I have loved the Malory family since I first read George and James story, many years ago. This book did not disappoint me at all, the Malory’s and the Anderson’s are present and in fine form. The main character’s Richard and Julia are likable and believable.  They also show that you really need to look at the other persons side of things and where they are coming from.  Richard and Julia are betrothed as young children, and neither one of them wants to marry the other person due to behaviors they both exhibited as children.  But when you look at the situations they were in as kids you can understand better why they behaved so bad.  This really is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Synopsis

Nine years ago, Richard Allen fled England and his controlling father. Determined to live his own life, he took to the sea and settled in the Caribbean, joining a band of treasure-hunting pirates and adopting the persona of a carefree, seductive Frenchman named Jean Paul to guard the secrets of his past. When he slips back into England to carry out an urgent task, Richard becomes infatuated with a married woman, Georgina Malory. But his reckless attempt to woo Georgina at a masked ball turns out to be the worst mistake of his life because it brings him face-to-face with another beautiful woman.

Thrilled that her solicitors have finally come up with a way to free her from her betrothal contract to the Earl of Manford’s son who abandoned her years ago, heiress Julia Miller is ready for the marriage mart and hopes to find that perfect someone at her friend Georgina’s ball. Charmed by a masked Frenchman who gives her her first kiss, she can’t help but pursue this mysterious man — until she makes a shocking discovery. Now, to avoid falling into a ruthless nobleman’s trap, Julia must enter a risky, intimate charade with a man she never believed she could love.

This is a review of a book that I checked out of my library, the review is solely based on my own feelings.

I liked this book, in a lot of ways because I can relate to Lisa and how she kept a large part of herself hidden away from her *friends*. I always looked at is as you have school friends, you have neighborhood friends, you have friends for different activities. But none of those friends really knew the whole you, each group only saw a glimpse of the real you. This book gives you some great ideas on how to help create and strengthen friendships. It is a good read and one I would really recommend.
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Friendship for Grown-UpsWhat I Missed and Learned Along the Way

By Lisa Whelchel

Book Description

Former Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel shares her experiences of growing up without true friends and how she learned to find and develop them as an adult through God’s grace.

Not many people can say they lived their most crucial developmental years on the sound stage of a wildly popular TV show. But that’s exactly what happened in Lisa Whelchel’s life. As a child, she learned to guard her heart so tightly to avoid true hurt that she found herself unable to form lasting friendships as an adult.

Friendship for Grown-Ups details her experiences of learning to come out of her shell, to trust, risk, and become vulnerable by God’s grace and find meaningful friendships. Readers encounter her captivating story and refreshing perspective on life’s most precious gift—and they find practical tips for their own friendships along the way.

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review this book.

As you may remember, I recently partnered up with Making Work at Home Work as a blogger.

Expanding and Contracting: Managing Your Stress Level
By Mary M. Byers
My work is seasonal. I make about 30% of my income for the entire year in one month! That’s
the good news. The bad news is that it can be stressful getting through such a busy time. That’s
where the concept of “Expanding and Contracting” comes in.
Expanding and contracting requires making a conscious decision regarding how big your life
view is going to be at any given time. For example, I once had a speaking engagement in my
home town. Since my mother lived there, I decided to take my children along so they could
spend some time with grandma.
Several weeks before the engagement, my world view was still large. I could look at the
calendar for the entire month, make plans for later in the summer, and keep an active “To
Do” list for the week. As the engagement approached, however, I narrowed my focus to
getting my presentation ready and getting myself and the kids packed. The day before our
departure, getting out the door and to Grandma’s house was ALL I focused on. As soon as my
presentation was over, however, I was able to expand my focus again and begin planning for
our next trip—a family vacation.
You’ve probably used these concepts of expanding and contracting without even knowing
it. Think about the last time you had friends over for dinner. When you called to extend the
invitation, your life view was still large. As you approached the day of the meal, your view
contracted as you began to plan the menu and make your grocery list. The day of the event,
your view likely contracted even more, to the point of being focused on straightening the house
and getting the food prepared. After your guests arrived, your view could begin to expand again
and by the time they left, you were probably already thinking ahead to what the next day would
bring.
Expanding and contracting your view is extremely useful in staving off stress. As I view my
calendar some days and an overwhelmed feeling starts creeping over me, I simply take a
deep breathe (or two, or three, or ten, depending on the situation!) and ask myself, “How can
I contract my focus?” Doing so keeps me from being paralyzed and gives me a focal point
toward which to direct my energy. It’s an extremely effective means of staying sane when you’re
running a home and a business under one roof. Having a laser focus is necessary sometimes
just to get you through the day.

What techniques do you use to help you get through your work-related
busy times? E-mail me at mbyers@marybyers.com and I’ll share your tricks in my next
post. Until then, now that I’m done traveling for awhile, I’m expanding my focus again and it
feels good!

Mary Byers is the author of Making Work at Home Work: Successfully
Growing a Business and a Family Under One Roof. You can learn more about
making work at home work by subscribing to Mary’s free blog at www.makingworkathomework.com. Interested in
more articles like this? Join the blog ring here.

This is one book that I know I tried to read before, and I  do believer that I did get further this time. The concept for this book is a good one, orphaned kids taken in by Thief master and  trained to be a thief. But for some reason the changing time when Locke was a boy and when he was a young man just became to much for me to keep track of and I lost interest in the book.  Though since this is a style of book I do like I am sure I will pick it up again from the library and try to read it again.

This was a hard book to read.  To realize that this was in fact a true story of a real person is unsettling.  That a person could believe that they have no choice but to sell themselves, to earn a living in such a way as an exotic dancer.  I feel so much sympathy for them, especially those that really don’t have a choice, and can not see a way out.  When Harmony wrote about leaving notes on the dancers cars I silently applauded her bravery to enter so close to what was definitely a low place from her past.  The fact that she had the bravery to do that, and also to tell her story to the world made the parts of the book where I just wanted to cringe a whole lot more bearable- also the fact that I knew there was a happy ending helped to.

If you want to see a first hand story of how a person pooled up her courage and escaped from a life that many could not ever imagine even being a part of.  She is an example to all of the other people out there who are in the same circumstances that she was in- there is a way out, there are people out there willing to help.  Look to the Lord and he will lead you to safety is the message I received from this book. Even if your not at the low point that Harmony was in this is still true for you.

As an aside though if you do have a tender heart and the idea of reading about someone who was an exotic dancer is unsettling to you I would recommend reading the book slowly and carefully, it can be pretty hard to imagine what Harmony really went through.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:
Fear of being abandoned keeps nineteen-year-old Harmony Dust trapped in an abusive and cruel relationship. She thinks she has hit bottom-tens of thousands of dollars in debt, struggling to get by,and so controlled by her boyfriend that she doesn’t protest when he begins openly sleeping around. Things can’t get worse . . . until someone tells her how much money she can make as an exotic dancer. For the next three years, Harmony lives a double life as Monique, a dancer in a fully-nude strip club.

Scars and Stilettos is Harmony’s stark, honest, and ultimately hopeful story of how God found her in that dark, noisy place and led her out. She has since married, completed an MA in social welfare, andnow leads Treasures, an organization helping women in the sex trade discover their true worth.

“Harmony wrote her story so that you and your friends may get help out of whatever dark tunnel you find yourself in. . . . once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down and you will want to get a copy for every person you know.” -Holly Wagner, from the preface

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Harmony Dust is founder of Treasures, a nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles that reaches out to women in the sex industry to show them they are loved, valued, and purposed. Find out more about Treasures, Harmony, and her book at www.IAmATreasure.com or http://www.ScarsandStilettos.com.Check out Harmony’s Press Page for magazine articles and videos about her work with women in the sex-trade industry.

CONTEST?!

Kregel Publishers is graciously donating a $50 Amazon.com gift card for the Litfuse Blog Tour Contest! Woo-hoo (thanks Kregel!) All you have to do to enter is either tweet (see TWEET THIS below) or share the book on Facebook using this link: http://www.litfusegroup.com/Blog-Tours/scars-and-stilettos-blog-tour.html

TWEET THIS: (and be sure to use the hashtag #HarmonyDust to be entered into Amazon.com gift certificate drawing)
Scars and Stilettos-story of ex-stripper #HarmonyDust & her work now to reach out to those still in the sex industry. http://ow.ly/1WrGD

I was very excited to be able to review this book, since after all I do follow Pete on Twitter and facebook- not exactly sure how he found me on twitter but I am very glad he did.  This book to me is just an extension of what I have seen of him on both Twitter and Facebook. He even was nice enough to respond to me when I read a preview of this book that he posted a link to.  For  once

I actually found a type-o and had the nerve to mention it – a big step for the shy self I am.

Now as far as this book goes I thought it would be one that I would sit down and just read from cover to cover in a few days.  But that did not happen to me, I would read a chapter or two and then be pulled away for some reason or another.  This usually turned out to be a good thing, because I was then thinking and reflection on what I had just read.

The complete concept of this book is something very dear to me, because I myself am in the midst of my own Plan B right now.  The reminders that hey this is ok was very reassuring.  His bringing in the stories of the Bible and relating them to current circumstances was very helpful and comforting as it showed me that we really are not alone- even when we feel we are.

I have recommended this book to others and I definitely will continue to do so, I also am planning on re-reading the book again myself.

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Reviewer’s Guide

Be sure to checkout the book’s website http://www.planbbook.com/

Book Description

Learn how God often does His best work in our most hopeless situations.

What do you do when a shattered dream or an unmet expectation causes you to turn to Plan B? Pastor and author Pete Wilson uses real life stories of disappointments and tragedy along with biblical stories such as David, Joseph, and Ruth to help readers face their own overwhelming situations and through them to learn God is working to help them surrender their plans to receive His. He identifies our common responses to difficulties and offers hope, helping us to

Understand what God might be up to See how surrender helps us to receive God’s plan Embrace the community of believers Reconcile a God of love with a life of tragedy and suffering Wilson points readers to the cross as not just the starting line but the centerpiece of our stories with God where we turn in our Plan B and find the undeniable relationship between crisis and true spiritual transformation.

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I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review this book.

I really liked this book, now I  do not 100% agree with all of the information in this book- but do you ever in any book that is based on some one else’s opinions.  I do think a lot about the things that Dr Dobson addresses in this book.  Girls today are so different than girls from my generation, and extremely different that girls from my parents and grand-parents generations.  The times are different and girls have had to adapt to the changes in the world.

I find the physiological differences between boys and girls that he writes about in this book very interesting, even more so since I do have a son and a daughter.  His point where he says that as our culture has tried for so long to tell us boys and girls really are not all that different, and that this is really not true is one I definitely agree with. I think Dr. Dobson does an excellent job of bringing in a wide array of statistical research as well as excerpts from other professionals. The real life interviews with girls and parents give great practical examples and are a great addition.

Over all I did enjoy this book, and do plan on recommending it to other parents of girls.

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Bringing Up Boys by parenting expert and best-selling author Dr. James Dobson was, and continues to be, a runaway hit, selling more than 2 million copies to date. Now, Dr. Dobson presents his highly anticipated companion book: Bringing Up Girls. Based on extensive research, and handled with Dr. Dobson’s trademark down-to-earth approach,Bringing Up Girls will equip parents like you to face the challenges of raising your daughters to become healthy, happy, and successful women who overcome challenges specific to girls and women today and who ultimately excel in life.

Debut author, Sarah Sundin, is celebrating the release of her first novel, A Distant Melody by hosting a social sharing promotion!Click the icon below to enter this fab-o contest. Tell your friends and earn extra entries!

A Distant Melody is book 1 in Sarah Sundin’s exciting Wings of Glory series. Sarah has partnered with Litfuse Publicity Group for the Netflix®& Nostalgia Contest! Sarah’s offering one Grand Prize winner the chance to get NOSTALGIC!

THE PRIZE:
The Winner of the ‘NETFLIX® & Nostalgia’ giveaway will receive a vintage prize package, including:
*A 6 month NETFLIX® subscription
*$25 Starbucks® gift card
*A box of See’s Famous Old Time Chocolates®
*A jar of homemade strawberry jam
*A Big Band music CD
*A Mini B-17 Model airplane
*Vintage stationery and pen
*British specialty tea
*WWII style playing cards
For more information just click on the icon above! Contest will run April 5th and run through April 25th!
share this contest on your blog! post this button by using this code:
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Sarah is an on-call hospital pharmacist and holds a BS in chemistry from UCLA and a doctorate in pharmacy from UC San Francisco. Her great-uncle flew with the US Eighth Air Force in England during WWII. Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children. This is her first novel. For more information about Sarah, please visit her website: www.sarahsundin.com

A Distant Melody

Debut Author, Sarah Sundin, earns rave reviews from BOOKLIST. “Sundin’s debut Christian historical romance is an emotionally gripping, detail-rich but fast-paced trilogy set against the backdrop of WWII at home and abroad. Romance readers and military history buffs will find much of interest here.”

Seattle, WA – 4/9/2010 – Rarely does a book come along from a debut author that is as well received as Sarah Sundin’s A Distant Melody. The story grips you on page one and doesn’t let up until the last page is turned. Critics and readers alike are impressed with both the accurate historical detail and complex cast of characters. From the fertile California orange groves to the soggy terrain of England,A Distant Melody, weaves an exciting and tender tale of love, courage and sacrifice. Not to be missed!

Historically Accurate High-Flying Adventure!

Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval–even marry a man she doesn’t love. Lt. Walter Novak–fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women–takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together.
But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?

Purchase a copy of A Distant Melody here!

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This is a post promoting a book from LitFuse.  I have not ready this book to review it, though it does sound like an interesting book.

I really enjoyed this book.  The time period is post World War II, and takes place in what was Hitler occupied Germany. The characters are very likable, and you just can not help caring what happens to them.

The mystery and suspense that surrounds the disappearance of Betty’s  new friend Kat is bond to keep you glued to the book till you finally finish it and see what happens. Betty, the USO singer, and Frank, the war photographer with a side job as an intelligence gatherer mesh together very well as the main characters.  Neither is looking for love, but as they work through this mystery they find that they have really come to love each other.

This book has romance, mystery, suspense and characters that are very realistic and likable- what’s not to love about this book.

If you love the World War II time period, and books with suspense, then this book is for you!

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

The year is 1945. The war is over and 21-year-old Betty Lake has been invited to Europe to sing in a USO tour for American soldiers who now occupy Hitler’s Germany. The first nights performance is a hit. Betty becomes enthralled with the applause, the former Nazi-held mansion they’re housed in and the attention of Frank Witt, the US Army Signal Corp Photographer. Yet the next night this songbird is ready to fly the coop when Betty’s dear friend, Kat, turns up missing. Betty soon realizes Franks photographs could be the key to finding Kat. Betty and Frank team up against post-war Nazi influences and the two lovebirds’ hearts may find the answers…in each other.
But will they have a chance for their romance to sing? The truth will be revealed under a German moon.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tricia Goyer is the author of twenty books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children’s book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2003. Tricia’s book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions.  She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana. Find out more about her and her books at www.TriciaGoyer.com

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Leave a comment on Tricia’s blog or send an email through her website CONNECT page and answer this question: What era in history do you wish you’d lived in and why?

Earn extra entries by signing up for Tricia’s newsletter here, becoming a Fan on Facebook or Tweeting about the contest on Twitter (use hashtag #songbird)!

You’ll be entered to win one of three signed copies of Songbird Under a German Moon.

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I would like to thank litFUSE for the copy of the book that I read, and for the opportunity to read such a great book.  Thank you

This was a very nice book to read to my almost 5 year old daughter.  She enjoyed the big colorful pictures, and the story was something that she could understand and relate to.

This book is a beautiful children’s story about how a little girl’s love can impacts a crotchety neighbor’s heart for Christ.  By telling how a family’s neighborly actions to a neighbor showed him the path to love God.

The “Faith Imprints” which helps gives us parents a way to share God to our children. The illustrations of this book were wonderful, bright, cheery and captured the spring feeling

This book is a great and thoughtful faith-based book that shows the Easter spirit. I can see us bringing this book out during many Easters to come, and once my daughter finally does out grow this book I am sure she will love to pass it on to her pre-school.

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Book Description

A modern-day story of how Christ’s resurrection is still changing lives

Six-year-old Katie’s next-door neighbor Papa Jack has the most beautiful flowers in town. He seems like a mean man to most, but Katie has a special place in his heart. Every Easter Sunday she stops by to get her flowers for the Flowering of the Cross at church. Only this year, Papa Jack decides to come along, and Katie helps him discover the real meaning of the Cross.

Designed to place God’s truths in the heart of children, The Flowering Cross, has Faith ImprintTM suggestions thoughout that will help parents share God’s Word with their young one.

Also included are instructions for making a Flowering Cross.

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I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to review this book.