It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 


This past week I finished reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert for book club (The Parchment Society). Review will be posted on my book clubs site after we have our meeting...I really wanted to watch the movie afterward since I got the book and movie at the same time but since we are planning to watch it together, I had to resist...
I did a Spotlight for Harlow Drakes book Life in Death, I reviewed it a while go.

I finished reading The Betrayal by Jerry B. Jenkins  and hope to have my review up later today.

 I am just about finished with the first book in the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy. This is my first ever romance/erotica read. I am pleasantly surprised that there really is a story there, not just a shallow story to build up to another intimacy scene.


I want to start reading a book I got from the library, The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Singer but I've waited so long to pick it up it is now due back so I am going to need to re-request it. Instead I am going to get started on three books for review:


Dancing in the Storm by Shelly Maguire & Beth Huffman

Last of the Seals by Greg Messel (he has become one of my favs since I reviewed The Illusion of Certainty and could not put it down! I love books like that:)

Ashes to Ashes the Twins Fall Down by Pauline L. Hawkins 

I hope I get more accomplished this week than I did last week...**crossing fingers**

Life in Death by Harlow Drake Blog Tour - Spotlight

Today I am hosting Harlow Drake, author of Life in Death. (My review here)  At the end of the post there is a giveaway where Harlow is giving away 3 autographed paperbacks and a $15 Amazon Gift Card.  Check out this great novella and enter to win!

When a girl that social worker Kari Marchant places in foster care is brutally murdered, she’s compelled to learn why. Her quest for the truth pits her against friends and coworkers. As Kari works to solve the horrific plot, more people die. How far should she go to learn the truth—even if it threatens her life?

Trailer:

 Excerpt:

"Where is she?" Luke Dolo, Patience’s father, pounded a fist on the table. 

His face had contorted into an ugly mask. His smooth, dark skin had a reddish tinge

 to it, either from alcohol, anger or both.            

For the first time ever, Kari thought about alerting security. She weighed her options. 

“Mr. Dolo, please calm down. As I said before, you need to speak to the police.”

 She slid Detective Nicolet’s card over to him. 

He stared at it, eyes dull.

“Just tell me what happened to her?” The veins in his neck bulged and pulsed. 

She didn’t respond. She couldn’t respond. It wasn’t her place to tell him his daughter

 was dead.

He leaped across the table, hands closing around Kari’s throat like a vise. She struggled

 against his strength and they tumbled to the ground. He landed on top of her. The weight of

 his body coupled with the fall knocked the breath out of her, but she continued to struggle. 

She scratched and clawed at him to get free. His fetid breath nauseated her as she fought to

 take a gulp of air. Soon dots danced in front of her eyes and she felt dizzy.

Detective Cobb had Luke on his stomach with his knee pressed into his back as he handcuffed

him. “Looks like I showed up just in time.”

Author Bio:

Author Harlow Drake was born in Kansas City, MO, but grew up in Denver, CO. She relocated to North Carolina five years ago with her husband, two dogs, and 16-year old twins.

She shares a birthday with the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his legacy, she is currently working on taking over the world. Harlow's positive attitude and fresh take on life are her tools and conquest is certain.  She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins’ driving.

Her debut novel, LIFE IN DEATH, is a murder mystery which pulls from real-life situations from her own family history. She felt compelled to share her story with the world while offering a thrilling, entertaining, and amusing escape for readers.

In keeping with her commitment to improving the lives of children, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club in her home state of North Carolina.

She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter, her blog, or on Facebook

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.

Again, I don't feel that I got a lot accomplished this week...

I stopped reading Don't You Forget About Me by Suzanne Jenkins since it is the second in the series. So I am waiting on the first book to come on the mail first (Pam of Babylon- three book series)

I finished reading Whole by Lisa Whittle

I finished reading The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren

I am currently reading The Betrayal by Jerry B Jenkins

and I am still reading Eat Pray Love. I am really enjoying both and can't wait to finish them both, especially since I hear Eat Pray Love is a real story of her adventure / Journey and I can't wait to see where it takes her :) And The Betrayal jumps right into the drama of the book which I love:)

A couple of my books got rescheduled so I am not sure what I am going to read next. I want to continue reading the book by Suzanne Jenkins but I want to get the first one read first. So Maybe I'll finish reading The Last Plea Bargain by Randy Slinger...

Whole by Lisa Whittle REVIEW

How to get past whatever’s holding you back—and start living a whole new story

We all have holes in our lives—those things we lament about ourselves. Those things we allow to define us in ways we don’t like. Those things that keep us from living the life God wants for us.

But what if you discovered that the holes in your life are really the things that will ultimately make you . . . well, whole?

Author and communicator Lisa Whittle knows this all too well. When her world was rocked to the core in a very public way, her faith and whole reason for living were challenged like never before. In that moment, Lisa was confronted by the holes in her spiritual life. And what she learned not only changed her life, but could bring great possibilities to yours.

In Whole, Lisa calls you to take an honest look at your holes, discover how to fill them with God’s presence, and get to a real and vibrant place of wholeness instead. In her trademark bold, compassionate, and relatable voice, Lisa takes you on a transformational journey of understanding who you really are . . . and what you were born to be and do.

When I started reading this book, I did what I always do, I read the introduction. This caught my eye:

"Whole was written to help position believers better to become the people we were created to be- so that we can serve Jesus the way we were created to do. It address the core needed of every believer-to become well and whole by the power of God, a step that is often overlooked in our quest for spiritual abundance.

The author continues on throughout her book explaining this part by part. In chapter one, entitled The Hole Story she talks about the holes in our life that hinder us, but sometimes what we think are hindrances become our way. And sometimes those holes hold us back. Hold us from becoming or doing what we want or need. 

I did enjoy this book and it helped that she used her personal story as an example. Otherwise in my opinion it would have been dry and too textbook. Not a book you would want to sit down and read. 

This is a quick read, but she also makes you stop and think while reading her book. I found myself taking notes, like what caught my eye from the introduction. 

If your not too big on Christian Life / Spiritual Growth, you still may want to give this a shot since like i said before, it does help that she uses her own story as the example for her book. So, I would recommend this book. It's not a fluffy book but it does make you think.

I borrowed this book from my local library  

The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren REVIEW

(this is #5 in the Deep Haven Series, other books by Susan May Warren)

A beautiful blanket of snow may cover the quaint town of Deep Haven each winter, but it can’t quite hide the wreckage of Noelle and Eli Hueston’s marriage. After twenty-five years, they’re contemplating divorce . . . just as soon as their youngest son graduates from high school. But then an accident erases part of Noelle's memory. Though her other injuries are minor, she doesn’t remember Eli, their children, or the tragedy that has ripped their family apart. What’s more, Noelle is shocked that her life has turned out nothing like she dreamed it would. As she tries to regain her memory and slowly steps into her role as a wife and mother, Eli helps her readjust to daily life with sometimes-hilarious, sometimes-heartwarming results. But can she fall in love again with a man she can’t remember? Will their secrets destroy them . . . or has erasing the past given them a chance for a future?

I love it when authors place the story of a book around a real place with the actual name of towns and restaurants, etc. I love being able to look up those places, it makes the book seem more real as well. 
Before I knew of this book I watched The Vow. This book, reminded me of the couple and story from the movie, the wife having amnesia after her accident, not remember her husband or what she liked or disliked, trying to live her life normally and get back into her old routine to try to help bring her memory back. 
But there were differences in this book. They are an older couple, they have kids, the husband (Eli) is a retired cop. Their marriage was strained. They were both contemplating divorce. But that was before the accident. Now Noelle's memory is gone and she has lost twenty-five years of her life. She is coming to grips with learning she is a wife and mother and those lost years. Now, Eli is doing all he can do to help Noelle. He gets sort of a fresh start with his wife, he wants to help her recover her memory while trying to fix the damage from their marriage but that also means that if she does recover her memory, she could remember why their marriage was so tense and on the verge of ending.  And that could destroy him.
The story kept a steady beat until about halfway through the book; in a good way. It kept your interest. Then a little after half the book, the story begins to go a little faster because the missing pieces of the story are coming out and the story is coming together and that made it seriously hard to put this book down. 
This story does have its similarities with The Vow, but it definitely is a great story all it's own. It is heartwarming, sad and a little romantic. I did my typical thing and tried to figure out the ending before I got there but couldn't. This was definitely a bittersweet one for me. Mainly because the story ended. 
I want to say so much more, but that would definitely be giving away some of the mystery and suspense of the book, and that is part of why this story was so good:)

I rented this book from my local library 

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading!  This great meme is hosted by Sheila (bookjourney). This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. 

I recently finished reading The Amazing Action Alphabet flip card and sing a long cd by Esther Kehl 

and The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory for last months book club read. 
I am almost done with Don't You Forget About Me by Suzanne Jenkins. Review up tomorrow:)
I have been reading but haven't finished reading anything because...I spread myself too far with my reading.
I've been mainly focusing on The Parchement Society's read for this month: Eat Pray Love and Don't You Forget About Me but I have also been reading Whole by Lisa Whittle, Fifty Shades of Gery and The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren. So far they are all really good :) 
After I finish these I plan on reading the second book in the Grey series (Fifty Shades Darker), Dancing in the Storm and Last of the Seals by Greg Messel. I read his other work The Illusion of Certainty and could not put it down. I really like his writing so when I saw another opportunity to read his newest book I had to take it! 


Who else has been reading the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy? I've been getting mixed reviews on it.

The Amazing Action Alphabet by Esther Kehl REVIEW

An amazing company, SeaHearDo has this really cool flip card book and sing-a-long CD for kids learning their alphabet. The author, Esther Kehl is a former elementary school teacher and reading specialist. She firmly believes in (hence the product) Seeing + Hearing + Doing = Learning. Which is so true.
Each flip card has a letter and an insect or animal in the shape of the letter and the other side has a story capitalizing on the letter. The sing-a-long CD sings each story from the back of the cards.
I said yes to reviewing this product because I have a two year old daughter, she loved both the book and the sing a long. She loved pointing out the pictures and loved listening to the sing a long during bath time and in the car.

I totally 100% support this product and recommend this to all parents, grandparents, care takers...anyone dealing with or who is around young kids. They will love the flip card book and CD.

Check out this interview with Esther Kehl

I received this product from MediaGuests