litfuse blog tour and review "Firefly Island" by Lisa Wingate

At the age of 34, congressional staffer Mallory Hale is about to embark on an off-the-map journey. After she finds herself swept up in a whirlwind romance, she is hopelessly in love with two men... but fortunately, they are father and son, a package deal and she cannot imagine her future without either of them.

Mallory was shocked when Daniel asked her to marry him, move to Texas, and form a family with him and his son. The idea was exciting and terrifying all at the very same time.

But Mallory does take that leap of faith and begins a sweet and mishap-filled journey to Moses Lake, Texas. Despite the wild adventure that is her life, she has a lot of questions about the town and the situation they are in. Can she find all the answers on Firefly Island, a chunk of property off the lakeshore where the mysterious lights glisten at night?

Not being a stranger to Lisa Wingate, it was super exciting to get to read and review this anticipated new novel of hers. I was first introduced to Lisa's writing while browsing through the library and looking for Christian publishers in various sections. I was looking for a specific author that day and happened upon Lisa's Talk of the Town series, and after that I was hooked! Her writing is amazing, though I haven't kept up with every work she's created since then. But she is still one of my favorites. “Firefly Island” certainly did not disappoint at all. I was expecting this to just be a regular, light-hearted novel, but it surprised me with an incredible element of suspense. I couldn't put this down cause the constant surprises made it all the more appealing. I'm sure others will enjoy that aspect as well. It looks at first as if it will just be a nice beachy type of novel, but it really takes off with all of the mystery and suspense! I loved it! Great read, and you should definitely check it out now, especially if you haven't read any of Lisa's work before. Now go read this great novel!

i was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my review. i wasn't compensated in anyway



Lisa Wingate is celebrating the release of Firefly Island with an iPad Mini giveaway and a fun Facebook Author Chat Party (March 19th).  

  One fortunate winner will receive:

• An iPad Mini
• The Moses Lake series (Firefly Island, Blue Moon Bay and Larkspur Cove)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 18th. Winner will be announced at the "Firefly Island Author Chat Party on March 19th. Connect with Lisa, get a sneak peek of her next book, try your hand at the trivia contest, and chat with readers just like you. There will also be many fun giveaways -- gift certificates, books, and more!

So grab your copy of Firefly Island and join Lisa on the evening of the March 19th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun, RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 19th!

Birthday month!

I haven't written a real post in a bit. And I’m trying to remember what I was going to write about.

Well it was birthday month so that meant I had a bunch of coupons for free meals/free ice cream. Last night we used our last one. We went to benihana! It was so fun I love going there. We only go there for our birthdays cause you get a 30 dollar coupon off your meal. The funniest thing ever was the fact that our cook was Hispanic. His name was Jose! And that made me laugh cause I’ve only ever seen Asian people work there. But honestly he was the best cook ever! Loved him and he was hilarious. But they sang happy birthday and that I am not too fond of. But its alright.

We've gone to red robin, famous daves, and the keg steakhouse! Also I got free scoops of ice cream from ben & jerrys and Baskin Robbins. I love birthday month.

One week we went thrifting and I found a bag of yarn that had 6 skeins in it so we got it. It doesn't smell which was the only reason I got it. So I’m excited to do a project with it. But I’m working on finishing up my granny square blanket I’ve had in the works for a few years. Its finally getting done. I have to sew it up by hand which I didn't want to do but its actually faster than I imagined. I'm hoping I can find some more yarn that matches the color I got from goodwill because I don't want to run out with half a blanket done. Its an aqua color so I wanted to do a aqua and white chevron striped blanket. I'll have to take it to joanns to see if I can find a color that’s really similar. Hopefully I can!

As you can see the boy and I have been working on my blog layout. Its either finished or done I can't remember if there was anything else but Im excited about it!

I've been working hard at catching up on reading/reviews. Its getting there. Hopefully soon I’ll get more up/done.

But I do have an awesome review coming up so excited about it! And I’m super excited about getting into a blog tour for christian fiction. I've been working at getting accepted in and I finally made it! It was a huge goal and I’m excited I finally got there.

I'm also excited about all the new blogs I’m following and the followers I have.

But I feel so socially awkward even on the internet. I want to have great blog friend relationships like I see others having and I just don't get how I can really achieve it when I don't know how to start. So maybe someone wants to be my blog buddy? I dunno. It sounds so weird and awkward.

The boy and I have been working on talking and not getting irritated and rawr with each other so far its working though on Saturday we had a rough time of it. I'm sure It will get better. We do flow better lately though so that’s good. I guess thats about all I have to say for now.

Book Review: Shattered by Dani Pettrey

 

Piper McKenna couldn't be happier that her “prodigal” brother Reef returned to Yancy, Alaska after five years. But her excitement is short-lived when Reef appears at her house covered in blood. A fellow snowboarder friend of his has been killed. Yet despite the evidence, Reef swears that he is innocent - and Piper believes him.

Deputy Landon Grainger loves the McKennas like family, but he has to investigate the truth. Piper is frustrated with his need for facts over her simple faith that Reef is innocent. But the deputy knows that those closest to you have the power to deceive you the most. With the sheriff pushing for a quick conviction, a few leads that came through unexpectedly complicate the investigation. Pursuing the truth may now risk Landon's career.

Piper wages her own search as the two of them head out into Canada's rugged back country with a few unforeseen complications. Not only does their friendship seem to be turning into something bigger, but this case is becoming much more deadly with each and every step.

“Shattered” is the second novel in the Alaskan Courage Series written by Dani Pettrey. After I read the first in the series titled “Submerged,” I wasn't totally sure how this one would be, whether it would follow the same characters or not, and whether it would fail to measure up to the first which I enjoyed a great deal. Thankfully this one is just as good as the first, and has even more suspense! The same characters are back, and even Reef, who was mentioned in the previous novel but wasn't so much present. So it was awesome to have the long lost brother as one of the main characters in this follow-up.

One character who really drives me nuts is the sheriff - you'll see what I mean when you read this novel and the previous. But even that isn't really a negative point because he adds to the storyline a fair amount. I just really can't think of anything bad to say about the book or the author, which is quite an awesome problem to have.

This one is a little longer than “Submerged” was, but that allows for more meat to the story, which is a benefit for this story since there is so much to tell. You for sure need to read this if you love mystery/suspense books. It had a little feel of the show CSI to it, which is another plus in my book. That said, go check this out right away!

i was provided a copy of this book in exchange for my review. my thoughts are my own and i wasn't compensated in anyway.

Dani Pettrey is celebrating the release of Shattered with a Nook HD giveaway and a Facebook Author Chat Party {3/14}. 

One winner will receive:

• A brand new Nook HD
• Submerged and Shattered by Dani Pettrey {Be caught up in this riveting series.}

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 13th. Winner will be announced at the "Shattered" Author Chat Party on 3/14. Connect with Dani for an evening of book chat, trivia, and a chance to win gift certificates, books, and other fun prizes!

So grab your copy of Shattered and join Dani on the evening of the March 14th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book - don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 14th!

Book Review: Picture Perfect by Janice Thompson

 

Wedding photographer Hannah McDermott has dealt with her fair share of brides that could be categorized as difficult. But nothing can compare to the “bridezilla” that she is dealing with right now. She is still trying to desperately impress Belly Neeley, Galveston Island's most sought-after wedding planner. Hannah would like to take the top spot in Bella's list of recommended photographers. Just one problem: that spot is occupied by a huge rival, Drew Kincaid. But one thing she doesn't count on is falling head over heels for her competition.

This novel was a perfect introduction to Janice Thompson’s writing - though I do have a few other books of hers I just haven't read yet. But this was quite a light-hearted, fast read. The only thing I didn't realize was that some of these characters were in previous series. But you wouldn't be able to tell from just reading it. I sure didn't feel like I missed anything. But now I will be sure to look up those other books, because this one was just so delightful! There was just something about it that made you wish there were more. And the fact that it wasn't too serious and not confusing was a huge plus as well. I would definitely recommend this novel if you want a light, humorous read.

I received this  book free of charge in exchange for my review. i wasn't compensated in any way.

Available February 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Influenster Palmolive box

For this box Influenster sent three full sized dish soaps.

i didn't know how that would ship i had seen a bunch of people say that their soaps had leaked and most of it was gone. so i was a little worried about that but i got it and only one had leaked but it wasn't much of a leak at all. the bottle just wasn't shut all the way.

so my opinion on these, i did not like the ginger one. but the lemon thyme and the lime ones were great. i gave the ginger one to my moms work and they were excited about it.

i am not sure about the soaps in general though because it seems like it takes a lot more soap to get a good sudsiness to the water. at least compared to dawn which is what we normally use. it did wash the grease off pretty good though. the lids don't really open and close with ease that makes you want to not use it honestly. would i buy it normally? probably not but it was a good thing to try. thank you to influenster for providing these for review!


i wasn't compensated in anyway and my thoughts are my own.

Valentines day mug swap

I particpated in a valentines day mug swap through the sew caroline and rags to stitches blogs.

i've never done this before but this is what i recieved.


Im not sure if i'll participate again. the candy was good and the mug is okay but nothing i'm totally wild about. there was one more hot chocolate that was a raspberry one that i gave to the boys brother. i just didn't totally feel like i would connect with my partner. hers wasn't a blog i wouldn't get into in general. i hope she likes her goodies.

german weiners

i don't exactly have the best extended family ever. and my grandma didn't ever take us to the zoo or anywhere fun. usually just on errands.

but while we were going to the pike place market this past week with the boys brother. the one great memory i have about my grandma is going to the german market down at pike place and well my grandma is german so that would explain why we went there. but the best thing is when we were kids they always gave out a free weiner. and those are well i guess they can be an acquired taste but i LOVE them. and i always smile thinking of that free weiner. i went there and got some bologna and some weiners and she gave me a free one! haha i swear i almost did a happy dance. but i shared mine with the boys because they weren't standing up with me they didn't get one. haha but its just the funnest thing i know its so weird and random but. thats my great memory.