DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS by Rachelle J Christensen--Book Review

DIAMOND RINGS ARE DEADLY THINGS by Rachelle J Christensen. This turned out to be a great mystery. It began a little slow for me. She alluded to something that had happened earlier for several chapters before we finally found out what really went on. Once that hurdle was over it flowed more for me. I loved the characters and the fun twists. I would recommend this mystery to anyone who loves a good, clean, romantic mystery.

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Adrielle Pyper knows how to plan a wedding, and she's especially good at pleasing bridezillas. But when her biggest client and best friend is married just three days before the wedding, Adri's world falls apart. She moves to the resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho, and starts from scratch. Thanks to Adri's impeccable tast and unique style, she lands two celebrity clients, and her business seems headed for success—that is, until someone vandalizes the specialty wedding dresses she imported from overseas. The race is on to uncover a secret hidden within the yards of satin and lace before Adri becomes the next victim.

With a delightful blend of mystery, toe-curling kisses, humor, and spine-tingling thrills, Diamond Rings are Deadly Things is a romantic suspense novel that will keep you turning pages long into the night.

*Review copy provided by published, but did not influcence my review.

CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

This last Sunday we had a lesson on trials, adversity, and burdens. I don’t remember all of it but I remember the thought that continually played through my head. It began with a comment from a sister who had a child pass away during his teen years. She mentioned that there came a point in time when she had to make the choice of whether to be bitter or whether to learn and grow from her experience.

That got me thinking about my situation. I remember thinking the same thing. Although I’m not sure if my choice was conscious or not. I think it may have been a little bit of both. I can see how I could have become very bitter and frustrated when Lion was called home. I could have been angry, but I wasn’t.

I’ve had several people ask me how I’ve “handled” the situation so well. How I’m able to cope and everything that goes with it. I can’t say exactly how. The only thing I can attribute it to is I made the decision not to be mad and bitter. And that choice wasn’t necessarily made in the middle of the situation. It was made before.

I truly believe that everyone will come to the point where they have to make the decision to not be bitter or to allow that bitterness in. That kind of a choice is always easier outside of the not fun situation. Not everyone is allowed that time frame though, I understand that. At the same time though, most of us have the opportunity to think about how we might react to different situations. The specific situation isn’t necessary as important how we choose to respond and who we choose to trust.

That’s really been what’s run through my head this week, especially in light of some very difficult situations several of my neighbors are going through. Life has a way of throwing curve balls and we need to be as ready as we can in a sense. Choosing to not be bitter, in my opinion, is probably the best first step. 

I know I end a lot of posts this way, but it gives you an indication as to how scrambled my brain is. Hopefully this is making sense and hopefully it helps at least someone. Life is good, even in the midst of our hard times. Try to remember that and Hang in there. :)

MISSING LILY by Annette Larsen—Book Review/Giveawy

Missing Lily by Annette K Larsen. This was a delightful read. I enjoyed the characters and the growth that was shown. The setting was fun and the situations great. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good romanctic fantasy.

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“You don’t know who I am,” I whispered. He didn’t move—either away from me, or closer—and after an interminable moment, I stepped back and hurried out of the house. He didn’t follow me as I fled into the night. Lylin was not used to being alone—much less alone, hurt, and lost. So when she is separated from her guard and forced to abandon her horse, she counts herself lucky to stumble upon a manor house. Still frightened by those who chased her into the night, she keeps her identity a secret, calling herself Lily as she accepts the help of kind servants, and the compassion of Lord Fallon. When they fall into an easy friendship, she wonders if her secrecy was too hasty. However, as she gets to know the manor and its residents, Lylin discovers that she’s not the only one hiding secrets, and it may be a very good thing that her host doesn’t know her true identity as a member of the royal family.  

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I was born in Utah, part of a crazy, fun family of nine. I grew up in Flagstaff, AZ and St. Louis, MO before striking out on my own college adventure in Virginia. I decided to try my hand at writing novels after I was married and living in Idaho. I write clean romance because it’s my favorite genre, but often difficult to find.

I have Charlotte Brontë to thank for the courage to write novels. After being bombarded with assigned reading about women who justified abandoning either their families or their principles in the name of love, I had the great fortune of reading Jane Eyre. And that was it: finally, a heroine who understood that being moral and making the right choice was hard, and sometimes it hurt, but it was still worth it.

After rereading it several years later, I realized that if I wanted more books to exist with the kinds of heroines I admired, then I might as well write a few myself. My books are about women who face hard choices, who face pain and rejection and often have to face the reality of sacrificing what they want for what is right. The consequences are often difficult or unpleasant, but in the end, doing what’s right will always be worth it. I believe there is no substitute for good writing or good chocolate. Fortunately, one often leads to the other.

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Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/15/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

This week has not been the easiest. For once I felt like I was not tired and I could handle anything life threw at me and the one day of travel seemed to zap the sleep out of me. That added to the fact that the new baby has literally been doing summersaults for the last few days (daytime & night time), I feel like I’m back to square one. That and he seems to move even more of I don’t have food in my mouth . . . you know how much I love to eat . . . :) Aw the ironies of life.

Tigger has been great though. I expected some type of unconscious payback from him for being gone so long. Other than wanting to stay home, he’s been wonderful. I guess I should knock on wood. :)

Work has been good for Hubby and me . . . I just haven’t wanted to jump back into the reality and drama that life brings. That and the heat. I say it every summer, but I forget how hot it can get. I find myself saying that and yet it hasn’t been “warm” enough, necessarily to go swimming. The pool water would most likely be too cold. Are you laughing yet? I know. Illogical thought process. I guess I can blame that on pregnancy brain. :)

I think I understand the phrase, “You need a vacation to recover from your vacation” better now. But it was still worth it. We’ve had a great time telling friends and family about the trip and I’m excited to get through the pictures and put together a photo album (one more thing to add to the ever growing to-do list).

But it’s good to be home. We are very blessed and I’m grateful to have a home to come back to. I’m finding the anxiety is not completely gone. When I don’t see our dog moving or she’s in a deep sleep my first thought is she has passed away. I worry about our bird being outside for too long. I’m quicker to worry about where Tigger is playing and what he is doing outside when I used to not worry too much if our dog was with him. I’m sure that’s something I’m going to have to battle for awhile now. But it’s part of life.

And life is good. We are very blessed to have such wonderful family, friends and neighbors. I wouldn’t be who I am today without their influence and help. So thank you again. And thank you to those who have served, are serving, and will serve in the military. We lived in a very blessed land and the price for that land is not cheap. I am grateful for those who are willing to defend our rights and freedoms. Happy Belated Memorial Day.

IMMERSED by Jennifer Griffith (Ripple Effects Series)—Book Review/Giveaway

Immersed by Jennifer Griffith—I loved this installment of the Ripple Effects Series. I wanted to story to continue. The premise, characters, setting, everything about it was wonderful. It was a great ending to a fabulous series that I would highly recommend to any and everyone.

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Lisette Pannebaker speaks five languages and has a brilliant business plan—personal language immersion. Clients can hire her to shadow them and speak all day in any language they need to learn for business or travel—whatever. But there’s a major hitch: she’s far too pretty. Clients with less than honorable intentions sign up just have Lisette at their side. Solution? A make-under. Way under.It works like a charm. None of her male clients show her the least bit of interest. Until… Erik. Erik Gunnarsson is charming, kind, and smart—everything she’s ever looked for. Even though he seems to have a secret and she swore she'd never date a client, Lisette is tempted to shed her disguise—even if it means jeopardizing her career.

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Author Jennifer Griffith Jennifer Griffith studied French, German, Japanese, and a wee bit of Spanish in her school days. Her grandmother was Norwegian, and Jennifer grew up with lots of Scandinavian traditions floating around, including fabulous cardamom laced cookies called Krumkaker, made on a fancy waffle iron. However, she’d never dream of trying to teach someone any of those languages. And she might botch the cookies. Instead, she writes novels in English, drives her five kids a million places, and laughs with her husband, who came up with the plot for Immersed because he’s just a cool muse like that.

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Blog Tour Giveaway $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/9/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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CONFESSIONS OF A MOM

Well, we made it back from our trip and surprise, surprise, everything was fine. It was a great experience in so many ways but I found I still had to fight the anxiety. Thank you to all those who offered help and advice on how to get through it. I found I had to make a conscious effort not to think things through very much. The minute I did, I felt myself begin to spiral downward. It was a delicate balance that I’m still working on.

Since I haven’t given many details on the actual trip, I figured I’d do so briefly now. Hubby and I were blessed with the opportunity to take a Mediterranean Cruise. We began with a day and a half in Rome where we saw the Vatican City and the Colosseum. From there we embarked on our cruise ship to our next port in Livorno, Italy.

We had a wonderful tour of Pisa and Florence before getting back on the ship. The next port was Cannes, France. We happened to be there during the film festival. (No we didn’t personally see any stars, but several members of our group said they did.) Craziness there, but we chose to see Nice and Eze rather than stay in Cannes. Beautiful cities.

Palyma, Majorca, Spain came next. Another beautiful city with incredible beaches. We went to Barcelona, Spain where the ‘c’ is pronounced with a ‘th’ sound by the natives rather than ‘s’ sound we give it. The works of Gaudi were incredible and we enjoyed attending church there.

The next day was spent at sea and was the only day it rained. It was also the only time I really felt the ship moving. I found it interesting that because of that day—at least I’m pretty sure it was because of that day—I had trouble getting my land legs back.

We docked in Naples, Italy where we toured Sorrento and a little far where they showed us how to make mozzarella cheese and olive oil before going to Pompeii. Breathtaking views and incredible history.

We disembarked in Rome and left for home. I know that’s a barebones synopsis, but a more detailed report would take a long time. So here are is the answer to the most common question we’ve received so far. “Was it worth it?” Absolutely.

Was it easy? No, but I learned a lot and was reminded of so many things I am grateful for. I am so thankful for wide roads and space between homes. I’m thankful for the many opportunities we have in the States. As frustrated as we can get with the government and things that are happening, we a truly blessed. We have so much that we take for granted, i.e. toilet seats, free public restrooms (although I can see the advantage to having to pay. They’re restrooms were very clean.), sidewalks that fit more than a half a person on them, smooth roads, homes, and the list goes on.

I am very grateful for family and friends who helped us with Tigger while we were gone. I’m thankful that my mind was put at ease most of the time. I’m thankful for the memories that were created. So, here are a few pictures of our trip. Enjoy!

 

DISCOVER AMERICA: FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA—Book Review

DISCOVER AMERICA: FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA illustrated by Julie Olson. This beautiful picture book was well done. The illustrations take us through the National Anthem as well as give children a look at different places across the country, following a red balloon. My son loved looking through it. It is also interactive in that there is a website parents and kids can go to to follow their own red balloon.

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More than a book. It's an online experience!

Follow the patriotic journey of a little red balloon as it makes its way from the West Coast to the East Coast of the United States.

Through delightful illustrations and the words of "America the Beautiful," one of America's most beloved anthems, children will discover the beauty and diversity of their country. At DiscoverAmericaBook.com they can launch their own balloon while learning fun facts about all fifty states.