February 26, 2014
The Barbarian Bride by Eva Scott #Review
Set in Ancient Rome, The Barbarian Bride is an excellent read full of Roman political suspense, gladiator battles and love.
The Barbarian Bride is the story of Klara, a Hun princess, whose husband was murdered. Even though she did not love her husband, she vows to track down the man who murdered him to avenge his death. Klara tracks down the mysterious Roman, Lucius Aurelius, through the Roman Empire. They only realize later that this was a clever plot to overthrow Klara’s father, the Chief of the Huns.
Klara is separated from Lucius and captured by slavers. She is sold to a gladiator school. The only way to save herself is by fighting for her freedom. Lucius is the only one who can ensure her battle is safer and easier but to do so he must sacrifice all he cares about and stands for.
The Barbarian Bride is a fantastic read. It gave such a great insight into the lives of ancient Romans – the politics and the lives of the gladiators. The story focuses on the politics and how it affects the relationship of Klara and Lucius but their relationship does not dominate the story which I liked. It was great to see Klara develop as a character and the way she struggled with her ties to her family and her feelings. The two characters were normal individuals trying to survive under difficult circumstances and find happiness. The Barbarian Bride is full of surprises that you are constantly left guessing what is going to happen next!
A fantastic historical romance to add to your must read list!
Rating: 4.75/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
February 26, 2014
Awaiting Their New Baby Cousin #WW w/linky
Last week my boys were thrilled to add a new addition to the family tree – their Uncle had a baby boy! My youngest was a bit confused screaming in excitement that he couldn’t wait to meet his cute baby brother but it was too cute!
Here are some pictures of the long wait and the excitement that they had before going into the room to meet him!
“Mom! My cute baby brother is born!”
They had to wait another five minutes while the nurses cleaned up – they were getting restless!
I did not post a picture of their baby cousin because I never got a chance to ask my brother in law but trust me he is a cutie!
Link up your Wordless Wednesday post below so I can visit!
February 24, 2014
The Thief #Review
Set during the time of Jesus Christ, The Thief by Stephanie Landsem gives us a different perspective of life in these times especially for a Roman Centurion and a Jewish woman.
The Thief is based on the lives of our two main characters, Longinus, a Roman centurion and Nissa, a Jewish woman. Longinus is haunted by death and his own failures. He has always felt a bit out of place by being not a full Roman by blood. When a group of thieves begin to steal from the marketplace he accepts a huge wager – if he can find the thieves before Passover he will earn a transfer out of the region and if he does not he will lose his Father’s sword.
Nissa is a young, Jewish woman who has a sharp tongue and because of her age no hope for marriage. She begins to steal in order to feed herself and keep a roof over her head.
When a healer named Jesus heals her blind brother, Longinus wants to learn more about this mysterious man. In his quest to learn more he is drawn to Nissa. When they are caught up in the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus, they begin to wonder who this teacher is and why he was not able to save himself.
The Thief was a moving story of forgiveness and the power it has to change our lives. I was not able to put this novel down! I stayed up all night reading it. I fell in love with our two main characters and watching them struggle with their own insecurities and beliefs was very difficult. You wanted to be able to help guide them. I loved how they evolved throughout the novel and found healing in the end. It was fantastic the way the story of Jesus was tied into the novel – I was not expecting that at all!
You can purchase a copy of the book here. You can also find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour here.
Rating: 5/5
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
February 24, 2014
#UltimateHome Twitter Party with Leon’s!
Are you ready to party?
To celebrate their upcoming Ultimate Home Super Sale (starting this Friday February 28th) Leon’s Canada is hosting a Twitter party this Thursday, February the 27th!
Here are the important details for this exciting twitter party:
When: February 27th, 2014
Time: 9PM – 10PM
Host: Leon’s
Moderators: @mommyoutside @zoojourneys
Prizing and Support: @CantonCathy @cvegnad
Everyone is welcome to come but prizes are open to Canadians only (excluding Quebec and B.C.).
The prizes?
- 5 prizes of a $100 online gift card to Leon’s
- one grand prize of Starship Collection Bunk bed set (valued at $499!)
To win you have to RSVP! Head over to Mommy Outside the Box and RSVP now!
Looking forward to partying with you on Thursday!
February 24, 2014
Medieval Times: Thrilling and Educational Entertainment #Giveaway
Brave knights, mystical horses, a strong and fair King and a beautiful Princess. This is what awaited us at the incredible Medieval Times in Toronto, Ontario.
Surrounded by history we were able to teach our boys about the Middle Ages in a fun way that had them craving for more. For the past week following the tournament we have researched on the internet and visited our local library for books on the Middle Ages.
Here are a few of our favourite highlights from the night:
See those lovely bowls above? I did not realize we weren’t going to be using cutlery and waited five minutes for a spoon while my boys laughed hysterically at me! They have since decided that we need bowls like this at home.
Our eldest son and my husband cheering on our victors! It was so cool to watch him take out his iPod and take as many pictures as possible for his school’s Brag and Drag talk on the Monday following the tournament!
This was our youngest favourite part! This beautiful bird was flying high above the crowds!
Medieval Times runs weekday matinees (11AM and 1:30PM) for elementary aged students. This includes a thirty minute seminar, meet and greet with the birds of prey and demonstration. My youngest sister was able to participate in this when she was in elementary school and still brags about it to this day! You can find out more about their educational programs here.
Medieval Times and PTPA are proud to bring you a very special contest!
Medieval Times wants you to experience the magic and thrill of the Middle Ages for yourself and are hosting a giveaway that will see four winners win family pack tickets to Medieval Times! These tickets include both dinner and tournament! Pretty awesome right?!! You can enter via the Rafflecopter below! Good luck! This giveaway is only for tickets to the Medieval Times in Toronto, Ontario.
Make sure to follow Medieval Times on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with great promotions and information!
Disclosure: As a Brand Ambassador with PTPA and Medieval Times, I received compensation for my participation. However, all opinions expressed on this blog are my very own.