The Way Home movie review

A missing child. A family in crisis. A faith tested. In their darkest hour, God gives hope.
Dean Cain stars as Randy Simpkins, a husband and father torn between the demands of his job and family. Asked by his wife to watch their two-year-old son, Joe, for a few minutes, he becomes distracted by work. When he returns, Joe is gone. He and his wife search desperately for their missing son through the vast countryside. But as their fear grows, the community responds – hundreds of supporters uniting behind the family in a powerful spiritual journey that will test the couple’s love and faith, and forever change a community.


This was a heartwarming film that I believe all should watch. Not only did it deal with the testing the bounds of your faith it deals with reclaiming what you have lost. It was truly moving.

Wicked Intentions by Elizabeth Hoyt review & Giveaway

Title- Wicked Intentions, book one in the Maiden Lane trilogy
Author- Elizabeth Hoyt
ISBN-9780446558945
Publisher- Forever Romance
Page-416
Price-$6.99/8.99
Genre- Historical Romance
Publication Date-8/01/2010
How I read it- Mass Market ARC


Forever Romance brings to us the first book in Elizabeth Hoyt’s The Maiden Lane trilogy, Wicked Intentions.


From the New York Times bestselling author of To Desire a Devil comes this thrilling tale of danger, desire, and dark passions. A MAN CONTROLLED BY HIS DESIRES . . . Infamous for his wild, sensual needs, Lazarus Huntington, Lord Caire, is searching for a savage killer in St. Giles, London's most notorious slum. Widowed Temperance Dews knows St. Giles like the back of her hand-she's spent a lifetime caring for its inhabitants at the foundling home her family established. Now that home is at risk .

My thoughts

I have read and enjoyed Elizabeth Hoyt’s Princes Trilogy although I have to say that they fail in comparison to Wicked Intentions. The first books in the Maiden Lane series leads the way for what I am sure is going to be a highly alluring series. The relationship between Caire and Temperance draw me in so that I wanted to know more. I also liked the dichotomy of Caire and Temperance the sinner and the saint. Although a few of the scenes get a bit steamy, Wicked Intentions has that extra something makes you want to devour the book. The cover art also invites the reader to pickup the book and have a look.


Take a peek inside the covers

I have 4 books to giveaway


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Giveaway copies & Arc provided by Hachette Book Group!
Thanks Anna

What's in the Bible Episode 3 Wanderin' in the Desert

The 3rd DVD of Phil Vischer’s Wanderin’ in the Desert covers the “Pentateuch”, otherwise known as the first 5 books of the Bible. Explaining in child-friendly terms the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, as well as the difference between ethical rules & ritual rules and why some of those rules are no longer in use today. The texture of the material is rich in Biblical knowledge that could be applied to toddlers as well as grade school children, I believe that adults will even learn a thing or two. As for using this as a teaching tool, What’s in the Bible, offers a wealth of starting points that can be applied to all ages. Using this as part of a lesson plan, I would draw up a curriculum for each of the sections. Depending on the Episode you are using you could further your studies in history, science, and so forth. I highly recommend this for both homeschoolers and church groups.


A few ideas to get you started:

(History)
When discussing Moses and the Pharaoh you could use this as a jump off topic for discussing Egypt
(Social Studies)
When discussing the Laws in Leviticus use that as a way to discuss the law and rules in place today.
(English)
Each Episode has featured words as well the definition, depending on the age group use those featured words as part of your vocabulary and spelling lists.
Use the Episode of when they are talking about the Tower of Babel to either introduce a foreign language of to talk about the different languages once again this depends on the age of the students.


Each Episode offers a variety of discussion points that can be used in both your home schooling curriculum or in your Bible lessons for Sunday School or Bible school. The DVD’s are wonderfully composed with a whole cast of zany characters that will capture your child’s attention while educating them as well. I will say that older children and adults will appreciate the funny humor that pops-up every once and awhile. While the Veggie Tales were toddler oriented What’s in the Bible is for all ages.

And One Last Things by Molly Harper

“If Singletree’s only florist didn’t deliver her posies half-drunk, I might still be married to that floor-licking, scum-sucking, receptionist-nailing hack-accountant, Mike Terwilliger.”

Lacey Terwilliger’s shock and humiliation over her husband’s philandering prompt her to add some bonus material to Mike’s company newsletter: stunning Technicolor descriptions of the special brand of “administrative support” his receptionist gives him. The detailed mass e-mail to Mike’s family, friends, and clients blows up in her face, and before one can say “instant urban legend,” Lacey has become the pariah of her small Kentucky town, a media punch line, and the defendant in Mike’s defamation lawsuit.
Her seemingly perfect life up in flames, Lacey retreats to her family’s lakeside cabin, only to encounter an aggravating neighbor named Monroe. A hunky crime novelist with a low tolerance for drama, Monroe is not thrilled about a newly divorced woman moving in next door. But with time, beer, and a screen door to the nose, a cautious friendship develops into something infinitely more satisfying.

Lacey has to make a decision about her long-term living arrangements, though. Should she take a job writing caustic divorce newsletters for paying clients, or move on with her own life, pursuing more literary aspirations? Can she find happiness with a man who tells her what he thinks and not what she wants to hear? And will she ever be able to resist saying one . . . last . . . thing?


My Thoughts

This was a very interesting book that offers an odd humorous look at divorce. Several of the situations had me laughing my head off, while others had me going what was she thinking. Molly Harper is a genius at contemporary writing, her characters are charming and realistic as well her take on the after affects of divorce in a small town, where everybody knows everybody. I found that this book practically flew by, I read it in about two days. The perfect dramedy for a weekend read. This is one of those books that you should give a try.

Manifest by Artist Arthur

When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moved to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.

But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener - and everything she'd ever want - except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door - Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good? (book back blurb)



Please check out the authors website

Follow Me by Joanna Scott review & Giveaway

On a summer day in 1946 Sally Werner, the precocious young daughter of hardscrabble Pennsylvania farmers, secretly accepts her cousin's invitation to ride his new motorcycle. Like so much of what follows in Sally's life, it's an impulsive decision with dramatic and far-reaching consequences. Soon she abandons her home to begin a daring journey of self-creation, the truth of which she entrusts only with her granddaughter and namesake, six decades later. But when young Sally's father--a man she has never known--enters her life and offers another story altogether, she must uncover the truth of her grandmother's secret history.

Boldly rendered and beautifully told, in FOLLOW ME Joanna Scott has crafted a paean to the American tradition of re-invention and a sweeping saga of timeless and tender storytelling


My thoughts-

First off let me say that I normally don’t judge a book by its cover, although I will say that I did on this one. The vivid greenery and splash of red hair called to saying “read me, read me, put me to the top of you tbr pile, see what I am all about”. So needless to say I listened and this was my next read. I must say that I was not disappointed, I enjoyed the family dynamics that is features and I am always a sucker for books that feature family secrets. The author has a way of pulling the reader into the story that makes you want to read more. So be warned this is one of those cant put down types of books.


I have 3 Copies of Ravens to giveaway.
To enter leave your name and email address.
Please note this contest is only open to residents of the US & Canada.
Sorry NO P.O. Boxes.

Contest ends August 31st

Ravens by George Dawes Green giveaway

The Boatwrights just won 318 million dollars in the Georgia State lottery. It's going to be the worst day of their lives.

When Shaw McBride and Romeo Zderko pull up at a convenience store off I-95 in Georgia, their only thought is to fix a leaky tire and be on their way again to Florida-away from their dull Ohio tech-support jobs. But this happens to be the store from which a 318,000,000 million dollar Jackpot ticket has just been sold -- and when a pretty clerk accidentally reveals to Shaw the identity of the winning family, he hatches a ferociously audacious scheme: He and Romeo will squeeze the family for half their prize.

That night, he visits the Boatwright home and takes the family hostage, while Romeo patrols the streets nearby, prepared to murder the Boatwrights' loved ones at any sign of resistance. At first, the family offers none. But Shaw's plot depends on maintaining constant fear-merciless, unfaltering terror-and soon, under the pressure, everyone's sanity begins to unravel . . .

At once frightening, comic, and suspenseful, RAVENS is a wholly original and utterly compelling novel from one of our most talented writers.



I have 3 Copies of Ravens to giveaway.
To enter leave your name and email address.
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Contest ends August 31st

Beguiled by Deeanne Gist & J. Mark Bertrand review

Rylee Monroe was once a member of Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhood, although that was many years ago, so many in fact Rylee has almost no memories of living among the elite. After her father, a prominent lawyer, up and leaves both his job and his family, and her mother dies, the life Rylee once knew no longer existed. With debt piling up her grandmother has no choice but to enlist the aid of her fathers partner and sell off the families home and possessions.

Like I said that was long ago. Rylee is now a dogwalker for Charleston’s elite, earning enough money to pay for her grandmothers (her grandmother is suffering from Alzheimer’s) care in a nursing home. When Rylee encounters a robber in the house of one of her clients, she finds that the streets that she once loved are more dangerous than she ever has imagined, and someone is intent on following her. After the thief targets the homes of her clients, Rylee not only has to deal with her stalker, she now has to prove that she is not the so called “Robin Hood thief.”

Logan Woods is a reporter hoping to crack the case and turn his findings into a bestselling novel. Discovering Rylee may have more information than she is letting on, Logan takes the investigation into his own hands hoping Rylee will be selling point to his story, although he never imagined that he, the man who is terrified of dogs would develop feelings for a woman who is a dogwalker.

Now Logan is faced with a life altering decision, will he choose the girl, or his story? If he chooses the girl will he clear her name, or be the one to put her behind bars?

My thoughts?

I liked this book, it kind of put me in mind of Susan May Warren’s P.J. Sugar series, a light mystery, with uplifting undertones, and an adorable love story to boot. The characters were full of charm, and I found myself liking both Rylee & Logan from the start. Plus I love novels that are set in Charleston, it seems that its impossible for the city just to be a background and in this book it has become a character in its own right. Another intriguing aspect of Beguiled was the plot, not only was it a weekend mystery/love story, it was a story of self-discovery, and a sort of riches to rags type story whereas normally authors have the whole Cinderella type theme.

This book was provided by Bethany House, my thanks for sending me this copy.