Christmas Mourning / Review

Author: Margaret Maron
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
(November 5, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446555800

Book Description...
It's Christmas in rural North Carolina's Colleton County and Judge Deborah Knott is looking forward to a family celebration when a tragedy clouds the holiday season. A beautiful young cheerleader dies in a car crash and the community is devastated by her death. Sheriff's Deputy Dwight Bryant soon learns that her death was not a simple accident, and more lives may be lost unless he and Deborah can discover why she died.

About the Author...
Margaret Maron grew up on a farm near Raleigh and lived in Brooklyn for many years. Returning to her North Carolina roots prompted Margaret to write a series based on her own background, the first of which, BOOTLEGGER'S DAUGHTER, was a Washington Post bestseller and swept the major mystery awards for 1993. CHRISTMAS MOURNING is the sixteenth book in the acclaimed Deborah Knott series. Visit her website at http://www.margaretmaron.com/.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

Old Border Road / Review

Author: Susan Froderberg
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
(December 9, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316098779

Book Description:
Katherine is 17, living alone in the beautiful, desolate landscape of southern Arizona. Her mother is feckless, her father busy with his new family. Meeting Son, the scion of a local rancher, seems like deliverance. They marry and live as a family in his parents' venerable adobe house, but it soon becomes clear that Son is a man who, as his father says, has a "young heart near withered beneath the breastbone."

Katherine must find her own way during a dangerous months-long drought, when everything seems to be disintegrating around her. Susan Froderberg's incantatory language--and her deep knowledge of both the complexities of a small, deeply-rooted place and the human heart--make OLD BORDER ROAD soar.

My Review:
Ms. Froderberg's poetic writing style makes this a worthwhile read.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow / Review

Author: Stephanie O'Dea
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Hyperion
(December 28, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1401310389

Book Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of slow-cooker cookbook Make It Fast, Cook It Slow returns with budget (and gluten-free!) meals that will satisfy the entire family.

Stephanie O'Dea's 200 delicious recipes include:
* Baked Herbed Feta * Smoky Bean and Corn Soup * Maple-Glazed Pork Chops * Moroccan Chicken with Lentils * Apple-Pecan Bread Pudding * Orange and Honey Tilapia * Chocolate Pot de Crème with Ganache
--and many more. More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow is the perfect cookbook for easy-to-prepare meals that don't take a toll on the family budget.

My Review:

I loved Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and find More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow to be even better than the last. My daughter looked through it last night and now wants a copy of her own! The recipes seem simple to make, with a down-home quality. I look forward to many good dishes from the recipes in this great cookbook. Certainly 5 stars*****

(Thank you to the author for my review copy!!)

Power to Reinvent Yourself / Review

Author: Jason Frenn
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: FaithWords
(October 13, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446546224

Book Description:
Evangelist and author Jason Frenn details five steps accessing Christ's power to break the chains of destructive patterns that afflict generation after generation. Many families suffer from dysfunction and conflict handed down from one generation to the next, and the cycle repeats itself with greater and greater severity. Parents struggle to keep their families from eroding as they helplessly watch their kids, teenagers, and adult children fall into overwhelming patterns of self-destruction. But there is a power that can set these families free and change their future.

In this book, readers experience the story of the author and his family, and how he was rescued from destruction. Each reader can find the POWER TO REINVENT YOURSELF and obtain a life of significance, success, and victory!

My Review:
Power to Reinvent Yourself is a book that helps the reader understand the power of Christ in their everyday life and shows us how to break the habit of self-destruction.

Chapters include: Discover You Why; Change Your Perceptions; Break the Cycle of Destructive Behavior; Form Godly Habits; Choose to Forgive; Overcome with the Help of Others; Unleash Real Power in Your Life; and questions for reflection and group discussion.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)

Sweetie / Review

Author: Kathryn Magendie
Paperback: 216 pages
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
(November 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1935661914

Book Description:
For shy, stuttering Melissa, the wild mountain girl named Sweetie is a symbol of pride and strength. But to many in their Appalachian town Sweetie is an outcast, a sinister influence, or worse. This poignant and haunting story takes readers deep inside the bittersweet heart of childhood loyalties.

My Review:
First let me say, author Kathryn Magendie is one of the best new writers around today. She makes the characters come alive on the written page! Now about her newest book, Sweetie: it is the best in southern fiction; emotionally charged; lyrical; charming; unforgettable. I love everything Magendie writes! 5 stars*****

(Thank you to Bellebooks for my review copy!!)

Growing More Beautiful (An Artful Approach To Personal Style) / Review

Author: Jennifer Robin

Perfect Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Arteful Press

(February 1, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0981732208

Book Description:

Growing More Beautiful is a lively, buoyant resource for projecting your essence with creativity and flair. Jennifer Robin's paint box of practical tips, inspiring illustrations, helpful worksheets, and fresh personal insights will open your senses to the beauty of both your inner life and outward appearance, and help make getting dressed a daily act of creation. Image consultant, artist, and author, Jennifer Robin ties it all together in this stunning new book that will help you look and feel more beautiful as you grow into the person you were always meant to be. And, the elements of making art touched on in the book, including principles of design, will help with any creative endeavor, whether it's painting or creating an outfit.

With her new book, Growing More Beautiful, artist and image consultant Jennifer Robin has given women a generous, much-needed gift. This is not your basic how-to beauty book. This is a celebration of you. And if you haven't felt much like celebrating when it comes to your own unique beauty, you're in for a wonderful surprise, to say the least. By the time you finish reading, you are likely to feel nothing less than transformed.

Women everywhere can now breathe a sigh of relief: Growing More Beautiful doesn't focus on How to Look Younger. It encourages women to explore and illuminate their unique beauty and style at any age. Artist and Image Consultant Jennifer Robin takes a refreshing approach with expert advice that's both reassuring and generous; her enthusiasm for playing with color, clothing, make-up, and jewelry is downright contagious. Readers will find shopping more accessible, less confusing, and a lot more fun. She has filled her book with gorgeous images, including her own paintings, so that each page is as inspiring to look at as it is to read.

My Review:

The cover of this book compels one to open and enjoy! Filled with gorgeous artwork and photos, Growing More Beautiful inspires even the most plain among us. Every woman who reads it will want to start immediately to become more attractive and captivating, not only on the outside but the inside as well.

Growing More Beautiful is an amazing book that is pure joy to read. It is truly inspirational with lots of ideas on how to dress...

being true to your own personality.

(Thank you to the author for my review copy.)

Blessed Beyond Measure Devotional Journal / Review

Author: Gloria Copeland

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: FaithWords

(October 27, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0446539074

Book Description:

In this BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE Devotional Journal, Gloria Copeland shows readers how to embrace God's goodness and learn to trust Him with every area of their lives. She confirms, "Only by placing our lives in His hands can we open the way for Him to save us, and bless us, and work through us," generating lives of faith, hope, and confidence. Reflective and personal application questions will guide the user of the devotional journal in their personal growth. Space to record thoughts and insights are also provided. This lively journal offers all of that and more, with the expectation that God will use it to help the reader experience all the blessings of the Lord.

My Review:

I found Gloria Copeland's Blessed Beyond Measure Devotional Journal to be an excellent place to record my daily thoughts and Christian walk.

It gives thoughts to ponder, lined blank spaces for writing one's thoughts; suggestions for application; and appropriate scripture verses. As you write your thoughts and prayers in the journal you can look back and review how far you have come on your Christian journey.

Blessed Beyond Measure Devotional Journal is a lovely book which would make a perfect gift.

(Thank you to Hachette Book Group for my review copy.)