Month: November 2018

November 22, 2018

Dead Sea Rising Book Review

From #1 New York Times bestselling author, Jerry B. Jenkins comes a heart stopping adventure of historical proportions in Dead Sea Rising.

About Dead Sea Rising

Nicole Berman is an archaeologist on the brink of a world-changing discovery. During her first dig in Jordan, she believes she has found concrete evidence of a biblical patriarch that could change history books forever. But someone doesn’t want the truth revealed. While urgently trying to connect pieces of an ancient puzzle, a dangerous enemy is out to stop her.

“From a criminal investigation in Manhattan to the birth of Abram in ancient Ur, Jerry Jenkins weaves together a tale of drama and suspense that will draw you into the lives of two families separated by 4,000 years of history yet sharing remarkably similar struggles of faith. Dead Sea Rising combines the thrill of a whodunit with the moral and political intrigue of the ancient, and modern, Middle East. But be prepared. Once you begin, you won’t be able to stop until you reach the final page!” — DR. CHARLIE DYER, PROFESSOR-AT-LARGE OF BIBLE, AND HOST OF THE LAND AND THE BOOK RADIO PROGRAM

My Thoughts

Dead Sea Rising is an intense thriller crossing two time periods with a connection that will astonish you.

The novel covers the life of Nicole Berman who is an archaeologist following in her Father’s footsteps. She has put in a request to complete a dig in Saudi Arabia – a location that she feels holds a secret that will rip apart everything we ever knew about religion and history. While this is in the background of our plot, Nicole’s Mother is attacked in their family home which was made to appear as a fall. This quickly escalates as the police are forced to investigate whether this was domestic abuse, an attempt by Nicole to harm her Mother or worse – an attempt of murder. As the story progresses we learn new revelations about her Father’s history and how this attempt on her Mother’s life may be tied to Nicole’s work and potential dig in Saudi Arabia.

This story flips back and forth with the story of Terah and the birth of his son, Abraham. We view the struggles of Terah both morally and religiously as he battles between the Gods of his ruler and the God of his wife. We watch as he makes painful decisions that alter the life of others around him and ultimately himself.

This was an amazing story from start to finish – I loved how he managed to intertwine the two stories but at the same time develop each one fully so that you are left on the edge of your seat never knowing what was coming next. This is a definite must read novel.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Jerry B. Jenkins’s novels have sold more than 70 million copies. Twenty of his books have reached the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The phenomenally bestselling Left Behind series inspired a movie starring Nicholas Cage. Jenkins has been featured on the cover of Newsweek and his writing has appeared in Time, Guideposts, and dozens of other periodicals. He and his wife, Dianna, have three grown children and live in Colorado.

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

November 20, 2018

Create Memories to Last a Lifetime with Package from Santa

The holidays are a special time for children – it is full of magic and mystery and I want my kids to hold on to this belief and magic for as long as possible.

Santa is that figure that you can’t help but love. He is the symbol of joy, kindness, giving and receiving. Every child deserves to believe in Santa and feel his magical spirit this time of year.

Package from Santa is a service that helps you celebrate the magic of Christmas and brings a personalized message just from Santa to your door. Parents can choose from three different packages on the website all of which contain a personalized letter that you can choose from. You can choose from either the Gold, Silver or Platinum package based on your own individual needs. For a limited time, each package also includes a personalized video, phone call and four printable nice list guides.

We ordered the Silver Package which also includes a personalized nice list certificate, a personalized flight plan and photo of the big man. The website was easy to navigate and the first part of the order process was selecting our son’s letter. You have several template categories to choose from – we decided to go with the older than five years old category and found one that would suit our son the best.

After we personalized the letter and certificate, we created a flight plan! I have to admit this was really cool and this is one of our favourite things to talk about on Christmas Eve, where Santa is and when will he finally be at our home. I was even able to upload a picture of our son’s face to the flight plan (I can’t wait to see his face when he sees that).

The entire process was simple and quick which this Mom loves! I placed my order over the weekend and within two days my order was shipped. I was impressed with the speed on which my order was processed and shipped. I can not wait to see our son’s face when he gets his special delivery in the mail especially with the packaging examples that were displayed on their website.

Right now you can save 25% off at Package from Santa!

Head over to their website and enter the promo code: FAM2060 to receive your discount.

Don’t forget that every Package from Santa includes:

a personalized Santa Letter that arrives in the mail
a personalized VIDEO starring your child via email
a personalized PHONE CALL
a personalized printable NICE LIST GUIDE
Genuine North Pole Stamp
Santa’s Special North Pole Return Address Label

Wishing you a very Happy holiday season and creating lasting memories with Package from Santa.

Disclosure: I received the silver package in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 20, 2018

Keeping Holiday Meals and Snacks Healthy with Nature’s Touch Frozen Fruits

This time of year is magical – the lights, the music, extra family time and the overall spirit of Christmas.

It also brings with it a lot of holiday get togethers, dinners out and indulging in food and drinks that we don’t normally do. While I am all of for indulging (you have to enjoy life too), I am also for moderation. I am sure all of us can remember the times that we let ourselves get a bit carried away, ate too much and indulged in too many sweets and rich food items. How did your stomach feel afterwards? How did you feel overall?

For myself, I get painful stomach aches if I am not careful and it can even cause me to feel nauseated. No one wants to feel this way during the holidays so it is important to ensure that you are still eating right during the day (or at your other meals depending on when your holiday get together is). This means ensuring that you get the right amount of fruits and vegetables – maybe even adding in more at your other meals and at your snacks.

I love my fruits but I find that they usually go off before we can eat them all, especially now with the weather being so cold (my bananas I purchased on Sunday are brown now by Tuesday!). Frozen fruits are by far the best way to go in our house to ensure we are meeting our nutritional requirements and not wasting food – both of these points being very important to me.

Nature’s Touch is a line of frozen fruits and vegetables that follow strict regulations to ensure the freshest products are prepared for you. The products are all sourced from farmers who comply with strict ethical and hygiene rules and are then passed through sorting to ensure that only the freshest products are taken to the second step – freezing! The products are flash frozen individually quite soon after harvesting to ensure that they remain as fresh as possible.

We picked up Nature’s Touch frozen mangoes as this is one of our favourite fruits. While we love adding fresh fruit to yogurt, oatmeal and smoothies, there is so much more that you can do with their products. If you are stuck on what to make with them, Nature’s Touch provides a wide range of recipes and ideas on their website to help you out. You can find breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, snacks and so much more – it is actually quite amazing what you can create in the kitchen with their fruits.

We tried out their mango and strawberry crumble which was an easy to follow and prepare recipe. I was actually preparing this dessert after soccer while making dinner for the family and juggling laundry. Prep time was under ten minutes and then it was in the oven for an hour – there was no stress and very little clean up (win win for me!). It was a huge hit in our house – we loved the sweet taste of the mangoes and were really impressed how they held up in the baking process. It was the perfect blend of healthy sweets and I can’t wait to prepare this dessert and bring it to my family Christmas get together.

What is your favourite go to recipe during the holidays to ensure you are still eating right and focusing on your health?

Make sure to follow Nature’s Touch on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with products, recipes and more.

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

November 20, 2018

Squishmallows: The Softest and Cutest Plush and Pillow In the World

I am a texture person, I love to touch and feel everything from clothes, blankets, pillows and plush toys. There is no better feeling in the world then curling up on the couch or in bed with a blanket and pillow that is soft, cuddly and warms you up from the inside out. My kids have learned to appreciate the same thing – how can you resist the embrace of a soft plush?

Enter Squishmallows – adorable plush friends that can double as a pillow (and that you will definitely be wanting to steal from your child when they are not looking – which I have no shame in saying that I did several times!).

Squishmallows are Japanese inspired plush toys that come in a wide selection of characters that your child can choose from. Each character has a unique background that you can learn more about on their website as you choose your character or on the packaging itself when it arrives (their individual profiles will just melt your heart on the website). They come in a variety of sizes ranging from clips on to 8″, 13″, 16″ and even 20″.

We chose Puff, the blue Penguin, as our newest friend to come live with us. His profile told us he is a techy penguin who loves the internet and is always searching for the newest thing. He loves to build and code, not to mention loves extra marshmallows in his cocoa. He is also a bit silly – making him the perfect companion for our youngest as their personalities definitely jive and not to mention that adorable face of Puffs!

Nothing could have prepared us for just how soft the plush truly is. Puff was the perfect size to cuddle and carry around during the day but he also made the best pillow to relax with while watching television (not going to lie – I did steal him several times when my youngest wasn’t looking as you can tell from above!). I found myself just running my hands over the surface of the plush many times, it is the best feeling ever.

Even better? The plush is washable! So no worries about picking up germs, getting dirty and all of those other things that kids are famous for. Puff never lost shape, regardless if he was used as a pillow all night or carried around during the day.

Looking to have a special new cuddle plush for a child in your life? Squishmallows come in a wide range of products that will make excellent stocking stuffers and gifts for any child during the holidays.

Make sure to visit their website and to follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the newest plushes and more!

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

November 20, 2018

The Golden Scepter Book Two

In the second book of The Dragon Artifacts, The Golden Scepter, magic and chaos rule the land. For lovers of wizards, magic, mighty kingdoms, elves, and dragons, don’t miss this series.

About The Golden Scepter

The Western continent is in turmoil. The Dragon King, Bakari, and his riders have lost their dragons to an evil queen bent on conquering the land. High Wizard Roland Tyre has other ideas about how to save the people. Driven by the pounding call of his scepter to unify the land, he sets out to bring one nation after another to his banner

Will the power of the scepter drive Roland to madness or glory? Will The Dragon King get the power of the dragons back? Or will darkness cover the land under the reign of an evil queen?

My Thoughts

Book Two in this series is a fast paced, action packed adventure that you will not want to put down.

Their world seems to have been plunged into a magical darkness and without the power of their dragons, all seems almost hopeless. Bakari has such a good heart and does what is right but has this led him to his downfall? Did his kind heart and compassion cause him to lose the dragons to a ruthless new leader? My heart went out to him in this book, he lost such a big part of him when he lost his dragon which forced him to question his decisions. I loved how he still stayed true to his nature and his morals regardless of what happened. He still wants to save the world, get the dragons back and save his friend but he would do it in a way that he could live with.

Alli’s plight made my heart so sore! She has been my favourite from the day that I picked up his series of books and to see her in such a state. She still remains her fierce and strong self but she has lost that independence and her own history and true strength.

Roland is truly something else in this story – he is usually carefree and driven for power and fame but it takes on a different tone in this book. His desire for power and admiration has grown to the point where it almost seems to consume him. When he uses the Golden Scepter it brings out a new side to him (or a side from the Scepter itself?) which seems to want him to do good (unite the people under one banner, one vision) but all of that power in one person doesn’t just sit right for his friends and colleagues.

This is another excellent addition to this series – I couldn’t put the story down. You become so invested in these characters (they become your friends!) and you had to see if Roland could help Alli, if Roland makes a mistake with the Scepter and if Bakari can rescue the dragons. A definite must read for young adults and adults alike.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Mike is now on his fourth YA fantasy series. For information on his new releases, book reviews, and other relevant info, please join him at www.MichaelSheltonBooks.com.

Mike was born in California and has lived in multiple states from the west coast to the east coast. He cannot remember a time when he wasn’t reading a book. At school, home, on vacation, at work at lunch time, and yes even a few pages in the car (at times when he just couldn’t put that great book down).

Other than reading, Mike enjoys the outdoors, disc golf, and spending time with his family. He has worked in corporate finance for most of his career, publishing his first books in 2016. He has now published 15 YA fantasy books full of adventure, magic, and wizards!

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