Category: review

May 23, 2014

The Heart’s Pursuit #review

The Heart’s Pursuit written by Robin Lee Hatcher (one of my personal favourite authors!) follows the story of Silver Matlock, a bride that was left at the altar and in financial ruin. She meets Jared Newman, a bounty hunter seeking revenge for his family.

They decide to travel together despite traveling together being bad for Silver’s tarnished reputation and Jared’s secret mission for revenge. But Silver is determined to track down the rogue who had not only left her at the altar but stole the last remnants of her father’s fortune. Jared is in a hurry to hunt down the murderer who destroyed his family but Silver is too distractingly beautiful for comfort.

The two take off over the mountains, past bleak homesteads and raw mining towns, hot on the trail of two villains who took what was not theirs to take. Soon supplies dwindle, secrets emerge and suspicion leaves Silver and Jared at odds when they really need each other the most. To confront an enemy deadlier than desert rattlesnakes and rocky cliffs, Silver and Jared must learn to forgive and trust and face the question they have not dared to voice: What happens next?

I love novels set in the West during this time period – the cowboys, the farm life and the simplicity. Tie this in with the lack of law and a spirited young woman determined to regain what was stolen from her – you have a pretty fantastic book! Silver is an incredibly brave woman who goes against the norm in order to save her family after her fiance stole all their money. She teams up with a bounty hunter (which is completely unheard of!) and they set off to track down this man. I loved how their stories ended up intertwining together and how the story evolved.

You can find more reviews of The Heart’s Pursuit on the Litfuse blog tour here. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4.5/5

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

May 20, 2014

Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder #review

For the past week and a half I have been using Kiss Me Organics Matcha Green Tea Powder. This has been my first exposure to Matcha green tea powder (and actually hearing about it!) so I was really curious to learn more about Matcha and it’s benefits.

Matcha refers to finely milled or powdered green tea. Matcha is made from shade grown tea leaves. After harvesting, the tea leaves are left out flat to dry and will begin to crumble and are referred to as tencha. Tencha is then ground into matcha. Research has found that matcha green tea powder contains three times the number of antioxidants then regular green tea. This is believed to be because the whole leaf is ingested. It also delivers a higher potency of chlorophyll and catechins.

The Kiss Me Organics Organic Matcha (sold exclusively on Amazon) is sold in a 4oz (113g) bag. This brand of Organic Matcha is found to have 137 times the amount of antioxidants as brewed green tea. Antioxidants are important to help boost the body’s natural immunity and system. Organic matcha has also been found to increase the body’s natural metabolism from 8-10% of daily expenditure to 35-43% of daily expenditure and a natural energy boost.

The recommended daily dose is 1/2-1tsp a day that can be added to lattes, smoothies or baking. When you place an order you will actually receive a recipe book full of healthy recipes and tips of adding more matcha to your daily food intake. I found it pretty neat that you can add it in to normal recipes without altering the taste.

I am using my Matcha in my daily smoothies. I found at first that a 1/2 tsp was a bit too much for me as it did give me an energy boost so the next day I dropped it to 1/4 tsp and had the benefits of increased energy (without any side affects). After a week I increased it to 1/2 tsp and have no noticed no side affects. I was very impressed with the taste and quality of the Matcha – once in my smoothie it had no taste, left no after taste and did not alter the appearance of my smoothies. I definitely noticed an increase in energy and metabolism. I had more energy for exercising and at work then normal.

You can find more information on Organic Matcha on the Kiss Me Organics website and read more reviews on Amazon here.

I wanted to share with you my favourite smoothie recipe:

Ingredients:
– 1/2 tsp Organic Matcha
– 1 banana
– 1 cup of sliced frozen strawberries
– 1/2 cup of pineapples
– roughly 3/4 cup of cold water (enough to make the smoothie thinner)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until desired consistency. Enjoy!

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

May 15, 2014

A Bridge Unbroken Book Tour & Launch Party

$100 Visa Card Giveaway & A BRIDGE UNBROKEN Book Tour & Launch Party

Welcome to the BlitzKat blog tour for Cathy Bryant’s A Bridge Unbroken. Another Miller’s Creek Novel set in the heart of Texas, A Bridge Unbroken brings two new characters to the forefront while still giving fans a glimpse of their favorite characters from the past, including the old geezers and Mama Beth.

About the Book, A BRIDGE UNBROKEN

Letting go to build a bridge…

Dakota Kelly wants her painful past to disappear. A plan to start afresh is derailed when she co-inherits her late grandfather’s farm with the man responsible for the scars on her heart. But Chance Johnson isn’t the only ghost from the past. Someone else is out to get her and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will Chance and Dakota lay aside their grudges to restore the old farmhouse and bridge, or will evil forces sabotage their attempt at forgiveness?

Click HERE to read a sample chapter of A Bridge Unbroken.

| Purchase Print Version | Purchase eBook Version |

The Other Miller’s Creek Novels

“Miller’s Creek, Texas…where folks are friendly, the iced tea is sweet, and Mama Beth’s front porch beckons…”

About Cathy

A native daughter of the Lone Star State, Cathy loves spinning tales about life in small town Texas. When she’s not weaving stories about the fine folks in Miller’s Creek, you’ll find her rummaging through thrift stores, feeding her reality TV addiction, or up to her elbows in yet another home improvement project in the mountain cabin she shares with her minister husband of over thirty years. You can find out more about Cathy and her books at www.CatBryant.com.

You can also connect with Cathy at:

Reader friends on Facebook may want to visit the following groups, the first for book bargains and the second to discuss all things Miller’s Creek.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChristianBooks.Giveaways/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MillersCreekReaders/

About the Blog Tour and Launch Party

Cathy is celebrating the new addition to the Miller’s Creek family by making several prizes available to reader friends–including a $100 Visa Card Giveaway. Winners will be announced at the interactive Facebook Launch Party on May 22, 2014.

Other prizes include: t-shirts, coffee mugs, tote bags, bookmarks, eBooks, print books and Amazon Gift cards.

Enter the grand prize drawing for the $100 Visa Card now by clicking one of the links below. But hurry, because the contest ends May 22, 2014.

(NOTE: Some contest tasks can be completed daily for extra chances to win.) The grand prize winner will be announced at the A Bridge Unbroken Facebook launch party on May 22.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE DRAWING VIA CATHY’S WEBSITE.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER VIA THE GIVEAWAY TAB ON CATHY’S FACEBOOK PAGE.

See you at the party!

Watch out for my review and e-book giveaway going live tomorrow too!

May 9, 2014

Backyardigans: Sea Deep in Adventure with #KOBA Entertainment

How many of the parents out there have children that love the Backyardigans? If your children are like mine your hands must be waving right now! So you can just imagine how excited they were to attend the live show; The Backyardigans: Sea Deep in Adventure with a meet and greet!

The Backyardigans: Sea Deep in Adventure follows the story of five friends as they explore clues and discover underwater surprises. The five friends meet up with an Octopus and a pair of dolphins in this adventure packed show.

The show was roughly an hour long with one twenty minute intermission which was perfect for the kids in the audience. The audience ages really ranged from one year old children right up to junior elementary aged children.

The best part of the show for our family was a combination of both the music and dancing. The show really came to life! The music was energetic and fun ranging in style through out the show. The costumes and props were fantastic and brightly coloured that really helped to engage the children and catch their attention. All parts of the show were constantly moving and engaging from props dropping down to the backdrop itself.

The boys fell in love with the cast at the beginning of the show when they were able to meet them backstage. The entire cast and staff were excellent and so upbeat – they were so full of energy that really helped the children get over their shyness. The cast really went the extra mile to make this a special moment for the children that they would not forget!

The Backyardigans Sea Deep in Adventure is definitely a production we would go back to see! Everything was upbeat, fun and entertaining. A definite must see production for families!

May 8, 2014

Mother’s Day Books: Small Space Garden Ideas #DKCanada

Some of the best gifts that I have ever received have been books. I love to read (no question about it!) – it allows me to escape for that time period, browse and learn new ideas and so much more!

We moved into our new home about a year ago and since we moved in it has been my goal to create not only a vegetable garden but a proper flower bed (where the flowers grow and don’t wither like they usually do for me – my boys still tease me about managing to let a Bonsai tree die!). Last year we did a lot of work on removing items and re-sodding as well as making room for my garden. We just never made it to the actual garden part (I guess I was a bit chicken?!).

For Mother’s Day this year, I have asked my boys to make me a raised garden bed so that I an plant some vegetables. Since I am not the best gardener out there, I want to start small! When I was given the opportunity to review Small Space Garden Ideas I was anxious to get my hands on this book thinking how helpful this would be for us.

Small Space Garden Ideas is full of creative ways to use the smaller areas around your home to create a wonderful garden whether it be a wall, balcony, porch or window sill! They thought of every type of space in this book and used it so well. Some of my favourite features of this book were the easy to read instructions (great for this beginner gardener!), the material needed, large photographs (not to mention a great amount of photographs for each activity) that really helped me to visualize my project from start to finish as well as pro tips. I found the pro tips to be quite useful and have to started to implement them for my first garden project. The projects ranged from easy to difficult and the same with price range. There is a great variety of both and lots of middle ground for more advanced beginners. You will not be bored with the variety of projects in this book!

I started off small and using their directions planted Rosemary for our window sill which I am hoping to transplant into our garden when the weather becomes nicer. I had no idea I was supposed to be putting rocks in the bottom of the pot so that the roots don’t sit in water (oops – maybe this is the cause for all of my dead plants??). I am keeping my fingers crossed for good results and I have high hopes this time! I am determined to have a green thumb this year.

Do you have a book lover in your house that would love books for this Mother’s Day? Make sure to check out the Mother’s Day Boutique to receive 30% off your order!

What kind of books would your Mom love to receive for Mother’s Day?

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