Highland Jewel Book Review

Highland Jewel is the second book in the new lush Scottish historical series from USA Today bestselling author, May McGoldrick.

About Highland Jewel

Maisie Murray’s sweet, docile exterior masks the courageous spirit of a firebrand determined to champion women’s suffrage with like-minded friends. But fighting for her principles has swept her directly into harm’s way—and into the arms of a man she cannot resist.

A trained officer with the Royal Highland Regiment, Niall Campbell has spent his life serving the Crown. Battle-weary and searching for peace, he nothing to do with trouble—until he meets Maisie. But unless Niall and Maisie can find a way to stand up to the destructive forces that threaten to divide them, long-buried secrets and political schemes are destined to stand in the way of the glorious love they’ve found.

My Thoughts

This is a powerful novel from start to finish with strong characters and an excellent plot that leaves you on the edge of your seat right to the very end.

Maisie is an amazing woman that almost leads a double life. With her family, they have always viewed her as a sweet, quiet girl and as a future wife with no thoughts or opinions. This is in the backdrop of a family that hides some political secrets that could destroy them. When she is away from her family, she is actually a champion of women’s rights and the average Scottish person. She hands out pamphlets, organizes rallies – in fact we even see her almost captured at one! She is one incredible female in a time when women were not allowed to behave and think like this. She is fearless in her fight to champion for those would could not fight.

Enter Niall, an officer with the Royal Highland Regiment with quite the fierce history. He has seen and done things that he would like to forget. He has returned home for peace but finds more then he bargains for. His sister is close friends with Maisie and her partner in championing for women’s rights. Niall would do anything to protect both his sister and Maisie, whom he finds himself attracted to instantly (and the feeling is mutual). They have excellent chemistry throughout the novel and are very well suited.

Throw in a kidnapping, blackmailing and we have so many twists that you will not want to put this book down. It had me guessing right to the very end.

The novel is well written, with a great pace to the story. You never feel overwhelmed or lost but it also never feels too slow. I love how she ties in secondary characters from this series, and while you can read this novel on its own, I do recommend reading book one.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

USA Today bestselling authors Nikoo and Jim wrote their first MAY MCGOLDRICK romance using historical figures that Jim researched while earning a PhD in sixteenth-century Scottish and English literature. Nikoo, a mechanical engineer, is a born storyteller. She is all about characters and feeling. Jim is about action and sense of place. Together, they have crafted over forty fast-paced, conflict-filled historical and contemporary novels and two works of nonfiction under the pseudonyms May McGoldrick and Jan Coffey.

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

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Princess Emmy DVD and Giveaway

Shout! Kids Factory

Princess Emmy will reign supreme on October 15th!

About Princess Emmy

It’s a gift fit for a queen when Princess Emmy arrives on DVD on October 15th. The new animated feature is voiced by Ruby Barnhill (The BFG, Mary and the Witch’s Flower), Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, Netflix’s Hilda), Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, Bourne Identity), and John Hannah (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Mummy), and directed by Piet de Rycker (Laura’s Star, Little Polar Bear).

Princess Emmy is a young girl with a secret and special gift – she is the only one in the Kingdom of Kandis who can speak to horses! Amazing, right?

Up until now, life for Emmy has been wonderful. She spends her time exploring and hanging out with her best friends – a stable full of horses; as well as spending time with her family at the castle and not having a care in the world. 

That is, until her jealous, scheming cousin Gizana appears, challenging her at every turn and threatens Emmy’s chances of becoming an officially inaugurated princess and generally making her life miserable. 

On top of all that, Emmy must undergo the ultimate test to earn the right to keep her gift. If she fails, she loses the gift and her best friends forever. 

There is a huge amount at stake for such a little girl in this new film from Shout Factory.

Our Thoughts

This wonderful movie is based on the books Princess Emmy and Her Horses, were a young girl who can speak to horses. Not only can she speak to horses (who are her dear friends), she is also a real princess! Talk about every young child’s dream come true?

This is a story of of courage, friendship and perseverance that young children will love. Emmy is not perfect but she is 100% lovable and someone that many children can relate to (especially with her cousin Gizana always there to make her life just downright miserable).

The total run time of this film is 75 minutes – perfect for younger children who have a harder time sitting still for longer time periods.

It is wonderfully animated and will touch the hearts of both young princesses and princes alike (although to be fair – I feel it is geared more towards a female population). And if you are already doing your Christmas planning like me, this would make a great gift under the tree or in a stocking.

You can pre-order a copy of this DVD here.

DVD Trailer

The Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

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Be Happy, Be Active, Be Confident in Your Body with uresta

As women we should be proud of our bodies. They are remarkable and do remarkable things. As a society, we are so hard on women and on ourselves. We beat ourselves down for that extra five pound weight gain, skin that may start to sag, the cellulite on our legs, and the natural aging process (this list can go on and on).

As women, we need to stand together and say these changes are normal, lets talk openly about how a woman’s body changes throughout her life and the impact on our bodies from having children. While someone may be blessed and not experience some of these common changes, many do but are too embarrassed to come forward.

For me the most embarrassing and difficult thing to discuss when it came to my body was when I was pregnant with my second son and it all centred around urinary incontinence.

The first time I experienced urinary incontinence, I didn’t even realize it had happened and I was worried it was amniotic fluid (because lets face it, I didn’t think it could happen to me and no one forewarned me on what to expect). Then it started happening more frequently and it was taking over my pregnancy. I was so ashamed of myself and embarrassed that I could not control my body. I did not want others to make fun of me but I desperately needed someone to talk to and receive advice from.

After weeks of hiding, I finally spoke to my physician about the problem but they strongly felt that it would pass after I gave birth. I had to suck it up for a few more months and then my body would be back to normal.

Life is never quite that simple, right?

My problems actually got worse after I gave birth – I didn’t even feel it happening anymore. I tried every suggestion that I was given by my physician – lose weight, drink less caffeine, don’t drink after dinner, toilet train my body (go to the washroom every thirty minutes to relieve my bladder – this is not recommended and I later found out from another physician that this is a bad idea).

You get to this point where you feel that urinary incontinence has taken over your life. I didn’t want to go out with friends, I was embarrassed in front of my husband and I was constantly paranoid. While there are many options for women after trying the basics that I mentioned above, many want to try a non-invasive method of treatment.

uresta: A non-invasive Method of Treatment

For many women, they don’t want an invasive treatment to help with urinary incontinence. Or maybe you only have mild to moderate leaking and you can’t justify a surgical procedure to correct the problem. Or maybe you just don’t want surgery. All of this is okay and normal but there are options out there for you.

uresta is a bladder support device that helps to prevent leaks that are caused by urinary incontinence. It is a reusable device that is inserted into the vagina and provides support to the urethra (which is what helps to stop those leaks!). The device can be worn all day or only during activities that cause you to leak (high or low impact activities like running, walking, weight lifting, etc.)

The uresta device comes in a starter pack, where users start with one of the three sizes to determine which is the most appropriate for their body type and size. It is recommended that you start with size three and if it is too big, try a smaller size and if it falls out, go up a size (sizes are easily found on the handle).

I have to admit, I was quite nervous when I first tried this out. I was nervous that it would get stuck, that I would not insert it enough and it would fall out but I was pleasantly surprised on how easy it was to both insert and remove. The handle has a good grip and fits your thumb and forefinger perfectly allowing you to easily remove. Because the device is reusable, you save a lot of money over a period of time (not having to buy liners, etc..). It comes with its own discrete container to store the device in when you are not wearing it.

uresta works incredibly well at controlling the leaks but even more so at giving you your confidence back to get outside, go to the gym, go out with friends without that nagging concern about a potential leak and the embarrassment that comes with that. I had no problems with the insertion, removal, care of the device and comfort level while wearing it. The bonus part – it helped reduce leaking, a problem that I am still dealing with despite multiple interventions.

And the statistics don’t lie (statistics taken from uresta):

  • 75% of women surveyed in a clinical study said using uresta either stopped their leaking or reduced it to a significant degree
  • 84% of women said they felt more comfortable in public when using uresta
  • 72% would recommend uresta to a friend

Do you suffer from urinary incontinence? What interventions have you tried up to date? Is uresta a product that you would consider as a non-invasive method of treatment?

Make sure to follow uresta on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest product news.

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

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Real Murder Book Review

iRead Book Tours

It doesn’t take long for the Lovers in Crime to put their cases together to reveal a long-kept secret that some believe is worth killing to keep undercover.

About Real Murder

When Homicide Detective Cameron Gates befriends Dolly, the little old lady who lives across the street, she is warned not to get lured into helping the elderly woman by investigating the unsolved murder of one of her girls. “She’s senile,” Cameron is warned. “It’s not a real murder.”

Such is not the case. After Dolly is brutally murdered, Cameron discovers that the sweet blue-haired lady’s “girl” was a call girl, who had been killed in a mysterious double homicide.

Meanwhile, Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton is looking for answers to the murder of a childhood friend, a sheriff’s deputy whose cruiser is found at the bottom of a lake. The deputy had disappeared almost twenty years ago while privately investigating the murder of a local prostitute.

My Thoughts

This incredible novel that leaves you on the edge of your seat centres around an old woman who appears to be a sweet but perhaps senile lady. The truth is never quite what it seems though! Soon the story is full of unsolved and seemingly unlinked deaths and disappearances that our characters must put together and solve the cases.

In this novel, we have Joshua and Cameron (my personal two favourite characters that make me laugh) as the leads in the investigation that starts off with the murder of an old woman named Dolly (who funny enough used to babysit Joshua). We then begin to unravel quite the story full of deaths and disappearances that are all centred around Dolly’s girls.

The real shock that came to me (and many characters) was that Dolly owned and ran a brothel, not to mention quite the black mailing ring that she was at the centre of. Sadly, many of her girls met untimely deaths and the police officer investigating also ended up dead. But how was Dolly murdered? Why were the girls murdered? What did they know? And who could be at the centre of this?

Real Murder is an excellent, edge of your seat novel that will keep you guessing right until the end. A definite must read!

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

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Thorny Rose, Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries—over twenty titles across four fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

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

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Family Dining at Paramount Fine Foods

We are an extremely busy family with two kids in competitive soccer, both working full time and owning my small business. It can be very hard to find the time to sit down and spend quality time with each other. But this is very important to us and also what makes those moments so special.

We recently visited Paramount Fine Foods in Mississauga – a treasure of a find tucked away on Crestlawn Drive. If you are not familiar with the restaurant, Paramount Fine Foods is the fastest growing Middle Eastern food chain in Canada with over 60 restaurants across the country. You can find all of their locations here.

This elegant restaurant (with exquisite attention to detail) offers something for everyone. You can enjoy incredible, mouth watering recipes in a warm and inviting environment. And the kids – they can enjoy the Kids playground once they are done eating or while you are waiting on your food order.

For our visit, we ordered Manakeesh and the mixed combo platter. This was my kids and my first time trying Middle Eastern cuisine, while my husband has had it several times. We were not disappointed at all. We loved the Manakeesh, we ordered it with just cheese and it hit the spot.

We could not get over how much food was on the mixed combo platter., everything looked and tasted divine. We loved how the platter offered enough of each of our favourites – chicken, beef, rice and fries! They also have a fantastic kids menu, which had chicken fingers for the picky eater in our family. He managed to eat a little bit of everything.

I loved that we could all dive right in and share the same dishes, it made the experience feel like we were at home. Our youngest even said Mom – this tastes like home cooking but better! Which at first, I gave him the stink eye thinking he was making fun of my cooking but he was trying to say the food tasted real and healthy. Which, as any parent of a picky eater knows, is a win- win.

Our kids get full fast (I wish I had this problem!) so it was incredibly helpful that Paramount Fine Foods had a closed in Kids Playground that he could use while he waited for Mom and Dad to finish up. He felt comfortable coming and going from the table to the playground, and never felt that he was disrupting others.

For all my parents looking for an amazing evening out at a restaurant that not only has great food but is also welcoming to children, Paramount Fine Foods is a great option for you on your next family night out!

Make sure to check out their website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with events and new menu items.

Disclosure: We were hosted at Paramount Fine Foods to experience their location. All opinions expressed are my own.

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