Month: November 2017

November 15, 2017

Beyond Love Book Review

In Beyond Love, Olivia is forced to decide whether to tell Finn or let it live in the past forever. Is their relationship strong enough to weather the storm or will it cause them to part ways for good?

About Beyond Love

After trusting in her beloved friend Dan’s guidance from the beyond, Olivia is finally on the path to realizing her destiny. Staring at a blank canvas after ditching her raucous corporate life and meeting the love of her life, Finn McDaniels, a hot, widowed celebrity chef, she is ready to begin anew.

Arriving back in Chicago, she receives more frightening news further delaying her future journey with Finn. Unable to control the outcome, she begins questioning her trust and faith in Dan once again. She distracts herself the only way she knows how, by diving head first into a new project. What seemed like a time-killer may actually be the thing that saves her and catapults her into a world she never dreamed of.

When Olivia and Finn finally reunite, a looming secret is uncovered threatening to ruin the relationship she has waited for her entire life. Olivia is forced to decide whether to tell Finn or let it live in the past forever. Is their relationship strong enough to weather the storm or will it cause them to part ways for good?

My Thoughts

My favourite character is back in the second installment of this series. Olivia is the girl you just have to love. She follows her heart, trusts in her beliefs, she is funny and honest but she is also very real and suffered her own heartbreak. This was the death of her best friend – something that has haunted her for a long time. She feels that he has become her guardian angel, protecting and guiding her and so far this guidance has taken her to Finn. Which I think many of us can relate to when we have lost someone who means the world to us. We hold on to them, look for signs and rely on what they would have said to us in our time of needs.

The relationship between Olivia and Finn begins to grow in this novel. They discover they have quite a few connections from their former relationships and friendships (can’t divulge much more without giving away the story). One of these past connections threaten their relationship and the trust they are working to build. Olivia first tries to hide the secret but this back fires on her and does it ever! The new couple have to work hard to figure out if this relationships is worth working towards and if so, how do they get over this lack of trust and forgiveness. Something we can all relate to!

I loved the second part of this book series, their story and relationship really develops and we get to know our characters much better. It was witty and well planned out. I couldn’t put this novel down!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

D.D. marx came barreling into this world with the “gift of gab”. Her parents quickly identified a pattern forming when each teacher conference contained the words “she’s a little too social”. d.d.’s biggest life concern was identifying which boy she’d be chasing at recess rather than mastering math problems. She parlayed this gift into creating play dates on the playground. If friendship were a business, she would be a millionaire. She prides her life on maintaining friends from every walk of life in every corner of the country. This is the fuel that fills her tank.

Graduating with a Communication degree from the University of Dayton, she attempted to break into the world of Public Relations but was instead side-tracked with a J.O.B. At the strong encouragement of her friends and family, who dubbed her a “funny story teller”, she stretched her comfort zone by entering the Second City program in Chicago where her itch for entertainment was finally scratched. Determined to share her story and create a legacy, she decided to combine these talents and become a writer. She returned to her alma-mater to immerse herself in a 3-day writing course where this dream finally came to life. Asked to imagine if she was a super-hero, her task was to dig-deep to describe her special powers. Based on the real-life tragedy of one of her best friends, that answer came without hesitation. All she’s ever wanted was the power to visit with him one last time. This is the inspiration that catapulted her into her debut project titled, the Beyond Series. She dove into a world imagining that he never left.

The Giveaway!

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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 14, 2017

Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B Book Review

Cowboy Up! is a collection of thirty-five personal stories narrated by Alan Day in his authentic western voice. These stories touch on topics that affect us all: friendship, family, business, politics, community, and conservation.

About Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B

If you’re served a piece of humble pie, thank the server and choke it down. So says H. Alan Day, an award-winning author and American cowboy, who grew up on a 200,000-acre southwestern cattle ranch, made a hand at age five, and lived adventures most of us only witness on tv. While interacting with cowhands, horses, and the land, Alan learned valuable life lessons about loyalty, trust, humility, forgiveness, persistence, failure, innovation, and success (and so much more!). Now, this cowboy is ready to share his hard-earned wisdom with those who may never own or even ride a horse, much less rope a cow, train a wild mustang, or witch a well, but who, like Alan, contend day-in and day-out with the true grit of life.

COWBOY UP! is a collection of thirty-five personal stories narrated by Alan Day in his authentic western voice. These stories touch on topics that affect us all: friendship, family, business, politics, community, and conservation. As Alan learned early on, a true friend has your back for life, whether that friend has two legs or four legs. If you don’t learn to listen, you may end up swinging from your suspenders on a bunk house hook; and if your pickup is about to get washed away in a flash flood, you better do some quick, two-step thinking. Alan’s stories not only explore what it means to be human, they evoke laughter, disbelief, wonder, joy, and more than a few heartfelt tears.

My Thoughts

I remember the first time I visited Calgary, Alberta for the Stampede. I fell in love with the city, the nature and the way of life. People cared about each other and the value was in the land and the animals. At sixteen, I wanted to move out west and live the rest of my days on the land.

I didn’t follow that path (although there are many times when I see friends photos from out West that makes me want to pack it all up and move) but my love and fascination of living on a ranch and being with animals hasn’t changed. Cowboy Up! is an intimate look at ranch life told in a series of stories that not only entertain but give a great life lesson in many different areas of life.

Alan has a great way of writing that is so personal – you can picture the scenes right before you and at times I was left laughing out loud or became teary eyed. He is honest and real – life isn’t always pretty (and doesn’t have to be!), we learn a lot from the difficult times. This is what Alan teaches us and more. He shares the best and worst moments and some pretty good problem solving skills!

The stories are broken down by specific life lessons. The life lessons all include some background history, the problem and the solution. Alan uses humour and honesty to really drill home the importance of his words and it works. While you may not be able to put yourself in his exact feet with the cowboy lifestyle, those same situations can be seen in city life as well. You learn a lot about living on a ranch, the beliefs of the cowboys (some of the stubbornness too – including wearing not so warm gloves!) and their love of the animals and their land.

Cowboy Up! Life Lessons from Lazy B is an excellent story that makes you laugh, tear up and think about your own life. I enjoyed every moment of this book.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

H. ALAN DAY was raised on and managed the 200,000-acre Lazy B ranch in southeastern Arizona. With his sister, Sandra Day O’Connor, he coauthored the New York Times bestselling Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest. In his second award-winning memoir, The Horse Lover: A Cowboy’s Quest to Save the Wild Mustangs, he tells the story about creating the first government-sponsored wild horse sanctuary and caring for and training 1500 wild mustangs. LYNN WIESE SNEYD is a professional writer and owner of LWS Literary Services, an agency specializing in editing, ghostwriting, and book publicity. She also serves as the literary consultant for the Tucson Festival of Books.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 13, 2017

Interactive Brushing with Grush Smart Toothbrush

We all know how important brushing our teeth is and we know our children know this too but it doesn’t always translate to proper brushing two to three times a day. We also know many times they aren’t brushing for the required amount of time and are relying on dental visits for thorough cleanings.

How many times have you fought with your child over brushing their teeth? Or have they lied to you that they went in the bathroom and brushed their teeth? Or you looked at their teeth and can tell that they tried to brush them properly but they missed so many spots (got to love juice stains)!

The Grush Smart Toothbrush combines technology and interactive fun to help your child learn how to properly brush their teeth for the right amount of time PLUS it gives you feedback on their brushing. This toothbrush is a parent’s best friend!

The Grush Smart toothbrush kit comes with three removable brushes and rotates at the push of a button. The toothbrush uses bluetooth technology to connect to the Toothy Castles app on your phone. The app is interactive and can detect where your child is brushing – right down to the specific tooth and location (front and back). Once the two minutes is up (which feels like a long time but with the game it makes those two minutes short and fun as you try to gain as many points as possible), you can track their current session to see how well they brushed and compare it to previous brushing sessions.

The brush itself fits perfectly into a child’s hand and is soft with natural curves on the handle to make it more comfortable and easier for their little hands to hold. The app was easy to find and was quick to download on my phone without taking up much space. It is an easy to use app, there really is not any set up which we loved. My son just has to hit play and ensure his brush is in the horizontal position for the app to track his movements. That is all it takes to start the brushing game. We set the phone up on it’s stand so he can easily watch the app and see which tooth he is on and which tooth he should brush next.

The app itself is perfect for young children – I loved the graphics and sound effects (think of pows and bams from popular superhero cartoons) with motivating music and voice prompts to engage your child. They also collect coins for every time they get the bad guys hanging out on their teeth so our youngest couldn’t wait to beat his scores. At the end of the session, you can view their results of how well they brushed their teeth. We go to the dentist every four months for my boys and I know he has a bit of room for improvement when it comes to brushing, but I was still shocked at how much he had missed, especially on the inside of the teeth. It was a great visual to be able to show him because he can listen to me tell him he missed spots in his mouth but when I can show him which teeth he is missing each time, it is easier for him to understand. I noticed great improvement each and every time he went back to brush his teeth and I strongly belief this is because of the tracking and results that we are able to see at the end of a session.

My favourite part about the Grush Smart toothbrush? My son had so much fun brushing his teeth, he actually asked me to brush his teeth three times in one day over the weekend. After I got over my shock, we were in the bathroom so he could brush his teeth. Now that is a Mom win!

You can find more information on Grush on their website. You can purchase a Grush Smart Toothbrush on Amazon, Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news and more.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 13, 2017

The Incredible $450 #BlizzardBucks Giveaway!

I love the holiday season – the lights, the smells and the overall excitement, especially in the children. We have already started pulling out slowly some decorations starting with snowflakes for the front windows. I have to admit that I did an awful job with my paper snowflakes – my cuts made the snowflake look like a monster with eyes and ears! It is also a great time for reflection with your children, to understand how blessed we have been and the importance of giving back to others. We do this with our Advent calendar.

What I tend to dislike is the bills and the amount of money that is spent during these months! The holiday season can really add up when you factor in not only gifts but also the Christmas party dinners, host gifts, family dinners and the list can go on and on.

I have teamed up with over twenty other bloggers to bring you an AMAZING $450 CASH #BlizzardBucks giveaway! Yup, you heard that one right, CASH. Who couldn’t use a boost in their pocket this time of the year? I know I would! You can wrap up purchasing gifts, maybe spoil yourself or even take a small trip away with your family. The possibilities are endless and completely up to you – entering is easy so get to it below.

The #BlizzardBucks Giveaway!

One lucky reader will win this amazing prize of $450 CAD cash paid via PayPal.

To be eligible to win just complete the Rafflecopter below with your qualifying answers. This giveaway is open Worldwide to residents ages 18 and older, but is void where prohibited by law (ex. Quebec, Canada). Entering is easy and there are many options to enter so get those entries in. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How would you spend an extra $450 this holiday season?

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post, I received no compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 11, 2017

Christy Book Review

Christy is the new edition of Catherine Marshall’s inspirational classic!

About Christy

The train taking nineteen-year-old teacher Christy Huddleston from her home in Asheville, North Carolina, might as well be transporting her to another world. The Smoky Mountain community of Cutter Gap feels suspended in time, trapped by poverty, superstitions, and century-old traditions.

But as Christy struggles to find acceptance in her new home, some see her – and her one-room school – as a threat to their way of life. Her faith is challenged and her heart is torn between two strong men with conflicting views about how to care for the families of the Cove.

Yearning to make a difference, will Christy’s determination and devotion be enough?

My Thoughts

Do you ever just start reading a novel and left struck at how amazing it is? That is this one! A true gem. I could not put this novel down, I just wanted to read what happened next in her story.

Christy heads out on a train reading and with fresh ideas on how to make a difference. She is young, willing and excited. She is kind and good-natured but my heart goes out to her, she is not quite ready for what she encounters. While different then her own beliefs, the mountain community is not always wrong. They have good intentions, they just need to be taught and brought back more of their old way of doing things.

Christy is such a strong young woman and I loved watching her grow through each page of this book. She is very much human and questioned herself at time but I loved her resilience and love for others. She gives so much of herself to others. This is a good lesson for so many of us, to give selflessly without want for anything in return.

This is a definite must read book for young adults and adults. While some of the topics may be difficult for teens I think they can grasp what they are learning and that it is important topics for them to learn about. We learn about faith, superstition, resilience, faith, hope, neglect and so much more. What makes it even more incredible is it based on the life of a real woman. A woman who accomplished so much in a time when woman weren’t encouraged to do so. She brought so much hope and a brighter future while maintaining respect for their beliefs to this community. This is a definite must read book!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of this book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Catherine Marshall (1914-1983), The New York Times best-selling author of 30 books, is best known for her novel Christy. Based on the life of her mother, Christy captured the hearts of millions and became a popular CBS television series. Around the kitchen table at Evergreen Farm, as her mother reminisced, Catherine probed for details and insights into the rugged lives of these Appalachian highlanders. Catherine shared the story of her husband, Dr. Peter Marshall, Chaplain of the United States Senate, in A Man Called Peter. A decade after Dr. Marshall’s untimely death, Catherine married Leonard LeSourd, Executive Editor of Guideposts, forging a dynamic writer-editor partnership. A beloved inspirational writer and speaker, Catherine’s enduring career spanned four decades and reached over 30 million readers.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.