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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