Winner of Shadows on the Sand

With the help of Random.Org a winner has been chosen for Gayle Roper's book Shadows on the Sand.

The winner is 

Charlotte Kay!!

Charlotte, I'll be emailing you shortly to get your mailing address.

I'd like to thank everyone for entering.  Stay tuned as I have quite a few books to be given away in the upcoming months.

A Review of Deeply Devoted by Maggie Brendan

When I had the opportunity to participate in the Revell blog tour for Maggie Brendan's new book, I had to jump at the chance.  After reading Maggie's Heart of the West series I could hardly wait for her newest book to come out.  Deeply Devoted is the first release in The Blue Willow Brides series and it was wonderful.

Catharine Olsen left Amsterdam Holland, with her two younger sisters, and headed to Wyoming to be the mail-order bride of Peter Anderson.  She brings with her the Blue Willow china she inherited from her mother.  Unfortunately during their voyage to America, all but the Blue Willow tea set were broken.

Peter is expecting to pick up his bride-to-be at the beautiful Cheyenne train station, but when the train arrives he learns that not only will he have one woman to share his life with but two additional ones as well.  Catharine hadn't told Peter she was bringing her siblings for fear he wouldn't want to marry her.

Catharine and her sisters are use to having servants to help take care of their needs.  But as they enter into their new life in Wyoming they are thrown into a lifestyle of rolling up their sleeves and going to work in the fields, the garden and the kitchen.

Deeply Devoted is a sweet story of love and forgiveness..  Between the pages there are secrets to be found out, trusts broken and then to be mended.  It touched my heart in so many ways.  I stayed up long into the night to finish this wonderful book and I must say that I shed quite a few tears along the way.

On a 5-Star Scale:  5 STARS

I would highly recommend Deeply Devoted to anyone wanting a good Christian romantic story to read.

I would like to thank Donna Hausler with Baker Publishing for my review copy.  I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

"Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group."

Smiles & Blessings,

A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods FIsher

Inside book flap:


"Mattie Riehl was hoping to give her husband, Sol, the Christmas gift they have both longed for - news that a baby was on the way.  But as usual, she is disappointed.  The holidays bring an acute awareness to Mattie that her dream of a big Amish family isn't likely to become a reality.  Will those empty chairs at the table ever be filled?

Then a winter storm raging outside blows an impatient young woman and her husband into the Riehl home on Christmas Eve - and into a much slower pace of life.

Both couples are about to find out if they can weather the storm - and if miracles still happen at Christmastime."

My Thoughts:


A LANCASTER COUNTY CHRISTMAS was a sweet story of an unexpected Christmas.  The English couple, Jaime and C.J., are on their way to take a Christmas cruise with Jaime's father and the Amish couple, Mattie and Sol, are planning on a quiet Christmas at home with their young son Danny and Mattie's cousin, Zach.  Jaime encounters Mattie and Danny at the doctor's office where young Danny leaves his homemade whistle behind.  The doctor asks Jaime to drive out to Mattie's farm to return Danny's precious toy.  Jaime agreed to do it begrudgingly.  Once at the Amish farm, a blizzard hits and due to a few mishaps, Jaime and C.J. are forced to spend the night in the simple household.

Mattie and Jaime both have wounds that need to be healed and through spending time with each other they soon learn that miracles still happen.

I love books set during the Christmas season, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more about Christmas in A LANCASTER COUNTY CHRISTMAS.  But I did learn about some Amish Christmas traditions so I was very happy about that.

I would recommend this book to people of all ages.  On a five-star scale I would give it 4 stars.

Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received a complimentary copy of A Lancaster County Christmas from Revell for purpose of reviewing.  It was not required that I write a positive review, only an honest one, which I have done.

A Lancaster County Christmas
by Suzanne Woods Fisher
ISBN: 978-0-8007-1995-1
Price:  $15.99
Format: Hardcover
Publication date: September 11 | Revell

Button:

It's Christmas in September - iPad Giveaway and Facebook Party!

Enter 9/7-9/26!

 

Post:

It’s Christmas in September!

To celebrate the release of her first Christmas book, Suzanne Woods Fisher has teamed up with her publisher, Revell, to bring you the "Christmas in September" iPad Giveaway! The winner will be announced on 9/27 at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party! Details below. Tell your friends and join in the fun (9/7-9/27).

Oh and be sure to follow the blog tour here - many of the bloggers have copies of the book to giveaway! 

Suzanne and Revell will be presenting one merry winner with a Christmas Prize Pack (valued at over $600):

• A Brand New iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift certificate to iTunes
• A copy of A Lancaster County Christmas

To enter, click one of the icons below. But, hurry the giveaway ends on 9/26.

But, wait! There's more! The winner will be announced at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party on 9/27 at Suzanne's author page. During the party she'll be revealing something *BIG* - you won't want to miss it. She'll also be hosting a book chat, trivia contest and giving away a few early Christmas presents! Hope to see you there.

233/contests/152102" target="_blank">

Smiles & Blessings,

It's Christmas in September!

To celebrate the release of her first Christmas book, Suzanne Woods Fisher has teamed up with her publisher, Revell, to bring you the "Christmas in September" iPad Giveaway! The winner will be announced on 9/27 at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party! Details below. Tell your friends and join in the fun (9/7-9/27).

Oh and be sure to follow the blog tour here - many of the bloggers have copies of the book to giveaway! 

Suzanne and Revell will be presenting one merry winner with a Christmas Prize Pack (valued at over $600):

• A Brand New iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
• $25 gift certificate to iTunes
• A copy of A Lancaster County Christmas

To enter, click one of the icons below. But, hurry the giveaway ends on 9/26.


But, wait! There's more! The winner will be announced at the A Lancaster County Christmas Facebook Party on 9/27 at Suzanne's author page. During the party she'll be revealing something *BIG* - you won't want to miss it. She'll also be hosting a book chat, trivia contest and giving away a few early Christmas presents! Hope to see you there.

Smiles & Blessings,

Shadows on the Sand by Gayle Roper - a Review & Giveaway

Back of the book blurb:


She serves him breakfast at her cafe every morning... but he never seems to notice her.


Carrie Carter's small cafe in Seaside, New Jersey, is populated with a motley crew of locals...although Carrie only has eyes for Greg Barnes.  He's recovering from a vicious crime that three years ago took the lives of his wife and children --and from the year he tried to drink his reality away.  While her heart does a happy Snoopy dance at the sight of him, he never seems to notice her.
     When Carrie's dishwasher is killed and her young waitress disappears, Greg finds himself drawn into helping Carrie solve the mysteries ...and into her life.  But when Carrie's own painful past becomes all too present, her carefully constructed world begins to sink. 
     Will the fragile relationship she's building with Greg implode from the weight of the baggage they both carry?

My Review:

Shadows on the Sand was the first book I've read by Gayle Roper but I can honestly say it won't be the last.  It took me a few chapters to really get into the book but once I got into it I could hardly put it down.  In fact, I stayed up long into the night in order to finish it.  I wasn't disappointed.

If you like good Christian Romantic Suspense, then you'll enjoy Shadows on the Sand.  It's a story about forgiveness and faith and the past meeting head on with the present.  Ms. Roper's characters were so believable I found myself caring for the 'good' guys and hating the 'bad' guys.  The twists and turns in the story had me guessing right up to the very end.

On a five-star scale:  4 1/2 stars

I would like to thank Waterbrook Multnomah for my complimentary copy of Shadows on the Sand.   I received it for free in order to give my honest review which I have done.

************ NEW GIVEAWAY RULES  ************

1.  Giveaway is open to US and Canada

2.  No PO Boxes please.

3.  You MUST be a follower of my blog (please be sure to leave the name you follow under in your comment)

4.  For extra entries you may do one or all of the following:

    -- become an email subscriber +1

    -- invite a friend to become a follower of my blog.  If they become a follower & mention your name, you will both receive 2 extra entries


5. Include an email address where I can reach you if you are selected as the winner of this giveaway.  Please enter your email address in this format    winner[at]yahoo[dot]com

To make sure your entry counts, please answer the following question:

What is your favorite genre to read and do you have a favorite author?


Giveaway will run through September 27th and the winner will be selected using Random.Org


For giveaways on other blogs please go to Winning Readings at http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/p/winning-readings-giveaways.html


Smiles & Blessings,

My Day Trip to Shipshewana, Indiana

Happy Labor Day weekend!  My husband and I took my Mom to Shipshewana, Indiana for the day.  It's a lovely Amish town and I must say, I saw more Amish horse & buggies today then I've seen in the ten years I have lived in Indiana.  I loved seeing them all.  The town is quite beautiful but I must say, if you visit, you should plan on spending lots of money! :)  They have a HUGE flea market there midweek during the summers.  Too bad it wasn't open today.

We ate lunch at the Blue Gate Restaurant and it was quite tasty.  Afterwards, we went downstairs and we purchased two pictures for my walls in my office at work.  They are AWESOME!!!  Afterwards my husband bought me a beautiful Topaz (my birthstone) ring.  He got an awesome deal, it was 50% off.  I was truly blessed on this trip. :)

Have any of you ever visited Shipshewana, Indiana?  If so, what was your favorite place to visit?

Smiles & Blessings,

Winner of Kevin Alan Milne's books!!

 And the winner of both THE FINAL NOTE and SWEET MISFORTUNE, both by Kevin Alan Milne  is...............

                                                     APPLE BLOSSOM!!!


Congratulations Apple Blossom!  I will be emailing you for your mailing address so keep a look out for my email!

For those of you who didn't win this time, please keep coming back as I have lots of books to give away!!

Have a blessed safe holiday weekend!!

Smiles & Blessings,