Book Review for NetGalley

"Dream Wedding on a Dime" authored by Bobette Kyle

This book is jam-packed with advice, tips, tricks, and hints for planning a wedding & reception on a budget but not be cheap.  The 7 secrets are Smart Money works for you ~ who is paying for what & how, Time does more than tick ~ plan ahead and be organized, Treasures lie Upon the Road Less Traveled ~ look into non-wedding vendors as a resource, Recycling Saves More than the Planet ~ it can save your budget too!, Blending is Best ~ mixing new with do it yourself items for your day, Ask & Receive ~ ask for discounts, look for volunteers, ask for cash to help pay for the wedding as your wedding gift, and Stack & Save ~ stacking coupons or discounts, can items serve more than one purpose...ceremony & reception.  With the prices of todays weddings skyrocketing ~ this is a great down to earth resource for the couple who wants a nice day but doesn't want to pay exorbitant prices for everything involved.

This book was of particular interest to me because we were in on the planning of 3 of our childrens weddings in the last 2 years ~ 2 of them were just 6 1/2 months apart!  We utilized many of these suggestions for our family weddings & will be rereading the book before our next 4 walk down the aisles.  The book contains many awesome ideas for having a nice day without going bankrupt! 

I was given this book by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review ~ Donna Jackson

Net Galley Book Review

"The Amish Groom" authored by Mindy Starns Clark & Susan Meissner

The Amish Groom is the story of young man named Tyler.  Tylers mom was Amish & left home & the faith at an early age to pursue what she thought was a better life.  She met & married Tylers father and they followed him where ever the military moved him.  At 6 Tyler's mom died & after the funeral he is sent to live with his Amish grandparents ~ from age 6, Tyler is raised Amish, with their clothing, customs, faith.  His best friends are his cousin Jake, his girlfriend Rachel, and his dog Timber. Tylers father remarries & has another son, Brady.  Tylers story fluctuates between his love of the Amish & everything they stand for & his "jealousy/confusion" over the life he could have been living~ the life he was born into.  Tyler spends much time comparing the 2 different lifestyles, faith, clothing, & freedoms before he reaches his final decision of whether or not to be baptized into the Amish faith.  While a fiction story, its probably similar to many conflicts that youth of the Amish deal with when they are deciding their future of either staying/being Amish or leaving for the "English" world. 

It was a very good book.  I enjoyed reading it & am looking forward to the books to come.

Donna Jackson

NetGalley Book Review

"An Amish Miracle" 3 stories by Mary Ellis, Ruth Reid & Beth Wiseman

The novella stories contained in this book are "Always in my Heart" by Mary Ellis, "Always His Provision" by Ruth Reid, and "Always Beautiful" by Beth Wiseman.  "Always in My Heart" follows the Bowman family as Hope (the wife/mother) struggles to overcome her past and what she feels is a curse from the Lord, only giving birth to girls, after she was forced to give up her firstborn, a son.  This story contains many twists and turns, surrounding the Son & his adoption, that she had kept secret for years.  It also deals with her relationship with her husband and her father.  Hopes friend Rosa, a widow, knows the secret.  Rosa loves Hope and her girls & is an encourager in her life.

The second novella is "Always His Provision" and is the story of Rosa.  Rosa is a 30 year old widow & was not blessed with any children during her marriage.  Through the unfolding of the story, she discovers that her late husband Uriah left some back taxes unpaid and Rosa is in a panic over how to cover the cost of the taxes and not lose her home.  Her neighbor Adam feels bound to protect and take care of Rosa because of a promise he made to Uriah before his death ~ Uriah died after saving Adam's life following a barn fire.  Rosa has a home business selling her chickens eggs to neighbors and businesses.   Rosa's troubles escalate when a new neighbors dogs start attacking and killing her chickens.  The story follows Rosa through her trials, struggles with her faith & finances & her feelings for Adam.  There are also some very funny descriptions of Rosa trying to protect her chickens with her husbands shotgun!

The third story, "Always Beautiful" focuses on Becky.  Becky works in the Bakery owned by her family & is a young woman who has always struggled with her weight & self esteem.  The story follows Becky as she vows to lose weight.  Her friends and family become concerned about her focus on weight and the obsession that focus has on her life.  Her friends, Hope & Rosa try to encourage her on whats really important.  Becky becomes aware that 2 young men have an interest in her.  Matt & Elam have both had an interest for a long time, but she thinks its a result of her losing weight.  The story progresses with Becky's struggle over the sin of vanity & her feelings for both young men.  She does get her priorities in order & follows the Lords leading for chosing which young man to marry.

I liked the 3 books written in this way because you could follow the other characters from the previous books through the new story.  Each story was distinctly different but intertwined.  The writing styles of the 3 authors were similar which made it easy to follow along.

I was given this book by Thomas Nelson Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Donna Jackson

Book Review for Net Galley

"Return to Me" authored by Lynn Austin
Book 1 in "The Restoration Chronicles" series

This fictional book is centered around the life of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah.  The story starts in 539 BC in Babylon.  The reigning king at the time was Belshazzar grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar.  Zechariahs family is living in Babylon because his grandfather Iddo was exiled with most of the other Jews from Jerusalem fell to their enemies.  After 47 years in Babylon, the city it overrun and conquered by the Persians & Medes.  This story is a fascinating look not only at Ancient History but also at the Jewish laws, customs, struggles & triumphs in the face of their enemies and great oppression.  Also revealed through the fictional story are the superstitions of both the Jews and the Gentiles, why they were not allowed to intermarry, why the Jewish men were so intent on rebuilding the Temple of God in Jeruselem and the ancient observances/feasts/Holy days in the Jewish faith.

While the story is a fictional account of the times, it is also grounded in the historical scriptural references of 2 Kings 17:24-40, 2 Kings 25:1-21, Ezra 1-6, Haggai 1-2, Zechariah 1-14, Daniel 5 & 9.

To me, book 1 was incredible.  Very easy to read, captivating, & compelling.  I am looking forward to future books in the series.

Donna Jackson

This book was given to my by Bethany House Publishing through Net Galley for my honest review.

Book Review for Net Galley

I just finished reading "The New Lean for Life" by Cynthia Stamper Graff & Reginald Allouche.

I was interested in reading this book as it fits in with our current low carb lifestyle.  The book is written in "days" instead of "chapters" with each day representing the progression of their lean for life program.  The book does a good job of explaining how your body reacts to certain foods, why you should change your eating habits, how to make it through the plateaus of the weight loss journey & how to not go back to old habits.  It also addresses those days when the numbers on the scale creep back up a pound or so & how to address this.  There are also many testimonials of folks who have lost significant weight using this program.  It seems to follow along the lines of "Atkins" & maybe "South Beach" in it approach to carbohydrate counting/watching.

We are 3 months into our journey and this does correspond to many of the things we are doing.  And there were some good tips in the book to help us & great motivation to keep us going.

I was given this book by Harlequin Publishing (on NetGalley) for my honest opinion of this book.

Donna Jackson

Book Review for Net Galley

"An Untamed Heart" by Lauraine Snelling

This sweet story of faith & hard work is set in the country of Norway, in the year 1878.  The story centers around young Ingeborg Strand and her family.  She is a young woman who is strong in her faith, loyal to her family, a hard worker in the family economy & a mentor to her cousins and younger siblings.  She desires to be a midwife like her mother (mor) & has been blessed with a  kind, gentle spirit toward helping & healing others.  After the long winter, Ingeborg, her siblings & cousins move to the seter (I am assuming that means their summer farm).  Their jobs for the summer are too care for the animals, shear the sheep, spin wool and weave, and make cheese.  All of this, will help care/sustain their families till the next summer.  A spoiled, young man from the city enters their midst & from observing their family devotion to one another, their hard work & their faith ~ he falls in love with Ingeborg. 

Norway is a country that I am not that familiar with.  The words, customs, and work ethics were very interesting.  The hard work, determination, family loyalty & faith were focal to this story and greatly enhanced the story line.  While I am not thrilled with one particular event in the story (I don't want to spoil it for anyone!) ~ I am anxious to read more about this family.


I was given this Kindle edition of the book by NetGalley for Bethany House publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

Donna Jackson

Book Review for Net Galley

 

"A Bride for Keeps"

by Melissa Jagears

 

Its a very sweet book written about a time when mailorder brides were pretty common "out west", when men worked their fields in order to survive till the next harvest, when women were essential to keep the home running and helping their men with whatever needed to be done.

 

This story is set in Kansas in 1876.  Mr. Everett Cline is about to be set up by his neighbor Rachel, who has ordered him a mail order bride.  This isn't the first time he has had this experience and the story is entwined with his past experiences and his lack of expectations for this relationship to succeed and result in marriage.  Then Miss Julia Lockwood comes to town at the "invitation" of Rachel, with her own history of distrust of men and a lack of Faith in the Lord.

Everett & Julia spend the book working through their trust issues, both with their pasts and the present.

 

The story is very well written and engages the reader.  It is easy to become involved with the lives of the characters ~ rooting for the good guys & booing the bad guy!

 

 

 

Book Review for NetGalley

"I believe this is the first book I have read by Suzanne Woods Fisher ~ but it won't be the last!  This is not they "typical" Amish book or storyline.  The story centers around the blended family of Rose Schrock.  Rose needs to find a way to support her family which includes her children & a crabby, critical mother in law.  She decided to open a Bed & Breakfast in the basement of the home she is living in.  Through the story, you can follow Rose's inspiration to open the B & B, with the help of her neighbor Galen King.  You can witness her struggles to keep her mother in law content, to guide her children as a single mother, and to care for the guests at the B & B.  The story also has some interesting subplots concerning a "shady" horse trader, her stepdaughters job in the English world, her attempts to right the debts from her deceased husbands sketchy business dealings and more!  I am already looking forward to book 2 of this series!"

Donna J

This book was given to me for free, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Gratefulness & Excitement

After I did my book review the other day ~ I got an email from someone at the Publisher.....they offered to send me the first 2 books in the series so that I could read them!  That was awesome!  I am looking forward to getting my package in the mail ~ of course, now I do know how the story ends....but I can find out how it all began!

Many, many thanks!

Book Review

This book review is for NetGalley ~ I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

"Glittering Promises" written by Lisa T. Bergren

"I quickly realized when beginning this book that it was a continuation of  a previous book ~ which almost made me stop reading.  It did seem like pretty quickly, all the main players in the book and how they relate to each other was explained.  I am so glad that I continued ~ this book had so many twists & turns, plots, subplots, and excitement.  Without giving too much away.....there was a kidnapping of 2 folks, romance, a family death, an attempted murder, betrayal, love, and lots of ancient history thrown in for good measure.  From the previous book, you would understand how Cora came into the lives of the Kensington family.  In this book, she grows closer to her family.  Mr Kensington makes some decisions about the controlling interest of the mine.  Pierre and Will each bid for Cora's affections ~ only one will win them.  Cora's faith and her love for her family & friends is tested.  My attention was captured and held throughout the book ~ I was sorry to see it end.  If there is another following ~ I will be reading it."

Donna J

Book Review

"Moms Raising Sons to be Men"
author: Rhonda Stoppe

As a Mom of 5 sons ~ this is an interest, passion, desire of mine.  In today's world, so many boys are being raised to just be "big boys" and not being raised to be Men.  The encouragement sections for Moms in this book are 1. Life Lessons froms Moms of the Bible, 2. Guide You Son toward Godly Manhood.  Each section contains 5 or 6 chapters full of  tips, encouragement, and ideas for Moms.  We aren't alone in this Mission of Raising Sons ~ we are on a Mission with and for God.
The following is encouragement for us and our sons (taken from the book)
*God knows you intimately ~ Psalm 139:1-4
*God loves you more than you can imagine ~ Ephesians 2:4-5: 17-19
*You are a "temple of the living God ~ 2 Corinthians 6:16
*God chose you to be His child 2 Corinthians6:18, Ephesians 1:4-6
*God is watchful over your every trial & opportunity ~ Psalm 34:15
*God will direct your steps ~ Psalm 32:8: 34:15, Jeremiah 10:23
*God has a specific purpose for your life ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Our plans for our sons need to take a backseat, so that the Lord can work His plan in their lives.  Mine are all gifted in different ways ~ we have great musicians, hard physical workers, gifted mathmeticians, builders, detail oriented sons.  These gifts are from the Lord.  We can encourage, cheer, love, guide, PRAY, teach, mentor, and PRAY continuously.  And watch the Lord work in and through them!

1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God"
Proverbs 12:11 "He who tills his land will be satsified with bread, but he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding."

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this:  If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.  For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all but are busybodies.  Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread."

I would recommend this book to Mom with sons or grandsons.  And the book would be a help and encouragement to Dads also!

****I was given this book for free, in exchange for my honest opinion and review from NetGalley.

Book Review

"Pocket your Dollars" by Carrie Rocha

"Many folks today are looking for ways to stretch their dollars to supply their needs & even their wants.  In this book are many practical, easy implement, ideas to help your household budget. Unlike other finance books, "Pocket your Dollars" doesn't give you charts, graphs, or percentages ~ it instead tells the story of the authors family, their struggles, their accomplishments, and victories in the area of family budgets.  She is very open & honest about the family she grew up in and the family she and her husband formed upon their marriage. The author deals with the fact that as humans, we sometimes think we deserve something, or we should be able to get a treat, or its been a hard week & we need a break.  When in all honesty, we need to be responsible, save for our treats, and work hard to accomplish our goals.  I would highly recommend this book to Newlyweds, folks wanting to get a handle on their finances, and folks wanting to dig out of the hole they've dug themselves into.

We follow many of these principles already in our own family and the benefits are wonderful.  Our younger 2 children are learning how to save, bargain shop, budget, and be rewarded in special family times ~ one being our cruise last week.  I am also going to be adding this book to their "to read" lists for school"


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.