Book Review: A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas

Title: A Wallflower Christmas 
Author: Lisa Kleypas
Category: Historical Romance
Pub. Date: 10/14/2008
Pulisher: St. Martin's Press
Format: E-Book 
Pages: 213 
ISBN#: 0312533780    

Synopsis:     

The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…

It’s Christmastime in London and Rafe Bowman has arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie Blandford, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady in waiting and, if it weren’t for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen. And winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts.

A Wallflower Christmas takes a trip to Victorian London, under the mistletoe, and on a journey of the heart. With her trademark charm, sensuality, and unforgettable characters, there’s no one like Lisa Kleypas to make you believe in the magic of Christmas. 

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Christmas Challenge Update:

I am sending out this Christmas Challenge to invite all my readers to see who can read the most Christmas Books between now and December the 25th, at midnight. I have placed a list of my Christmas books that I will be trying to read myself. They are under "Christmas list" 

So if you are interested in participating in this Challenge please leave a comment here with you name and what book or books you will be starting with.  And at lest once a week please let us know where you are at. I will do a post at least every other day if not daily on here. 

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Book Review: Priceless Christmas by Connie Neal

Title: Priceless Christmas
Category: Connie Neal
Pub. Date:
Publisher:
Format:
Pages:
ISBN#:

Synopsis:  
Priceless Christmas combines the joys of Christmas with the joy of saving money. It will more than pay for itself with the first idea you use! It is chock-full of FREE stuff, inspiring ideas for Christmas gifts, holiday happenings, crafts, low-cost or no-cost handmade gift ideas, family-friendly activities, outings, games, contests, and creative Christmas ideas for shopping, dressing-up for special occasions, and throwing great parties your guests will remember forever (like the Whoville Whobilation Celebration based on classic tale How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr.Seuss, )

This is not a hodge-podge of ideas collected from the internet. Each idea that made the cut for this book has been a raving success for the author’s own family and friends. This is the best of the best from a best-selling author who wanted to bring together her Christmas best-of collection to help her readers make the most of the season she loves best.

Special Features & Formatting
The author carefully designed this Kindle version with formatting and features to make your reading experience more rewarding and enjoyable:
• Each idea comes with:
o Cost, Work/Effort Involved
o What It Is Description
o Step-by-Step How-To Instructions
o List of Things You Will Need (many with active links to where you get it)
o Benefits You Can Reap
o Some even link to online How-To Videos that show you how to do it
• Entertaining examples and stories to illustrate or inform
• Lots of illustrative photos
• A complete cross-referenced index that categorizes sections into:
o FREE
o Crafts
o Fun
o Family-Friendly Activities
o Family-Friendly Outings
o Holiday Parties and Get-Togethers

Additional Benefits
The benefits of this book go way beyond saving money to include:
• Giving more meaningful gifts
• Inspiring a spirit of generosity in children
• Religious experiences and resources that will illuminate the reason for the season, like reading the Christmas story by firelight (a script from the Bible story is included translated at a 3rd grade reading level)
• Escaping materialism and helping those less fortunate (which will make you feel rich no matter what’s in your bank account)

So, if you are thrifty, crafty, strapped for cash, budget-minded, discount-driven, trying to escape materialism that can overtake Christmas, bored with the same old traditions, or you’re longing for Christmas celebrations that will be priceless – regardless of how much or little you spend, this book is for you. It also offers sage advice and wisdom gained while raising a family.

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Book Review: Driving the Saudis: by JAYNE AMELIA LARSON

Title: Driving the Saudis
Author: Jayne Amelia Larson
Category: Autobiography/Memoir
Pub. Date: 10/16/2012
Publisher: Free Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 224
ISBN#: 1451640013

Synopsis:  
Actress, producer, and occasional chauffeur Jayne Amelia Larson offers a funny and insightful memoir about the time she spent as a driver for members of the Saudi royal family visiting Beverly Hills, detailing her invitation inside one of the world’s most closely guarded monarchies.

When the Saudi royal family vacationed in Los Angeles, they hired Jayne Amelia Larson, an actress struggling to make ends meet, to be their personal chauffeur. She’d heard stories of the Saudis’ outrageously generous gratuities and figured that several weeks at their beck and call might be worth her time. But when the family arrived via their private jet with an entourage of forty and millions of dollars in cash, Jayne Amelia realized she might be getting into more than she bargained for.

For weeks, Larson observed the family’s opulent lifestyle: they occupied four luxury hotels, enjoyed day in and day out shopping binges, and servants catered 24/7 to Princess Zaahira and her entourage. From the thirteen-year-old princess who slapped down $100 dollar bills at a supermarket and didn’t bother to wait for her change to the nanny who ran away in the airport the moment she was handed her passport, the stories Larson shares are bizarre, poignant, and illustrative of the profound contradictions and complications that only such massive wealth can create.

Driving the Saudis, based on the author’s successful one-woman stage show, is a vivid portrait of the Saudi royals as few ever get to see them. As funny as it is insightful, this is a true-to-life fable for our times. But at its heart, it’s a story about the corruption that infinite wealth creates, and about what we all do for money.  

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Book Review: ANOTHER SECOND CHANCE by TROY LEWIS

Title: ANOTHER SECOND CHANCE

Author: Troy Lewis

Category: True Story/Christian

Pub. Date:12/06/2011

Publisher: Writing Career Coach Press

Format: Paperback

Pages: 220

ISBN#: 0983360774

Synopsis:   

Another Second Chance
…God’s Story
How a stranger's kidney saved my life
...and my brothers too!
An inspiring true story that will renew your belief in miracles!
"Whoever says miracles don't happen hasn't met the Lewis brothers.." -Jessica Harthorn, WWMT News Channel 3 West Michigan
“Troy Lewis hit a grand slam with “Another Second Chance…God’s Story” His honest telling of our miracle working God that touched him will be a delight to all!
-Lori Young, Anchored to the Rock Owner, Fremont, OH
“As I lay on deaths door step, Hope showed up in a miraculous way” –Troy Lewis
Troy played Jesus Christ in a local passion drama for 9 years, successfully coached girls fastpitch softball for 7 years. He is married to a lovely lady and a father of 2 beautiful girls, and resides in Fremont, OH.
But in January of 2010, after being blindsided with the news of kidney failure, he would come to the realization that life as he knew it was over…
Troy would begin a race against time and odds that are nothing short of amazing! He would face struggles at every turn, detours that didn’t make sense, and roadblocks that tested his faith. Just when things looked absolutely hopeless, Hope showed up in a miraculous way!
He thought it was a brother’s love that would save him, but it was a Father’s love that saved them both. A thousand miles away a stranger felt a call to courageously give with nothing expected in return, not knowing that he had the rarest of kidneys.
Troy couldn’t have imagined what God had in store for all who were part of this story and Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it. He humbly encourages everyone reading this book that no matter what we are facing in life; we can all experience the revelation of what God has in store for our lives.
This book will speak to anyone facing challenges larger than themselves, whether it’s job loss, financial ruin, family pain, or your own battle with illness. Miracles still happen and there is always “Another Second Chance”.

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Book Review: Willow Pond by Carol Tibaldi

Title: WILLOW POND
Author: Carol Tibaldi
Category: Historical History
Pub. Date: 12/12/2012
Publisher: Self Published
Format: E-Book
Pages: 318
ISBN#:  9781468111729

Synopsis:  
The Roaring Twenties crumble into the Great Depression, but Virginia Kingsley, New York's toughest and most successful speakeasy owner, is doing just fine. Now that the world is falling apart, bootlegging is a flourishing business, and she's queen of that castle.

Then her infant nephew is kidnapped. Her niece, Laura, and Laura's philandering movie star husband, are devastated. The police have few leads, and speculation and rumors abound in the media circus that follows the celebrity abduction.

Only one reporter, Erich Muller, seems to care enough about the child's welfare and the parents' feelings to report the case responsibly. Over the course of the investigation, Erich Muller and Laura fall in love, but their relationship is doomed to failure since he suspects her beloved aunt Virginia is behind the kidnapping. Laura, jaded when it comes to men, sides with Virginia.

But Virginia has figured out the truth, and she can't tell anyone for fear of losing her niece's affections and having the police ransack her life. So she pursues her own investigation, shaking down, threatening, and killing one petty crook after another during her search.

Little Todd's absence shapes everyone's lives. When he is finally found, the discovery will bring disaster for some and revelation for others.

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Book Review: THE SELF HEALTH REVOLUTION by J. Michael Zenn

Title: THE SELF HEALTH REVOLUTION
Author: J. Michael Zenn
Pub. Date: 11/27/2012
Publisher: Free Press
Format: E-Book
Pages: 192
ISBN#: 1476704007

Synopsis:  
Newly revised and updated, this electrifying guide has been praised by doctors, health experts, and readers who have taken their own self-health challenge. Describing himself as “an ordinary guy who discovered an extraordinary secret,” which he now feels compelled to share with everyone, J. Michael Zenn completely changed his own life when he began a quest to get healthy. With some simple but profound improvements to his diet and everyday habits, Zenn lost fifty pounds and six inches off his waist and—within just a few months—felt and looked younger than he had in two decades. So he quit his job and spent a year reading 200 books and interviewing experts in order to write about the powerful message he calls “the self-health revolution.” In this inspiring book, Zenn reveals:

• The hidden ingredient in our food that makes us fat

• The Tsunami of Diabesity (obesity + diabetes) that threatens our health, our health-care system, and our economy

• Three simple things you can do to get fit and stay thin

• A forgotten remedy that can get rid of your aches and pains

• One thing you can do now to help extend your life

• The little-known reason most people feel tired and run down

• How unhappiness and stress can take years off your life

• The Number 3 killer that nobody wants to talk about

• A cure that your doctor may not know about or can’t tell you

Now you can join the revolution of self-health throughout America. Take the 10-day challenge. You’ll lose weight, keep it off, feel better, and have more energy than you thought possible.

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Book Review: SOMETHING BLUE by DIANNE CHRISTNER

Title: SOMETHING BLUE
Author: DIANNE CHRISTNER
Category: Christian Fiction
Pub. Date: 08/01/2012
Publisher: Barbour Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 320
ISBN#: 1616262338
Series: Plain City Bridesmaids

Synopsis:  
Life is going well for Megan. She’s always wanted to marry a missionary and now she’s working with Chance, a charming and daring missionary pilot. Then Micah Zimmerman moves into her parent’s home as a pastoral candidate for their Conservative Mennonite church—and he doesn’t look anything like the gawky young man who had a crush on her in college. As Megan struggles with her own personal identity and faith, she begins to see the true difference between Chance and Micah. Will her insight come too late, or is there still time to find the hero of her dreams?

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Book Review: dog-ma the zen of slobber by Barbara Boswell Brunner

Title: dog-ma the zen of slobber

Author: Barbara Boswell Brunner

Pub. Date: August 1, 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Format: E-Book

Pages: 326

ISBN#: 9781478106586

Synopsis:

Barbara's vivid and dramatic stories, told with a wicked sense of humor, will make you laugh out loud. She definitely gets what living with rescued dogs (nine of them!) is all about.
When Barbara meets her future husband, Ray, it is love-and dog-at first sight. Over the course of thirty-two years, seventeen relocations and nine dogs, their mutual love of dogs guides them on their unconventional path. The love that Barbara and Ray get in return is literally lifesaving, with one dog attacking a lethal intruder and another discovering Barbara’s cancer. Her own survival story underscores the story of how her dogs become survivors themselves.
Each new dog adds its own dynamic to the family, sometimes upending it. From Turbo (whose Spock-like ears may have provided super powers), Barbara learns about the will to live; Lexington demonstrates incredible patience and an inexplicable love of golf; Madison teaches that laughter is truly the best medicine and that the whole “nine lives thing” is not reserved just for cats; Morgan should be sainted for tolerating Izzy, who is as cute as she is bad.
Barbara is certain that somewhere in doggie heaven there is a poster that says “If you are sick, injured or in need of really expensive medical care, FIND THESE HUMANS!”

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Blog Tour: Dog-Ma: The Zen of Slobber Guest Post

Today I have a great tour to share with you all.  The author of Dog-Ma: The Zen of Slobber, has sent me a great guest post on Covers.  I hope you enjoy! Later today I will be posting my review of this book as well, so make sure you stick around to check out what I think of this book. 

Getting The Elusive Book Cover Blurb

When I got to the point in the life of my book  that I was starting to think about a cover I knew I needed blurbs to help make the sale. Blurbs provide enticement for the casual book browser to pick up the book and look at it more closely. Blurbs from celebrities are very helpful. When a prospective reader sees a name they recognize, they may think “I like this person, so I will probably like the book they are endorsing”. It can give the reader a sense of “celebrity six degrees of separation”.

I have a few minor celebrity friends and they were first on my hit lit for blurbs; a film producer, a marketing genius and a celebrity chef. All were dog lovers and I thought each would be a shoe in for a blurb.  How much time could it take, I thought? Read a couple of chapters, write something appropriately insightful and sign it. Simple?

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TEASER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teas.      

Read more »

A Christmas Challenge!!!

I am sending out this Christmas Challenge to invite all my readers to see who can read the most Christmas Books between now and December the 25th, at midnight. I have placed a list of my Christmas books that I will be trying to read myself. They are under "Christmas list" 

So if you are interested in participating in this Challenge please leave a comment here with you name and what book or books you will be starting with.  And at lest once a week please let us know where you are at. I will do a post at least every other day if not daily on here. 

Read more »

Sundays with Rev. Kim

Welcome to my feature. It's my prayer that you will be encouraged and blessed by following and becoming involved in this journey to love the Lord and His word.

I invite you to visit often. The Welcome mat is always here, as my ideas, insights from Gods word is blogged as often as I can.  Rev. Kim 

 Sunday's with Rev. Kim is a feature that I created here on Breath of Life.

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A Christmas Challenge!!!

 

I am sending out this Christmas Challenge to invite all my readers to see who can read the most Christmas Books between now and December the 25th, at midnight. I have placed a list of my Christmas books that I will be trying to read myself. They are under "Christmas list" 

So if you are interested in participating in this Challenge please leave a comment here with you name and what book or books you will be starting with.  And at lest once a week please let us know where you are at. I will do a post at least every other day if not daily on here. 


Okay, here I go on my first set of "Christmas Books" that I am starting with.

A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman

Annie Weaver always planned to return home, but the 20-year old RN has lived in Philadelphia for three years now. As her time of rumschpringe is about to come to an abrupt end, bringing for Annie an overwhelming sense of loneliness. She returns home and finds herself face-to-face with a budding romance with an Amish farmer and important choices to make.

 _______________________________

  The Christmas Quilt by Patricia Davids

Years ago, Rebecca Beachy kept her reasons for rejecting Gideon Troyer's marriage proposal a secret. Then Gideon left their Amish community. Now, Rebecca crafts quilts to raise money to cure her blindness. She's also busy guarding her heart against love. Until Gideon returns, at risk of being shunned, to make the winning bid on one of her exquisite quilts. Will the quilt—a patchwork promise of rediscovered love—bring Gideon and Rebecca back together again?

_________________________________

 A Wallflower Christmas by LISA KLEYPAS

The Wallflowers are four young ladies in London who banded together in their wild and wickedly wonderful searches for true love. Now happily married, they join together once again to help one of the world’s most notorious rogues realize that happiness might be right under the mistletoe.…

It’s Christmastime in London and Rafe Bowman has arrived from America for his arranged meeting with Natalie Blandford, the very proper and beautiful daughter of Lady and Lord Blandford. His chiseled good looks and imposing physique are sure to impress the lady in waiting and, if it weren’t for his shocking American ways and wild reputation, her hand would already be guaranteed. Before the courtship can begin, Rafe realizes he must learn the rules of London society. But when four former Wallflowers try their hand at matchmaking, no one knows what will happen. And winning a bride turns out to be more complicated than Rafe Bowman anticipated, especially for a man accustomed to getting anything he wants. However, Christmas works in the most unexpected ways, changing a cynic to a romantic and inspiring passion in the most timid of hearts. 

A Wallflower Christmas takes a trip to Victorian London, under the mistletoe, and on a journey of the heart. With her trademark charm, sensuality, and unforgettable characters, there’s no one like Lisa Kleypas to make you believe in the magic of Christmas.

_______________________

So come on and join in on the fun!!  
Also if you have your own blog, let's add it here and connect together so everyone can check out and encourage either other as well. Then on December the 26th, we will tally up the reads and see who has read the most "Christmas Books"! And "YES" they have to be books pertaining to Christmas some how. 

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TUESER TUESDAY

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teas.                           

Read more »

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Guess what...Its Monday! What are you reading this week? This is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being reading, and the books to be finish this week. It is hosted by  Book Journey. 

I have been traveling the past couple of weeks so not  a lot has changed. Still working on these three books and hope to have them done soon. As well as some reviews. Thanks for stopping by. 

What I Read Last Week:  
Sunrise on the Battery by Beth Webb Hart

Something Blue by Dianne Christner

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Book Review: FORGED by Becky Banks

Title: FORGED
Author: Becky Banks
Category: Adult/Romance
Pub. Date: 10/26/2012
Publisher: Ha"iku Press
Format: Paperback
Pages: 266
ISBN#: 9780988161402

Synopsis:  First loves, dark pasts, and fast cars collide in this high-octane adventure.
Eva Lynn Rodgers, the daughter of a mechanic, grew up with a need for speed. So did her best friend, and later boyfriend, Nathaniel Vellanova. But when Eva left the drizzling rain of Portland, Oregon, for a high-powered career in New York, she left both Nathaniel and her past behind.
Now Eva's back, and her BMW—like her life in general—could use a little love. Her new mechanic is the right man for the job, but he's got some scores to settle with the girl who peeled out for the East Coast when he needed her most.
It's time for Eva and Nathaniel to confront their demons. Passionate and dangerous sparks ignite as Nathaniel's brutal youth rises up and pulls Eva Lynn back to him—forging a bond that, this time, won't be denied.

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