Big Rapids, Michigan, she lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a simple life.
I received this book free from the publisher through a fantastic program called Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions I have expressed are my own. This giveaway is being sponsored by Litfuse
as part of a blog tour for A Miracle of Hope by Ruth Reid. To view other reviews and learn more about this tour please visit the Litfuse group by clicking here

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I adored the first book in this series but I think this one may be even better.

Then again, I do like a bad boy in my fiction and William is a perfect balance between bad boy and good guy.

If you liked Graham in book one then you will love William. His character is written so well that you’ll keep turning pages until you finish the story.

Don’t pick this story up unless you have a lot of time because you will not want to put it down.

I do have one complaint but it isn’t enough for me to bump down the rating: I wanted to find out what happened to Helena from book one and felt for sure I’d have learned more with book two. I even confused Isabella for Helena at one point and had to pick back up the other book to check it out. I felt that her story conclusion needs to be explored but since it wasn’t addressed at all in this book I fear that I will never know.

Patience has lost her father, her brother has deserted her and her mother isn’t handling all the change that well.

12 day Kindle Giveaway

Patience has had to step up and fill the role as headmistress for the girl’s school that her father started. She feels that she has done her best and yet when her brother returns he makes feel inadequate and unappreciated.

Graham has made her acquaintance and though he is intrigued by her—he has a past that could threaten her safety.

There is also a mystery that Patience wish to solve—the parentage of one of her young girls in her school. I felt this particular story part of the tale was a bit too predictable. I knew from the get go how that was going to wrap up so I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a huge surprise of some sort.

Overall, this is still a fantastic book and I can’t wait to read book three.
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The Heiress of WinterWood|The Headmistress of Rosemere|A Lady at Willowgrove Hall

Sarah E. Ladd has more than ten years of marketing experience. She is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. Heiress of Winterwood was the recipient of the 2011 Genesis Award for historical romance. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever.

Find out more about Sarah at http://www.sarahladd.com.



I received this book free from the publisher through a fantastic program called Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions I have expressed are my own. This giveaway is being sponsored by Litfuse
as part of a blog tour for The Headmistress of Rosemere. To view other reviews and learn more about this tour please visit the Litfuse group by clicking here

Don't miss Sarah Ladd's latest Regency novel, The Headmistress of Rosemere. She is celebrating the release of book two in her Whispers on the Moors series with a fun "School" Your Desk Kindle Fire Giveaway and an Author Chat Facebook Party!

Between January 17–28, visit Sarah Ladd's Facebook Page to enter to win a new giveaway each day and be entered to win a Kindle Fire grand prize. Winners will be announced at the Facebook Author Chat party on January 28th! (Don't have a Facebook account? Enter here.)



RSVP today for Sarah's The Headmistress of Rosemere Author Chat Party on Facebook. During the party Sarah will be hosting a book chat, testing your Regency trivia skills, announcing the winner of the "School" Your Desk Giveaway, and giving away books, gift certificates, and more. Oh, and she'll also be giving partygoers an exclusive look at the next book in the Whispers on the Moors series!



So grab your copy of The Headmistress of Rosemere and hope to see you on the evening of January 28th! (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

DON’T MISS A MOMENT OF THE FUN; RSVP TODAY. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 28th!

An Amish Miracle by Beth Wiseman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


How I enjoy the novels like this!

It breaks the monotony of a single author from time to time and allows you to see individual stories within a larger story.

I think it gives a bit of character depth that isn't achieved by a single author.

This was a quick read and I enjoyed it very much. I'm pleased to have this book in my collection of Amish fiction!

Always in My Heart by Mary Ellis:

Hope Bowman believes that God is punishing her for giving up the son she had as a teen. She carries grief and anger in her heart for being forced to give him away and also from not being allowed to share this event with her husband. He is understandably upset that she never told him of this child or the events surrounding the birth. God must make a work in the hearts of this family and bring them peace.

Always His Providence by Ruth Reid:

I think this was actually my favorite story out of the three. Rosa Hostetler is in danger of losing her home. As a young widow she has trouble accepting the fact that she is actually a widow and is rather stubborn about letting the church know as she feels that she shouldn't use the widow's fund to help her pay her bills.

Her husband passed away and asked his close friend to watch out for Rosa. She is hesitant to open her heart to him—especially if she loses her home and has to move to her aunt’s house in another district.

These characters just came to life to me and I nearly wish that this tale had been a full size novel!

Always Beautiful by Beth Wiseman

This story addressed an issue that plagues a lot of young women—worry about their weight. Becky feels that no one will love her because she’s a bit on the heavy side. She takes drastic measures and begins cutting out entire meals to shed the pounds.

The truth is though, there are two young men who are both smitten with her—just the way she is!

Becky has to learn to love herself before she can ever accept the love of others. An important lesson for any young lady!
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Mary Ellis grew up close to the Amish where she loved their peaceful agrarian lifestyle and strong sense of Christian community. She and her husband now live by the largest population of Old Order in the country where they take weekend trips to research her books. Mary enjoys reading, traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming.

Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children. When attending Ferris State University School of Pharmacy in Big Rapids, Michigan, she lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a simple life.

Beth Wiseman is hailed as a top voice in Amish fiction. She is a Carol Award winner and author of numerous bestsellers including the Daughters of the Promise series and the Land of Canaan series. She and her family live in Texas.
http://bethwiseman.com/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers 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’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Violet Vox Box

Inspired by this season's dark, moody florals, the Violet VoxBox is for the beauty queens of Influenster Nation. And, as surely as winter comes, we know that under layers of snow, spring violets still grow. Take a peek inside the Violet VoxBox - and discover the next big thing!

I wanted to change things up a bit and take a minute to review each of my influenster items collectively but also individually. There were some really great products in this box and I definitely think it deserved its own blog post so without further ado...

Sally Hansen Triple Shine

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was sent the Red Snapper color to try. I have to say that I really love how this polish goes on. It's creamy but it doesn't gel so fast that you're smudging or causing an uneven surface in the nail. I love the shine and I really love the color.

However, I noticed that this polish chips really fast. I tried it on three different occasions and each time it chipped in under an hour. Then when I started to remove the polish is where the biggest disappointment came in...

This stuff smears so badly that it literally made my fingers look as if I'd chopped a finger off or something! I used so much remover trying to get all of the staining off but it has to just wear off and it also stained my nails! I had to repaint them immediately to cover up the now red hue to my nails. I think that Triple Shine has promise but it needs a little work!

Not Your Mother's Clean Freak

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh my gosh! This stuff is amazing! I really can't rave about it enough. I'm a busy mama and this stuff saved my hair so many times.







My daughter was also a

Rockin' NYMCleanFreak!!!

huge fan. Check out how shiny and pretty her hair is and it's definitely a NYMCleanFreak moment!


I've definitely stocked up on another can of it and I have raved to everyone about what a great product it is. The only thing I wish is that there were different fragrances to choose from but that's a small minor detail and not that huge of a deal. On a scale of 1 to 10 on how great this is? It's a 20! If I get to try no other product this year; I'm glad that I got to try this one!

SoyJoy

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have to say, my children enjoyed this bar. I however did not like it. Why? Quite simply; I do not like bananas and that was the flavor I was sent. Perhaps I would like another flavor. I cannot say for certain as I was a bit squeamish about the texture as well. Thus, I'm not sure if I will purchase in the future to test my taste buds! I'm giving this a B because my kids did eat it. I'm not giving it an A because when I asked if they would eat it again I got, "maybe" as a reply. I think it just needs a little work on flavor and texture and it would be a hit

Goody® Athletique

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall this headband does what it says. It is a moisture wicking headband and in that regard it does what it says it'll do.

But...it's ugly! *whines and stomps* I know, I know, if it does what it says it'll do then why am I whining about how it looks? I guess I would like something that is pretty and doesn't automatically make me think of a boring ole jockstrap...okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but you totally get me...right? (psst...I've never worn a jockstrap lol!)

It also kept slipping. I'm thinking it was too large for my head but when I tried to tighten it up then the velcro pulled on my hair and I disliked that. I had to use hair clips to keep the headband from sliding around and if I'm having to use clips then it's pointless to have to wear a headband! 

4 stars for doing what it claimed to do. I would like to see some improvements on the looks and performance before I would consider buying this particular style of headband again.  


This was a complimentary gift from the Influenster Program! I was not required to write a positive review. The views and opinions I have expressed are my own.

Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



“I’d grown quite fond of the wind since Miss Cleta had taught me the secrets of it. “It’s the breath of God, Jessilyn,” she’d say, lifting her face to greet it. “Just listen to it talkin’ to your soul.”
― Jennifer Erin Valent, Catching Moondrops

With wonderful quotes like that it isn’t hard to see why I loved this series so much. The characters are also likeable and they make you want to read about them. You'll want a peaceful resolution but I don't think I can put into words the powerful event that brought that peace. Two words: Beautiful and Soul-stirring!

I grew up in the South and this series just felt so authentic. There is a lazy little feel to it with the sleepiness of southern living thrown in. While the south is known for hospitality though—we can also be pretty doggone stubborn.

Stubbornness and hatred led to sad times and such a sad history being explored and I wish I could say that racism has been completely abolished but sadly it does still linger. Luckily it isn’t as prevalent as it once was but books like this help us remember so that we do not repeat history. I guess like the book points out, it isn’t a racism problem; it is a heart problem and folks need good solid reminders of the pain and horror that hatred brings.

This author captures all of that and she does so beautifully that this series is definitely in my top-ten for 2013.

Jessi has grown up and at 19; Luke is finally looking at her as a woman. It is all she has ever dreamed of but when her best friend also finds love—Jessi’s world once again is turned upside down.

The white folk in the town haven’t really forgotten that the Lassiter family took in a, “colored girl” and to add insult to injury there’s a new doctor in town; one who offends people because of his color. Top that off with a few young boys who are bent on stirring up trouble with the white folk in the name of social equality—their reasoning was correct but their method was all wrong as is often the case with issues like this. You can’t really go about acting silly and stirring up trouble when you want to mend broken fences.

The Klan is no longer concerned about lying low and when a young boy is killed—Jessi’s heart is hardened even more against God and everyone else. She’s just angry! She’s angry at the Klan, maybe even angry at God because how could he let stuff like this continue to happen?

I don’t want to go much further than this because the book is so good I want you to read it for yourself to see the resolution but let’s just say between Gemma, Mr. Lassiter, Luke and Ms. Cleeta, there is a lot of wisdom that you can take away from this series.

I challenge you to pick this series up if you’re into Christian Historical Fiction. You will not be disappointed! I definitely will be reading again in the future and I will also be eagerly awaiting future works by the author.
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Jennifer Erin Valent is the 2007 winner of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest and 2010 Christy Award winner for Fireflies in December. She lives in central Virginia, where she has worked as a nanny for over fifteen years. A lifelong resident of the South, her surroundings help to color the scenes and characters she writes.
www.jennifervalent.com.