Author: cvegnad

March 20, 2014

A Sky without Stars: Review

Quilts tell many stories. Stories of love, loss, hope, faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love Series focuses on the women who have quilted their family history. A Sky without Stars is part of this series.

Set in 1951, A Sky without Stars, is the story of Frankie Chasing Bear – a Lakota caught between cultures. She wants to raise her son, Harold, to revere his Lakota heritage but she feels like he will need to become more like a “white man” in order to succeed. After her husband is killed in a bar brawl, they move to Arizona where she begins a Lakota Star quilt for Harold with tribal wisdom sewn and prayed into it.

She distrusts Christians as her parents were forced to convert at an Indian School. When she meets BIA agent, Nick Vandergriff, a half Lakota who is also caught between cultures she begins to understand more about her faith, tradition and her place as a Lakota in the world.

A Sky without Stars was an excellent read that touched on many topics including the Native cultures, beliefs and their treatment. There were many times through out the book that I felt angry towards the treatment of the Lakota people and how they were forced to assimilate. Frankie was treated unfairly in her new community and not trusted by the people regardless of what she did. The book painted a in depth look of the life of a single, Lakota woman during the 1950s. A Sky without Stars was a story of strength, faith and self discovery.

Rating: 5/5

The author, Linda Clare, is an award winning co-author of three books. She is also the author of the Fence My Father Built. She has taught college level creative writing classes and edits as well as mentors writers.

You can find more reviews of A Sky without Stars here.

Linda is celebrating the release with a Kindle HDX giveaway and joining her fellow Quilts of Love authors, Barbara Cameron and Joyce Magnin, for a Facebook “Spring Fling” party on April 1st.

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  One winner will receive:

  • A Kindle Fire HDX
  • Scraps of Evidence by Barbara Cameron
  • A Sky Without Stars by Linda S. Clare
  • Maybelle in Stitches by Joyce Magnin

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on April 1st. Winner will be announced at the “Spring Fling” Facebook Party on April 1st. RSVP today and connect with the authors from the Quilts of Love series, Barbara Cameron, Linda S. Clare, and Joyce Magnin, for an evening of book chat, quilt trivia, prizes, and an exclusive look at the next Quilts of Love book!


So grab your copies of Scraps of Evidence, A Sky Without Stars, and Maybelle in Stitches and join Barbara, Linda, and Joyce on the evening of April 1st for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the books, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN at the event page. Spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway and party via FACEBOOK or TWITTER. Hope to see you on April 1st!

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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March 19, 2014

City of The Sun: Review & Giveaway

Romance, espionage and WWII combine in the romantic thriller City of The Sun by Juliana Maio.

The back drop is 1941 and the Axis forces have the Allies on the ropes in North Africa. Rommel’s Afrika Korps are closing in on Egypt and the prized Suez Canal while Britain struggles to maintain control. The young King Farouk is crumbling under the enormous political and military pressure. The Muslim Brotherhood is gaining power and the seeds for the State of Israel are slowly being sown.

It is in this background that European Jewish refugee Maya Blumenthal arrives with her family in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis (translated as the City of The Sun). Her arrival coincides with the revocation of American journalist Mickey Connolly’s visa. Before he can be deported he is offered an opportunity that will change his life both personally and as a journalist. He is asked to go underground to locate Erik Blumenthal, a quantum physicist refugee from Germany. Mickey accepts their offer but he quickly realizes that his life may be in danger and the mission is not as simple as he originally thought as the Germans are also in Cairo looking for Erik Blumenthal. Romance begins to blossom between Mickey and Maya when they meet but Maya is hesitant to give out any true information about her life and family. Mickey begins to fall in love with Maya and would risk anything to win over her heart.

I completely fell in love with City of The Sun! Juliana writes in a way that draws you right into the plot line of war torn Cairo in WWII. She includes in depth detail that allows you to feel as though you are there in the war zone walking the streets of Cairo and Heliopolis. Knowing that Juliana was born in Heliopolis and was forced to flee during the Suez Crisis, you can feel how she brings her connection to Heliopolis through every turn of the page.

City of the Sun had me reading long in to the night – I just could not put the novel down! My heart went out to the characters in the novel – knowing how many people went through this makes it that much harder to put the novel down. City of The Sun is a definite must read novel.

Rating: 4.5/5

Juliana Maio was born in Egypt but expelled from the country with her family during the Suez Crisis. She was raised in France and completed her education in the USA. Julia practices entertainment law in Los Angeles. Prior to this she served as vice president of the worldwide corporate and business affairs for Triumph Films. Juliana co-founded Lighthouse Productions.

Residents of the USA can enter to win one of two copies of her novel, City of The Sun! Enter via the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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March 18, 2014

The Muppets Most Wanted Rock Stars #WW w/linky

We were privileged this past weekend to attend an advance screening of The Muppets Most Wanted presented through Subway Canada. Our children were so excited to pose like rock stars at the entrance to the theatre! Here is one of our favourite pictures of the day (make sure to check out my post for more!)

Link up your Wordless Wednesday posts below so that I can visit you!

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March 18, 2014

The Muppets Most Wanted #subwayandamovie #review

This past weekend we were thrilled to attend an advance screening of the Muppets Most Wanted in Toronto. I grew up watching the Muppets so was super excited at the chance to attend and see all my favourite characters especially Miss Piggy.

We were treated to a special “green” carpet walkway which the boys thought was pretty awesome. We felt famous standing in front of the Subway sign! And of course they had to fool around in front of it too!

While we waited for the show to begin Subway Canada treated us to trivia questions about the Muppets and Subway Canada. We had so much fun guessing the answers and tweeting out our answers. The bonus? Our answer for the meaning of BMT – biggest, meatiest and tastiest won! We also had a photo opp with a very special monkey. Subway Canada went above and beyond to make this advance screening a fantastic time for kids and adults alike!

The Muppets Most Wanted was a hilarious movie that had all four of us laughing from start to finish. The music was fantastic and my youngest who has never seen a Muppet show prior to this fell in love with Animal. It was the perfect family movie and I can not wait to purchase a copy for our own collection when it eventually comes to Blu Ray.

If you  have not yet seen the trailer for The Muppets Most Wanted, take a peek here and let me know what you think! Are you planning on seeing Muppets Most Wanted in theatres starting March 21st?

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March 17, 2014

The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman Review

Life as a woman can be hard and trying as we try to fit into our roles as mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend and so much more! The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman examines these roles with humor and faith showing us how we can fit all of these roles together.

In The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman by Joyce Ellis you will find strength, purpose and perspective to balance the many roles and gain insight into the roles of women around you. Using honesty, humor and practicality, Joyce helps you to see how your roles can fit together to make a difference in your world.

Joyce Ellis is an award winning author of more than a dozen books, speaks for women’s groups and at retreats across the USA and internationally. She and her husband enjoy reading by lakes and rivers and spending time with their grown children and grandchildren.

The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman was a faith building read. Sometimes life can be too busy and too stressful that sometimes that I forget who I am as a person and what each person needs from me. I loved that Joyce wrote from personal experiences – she was not afraid to share her own personal story or those of her loved ones. It really helped to connect with her as a person. I did not feel like it was someone telling me how I should live my life but a conversation with her that allows her to guide us.

The only part that I was a tad bit disappointed with was the section on “working” mothers. She included quotes from other parents that hurt personally (ex. why have children if someone else will raise them – I am paraphrasing here but this was my interpretation of the comment from that mother). Working outside of the home comes with it’s own pressures and as women we should encourage and support each other (again this was not her words but a woman that was surveyed) regardless what our personal choices for working in or out of the home are.

At the end of each section there are questions for discussion and reflection which were perfect! I would love to work on these with friends and at a Church group.

To find more reviews on this book you can view the Litfuse blog tour here. To purchase your own copy you can do so here.

Rating: 4/5

Want a helper for your modern-day journey? Enter to win a Kindle Fire in Joyce’s “500 Hats” giveaway!

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One winner will receive:

  • A Kindle Fire
  • The 500 Hats of a Modern-Day Woman by Joyce K. Ellis
  • A Modern-Day woman kit (T-shirt and hat)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 30th. Winner will be announced April 1st on the Litfuse blog.

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by the Litfuse blog on April 1st to see if you won.

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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