October 21, 2014
The Promise by Beth Wiseman #review
Mallory is a young woman on a mission to accomplish the goal she was unable to do so long ago. She is also naive and honest. The Promise, based on actual events ,will leave you on the edge of your seat!
About the Promise
Mallory Hammond is determined that no one will stand in the way of her goal – to save a life. She had that very chance years ago and she failed to take it. This has left her adrift and in search of the real meaning of life. Finally she meets a man online from a volatile corner of the world who offers her the chance to find that purpose. But in order to do so she will have to leave everyone she loves behind in order to take it.
Tate Webber has loved her for years. He understands that Mallory will never be happy with him until her deepest heart’s desire is satisfied. When Mallory decides to travel across the world to fulfill her dreams, he begs her not to go but also tries to give her the space she needs. Mallory embarks on her dangerous journey only to discover how swiftly and easily promises can be broken. Mallory can only pray that she will make it out alive.
Inspired by actual events, The Promise is a riveting love story that asks the question how far will we go for the one we love?
The Promise is one of those novels that you will not be able to put down – full of suspense, surprise and based on actual events that will leave you reading long into the night.
Mallory is like any other young woman you may know – she trusts and loves the people around her. She would never believe that someone would lie to her especially when it comes to people she has built a foundation of trust with. When those that she trusts plead to her inner feelings – helping a young sick woman she is thrown back in time to a time where she could not help someone she loved. She instantly feels like she will find redemption if she can just help this family across the ocean.
When she arrives to find things are not as they appeared she is stuck with no one to help and nowhere to go. It is her fiance overseas that moves mountains in order to bring her home safely.
The Promise is a definite one of a kind novel that you will just love! You worry for Mallory – you find yourself wanting to guide her and tell her to step back and really look at the situation. But just like her fiance you feel like you have no control. The Promise is a novel full of love, trust and how easily we trust can be broken.
To find more reviews, please visit the Litfuse blog tour 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.
October 17, 2014
DIY Hand Print Keepsake
My children are growing so fast – every time I look at them it feels like they have grown another inch! We wanted to capture them in this moment and decided to make hand print keepsakes to display in our home. It was the perfect holiday craft for our family – quick and simple! The boys loved it because they were able to get their hands nice and dirty although trying to get them to not paint each other was fun!
You Will Need:
- paint
- paintbrush
- canvas print (8×10)
- 8×10 frame
Using the paint colour your child has chosen (our boys wanted blue so blue it was) I painted their right hands applying a good amount of pain so that their hand was quite saturated with the paint.
One at a time, I took their hand and gently placed it on the canvas print. I gently put pressure on their hands to ensure the hand print would take to the canvas. You may have to help your little one to lift their hand back off of the canvas without smudging the print.
Allow the painting to dry, ours took roughly three hours to dry. I then placed it inside the 8×10 frame and hung it by our front door. Visitors love looking at their hands and this would be a fantastic gift for Grandparents!
October 17, 2014
The Mason Jar
Heartbreak and separation are the heart of this beautiful novel, The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt.
About The Mason Jar
Clayton Fincannon is a Tennessee farm boy raised by his Grandfather. The two men leave letters for each other in a mason jar on his Grandfather’s desk – letters of counsel and affirmation. When Clayton leaves to attend college in Southern California, he meets and falls in love with a dark debutante from Colorado. When an unmentioned past resurrects in her life and she leaves, Clayton is left with unanswered questions.
Clayton goes on to serve as a missionary in Africa, both men continue their tradition of writing letters. When Clayton returns home five years later to bury his Grandfather, he searches for answers pertaining to the loss of the young woman he once loved. Little does Clayton know, the answers await him in the broken mason jar.
The Mason Jar is an inspirational romance that brings hope to people who have experienced disappointment in life due to separation from loved ones. With a redemptive ending that encourages us to love again and written in the fresh, romantic tones of Nicholas Sparks, The Mason Jar interweaves the imagery of Thoreau with the adventures common to Dances with Wolves.
My Thoughts
A fantastic story based on a very probable life situation. Life is not always the perfect romance story we hope it will be nor will it be without pain and sorrow. We all have been hurt and have to learn to deal with this. It is how we deal with these moments that make us a stronger and better person. Finn spent so much time hurt about his broken relationship with Eden – he needed closure. It is in this relationship we can also see the hurt that lack of closure can cause on an individual.
The relationship between Finn and his Grandfather is beautiful. I loved their story and the support they give each other. Sometimes it is hard to open up and speak to the ones we love. Sometimes the easiest way is with a letter. It is something that I would not mind starting up with my own children!
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour 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.
October 15, 2014
New Regency from @SarahLaddAuthor AND a Kindle HDX giveaway!
Award-winning author Sarah E. Ladd examines how to escape the clutches of a tainted past in the final installment of her Whispers on the Moor series. A Regency-era novel, A Lady at Willowgrove Hall cleverly shows that even though our pasts may be shameful or painful, God can take the darkest personal histories and turn them into the brightest futures.
Celebrate with Sarah by entering her Kindle HDX giveaway!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A Kindle Fire HDX
- A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 2nd. Winner will be announced November 3rd here.
October 14, 2014
The Hardest Peace #review & #giveaway
An incredible life changing story of one woman’s journey through cancer and how it has changed her as a woman, a wife, a mother and as a daughter of God.
About The Hardest Peace
The Hardest Peace is the story of Kara Tippetts, a young mother battling cancer who invites readers to embrace grace in every season of life.
Kara Tippetts knows the mundane but rich days of mothering four kids, the joy of watching her children grow and the devastating reality of stage four cancer.
In her book, she invites readers to see the grace of the everyday in all seasons of life and to live well even when the living is hard. As the thousands of readers of her blog know, Tippetts explores the hardest questions of life with rare beauty and honesty. Most of all, she draws them back to the God who is present, in the ordinary and the suffering, and shapes every life into the best story of all.
My Thoughts
It is hard to know where to start with my own feelings and thoughts. Firstly, I feel blessed to have had Kara share her journey and story with us. Her faith is so strong and humbles me. While I cried at parts of her story I feel like she did not share her story for us to feel sad but instead to see all the good in her story. She wants us to see that sometimes the bad things in our lives can also help us recognize and appreciate all the beauty that is in our world. It helped me to step back and appreciate the life God has given me and that no matter how I am feeling that day that this is the path I am meant to be walking along and that I can conquer each day.
The Hardest Peace has changed the way I parent as well as the way I perceive situations with my children. I can’t imagine how it must feel to be in her shoes looking at your children every day but it also makes you appreciate each cuddle, each achievement and each I love you that much more. When I am feeling frustrated I now take a deep breath and say to myself remember grace – sometimes I may have to repeat it more than once but it helps remind me that these moments (even the screaming ones) are precious and a gift to be held dear.
Rating: 5/5 ++
About Kara Tippetts
Kara Tippetts and her husband, Jason, have four children. They lead a church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cancer is only a part of Kara’s story. Her real fight is to truly live while facing a crushing reality. You can find her on her website, Facebook and Twitter.
Giveaway Time!
One of my lucky Canadian readers will have their own chance to win a copy of Kara’s inspirational book! Enter via the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review as well as a copy for the giveaway. All opinions expressed are my own.